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We examine the impact of ambiguous and contested land rights on investment and productivity in agricultural in Akwapim, Ghana. We show that individuals who hold powerful positions in a local political hierarchy have more secure tenure rights, and that as a consequence they invest more in land fertility and have substantially higher output. The intensity of investments on different plots cultivated by a given individual correspond to that individual's security of tenure over those specific plots, and in turn to the individual`s position in the political hierarchy relevant to those specific plots. We interpret these results in the context of a simple model of the political allocation of land rights in local matrilineages.

Abstract. From classic to modern economic theories, the scope and size of government in economy have been always main topics for economists. The governments have played different roles in a historical context. Provision of public goods is a generally accepted task for all governments. The supply of public goods requires efficient allocation and management of scarce resources. Government efficacy stems from good governance and proper planning and policy-making. This paper aims to bridge from government size to government efficacy the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). To this end, a panel data in the model is estimated during 2002-2015 by using some control variables. Findings indicate a negative relationship between government size and efficacy. In addition, oil rents affect government efficacy negatively. The trade openness result in efficient government. Finally, economic growth has positive effect on result in government effectiveness. According to findings, minimization of government size, injection of oil revenues into Sovereign National Funds (SNFs), adoption of open door policies, and targeting sustainable economic growth give rise to an efficient government.Keywords. Government size, Government effectiveness, Trade openness, Oil rents, OPEC.JEL. F41, F53, H11, P48.

Motivation: Institutions are a set of rules of the game, norms and values that constitute a fundamental element of any social and political system. Political institutions are an important object of theoretical considerations and a number of attempts at explanations in political science. in their research, they put more emphasis on the effects of political institutions than on issues related to their genesis and the changes taking place. This article is in the trend of New Institutionalism which focuses on the causal role and the limited ability to design new tools, as well as a strong intention in this area. Aim: The aim of the article is to provide a synthetic overview of the causes and effects of continuity and changes in formal political institutions within the interdisciplinary area— new institutionalism. The research methods used during the preparation of the article include the analysis and criticism of the literature Results: The article focuses on presenting the role of institutions in political life, showing the dysfunctionality of the institutional sphere in the face of pressure from interest groups and the game of political actors. The explanation of these aspects was served by logical constructions and analyzes, primarily of a historical and sociological study, emphasizing the importance of determinants of informal institutions on the durability and institutional change.

Even efficient financial markets may break down under periods of prolonged stress, especially when the ramification of an event is unclear. Political violence is such an event, sending immediate signals about possible impact on firm valuations but unclear information about the future viability of existing institutions. This paper examines the effect of political violence in 19th century Russia on its stock market; using a battery of unit root and variance ratio tests, the evidence is that Russian financial markets were mostly efficient in processing short-term information from political violence. However, when violence was at its peak between the assassination of the Tsar in 1881 and the 1905 revolution, large deviations from efficiency can be detected, as markets were unsure about the viability of the existing rules of the game.

Motivation: Institutions are a set of rules of the game, norms and values that constitute a fundamental element of any social and political system. Political institutions are an important object of theoretical considerations and a number of attempts at explanations in political science. in their research, they put more emphasis on the effects of political institutions than on issues related to their genesis and the changes taking place. This article is in the trend of New Institutionalism which focuses on the causal role and the limited ability to design new tools, as well as a strong intention in this area. Aim: The aim of the article is to provide a synthetic overview of the causes and effects of continuity and changes in formal political institutions within the interdisciplinary area— new institutionalism. The research methods used during the preparation of the article include the analysis and criticism of the literature Results: The article focuses on presenting the role of institutions in political life, showing the dysfunctionality of the institutional sphere in the face of pressure from interest groups and the game of political actors. The explanation of these aspects was served by logical constructions and analyzes, primarily of a historical and sociological study, emphasizing the importance of determinants of informal institutions on the durability and institutional change.

Countering recent rises in many countries of inequality in income and wealth is widely recognized as a major development challenge. This is so from an ethical perspective and because greater inequality is perceived to be detrimental to key development aims. Still, an informed debate on the effects of inequality requires clear evidence. This review contributes to the literature by taking stock and providing an overview of current knowledge of the impact of income inequality on three important outcomes: economic growth, health and education as two dimensions of human development, and governance, with a focus on democracy. Drawing on the insights from different disciplines and considering recent work, it reveals that existing evidence provides somewhat mixed results and argues for a need for further in-depth empirical work. It also points to explanations for the lack of consensus embedded in data quality and availability, measurement issues, and the shortcomings of the different methods employed. Finally, we point to promising future research avenues relying on experimental work for micro level analysis, more region- and country-specific studies, and reiterate the need for improvements in the availability and reliability of data.

Immanuel Kant's language and concept of foedus pacificum (league of peace) combined with his call for a spirit of trade promised a prescription for world peace—"seeking to end all wars forever." Nation-state level cooperation between liberal democracies has borne out Kant's analysis to some effect. A consequence of the twin pursuits of foedus pacificum and spirit of trade has ironically resulted in the exploitation of society. Today's international corporations adversely affect public policies ostensibly designed to protect citizens through an anti-democratic market-based ideology within the State—as seen through the lenses of Foucauldian post-structural theory and Debord's society of the spectacle. The author proposes that globalist-corporatist control of governing apparatuses is now exposed for its authoritarian tendencies. This action could result in the ultimate destruction of the representative democratic state with the onset of neoliberalism and authoritarianism.

This paper attempts to make an evaluation of the programs implemented or under implementation for the protection of biodiversity. Beyond the national interest, Romania must respect international agreements (Convention of Biological Diversity, Birds Directive, Habitats Directive, EU Biodiversity Strategy, EU Forest Strategy, CITIES) on the conservation and sustained exploitation of biodiversity and ensure a fair distribution of biodiversity costs and benefits. Both EU and international policies have as their main objectives to stop biodiversity loss by 2020, to strengthen the NATURA 2000 network and to compensate for the loss of biodiversity according to the NNL (No Net Loss) principle, in other words. : "Stopping global degradation of the environment". By evaluating public data sources, national concerns, results obtained, sources of funding for this field are highlighted. Also, the support measures for the environment and climate, respectively for biodiversity conservation, provided in the NRDP during the two programming periods, are analysed on comparative basis, in order to mark the objectives, the categories of measures and the financial allocations for each type of area in which they were applied.

The vast majority of federations lack exit clauses. Existing theoretical explanations of this stylized fact focus on issues of credible commitment, signaling, and the risk of strategic exploitation. However, such accounts are unable to explain the adoption by the European Union (EU) of Article 50, which allows withdrawal. I contend and demonstrate empirically that in the case of the EU, an exit-voice logic lies at the basis of Article 50. More generally, in heterogeneous (quasi-)federations formed through voluntary accession, prospective members may require an exit right in order to join, especially if they will not have a veto against policy changes. This hypothesis is borne out empirically by a probit regression on the positions of 94 delegates at the European Convention, which shows that heterogeneity drove support for an exit right.

This study remarks the influence of Gallician economist Joaquin Díaz de Rábago in the agricultural credit project of Eugenio Montero Ríos in 1886, one of the most ambitious propositions in the 19th century, and a lost chance to modernise Spanish agriculture. Through analysis of the content in documents, it will prove and demonstrate that the politician's ideas belonged to the author of El Crédito Agrícola (1883).

What explains the divergent political paths that the post-communist countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union have followed since the fall of the Berlin Wall? While some appear today to be consolidated democracies, others have all the features of consolidated autocracy. This study reviews the patterns of change and examines correlates of progress towards democracy. Variation across post-communist countries in the degree of democracy twenty years after the start of transition can be parsimoniously explained by two variables: the length of time the country spent under a communist regime and - within the former Soviet Union, but not Eastern Europe - the proportion of Muslim adherents in the population.

The Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the European Union could serve as an opportunity to accelerate global and regional trade integration of ACP countries. Moreover, the European Commission intends to use EPAs as a tool for development and the eradication of poverty in ACP countries. To achieve their potential development, however, there are a number of preconditions in ACP countries to be fulfilled. This paper argues that institutional quality plays a key role in a successful trade liberalisation. In fact, only countries with high-quality institutions, partly in the form of good government regulations, are likely to benefit from trade. nfortunately, the vast majority of African ACP countries have excessive regulations that hinder them from taking advantage of trade. For the necessary institutional reforms to resolve this problem, we will discuss a number of important issues that have to be addressed to enable ACP countries to take full advantage of EPAs.

Abstract. This paper analyzes the influence of bribery on the evaluation of students at the entrance and at the outlet of Government Secondary Schools (GSS) in Cameroon using the BANFIELD's model. The empirical evidence reveals that there is bribery at the entrance and at the outlet in GSS. So, students can be registered or pass an exam thanks to "gombo". The couples (student, teacher) and (student, secretary), respectively at the entrance and the outlet, are corrupt at a significant threshold of 5% and a P-value of 0%. In the first case corruption highlights that students are victims of adverse- selection and the principal of the school is victim of moral hazard. In the second, it suggests that the principal is not only victim of moral risk but also of adverse selection.Keywords. Bribery, Government secondary schools, Banfield's model, Adverse selection, Moral hazard.JEL. B52, F55, O17, O31, O33, O35, O43, P10, P14, P48.

This paper gives insight of the role of political stability in
investigating the two competing hypotheses in Developing Eight Muslim
countries, and also investigates whether conditional liaison between
corruption and political stability matters or not. The empirical
findings indicate that investment, population and political stability
play positive role in promoting economic growth. Corruption not only
impact growth but also influenced by the institutional quality that a
nation experiences. Corruption acts as sands in the wheels in the
nations having higher degree of political stability, and greases the
wheels in less politically stable countries such as Nigeria and
Pakistan. Thus, political stability is conducive to growth, as it
reduces the social unrests, political turmoil, and encourages
investment, and there by economic growth. JEL Classification: C30, D73,
O43, P48 Keywords: Corruption, Economic Growth, Political Stability,
Conditional Cooperation