The contributory infringement rule assesses liability to a third party that contributes tothe infringement of a patent. Not only are firms that directly infringe liable, those whoindirectly contribute are also liable. We investigate how this rule affects the creation of anetwork of members...

When adjustment costs are present, cyclical preference and technology heterogeneities in aproduct’s markets induce cycles in production. We exploit cyclic and dihedral groupinvariances in an industry’s cost technology to describe these patterns. We show whenequilibrium cyclical pricing and...

Welfare in a two-product Cournot oligopoly is shown to increase (decrease) with an increase incorrelation between unit costs when the outputs complement (substitute) in demand. A morequalified correlation structure is required for the result to apply in a three-product Cournotoligopoly when...

This paper compares the welfare under two standard alternative exchange rate regimes, fixed andflexible, in a stochastic dynamic general equilibrium two-country setting. Conventional wisdomholds that countries often prefer low exchange-rate variability to stabilize trade. This may explainthe...

Programming models approximate market prices and quantities when regulations constrain firm choices, because market outcomes result when welfare is appropriately defined and includes performance and environmental constraints. This study discusses market operation in quality-constrained sectors,...

In recent years, many countries have experienced a significant shift in demographic patterns towards the elderly. This phenomenon poses numerous challenges for the design of public pension programs and labor market policies. To better understand how public policy should be designed in response...

We consider optimal trade policy for a large country with private information. We show that the optimal tariff leads to a signaling equilibrium with higher tariffs and lower welfare than under complete information, whereas the optimal import quota replicates the complete information equilibrium...

[...]This study is also a “leaver study”—describing the economicwell-being of families who left welfare and using the NationalSurvey of America’s Families (NSAF), conducted by the UrbanInstitute. It adds to the body of leaver studies by presenting anational picture, providing context for...

In 1996, Congress passed the Personal Responsibility andWork Opportunity Reconciliation Act, or PRWORA, whichsubstantially restructured public assistance programs.PRWORA gave states almost entire discretion to design andoperate cash assistance programs for families with children,reducing the...

[...]Our analysis is composed of three parts. First, we provide adiscussion of what the effects of welfare reform on thecomposition of the caseload—primarily measured by labormarket skill level—should be, in principle. Perhaps surprisingly,we argue that different welfare reform policies...