Price-coordination and investment coordination are analyzed in a monopolistic multi-sector general equilibrium model with consumption complementarities. Possible solutions to the investment coordination problem are consistent with historical examples of government intervention in investment, the...

To summarise the arguments in this paper, a case will be made for and against an increase in the minimum wage. First the case for the defence of a minimum wage increase. An increase in a minimum wage will, if the increase is within bounds, only increase the percentage of the output that...

One of the most prominent trends in OECD countries over the last 30 years has been the sharp increase in incidence of early retirement, and in particular the permanent take-up of disability benefits. In this paper we construct a theoretical model that shows how occupational choices, in terms of...

In this paper we contribute to the recent literature that has investigated the potential economic advantages of unemployment benefits, by developing a model where young individuals in education have to irreversibly choose a degree of specialisation positively related to future unemployment risk,...

In this paper, a specific form of human capital is analyzed, relational capital, which consists of matches between market parties. Search and information costs make these matches valuable to both parties. Its peculiarity is that the control over such matches is transferred within firms from...

This paper looks inside the “black box†of the family and examines the determinants of inter vivos transfers in the form of allowances given to children. We consider in a simple model two main competing explanations for the transfer of money from parents to children in the form of...

Using information from the personnel files of a South African clothing firm, I explore the in- and outflow of weekly-paid workers. These employees form a separate labour market within the company. Data was available concerning both the productivity of current workers, and the characteristics of...

In this paper we study the effect of optimistic income expectations on life satisfaction amongst the Chinese population. Using a large scale household survey conducted in 2002 we find that the level of optimism about the future is particularly strong in the countryside and amongst rural-to-urban...