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on Microeconomic European Issues |
| By: | Andrea Schäfer; Ingrid Tucci; Karin Gottschall |
| Abstract: | Starting with a comparative assessment of different welfare regimes and political economies from the perspective of gender awareness and "pro-women" policies, this paper identifies the determinants of cross-national variation in women's chances of being in a high-status occupation in twelve West European countries. Special emphasis is given to size and structure of the service sector, including share of women in public employment and structural factors such as trade union density and employment protection. The first level of comparison between men and women concentrates on gender representation in the higher echelons of the job hierarchy, while in the second section we extend the scope of analysis, comparing women in high-status occupations and low-wage employment in order to allow for a more nuanced study of gender and class interaction. The first analysis is based on European Social Survey data for the years 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008, capturing recent trends in occupational dynamics. Results indicate that in general a large service sector and a high trade union density enhance women's chances of being in high-status occupations while more specifically a large public sector helps to reduce channeling women into low-wage employment. Thus, equality at the top can well be paired with inequality at the bottom, as postindustrial countries with a highly polarized occupational hierarchy such as the UK show. |
| Keywords: | occupational sex segregation, gender equality, public sector employment, cross-national comparison |
| JEL: | P5 D6 J2 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1183&r=eur |
| By: | Stephan K. S. Kampelmann; François Rycx |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the relationship between institutions and the remuneration of different jobs by comparing the German and Belgian labour markets with respect to a typology of institutions (social representations, norms, conventions, legislation, and organisations). The observed institutional differences between the two countries lead to the hypotheses of (I) higher overall pay inequality in Germany; (II) higher pay inequalities between employees and workers in Belgium; and (III) higher (lower) impact of educational credentials (work-post tenure) on earnings in Germany. We provide survey-based empirical evidence supporting hypotheses I and III, but find no evidence for hypothesis II. These results underline the importance of institutional details: although Germany and Belgium belong to the same "variety of capitalism", we provide evidence that small institutional disparities within Continental-European capitalism account for distinct structures of pay. |
| Keywords: | Labour productivity; wages; occupations; production function; matched employer-employ |
| JEL: | J31 J51 J52 J53 |
| Date: | 2011–09–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dul:wpaper:2013/98327&r=eur |
| By: | Bargain, Olivier; DeCoster, Andre; Dolls, Mathias; Neumann, Dirk; Peichl, Andreas; Siegloch, Sebastian |
| Abstract: | Following the report of the Stiglitz Commission, measuring and comparing well-being across countries has gained renewed interest. Yet, analyses that go beyond income and incorporate non-market dimensions of welfare most often rely on the assumption of identical preferences to avoid the difficulties related to interpersonal comparisons. In this paper, we suggest an international comparison based on individual welfare rankings that fully retain preference heterogeneity. Focusing on the consumption-leisure trade-off, we estimate discrete choice labor supply models using harmonized microdata for 11 European countries and the US. We retrieve preference heterogeneity within and across countries and analyze several welfare criteria which take into account that differences in income are partly due to differences in tastes. The resulting welfare rankings clearly depend on the normative treatment of preference heterogeneity with alternative metrics. We show that these differences can indeed be explained by estimated preference heterogeneity across countries rather than demographic composition |
| Date: | 2011–12–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:emodwp:em5-11&r=eur |
| By: | Daria Ciriaci (JRC-IPTS) |
| Abstract: | The objective of this study is to provide an analysis of the importance of design – defined as the procedures, choice of elements and technical preparation to implement a new product – and R&D investments as drivers of European firms’ innovation performance. In doing so, it partly compensates for the lack of empirical evidence in the literature by using non-anonymised data from the third wave of the European CIS, and estimating a system of simultaneous equations to tackle the endogeneity inherent in these investment choices and the externalities associated with them. The choice to use this time period rather than more recent is data-driven as this wave contains better information on design expenditures. Unlike the majority of CIS-based studies, the main variables of interest are continuous ones. In addition, although pure aesthetic changes are not included in the CIS definition of innovative design expenditures, the impact of this important dimension of product innovativeness is properly accounted for. The robustness of results confirms the crucial role of design investment for innovation success in 23 European countries for both the manufacturing and service sectors and its role as a complement to technological R&D and as a driver for user-centred incremental (new-to-the-firm) and radical (new-to-the-market) innovations. In particular it found an increase of 1% expenditure increases innovation sales by between 0.34% and 0.49%, while the same increase in R&D investment increases innovation sales by between 0.64% and 0.86%. Interestingly, while investing in design shows no statistically different innovation output returns for small, medium-sized and large enterprises, this is not the case for R&D expenditures. The policy conclusions are clear: design is a less costly alternative to R&D for many SMEs and a policy of supporting design should be considered, as this might be a more cost-efficient support strategy. |
| Keywords: | Intangibles, design, R&D investment, CIS, CDM model |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:wpaper:201108&r=eur |
| By: | Barth, Anne-Kathrin; Heimeshoff, Ulrich |
| Abstract: | The increasing usage of mobile communication and the declining demand for fixed line telephony in Europe make the analysis of substitutional effects between fixed and mobile networks a key aspect for future telecommunication regulation. Using a unique dataset which contains information on all 27 European Union members from 2003 to 2009, we analyze substitutability between fixed and mobile telecommunications services in Europe by applying dynamic panel data techniques. We find strong empirical evidence for substitution from fixed to cellular networks throughout Europe. In addition, the article reveals resulting policy implications. -- |
| Keywords: | dynamic panel model,fixed-mobile substitution,telecommunication markets |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:42&r=eur |
| By: | Sebastian Klüsener (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Brienna Perelli-Harris (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Nora Elisa Sanchez Gassen (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the role of states and regions in shaping spatial patterns of non-marital fertility in Europe since 1960 using a dataset of 497 European subnational regions and smaller countries. Almost all regions registered substantial nonmarital fertility increases over the last 50 years. Prior research by Watkins (1991) has shown that in the first half of the 20th century states played a dominant role in drawing the demographic map of Europe. As a result, subnational regional variation decreased, while differences between countries increased. In this paper, we investigate whether states continue to play such a dominant role in delineating patterns of nonmarital fertility between 1960 and 2007. We find that variation in nonmarital fertility levels increased as a whole across Europe, and states continued to be important for determining these patterns. However, the role of states relative to regions declined in the latest period examined (1990 and 2007). Possible explanations for the changes include increased supranational integration, for example within the European Union, and decentralisation within states leading to increases in variation in subnational contextual conditions. |
| Keywords: | Europe, fertility, geography, nuptiality, spatial analysis |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2012-005&r=eur |
| By: | Fageda, Xavier; Flores-Fillol, Ricardo |
| Abstract: | An examination of the impact in the US and EU markets of two major innovations in the provision of air services on thin routes - regional jet technology and the low-cost business model - reveals significant differences. In the US, regional airlines monopolize a high proportion of thin routes, whereas low-cost carriers are dominant on these routes in Europe. Our results have different implications for business and leisure travelers, given that regional services provide a higher frequency of flights (at the expense of higher fares), while low-cost services offer lower fares (at the expense of lower flight frequencies). Keywords: air transportation; regional jet technology; low-cost business model; thin markets. JEL Classification Numbers: L13; L2; L93. |
| Keywords: | Línies aèries, Aviació comercial, 338 - Situació econòmica. Política econòmica. Gestió, control i planificació de l'economia. Producció. Serveis. Turisme. Preus, |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urv:wpaper:2072/179624&r=eur |
| By: | Koettl, Johannes (World Bank); Weber, Michael (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | The analysis presented in this paper defines three different synthetic measurements of disincentives for formal work: two standard measurements, namely the tax wedge and the marginal effective tax rate (METR); and a new, innovative measurement called formalization tax rate (FTR). The novelty of the latter is that it measures disincentives stemming not only from labor taxation, but also from benefit withdrawal due to formalization. A descriptive analysis across a large number of OECD and Eastern European countries reveals that the disincentives for formal work – when measured through the FTR – are especially high for low-wage earners. This suggests that formal work might not pay in this segment of the labor market, in particular for the so-called mini-jobs and midi-jobs (low paying part-time work). Another novelty of the paper is its empirical approach. Using EU-SILC 2008 data and OECD Tax and Benefit data for six Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Slovakia), we match disincentives for formal work to individual observations in a large data set. Applying a probit regression, the analysis finds a significant positive correlation between FTR or METR and the incidence of being informal. In other words, controlling for individual and job characteristics, the higher the FTR or the METR that individuals are facing is, the more likely they are to work informally. The tax wedge, on the other hand, yields a negative correlation. This indicates that the tax wedge is not sufficiently capturing disincentives for formal work. We also conclude that in cross-country analysis, it might be more useful to use the tax wedge that applies to low wage earners as opposed to average wage earners. |
| Keywords: | tax evasion, non-wage labor costs and benefits, informal employment, measurement of work disincentives, formalization tax rate |
| JEL: | H26 J32 O17 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6313&r=eur |
| By: | Figari, Francesco; Matsaganis, Manos; Sutherland, Holly |
| Abstract: | This study analyses the financial well-being of elderly people across Europe. Using the European microsimulation model EUROMOD, which facilitates the identification of minimum pension schemes in a comparable way across countries, we show the extent to which these schemes serve to reduce the risk of poverty among elderly. The main findings show that there is a strong correlation between the resources allocated to the minimum pension schemes and the reduction in poverty risk among the elderly. Nevertheless, the financial well-being of older people depends crucially on the pension system as a whole. Countries with generous minimum pension schemes seem to allocate relatively fewer resources to other pillars of the pension system. On the one hand, they are more effective in reducing elderly poverty rates. On the other hand, they fail to ensure a level of financial well-being of older people in line with the overall population. |
| Date: | 2011–12–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:emodwp:em7-11&r=eur |
| By: | Michaela Kreyenfeld (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Gunnar Andersson (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Ariane Pailhé |
| Abstract: | This special collection of Demographic Research is devoted to the issue of how economic and employment uncertainties relate to fertility and family dynamics in Europe. The collection is based on contributions to a workshop held in Berlin in July 2009, which in turn was stimulated by the onset of the economic recession in 2008. The collection comprises studies on how various dimensions of employment uncertainty, such as temporary working contracts and individual and aggregate unemployment, are related to the fertility and family formation of women and men in contexts across Europe. It covers studies on Germany, the U.K., France, Russia, Estonia, Sweden, Italy, Spain, and Israel. |
| Keywords: | Germany, fertility |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2012-006&r=eur |
| By: | Kesternich, Iris (University of Munich); Siflinger, Bettina (University of Munich); Smith, James P. (RAND); Winter, Joachim K. (University of Munich) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate the long-run effects of World War II on socio-economic status (SES) and health of older individuals in Europe. Physical and psychological childhood events are important predictors for labor market and health outcomes in adult life, but studies that quantify these effects in large samples that cover entire diverse populations are still rare. We will analyze data from SHARELIFE, a retrospective survey conducted as part of the Survey on Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in 2009. This survey provides detailed data on events in childhood including those during the war as well as several measures of exposure to war shocks such as experience of dispossession, persecution, combat in local areas, and hunger periods for over 20,000 individuals in 13 European countries. We find that exposure to the war itself, and even more importantly to individual-level shocks caused by the war such as hunger periods, significantly predict old-age outcomes at older ages. |
| Keywords: | health, war, SES |
| JEL: | I0 H0 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6296&r=eur |
| By: | Callan, Tim; Leventi, Chrysa; Levy, Horacio; Matsaganis, Manos; Paulus, Alari; Sutherland, Holly |
| Abstract: | We compare the distributional effects of austerity measures that have been introduced in 6 EU countries in the period of large government budget deficits following the 2007-8 financial crisis and subsequent economic downturn. We explore the effects of policy changes presented as austerity measures in Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Portugal and the UK, using the EU microsimulation model EUROMOD and the Irish national model, SWITCH. The six countries have chosen different policy mixes to achieve varying degrees of fiscal consolidation. We focus on the first round effects of increases in personal taxes, cuts in spending on cash benefits and reductions in public sector pay across the distributions of household income. There is a range of important conceptual and consistency issues to be addressed when doing such analysis, particularly in a comparative setting. These include how to identify austerity measures in a consistent manner, the relevant time periods to consider, the assumptions behind the counterfactual scenarios and the scope of the policies considered. Using a set of common assumptions we find that the burden of fiscal consolidation brought about through changes in components of household disposable income is shared differently across the income distribution in the six countries. At one extreme, in Greece, the better off lose a higher proportion of their incomes than the poor and at the other, in Portugal, the poor lose a higher proportion than the rich. Bringing increases in indirect taxes into the picture can alter conclusions about the overall distributional effect, increasing the cost most for those with lower income and making the overall incidence of the measures more regressive. |
| Date: | 2011–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:emodwp:em6-11&r=eur |
| By: | Arntz, Melanie; Gregory, Terry; Lehmer, Florian |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the determinants of gross labour flows in a context where modeling the migration decision as a wage-maximizing process may be inadequate due to regional wage rigidities that result from central wage bargaining. In such a context, the framework that has been developed by Borjas et al. (1992) on the selectivity of internal migrants with respect to skills has to be extended to allow migrants to move to regions that best reward their skills in terms of both wages and employment. The extended framework predicts skilled workers to be disproportionately attracted to regions with higher mean wages and employment rates as well as higher regional wage and employment inequalities. Estimates from a labour flow fixed effects model and a GMM estimator show that these predictions hold, but only the effects for mean employment rates and employment inequality are robust and significant. The paper may thus be able to explain why earlier attempts to explain skill selectivity in Europe within a pure wage-based approach failed to replicate the US results. -- |
| Keywords: | gross migration,selectivity,wage inequality,employment inequality |
| JEL: | R23 J31 J61 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:11074&r=eur |
| By: | Boguslawa Sardinha (Departamento de Economia e Gestão, Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal, Portugal); Cesaltina Pacheco Pires (CEFAGE-UE, Departamento de Gestão, Universidade de Évora, Portugal) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses data from the 4th wave of the European Values Survey (EVS) to investigate the factors that in?uence the decision to participate in volunteering activities, considering both volunteering in general as well as volunteering in particular types of activities. Like previous studies we include several socioeconomic and demographic variables. However our study also includes attitudinal variables and country dummy variables that capture the impact of country speci?c factors. Our results show that there are signi?cant differences across countries in the propensity for volunteering and that the determinants of volunteeringare quite di¤erent for the various types of volunteering. |
| Keywords: | Volunteer labor; European Values Survey; Nonpro?t organizations. |
| JEL: | D12 H41 L31 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cfe:wpcefa:2011_16&r=eur |
| By: | REINSTADLER Anne |
| Abstract: | The economic theory of the family as proposed by Becker (1981, 1991) predicts clearly the relationship between income (especially the mother's income) and fertility. Indeed, it assesses that an income effect and a substitution effect could coexist, whose net impact is thus to be determined empirically. Many authors have already attempted to do so, some interested in the effect of the woman's wage on fertility, others focusing on the effect of some family policy measures on the decision to have a first child. Our own analysis is situated in this latter framework. Using the Luxembourgish sample of the EU-SILC data, we estimate the effect observed in the Grand-Duchy and compare the result with those obtained in France, a country with quite similar family policies. |
| Keywords: | Fertility; family benefits; endogeneity |
| JEL: | J13 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irs:cepswp:2011-65&r=eur |
| By: | Gilberto Turati (University of Torino); Daniel Montolio (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB); Massimiliano Piacenza (University of Torino) |
| Abstract: | The objective of the paper is to study the disciplining role of both market forces and regional governments own resources in the provision of educational services. The historical evolution of school regulation in Italy and Spain (in particular regarding the funding of private schools run by Roman Catholic Church, and the role of regional governments financing education) created different institutions in terms of both dimensions, private funds and regional governments funds. We take advantage of these institutional diversities to estimate the disciplining role of different sources of funds in the context of educational production function using PISA data. Our results provide support to these accountability drivers. Moreover, we find evidence on the role played by a national standardised test in providing adequate incentives to improve schools’ performance. |
| Keywords: | Public and private schools, accountability, fiscal federalism |
| JEL: | H75 I22 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2012/1/doc2011-44&r=eur |
| By: | Hylke VANDENBUSSCHE (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES )and Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE), CEPR &KULeuven, LICOS); Francesco DI COMITE (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES) and EU Commission); Laura ROVEGNO (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)); Christian VIEGELAHN (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES) and International Labour Organization-Geneva) |
| Abstract: | This paper compares European and Chinese exports in the clothing sector since the end of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement in 2005. Using detailed product-level data from UN Comtrade, we document the pattern of export prices and quantities observed for both countries, considering both exports to the rest of the world and to a particular destination market. We find that within narrowly defined product categories, European varieties typically sell for a higher price than Chinese varieties. But this price gap is narrowing. Despite rising prices, Chinese varieties are increasingly selling more than European varieties, suggesting that quality differences are narrowing. While European “core” products in clothing are stable over time, Chinese exports show strong product dynamics with exit and entry of new “core” products every year and “core” products changing rapidly. Both China and the EU export in every product category, resulting in a perfect product overlap with no products being exported by only one of the two. To make sure that our findings are not driven by a different product mix or a different destination country mix of EU versus Chinese exports, we compare EU and Chinese exports of clothing to the US and limit the comparison to HS6 product categories that are exported by both countries to the US. Again we obtain similar results as those obtained by comparing EU and Chinese exports to the rest of the world. Also, our evidence is suggestive of China exporting its high quality goods, while the EU exporting its most efficiently produced goods. |
| Date: | 2011–12–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctl:louvir:2011047&r=eur |
| By: | Cândida Ferreira |
| Abstract: | The relationships between bank market concentration and bank efficiency are of particular relevance in the European Union (EU), but they remain controversial. Using a panel Granger causality approach, this paper contributes to the literature, testing not only the causality running from bank market concentration to bank efficiency, but also the reverse causality running from efficiency to concentration. The results obtained confirm the relative complexity of these causality relationships, although they generally point to a negative causation running both from concentration to efficiency and from efficiency to concentration. These findings are in line with the Structure Conduct Performance (SCP) paradigm and the suggestions that the increase of the banks’ market power will contribute to inefficiency, since these banks will face less competition to obtain more output results with less input costs. Our results suggest that within this panel of all 27 EU countries over a relatively long time period, from 1996 to the onset of the 2008 financial crisis, the more cost-efficient commercial and savings banks operated in less concentrated markets. |
| Keywords: | Concentration, Efficiency, Granger causality, European banks. |
| JEL: | G21 F36 D24 L11 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ise:isegwp:wp032012&r=eur |
| By: | Reich, Nora; Boll, Christina; Leppin, Julian Sebastian |
| Abstract: | The study at hand pursues the following question: How are national parental leave arrangements related to fathers' participation in and time used for childcare? To answer this question, we merge data from the Multinational Time Use Study (MTUS) with national parental leave characteristics. Specifically, we are using 30 surveys from eight industrialised countries from 1971 to 2005. Applying a selection model, we are estimating fathers' participation in childcare and the minutes per day spent on childcare. We control for the following parental leave characteristics: duration of leave, amount of benefits and the number of weeks reserved for the father. The main results are that duration of parental leave, exclusive weeks for the father and any benefit compared to no benefit have a positive impact on fathers' childcare participation. Parental leave weeks reserved for the father and parental leave benefits affect fathers' minutes of childcare positively. It is concluded that parental leave characteristics have effects on fathers' childcare participation and time spent on childcare, but that parental leave policies have to be evaluated within the framework of each country's family policy package. -- |
| Keywords: | childcare,fatherhood,parental leave,time use |
| JEL: | D13 J13 J18 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hwwirp:115&r=eur |
| By: | Francesca Bastagli; Kitty Stewart |
| Abstract: | This paper uses panel data from the British Families and Children Study to analyse the employment patterns of women with children and the ways in which part-time work and interruptions in paid employment influence the wages of working mothers. It pays particular attention to how the relationship between employment trajectory and wage progression compares for higher-skilled and lower-skilled mothers and for mothers of younger and older children. We find that mothers follow a wide variety of employment pathways, the majority working part-time, moving between full-time and part-time employment or moving in and out of work as they combine motherhood with paid employment. In support of results from existing research on the "part-time" wage penalty and the "motherhood gap", we find that there are wage penalties associated with unstable work trajectories. Our analysis also shows that such wage penalties are significantly smaller for lower-skilled than higher-skilled women and are experienced by mothers of children of all ages, although the impact appears larger for mothers of younger children. In the final sections, the paper discusses the policy implications that arise from these findings with reference to recent debates on maternal employment, wage progression and poverty reduction. |
| Keywords: | maternal employment, wages, mothers, employment trajectories |
| JEL: | J22 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:sticas:case157&r=eur |