Research

My research is grouped into several broad themes:

• Institutional Economics and the effects of Institutions

Institutions are the "stuff of economics" and the stuff of life. They are the rules of the game and more, the formal and informal organizations, sanctions, suasion, guidelines, and mediators of economic incentives in a society. My work here concentrates on both political institutions (arrangements of governance, political violence, and political uncertainty) and economic institutions (mainly property rights but also, as noted below, central banks).

• The Political Economy of Finance

How do political institutions affect financial markets, both their functioning and their evolution? How do financial markets influence politics, the development of political institutions, and perceptions of risk in society? Do certain types of political changes cause more volatility? How does both formal and informal political volatility impact financial institutions? These are some of the questions I delve into under the broader heading of political economy of finance, a field which has seen an explosion of good research in recent years (helped along by the great Luigi Zingales at Chicago) and which stands at the nexus of economics, political science, psychology, and sociology.

• Central Banks and the Institutions of Monetary Policy

For far too often, central banks and central bank policy has been thought of as a technocratic machines, standing aloof from political processes (at least since the early 1980s) and implementing dispassionate monetary policy. But central banks are enmeshed in a web of political and economic institutions and can never truly be divorced from their surroundings. This research theme explores central banks as an institution and what this means for monetary policy, financialization, and society at large. Importantly, this theme also concentrates on the outcomes of the central bank as an institutional arrangement, focusing primarily on the institutional effects of monetary policy - this includes the effect of profligate monetary policy on the rule of law and political development.

• Trade and Trade Barriers

Finally, I dabble in international economics (I do teach it, after all), and enjoy researching trade barriers, the effects of free trade agreements, and the effects of free and open trade on inequality and the environment (spoiler: trade is good for environment and lessens inequality). I've also consulted for the European Parliament on trade issues related to the EU's free trade agreements.

Books

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

1. “Join the Club: The Reaction of Eurozone Stock Markets to New Members” (with Žana Grigaliūnienė and Dmitrij Celov), Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions & Money, accepted for publication, March 2020, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intfin.2020.101195.

2. “Shooting for the Tsars: Heterogeneous political volatility and institutional change in Russia,” Terrorism and Political Violence, forthcoming, February 2020.

3. “Varieties of Populism: The Rise of Populism and the Challenge for Global Business Strategy” (with Timothy Devinney), Global Strategy Journal, Vol. 10 no. 1 (2020), pp. 32-66.

4. “Complexity, Uncertainty, and Monetary Policy: Can the ECB Avoid the Unconventional Becoming the ‘New Normal’?” The Economists’ Voice, vol 16 no. 1 (2019), https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/ev.ahead-of-print/ev-2019-0021/ev-2019-0021.xml?format=INT.

5. “Room to Grow? Opportunities in Agri-food Trade in a Modernised EU-Chile Association Agreement” (with Bruno Henry de Frahan and Alberto Valdes), Estudios Publicos, accepted for publication, November 2019.

6. “Informal institutions and firm valuation” (with Anna Malinowska), Emerging Markets Review, 40 (2019 - forthcoming), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ememar.2019.03.001.

7. “Democratic Institutions, Natural Resources, and Income Inequality” (with Roman Horvath, Eva Horvathova, and Olga Popova), Comparative Economic Studies, Vol. 61 no. 4 (2019), pp. 531-550.

8. “Short Waves in Hungary, 1923 and 1946: Persistence, Chaos, and (Lack of) Control,” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 163 (2019), pp. 532-550.

9. “On the Impossibility of Central Bank Independence: Four Decades of Time- (and Intellectual) Inconsistency,” Cambridge Journal of Economics, Vol. 43 no. 1 (2019), pp. 61-84.

10. “Identity and the Evolution of Institutions: Evidence from Partition and Interwar Poland,” Forum for Social Economics, In press, 2017, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07360932.2017.1394900.

11. “The Effect of Political Volatility on Capital Markets in EU Accession and Neighborhood Countries,” Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Vol. 21 no. 4 (2018), pp. 260-280.

12. “Bringing the Benefits of David to Goliath: Special Economic Zones and Institutional Improvement,” Regional Studies, Vol. 52, no. 10 (2018), pp. 1309-1321.

13. “The Impact of Investments in Special Economic Zones on Regional Development: The Case of Poland,” (with Adam Ambroziak), Regional Studies, Vol. 52 no. 10 (2018), pp. 1322-1331.

14. “The Hierarchy of Institutions Reconsidered: Monetary Policy and Rule of Law in Interwar Poland,” Explorations in Economic History, Volume 68 (2018), pp. 37-70.

15. “Old wine and new bottles: A critical appraisal of the middle-income trap in BRICS countries,” Russian Journal of Economics, Vol. 4 no. 2 (2018), pp. 133-154.

16. “Institutional and Financial Volatility in Transition Economies,” Journal of Comparative Economics, Vol. 46 no. 2 (2018), pp. 598-615.

17. “Firm-level and institutional determinants of corporate capital structure in Poland: New evidence from the Warsaw Stock Exchange,” (with Anna Malinowska), Czech Journal of Economics and Finance, Vol. 68 no.2 (2018), pp. 120-143.

18. “Foreign Banks and the Business Environment in Transition: A Cointegration Approach,” Post-Communist Economies, Vol. 30 no. 1 (2018), pp. 19-35.

19. “Understanding ‘Development:’ Insights from Some Aspects of Complexity Theory,” Homo Oeconomicus, Vol. 34, no. 2 (2017), pp. 165-190.

20. “Determinants of Property Rights in Poland and Ukraine: The Polity or Politicians?” Journal of Institutional Economics, Vol. 13, no. 1 (2017), pp. 133-160.

21. “The Co-Evolution of Finance and Property Rights: Evidence from Transitional Economies,” Journal of Economic Issues, Vol. 51, no. 1 (2017), pp. 73-97.

22. “If You’re Going Through Hell, Keep Going: Non-linear Effects of Financial Liberalization in Transition Economies," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Vol. 53, no. 2 (2017), pp. 250-275.

23. “The Institutional Basis of Efficiency in Resource-Rich Countries,” Economic Systems, Vol. 40, no. 4 (2016), pp. 519-536 (lead article).

24. “Improving Competitiveness in the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union: A Blueprint for the Next Decade,” Post-Communist Economies, Vol. 28, no. 1 (2016), pp. 49-71.

25. “Quantifying Non-Tariff Barriers in Ukraine: A Comprehensive Trade Cost Approach,” Applied Economics Letters, Vol. 23 no. 1 (2016), pp. 47-55.

26. “Volatility Spillovers and Contagion in Emerging Europe” (with Konstantin Asaturov and Tamara Teplova), Journal of Applied Economic Sciences, Volume X Issue 6 (2015), pp. 929-945.

27. “A Helping Hand: Examining the Effect of Foreign Banks on the Business Environment,” (with Bryane Michael), International Journal of Emerging Markets, Vol. 11 no. 4 (2015), pp. 875-895.

28. “Wealth Management and Private Banking Services in Developing Markets” (with Bryane Michael and Gary Ho), Journal of Investment Consulting, Vol. 16 no. 1 (2015), pp. 10-19.

29. “Après le déluge: Institutions, the Global Financial Crisis, and Bank Profitability in Transition,” Open Economies Review, Vol. 26 no. 3 (2015), pp. 497-524.

30. “Baudrillard Goes to Kyiv: Institutional Simulacra in Transition,” Journal of Economic and Social Thought, Vol. 2 no. 2 (2015), pp. 92-105.

31. “Revisiting the Environmental Rewards of Economic Freedom” (with Don L. Coursey), Economics and Business Letters, Vol. 4 no. 1 (2015), pp. 36-50.

32. “Capital Controls and the Determinants of Entrepreneurship,” Czech Journal of Economics and Finance, Vol. 64 no. 6 (2014), pp. 434-456.

33. “Do (Successful) Stock Exchanges Support or Hinder Institutions in Transition Economies?” Cogent Economics & Finance, Vol. 2 No. 1 (2014),

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/.VC5IGhY0_Zg#.VC5IMBY0_Zg.

34. “Developments in the Economies of Member States Outside the Eurozone,” (with Richard Connolly), Journal of Common Market Studies, Volume 52, Issue S1 (2014), pp. 202-218.

35. “Capitalism and (versus?) Democracy: Stock Markets and Democratization in Transition,” Applied Economics Letters, Volume 21, no. 14 (2014), pp. 979-983.

36. “Institutional Deterioration in Transition Economies: Playing Follow-the-Leader during the Global Financial Crisis?” Transition Studies Review, Vol. 20 no. 2 (2013), pp. 131-147.

37. “A Eurasian (or a Soviet) Union? Consequences of Further Economic Integration in the CIS,” Business Horizons, Vol. 56 no. 4 (2013), pp. 411-420.

38. “The Role of Central Banks in Maintaining Monetary Stability during the Global Financial Crisis,” Banks and Bank Systems, Vol. 7 no. 3 (2012), pp. 51-69.

39. “Employment Protection Legislation and the Labour Market: Assessing the Effects of Armenia’s Labour Code,” European Journal of Comparative Economics, Vol. 7, no. 2 (2010), pp. 413-445.

40. “Simplifying Permitting in the United States,” Strategic Planning for Energy and the Environment, Vol. 19 no. 2 (Fall 1999), pp. 57-79.