This paper investigates the influence of individual characteristics and the business cycle on the probability of entry into self-employment and on self-employment duration. We estimate multinomial logit and discrete competing risks models using data from a longitudinal sample of Spanish men for...

This paper uses a long-run identifying restrictions on a three-variable system containing output growth, real wage growth and the unemployment rate, to isolate three "structural" shocks which drove business cycle fluctuations in a sample of 16 OECD countries during 1950-94.

This paper characterizes the optimal fiscal policy when it is assumed that there exists a minimum wage below which no worker can be hired. The rigidity due to the minimum wage legislation can lead to equilibria in which the supply side of the labor market is rationed. One of the main results of...

In this paper we look at a panel of OECD aggregate fertility and labor market data between 1970 and 1995 and we report some striking recent developments. Total Fertility Rates (TFR) were falling and Female Participation Rates were increasing, conforming to a well known long-run trend. Along the...

We examine the employment decisions of Spanish manufacturing firms in financial distress. Our sample comprises 4,566 firms operating during 1983-1994. We find that firms in distress reduce their employment significantly. These reductions are positively associated with asset sales, but cannot be...