The IREF Working Paper Series publishes original research relevant to ongoing economic policy debates. We are accepting submissions throughout the year. For more information see our open call for papers.
WP 2017-05. Discussions on the optimal level of government intervention in the economy have become very intense in recent years, especially following the 2008 financial and economic crisis. The hardships…
WP 2017-04. In many countries around the world, lottery services are provided by government-owned firms that are equipped with (regional) monopoly privileges. The official argument for lottery monopolies by state-owned…
WP 2017-03. Property rights play a crucial role in economics: They define the very essence of this discipline, which studies how individuals exchange in order to enhance their welfare, subject…
WP 2017-02. The prevailing opinion among national governments and supranational institutions is that climate change science is settled and drastic cuts in the emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases…
WP 2017-01. Since the financial crisis, government debt ratios have increased in many countries. Most studies indicate that there is a negative association between high medium- and long-term debt ratios…
WP 2016-04. The key requirement for economic prosperity is the rule of law. In turn, a critical component of the rule of law is an effective judicial system, which is…
WP 2016-03. The paper has now been published and can be accessed here. After the end of communism, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe shared very similar challenges. Despite…
WP 2016-02. Most of the literature on rent-seeking and the size of government expenditure has focused on the mechanisms through which policy-makers gather the necessary majorities to justify and expand…
WP 2016-01. The traditional literature on tax evasion frames taxpayers’ choices in terms of rather basic cost-benefit analyses involving the expected monetary return to tax evasion. Briefly put, individuals take…
WP 2015-03. Executive Summary During the past five years, emerging markets have experienced a significant rise in the credit to the private sector. In the countries that have recently joined…
