Abstract

The thesis contains three models. Chapter 1 illustrates how financial market incompleteness causes misallocations and influences international trade patterns. Countries with more complete markets tend to specialize in risky sectors. Chapter 2 shows how fertility constraints harm social mobility and create misallocations through multiple channels. Chapter 3 shows financial segmentation in China is the cause of housing bubbles but that bubbles improve the allocation by crowding out inefficient investments.

PhD Candidate: Yangzhou Yuan, Stockholm University

Opponent: Karl Walentin, Uppsala University