Do relative concerns on visible consumption give rise to economic distortions?  We re-examine the question posited by Arrow and Dasgupta (2009) building upon their theoretical framework but recognizing that relative concerns can only apply to visible goods (e.g., cars, clothing, jewelry) and...

This paper offers an explanation for the properties of the nominal term structure of interest rates and time-varying bond risk premia based on a model with rare consumption disaster risk.  In the model, expected inflation follows a mean reverting process but is also subject to possible large...

We study price competition between firms over public list or posted prices when a fraction of consumers (termed 'bargainers') can subsequently receive discounts with some probability.  Such stochastic discounts are a feature of markets in which some consumers bargain explicitly; of markets in...

We study the accuracy of a wide variety of estimators of asset price variation constructed from high-frequency data (so-called "realized measures"), and compare them with a simple "realized variance" (RV) estimator.  In total, we consider almost 400 different estimators, applied to 11 years of...

This paper examines a test for the null of cointegration in a multivariate system based on the discrepancy between the OLS estimator of the full set of n cointegrating relationships in the n + k system and the OLS estimator of the corresponding relationships among first differences without...

We develop a new methodology for quantifying the tasks undertaken within occupations using 3,000 verbs from around 12,000 occupational descriptions in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOTs).  Using micro-data from the United States from 1880-2000, we find an increase in the employment...

This paper develops a test for monotonicity of nonparametric regression models under endogeneity, which in its generality is novel in the literature.  The test statistic, which is built upon a second order U-process, introduces 'correction terms' based on control functions that purge the...

The theoretical literature on (non-random) choice largely follows the route of Richter (1966) by working in abstract environments and by stipulating that we see all choices of an agent from a given feasible set.  On the other hand, empirical work on consumption choice using revealed preference...

In response to the Great Financial Crisis, the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and many other central banks have adopted unconventional monetary policy instruments.  We investigate if one of these, purchases of long-term government debt, could be a valuable addition to conventional...

Do locational fundamentals such as coastlines and rivers determine town locations, or can historical events trap towns in unfavorable locations for centuries?  We examine the effects on town locations of the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, which temporarily ended urbanization in Britain,...