We present a model consistent with the stylized fact that "rigid Europe" has witnessed higher unemployment and a more compressed wage structure than "flexible America". A distinguishing feature of the present paper is that it endogenises the labour market regulations that account for this...

In a North-South product-cycle model, I study the short- and long-run effects on Northern unemployment of (i) trade liberalization, (ii) tighter international patent protection, and (iii) Southern market expansion. Besides production workers, I also consider R&D workers, which is new to the...

The U.S. minimum wage declined in real terms since the late 1970s. In the same time, the wage of the least skilled workers fell in real terms, while the wage of the highest skilled workers increased. To shed light on these issues, I use a simple model of routinization. High-ability workers,...

In this paper, we study the effect of skill-biased technological change on unemployment when benefits are linked to the evolution of average income and when this is not the case. In the former case, an increase in the productivity of skilled workers and hence their wage leads to an increase in...