Trade weighting is a common method of aggregating trade frictions. It will understate changes in these costs when there are non<i>ad valorem</i> trade costs and quality differences. Newly traded goods enter at higher trade costs than previously traded ones. Lower import costs shift trade to lowquality...

I develop a theory to explain why workers want restrictive work rules, those that induce wages to be paid for non-productive labor hours, and why competition reduces them. Work rules allow workers to maintain both high levels of employment and wages. They generate a fixed payment that transfers...

Ethnic divisions are associated with poor economic performance. This paper develops a model of ethnic conflict and finds that it is a significant source of poverty. Ethnic divisions lead the government to make ethnic transfers, which distort investment decisions, and lead to civil war because...

We study the impact of regulation on productivity and welfare in the U.S. sugar manufacturing industry. While this U.S. industry has been protected from foreign competition for nearly 150 years, it was regulated only during the Sugar Act period, 1934-74. We show that regulation significantly...

Summary The wave of privatization in the 1980s and 1990s increased productivity of many previously state owned enterprises (SOEs). However, governments often do not have sufficient support to privatize SOEs. We provide evidence that threatening privatization and market competition (entry of new...

The wave of privatization in the 1980s and 1990s increased productivity of many previously state owned enterprises (SOEs). However, governments often do not have su±cient support to privatize SOEs. We provide evidence that threatening privatization and market competition (entry of new firms)...

The Atlas Narodov Mira has been used extensively to investigate the effects of ethnic divisions, but little is known about how it defines ethnicity. Most theories of ethnicity emphasize the tendency of group members to marry within the group (endogamy). This note surveys studies of ethnic...