Harmful algal bIoom species are the cause of important damages to marine living resources and human beings. These marine species are primarily introduced in North-European waters through ballast water, i.e. water trans-ported across the oceans so as to keep a vessel in balance. Port authorities...

In this paper I determine the importance of adjustment costs in employers hiring decisions. Temporary work arrangements offer potential ways to avoid adjustment costs. I estimate employers willingness to pay for the characteristics of these work arrangements. I distinguish regular contracts,...

In this paper, we use quantile regression decomposition methods to analyze the gender gap between men and women who work full time in the Nether- lands. Because the fraction of women working full time in the Netherlands is quite low, sample selection is a serious issue. In addition to shedding...

Published in: Luigino Bruni and Pierluigi Porta (eds.), 'Economics and Happiness. Framing the Analysis', Oxford University Press, 2005.

In this article we develop an Instrumental Variable estimation procedure that corrects for possible endogeneity of a variable in a duration model. We assume a Generalized Accelerated Failure Time (GAFT) model. This model is based on transforming the durations and assuming a distribution for...

Socio-economic interrelationships among regions can be measured in terms of economic flows, migration, or physical geographically-based measures, such as distance or length of shared areal unit boundaries. In general, proximity and openness tend to favour a similar economic performance among...

Knowledge triggers regional growth. Evidence suggests that skilled labour force concentrates in islands of innovation, determining an advantage for innovative regions and a challenge for lagging ones. We address the role of knowledge in shaping effective markets for skilled labour. Estimates are...

There is a growing interest, notably in development economics, in extending project evaluation methods to the evaluation of multiple interventions (“programs”). In program evaluations one is interested in the aggregate impact of a program rather than the effect on individual beneficiaries....

In this paper I analyse the use and compensation of fixed-term and on-call employment contracts in the Netherlands. I use an analytical framework in which wage differentials result from two types of uncertainty. Quantity uncertainty originates from imperfect foresight in future product demand. I...

In this paper we employ techniques developed in spatial econometrics to analyse spatial patterns of technology diffusion, to detect clusters and to estimate theoretical models that incorporate space explicitly. These techniques correct for misspecifications resulting from the omission of spatial...