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on Microeconomic European Issues |
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Issue of 2017‒03‒26
23 papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Tavares, L.; Zantomio, F.; |
| Abstract: | Despite the sizeable cuts in public healthcare spending, part of the austerity measures recently undertaken in Southern European countries, little attention has been devoted to monitoring distributional aspects of healthcare usage. This study aims at measuring socioeconomic inequities in primary and secondary healthcare experienced some time after the crisis onset in Italy, Spain and Portugal. The analysis, based on data drawn from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), focuses on older people, who generally face significantly higher healthcare needs, and whose health appeared to have worsened in the aftermath of the crisis. The Horizontal Inequity indexes reveal remarkable socioeconomic inequities in older people’s access to secondary healthcare in all three countries. In Portugal, the one country facing most severe healthcare budget cuts and where user charges apply also to GP visits, even access to primary care exhibits a significant pro-rich concentration. If reducing inequities in older people’s access to healthcare remains a policy objective, austerity measures maybe pulling the Olive belt countries further away from achieving it. |
| Keywords: | Healthcare access; Older People; Horizontal Equity; Concentration Index; |
| JEL: | I13 I14 H51 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:hectdg:17/06&r=eur |
| By: | Kelly, Jane (Central Bank of Ireland); Lydon, Reamonn (Central Bank of Ireland) |
| Abstract: | In 2016, the typical Irish home-buyer had a downpayment of 20% of the house price – for First-Time Buyers (FTBs), the figure is closer to 15%. The median downpayment for a non-Dublin FTB in 2016 was e25,000, well below earlier peaks. For Dublin FTBs, however, downpayments have been rising steadily since 2012, reaching €50,000 (median) in 2016. Comparing Irish FTB Deposit-to-Value ratios (DTVs) with those in other European countries for the period pre-dating the Loan-to-Value (LTV) rules (2008-14), Ireland was towards the lower-end of the range – typically between 10 and 20% for most countries. The latest figures for 2016 suggest that Ireland may be moving more in-line with other countries, although maximum LTV rules are becoming increasingly common across Europe and may be impacting upon such patterns. |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cbi:ecolet:02/el/17&r=eur |
| By: | Jorge Abad; Iñaki Aldasoro; Christoph Aymanns; Marco D'Errico; Linda Fache Rousová |
| Abstract: | Policy is only as good as the information at the disposal of policymakers. Few moments illustrate this better than the uncertainty before and after the default of Lehman Brothers and the subsequent decision to stand behind AIG. Authorities were forced to make critical policy decisions, despite being uncertain about counterparties’ exposures and the protection sold against their default. Opacity has been a defining characteristic of over-the-counter derivatives markets – to the extent that they have been labelled “dark markets” (Duffie, 2012). Motivated by the concern that opacity exercerbates crises, the G20 leaders made a decisive push in 2009 for greater transparency in derivatives markets. In Europe, this initiative was formalised in 2012 in the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), which requires EU entities engaging in derivatives transactions to report them to trade repositories authorised by the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA). Derivatives markets are thus in the process of becoming one of the most transparent markets for regulators. This paper represents a first analysis of the EU-wide data collected under EMIR. We start by describing the structure of the dataset, drawing comparisons with existing survey-based evidence on derivatives markets. The rest of the paper is divided into three sections, focusing on the three largest derivatives markets (interest rates, foreign exchange and credit). JEL Classification: G15, G18 |
| Keywords: | derivatives markets, OTC, financial networks |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:srk:srkops:201611&r=eur |
| By: | Riccardo Crescenzi; Marco Di Cataldo; Andrés Rodríguez-Pose |
| Abstract: | Transport infrastructure investment is a cornerstone of growth-promoting strategies. However, the link between infrastructure investment and economic performance remains unclear. This may be a consequence of overlooking the role of government institutions. This paper assesses the connection between regional quality of government and the returns of different types of road infrastructure in the regions of the European Union. The results unveil the influence of regional quality of government on the economic returns of transport infrastructure. In weak institutional contexts, investment in motorways – the preferred option by governments – yields significantly lower returns than the more humble secondary roads. Government institutions also affect the returns of transport maintenance investment. |
| Keywords: | transport infrastructure; public capital investment; economic growth; institutions; government quality; institutions; regions; Europe |
| JEL: | O4 R11 R40 R58 |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:65716&r=eur |
| By: | Floro Ernesto Caroleo; Elvira Ciociano; Sergio Destefanis (-) |
| Abstract: | Youth are a vulnerable category of workers, since they are in a delicate phase of their working life, the first entry in the labour market. Young graduates and early school leavers are involved in the school–to–work transition process, whose duration considerably varies across countries. In this paper we explore the impact of labour-market and educational institutions on youth labour-market performance across OECD countries for the 1985-2013 period. We build from different sources (mainly the IECD and the UNESCO) a data-set including series about labour-market institutions, youth population, schooling and the vocational education and training participation rates. We estimate a dynamic panel model, building upon Bassanini and Duval (2006), and articulating the analysis upon various age groups (15-24, 20-24). Union density, the minimum wage and the level of economic activity stand out as important determinants of youth employability (educational attainment and expenditure on public education mattering to a lesser extent). VET participation also matter, although only in countries where the dual apprenticeship system is important. |
| Keywords: | holders |
| Date: | 2017–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crj:dpaper:1_2017&r=eur |
| By: | Juan J. Dolado; Garcia-Peñalosa, Cecilia; Tarasonis, Linas |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to evaluate the role played by selectivity issues induced by nonemployment in explaining gender wage gap patterns in the EU since the onset of the Great Recession. We show that male selection into the labour market, traditionally disregarded, has increased. This is particularly the case in peripheral EU countries, where dramatic drops in male unskilled jobs have taken place during the crisis. As regards female selection, traditionally positive, we document mixed findings. While it has declined in some countries, as a result of increasing female LFP due to an added-worker effect, it has become even more positive in other countries. This is due to adverse labour demand shifts in industries which are intensive in temporary work where women are over-represented. These adverse shifts may have more than offset the rise in unskilled female labour supply. |
| Keywords: | Sample selection,gender wage gaps,gender employment gaps |
| JEL: | J31 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:34&r=eur |
| By: | Nava, Consuelo R.; Meleo, Linda; Cassetta, Ernesto; Morelli, Giovanna (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | In the next few years, it is estimated that the aviation sector will account for more than 15% of total GHG emissions against the current 5%. In order to curb emissions, Directive 101/2008/EC has included the aviation sector within the scope of the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS). The EU-ETS is generating additional costs for airline companies. The present article develops an original model with which to analyse the impact of EU-ETS on the aviation sector's market equilibrium. Our study expands prior research by explicitly allowing for abatement efforts in the cost function of airline companies and by highlighting interactions among strategies to reduce emissions, firm's actions in the secondary market, free allowances, and fines. The results contribute to enhancing policy makers understanding of the impact of the EU-ETS on the aviation sector also in light of its potential global-level extension that is currently under negotiation. |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:201710&r=eur |
| By: | Barge-Gil, Andrés; López, Alberto; Núñez-Sánchez, Ramón |
| Abstract: | Using Spanish firrm-level data, we estimate productivity effects of spillovers from foreign multinationals to domestic firms in both manufacturing and service sectors. We find evidence of a positive productivity effect from multinationals on domestic firms operating in the same industry. Analyzing inter-industry linkages, we find evidence consistent with positive productivity spillovers from forward linkages (i.e., from suppliers to buyers) and negative productivity spillovers from backward linkages (i.e., from buyers to suppliers). Our main results hold when analyzing differences between multinational and domestic firms, and for periods of economic growth and recession, although some differences arise. Interestingly, we find evidence supporting a positive role of spillovers during the last recession period. |
| Keywords: | Multinational firms, FDI, spillovers, economic recession. |
| JEL: | F23 L53 O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:77348&r=eur |
| By: | Simona Cicognani; Martina Cioni; Marco Savioli |
| Abstract: | Working conditions exert a major influence on accidents and illnesses at work as well as on job satisfaction and health, yet very little research has examined the determinants of working conditions. By exploiting the Italian Labour Force Survey, this paper provides evidence on the underlying factors affecting working conditions. It provides a behavioural interpretation of the results, which stems from the discrepancy between actual and expected working conditions. Workers declare their perceived working conditions influenced by the difference between the actual and the expected working conditions. Variables concerning personal characteristics, such as gender, education and being employed in the first job, shift expectations about working conditions and accordingly perceived working conditions. On the contrary, variables related to work characteristics, such as working full time, with shifts and in a large place, affect actual and thus perceived working conditions (negatively). |
| Keywords: | Working conditions; Expectations; Perceptions; Actual conditions; Job satisfaction |
| JEL: | D84 J24 J28 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:wpaper:749&r=eur |
| By: | Jelena Zarkovic Rakic Author-Name: Nicholas-James Clavet Author-Name: Luca Tiberti Author-Name: Marko Vladisavljevic Author-Name: Aleksandra Anic Author-Name: Gorana Krstic Author-Name: Sasa Randelovic |
| Abstract: | Based on the 2013 Serbian Survey of Income and Living Conditions (SILC) and on the Serbian version of the EUROMOD platform, we evaluate the poverty and distributive effects on children of various reform (benefit and employment) strategies concerning the two major social benefit programs in Serbia: child allowance and social monetary assistance. Both the first and second-order effects of the proposed reforms are considered. For the second-round impacts, a structural labour supply model on parents has been estimated. Our results show that a benefit strategy (which also combats fiscal evasion) is preferred to an employment strategy which aims at raising the work incentives by parents |
| Keywords: | child poverty, tax and benefit reforms, labour supply, Serbia |
| JEL: | J22 J13 J18 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:pmmacr:2017-04&r=eur |
| By: | Daniela Heilert; Ashok Kaul |
| Abstract: | As in most OECD countries, smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption have been decreasing in Germany since the early 2000s. This paper analyses whether smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption, as well as their development over time, differ between socio-economic subgroups. Identifying these differences provides insights into the effect of policy interventions on German smoking behaviour. Based on data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), a large longitudinal study of the German population, we find that both the decline in smoking prevalence and the decline in average cigarette consumption were probably driven by a behavioural change of younger people, as well as of those with a high educational level and those with a high income. People who quit smoking were on average more highly educated, had a higher income and had most likely a lower cigarette consumption (before quitting). In contrast, smoking prevalence increased among people who were older than 45 and had a low educational level and among those who were unemployed. Smoking prevalence among women was relatively constant over time. Indeed, the smoking prevalence of women and men converged over time, especially in older age groups. Daily cigarette consumption of smokers increased among 66-to-75-year-olds, although it decreased in all other age groups. One explanation might be that the tobacco control measures were successful only in certain socio-economic subgroups. Not only smoking prevalence, but also smoking intensity was higher among men, among those with a lower educational level and among those with a lower income. Especially for younger birth cohorts, smoking prevalence among those with a lower educational level was particularly high. Thus, based on data from 1998 through 2014, the so-called social gradient in smoking was only a distinct feature of younger birth cohorts, and not of older ones. |
| Keywords: | Smoking prevalence, cigarette consumption, tobacco control measures, SOEP |
| JEL: | I12 I18 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zur:econwp:245&r=eur |
| By: | Zsuzsanna Csereklyei (Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University); Paul W. Thurner; Johannes Langer; Helmut Küchenhoff |
| Abstract: | This paper examines typical “energy paths”, i.e. the intertemporal development of the energy mixes of the member states of the European Union over 1971-2010. We apply model based clustering to detect major energy profiles and their compositional dynamics. The seven identified clusters show typical combinations of energy carriers dominating the primary energy consumption of a country. We find that countries tend to take a path towards higher quality energy mixes over time, however path inertia and dependencies arise from both infrastructure and resource endowments. Higher energy quality profiles are usually associated with higher national income and energy use per capita, supporting some evidence on the existence of a national-level energy ladder. We also find convergence in energy intensity over time, and a relationship between own resources and import dependency. |
| Keywords: | European Union, energy paths, path dependencies, model based clustering |
| JEL: | Q40 Q48 O33 C11 C38 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:ccepwp:1701&r=eur |
| By: | Álmos Telegdy (Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary)) |
| Abstract: | Using a large and unexpected public wage increase in Hungary which changed the public wage premium in 2002 from -17 to +7.5 percent from one month to the next, I study wage spillovers from the public to the corporate sector. I proxy the exposure of corporate workers to the public sector with the variation of the share of public sector employment within labor market segments defined by gender, experience, occupation and region. Controlling for worker-firm joint fixed effects, the analysis finds that the public wage increase induced a 1.4 percentage points wage differential between two workers situated at the 25th and the 75th percentile of the exposure measure, which corresponds to an elasticity of 0.42. The firm’s exposure to the public sector (measured as the average of individual exposures of the firm’s workforce) produces twice as high wage effects and a corresponding elasticity of 0.96. The spillover affected primarily the wages of males, young workers and the highly educated. The analysis also finds that employers raised the wages of incumbent, rather than, newly hired employees, and that bonuses increased more than regular wages. |
| Keywords: | Wage Spillover; Public Sector; Employer Wage Effects; Hungary |
| JEL: | J23 J31 J45 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mnb:wpaper:2017/4&r=eur |
| By: | Rense Nieuwenhuis; Laurie C. Maldonado |
| Abstract: | Single-parent families face unique challenges when it comes to in-work poverty. Without a second caregiver and earner, single parents have to compete with dual-earner couples for their position in the earnings distribution. Facing precarious employment and gendered wage inequality, single-parent families face a high risk to experience poverty even when they are working. This chapter presents empirical evidence on in-work poverty and inadequate wages in the policy context of 18 OECD countries. The impact of family structure, occupation, regulations of part-time work, paid parental leave, and various redistributive policies are examined. We distinguish three distinct patterns of performance in countries’ approach to in-work poverty among single parents: A balanced approach of ensuring low inequality on the labor market combined with redistribution, an unbalanced approach of combating in-work poverty mostly through redistribution, and an approach in which high inequality on the labor market is compensated with redistributive policies only to a very limited extent. Countries that rely on a balanced approach to reduce inequality on the labor market, both with respect to class and gender, combined with an adequate level of redistribution, seem best situated for a durable reduction of poverty among working single parents. |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lis:liswps:687&r=eur |
| By: | Oriana Bandiera; Stephen Hansen; Andrea Prat; Raffaella Sadun |
| Abstract: | We measure the behavior of 1,114 CEOs in Brazil, France, Germany, India, UK and US using a new methodology that combines (i) data on every activity the CEOs undertake during one workweek and (ii) a machine learning algorithm that projects these data onto scalar CEO behavior indices. Low values of the index are associated with plant visits, and one-on-one meetings with production or suppliers, while high values correlate with meetings with high-level C-suite executives, and several functions together, both from inside and outside the firm. We use these data to study the correlation between CEO behavior and firm performance within the framework of a firm-CEO assignment model. We show results consistent with significant firm-CEO assignment frictions, which appear to be more severe in lower-income regions. The productivity loss generated by inefficient assignment is equal to 13% of the productivity gap between high- and low-income countries in our sample. |
| JEL: | J22 J24 M12 O4 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23248&r=eur |
| By: | Michael Freedman |
| Abstract: | Recent work has shown that inequalities between generations are most pronounced in the conservative European welfare states, and that these trends are less pronounced in social democratic and liberal welfare states (Chauvel and Schroder 2014). However, it is likely that across all advanced capitalist societies superior earnings opportunities and steady employment are pursued at a later age for recent generations due to several interconnected lifestyle changes. In this paper, I examine the variation in generational inequalities across different regimes, with a focus on recent cohorts. For the analysis, I use data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS). The repeated cross-sectional data allow me to trace the generational changes in income opportunities for 8 countries, using both Age-Period-Cohort-Detrended coefficients (APCD) and synthetic cohort models. My results suggest that for most countries, cohorts born after 1970 have experienced fewer earning opportunities, relative to cohorts born between 1950 and 1970. Moreover, these generational inequalities have been more pronounced in the coordinated political economies, and less pronounced in the liberal political economies. However, synthetic cohort models suggest that while recent generations have suffered from successively worse entry positions, they appear to be ‘catching up’, which suggests that lifelong ‘scarring effects’ may not be inevitable. |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lis:liswps:689&r=eur |
| By: | Luisa Gagliardi (London School of Economics and Political Science); Simona Iammarino (London School of Economics and Political Science) |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:img:wpaper:37&r=eur |
| By: | Michel Beine; Marco Delogu; Lionel Ragot |
| Abstract: | This working paper studies the determinants of international students’ mobility at the university level, focusing specifically on the role of tuition fees. We derive a gravity model based on a Random Utility Maximization model of location choice for international students in the presence of capacity constraints of the hosting institutions. The last layer of the model is estimated using new data on student migration flows at the university level for Italy and the United Kingdom. The particular institutional setting of the two destination countries allows us to control for the potential endogeneity of tuition fees. We obtain evidence for a clear and negative effect of fees on international student mobility and confirm the positive impact of the quality of the education. The estimations also support the important role of additional destination-specific variables such as host capacity, the expected return of education and the cost of living in the vicinity of the university. |
| Keywords: | Foreign Students;Tuition Fees;Location Choice;University Quality |
| JEL: | F22 H52 I23 O15 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cii:cepidt:2017-04&r=eur |
| By: | Tim Muir (OECD) |
| Abstract: | This report presents the first international quantification and comparison of levels of social protection for long-term care (LTC) in 14 OECD and EU countries. Focusing on five scenarios with different LTC needs and services, it quantifies the cost of care; the level of coverage provided by social protection systems; the out-of-pocket costs that people are left facing; and whether these costs are affordable. The cost of care varies widely between countries but it is always high relative to typical incomes, meaning that LTC is often unaffordable in the absence of social protection. All countries studied have some form of social protection for LTC, but even where coverage is comprehensive, people pay some of the cost out of pocket. Coverage for home care for moderate or severe needs is often insufficient, leaving people with large out-of-pocket costs. In contrast, all countries studied ensure that institutional care is affordable. Unless family and friends can provide informal care, many people will be unable to afford LTC in their own home, leaving them with unmet needs or at risk of early institutionalisation. Benefits are usually means-tested to provide more support to those less able to afford to contribute, but it is still those with lowest incomes that are most likely to face unaffordable costs. Some countries provide financial support to informal carers, but this rarely comes close to compensating them for the time they spend providing LTC. When designing social protection systems for LTC, countries need to look systematically at the level of protection provided to people in different scenarios. Many countries aim to support people with LTC needs to remain in their own home for longer, but the results presented here suggest that gaps in social protection make this unaffordable for people with low income. Addressing these gaps should be a priority for future reforms. |
| JEL: | I13 |
| Date: | 2017–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:elsaad:93-en&r=eur |
| By: | Philipp Huebler (University of Augsburg, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Intergenerational correlations of time preference are well documented. However, there is still limited empirical evidence about the role of genetics in this transmission process. In our paper, we use data on roughly 3,000 twins from the German TwinLife project to estimate the heritability of time preference. We rely on an experimentally validated survey measure of temporal discounting, namely, self-assessed patience. The analysis of monozygotic and dizygotic twins enables us to apply standard biometric models. We find that genetic differences explain up to 23 percent of individual variation in patience. Whereas the additive genetic effect and common environmental effects are of minor importance, a major dominant genetic effect is present. These results indicate a notable degree of genetic influence on economic time preferences. |
| Keywords: | twin study, genetics, heritability, patience, time preference |
| JEL: | D10 D90 J10 Z10 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aug:augsbe:0334&r=eur |
| By: | Alexander Tübke (European Commission - JRC); Fernando Hervás Soriano (European Commission - JRC); Nicola Grassano (European Commission - JRC); Lesley Potters (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | This eleventh survey on industrial R&D investment trends is based on 157 responses of mainly large firms from a subsample of the 1000 EU-based companies in the 2015 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard. These 157 companies are responsible for €59.3 billion R&D investment, constituting one third of the total R&D investment by the 1000 EU Scoreboard companies. The responding companies expect to increase their nominal R&D investment by 1.4% per year during 2016–17. This is only half of our previous survey (3.0%) and mainly due to the lack of R&D investment growth expectations of a few very large companies in the automobiles & parts sector. Without this, the expected R&D investment growth of the sample would be 3.8% and thus slightly higher than in the previous survey. Very similar to last year’s survey, the EU-based companies in the sample carry out one-fourth of their R&D outside the EU. The responding companies’ expectations for R&D investment for the next three years show the ongoing participation of European companies in the global economy. While maintaining the focus of their R&D investment in the EU, they reap opportunities for growth in emerging economies. |
| Keywords: | R&D investment, business, survey, innovation |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc102607&r=eur |
| By: | Laurent Scaringella (ESC Rennes School of Business - ESC Rennes School of Business); Jean-Jacques Chanaron (CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research) - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, GEM - Grenoble Ecole de Management - Grenoble École de Management (GEM)) |
| Abstract: | Over the past decades, the EU heavily invested in Research Infrastructures (RI). What are the expected returns of such investments? In the present article we address the question of returns on public funds/public infrastructures. We consider the role of RI and universities from an economic, social, and entrepreneurial perspective from various Territorial Innovation Models (TIMs): Italian industrial districts, innovative milieus, regional innovation systems, new industrial spaces, and regional clusters. We conducted our empirical study on Grenoble Isère Alpes Nanotechnologies (GIANT), which is composed of large scientific instruments, universities, and engineering and management schools. Our microeconomic methodology measured the socioeconomic and entrepreneurial effects of GIANT with respect to budget, employment, and spin-off generation. We contribute to the existing body of knowledge on TIMs by comparing the long-term investments to the generation of wealth, the creation of employment, and the development of start-ups; adding new insights to the debate opposing positive and negative impacts empirical studies; and offering recommendations for the use of public resources. In our discussion, we compare the GIANT model as a very localized RI-university club to the Grenoble model as localized cluster. |
| Keywords: | Return on investment,Socioeconomic impact,Start-up,University,Research infrastructure,Territorial Innovation Models |
| Date: | 2016–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:gemptp:hal-01472878&r=eur |
| By: | Kirk Bansak; Jens Hainmueller; Dominik Hangartner |
| Abstract: | What types of asylum seekers are Europeans willing to accept? We conducted a conjoint experiment asking 18,000 eligible voters in 15 European countries to evaluate 180,000 profiles of asylum seekers that randomly varied on nine attributes. Asylum seekers who have higher employability, have more consistent asylum testimonies and severe vulnerabilities, and are Christian rather than Muslim received the greatest public support. These results suggest that public preferences over asylum seekers are shaped by sociotropic evaluations of their potential economic contributions, humanitarian concerns about the deservingness of their claims, and anti-Muslim bias. These preferences are similar across respondents of different age, education, income, and political ideology, as well as across the surveyed countries. This public consensus on what types of asylum seekers to accept has important implications for theory and policy. |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2016–10–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:67898&r=eur |