In this paper we show the existence of a negative relationship between long run growth and labor market imperfections both theoretically and empirically. We consider a “monopolistic union” imperfect labor market in a neoclassical growth framework and show that labor market rigidity, captured by the mark-up over the reservation wage, does lower the growth rate along the transitional path. We ver...

This study shows that annual output data of the G7 countries in the twentieth century are better characterized as transitory deviations from a (shifting) growth trend than as integrated processes. Furthermore, I find no two countries share common business cycles. JEL classification: C22, E32, 057

This study examines the effects of retirement on health investment behaviors. We conduct a large-scale international comparison of the change in health investment behaviors after retirement among 13 developed countries, using harmonized datasets. We find that the changes in most of health investment behaviors are heterogenous across countries. JEL Classification Numbers: I00, I100, I120

This paper constructs a two-sector unified growth model. Learning-by-doing in agriculture eventually allows the preindustrial economy to leave its Malthusian trap. But entrepreneurs in the manufacturing sector do not attempt invention if not much is known about natural phenomena. This delays the industrial revolution. Since entrepreneurs identify new useful knowledge at all times in a serendipi...

We consider a two-period overlapping generations model in which individual voters differ not only according to age but also productivity. In such a setting, a (redistributive) Pay-As-You-Go system is politically sustainable, even when the interest rate is larger than the rate of population growth. The medium wages workers (not the lowest) join the retirees to form a majority and vote for a posi...

In this paper we present an endogenous growth model with productive government spending and pollution. As to pollution we suppose that it is a by-product of aggregate production and that it negatively affects utility of the household but not production possibilities directly. Analyzing our model it is first shown that for reasonable parameter values there exists a unique balanced growth path wh...

This paper studies growth and welfare effects of fiscal policy in an endogenous growth model with productive public capital where we consider both distortionary and non-distortionary taxation in the model simultaneously. Analyzing the model it is assumed that the economy originally is on the balanced growth path when the government changes its fiscal parameters. The paper then studies growth an...

We develop a multi-sector general equilibrium model in which productivity growth is driven by the production of sector-specific knowledge. In the model, we find that long run differences in total factor productivity growth across sectors are independent of the parameters of the knowledge production function except for one, which we term the fertility of knowledge. Differences in R&D intensity a...

The main objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of monetary regime (countries with inflation targeting monetary policy versus countries with exchange rate anchor) on the extent of exchange rate pass-through over the period of 1999-2010. To achieve this objective, the econometric model has been estimated by Dynamic Panel Data approach and Arrelano- Bond (AB) method. The empirical ...

 As the number of independent countries increases and their economies become more integrated, we would expect to observe more multi-country currency :::union:::s. This paper explores the pros and cons for different countries to adopt as an anchor the US Dollar, the Euro or the Yen. In addition, it addresses the question of how co-movement of outputs and prices would respond to the formation of ...