We explain why economic conflicts and illegal business often take place in poor countries. We use the concept of subsistence level of consumption (d) and assume a regular concave utility function for consumption levels higher than d. For consumption levels lower than d utility is constant and...

In general, empirical studies on economics rely on the assumption of constant capitalshare of income both at the aggregate level and at the sector level. However, there is noempirical evidence supporting the constancy of capital share at the sector level. In thispaper, using Colombian data, we...

Firms´ compensation practices affect the protection of investors´ interests and the degree of economic inequality by changing the stakes of engaging in appropriation activities versus respecting the status quo. We use a general equilibrium model where workers can either work peacefully or join...

We explore the relationship between union density and labor’s shares using panel data on 35 industries, spanning the entire US economy, for the years 1983 through 2005. For the full sample, a standard deviation increase in union density (membership or coverage rates) is associated with an...