We estimate productivities at the sector level for 75 countries and 5 decades, and examine how they evolve over time in both developed and developing countries. We find that in both country groups, comparative advantage has become weaker: productivity grew systematically faster in sectors that were initially at the greater comparative disadvantage. The global welfare implications of this phenom...

Lameness in dairy cows impacts negatively on herd welfare and productivity. It is thought to be closely associated with avoidance of pain caused by limb lesions and, particularly in dairy cattle, by hoof lesions (Dyer et al., 2007). Freedom from pain is one of the Five Freedoms of animal welfare (FAWC, 1997), so lameness is a sign of poor welfare. Besides this, there are treatment costs (Almeid...

I. Introduction Restrictions on the international mobility of labor are arguably the single largest policy distortion that besets the international economy. A variety of studies suggest that even a small reduction in barriers to migration will result in large welfare benefits to the global economy. In this lecture I focus on a central tension faced by policy makers in countries that receive mig...

I study the welfare cost of business cycles in a complete-markets economy where some people are more risk averse than others. Relatively more risk-averse people buy insurance against aggregate risk, and relatively less risk-averse people sell insurance. These trades reduce the welfare cost of business cycles for everyone. Indeed, the least risk-averse people benefit from business cycles. Moreov...

This article takes a future focus on the direction in which social forces develop the market for animal-friendly products in Europe. On the basis of qualitative data gathered in the context of the European EconWelfare project, the differences across eight European countries are studied. The findings suggest that, given international trade barriers that prevent an improvement of animal welfare t...

We use a Schumpeterian model in which both the economy’s growth rate and its volatility are endogenously determined to assess some welfare and policy implications associated with business cycle ßuctuations. Because it features a higher average growth rate than its acyclical counterpart, steady— state welfare is higher along the cyclical equilibrium growth path of the model. We assess the impact...

This paper analyzes the welfare effects of subsidies to attract multinational corporations when firms are heterogeneous in their productivity levels. I show that the use of a small subsidy raises welfare in the FDI host country, with the consumption gains from attracting more multinationals exceeding the direct cost of funding the subsidy program through a tax on labor income. This welfare gain...

Welfare assessment methods and techniques developed as a result of great interest of scientific and consumer populations regarding the welfare of animals housed in farms. In view of the fact that welfare by definition includes both physical and mental health, the welfare quality assessment includes an extensive number of measures. Welfare assessment was performed in two stables in which cows ar...