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on European Economics |
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Issue of 2024‒03‒11
25 papers chosen by Simon Sosvilla-Rivero, Instituto Complutense de Análisis Económico |
| By: | Gabriele Coletti (Bank of Italy); Alberto Di Iorio (Bank of Italy); Emanuele Pimpini (Bank of Italy); Giorgia Rocco (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | This report presents findings for Italy from the ‘Study on the payment attitudes of consumers in the euro area (SPACE) – 2022’, conducted by the European Central Bank between the end of 2021 and the first half of 2022. The primary aim of the report is to provide updated information on the prevailing trends in the use of payment methods in Italy. Additionally, where applicable and useful, the report compares Italy’s results with those of the euro area and with data from the previous run of the survey, conducted in 2019, and from the ‘Study on the use of cash by households in the euro area’ (SUCH), conducted in 2015-16. The data show that, while cash remains the dominant payment method at the Point of Sale (POS), especially for low-value purchases (up to €50), its overall usage has declined in comparison with the findings of the previous editions of the survey. In terms of value of transactions, non-cash payments have gained importance, accounting for more than half of total expenditures at POS. Cashless payments are increasing overall, supported also by an uptake in e-commerce purchases. Specifically, cards, besides being the greatest competitor of cash for POS transactions, continue to be the most used means of payment both in terms of number and value of transactions for online purchases. |
| Keywords: | payment instruments, cash, payment habits, consumers’ payment behaviour |
| JEL: | D12 D14 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wpmisp:mip_042_23&r=eec |
| By: | Hüttl, Pia; Kaldorf, Matthias |
| Abstract: | How does a shock to the liquidity of bank assets affect credit supply, cross-border lending, and real activity at the firm level? We exploit that, in 2007, the European Central Bank replaced national collateral frameworks by a single list. This collateral framework shock added loans to non-domestic euro area firms to the pool of eligible assets. Using loan level data, we show that banks holding a large share of newly eligible cross-border loans increase loan supply by 14% and reduce spreads by 16 basis points, compared to banks with smaller holdings of such loans. The additional credit is mainly extended to (previously eligible) domestic borrowers, suggesting only a limited cross-border effect of the collateral framework shock. However, the shock had real effects: firms highly exposed to affected banks increase their total debt, employment, and investment. |
| Keywords: | Bank Liquidity Shocks, Bank Lending Channel, Financial Integration, Real Effects, Eligibility Premia |
| JEL: | E44 E58 G21 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:bubdps:283006&r=eec |
| By: | Arigoni, Filippo; Lenarčič, Črt |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates a Bayesian VAR model on Euro area data and quantifies the reaction of real activity to economic policy uncertainty shocks that originate abroad. Our findings show that US and Chinese uncertainty explains larger shares of fluctuations than European uncertainty. In an extended set-up, we perform a counterfactual simulation and verify the presence of a foreign economic policy uncertainty spillovers channel that magnifies the real effects of US and Chinese uncertainty shocks. The simulation also documents a non-negligible role played by bilateral trading activities in the transmission mechanism of Chinese shocks. In an application with Dutch data, we highlight that structural domestic factors shape region and country-specific uncertainty in the propagation of foreign economic policy uncertainty shocks onto the economy. |
| Keywords: | Uncertainty shocks, Euro area spillovers, real activity, US, China, Bayesian VAR |
| JEL: | C32 E30 Q54 |
| Date: | 2023–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120022&r=eec |
| By: | Clancy, Daragh; Smith, Donal; Valenta, Vilém |
| Abstract: | Policymakers around the world are encouraging the local production of key inputs to reduce risks from excessive dependencies on foreign suppliers. We analyse the macroeconomic effects of supply chain reorientation through localisation policies, using a global dynamic general equilibrium model. We proxy non-tariff measures, such as the stricter enforcement of regulatory standards, which reduce import quantity but do not directly alter costs and prices. These measures have, so far, been a key component of attempts to reshore production and are an increasingly popular trade policy instrument in general. Focusing on the euro area, we find that localisation policies are inflationary, imply transition costs and generally have a negative long-run effect on aggregate domestic output. The size (and sign) of the impact depends on whether these policies are implemented unilaterally or induce a retaliation from trade partners, and the extent to which they reduce domestic competition and productivity. We provide some recommendations for policymakers considering implementing a localisation agenda. JEL Classification: F13, F41, F45, F62 |
| Keywords: | general equilibrium, reshoring, strategic autonomy |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20242903&r=eec |
| By: | Tryfonas Christou (European Commission - JRC); Francesca Crucitti (European Commission - JRC); Abián García Rodríguez (European Commission - JRC); Nicholas Lazarou (European Commission - JRC); Simone Salotti (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a macroeconomic evaluation of the impact of the Horizon 2020 funds, carried out using the spatial dynamic general equilibrium model RHOMOLO. The policy disbursement data used to feed the model relate to the actual use of the funds over the period 2014-2021, so this is considered an ex-post evaluation. The model simulations suggest that the GDP gains in 2021 for the European Union as a whole would be up to 0.19% compared to the hypothetical baseline with no innovation policy. The GDP gains are also expected to be significant after the end of the 2014-2020 programming period, due to the positive effects of process and product innovations resulting from Horizon 2020 funding. The effects gradually diminish due to the gradual obsolescence of the new knowledge and innovations generated by the policy intervention. The model results also reveal significant interregional spillovers in some, but not all, countries of the Union. |
| Keywords: | innovation policy, regional growth, general equilibrium. |
| JEL: | C68 O30 R13 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:termod:202401&r=eec |
| By: | Frankovic, Ivan; Kolb, Benedikt |
| Abstract: | We show the importance of emission disclosure for climate policies in a DSGE model for the euro area. A low-carbon energy and a fossil energy sector contribute to production and are financed by balance-sheet constrained intermediaries. The underestimation of emissions from fossil energy firms (imperfect disclosure) provides them with too much funding. While improving disclosure in isolation has limited effects, it proves most beneficial in connection with higher carbon taxes: Improving disclosure by 20 percentage points reduces GDP costs of a carbon tax by 13%. For a carbon tax increase of 50 euro/ton CO2, this implies an average GDP benefit of 47 bn euro over six years. |
| Keywords: | emission disclosure, climate-related disclosure, climate policy, carbon taxation, E-DSGE, financial frictions |
| JEL: | D82 E17 G11 G14 G18 H23 Q43 Q58 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:bubdps:282981&r=eec |
| By: | Johanna Greiss;; Karen Hermans;; Bea Cantillon; |
| Abstract: | With the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), the European Union (EU) is involved in the field of last resort social protection, mainly by subsidising food aid. This working paper examines (a) to what extent FEAD funds are geared towards poor Member States with greater social needs, (b) how important food aid in general, and FEAD in particular, is to supplement insufficient minimum income protection for the poor, (c) to what extent food aid is embedded in and supported by (welfare) state institutions, and (d) how important FEAD accompanying measures are to strengthen individual power resources. The paper builds on primary and secondary data and includes case study research covering eight European countries and four European cities. Our results show that FEAD organises an – albeit very limited – form of pan-European solidarity. Although FEAD budgets are very small, in some poorer countries they are not trivial compared to national unemployment and social exclusion spending. However, FEAD’s share in food aid packages is small. Moreover, compared to the efforts needed in order to lift minimum incomes to the EU-wide poverty threshold, the funds are relatively smaller in poor countries than in the richer ones. Our findings also suggest that on the one hand, FEAD could strengthen power resources of European citizens through its accompanying measures, but on the other hand, it seems to support the increasing penetration of food aid into welfare state institutions. Nonetheless, FEAD might be used as a stop-gap measure in a political strategy aimed at the implementation of the right to adequate minimum income protection. |
| Date: | 2023–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hdl:wpaper:2306&r=eec |
| By: | CHAFWEHÉ Boris; RICCI Mattia (European Commission - JRC); STOEHLKER Daniel (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of the recent cost-of-living crisis on European households using detailed data on individual consumption, income and wealth. We account for the various channels through which inflation affects individual households, and for the monetary and fiscal policy responses to the inflationary shock. Our results indicate that the effects of inflation through the revaluation of nominal wealth and income are one order of magnitude larger than the effect arising from differences in individual consumption patterns. On average, the effect of inflation is regressive, with lower income households suffering the biggest losses. Among population subgroups, young individuals and households with mortgage debt are the biggest winners of the inflation surge, while older individuals with large nominal net savings positions are the main losers. Fiscal policy measures, especially those targeted towards low-income households, were successful in dampening the negative and regressive impact of inflation. |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:taxref:202401&r=eec |
| By: | Xisong Jin |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces a forward-looking bank-level stress testing framework for a large-scale system to assess three forms of banking system vulnerability– bank capital fragility, bank capital adequacy and bank solvency. Results for Luxembourg are provided with a decomposition by bank business model and domicile type. The paper goes on to assess how these systemic risk indicators are linked to macroeconomic variables, and investigates their predictive power for Luxembourg’s nominal GDP growth one year ahead. Several important findings are documented over 2003Q2 to 2023Q3. First, the systemic risk indicators responded to the main stock market crashes in a timely manner. However, contributions from different bank business models and domicile types varied over time. Second, association with key macroeconomic variables (interest rates, liquidity flow, euro area consumer confidence and business climate) depended on the different characteristics of systemic risk across bank business models. Third, the systemic risk indicators contributed to explaining nominal GDP growth one year ahead. However, the systemic risk component associated with search-for-yield behavior and fee & commission generating activities could also explain nominal GDP growth, suggesting that if banks became more dependent on these income sources, they could create financial stability issues in the long run. Overall, the framework provides a useful monitoring toolkit that tracks changes in forward-looking systemic risk and risk spillovers in the Luxembourg banking sector. |
| Keywords: | Financial stability, systemic risk, macro-prudential policy, dynamic dependence, banking business model, financial stress index, coronavirus COVID-19, macro-financial linkages. |
| JEL: | C1 E5 F3 G1 |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcl:bclwop:bclwp182&r=eec |
| By: | José Alves; Clarisse Wagner |
| Abstract: | Conditions of fiscal sustainability have been widely studied in the literature. Fiscal reaction functions or cointegration between government revenues and expenditures are two approaches that economists have been paying their attention, not only on a theoretical perspective, but also empirically assessing the sustainability of several economies during different timespans. Whereas a predominant focus has been attributed to primary deficits, little attention has been dedicated to government financial assets contribution to government debt paths. Given that government financial assets represent a large proportion of gross debt accumulation, we enquire about their role on government debt leveraging of economic growth over interest rates, focusing on a channel of gross debt, investment, external balance and ratings, in 27 European Union economies during the period from 2000 to 2022. Large heterogeneities in the statistical characteristics of the series and impacts of financial assets on interest rate-growth rate differentials call for a closer attention to financial assets on a granular approach at individual country level, rather than on the aggregate. Our results highlight the importance of government financial assets holdings to the short and long-run debt trajectories, enhancing or potentially undermining gains from primary deficits consolidation efforts and consequently on the differentials between interest rates and output growth. |
| Keywords: | Public debt; Stock Flow Adjustments; Financial Assets Holdings; ARDL; PMG |
| JEL: | C23 E44 F65 H60 H63 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ise:remwps:wp03072024&r=eec |
| By: | Paolo Piselli (Bank of Italy); Francesco Vercelli (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | The paper studies banks investment in Italian government bonds from 1890 to the present. First, through an extensive statistical reconstruction and in-depth analysis of historical sources, it shows how the economic and institutional environment has influenced the purchases of government securities, analyzing in particular the conditions and structure of the market for public bonds (supply, available financial instruments, yields, riskiness), regulation and moral suasion action by public authorities. Second, using a database of Italian banks' balance sheets from 1890 to the present, an econometric analysis is conducted of the microeconomic determinants of demand for government bonds, such as funding, liquidity, profitability, and default risk. Finally, it is shown how the contribution of these determinants changes during periods of increased sovereign debt riskiness. |
| Keywords: | storia bancaria, titoli di stato |
| JEL: | C23 G21 G28 N23 N24 |
| Date: | 2023–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:workqs:qse_50&r=eec |
| By: | Antea Barišić; Mahdi Ghodsi (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw); Robert Stehrer (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw) |
| Abstract: | In recent decades, the development of novel technologies has intensified due to globalisation, prompting countries to enhance competitiveness through innovation. These technologies have significantly improved global welfare, particularly in sectors like healthcare, where they have facilitated tasks and boosted productivity, for example playing a crucial role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. However, certain technologies, such as robots, can negatively impact employment by replacing workers and tasks. Additionally, the emergence of artificial intelligence as digital assets not only replaces specific tasks but also introduces complexities that may displace employees who are unable to adapt. While the existing literature extensively explores the heterogeneous effects of these technologies on labour markets, studies of their impact on migrant workers remain scarce. This paper presents pioneering evidence on the effects of various novel technologies on migrant employment in the European Union. The analysis covers 18 EU member states from 2005 to 2019 focusing on the impact of novel innovations, robot adoption, three types of digital assets, and total factor productivity, on migrant employment. The key findings reveal that innovations measured by the number of granted patents increase both the number and proportion of migrant workers relative to the overall workforce. While robots do replace jobs, their impact on native workers surpasses that of migrant workers, resulting in a higher share of migrant workers following robot adoption. Total factor productivity positively influences migrant workers, while the effects of digital assets are heterogeneous. Moreover, the impacts of these technologies on migrant workers vary significantly across different occupation types and educational levels. |
| Keywords: | Robot adoption, digitalisation, novel innovation, migrant workers |
| JEL: | O33 F22 D24 |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wii:wpaper:241&r=eec |
| By: | Francesca D'Auria; Christophe Planas; Rafal Raciborski; Alessandro Rossi; Anna Thum-Thysen |
| Abstract: | The EU’s Commonly Agreed Methodology (EUCAM) is used by the European Commission to estimate potential output and the output gap in order to appraise the productive capacity and the cyclical position of the EU economies. This paper assesses the robustness of the decomposition between trend and cyclical total factor productivity, two quantities involved in EUCAM which are notoriously difficult to disentangle in real-time. In 2010 EUCAM was extended to incorporate additional information about capacity utilisation in this detrending. The robustness of the trend-cycle decomposition of total factor productivity is assessed with respect to variations in the prior distribution of model parameters, in the set of indicators used to proxy capacity utilisation, and in the assumption of cyclical symmetry. The analysis shows that EUCAM is reasonably robust to the departures in model assumptions examined. |
| JEL: | C52 E32 D24 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:euf:dispap:198&r=eec |
| By: | Lippert, Barbara |
| Abstract: | Now that the European Council has given the green light to opening EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, it is clear that the Union is no longer simply showing symbolic solidarity with neighbours invaded or threatened by Russia. Rather, a new chapter of enlargement policy is beginning in the shadow of war. After Turkey and the six Western Balkan countries, the third enlargement area is formed by Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia in Eastern Europe. Ever since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Brussels has understood enlargement to mean expansion into strategically important regions. Geopolitical demands for rapid accession are gnawing away at the existing enlargement doctrine, according to which there can be neither compromises on the Copenhagen criteria for EU membership nor shortcuts along the path to accession. What is more, accession issues could soon enter the perilous waters of war diplomacy when lasting security for post-war Ukraine is at stake. In a bid to overcome the dilemma between geopolitics and integration policy, the European Commission is currently developing ideas about how new members can be integrated step by step. |
| Keywords: | European Council, European Commission, European Union, EU accession negotiations, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Russia |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:swpcom:283044&r=eec |
| By: | De Monte, Enrico |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the evolution of aggregate productivity and markups among French manufacturing firms between 1994 and 2016, by focusing on the role of reallocation with respect to both aggregate measures. Firm-level productivity and markups are estimated based on a gross output translog production function using popular estimation methods. I find an aggregate productivity growth of about 34% over the whole period while aggregate markups are found to remain relatively stable. As a key finding the study shows that over time reallocation of sales shares affects differently aggregate productivity and markups: Before 2000 both aggregate productivity and markups are importantly driven by reallocation effects; Post-2000, instead, the contribution of reallocation to aggregate productivity becomes negligible, inducing a slowdown in aggregate productivity growth, while I measure persistent reallocation of sales shares from lower to higher markup firms. Policy relevant implications of these dynamics are discussed. |
| Keywords: | productivity decomposition, production function estimation, business dynamism, market power, entry and exit |
| JEL: | C13 D21 D24 L16 L60 O47 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:283014&r=eec |
| By: | Beck, Günter W.; Carstensen, Kai; Menz, Jan-Oliver; Schnorrenberger, Richard; Wieland, Elisabeth |
| Abstract: | We study how millions of highly granular and weekly household scanner data combined with novel machine learning techniques can help to improve the nowcast of monthly German inflation in real time. Our nowcasting exercise targets three hierarchy levels of the official consumer price index. First, we construct a large set of weekly scanner-based price indices at the lowest aggregation level underlying official German inflation, such as those of butter and coffee beans. We show that these indices track their official counterparts extremely well. Within a mixed-frequency modeling framework, we also demonstrate that these scanner-based price indices improve inflation nowcasts at this very narrow level, notably already after the first seven days of a month. Second, we apply shrinkage estimators to exploit the large set of scanner-based price indices in nowcasting product groups such as processed and unprocessed food. This yields substantial predictive gains compared to a time series benchmark model. Finally, we nowcast headline inflation. Adding high-frequency information on energy and travel services, we construct highly competitive nowcasting models that are on par with, or even outperform, survey-based inflation expectations that are notoriously difficult to beat. |
| Keywords: | Inflationnowcasting, machine learningmethods, scannerprice data, mixed-frequency modeling |
| JEL: | E31 C55 E37 C53 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:bubdps:282982&r=eec |
| By: | Kristy Jansen; Sven Klingler; Angelo Ranaldo; Patty Duijm |
| Abstract: | Pension funds rely on interest rate swaps to hedge the interest rate risk arising from their liabilities. Analyzing unique data on Dutch pension funds, we show that this hedging behavior exposes pension funds to liquidity risk due to margin calls, which can be as large as 15% of their total assets. Our analysis uncovers three key findings: (i) pension funds with tighter regulatory constraints use swaps more aggressively; (ii) in response to rising interest rates, triggering margin calls, pension funds predominantly sell safe and short-term government bonds; (iii) we demonstrate that this procyclical selling adversely affects the prices of these bonds. |
| Keywords: | Pension funds; fixed income; interest rate swaps; liability hedging; liquidity risk; margin calls; price impact |
| JEL: | E43 G12 G18 |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dnb:dnbwpp:801&r=eec |
| By: | Karen Hermans;; Bea Cantillon;; Anikó Bernát;; Elena Carrillo-Álvarez;; Irene Cussó-Parcerisas;; Lauri Mäkinen; Júlia Muñoz Martínez;; Péter Szivos; |
| Abstract: | Many European welfare states are confronted with a growing demand for charitable food aid among households that struggle to make ends meet. This issue is particularly pressing today as a consequence of the COVID-19 crisis, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the following soaring inflation. In this exploratory case study research, we estimate the financial importance of charitable food aid packages for vulnerable recipient families by using cross-country comparable food basket data. Concretely, we collected data about the content of food packages and conducted interviews in twelve food distribution points in Antwerp, Barcelona, Budapest and Helsinki. Furthermore, we evaluate the content of food aid packages by comparing them with food basket and Household Budget Survey data. Based on the data in our twelve case study organisations, we find that the monetary value of food aid packages differs greatly between and within cities. While average food aid packages in Antwerp and Barcelona exceed 100 euros a month (adjusted for Purchasing Power Parities), this value is lower in Helsinki but especially in Budapest. This variation seems to be partially driven by differences in administrative and volunteer capacity, the (financial) support by municipalities and the position within the broader food aid network. Nevertheless, food aid packages as a top-up to inadequate minimum incomes are never able to close the at-risk-of-poverty-gap for social assistance recipients in the studied organisations in the four countries. Furthermore, our results show that the food aid packages do not fully represent a healthy and varied diet and do not correspond to people’s average consumption choices. Hence, it is very likely that food aid recipients will attach a lower recipient value to the food aid packages than the estimated market values, because the packages do not entirely reflect specific household preferences and needs. |
| Date: | 2023–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hdl:wpaper:2301&r=eec |
| By: | Mar\'ia Jos\'e Presno; Manuel Landajo |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the convergence of the EU-28 countries towards their common goal of 20% in the renewable energy share indicator by year 2020. The potential presence of clubs of convergence towards different steady state equilibria is also analyzed from both the standpoints of global convergence to the 20% goal and specific convergence to the various targets assigned to Member States. Two clubs of convergence are detected in the former case, each corresponding to different RES targets. A probit model is also fitted with the aim of better understanding the determinants of club membership, that seemingly include real GDP per capita, expenditure on environmental protection, energy dependence, and nuclear capacity, with all of them having statistically significant effects. Finally, convergence is also analyzed separately for the transport, heating and cooling, and electricity sectors. |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2402.00788&r=eec |
| By: | McNamara, Sarah; Neidhöfer, Guido; Lehnert, Patrick |
| Abstract: | We estimate intergenerational mobility of education for people born 1940-1999 at the subnational level for 40 European countries. The result is a panel of mobility indices for 105 mesoregions (NUTS1), and 215 microregions (NUTS2). We use these indices to make three contributions. First, we describe the geography of intergenerational mobility in Europe. Second, adapting a novel weighting procedure based on cohorts' relative economic contribution, we transform cohort-linked measures into annual measures of intergenerational mobility for each region. Third, we investigate the relationship between intergenerational mobility and innovation, and find robust evidence that higher mobility is associated with increased innovation. |
| Keywords: | Intergenerational Mobility, Equality of Opportunity, Human Capital, Innovation, Regional Economic Performance, Europe |
| JEL: | D63 I24 J62 O15 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:283012&r=eec |
| By: | Fuhrmann-Riebel, Hanna |
| Abstract: | Recent decades have shown an unprecedented growth in demand for resources, with a trend that is projected to accelerate in the future. Policymakers around the world have started to recognise that transitioning to a more resource-efficient and circular economy (CE) is key to addressing this challenge. Two important enablers for the transition to a CE are circular business models (CBMs) and consumers. The two are interlinked, as demand shifts among consumers can foster the development and supply of new business models, which in turn require the uptake by consumers to be successful. To promote the development and increase the uptake of new CBMs, policymakers need to provide the respective regulatory frameworks and incentives. Doing so requires systemic policy mixes that go beyond encouraging technological innovations and include targeting the demand side as well. This paper zooms in on the role of the consumer for CBMs, discusses potential consumer barriers to CBM demand, and outlines how policy-making can address these barriers by applying systemic mixes of instruments to tackle the macro-, meso-, and micro-level factors that influence consumer demand simultaneously. While the macro-level describes the economic context of consumers' decision-making, that is, the availability and supply, infrastructure and price of CBMs in the market, the meso-level characterises the social environment, including social norms and social status, whereas the micro-level focuses on individual characteristics such as consumption habits, security and quality concerns, and environmental knowledge or concern. This paper illustrates how the different consumer barriers are closely interlinked, and that, ideally, policymakers should target all three levels jointly to encourage CBM demand most effectively. In doing so, policymakers should consider the principles of the waste hierarchy in order to maximise the environmental benefits of CE policy mixes. The paper mostly takes a European perspective on the topic, especially when discussing relevant policy frameworks, and reflects on potential differences to other regions, particularly in the Global South, when appropriate |
| Keywords: | green economy, circular economy, circular business models, consumers, policy mixes, Environment, ecosystems and resources |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:diedps:283130&r=eec |
| By: | Wiemer Salverda;; Veerle Rook; |
| Abstract: | Though labour-market earnings are the most important component of household incomes, the relationship between the two distributions remains underresearched. This contribution aims to examine this association with a descriptive analysis. We focus particularly on low-wage and high-wage employment which define two different but still interlinked types of the vicious entanglement. We present the results for the average EU country, as all 27 countries appear to largely share the same fundamentals (Annex 2). Thereto we examine how ‘labour households’ (who depend primarily on wage earnings), are spread over the income distribution of all households and how the individuals providing those earnings are distributed over the overall distribution of hourly wages. Their household incomes appear to crowd towards the top while a significant share of those individuals crowd towards low wages. Thus, low pay is found all over the income distribution. This contrasts with the single-earner world and depends predominantly on ‘Additional earners’ (persons earning less than the main ‘Primary earners’ in their households), who are the defining constituent of the dual-earner world. Note though that the dual-earner world has much more progressed in the labour market, as three quarters of earners share a household with one or more other earners, than in the income distribution as single-earner households still make up close to half of all labour households. Additional earners’ personal characteristics differ significantly but they sort almost identical effects on hourly pay – suggesting that the earner’s position in the household overrides all characteristics. Their low wages spread also over the entire wage distribution of corresponding Primary earners. Consequently, the first element of mutually increasing inequalities is that middle- and high-educated Additional earners make up a large majority of low-wage employment. They mount strong job competition to the low educated based on qualifications, working time and the leeway offered by higher household incomes. A brief country comparison suggests a growing exclusion of the low-educated from employment as a result. As the second element of inequality is that high-educated homogamy drives a modest share of households towards the very top of the income distribution, especially when these earners are also jointly high paid. Another country comparison suggests that the rapid expansion of tertiary educational attainment reinforces both the second and the first type of entanglement. Clearly, the two distributions in incomes and wages should be considered in conjunction in analysis as well as policy making. We conclude with a short discussion of the implications for wage formation as well as the role of education. |
| Date: | 2023–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hdl:wpaper:2302&r=eec |
| By: | Coates, Dermot; Lawless, Martina |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp772&r=eec |
| By: | Phoebe Koundouri; Angelos Alamanos; Angelos Plataniotis; Charalampos Stavridis; Konstantinos Perifanos; Stathis Devves |
| Abstract: | The European Green Deal (EGD) is the growth strategy for Europe, covering multiple domains, and aiming to an equitable, climate neutral European Union by 2050. The UN Agenda 2030, encompassing 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), establishes the foundation for a global sustainability transition. The integration of the SDGs into the EGD is an overlooked issue in the literature, despite Europe's slow progress to achieve the sustainability targets. We employed a machine-learning text-mining method to evaluate the extent of SDG integration within the 74 EGD policy documents published during 2019�2023. The findings reveal a substantial alignment of EGD policies with SDGs related to clean energy (SDG7), climate action (SDG13), and sustainable consumption and production (SDG12). In contrast, there is a significant underrepresentation in areas related to social issues such as inequalities, poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, decent work, and peace, as indicated by lower alignment with SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, and 16. Temporal trends suggest a marginal increase in the attention given to environmental health (especially water and marine life) and gender equality. Furthermore, we illustrate the alignment of EGD policies with the six essential sustainability transformations proposed by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) in 2019 for the operationalization of the SDGs. The results indicate that besides the prevalence of "Energy Decarbonisation and Sustainable Industry", all areas have received attention, except for the "Health, Wellbeing and Demography". The findings call for a more integrated approach to address the complete spectrum of sustainability in a balanced manner. |
| Keywords: | European Green Dea, SDGs, Sustainability, Policy alignment, Text-mining, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Sustainability Transformations |
| Date: | 2024–02–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aue:wpaper:2405&r=eec |
| By: | Syrengelas, Konstantinos; Cheptea, Angela; Hucket, Marilyne |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iats23:339539&r=eec |