Following the approach recently developed for the International Wage Flexibility Project (IWFP), the paper presents new estimates of downward real and nominal wage rigidity for Hungary. Results suggest that nominal rigidity is more prominent in Hungary than real rigidity. When compared to other...

The dynamic behaviour of the term structure of interest rates is difficult to replicate with models, and even models with a proven track record of empirical performance have underperformed since the early 2000s. On the other hand, survey expectations are accurate predictors of yields, but only...

In this paper we examine the link between wage inequality and consumption inequality using a life cycle model that incorporates household consumption and family labour supply decisions. We derive analytical expressions based on approximations for the dynamics of consumption, hours, and earnings...

This paper provides a new cross-country evaluation of competitiveness, focusing on the linkages between productivity and export performance among European economies. We use the information compiled in the Trade module of CompNet to establish new stylized facts regarding the joint distributions...

A central issue in estimating the employment effects of minimum wages is the appropriate comparison group for states (or other regions) that adopt or increase the minimum wage. In recent research, Dube et al. (Rev Econ Stat 92:945-964, 2010) and Allegretto et al. (Ind Relat 50:205-240, 2011)...

What legal, political and economic institutions are shaping privatisations processes in the world? This paper addresses the issue presenting new evidence for a sample of 49 countries. From an empirical analysis for the period 1977-1996, the decision to privatise appears to be related to...

The paper considers a neo-classical model set in the cost function approach to estimate primary energy factor demands for the Italian economy, using a translog cost function specification. Cointegration theory is employed to estimate the long-run factor share model, and the general to specific...

We study the relationship between (log) current earnings and educational levels in Italy. In line with other international evidence, we find that OLS under-estimate the marginal return to additional education. When the endogeneity of educational choice is taken into account, the marginal return...

The models of Lucas (1993), Krugman (1987), Stokey (1988, 1991) and Young (1991) predict that productivity growth is associated with the production of increasingly sophisticated products, and that high-end goods should exhibit more productivity growth than low-end goods. This paper investigates...