In the quasi-linear model of Lagos and Wright [A unified framework for monetary theory and policy analysis, J. Polit. Econ. 113 (2005) 463—484], money is essential and—if lump-sum taxation is feasible—the Friedman rule implements the first-best allocation. In this paper, I impose the additional restriction of voluntary trade; so that (coercive) lump-sum taxation is infeasible. Despite this adde...

This paper investigates the relationship between wealth and entrepreneurship of middleand older-age individuals in the United States, a group whose wealth holdings and rates of selfemployment are substantially higher than those of younger individuals. Using longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study that span over 14 years, we find entry into selfemployment increases with total weal...

It has been conjectured that an extremum of the tachyon potential of a bosonic Dbrane represents the vacuum without any D-brane, and that various tachyonic lump solutions represent D-branes of lower dimension. We show that the tree level effective action of p-adic string theory, the expression for which is known exactly, provides an explicit realisation of these conjectures. E-mail: ghoshal@mri...

Redundancy payments for collective dismissals are incorporated into a Shapiro-Stiglitz model of efficiency wages. It is shown that a fixed payment will lower wages, leave employment and welfare unaffected if there are no wage-dependent taxes, no additional firing costs and if unemployment benefits are not altered by redundancy payments. If payroll taxes exceed firing costs and unemployment bene...

We show that the tachyonic kink solution on a pair of D-p-branes in the bosonic string theory can be identified with the D-(p − 1)-brane of the same theory. We also speculate on the possibility of obtaining the D-(p − 1)-brane as a tachyonic lump on a single D-p-brane. We suggest a possible reinterpretation of the first result which unifies these two apparently different descriptions of the D-(...

This paper gives a novel analysis of identificational sentences such as This is Mary, That is a beautiful woman, or This looks like Mary based on the notion of a trope. On that analysis, bare demonstratives in the subject position of an identificational sentence involve reference to a trope as the direct object of perception and the sentence itself states the identification of the bearer of the...

We study the use of intermediated assets as media of exchange in a neoclassical growth model. An intermediary is delegated control over productive capital and finances itself by issuing claims against the revenue generated by its operations. Unlike physical capital, intermediated claims are assumed to be liquid—they constitute a form of asset-backed money. The intermediary is assumed to control...

It is well known that unemployment benefits raise unemployment durations. This result has traditionally been interpreted as a substitution effect caused by a reduction in the price of leisure relative to consumption, generating a deadweight burden. This paper questions the validity of this interpretation by showing that unemployment benefits can also affect durations through a non-distortionary...

Using the standard real business cycle model with lump-sum taxes, we analyze the impact of fiscal policy when agents form expectations using adaptive learning rather than rational expectations (RE). The output multipliers for government purchases are significantly higher under learning, and fall within empirical bounds reported in the literature, which is in sharp contrast to the implausibly lo...

By definition, multilaterally strategy-proof mechanisms are immune to manipulation not only by individuals misrepresenting their preferences, but also by finite coalitions exchanging tradeable goods on the side. Continuum economies are defined in which both agents’ identifiers and their privately known characteristics are joint i.i.d. random variables. For such economies, conditions are given f...