This paper analyses the determinants of null and blank voting at the 2011 Portuguese legislative elections. An extensive datasets at the parish level and a fractional regression model estimator are used to estimate both voting alternatives. The results found point to some common explanatory patterns as well as to important differences between the two choices. Evidence also indicates that the performance of the local economy, especially unemployment, is important but only for the explanation of blank variations and in more urban areas, where more sophisticated voters reside. Furthermore, results point to the presence of a relevant degree of persistence in both choices and indicate that past electoral choices influence both voting choices in a way that seems to suggest the existence of protest motives.

The literature that investigates credit booms has essentially focused on their economic determinants. The purpose of this paper is to explore the importance of political conditionings and central bank independence. In doing so, a fixed effects logit model is estimated over a panel of 67 countries for the period 1975q1-2016q4. The results show that not only the economic but also the political environment influences significantly the likelihood of credit booms. Even though lending booms have not proven to depend on the electoral cycle, they are less likely when right-wing parties are in office, especially in developing countries, and when the political environment is more unstable. In addition, more independent Central Banks are found to reduce the probability of credit booms. However, when a country’s monetary policy in the hands of a single regional monetary union they are more likely to occur and spread. Some significant differences are also unveiled when comparing industrial with developing countries.

This paper investigates the commonalities and differences between benign credit booms and those that end up in banking crises by employing a Multinomial and a Sequential Logit model over a panel of industrial and developing countries. Some economic, political and institutional factors are found to play an important role in understanding the credit booms dynamics. In particular, this study shows that the quantity and price of credit, liquidity in the economy, economic growth, openness of the economy, government orientation, political stability and Central Bank independence are relevant to explain not only the occurrence of credit booms but also – and most importantly – whether they end up in a systemic banking crisis or not. While a better economic environment and Central Bank independence are essential for both industrial and developing countries to avoid credit booms from going badly, political factors seem to exert a stronger influence in developing countries.

This paper analyzes the main determinants of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the member countries of Mano River Union: Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. We use both data at the firm level and at the country level - and employ OLS and ARDL techniques - in order to examine the differences and similarities in FDI drivers across these four countries. Our results show that international trade, investment in infrastructures and access to credit have a positive impact on FDI. While credit and trade have a similar influence across countries, the effect of investment is distinct across Mano River members, which raises political implications for policy coordination among states. We also conclude that policies aimed to boost human capital, as well as political and economic stability, are relevant, as they augment FDI inflows.