This paper studies the determinants of lobbying-employment decisions of former members of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 105th–108thCongresses. The main empirical findings indicate that there are two groups more likely to become lobbyists: members not re-elected who had more...

There is a growing concern over predatory hiring practices that are aimed at eliminating competitors. Using a duopoly model in which firm's profits depend on the quality of the worker-employer match, this paper studies the conditions under which predatory equilibrium exists. I find that...

This paper shows that competition is inversely related to the strength of evolutionary dynamics using a Collegiate University's admission statistics during the period 2004--2009. Specifically, estimated coefficients of the replicator dynamic equation is inversely related to the subject's...

Poaching key employees from close competitors has become a prevalent and controversial issue. This paper examines the condition under which employee poaching can be either predatory or competitive, and discusses its implications for the enforcement of post-employment non-compete agreements. When...

Using a panel data of S&P 500 Index firms covering 1998-2004, this paper compares the determinants of lobbying expenditures and campaign contributions and estimates the returns to lobbying as assessed by the financial market. Lobbying depends more on managerial incentives and protection needs...

Copyright protection can be used to raise entry barriers by impairing the demand. When there is a complementary market in addition to the copyrighted goods market, the incumbent prefers stronger copyright protection than is needed to maximize the sales profit in the primary market. Although...

An extensive theoretical literature has developed that investigates the role of promotions as a signal of worker ability. There have been no tests, however, of the empirical validity of this idea. In this paper we develop the theory in a manner that allows us to generate testable predictions,...

We study the effect of product market volatility on a firm’s choice between multiskilling and specialization. We construct a theoretical model that captures the tradeoff between multiskilling (which gives greater flexibility to reassign workers in production) and specialization (which provides...

Applying a simultaneous-equations estimation approach that accounts for both worker and firm behavior, I show that six alternative promotion models can be empirically distinguished to a greater extent than previously thought. I show that classic tournaments, market-based tournaments, and...