This discussion paper resulted in a publication in the <A href="http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1246&context=ilrreview"><I>Industrial & Labor Relations Review</I></A>.

This paper explores the hypothesis that wage differentials between skill groups across countries are consistent with a demand and supply framework. Using micro data from 15 countries we find that about one third of the variation in relative wages between skill groups across countries is...

Standard economic theory predicts that firms will not invest in general training and will underinvest in specific training. Empirical evidence, however, indicates that firms do invest in general training of their workers. Evidence from laboratory experiments points to less underinvestment in...

Policies need not only to be well designed to effectively address market failures, but their parameters also need to be part of agents’ information sets. This is illustrated by government student loans in the Netherlands which are intended to alleviate liquidity constraints. Despite generous...

See also the article in <A href="http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/search/allsearch?mode=quicksearch&products=journal&WISsearch1=1099-1255&WISindexid1=issn&contentTitle=Journal+of+Applied+Econometrics&contextLink=blah&contentOID=4079&WISsearch2=Leuven&WISindexid2=WISauthor&articleGo.x=14&articleGo.y=9"><I>Journal of Applied Econometrics</I></A>, 2008, 23(4), 423-34.<P>

In a corporatist country, of which the Netherlands is an example, wages should not be distinguished by union membership status, but by the bargaining regime. Four bargaining regimes can be distinguished: (i) company level bargaining, (ii) industry level bargaining, (iii) mandatory extension of...