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The empirical analysis in "International R&D Spillovers" (Coe and Helpman, 1995) is first revisited by applying modern panel cointegration estimation techniques to an expanded data set that we have constructed for the purpose of this study. The new estimates confirm the key results reported in Coe and Helpman about the impact of domestic and foreign R&D capital stocks on TFP. In addition, we show that domestic and foreign R&D capital stocks have measurable impacts on TFP even after controlling for the impact of human capital. Furthermore, we extend the analysis to include institutional variables, such as legal origin and patent protection, in order to allow for parameter heterogeneity based on a country's institutional characteristics. The results suggest that institutional differences are important determinants of total factor productivity and that they impact the degree of R&D spillovers.

Ag6nor, Aizenman, and Hoffmaister propose a two-step whether or not residuals are large enough to be viewed approach for assessing the extent to which the fall in as indicators of an "involuntary" accumulation of excess credit in crisis-stricken East Asian countries was a supply-reserves. or demand-induced phenomenon.The results for Thailand suggest that the contraction in The first step involves estimating a demand function bank lending that accompanied the crisis was the result for excess liquid assets held by commercial banks.of supply factors. Thai firms (presumably small and The second step involves establishing dynamic medium-size ones) faced binding constraints in getting projections for the periods after the crisis and assessing access to credit markets after the crisis.This paper-a product of the Economic Policy and Poverty Reduction Division, World Bank Institute-is part of a larger effort in the institute to understand the macroeconomic effects of credit market imperfections. Copies of the paper are available free from the World Bank,

This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate.House prices in Europe have shown diverging trends, and this paper seeks to explain these differences by analyzing three groups of countries: the "fast lane", the average performers, and the slow movers. Price movements in the first two groups are found to be driven mostly by income and trends in user costs, and housing markets in these countries seem relatively more susceptible to adverse developments in fundamentals. Real house price declines among the slow movers are harder to explain, although ample supply, low home ownership, and less complete mortgage markets are likely factors. The impact of macroeconomic, prudential and structural policies on housing markets can be large and should be a factor in policy decisions.