A model with two different production sectors and endogenous growth based on the accumulation of sector-specific human capital due to learning-by-doing is presented. Accumulation of experience is measured by means of sectoral production output aggregated over time. Growth is controlled by a...

In this paper we introduce the cost channel of monetary policy (e.g., Ravenna and Walsh, 2006) into an otherwise standard New Keynesian model of a two-country monetary union, which is being hit by aggregate, asymmetric and idiosyncratic shocks. The single central bank implements the optimal...

We study the effects of high skilled immigration on employment and net income in the receiving economy where the market for low skilled labour is distorted by union wage setting and a redistributive unemployment benefit scheme. Based on the empirical fact that high and low skilled workers are...

This paper analyzes how trade liberalization influences the unemployment rate of workers with different abilities. We refine the Melitz (2003) framework to account for trade unions and heterogeneous workers, who differ with respect to their abilities. Our main findings are: (i) highability...

This paper analyzes how population aging affects immigration policy in rich industrialized countries. It sets up a two-period model of a representative democracy with two overlapping generations. The government's preferred immigration rate increases with the share of retirees in the population....

The Condorcet Jury Theorem is derived from the implicit assumption that jury members only commit one type of error. If the probability of this error is smaller than 0.5, then group decisions are better than those of individual members. In binary decision situations, however, two types of error...

We introduce heterogeneity into a monetary policy committee by allowing the degree of model uncertainty to differ across members. It is shown that in this framework the stage at which members reach consensus matters. An aggregation protocol under which members only average policy deemed optimal...

A one-sector model of endogenous growth based on the accumulation of real capital by saving/investing and accumulation of human capital via learning-by-doing is presented. Experience is measured by means of production output aggregated over time. Explicitly separating learning and real capital...

In many countries the demand for health care services is of increasing importance. Especially in the industrialized world with a changing demographic structure social insurances and politics face real challenges. Reliable predictors of those demand functions will therefore become invaluable...

According to expressive law theories, expression of values is an important function played by the law. Expressive laws affect behavior, not by threatening sanctions or promising rewards, but by changing individual preferences and tastes and, in some cases, by affecting social norms and values....