Inter-Industry Wage Differentials: Evidence from Belgium in a Cross-National Perspective

This paper examines the existence and magnitude of inter-industry wage differentials in Belgium. Using the 1995 Structure of Earnings Survey, a rich employer-employee matched database, we find significant sectoral wage differentials among workers who are apparently similar from the point of view of their individual characteristics and working conditions. Results also suggest that these differences derive partly from the features of the employers in each sector (size of the establishment, bargaining regime). In an international perspective, results fit in with findings from earlier studies on the existence of a negative relation between the dispersion of inter-industry wage differentials and the degree of corporatism.     

Walloon & Flemish videotex trials

This article focuses on the problems surrounding ‘compunication’, ie the growing imbrication between electronic computers and telecommunications. (The corresponding French term is télématique). More precisely, the specific problems of videotex systems thrown up by different experiments in Belgium are examined. The CCITT of the ITU uses the term videotex as the generic name referring to all systems that make it possible to gain information through telecommunication networks (Hertzian waves, cable TV distribution networks or telephone lines). Requested information appears on a TV screen (at home, in a place of work or in a public place).     

A structural model of US aggregate job flows

This paper contributes to the analysis of jobs flows dynamics through the explicit modelling of job creations and job destructions. We propose a simple matching model extended for endogenous separation and tractable heterogeneity. The parameters of the model are estimated using a simulation‐based estimation method. We then test the ability of trade externalities, generated by the matching process, to (i) propagate reallocation and aggregate disturbances in the whole labor market and (ii) generate the observed distribution of aggregate job flows. The results clearly indicate that the model is able to match the dynamics of US aggregate job flows. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Life insurance in a contingent claim framework: Pricing and regulatory implications

In this paper we develop a contingent claim model to evaluate the equity and liabilities of a life insurance company. The limited liability of shareholders is explicitly modelled. We focus on a specific type of life insurance policy—namely, the profit-sharing policy. In this policy, the policyholder is entitled to a guaranteed interest rate and a percentage of the company's yearly financial revenues. The implicit equilibrium interest rate and profit-sharing ratio are derived and analyzed. We finally discuss regulatory measures frequently encountered in the life insurance business such as rate ceilings, capital ratios, and asset restrictions.     

Equilibrium in a reinsurance market: Introducing taxes

We introduce profit taxation in Borch's [1962] model of a competitive insurance market. We analyze the impact of taxation on equilibrium prices and characterize the cases where optimal risk sharing is preserved. In the case of Constant Relative Risk Aversion (CRRA) utility functions, this abstract characterization is translated into simple conditions involving the solvency ratios of the companies. The case of Constant Absolute Risk Aversion (CARA) utility functions is also studied.     

The decentralization of credit: A selected summary of the Mayoux report

The Mayoux Report is the official report of a Committee of Inquiry headed by Jacques Mayoux that examined problems of the local and regional financial opportunities of small and medium-sized firms. This note, written by two of the aides to Mr. Mayoux in the preparation of the report, provides a summary of the major findings and suggestions of the Committee regarding banking reform. The principal recommendations include the simplification and decentralization of the granting of credit in France and continued steps toward the balancing of the rules and conditions governing lending and deposit collection among the various French financial institutions. It appeared to the Committee that the compartmentalization of French financial institutions due to the special rules under which specific institutions are permitted to operate was the major obstacle preventing better distributions of credit in France.