A "good" pension reform should address a number of issues. One important aspect is the financial soundness of the system, particularly in the light of the legacy that we leave to future generations. Policy makers should also address economic efficiency at two levels: no waste of resources for a...

This paper investigates the local robustness properties of a general class of multidimensional tests based on <italic>M</italic>-estimators. These tests are shown to inherit the efficiency and robustness properties of the estimators on which they are based. In particular, it is shown that small perturbations of...

This paper presents some micro-level evidence on the role of the socio-demographic characteristics of the population and the characteristics of the data collection process as predictors of survey response. Our evidence is based on the public use files of the European Community Household Panel...

In this paper we examine a number of issues that arise in investigating labor force dynamics using the Spanish Labor Force Survey (EPA). These issues are by no means specific to the Spanish case and apply to most European-style labor force surveys. Our main conclusions may be summarized as...

The authors use the Current Population Survey to describe what they believe are the most salient aspects of labor force behavior of older men and women during the last two decades. First, they show that early retirement has increased dramatically and this trend continued through the 1980s....

This paper studies the relationship between medical compliance and health outcomes - hospitalization and mortality rates - using a large panel of patients residing in a local health authority in Italy. These data allow us to follow individual patients through all their accesses to public health...

This paper studies convergence in per-capita GDP across European regions over the period 1980-2000. We use median unbiased estimators of the rate of convergence to the steady-state growth path, while allowing for unrestricted patterns of heterogeneity and spatial correlation across regions. By...