The authors use IRS data to compare the composition, risk, and rate of return to union pension investments with those of nonunion pension funds. They find almost no differences between single-employer union and single-employer nonunion funds. Collectively bargained, multi-employer funds,...

In their 2003 Lawrence R. Klein Lecture, Michele Boldrin and David Levine argue that intellectual property rights may be damaging to social welfare. As empirical evidence for their theory they offer James Watt's steam engine patent, claiming that it delayed the Industrial Revolution by as much...

In the aftermath of the banking crisis in South‐East Asia, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended that the South‐East Asian economies adopt several aspects of the New Zealand approach to bank supervision. The New Zealand approach relies heavily upon market incentives. This...

Purpose This paper aims to analyze how the administrative structure of pension regulators affects regulatory capture or regulatory influence. It uses a historical institutionalist methodology to analyze regulatory capture. Design/methodology/approach The authors argue that the less complex...

Rules of origin offer preferred market access for final goods whose inputs originate mostly within a free trade agreement. Governments often champion such rules for boosting investment. We use a property-rights framework to study when this motivation is justifiable. The rule does not bind for...

Suggests that banks are different due to plasticity of assets and high debt/equity ratios. For this reason banks need to be regulated. Discusses the most efficient method of regulating banks. Highlights that the move from unlimited liability banking to limited liability banking was inefficient...

Evaluates current evidence on contemporary gift giving, drawing some tentative marketing conclusions. Draws evidence from surveys carried out in Bradford, UK and those carried out by Gallup and the National Opinion Polls on Christmas shopping. Looks at the role of gift giving in society while...

Discusses how political parties in Europe, following the trend in the USA, have entered a new era of the permanent election campaign. Describes the more integrated role played by market research and how this process is changing the nature of political parties. Provides an example of such a trend...