The paper studies the employment effects of a deposit-refund scheme on labor in a simple search-theoretic model of the labor market. It is shown that if a firm pays a deposit to the government when it fires a worker, to be refunded when it employs the same or another worker, the vacancy rate...

This paper examines how the on-the-job search of workers in the state sector who are seeking jobs in the private sector affects private sector employment, the unemployment level, and the unemployment duration in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe. The main finding is that...

This paper proposes and solves a search model in which job separation requires mandatory notice. When jobs are subject to idiosyncratic uncertainty, firms would issue advance notice even with good business conditions. We show that such precautionary policy is not pursued if it entails...

This paper applies a search matching model with firing restrictions to examine whether the existence of firing restrictions affects the outcome of the matching process and the natural rate of unemployment in Tunisia. The paper concludes that the removal of firing restrictions is likely to...

This paper presents a theoretical and empirical investigation of the role on-the-job search plays in explaining shifts of the unemployment-vacancies relationship (the Beveridge curve). We show that the direction of the shift depends on the parameters of the matching model, regardless of the...

Why are European and British companies not enjoying the dynamism that has recently emerged in China and India? Why are UK products being beaten on price? The core explanation advanced here concerns the burden of taxation carried by every firm and their employees. Many taxes are unseen but direct...

Cross-border migration can act as an important adjustment mechanism to country-specific shocks. Yet, depending on who moves, it can have unintended consequences for business cycle stability. This paper argues that the skill composition of migration plays a critical role. When migration flows...

We investigate whether external industry tournament incentives influence the design of executive compensation contracts. Using staggered negative mobility shocks as exogenous disruptions to tournament incentives, we show that firms treated by these shocks act to restore their executives’...

Bankruptcy filings are thought to be traumatic events that demoralize workers and spark employee flight. Using social media data, I present evidence suggesting that this belief is both accurate and, to a large extent, overstated. Online employee reviews show that employees of distressed firms...