|
on Microeconomic European Issues |
|
Issue of 2017‒01‒08
thirty-two papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Löschel, Andreas; Lutz, Benjamin Johannes; Managi, Shunsuke |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effect of the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) on the economic performance of manufacturing firms in Germany. Our difference-in-differences framework relies on several parametric conditioning strategies and nearest neighbor matching. As a measure of economic performance, we use the firm specific distance to the stochastic production frontier recovered from official German production census data. None of our identification strategies provide evidence for a statistically significant negative effect of emissions trading on economic performance. On the contrary, the results of the nearest neighbor matching suggest that the EU ETS rather had a positive impact on the economic performance of the regulated firms, especially during the first compliance period. A subsample analysis confirms that EU ETS increased the efficiency of treated firms in at least some two-digit industries. |
| Keywords: | Control of Externalities,Emissions Trading,Economic Performance,Manufacturing,Difference-in-Differences,Nearest Neighbor Matching,Stochastic Production Frontier |
| JEL: | Q52 D22 Q38 Q48 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:16089&r=eur |
| By: | Conti, Chiara; Mancusi, Maria Luisa; Francesca, Sanna-Randaccio; Roberta, Sestini; Elena, Verdolini |
| Abstract: | A major concern regarding innovation in clean technologies in the EU is that the fragmentation of its innovation system may hinder knowledge flows and, consequently, spillovers across member countries. A low intensity of knowledge flows across EU states can negatively impact their technological base, suppressing opportunities for further innovations and hindering the movement towards the technological frontier. This paper evaluates the fragmentation of the EU innovation system in the field of renewable energy sources (RES) by examining the intensity and direction of knowledge spillovers over the years 1985-2010. We modify the original double exponential knowledge diffusion model to provide information on the degree of integration of EU countries’ innovation efforts and to assess how citation patterns changed over time. We show that EU RES inventors have increasingly built “on the shoulders of the other EU giants”, intensifying their citations to other member countries and decreasing those to domestic inventors. Furthermore, the EU strengthened its position as source of RES knowledge for the US. Finally, we show that this pattern is peculiar to RES, with other traditional (i.e. fossil-based) energy technologies behaving in a completely different way. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge Spillovers, Renewable Energy Technologies, Fossil Energy Technologies, EU Innovation, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Q55, Q58, Q42, O31, O33, |
| Date: | 2016–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemmi:250256&r=eur |
| By: | Ariela Caglio; Angelo D’Andrea; Donato Masciandaro; Gianmarco Ottaviano |
| Abstract: | In 2009 the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) launched its Financial Fair Play Regulations (FFPR) aimed at preventing professional football clubs from overspending in the quest of sporting success to the detriment of their long-run financial sustainability. The rationale and the effectiveness of the FFPR have both been questioned, but only on theoretical grounds. We make a first attempt at bringing empirical evidence to this debate exploiting an original dataset covering 156 clubs playing in the top five European Leagues (those of England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) in the period 2006-2015. We address two main questions: whether before 2009 there was indeed a problem of growing financial leverage for European football clubs, and whether after 2009 the financial leverage of European clubs has started decreasing. We find that the introduction of the FFPR is associated with changes in the financial sustainability of European football clubs that are consistent with the regulations’ intended effects. These changes are, however, rather weak and vary substantially across national leagues. |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:baf:cbafwp:cbafwp1638&r=eur |
| By: | Burdín, Gabriel (Leeds University Business School); Pérotin, Virginie (Leeds University Business School) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides evidence on the effect of employee representation on working time flexibility in private-sector European establishments. A 2002 European Union directive granted information, consultation and representation rights to employees on a range of key business, employment and work organization issues beyond a certain firm size. We exploit the quasi-experimental variation in employee representation introduced by the implementation of the Directive in four countries (Cyprus, Ireland, Poland and the UK) with no previous legislation on the subject. The empirical analysis is based on repeated cross-section establishment-level data from the last three rounds of the European Company Survey. Difference-in-difference estimates suggest that the Directive had a positive and significant effect on both employee representation and the utilisation of flexible working-time arrangements for eligible establishments. The greater use of flexible working-time schemes is driven by establishments in which no local wage-negotiations take place and those with a high proportion of female workers. Our results are consistent with the idea that employee representation provides an endogenous rule-enforcement mechanism in second-best scenarios in which incomplete contracting problems are pervasive and third-party arbitration is unfeasible. Quite paradoxically, the relaxation of shareholders' property rights and the limits imposed on managerial discretion as a result of the operation of employee representation seem necessary to achieve certain valuable forms of organizational flexibility in market economies. |
| Keywords: | employment, flexible working time, employee representation |
| JEL: | D23 J22 J50 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10437&r=eur |
| By: | Fernanda Ricotta |
| Abstract: | The performance of a firm is influenced by decisions made by the firm itself as well as factors external to it. Firm competencies are important but also competencies that pertain to territories. External factors encompass different aspects of the environmental context in which firms operate, such as physical infrastructures, innovative capacity and efficiency of the public administration. The attention in this paper is on the effect of regional quality of government (QoG) on the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) of firms. The analysis is based on comparable cross-country data of manufacturing firms operating in the seven European countries (Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) included in the ?European Firms in a Global Economy: internal policies for external competitiveness? (EFIGE) project. The measure of the ?quality of government? is the European quality of government index (EQI), calculated at regional level over twenty-seven EU members. Scholars have demonstrated that the institutional environment affects macro variables such as growth, income level, productivity, innovation activity, investment and trade at the country (Aron 2000; Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson, 2001; Hall and Jones, 1999; Barbarosa and Faria 2011; Levchenko 2007) as well as at the regional level (Tabellini 2010; Rodríguez-Pose and Di Cataldo 2014; Ketterer and Rodríguez-Pose 2014). The quality of institutions also influences micro variables such as firm performance (Dollar, Hallward-Driemeier, and Mengistae, 2005; Lasagni, Nifo and Vecchione, 2015; Aiello, Pupo and Ricotta, 2014; Manzocchi, Quintieri and Santoni, 2014). Recent studies indicate that there might be a significant difference in the macro- and micro-impacts of institutional quality: better institutional quality that may have beneficial macro-implications, may not necessarily have positive implications for firm performance (Bhaumik and Dimova 2014). Thus, the proper level of analysis to test whether the regional institutional environment affects productivity is to focus on firms (Beugelsdijk 2007). To disentangle internal from external productivity drivers, the multilevel approach is employed. In the econometric specification, the 2008-value of TFP depends on key-drivers of firm performance (size, family-management, group membership, innovations and human capital), on the variable of interest, the indicator of the quality of government, and on control variables at the regional level that, according to the theoretical and empirical literature, may affect firms? economic performance. Results refer to 2008 and show, as expected, the importance of firm-specific determinants of TFP. Results confirm that to be located in a region with high level of R&D and good infrastructure is correlated positively to the firm?s TFP. As far as the specific scope of this paper is concerned, the quality of regional government has a positive impact on firm TFP. This is in line with previous research which underlines the importance of the quality of institutions at the regional level while it contradicts the hypothesis that within country institutional differences do not matter for economic performance (Gennaioli et al, 2013). As far as the EQI components are concerned, corruption and the quality of services appear to be positively correlated to TFP, while the evidence is inconclusive for the impartiality indicator. |
| Keywords: | Institutions; firm performance; European regions; multilevel model |
| JEL: | O43 D24 C30 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa16p357&r=eur |
| By: | Marina Van Geenhuizen; Razie Nejabat |
| Abstract: | An entrepreneurial perspective to introduction of sustainable energy solutions to the market has been recognized as important for decades, but mainly concerning large firms. Today, attention is increasingly turning to young high-technology ventures which, compared to large incumbents, are more flexible, creative, responsive and willing to take risks enabling them to work as a trigger or accelerator of profound changes. At the same time, these young firms suffer from a lack of resources, specifically investment capital, the last mainly caused by a slow development due to resistance from society, among others, existing energy infrastructures (?valley of death?). In this context, an often advised strategy is to partner with a larger company. This paper explores the time dimension in market introduction of sustainable energy solutions while taking an in-depth approach to collaboration and investment capital amidst a set of other firm-specific and external factors. First, we compare the five countries, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland, with regard to favorable circumstances to adoption of sustainable energy solutions, particularly continuity in supporting policies. Next, we build a carefully selected sample of 37 university spin-off firms representing different ?theoretical positions? regarding country, but also established collaboration networks, amount of investment capital granted, and type of energy system - solar, wind, biomass, etc. - and we apply rough-set analysis as a ?qualitative? causal analysis. In addition, we deploy five in-depth case studies for deepening understanding. We found that out of nine firm-specific and firm-external factors, three factors have a strong influence on speed of market introduction. These are first of all country, but also type of energy technology (system) and richness in collaboration networks. Country was found to have a positive influence on reaching the market at a higher level of innovation (Nordic ?innovation leader? countries) and, conversely, a negative influence at lower levels of innovation (Netherlands and Norway). Furthermore, rich network collaboration turned out to work positively in an already positive situation (?innovation leader? country). Lacking such collaboration contributed to problematic developments, specifically in combination with solar technology. Evidence on influence of lack of capital investment turned out to be rather weak. Further, the case study analysis yielded the additional insight that speed in market introduction may also work negatively, namely, if large amounts of investment capital put pressure on the firm and market introduction occurs actually too early. The paper concludes with issues on ?theoretical? generalization, extending the sample to a larger random sample, and additional research questions. |
| Keywords: | Sustainable energy (system); young ventures; market introduction; national innovation system; collaboration; investment capital |
| JEL: | D22 Q42 Q48 M13 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa16p759&r=eur |
| By: | Esperanza Vera-Toscano (European Commission - JRC); Elena Claudia Meroni (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | Using the two surveys on adult skills- IALS and PIAAC- we investigate the evolution of occupational mismatch in Europe. We focus on both overeducation and overskilling and study how the incidence of the two phenomena in the years covered by the surveys: mid 90s and 2011. Our main findings are that in both time periods a substantial share of the working population is in a mismatched job, with great heterogeneities by countries and that overeducation and overskill seem to capture two distinct phenomena as the share of individuals who is mismatch in both categories is low relative to the ones who are mismatch in either one of the two. In addition we exploit heterogeneities by countries and by age groups and find that: (a) a group of countries (PL, SE and UK) have decreased their share of only overeducated workers, compensating it with an increase in share of overskilled workers; (b) overeducation and overskilling seem to decrease as individuals get older (c) greater overeducation is observed for the younger cohorts, especially in BE, DK, IE, FI, NL and SE. |
| Keywords: | Occupational Mismatch, PIAAC, IALS |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc103228&r=eur |
| By: | Erik Granseth (Swedish Pensions Agency); Wolfgang Keck (Wissenschaftzentrum Berlin für Socialforschung); Wolfgang Nagl (Institute for Advanced Studies); Melinda Tir (Databank of the Research Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences); Andras Simonovits (Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences and also Mathematical Institute of Budapest University of Technology, Budapest) |
| Abstract: | Though never stated explicitly, there is a hidden hypothesis that in a normal pension system, the retirement age and the contribution length are strongly and positively correlated. We compare the time paths of male and female correlation coefficients in Austria, Hungary, Germany and Sweden for several years and categories; and obtain a mixed picture. Hungary stands out with its strong negative correlation but the remaining three countries cannot boast with strongly positive correlation, either. Further work is needed to understand the significance of our findings but they signal some problems with these systems: heterogeneously fragmented careers and unfair benefit rules. |
| Keywords: | public pension system, length of employment, fragmented careers, retirement age |
| JEL: | H55 J26 J64 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:has:discpr:1633&r=eur |
| By: | Riccardo Calcagno (EMLYON Business School and CeRP-Collegio Carlo Alberto); Flavia Coda Moscarola (CeRP-Collegio Carlo Alberto); Elsa Fornero (University of Turin and CeRP-Collegio Carlo Alberto) |
| Abstract: | Using a representative sample of Italian workers aged 55 and above, we study their preference for anticipated retirement and their willingness to pay for a year of anticipation after the recent Italian pension reform (2011), which significantly restricted the access conditions to retirement. We distinguish workers by gender and according to whether they have been obliged to postpone their exit by the reform. The preference for anticipated retirement is particularly strong for women and for workers who were directly affected by the reform. As for the “willingness to pay” to anticipate retirement, there is no systematic difference between the two categories, and this finding is common to both men and women. We also investigate whether informal care duties play a role in explaining the willingness to pay, and we find that the effect differs across genders. Women who are involved in informal care of children are willing to pay significantly more than women who are not caregivers and more than men. Our findings suggest that retirement policies produce side effects, which differ according to both gender and being a caregiver or not. These effects signal that when a pension system performs further tasks than the provision of retirement income, its reform may cause social mismatches unless supplemented by appropriate changes in other social programmes. |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crp:wpaper:161&r=eur |
| By: | Justine Knebelmann (International Growth Centre); Christopher Prinz |
| Abstract: | According to the World Health Organization, depression is the highest ranking cause of disease in middle- and high income countries; it costs Europe around EUR 118 billion a year, mostly through lost productivity on the labour market, i.e. labour supply loss, sickness absence, and poor performance at the workplace. Using data from waves 1, 2 and 4 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), this paper seeks to assess the magnitude of the impact of depression on labour market outcomes of older workers, a population sub-group whose participation in the labour market is ever more crucial in view of rapid population ageing. For each of the studied outcomes, analyses show a substantial impact of depression, measured with the European Depression Scale. Using different methods to address endogeneity this paper finds that depression decreases the probability of being employed by 22 to 51 percentage points among the 50 to 64 year old age group. Older workers with the most symptoms are more than twice as likely as others to exit employment before retirement age. Finally, depression increases annual sickness absence duration by 7.2 days on average. These figures show the necessity for national and firm-level employment policies and programmes targeting the 50 and over population to include prevention of depression, increased awareness of depression and adequate medical support. |
| JEL: | C23 C31 I10 J22 J26 |
| Date: | 2016–12–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:elsaab:170-en&r=eur |
| By: | Matthes, Jürgen; Busch, Berthold |
| Abstract: | In order to be able to assess the future institutional relationship between the UK and the EU, this study organises the relevant facts systematically. This is done by using a framework in which two aspects are compared with each other: On the one hand, the extent of the Single Market access for the EU's current partners (incl. Norway, Switzerland and Canada), and on the other, the concessions agreed by these partners with the EU with regard to free movement of people, relinquishment of regulatory sovereignty (legal harmonisation with the EU) and payments to the EU. Here a clear reciprocity between give and take can be seen, which it is assumed will also be valid for the pending negotiations, particularly as the EU needs to prevent bandwagon effects in terms of other EU countries following the UK example to exit the EU. On this basis we discuss which concessions the UK might give and what extent of Single Market access the EU might grant in return, if it is to be guided by the existing integration models, and in addition takes into account the British trade deficit with the EU and the substantial political and military role played by the British. Although the UK would like to retain as broad access to the Single Market as possible, the political restrictions might mean that the UK can only offer medium level concessions overall: small regarding free movement of people, small to medium regarding payments to the EU, and medium to high regarding legal harmonisation with the EU. In this respect, there are clear parallels with the Swiss integration model, since Switzerland also gives the EU medium level concessions on average, and in return receives medium level access to the Single Market. However, in the case of the UK there would be a single overall agreement (rather than many individual agreements as in the case of Switzerland) and concessions would be distributed differently amongst the various categories. |
| JEL: | F13 F15 O52 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwkpps:162016&r=eur |
| By: | Jean Mercenier (European Commission – JRC); María Teresa à lvarez-Martínez (European Commission – JRC); Andries Brandsma (European Commission – JRC); Francesco Di Comite (European Commission – JRC); Olga Diukanova (European Commission – JRC); d’Artis Kancs (European Commission – JRC); Patrizio Lecca (European Commission – JRC); Montserrat López-Cobo (European Commission – JRC); Philippe Monfort (European Commission – DG REGIO); Damiaan Persyn (European Commission – JRC); Alexandra Rillaers (European Commission – DG REGIO); Mark Thissen; Wouter Torfs |
| Abstract: | This report presents the current version of the European Commission's spatial computable general equilibrium model RHOMOLO, developed by the Directorate-General Joint Research Centre (DG JRC) in collaboration with the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) to undertake the ex-ante impact assessment of EU policies and structural reforms. The RHOMOLO model has been used with DG REGIO for the impact assessment of Cohesion Policy, and with the European Investment Bank for impact assessment of EU investment support policies. The structure of the model departs from standard computable general equilibrium models in several dimensions. First, it generalises the modelling of market interactions by introducing imperfect competition in products and labour markets. Second, it exploits the advantages of a full asymmetric bilateral trade cost matrix for all EU regions to capture a rich set of spatial market interactions and regional features. Third, it acknowledges the importance of space also for non-market interactions through an inter-regional knowledge spill-over mechanism originating from research and development activities within a country. This report describes the theoretical foundation of RHOMOLO-v2 (v2 = version 2), its mathematical structure, dynamics, data sources and calibration to allow the reader to approach the model and its outputs with a higher degree of awareness of its strength and limitations. Indeed, as for any general equilibrium model with a reasonable level of complexity, in RHOMOLO it is often challenging to track the mechanisms at work after a policy shock and clearly disentangle causes and effects because of the high number of channels of adjustment and the presence of many feedback effects. The purpose of this documentation is thus to provide a compass to the reader to sail safely through its many equations, assumptions and connections. |
| Keywords: | Spatial computable general equilibrium, economic modelling, spatial anamysis, policy impact assessment, economic geography, regional economics. |
| JEL: | C68 D58 F12 R13 R30 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc100011&r=eur |
| By: | Andrea Ellero (Dept. of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venice); Paola Ferretti (Dept. of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venice); Elena Zocchia (Dept. of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venice) |
| Abstract: | Market features can be considered as forerunners of the European CommissionÕs actions aimed at recognizing collusive behaviours. To identify information that might support the Commission in the exercise of its role of antitrust authority we propose a multi criteria approach. Its focus is on the manufacturing sector and the aim is also to prevent undesired behaviours. Market sector features, such as price-cost margin or market entrance rate, are linked to the likelihood of a collusive behaviour in the sector in terms of Òimplications rulesÓ by means of Dominance- based Rough Set Approach. Data come from institutional sources concerning different manufacturing sectors from five countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom) from 2000 to 2010. |
| Keywords: | collusion prevention, manufacturing sector, dominance based rough set approach, multi-criteria |
| JEL: | M40 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vnm:wpdman:132&r=eur |
| By: | Brewer, Mike (ISER, University of Essex); Cattan, Sarah (Institute for Fiscal Studies, London); Crawford, Claire (University of Warwick); Rabe, Birgitta (ISER, University of Essex) |
| Abstract: | Despite the introduction of childcare subsidies in many countries, the cost of childcare is still thought to hinder parental employment. Many governments are considering increasing the generosity of their childcare subsidies, but the a priori effect of such a policy is ambiguous and little is known empirically about its likely impact. This paper compares the effects on parents' labour supply of offering free part-time childcare and of expanding this offer to the whole school day in England using an empirical strategy which, unlike previous studies, exploits both date of birth discontinuities and panel data. We find that the provision of free part-time childcare has little, if any, causal impact on the labour market outcomes of mothers or fathers. Increasing the number of hours of free childcare to cover a full school day, however, leads to significant increases in the labour supply of mothers whose youngest child is eligible, with impacts emerging immediately and increasing over the months following entitlement. |
| Keywords: | labour supply, childcare, school entry, difference-in-difference |
| JEL: | I21 J22 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10415&r=eur |
| By: | Gustafsson, Björn Anders (University of Gothenburg); Mac Innes, Hanna (University of Gothenburg); Österberg, Torun (University of Gothenburg) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses how age at immigration to Sweden and getting a first foothold in the labor market is related. We estimate hazard rate models using registry data on all persons who arrived in each of the years 1990, 1994, 1998, and 2002. The results show that the number of years taken to get a foothold in the Swedish labor market increases rapidly by age among immigrants from middle- and low-income countries aged 40 +. Most individuals who are born in middle- or low-income countries who immigrate after age 50 never get a foothold in the Swedish labor market. |
| Keywords: | immigrants, Sweden, age, labor market |
| JEL: | C41 J15 J61 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10423&r=eur |
| By: | Fischer, Martin (University of Duisburg-Essen); Karlsson, Martin (University of Duisburg-Essen); Nilsson, Therese (Lund University); Schwarz, Nina (University of Duisburg-Essen) |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the impact on earnings, pensions, and other labor market outcomes of two parallel educational reforms increasing instructional time in Swedish primary school. The reforms extended the compulsory years of schooling from 6 to 7 years and the annual term length from 34.5/36.5 to 39 weeks per year. Gradually introduced over the 1930-1950 period in more than 2,500 school districts, the extensions generated large exogenous variation in educational attainment at different points in primary school while the overall school system and curricula remained unchanged. The reforms thus constitute an ideal quasi-experimental setting for analyzing the long-run causal impact of compulsory education keeping other school characteristics fixed. With a majority of students receiving only primary schooling, both reforms affected large shares of the population and consequently had large impacts on educational attainment at the compulsory level. We find striking differences in impact between the two reforms, and between males and females. Estimated returns to compulsory schooling are robustly positive only for females, who experience a small increase in early career earnings (~ 2%) when exposed to a 7th year of schooling, and large and persistent increases in earnings (~ 4 – 5%) when exposed to an extended school year. The effects are driven by the extensive margin, in particular increased employment in the public sector. |
| Keywords: | educational reforms, compulsory schooling, term length, returns to education |
| JEL: | J24 J31 I28 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10430&r=eur |
| By: | Ma.Jesus Gomez Adillon; M.Angels Cabases Pique; Agnes Pardell Vea |
| Abstract: | In Catalonia, between 2008 and 2014, the rate of youth unemployment has exponentially increased and it has turned into a structural problem: when the fourth quarter of 2014 ended, among the people under the age of 30, the number of unemployed people was 1,495,600, 645,000 more than in the first quarter of 2008. In addition, with the data provided by the Spanish Tax Agency, the average wage of wage earners over 25 years in 2014 is 3.4 times superior to the young people and the reduction of the average wage of these is 2.8 times bigger. Moreover, during this period, the annual income of women has shortened the distance in relation to men, mainly the employed group, from a ratio of 1.40 to 1.30, but in contrast, the number of women receiving minimal resources (MW and MP) has worsened: in relation to employees, 31.7% of the total number within this subgroup. In order to highlight the uneven impact of recession on the labor market in Catalonia, this study examines the evolution of its main variables in the period 2008-2014 from a gender and age perspectives delving into the structure wages and analyzing the distribution of inter-group and intra-group inequality between men and women. |
| Keywords: | : labor market; wages; youth; gender inequality |
| JEL: | E24 J21 J31 E3 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa16p178&r=eur |
| By: | Emanuela Marrocu; Silvia Balia; Rinaldo Brau |
| Abstract: | Free patient mobility among autonomous providers has been often considered an effective stimulus for enhancing healthcare. However, some jurisdictions may underperform due to the existence of economies of scale and spatial spillovers. Where regions assume the costs of providing care to residents, this could challenge the sustainability of regional budgets in a decentralised National Health Service (NHS) and put at risk universalism and equity of health care. We use a ten years (2001-2010) panel of Italian data on hospital discharges to assess the determinants of inter-regional mobility and to distinguish between factors related with policies pursued by the regional health authorities from extra-regional (neighbouring regions or national-level) factors. Data on hospital discharges are merged with a set of variables on salient features of hospital care services in each Regional Health System (RHS) and with information on demographic and economic characteristics of Italian regions. We analyse bilateral Origin-to-Destination (OD) flows between any two regions by means of a gravity regression model that includes a rich set of push and pull factors. Compared to previous studies, mainly performed on cross-section samples, the longitudinal dimension of the data enables us to estimate a nonlinear conditionally correlated random effects dynamic model that accounts for region-pair-specific unobservable heterogeneity. Moreover, we address the issue of cross-regional dependence arising from the existence of regional spillovers by applying recent advances in spatial econometrics (Elhorst, 2014; Vega and Elhorst, 2015). The model is estimated for total inter-regional patient flows and for specific types of hospital admission, namely surgery, medicine and cancers. Finally, the estimation results are used to analyse specific what-if scenarios relevant to the health authorities for the national and sub-national management of services. Our main results suggest that, beside regional population and income, local supply factors such as hospital capacity and technology endowment, clinical specialization and performance indicators are important drivers of patient mobility. Moreover, geography matters and spatial proximity plays a relevant role in reinforcing inter-regional mobility patterns. Our econometric analysis has also detected a mildly explosive dynamics in inter-regional patient mobility over time. This result, coupled with the significant role played by factors not directly controlled by regional policy-makers and RHS managers (e.g. population, GDP per capita and spatial spillovers), might induce a polarisation between the group of the richest, most populated and best performing regions, which are increasingly capable of attracting more patients, and the group of the weakest regions, with growing patient outflows and severe financial and organizational problems. These considerations call for a thorough assessment of the long-run sustainability of the current decentralised NHS. RHS budget autonomy could not be entirely consistent with free patient choice. This opens a more general discussion on whether and to what extent the health financing system would require the introduction of appropriate equalising compensation schemes aimed at neutralising the financial consequences of mobility and, eventually, at guaranteeing universalism and equity in healthcare. |
| Keywords: | regional health systems; hospital admissions; gravity model; nonlinear gravity panel model; spatial spillovers |
| JEL: | C23 I18 H75 R23 R50 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa16p127&r=eur |
| By: | Anastasiia Konstantynova; Tine Lehmann |
| Abstract: | In recent decades? industrial clusters and agglomerations were recognized as drivers of regional and often national economic growth and competitiveness. Based on this cluster policy has been widely used to spur economic change, especially on the sub-national level. The public support to cluster development was widely done following the observed examples in the United States aiming to follow their success stories. Most commonly applied cluster policy approach composed of cluster mapping, establishment of institutions (labelled as cluster initiative/ association) in respective clusters through public-private support of these institutions´ and companies´ activities. However, the implementation of blue-printed cluster policy did not always lead to positive paths of cluster development due to the negligence of country / region specific institutional frameworks. This paper fills this void, by exploring selected cases of cluster associations and how their activities are influenced by different sets of institutional framework conditions. Information and communication technologies (ICT) clusters and their associations in European Union (EU) and Non-EU countries are taken as cases for the analysis. |
| Keywords: | clusters; cluster policy; cluster association; institutions; ICT |
| JEL: | R11 R58 O18 M21 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa16p722&r=eur |
| By: | Kahanec, Martin (Central European University, and IZA Bonn); Zimmermann, Klaus F. (UNU-MERIT, and Princeton University) |
| Abstract: | This paper summarises key results from our research about post-enlargement mobility in the EU. We clarify its scope, composition and effects; labour market situation of mobile workers; the role of labour mobility as a vehicle of economic stabilisation; as well as brain circulation and return migration. We also outline a policy agenda for a labour mobility model for a vibrant EU, enabling Europe to cope with labour market imbalances and asymmetric economic shocks, and providing for a more prosperous, cohesive and equal EU. |
| Keywords: | EU enlargement, free movement of workers, labour mobility, migration policy, business cycle, stabilisation |
| JEL: | O15 J15 J61 J68 |
| Date: | 2016–11–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2016066&r=eur |
| By: | Hall, Caroline (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy); Lindahl, Erica (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy) |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the effect of a preschool health intervention aimed at reducing infections through improved hygiene practices and training of the staff. The large-scale design enables us to study heterogeneous effects with respect to several child and preschool characteristics that are assumed to be associated with the initial level of absence, and thereby the potential magnitude of the effect. We find no reduction, on average, in children’s illness-related absence. This conclusion holds across different age groups of preschool children, and for preschools with varying levels of absence before the intervention. However, we do find some evidence for a decline in illness-related absence among children enrolled in preschool sections with relatively few children. We find some empirical support for that the intervention consisted of components with opposing effects on illness-related absence, which may explain the zero average effect. |
| Keywords: | preschool; absence due to illness |
| JEL: | J13 J48 |
| Date: | 2016–12–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2016_025&r=eur |
| By: | Bruno Jeandidier; Cécile Bourreau-Dubois; Jean-Claude Ray; Myriam Doriat-Duban |
| Abstract: | This article assesses whether and to what extent gender matters in one particular area of the civil law system, family law. Using a dataset of 2,000 child support decisions from French courts of appeal, we show that in a civil law system like that in France, the gender of the judge does seem to matter. We find that this influence is likely to manifest itself in two ways. First, our results show that female and male judges do not make the same decisions: comparatively to the latter, the former (i) are more generous, fixing higher amounts of child support (the difference represents between 8% and 17% of the average amount of child support), and (ii) make more pro-mother decisions, regardless of whether the mothers are debtors or creditors. The magnitude of these differences is greater when the panel is composed of three female judges, comparatively to mixed or all-male panels. |
| Keywords: | judicial decision-making; gender; family law. |
| JEL: | K41 K36 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2016-55&r=eur |
| By: | Dorothée Charlier (University of Montpellier); Bérangère Legendre (IAE Savoie Mont-Blanc, IREGE) |
| Abstract: | Although fuel poverty is an increasingly serious problem across countries, it has not been well defined or measured in the literature. Currently, an objective measure that takes into account monetary constraints, poor energy efficiency of the dwelling and heating restrictions does not exist. Fuel poverty has been mainly treated as a problem of monetary poverty. However, fuel-impoverished households may differ from those with monetary poverty. Thus, this paper provides a fuel poverty index that takes into account all dimensions of the definition. This index is calculated using objective measures such as disposable income to account for monetary constraints, energy consumption as a measure of energy efficiency and indoor temperature to capture heating restrictions. |
| Keywords: | Fuel Poverty, Matching Method, Composite indicator, Heating restriction, Energy efficiency |
| JEL: | Q41 Q48 Q58 C21 C61 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:ppaper:2016.06&r=eur |
| By: | Stamatopoulos, Ioannis; Hadjidema, Stamatina; Eleftheriou, Konstantinos |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the corporate income tax compliance costs and their determinants by analyzing survey and financial statements data from firms operating in Greece. We find that corporate tax compliance costs are of considerable size and vary with several firm-specific characteristics, including the firm’s size, its age, the sector in which it operates, its location and its legal form. The paper intends to raise awareness regarding the impact of tax compliance costs, especially for countries, such as Greece, that were significantly affected by the economic and financial crisis. |
| Keywords: | corporate taxes; compliance costs; Greece |
| JEL: | H25 M21 |
| Date: | 2016–12–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75736&r=eur |
| By: | Paulino Montes-Solla; Andres Faina; Jesus Lopez-Rodriguez |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the different factors that explain the pattern of economic growth in Spain along the last two decades, where has stood out the rapid growth of per capita income, capital accumulation and creation of employment. However, the most important structural phenomenon of the strong growth of the Spanish economy, especially in the decade from 1998-2007, was the limited growth in terms of output per worker and total factor productivity (TFP), which in combination with wage increases has led to a loss of competitiveness. An extended Solow growth model was estimated with panel data for the Spanish regions to measure the contribution of different factors of production (with special interest in the stock of private and human capital, as well as the gap of transport infrastructure capital) to the productivity of labour and the temporal evolution of TFP over the period 1989-2010. The results of our analysis provide strong evidence of stagnation in productivity throughout most of the period under study. The large investments and the strong growth in capital stocks were practically absorbed by an intense process of job creation. As a consequence, the capital/labour ratio and labour productivity levels remained almost constant whereas total factor productivity (TFP) decreased over the period of analysis. Therefore unlike other European countries, Spain did not experience a phenomenon of capital deepening with an increase in productivity. The intense GDP pc growth in Spain was of a rather "extensive" type, mainly based on a capital widening process. |
| Keywords: | Regional Development; Infrastructures; Capital Widening; Productivity stagnation; TFP |
| JEL: | R10 R11 R12 R13 R14 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa16p983&r=eur |
| By: | Sara Burrone (University of Firenze; University of Turin and CeRP-Collegio Carlo Alberto); Mariacristina Rossi (University of Turin and CeRP-Collegio Carlo Alberto) |
| Abstract: | In this work, we analyze if and to what extent financial literacy has an impact on workers’ retirement decisions. We do so with reference to Italy, a country that has undergone important pension reforms in the last two decades. We use the Survey on Household Income and Wealth (SHIW) in the period 2006 to 2010, for which we have information on financial literacy. Our findings show that financially literate workers are more inclined to postpone retirement when they are (at least partially) enrolled in a DC scheme, Conversely, financial literacy does not seem to affect the retirement plans of workers who are still covered by the more generous DB formula. |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crp:wpaper:163&r=eur |
| By: | Lucian-Liviu Albu |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to investigate the relation between regional convergence inside of countries in EU and overall economic growth, and, based on it, to establish some relevant behavioural regimes. As data sources we are using the available dataset NUTS 2 from EUROSAT for the period 2000-2013. Thus, a number of 272 regions grouped in 28 countries we used as primary database. Then, because six countries (Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, and Malta) are not divided in regions in NUTS 2 database, we made few aggregations, finally resulting 24 countries or groups of countries. In order to study the correlation between the convergence process and economic growth we focused, as it is usually used in specialised literature to analyse the real convergence, on the dynamics of GDP per capita expressed in case of EU by PPS (Purchasing Power Standard). On the one hand, as a method to estimate of a trend of convergence/divergence among regions within a country or group of countries we used the dynamics of the coefficient of variation. On the other hand, within EU, we used for each country or group of countries the dynamics of the ratio between the individual level of GDP per capita and the average EU GDP per capita. Thus we evaluate how the position of a country it was changed relative to the average level in EU of GDP per capita. Moreover, the correlation between the regional convergence (within a country) and the changes in its position in EU (in matter of GDP per capita) was estimated. Based on such methodology, we succeeded to elaborate a general typology that permitted us to classify countries of EU in four major groups: 1) countries that improved their position in EU (as GDP per capita), but only by scarifying the regional convergence; 2) countries in which it was registered a regional convergence, but only by scarifying their position in EU; 3) countries for which both their position in EU was decreasing and a regional divergence it was registered (the most unfavourable dynamics); 4) countries for which both their position in EU was increasing and a regional convergence was registered (the most favourable dynamics). Moreover, by using the above results and by applying linear regression models we estimated four discrete regimes, depending on the level of GDP per capita, in which countries evolved in the analysed period (corresponding to the four groups of countries) and three transitional regimes. Finally, we propose a nonlinear model (estimated by using real registered data) that permits us to simulate a smooth trajectory of convergence as a continuous function of development level (expressed by GDP per capita) and could offer to policy makers a large menu of sub-regimes. |
| Keywords: | economic growth; convergence; nonlinear model; GDP per capita; behavioural regimes |
| JEL: | C31 E17 O11 O15 O47 O52 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa16p244&r=eur |
| By: | David Loschiavo (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | Does regional income inequality affect a household’s likelihood of being indebted? This question is addressed by using survey data on Italian households. The analysis shows that inequality in the regional income distribution has a negative effect on the probability of being indebted. In addition, richer households living in regions with greater income inequality have a greater likelihood of being indebted than similarly rich households residing in regions with low income inequality (and vice versa for poorer households). The study suggests that supply factors are more important than demand factors in explaining this result. These findings are consistent with the latest survey-based evidence drawn from US data which suggests that banks may use local income inequality and a household’s position in the income distribution to make inferences about an applicant’s underlying default risk. These results hold after controlling for socio-demographic differences, different types of debt, unobserved household heterogeneity using panel data and a number of robustness checks. |
| Keywords: | income inequality, household debt, credit rationing, Great Recession, regional data |
| JEL: | D14 D63 G01 G21 R10 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_1095_16&r=eur |
| By: | Houévoh Amandine R. Gnonlonfin (LEAD, Université de Toulon) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the preventive effect and substitution effect of the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) pricing policy in France. We examine the relationship between quantities of MSW and incentive taxes with the use of a panel of 96 French metropolitan departments between 2005 and 2011, and we use panel data and Heckman two-step estimation in order to consider sample selection. We perform the analysis for the collection of MSW and six technologies of management of the waste, namely recycling materials, composting, incineration with and without energy recovery, landfilling and dumping. We estimate the elasticity of the collection of MSW and the elasticity of these technologies in relation to three incentive taxes of the French pricing system by considering the endogeneity of municipality’s decisions about both local incentive tax and technology choice. The results confirm that the French MSW pricing system has a preventive and a substitution effect and show that these effects are complementary. |
| Keywords: | municipal solid waste pricing system, user fee, Extend Producer Responsibility, tax on elimination, preventive effect, substitution effect |
| JEL: | H21 H23 Q53 Q56 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:ppaper:2016.05&r=eur |
| By: | Caruso, Raul; Carlo, Bellavite Pellegrini; Marco, Di Domizio |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically investigates the impact of diversity in wage levels of players on seasonal performances of teams in the top Italian soccer league, namely the Serie A . We explore the payroll of 32 professional football teams in the Italian Serie A to compute three measures of diversity and concentration in wage levels, namely the Gini, the Shannon and the Simpson indexes from season 2007/08 to 2015/16. We use the percentage of points achieved by teams as dependent variable, and then we employ panel data techniques estimating random and fixed effect models. We find that only the Simpson index is significantly associated with sport performance. In particular, it appears that sport performance improves as diversity in payroll decreases. |
| Keywords: | diversity in wage level, inequality, payroll and sport performance, Italian serie A |
| JEL: | L83 M52 Z1 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75644&r=eur |
| By: | Nikolova, Milena (IZA); Ayhan, Sinem H. (IZA) |
| Abstract: | This study is the first to provide a causal estimate of the subjective well-being effects of spousal unemployment at the couple level. Using German panel data on married and cohabiting partners for 1991-2013 and information on exogenous job termination induced by workplace closure, we show that spousal unemployment reduces the life satisfaction of indirectly-affected spouses. The impact is equally pronounced among female and male partners. Importantly, the results are not driven by an income effect, but likely reflect the psychological costs of unemployment. Our findings are robust to a battery of sensitivity checks and imply that public policy programs aimed at mitigating the negative consequences of unemployment need to consider within-couple spillovers. |
| Keywords: | unemployment, involuntary job loss, plant closure, spouses, well-being |
| JEL: | I31 J01 J65 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10411&r=eur |
| By: | Colussi, Tommaso (IZA); Romano, Livio (Confindustria) |
| Abstract: | This work analyzes the extent to which local social networks affect workers' labor market outcomes and firms' economic performance. By exploiting variations in firms' ownership generated by takeovers, we find that belonging to the same community of origin as the new employer significantly increases an employee's job retention probability. Finally, we show that the share of local employees retained after the takeover is negatively associated with the probability of closure of the acquiring firm. |
| Keywords: | takeovers, local social networks, social capital, firm behavior |
| JEL: | D22 J24 J63 J7 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10418&r=eur |