This paper studies how the assignment of patents as collateral determines the savings of firms and magnifies the effect of innovative rents on investment in research and development (R&D). We analyse the behaviour of innovative firms that face random and lumpy investment opportunities in R&D....

We introduce a Ramsey growth model with incomplete markets, decentralized production, and idiosyncratic technological risk. The combination of uninsurable shocks with the precautionary motive can slow down capital accumulation or give rise to persistent fluctuations even when agents are very...

This chapter on urbanization and growth focuses on modeling and empirical evidence that pertain to a number of inter-related questions. Why do cities form in an economy, with so much of economic activity in countries geographically concentrated in cities? Second, how do different types of cities...

This paper studies a simple endogenous growth model to explain growth slowdowns. It is designed to explain, for example, the middle income trap often observed in the south-east Asian countries, the U.K.'s productivity puzzle after the Great Recession and the lost decades of Japan in a unified...

In an overlapping generations model with finite lifetimes sustained growth is possible if there is a positive risk of death. A redistribution occurs when non-altruistic parents leave unintended bequests to their children

This paper analyzes the relationship between unemployment and growth, applying the seminal growth model of Aghion/Howitt (1992). We distinguish low skilled and high skilled labor and assume that a union bargains over the low skilled labor wage. This causes unemployment, but the growth effect is...

Environmental pollution is introduced both as a joint product and as a source of disutility in growth models. The purpose is to explore vital questions such as: is environmental protection compatible with economic growth; is it possible to have sustained growth in the long run without...

We study the features of the incentives for investing in capital goods with higer durability. We argue that economies which invest in capital goods with less durability may have a lower economic growth. We build a theoretical model with endogenous depreciation rate. The model we present is one...