We propose a dynamic model that explains why individuals may be reluctant to pick up work although the wage is above their reservation wage. Accepting low paid work will put them in an adverse position in future wage bargaining, as employers could infer the individual's low reservation wage from...

This study was prepared by Stefan Lachenmaier while he was working with the Ifo Institute for Economic Research. It was completed in March 2007 and was accepted as a doctoral thesis by the Economics Department of the University of Munich (LMU). The subject of this study is an econometric...

A growing body of empirical work has documented the superior performance characteristics of exporting plants and firms to non-exporters. Employment, shipments, wages, productivity and capital intensity are all higher at exporters at any given moment. This paper asks whether good firms become...