Mode of payment in household expenditures

Summary We have studied the choice of mode of payment from a 1987 Dutch household survey. The institutional arrangements of a transaction are a major determinant for the mode of payment, and so is the amount involved. A 10% increase in the sum paid usually leads to a reduction of about 1.3% to 2.3% in the incidence of currency use.Based on De keuze van een betaalmiddel (The Choice of Mode of Payment), (SEO, Amsterdam, 1989), which reports research commissioned by the Postbank, Amsterdam.     

A simultaneous analysis of the labour force participation of married women and the presence of young children in the family

Summary The labour force participation of married women and the presence of young children in the family show a strongly negative correlation. In this article it is investigated whether this correlation is a reflection of a causal relationship between these two variables. To answer this question, a simultaneous logit analysis, following Mallax, is applied to data of the Dutch census of 1971 that are grouped by COROP region. The results suggest that there exists an asymmetric causal relationship between both variables with the causality running from the labour force participation of married women to the presence of young children in the family.The authors are indebted to Professors C. de Galan and C.K.F. Nieuwenburg and Mr. F.A.A.M. van Winden for valuable comments.     

Crisis of the euro zone and prospects of the euro

This paper analyzes problems of the eurozone, which are aggravated by the crisis. It proposes architectural transformations of the European monetary system targeted at combating the crisis and promoting economic growth and employment in today’s structurally inhomogeneous Europe.     

Free entry in successive oligopolies

In the present paper, we propose an extension of Spengler's (1950) analysis of successive oligopolies, to study the effects of entry in the downstream and upstream markets. Free entry is analyzed using replica economies à la Debreu and Scarf (1963) . We find that free entry may have different effects in the upstream and in the downstream market. Namely, the usual convergence of the price to the corresponding marginal cost only occurs in the downstream market.