Economics of organizations and development

by Cusolito, Ana Paula

Abstract This thesis contains three essays on the Economics of Organisations and Development. Each essay focuses on a different topic that has received special attention by the Development literature over the last two decades. The first chapter is motivated by the fact that malfunctioning institutions constitute a severe obstacle for economic progress. It centers the analysis on the role of the media to constrain bureaucratic corruption. The second chapter is inspired by the large and influential literature on the determinants of the technical progress. The chapter focuses on the role of market competition and entry liberalization to affect the direction of the technical change. It analyzes the trade-off between doing quality up-grading or creating new but low-quality goods. The third chapter explores the role of conflicting organisational technologies to affect the economic performance of merging firms.