Alberto Alesina

Recently Published Papers

"Bureaucrats or Politicians? Part II: Multiple Policy Tasks," Journal of Public Economics, April 2008, 92, 426-447 (with Guido Tabellini).

"Electoral Rules and Minority Representation in U.S. Cities," Quarterly Journal of Economics, February 2008, 128: 325-58 (with Philippe Aghion and Francesco Trebbi.

"Good Bye Lenin (or not?) - The Effect of Communism on People's Preferences," American Economic Review, September 2007, 97: 1507-1528 (with Nicola Fuchs-Schuendeln).

"Bureaucrats or Politicians? Part I: A Single Policy Task," American Economic Review, March 2007, 97: 169-79 (with Guido Tabellini), reprinted in D. Masciandaro and M. Quintyn (2007), Designing Financial Supervision Institutions: Independence, Accountaiblity and Governance, Edward Elgar, UK.

"Choosing (and Reneging on) Exchange Rate Regimes," Journal of the European Economic Association, June 2006, 4:770-99 (with Alexander Wagner).

"Conflict, Defense Spending and the Number of Nations," European Economic Review, January 2006, 50: 91-120 (with Enrico Spolaore).

"Who Adjusts and When? On the Political Economy of Stabilizations," IMF Staff Papers, Mundell-Fleming Lecture, 53: 1-49, 2006 (with Silvia Ardagna and Francesco Trebbi).

"Work and Leisure in the U.S. and Europe: Why So Different?" NBER Macroeconomic Annual 2005, 1-64 (with Edward Glaeser and Bruce Sacerdote).

"Corruption, Inequality and Fairness," Journal of Monetary Economics, October 2005, 52: 1227-44 (with George-Marios Angeletos).

"Ethnic Diversity and Economic Performance," Journal of Economic Literature, September 2005, 43: 721-61 (with Eliana La Ferrara).

"Fairness and Redistribution: US vs. Europe," American Economic Review, September 2005, 95: 913-35 (with George-Marios Angeletos).

"War, Peace and the Size of Countries," Journal of Public Economics, July 2005, 89: 1333-54 (with Enrico Spolaore).

"What Does the European Union Do?" Public Choice, June 2005, 123: 275-319 (with Ignazio Angeloni and Ludger Shuknecht).

"International Unions," American Economic Review, June 2005, 95: 602-15 (with Ignazio Angeloni and Federico Etro).

"Regulation and Investment," Journal of the European Economic Association, June 2005, 3: 791-825 (with Silvia Ardagna, Giuseppe Nicoletti, and Fabio Schiantarelli).

"Preferences for Redistribution in the Land of Opportunities," Journal of Public Economics, May 2005, 89: 897-931 (with Eliana La Ferrara).

"The European Union: A politically incorrect view," Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2004, 26-48 (with Roberto Perotti).

"Political Jurisdictions in Heterogeneous Communities," Journal of Political Economy, April 2004, 112: 348-96 (with Reza Baqir and Caroline Hoxby).

"Endogenous Political Institutions," Quarterly Journal of Economics, May 2004, 119: 565-612 (with Philippe Aghion and Francesco Trebbi).

"Inequality and Happiness: Are Americans and Europeans Different?" Journal of Public Economics, August 2004, 88: 2009-42 (with Rafael Di Tella and Robert McCulloch).

"The Size of Countries: Does It Matter?" Journal of the European Economic Association, Schumpeter Lecture, June 2003, 301-16.

"Fractionalization," Journal of Economic Growth, June 2003, 8:155-94 (with Arnaud Devleeschauwer, William Easterly, Sergio Kurlat and Romain Wacziarg).

"Optimal Currency Areas," NBER Macroeconomic Annual, 2002, 301-55 (with Robert Barro and Silvana Tenreyro), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

"Do Corrupt Governments Receive Less Foreign Aid?" American Economic Review, September 2002, 92: 1126-37 (with Beatrice Weder).

"Who Trusts Others?" Journal of Public Economics, August 2002, 85: 207-34 (with Eliana La Ferrara).

"Fiscal Policy, Profits and Investment," American Economic Review, June 2002, 92: 571-89 (with Silvia Ardagna, Roberto Perotti and Fabio Schiantarelli).

"Currency Unions," Quarterly Journal of Economics, May 2002, 117: 409-30 (with Robert Barro).

"Redistribution Through Public Employment: The Case of Italy," IMF Staff Papers, November 2001, 48: 447-73 (with Stephan Danninger and Massimo Rostagno).

"Why Doesn't the United States Have a European-Style Welfare State?" Brookings Paper on Economics Activity, Fall 2001, 187-278 (with Edward Glaeser and Bruce Sacerdote).

"Dollarization," American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, May 2001, 91: 381-85 (with Robert Barro).

"Economic Integration and Political Disintegration," American Economic Review, December 2000, 90: 1276-96 (with Enrico Spolaore and Romain Wacziarg), reprinted in R. Pornfret (2004), Economic Analysis of Regional Trading Agreements, Edward Elgar, UK.

"Redistributive Public Employment," Journal of Urban Economics, September 2000, 48: 219-41 (with Reza Baqir and William Easterly).

"Participation in Heterogeneous Communities," Quarterly Journal of Economics, August 2000, 115: 847-904 (with Eliana La Ferrara).

"The Political Economy of the Budget Surplus in the US," Journal of Economic Perspectives, Summer 2000, 14: 3-19.

"Who gives Foreign Aid to Whom and Why?" Journal of Economic Growth, March 2000, 5: 33-64 (with David Dollar).

"Polarized Platforms and Moderate Policies with Checks and Balances," Journal of Public Economics, January 2000, 75:1-20, (with Howard Rosenthal).