|
on Microeconomic European Issues |
|
Issue of 2019‒10‒07
thirty-two papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Francesco Figari (Department of Economics, University of Insubria; ISER, University of Essex; CeRP Collegio Carlo Alberto and Dondena Bocconi University); Gerlinde Verbist (Centre for Social Policy Herman Deleeck, University of Antwerp); Francesca Zantomio (Department of Economics, University Of Venice Cà Foscari) |
| Abstract: | Western countries’ income tax system exempts the return from investing in owner-occupied housing. Returns from other investments are instead taxed, thus distorting households’ portfolio choices, although it is argued that housing property taxation might act as a counterbalance. Based on data drawn from the Statistics of Income and Living Conditions and the UK Family Resources Survey, and building on tax benefit model EUROMOD, we provide novel evidence on the interplay of income and property taxation in budgetary, efficiency and equity terms in eight European countries. Results reveal that, even accounting for recurrent housing property taxation, a sizeable ‘homeownership bias’ i.e. a lighter average and marginal taxation for homeownership investment, is embedded in current tax systems, and displays heterogeneous distributional profiles across different countries. Housing property taxation represents only a partial correction towards neutrality. |
| Keywords: | Homeownership investment, tax neutrality, income tax, property tax, distributional effect, Europe, microsimulation |
| JEL: | D31 H23 I31 I32 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2019:27&r=all |
| By: | Carrino, L.;; Nafilyan, V.;; Avendaño Pabon, M.; |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of an increase in labour supply on women’s informal caregiving, due to changes in pension rules. We exploit a unique reform that increased the female State-Pension-Age (SPA) in the UK for up to 6 years. Using an instrumental variable approach to account for the endogeneity of labour supply, we show that an increase in employment substantially reduces the intensity of informal care: working for 30 hours/week reduces care-intensity by 6.6 hours/week, and reduces the probability of providing intensive care (> 20 hours/week) by 4 percentage points. We show that these effects are concentrated among women working in physically and psychologically demanding jobs. Our results provide evidence that increasing women’s labour supply in older age by raising the statutory age of retirement may decrease the intensity of informal care, which raises concerns about the availability of informal care in ageing populations. |
| Keywords: | informal care; retirement; labour supply; pension reform; |
| JEL: | J14 J22 J26 H55 |
| Date: | 2019–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:hectdg:19/23&r=all |
| By: | Dino Rizzi (Department of Economics, University Of Venice Cà Foscari); Carlo Simionato (Consiglio Regionale del Veneto); Francesca Zantomio (Department of Economics, University Of Venice Cà Foscari) |
| Abstract: | The past decade of austerity measures has severely hit Public Healthcare provision in Italy, entailing significant reductions in per-capita expenditure, particularly in Regions put under ‘Healthcare Budget Recovery Plans’, mostly in the South of the country. Building on data on individuals aged 50 or older drawn from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, we compute time- and area-specific Concentration and Horizontal Inequity indexes, to assess the evolution of inequity in older people health and healthcare access (i.e. GP contacts and specialists’ visits) across Italian macro-areas since the Great Recession onset. Results show that in the North, while health has been improving on average, income-related inequality in health has increased; in the South, while on average health has not improved, the concentration of bad health among the income-poor has decreased. Sizeable inequity in access to specialists’ visits emerges throughout the country, and generally worsened since before the crisis onset. Evidence overall suggests that in the South, along the crisis, under worsened income conditions and Public Healthcare budget cuts, poorer older individuals might have substituted specialised care with increased family doctors’ visits. |
| Keywords: | Health, healthcare, inequity, concentration indexes, Great Recession |
| JEL: | I13 I14 I18 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2019:26&r=all |
| By: | Gaggero, Alessio (University of Nottingham); Haile, Getinet Astatike (University of Nottingham) |
| Abstract: | The paper examines the impact of class size on postgraduate grades using administrative data from one of the largest Schools of a Russell Group University in the UK. As well as estimating Fixed Effects models on the population of postgraduate candidates in the School, we exploit a policy change aimed at reducing class size to implement a regression discontinuity design (RDD). We find that class size does impact grades adversely overall; and the policy aimed at reducing class size impacts grades favourably. Our findings are robust to alternative specifications as well as being supported by the validity tests we conducted. |
| Keywords: | higher education, class size, grades, RDD |
| JEL: | I21 I23 |
| Date: | 2019–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12628&r=all |
| By: | Emilio, Colombo; Valentina, Rotondi; Luca, Stanca; |
| Abstract: | We study the non-monetary costs of the terrorist attacks occurred in France, Belgium and Germany between 2010 and 2017. Using four waves of the European Social Survey, we find that individuals' well-being is significantly reduced in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. We explore possible mechanisms for this effect, finding that terrorist attacks determine a reduction in generalized trust, institutional trust, satisfaction with democracy and satisfaction with the government. Terrorist attacks are also found to increase negative attitudes towards migrants and perceived discrimination. However, contrary to expectations, the negative impact of terrorism on well-being is less strong for Muslim immigrants. We posit that this occurs because immigrants benefit more than natives from the institutional reaction following the attacks. |
| Keywords: | Terrorism, Well-being, Happiness, Democracy, Trust. |
| JEL: | H56 I31 |
| Date: | 2019–07–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mib:wpaper:416&r=all |
| By: | Holmlund, Helena (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates to what extent assortative mating contributes to intergenerational earnings persistence. I use an errors-in-variables model to demonstrate how pooling of partners’ ‘potential’ earnings affects intergenerational earnings persistence, and simulate persistence under different assumptions about assortative mating and women’s earnings distribution. Using Swedish data on cohorts born 1945–1965, I show that a substantial decline in marital sorting has contributed little to lowering intergenerational persistence. Variations in marital sorting must be large to affect intergenerational mobility to a great extent. Instead, the relative earnings distributions of men and women, in combination with sorting, are important for intergenerational persistence. |
| Keywords: | assortative mating; intergenerational mobility |
| JEL: | I24 J12 J62 |
| Date: | 2019–09–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2019_021&r=all |
| By: | Sara Flisi (European Commission - JRC); Zsuzsa Blasko (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | This report investigates alternatives to the current targets related to early childhood education and care (ECEC), in particular by looking at socio-economic differences in the level of ECEC attendance in EU Member States. Using data from the EU Survey on income and living conditions (EU-SILC), it assesses different categorisations of socio-economic disadvantage, based on household income, maternal education and whether or not the child lives in a household which is at risk of poverty (AROP) or at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE). Irrespective of which categorisation is used, the report shows considerably lower ECEC attendance rates for children from a lower socio-economic background when compared to those from a higher one. This suggests that the attempt to focus on particular subgroups of children is well justified. Based on a range of methodological and conceptual considerations, AROPE emerges as the most appropriate measure to build a possible ECEC indicator. |
| Keywords: | Early childhood education and care, risk of poverty (AROP), risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) |
| Date: | 2019–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc117663&r=all |
| By: | Bove, Vincenzo (University of Warwick); Elia, Leandro (Marche Polytechnic University); Ferraresi, Massimiliano (European Commission, Joint Research Centre) |
| Abstract: | We explore the relation between immigration, crime and local government spending on security in Italian municipalities. We find that immigration increases the share of public resources devoted to police protection, particularly when migrants are culturally distant from the native population. We uncover a misalignment between perception and reality, as immigration increases fear of future crimes rather than the actual probability of being victim of a crime. We also demonstrate that immigration from culturally distant societies is associated with a deterioration in civic cooperation and interpersonal trust, which can affect perceptions of safety and the demand for police services. |
| Keywords: | JEL Classification: H71; J15; D72; F52 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:434&r=all |
| By: | Gunther Maier |
| Abstract: | The basic question of this paper is the following: 'Do energy efficient appartments generate higher rents for their owners than comparable appartments with lower levels of energy efficiency?' This is an important question for environmental policy because if it is ansered positively, it generates an economic incentive for landlords to invest into the energy efficiency of buildings. We use data from the EU-SILC survey for Austria and a hedonic price approach to determine the marginal rent of more energy efficiency (measured in the form of lower heating costs). In this paper we revisit a topic that we have already discussed in a presentation eight years ago. At that time the results were very disappointing. The analysis produced a significant coefficient but with the reverse than expected sign. In the meantime, more waves of the EU-SILC survey have become available and the pool of respondents has been turned over. This allows us to revisit this question and to produce an answer with more empirical support. |
| Keywords: | Energy Efficiency; hedonic price; housing |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2019–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2019_111&r=all |
| By: | Hans Vrensen; Irene Fosse |
| Abstract: | Loan margins should reflect the risks lenders are willing to accept on the commercial real estate loans they make. Also, having a large scale, stable and low cost funding channel through covered bond issuance or syndication should benefit commercial real estate lenders in providing lower margin lending to borrowers and compete for a larger market share. This study addresses what drives lenders’ loan margins offered on a range of different European commercial real estate loans. Using internal commercial mortgage loan data over the 2012-2018 period substituted with additional data from external sources, we test several possible drivers for loan pricing, such as country risk, collateral risk, borrower business plan and lenders funding costs. With our analysis we try to show that commercial real estate lenders with large covered bond funding programs offer margins that are on average below other lenders, ceteris paribus. |
| Keywords: | Asset Pricing; Commercial real estate lending; Loan Pricing; Wholesale funding |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2019–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2019_74&r=all |
| By: | Hutter, Christian (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Klinger, Sabine (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Trenkler, Carsten; Weber, Enzo (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "The strong and sustained labour market upswing in Germany is widely recognized. In a developing literature, various relevant studies highlight different specific reasons. The underlying study, instead, simultaneously considers a broad set of factors in a unified methodological framework and systematically weighs the candidate reasons for the labour market upswing against each other on an empirical basis. The candidates are: shocks on (de)regulation of employment or job creation intensity, the efficiency of the matching process, wage determination, the separation propensity, the size of the labour force, technology, business cycle and working time. We develop a structural macroeconometric framework that leaves as manyof the systematic interlinkages as possible for empirical determination while operating with a minimal set of restrictions in order to identify economically meaningful shocks. For this purpose, we combine short- and long-run restrictions based on search-and-matching theory and established assumptions on labour force development and technological change. Matching efficiency, job creation intensity, labour force, and separation propensity yield the largest contributions in explaining the German labour market upswing." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| JEL: | C32 E24 J21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201920&r=all |
| By: | Franz Fuerst; Marco Felici |
| Abstract: | The importance of housing tenure on individuals’ behaviour is widely recognised and studied. Arguably, one aspect that is crucial, with wide-ranging implications for macroeconomic fluctuations and possibly for economic inequality, is the effect of housing on the portfolio composition of households, and more specifically how the fact of being a homeowner, as compared to a renter or a mortgagor, affects portfolio efficiency. We first explore this question theoretically, using a mean-variance framework adjusted for the presence of housing in the portfolio. We then turn to UK data from the Wealth and Assets Survey to confirm empirically the predictions of the model: the five waves of the survey allow to break down households' portfolios in detail, as well as to account for a wide range of covariates and for individual unobserved heterogeneity. |
| Keywords: | Household microdata; Household portfolio choice; Liquid assets; Microeconomics of housing |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2019–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2019_326&r=all |
| By: | Andrea Ariu; Katariina Nilsson Hakkala; J. Bradford Jensen; Saara Tamminen |
| Abstract: | This paper uses unique Finnish firm-level micro data on service imports, work-force composition, and firm characteristics to examine changes in employment composition and performance of Finnish service importers during a period of a significant increase in services imports (2002-2012). We use world service export supply shocks, which we allocate to firms based on their highly specialized service input structure, as an instrument to identify the impact of service offshoring. We find that firms that increase imports of service inputs reduce employment of low-skill service workers, increase employment of (high-skilled) managers and improve their performance in terms of sales (turnover), assets, service exports, and firm survival. The employment composition and performance responses to service imports differ across firms in the manufacturing sector and those in the service sector. |
| Keywords: | service offshoring, employment, firm performance |
| JEL: | F10 F14 L80 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7858&r=all |
| By: | Job Boerma (University of Minnesota); Jonathan Heathcote (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis) |
| Abstract: | Retirement saving is relatively illiquid. We explore whether this can account for the clustering of retirement decisions around the normal retirement age. We construct a series of retirement models featuring realistic financial market frictions and pension systems. We then estimate these models using Dutch micro data on income, wealth, and retirement choices. We use the estimated model to simulate various pension reforms and examine their impact on labor force participation. The model can account well for the observed increase in the average age of retirement in the Netherlands between 2000 and 2016. A general message from the analysis is that households’ willingness to retire early is very sensitive to the liquidity of their retirement savings. |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed019:1485&r=all |
| By: | Alari Paulus; Caroline Klein |
| Abstract: | The paper studies the impact of tax-benefit policies on the distribution of household incomes and work incentives in Estonia. It makes use of microsimulation modelling approach and applies the EU tax-benefit model EUROMOD to quantify the first-order effects of policy changes in 2016-2018 and of a range of alternative policy scenarios aimed at increasing the adequacy of social benefits. According to the simulations, 2016-2017 policies increased household incomes relative to inflation and were both poverty and inequality reducing. Alternative policy scenarios indicate that, among the considered options, increasing the generosity of the subsistence benefit and relaxing its means test by halving the withdrawal rate (currently at 100%), would have the highest first-order impact for a given fiscal cost. However, these measures would also weaken work incentives, which points to a conventional equity-efficiency trade-off. Other simulations demonstrate some scope for improving work incentives at low and middle-income levels together with modest reductions in poverty and inequality.This Working Paper relates to the 2017 OECD Economic Survey of Estonia(http://www.oecd.org/economy/esto nia-economic-snapshot/) |
| Keywords: | Estonia, income distribution, tax-benefit policies, work incentives |
| JEL: | D31 H23 I38 |
| Date: | 2019–10–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1570-en&r=all |
| By: | Ohlsbom, Roope; Maliranta, Mika |
| Abstract: | Abstract Data collected by the recently conducted Finnish Management and Organizational Practices Survey (FMOP) by Statistics Finland is used to examine the management practices in Finnish manufacturing establishments. The FMOP project was funded by the Strategic Research Council. This paper presents the descriptive statistics, some indicative international comparisons using poststratification weighted averages and a cross-regional comparison of the large areas of Finland. The management scores appear to be only slightly behind those of the US and approximately on par with those of Germany. This suggests that the management practices in Finnish manufacturing are on a comparatively high international level. We also find evidence of cross-regional differences in management quality in Finland with aggregate (employment weighted) but not unweighted management scores, which suggests that the differences in the allocation of employment between establishments may explain regional disparities in Finland. To analyse the statistical significance of the regional disparities in workforce allocation in greater depth, we utilize a moment-based estimation procedure that allows for statistical inferences using the Olley-Pakes decomposition. We find evidence of regional variations in the policy relevant allocation component. |
| Keywords: | Management practices, Management survey, FMOP, MOPS, Olley-Pakes decomposition, Competitiveness, Allocation effect, Reallocation |
| JEL: | D22 L25 L60 M11 M50 |
| Date: | 2019–09–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:wpaper:69&r=all |
| By: | Lombardi, Stefano (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies threat effects of unemployment insurance (UI) benefit sanctions on job exit rates. Using a difference-in-differences design, I exploit two reforms of the Swedish UI system that made monitoring and sanctions considerably stricter at different points in time for different jobseeker groups. The results show that men and long-term unemployed individuals respond to the tighter monitoring and the threat of sanctions by finding jobs faster, whereas women do not. I also estimate the effect of receiving a sanction on the job exit rates and find significant sanction imposition effects. However, a decomposition exercise shows that these sanction imposition effects explain very little of the overall reform effects, so that most of the reform effects arise through threat effects. A direct policy implication is that the total impact of monitoring and sanctions may be severely underestimated when focusing solely on the effects on those actually receiving sanctions. |
| Keywords: | monitoring and sanctions; unemployment insurance; threat effects |
| JEL: | J08 J64 J65 |
| Date: | 2019–09–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2019_022&r=all |
| By: | Ayoubi, Charles (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne); Pezzoni, Michele (Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, GREDEG, and ICRIOS, Bocconi University, Milan); Visentin, Fabiana (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University) |
| Abstract: | Public funding of science aims to provide the necessary investment for the radical scientific discoveries of tomorrow. This paper brings evidence that the funding process is not always awarding the most novel scientists. Exploiting rich data on all applications to a leading Swiss research funding program, we find that novel scientists have a higher probability of applying for funds than non-novel scientists, but they get on average lower ratings by grant evaluators and have lower chances of being funded. |
| Keywords: | competitive research grants, public funding evaluation, novelty in science |
| JEL: | I23 O38 |
| Date: | 2019–09–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2019037&r=all |
| By: | Alberto Bisin; Giulia Tura |
| Abstract: | We study the cultural integration of immigrants, estimating a structural model of marital matching along ethnic dimensions, exploring in detail the role of fertility, and possibly divorce in the integration process. We exploit rich administrative demographic data on the universe of marriages formed in Italy, as well as birth and separation records from 1995 to 2012. We estimate strong preferences of ethnic minorities' towards socialization of children to their own identity, identifying marital selection and fertility choices as fundamental socialization mechanisms. The estimated cultural intolerance of Italians towards immigrant minorities is also substantial. Turning to long-run simulations, we find that cultural intolerances, as well as fertility and homogamy rates, slow-down the cultural integration of some immigrant ethnic minorities, especially Latin America, East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Nonetheless, 75% of immigrants integrate into the majoritarian culture over the period of a generation. Interestingly, we show by counterfactual analysis that a lower cultural intolerance of Italians towards minorities would lead to slower cultural integration by allowing immigrants a more widespread use of their own language rather than Italian in heterogamous marriages. Finally, we quantitatively assess the effects of large future immigration inflows. |
| JEL: | D1 J12 J13 J15 |
| Date: | 2019–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26303&r=all |
| By: | Matthias Breuer; Christian Leuz; Steven Vanhaverbeke |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of reporting regulation on corporate innovation activity. Exploiting thresholds in Europe’s regulation and a major enforcement reform in Germany, we find that forcing a greater share of firms to publicly disclose their financial statements reduces firms’ innovative activities at the industry level. At the same time, it increases firms’ reliance on patenting to protect their innovations, to the extent they continue innovating. Our evidence is consistent with reporting mandates having significant real effects by imposing proprietary costs on innovative firms, which diminishes their incentives to engage in innovative activities. Importantly, we examine and find that this decline in innovative activity is not fully compensated by positive information spillovers (e.g., to competitors, suppliers, and customers) within industries. Thus, our evidence implies that proprietary costs induced by reporting mandates are important consideration for regulators and policy makers. |
| JEL: | K22 L51 M41 M48 O43 O47 |
| Date: | 2019–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26291&r=all |
| By: | Alex Clymo (University of Essex) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we use rich Swedish micro-data to show that increased dispersion during recessions is primarily a demand-side phenomenon. The key novelty of our analysis is that we use goods-level data on prices to estimate firm-level demand shocks, and production-line-level data on reported capacity utilization to accurately measure firm-level supply (TFPQ) shocks. We document that the dispersion of both TFPQ and demand growth across firms rose during the Great Recession, but that the increased dispersion in TFPQ growth is reduced by up to 1/4 after controlling for capacity utilization. We then perform a semi-structural variance decomposition exercise for firm-level sales growth. We show that 2/3 of the increased dispersion in sales growth in 2009 is explained by the increased dispersion of demand, while TFPQ dispersion plays essentially no role. Key to this finding is that we estimate a low level of passthrough from TFPQ shocks to prices, limiting the ability of increased TFPQ shock dispersion to affect sales dispersion. Consistent with this, we find evidence that demand curves are kinked. |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed019:1125&r=all |
| By: | Pierre Vidal |
| Abstract: | Using internet users activity record on a real estate web platform I measure, quarterly, housing market tightness for more than 250 cities of the Paris area, over a four years period. An upward sloping Beveridge curve linking vacancy and demand rate is observed both across locations and over time. Applying a random matching model, this measure of the market tightness is compared with volumes and prices dynamics. In line with the theory, I find a positive, statistically significant, impact of the buyer-seller ratio on both rotation rate and price variation. |
| Keywords: | Internet; market tightness; Matching; real estate; Search |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2019–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2019_33&r=all |
| By: | Pastore, Francesco |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to study the shortcomings and merits of the first experiment of quasi-market in the provision of employment services: the Lombardy DUL (Dote Unica Lavoro). This system, which has inspired the 2015 national reform within the Jobs Act, has reactivated and revitalized the sector by providing important job opportunities to jobless workers. The system has the typical problems of quasi-markets in the provision of public services (lion's share of private organizations; cherry picking; gaming). However, different expedients are devised in the program to minimize these shortcomings. The empirical analysis suggest that such phenomena if existent are at a physiological level. Analysis of the determinants of completing successfully the program provides non-trivial results as to, among others, the role organizations of different ownership type and of services provided. |
| Keywords: | Public employment services,Quasi-markets,Cherry-picking,Gaming,Lombardy region,Jobs Act |
| JEL: | H44 H52 H76 I38 J68 R23 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:408&r=all |
| By: | Aleksandar Petreski |
| Abstract: | In this paper I construct theoretic search model of the apartment swap in the rental market. With the model, using random matching mechanism, I am trying to mimic Swedish swap market, characterized by the strong rent controls and dominant ownership of the apartments by the municipalities. Proposed theoretic framework is intended to capture supply and demand dynamics of the rental market, segmented to households with rented small or big municipal apartments, that search and try to swap between each other. The paper consider comparative statics of the apartment swap model and try to extract some stylized facts. For that purpose, I have simulated value of the swap itself as the function of the structure of the population, to test the changes in the modeled value of the swap, while varying for the parameters of interest rate, probabilities of match and probability of cancel of the swap agreement. Simulation results have confirmed intuitive expectation from the theoretical postulation. |
| Keywords: | apartment swap; housing market; Rent Control; search & match model; Sweden |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2019–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2019_290&r=all |
| By: | Maryna Tverdostup; Tiiu Paas |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the gender wage gap in relation to the multi-dimensional human capital measure across 17 European countries. To date, the role of cognitive and task-specific skills had a limited empirical evidence in the gender wage gap literature. We narrow this research gap by relying on PIAAC (Program of International Assessment of Adult Competencies) data and applying Gelbach’s (2016) decomposition methodology. The analysis reveals that occupation-/industry-specific work experience and task-specific cognitive and non-cognitive skills are the most rewarding human capital attainments. Work experience largely decreases the gender wage disparity in all analysed countries. Cognitive numeracy skill is another strong predictor of gender wage disparity. The effect of numeracy is rather homogeneous across countries, namely, controlling for numeracy reduces the wage gap. Unlike studies that stress the decreasing importance of human capital in gender wage gap assessments, we argue that a narrow definition of human capital may undermine the actual effect of the latter. Therefore, we conclude that human capital should be viewed as a combination of multiple characteristics and traits, each having specific valuation on the labour market, and thus, a particular role in explaining the gender wage gap. |
| Keywords: | gender, human capital, cognitive and non-cognitive skills, wage gap |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtk:febawb:118&r=all |
| By: | David (David Patrick) Madden |
| Abstract: | This paper examines mobility and changes in Body Mass Index (BMI) for a sample of Irish children across three waves of the longitudinal Growing Up in Ireland dataset. Particular attention is paid to transitions across the key BMI thresholds of overweight and obesity. Analysis is carried out by gender and by maternal education. In general, the degree of mobility appears to be relatively limited although it is greater than for the mothers of the children over the same time period. There is relatively little variation by gender and maternal education apart from some indication of less mobility out of obesity for girls. |
| Keywords: | Obesity; Mobility; Transitions |
| JEL: | I12 I14 I39 |
| Date: | 2019–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucn:wpaper:201922&r=all |
| By: | Konstantinos Angelopoulos; Spyridon Lazarakis; Jim Malley |
| Abstract: | We develop a theoretical framework where the cross-sectional distributions of hours, earnings, wealth and consumption are determined jointly with a set of expenditure targets defining peer and aspirational pressure for members of different social classes. We show existence of a stationary socio-economic equilibrium, under idiosyncratic stochastic productivity and socio-economic class participation. We calibrate a model belonging to this framework using British data and find that it captures the main patterns of inequality, between and within the social groupings. We find that the effects of peer pressure on within-group inequality differ between groups. We also find that wealth and consumption inequality increase within groups who aspire to match social targets from a higher class, despite a reduction in within-group inequality in hours and earnings. |
| Keywords: | inequality, incomplete markets, peer pressure, aspirations |
| JEL: | E21 E25 D01 D31 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7838&r=all |
| By: | Paola Amoruso; Massimo Mariani |
| Abstract: | The present work focuses on the considerable amount of real estate non-performing loans in Italy, not favored by the state of judicial proceedings. In this view various governmental initiatives intended to facilitate a more efficient liquidation of underlying real estate assets. In this regard, it could be useful better understand main causes of discount between market value and forced sale price with the primary aim of a more comprehensive determination of the value of mortgages ‘underlying guarantees and not least in order to improve further valorization processes of assets intended to get a higher selling price; starting from results of existing literature, an analysis of main determinants of the gap between the estimated listing price and forced sale value has been conducted, sampling 225 cases of forced residential property sales between 2014 and 2018 in the South of Italy. |
| Keywords: | discount between market value and forced sale price; forced sale value; Italian auction market; Market Value; real estate non-performing loans |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2019–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2019_91&r=all |
| By: | Bernt Bratsberg (Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research and University of Oslo); Giovanni Facchini (University of Nottingham); Tommaso Frattini (Universita' degli Studi di Milano); Anna Rosso (Universita' degli Studi di Milano) |
| Abstract: | Economic incentives play a key role in the decision to run for oce, but little is known on how they shape immigrants' selection into candidacy. We study this question using a two-period Roy model and show that if returns to labour market experience are higher for migrants than natives, migrants will be less likely to seek oce than natives. We empirically assess this prediction using administrative data from Norway, a country with a very liberal regime for participation in local elections. Our results strongly support our theoretical model and indicate that immigrants' political and economic integration are closely intertwined. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Local Elections, Candidacy Decision, Labour Markets |
| JEL: | F22 J45 P16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:1910&r=all |
| By: | Tamara Bischof; Boris Kaiser |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the consequences that patients face when their regular primary care provider closes down her practice, typically due to retirement. We estimate the causal impact of closures on patients’ utilization patterns, medical expenditures, hospitalizations, and health plan choice. Employing a difference-in-difference framework, we find that patients who experience a discontinuity of care persistently adjust their utilization pattern by shifting visits away from ambulatory primary care providers (-12%) towards specialist care (+10%), and hospital outpatient facilities (+5%). The magnitude of these effects depends considerably on the local availability of primary care. We also observe that patients with chronic conditions shift their utilization more strongly towards other providers. Our results have potential implications for health policy in at least two dimensions: practice closures may lead to an inefficient use of healthcare services and deteriorate access to primary care, particularly in regions where the supply of primary care doctors is low. |
| Keywords: | Continuity of Care; Healthcare Utilization; Healthcare Expenditures; Primary Care; General Practitioners |
| JEL: | D12 I11 I12 I31 |
| Date: | 2019–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ube:dpvwib:dp1907&r=all |
| By: | Lawson, Cornelia; Geuna, Aldo; Finardi, Ugo (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the literature on the individual and institutional factors explaining academic scientific productivity. On the basis of very detailed information for a sample of 262 academics at the University of Turin over a ten year period, we develop a robust new model to assess the impact of funding on productivity, controlling for gender and family related characteristics less frequently examined in the literature. Using a Two-Stage Least Square (2SLS) model in which we control for endogeneity of career progress and instrument national competitive funding with socio-political capital measure, we find that funding is no longer associated to higher research productivity. In the impact-quality estimation models, we find a “fatherhood bonus” and a “motherhood penalty” for having young children. In robustness checks we provide evidence of a causal effect of the latter, although it is possible that men have children once they are established on a high performance path. As in the previous literature, we find that after controlling for children, female researchers are less productive in terms of publications, but not in terms of research quality/impact. |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:labeco:201902&r=all |
| By: | Andrea BASSI (Bologna University (Italy)); Alessandro Fabbri (Bologna University (Italy)) |
| Abstract: | The Workers BuyOut (WBO) is an economic and social phenomenon that has developed since the beginning of the 2008 financial and economic crisis and is still growing. In Italy, its roots can be traced back to the 1970s and today journalists and politicians are publishing reportages and books on this phenomenon. Inside the Italian scientific community, also some economists have dedicated accurate but rare studies to the topic. Nevertheless, the WBO has not yet become the focus of a precise and in-depth research by sociologists, despite its evident social relevance. The present paper is the result of a sociological investigation carried out by the authors and aims at illustrating this phenomenon through the lens of organizational analysis. It is structured in five sections: a general introduction; a description of the phenomenon at the national level, through the analysis of its normative grounds and its quantitative dimensions; a more detailed description of the WBO in EmiliaRomagna Region; a focus on the case study of one firm that turned into a successful WBO; a critical conclusion, highlighting the main incentives and obstacles for the full development of WBO experiences. |
| Keywords: | Workers BuyOut; Italy; Emilia-Romagna; cooperatives; State; success |
| JEL: | J54 L31 L33 P13 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crc:wpaper:1913&r=all |