|
on Microeconomic European Issues |
|
Issue of 2016‒09‒11
twenty papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Giorgio Di Gessa; Karen Glaser; Debora Price; Eloi Ribe; Anthea Tinker |
| Abstract: | Objectives. Grandparents play an important role in looking after grandchildren, although intensive grandparental childcare varies considerably across Europe. Few studies have explicitly investigated the extent to which such cross-national variations are associated with national level differences in individual demographic and socio-economic distributions along with contextual-structural and cultural factors (e.g., variations in female labor force participation, childcare provision, and cultural attitudes). Methods. We used multilevel models to examine associations between intensive grandparental childcare and contextual-structural and cultural factors, after controlling for grandparent, parent, and child characteristics using nationally representative data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Results. Even controlling for cross-national differences in demographic and socio-economic distributions, contextual-structural factors play an important role in explaining grandparental childcare variations in Europe. In particular, higher levels of intensive grandparental childcare are found in countries with low labor force participation among younger and older women, and low formal childcare provision, where mothers in paid work largely rely on grandparental support on an almost daily basis. Discussion. Encouraging older women to remain in paid work is likely to have an impact on grandchild care which in turn may affect mothers’ employment, particularly in Southern European countries where there is little formal childcare. |
| Keywords: | Europe; Grandparents; Childcare; Female labor force participation; Intergenerational relationships; SHARE. |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2015–08–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:67578&r=eur |
| By: | Martin Binder (Bard College Berlin); Guido Buenstorf (University of Kassel) |
| Abstract: | A robust relationship between subjective well-being and mortality has been established in the literature. While this relationship has been confirmed for many measures and data sets, few studies address how it is affected by concrete diseases. In this paper we assess for the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) data set from 1991-2008 how life satisfaction interacts with twelve concrete health impairments. Specifically, we analyze whether subjective well-being predicts longer survival in the panel for individuals having the respective impairments. We find that cancer, chest pains and diabetes consistently decrease survival in our sample, even controlling for the severity of health problems. But our results cast doubt on strong claims for the benefits of well-being on mortality: while life satisfaction generally predicts longer survival in the data set, this finding is not robust to controlling for the endogeneity of subjective well-being, and we do not find significant interactions between substantive health impairments and life satisfaction. Higher subjective well-being may keep you healthy, but once you have gotten sick, it does not predict your survival. |
| Keywords: | subjective well-being, health, survival analysis, longevity, BHPS, life satisfaction |
| JEL: | I31 I12 C41 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201633&r=eur |
| By: | Karol Kempa (University of Giessen); Hannes Rusch (VU Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an empirical investigation of severe misconducts in contests based on data from European football championships. We differentiate between two types of severe misconducts both resulting in a yellow card, namely dissents with the referee and other misconducts, and between sanctioned behaviour of team captains and other players. Confirming the existing literature, we find that sabotage against the opponent is used more frequently by players from teams with lower ability. In addition, we find that dissents with the referee are significantly more likely in the case of an unfavourable score. We further find that captains, in contrast to other players, seem to use sabotage less impulsively and more strategically, as they do not seem to participate in retaliatory escalation of conflict behaviour. However, compared to other players, captains increase their sabotage in important matches. |
| Keywords: | Contest; Dissent; Leadership; Sabotage; Footbal |
| JEL: | D74 L83 M52 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201629&r=eur |
| By: | Giuseppe Moscelli (Economics of Social and Health Care Research Unit, Centre for Health Economics, University of York, UK.); Luigi Siciliani (Department of Economics and Related Studies, University of York, UK); Nils Gutacker (Economics of Social and Health Care Research Unit, Centre for Health Economics, University of York, UK.); Hugh Gravelle (Economics of Social and Health Care Research Unit, Centre for Health Economics, University of York, UK.) |
| Abstract: | We investigate (a) how patient choice of hospital for elective hip replacement is influenced by distance, quality and waiting times, (b) differences in choices between patients in urban and rural locations, (c) the relationship between hospitals’ elasticities of demand to quality and the number of local rivals, and how these changed after relaxation of constraints on hospital choice in England in 2006. Using a data set on over 500,000 elective hip replacement patients over the period 2002/3 to 2012/13 we find that patients became more likely to travel to a provider with higher quality or lower waiting times, the proportion of patients bypassing their nearest provider increased from 25% to almost 50%, and hospital elasticity of demand with respect to own quality increased. By 2012/13 average hospital demand elasticity with respect to readmission rates and waiting times were ï€0.2 and ï€0.04. Providers facing more rivals had demand that was more elastic with respect to quality and waiting times. Patients from rural areas have smaller disutility from distance. |
| Keywords: | hospital, choice, quality, waiting times, distance, rurality, |
| JEL: | I11 I18 L15 R22 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chy:respap:123cherp&r=eur |
| By: | Nagore Garcia, A.; van Soest, Arthur (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | Using administrative data from the Spanish Social Security Administration, we analyse the nature and stability of job matches starting during the economic boom in 2005 and during the recession in 2009. We compare the individual, job and firm characteristics in the two samples and estimate a competing risk model distinguishing job-to-job, job-to-unemployment, and other transitions. We find that job-to-job transitions are pro-cyclical, while unemployment transitions are counter-cyclical. Individuals most affected by the economic crisis tend to be young males, living in regions with high unemployment rates, with low qualifications and working in manual occupations (particularly construction), and (especially Spanish speaking) immigrants. The positive relation between job stability and firm size is stronger during the recession than during the boom. |
| Keywords: | job tenure; business cycle; job-separations |
| JEL: | J64 C41 E32 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tiu:tiucen:3514fea2-6b69-40e2-bdcc-1ba81a96f0ca&r=eur |
| By: | Antonelli, Cristiano; Crespi, Francesco; Mongeau, Christian; Scellato, Giuseppe (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the role of the composition of the regional stock of knowledge in explaining innovation performance. The paper provides three main contributions. First, it investigates the relevance of Jacobs knowledge externalities in characterizing the technological capabilities at the regional level. Second, it applies the Hidalgo-Hausmann (HH) methodology to analyze knowledge composition by looking at patent data of 214 regions, located in 27 state members of the European Union (EU) during the years 1994- 2008. Third, it econometrically assesses the role of knowledge base composition in a knowledge generation function. The results of the empirical analysis confirm that the characterization of regional knowledge base through the HH indicators provides interesting information to understanding its composition and to qualify it as a provider of the Jacobs knowledge externalities that account for the dynamics of regional innovative performance. |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:201611&r=eur |
| By: | Matteo M. Galizzi; Sara R. Machado; Raffaele Miniaci |
| Abstract: | We conduct an “artefactual” field experiment to incorporate three different risk preferences measures within the Innovation Panel (IP) of the UK Household Longitudinal Survey (UKHLS). We randomly allocate to an experimental module a nationally representative sample of 661 adult respondents to the IP Wave 6 (IP6). These subjects respond to the incentive-compatible tasks by Holt and Laury (2002) (HL), and by Binswanger (1980, 1981) and Eckel and Grossman (2008) (B-EG), and to the SOEP survey questions by Dohmen et al. (2011) for self-reported willingness to take risks in general (SOEP-G), in finance (SOEP-F), and in health (SOEP-H). One year later (IP7) the same measures are repeated for 413 of these respondents. This design allows us to systematically test, for a UK representative sample, the validity of the three measures along three dimensions. First, we look at cross-validity by testing how responses at one point in time correlate across the three tasks, assuming a Constant Relative Risk Aversion (CRRA) utility function. Second, we look at temporal stability by comparing the responses across IP6 and IP7. Third, we look at external validity by considering a range of risky health and financial behaviors in the UKHLS. We have three main findings. First, concerning cross-validity, we find evidence that the different measures generally correlate and map into each other, although their associations are not perfect. Second, concerning temporal stability, there are significant and positive correlations of the B-EG, HL, and SOEP measures across IP6 and IP7. Finally, we find mixed evidence concerning external validity. |
| Keywords: | Field Experiments; Risk Aversion; Behavioral Data Linking; Health Behaviors |
| JEL: | C93 D81 |
| Date: | 2016–08–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:67554&r=eur |
| By: | Paolo Brunori (Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Metodi Matematici, Università di Bari); Vito Peragine (Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Metodi Matematici, Università di Bari); Laura Serlenga (Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Metodi Matematici, Università di Bari) |
| Abstract: | We show that, when measuring inequality of opportunity with survey data, scholars incur two types of biases. A well-known downward-bias, due to partial observability of circumstances that affect individual outcome, and an upward bias, which depends on the econometric method used and the quality of the available data. We suggest a simple criterion to balance between the two sources of bias based on cross validation. An empirical application, based on 26 European countries, shows the usefulness of our method. |
| Keywords: | inequality of opportunity, model selection, variance-bias trade-off. |
| JEL: | C52 D3 D63 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2016-406&r=eur |
| By: | Dubois, Pierre; Kyle, Margaret |
| Abstract: | Cancer is a leading cause of death in developed countries, and cancer treatments are the top category of pharmaceutical spending in the United States and Europe. This paper assesses whether novel cancer therapies are associated with a reduction in mortality. Using panel data from 11 developed countries, we study the relationship between mortality attributed to a specific cancer site and the availability of pharmaceutical treatments. The cross-country and cross-site variation over time allows us to isolate the decline in mortality attributable to new drugs from that due to changes in lifestyle and environmental factors. We correct for the endogeneity of mortality and the availability of new treatments using instrumental variables. On average, our results show a decline in mortality of 8-9% is associated with the availability of one new treatment for a cancer site. The gains vary across countries and cancer sites. Based on spending from 2000-2011, costs per statistical life saved ranged from $11-12K for bladder and liver cancers to over $150K for cervical, melanoma and stomach cancers. Across countries, Switzerland had the largest spending per statistical life at approximately $66K, while the UK had the lowest with $19K. |
| Keywords: | Gender discrimination, microaggression, trauma, safe spaces, prejudice |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:30703&r=eur |
| By: | Yan, Shiyu (Dept. of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics); Eskeland, Gunnar S. (Dept. of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Fiscal policies are used to improve vehicle fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions in the transport sector. Years of forceful reform in Norway may be seen as informative. From 2007, Norway has linked its new vehicle registration tax to CO2 intensities, later adapting it into a feebate form. We exploit a detailed dataset of new vehicle registrations, using fixed effects and instrumental variables in our econometric analysis. We find that the CO2 differentiated registration tax contributes significantly to shifting purchases towards low-emitting cars. A 1000NOK tax increase (about 120USD) is associated with a reduction of 1.13% - 1.58% in vehicle registrations, and the responsiveness in car choice to fuel costs is of the same magnitude. The estimated effect of the tax explains the majority (79%) of the reduction in average CO2 intensity in the new car fleet 2006 through 2011. A point estimate of the elasticity of the CO2 intensity with respect to the CO2 price is minus 0.06, whereas the elasticity with respect to (resulting) car prices is about minus 0.5. An intuitive model with ‘all’ car types losing demand to low-emitting types applies fairly well: low-emitting segments gain in share and do not get CO2 leaner, while high-emitting segments lose in share and become CO2 leaner. Moves between nine segments and within those segments are equally important. |
| Keywords: | CO2 intensity; new vehicle; vehicle registration tax; fuel cost; Pigovian taxation; green tax reform; greenhouse gas emission reductions |
| JEL: | C12 H23 Q00 Q50 |
| Date: | 2016–08–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhhfms:2016_014&r=eur |
| By: | Silvia Rita Sedita; Ivan De Noni; Roberta Apa; Luigi Orsi |
| Abstract: | This work aims to investigate the features of the regional knowledge space that are more likely to be conducive to technological progress (TP), either in terms of dimension and relevance. We acknowledge the importance of knowledge assets for new knowledge production and we identify more or less path dependent processes that allow a region to be more competitive in terms of innovation potential. In particular, adopting an evolutionary view of regional development, we consider a regional knowledge space as composed of a knowledge base (KB) and a selection environment (SE), which differently affect the technological progress of the region. Empirical evidence come from a quantitative analysis of 269 European regions, whose data are included in the RegPat database. Results show that the variety of KB impacts positively on the technological progress at large. The variety of SE impacts positively only on the technological progress in terms of relevance, while the size of the SE impacts positively only on the quantitative side of the technological progress. Unrelated variety of KB and SE affects technological progress more widely than their correspondent related variety indicators. |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1624&r=eur |
| By: | Alexander Hijzen; Pedro S. Martins |
| Abstract: | In many countries, notably across Europe, collective bargaining coverage is enhanced by government-issued extensions that widen the reach of collective agreements beyond their signatory parties to all firms and workers in the same sector. This paper analyses the causal impact of such extensions on employment using a natural experiment in Portugal: the immediate suspension by the government that took office in 21 June 2011 of the (until then) nearly automatic extensions. The combination of this suspension and the time needed for processing the extension applications resulted in a sharp and unanticipated decline in the extension probability of agreements signed several month earlier around 1 March 2011. Our results, based on a regression discontinuity design and matched employer-employee-agreement panel data, suggest that extensions had a negative impact on employment growth. Moreover, the effects tend to be concentrated among non-affiliated firms. The lack of representativeness of employer associations is a potentially important factor behind the adverse effect of extensions. Another is the role of retro-activity in combination with the administrative delay in processing extensions. This is particularly relevant in the context of a recession. |
| Keywords: | Wages and employment;Portugal;Wage bargaining;Wage increases;Labor market reforms;collective bargaining, industrial relations, employer associations, wage setting, employment |
| Date: | 2016–07–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:16/143&r=eur |
| By: | Georg von Graevenitz; Christian Helmers; Valentine Millot; Oliver Turnbull |
| Abstract: | We use online search data to predict car sales in the German and UK automobile industries. Search data subsume several distinct search motives, which are not separately observable. We develop a model linking search motives to observable search data and sales. The model shows that predictions of sales relying on observable search data as a proxy for prepurchase search will be biased. We show how to remove the biases and estimate the effect of pre-purchase search on sales. To assist identification of this effect, we use the introduction of scrappage subsidies for cars in 2008/2009 as a quasi-natural experiment. We also show that online search data are (i) highly persistent over time, (ii) potentially subject to permanent shocks, and (iii) correlated across products, but to different extent. We address these challenges to estimation and inference by using recent econometric methods for large N, large T panels. |
| Keywords: | Online search, Google Trends, Serial correlation, Non-stationarity, Common Correlated Effects, Large Panels |
| JEL: | D |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgs:wpaper:71&r=eur |
| By: | Dr. Thomas Drosdowski (GWS - Institute of Economic Structures Research); Britta Stöver (GWS - Institute of Economic Structures Research) |
| Abstract: | Taxation of incomes generated by economic agents is a main pillar of redistributive social policies undertaken by the government in Germany. The apparent lack of sufficient adjustments of the tax schedule during the period 2005-2015 has led to higher average annual growth rates in taxes than in income. This development has triggered a public dispute about alleged bracket creep, i.e. inflationary-caused nominal income increase pushing taxable income into higher tax bracket, which apparently poses higher tax burden especially among households with small and medium incomes. The aim of this paper is an analysis of the effects of a permanent proportional income tax reduction on the total economy as well as on the income situation of different household types, against the background of repeated public demands for tax reliefs resulting from increased tax burdens in recent years. The taxation scenario is not calculated on a microeconomic level but uses a macro-econometric approach instead, in order to give a broad overview over a wide variety of effects. By combining the macro-econometric input-output model INFORGE with the socio-economic system DEMOS containing household-specific income and consumption information we can assess how a simple fiscal measure would affect the economy, different household types, and inequality. It can be shown that a tax reduction has a positive aggregate effect throughout the economy in all years of the tax reform. Working households with high incomes profit most from simple tax cuts. Non-working households, however, are faced with comparably smaller positive deviations in income, which exacerbates the projected distance between household incomes and contributes to further increasing inequality. |
| Keywords: | taxation, scenario analysis, economic effects, inequality, private housholds |
| JEL: | E27 E62 E64 H2 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gws:dpaper:16-8&r=eur |
| By: | David (David Patrick) Madden |
| Abstract: | This paper examines developments in childhood and adolescent obesity in Ireland using two waves of the Growing Up in Ireland survey. Obesity appears to level off between the two waves though there is tentative evidence that the socioeconomic gradient, measured with respect to maternal education and family income, becomes steeper. Exploiting the longitudinal nature of the data, transitions into and out of obesity are examined, with higher rates of transition into obesity observed for those whose mothers have the lowest level of education. Decomposition of the concentration index with respect to income reveals a greater role for income related obesity mobility rather than obesity related income mobility. |
| Keywords: | Obesity; Socioeconomic gradient; Longitudinal |
| JEL: | I12 I14 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucn:wpaper:201606&r=eur |
| By: | Ruben V Atoyan; Lone Engbo Christiansen; Allan Dizioli; Christian H Ebeke; Nadeem Ilahi; Anna Ilyina; Gil Mehrez; Haonan Qu; Faezeh Raei; Alaina P Rhee; Daria V Zakharova |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the impact of large and persistent emigration from Eastern European countries over the past 25 years on these countries’ growth and income convergence to advanced Europe. While emigration has likely benefited migrants themselves, the receiving countries and the EU as a whole, its impact on sending countries’ economies has been largely negative. The analysis suggests that labor outflows, particularly of skilled workers, lowered productivity growth, pushed up wages, and slowed growth and income convergence. At the same time, while remittance inflows supported financial deepening, consumption and investment in some countries, they also reduced incentives to work and led to exchange rate appreciations, eroding competiveness. The departure of the young also added to the fiscal pressures of already aging populations in Eastern Europe. The paper concludes with policy recommendations for sending countries to mitigate the negative impact of emigration on their economies, and the EU-wide initiatives that could support these efforts. |
| Keywords: | Emigration and immigration;Central and Eastern Europe;Private sector;Global competitiveness;Skilled labor;Remittances;Income;Economic growth;Gross domestic product;Emigration, remittances, growth, convergence, Eastern Europe |
| Date: | 2016–07–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfsdn:16/7&r=eur |
| By: | Ivo Bischoff (University of Kassel); Nataliya Kusa (University of Kassel) |
| Abstract: | We analyze survey data on the proposal to introduce a tax exemption for caregiving heirs to the German inheritance tax. Some 80 percent of the participants support this exemption, about half of those supporting the tax exemption want to see it restricted to relatives. We explain interpersonal differences in policy preferences using a wide range of personal characteristics, beliefs and attitudes. Neither subjects’ sex, nor their valuation of the family is found to have an effect while personal experience in long- term care provision and having alive parents strongly shape policy preferences. Subjects with alive parents and/or personal experience in long-term care provision are more likely to support the tax exemption but less likely to support the restriction to relatives. This result supports the bottom line of the recent social science literature on home care provision and intergenerational relations within the family: Many citizens in Germany feel overburdened with caregiving. |
| Keywords: | inheritance taxation, long-term care, intergenerational transfers, citizens’ preferences |
| JEL: | H27 D31 D72 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201621&r=eur |
| By: | Weber, Andrea |
| Abstract: | We present quasi-experimental evidence on the effects of increasing the Early Retirement Age (ERA) on older workers' retirement decisions. The analysis is based on social security reforms in Austria in 2000 and 2004, and administrative data allows us to distinguish between pension claims and job exits. Using a Regression Kink Design, we estimate that, within a birth cohort, a 1.0 year increase in the ERA leads to a 0.4 year increase in the average job exiting age and a 0.5 year increase in the average pension claiming age. When the ERA increases, many older workers remain in their jobs longer. |
| Keywords: | early retirement age; pension reform; regression kink design |
| JEL: | H55 J22 J26 |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11491&r=eur |
| By: | Pedro S. Martins |
| Abstract: | In 2012, in the midst of a recession, a labour law reform in Portugal allowed firms to reduce the overtime premium paid to their workers by 50% or more. Until then, overtime premiums were set by law at a relatively high level and could not be cut unilaterally. We analyse matched employer-employee panel data, including worker-level base and overtime hours and pay, to shed light on the effects of the resulting greater flexibility in overtime pay setting. We find that half of the firms using overtime in 2011 did reduce their overtime premiums in a manner consistent with the reform, in particular those firms making greater use of overtime and paying higher premiums. Moreover, using difference-in-differences matching and a long list of covariates, we find that those firms that cut overtime premiums exhibit significant relative increases in overtime usage, employment and sales following the reform. Overall, our results highlight the important but not exclusive role of legal restrictions behind downward nominal pay rigidity. Our findings also suggest a significant potential of overtime pay flexibility to promote employment, even during a downturn. |
| Keywords: | Working time, wage rigidity, employment resilience, labour reforms |
| JEL: | J22 J23 J38 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgs:wpaper:72&r=eur |
| By: | Enrico Maria Cervellati (Department of Management, University of Bologna, Italy); Pierpaolo Pattitoni (Department of Management, University of Bologna, Italy; The Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis, Italy); Marco Savioli (Department of Economics, University of Bologna, Italy; The Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis, Italy) |
| Abstract: | Cognitive biases lead entrepreneurs to overinvest in their own companies, over exposing themselves to idiosyncratic risk. Our novel theoretical model explains entrepreneurial under-diversification by measuring the amount of potential bias in entrepreneurs' portfolio allocations brought about by overconfidence and over optimism. Simulation analyses based on our model allow us calculating the implicit levels of overconfidence and over optimism from observable portfolio choices. Finally, using a unique dataset including cross-regional data on Italian entrepreneurs and a structural equation modeling approach, we test the effect of overconfidence and over optimism on entrepreneurs' portfolio allocations. Consistent with our theoretical predictions, we find a positive relationship between overconfidence and entrepreneur investments in their own companies. On the other hand, the role of over optimism seems to be negligible. |
| Keywords: | Cognitive Biases, Entrepreneurship, Portfolio Optimization, Simulation Analysis, Under-diversification, Structural Equation Models |
| JEL: | G02 G11 L26 |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rim:rimwps:16-24&r=eur |