In this paper I study the role of generational differences in saving. My main evidence is an empirical analysis based on Norwegian data that show a tendency for older birth cohorts to have higher saving rates, but that the differences are small and statistically insignificant. Consequently, the...

In this paper the effects on aggregate consumption of changes in the age distribution of the population are analysed empirically. Economic theories predict that age influences individuals’ saving and consumption behaviour. Despite this, age structure effects are rarely controlled for in...

After a forecast failure, a respecification is usually necessary to account for the data ex post, in which case there is a gain in knowledge as a result of the forecast failure. Using Norwegian consumption as an example, we show that the financial deregulation in the mid 1980s led to forecast...

The aim of this paper is to investigate income, saving and consumption for households around retirement age. When doing this, there are different objectives which can be analyzed. First of all it is possible to get some insight of welfare of elderly when they reach retirement. Second, it is...

In this paper we study the importance of marriage for interstate risk sharing. We find that US states in which married couples account for a higher share of the population are less exposed to state-specific output shocks. Thus, marriages do not just improve the allocation of risk at the...

Professor Leif Johansen (1930 - 1982) made significant contributions to a large number of fields in economics. A short survey of his contributions is presented. The main focus in the paper is on his growth - production program constituting an important part of his research. The key concepts are...

Efficiency analyses in the health care sector are often criticised for not incorporating quality variables. The definition of quality of primary health care has many aspects, and it is inevitably also a question of the patients’ perception of the services received. This paper uses variables...

Benchmarking by means of applying the DEA model is appearing as an interesting alternative for regulators under the new regimes for electricity distributors. A sample of large electricity distribution utilities from Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands for the year 1997 is...

A structural dynamic programming model is applied for modeling labour market transitions among older age workers in Norway in 1992-2003. Special attention is given to early retirement pensiion and disability pension as two major exit routes from the labour force. Health status is represented by...

The RAINS model is used to calculate cost minimising abatement policies subject to European-wide spatial restrictions on pollution. The principle for choosing environmental targets for the 1994 Oslo Protocol was closing a gap between benchmark- and critical loads for each grid with a uniform...