which government infrastructures, which are part of the fiscal policy, are an input into production which firms do not control. We show that if the production of government infrastructures is subject to correlated but less volatile shocks than private production, then a negative productivity...

This paper studies optimal taxation in a version of the neoclassical growth model in which investment becomes productive within the period, thereby making the supply of capital elastic in the short run. Because taxing capital is distortionary in the short run, the government׳s ability/desire to...

This paper studies optimal taxation in a version of the neoclassical growth model in which investment becomes productive within the period, thereby making the supply of capital elastic in the short run. Because taxing capital is distortionary in the short run, the government's ability/desire to...

Over the last few decades, several economies have experienced a reduction in the volatility of output and a rise in wage dispersion. This paper investigates the appropriate labor market policy response to these changes. We introduce unemployment benets nanced by a proportional payroll tax within...

ex-ante appropriate (good) institutions may appear to be bad ex-post as they make economies vulnerable to shocks such as turbulence. As an example, the firing restrictions in Europe and Japan, which appear to be an inefficient institution ex-post, may have been a part of an efficient arrangement...

steep decline in residential investment since 2005.

Why is unemployment higher for young individuals than for the old? Why are business cycle fluctuations in employment more pronounced for the young than for the old? We address these questions in the context of a search-and-matching model of the labor market that features learning about...

Why is unemployment higher for younger individuals? We address this question in a frictional model of the labor market that features learning about occupational fit. In order to learn the occupation in which they are most productive, workers sample occupations over their careers. Because young...