The main question addressed in the model regards which type of incentives an elected politician has to choose good or bad policies. In order to answer it, we focus on two inefficiencies, recently considered in the literature: the down-up problem and voters having bias beliefs and voting...

We study sustainability of collusion with optimal penal codes, in markets where demand growth may trigger the entry of a new firm. In contrast with grim trigger strategies, optimal penal codes make collusion easier to sustain before entry than after. We compare different reactions of the...

The public finance constraints introduced by the Maastricht Treaty have been subject to numerous debates among economists. Balassone and Franco (2000) pointed out, for instance, that the fulfillment of these constraints allows for fiscal discipline and flexibility and excludes any bias from an...

We study optimal regulation of a monopolist when intrinsic efficiency (intrinsic cost) and empire-building tendency (marginal utility of output) are private information but actual cost (difference between intrinsic cost and effort level) is observable. This is a problem of multidimensional...

This paper presents an endogenous growth model of directed technical change with vertical and horizontal R&D to study an analytical mechanism that is consistent with the coexistence of aggregate stability and structural change. We focus on changes in the share of the high- versus the low-tech...

Extensive literature on the contribution of knowledge spillovers to growth and development at the regional level exists but these studies mainly features regions characterised by a high level of economic development. This paper assesses the importance of knowledge spillovers for firms located in...

Job Satisfaction is usually treated as a collection of feelings or affective responses associated with the job situation, or “simply how people feel about different aspects of their jobs” (Spector, 1997: 2). In 1967, Weiss et al. developed the short version of the MSQ - Minnesota...

New Technology-Based Firms (NTBFs) have gained increasing economic relevance, supported by the recognition that they play an important role in national economies in the appearance of both new, high technology products and of new and emerging industries. Despite their economic importance, a...

The idea that the present euro-zone sovereign debt crisis was caused by structural weaknesses degenerating into fundamental macroeconomic imbalances in the peripheral countries prevails among economists and politicians alike. We use quarterly data from 2000 to 2011 from the 27 European Union...

This paper develops an empirical approach using econometric techniques for panel data which aims to contribute to the reduction/elimination of the deviation between the book and market value of firms. Based on 20 of the firms with the largest number of patents granted between 1996 and 2006, the...