We study a model in which financial sophistication improves portfolio returns and therefore the incentive to substitute consumption intertemporally. The model delivers a Euler equation in which consumption growth is positively correlated with financial sophistication. We test the model's...

An expert must train a novice. The novice initially has no cash, so he can only pay the expert with the accumulated surplus from his production. At any time, the novice can leave the relationship with his acquired knowledge and produce on his own. The sole reason he does not is the prospect of...

We study the impact of directors with foreign experience on firms in emerging markets. To establish causality, we use a unique dataset from China and exploit that at different times, Chinese provinces introduced policies to attract highly talented emigrants. These policies led to an exogenous...

What shapes the optimal degree of progressivity of the tax and transfer system? On the one hand, a progressive tax system can counteract inequality in initial conditions and substitute for imperfect private insurance against idiosyncratic earnings risk. At the same time, progressivity reduces...

Using the Spanish micro data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), we first document how the excessive gap in employment protection between indefinite and temporary workers leads to large differentials in on-the-job training (OTJ) against the latter....

This paper combines representative worker-level data that cover time-varying job-level task characteristics of an economy over a long time span with sector-level bilateral trade data. We carefully create longitudinally consistent workplace characteristics from the German Qualification and Career...

Although apprenticeship training has been praised for its effectiveness in smoothing the school-to-work transition of non-college bound students, most studies rely on cross country or cross track comparisons. This study compares apprenticeship training students with non-apprentices within...

Poor productivity performance has been identified as a significant issue for New Zealand, and innovation is seen as a key mechanism for improving productivity growth. Understanding the drivers of firm innovation therefore represents an important step towards improving New Zealand’s economic...

Von einem Matthäus-Effekt wird gesprochen, wenn ein Teil des gegenwärtigen Erfolgs auf vergangene Erfolge zurückzuführen ist. Auf die Wissenschaft übertragen, bedeutet dies, dass berühmte Forscher auch deshalb zitiert werden, weil sie berühmt sind. Der vorliegende Beitrag illustriert, wie...

We use recent German survey data for over three decades to analyze long-run trends in occupational segregation. Following the methodology of Blau et al. (2013), we show that segregation decline for both women and foreigners in Germany, if we use a given ISCO classification over time. However,...