Firms face an optimization problem that requires a maximal quantity output given a quality constraint. But how do firms incentivize quantity and quality to meet these dual goals, and what role do behavioral factors such as loss aversion play in the tradeoffs workers face? We address these issues...

Through a series of studies, the overarching aim of this book is to investigate if and how the digitalization/digital transformation process causes (or may cause) the autonomy of various labor functions, and its impact in creating (or stymieing) various job opportunities on the labor market....

External certification of workplace skills obtained through on-the-job training is widespread in many countries. This may indicate that training is financed by workers, and certification serves to assure the quality of the training offered by the firm. However, other evidence shows that general...

When workers' investments in firm-specific skills are non-contractible underinvestment may occur because of holdup. Up-or-out contracts can potentially solve this problem by limiting the firm's scope for opportunistic behavior. The downside of such contracts is that a worker who does not make...

In an economy in which asset management firms compete both for money to manage and for managers to manage it, I show that a manager's compensation scheme is endogenously benchmarked against the market return when the expected market return is high whereas it is benchmarked against the...

Ubiquitous computing means network connectivity everywhere, linking devices and systems as small as a thumb tack and as large as a worldwide product distribution chain. What could happen when people are so readily networked? This short essay explores issues arising from two possible emerging...

We analyze the interaction between job tenure and external labor market conditions in wage determination. First, we introduce a model that combines job matching with business-cycle effects. As the employment relationship progresses, the worker appropriates a portion of the value of the...

The paper explores the relation between wages, wage differentials and, the level and structure of unemployment within a wage bargaining model. There are two types of individuals: skilled and unskilled. The bargained wage of each group depends on the respective replacement rate and determines...

Employment protection systems are known to generate significant distortions in firms' hiring and firing decisions. We know much less about the impact of these regulations on worker effort. The goal of this paper is to fill in this gap and in particular to assess whether the provision of...

Becker's theory of human capital predicts that minimum wages should reduce training investments for affected workers because they prevent these workers from taking wage cuts necessary to finance training. In contrast, in noncompetitive labor markets, minimum wages tend to increase training of...