Common wisdom suggests that beauty helps in the labor market. We show that two factors combine to explain away the mean beauty premium reported in the literature. First, correcting for publication bias reduces the premium by at least a third. Second, controlling for cognitive ability negates the...

We examine the factors influencing published estimates of hedge fund performance. Using a sample of 1,019 intercept terms from regressions of hedge fund returns on risk factors (the "alphas") collected from 74 studies, we document a strong downward trend in the reported alphas. The trend...

Our use of longitudinal register data combined with a unique survey allows us to offer a more comprehensive picture of rural self-employment than in previous studies. We find that selfemployed in rural settings are more likely than those in metropolitan regions to employ others, but...

In the paper, we break down business sector R&D at an appropriate regional level (functional analysis regions, FA-regions) in Sweden. We describe the variation and development at the regional level. In an econometric analysis, we examine what affects the location and size of enterprise groups'...

Mental health conditions are prevalent but rarely treated in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Little is known about how these conditions affect economic participation. This paper shows that treating mental health conditions substantially improves recipients' capacity to work in these...

This study analyses the impact of an Alternative Work Arrangement (AWA) called "voucher" on earnings of atypical workers and on their alternative income sources using Italian administrative data. Specifically, we investigate whether this form of very flexible work substitutes income from more...

Is female leadership the secret ingredient to financial prosperity? This question has been the subject of extensive research, yet the findings remain inconclusive. We aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of this relationship employing contemporary techniques on the up-to-date dataset...

The Autonomous Province of Trento (Trentino) is among the most productive regions in Europe, but over the past two decades its productivity growth has stagnated. As a result, the productivity gap of Trentino widened by over 20% compared to regions with the same productivity level in 2000. The...

We formalize and estimate the dynamic marginal efficiency cost of redistribution (MECR) in the spirit of Okun’s “leaky bucket” to compare the MECR of an income-contingent childcare subsidy program and of the income-contingent tax and transfer schedule. We set up a dynamic structural model...