|
on Microeconomic European Issues |
|
Issue of 2017‒02‒05
thirty papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Laura Barbieri (Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali, Università Cattolica); Mariacristina Piva (Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali, Università Cattolica); Marco Vivarelli (Istituto di Politica Economica, Università Cattolica) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the employment impact of innovation activity, taking into account both R&D expenditures and embodied technological change (ETC). We use a novel panel dataset covering 265 innovative Italian firms over the period 1998-2010. The main outcome from the proposed fixed effect estimations is a labor-friendly nature of total innovation expenditures; however, this positive effect is barely significant when the sole in-house R&D expenditures are considered and fades away when ETC is included as a proxy for innovation activities. Moreover, the positive employment impacts of innovation activities and R&D expenditures are totally due to firms operating in high-tech industries and large companies, while no job-creation due to technical change is detectable in traditional sectors and SMEs. |
| Keywords: | Technology, innovation, R&D, embodied technological change, employment |
| JEL: | O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctc:serie2:dises1620&r=eur |
| By: | Lehmann, Erik E.; Meoli, Michele; Paleari, Stefano; Stockinger, Sarah A. E. |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we compare the efficiency of the Italian and German university system in the process of translating public funding into the multiple outputs of a university, i.e. graduating students, publishing research, and patenting activity. We do this with a particular focus on the policies implemented following the financial crisis in 2007/08. Using a sample of 133 public universities, of which 73 public universities in Germany and 60 public Italian universities, observed over the period 2006-2011, we find that Italian universities are significantly better in terms of cost efficiency than German universities. The crisis does not show a general impact, while the treatment effect indicates that Italian universities coped better during the crisis than their German counterparts at a highly significant level. |
| Keywords: | higher education,economic crisis,governance,data envelopment analysis,malmquist productivity index |
| JEL: | H11 H12 I2 N30 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:auguow:0116&r=eur |
| By: | Bergner, Sören Martin; Bräutigam, Rainer; Evers, Maria Theresia; Spengel, Christoph |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses the impact and the appropriateness of tax incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union. First, we provide a survey of implemented tax incentives specifically targeted at SMEs in the 28 EU Member States. Building hereon, we measure the impact of these regimes on the effective tax burdens of targeted companies. We find that SME tax incentives are a commonly used measure among European policy makers. The vast majority of regimes, however, only marginally reduce the tax liability of SMEs. If major reliefs are available, they mostly stem from special tax rates whereas tax credits and special allowance play a minor role. In the second main part of the analysis, we examine the arguments potentially justifying the usage of SME tax incentives. As a main result, small firms per se do not create more jobs and innovations nor do they face insurmountable financing constraints. The existence of market failures commonly associated with SMEs - and possibly warranting the use of SME tax incentives - can therefore not be confirmed. Instead, disproportionate tax compliance costs for small entities constitute the most compelling argument for a special tax treatment. These compliance costs can most appropriately be addressed by administrative reliefs. Special tax rates, tax credits and allowances, in contrast, are not only inefficient but also ineffective in this regard. Instead of improving the neutrality of the overall tax system, the latter are likely to add further distortions and unnecessary complexity. Altogether, the focus of policy-makers should thus shift from providing discriminatory incentives to the design of a generally neutral and simple tax system, which would benefit small as well as large enterprises. |
| Keywords: | SME,Tax Policy,European Union |
| JEL: | H24 H25 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:17006&r=eur |
| By: | Marco Di Cataldo; AndrŽs Rodr’guez-Pose |
| Abstract: | The European Union promotes development strategies aimed at producing growth with Òa strong emphasis on job creation and poverty reductionÓ. However, whether the economic conditions in place in EU regions are ideal for the generation of high- and low-skilled employment and labour market inclusion is unclear. This paper assesses how the key factors behind EU growth strategies Ð infrastructure, human capital, innovation, quality of government Ð condition employment generation and labour market exclusion in European regions. The findings indicate that the dynamics of employment and social exclusion vary depending on the conditions in place in a region. While higher innovation and education contribute to overall employment generation in some regional contexts, low-skilled employment grows the most in regions with a better quality of government. Regional public institutions, together with the endowment of human capital, emerge as the main factors for the reduction of labour market exclusion Ð particularly in the less developed regions Ð and the promotion of inclusive employment growth across Europe. Length: |
| Keywords: | social exclusion, employment, skills, regions, Europe |
| JEL: | R23 J64 O52 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1704&r=eur |
| By: | Abeliansky, Ana Lucia; Strulik, Holger |
| Abstract: | We analyze human aging, understood as health deficit accumulation, for a panel of European individuals. For that purpose, we use four waves of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE dataset) and construct a health deficit index. Results from log-linear regressions suggest that, on average, elderly European men and women develop about 2.5 percent more health deficits from one birthday to the next. In non-linear regression (akin to the Gompertz-Makeham model), however, we find much greater rates of aging and large differences between men and women as well as between countries. Interestingly, these differences follow a particular regularity (akin to the compensation effect of mortality). They suggest an age at which average health deficits converge for men and women and across countries. |
| Keywords: | health,aging,health deficit index,Europe,gender differences,compensation law,human life span |
| JEL: | I10 I19 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cegedp:301&r=eur |
| By: | Metzger, Christoph |
| Abstract: | Traditionally, households have been seen as acting as a single unit when it comes to savings. Although this might be correct for some parts of household savings, we question the correctness of the unitary model with respect to non-mandatory retirement savings. Therefore we analyze the intra-household allocation of retirement savings between partners in Germany taking an individualistic approach.First, the decision to save at all is analyzed using a seemingly unrelated bivariate probit model, showing that the possession of retirement saving accounts among spouses is positively correlated, hinting at a "crowding-in" of saving accounts. However, this could be only due to some tax reasons. Thus, we analyze additionally the interaction of savings between spouses using three-stage least squares, allowing for endogeneity between the spouse's savings. These results additionally show a "crowding-in" of total retirement savings amounts between spouses, probably due to some "peer effect". The unitary model of household decision making can thus be rejected with respect to retirement savings. |
| Keywords: | savings,intra-household allocation,retirement,life-cycle,unitary model,savings,three-stage least squares |
| JEL: | D14 D91 H31 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fzgdps:64&r=eur |
| By: | Eppinger, Peter S.; Meythaler, Nicole; Sindlinger, Marc-Manuel; Smolka, Marcel |
| Abstract: | We provide novel evidence on the micro-structure of international trade during the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent global recession by exploring a rich firm-level data set from Spain. The focus of our analysis is on changes at the extensive and intensive firm-level margins of trade, as well as on performance differences (jobs, productivity, and firm survival) across firms that differ in their export status. We find no adverse effects of the financial crisis on foreign market entry or exit, but a considerable increase in the export intensity of firms after the financial crisis. Moreover, we find that exporters were more resilient to the crisis than non-exporters. Finally, while exporters showed a significantly more favorable development of total factor productivity after 2009 than non-exporters, aggregate productivity declined substantially in a large number of industries in Spanish manufacturing. We also briefly explore two factors that might help explain the surprisingly strong export performance of Spain in the aftermath of the great trade collapse: improved aggregate competitiveness due to internal and external devaluation and a substitutive relationship between domestic and foreign sales at the firm level. |
| Keywords: | international trade,financial crisis,Spain,manufacturing,firm-level data |
| JEL: | F10 F14 G01 D24 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:tuewef:93&r=eur |
| By: | Böhringer, Christoph; Landis, Florian; Tovar Reaños, Miguel Angel |
| Abstract: | Over the last decade Germany has boosted renewable energy in power production by means of massive subsidies. The flip side are very high electricity prices which raises concerns that the transition cost towards a renewable energy system will be mainly borne by poor households. In this paper, we combine computable general equilibrium and microsimulation analysis to investigate the cost-effectiveness and incidence of Germany's renewable energy promotion. We find that the regressive effects of renewable energy promotion could be ameliorated by alternative subsidy financing mechanisms which achieve the same level of electricity generation from renewable energy sources. |
| Keywords: | renewable energy policy,feed-in tariffs,CGE,microsimulation |
| JEL: | Q42 H23 C63 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:17004&r=eur |
| By: | Magali Jaoul-Grammare |
| Abstract: | After a long historical process, the principle of coeducation became accepted within the French education system, and since the 1980s the fight against gender inequality has been at the heart of educational reforms. The rationale for equality is not simply moral: gender inequalities slow down human capital accumulation and thereby slow economic growth. The aim of this paper is to determine whether various recent reforms have led to a decrease in gender inequality, measured according to three dimensions: access to prestigious post-baccalaureate courses; access to “male” academic courses; and access to higher diplomas. We use a multinomial logistic regression to compare the Cereq databases Generation 1998 and 2010. Our results show that in spite of a reduction in inequality, access to prestigious courses and access to higher diplomas remain affected by gender inequality. We also show that some “male” academic courses remain highly gender-biased. In this sense, then, we can conclude that human capital accumulation in France is not yet optimal. |
| Keywords: | Access, France, Gender Inequalities, Higher Education, Human Capital Accumulation. |
| JEL: | C25 I23 I24 I28 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2017-02&r=eur |
| By: | Alfred Garloff (institute for Employment Research (IAB)); Duncan Roth (institute for Employment Research (IAB)) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the effect that changes in the size of the youth population have on the wages of young workers. Assuming that differently aged workers are only imperfectly substitutable, economic theory predicts that individuals in larger age groups earn lower wages. We test this hypothesis for a sample of young, male, full-time employees in Western Germany during the period 1999-2010. In contrast to other studies, functional rather than administrative spatial entities are used as they provide a more accurate measure of the youth population in an actual labour market. Based on instrumental variables estimation, we show that an increase in the youth share by one percentage point is predicted to decrease a young worker’s wages by 3%. Our results also suggest that a substantial part of this effect is due to members of larger age groups being more likely to be employed in lower-paying occupations. |
| Keywords: | Population structure, wages, youth share, labour-market regions, instrumental variables, occupational selection |
| JEL: | J21 J31 R23 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201706&r=eur |
| By: | Daniela Del Boca (University of Turin and Collegio Carlo Alberto); Daniela Piazzalunga (IRVAPP); Chiara Pronzato (University of Turin, CHILD and Collegio Carlo Alberto) |
| Abstract: | In this empirical analysis, we estimate the link between formal childcare and child cognitive outcomes, controlling for a large number of variables. We use the Millennium Cohort Survey (MCS) for the United Kingdom, which provides very detailed information about several modalities of childcare as well as several child outcomes. We also simulate how an increase in formal childcare attendance can affect inequalities across children. Our results indicate that childcare attendance has a positive impact on child cognitive outcomes, which are stronger for children from low socioeconomic background. |
| Keywords: | childcare, child cognitive outcomes, Millennium Cohort Survey, MCS |
| JEL: | J13 D10 I21 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2017-005&r=eur |
| By: | Duncan Roth (institute for Employment Research (IAB)) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the effect that the size of an individual’s labour-market entry cohort has on the subsequent duration of search for employment. Survival-analysis methods are applied to empirically assess this relationship using a sample of apprenticeship graduates who entered the German labour market between 1999 and 2012. The results suggest that apprentices from larger graduation cohorts take less time to find employment, but this effect appears to be significant only for a period of up to six months after graduation. These results therefore do not support the cohort-crowding hypothesis that members of larger cohorts face depressed labour-market outcomes. Moreover, there is no evidence that shorter search durations are the result of graduates being pushed into lower-quality employment. The finding that graduating as part of a larger cohort leads to shorter search durations is in line with those parts of the cohort-size literature that find larger youth cohorts being associated with lower unemployment rates. A possible explanation is that firms react to an anticipated increase in the number of graduates by creating jobs. |
| Keywords: | Survival analysis, entry conditions, cohort size, apprentices, search duration |
| JEL: | J21 J64 R23 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201708&r=eur |
| By: | Milena Nikolova; Sinem Ayhan |
| 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 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp891&r=eur |
| By: | Wydra-Somaggio, Gabriele (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "This paper studies the factors that influence the beginning of either a new vocational training in another occupation (stopout) or the stop of vocational training altogether after an early termination (dropout of the vocational system). One influencing factor is the amount of the human capital acquired which is determined by the duration of (early terminated) vocational training. To analyse this for the German case, we use data (Ausbildungspanel Saarland) which contains detailed information about apprenticeship careers and their labour market outcomes for all apprentices between 1999 and 2002 in Saarland (a German federal state). 72 per cent of the premature terminations analysed here are stop outs. The estimations of robust logit-models show that early premature terminations and an above-average apprenticeship wage in the training occupation are more likely to lead to an apprenticeship stopout. Stopouts who terminate their contracts early on in the apprenticeship process are more likely to change their occupation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | Berufsausbildung, Ausbildungsabbrecher, Berufswahl, Bildungsverlauf, Ausbildungsabbrecher, Ausbildungsabbruch, Ausbildungssituation, Ausbildungsbetrieb, Ausbildungsentscheidung, Ausbildungserfolg, Ausbildungswahl, Ausbildungswechsel, Lohn, Integrierte Erwerbsbiografien, Saarland, Bundesrepublik Deutschland |
| JEL: | I21 J24 |
| Date: | 2017–01–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201703&r=eur |
| By: | Anne Ardila Brenøe (University of Copenhagen); Shelly Lundberg (University of California Santa Barbara) |
| Abstract: | We examine the differential effects of family disadvantage on the education and adult labor market outcomes of men and women using high-quality administrative data on the entire population of Denmark born between 1966 and 1995. We link parental education and family structure during childhood to male-female and brother-sister differences in teenage outcomes, educational attainment, and adult earnings and employment. Our results are consistent with U.S. findings that boys benefit more from an advantageous family environment than do girls in terms of the behavior and grade-school outcomes. Father’s education, which has not been examined in previous studies, is particularly important for sons. However, we find a very different pattern of parental influence on adult outcomes. The gender gaps in educational attainment, employment, and earnings are increasing in maternal education, benefiting daughters. Paternal education decreases the gender gaps in educational attainment (favoring sons) and labor market outcomes (favoring daughters). We conclude that differences in the behavior of school- aged boys and girls are a poor proxy for differences in skills that drive longer-term outcomes. |
| Keywords: | gender gap, parental education, family structure, education, labor market outcomes |
| JEL: | I20 J10 J20 J30 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2017-004&r=eur |
| By: | Ana Suárez Álvarez (University of Oviedo, Spain); Ana Jesús López Menéndez (University of Oviedo, Spain) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to contribute both theoretically and empirically to the study of Inequality of Opportunity in Spain. The analysis is carried out using microdata collected by the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), which incorporate a wide variety of personal harmonised variables, allowing comparability with other countries. The availability of this database for years 2004 and 2010 is particularly relevant to analyse the impact of the economic crisis, the empirical evidence shows significant increases in both income inequality (17.24\%) and, more significantly, inequality of opportunity (62.34\%). According to our findings, the effect of circumstances on income distribution has intensified between the two years. |
| Keywords: | circumstances, EU-SILC, income, inequality, opportunity. |
| JEL: | D31 D63 O15 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2016-423&r=eur |
| By: | Merkl, Christian; Stüber, Heiko |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyze the connection between value added, wages, and labor market ows at the establishment level. For this purpose, we first develop a simple model to illustrate the expected comovement of these variables. For the empirical analysis, we link the new German Administrative Wage and Labor Market Flow Panel (AWFP) dataset to the IAB Establishment Panel survey. We show that establishments' hires rates have a positive and separations rates a negative comovement with establishment-specific value added, whereby hires react by more than separations. Our estimation results point towards inefficient separation behavior in some parts of the economy. In addition, we provide evidence that establishments' partial equilibrium reaction is an important driver for aggregate labor market dynamics. |
| Keywords: | labor market flows,value added,wages,administrative data,establishments |
| JEL: | E24 E32 J64 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwqwdp:032017&r=eur |
| By: | Iftikhar, Zainab (Center for Mathematical Economics, Bielefeld University); Zaharieva, Anna (Center for Mathematical Economics, Bielefeld University) |
| Abstract: | In this study we develop and calibrate a search and matching model of the German labour market and analyze the impact of recent immigration. Our model has two production sectors (manufacturing and services), two skill groups and two ethnic groups of workers (natives and immigrants). Moreover, we allow for the possibility of self-employment, endogenous price and wage setting and fiscal redistribution policy. We find that search frictions are less important for wages of the low skilled, especially in manufacturing, whereas wages of the high skilled are more sensitive to their outside opportunities. Furthermore, employment chances of immigrant workers are up to four times lower than employment chances of native workers, especially in the high skill segment. Our results show that recent immigration to Germany, including refugees, has a moderate negative effect on the welfare of low skill workers in manufacturing (-0.6%), but all other worker groups are gaining from immigration, with high skill service employees gaining the most (+4.3%). This is because the productivity of high (low) skill workers is increasing (decreasing) and there is a higher demand for services. The overall effect of recent immigration is estimated at +1.6%. Finally, we observe that productive capacities of immigrant workers are underutilized in Germany and a policy implementing equal employment opportunities can generate a welfare gain equal to +0.9% with all worker groups (weakly) gaining due to the redistribution. |
| Keywords: | search frictions, immigration, general equilibrium, redistribution, welfare |
| Date: | 2016–10–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bie:wpaper:568&r=eur |
| By: | Bick, Alexander (Arizona State University); Fuchs-Schündeln, Nicola (Goethe University Frankfurt) |
| Abstract: | We document contemporaneous differences in the aggregate labor supply of married couples across 17 European countries and the US. Based on a model of joint household decision making, we quantify the contribution of international differences in non-linear labor income taxes and consumption taxes to the international differences in hours worked in the data. Through the lens of the model, taxes, together with wages and the educational composition, account for a significant part of the small differences in married men's and the large differences in married women's hours worked in the data. Taking the full nonlinearities of labor income tax codes, including the tax treatment of married couples, into account is crucial for generating the low cross-country correlation between married men's and women's hours worked in the data, and for explaining the variation of married women's hours worked across European countries. |
| Keywords: | taxation, two-earner households, hours worked |
| JEL: | E60 H20 H31 J12 J22 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10504&r=eur |
| By: | Fabio Berton (University of Torino); Sauro Mocetti (Bank of Italy); Andrea F. Presbitero (International Monetary Fund and MoFiR); Matteo Richiardi (Institute for New Economic Thinking, University of Oxford; Nuffield College, and Collegio Carlo Alberto) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the employment effects of financial shocks using a rich data set of job contracts, matched with the universe of firms and their lending banks in one Italian region. To isolate the effect of the financial shock we construct a firm-specific time-varying measure of credit supply. The contraction in credit supply explains one fourth of the reduction in employment. This result is concentrated in more levered and less productive firms. Also, the relatively less educated and less skilled workers with temporary contracts are the most affected. Our results are consistent with the cleansing role of financial shocks. |
| Keywords: | Bank lending channel; Job contracts; Employment; Financing constraints; Cleansing effect. |
| JEL: | G01 G21 J23 J63 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wmofir:136&r=eur |
| By: | Lorenza Rossi (Department of Economics and Management, University of Pavia) |
| Abstract: | Culture is commonly used as the principal explanation for consumer differences across countries, so research on its differential impact on consumer preferences and motives is fundamentally important. This study examines the role of cultural and sociodemographic influences in determining the differences between drinking cultures and drinking motives in Europe. Comparing eight countries (Italy, France, Portugal, Germany, Finland, United Kingdom, Turkey and Poland) through a one-way ANOVA and a two-way ANOVA, the author analyse and compare the roles of sociodemographic variables and national culture have on several drinking motives (social and enhancement) and on consumer preferences (alcohol consumption and type of beverage). The type of drinker (moderate or heavy) is also taken into consideration. Results show significant differences between gender, age, type of drinker and countries for most motives. Moreover, although some results confirm the traditional or “stereotype” countries drinking profiles, other results also suggest some insights to certain country profiles changing in unexpected ways. The paper outlines theoretical implications in cross-cultural research and alcoholic drinking motives. It also explores a further understanding on the motives behind alcohol consumption of European consumers, which could usefully inform policy that aims to promote a sensible drinking behaviour among its population. |
| Keywords: | drinking motives, cross-cultural, alcohol consumption, consumer preferences. |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pav:demwpp:demwp0132&r=eur |
| By: | Buettner, Thomas; Federico, Giulio; Lorincz, Szabolcs |
| Abstract: | In some recent merger cases the European Commission has relied on quantitative economic techniques in the competitive assessment of horizontal mergers. These techniques have ranged from the use of merger simulation models (for both differentiated and homogenous goods), to the deployment of direct estimation methods to study the effects of relevant events in the past. This article describes the appropriate use of these quantitative techniques, and it explains the rationale for the reliance on these methods. It also explains why the evidence from economic modelling is complementary to more traditional qualitative evidence on the expected impact of horizontal mergers. |
| Keywords: | European Commission, merger control, quantitative methods |
| JEL: | C21 C63 L13 L4 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:76384&r=eur |
| By: | Caterina Calsamiglia (CEMFI and Barcelona GSE); Annalisa Loviglio (UAB and Barcelona GSE) |
| Abstract: | Having a unique cut-off to determine when children can access school induces a large heterogeneity in maturity to coexist in a classroom. We use rich administrative data of the universe of public schools in Catalonia to show that: 1) Relatively younger children do significantly worse both in tests administered at the school level and at the regional level, and they experience greater retention; 2) Younger children in our data exhibit higher dropout rates and chose the academic track in secondary school less often; 3) The effect is homogeneous across SES and significant across the whole ability distribution; 4) Younger children are more frequently diagnosed with learning disabilities. |
| Keywords: | Human capital, educational economics, kindergarten cutoff. |
| JEL: | I21 I28 H75 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cmf:wpaper:wp2016_1613&r=eur |
| By: | Govert E. Bijwaard; Mikko Myrskylä (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Per Tynelius; Finn Rasmussen |
| Abstract: | For many causes of death a negative educational gradient has been found. This association may be partly explained by confounding factors that affect both education attainment and mortality. We correct the cause-specific educational gradient for observed individual background and unobserved family factors, using an innovative method based on months lost due to a specific cause of death re-weighted by the probability to attain a higher education level. We use men with brothers in the Swedish Military Conscription Registry (1951-1983), linked to administrative Swedish registers. These data, comprising 700,000 men, allow us to distinguish five education levels and many causes of death. The empirical results reveal that improving education from primary to higher education would lead to 20 months longer survival between 18 and 63. The reduction in death due to external causes when improving education is attributable to most of these gains. Ignoring confounding would underestimate the educational gains, especially for the low educated. Implied by our results is that if 50,000 men from the 1951 cohort had had the 1983 education distribution they would have saved 22% of the person-years between ages 18 and 63 that were lost to death. |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2017-003&r=eur |
| By: | Lazuka, Volha (Department of Economic History, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | Socio-economic inequalities are remarkable in contemporary developed countries and continue to grow. The sources of these phenomena are not understood, and there is no agreement as to when in an individual’s life they originate, from early childhood to adulthood. The literature showing that health in infancy may be an important factor in later-life health and income trajectories is expanding, but empirical evidence is still scarce. This paper is the first to link differences in individual access to better health care during infancy to income and health outcomes in old age. Due to the public health care reform that became one of the first elements of the Swedish welfare state, between 1890 and 1917, all rural areas established local health districts that implemented preventive measures with regard to the spread of infectious diseases. Using administrative longitudinal population data and exploiting exogenous variation in the timing of the implementation of the reform across parishes, we examine whether individuals treated in their infancy have an advantage in old age. Our findings indicate that treatment in the public health care system in infancy leads to a significant reduction in mortality, with the largest effects on cardiovascular diseases and to an increase in individual permanent incomes. The effects are universal across different subpopulations, with somewhat stronger responses among individuals from poor socio-economic backgrounds. |
| Keywords: | Sweden; Life-course; Reform; Early-life; Health District; Mortality; Income |
| JEL: | I14 I15 I38 J26 |
| Date: | 2017–01–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:luekhi:0153&r=eur |
| By: | Bachmann, Rüdiger; Bayer, Christian; Merkl, Christian; Seth, Stefan; Stüber, Heiko; Wellschmied, Felix |
| Abstract: | We study the relationship between cyclical job and worker flows at the establishment level using the new German AWFP dataset spanning from 1975-2014. We find that worker turnover moves more procyclical than job turnover. This procyclical worker churn takes place along the entire employment growth distribution of establishments. We show that these procyclical conditional worker flows result almost exclusively from job-tojob transitions. Growing establishments fuel their employment growth by poaching workers from other establishments as the boom matures. At the same time, non-growing establishments replace these workers by hiring from other establishments and non-employment. |
| Keywords: | job flows,worker flows,aggregate fluctuations |
| JEL: | E32 J23 J63 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwqwdp:022017&r=eur |
| By: | Giannakopoulos, Nicholas; Laliotis, Ioannis |
| Abstract: | We investigate decentralized collective bargaining in Greece (2002-2016) under the industrial relations reform implemented in 2011. We match administrative data on firm-level contracts with non-participating firms to estimate determinants of decentralized bargaining before and after the reform. Decentralized bargaining increased in the post-reform period depending on firm size, industry and location. Nominal wage floors downgraded after 2011 in contacts signed by association of persons rather than trade unions. A base wage premium of 22 percent is found in favour of trade unions. Firm-level bargaining with trade unions is expected to promote decentralized bargaining with outcomes linked to firm-specific characteristics. |
| Keywords: | Labour relations; Decentralized collective bargaining; Nominal wages; Reform; Greece |
| JEL: | J31 J41 J52 |
| Date: | 2017–01–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:76513&r=eur |
| By: | Francesco Manaresi (Bank of Italy, Structural Economic Department); Nicola Pierri (Stanford University) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of credit constraints on manufacturers' production. We exploit a matched firm-bank panel data covering all Italian companies over the period 1998-2012 to derive a measure of supply-side shock to rm speci c credit constraints, and study how it affects input accumulation and value added productivity. We show that an expansion in the credit supply faced by a firm increases both input accumulation (size effect) and its ability to generate value added for a given level of inputs (productivity effect). Results are robust to various productivity estimation techniques, and to an alternative measure of credit supply shock that uses the 2007-2008 interbank market freeze to control for assortative matching between firms and banks. We discuss different potential channels for the estimated e ect and explore their empirical implications. |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wmofir:137&r=eur |
| By: | Börjesson , Maria (KTH); Kristoffersson, Ida (VTI) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the effects of the Swedish congestion charges 10 years on. We find that the price elasticity of the traffic across the cordon was lower when the charging levels were increased than when they were first introduced, in Stockholm and in Gothenburg. The price elasticity was also lower when the Stockholm system was extended to include the Essinge bypass (E4/E20). The implication of these results is that adjustments in charging levels between days and seasons would have a limited effect on traffic volume. Moreover, the elasticity is substantially higher in the off-peak period than in the peak. A third finding is that the long-term elasticity is declining in Gothenburg but increasing in Stockholm. Public support is also declining in Gothenburg but increasing in Stockholm. The operating costs of the systems have declined. |
| Keywords: | Congestion charges; Behavioural adaptation; Time-dependent cordon; Tolling system; Traffic effects; Public support; Transferability; System design |
| JEL: | R41 R42 R48 |
| Date: | 2017–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2017_002&r=eur |
| By: | Wolfgang Frimmel; Martin Halla; Jörg Paetzold |
| Abstract: | Does tax evasion run in the family? To answer this question, we study the case of the commuter tax allowance in Austria. This allowance is designed as a step function of the distance between the residence and the workplace, creating sharp discontinuities at each bracket threshold. The distance to these brackets is a strong determinant of compliance since it corresponds to the probability of detection. The match of different administrative data sources allows us to observe actual compliance behavior at the individual level across two generations. To identify the intergenerational causal effect in tax evasion behavior, we use the paternal distance-to-bracket as an instrumental variable for paternal compliance. We find that paternal non-compliance increases children's non-compliance by about 20 percent. |
| Keywords: | tax evasion, tax morale, intergenerational correlation, intergenerational causal effect |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inn:wpaper:2017-01&r=eur |