Time-inconsistent, present-biased agents may hold commitment assets hoping to keep their current and future present bias in check. Paternalistic governments, in an effort to help such people, routinely offer commitment machinery such as restrictions (or bans) on early withdrawals from...

We describe a “business as usual” (BAU) economy in which pollution is a by-product of productive activity by the current generation but “damages” production for future generations. Over time, conditions in the BAU economy become dire: it gets increasingly polluted, consumption falls and...

We describe a "business as usual" (BAU) economy in which pollution is a by-product of productive activity by the current generation but "damages" production for future generations. Over time, conditions in the BAU economy become dire: it gets increasingly polluted, consumption falls and...

Time-inconsistent, present-biased agents may hold commitment assets hoping to keep their current and future present bias in check. Paternalistic governments, in an effort to help such people, routinely offer commitment machinery such as restrictions (or bans) on early withdrawals from...

We describe a “business as usual” (BAU) economy in which pollution is a by-product of productive activity by the current generation but “damages” production for future generations. Over time, conditions in the BAU economy become dire: it gets increasingly polluted, consumption falls and...

Time-inconsistent, present-biased agents may hold commitment assets hoping to keep their current and future present bias in check. Paternalistic governments, in an effort to help such people, routinely offer commitment machinery such as restrictions (or bans) on early withdrawals from...

Child labor deprives children of their childhood, compromises their schooling, and stuntstheir future potential; yet, it complements family income, possibly preventing destitution.This paper examines a dynamic laissez-faire economy in which child labor is endemic, andstudies a policy designed to...