In this paper we address the question of the impact of permitting free migration in an enlarged trading bloc. We estimate two sectoral equations for trade flows and real wages of three regional blocs of the enlarged EU that we defined as North (wealthiest EU), South (Greece, Portugal and Spain)...

Since fiscal 2003, the 'performance' of the Japanese banking sector, in terms of profitability, asset quality, and capital adequacy, has improved markedly as the real economy has recovered, suggesting that the widespread pessimism (see, for example, Hall, 2006 and IMF, 2003) expressed earlier...

It is often assumed that the airlines’ fares increase monotonically over time, peaking a few days before the departure. Using fares for about 650 thousand flights operated by both Low-Cost and Full Service Carriers, we show several instances in which the monotonic property does not hold. We...

We introduce R&D activity and R&D subsidies in the context of a mixed oligopoly and evaluate the effects of privatization on welfare. We show that when R&D subsidies are employed, privatization is welfare and R&D promoting provided that the number of competitors is sufficiently large.

Making accurate forecasts of the future direction of interest rates is a vital element when making economic decisions. The focus on central banks as they make decisions about the future direction of interest rates requires the forecaster to assess the likely outcome of comittee decisions based...

Recent demographic literature shows in Swedish micro-level data a positive effect of female wage income or female education on fertility. The literature explains this finding with Swedish family policies of high subsidies for bought-in child care and generous parental leave benefits that are...

At the end of June 2004, the Basel Committee on Banking Suspervision (henceforth, the 'Basel Committee') finally issued the 'New Capital Accord' (henceforth called "Basel II"), following endorsement by G10 bank supervisors. This Accord replaces the original accord (now temed "Basel I") agreed in...