In this paper I test the normality of returns of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) from January 1st 1990 to December 5th 2008. Results obtained by Kolmogorov - Smirnov, Shapiro - Wilk and Skewness - Kurtosis tests are robust in demonstrating that the hypothesis of...

The central purpose of this paper is to introduce a new political economy approach which explains the characteristics of Social Security Systems. This approach is based on the Single-Mindedness Theory (SMT), which assumes that the more single-minded groups are able to exert a greater power of...

In this paper I analyse a labor market where the wage is endogenously determined according to a Right-to-Manage bargaining process between a firm and a labor union whose members are partitioned into two social groups: the old and the young. Furthermore, I exploit the Single Mindedness theory,...

The central purpose of this paper is to introduce a new political economy approach which explains the characteristics of Social Security Systems. This approach is based on the Single-Mindedness Theory (SMT), which assumes that the more single-minded groups are able to exert a greater power of...

In this paper I analyse a labour market where the wage is endogenously determined according to an Efficient Bargaining process between a firm and a labour union whose members are partitioned into two social groups: the old and the young. Furthermore, I exploit the Single-Mindedness theory, which...

This very brief paper aims to provide some little microeconomic hints in order to explain the early retirement of workers. In particular, the hipothesis of quasi-concavity of the utility function, differences in wage rates and in pension benefits are all factors which may contribute to force a...

In this paper I will introduce a microfounded model of political ac- tivities. The aim is twofold: �rst of all, �lling an existing gap with the actual literature which still lacks of a theoretical explanation about how voters choose their leisure acitivities in particular those related with...

The central purpose of this paper is to introduce a new political economy explanation to modern Social Security Systems. This approach is based on the Single-Mindedness Theory (SMT), which assumes that the more single-minded groups are able to exert a greater power of influence on Governments...

This work intends to specify a formula for the optimal taxation in Probabilistic Voting Models with Single Mindedness Theory. The goal is to find an equivalent expression to the Ramsey’s rule for a political economy environment where Governments are assumed to be Leviathans rather than...

In this paper I will introduce a new political economy model, where there exists a competition amongst two political candidates, which aim to set a policy which enables them to win elections, max- imising the probability of winning. I will show that, if taxes neces- sary to repay the debt are...