This paper provides some evidence that the division of labour is limited by the extent of the (local) market. We first propose a theoretical model. Its main prediction is that scarce occupations are over-represented in large cities. Using census data for French cities, we then provide strong...

In Germany, unlike other OECD countries, research-intensive industries play a crucial role for overall economic growth. In the course of the 2008/2009 financial crisis these industries were hit especially hard by a sharp decline in production. This article studies how the crisis affected the...

I study the slow adoption of ring-spinning in Great Britain's cotton industry at the end of the 19th century, which has been used as evidence of British entrepreneurs' declining efficiency and conservatism (Musson [1959], Aldcroft, [1964], Lazonick [1981, 1981b]). To this purpose I use...

The main form of organization of the economic activity in the world economy of the 21st century is the corporation. To provide success and efficient circulation of a capital, corporations must comply with the following features: investors responsibility, free transfer of capital, juridical...

A committee decides by unanimity whether to accept the current alternative, or to continue costly search. Each alternative is described by a vector of distinct attributes, and each committee member can privately assess the quality of one attribute (her "specialty"). Preferences are heterogeneous...