This paper shows that the results of Bucci (2003) depend criti- cally on the assumption that there are no difference between the intermediate goods share in final output, the returns of specialization and the degree of market power of monopolistic competitors. In this paper, we disentangle the...

The long-term development of the social security system is a crucial policy issue in terms of both financial sustainability and adequacy, which constitute a difficult trade-off facing the policy maker. The particular complexity of this issue, also in the light of demographic dynamics and the...

The Italian labour reform aims to reach difficult objectives: a greater social balance and an higher level of economic competitiveness. The equilibrium achieved is not completely satisfactory and the balance between benefits and costs may be negative

We document empirical life cycle profiles of wages, earnings, and hours of work for pay from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, following the same workers for up to four decades. For six of the eight cohorts we analyze the wage profile does not decline with age (not before 65, at least), while...

From French data, this paper uses a difference-in-differences approach combined with propensity score matching to identify the effect of an exogenous change in employment protection among older workers on firm’s incentives to sponsor training. Laying off workers aged 50 and above, French firms...

This paper analyzes how changes in the social security scheme affect the participation path of workers between the formal and the informal sectors. The choice between the formal and informal sectors is completely voluntary. In this framework, individuals, depending on the retirement program and...

This paper uses longitudinal test data to analyze the relation be- tween retirement and cognitive development. Controlling for individ- ual …xed e¤ects and lagged cognition, we …nd that retirees face greater declines in information processing speed than those who remain em- ployed. However,...

Since 2002, public school teachers in Florida have been permitted to choose between a defined benefit (DB) and a defined contribution (DC) retirement plan. We exploit this unique policy environment to study new teachers’ revealed preferences over pension plan structures. Roughly 30...

As its workforce ages and major economies shift towards producing higher value-added goods and services, New Zealand will face increasing challenges to remain globally competitive and maintain high living standards. Future growth will need to come increasingly from productivity gains, and...

The strength of the German labour market response to the financial crisis of 2008-09 demonstrated the benefits of past labour market reforms, which raised work incentives, improved job matching and increased working hour flexibility. Going forward, the government should build on this success and...