The goal of this paper is to develop and calibrate a quantitative general equilibrium model to account for the joint evolution of educational attainment and relative wages among education groups in the U.S. over the 20th century. The key exogenous explanatory variables we consider are...

The paper describes the integration between what used to be a passive element of the energy value chain – the grid – and both upstream and downstream elements. The evolution of communications among the elements has permitted a more robust and adaptable structure that already is being...

How does openness affect economic development? This question is answered in the context of a dynamic general equilibrium model of the world economy, where countries have technological differences that are both sector neutral and specific to the investment goods sector. Relative to a benchmark...

We document and discuss a dramatic change in the cyclical behavior of aggregate skilled hours since the mid-1980s. Using CPS data for 1979:1-2003:4, we find that the volatility of skilled hours relative to the volatility of GDP has nearly tripled since 1984. In contrast, the cyclical properties...

We propose an explanation for why efficient reforms are not carried out when losers can block their implementation and compensations are feasible. In our model, a government tries to sequentially implement two efficient reforms by bargaining with interest groups. The organization of interest...

In this paper we use data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Longitudinal Research Database in order to assess the extent of the cross-sectoral variation in firm-level idiosyncratic risk and shed light on its determinants. We find that firms producing investment goods exhibit greater volatility in...

of the two shortcomings.

Which countries find it optimal to form an economic union? We emphasize the risk-sharing benefits of economic integration. Consider an endowment world economy model, where international financial markets are incomplete and contracts not enforceable. A union solves both frictions among member...

We study the evolution of educational attainment of the 1932–1972 cohorts using a calibrated model of investment in human capital with heterogeneous learning ability. The inter-cohort variation in schooling is driven by changes in skill prices, tuition, and education quality over time, and...

We investigate the role of direct public support for education in explaining the post-WWII evolution of college attainment in the U.S. College attainment has surged from the end of WWII until the early 1970s, then declined for about a decade and has been slowly recovering towards the level of...