We examine optimal taxation and social insurance if insurance markets are imperfect. This requires the development of a theory of labor supply under uncertainty. We show that the case for social insurance is not generally reinforced by adverse selection in insurance markets as social insurance will have welfare-decreasing e ects on the labor market. Furthermore, positive and normative implicati...

A search for fossil groups in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey was performed using virtual observatory tools. A cross-match of the positions of all SDSS Luminous Red Galaxies (with r < 19 and measured spectroscopic redshifts) with sources in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey catalog resulted in a list of elliptical galaxies with extended X-ray emission (with a galaxy/ROSAT-source distance of less than 0.5 a...

It has been shown that higher capital taxes can have a growth-enhancing effect when combined with a revenue-compensating cut in wage taxes (Uhlig and Yanagawa 1996; European Economic Review 40, 1521–1540) or with an expansion in productivity-increasing public services (Rivas 2003; European Economic Review 47, 477–503). The present paper demonstrates that these results critically hinge on the ex...

This paper analyzes subjective evaluations of the wage distribution and preferences for redistribution using Swiss data from the International Social Survey Program. Preferences for redistribution are conceptualized and measured as the discrepancy between the perceived and the just level of wage inequality. The results suggest that there is both considerable support for equalisation of wages an...

Demand for Redistribution, Support for the Welfare State, and Party Identification in Austria This paper describes subjective wage inequality and the demand for redistribution in Austria using individuals' estimates of occupational wages from the International Social Survey Program. Although these estimates differ widely across individuals, the data clearly show that most individuals would like...

Interactions between Private and Public Sector Wages We examine the interactions between public and private sector wages per employee in OECD countries. The growth of public sector wages and of public sector employment positively affects the growth of private sector wages. Moreover, total factor productivity, the unemployment rate and the degree of urbanisation are also important determinants o...

Business representatives and union leaders in highly industrialised countries often accuse the governments of lessdeveloped countries of practising social dumping in the sense of deliberately neglecting work-place safety legislation, codetermination rights and other fringe benefits which define the quality of workplaces. This paper refutes this view by modelling the transition path of a less-de...

Direct measurement techniques have recently been employed by some statistical agencies for the government output components in the SNA. These methods use proxies and indictator for outputs due to the inherent lack of market valuations. This article investigates the pros and cons of these new approaches and compares them with the traditional input method. This leads us to take a deeper look at t...

Approaching demographic shifts are raising concerns about fiscal sustainability in most OECD countries. A widespread view based on the tax-smoothing idea is that a prior consolidation of public finances is required to cope with the predicted trend deterioration in the primary budget balance. Both positive aspects in assessing the order of magnitude of sustainability problems and normative aspec...

An individual distance-independent girth increment model for pure stands of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (MIRB.) FRANCO), comprising two equations, is presented. The data used to fit the model were collected from 1007 trees in 42 plots installed in regularly stocked and even-aged stands located in Wallonia (southern Belgium). Both equations predict girth increment from individual girth, d...