|
on Microeconomic European Issues |
|
Issue of 2014‒03‒30
twenty-six papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta University of Modena and Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Marin,Giovanni; Marzucchi,Alberto; Zoboli,Roberto |
| Abstract: | Eco-innovation is an explicit aim of major EU policy strategies. Many environmental policy de facto require firms to eco-innovate to comply with policy requirements, while the overlap between policy-driven and market-driven eco-innovation strategies is increasingly important for many firms. Barriers to eco-innovation can then emerge as a critical factor in either preventing or stimulating EU strategies, policy implementation, and 'green strategies' by firms. In this paper, we propose a taxonomy of EU SMEs in terms of barriers to eco-innovation. The aim is to discriminate among SMEs on how they differ in terms of perception of barriers and engagement in environmental innovation, thus highlighting the need to look at eco-innovation barriers in relation to firms' attitudes, technological and organizational capabilities, and strategies. We identify six clusters of SMEs. These clusters include firms facing 'Revealed barriers', 'Deterring barriers', 'Cost deterred' firms, 'Market deterred' firms, 'Non eco-innovators' and 'Green champions'. The clusters show substantial differences in terms of eco-innovation adoption. We show that our proposed taxonomy has little overlap with sector classifications. This diversity should be taken into account for successful environmental innovation policies. |
| Keywords: | eco-innovation, Barriers to innovation, firm behaviour |
| JEL: | O33 Q55 |
| Date: | 2014–03–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ing:wpaper:201404&r=eur |
| By: | Salvador Barrios (Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, Joint Research Centre, European Commission); J. Nicolás Ibañez (Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, Joint Research Centre, European Commission) |
| Abstract: | This study analyses the potential impact of climate change on EU tourism demand and provides long-term (2100) scenarios accounting for adaptation in terms of holiday duration. Our long-term projections for tourism demand are based on hedonic valuation of climatic conditions combining hotel price information and travel cost estimations. This approach allows us to analyse together the climatic aspect of recreational demand and its travel cost dimension and thus to draw alternative hypotheses regarding the time dimension of tourism demand. We derive alternative scenarios for adaptation of holiday in terms of holiday frequency and duration. We find that the climate dimension plays a significant (economically and statistically) role in explaining hedonic valuations of tourism services and, as a consequence, its variation in the long-term are likely to affect the relative attractiveness of EU regions for recreational demand. In certain cases, most notably the Southern EU Mediterranean countries climate condition in 2100 could under current economic conditions, lower tourism revenues for up to -0.45% of GDP per year. On the contrary, other areas of the EU, most notably Northern European countries would gain from altered climate conditions, although these gains would be relatively more modest, reaching up to 0.32% of GDP on an annual basis. Overall our results suggest that the change in holiday duration appears to be more beneficial than the change in the frequency of holidays in view of mitigating the cost of climate change for the tourism sector. These two time dimensions of adaptation are likely to be conditioned by broader societal and institutional factors, however. |
| Keywords: | Tourism demand, Climate change |
| JEL: | L8 Q5 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2014.19&r=eur |
| By: | Salvador Barrios (Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, Joint Research Centre, European Commission); J. Nicolás Ibañez Rivas (Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, Joint Research Centre, European Commission) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of climatic change on welfare in European regions using a hedonic travel-cost framework and focusing on tourism demand. Our hedonic price estimations combine detailed hotel price information with tourism-specific travel cost estimations for each pair of EU region. This approach allows us to estimate different valuations of climate amenities depending on time duration of holidays. In our analysis of adaptation to climate change we therefore consider holiday duration as variable of adaptation. Our findings suggest that the rise in temperature in preferred destination choices during the summer season (i.e. southern EU) is likely to yield significant welfare losses. As a result European tourists are more likely to spend shorter (and more frequent) holidays and to diversify their destination choices in order to mitigate these losses. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Hedonic Prices, Travel Cost, Tourism, Europe |
| JEL: | L8 Q5 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2014.20&r=eur |
| By: | Malwina Mejer |
| Abstract: | Universities are increasingly being called upon to contribute to economic development and competitiveness. This Study aims to assess contribution of academic scientists working at universities located in the French-speaking Community of Belgium to patented technology. Matching names of academic scientists to inventors listed on patent applications filed at the EPO between 1994-2007, we find that 9-12% of academics working in science are inventors, among them 23% are woman. Academic scientists are listed as inventors on 6.5% of the EPO patent applications filed by résidents of the French-speaking Community of Belgium. Universities are applicants on only 33.3% of patents invented by their scientists but this share has increased significantly in recent years. These results are then compared with similar trends in other European countries and in the United States. |
| Keywords: | academic patenting, universities, Europe, matching |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ict:wpaper:2013/149160&r=eur |
| By: | Behncke, Nadine |
| Abstract: | This paper provides evidence of the effect of immigration-based networks on German trade. Germany presents a particular interesting case study to examine the effect of ethnic networks on exports due to its high export dependence and its reserved migration policy. According to our results, we find no trade creating effect from migrant networks on exports but on imports, highlighting the importance of the demand effect for Germany. Allowing for heterogeneous network effects shows that at least some migrant networks positively affect exports. However, the most efficient migrant networks do not originate from EU countries but from African or middle-eastern countries that do not have a large migrant network in Germany. -- |
| Keywords: | migrants,networks,gravity |
| JEL: | F12 F1 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cegedp:198&r=eur |
| By: | Hermeling, Claudia; Klement, Jan Henrik; Koesler, Simon; Köhler, Jonathan; Klement, Dorothee |
| Abstract: | On the basis of a joint economic and legal analysis, we evaluate the effects of a 'regional' (European) emission trading scheme aiming at reducing emissions of international shipping. The focus lies on the question which share of emissions from maritime transport activities to and from the EU can and should be included in such a system. Our findings suggest that the attempt to implement an EU maritime ETS runs into a dilemma. It is not possible to design a system that achieves emission reductions in a cost efficient manner and is compatible with international law. -- |
| Keywords: | emission trading,international shipping,maritime emissions,regional emission trading,international jurisdiction for emission trading schemes |
| JEL: | L91 Q58 R48 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:14021&r=eur |
| By: | Joachim Wagner (Leuphana University Lueneburg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a tailor-made newly available data set for enterprises from manufacturing industries in Germany to investigate for the first time the links between export diversification over destination countries and goods on the one hand and the profitability of the exporting firms on the other hand. We find that profits tend to be larger in firms with less diversified export sales over goods and in firms with more diversified export sales over destination countries. |
| Keywords: | Exports, Exports, diversification, profitability, Germany |
| JEL: | F14 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:297&r=eur |
| By: | Vivien Procher; Nolan Ritter; Colin Vance |
| Abstract: | Drawing on German household data from 1992 to 2011, this paper analyzes how couples allocate housework against the backdrop of three questions: (1) Does an individual’s contribution to household income - both in absolute and relative terms - influence his or her contribution to housework? (2) If so, does the magnitude of this influence differ by gender? and (3) How important are traditional gender roles on housework allocation? We address these issues by applying panel quantile regression models and find that as both the share and absolute level of income increase, the amount of housework undertaken decreases, with the latter effect being roughly equal across genders. At the same time, traditional gender roles also appear to dictate housework allocation, which is evidenced by women increasing their housework if they earn more than their partner. |
| Keywords: | Housework; income; gender; longitudinal study; quantile panel regression |
| JEL: | D13 J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rwi:repape:0472&r=eur |
| By: | Johannes Geyer; Peter Haan; Katharina Wrohlich |
| Abstract: | Parental leave and subsidized child care are prominent examples of family policies supporting the reconciliation of family life and labor market careers for mothers. In this paper, we combine different empirical strategies to evaluate the employment effects of these policies for mothers in Germany. In particular we estimate a structural labor supply model and exploit a natural experiment, i.e. the reform of parental leave benefits. By exploiting and combining the advantages of the different methods, i.e the internal validity of the natural experiment and the external validity of the structural model, we can go beyond evaluation studies restricted to one particular methodology. Our findings suggest that a combination of parental leave benefits and subsidized child care leads to sizable employment effects of mothers. |
| Keywords: | Labor supply, parental leave benefits, childcare costs, structural model, natural experiment |
| JEL: | J22 H31 C52 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1366&r=eur |
| By: | Michele Cincera; Julien Ravet; Reinhilde Veugelers |
| Abstract: | Using firm level information on the world leading R&D investors, this paper investigates through a system GMM estimation of the investment error correction model, whether younger innovators face more severe or no financing constraints, as opposed to older innovators, and whether this would hold more for European young firms relative to the US. The analysis indeed confirms that over the last decade young leading innovators appear to be more affected by financing constraints compared to their older counterparts and that particularly EU young innovators exhibit higher sensitivities of R&D investment to cash-flow, particularly in medium and high tech sectors. |
| Keywords: | EU-US R&D gap, young innovators, financing constraints |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ict:wpaper:2013/157281&r=eur |
| By: | Bangzhu Zhu; Shujiao Ma; Julien Chevallier; Yiming Wei |
| Abstract: | This article investigates the European carbon futures price dynamics by applying the Zipf analysis. The results show that: first, carbon price behaviour is asymmetric, and the long-term bearish probability is greater than the long-term bullish probability. Second, time-scales of investment and speculators’ expectations of returns have dual effects on carbon price behaviour. The longer time-scales of investment, the higher the bearish probability. The lower expectations of returns, the smaller the distortion of carbon price behaviour. Third, the differences in carbon market cognitions from non-greedy speculators with different expectations of returns mainly lie in the amplitudes and occasions of carbon price fluctuations, rather than carbon price fluctuations themselves. Fourth, speculators’ expectations of returns have critical points. Once the critical points are reached, they will no longer be able to distort carbon price behaviour. Finally, we discuss some investment advice for supports of the decision-makers. For non-greedy-type speculators, they will choose to hold negatively in the short term and buy and hold in the long term, while for greedy-type speculators they will sell their European Union Allowances (EUAs) in the short term, and buy and hold in the long term. The results are helpful to hedge against unwanted carbon price movements, and to understand the transactions between different types of agents. |
| Keywords: | EU ETS; carbon futures price; Zipf analysis; expectation of return; time-scale of investment |
| Date: | 2014–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-155&r=eur |
| By: | Bruno Amable (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne); Baptiste Françon (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate the microeconomic effects of one major feature of the German Hartz Reforms (2003-2005), namely the reduction in compensation duration for older unemployed above 45 years of age. We look at two potential effects of this measure: on job take-up rates, but also on post-unemployment outcomes, through various indicators of matching quality (job stability, skill adequacy) and job quality (type of job contract). Applying difference-in-differences estimators, we show that the effects of this specific feature were rather scant. Regarding unemployment duration, only unemployed within a specific age group (55 to 59 years old) were affected by the reform. Evidence suggests that this is because they previously used unemployment schemes as a bridge to early retirement. In addition, there is some evidence of detrimental effects on job or matching quality. |
| Keywords: | Unemployment benefits, unemployment duration, job matching, job quality, early retirement, difference-in-differences. |
| JEL: | C41 J64 J26 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:14020&r=eur |
| By: | Conchi, Sonia; Michels, Carolin |
| Abstract: | [Introduction ...] The structure of this report is as follows. It starts with a brief review of the literature on international research collaboration, scientific mobility and return migration and a brief introduction to German migration behavior. The introduction to the topic is followed by a description of the data (bibliometric data and data from online survey) and methods used in this report. A bibliometric data set of all German scientists was created to track their movements for a period of 10 years. In a second step, an online survey of German scientists was conducted that will be presented in chapter 3. It also contains a section on data validation in which the second research question is analyzed. The data from the online-survey was used to determine whether the scientists identified in the Scopus database are indeed German scientists and whether their travel behavior is consistent with the Scopus data. The fourth chapter presents the research results regarding scientific mobility in Germany. As a focus of this study is on German scientists movements, this is the most extensive analysis. It contains a country analysis and in particular analyzes which proportion of German scientists migrates and returns within 10 years. The same data analysis based on Scopus was conducted for the countries Austria, France and Great Britain. The results are compared to Germany to discover patterns of scientific mobility. Additionally a Scopus analysis of co-publications shows differences between scientists with international and national experience. A regression analysis shows effects on the amount of publications and citation rates of scientists with national or international experience. The results of the online survey provide additional information about reasons and motivations for staying abroad and networking through scientific mobility. Finally the research results are discussed in the concluding section. -- |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fisidp:41&r=eur |
| By: | Marino, Marianna (EPFL, Lausanne); Parrotta, Pierpaolo (Maastricht University); Pozzoli, Dario (KORA - Danish Institute for Local and Regional Government Research) |
| Abstract: | This article contributes to the literature on knowledge transfer via labor mobility by providing new evidence regarding the role of educational diversity in knowledge transfer. In tracing worker flows between firms in Denmark over the period 1995-2005, we find that knowledge carried by workers who have been previously exposed to educationally diverse workforces significantly increases the productivity of hiring firms. Several extensions of our baseline specification support this finding and show that insignificant effects are associated with the prior exposure of newly hired employees to either demographic or culturally diverse workplaces. |
| Keywords: | educational diversity, knowledge transfer, inter-firm labor mobility, firm productivity |
| JEL: | J24 J60 L20 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8033&r=eur |
| By: | Andrea Garnero; Stephan Kampelmann; François Rycx |
| Abstract: | This paper explores how the diversity of minimum wage systems affects earnings inequalities within European countries. It relies on the combination of (a) harmonized micro-data from household surveys, (b) data on national statutory minimum wages and coverage rates, and (c) hand-collected information on minimum rates from more than 1,100 sectoral-level agreements across Europe. The analysis covers 18 countries over the period 2007-2009. Empirical results confirm the intuition of many practitioners that the combination of sectoral minimum rates and high coverage of collective bargaining can, at least for earnings inequalities, be regarded as a functional equivalent to a binding statutory minimum wage at the national level. Regression results suggest indeed that both a national statutory minimum wage and, in countries with sectoral-level minima, a higher collective bargaining coverage are significantly associated with lower levels of (overall and inter-industry) wage inequalities and a smaller fraction of workers paid below prevailing minima. Several robustness checks confirm these findings. |
| Keywords: | Minimum wage systems; collective bargaining; wage inequality; Europe |
| JEL: | J31 J33 J51 |
| Date: | 2013–05–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dul:wpaper:2013/143851&r=eur |
| By: | Mosca, Irene (Trinity College Dublin); Barrett, Alan (ESRI, Dublin) |
| Abstract: | A growing literature within economics has sought to examine the impacts of emigration on sending countries. Some of the studies have looked within families and have investigated how emigration affects those family members who are left behind. In this paper, we explore whether older parents of adult children who emigrate experience declines in mental health compared to parents whose children do not migrate. We use data from the first two waves of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing. This is a nationally representative sample of 8,500 people aged 50 and above living in Ireland collected in 2009-11 (Wave 1) and 2012-13 (Wave 2). To deal with the endogeneity of migration, we apply fixed effects estimation models and control for a broad range of life-events occurring between the two waves. These include the emigration of a child but also events such as bereavement, onset of disease, retirement and unemployment. We find that depressive symptoms and feelings of loneliness increase among the parents of migrant children but that the effect is only present for mothers. Given the relationship between mental health and other health outcomes, the potential impacts for the older populations of migrant-sending regions and countries are significant. |
| Keywords: | emigration, depression, mental health |
| JEL: | I15 J61 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8037&r=eur |
| By: | Bossler, Mario; Oberfichtner, Michael |
| Abstract: | We provide difference-in-differences evidence from Germany on the effect of deregulating weekday shop opening hours on employment in food retailing. Using data on the universe of German shops, we find that relaxing restrictions on business hours increased employment by 0.4 workers per shop corresponding to an aggregate employment effect of 3 to 4 per cent. The effect was driven by an increase in parttime employment while full-time employment was not affected. The statistical significance of these results hinges on assumptions on error correlation, and we hence report inference robust to clustering at different levels. A back-of-the-envelope calculation gives an employment increase by 0.1 workers per additional actual weekly opening hour. -- Wir untersuchen den Effekt der Freigabe der Ladenöffnungszeiten auf die Beschäftigung im deutschen Lebensmitteleinzelhandel mit der Differenz-von-Differenzen-Methode. Unter Verwendung von Daten über alle deutschen Einzelhändler finden wir, dass die Ausweitung der gesetzlich erlaubten Ladenöffnungszeiten die Beschäftigung um durchschnittlich 0,4 Arbeitnehmer pro Laden erhöht hat, was einer Zunahme der Beschäftigung um 3 bis 4 Prozent entspricht. Getrieben wird dieser Effekt von einer Zunahme der Teilzeitbeschäftigung, wohingegen die Vollzeitbeschäftigung nicht betroffen war. Die statistische Signifikanz der gefundenen Effekte hängt von den Annahmen an die Störtermkorrelation ab und wir berichten daher Ergebnisse bei Clustering auf verschiedenen Ebenen. Eine Überschlagsrechnung zeigt eine Zunahme der Beschäftigung um 0,1 Arbeitnehmer pro Erhöhung der tatsächlichen wöchentlichen Öffnungszeiten um eine Stunde. |
| Keywords: | shop opening regulations,employment,retail sector,Germany |
| JEL: | J23 L51 L81 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:faulre:91&r=eur |
| By: | Contini, Bruno (LABORatorio R. Revelli); Grand, Elisa (LABORatorio R. Revelli) |
| Abstract: | Italy's labour market suffers from a serious pathology, in addition to the increasing precariousness of the young workforce common to all EU member countries: flows from regular employment to non-employment are very often dead-ends. A vast number of young individuals who lose their job only a few months or years after their first hire enter the ranks of the long-term unemployed or leave the workforce altogether, never to regain regular employment even after as long as twenty years. Many join the ranks of the irregular economy, many drop out of the labour force. "Workforce disposal" refers to the process generating this pathology. Prolonged stagnation of the Italian economy is an important long run macroeconomic determinant of workforce disposal. But there are several factors that have an important impact in the short and medium run. In this study we set out to investigate such determinants. Workforce disposal is present also in Spain, though to a lesser extent than Italy. Informed media report that similar developments are taking place also in countries of Eastern Europe, although no scientific evidence is yet available. And it would be surprising if the economies of Portugal and Greece were immune from the disease. Our exploration of the Italian case makes use of the WHIP longitudinal database originating from Social Security records. |
| Keywords: | unemployment, youth employment and participation, mobility, workforce |
| JEL: | J J2 J08 J20 J6 J63 J64 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izapps:pp79&r=eur |
| By: | Wagner, Joachim (Leuphana University Lueneburg and CESIS, Stockholm) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a tailor-made newly available data set to investigate for the first time the links between profitability and the quality of exports in enterprises from manufacturing industries in Germany, one of the leading actors on the world market for goods. The paper demonstrates that exporters of high-quality goods tend to be more profitable. |
| Keywords: | Exports; export quality; profitability; Germany |
| JEL: | F14 |
| Date: | 2014–03–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0352&r=eur |
| By: | Magdalena Stroka |
| Abstract: | This study evaluates the mental and physical strain experienced by informal caregivers. Econometric problems due to individuals selecting themselves into informal care provision are tackled by using informative and detailed data from the largest sickness fund in Germany and applying propensity score matching techniques. The findings suggest that carers take more psychoactive drugs as well as analgesics and gastrointestinal agents. Thus, informal caregiving appears to be a burdensome task with implications for both mental and physical health. |
| Keywords: | Informal care; burden; drugs; propensity score matching |
| JEL: | I10 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rwi:repape:0474&r=eur |
| By: | María Teresa Costa (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB); José García-Quevedo (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB); Agustí Segarra (GRIT, CREIP, Rovira i Virgili University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the extent to which innovative Spanish firms pursue improvements in energy efficiency (EE) within their innovation objectives. The increase in energy consumption and its impact on greenhouse gas emissions justifies the greater attention being paid to energy efficiency and especially to industrial EE. The ability of manufacturing companies to innovate and improve their EE has a substantial influence on reaching the objectives regarding climate change mitigation. Despite the effort to design more efficient energy policies, the EE determinants in manufacturing firms have been little studied in the empirical literature. From an exhaustive sample of Spanish manufacturing firms and using a probit model, we examine the energy efficiency determinants to those firms that have innovated. To carry out the econometric analysis, we use a panel data coming from CIS (Community Innovation Survey) for the period 2008-2011 that includes 4,458 manufacturing firms. Among firm characteristics, the empirical results underline the importance of size in facilitating the adoption of technology that improves energy efficiency; while among the factors related to companies’ behavior, the favorable influence of organizational innovations and innovations related with the reduction of environmental impacts stand out as the main factors in carrying out innovations with the objective of increasing energy efficiency. |
| Keywords: | Energy efficiency, corporate targets, innovation, Community Innovation Survey |
| JEL: | Q40 Q55 O31 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2013/6/doc2014-10&r=eur |
| By: | Corinna Hentschker; Andreas Schmid; Roman Mennicken |
| Abstract: | The correct definition of the product market and of the geographic market is a prerequisite for assessing market structures in antitrust cases. For hospital markets, both dimensions are controversially discussed in the literature. Using data for the German hospital market we aim at elaborating the need for differentiating the product market and at investigating the effects of different thresholds for the delineation of the geographic market based on patient flows. Thereby we contribute to the scarce empirical evidence on the structure of the German hospital market. We find that the German hospital sector is highly concentrated, confirming the results of a singular prior study. Furthermore, using a very general product market definition such as “acute in-patient care” averages out severe discrepancies that become visible when concentration is considered on the level of individual diagnoses. In contrast, varying thresholds for the definition of the geographic market has only impact on the level of concentration, while the correlation remains high. Our results underline the need for more empirical research concerning the definition of the product market for hospital services. |
| Keywords: | Hospital market; concentration; product market; geographic market; Germany |
| JEL: | L11 I11 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rwi:repape:0469&r=eur |
| By: | Andrea Garnero; Stephan Kampelmann; François Rycx |
| Abstract: | The authors use matched employer-employee panel data on Belgian private-sector firms to estimate the relationship between wage/productivity differentials and the firm’s labor composition in terms of part-time and sex. Findings suggest that the groups of women and part-timers generate employer rents, but also that the origin of these rents differs (relatively lower wages for women, relatively higher productivity for part-timers). Interactions between gender and part-time suggest that the positive productivity effect is driven by male part-timers working more than 25 hours, whereas the share of female part-timers is associated with wage penalties. The authors conclude that men and women differ with respect to motives for reducing working hours and the types of part-time jobs available to them: women often have to accommodate domestic constraints by downgrading to more flexible jobs, whereas male part-time work is frequently related to training and collectively negotiated hours reductions that do not affect hourly pay. |
| Keywords: | wages; productivity; part-time employment; gender; matched panel data; GMM |
| JEL: | J39 |
| Date: | 2013–11–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dul:wpaper:2013/151596&r=eur |
| By: | Lorenzo Mizzau (Dept. of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venice) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to delve into the processes whereby cultural industries are interpreted by cultural, political and administrative actors, generating diverse and often unpredictable cultural, economic and social effects. By drawing evidence from a field project on the movie and audiovisual sector in North-East Italy, I explore the actual practices and micro-dynamics of local audiovisual policies formation, examining how they emerge from a continuous and complex interaction between (purposive) cultural actors and (interactive) policymakers and institutions through time. The results from a comparative case study analysis show how different patterns of interaction lead to different outcomes in terms of the effective functioning of the local cultural industry sector, and how this relationship Ð albeit a complex, multifaceted one Ð is mediated by the internal networking capability and proactivity of cultural actors. In the two patterns found, in fact, local actors were differently capable to influence institutions and by consequence to act upon the local audiovisual and movie sectors. |
| Keywords: | cultural industries, cultural policy formation, film and audiovisual industry, governance |
| JEL: | L82 M13 R38 Z10 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vnm:wpdman:73&r=eur |
| By: | Caruso, Raul |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the relationship between unemployment and rape in a panel of European regions. In particular, this paper is intended to test whether an ‘opportunity perspective’ holds for rape. The ‘opportunity perspective’ interprets the level of unemployment as an indicator of ‘social inactivity’, so that a negative relationship between violent crime and unemployment is predicted. Results show that rape and unemployment are positively associated so not confirming the opportunity perspective. Results are robust using alternative dependent variables, namely (i) the count of rape; (ii) the rape rate per 100,000 people. |
| Keywords: | rape, sexual assault, violent crime, opportunity perspective, unemployment, youth unemployment, intimate and spousal violence. |
| JEL: | I29 J12 J18 J64 K42 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:54725&r=eur |