Traditional unobserved component models assume that the trend, cycle and seasonal components of an individual time series evolve separately over time. Although this assumption has been relaxed in recent papers that focus on trend-cycle interactions, it remains at the core of all seasonal...

We develop a model of two-sided markets that illustrates the role of bargaining power between the two sides of the market. We are interested in the profit maximizing usage fees set by identical duopolistic platforms which engage in homogeneous, Bertrand-type competition. We find that for a...

This paper investigates the position of the Phillips curve in a single currency area, when the countries have different levels of unemployment. We will use the aggregation hypothesis to show that allowing for the dispersion of unemployment is essential to quantifying the level of inflation...

RBC models with search unemployment and wage renegotiation generate too much wage volatility and too stable unemployment rate. Shimer (2004) shows that it is possible to reproduce a volatility of unemployment similar to that observed in actual economies by imposing full real wage rigidity. We...

Dutch media often pay a lot of attention to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). They are considered to be the engine of the Dutch job industry and therefore deserve our attention. In this study we highlight the role the Dutch SMEs play in the Dutch economy. This study's first objective is...

We compute minimum funding ratios for Defined Benefit (DB) plans based on the expected utility that can be achieved in a Defined Contribution (DC) pension scheme. Using Monte Carlo simulation, expected utility is computed for three different specifications of utility: power utility,...

The contrast between the evolution over the last decades of the EU and the US unemployment rates, especially for the low-skilled, is well known. A consensus view is that these different outcomes can be explained by the interactions between common shocks and specific institutional setups. In this...

This paper analyses the relationship between product market competition and labour market institutions in a general equilibrium context. It concludes that an increase in product market competition, enhanced .exibility of labour supply, social security reform and a reduction in union bargaining...

For Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands and the US an Error Correction Model with a long-term non-linear wage equation is estimated by 3-SLS to obtain consistent estimates, accounting for endogeneity and common shocks. On the basis of the estimated parameter elasticities of wages with...

Since the mid nineties unemployment has substantially decreased in some EMU-countries. One important factor underlying this development is wage moderation. This paper investigates wage formation and wage development. Using a theoretical wage bargaining model main determinants of formation are...