We study the evolution of an educational system founded on a hierarchical di®erentiation between vocational and general education, with vocational playing an inferior role in the society. The dynamics are best summarized by the ratio of the fraction of the population in vocational to that in general education, which we interpret as a measure of the degree of strati ̄cation of the society. We sho...

Long Run Trends in Australian Executive Remuneration: BHP 1887-2012 Outside the US, little is known of long-run trends in executive compensation. We fill this gap by studying BHP, a resources giant that has long been one of the largest companies on the Australian stock market. From 1887 to 2013, trends in CEO and director remuneration (relative to average earnings) follow a U-shape. This matche...

This paper introduces a new comprehensive panel of annual state-level income inequality measures spanning the postwar period 1945–2004. For many states, the share of income held by the top decile experienced a prolonged period of stability after World War II, followed by a substantial increase in inequality during the 1980s and 1990s. This paper also presents an examination of the long-run rela...

Many would say that children are society’s most precious resource. So, how should we invest in them? To gain insight into this question, a dynamic general equilibrium model is developed where children differ by ability. Parents invest time and money in their offspring, depending on their altruism. This allows their children to grow up as more productive adults. First, the efficient allocation i...

This study reports piezoelectric properties and crystallographic microstructures of aluminium nitride (AlN, wurtzite structure) thin films on 50 μm thick stainless steel foil. The transverse piezoelectric coefficient d31,f and e31,f of 10 μm thick AlN films were estimated as -1.42 ± 0.08 pm/V and -0.48 ± 0.03 C/m 2 from a tip displacement of the piezoelectric cantilevers. Dielectric constant ε3...

The Association Agreement between Jordan and the EU entered into force in 2002. It provides a gradual reduction of import duties on EU products over a period of twelve years. In this paper we investigate the economic implications of induced trade liberalization on aggregate economic performance as well as effects on welfare and income distribution of heterogenous households. This is done by int...

This paper shows that a zero-sum redistribution of wealth within a country can have persistent aggregate effects. Motivated by the case of an unanticipated inflation episode, we consider redistribution shocks that shift resources from old to young households. Aggregate effects arise because there are asymmetries in the reaction of winners and losers to changes in wealth. We focus on two sources...

While recent research on income polarization is based on only a few approaches, this paper portrays the major methods and applies each to income distributions of Germany (1984-2000) and the US (1984-1997) using the Cross-National Equivalent Files. In addition, statistical inference is provided via bootstrap techniques. Further, we combine kernel density estimation with a unimodality test. The e...

This paper analyses the extent of income inequality and opportunity inequality in 25 European countries. The present work contributes to understanding the origin of standard income inequality, helping to identify potential institutional setups that are associated to opportunity inequality. We distinguish between ex ante and ex post opportunity inequality. We find that ex ante equality of opport...