Imposing a minimum quality standard (MQS) is conventionally regarded as harmful if firms compete in quantities. This, however, ignores dynamic effects. We show that an MQS can hinder collusion, resulting in dynamic welfare gains that reduce and may even outweigh the usual static losses. Verdicts...

I examine the long-term mortality effects of an exogenous shock in alcohol availability using Census data, mortality data and data on distance to alcohol outlets. In 1969, Finland underwent significant changes in alcohol availability both via Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) and distribution...

In this paper we incorporate the term structure of interest rates in a standard inflation forecast targeting framework.We find that under flexible inflation targeting and uncertainty in the degree of persistence in the economy, allowing for active learning possibilities has effects on the...