China is well-placed to avoid the so-called “middle-income trap” and to continue to converge towards the more advanced economies, even though growth is likely to slow from near double-digit rates in the first decade of this millennium to around 7% at the 2020 horizon. However, in order to...

Material resources affect the levels of mortality. In cross-sectional relationships income has been found to be positively associated with survival, both within and between countries. Preston (1975, 1976), in particular, using cross-national data for three separate decades of the 20th century,...

This paper contributes to the debate on the importance of education for sustainable economic growth. Following a recent contribution by Aghion (2009), we focus on the role of tertiary education in innovation at the company level using patent applications as a proxy. Rather than examining...

This paper considers selected technology indicators in Central and East Europe (CEE). Among the selected countries the distinction can be made between countries that joined the EU in May 2004 and other countries in the sample. Differences exist in selected indicators among to performing...

The main question that guides this paper is how governments are focusing (and must focus) on competence building (education and training) when designing and implementing innovation policies. With this approach, the paper aims at filling the gap between the existing literature on competences on...

This report addresses the potential of digital games to support social inclusion and empowerment (DGEI). It is based on a range of theoretical and empirical data, brought together for the first time in this and associated reports. The aim of the report, commissioned by DG CNECT, is to provide a...

We evaluate the empirical relevance of de facto vs. de jure determinants of political power in the U.S. South between the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. We apply a variety of estimation techniques to a previously unexploited dataset on voter registration by...

This paper examines the association between one of the most basic institutional forms, the family, and a series of demographic, educational, social, and economic indicators across regions in Europe. Using Emmanuel Todd’s classification of medieval European family systems, we identify potential...

This paper studies the association between ownership structure and literacy across Spanish districts in the late 19th century. We nd a positive correlation between the ownership rate of the type of livestock mostly used in agriculture (i.e. cattle) and the literacy rate, which is robust to...

We evaluate the empirical relevance of de facto vs. de jure determinants of political power in the U.S. South between the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. We apply a variety of estimation techniques to a previously unexploited dataset on voter registration by...