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on Demographic Economics |
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Issue of 2013‒08‒23
27 papers chosen by Clarence Nkengne Tsimpo University of Montreal and World Bank Group |
| By: | Matz, Julia Anna |
| Abstract: | This study adds a microeconomic perspective to the discussion on ethnic diversity and economic performance in developing countries by investigating the motivation for intra-ethnicity marriage in rural Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, the paper proposes that ethnic similarity between spouses enhances economic outcomes through a shared agricultural production technology. Furthermore, the framework suggests that the probability of marriage within the same ethnic group is positively related to the size of the group due to frictions in the marriage market: Search costs for co-ethnic spouses are larger the smaller the group. The theoretical propositions are supported using Ethiopian rural household data by demonstrating that inter-ethnicity marriage of the household head has adverse implications for family income. The negative effect is robust to controlling for lagged income and initial conditions, present when investigating the link with changes in family wealth, and persists in additional sensitivity checks. |
| Keywords: | Ethnic Diversity, Heterogamy, Marriage, Family Income, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Productivity Analysis, D10, J12, O12, |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:154935&r=dem |
| By: | Raymundo M. Campos-Vazquez (El Colegio de Mexico); Roberto Velez-Grajales (Centro de Estudios Espinosa Yglesias) |
| Abstract: | Using a national representative sample for Mexico, we analyse the effect of a husband having a working mother on the probability that he has a working wife. Our results show that labour force participation by a husband’s mother increases the probability of the labour force participation of his wife by 15 percentage points. The effect is mainly driven by males with less than a high school education. One possible confounding factor is the effect of labour force participation of the wife’s mother on the wife’s labour participation decision. However, in a different sample, we do not find any effect of work force participation of wives’ mothers on wives’ decisions to join the labour force. Finally, we test the effect of the work force participation of a husband’s mother on the husband’s preferences regarding child-rearing practices. We find that having a working mother strongly reduces the probability that daughters will be tasked to care for siblings and fosters preferences for a more egalitarian allocation of educational resources among children. Hence, promoting female labour force participation can have important dynamic implications, especially for developing countries. |
| Keywords: | female labour supply; family; preferences; social norms; role models |
| JEL: | D10 J12 J16 J22 O54 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:emx:ceedoc:2013-06&r=dem |
| By: | S. Anukriti (Boston College) |
| Abstract: | Lower fertility can translate into a more male-biased sex ratio if son preference is persistent and technology for sex-selection is easily accessible. This paper investigates whether financial incentives can overcome this trade-off in the context of an Indian scheme, Devirupak, that seeks to decrease both fertility and the sex ratio at birth. First, I construct a model where the effects of incentives are determined by the strength of son preference, the cost of children, and the cost of sex-selection, relative to the size of incentives. Second, I create a woman-year panel dataset from retrospective birth histories and use variation in the composition of pre-existing children as well as the state and the year of program implementation to estimate its causal effect. Devirupak successfully lowers the number of children by 0.9 percent, but mainly through a 1.9 percent decrease in the number of daughters. Faced with a choice between a son and only daughters, couples choose a son despite lower monetary benefits, and thus the sex ratio at birth unintentionally increases. A subsidy worth 10 months of average household consumption expenditure is insufficient to induce parents to give up sons entirely. Instead, Devirupak increases the proportion of one-boy couples by 5 percent. Only the most financially disadvantaged groups exhibit an increase in the proportion of one-girl couples. |
| Keywords: | Demographics, fertility, sex ratio, financial incentives, childbearing |
| JEL: | D1 J13 J16 I15 |
| Date: | 2013–07–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boc:bocoec:827&r=dem |
| By: | Marcel Boyer (CIRANO, Université de Montréal); Sebastien Boyer (Collège Jean-de Brébeuf) |
| Abstract: | The real demographic challenge for Canadian policymakers is adapting to a population growing “younger,” after taking increased life expectancies into account, says a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “The Main Challenge of Our Times: A Population Growing Younger,” authors Marcel Boyer and Sébastien Boyer propose an alternative approach to population aging, which measures years to live instead of years since birth. Since 1950, Canadian life expectancy, on average, has increased. For example, a 65-year-old in 2010 had the same life expectancy as a 59.5 year-old in 1950. “Canadians are experiencing increases in longevity and are willing to work longer than previous cohorts,” said Marcel Boyer. “Public policy should aim to provide Canadians with the instruments to better manage retirement decisions.” |
| Keywords: | Economic Growth and Innovation |
| JEL: | J11 J18 J24 J38 J62 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdh:ebrief:161&r=dem |
| By: | April Yanyuan Wu; Nadia S. Karamcheva; Alicia H. Munnell; Patrick Purcell |
| Abstract: | This paper seeks to determine the impact of the changing lives of women – increased labor force participation/earnings and reduced marriage rates – on Social Security replacement rates. First, our estimates, based on the Health and Retirement Study and Modeling Income in the Near Term, show that Social Security replacement rates have dropped sharply at both the household- and individual-level, and the decline will continue for future retirees. Our second finding is that this aggregate change masks a complex relationship between replacement rates and the marital status and income levels of individuals. The decline in replacement rates over time is largest for married couples with husbands whose earnings are in the top tercile. Decomposing the reasons for the overall decline shows that increases in the labor supply and earnings of women explain more than one-third of the change. In contrast, the impact of changing marital patterns is relatively small. Much of the remaining explanation rests with the increased Full Retirement Age and changing claiming behaviors. |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crr:crrwps:wp2013-16&r=dem |
| By: | Creina Day |
| Abstract: | While high fertility persists in the poorest countries and fertility declines with per capita income in developing countries, fertility and per capita income are now positively associated across most developed countries. This paper presents a model where a Ushaped relationship between overall fertility and per capita income reflects within country differences in workforce skill composition and household choice of occupation, fertility and childrearing. The fraction of skilled workers rises with economic growth. By allowing for both differences in the fertility of skilled and unskilled workers and purchased childrearing inputs, we explain a poverty trap with high fertility, fertility decline with economic development and the possible reversal of fertility decline in a developed economy where most workers are skilled. |
| Keywords: | fertility; economic growth; education; childrearing |
| JEL: | J13 J24 O40 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:camaaa:2013-47&r=dem |
| By: | Daniel Kemptner |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a dynamic life cycle model of health risks, employment, early retirement, and wealth accumulation in order to analyze the health-related risks of consumption and old age poverty. In particular, the model includes a health process, the interaction between health and employment risks, and an explicit modeling of the German public insurance schemes. I rely on a dynamic programming discrete choice framework and estimate the model using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel. I quantify the health-related life cycle risks by simulating scenarios where health shocks do or do not occur at different points in the life cycle for individuals with differing endowments. Moreover, a policy simulation investigates minimum pension benefits as an insurance against old age poverty. While such a reform raises a concern about an increase in abuse of the early retirement option, the simulations indicate that a means test mitigates the moral hazard problem substantially. |
| Keywords: | Dynamic programming, discrete choice, health, employment, early retirement, consumption, tax and transfer system |
| JEL: | C61 I14 J22 J26 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1320&r=dem |
| By: | Maria Sironi; Nicola Barban; Roberto Impiacciatore |
| Abstract: | Compared to older cohorts, young adults in developed societies delay their transition to adulthood. Yet within cohorts, variations in timing and sequencing of events still remain. A major determinant of life course events is social class. This characteristic can influence the sequence of events in terms of socioeconomic inequalities through a different availability of opportunities for social mobility. Several studies show that in North America, a higher familial status tends to decrease the complexity of trajectories, while the opposite effect has been found in Southern Europe. This research examines the sequence of transitions, highlighting in a comparative perspective how life trajectories are influenced by parental social class in the United States and Italy. The main result of the analysis is that the effect of parental background is different across countries. In the United States, we find that a high status favors not only a higher education and an early entry in the labor market, but also a higher heterogeneity of states and the occurrence of new behaviors like single living and cohabitation. In Italy, the effect of social class is gender-specific. Among men, a higher social class tends to delay transitions more than lead towards modern behaviors. Among women, a higher social class either tends to facilitate the experience of a more modern and independent transition, or it generates a higher probability of postponing exit from the parental home, and then family formation, among those who completed their education and found a job. |
| Keywords: | transition to adulthood, social class, parental background, sequence analysis |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:don:donwpa:059&r=dem |
| By: | Aranki, Ted; Macchiarelli, Corrado |
| Abstract: | The decision to cease working is traditionally influenced by a wide set of socio-economic and environmental variables. In this paper, we study transitions out of work for 26 EU countries over the period 2004-2009 in order to investigate the determinants of retirement based on the Eurostat Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC). Applying standard survivor analysis tools to describe exits into retirement, we do not find any significant differences in the patterns into retirement between the average euro area and EU non-euro area countries. Moreover, we find that shifts into retirement have increased during the onset of the 2009 economic and financial crisis. Income, together with flexible working arrangements, is found to be important as regards early retirement decisions, compared to retiring beyond the legal retirement age. Finally, we show that institutional measures (such as, state/health benefits, minimum retirement age) could not be sufficient alone if individuals withdraw earlier from the labour market due to a weakening of their health. Especially, these latter results are of importance for structural and macroeconomic policy, for instance, in increasing the employment of both people and hours worked against the background of population ageing. JEL Classification: J14, J26, C41 |
| Keywords: | ageing population, Cox regressions, duration analysis, EU countries, hazard model, Retirement |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20131517&r=dem |
| By: | Edward Prescott (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis); Ellen McGrattan (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis) |
| Abstract: | A problem facing the United States is financing retirement consumption as its population ages. Policy analysts increasingly advocate savings-for-retirement systems, but are concerned with insufficient savings opportunities with limited government debt. This concern is unwarranted. First, there is more productive capital than commonly assumed in macroeconomic modeling. Second, if the policy reform subsumes the elimination of capital income taxes, then the value of business equity increases relative to the capital stock. Phasing in a switch from the current U.S. system to a savings-for-retirement system without capital income taxes increases welfare of all current and future cohorts. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed013:61&r=dem |
| By: | Todd Schoellman (Arizona State University) |
| Abstract: | This paper quantifies cross-country differences in early childhood human capital. I embed a standard human capital production function into a cross-country model of human capital investment and labor market outcomes. The model predicts that only some human capital investment channels generate cross-country differences in early childhood human capital. I derive an empirical test of the importance of these channels. The test compares the late-life outcomes of otherwise identical immigrants who entered the U.S. at age 0 or age 5. I implement this test using the Indochinese refugees, who immigrated from poor countries during trying times, and for whom selection is unlikely to bias my results. The empirical results document a striking fact: there is no difference in late-life outcomes between Indochinese refugees who arrived at age 0 or age 5. I conclude that cross-country differences in early childhood human capital are small. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed013:52&r=dem |
| By: | Raymundo M. Campos-Vazquez (El Colegio de Mexico); Eva O. Arceo-Gomez (CIDE) |
| Abstract: | We analize the gender wage gap in Mexico using the Population Censuses from 1990 to 2010. The wage gap has decreased on average during this period. In 2010, the gender wage gap was about 6%. However, the average hides important aspects of the wage gap across the distribution of wages. We find a stable pattern of sticky floors and a decreasing pattern of glass ceilings over the period. We use a semiparametric method to decompose the wage gap on changes in characteristics and changes in prices, and we also correct for selection of women into the labor market. Most of the wage gap is due to differences in prices. When correct for selection, we find that the wage gap would have been greater suggesting that there is positive selection of females into the labor market. This selection is more important for females with low education and in lower quantiles. |
| Keywords: | wage gap; selection; non-parametric econometrics; Mexico |
| JEL: | C14 J16 J31 J71 O54 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:emx:ceedoc:2013-07&r=dem |
| By: | Huber, Martin; Lechner, Michael; Wunsch, Conny |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we assess the impact of firms introducing part-time work schemes for gradual labour market exit of elderly workers on their employees’ labour market outcomes. The analysis is based on unique linked employer-employee data that combine high-quality survey and administrative data. Our results suggest that partial or gradual retirement options offered by firms are an important tool to alleviate the negative effects of low labour market attachment of elderly workers in ageing societies. When combined with financial incentives to hire unemployed or young jobseekers as replacement, they seem to be particularly beneficial, especially when labour market conditions are difficult. Under such circumstances, they can even have positive spill-over effects on younger workers. Firms should thus be encouraged to offer such schemes. |
| Keywords: | part-time work, elderly employees, treatment effects, matching |
| JEL: | J14 J26 C21 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usg:econwp:2013:16&r=dem |
| By: | Taylor, Mark P. |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effects of initial labour market entry conditions on a range of subsequent job outcomes for men and women who entered the British labour market between 1991 and 2009, using data from the British Household Panel Survey and its successor Understanding Society. We find that the unemployment rate on leaving full-time education has large impacts on initial labour market outcomes including status, wages and employment stability, which persist over the subsequent ten years. These effects are more pronounced for men than women and indicate that young people entering the labour market during the current period of economic stagnation will suffer a lasting scar as a consequence. |
| Date: | 2013–08–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:iserwp:2013-12&r=dem |
| By: | Raymundo M. Campos-Vazquez (El Colegio de Mexico) |
| Abstract: | The proportion of wage workers with missing labor income has recently increased in Mexico. In this article, I correct the missing labor income through imputation methods. The official measurement of labor poverty indicates an increase from 42 to 53% in the 2005-2012 period, but poverty measured with imputed income increases only from 36 to 40%, a much lower increase than the one we observe. The results imply that policy makers should include in their statistics individuals with missing income and report statistics with and without correcting for missing income. |
| Keywords: | discrimination; gender; race; labor market; Mexico; hiring; Correspondence study |
| JEL: | I24 J10 J16 J70 O54 |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:emx:ceedoc:2013-04&r=dem |
| By: | James Tremewan; Chloé Le Coq; Alexander D. Wagner |
| Abstract: | Using a group identity manipulation we examine the role of social preferences in an experimental one-shot centipede game. Contrary to what social preference theory would predict, we fnd that players continue longer when playing with outgroup members. The explanation we provide for this result rests on two observations: (i) players should only stop if they are suffciently conident that their partner will stop at the next node, given the exponentially-increasing payoffs in the game, and (ii) players are more likely to have this degree of certainty if they are matched with someone from the same group, whom they view as similar to themselves and thus predictable. We find strong statistical support for this argument. We conclude that group identity not only impacts a player's utility function, as identifed in earlier research, but also affects her reasoning about her partner's behavior. |
| JEL: | C72 C91 C92 D83 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vie:viennp:1305&r=dem |
| By: | Meghan Skira (University of Georgia) |
| Abstract: | This paper formulates and estimates a dynamic discrete choice model of elder parent care and work to analyze how caregiving affects a woman's current and future labor force participation and wages. The model incorporates parental health changes, human capital accumulation, and job offer availability. The estimates indicate that women face low probabilities of returning to work or increasing work hours after a caregiving spell. I use the estimated model to simulate the caregiving, employment, and welfare effects of a longer unpaid work leave than currently available under the Family and Medical Leave Act, a paid leave, and a caregiver allowance. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed013:79&r=dem |
| By: | HASHIMOTO Hideki; ICHIMURA Hidehiko; SHIMIZUTANI Satoshi |
| Abstract: | This study explores stability of preference against aging and health shocks. Contrary to a vast amount of literature assuming that risk attitude is unchanged over time, we utilize JSTAR (Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement), which provides longitudinal data on the middle aged and elderly comparable with the Health and Retirement Study (HRS)/English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)/Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), to examine how aging and past health experiences systematically affect risk attitude. We find that while there is empirical evidence that aging gradually causes individuals to be more risk averse, health shocks do not seem to affect risk preference systematically. |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:13068&r=dem |
| By: | O'Donnell, Rebecca May Neal |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the relationship between changes in academic performance for pre-school age children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and teacher education and classroom staffing using data from the Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study (PEELS). Strong positive relationships between changes in children’s standard scores on selected standardized math and reading tests are found when their teachers have bachelor’s or master’s degrees in special education, or bachelor’s degrees in general education. There is also evidence of relationships between classroom structure and change in student standard scores on standardized reading and math tests for children with ASD. |
| Keywords: | Public Economics, |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:umapmt:155283&r=dem |
| By: | Menz, Jan-Oliver; Poppitz, Philipp |
| Abstract: | Inflation expectations are often found to depend on socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of households, such as age, income and education, however, the reasons for this systematic heterogeneity are not yet fully understood. Since accounting for these expectation differentials could help improve the communication strategies of central banks, we test the impact of three sources of the demographic dependence of inflation expectations using data for Germany. Overall, our findings suggest that household-specific inflation rates and group-specific news consumption accounts for the higher expectation gaps of younger and older households, households with lower income and unemployed survey respondents, while households' inflation perceptions only play a minor role. -- |
| Keywords: | Inflation Expectations and Perceptions,Demographic Heterogeneity,News Media Effects,Household-Specific Inflation Rates,System Estimation |
| JEL: | C53 D84 E37 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:bubdps:272013&r=dem |
| By: | Klim McPherson; Giorgia Gon; Maggie Scott |
| Abstract: | This paper summarises recent international data on rates of five surgical procedures (i.e. caesarean, hysterectomy, prostatectomy, hip replacement and appendectomy) across OECD countries. It examines trends over time and compares age- and sex-specific rates for a recent year, for a sub-set of countries for which data are available. The report shows substantial international variations for most procedures, but also striking similarities between countries; some procedures show universal trends, with trends in rates by sex and age behaving in very similar ways.<P> A full understanding of the reasons for and consequences of different utilisation rates demands a detailed understanding of patterns of illness and patient preferences, incentives embedded within health systems, and above all mechanisms to link activity to outcomes. While recognising the many limitations of the data that exist, the analyses reported here paint a picture of widespread differences in the rates at which certain procedures are performed (e.g. hysterectomy and prostatectomy) yet, for others (e.g. appendectomy), they indicate the emergence of growing international convergence. It is important to recognise that these findings are simply a stimulus to further enquiry into health services. Where variation is observed, there is no way, using these data alone, of knowing which rate is the “right” one in any country. It is not even possible to say that the presence of variation is a sign of important health service delivery problems. |
| JEL: | I10 I12 |
| Date: | 2013–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:elsaad:61-en&r=dem |
| By: | Stark, Oded; Jakubek, Marcin |
| Abstract: | We draw a distinction between the social integration and economic assimilation of migrants, and study an interaction between the two. We define social integration as blending into the host country’s society, and economic assimilation as acquisition of human capital that is specific to the host country’s labor market. We show that a non-integrated migrant finds it optimal to acquire a relatively limited quantity of human capital; with fellow migrants constituting his only comparison group, a non-integrated migrant does not have a relative-deprivation-based incentive to close the income gap with the natives. However, when a migrant is made to integrate, his social proximity to the natives exposes him to relative deprivation, which in turn prompts him to form more destination-specific human capital in order to increase his earnings and narrow the income gap with the natives. In this way, social integration becomes a catalyst for economic assimilation. |
| Keywords: | Assimilation, Integration, Social proximity, Interpersonal comparisons, Relative deprivation, Human capital formation, Consumer/Household Economics, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Labor and Human Capital, D01, F22, J15, J24, J61, O15, Z10, |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:155148&r=dem |
| By: | Rauf Gönenç; Oliver Röhn; Christian Beer; Andreas Wörgötter |
| Abstract: | Important challenges for the future of Austrian well-being arise from demographic and environmental trends. The ageing of the population calls for a fair balance between life-time pension contributions and entitlements, drawing on the recent pension reform. Such progress will allow Austrians to make more informed choices between the length of their work and contribution periods and retirement length and income according to their preferences, without threatening fiscal sustainability. With female labour force participation rising, family policies should help reconcile equality of opportunity within families by promoting the availability, affordability and quality of support services. A growing share of immigrant groups with low human capital calls for remedial policies to preserve social cohesion. Environmental pressures arise from urban sprawl and the strong expansion of road transport. Turning around these trends will require more appropriate pricing of the externalities and better regional development policies to foster denser settlements that are well connected to public transport. This entails a need to strengthen coordination between different government layers and better integration of regional development with transport and housing policies. This Working Paper relates to the 2013 OECD Economic Survey of Austria (http://www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/austria-2013.htm).<P>Bien-être en Autriche : les grands défis<BR>Le bien-être des Autrichiens va se heurter à l’avenir à des défis importants liés aux tendances démographiques et environnementales. Le vieillissement de la population nécessite un juste équilibre entre les cotisations et les droits à pension, sur la base de la réforme récente du régime de retraite. Ces progrès vont permettre aux Autrichiens de faire des choix plus éclairés entre la durée de leur vie active et de leurs cotisations et celle de leur retraite ainsi que leurs revenus en fonction de leurs préférences, sans pour autant peser sur la viabilité des finances publiques. Face à l’augmentation du taux d’activité des femmes, les politiques familiales devraient contribuer à l’égalité des chances au sein des familles et favoriser des services de soutien accessibles, abordables et efficaces. La proportion grandissante des groupes immigrés ayant un faible niveau de capital humain exige la mise en place de mesures correctives afin de préserver la cohésion sociale. Les pressions pesant sur l’environnement sont causées par l’étalement urbain et l’expansion rapide du transport routier. Pour contrer ces évolutions, il faudra mettre en place une tarification plus appropriée des externalités et de meilleures politiques de développement régional afin de promouvoir des habitats plus denses et bien desservis par les transports publics. Il faut pour cela renforcer la coordination entre les différents niveaux d’administration et mieux intégrer les politiques de développement régional, de transport et de logement. Ce Document de travail se rapporte à l’Étude économique de l’OCDE de l’Autriche, 2013 (http://www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/austria -2013.htm). |
| Keywords: | ageing, environment, transport, Austria, immigration, well-being, urban sprawl, family, environnement, transport, vieillissement, Autriche, immigration, démographie, bien-être, étalement urbain, famille |
| JEL: | D60 J10 O52 Q50 |
| Date: | 2013–08–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1080-en&r=dem |
| By: | Grimes, Arthur (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Tarrant, Nicholas (GT Research and Consulting) |
| Abstract: | This paper documents a comprehensive database for the populations of 60 New Zealand towns and cities (henceforth “towns”). Populations are provided for every tenth year from 1926 through to 2006. New Zealand towns have experienced very different growth rates over this period. Economic geography theories posit that people migrate to (and from) places according to a few key factors. In order to analyse the determinants of urban growth empirically, we need a comprehensive database of urban populations over time, as provided here. |
| Keywords: | New Zealand population, urban growth |
| JEL: | R23 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtu:wpaper:13_07&r=dem |
| By: | Oliver Röhn; Rauf Gönenç; Christian Beer; Romina Boarini |
| Abstract: | Austria enjoys strong material well-being and high quality of life. Steady convergence with top GDP per capita levels translated into decisive improvements in household disposable incomes while significant redistribution has ensured low income inequality and poverty. This has been combined with gains in leisure time, especially time spent in retirement, low unemployment, high environmental standards, rising life expectancy, a well-functioning social support network and high subjective well-being. This performance was achieved with a unique combination of supportive conditions for a dynamic business sector, priority for family based care, a wide supply of public services, and a well-functioning social partnership. Particularly remarkable for a small open economy has been the degree of stability, which may have contributed to Austria’s high quality of life. However, a number of weaknesses also exist. Older, unskilled and in particular people with migrant background, have lower labour market attachments. Outcomes in education and health care are subject to inequalities. Family services are still mainly carried out by women, who have closed the gap in education attainment with men but face tensions between work and family responsibilities and a high wage gap. The gaps experienced by people with migrant background are in several dimensions larger than in the average OECD country. This Working Paper relates to the 2013 OECD Economic Survey of Austria (http://www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/austria-2013.htm).<P>En Autriche, le bien-être ne se limite pas au PIB<BR>En Autriche, le bien-être matériel et la qualité de vie sont élevés. Un mouvement constant de convergence vers un PIB par habitant élevé a permis une nette amélioration du revenu disponible des ménages. Parallèlement, une redistribution importante a permis que les inégalités de revenu et le taux de pauvreté soient faibles. À cela s’ajoutent une augmentation du temps disponible pour les loisirs, en particulier du temps passé à la retraite, un faible taux de chômage, une bonne qualité de l’environnement, un allongement de l’espérance de vie et un bien-être subjectif élevé. L’Autriche doit ces résultats à un modèle unique en son genre, qui associe des conditions favorables au dynamisme du secteur privé, une priorité accordée à la prise en charge familiale, une offre développée de services publics et un système de partenariat social efficace. Un certain nombre de faiblesses existent cependant. Ainsi, les travailleurs âgés et non qualifiés et, surtout, les personnes issues de l’immigration, sont plus éloignés du marché du travail. On observe des inégalités dans les résultats en matière d’éducation et de santé. Les services aux familles restent dans une large mesure l’apanage des femmes, qui, malgré la résorption de l’écart de niveau d’instruction avec les hommes, rencontrent des difficultés à concilier vie professionnelle et familiale et sont confrontées à un gros écart de rémunération. Pour plusieurs dimensions du bien-être, les différences entre les personnes issues de l’immigration et le reste de la population sont supérieures à celles observées dans le pays moyen de l’OCDE. Ce Document de travail se rapporte à l’Étude économique de l’OCDE de l’Autriche, 2013 (http://www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/austria -2013.htm). |
| Keywords: | productivity, Austria, well-being, quality of life, family, social partnership, productivité, Autriche, bien-être, qualité de vie, famille, partenariat social |
| JEL: | D31 D60 H40 I31 O52 |
| Date: | 2013–08–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1079-en&r=dem |
| By: | Christopher Worswick (Carleton University) |
| Abstract: | Before increasing new immigrant intake targets, Canada should focus on improving immigrants’ labour market outcomes through reforms to the selection process, according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Improving Immigrant Selection: Further Changes Are Required Before Increasing Inflows,” author Christopher Worswick cites recent evidence of poor outcomes for recent immigrants that raise a caution flag for higher annual targets. |
| Keywords: | Social Policy |
| JEL: | J15 J61 J68 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdh:ebrief:157&r=dem |
| By: | Dollar, David; Kleineberg, Tatjana; Kraay, Aart |
| Abstract: | Incomes in the poorest two quintiles on average increase at the same rate as overall average incomes. This is because, in a global dataset spanning 118 countries over the past four decades, changes in the share of income of the poorest quintiles are generally small and uncorrelated with changes in average income. The variation in changes in quintile shares is also small relative to the variation in growth in average incomes, implying that the latter accounts for most of the variation in income growth in the poorest quintiles. These findings hold across most regions and time periods and when conditioning on a variety of country-level factors that may matter for growth and inequality changes. This evidence confirms the central importance of economic growth for poverty reduction and illustrates the difficulty of identifying specific macroeconomic policies that are significantly associated with the relative growth rates of those in the poorest quintiles. |
| Keywords: | Achieving Shared Growth,Inequality,Emerging Markets,Economic Theory&Research,Economic Growth |
| Date: | 2013–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6568&r=dem |