The Infona portal uses cookies, i.e. strings of text saved by a browser on the user's device. The portal can access those files and use them to remember the user's data, such as their chosen settings (screen view, interface language, etc.), or their login data. By using the Infona portal the user accepts automatic saving and using this information for portal operation purposes. More information on the subject can be found in the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. By closing this window the user confirms that they have read the information on cookie usage, and they accept the privacy policy and the way cookies are used by the portal. You can change the cookie settings in your browser.
Social contacts help to find jobs, but not necessarily in the occupations where workers are most productive. Hence social contacts can generate mismatch between workers' occupational choices and their productive advantage. Accordingly, social networks can lead to low labour force quality, low returns to firms' investment and depressed aggregate productivity. We analyse surveys from both the US and...
We estimate the effects of reforms on railroad efficiency in Europe by using a new panel data set that covers most EU countries over a period of more than 20 years. A production frontier model finds that efficiency increases when reforms such as third‐party network access, introduction of an independent regulator, and vertical separation are implemented. However, the reform effects depend on sequencing:...
Economic growth has not led to a decline in religion despite past predictions that it would. Using a formal model of religious competition, I show how economic growth produces counteracting effects on religious activity in an open religious market, and that it has little effect in a religious market that is already secularized due to regulations that prohibit religious competition or in a highly religious...
This paper examines the degree to which current prices discount historical prices in a market for state contingent claims. Conditional logit analysis is employed to predict winning probabilities, based on market prices in a betting market. These are used, together with various wagering strategies to yield substantial abnormal returns. Consequently, in contrast to the existing literature, the results...
A search and matching model of general human capital is developed to contrast worker‐financed training with firm‐sponsored training, to evaluate which type of training might prevail in the economy. It will be shown that firm‐sponsored training is more likely to occur when there is greater friction in the labour market, whereas worker‐financed training prevails in a less frictional market. Moreover,...
Society's demands for individual and corporate social responsibility as alternative responses to market and distributive failures are becoming increasingly prominent. We draw on recent developments in the psychology and economics of prosocial behaviour to shed light on this trend and the underlying mix of motivations. We then link individual concerns to corporate social responsibility, contrasting...
The Thanksgiving–Christmas holiday period is a major sales period for US retailers. Due to higher store traffic, tasks, such as restocking shelves, handling customers' questions and inquiries, running cash registers, cleaning and bagging, become more urgent during holidays. As a result, the holiday‐period opportunity cost of price adjustment may increase dramatically for retail stores, which should...
There is a growing gap in the union membership wage premium between public and private‐sector workers in the United Kingdom. Using the Labour Force Surveys of 1993–2006, the gap between the membership premium in the public and private sectors closes with the addition of three‐digit occupational controls, although significant wage premia remain in both sectors. However, using the Workplace Employment...
This paper exploits survey information on reservation wages and data on actual wages from the European Community Household Panel to deduce, in the manner of Lancaster and Chesher, additional parameters of a stylized structural search model; specifically, reservation wage and transition/duration elasticities. The informational requirements of this approach are minimal, thereby facilitating comparisons...
Existing evidence of inequality aversion relies on data from class‐room experiments where subjects face hypothetical questions. This paper estimates the magnitude of inequality aversion using representative survey data, with questions related to the real‐economy situations the respondents face. The results reveal that inequality aversion can be measured in a meaningful way using survey data, but the...
Set the date range to filter the displayed results. You can set a starting date, ending date or both. You can enter the dates manually or choose them from the calendar.