The role of demography in the long-run Yen/USD real exchange rate appreciation

This paper aims to measure the contribution of an aging population to explain the real appreciation experienced by the Yen–US Dollar since 1980s. We develop a two-good overlapping-generation model of a semi-small open economy to highlight the link between the birth rate and the real exchange rate. In a creditor (debtor) country, an aging population causes a real exchange rate appreciation (depreciation) due to a positive (negative) wealth effect. Structural parameters are estimated by GMM using quarterly data between 1960 and 2001. Then, numerical simulations show that the long-run relationship between population growth and real exchange rate is negative between 1960 and 1971 and positive between 1971 and 2000. The decrease in population growth may account for a large part of the real appreciation experienced by the Yen/USD between 1971 and 2000.     

Job auctions and hold-ups

We consider a labor market with search frictions in which firms need to invest in capital before they can post a vacancy. This assumption creates a natural scope for hold-up problems, but the innovation of our study is that we allow for competition among the applicants who apply for the same job. In our economy all applicants are paid their actual marginal product. Nonetheless, with random search there exists a hold-up problem, leading to underinvestment in capital. On the contrary, if workers can direct their search towards firms with different capital levels, the equilibrium is efficient. This result contrasts sharply with the predictions of models with ex-post bargaining that never yield an efficient allocation. Moreover, our results extend the efficiency of auction mechanisms to an environment with non-contractible investments.     

Regional competitiveness, university spillovers, and entrepreneurial activity

This study examines the impact of regional competitiveness on the innovative activity of entrepreneurial firms. Based on a unique and hand-collected dataset of publicly listed high-technology start-ups and university regions, this paper tests how regional competitiveness and university spillovers affect the innovation behavior of entrepreneurial firms. The results provide strong evidence that regional competitiveness and university spillovers are strong complements in fostering innovation activity of entrepreneurial firms. However, the results also raise the question whether incentives for universities and their actors might lead to crowding out effects.     

Matching in community-based organizations

Using a rich dataset from West Africa, we examine the household characteristics associated with membership in community-based organizations (CBOs). We find that on average it is the more fortunate members of rural society who belong in CBOs. In Senegal, the dominant criterion is land ownership. In Burkina Faso it is age and family ties with village authorities. Ethnicity plays a role as well: CBO membership is less likely for ethnic groups that traditionally emphasize livestock raising. Next we look for evidence of assortative matching along multiple dimensions, using an original methodology based on dyadic regressions. We find robust evidence of positive assorting by physical and ethnic proximity as well as by wealth and household size. Along certain dimensions, donor-sponsored CBOs are less elitist and more inclusive. But the reverse is true for other dimensions, particularly in Burkina Faso.     

Identification and estimation of a class of household production models

We consider a class of household production models characterized by a dichotomy property. In these models the amount of time spent on household production does not depend on the household utility function, conditional on household members having a paid job. We analyse the (non‐parametric) identifiability of the production function and the so‐called jointness function (a function describing which part of household production time is counted as pure leisure). It is shown that the models are identified in the two‐adult case, but not in the single‐adult case. We present an empirical application to Swedish time‐allocation data. The estimates satisfy regularity conditions that were violated in previous studies and pass various specification tests. For this data set we find that male and female home production time are q‐substitutes. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new relative skill measure for games with chance elements

An interesting aspect of games is the relative extent to which a player can positively influence his results by making appropriate strategic choices. This question is closely related to the issue of how to distinguish between games of skill and games of chance. The distinction between these two types of games is definitely interesting from a juridical point of view. In this paper we present a modification of an existing measure of the skill level of a game, which has served as a juridical tool for the classification of games. The main difference is that this new definition does not automatically classify incomplete information games without chance moves as games of skill. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Heteroscedasticity and the use of Box–Cox transformations

Direct and inverse power Box–Cox transformations are used to characterize the form of heteroscedasticity in models where the variables themselves are subjected to direct Box–Cox transformations. Resulting formulations are extended to take serial correlation simultaneousy into account.     

Union coverage and sectoral wages: Evidence from the Netherlands

This paper investigates the impact of union coverage on sectoral wages in the Netherlands. The semi-elasticity of the wage rate with respect to union coverage appears to be around 0.05; it is higher in the industrial than in the other sectors. The impact of union coverage on wages appears to be lower in the Netherlands than in the US and the UK. Union coverage increases the weight of internal (sector-specific) factors in wage determination and decreases the weight of external (labour market) factors. Apparently, unions increase the role of rent sharing in wage formation and stabilize employment.