We develop a new perspective on the boundary of the firm that is consistent with the empirical observation that the share of entrepreneurs first decreases and then increases in the course of economic development. Existing theory based on transaction costs (Coase, 1937, and subsequent literature) is difficult to relate to these well-established dynamics. Our approach focuses on changing incentiv...

Cities and countries undergo constant structural transformation. Industries need many inputs, such as regulations, infrastructure or productive knowledge, which we call capabilities. And locations are successful in hosting industries insofar the capabilities that they can provide. We propose a capabilities-based production model an empirical strategy to measure Sophistication of product Product...

This paper studies how a politician’s preferences and abilities to influence public and private sector productivity affect her choices over economic policies. Extremism between policies of leftand right-wing incumbents increases with ability, because voters are more willing to re-elect competent politicians. Positive correlations between certain ability dimensions and preferences amplify politi...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the lifestyle indicators associated with cardiorespiratory fitness in adolescents from Ilhabela, São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS The sample consisted of 181 adolescents (53% male) from the Mixed Longitudinal Project on Growth, Development, and Physical Fitness of Ilhabela. Body composition (weight, height, and body mass index, or BMI), school transportation, time spent sittin...

Over the past years, we have witnessed a fundamental economic transformation. Economists generally acknowledge that a profound shift has occurred in the role that knowledge and technology play in driving productivity and economic growth (Stiglitze, 1999 cited from Kozma, 2003), a phenomenon referred to as the “Knowledge economy.” These changes entail new skills, abilities, attitudes, and habits...

Researchers as well as policymakers often view self-employment as an important factor behind innovation and economic growth and policies that foster self-employment has been on the agenda in several European countries during the last decades. The Jack-of-all-trades theory argues that individuals with a balanced set of skills are more suitable for selfemployment than others. In this paper we tes...

Although gender differences in cognitive abilities are frequently reported, the magnitude of these differences and whether they hold practical significance in the educational outcomes of boys and girls is highly debated. Furthermore, when gender gaps in reading, mathematics and science literacy are reported they are often attributed to innate, biological differences rather than social and cultu...