We model an organization as a hierarchy of managers erected on top of a technology (here consisting of a collection of plants). In our framework, the role of a manager is to take steps to reduce the adverse consequences of shocks that affect the plants beneath him. We argue that different...

This paper analyses information from survey data collected in the framework of the Eurosystem's Wage Dynamics Network (WDN) on patterns of firm-level adjustment to shocks. We document that the relative intensity and the character of price vs. cost and wage vs. employment adjustments in response...

An interesting aspect of corruption is that its damaging effects on economic performance differ significantly across countries. In this paper, we show that if a central government collects sufficient taxes, it can curtail corruption by paying for performance of local government officials. An...

To test and replicate the superstar effect reported by Brown (2011) we empirically study contests where a single entrant has an endogenously higher probability of winning. Unlike the previous literature, we test for the presence of the superstar effect in several different contexts. Ultimately,...

To test and replicate the superstar effect reported by Brown (2011) we empirically study contests where a single entrant has an endogenously higher probability of winning. Unlike the previous literature, we test for the presence of the superstar effect in several different contexts. Ultimately,...

The current state of Chinese privatization remains deeply flawed. While the initial deferral of state-sector privatization in favor of first creating a marketized, non-state sector was, I argue, an economically wise strategy, the government’s current lethargic response toward solving the...

We argue that the legal boundaries of the firm have more substantial effects on the Japanese multi-business organization than on its U.S. counterpart. The standard economic, management, or legal view is that distinguishing between an in-house division and a subsidiary, in particular, a wholly...

Previous studies of international environmental treaty ratification show that corruption and lobbyists to be influential in the ratification process. Using the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters as...

We find a significant positive link between motor vehicle reliance and obesity in OECD countries. Surprisingly this association holds only for countries with a common law rather than a civil law heritage. These relations hold whether we examine trend data and simple correlations, or conduct...