We study the causal relation between private wealth and retirement age. We propose two estimation strategies based on expected retirement age. The outcome variable is observed repeatedly over time. We correct first for the unobserved heterogeneity in the disutility of work by using panel data...

We quantify the relative importance of the precautionary saving motive in determining wealth accumulation. Puzzling results have appeared on the relative importance of the precautionary motive when this is derived either using a self reported measure of uncertainty about future income rather...

The Profit Elasticity (PE) is a new competition measure introduced in Boone (2008). So far, there was no direct proof that this measure can identify regimes of competition empirically. We focus on this issue using data of Genesove and Mullin (1998), in which different regimes of competition...

We study the extent to which a country's strength of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection mediates knowledge spillovers from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Following the opposing views in the IPR debate, we propose a negative effect of IPR strength on unintentional horizontal...

This volume presents three studies on the VAT. The first study is a VAT primer for lawyers, economists, and accountants who rarely talk to each other about tax issues, particularly in the Netherlands. The different views illuminate the nature and workings of the VAT. The second study examines...

This paper describes and discusses the division of tasks between Dutch central and local government and their financing in view of economic theory. The paper starts with an overview of the first and second generation theories of fiscal decentralisation. This theoretical perspective is used for...

This document reviews the literature on the relationship between financial markets and the real economy. In the light of the recent financial crises, we focus on channels that are likely to be important in times of financial stress. Some channels are governed by balance sheet effects like...

Is the gradual introduction of facilities-based competition, by fine-tuning access regulation, working as intended? What can one learn from the Dutch experience? More than a decade has passed since the liberalization of telecommunications in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, the regulator is still...

This paper explores the interaction between retirement flexibility and portfolio choice in an overlapping-generations model. We analyse this interaction both in a partial-equilibrium and general-equilibrium setting. Retirement flexibility is often seen as a hedge against capital-market risks...

In this paper, the authors study optimal risk adjustment in imperfectly competitive health insurance markets when high-risk consumers are less likely to switch insurer than low-risk consumers.<font face="CMR10" size="3"><font face="CMR10" size="3">First, they find that insurers still have an incentive to select even if risk adjustment perfectly...</font></font>