The US and many European countries are witnessing substantial changes in the wage structure (Autor et al. 2006; Dustmann et al., 2009). Previous research has focused on changing returns to education and experience (Katz and Murphy, 1992), changes in the workforce composition (Lemieux, 2006), or the...

This paper investigates whether the stepping stone effect of temporary agency employment moves over the business cycle. Using German administrative data for the period 1985-2012 and an estimation framework based on the timing-events model, we construct a time series of in-treatment and...

An important issue facing policymakers is the degree to which fluctuations in economic activity affect employment in large and small businesses across sectors and regions. These issues are particularly relevant for developing countries, as they matter for the understanding of the labour market...

The efficient mobility of goods and labour is one of the most important features of a functioning economy. Using data on Israeli closures inside the West Bank, we provide new evidence on the labour market effects of conflict-induced restrictions to mobility. These restrictions operated through a...

This paper comprehensively analyzes the stepping-stone effect of temporary agency employment. Using the timing-of-events approach, we not only investigate whether temporary agency employment is a bridge into regular employment but also at the individual's post-unemployment wages and...

We study the role of establishment-specific wage premiums in generating recent increases in West German wage inequality. Models with additive fixed effects for workers and establishments are fit in four sub-intervals spanning the period from 1985 to 2009. We show that these models provide a good...

We study and compare the importance of human capital acquired at different stages of the life-cycle. We exploit Germany’s unique reunification episode and the sudden restructuring of East Germany’s labor market institutions and education system. We show graphical evidence that earnings,...

In a sequential auction of perfect substitutes, we analyze the consequences of the seller's incapacity to commit perfectly to a reserve-price schedule. When facing such a seller, the bidders have strong incentives not to reveal during the earlier rounds of the auction any information about their...

Previous research shows that firms may offer excessively high (and shrouded) add-on prices in competitive markets when some consumers are myopic. We analyze the effects of regulatory intervention via educating myopic consumers on equilibrium strategies of firms, consumer protection and welfare....

A frequent feature of information structures is that they generate signals which are not mutually independent, but rather rely on a common set of underlying information. Using a simple experimental design, we show that in such contexts many people neglect correlations in the updating process,...