We estimate the labor force participation (LFP) response to the introduction of means-tested minimum pensions in the UK through the Old-Age Pension Act (OAP) of 1908. The OAP was a major social policy intervention and the first one to universally target older workers in a time of very limited...

Rising public pension generosity has frequently been cited as one reason for the (persistently) declining fertility rates in many advanced economies. Despite the theoretical appeal, empirical evidence on the pension-fertility nexus is limited. To fill this gap, I study country-level fertility...

An estimated Markov-switching DSGE modelling framework that allows for parameter shifts across regimes is employed to test the hypothesis of regime-dependent credibility of Hong Kong s linked exchange rate system. The model distinguishes two regimes with respect to the time-series properties of...

The positive correlation between hourly wages and height, which results in higher labor supply of tall individuals, is well-documented in the literature. This paper introduces two additional channels through which height might affect individual labor supply. Higher caloric needs of tall...

This paper reexamines the relation between minimum wages and labor market outcomes for teenagers in the US. Economic theory suggests that real minimum wages drive labor market outcomes. Instead of the commonly used nominal minimum wages, we therefore use real minimum wages to examine this...

The standard model of optimal minimum wage policy in a perfectly competitive labor market suggests that a positive tax rate on minimum wage income is Pareto inefficient. However, most countries with a minimum wage exhibit a positive tax rate for minimum wage income. This paper introduces...

In this paper we use the frequency domain Granger causality test of Breitung/Candelon (2006) to analyse short and long-run causality between energy prices and prices of food commodities. We find that the oil price Granger causes all the considered food prices. However, when controlling for...

This article examines the effect of inflation expectation uncertainty on inflation, inflation expectations and the output gap. For monetary policy, guiding inflation expectations provides an instrument to affect economic conditions. However, expectation uncertainty may undermine monetary...