Based on the aggregation of individual willingness-to-pay for a statistical life, we calibrate an inter-temporal optimisation model to determine the aggregate welfare loss from HIV/AIDS in 25 Eastern European countries. Assuming a discount rate of...

We study the North-South diffusion of technologies embodied in internationally mobile capital in a framework of intertemporal global welfare maximization. Convergence of the growth rates of technical change in the North and South always occurs in...

By allowing firms to invest in their workers' human capital, this paper extends the traditional analysis of firing costs with respect to two points, both of them positive in terms of welfare. On the one hand, firing restrictions reduce turnover,...

We study North–South capital transfer and the diffusion of embodied technologies within a framework of intertemporal global welfare maximization. We show saddle path stability and characterize the steady state. We then examine the transition path by...

This paper explores the implications of the ongoing reorganization of firms for inequality in the labour market. We show how recent technological advances in physical and human capital can lead to the breakdown of occupational barriers, creating...

Although wage rigidity is among the most prominent subjects in modern economics, its effects on wage compression and firm training have thus far not been considered. This paper is trying to bridge this gap by using a simple two period model which...

The paper concentrates on the question whether the low level of productivity in East Germany can be explained by deficits in the stock of human capital. It is shown that figures on “formal” qualifications yield a too optimistic view on human capital...

This paper analyzes the effect of downwards wage rigidity on wage setting, wage compression and firm training. It is shown that downwards wage rigidity in future periods induces a wage penalty and increases wage compression in the present period....

We address the question of whether foreign aid helps attract foreign direct investment (FDI). This could be achieved if well targeted aid removed critical impediments to higher FDI inflows. In particular, test the hypothesis that aid for education is...

We address the question of whether foreign aid helps attract foreign direct investment (FDI). This could be achieved if well targeted aid removed critical impediments to higher FDI inflows. In particular, we test the hypothesis that aid for education...