Sweden represents an archetypal welfare state economy, with extensive government safety nets. Some scholars have attributed a decline in its per capita income ranking since 1970 to “eurosclerosis” or sluggish growth caused by distortionary policies. This paper argues rather, that the...

Using a two-sector-two-country model with aggregate scale economies and unionisation, we show that optimal welfare state policy entails positive levels of unemployment benefits under free-trade and capital mobility. In this setting, economic integration does not reduce the revenue raising...

Using a two-sector-two-country model with aggregate scale economies and unionisation, we show that optimal welfare state policy entails positive levels of unemployment benefits under free-trade and capital mobility. In this setting, economic integration does not reduce the revenue raising...

The study compares the performance of the Australian telecommunications services industry with those in other countries. Related papers submitted to this study by NECG Ltd. and Telecom New Zealand have been released with the report.

This paper analyzes the impact of globalization on social spending in Latin America. It shows that trade integration has a consistently negative effect on social security expenditures, and that this effect is compounded by higher integration into capital markets. The importance of political...

There is scope for Governments to take more account of social capital in policy development, according to this Commission study. This paper suggests that social capital generally brings social and economic benefits by reducing transaction costs, promoting cooperative behaviour, diffusing...

Understanding the role and functions of social policy and social security systems is a key point for a discussion on reforms of the retirement systems. In this essay I describe the subject and range of social policy in the modern welfare state. The work has a descriptive character and aims at...

This paper develops a model of pricing and advertising in a matching environment with capacity constrained sellers. Sellers' expenditure on directly informative advertising attracts consumers only probabilistically. Consumers who happen to observe advertisements randomize over the advertised...

Using a large firm level panel data set from four Asian countries, this paper compares the returns to various internal and external funds. A novel feature of our analysis is that we distinguish between financially constrained and unconstrained firms and determine selectivity-corrected estimates...