This paper examines the effect of imperfect labor market competition on the efficiency of compensation schemes in a setting with moral hazard, private information and risk-averse agents. Two vertically differentiated firms compete for agents by offering contracts with fixed and variable...

The object of this paper is to discuss on-line intermediation from the perspective of two-sided markets. It builds a simple model of the intermediation activity when trading partners are involved in a commercial relationship and uses it to illustrate some of the results that emerge in the...

Many developing countries have tried to increase firm provision of training by providing subsidies funded by taxes proportional to the firm’s wage bill. These training funds, however,may backfire if the adverse effect of the tax on training incentives outweighs the positive effects of the...

Card payment systems are sometimes accused of taking from the poor and giving to the rich. The argument is as follows: High card fees are leading to higher retail prices for both, card users and cash users. However, high income card holders are receiving rewards when purchasing by card. The...

This paper examines the effect of imperfect labor market competition on the efficiency of compensation schemes in a setting with moral hazard, private information and risk-averse agents. Two vertically differentiated firms compete for agents by offering contracts with fixed and variable...

This article addresses the restructuration of the utilities sector/industry, a process generally described as deregulation. At the core of deregulation processes, not only in the EU, but also in the US, lies the replacement of old-fashioned forms of state regulation based on ownership control by...

Government regulators often establish maximum prices for regulated services. This paper explains the proper economic principles for establishing such constraints. The principles imply a range - an upper limit and a lower limit - that constrain the regulator's discretion. Principles emerging from...

The object of this paper is to discuss on-line intermediation from the perspective of two-sided markets. It builds a simple model of the intermediation activity when trading partners are involved in a commercial relationship and uses it to illustrate some of the results that emerge in the...

Zimbabwe’s urban systems are ‘bleeding’ as explained by the many years of economic instability with Harare being the worst affected city given its primacy. Yet, little effort, if any, has been invested in trying to understand to the extent to which the colonially-set cross-subsidisation...