The standard efficient contract involving a monopolistic firm and a union has always been derived under the assumption that the firm operates efficiently, i.e. it uses fully its labor force. However, nothing constrains the firm to do so and production with under-utilization of labor may actually...

The usual 'efficient' bargaining solution between a monopolistic firm and a union has always been derived under the constraint that the firm produces on its production frontier. The authors show that, if the union is risk-averse and powerful enough, this constrained efficient bargaining solution...

This Paper develops a model in which the interaction between product market imperfections, transportation costs, unions and workers immobility across regions creates a tendency for agglomeration of firms when transportation costs are low. The model fits quite well the European experience. It is...

In the Dixit-Stiglitz model of monopolistic competition, entry of firms is socially too small. Other authors have shown that excess entry is also a possibility with other preferences for diversity. We show that the cost structure and workers's rents can also explain excess entry.

Two types of agents interact on a pre-existing free platform. Agents value positively the presence of agents of the other type but may value negatively the presence of agents of their own type. We ask whether a new platform can find fees and subsidies so as to divert agents from the existing...

This paper analyses the evolution of employment in the Belgian provinces during the period 1974-92. It identifies provincial, industrial and temporal effects. This allows us to construct a 'virtual' employment series by filtering out provincial effects. A comparison with actual employment...