This discussion paper resulted in an article in 'Economic Development and Cultural Change', 2011, 60, 121-154. <P> In this paper we focus on the timing of marriages of women, whose marriages are associated with bride wealth payments, which are transfers from (the family of) the groom to the bride's...</p>

The emergence of the housewife in the Netherlands over the period 1812-1922 was strongly influenced by the social norm that women should withdraw from the labour market on the eve of marriage. Adherence to this norm is most clearly reflected in the emergence of the housewife among the lower...

This discussion paper resulted in a publication in the <A href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167629614001180">'Journal of Health Economics'</A> 2015, 39, 17-30.<P> This is the first study to analyze effects of in utero exposure to the severe Dutch Hunger Winter famine (1944/45) on labor market outcomes and hospitalization. This famine is clearly demarcated...</p></a>

How valuable is education for entrepreneurs’ performance as compared to employees’? What might explain any differences? And does education affect peoples’ occupational choices accordingly? We answer these questions based on a large panel of US labor force participants. We show that...

We apply theories of capital market failure to ana1yzeoptima1 financing of risky higher education. In the market solution,students can only finance their education through debt. There isunderinvestment in human capita1, because some students with socia1lyprofitable investments in human capita1...

I apply Ricardo’s principle of comparative advantage to a theory of factor substitutability in a model with a continuum of worker and job types. Highly skilled workers have a comparative advantage in complex jobs. The model satisfies the distance‐dependent elasticity of substitution (DIDES)...

We investigate the manifold posed question: To what extent does investment in human and social capital, besides the effect of talent, enhance entrepreneurial performance? We distinguish between three different performance measures: survival, profits, and generated employment. On the basis of the...