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on Microeconomic European Issues |
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Issue of 2017‒05‒21
29 papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Hippolyte D'Albis (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics); Angela Greulich (INED - Institut national d'études démographiques, PSE - Paris School of Economics, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Grégory Ponthière (PSE - Paris School of Economics, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l’Utilisation des Données Individuelles en lien avec la Théorie Economique - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12) |
| Abstract: | This paper questions the demographic consequences of birth postponement in Europe. Starting from the fact that there is no obvious link between the timing of first births and fertility levels in Europe, we deliver some indication that under certain circumstances, birth postponement involves the potential of facilitating rather than impedes starting a family. We apply a synthetic cohort approach and distinguish between different socio-economic determinants of the timing of first births by using the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC). Data is compiled specifically to reduce endogeneity and to eliminate structure effects. We find that the probability of becoming a mother is higher for those women who postpone first childbirth due to education and career investment in comparison to those who postpone due to unrealized labour market integration. Educated and economically active women certainly postpone first childbirth in comparison to women who are less educated and who are not working, but they end up with a higher probability of starting a family in comparison to women who are less educated and not working. The article contributes to the academic discussion of the circumstances that may lead birth postponement to result in higher fertility for younger cohorts in European countries. |
| Keywords: | fertility,birth postponement,female education,female employment,family policies,Europe |
| Date: | 2017–02–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-01452823&r=eur |
| By: | Vincenzo Atella (DEF and CEIS,University of Rome "Tor Vergata"); Federico Belotti (DEF and CEIS,University of Rome "Tor Vergata"); Ludovico Carrino (King's College London); Andrea Piano Mortari (CEIS, University of Rome "Tor Vergata") |
| Abstract: | In this paper we investigate the evolution of public European LTC systems in the forthcoming decades, using the Europe Future Elderly Model (EuFEM), a dynamic microsimulation model which projects the health and socio-economic characteristics of the 50+ population of ten European countries, augmented with the explicit modelling of the eligibility rules of 5 countries. The use of SHARE data allows to have a better understanding of the trends in the demand for LTC differentiated by age groups, gender, and other demographic and social characteristics in order to better assess the distributional effects. We estimate the future potential coverage (or gap of coverage) of each national/regional public home-care system, and then disentangle the differences between countries in a population and a regulation effects. Our analysis offers new insights on how would the demand for LTC evolve over time, what would the distributional effects of different LTC policies be if no action is taken, and what could be potential impact of alternative care policies. |
| Keywords: | Dynamic Microsimulation, Long Term Care, Forecast, disability, Regulation |
| JEL: | I11 I18 C53 C63 J14 J11 |
| Date: | 2017–05–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtv:ceisrp:405&r=eur |
| By: | Thomas Le Barbanchon; Roland Rathelot; Alexandra Roulet |
| Abstract: | Although the reservation wage plays a central role in job search models, empirical evidence on the determinants of reservation wages, including key policy variables such as unemployment insurance (UI), is scarce. In France, unemployed people must declare their reservation wage to the Public Employment Service when they register to claim UI benefits. We take advantage of these rich French administrative data and of a reform of UI rules to estimate the effect of the potential benefit duration (PBD) on reservation wages and on other dimensions of job selectivity, using a difference-in-difference strategy. We cannot reject that the elasticity of the reservation wage with respect to PBD is zero. Our results are precise and we can rule out elasticities larger than 0.006. Furthermore, we do not find any significant effects of PBD on the desired number of hours, duration of labor contract and commuting time/distance. The estimated elasticity of actual benefit duration with respect to PBD of 0.3 is in line with the consensus in the literature. Exploiting a regression discontinuity design as an alternative identification strategy, we find similar results. |
| JEL: | J64 J65 |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23406&r=eur |
| By: | Biroli, Pietro (University of Zurich); Del Boca, Daniela (University of Turin); Heckman, James J. (University of Chicago); Heckman, Lynne Pettler (University of Chicago); Koh, Yu Kyung (University of Chicago); Kuperman, Sylvi (University of Chicago); Moktan, Sidharth (University of Chicago); Pronzato, Chiara D. (University of Turin); Ziff, Anna (University of Chicago) |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the Reggio Approach using non-experimental data on individuals from the cities of Reggio Emilia, Parma and Padova belonging to one of five age cohorts: ages 50, 40, 30, 18, and 6 as of 2012. The treated were exposed to municipally offered infant-toddler (ages 0–3) and preschool (ages 3–6) programs. The control group either didn't receive formal childcare or were exposed to programs offered by the state or religious systems. We exploit the city-cohort structure of the data to estimate treatment effects using three strategies: difference-in-differences, matching, and matched-difference-in-differences. Most positive and significant effects are generated from comparisons of the treated with individuals who did not receive formal childcare. Relative to not receiving formal care, the Reggio Approach significantly boosts outcomes related to employment, socio-emotional skills, high school graduation, election participation, and obesity. Comparisons with individuals exposed to alternative forms of childcare do not yield strong patterns of positive and significant effects. This suggests that differences between the Reggio Approach and other alternatives are not sufficiently large to result in significant differences in outcomes. This interpretation is supported by our survey, which documents increasing similarities in the administrative and pedagogical practices of childcare systems in the three cities over time. |
| Keywords: | childcare, early childhood education, Reggio Approach, evaluation, Italian education |
| JEL: | I21 I26 I28 J13 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10742&r=eur |
| By: | Gasior, Katrin; Rastrigina, Olga |
| Abstract: | The at-risk-of-poverty rate (AROP) is one of the three indicators used for monitoring progress towards the Europe 2020 poverty and social exclusion reduction target. Timeliness of this indicator is crucial for monitoring of the social situation and of the effectiveness of tax and benefit policies. However, partly due to the complexity of EU-SILC data collection, estimates of the number of people at risk of poverty are published with a significant delay. This paper extends and updates previous work on estimating (‘nowcasting’) indicators of poverty risk using the tax-benefit microsimulation model EUROMOD. The model’s routines are enhanced with additional adjustments to the EU-SILC based input data in order to capture changes in the employment characteristics of the population since the data were collected. The nowcasting method is applied to twenty-seven EU Member States. Median income and AROP rates are estimated up to 2016. The performance of the method is assessed by comparing the predictions with actual EU-SILC indicators for the years for which the latter are available. If nowcasts are unreliable we explain the main reasons behind the differences between the nowcasted and SILC-based indicators. For countries with stable and reliable results we discuss the main drivers behind the nowcasted trends. |
| Date: | 2017–05–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:emodwp:em7-17&r=eur |
| By: | Clemens Gerbaulet; Casimir Lorenz |
| Abstract: | This Data Documentation presents a dynamic investment and dispatch model for Europe named dynELMOD. The model endogenously determines investments into conventional and renewable power plants, different storage technologies including demand side management measures, and the electricity grid in five-year steps in Europe until 2050 under full or myopic foresight. The underlying electricity grid and cross-border interaction between countries is approximated using a flow-based market coupling approach using a PTDF matrix. Carbon emission restictions can be modeled using an emission path, an emission budget, or an emission price. For the investment decisions a time frame reduction technique is applied, which is also presented in this document. The code and the dataset are made publicly available under an open source license on the website of DIW Berlin. The model results show that under almost complete decarbonization renewable energy sources in conjunction with storage capacities will provide the majority of the electricity generation in Europe. At the same time with a rising renewables share, especially after 2040, the need for storage capacities increases. No additional capacity from nuclear energy or fossil fuels is installed, due to high costs and in order to meet the greenhouse gas emission target. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwddc:dd88&r=eur |
| By: | Julia Bachtrögler (Institute for International Economics, Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business); Christoph Hammer (Institute for International Economics and Development, Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business); Wolf Heinrich Reuter (German Council of Economic Experts); Florian Schwendinger (Institute for Statistics and Mathematics, Department Finance, Accounting & Statistics, Vienna University of Economics and Business) |
| Abstract: | This study introduces a new firm-level dataset containing over two million projects co-funded by the European Union’s (EU) structural and Cohesion funds in 25 EU member states in the multi-annual financial framework 2007-2013. Information on individual beneficiary firms and institutions published by regional authorities is linked with business data from Bureau van Dijk’s ORBIS database. Moreover, we show how modern text mining techniques can be used to categorise EU funded projects into fifteen thematic categories proposed by the European Commission. A first analysis of the dataset reveals substantial heterogeneity of beneficiaries and projects across and within countries. While in the majority of lagging regions the largest project expenditure is dedicated to transportation and energy infrastructure, in most other regions the major part is assigned to innovation and technological development as well as business (including SME) support. In an econometric analysis we control for project and firm characteristics and find that the highest single project values are associated with older beneficiary firms that are larger in size. Furthermore, the projects with topmost expenditure are carried out in Dutch and British regions. |
| Keywords: | Distribution of EU structural funds, Regional policy, Firm-level data, Cohesion, European Union |
| JEL: | E61 H77 R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwwuw:wuwp246&r=eur |
| By: | Daniel Nepelski (European Commission - JRC); Marc Bogdanowicz; Federico Biagi (European Commission - JRC); Paul Desruelle (European Commission - JRC); Giuditta De Prato (European Commission - JRC); Garry Gabison (European Commission - JRC); Giuseppe Piroli; Annarosa Pesole (European Commission - JRC); Nikolaus Thumm (European Commission - JRC); Vincent Van Roy (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | This report attempts to summarise findings and conclusions of over 30 studies published within the EURIPIDIS project (European Innovation Policies for the Digital Shift). The objective of EURIPIDIS was to better understand how digital innovation and entrepreneurship work; to assess the EU's digital innovation and entrepreneurship performance; and to suggest how policy makers could make digital innovation and entrepreneurship in the EU work better. Because digital technologies facilitate the modernization of firms and economies, digital innovation and entrepreneurship requires a comprehensive policy response. The current report focuses on 7 issues. (1) Digital innovation and entrepreneurship require skills and capabilities ranging from technical, managerial and financial; entrepreneurial culture; failure acceptance; large funding and innovation-friendly regulatory environment. Capacity building and specific policies are needed in all those fields. (2) Resisting digital disruption and protecting the status quo is likely to be a short-term strategy. Negative social and economic effects need to be mitigated. (3) The ecosystem of digital innovation and entrepreneurship consists of a wide range of different players. Policy responses need to address this heterogeneity. (4) Digital innovation and entrepreneurship takes place through collaborative interactions between various players. To facilitate collaboration, knowledge flow and spillovers need to become a more central focus of public policies. (5) In addition to increasing funding for innovation, closer attention needs to be paid to the availability of funding for scaling-up of digital enterprises. (6) To guarantee technological interoperability and create technology-related network effects, coordination between various players to, for example, set technological standards is needed. (7) Technological complexity combined with the cumulativeness of digital innovation requires a balance between two conflicting goals: the provision of incentives to create new products and the stimulation of knowledge dissemination. |
| Keywords: | ICT, digital economy, big data, innovation |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc104899&r=eur |
| By: | Leventi, Chrysa; Sutherland, Holly; Tasseva, Iva Valentinova |
| Abstract: | We provide evidence of the relative cost-effectiveness of different types of policy instrument in reducing poverty or limiting its increase, comparing within and between seven diverse EU countries. We do that by measuring the implications of increasing/reducing the instrument size within its national context, using microsimulation methods. We consider commonly-applied policy instruments with a direct effect on household income: child benefits, minimum income components of social assistance, income tax lower thresholds and minimum wages and a benchmark case of changing the size of the whole tax-benefit system. We find that the assessment of the most cost effective instrument may depend on the measure of poverty used and the direction and scale of the change. Nevertheless, our results indicate that the options that reduce poverty most cost-effectively in most countries are increasing child benefits and social assistance while reducing the former is a particularly poverty-increasing way of making budgetary cuts. |
| Date: | 2017–05–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:emodwp:em8-17&r=eur |
| By: | Dolado, Juan J. (European University Institute); García-Peñalosa, Cecilia (CNRS); Tarasonis, Linas (Bank of Lithuania) |
| 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: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10729&r=eur |
| By: | Bergemann, Annette; Pohlan, Laura; Uhlendorff, Arne |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the impact of job creation schemes (JCSs) on job search outcomes in the context of the turbulent East German labor market in the aftermath of the German reunification. High job destruction characterized the economic environment. JCSs were heavily used in order to cushion this development. Using data from 1990-1999 and building upon the timing-of-events approach, we estimate multivariate discrete time duration models taking selection based on both observed and unobserved heterogeneity into account. Our results indicate that participation in JCSs increases the unemployment duration mainly due to locking-in effects. However, twelve months after the program start the significantly negative impact on the job finding probability vanishes. We find evidence for effect heterogeneity. Our results suggest that female and highly skilled participants leave unemployment quicker than other groups, which results in highly skilled women benefiting from participation. However, we find no significant impact on post-unemployment employment stability. Our results are robust to allowing for random treatment effects. Also taking into account endogenous participation in training programs, endogenous censoring, or multiple treatment effects do not change the results. |
| Keywords: | active labor market policy,job creation schemes,unemployment duration,employment stability,timing-of-events model,East Germany,transition economy,structural change |
| JEL: | C41 J64 J68 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:17021&r=eur |
| By: | Bachtrögler, Julia; Hammer, Christoph; Reuter, Wolf Heinrich; Schwendinger, Florian |
| Abstract: | This study introduces a new firm-level dataset containing over two million projects co-funded by the European Union´s (EU) structural and Cohesion funds in 25 EU member states in the multi-annual financial framework 2007-2013. Information on individual beneficiary firms and institutions published by regional authorities is linked with business data from Bureau van Dijk´s ORBIS database. Moreover, we show how modern text mining techniques can be used to categorise EU funded projects into fifteen thematic categories proposed by the European Commission. A first analysis of the dataset reveals substantial heterogeneity of beneficiaries and projects across and within countries. While in the majority of lagging regions the largest project expenditure is dedicated to transportation and energy infrastructure, in most other regions the major part is assigned to innovation and technological development as well as business (including SME) support. In an econometric analysis we control for project and firm characteristics and find that the highest single project values are associated with older beneficiary firms that are larger in size. Furthermore, the projects with topmost expenditure are carried out in Dutch and British regions. |
| Keywords: | Distribution of EU structural funds, Regional policy, Firm-level data, Cohesion, European Union |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wus005:5545&r=eur |
| By: | Moro, Andrea; Maresch, Daniela; Ferrando, Annalisa; Udell, Gregory F. |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of employment protection on firms credit access by looking at both credit obtained from banks and firms’ decision to apply for a loan. We find that greater flexibility in structuring the employees’ working hours and in dismissing employees increases the probability that firms obtain credit and that greater flexibility in dismissing employees decreases the probability that firms are discouraged from applying for credit. However, our findings also reveal that firms perceive regulations providing flexibility with regard to the employees’ working hours differently from banks, leading to a situation in which firms are more likely to be discouraged from applying for a loan, even though the probability to obtain a loan increases. Our results are robust to confounding, endogeneity, selection bias as well as to alternative specifications. JEL Classification: D22, G21, G32, J41 |
| Keywords: | credit access, discouraged borrower, employment protection legislation, labour market |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20172063&r=eur |
| By: | Gerst, Benedikt (RWTH Aachen University); Grund, Christian (RWTH Aachen University) |
| Abstract: | This study examines how career interruptions and subsequent wages of employees are related. Using individual panel data of middle managers from the German chemical sector, we are able to differentiate between different reasons for interruptions as well as between various compensation components. We show that career interruptions are more related to lower subsequent bonus payments than they are to fixed salaries and that interruptions caused by unemployment are associated with higher interruption pay gaps than those resulting from other reasons. In addition, the pay gap after career interruptions is more pronounced for male employees than it is for females. |
| Keywords: | career interruptions, gender pay gap, stigma effects, bonus payments, fixed salaries, total compensation |
| JEL: | M52 J31 J33 J71 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10713&r=eur |
| By: | Laurent Gobillon (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics); Wolff Francois Charles (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - UN - Université de Nantes, INED - Institut national d'études démographiques) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate the effect on quality, quantity and prices of an innovative fishing gear introduced for a subsample of vessels on a single wholesale fish market in France. Estimations are conducted using transaction data over the 2009-2011 period during which the innovation was introduced. Using a difference-in-differences approach around the discontinuity, we find that for the treated the innovation has a large effect on quality (29.2 percentage points) and prices (23.2 percentage points). A shift in caught fish species is observed and new targeted species are fished very intensively. We also quantify the treatment effect on the treated market from aggregate market data using factor models and a synthetic control approach. We find a sizable effect of the innovation on market quality which is consistent with non-treated vessels adapting their fishing practices to remain competitive. The innovation has no effect on market quantities and prices. |
| Keywords: | fish,innovation,product quality,product prices,discontinuity,difference in differences,synthetic controls,factor models |
| Date: | 2017–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-01431160&r=eur |
| By: | Grund, Christian (RWTH Aachen University); Martin, Johannes (RWTH Aachen University) |
| Abstract: | Using representative German employee data, we analyse the role of works councils for the incidence of severance payments subsequent to dismissals. While there is a positive relation with severance payments after those dismissals which stem from plant closings, the incidence of a works council is negatively associated with severance pay subsequent to individual layoffs. In both cases, we find a negative moderating effect of individuals' higher reemployment chances. We also explore gender differences and differences between the types of previously held jobs. |
| Keywords: | dismissals, layoffs, plant closings, severance pay, works councils |
| JEL: | J53 J63 J65 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10750&r=eur |
| By: | Andrea Bassanini (IZA - Institute for the study of labor - Institute for the Study of Labor - IZA, OECD - Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development); Giorgio Brunello (Université de Padoue - Université de Padoue, IZA - Institute for the study of labor - Institute for the Study of Labor - IZA); Eve Caroli (LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - Université Paris-Dauphine, IZA - Institute for the study of labor - Institute for the Study of Labor - IZA) |
| Abstract: | There is growing evidence that social pressure shapes firms' behavior. Given how sensitive communitiesare to downsizing, this suggests that firms are likely to be under strong social pressure when considering reducing employment. Using French linked employer-employee data, we show that social pressure induces firms torefrain from dismissing at short distance from their headquarters. More specifically, we find that, within firms, secondary establishments located further away fromheadquarters have higher dismissal rates than thoselocated closer, taking into account the possible endogeneity of plant location. We also find that the positive effect of distance on dismissals increases with the visibility of the firm in the local community of its headquarters. This effect is also stronger the greater the degree of selfishness of the community in which the headquarters are located. This suggests that local social pressure at headquarters is a key determinant of the positiverelationship between distance to headquarters and dismissals. We show that our results cannot be entirely accounted for by alternative explanations of the distance-dismissal relationship that are put forward in the literature. |
| Keywords: | Personnel Management,Labor Demand,social pressure,employment policies |
| Date: | 2017–04–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01511576&r=eur |
| By: | Dvir, Eyal; Strasser, Georg |
| Abstract: | We study cross-country price differences in the European market for new passenger cars based on detailed pricing and technical data. Car prices in Europe converged until the year 2003, but not thereafter. Within the EU 15 countries the price range of the median model in 2004 was close to 20 percent. We document a source of international price differentiation, which is not related to distribution and border costs, but instead systematically linked to product features. Price dispersion increases with the market segment and varies significantly across models. Marketing appears to position identical goods differently in each country, for example by feature bundles tailored to local consumer preferences. Both the convergence before the actual reduction of barriers to arbitrage and the systematic international price differentiation by product feature point to active pricing-to-market strategies that treat countries as marketing regions. JEL Classification: F15, F31, L11, L62, D22 |
| Keywords: | arbitrage, European car market, international price dispersion, law of one price, market segmentation |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20172059&r=eur |
| By: | Eriksson, Rikard; Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a Swedish micro-dataset containing 2,696,909 hires during the period 2002-2006 to assess the impact of job-related mobility on plant-level performance. The analysis classifies new recruits according to their work experience and level of formal qualification, as well as by the region of origin and of destination. New hires are divided into graduates and experienced workers and between high- and low-educated. The results point towards the importance of acknowledging both the experience and the skills of new recruits. The greatest benefits are related to hiring new workers from outside the region where the plant is located. The analysis also stresses the importance of geography, with plants in metropolitan regions gaining the most from labour mobility, while plants in smaller, more peripheral regions getting virtually no benefits from hiring new workers. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration; education; experience; labour mobility; productivity; Sweden |
| JEL: | J24 J62 R11 |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12018&r=eur |
| By: | Marta Barazzetta (Uni.lu - Université du Luxembourg); Andrew E. Clark (PSE - Paris School of Economics, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Conchita D'Ambrosio (Uni.lu - Université du Luxembourg) |
| Abstract: | We here consider the effect of unfair income on both subjective well-being and objective future job quitting. In five waves of German Socio-Economic Panel data, those who perceive their labour income to be unfair have significantly lower subjective well-being, both in terms of cognitive evaluations (life and job satisfaction) and affect (the frequency of feeling happy, sad, angry and worried). Perceived unfairness also translates into objective labour-market behaviour, with current unfair income predicting future job quits. |
| Keywords: | Fair income,subjective well-being,quits,SOEP |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-01431172&r=eur |
| By: | Collewet, Marion (CORE, Université catholique de Louvain); Sauermann, Jan (SOFI, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the link between working hours and productivity using daily information on working hours and performance of a sample of call centre agents. We exploit variation in the number of hours worked by the same employee across days and weeks due to central scheduling, enabling us to estimate the effect of working hours on productivity. We find that as the number of hours worked increases, the average handling time for a call increases, meaning that agents become less productive. This result suggests that fatigue can play an important role, even in jobs with mostly part-time workers. |
| Keywords: | working hours, productivity, output, labour demand |
| JEL: | J23 J22 M12 M54 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10722&r=eur |
| By: | Agnieszka Chlon-Dominczak; Andrzej Zurawski |
| Abstract: | Appropriate measuring of skills mismatches is necessary to create an adequate policy response. We analyse the existing evidence, in particular in large scale international surveys: Survey of Skills (PIAAC) and European Skills and Jobs Survey (ESJ). We find out that national, occupational and sectoral differences in the scale of the skills mismatch in Europe are equally important. We identified two main weaknesses of approaches to measuring skills mismatches: subjectivity of answers leading to incomparability of results from different data sets and heterogeneity in particular in sectoral and occupational characteristics, that appear to be more important than cross-national differences. We propose a potential methodological advancement in measuring skills based on defining core knowledge, skills and competencies at the sectoral level with the use of sectoral qualifications frameworks. We assess the usefulness of this approach in measuring the level of skills mismatch. |
| Keywords: | skills mismatch, skills need, sectoral qualifications frameworks |
| JEL: | J20 J24 J62 J68 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ibt:wpaper:wp032017&r=eur |
| By: | Emanuele Ciani (Bank of Italy); Francesco David (Bank of Italy); Guido de Blasio (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | Using different data sources from local labour markets (LLMs) in Italy between 1971 and 2011, we document a number of stylized facts: a) local differences in the ratios of private employment to population are highly persistent; b) the population has a limited reaction to labour demand shocks, consistent with the high rigidity of nominal wages and pro-cyclical variations in rents, which absorb the gains (losses) from higher (lower) employment rates; c) labour demand shocks are fairly persistent and unevenly distributed, to the detriment of those areas that were already lagging behind and boosting the more advanced ones; d) shocks are amplified by the non-linear employment adjustment, which reacts more to negative shocks than to positive ones. The estimated reactions to shocks are then used to perform policy-motivated simulations. We find that allowing greater population reactions is a superior policy option. Had Italy experienced the population reactivity of the US, local disparities would have been significantly less, to the same extent as with a sizeable public intervention in areas lagging behind. |
| Keywords: | local labour markets, labour demand, shocks. |
| JEL: | J23 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_1112_17&r=eur |
| By: | EUROMOD, EUROMOD |
| Date: | 2017–05–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:emodwp:em10-17&r=eur |
| By: | Pogrebna, Ganna (University of Warwick); Oswald, Andrew J. (University of Warwick); Haig, David (Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | Being told the sex of your unborn child is a major exogenous 'shock'. In the first study of its kind, we collect before-and-after data from hospital wards. We test for the causal effects of learning child gender upon people's degree of risk-aversion. Using a standard Holt-Laury criterion, the parents of daughters, whether unborn or recently born, are shown to be almost twice as risk-averse as parents of sons. The study demonstrates this in longitudinal ('switching') data and cross-sectional data. The study finds it for fathers and mothers, babies in the womb and recently born children, and for a West European nation and an East European nation. |
| Keywords: | pregnancy, risk attitudes, daughters, child gender, Trivers-Willard hypothesis |
| JEL: | J16 C93 C90 D81 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10717&r=eur |
| By: | Cristina Guillamón (Banco de España); Enrique Moral-Benito (Banco de España); Sergio Puente (Banco de España) |
| Abstract: | Using a panel of Spanish firms over the period 2002-2012, we investigate the interactions between high growth episodes in terms of size and productivity. We find that high growth in productivity (size) increases the likelihood of high growth in size (productivity). However, the effect from size to productivity is smaller than the effect from productivity to size. We also explore the potential role of firm-level financial constraints using information from the Central Credit Register (CIR) of Banco de España. Our results indicate that credit constraints hamper high growth episodes in terms of both size and productivity. |
| Keywords: | keyword, high-growth firms, high-impact firms, productivity, panel firm-level data |
| JEL: | L25 L11 D24 C23 |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bde:wpaper:1718&r=eur |
| By: | Nabanita Datta Gupta (Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University, Denmark); Anton Nielsson (Lund University and Aarhus University); Abdu Kedir Seid (Aarhus University) |
| Abstract: | We exploit changes in minimum legal alcohol purchasing ages in Denmark in order to estimate effects on short- and long-term health outcomes, as well as on human capital formation. Employing a difference-in-differences approach for immediate outcomes and a “regression kink design” for long-term outcomes, we bring comprehensive evidence on the health and education effects of three reforms, which affected alcohol availability along different dimensions and margins – 1) establishing an off-premise alcohol purchase age of 15 (1998), 2) raising the off-premise alcohol purchase age to 16 (2004), and 3) increasing the purchase age of beverages exceeding 16.5% in alcohol content from 16 to 18 (2011). Our findings show significant short-term effects of the first and third reforms in terms of reducing injuries and alcohol-related conditions, and some long-term effects of the first reform in terms of reducing injuries and increasing the probability of obtaining a high-school degree. We find, however, no effects of the second reform and little impact of any of the reforms on mortality. Effects of spirits (reform 3) are driven by males, and there is no consistent evidence on differential impacts by socioeconomic status. |
| Keywords: | minimum legal drinking ages, injuries, alcohol-related conditions, difference-in-differences, regression kink |
| JEL: | I12 I18 |
| Date: | 2017–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aah:aarhec:2017-03&r=eur |
| By: | Hershey, D.A.; van Dalen, Harry (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management); Conen, Wieteke; Henkens, Kene (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management) |
| Abstract: | When it comes to financial preparation for retirement, self-employed workers in many European countries face unique challenges not encountered by traditional wage earners. This is particularly true for self-employed workers because many self-employed individuals do not have large-scale access to employer-sponsored pensions, which are a mainstay of pension support for most workers in developed countries. In this investigation, we explored the saving practices and perceived future pension adequacy of self-employed workers aged 15–65 in Germany (N = 702) and the Netherlands (N = 655). Of particular interest for understanding saving practices was whether respondents felt that they voluntarily chose to become self-employed, or whether they felt “forced” to enter self-employment due to economic or labor market pressures. Forced self-employed individuals—some 25% of those who became selfemployed out of necessity—were found to be less likely to save for retirement than their voluntary self-employed counterparts, and they envisioned a less optimistic future pension scenario for themselves. Discussion focuses on the need to change institutional practices and public policies that place self-employed individuals at a disadvantage— particularly those who are driven into self-employment based on economic pressures and a lack of opportunities in the traditional labor market. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tiu:tiutis:039ee146-e32b-444a-a5c6-140439cbaa4c&r=eur |
| By: | Whelan, Adele (ESRI, Dublin); McGuinness, Seamus (Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effect of satisfaction at higher education on job satisfaction using propensity score matching, the special regressor method and a unique European dataset for graduates. Acknowledging that perceptions of satisfaction at higher education are endogenous to job satisfaction, we present models available to the deal with this endogeneity. Our analysis confirms that a positive university experience is important for success in future employment and suggests that emphasis should be focused on the utility of participating in third-level education along with academic outcomes. |
| Keywords: | graduate labour market, job satisfaction, higher education |
| JEL: | J20 J28 I23 I31 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10698&r=eur |