This paper uses a simple model to analyze the forces that determine the size of the public sector and the quality of workers employed in that sector. Workers are heterogeneous, and the public sector chooses an employment strategy that maximizes a social welfare function U(s, Y) that depends on...

This paper shows how the creation of ceilings on local public debt can increase economic activity. For identification, the paper exploits administrative micro data in conjunction with the introduction of a Mexican law limiting the amount of indebtedness of subnational governments. The analysis...