This paper endogenizes the extent of intra-sectoral competition in a multi-sectoral general-equilibrium model of oligopoly and trade. Firms choose capacity followed by prices. If the benefits of capacity investment in a given sector are below a threshold level, the sector exhibits Bertrand...

Universal service obligations are usually not competitively neutral as they modify the wayfirms compete in the market. In this paper, we consider a continuum of local markets in a dynamic setting with a stochastically growing demand. The incumbent must serve all markets (ubiquity) possibly at a...

The paper provides a perspective on the development of the Belgian disability insurance system. Using both survey and administrative data, it sketches a picture of the (changing) factors leading towards disability, as well as the outcomes in terms of program participation. The paper shows the...

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact in terms of poverty and cost of the introduction of social (or noncontributory) pensions in Europe. We use data from the household survey EU-SILC and focus on 17 countries. After reviewing the existence of social pensions in Europe and evidence of...

The aim of this paper was to use a parametric stochastic frontier approach (coming from the economic literature) to explore the impact of the concept of activity (taken in a broad sense: i.e., including both professional and non-professional activities) on the constitution and the care of...

In ¯fiscal federal systems, local public works that generate spillovers are often ¯nanced by transfers from higher levels of government. In this article, we consider a governmental hierarchy composed by a Federal and a Local Government. The former delegates to the latter the task of ¯nding a...

The relative importance of the components contributing to individual wellbeing are likely to change over the life-cycle. Any social policy, whose the main role is to promote the well-being of the population as a whole, neglecting this aspect will redistribute inefficiently the resources across...

The modifications of the demographic structure in Europe are expected to change several aspects of the economic and social landscape. Among the several issues posed by ageing, financing of health care and more precisely long-term care appears as a major challenge for the twenty-first century....

This paper compares originals and remakes from the standpoint of artistic quality and financial return. It appears that on average remakes are of lower quality and have smaller financial returns than originals.

This study aims at analyzing the determinants of foreign direct investment inflows for a group of European regions. The originality of this approach lies in the use of disaggregated regional data. First, we develop a qualitative description of our database and discuss the importance of the...