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on Microeconomic European Issues |
| By: | Dumitru Sandu |
| Abstract: | The study explores the social diversity of Europe from the perspective of life-spaces with high profile configurations of states of mind. “Social worlds” as groups with standardised modes of acting, thinking and evaluation are identified beyond formal borders. This study tested the hypothesis of the existence of similarities in states of mind (measured in terms of satisfaction with life, optimism, perception of labour market in the country and institutional trust) as a function of age category (young adult, middle-aged adult and aged), residential environment (rural, urban) and the sociocultural macroregion. The testing of research hypotheses is performed by means of a multilevel analysis of the Eurobarometer 70 data collected at an EU level in the autumn of 2008. The approach is in line with quantitative grounded theory (Glaser 2008). |
| Keywords: | social worlds, states of mind, European regions |
| JEL: | A13 J28 Z13 |
| Date: | 2013–06–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cel:dpaper:10&r=eur |
| By: | Arata, L.; Sckokai, P. |
| Abstract: | Agri-environmental schemes (AES) of the European Union are the most important measure in terms of share on the public budget for Rural Development. Although the farmers uptake of AES is expected to strongly impact even farmer’s behavior, in the literature the attempts to investigate this impact are scarce. Our study applies a difference-in-differences propensity score matching estimator in order to perform a comparative analyses of the effects of AE measures on farmer’s practises and economic performances across five EU Member States. Results show differences in the AES effects across country as well as differences across farmers of the same country according to what extent the farm income is dependent on the AE payment. Our analyses suggests that the AE payment in Spain is not enough to compensate the large drop of the per hectare income after participation and the AE uptake does not seem to promote effectively environmental-friendly farm practises. In France and Italy the sustainable practises of farmer participants lead to an income foregone that is not fairly compensated by the AE payments. Only in Germany and UK the AE payments seem to compensate the income loss that results from changes in farmers production choices. |
| Keywords: | agri-environmental schemes, propensity score matching, difference-in-differences, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, C21, Q15, D22, |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea13:149771&r=eur |
| By: | Lion Hirth (Vattenfall GmbH, Potsdam-Institute for Climate Impact Research); Inka Ziegenhagen (Vattenfall GmbH, University of Leipzig) |
| Abstract: | Control power (regulating power, balancing power) is used to quickly restore the supply-demand balance in power systems. Variable renewable energy sources (VRE) such as wind and solar power are often thought to increase the reserve requirement significantly. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of balancing systems in Europe, discusses the role of VRE, and presents empirical market data from Germany. Despite German VRE capacity doubled during the last five years and has surpassed 70% of peak load, contracted control power decreased by 20%, and procurement cost fell by 50%. Today, control power adds only 0.4% to household electricity prices. Nevertheless, we identify several sources of inefficiency in control power markets and imbalance settlement systems and propose a number of policy changes to stimulate the participation of VRE in control provision and to improve the incentives to forecast accurately. |
| Keywords: | Balancing power; Control Power; Variable renewables; Wind power; Solar power; Market design |
| JEL: | Q42 Q48 L94 D62 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2013.46&r=eur |
| By: | Copenhagen Economics |
| Abstract: | The study carried out by Copenhagen Economics analyses the impact of several alternative solutions to the taxation problems that arise when dividends are paid across borders to individual and portfolio investors within the EU. |
| Keywords: | European Union, taxation, Dividends |
| JEL: | H25 H87 |
| Date: | 2012–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tax:taxstu:0041&r=eur |
| By: | Krenz, Astrid |
| Abstract: | The aim of this article is to investigate services sectors' concentration in the European Union based on employment data and to disentangle the sector-specific developments and influential factors over time. We find that only the financial intermediation, retail trade and water transport sectors are subject to an increasing level of concentration over time. Moreover, we can detect a strong specialization tendency in the sectors of tourism and public administration for the Greek economy. Implementing a two-way fixed effects model, we find that knowledge spillovers as well as externalities arising from technological similarities appear to be highly significant in explaining services' concentration patterns for the European Union. Technological differences as a reason for services' concentration only appear to have been important in the period prior to the Single European Market Enactment. Further evidence is found for the relevance of factor intensity in explaining concentration of non-market services. -- |
| Keywords: | concentration,services,European Union,knowledge spillovers,technological similarities |
| JEL: | F14 L80 R12 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cegedp:154&r=eur |
| By: | Ernest Miguelez (World Intellectual Property Organization, Economics and Statistics Division, Geneva, Switzerland); Carsten Fink (World Intellectual Property Organization, Economics and Statistics Division, Geneva, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | This paper has two objectives. First, it describes a new database mapping migratory patterns of inventors, extracted from information included in patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. We explain in detail the information contained in the database and discuss the usefulness and reliability of the underlying data. Second, the paper provides a descriptive overview of inventor migration patterns, based on the information contained in the newly constructed database. Among the largest receiving countries, we find that the United States exhibits by far the highest inventor immigration rate, followed by Australia and Canada. European countries lag behind in attracting inventive talent; in addition, France, Germany, and the UK see more inventors emigrating than immigrating. In relation to the number of home country inventors, Central American, Caribbean and African economies show the largest inventor brain drain. |
| Keywords: | brain drain, skilled international migration, inventors, PCT patents |
| JEL: | F22 J61 O3 O15 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wip:wpaper:8&r=eur |
| By: | European Commission |
| Abstract: | This is the seventh issue of 'Taxation Trends in the European Union', an expanded and improved version of a previous publication, 'Structures of the taxation systems in the European Union'. The objective of the report remains unchanged: to present a complete view of the structure, level and trends of taxation in the Union over a medium- to long-term period. |
| Keywords: | European Union, taxation |
| JEL: | H23 H24 H25 H27 H71 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tax:taxtre:2013&r=eur |
| By: | Aschhoff, Birgit; Baier, Elisabeth; Crass, Dirk; Hud, Martin; Hünermund, Paul; Köhler, Christian; Peters, Bettina; Rammer, Christian; Schricke, Esther; Schubert, Torben; Schwiebacher, Franz |
| Abstract: | Innovation is regarded as a key driver of productivity and market growth and thus has a great potential for increasing wealth. Surveying innovation activities of firms is an important contribution to a better understanding of the process of innovation and how policy may intervene to maximise the social returns of private investment into innovation. Over the past three decades, research has developed a detailed methodology to collect and analyse innovation activities at the firm level. The Oslo Manual, published by OECD and Eurostat (2005) is one important outcome of these efforts. In 1993 both organisations have started a joint initiative, known as the Community Innovation Survey (CIS), to collect firm level data on innovation across countries in concord (with each other). The German contribution to this activity is the so-called Mannheim Innovation Panel (MIP), an annual survey implemented with the first CIS wave in 1993. The MIP fully applies the methodological recommendations laid down in the Oslo Manual. It is designed as a panel survey, i.e. the same gross sample of firms is surveyed each year, with a biannual refreshment of the sample. The MIP is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and conducted by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) and the Institute for Applied Social Science (infas). (...) -- |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdok:1301&r=eur |
| By: | Nina Neubecker; Marcel Smolka; Anne Steinbacher |
| Abstract: | This paper provides new evidence on migrant networks as determinants of the total size (scale) and skill structure of migration, using aggregate data from a recent migration boom to Spain. We draw upon McFadden (1984, 1422-1428) in order to develop and apply a three-level nested multinomial logit migration model. Our model accommodates varying degrees of similarity of destinations located in the same region (or the same country), allowing for a rich structure of substitutability across alternative destinations. We find strong positive network effects on the scale of migration and a strong negative effect on the ratio of high-skilled to low-skilled migrants. Simplifying restrictions on substitutability across destinations are rejected by the data. |
| Keywords: | international migration, migrant networks, nested multinomial logit model, skill structure of migration, Spain |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1306&r=eur |
| By: | Rizov, Marian; Pokrivcak, Jan; Ciaian, Pavel |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of subsidies from the common agricultural policy on the total factor productivity of farms in the EU. We employ a structural, semi-parametric estimation algorithm, directly incorporating the effect of subsidies into a model of unobserved productivity. We empirically study the effects using samples from the Farm Accountancy Data Network for EU-15 countries. Our main findings are clear: subsidies had a negative impact on farm productivity in the period before the decoupling reform was implemented; after decoupling the effect of subsidies on productivity was more nuanced, as in several countries it turned positive. |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eps:fmwppr:148&r=eur |
| By: | Dmitri Boreiko (Free University of Bolzanoâ€Bozen, School of Economics and Management.); Maurizio Murgia (Free University of Bolzanoâ€Bozen, School of Economics and Management.) |
| Abstract: | This paper tests the empirical validity of theoretical predictions on corporate spin-offs motivations and ex-post performance. Using a unique data set of completed spinoffs in twelve European countries we show that spin-off decisions are frequently triggered by firm’s governance changes, such as the appointment of a new CEO or a takeover threat. Post-transaction long-run stock returns and operating performance are observed for spin-off firms only, and mostly for internally-grown business units and parent-related (non-focusing) subsidiaries. We find no evidence that post-spin-off mergers of either parents or subsidiaries enhance long-term performance, or that focus-increasing spin-offs lead to efficiency improvements. |
| Keywords: | Spin-offs; Long-run performance; European corporate finance. |
| JEL: | G14 G32 G34 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bzn:wpaper:bemps05&r=eur |
| By: | Michaela Kreyenfeld (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Gunnar Andersson (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Studies that have investigated the role of unemployment in childbearing decisions have often provided conflicting results. We argue that many of the inconsistencies of prior research may be attributed to a neglect of group-specific differences in behavior. In this study, we examine how the effects of unemployment on fertility vary by socio-demographic subgroups using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) and from Danish population registers. We find that male unemployment leads to a postponement of first and second childbearing in both countries. The role of female unemployment is less clear at these parities. Both male and female unemployment is positively correlated with third birth risks. More importantly, our results show that there are strong educational gradients in the unemployment and fertility nexus, and that the relationship between unemployment and fertility varies by socioeconomic group. Fertility tends to be lower during periods of unemployment among highly educated women and men, but not among their less educated counterparts. |
| Keywords: | Germany, fertility |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2013-008&r=eur |
| By: | Gallier, Carlo; Löschel, Andreas; Sturm, Bodo |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the extent to which the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster of March 2011 has had an impact on the private demand for climate protection in Germany. Data are taken from two framed field experiments (Löschel et al. 2013a, b) conducted before and after the disaster. We find that the demand for climate protection in the experiment after the nuclear disaster is significantly higher than in the experiment before the disaster. -- |
| Keywords: | Experimental economics,demand for climate protection |
| JEL: | Q51 Q54 C93 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:13024&r=eur |
| By: | ZEW |
| Abstract: | The project 'Effective tax rates in an enlarged European Union' is based on the methodology used for the calculation of effective tax rates (ETRs) as set out by Devereux and Griffith (1999, 2003). It extends the scope of the calculation of ETRs conducted under the study on effective levels of company taxation within an enlarged EU (2008). The project includes a focus on the effects of tax reforms in the EU27 for the period 1998-2012 and their impact on the level of taxation for both domestic and cross-border investment. |
| Keywords: | European Union, taxation, effective tax, corporate tax |
| JEL: | H25 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tax:taxstu:0043&r=eur |
| By: | Corsi, A.; Salvioni, C. |
| Abstract: | We analyse the determinants of off-farm labour participation of farmers, an issue relevant in view of the agricultural sector coping with increasing productivity and in terms of rural development. We apply a farm-household theoretical model. The data for the empirical analysis are a 5 year (2003-2007) balanced panel of 3294 Italian farms, drawn from the Farm Accounting Data Network. The explanatory variable is the dummy indicator of the farm operator working or not off the farm. The explanatory variables comprise personal, household, and farm characteristics, and few variables of the local labour market. Since in the period a major reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) took place, we also add related variables. For estimation, we use different dynamic models, accounting for both heterogeneity and state dependence, as well as for the initial conditions (Heckmann, 1981; Wooldridge, 2005; Orme, 2001). Our results suggest that, when keeping into account all these features, present work state is almost totally explained by previous state and by idiosyncratic characteristics, which implies a strong persistence. Variables concerning personal characteristics found to be relevant in cross-sectional analyses are not found to be significant in the dynamic setting. Finally, the variables related to the reform have no statistically significant effect on the decision to work off-farm. |
| Keywords: | off-farm work, farm household, state dependence, panel data, CAP reform, Farm Management, Labor and Human Capital, J220, J430, Q120, Q180, |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea13:149886&r=eur |
| By: | Giannoccaro, Giacomo; Bartolini, Fabio; Raggi, Meri; Viaggi, Davide |
| Abstract: | Despite a large literature about energy production from renewable resources, the specific interplay between farm characteristics, market, local regulation and the CAP in the adoption of energy-related technologies by farmers is still poorly studied. This paper aims at analyzing the farmers’ intentions towards the on-farm adoption of energy crops or technologies for renewable energy production under alternative policy scenarios. The analysis is based on the econometric analysis of adoption intentions by a sample of more than 2,300 farm-households interviewed in nine European countries. Stated intentions towards the willingness to adopt energy crops/technology for renewable energy production, are expressed firstly under a scenario with the current CAP post 2013 (Baseline) and secondly under a scenario with the complete abolishment of the CAP support (No CAP). The study confirms that the CAP influences farmers’ decision on the adoption of energy crops/technologies for renewable energy production in the next years. Other relevant variables are farm typology specializations, size of owned and rented land and farmer’s education and advices. Moreover, scenario effects seem to be uneven among European States likely due to the interconnected effects with national renewable energy market and regulation. |
| Keywords: | Common Agricultural Policy, renewable energy, technology adoption, farmer’s behavior, econometric analysis, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Q18, Q10, |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea13:149914&r=eur |
| By: | Ralf Martin; Mirabelle Muûls; Laure B. de Preux; Ulrich J. Wagner |
| Abstract: | When regulated firms are offered compensation to prevent them from relocating, efficiency requires that payments be distributed across firms so as to equalize marginal relocation probabilities, weighted by the damage caused by relocation. We formalize this fundamental economic logic and apply it to analyzing compensation rules proposed under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, where emission permits are allocated free of charge to carbon intensive and trade exposed industries. We show that this practice results in substantial overcompensation for given carbon leakage risk. Efficient permit allocation reduces the aggregate risk of job loss by more than half without increasing aggregate compensation. |
| JEL: | F18 H23 H25 Q52 Q54 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19097&r=eur |
| By: | Oana Calavrezo (LEO - Laboratoire d'économie d'Orleans - CNRS : UMR6221 - Université d'Orléans); Richard Duhautois (CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi - Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé, ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l'Utilisation des Données Individuelles Temporelles en Economie - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne (UPEC) : EA437 - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV)); Emmanuelle Walkowiak (CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi - Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé, ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l'Utilisation des Données Individuelles Temporelles en Economie - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne (UPEC) : EA437 - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV), TEPP - Travail, Emploi et Politiques Publiques - CNRS : FR3435 - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV)) |
| Abstract: | The short-time compensation (STC) program aims at avoiding redundancies in case of shortterm downturns. This paper investigates the relationship between the STC recourse and establishment redundancy behaviour over the period 1996-2004. We test panel data models with sample selection, endogenous explanatory variable and unobserved heterogeneity developed by Semykina and Wooldridge (2007). We work with an unbalanced panel which results from the matching of five administrative databases. Our panel includes more than 36,000 establishments with at least 50 employees and 204,000 observations. According to our results, the participation in the STC program does not protect from redundancies. |
| Date: | 2013–06–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00831348&r=eur |
| By: | Bonanno, A.; Cembalo, L.; Caracciolo, F.; Dentoni, D.; Pascucci, S. |
| Abstract: | In spite of several cases study existing that assess the profitability of farms participating in direct sales activities (Brown, 2002; Brown and Miller (2008), no analysis has verified whether the notion that farmers participating in short supply chains are profitable holds to the empirical test. The objective of this analysis is that of testing econometrically whether farmers joining short supply chains do experience better performances, accounting for confounding factors and endogeneity of channel choice decision. To that end, we use the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) referred to 2010. Results indicate that participation in SSCs doesn’t positively contribute to farms profitability. We use this preliminary empirical evidence to shape future research steps in this domain, and namely to further investigate the differential impact of participation in SSCs on gross sales and variable costs. |
| Keywords: | short supply chains, Price-Cost-Margin, GMM, Italy, Farm Management, Productivity Analysis, Q13, |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea13:149899&r=eur |
| By: | Suzanne Kok |
| Abstract: | Matches between workers and jobs are better in thick labour markets than in thin ones. This CPB Discussion Paper measures match quality by the gap between worker skills and their job tasks in the Netherlands. The smaller the gap, the better the match between skills and tasks. The measured gaps are 14 percent of a standard deviation smaller in cities than in the Dutch countryside. The location of work explains the observed higher quality of matches, while the location of residence does not. Robustness analyses show that these results are not explained by more efficient learning in cities or the spatial distribution of industrial and service occupations. Higher matching quality is associated with higher wages and explains part of the urban wage premia. |
| JEL: | J24 J23 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:247&r=eur |