In this paper we propose a general approach for estimating stochastic frontier models, suitable when using long panel data sets. We measure efficiency as a linear combination of a finite number of unobservable common factors, having coefficients that vary across firms, plus a time-invariant...

We propose two types of equal predictive ability (EPA) tests with panels to compare the predictions made by two forecasters. The first type, namely S-statistics, focuses on the overall EPA hypothesis which states that the EPA holds on average over all panel units and over time. The second,...

This study explores age- and gender-specific suicide mortality due to unemployment and economic crises, for 21 OECD countries over the period 1960 to 2011. The findings indicate that a higher unemployment rate leads to an increase in suicides in almost all age groups. Further, using dataset on...

Means-tested Social Assistance (SA) benefits play an important role as social protection floors supporting households in financial difficulties. This paper presents evidence on the patterns of SA benefit receipt in a selection of OECD and EU countries. It provides an overview of the role of SA...

In this work, we study the short- and long-run properties of different inequality series vis-à-vis the most important macroeconomic series for a set of OECD countries. We employ standard tools of time series macro-econometrics (e.g. stationarity tests, detrending, co-movements analysis,...

We study differences in the adjustment of aggregate real wages in the manufacturing sector over the business cycle across OECD countries, combining results from different data and dynamic methods. Summary measures of cyclicality show genuine cross-country heterogeneity even after controlling for...

This paper reconsiders the long term effect of fiscal policy on interest rates using a real-time dataset of macroeconomic and fiscal variables in a panel of 17 OECD countries over the period 1989-2009. We show that, after controlling for cross sectional dependence using a Factor Augmented Panel,...

This paper reconsiders the effects of fiscal policy on long-term interest rates and sovereign spreads employing a Factor Augmented Panel (FAP) to control for the presence of common unobservable factors. We construct a real-time dataset of macroeconomic and fiscal variables for a panel of OECD...

We study differences in the adjustment of aggregate real wages in the manufacturing sector over the business cycle across OECD countries, combining results from different data and dynamic methods. Summary measures of cyclicality show genuine cross-country heterogeneity even after controlling for...