This work aims at understanding whether, and the extent to which, the intention of having other children is influenced by aspects related to the employment sector chosen by “new” mothers (those who already have one child less than 2 years old). Using Italian data from the Birth Sample Survey...

In this working paper we study some properties of a particular mapping in Rn related to an optimization problem with one equality constraint. We motivate the definition of the relevant mapping starting from a portfolio selection problem, in which we minimize the risk of an investment (the...

We build an agent-based model to study how the interplay between low- and high-frequency trading affects asset price dynamics. Our main goal is to investigate whether high-frequency trading exacerbates market volatility and generates flash crashes. In the model, low-frequency agents adopt...

When considering contributions to electoral campaigns in the U.S., a puzzling regularity is that some industries tend to spend significantly more than others. To explain this evidence, we present a simple theoretical model in which interest groups finance politicians that require funding for...

In this paper we explore the effects of alternative combinations of fiscal and monetary policies under different income distribution regimes. In particular, we aim at evaluating fiscal rules in economies subject to banking crises and deep recessions. We do so using an agent-based model populated...

Since (at least) Ricardo, international trade has been perceived as a positive-sum-gain – any partner involved in the international activity of exchange would be at the end better off, no matter how bad was its previous economic position. The Ricardian principle of comparative advantages...

Traditional recreation demand models do not make a distinction between a household and an individual as the reference decision-making unit, thus assuming that a family maximizes a single utility function, even if it consists of different individuals. Such models ignore the possibility of family...

In this paper we test for the gravitation of regulating return rates, namely those return rates yielded by capital goods incorporating the best methods of production. We define them within a vintage capital model taking into consideration capacity utilization, capital depreciation, and wages of...

This study develops a household enterprise model extended to encompass recent advances in collective theory. We use a simulation model, in which production and consumption-leisure choices are represented along with the rule governing intra-household resource allocation, to analyze the income and...

In this paper, we quantify the extent and identify some major determinants of lying in politics. We focus on public claims made by US national politicians between 2007 and 2012 and present a series of intriguing results. While politicians – and prominent ones in particular – are reluctant to...