We develop an overlapping--generations model that highlights the interaction between an unfunded pension system and an unemployment insurance in the presence of a labor market with union wage setting. The social security system is financed by proportional wage taxes levied on firms and their...

The paper develops a theoretical framework for studying conspicuous consumption. This is modeled as a device that signals the consumer's social status. Status is some function of the individual's rank in the wealth hierarchy. This approach makes it possible to distinguish between snob and...

Fashion is a popular style of behavior at a given time or place. In this paper we model fashion as a dynamic phenomenon, characterized by fragility of mass behvior and life cycles. Conformity of behavior is generated by a consumption externality, while the typical intertemporal aspects of...