We study a setting in which individual players choose their partners as well as a mode of behavior in 2 x 2 anti-coordination games -- games where a player's best response is to behave differently than the opponent. We characterize the nature of equilibrium networks as well as study the effects...

In many economic and social contexts, individual players choose their partners and also decide on a mode of behavior in interactions with these partners. This paper develops a simple model to examine the interaction between partner choice and individual behavior in games of coordination. An...

This paper examines the celebrated "Strength of weak ties" theory of Granovetter(1973). We formalize the theory in terms of two hypotheses: one, for any threeplayers with two links present, the probability of a third link being present isincreasing in the strength of the two ties, and two, the...

In this paper we study how the Huber estimator can be adapted to the presence of endogeneity in a two stage equations setting similar to that of 2SLS. We propose an estimation procedure that is at the same time relatively (i) simple, (ii) robust and (iii) efficient. Moreover, we deal with the...

This paper introduces a new methodology to target direct transfers against poverty. Our method is based on observable correlates and on estimation methods that focus on the poor. Using data from Tunisia, we estimate ‘focused’ transfer schemes that improve anti-poverty targeting performances....

Spatial price dispersion varies because of climatic fluctuations, marketimperfections, economic growth or economic policies. These variations areoften neglected in poverty studies.In this paper, we propose a simple simulation formula to assess the effecton poverty of a change in the spatial mean...

We present the asymptotic properties of double-stage quantile regression estimators with random regressors, where the first stage is based on quantile regressions with the same quantile as in the second stage, which ensures robustness of the estimation procedure. We derive invariance properties...

The estimation of models of activity choice in LDCs (Less Developed Countries) is complicated by specific features of labour markets. In particular, entry into activity sectors is often restricted and worked hours are rationed. Moreover, in the informal sector workers may obtain their work...

In this paper, we study the return to human capital variables for wages of workers observed in Tunisian matched worker-firm data in 1999. We develop a new method based on multivariate analysis of firm characteristics, which allows us most of the benefits obtained by introducing firm dummies in...

In general models, the strong quasi-concavity of the objective function, sufficient for theoretical properties of demands in consumer theory, is often arbitrary. Then, weaker global concavity conditions that preserve such properties are desirable for such models. We propose a new global...