We use a matching framework to explore the hypothesis that firing costs are a decreasing function of labor market tightness. Conventional wisdom suggests that differences in employment protection legislation (EPL) cause differences in labor market performance. Our hypothesis suggests a reverse...

In a seminal contribution Abel, Mankiw, Summers, and Zeckhauser (1989) show that from an aggregate dynamic perspective the US economy is Pareto efficient. We argue that, when applying their test, they implicitly make strong assumptions about the economy's future behavior. We show how time series...

Maybe a lot. The ratio of the minimum wage to the average wage enters a Phillips-curve equation with a coefficient that is highly significant, stable, and robust. One interpretation of these results is that the relative level of the minimum wage affects the Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of...

In this note, we extend Xie (JET, 1994) to solve analytically the Lucas model with a weak externality in a specific parametric case. In particular, we characterize the shape of imbalance effects in this model. Our results are mostly consistent with the findings of the related computational...

The conduct of monetary policy during the 1970s was greatly complicated by systematic real-time misperceptions of the state of economic activity as measured by the output gap. Employing real-time data and using the Taylor rule as an analytical framework, I explore the implications of utilizing...

The present paper explores the fiscal policy implications of intergenerational habit formation in a Blanchard overlapping generations small open economy model. Three main conclusions emerge. (1) When individuals are finitely lived and have habits which they pass on to their descendants, the...