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on Microeconomic European Issues |
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Issue of 2015‒12‒01
23 papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Ivlevs, Artjoms (University of the West of England, Bristol); Veliziotis, Michail (University of the West of England, Bristol) |
| Abstract: | The 2004 European Union enlargement resulted in an unprecedented wave of 1.5 million workers relocating from Eastern Europe to the UK. We study how this migrant inflow affected life satisfaction of native residents in England and Wales. Combining the British Household Panel Survey with the Local Authority level administrative data from the Worker Registration Scheme, we find that higher local level immigration increased life satisfaction of young people and decreased life satisfaction of old people. This finding is driven by the initial 'migration shock' – inflows that occurred in the first two years after the enlargement. Looking at different life domains, we also find some evidence that, irrespective of age, higher local level immigration increased natives' satisfaction with their dwelling, partner and social life. |
| Keywords: | immigration, life satisfaction, United Kingdom, 2004 EU enlargement |
| JEL: | F22 J15 I31 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9513&r=eur |
| By: | Gobillon, Laurent (Paris School of Economics); Solignac, Matthieu (University of Pennsylvania) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the difference in homeownership rates between natives and first-generation immigrants in France, and how this difference evolves over the 1975-1999 period, by using a large longitudinal dataset. We find that the homeownership gap is large and has increased. Entries into the territory have a large negative effect on the evolution of homeownership rates for immigrants. Although entrants have on average better education than people staying in the territory for the entire period (i.e. stayers), they are younger and thus at an earlier stage in the wealth accumulation process. They are also located in large cities, where the homeownership rate is lower, and the returns to their characteristics are lower than those for stayers. Leavers have a positive effect on the evolution of homeownership rates for immigrants because they have a low access to homeownership and they exit the country. But this effect is only one-third that of entrants. For stayers, we show that returns to characteristics change in favor of immigrants, which is consistent with assimilation theories. However, among stayers who access homeownership, immigrants end up in owned dwellings that are of lesser quality than natives. |
| Keywords: | homeownership, immigrants, longitudinal data |
| JEL: | J15 R21 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9517&r=eur |
| By: | Ugur, Mehmet; Trushin, Eshref; Solomon, Edna |
| Abstract: | Theoretical and empirical work on innovation and firm survival has produced varied and often conflicting findings. In this paper, we draw on Schumpeterian models of competition and innovation and stochastic models of firm dynamics to demonstrate that the conflicting findings may be due to linear specifications of the innovation-survival relationship. We demonstrate that a quadratic specification is appropriate theoretically and fits the data well. Our findings from an unbalanced panel of 39,705 UK firms from 1997-2012 indicate that an inverted-U relationship holds for different types of R&D expenditures and sources of funding. We also report that R&D intensity is more likely to increase survival when firms are in more concentrated industries and in Pavitt technology classes consisting of specialized suppliers of technology and scale-intensive industries. Finally, we report that the effects of firm and industry characteristics as well as macroeconomic environment indicators are all consistent with prior findings. The results are robust to step-wise modeling, controlling for left truncation and use of lagged values to address potential simultaneity bias. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, post-entry performance, R&D, survival analysis |
| JEL: | C41 D22 L1 O21 O3 |
| Date: | 2015–10–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:68010&r=eur |
| By: | Meyer, Tobias (NIW Hannover, Leibniz Universität Hannover); Thomsen, Stephan L. (NIW Hannover, Leibniz Universität Hannover); Schneider, Heidrun (DZHW-German Centre for Research on Higher Education and Science Studies) |
| Abstract: | Most German states have reformed university preparatory schooling during the last decade by reducing its duration from 13 to 12 years without changing the graduation requirements. In this paper, we use nationwide data on high school graduates and apply a difference-in-differences approach to evaluate the reform effects on post-secondary education decisions. The results show that enrollment in university education in the first year after high school graduation is reduced in all analyzed states, while participation in voluntary service or staying abroad is increased. In some subgroups, depending on state, gender and family background, university enrollment is decreased additionally beyond the first year. |
| Keywords: | school duration, learning intensity, post-secondary education decisions, Germany |
| JEL: | I21 J18 C21 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9507&r=eur |
| By: | Kai Priesack (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically analyzes the impact of a change in dismissal protection on employment dynamics and temporary employment patterns in small establishments. The identification strategy relies on a quasi-experimental change in the German Protection Against Dismissal Act (PADA) in 2004. Due to a raise of the minimum firm size threshold determining coverage by the PADA, dismissal protection was relaxed for some establishments. Using matched employer-employee administrative data linked to establishment survey data, we estimate the causal effect of the reform on worker and job flow rates and the use of temporary employment. We find evidence for a short-term increase in overall worker flow rates which does, however, not persist in the medium-term. Reestimation by gender suggests that the effect on the hiring rate is driven by women while the effect on the separation rate is driven by men. There is no robust evidence for an effect on the overall job flow rate and the share of employees on fixed-term contracts or temporary agency workers. |
| Keywords: | Dismissal protection, worker flows, temporary employment |
| JEL: | J21 J23 J38 |
| Date: | 2015–08–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdp:wpaper:2015012&r=eur |
| By: | Gabriele Pellegrino (World Intellectual Property Organization, Economics and Statistics Division, 34, chemin des Colombettes CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland; EPFL, College of Management of Technology, Lausanne; Barcelona Institute of Economics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how firm age can affect a firm’s perception of the obstacles (deterring vs. revealed) that hamper and delay innovation. Using a comprehensive panel of Spanish firms for the period 2004-2011, the empirical analysis conducted shows that distinct types of obstacle are perceived differently by firms of different ages. First, a clear-cut negative relationship is identified between firm age and a firm’s assessment of both the internal and external shortages of financial resources. Second, young firms seem to be less sensitive to the lack of qualified personnel when initiating an innovative project than when they are already engaged in such activities. By contrast, the attempts of mature firms to engage in innovation activity are significantly affected by the lack of qualified personnel. Finally, mature incumbents appear to attach greater importance to obstacles related to market structure and demand than is the case of firms with less experience. |
| Keywords: | Barriers to innovation, firm age, probit panel data model |
| JEL: | C23 O31 O32 O33 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sru:ssewps:2015-33&r=eur |
| By: | Irem Guceri (Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation) |
| Abstract: | The United Kingdom introduced an R&D tax incentive scheme rst for SMEs in 2000 and then for large rms in 2002, gradually increasing the generosity of both schemes after 2008. This study exploits the differences between companies with similar characteristics that were just above the size threshold for eligibility to the SME scheme and those that were just below, before and after the 2002 reform. This allows for a difference-in-differences approach to measure the (additional) impact of the tax incentives on firms around this size threshold. Treatment group firms are found to have increased their R&D spending by around 18 percent on average in response to the large company tax incentive, implying a user cost elasticity of -1.35. We do not find significant differences in this effect between sectors. |
| Keywords: | R&D, tax credits, difference-in-differences |
| JEL: | H25 O31 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:btx:wpaper:1511&r=eur |
| By: | Robin Jessen (Freie Universitaet Berlin); David Rostam-Afschar (Freie Universitaet Berlin); Viktor Steiner (Freie Universitaet Berlin) |
| Abstract: | We study three budget-neutral reforms of the German tax and transfer system designed to improve work incentives for people with low incomes: a feasible flat tax reform that provides a basic income which is equal to the current level of the means tested unemployment benefit, and two alternative reforms that involve employment subsidies to stimulate participation and full-time work, respectively. We estimate labor supply reactions and welfare effects using a microsimulation model based on household data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and a structural labor supply model. We find that all three reforms increase labor supply in the first decile of the income distribution. However, the flat tax scenario reduces overall labor supply by 4.9%, the reform scenario designed to increase participation reduces labor supply by 1%, while the reform that provides improved incentives to work full-time has negligible effects on overall labor supply. With equal welfare weights, aggregate welfare gains are realizable under all three reforms. |
| Keywords: | Flat Tax; Basic Income; Work Incentives; Poverty Microsimulation |
| JEL: | H31 I38 J22 C25 |
| Date: | 2015–07–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdp:wpaper:2015010&r=eur |
| By: | Reinhilde Veugelers |
| Abstract: | This contribution focuses on the heterogeneity in innovation capacity within Europe across its different Member States. Who are the leading and who are the lagging EU countries? Is there a trend towards convergence over time? And how has the crisis affected this trend of convergence? We then take a look at the research and innovation policies which the EU countries have in place and try to assess whether these policies match with the heterogeneous EU countries’ innovation capacity positions. We examine both the budgets allocated by EU Member States to R&I as well as the various kinds of R&I policy programmes being deployed. More particularly, we examine how heterogeneous the deployment of policy instruments is across EU member states and whether this matches with the heterogeneity in innovation capacity development among EU countries. Notwithstanding the large and increasing heterogeneity among EU countries in innovation capacity development, the evidence on innovation policies in EU countries shows a relative homogeneity of policy mixes in different countries. Current innovation policy mixes of instruments do not well reflect the countries’ levels of innovation capacity development. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, innovation policy, institutional reforms, multi-level governance |
| JEL: | O31 O38 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feu:wfepbr:y:2015:m:8:d:0:i:8&r=eur |
| By: | Lara Makowski (Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe University); Qi Wu (Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe University); Michiyuki Yagi (Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe University); Katsuhiko Kokubu (Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe University) |
| Abstract: | After the nuclear disaster, in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, the Japanese government shut down all nuclear power plants in Japan. The German government decided to permanently phase out nuclear power. Japan was, and still is, directly affected by the nuclear disaster and Germany is considered the most sensitive country to nuclear energy after the nuclear disaster. This study aims to empirically examine whether there were changes in corporate environmental performance through companies’ implementations of environmental policies from before 2011 to after 2011 in Germany and Japan in the non-financial and non-energy. The dependent variable (as corporate environmental performance) is defined as a firm’s sales divided by corporate direct greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1) in the logarithm form. The independent variables are nine corporate policies, which all are dummy variables. This study uses the global firm dataset from the Bloomberg professional service where the number of observation is 832 in over a seven-year period (2006-2012). In the regression result, we find that when roughly examining pre and post 2011, using a dummy variable, there is significant change regarding the Japan and both sample. We then find that in eight out of the nine cases there is no effect of implementing the environmental policies on corporate efficiency. |
| Keywords: | Environmental efficiency; Pre and post disaster; Germany and Japanese companies; environmental, social, and governance policies; greenhouse gas emissions |
| JEL: | F21 O13 Q54 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kbb:dpaper:2015-24&r=eur |
| By: | Andrea Garnero |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the impact of workforce diversity on productivity, wages, and productivity–wage gaps in a sample of French firms using data from a comprehensive establishment-level survey (REPONSE) for 2011 matched with companies’ balance sheet data. Controlling for a wide set of workers’ and firms’ characteristics, findings suggest that age and gender diversity are negatively linked to firm’s productivity and wages while education diversity is positively linked. Contrary to some widespread beliefs, the paper finds no differential effect according to manager characteristics (gender, age, education and tenure) but some heterogeneity according to the type of proprietary structures of the firms. |
| Keywords: | labour diversity; productivity; wages; management; firm ownership |
| JEL: | D24 J24 J31 M12 |
| Date: | 2015–10–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/218358&r=eur |
| By: | Andreassen, Leif; Di Tommaso, Maria Laura; Maccagnan, Anna (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to measure men’s capability to provide unpaid work, considering both childcare and housework. The definition of capability is based on Sen’s Capability Approach which points out the importance of studying what people are free to do and to be (the capability sets), rather than what they do and who they are (the achieved functionings). In order to operationalizing the Capability Approach, we use random scale modelling. The use of random scale modelling within the Capability Approach framework represents an advancement in the literature related to work and family and has two main implications. First, it allows us to study whether and to what extent men are restricted in their freedom of providing unpaid and paid work and we describe their restrictions; second, we analyze men’s preferences in combining different levels of paid and unpaid work, given their capability sets. The dataset used is the Spanish sample of the Multinational Time Use Survey (MTUS), a cross-country harmonised set of time use surveys composed of comparably recoded variables. Our findings suggest that even though men do relatively little childcare, it is important to them. So men do care to care. Our estimates show that only about 15% of men are totally unrestricted in their capability sets. 35% of men are restricted to provide little time to unpaid work. Our estimates suggest that both individual, household and institutional variables are important drivers in shaping restrictions and preferences. |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:201545&r=eur |
| By: | Kai Rehwald (Aarhus University [Aarhus] - Aarhus University); Michael Rosholm (Aarhus University [Aarhus] - Aarhus University); Bénédicte Rouland (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - UN - Université de Nantes) |
| Abstract: | Using data from a large-scale randomized controlled trial conducted in Danish job centers, this paper investigates the effects of an intensification of mandatory return-to-work activities on the subsequent labor market outcomes for sick-listed workers. Using variations in local treatment strategies, both between job centers and between randomly assigned treatment and control groups within a given job center, we compare the relative effectiveness of alternative interventions. Our results show that the use of partial sick leave increases the length of time spent in regular employment and non-reliance on benefits, and also reduces the time spent in unemployment. Traditional active labor market programs and the use of paramedical care appear to have no effect at all, or even an adverse effect. |
| Keywords: | Long-term Sickness, Vocational Rehabilitation, Treatment Effects, Randomized Controlled Trial |
| Date: | 2015–11–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01228454&r=eur |
| By: | Sara De La Rica; Lucas Gortazar |
| Abstract: | The aim of the paper is threefold. First, we compute differences on the degree of de-routinization of job contents across a harmonized and hence comparable sample of Anglo-saxon, many European and even Asian advanced countries. We do so by using very precise information on job contents at the worker level, which allows for job task heterogeneity within occupations. Second we assess the extent to which computer adoption leads to the observed difference in the degree of de-routinization of job contents. Third, we test whether higher degrees of technology adoption are associated to higher wage inequality. Our results show remarkable differences in the degree of de-routinization of job contents across countries, being computer adoption at work a key significant driver of such differences. In particular, ICT use at work explains 41% (25%) of the cross-country unconditional (conditional) differences in de-routinization of job contents. Regarding the impact of adoption technology on wage inequality, our results indicate that although differences in ICT adoption explain an important and significant part of wage differentials, the effect is homogeneous for all the wage distribution, implying that we cannot find a significant association between wage inequality and technology adoption. |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fda:fdaddt:2015-11&r=eur |
| By: | Daniela Piazzalunga (University of Turin, Italy); Maria Laura Di Tommaso (University of Turin, Italy) |
| Abstract: | The paper examines the gender wage gap in Italy during the 2008-2012 economic crisis, using cross-sectional EU-SILC data. The gender wage gap increased from 4\% in 2008 to 8\% in 2012, while for most European countries the gap decreased over the same period. After 2010 the growth of the Italian gender wage gap (and its unexplained component) was particularly high in the upper part of the wage distribution. In 2010-2011 a wage freeze in the public sector was introduced as an austerity measure, and the average public sector premium dropped from 15\% to 11\%. Using counterfactual analyses, we show that the wage freeze has been one of the major causes of the growth of the gender wage gap, disproportionately affecting women, who are more likely to be employed in the public sector. This `policy effect' accounts for more than 100\% of the increase between 2009 and 2011, while other changes, if anything, would have reduced the gender gap. |
| Keywords: | Gender wage gap, Great Recession, public sector premium, decomposition, counterfactual analysis. |
| JEL: | J31 J71 J16 J45 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2015-381&r=eur |
| By: | Dennis Fredriksen; Nils Martin Stølen (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | Over the life course members of an insurance system normally will contribute by payments when in working age, and later receive pension benefits as e.g. disabled or old-age pensioners. Total expected discounted contributions from labour market earnings may be compared to the expected discounted sum of benefits from pensions received. The first cohorts covered with benefits from a pay-as-you go pension system will normally receive higher benefits than what follows from their contributions. Reforms of the pension system may also affect the ratio between discounted life time pension benefits and discounted life time contributions. In Norway the former National Insurance Scheme was introduced in 1967, and a reform of this system has been implemented from 2011. Budgetary and distributional effects are analysed by the dynamic micro simulation model MOSART. The aim of this paper is to analyse the distributional consequences between generations from implementation of the system in 1967 and the reform from 2011. Problems arising in this kind of analyses are discussed, and effects are presented for different groups of the population by birth cohort, gender, education and for natives versus immigrants. As expected the results show that the cohorts who established the pay-as-you-go system experienced a substantial gain by letting future generations pay. For later cohorts discounted value of benefits received is lower than the discounted value of contributions. With a positive net rate of interest the value of contributions as young is more worth than the corresponding value of benefits received as old. Over the life course the pension system distributes incomes from men to women, but women are more affected by the pension reform in 2011 than men. |
| Keywords: | Pension systems; Intergenerational distribution; Dynamic micro simulation |
| JEL: | D31 H55 J16 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:825&r=eur |
| By: | Hederos Eriksson, Karin (SOFI, Stockholm University); Stenberg, Anders (SOFI, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | Bertrand et al. (2015) show that among married couples in the US, the distribution of the share of the household income earned by the wife exhibits a sharp drop just to the right of .50. They argue that this drop is consistent with a social norm prescribing that a man should earn more than his wife. We repeat this analysis for Sweden, ranked as one of the world's most gender equal countries. Analyzing Swedish population register data, we do not find support for the norm that a man should earn more than his wife. |
| Keywords: | gender roles, marriage market, gender gap, gender identity |
| JEL: | D10 J12 J16 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9533&r=eur |
| By: | Berg, Peter B. (Michigan State University); Hamman, Mary K. (University of Wisconsin, La Crosse); Piszczek, Matthew (University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh); Ruhm, Christopher J. (University of Virginia) |
| Abstract: | In the coming years, a substantial portion of Germany's workforce will retire, making it difficult for businesses to meet human capital needs. Training older workers may be a successful strategy for managing this demographic transition. This study examines relationships between establishment training programs, wages, and retirement among older men and women. Using unique matched establishment-employee data from Germany, the authors find that when establishments offer special training programs targeted at older workers, women – and especially lower wage women – are less likely to retire. Results suggest this relationship may be due to greater wage growth. For men, findings suggest establishment offer of inclusion in standard training programs may improve retention of low wage men, but analysis of pre-existing differences in establishment retirement patterns suggests this relationship may not be causal. Our research suggests targeted training programs likely play an important role in retaining and advancing careers of low wage older women. |
| Keywords: | workforce training, retirement, establishment training |
| JEL: | J20 J24 J26 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9508&r=eur |
| By: | Kabátek, Jan (University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effects of the age-dependent minimum wage on youth employment flows in the Netherlands. The Dutch minimum wage for workers aged 15-23 is defined as a step-wise increasing function of a worker's calendar age. At the age of 23, workers become eligible for the "adult" minimum wage which does not increase further. This creates an incentive for firms to discriminate against employees on the basis of their age, substituting more expensive older workers with younger ones. In or- der to grasp the size of these effects, I analyze monthly flows in and out of employment using administrative records for the entire youth population of the Netherlands. I account for the time remaining until workers' next birthdays, exploiting the fact that firms are facing a sharp discontinuity in labor costs in the month when a worker turns one year older. The results show a significant increase in job separation around the time of this discontinuity: the probability of job separation increases by 1.1% in the three calendar months which are closest to a worker's next birthday. This effect exhibits substantial heterogeneity with respect to a worker's age, showing that young and inexperienced workers are more likely to be affected by the discontinuities. The size of the effect also varies by the sector of employment, being particularly large for supermarket employees. Job accession peaks just after workers' birthdays, representing both entry of the workers with higher reservation wages and re-employment of the workers whose jobs are dissolved around the time of the discontinuity. |
| Keywords: | minimum wage, age-dependency, labor market flows |
| JEL: | J23 J31 J38 M51 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9528&r=eur |
| By: | Molina, Jose Alberto; Velilla, Jorge; Ortega, Raquel |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses how self-employed (entrepreneurs) and employed workers earnings differ in Spain. We develop an empirical analysis on the factors that determine income and the factors that determine the effects on the financial situation of the families of entrepreneurs versus salaried families. We use the “Encuesta Financiera de las Familias” database corresponding to 2011. Our results show that salaried workers earn more than the self-employed workers. Furthermore, pessimism and familiar patrimony play a key role in the entrepreneur decision. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; Household financial situation, Wages; Self-employment; |
| JEL: | D10 M00 |
| Date: | 2015–11–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:68101&r=eur |
| By: | Joseph Clougherty; Tomaso Duso; Miyu Lee; Jo Seldeslachts |
| Abstract: | We estimate the deterrence effects of European Commission (EC) merger policy instruments over the 1990-2009 period. Our empirical results suggest that phase-1 remedies uniquely generate robust deterrence as – unlike phase-1 withdrawals, phase-2 remedies, and preventions – phase-1 remedies lead to fewer merger notifications in subsequent years. Furthermore, the deterrence effects of phase-1 remedies work best in high-concentration industries; i.e., industries where the HHI is above the 0.2 cut-off level employed by the EC. Additionally, we find that phase-1 remedies do not deter clearly pro-competitive mergers, but do deter potentially anti-competitive mergers in high-concentration industries. |
| Keywords: | Merger, deterrence, European Commission, merger policy, competition policy, antitrust |
| JEL: | K21 K40 L40 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1523&r=eur |
| By: | Sebastiano Sabato; Bart Vanhercke; Gert Verschraegen |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to identify and provide a preliminary assessment of the resources that the EU has made available to promote social innovation over the period 2006-2014, with special focus on poverty and social exclusion policies. Such a focus is relevant insofar as the establishment of a quantitative target concerning poverty and social exclusion has been one of the major novelties introduced by the Europe 2020 Strategy: social innovation has been presented as a key area for facilitating its achievement. In order to identify European Union (EU) resources relevant for social innovation, we have adopted a diachronic approach taking into account two sub-periods: 2006-2010 (the period of the revised Lisbon Strategy) and 2010-2014 (the first stage of the new Europe 2020 Strategy). This has allowed us to shed light on both the varying importance of the issue over time and the evolution of the relevant instruments and processes implemented by the EU. Our analysis also provides insights into the complex and multi-layered European policy architecture for underpinning social innovation.(for more see paper) |
| Keywords: | Social innovation, Europe 2020, poverty and social exclusion, social experimentation, European structural Funds |
| JEL: | I3 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hdl:improv:1521&r=eur |
| By: | Antonis M. Koumpias, Eduardo Sanz-Arcega (Georgia State University); Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (Georgia State University); Eduardo Sanz-Arcega (University of Zaragoza) |
| Abstract: | The adoption of the euro in 2002 led to an unprecedented supply of cheap mortgage credit in Greece and Spain. The housing bubbles that ensued amplified developers' incentives to offer bribes for illegal construction projects. We exploit the mortgage credit windfall as the shock that induced variation in housing prices to examine the effects of the latter on zoning corruption. The empirical analysis relies on objective measures of zoning corruption at the regional level from 2003 through 2008 for Greece and from 2006 through 2008 for Spain. We employ legal indictments of zoning officials from prosecution records for Greece, which are novel to the literature, and media reports of zoning corruption scandals for Spain. Adjusting for unemployment, population, population density and college attainment, our baseline negative binomial regression estimates indicate a positive and significant relationship between housing prices and zoning corruption. Our findings are robust to a series of checks that include zero-inflated variants of the negative binomial model, and linear models that address model misspecification, omitted variables and dynamic panel bias. In the case of Spain, we are also able to analyze the sensitivity of our findings using a provincial panel that provides substantially more cross-sectional variation. |
| Keywords: | Housing Bubbles, Corruption, Zoning, Land Use, Greece, Spain, Euro |
| Date: | 2015–08–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ays:ispwps:paper1505&r=eur |