Bulletin February 2008

IN THIS ISSUE...

Is it time to fiddle with your portfolio?
With more bad news about the credit crunch emerging every week, investors with money to spare could be excused for fleeing the volatile stock market, and looking for an alternative home for their money. A new CEPR paper examines the case for an asset class few investors are likely to have considered - violins.

Patently too expensive
For entrepreneurial geniuses hoping to break the European market, protecting their ideas with patents is a time-consuming and costly matter. An EU-wide patent, which would apply to all signatories of the European Patent Convention without the need for separate translation, validation and renewal processes, would change firms' behaviour, and increase the number of patents implemented throughout Europe.

Can democracy save Kenya from civil war?
As thousands of opposition protestors marched on the streets of the Kenyan capital, the rest of the world held its breath, anxious that one of Africa's democracies was about to descend into violent conflict. New CEPR research offers hope, however, by demonstrating that democratic institutions can act as a barrier against civil war.

Moral compass leads way to economic development
A new CEPR paper argues that 'culture' - specifically, generalised norms about morality and trust passed on through the generations - could be the key to understanding the influence of history on levels of economic development today.