In this paper, we develop an allocation model of workers differentiated by their field of study to test whether international differences in the wage structure can be explained by differences in labor demand and supply in each country. The model explicitly takes into account the effects of...

Skill-biased technical change is usually interpreted in terms of the efficiency parameters of skilled and unskilled labor. This implies that the relative productivity of skilled workers changes proportionally in all tasks. In contrast, we argue that technical changes also affect the curvature of...

This paper models the impact of the diffusion of computers on the wage structure, starting from the observation that computer use increases individual productivity, but also the supply of goods. This latter effect negatively affects workers producing similar goods. If the productivity gain is...

Despite indications that interpersonal interactions are important for understanding individual labor-market outcomes and have become more important over the last decades, there is little analysis by economists. This paper shows that interpersonal interactions are important determinants of...

Using data from the 1997 Skills Survey of the Employed British Workforce, we examine the returns to computer skills in Britain. Many researchers, using information on computer use, have concluded that wage differentials between computer users and non-users might, among others, be due to...

Technological change is often perceived to harm the position of the incumbent workforce compared to new entrants. Particularly the labor-market position of older workers, who are thought to have lower abilities or incentives to acquire new skills, might be deteriorated by the arrival of new...

In many Western countries, the relative weight of people – measured by the Body Mass Index (BMI) – has increased substantially in recent years, leading to an increasing incidence of overweight and related health problems. As with many forms of risky behavior, it is plausible that overweight...

This research develops a theory and presents empirical evidence of a link between economicoutcomes and genetic evolution. Important properties for successful analysis of such a link arefound in the adaptive immune system and particularly in the major histocompatibilitycomplex (MHC), a...

The model developed in this paper explains differences in the division of labour across firmsas a result of computer technology adoption. We find that changes in the division of labourcan result both from reduced production time and from improved communicationpossibilities. The first shifts the...