Researchers agree that household equivalence scales are intended to measure the variation in income needed to bring households of different composition to the same welfare level. Researchers do not agree, however, about how the term "household welfare" is to be defined. This article traces the historical and philosophical development of three distinct definitions. When the conceptual bases of several popular methods for the estimation of equivalence scales are explored, it becomes clear that advances in theoretical rigor have not always worked to bring the literature closer to answering questions of policy concern.

We develop a partial equilibrium matching model of the labor market in order to examine whether adoption of a reemployment bonus would displace workers not offered the bonus. We examine the displacement effect for (a) unemployment insurance (UI)-eligible workers who are offered but do not find a job in time to qualify for a bonus and (b) UI-ineligible workers who are never offered a bonus. The model predicts minimal displacement of the former group. But for the latter group, the model predicts an increase in unemployment duration of .2-.4 week and an increase in unemployment of up to 2 per thousand.

Tournament mechanisms suggest the need for ever larger rewards to motivate those at the highest organizational levels. But arguments for the efficiency of executive pay compression have also been made. This study reports the results of an empirical investigation of executive compensation using over two-hundred firms and in excess of two thousand executives per year over a five-year period. Results are consistent with the operation of tournaments but fail to find support for the empirical importance of considerations of pay equity at the top of corporations.

This article provides an overview of the Canadian Unemployment Insurance (UI) program, including its evolution, salient features, relative size, and knowledge about its labor market impacts. Understanding of these impacts is limited, and we conclude that an "event-study" approach is a promising way to further this knowledge. We examine the effects of the 1976 UI disentitlement of the elderly on their labor force behavior and find evidence of significant adverse selection effects. Interactions with the public pension system suggest that poverty among the elderly could be best addressed through changes in programs other than UI.