We study the optimal design of policies (such as unemployment insurance, taxation and minimum wage) in a frictional model of the labor market with adverse selection. Heterogeneous, risk-averse agents look for a job in a labor market characterized by an aggregate matching technology. Firms post...

We develop a quantitative theory of endogenous uncertainty and business cycles. In the model, higher uncertainty about fundamentals discourages investment but agents can learn from the actions of others. Therefore, in times of low activity information flows slowly and uncertainty stays high,...

We propose a model of coordination failures for business cycles in which agents learn to coordinate over time. The economy features an aggregate demand externality that leads to multiple equilibria under complete information. Under incomplete information, a group of informed agents receive...

We develop a theory of endogenous uncertainty and business cycles in which short-lived shocks can generate long-lasting recessions. In the model, higher uncertainty about fundamentals discourages investment. Since agents learn from the actions of others, information flows slowly in times of low...

The current 2007-2010 recession has witnessed two phenomena that standard search models of the labor market have diculty reconciling: a large and persistent increase in unemployment and a sharp rise, above pre-recession levels, in labor productivity following a small initial drop. In addition,...

This paper studies the impact of unions on wage inequality, output and unemployment. To do so, it proposes a search and matching model of union formation in which unions arise endogenously through a voting process within firms. In a union firm, workers bargain their wages collectively. In a...