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Basic research, openness, and convergence
(2010)Economics Working Paper SeriesWe study a model where economic growth is fueled by public basic-research investment and the importation of leading technology from foreign countries. In each period, the government chooses the amount of basic research, balancing the cost and benefits of stimulating growth through both channels. We establish the existence of steady states and the long-run share of technologically advanced sectors in the economy. Then, we explore how ...Working Paper -
Growth and Welfare under Endogenous Lifetime
(2010)Economics Working Paper SeriesWe develop a perpetual youth model to investigate how longevity affects economic growth and welfare. Life expectancy is determined by individuals’ investments in healthcare. We find that improvements in the healthcare technology always increase the steady state growth rate. Although the effect is small, even for large increases in longevity, welfare gains may be substantial depending on the type of the technological improvement. We identify ...Working Paper -
Raising Juveniles
(2010)Discussion paper seriesThis paper investigates how families make decisions about the education of juveniles. The decision problem is analyzed in three variations: a 'decentralized' scheme, in which the parents control the purse-strings, but the children dispose of their time as they see fit; a 'hierarchical' scheme, in which the parents can enforce a particular level of schooling by employing a monitoring technology; and the cooperative solution, in which the ...Working Paper -
Optimal Mix of Applied and Basic Research, Distance to Frontier, and Openness
(2010)Discussion paperWe study the interplay between basic and applied research intensities in a simple model of creative destruction with research complementarities. Basic research intensity is chosen by the government and applied research intensity by the private sector. We find that the closer the country is to the world’s technological frontier the more the government should invest in basic research and the more the private sector will react with higher ...Working Paper -
The larger the better? The role of interest-group size in legislative lobbying
(2010)Economics Working Paper SeriesWe develop a model of legislative lobbying where policy proposals are endogenous. We show that a policy proposer with preferences tilted towards one lobby may be induced by an increase in that interest group’s size to propose policies geared towards the opposing lobby. Hence, a larger lobby size can have adverse effects on policy outcomes for this same lobby. This provides another rationale as to why some interests do not organize. Moreover, ...Working Paper -
Trading off generations: infinitely-lived agent versus OLG
(2010)Economics Working Paper SeriesThe prevailing literature discusses intergenerational trade-offs predominantly in infinitely-lived agent models despite the finite lifetime of individuals. We discuss these trade-offs in a continuous time OLG framework and relate the results to the infinitely-lived agent setting. We identify three shortcomings of the latter: First, underlying normative assumptions about social preferences cannot be deduced unambiguously. Second, the ...Working Paper