A number of plausible theories offer explanations for the propensity of many young industries to undergo a shakeout phase, during which the number of firms declines sharply in the face of continued rising output. However, none of the theories considers the role of labor market sorting. This...

This paper develops a neoclassical growth model with leisure externalities. Ignoring positive (negative) leisure externalities leads to equilibrium consumption, labor and capital that are too high (low) and leisure that is too low (high). The government should tax (subsidize) labor income...

I develop a model with status concerns to analyze how different economic factors affect female participation, average household income and wage, as well as the welfare of both stay-at-home and working wives. Reductions in the price of domestic goods and increases in female wages have positive...

This paper focuses on the role of government capital as a critical productive input when the level of services that the agent derives from it is subject to congestion. I develop a two-sector “nonscale” production model in which there are two types of firms, conventional profit-maximizing...

Persistent trends in R&D intensity and educational attainment, in conjunction with the absence of any trend in per capita income growth, are inconsistent with the predictions of most growth models. Jones (2002) has made a strong point that the data are consistent with out-of-steady state...

This paper describes a version of Lucas’ span of control model, in which managers of younger and smaller firms are less able than managers of older firms to provide precise instructions to employees. Employees differ in their propensity to follow instructions, and those least likely to follow...

Using a large, individual-level wage data set, we examine the impact of a major technological innovation — the development of powerful and economical steam engines — on skill demand and the wage structure among the merchant marine. Our data reveal a complex range of responses to the new...