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As a skilled workforce can be a source of considerable competitive advantage in the current knowledge economy, companies are increasingly interested in mechanisms to attract and retain talented employees. Having well-designed compensation packages is key in this endeavor, but it requires an understanding of employee preferences for non-monetary compensation. Empirical evidence on the importance of this form of remuneration remains scarce and existing research has primarily focused on the quantification of compensating wage differentials through realized job choice data or survey data. This thesis aims to measure employee preferences for job amenities in a more direct way through regressions on a dataset of Flemish employer reviews from Glassdoor. In addition, the study explores whether crowdsourced employer reviews are the key to more robust empirical support for the theory of compensating differentials. In terms of non-monetary compensation, the findings suggest that corporate culture and career opportunities are the most important determinants of overall employee satisfaction. Although the study provides qualitative evidence in favor of the hedonic theory of wages, it fails to deliver sound quantitative estimates of compensating wage differentials for the included job amenities. By highlighting the current priorities of job seekers, this paper serves as guidance for employers that want to boost hiring through their employer branding strategy.

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In the last decade, economists have raised concerns about a slowdown in productivity growth in numerous developed countries. The phenomenon named the productivity puzzle has also occurred in Belgium. This thesis adds to the discussion on productivity in Belgium in three ways. First, Belgium is known to be an economically diverse country, so the thesis will look in detail into the differences between the three regions Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. Second, the latest techniques in productivity estimation are applied on an extensive micro dataset of Belgian firms. Several semi-parametric regression approaches are implemented and compared, whereby productivity is estimated at the firm level. The main method of analysis was suggested by Collard-Wexler and De Loecker (2016). The granular approach makes it possible to break down aggregate productivity and look at distributional aspects. Finally, aggregate productivity growth is broken down by region using the Melitz and Polanec decomposition (2015).

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The Belgian 2022 Multiband auction was a large and relatively successful spectrum auction, particular compared with previous spectrum auctions held in the country. The Belgian Institute of Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT) has long been at- tempting to attract a new player in the ever consolidating telecommunications industry and has failed until this auction. Revenue was also particularly high, yeilding 1,4 Billion Euros. To understand what went right in this auction, we review the current context of the Belgian telecommunications industry, auction design literature, and the rules imple- mented in this auction. The combination the SMRA auction format, generic lots, and deliberate reserved spectrum package were effective in welcoming a new entrant.

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In the last few decades, psychological findings have demonstrated the flaws in classic utility theory. Individual behavior cannot perfectly be described as the maximation of some utility function. Prospect theory proposes two adjustments, namely an updated probability criterium and a new valuation function. It has arguably become the most popular model in decisions under uncertainty, but the idea of a reference point to distinguish gains from losses can also be used in discrete choice experiments with certainty. Decision field theory takes a wholly different approach by trying to model the deliberation process towards reaching a decision. Recent developments have made it mathematically tractable to perform empiric tests. The goal of this thesis is to successfully estimate the model in R. The functioning of decision field theory is investigated using simulated datasets. Furthermore, it is empirically tested in a discrete choice experiment on consumers’ coffee buying behavior.