Birthe Larsen

Copenhagen Business School · Department of Economics

We survey the literature on the effects of increased transparency of gender segregated wages on the pay gap between men and women in comparable jobs. Pay transparency is promoted by countries and supra‐national institutions and we categorize reforms according to their content and coverage. A growing number of papers have used variations of differen...

Et spørgeskema udsendt til danske virksomheder under nedlukningen under den første bølge af coronavirus viser at hjælpepakkerne gik til de mest udsatte virksomheder og var med til at redde 81.000 jobs.

We analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and government policies on firms' aid take-up, layoff and furlough decisions. We collect new survey data for 10,642 small, medium and large Danish firms, and match to government records of all aid-supported furloughed workers during the pandemic as well as administrative accounting data. This is the fi...

This paper develops a general equilibrium search and matching model where an underground economy co-exists along with the formal part of the economy. In analyzing how tax and punishment policies a¤ect labour market performance, we nd that punishment of infor- mal sector activities induce workers and rms to reallocate towards the formal sector. Howe...

We analyze the effect of CEO education on environmental decision-making. Using a unique sample of Danish firms from 1996 to 2012, we find that CEO education significantly improves firms’ energy efficiency. We seek to derive causality using health shocks: the hospitalization of highly educated CEOs induces a drop in energy efficiency, whereas the ho...

We exploit the regional variation in negative attitudes towards immigrants to Sweden in order to analyse the consequences of negative attitudes on refugees' utility from labour income and amenities. We find that attitudes towards immigrants are important: while they affect mainly the refugees' quality of life, they also affect their income. We esti...

We examine the impact of discrimination on labor market performance when workers are subject to a risk of losing skills during an unemployment experience. Within a search and matching framework, we show that both natives and immigrants are affected by discrimination. Discrimination in one sector has positive spillovers, inducing employment to incre...

This paper develops a four sector equilibrium search and matching model with informal sector employment opportunities and educational choice. We show that underground activities reduce educational at- tainments if informal employment opportunities mainly are available to low educated workers. More zealous enforcement policy will in this case improv...

This paper develops an equilibrium search and matching model with informal sector employment opportunities and educational choice. We show that informal sector job opportunities distort educational attain-ment inducing a too low stock of educated workers. As informal job opportunities to a larger extent face low skilled workers, combating the infor...

The effects of discrimination of immigrants on the labour market are studied within a search and wage-bargaining setting including a risk of losing skills during the experience of unemployment. The negative effects of discrimination in the form of higher unemployment and lower wages spread to all workers, immigrants and natives, in all sectors of t...

We exploit the regional variation in negative attitudes towards immigrants to Sweden in order to analyse what are the consequences of such attitudes on immigrants' welfare. A well educated immigrant from a non developed country who lives in a municipality with strong negative attitudes earns less than what she would earn if she lived in a municpali...

This paper examines the effect of taxes on individuals' educational choices, and thus on the economy's skill composition. A proportional labour tax induces too many workers with high innate ability to choose education that is associated with high consumption and relatively low effort. This increases mismatching of skills and aggregate unemployment....

The effects of discrimination of immigrants on the labour market are studied within a search and wage-bargaining setting including a risk of losing skills during the experience of unemployment. The negative effects of discrimination in the form of higher unemployment and lower wages spread to all workers, immigrants and natives, in all sectors of t...

This paper studies labour market policy in a society where differently gifted individuals can invest in training to further increase their labour market productivity. Furthermore, the seeks both efficiency and equity. Frictions in the matching process create unemployment and differently skilled workers face different unemployment risks. We show tha...

The effect of tax policies and welfare state incentives on the performance of the labor market: theoretical and empirical analyses by leading European and American economists. High unemployment in many European OECD countries has been attributed to factors ranging from rigid wages and low job mobility to an interaction of high taxes and generous so...

This paper studies the theoretical and empirical implications of monetary policy making by committee under four different voting protocols. The protocols are a consensus model, where a supermajority is required for a policy change; an agenda-setting model, where the chairman controls the agenda; a dictator model, where the chairman has absolute pow...

This paper examines the effect of taxes on the individuals' choices of educational direction, and thus on the economy.s skill composition. A proportional labour tax induces too many workers with high innate ability to choose an educational type associated with high consumption value and low effort. This increases the skill mismatch and aggregate un...

We evaluate the impact of specially designed youth unemployment programmes (YUPs), intended to provide young unemployed unskilled workers with skills. If unemployment among skilled workers is lower than among unskilled workers, YUPs imply that unemployment falls. However, YUPs potentially crowd out ordinary training. We set up an equilibrium matchi...

This paper examines the effect of taxes on the individuals’ choices of educational direction, and thus on the economy’s skill composition. A proportional labour income tax induces too many workers with high innate ability to choose an educational type with high consumption value and low effort costs. This increases the skill mismatch and aggregate...

This paper examines the implications of that workers may not be able to estimate their true costs of acquiring skills. Consequently, too few workers may acquire skills. This allows for the possibility that subsidizing education is welfare improving. Furthermore, if the presence of skill-biased technological shocks increase unemployment, this may ex...

This paper examines the impact on unemployment, wages, distribution and welfare of Youth Unemployment Programmes (YUPs). The aim of YUPs is to increase the number of young people acquiring skills and thereby reduce unemployment. We consider the assumption of a completely successful YUP, which delivers higher skills, and analyse what happens when th...

To examine the macro economic effects of government tax and punishment policies, this paper develops a three-sector general quilibrium model featuring matching frictions, heterogenous abilities and an informal sector with tax evasion. The choice of education is determined endogenously. Job opportunities in an informal sector are available only to w...

While examining the macroeconomic effects of increased government control of the informal sector, this paper develops a two-sector general equilibrium model featuring matching frictions and worker-firm wage bargaining. Workers search for jobs in both the formal and the informal sector. We analyse the impact of higher punishment rates and a higher a...

In examining the macroeconomic effects of increased government control of the informal sector, this paper develops a two-sector general-equilibrium model featuring matching frictions on the labor market and a social norm. Conducting informal work, or employing a worker informally, is associated with expected fines and payments of a moral cost, give...

This paper considers the effect of a productivity shock when the unemployed worker risks a loss of skill. This divides the workers into short-term and long-term unemployment. In this economy, the short-term unemployed and long-term unemployed in the economy search for employment in the most productive sector and in the antiquated sector, respective...

While examining the macroeconomic effects of increased government control of the informal sector, this paper develops a two-sector general equilibrium model featuring matching frictions, and heterogeneous workers in terms of moral. This facilitates an analysis of how wage setting and unemployment is affected by punishment policies, which is ignored...

While examining the macroeconomic effects of increased government control of the informal sector, this paper develops a two-sector general equilibrium model featuring matching frictions and worker-firm wage bargaining. The same good is produced in the formal and in the informal sector. Moral considerations are determinant for whether the worker sea...

This paper examines the impact on unemployment, unemployment distribution, wages and welfare of Youth Unemployment Programmes (YUPs). The aim of YUP is to increase the number of young people acquiring skills. We assume that the YUPs are a complete success and consequently analyse what happens when the number of skilled workers increases relatively...

This paper challenges the traditional view that unemployment is high because insiders determine the union wage. The insiders in this paper are characterized by being more efficient when they search for a job than the outsiders, implying that they experience relatively less unemployment. We assume that wages are determined by a monopoly union and fu...

We analyse the effects active labour market programmes (ALMPs) have on unemployment in a union wage-setting framework when search is endogenous. We assume that a union president, elected by majority voting determines the wage. We analyse the case where ALMPs increase match efficiency of the marginalized workers, and show that ALMPs may increase une...

We analyze the effects active labor market programmes (ALMPs) have on wages and unemployment in a union wage-setting framework where workers decide on their optimal search intensity. We assume ALMPs increase match efficiency. The matching process improves if search intensity increases, leading to higher wages. Unemployment tends to fall because of...

This paper derives optimal active labor market policies in a frictional labor market. Policy is set by a government which values both equity and efficiency criteria. The policy instruments include passive subsidies to unemployment and active subsidies to training. Optimal government policy is constrained by the existence of search frictions and pro...

This paper studies labour market policy in a society where dier- ently gifted individuals can invest in training to further increase their labour market productivity. Furthermore, the government seeks both e¢ ency and equity. Frictions in the matching process create unemploy- ment and dierently skilled workers face dierent unemployment risks. We sh...