How important is managerial talent in accounting for cross country income differences? We address this question using a model that distinguishes between workers human capital and managers human capital. In our model, the ablest people leverage their talent and this has important consequences for...

We develop a model of retirement and human capital investment to study the effects of tax and retirement policies. Workers choose the supply of raw labor (career length) and also the human capital embodied in their labor. Our model explains a significant fraction of the US-Europe difference in...

We develop a model that accounts for several stylized facts about immigrant earnings. First, it implies that new immigrants learn less than natives with the same level of schooling. Second, depending on the age of immigration, it implies that initially, immigrant earnings need not grow faster...

Marriage has declined since 1960, with the drop being bigger for non-college educated individuals versus college educated ones. Divorce has increased, more so for the non-college educated vis-à-vis the college educated. Additionally, assortative mating has risen; i.e., people are more likely to...

Societies socialize children about sex. This is done in the presence of peer-group effects, which may encourage undesirable behavior. Parents want the best for their children. Still, they weigh the marginal gains from socializing their children against its costs. Churches and states may...

What determines the choice of technology within a country? While there could be many factors, the efficiency of the country's financial system may play a significant role. To address this question, a dynamic contract model is embedded into a general equilibrium setting with ompetitive...