We propose a model of the European gas market where the risk that Russian deliveries are interrupted is endogenized. While Russia's attempts to buy considerable parts of the European downstream industry have faced strong political opposition, we argue that Russian participation in the downstream...

High employment protection in the public sector results in strategic over-employment if government divisions compete for budgets in a dynamic setting. Bureaucrats who are interested in maximising their divisions' output employ excess labor, since this induces the sponsor to provide complementary...