The framework of a general equilibrium heterogeneous agent model is used to study the optimal design of an unemployment insurance (UI) scheme and the voting behaviour on unemployment policy reforms. In a first step, the optimal defined benefit and defined replacement ratio UI systems are...

In this paper we empirically analyse the linkages among growth, investment and reforms in the South East Asian countries, in the North Africa and in the non CFA Sub-Saharan Africa economies over 1970-89 to 2003. These regions differ considerably among them selves as well as with regard to the...

This paper investigates the determinants of TFP for Italian regions. We find strong evidence in favour of the factors commonly suggested by the theoretical literature. In particular, R&D expenditures and the number of researchers are positively related to regional TFP. Moreover, human capital is...

The cyclical behavior of hours worked, wages, and consumption does not conform with the prediction of the representative agent with standard preferences. The residual in the intra-temporal first-order condition for commodity consumption and leisure is often viewed as a failure of labor-market...

Constructing a general equilibrium model which compactly incorporates the markets for outputs, labor, money, and equities, we examine equilibrium unemployment. While a mechanism of an efficiency wage brings about nominal wage rigidity, unemployment occurring in our model definitely has Keynesian...

In this paper we consider a standard policy game between the Government and a union. In such a framework, we first investigate the effects of corporatism on macroeconomic performance vis-à-vis different kinds of non-co-operative equilibria. Afterwards, we introduce in the literature the issue...

We reformulate and extend the standard AS-AD growth model of the Neoclassical Synthesis (Stage I) with its traditional microfoundations. The model still has an LM curve in the place of a Taylor interest rate rule, exhibits sticky wages as well as sticky prices, myopic perfect foresight of...

Recently, Gali and others find that technological progress may be contractionary: a favorable technology shock reduces hours worked in the short run. We ask whether this observation is robust in disaggregate data. According to our VAR analysis of 458 four-digit U.S. manufacturing industries for...

Most of the papers in the sticky-price literature are based on a log- linearization around the zero inflation steady state, a simplifying but counterfactual assumption. This paper shows that when trend inflation is considered, both the long-run and the short-run properties of DGE models based on...

The paper questions the predominant view on unemployment and wages in the European Un-ion according to which high unemployment is primarily caused by labour market rigidities, i.e. social institutions and regulations which prevent “market-clearing” real wage levels and structures. It is...