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This paper constructs a data set to document firms' expenditures on an identifiable list of intangible items and examines the implications of treating intangible spending as an acquisition of final (investment) goods on GDP growth for Canada. It finds that investment in intangible capital by 2002 is almost as large as the investment in physical capital. This result is in line with similar findings for the U.S. and the U.K. Furthermore, the growth in GDP and labor productivity may be underestimated by as much as 0.1 percentage point per year during this same period.

Business & Economics --- Economic History --- Gross domestic product --- Labor productivity --- Investments --- Econometric models. --- Investing --- Investment management --- Portfolio --- Labor output --- Productivity of labor --- Domestic product, Gross --- GDP --- Finance --- Disinvestment --- Loans --- Saving and investment --- Speculation --- Industrial productivity --- Capital productivity --- Hours of labor --- Labor time --- Productivity bargaining --- Gross national product --- Investments: General --- Macroeconomics --- Public Finance --- Data Processing --- Databases --- National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: General --- General Aggregative Models: General --- Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology --- Computer Programs: General --- Investment --- Capital --- Intangible Capital --- Capacity --- Public finance & taxation --- Data capture & analysis --- Expenditure --- National accounts --- Data collection --- Intangible capital --- Data processing --- Expenditures, Public --- National income --- Economic statistics --- Electronic data processing --- Canada

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How do financial markets respond to concerns over debt sustainability and the level of public debt in emerging markets? We introduce a measure of debt sustainability – the difference between the debt stabilizing primary balance and the primary balance–in an otherwise standard spread regression model applied to a panel of 26 emerging market economies. We find that debt sustainability is an important determinant of spreads. In addition, using a panel smooth transition regression model, we find that the sensitivity of spreads to debt sustainability doubles as public debt increases above 45 percent of GDP. These results suggest that market interest rates react more to debt sustainability concerns in a country with a high level of debt compared to a country with a low level of debt.

Debts, External --- Economic development --- Exports and Imports --- Finance: General --- Macroeconomics --- Public Finance --- Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy --- Fiscal Policy --- International Lending and Debt Problems --- International Financial Markets --- Debt --- Debt Management --- Sovereign Debt --- General Financial Markets: General (includes Measurement and Data) --- International economics --- Public finance & taxation --- Finance --- Debt sustainability --- Fiscal stance --- Public debt --- Emerging and frontier financial markets --- External debt --- Fiscal policy --- Financial markets --- Debts, Public --- Financial services industry --- United States

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Italy’s labor productivity in market services has declined since 2000, underperforming manufacturing and peer European countries, especially in strongly regulated sectors. A model of monopolistic competition is used to identify which service sectors would benefit more from removing entry and/or exit barriers. Using Italian firm-level data, the paper finds that sectors with high markups, such as professional services, would primarily benefit from removing entry barriers. Sectors with a large mass of unproductive firms, such as retail, would instead benefit from removing exit barriers. Policy recommendations to improve efficiency are outlined in relation to the sectoral priorities identified in the data.

Italy --- Finance: General --- Labor --- Industries: Service --- Production and Operations Management --- Production, Pricing, and Market Structure --- Size Distribution of Firms --- Industry Studies: Services: General --- Macroeconomics: Production --- Human Capital --- Skills --- Occupational Choice --- Labor Productivity --- General Financial Markets: General (includes Measurement and Data) --- Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: General --- Macroeconomics --- Finance --- Labour --- income economics --- Productivity --- Labor productivity --- Services sector --- Competition --- Wages --- Production --- Economic sectors --- Financial markets --- Industrial productivity --- Service industries --- Income economics

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The reform of the Italian public administration has been a priority for at least two decades, with several major initiatives undertaken toward modernization and simplification. Notwithstanding laudable intentions, however, progress remains limited. This analysis is a case study of two reforms since 2016—on the rationalization of state-owned enterprises and of public procurement. It finds that original reform provisions were weakened or overturned, regulatory complexity and uncertainties in the application of the reforms blunted their impact, and enforcement mechanisms were inadequate. Addressing these gaps will be essential for successfully modernizing Italy’s public administration.

Finance: General --- Macroeconomics --- Public Finance --- Bureaucracy --- Administrative Processes in Public Organizations --- Corruption --- National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: Infrastructures --- Other Public Investment and Capital Stock --- National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: Procurement --- Public Enterprises --- Public-Private Enterprises --- General Financial Markets: General (includes Measurement and Data) --- Labor Economics: General --- Fiscal Policy --- Public finance & taxation --- Civil service & public sector --- Finance --- Labour --- income economics --- Public investment spending --- Public sector --- Competition --- Labor --- Fiscal governance --- Expenditure --- Economic sectors --- Financial markets --- Fiscal policy --- Public investments --- Finance, Public --- Labor economics --- Italy

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The reform of the Italian public administration has been a priority for at least two decades, with several major initiatives undertaken toward modernization and simplification. Notwithstanding laudable intentions, however, progress remains limited. This analysis is a case study of two reforms since 2016—on the rationalization of state-owned enterprises and of public procurement. It finds that original reform provisions were weakened or overturned, regulatory complexity and uncertainties in the application of the reforms blunted their impact, and enforcement mechanisms were inadequate. Addressing these gaps will be essential for successfully modernizing Italy’s public administration.

Italy --- Finance: General --- Macroeconomics --- Public Finance --- Bureaucracy --- Administrative Processes in Public Organizations --- Corruption --- National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: Infrastructures --- Other Public Investment and Capital Stock --- National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: Procurement --- Public Enterprises --- Public-Private Enterprises --- General Financial Markets: General (includes Measurement and Data) --- Labor Economics: General --- Fiscal Policy --- Public finance & taxation --- Civil service & public sector --- Finance --- Labour --- income economics --- Public investment spending --- Public sector --- Competition --- Labor --- Fiscal governance --- Expenditure --- Economic sectors --- Financial markets --- Fiscal policy --- Public investments --- Finance, Public --- Labor economics --- Income economics