The analysis of the effects of firm-level international trade on wages has so far focused on the role of exports, which are also typically treated as a composite good. However, we show in this paper that firm-level imports can actually be a wage determinant as important as exports. Furthermore,...

In a three-stage game in which banks can obtain liquidity through open market operations, interbank transactions or standing facilities we compare the equilibrium outcomes of fixed and variable rate tenders in the primary market. We focus on bidding behavior, induced allotment ratios,...

This paper studies the role of credit market imperfections and corruption on the process of economic development. We address the question of how much of the differences in output per capita across countries can be attributed to differences in credit market policies and corruption. In order to...

This paper provides new evidence on the effect of bank competition on the cost of lending, in an environment of reduced information asymmetries between firms and banks. We construct a simple model linking the number of bank relationships, the cost of lending and bank competition. Banks are...

This study deals with two issues related to the determination of exchange rate bid-ask spreads in the transition to EMU. First, we discuss how a credible announcement of conversion rates affects exchange rate volatility in the run up to the introduction of the Euro. Second, we discuss the...

The responsiveness of long-term household debt to the interest rate is a crucial parameter for assessing the effectiveness of public policies aimed at promoting specific types of saving. This paper estimates the effect of a reform of Credito Bonificado, a large program in Portugal that...

This note provides a structural interpretation for the index of price changes synchronization proposed by Fisher and Konieczny (2000, Economics Letters, 68, 271-277) and shows that it can be used to test the hypothesis of uniform staggering.

This paper identifies the empirical stylized features of price setting behaviour in Portugal using the micro-datasets underlying the consumer and the producer price indexes. The main conclusions are the following: 1 in every 4 prices change each month; there is a considerable degree of...

In this paper we discuss the structure of labor adjustment costs in relationship to the dynamics of job and worker flows. Using high frequency data, we document a previously unsuspected degree of lumpiness in employment adjustment, which is characteristic of non-convex adjustment costs. By means...

This paper uses a unique Portuguese data set to examine the effect of unemployment benefit receipt and maximum duration of benefits on escape rates from unemployment. The focus is on the time profile of transitions out of unemployment. The novel aspect of the study resides in its identification...