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on Demographic Economics |
| By: | Gehringer, Agnieszka; Klasen, Stephan |
| Abstract: | We empirically study the role of different family policies in determining women´s labor market behavior in the countries of the European Union between 1997 and 2008. Women tend to assume more family duties than men and, consequently, often participate less in the labor market. At the same time, family policies are to provide support to families while also helping women to reconcile family duties with labor market participation. Their impact, however, is not clear, especially when it comes to different forms of labor market activity. We use a static and dynamic panel econometric framework examining the link between four types of family policies and labor force participation and (part-time and full-time) employment. The results suggest no stable significant impact of any on overall labor force, but higher spending on family allowance, cash benefits daycare benefits appears to promote part-time employment, whereas only spending on parental leave schemes is a significant determinant of women's full-time employment. |
| Keywords: | labor force participation,part-time employment,full-time employment,family policies,European Union |
| JEL: | H53 I38 J13 J21 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cegedp:242&r=dem |
| By: | Michelsen, Carl Christian (E.ON Energy Research Center, Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN)); Madlener, Reinhard (E.ON Energy Research Center, Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN)) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we study homeowner satisfaction with respect to innovative residential heating systems. In particular, we focus on the role of attributes of the home, homeowners’ socio-demographic characteristics, RHS-related knowledge, and adoption motivations. For this purpose, we apply a linear regression model on a dataset obtained from a survey among homeowners in Germany (N=2,135) that had adopted a RHS shortly before the survey was conducted. Moreover, we investigate differences between groups of homeowners by means of t-tests and ANOVA. Our research shows that the motivations for adopting an RHS are relevant factors explaining satisfaction with newly adopted RHS. Moreover, we find the degree of RHS-related knowledge relevant as well. Socio-demographic aspects – such as age, university degree, gender or income – are found to be less important. In particular, the preference to have an RHS that is compatible with daily habits and routines has a strong impact on satisfaction. We also find differences between groups of adopters. Specifically, adopters of a gas-fired condensing boiler or a heat pump are less satisfied than adopters of a wood pellet-fired boiler. The findings of this study may also contribute to a better understanding of factors influencing the word to mouth communication resulting in the uptake and diffusion of certain RHS over time. |
| Keywords: | customer satisfaction; user satisfaction; post-adoption behavior; space heating |
| JEL: | C20 D12 O33 Q41 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:fcnwpa:2015_001&r=dem |
| By: | Andreas Beerli; Ronald Indergand |
| Abstract: | A pervasive, yet little acknowledged feature of international migration to developed countries is that newly arriving immigrants are increasingly highly skilled. This paper analyses the factors affecting the change in the skill composition of immigrants in Switzerland between 1980 and 2010 using a framework suggested by Grogger & Hanson (2011). Our findings suggest that improved schooling in origin countries of immigrants and a shift in the relative demand for highly educated workers in destinations stand out as the two most important drivers. Yet, while improved schooling would predict only a modest increase in the share of highly educated immigrants and a large increase of middle educated immigrants, we show that demand shifts associated with computerisation are crucial to understand why the share of highly educated immigrants increased sharply while the share of middle educated workers merely stabilised. Additionally, our framework allows evaluating the effect of changes in immigration policy. We find that the recent abolition of quotas for workers from European countries through a bilateral agreement with the EU in 2002 had a small but negative effect on the educational quality of immigrants. |
| Keywords: | International migration, self selection, migration policy, job polarisation |
| JEL: | F22 J61 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zur:uceswp:012&r=dem |
| By: | Hiller, Norbert; Lerbs, Oliver W. |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the long-run relationships between the size and age composition of a city's population and the price of local housing. For estimation purposes, we combine city-level demographic information with housing price data for 87 cities in Germany over the period 1995-2012. Employing a panel error correction framework that accounts for the evolution of city income and other controls, we find that urban house prices perform stronger in cities that grow or age less rapidly. A combination of the empirical estimates with current population projections suggests that population aging will exert considerable downward pressure on urban house prices in upcoming years. |
| Keywords: | Urban house prices,demographic change,Germany |
| JEL: | G12 J11 R31 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:15024&r=dem |
| By: | Luisa Natali; Sudhanshu Handa; David Seidenfeld; Gelson Tembo; Zambia Cash Transfer Evaluation Team; UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre |
| Abstract: | Since the mid 1990s, and following the successful implementation of large scale programmes in Brazil, Mexico and South Africa, cash transfers have become an important part of the poverty alleviation toolkit in developing countries, even among the poorest where, for many, such programmes seemed both administratively complex or simply unaffordable. The ‘African model’ of cash transfers has several distinguishing features which differentiate it from those in Latin America. In this article we take advantage of the unconditional nature of the Zambian CGP, which targets families with very young children and whose objectives are focused on their health and development, to see if the programme has an impact on the schooling and work of school-age children who in principle are not the main target population of the programme. We use data from a large-scale social experiment involving 2,500 households, half of whom were randomized out to a delayed-entry control group, which was implemented to assess the impact of the programme. |
| Keywords: | child labour; educational costs; schooling; |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucf:inwopa:inwopa776&r=dem |
| By: | Andras Simonovits (Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, also Mathematical Institute of Budapest University of Technology, and Department of Economics of CEU) |
| Abstract: | To compare the systems of child benefits and of family tax deductions, we create a model with endogenous fertility and a basic income, financed from proportional wage taxes. The deduction's efficiency is presumably lower than the benefit's and may even be lower than that of pure basic income. |
| Keywords: | progressive income tax, child benefits, family tax deductions, endogenous fertility |
| JEL: | J13 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:has:discpr:1514&r=dem |
| By: | Warn N. Lekfuangfu; Francesca Cornaglia; Nattavudh Powdthavee; Nele Warrinnier |
| Abstract: | We propose a model in which parents have a subjective belief about the impact of their investment on the early skill formation of their children. This subjective belief is determined in part by locus of control (LOC), i.e., the extent to which individuals believe that their actions can influence future outcomes. Consistent with the theory, we show that maternal LOC measured at the 12th week of gestation strongly predicts early and late child cognitive and noncognitive outcomes. We also utilize the variation in maternal LOC to help improve the specification typically used in the estimation of skill production function parameters. |
| Keywords: | locus of control; parental investment; human capital accumulation; early skill formation; ALSPAC |
| JEL: | J01 I31 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lic:licosd:35314&r=dem |