Why do some countries industrialize later than others? Recent literature suggests that the prime reason is low agricultural productivity. This paper argues that the initial inequality of human capital could also be a contributing factor to the delayed process of industrialization characterizing...

This paper develops an integrated model, which addresses the recent Brandt, Cochrane and Santa-Clara (2006) puzzle of reconciling low international risk sharing with a high and variable equity premium. In addition, a new currency risk premium puzzle is also addressed. Following Kocherlakota and...

Using a two period model with moral hazard and uninsured risk, we argue that the decline in equity premium from its historically high level is due to a gradual elimination of barriers to universal banking. The loan contracts set up by financial intermediaries became more complete in nature with...

A pervasive empirical finding for the US economy is that inflation is negatively correlated with the normalized market price of capital (Tobin's q) and growth. A dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model of endogenous growth is developed to explain these stylized facts. In this model, human...

Labour market friction is viewed as the Tobin’s Q of an employed worker as opposed to the position of the Beveridge curve. This Tobin’s Q is inversely proportional to the average quality of the match between employers and workers. Based on this measure, I find that the labour market friction...

This paper addresses a puzzle in the UK labour market. Why is not there enough investment in job training when there is a high skill premium? We model this as a coordination game between firms and workers. Using a social planning model as a baseline, the paper demonstrates that while it is...