New information and communication technology (ICT) makes consumers better informed about available products, product quality and prices, which mitigates problems of asymmetric information. The entry of firms is facilitated, competition and economic effiency is boosted and the market powers of...

In an analysis of the risk-sharing properties of different types of pension systems, we show that only a fixed-fee pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pension systems can provide intergenerational risk sharing for living individuals. Under some circumstances, however, other PAYG pension systems can enhance the...

In conjunction with its tercentenary celebrations in 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Bank of Sweden) instituted a new award, "The Central Bank of Sweden price in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel" on the basis of an economic commitment by the bank in perpetuity. Which criteria have guided the...