This paper characterizes the processes of job creation and job destruction (JC&D) in Britain, and provides more `stylized facts' to hold up against models of JC&D. The analysis is based on three large cross-sections of continuing plants in Britain. The issues examined include the diversity of...

We provide a critique of the methods that have been used to derive measures of income risk and draw attention to the importance of demographic factors as a source of income risk. We also propose new measures of the contribution to total income risk of demographic and labour market factors....

The rise in inequality and poverty is one of the most important economic and social issues in recent times. But in contrast to the literature on individual earnings inequality, there has been little work modelling (as opposed to documenting) household income dynamics. This is largely because of...

Extending choice in health care is currently popular amongst English, and other, politicians. Those promoting choice make an appeal to a simple economic argument. Competitive pressure helps make private firms more efficient and consumer choice acts as a major driver for efficiency. Giving...

We provide empirical evidence on the nature of spatial externalities in a matching model for Britain. We use a monthly panel of outflows, unemployment and vacancy stocks data from the registers at Job centres in Britain; these are mapped on to travel-to-work areas. We find evidence of...

This Paper examines the relationship between performance of English public sector hospitals (NHS trusts) and the quality of their nursing staff. Performance ratings of NHS trusts published in 2001 and 2002 indicate a clear regional divide. This divide is not explained by lower medical need. The...

The ‘fractal’ nature of the rise in earnings dispersion is one of its key features and remains a puzzle. This paper offers a new perspective on the causes of changes in earnings dispersion, focusing on the role of labour reallocation. Once we drop the assumption that all firms pay a given...

We utilize a large firm-level panel dataset to explore the links between gross job flows and gross worker flows. Our findings have relevance for models of job creation and destruction, of labour reallocation and of employment adjustment costs. We find churning flows (the difference between...

The striking geographical concentration of economic activities suggests that there are substantial benefits to agglomeration. The nature of those benefits remains unclear, however. In this Paper we take advantage of a new dataset to quantify the role of one of the main contenders: the matching...

This Paper evaluates the impact of a team-based incentive scheme piloted in the public sector agency, Jobcentre Plus. The way the scheme has been designed raises many questions for which theory makes predictions. We test these predictions against our data. We find that team size affects the...