Essays examine the impact of social networks and collective action on growth and other economic outcomes, contributing to understanding of the interaction between economic processes and their social framework.

We hypothesize that an individual's time use choices are contingent on the time use choices of others because the utility derived from leisure time often benefits from the presence of companionable others inside and outside the household. We develop a model of time use, and demonstrate that its...

The core hypothesis of this paper is that an individuals time use choices may be contingent on the time use choices of others, because the utility derived from leisure time often benefits from the presence of companionable others inside and outside the household. We develop this idea using a...

We assemble data from several different sources to examine the cross-national effects of inequality and trust on social expenditures. We find that the inequality between the middle classes and the poor (as measured by the 50/10 percentile ratio) has a small, positive impact in social spending;...

Across OECD countries there are large differences in the average level and trend of working hours and there is persuasive evidence that attitudes to paid employment, particularly for women, differ significantly. This paper therefore asks the question: 'How much of the difference between...