In the theoretical part of the paper, we analyze the positive and normative effects of a surprise monetary expansion in a small open economy characterized by imperfect competition and short-run price rigidity in the domestic sector. The temporary output boom fostered by the monetary expansion is...

The impact of remittance flows on growth and income distribution has attracted a great deal of attention, but the theoretical and empirical literature on the relationship between remittances and economic development is far from clear. Although there is wide consensus that foreign remittances can...

Social scientists have developed several indicators to address the existence of segregation processes. This paper deals with labor market segregation in risky jobs and suggests a simple indirect way to detect segregation based on battery of statistical tests in a well-established microeconomics...

This paper assesses the effects of the changes of the Value Added Tax (VAT) rates in Italy for the period 1988-1997, questioning their overall redistributive impact compared with an equal-revenue proportional tax rate. By using the theory of marginal tax reforms and the AWARETAX microsimulation...

We explore the macroeconomic implications of the inverse relationship between firing costs and labor market tightness, evaluating its effects on labor market performance in a matching model `a la Mortensen and Pissarides (1994). Results are clear cut and generalizes our previous work. First,...

Kobayashi (2003) aims to show that, in a model without inflationary bias, an increase in the degree of multiplicative uncertainty on the transmission mechanism of monetary policy improves social welfare when central bank’s preferences are highly uncertain. We demonstrate that this result...

This paper develops a two-sector dynamic general equilibrium model in which intertemporal fl‡uctuations (and sectoral comovement) are driven by idiosyncratic shocks to relative preferences between consumption goods. This class of shocks may be interpreted as shifts in consumer tastes. When...

We study the impact of R&D and innovation on the use of external numerical flexibility (ENF). R&D and innovation imply both a higher average and a higher volatile productivity. We investigate this ambiguous effect on the firm preference for using ENF in two steps. First, we use a simple model to...

On the basis of a unique dataset referring to all 8,100 Italian municipalities and providing details of their balance-sheets, local governments’ features, socio-demographic and economic indicators, we analyze the determinants of the local cultural expenditures. We exploit the panel nature...

In the policy arena, there is a demand for “trade distortion indicatorsâ€, but many of the traditional indices are difficult to compute and interpret. Recent developments in the literature have led to new indicators: the Trade Restrictiveness Index (TRI) - measuring the tariff...