In this paper we document the relationship between idiosyncratic risk and non productive expenditures at the rm level from the Kauman Firm Survey. We then propose a model of entrepreneurial activity subject to nancial constraints where rms engage in borrowing to nance capital and wages, but also...

We develop a theory of total factor productivity with heterogeneous firms, to explain differences in human capital across countries. In our model, firms operate in an economy with capital markets imperfections and costs of creating and operating in the formal sector. These distortions give rise...

We study how individuals match their skills with an occupation's demands as they choose a career. With data on individuals' test scores for multiple types of skills and work histories, we have a rich description of this process. We quantify the quality of one's occupational match and how it...

During the last three decades the stock of government debt has increased in most developed countries. During the same period international capital markets have been liberalized. In this paper we develop a two-country political economy model with incomplete markets and endogenous government...

The 2008-2009 US crisis is characterized by an unprecedented degree of international synchronization, as all other G7 countries experienced large contractions. The international synchronization of the recent crisis is not present in many of the previous US contractions. We study a two-country...