Research and public interest on economic inequality have grown over the last years. Family firms and the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few wealthy business families have been discussed as both a cause and a consequence of economic inequality. Yet, so far, we lack knowledge...

The theory of the rm suggests that firms can respond to poor contract enforcement by vertically integrating their production process. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether firms' integration opportunities affect the way institutions determine international trade patterns. We find that...

The paper presents a theoretical analysis of the macroeconomic effects of active labour market programmes in a dual labour-market framework. The paper uses the Shapiro-Stiglitz efficiency-wage model. Active labour market programmes train unskilled labour and transfer them from a...

We model the formation of teams as a random matching process influenced by the agents’ preferences for team size and gender composition. We test hypotheses regarding gender and team preferences on the patterns of coauthorship in articles published 1991-2002 in three top economic journals. We...

It is well-documented that employers refuse to hire workers who offer their services at less than the prevailing wage. The received explanation is that workers are motivated by reciprocity¾ they desire to reward kindness and punish hostility. To refuse an outsider’s under-bid is viewed as a...

To examine the effects on labor market performance of government tax and enforcement policies, this paper develops an equilibrium model featuring tax evasion, matching frictions, and worker-firm wage bargains. In the wage bargains, workers and firms can agree on the amount of remuneration that...

We examine, experimentally and theoretically, how communication within a partnership may mitigate the problem (highlighted in contract theory) of hidden action. What is the form and content of the communication? Which model of decision-making can capture the impact of communication? We consider...

The paper formalises the interaction between active labour market programmes and ordinary higher education in a general equilibrium framework. Both education in prorgammes and ordinary higher education serve to increase the supply of high-skilled labour. The model features a dual labour market...

Do incentives in small organizations differ from those in large ones? This paper uses a representative survey of compensation managers to shed light on the issues. I find that (i) small establishments rely less on pecuniary incentives, and have a significantly more hostile attitude towards...

Using panel data from German establishments, this study finds that performance pay is associated with increased productivity only when it is coupled with a high-wage policy. This holds for individual-based performance pay, group-based performance pay and profit sharing.