In 2005 EU will launch its emissions trading system (ETS) under which energy intensive firms within EU may trade carbon emission allowances. This system is by many seen as instrumental for EU’s ability to fulfill its Kyoto commitment. At the same time, in what seems to be an ambition to go one...

This paper argues that gender-specific educational choices have macroeconomic consequences in terms of economic growth. The presence of a social norm affecting persons choosing gender atypical educations at the university level generates a suboptimal allocation of ability, which lowers...

In a recent article Stefan Fölster and Magnus Henrekson [2001] argue that “…the more the econometric problems that are addressed, the more robust the relationship between government size and economic growth appears”. But in failing to control for simultaneity in a valid manner the...

We use a random survey of Swedish human resource managers to study the reasons for wage rigidity. Our findings are as follows. First, during the exceptional recession of the 1990s only 1.1 percent of workers received a wage cut. Second, much wage rigidity can be traced to behavioral mechanisms...

Do incentives in small organizations differ from those in large ones? This paper uses a representative survey of compensation managers to shed light on the issues. I find that (i) small establishments rely less on pecuniary incentives, and have a significantly more hostile attitude towards...

We investigate experimentally how the share of experienced traders in doubleauction asset markets affects trading, in particular the occurrence of bubble-crash pricing patterns. In each session, six subjects trade in three successive market rounds and gain experience. In a fourth round,...

Leniency clauses, offering cartelists legal immunity if they blow the whistle on each other, is a recent anti-trust innovation. The authorities wish to thwart cartels and promote competition. This effect is not evident, however; whistle-blowing may enforce trust and collusion by providing a tool...

In a study of European growth in the interwar period, the Swedish economist Ingvar Svennilson integrated a Keynesian theory of cumulative growth with a Schumpeterian analysis of economic transformation. Svennilson emphasised that innovations and the use of new technologies had been stimulated by...

How does a group’s gender composition influence its decisions? Economists have found women to be more generous and egalitarian than men, so one might expect groups with more women to be more generous/egalitarian. Group polarization, whereby discussions amplify preexisting attitudes (a...

This paper discusses the costs and benefits of welfare state intervention in the labour market, and argues that many forms of intervention can be justified for efficiency reasons. The paper reviews recent evidence on income inequality and income mobility, and it discusses labour market reforms...