Tributes to Professor Arthur Dunkel and Professor Pietro Balestra

Too often, research is paying attention to the ricardian gain or to corruption only, while what is needed in the real world is, above all, a residual appreciation of both phenomena. Arthur Dunkel and Pietro Balestra - two great economists who both passed away in June 2005 - were preoccupied, among other things, with the necessity of a good balance between theoretical and empirical analyses. In the time of the 21th century globalisation, we have to go beyond a simplistic conception of the ricardian gain and subtract the increasing costs of corruption. The money diverted and dissipated needs to be measured by creditor states as well as by developing countries, beyond the severity and the laxity present in the new big regional unions and mentioned in some dubious international press.