In this paper it is shown that relatively simple models are capable of generating exchange rate movements that, at least in the short run, are largely disconnected from their fundamental values. The essential ingredient of such models is the hypothesis that economic agents use different...

This paper characterizes the processes of job creation and job destruction (JC&D) in Britain, and provides more `stylized facts' to hold up against models of JC&D. The analysis is based on three large cross-sections of continuing plants in Britain. The issues examined include the diversity of...

This paper discusses a dynamic model that is consistent with the main empirical regularities of economic fluctuations in open economies. While other models in this class have relied on non-separable preferences or finite horizons to generate a realistic consumption volatility, we show that there...

Drawing on and extending the theory of human capital, a comprehensive life-cycle model of individual earnings is designed. The approach taken permits an isolated analysis of three interconnected levels of aggregation (intra-cohort distribution, overall distribution, and lifetime distribution)...

The incentive to renege on a commitment to a fixed exchange rate is shown to be state contingent. A fixed exchange rate policy is not viable under `unusual' circumstances, and the incentive to violate the commitment is larger in the case of contractionary shocks than in the case of expansionary...

This paper proposes a methodology for computing effective average tax rates using national accounts and revenue statistics, and applies it to construct time-series of tax rates for the seven largest industrialized countries. The resulting tax rates are consistent with available estimates of...

This paper derives a model in which workers have firm-specific and industry-specific skills, and in each period there is a non-zero probability that a worker quits. This makes the private discount factor, used by firms in making decisions about hiring and training new workers and firing existing...

The Uruguay Round marks an important turning point for the developing countries. The three core agreements on which the new World Trade Organization (WTO) is based present a remarkable range of obligations and responsibilities for a set of countries that were effectively outside any multilateral...

We construct a locational model of majority voting when competing parties offer special favours to interest groups. Each group's membership is heterogeneous in its affinities for the two parties. Individuals face a trade-off between party affinity and their own transfer receipts.The model is...

This paper analyses how the levels of unemployment and vacancies affect the rate at which unemployed workers find employment -- the worker-firm `matching function'. In particular we test the robustness of previous empirical work by checking whether we obtain the same estimated function using...