We analyze the expected effects of building a rail tunnel between Lyon and Turin on i) the market shares of the established and the new suppliers, and ii) consumer surplus. The prospective project consists of a 53km rail tunnel providing freight shippers with a new alpine path. We calibrate an...

A model is presented for simulating the tax burden on highly skilled manpower. The effective average tax rate, defined as the relative wedge between employment costs and disposable income, is computed. Income and payroll taxes and social security contributions not yielding an equivalent benefit...

This paper analyses the revealed comparative advantage for six European countries: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK. The results can be summarized as the follows: Italy always had a trade specialisation index which was well above average. Apart from Italy, whose trade...

This paper argues that differences in the dispersion of corporate ownership can help explain why party positions on corporate governance vary across countries and over time. Expectations that left/right conflicts should pitch capital against labor overlook that "capital" is not a homogenous...

This paper examines the relationship among economic context, political institutions, and the political dynamics of adjustment within national models of capitalism through an analysis of recent labor-market reform in France and Germany. It argues that a climate of economic austerity since the...