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作者:Autor, DH
作者单位:Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); National Bureau of Economic Research
摘要:The majority of U.S. temporary help supply (THS) firms offer nominally free, unrestricted computer skills training, a practice inconsistent with the competitive model of training. I propose and test a model in which firms offer general training to induce self-selection and perform screening of worker ability. The model implies, and the data confirm, that firms providing training attract higher ability workers yet pay them lower wages after training. Thus, beyond providing spot market labor, TH...
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作者:Laibson, D
作者单位:Harvard University
摘要:Psychological experiments demonstrate that repeated pairings of a cue and a consumption good eventually create cue-based complementarities: the presence of the cue raises the marginal utility derived from consumption. In this paper, such dynamic preferences are embedded in a rational choice model. Behavior that arises from this model is characterized by endogenous cue sensitivities, costly cue-management, commitment, and cue-based spikes in impatience. The model is used to understand addictive...
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作者:Besley, T; Ghatak, M
作者单位:University of London; London School Economics & Political Science; University of Chicago
摘要:There has been a dramatic change in the division of responsibility between the state and the private sector for the delivery of public goods and services in recent years with an increasing trend toward contracting out to the private sector and public-private partnerships. This paper analyzes how ownership matters in public good provision. We show that if contracts are incomplete then the ownership of a public good should lie with a party that values the benefits generated by it relatively more...
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作者:Gruber, J; Köszegi, B
作者单位:Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); National Bureau of Economic Research; University of California System; University of California Berkeley
摘要:This paper makes two contributions to the modeling of addiction. First, we provide new and convincing evidence that smokers are forward-looking in their smoking decisions, using state excise tax increases that have been legislatively enacted but are not yet effective, and monthly data on consumption. Second, we recognize the strong evidence that preferences with respect to smoking are time inconsistent, with individuals both not recognizing the true difficulty of quitting and searching for sel...
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作者:Berry, ST; Waldfogel, J
作者单位:Yale University; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of Pennsylvania
摘要:Mergers can reduce costs and alter incentives about how to position products, so that theory alone cannot predict whether mergers will increase product variety. We document the effect of mergers on variety by exploiting the natural experiment provided by the 1996 Telecommunications Act. We find that consolidation reduced station entry and increased the number of formats available relative to the number of stations. We find some evidence that increased concentration increases variety absolutely...