Essays on Discrimination and Corruption

Abstract: The thesis consists of four papers, summarized as follows."Do attitudes towards immigrants matter?" analyses the consequences of negative attitudes towards immigrants to Sweden. If attitudes changed from the average level to the most positive level, the wage earned by a well educated immigrant from a non developed country would increase by 12%. This change in attitudes would increase the welfare of immigrants from Africa and Asia, through their wage and local amenities, by an equivalent to one third of their wage and the welfare of immigrants from South America and Eastern Europe by one fourth of their wage if they are well educated, and one tenth otherwise.In "Who is hurt by discrimination?", the effects of discrimination of immigrants on the labour market are studied in 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 the economy. An increase in the share of immigrants in the economy exacerbates the problem of discrimination.In "Complementary controls of corruption", a theoretical model shows that when the judiciary and the media are more dependent and the elections less competitive, corruption flourishes. The three institutions are shown to be complementary. The empirical analysis indicates that the dependence of the judiciary and the media has a positive effect on perceived corruption and that the media is complementary with both the judiciary and the electoral system."Decision making in the ECB's Governing Council -- Should minutes and forecasts be published ?" analyses if the publication of forecasts and minutes of the meetings of the Governing Council could have a negative effect due to the influence of governments on their representatives' votes. The information provided is shown to reduce their influence and benefit the Executive Board.