|
on Microeconomic European Issues |
|
Issue of 2020‒10‒19
28 papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Peter Eibich (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Ricky Kanabar; Alexander Plum; Julian Schmied (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Biological processes have provided new insights into diverging labour market trajectories. In this paper, we use population variation in testosterone levels to explain transition probabilities into and out of unemployment. We follow individual employment histories for 1,771 initially employed and 109 initially unemployed British men from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (“Understanding Society”) between 2009 and 2015. To account for unobserved heterogeneity, we apply dynamic random effect models. We find that individuals with high testosterone levels are more likely to become unemployed, but they are also more likely to exit unemployment. Based on previous studies and descriptive evidence, we argue that these effects are likely driven by personality traits and occupational sorting of men with high testosterone levels. Our findings suggest that latent biological processes can affect job search behaviour and labour market outcomes, without necessarily relating to illness and disability. |
| Keywords: | United Kingdom |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2020-033&r=all |
| By: | Nicola Curci (Bank of Italy); Giuseppe Grasso (Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) and University of Luxembourg); Pasquale Recchia (Bank of Italy); Marco Savegnago (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | Introduced in 2019, the Reddito di cittadinanza (RdC) has replaced the Reddito di inclusione (ReI) as a universal minimum income scheme in Italy. In this paper, we use BIMic, the Bank of Italy’s static (non-behavioural) microsimulation model, to measure the effects of the RdC in terms of inequality reduction and, as a novel contribution, of absolute poverty alleviation. Our results, which do not account for behavioural responses to policy changes, show that the RdC is effective in reducing inequality, and attenuating the incidence, and even more so the intensity, of absolute poverty. We also document how certain features of the design of this benefit affect the distribution of these effects across the population. For this purpose, we simulate two hypothetical changes to the current design of the RdC: one that directs more resources to large households with minors (on average more in need than other households) and the other that takes into account the differences in the cost of living according to geographical areas and municipality size. |
| Keywords: | microsimulation model, redistribution, poverty, minimum income, progressivity |
| JEL: | C15 C63 H23 H31 I32 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_1298_20&r=all |
| By: | Iacono, Roberto; Palagi, Elisa |
| Abstract: | As far as standard measures of income inequality are concerned, the Nordic countries rank among the most equal economies in the world. This paper studies whether and how this picture changes when the focus is on inequality of income composition, meaning the heterogeneity in individuals' factor income shares. We highlight the structural change taking place in all the Nordic countries since the early 1990s, with rising inequality in composition of individual incomes due mostly to a shift in capital incomes towards the top of the distribution. We link this result to changes in taxation of factor incomes, by highlighting the role played by the introduction of Dual Income Taxation reforms in the 1990s throughout the Nordic countries. Our estimates of the degree of income composition inequality allow a descriptive analysis of the role of functional distribution as a determinant of personal income inequality in the Nordics. We show that for Denmark in the period 2009-2013, Finland 1990-2007, and Norway 1991-2005, rising capital shares of income contributed to changes in personal income inequality, whilst for Sweden the evidence leads to disregard the capital share as a determinant of income inequality. |
| Keywords: | dual income taxation,income composition inequality,Nordic countries |
| JEL: | D33 D63 E25 D31 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:677&r=all |
| By: | Mack, Miriam (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University); Roeder, Sarah (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University); Marchand, Katrin (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University); Siegel, Melissa (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University) |
| Abstract: | Much of the existing literature on intra-EU mobility focuses on labour migration from the new East-ern to the old Member States and neglects the social and emotional dimensions of mobility and their interrelatedness with economic drivers. Using a dataset consisting of 98 interviews conducted in four destination countries (Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) with intra-EU migrants originating from EU15 countries (59 individuals) and CEE countries (39 individuals), this paper contributes to the understanding of the nature of individual mobility decision-making and the diversity of reasons that drive migration within the EU. Specifically, it provides an in-depth analysis on how intra-EU mobility decision-making relates to specific migrant characteristics such as country of origin, age, skill level and gender and the dynamics inherent to specific migration corridors. The qualitative data is analysed in the light of existing theories of mobility and their relative importance in predicting intra-EU mobility. The results show that intra-EU migration decision-making is a highly complex process and is seldom based on one specific driver. Rather, the decision-making process is, in most cases, based on several interrelated factors beyond purely economic considerations. This paper contributes to the understanding of emotional and social considerations in migration decision-making, which have largely been neglected in existing literature. Importantly, it also contributes to the understanding of different intra-EU migration corridors, such as the East-West, East-South, South-North and West-West corridors, which remain relatively under-researched, and how these relate to specific migrant characteristics. Understanding the migration decision-making of individuals is of pivotal importance for both scholars and specifically policymakers to attract and retain talent. |
| Keywords: | High-skilled migration, Migration decision-making, EU mobility, EU migration Migration corridors |
| JEL: | J61 R23 F22 J15 J23 |
| Date: | 2020–10–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2020042&r=all |
| By: | Malte Sandner; Stephan L. Thomsen; Libertad González |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of public childcare provision on the incidence of child maltreatment. For identification, we exploit a government reform that expanded early childcare in Germany, generating large temporal and spatial variation in childcare coverage at the county level. Using high-quality administrative data covering all reported cases of child maltreatment in Germany by county and year, our results show that an increase in childcare slots by one percentage point in a county led to a decline of 1.8% in child maltreatment cases. Our findings suggest that the provision of universal public childcare may be more cost-effective that previously thought. |
| Keywords: | child maltreatment, child abuse and neglect, early childcare |
| JEL: | J13 J12 I38 |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:1207&r=all |
| By: | Irastorza, Nahikari; Emilsson, Henrik |
| Abstract: | In 2008, Sweden changed its labour-migration policy in order to facilitate more labour migration from countries outside the EU. The unique design of the new law meant abandoning most state ambitions to shape labour migration. Under the new regulation, there are no labour-market tests or any consideration of the level of human capital. Instead, policy-makers trusted employers to select workers. We adopt a difference-in-differences approach and apply a series of OLS regressions on register data to assess the effects of the policy change on non-EU labour migrants' labour-market outcomes, as measured by income. The effects of the policy change are substantial. Non-EU labour migration increased and its composition changed after the reform, resulting in a significant decrease in mean incomes. The regression analysis shows that, despite the favourable economic cycle during the post-reform period, moving to Sweden as a third-country labour migrant following the 2008 labour-migration reform had a negative effect on the migrants' annual income. However, this effect became marginal after controlling for occupational level. We conclude that changes in their occupational composition were the main drivers of the income drop for non-EU labour migrants. In sum, the new non-selective labour-migration policy lowered labour migrants' mean income by opening the door to unskilled labour. |
| Keywords: | Migration policy,effects,2008 reform,labour migration,income,Sweden |
| JEL: | J15 J21 J30 J61 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:680&r=all |
| By: | Jonathan Sicsic (LIRAES - EA 4470 - Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Recherche Appliquée en Economie de la Santé - UP - Université de Paris); Bastian Ravesteijn (Erasmus School of Economics - Erasmus University Rotterdam); Thomas Rapp (LIRAES - EA 4470 - Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Recherche Appliquée en Economie de la Santé - UP - Université de Paris) |
| Abstract: | Physical frailty and sarcopenia (PF&S) has received growing attention in empirical models of health care use. However, few articles focused on objective measures of PF&S to assess the extent of care consumption among the frail population at risk of dependency. Using baseline data from the SPRINTT study, a sample of 1518 elderly people aged 70+ recruited in eleven European countries, we analyse the association between various PF&S measures and health care / long term care (LTC) use. Multiple health care and LTC outcomes are modelled using linear probability models adjusted for a range of individual characteristics and country fixed effects. We find that PF&S is associated with a significant increase in emergency admissions and hospitalizations, especially among low-income elders. All PF&S measures are significantly associated with increased use of formal and informal LTC. There is a moderating effect of income on LTC use: poor frail elders are more likely to use any of the formal LTC services than rich frail elders. Our results are robust to various statistical specifications. They suggest that the inclusion of PF&S in the eligibility criteria of public LTC allowances could contribute to decrease the economic gradient in care use among the elderly community-dwelling European population. |
| Keywords: | Frailty,Sarcopenia,Long-term care,Health care use,SPRINTT trial |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-02949571&r=all |
| By: | Bjørneby, Marie (The Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Markussen, Simen (Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research); Røed, Knut (Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | Fueled by increasing inequality and rising fiscal deficits, the interest in wealth taxation has increased over the last years, both in the public debate and in academia. Yet, knowledge about the behavioral effects of a wealth tax is limited. We utilize rich Norwegian register data and a series of tax reforms implemented between 2007 and 2017 to study how a net wealth tax imposed on owners of small and medium sized businesses affects their firms' investment and employment decisions. Identification of causal effects is based on a generalized difference-in-differences strategy. We find no empirical support for the claim that a moderate wealth tax adversely affects investments and employment in firms controlled by the taxpayers. To the contrary, our results indicate a positive causal relationship between the level of a household's wealth tax and subsequent employment growth in the firm it controls. The rationale behind this result appears to be that the tax value of a given wealth can be reduced by being invested in a non-traded firm, and that this incentive becomes stronger the higher is the wealth tax. |
| Keywords: | wealth tax, capital taxation, labor demand, investment |
| JEL: | H21 J23 G11 |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13766&r=all |
| By: | Christopoulos, Dimitris; Köppl, Stefan; Köppl-Turyna, Monika |
| Abstract: | We look at syndication in the venture capital industry. Investments conducted by syndicates are believed to have better chances of being successful, measured by the survival probability of portfolio companies or by successful exits. Using a novel and large dataset, covering several countries, our analysis shows that strong network ties of investors are associated with success of portfolio companies in Europe. We also show that there are differences in the association of network centrality with survival between different financing rounds, the former being more important in early-stage investments. Finally, we show a strong association of network ties of investors with sales growth of portfolio companies, before and after the deal. |
| Keywords: | Venture Capital,Networks,Europe,Investment Syndication |
| JEL: | G11 G24 M13 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:agawps:21&r=all |
| By: | John Gathergood; Benedict Guttman-Kenney |
| Abstract: | We find UK 'local lockdowns' of cities and sub-regions, focused on limiting contact between households in homes, turn the tide on rising positive COVID-19 cases without the large declines in consumption accompanying the March 2020 national lockdown, which limited all social contact. Our study harnesses a new source of real-time, transaction-level consumption data that we show to be highly correlated with official statistics. The effectiveness of local lockdowns are evaluated applying a difference-in-difference approach which exploits nearby localities not subject to local lockdowns as comparison groups. Our findings indicate that policymakers may be able to contain virus outbreaks without killing local economies. However, the ultimate effectiveness of local lockdowns is expected to be highly dependent on co-ordination between regions and testing. |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2010.04129&r=all |
| By: | Ufuk Akcigit; Jeremy G. Pearce; Marta Prato |
| Abstract: | How do innovation and education policy affect individual career choice and aggregate productivity? This paper analyzes the various layers that connect R&D subsidies and higher education policy to productivity growth. We put the development of scarce talent and career choice at the center of a new endogenous growth framework with individual-level heterogeneity in talent, frictions, and preferences. We link the model to micro-level data from Denmark and uncover a host of facts about the links between talent, higher education, and innovation. We use these facts to calibrate the model and study counterfactual policy exercises. We find that R&D subsidies, while less effective than standard models, can be strengthened when combined with higher education policy that alleviates financial frictions for talented youth. Education and innovation policies not only alleviate different frictions, but also impact innovation at different time horizons. Education policy is also more effective in societies with high income inequality. |
| JEL: | J24 O31 O38 O47 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27862&r=all |
| By: | Juan C. Palomino (University of Oxford (UK), INET and Department of Social Policy and Intervention); Juan G. Rodríguez (Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain), EQUALITAS, ICAE and CEDESOG); Raquel Sebastian (Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain), EQUALITAS and ICAE) |
| Abstract: | Social distancing and lockdown measures taken to contain the spread of COVID-19 may have distributional economic costs beyond the contraction of GDP. Here we evaluate the capacity of individuals to work under a lockdown based on a Lockdown Working Ability index which considers their teleworking capacity and whether their occupation is essential or closed. Our analysis reveals substantial and uneven potential wage losses across the distribution all around Europe and we consistently find that both poverty and wage inequality rise in all European countries. Under four different scenarios (2 months of lockdown and 2 months of lockdown plus 6 months of partial functioning of closed occupations at 80%, 70% and 60% of full capacity) we estimate for 29 European countries an average increase in the headcount poverty index that goes from 4.9 to 9.4 percentage points and a mean loss rate for poor workers between 10% and 16.2%. The average increase in the Gini coefficient ranges between 3.5% to 7.3% depending on the scenario considered. Decomposing overall wage inequality in Europe, we find that lockdown and social distance measures produce a double process of divergence: both inequality within and between countries increase. |
| Keywords: | Wage inequality; Teleworking; Social distancing; Europe; COVID. |
| JEL: | D33 E24 J21 J31 |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucm:doicae:2003&r=all |
| By: | Hafner, Marco; Yerushalmi, Erez; Andersson, Fredrik L.; Burtea, Teodor |
| Abstract: | Little is known on the impact that nocturia (the need to wake up at night to urinate) has on a nation’s economy. While there are many individual factors associated with inadequate sleep (e.g. bad sleep hygiene, chronic sleep disorders such as insomnia or sleep apnea), frequently having to wake up at night to urinate fragments sleep, with negative consequences on an individual’s health and well-being as well as daytime functioning. Using a large-scale UK workforce data, we estimate the prevalence of nocturia in the working population and quantify the lost worker productivity caused by nocturia, measured by absenteeism and presenteeism. This enters our multi-country general equilibrium model, which we calibrate to the UK economy, to estimate the annual macroeconomic cost of nocturia. We find the annual cost of clinically significant nocturia (waking up at least twice to urinate) is around £5.4 billion, or equivalently £1996 per worker with nocturia. This cost estimate is larger than previous estimates on the productivity effects of nocturia using cost-of-illness (COI) methods, suggesting the importance of taking into account general equilibrium effects when assessing the economic burden of health conditions. |
| Keywords: | nocturia; sleep; general equilibrium model; economic cost; urology |
| Date: | 2020–10–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:akf:cafewp:5&r=all |
| By: | Murat, Marina; Bonacini, Luca |
| Abstract: | School closures during the 2020 pandemic forced countries to rapidly adopt distance learning, with uncertain effects on education inequalities. Using PISA 2018 data from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, we find that students unable to learn remotely, because of a lack of ICT resources or of a quiet place to study, experience significant cognitive losses that, everything else equal, range from 70 percent of a school year in the United Kingdom to 50 percent in Italy. Similar results are found by considering days of absence from school. In the longer run, students who cannot learn remotely are more likely to end their education early and repeat grades, especially in Spain, Germany and Italy. The distribution of cognitive losses is linked to countries' educational systems; hence, policies aiming to enhance e-learning by focusing on disadvantaged students and schools should be designed accordingly. |
| Keywords: | Covid-19,educational economics,inequality,PISA,human capital |
| JEL: | I21 I24 H52 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:679&r=all |
| By: | Antonella Biscione (CESPIC, Catholic University “Our Lady of Good Counsel”); Dorothée Boccanfuso (Faculté de Gouvernance, Sciences Economiques et Sociales, Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique); Raul Caruso (CESPIC, Catholic University “Our Lady of Good Counsel”); Annunziata de Felice (Department of Law, University of Bari Aldo Moro) |
| Abstract: | By the use of firm-level data coming from the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS V) conducted in 2012–2014, this paper aims to investigate the sources of the possible gender ownership gap in innovativeness in a set of Transition economies. Through the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition we highlight the factors explaining the differences in the propensity to innovate between female-owned and male-owned firms. We find that the innovation disparity between firms with females among their owners and those having only male owners is mainly due to the differences in endowment effects. Tangible and intangible assets affect the innovation gap between the two groups of firms. |
| Keywords: | Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition; non-linear model; gender ownership; innovation gap; Transition Countries |
| JEL: | O32 J12 P23 |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:shr:wpaper:20-09&r=all |
| By: | Diller, Markus; Kühne, Daniela |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the presence of framing effects and loss aversion in tax reporting behavior of wage earners using a balanced panel of German income tax return data. Reference dependence and loss aversion suggest that individuals in a perceived loss situation attribute higher value to a given amount of positive change in outcome than individuals in a perceived gain situation do. Applied to tax reporting behavior, taxpayers who perceive their tax situation as unfavorable compared to a given reference point are expected to make greater effort or accept higher costs to prevent or reduce that perceived loss than taxpayers perceiving themselves to be in a favorable situation. Greater effort can in turn be associated with higher reporting aggressiveness. We identify a potential reference point in taxpayers' previous year's outcome and examine whether taxpayers claim higher additional tax deductions in a loss situation than in a gain situation. We use a difference-in-difference approach with a one-on-one matching strategy to analyze reporting behavior. We find that taxpayers in a loss situation claim higher income-related deductions than taxpayers in a gain situation. |
| Keywords: | loss aversion,framing,tax avoidance,nonbusiness tax |
| JEL: | D91 H24 H26 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:upadbr:b4320&r=all |
| By: | Piper, Alan T. |
| Abstract: | Temporary employees rank lower than permanent employees on various measures of mental and physical health, including well-being. In parallel, much research has shown that the relationship between age and well-being traces an approximate U-shape, with a nadir in midlife. Temporary employment may well have different associations with well-being across the lifespan, likely harming people in midlife more than at the start of their working lives. Using over twenty years of the German Socio-economic panel (SOEP), this investigation considers the relationship between temporary employment, age and well-being. In doing so, it both sheds new light on the relationship between temporary employment and well-being, and explores a reason for the oft-found U-shaped relationship between age and well-being. The results show that temporary employment deepens the U-shape in midlife, and that this result holds when many socioeconomic factors as well as the industry, region, cohort, personality, employment security and job worries are taken into account. Furthermore, the investigation considers transitions between permanent and temporary employment and uses these to assess causation and selection. |
| Keywords: | temporary employment,permanent employment,age,life satisfaction,SOEP |
| JEL: | I31 J41 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fubsbe:202015&r=all |
| By: | Roberta De Santis; Piero Esposito; Cecilia Jona-Lasinio |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate the environmental regulation-productivity nexus for 14 OECD countries over the years 1990-2015 and discuss its main policy challenges. Our findings support the hypothesis that environmental policies generate positive productivity returns through innovation as suggested by Porter and Van Der Linde (1995). We find that environmental policies have a productivity growth-promoting effect. Both market and non-marked based policies exert a positive but differentiated impact on labour and multifactor productivity growth. Environmental policy measures generate also potentially mixed redistributive impacts. As for specific polices, green taxes display the largest effect on multifactor productivity although with potentially negative redistributive impact. We also find that environmental regulation exerts indirect positive effect on productivity growth fostering capital accumulation especially in high ICT intensive countries. |
| Keywords: | Environmental regulation, productivity, innovation, Porter hypothesis |
| Date: | 2020–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eiq:eileqs:158&r=all |
| By: | Benoît Schmutz (Ecole Polytechnique and CREST); Modibo Sidibé (Duke University and CREST); Elie Vidal-Naquet (Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, AMSE, Marseille, France) |
| Abstract: | Workers' propensity to migrate to another local labor market varies a lot by occupation. We use the model developed by ? to quantify the impact of mobility costs and search frictions on this mobility gap. We estimate the model on a matched employer-employee panel dataset describing labor market transitions within and between the 30 largest French cities for two groups at both ends of the occupational spectrum and find that: (i) mobility costs are very comparable in the two groups, so they are three times higher for blue-collar workers relative to their respective expected income; (ii) Depending on employment status, spatial frictions are between 1.5 and 3.5 times higher for blue-collar workers; (iii) Moving subsidies have little (and possibly negative) impact on the mobility gap, contrary to policies targeting spatial frictions. |
| Keywords: | mobility costs, spatial frictions, migration, local labor markets, occupation |
| JEL: | J61 J64 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aim:wpaimx:2031&r=all |
| By: | Gabriel A. Facchini Palma (Department of Applied Economics, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides new evidence on the link between patient outcome and physician experience. Using birth certificates data from a large hospital in Italy, I analyze whether cesarean section surgeons who have performed more procedures in the recent past observe an improvement in performance. By using data from the Italian health care system, where patients are not allowed to choose their physician, I lower concerns of potential reverse causality (selective referral). I find evidence indicating a strong learning-by-doing effect: for emergent cases, a one standard deviation increase in recent experience reduces the likelihood of neonatal intensive care unit admission by nearly 2.9 percentage points (12%) and of being born with a low Apgar Score by about 1.3 percentage points (9.5%), all else equal. This effect is not present for the case of elective C-sections. |
| Keywords: | Learning-by-doing, human capital, experience, volume, cesarean section, productivity |
| JEL: | J24 I10 I18 |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uab:wprdea:wpdea2010&r=all |
| By: | Kremer, Anna |
| Abstract: | People are emotional about places. I study the effect of regional identity (\at home") on internal migration ows in Germany between 1995 and 2017. Regional identity is proxied by measuring how NUTS3 regions were historically affiliated in the former patchwork of Germany. When controlling for the in uence of distance, culture (mea- sured by dialects) and regional characteristics, I confirm that regional identity drives migration patterns additionally. Employing the separation effect by the German wall affirms that not only earlier migration or family bonds determine movements instead of regional identity. |
| Keywords: | Internal migration,Regional identity,Historical belonging,Gravity model,Germany,Binnenmigration,Regionale Identität,Historische Zugehörigkeit,Heimat,Gravitationsmodell,Deutschland |
| JEL: | R R23 Z10 J61 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:tudcep:0520&r=all |
| By: | Pauline Givord (Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques); Milena Suarez (INSEE-CREST) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a new method that goes beyond the measurement of average value-added of schools by measuring whether schools mitigate or intensify grades dispersion among initially similar students. In practice, school value-added is estimated at different levels of final achieve- ments’ distribution by quantile regressions with school specific fixed effects. This method is applied using exhaustive data of the 2015 French high-school diploma and controlling for initial achievements and socio-economic background. Results suggest that almost one-sixth of the high schools significantly reduce, or on the contrary increase, the dispersion in final grades which were expected given the initial characteristics of their intake. |
| Keywords: | school value-added |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/1dniduq06u8se8q5enfvnorti9&r=all |
| By: | Kung, Claryn S. J.; Johnston, David W.; Shields, Michael A. |
| Abstract: | Although mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression are common, there is little research on whether individuals in poor mental health react differently from others to financial incentives. This paper exploits an experiment from the UK Understanding Society Innovation Panel to assess how the participation response to randomly-assigned financial incentives differs by mental health status. We find that individuals in good mental health are more likely to respond when offered a higher financial incentive, whereas those in poor mental health are indifferent to the increased incentive. We find no comparable differences for physical health. |
| Keywords: | mental health; financial incentives; survey incentives experiment |
| JEL: | C93 I10 |
| Date: | 2018–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:90395&r=all |
| By: | Lindner, Peter; Mathä, Thomas Y.; Ziegelmeyer, Michael; Pulina, Giuseppe |
| Abstract: | Using a dedicated set of questions in the 2014 Luxembourg Household Finance and Consumption Survey (LU-HFCS), we show that a substantial share of households contributes their own labour to the acquisition of their main residence. These contributions help households faced with credit constraints, since they reduce the need for external financing. We develop a simple theoretical model and show that own labour contributions decrease with the level of financial resources available, while they increase with the mortgage interest rate. These theoretical results are supported by empirical analysis, which also shows that own labour contributions vary by household characteristics (age, gender, profession) and by type of dwelling (house, apartment). JEL Classification: D14, E43, G21, R21 |
| Keywords: | D14, E43, G21, R21 |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20202474&r=all |
| By: | Araújo, Isabel; Carneiro, Anabela |
| Abstract: | Exploring a rich matched employer-employee data set over the 1998-2012 period and a novel measure of educational mismatch, this study analyses the short and medium-term effects of over- and undereducation on the wages of newly hired workers. The data show that more than 50 percent of the employed in the private sector in Portugal experienced a job mismatch at the moment of being hired. According to the statistical measure based on the flows of newly hired workers, in the period under scrutiny overeducation is decreasing and undereducation is increasing, indicating that labour market demand is keeping pace with the rise in educational attainment of the Portuguese population. The results reveal that the wage differential between adequately matched workers and mismatched workers decreases considerably once worker and firm unobserved heterogeneity is taken into account. In fact, worker permanent heterogeneity explains two-thirds of the overducated wage penalty and three-fourths of the undereducated wage premium, indicating that the undereducated seem to correspond to a higher-ability group of employees, while the overeducated seem to correspond to a lower-ability group of workers. Heterogeneity in firm paying policies also play an important role in explaining the wage gap of newly hired mismatched workers. Finally, the results also indicate that the wages of individuals in the beginning of their labour market career are the most affected by a job mismatch. |
| Keywords: | educational mismatches,overeducation,undereducation,wages,two-way fixed effects |
| JEL: | I26 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:668&r=all |
| By: | Federico Barbiellini (Bank of Italy); Matteo Gomellini (Bank of Italy); Lorenzon Incoronato (University College London (UCL) and Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM)); Paolo Piselli (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | This paper leverages spatial and time-series variation in the population age structure of Italian regions to uncover the causal effect of demographic shifts on labour productivity. Such effect is analysed along a ‘first-order’ channel stemming from the direct relation between an individual’s age and productivity, and a ‘second-order’ channel that captures the productivity implications of a more or less dispersed age distribution. We propose an estimation framework that relates labour productivity to the entire age distribution of the working-age population and employs instrumental variable techniques to address endogeneity issues. The estimates return a hump-shaped age-productivity profile, with a peak between 35 and 40 years, as well as a positive productivity effect associated with a more dispersed age distribution. |
| Keywords: | productivity, demography, age distribution, working-age population, long-run |
| JEL: | J11 J21 N30 |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:2019&r=all |
| By: | Galanakis, Yannis |
| Abstract: | This paper looks at the extent of labour market mismatch of public-sector female employees. It contributes to earlier findings for the British labour market by taking into account the endogenous self-selection into jobs. Estimates are based on data from the British Household Panel Study and the ’Understanding Society’ covering the years 1991-2016. The analysis verifies that the public sector offers a few lowskilled jobs and employs, mostly, high-educated (female) workers. Regarding the market flows, findings show the greater mobility of the female workforce, which moves proportionately between sectors. Greater in-/out-flows to/from private sector are observed regardless the gender of the employee. Once comparing women to the median employee, a sizeable incidence of mismatch arises due to negative selection. Specifications using the selection model for the public sector illustrate a systematically higher magnitude of mismatch. Pooled results seem to dominate when women seen in the male labour market or in a restricted subsample. Finally, the map of occupations in mismatch supports that the public sector is more attractive as a waiting room for highly-qualified graduates. They queue less time until they find a good job. Hence, policy implications regarding the allocation of jobs for women may arise. |
| Keywords: | Human Capital Mismatch,women,British public-sector |
| JEL: | I24 I26 J21 J24 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:669&r=all |
| By: | , Stone Center (The Graduate Center/CUNY); Nolan, Brian; Palomino, Juan; Van Kerm, Philippe; Morelli, Salvatore |
| Abstract: | This paper uses household wealth surveys to compare patterns of intergenerational wealth transfers across six rich countries and assess the relationships between transfers, current levels of net wealth, and wealth inequality. The paper examines four Euro Area countries, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain and extends the systematic comparison to the US and the UK. It finds that many of those currently at the top of the wealth distribution did not benefit from intergenerational transfers, but those who did received particularly large amounts while those toward the bottom of the wealth distribution received very little. A substantial gap in net wealth is seen between those who received or did not receive some wealth transfer. Controlling for age, gender, education and household size reduces the size of that gap but it remains substantial, especially in the US. We further look at how a marginal increase in the proportion of recipients of transfers of differing sizes would contribute to the shape of the overall wealth distribution using influence function regressions. Crucially, we show that the impact depends not only on the locations in the wealth distributions of recipients versus non-recipients, but also on the size of the receipt, an aspect which has been overlooked to date. In most countries, increasing the proportion of recipients of large transfers generally increases overall wealth inequality. In contrast, having more recipients of small or medium- sized transfers would be expected to reduce wealth inequality modestly, as they are more concentrated around the middle of the wealth distribution than non-recipients. (Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality Working Paper) |
| Date: | 2020–09–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:eyh8s&r=all |