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on Microeconomic European Issues |
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Issue of 2021‒03‒29
37 papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Giorgio Barba Navaretti (University of Milan); Anna Rosso (University of Milan) |
| Abstract: | We examine the geography of productivity leaders and laggards in the population of Italian joint stock manufacturing companies between 2007 and 2017 and analyse how far such patterns can be related to their financial structure and the provision of financial services in the Italian provinces. To do so we exploit the reform of the Italian banking system in the mid-Nineties as an exogenous shock on the structure of local banking markets and examine whether this shock affects productivity patterns at the firm level. We find a robust descriptive evidence of a widening of the leader-laggard gaps, with a very sizeable productivity divide between the North and the South of the country. Leaders are concentrated in the North. Leaders, especially in the North are also more likely to have access to capital markets. Firms in the South, instead, also those at the frontier, are more reliant on bank lending. The liberalization of the banking market in the mid 90s and the growth of joint stock banks at the provincial level positively affected firms’ productivity outcomes, possibly through an improvement of firms’ financial structure. We also use a firm specific measure of core-periphery based on distance from airport hubs and find that the likelihood of activating a virtuous capital market productivity link declines with distance from core areas. |
| Keywords: | Productivity, Bank Liberalization, Core-periphery Dynamics |
| JEL: | R1 O4 G21 |
| Date: | 2021–03–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csl:devewp:469&r=all |
| By: | Francesco Devicienti; Elena Grinza; Davide Vannoni |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the costs for firms of employing women full-time versus part-time in terms of differential hourly wages. To this end, we use administrative matched employer employee data on the universe of female workers in Italy over 33 years and rely on regression models that control for worker, firm, and job match fixed effects, in addition to several worker-, job-, and firm-level time-varying factors. We find that, when a worker switches from a full-time to a part-time contract within the same firm, she benefits from an increase in the hourly wage. Over the last three decades, these wage premiums have significantly reduced, remaining positive and significant up to 2015. We also find that the part-time premium is pervasive and stable across many different labor market segments and independent of workers’ intrinsic productivity levels. These and other findings appear to be compatible with developments in wage bargaining institutions, whereby more generous conditions can be accorded to part-timers. Coupled with the detrimental effect of part-time work on firm productivity documented by Devicienti et al. (2018), our results contribute to explain why firms are often unwilling to concede part-time positions to employees asking for them. |
| Keywords: | Part-time/full-time wage differentials, wage bargaining institutions, multiple fixed-effects regressions, administrative matched employer-employee longitudinal data. |
| JEL: | J31 J22 J53 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cca:wpaper:606&r=all |
| By: | Sekou Keita (IAB - Institute for Employment Research); Thomas Renault (UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Jérôme Valette (UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Immigration and crime are two first-order issues that are often considered jointly in people's minds. This paper analyzes how media reporting policies on crime impact natives' attitudes towards immigration. We depart from most studies by investigating the content of crime-related articles instead of their coverage. Specifically, we use a radical change in local media reporting on crime in Germany as a natural experiment. This unique framework allows us to estimate whether systematically disclosing the places of origin of criminals affects natives' attitudes towards immigration. We combine individual survey data collected between January 2014 and December 2018 from the German SocioEconomic Panel with data from more than 545,000 crime-related articles in German newspapers and data on their diffusion across the country. Our results indicate that systematically mentioning the origins of criminals, especially when offenders are natives, significantly reduces natives' concerns about immigration. |
| Keywords: | Immigration,Crime,Media Bias |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-03167833&r=all |
| By: | Wellmann, Nicolas; Czarnowske, Daniel |
| Abstract: | This paper quantifies the marginal willingness to pay for a reduction of automobile traffic. By using a new structural approach in a hedonic framework by Bishop and Timmins 2019 we are able to avoid common issues in hedonic studies using instrumental variables. Our analysis is based on data from nine large cities in Germany between 2016 and 2019 and includes 533,402 detailed observations at the apartment level as well as for various points of interest. To the best of our knowledge this is the first paper to conduct this analysis for Germany. We estimate that the average willingness to pay for a reduction of traffic by city and per year ranges between €30.3-59.2 for a 10% reduction, €93.8-158.3 for a 20% reduction and €190.6-252 for a 30% reduction. The highest willingness to pay for a reduction of traffic is observed in Frankfurt am Main, the lowest in Leipzig. Further, we compute the expected gains for a reduction of traffic at the city level. In addition to the willingness to pay for a reduction of traffic, this considers the composition of the road network as well as for the number of households. Accordingly, these expected gains amount to €163,970-1,019,454€ for a 10% reduction, €484,023-3,261,837 for a 20% reduction, and €1,018,240-6,727,148 for a 30% reduction. The highest expected gains for a reduction of traffic is observed in Munich, the lowest in Leipzig |
| Keywords: | willingness to pay,traffic,air pollution,hedonic price models,rent prices,environmental policy |
| JEL: | O18 Q51 R48 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:361&r=all |
| By: | Elena Grinza; Francesco Devicienti; Mariacristina Rossi; Davide Vannoni |
| Abstract: | The attitudes of people about how paid and unpaid work should be divided between the members of a couple (gender role attitudes) determine the economic and social outcomes of women to a great extent. It is thus important to understand how the gender role attitudes of people are formed and evolve. In this paper, we concentrate on one of the most path breaking events in life: becoming a parent. Using rich longitudinal data from the UK and fixed-effects regressions, we first show that, in general, entry into parenthood significantly shifts the gender role attitudes of women toward more traditional positions, but leaves men unaffected. We then show that prenatal attitudes are crucial in driving the change in attitudes of new parents. We find a substantial traditionalization of gender role attitudes for new parents who had more progressive prenatal attitudes, with no distinction between the sexes. Conversely, no significant attitude change is observed for parents with more conservative prenatal attitudes after entering into parenthood. Novel moderating analyses also show that the traditionalization of attitudes for progressive individuals, after they become parents, becomes substantially stronger as the experience of (and exposure to) traditional postnatal arrangements in the division of paid and unpaid work increases. |
| Keywords: | Gender role attitudes, entry into parenthood, gender identity, cognitive dissonance, gendered institutions and gender stereotypes, Understanding Society data set. |
| JEL: | J16 J13 D02 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cca:wpaper:635&r=all |
| By: | Isabel Martinez (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | I analyze mobility responses to the unique introduction of regressive local income schedule in the Swiss Canton of Obwalden in 2006, which was aimed at attracting the top 1%. Difference-in-Differences estimations comparing Obwalden to all other cantons confirm that the reform successfully attracted rich taxpayers: by 2016, the share of rich in the canton more than doubled and average income per taxpayer was 16% higher relative to 2005. Using individual tax data and an instrumental variable approach, I find a large elasticity of the stock of rich taxpayers of 1.5–2 with respect to the average net-of-tax rate. The corresponding flow elasticity ranges from 6.5 to 10. However, the reform did not yield any Laffer effects. Finally, I find positive effects on local employment: the number of jobs per 1,000 inhabitants rose by an estimated 2.3% relative to other cantons and compared to 2005. However, these employment effects are likely driven by a simultaneous reduction of the corporate tax rate. |
| Keywords: | : Mobility; Personal income tax; Local taxes; Tax competition; Regressive income tax |
| JEL: | H24 H31 H71 H73 R23 |
| Date: | 2021–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:21-490&r=all |
| By: | Bury, Yannick; Feld, Lars P.; Burret, Heiko Tobias |
| Abstract: | Marginal rates of contribution (MRC), i.e., the rates at which additional revenues are skimmed via larger contributions or lower transfer receipts, quantify the incentives of a fiscal equalization scheme. The present paper is the first to calculate the marginal rates of contribution for the Laender (states) in the German fiscal equalization scheme for each of the 50 years since its establishment in 1970 and over five major reforms, taking into account all relevant revenues. Our results show that MRC have been at a consistently high level. Until 2019 the scheme induced an almost full skimming of additional tax revenues of recipient states. With the system's latest reform in 2020, MRC did increase further. Recipient states now face an over-skimming of additional tax revenues and thus, massive fiscal disincentives to maintain their own tax base. While these findings have been widely expected, comprehensive evidence has been missing so far. |
| Keywords: | Fiscal equalization,Marginal contribution rates,Constitutional reform |
| JEL: | H71 H73 H77 H11 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:aluord:2104&r=all |
| By: | Reuschke, Darja (University of St. Andrews); Henley, Andrew (Cardiff University); Daniel, Elizabeth (The Open University); Price, Victoria (University of Southampton) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether the female self-employed are more affected by the COVID-19 crisis than the male self-employed using longitudinal data four months following the first 'lockdown' in the UK. We specifically test the role of family/social, economic and psychological factors on gendered differential impact. We find that self-employment exits are not gendered but women are more likely to experience reductions in hours worked and earnings. This greater adverse impact on women's working hours and earnings is despite family responsibilities and home-schooling, industrial gender segregation and women's greater propensity to run a non-employing business and to work part-time. However, lower attitude to risk in women is associated with lower risk of reduction in earnings. Policy needs to look beyond business exits when considering crisis support for the self-employed. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, self-employment, COVID-19, gender, labour supply |
| JEL: | J16 J22 L26 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14216&r=all |
| By: | Gianluca Orsatti; Francesco Quatraro; Alessandra Scandura |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the association between region-level recombinant capabilities and the generation of green technologies (GTs), together with their interplay with the intensity of academic involvement in innovation dynamics. The analysis focuses on Italian NUTS 3 regions, over the period 1998-2009. We show that the local capacity to introduce novel combinations is positively and strongly associated to the generation of GTs, while the involvement of academic inventors in local innovation dynamics shows an interesting compensatory role when local contexts lack such capacity. |
| Keywords: | green technologies, academic inventors, recombinant novelty. |
| JEL: | O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cca:wpaper:617&r=all |
| By: | Francesca Carta; Francesco D'Amuri; Till M. von Wachter |
| Abstract: | This paper quantifies the effect of a policy-induced sharp increase in retirement ages on input mix and economic outcomes of firms using Italian matched worker-firm data. Data on lifetime pension contributions are used to calculate the expected additional number of older workers employed by each firm due to the reform. Resulting instrumental variable estimates show an increase in older workers leads to a precisely estimated rise in employment of younger workers, value added, and total labor costs at constant labor productivity and unit labor costs. The findings suggest rising institutional retirement ages can help firms to retain valuable older employees. |
| JEL: | H55 J23 J26 |
| Date: | 2021–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28407&r=all |
| By: | Matteo Laffi; Ron Boschma; |
| Abstract: | The aim of the paper is to shed light on the role played by regional knowledge bases in Industry 3.0 in fostering new technologies in Industry 4.0 in European regions (NUTS3) over the period 1991-2015. We find that 4.0 technologies appear to be quite related to 3.0 technologies, with some heterogeneity among different technology fields. The paper investigates the geographical implications. We find that the probability of developing Industry 4.0 technologies is higher in regions that are specialised in Industry 3.0 technologies. However, other types of knowledge bases also sustain regional diversification in Industry 4.0 technologies. |
| Keywords: | Fourth Industrial Revolution, Industry 4.0, regional innovation, patents, knowledge space, relatedness, EU regions |
| JEL: | B52 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2112&r=all |
| By: | Caliendo, Marco (University of Potsdam); Tübbicke, Stefan (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg) |
| Abstract: | While a growing body of literature finds positive impacts of Start-Up Subsidies (SUS) on labor market outcomes of participants, little is known about how the design of these programs shapes their effectiveness and hence how to improve policy. As experimental variation in program design is unavailable, we exploit the 2011 reform of the current German SUS program for the unemployed which strengthened case-workers' discretionary power, increased entry requirements and reduced monetary support. We estimate the impact of the reform on the program's effectiveness using samples of participants and non-participants from before and after the reform. To control for time-constant unobserved heterogeneity as well as differential selection patterns based on observable characteristics over time, we combine Difference-in-Differences with inverse probability weighting using covariate balancing propensity scores. Holding participants' observed characteristics as well as macroeconomic conditions constant, the results suggest that the reform was successful in raising employment effects on average. As these findings may be contaminated by changes in selection patterns based on unobserved characteristics, we assess our results using simulation-based sensitivity analyses and find that our estimates are highly robust to changes in unobserved characteristics. Hence, the reform most likely had a positive impact on the effectiveness of the program, suggesting that increasing entry requirements and reducing support increased the program's impacts while reducing the cost per participant. |
| Keywords: | start-up subsidies, institutions, policy reform, difference-in-differences |
| JEL: | J68 H43 L26 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14209&r=all |
| By: | Brindusa Anghel (Banco de España); Pilar Cuadrado (Banco de España); Federico Tagliati (Banco de España) |
| Abstract: | We explore the cognitive skill gap between the adult population in Spain and in the rest of European Union countries using the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies. We find that differences in schooling account for about a third of the average difference in cognitive test scores, whereas differences in socio-economic background explain about one fourth of the average score gap. While cognitive skill gaps are increasing along the distribution of test scores, differences in educational stocks and socio-economic factors explain a larger fraction of the gap at the bottom than at the top of the skill distribution. |
| Keywords: | human capital, cognitive skills, PIAAC, Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition |
| JEL: | J24 J10 |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bde:wpaper:2038&r=all |
| By: | Manuel Aepli; Andreas Kuhn |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study whether Swiss employers substitute between training apprentices and hiring cross-border workers. Because both training apprentices and hiring skilled workers are costly for firms, we hypothesize that (easier) access to cross-border workers will lead some employers to substitute away from training their own workers. We account for potential endogeneity issues by instrumenting a firm's share of cross-border workers using a firm's distance to the national border and therefore its possibility to fall back on cross-border workers to satisfy its labor demand. We find that both OLS and 2SLS estimates are negative across a wide range of alternative specifications, suggesting that firms substitute between training and hiring workers when the supply of skilled workers is higher. Our preferred 2SLS estimate implies that the increase in firms' share of cross-border workers within our observation period, from 1995 to 2008, led to about 3,500 fewer apprenticeship positions (equal to about 2% of the total number of apprentice positions). |
| Keywords: | immigration, cross-border workers, firm behaviour, labor demand, substitution effects, apprenticeship training |
| JEL: | D22 J23 J61 M53 |
| Date: | 2020–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iso:educat:0179&r=all |
| By: | Julie Tréguier (INED - Institut national d'études démographiques, IPP - Institut des politiques publiques, EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Simon Rabaté (CPB - Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of survivors insurance on marital behavior. We study the 1996 Dutch reform which considerably tightened eligibility rules to survivors' benefits. Exploiting a discontinuity in date of birth eligibility to survivors insurance and using a rich and exhaustive of the Dutch population administrative dataset, we carry out a regression discontinuity design and we find no evidence of the reform on divorce probability. Exploring possible explanations for our zero-effect result, we study how labor supply responses can compensate the income drop the reform induced. We find a strong increase in the labor force participation of widows after the reform. However this response does not completely offset the decrease in income generated form the cut in survivors benefits. |
| Date: | 2021–03–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-03156317&r=all |
| By: | Giacomo Rodano (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses empirically the effect of judicial efficiency on bank credit contractual terms for the universe of Italian corporations borrowing from the banking sector. Exploiting within-country variation in the length of bankruptcy proceedings across different jurisdictions, the paper uses a spatial regression discontinuity design that compares credit conditions applied to firms located in municipalities on different sides of jurisdiction borders, controlling for bank characteristics. The results show that judicial efficiency is associated with a reduction in the cost of credit as well as with an increase in its availability for firms, in particular for those at high risk of default. Judicial efficiency increases leverage and investment for high risk firms. All these results suggest that the banking system tilts credit conditions in favor of safe firms as court inefficiency increases. Finally, court efficiency is also associated with a reduction in both the stock and the flow of Non Performing Loans. |
| Keywords: | judicial efficiency, creditor rights, loan contractual terms, spatial discontinuity approach |
| JEL: | G21 G33 K12 K15 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_1322_21&r=all |
| By: | Raffaello Bronzini (Bank of Italy, Rome Branch); Alessio D’Ignazio (Bank of Italy, Directorate General for Economics, Statistics and Research); Davide Revelli (Bank of Italy, Genoa Branch) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the financial structure and the bank relationships of Italian multinational firms. We show that multinationals are on average more leveraged than non-internationalized firms. Moreover, they have a larger share of financial and bank debt out of total debt, maintain more bank relationships, are less dependent on the main bank for the firm, and benefit from lower interest rates. Lastly, multinationals take greater advantage of intra-group financing than non-internationalized firms. These results are robust to estimation methods that tackle the potential endogeneity of the choice to go international, such as matching and instrumental variables estimation. |
| Keywords: | multinational companies, foreign direct investment, financial structure, bank-firm relationships |
| JEL: | D22 F21 F23 G30 L25 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_1326_21&r=all |
| By: | Ebers, Axel; Thomsen, Stephan L. |
| Abstract: | Bitcoin is associated with different risks. We conduct an information experiment in the four largest European economies to analyze the effects of specific warnings and information on retail investors’ demand for Bitcoin. Our results indicate that the impact is strongest when warnings point to privacy issues. Information on the lack of guarantees or on CO2 emissions only affects particular subgroups. Knowledge of broad public acceptance increases overall demand. Warnings can therefore effectively prevent extreme market events while avoiding the costs of stricter regulation. Effect heterogeneity implies that regulators should use specific information and different communication channels to reach relevant investors. |
| Keywords: | survey experiment; warnings; Bitcoin; retail demand; regulation; cultural differences |
| JEL: | C93 D83 G40 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:han:dpaper:dp-683&r=all |
| By: | Oto-Peralías, Daniel (Universidad Pablo de Olavide); Gutiérrez Mora, Dolores |
| Abstract: | This paper uses text analysis to measure gender bias in cities through the use of street names. Focusing on the case of Spain, we collect data on 15 million street names to analyze gender inequality in urban toponyms. We calculate for each Spanish municipality and each year from 2001 to 2020 a variable measuring the percentage of streets with female names over the total number of streets with male and female names. Our results reveal a strong gender imbalance in Spanish cities: the percentage of streets named after women over the total named after men and women is only 12% in 2020. We also observe that there are substantial differences across the Spanish regions, and concerning new streets, gender bias is lower but still far from parity. The second part of the paper analyzes the correlation of our indicator of gender bias in street names with the cultural factor it is supposed to capture, with the results suggesting that it constitutes a useful cultural measure of gender inequality at the city level. This research has policy implications since it helps to measure a relevant phenomenon, given the strong symbolic power attributed to street names, which has been elusive to quantify so far. |
| Date: | 2021–03–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:b9n4k&r=all |
| By: | Johanne Bacheron (AMSE - Aix-Marseille Sciences Economiques - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - ECM - École Centrale de Marseille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, I use a pseudo-panel approach with data from the European Union Labour Force Survey to study the impact of paternity leave policies on mothers' employment in ten countries. Using a dynamic Difference-inDifference strategy, I show that paternity leave increased mothers' employment rate by up to 17% in the long run, and average hours worked by 2 to 4%. There is substantial heterogeneity across countries in the effect of paternity leave policies. The impact on employment rates is positive and significant in eight of the ten countries of the sample, while the impact on hours worked can be either positive or negative. I find no evidence that the reforms had any impact on Greece or Portugal. |
| Keywords: | paternity leave,labour supply,gender equality |
| Date: | 2021–02–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-03145794&r=all |
| By: | Cavapozzi, Danilo (Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia); Francesconi, Marco (University of Essex); Nicoletti, Cheti (University of York) |
| Abstract: | We study whether mothers' labor supply is shaped by the gender role attitudes of their peers. Using detailed information on a sample of UK mothers with dependent children, we find that having peers with gender-egalitarian norms leads mothers to be more likely to have a paid job and to have a greater share of the total number of paid hours worked within their household, but has no sizable effect on hours worked. Most of these effects are driven by less educated women. A new decomposition analysis allows us to estimate that approximately half of the impact on labor force participation is due to women conforming gender role attitudes to their peers', with the remaining half being explained by the spillover effect of peers' labor market behavior. These findings suggest that an evolution towards gender-egalitarian attitudes promotes gender convergence in labor market outcomes. In turn, a careful dissemination of statistics on female labor market behavior and attitudes may accelerate this convergence. |
| Keywords: | culture, norms, gender, identity, peer effects |
| JEL: | J12 J16 J22 J24 J31 Z13 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14219&r=all |
| By: | Emilia Barili (University of Genoa); Veronica Grembi (University of Milan); Anna Rosso (University of Milan) |
| Abstract: | Relying on a survey of more than 4,000 female respondents, we investigate the main determinants of women's mental distress during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. We focus on two groups of variables to capture both the health and the economic emergency: present concerns and future expectations. Our results show that the main predictors of mental health are future expectations, such as the fear of losing a job, which is more relevant than concerns related to the spread of the virus. Younger women (less than 35), those lacking a high school degree, and those working in education or in remote work with school-aged children are in most distress. Using a panel fixed effects model that includes respondents to a re-call run in February 2021, we show that there was no adjustment to the new normal. Finally, using data on gender norms, we show that where the role of women is conceived in a more traditional way, the level of mental distress as driven by future employment is lower, suggesting that women's expectations for their role in society do play a relevant role in self-assessed well-being. |
| Keywords: | Mental health, COVID-19, Expectations, Gender Stereotypes |
| JEL: | I1 I12 J16 |
| Date: | 2021–03–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csl:devewp:470&r=all |
| By: | Michael Sicsic (TEPP - Travail, Emploi et Politiques Publiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée, CRED - Centre de Recherche en Economie et Droit - UP2 - Université Panthéon-Assas, INSEE) |
| Abstract: | I provide estimates of the compensated elasticity of labor income with respect to the Marginal Net-of-Tax Rate on the 2006-2015 period for France. I exploit not only income tax reforms but also means-tested benefits reforms. I use semiparametric graphical evidence and a classic 2SLS estimation applied to a rich data set including both financial and sociodemographic variables. I obtain an estimated compensated elasticity around 0.2-0.3 in response to income tax reforms, around 0.1 in response to in-work benefit reforms, while I found no statistically significant response to family allowance reforms. I show that the difference between elasticities contradicts the prediction of the classical labor supply model. One possible explanation is that income tax reforms are more salient and better perceived than benefit reforms. This suggests that benefit reforms may be more efficient in reducing inequalities than income tax reforms due to their lesser behavioral responses. Another contribution is to highlight heterogeneous elasticities depending on income, age, family configuration and education. Results are very robust to a large number of robustness checks, unlike previous studies on the US economy. |
| Keywords: | elasticity of labor income,income tax,means-tested benefit,marginal tax rate |
| Date: | 2021–02–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03151089&r=all |
| By: | Niklas Gohl; Peter Haan; Elisabeth Kurz; Felix Weinhardt |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a novel test of a key prediction of human capital theory that educational investment decisions depend on the length of the pay-off period. We obtain causal estimates by leveraging a unique reform of the German public pension system that, across a sharp date-of-birth cutoff, increased the early retirement age by three years. Using RDD, DiD, and IV estimation strategies on census and household-panel data, we show that this reform causally increased educational investment in the form of on-the-job training. In contrast, non-job related training before retirement was not affected. We explore heterogeneity and additional outcomes. |
| Keywords: | human capital, retirement policies, RDD |
| JEL: | J24 J26 H21 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1753&r=all |
| By: | Barbara Liberda (Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw); Katarzyna Sałach (Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw); Marek Pęczkowski |
| Abstract: | In 2016, a new child benefit was introduced in Poland: a universal benefit for the second and subsequent children in a family and means tested for the first child. Substantial transfers of the new child benefit were granted 60% of households with children. The generous child benefit, equal to 10% of monthly median households’ income, caused an unexpected positive income shock for families with children. In this paper, we investigate how the new child benefit affects the household decisions to consume or save the child's income. Applying the difference-in-differences method and Polish Household Budget Survey data for the years 2012-2018, we find a positive effect of the child benefit on household saving. Our estimates indicate that families obtaining the child benefit (treatment group) increased the saving rate by 8 percentage points after the child benefit reform in 2016. Over time, the control group (not obtaining the child benefit) raised the saving rate by 2.9 percentage points. |
| Keywords: | households, income, child benefit, saving |
| JEL: | D14 G51 I38 P36 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:war:wpaper:2021-02&r=all |
| By: | Benjamin Lochner (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and Institute for Employment Research (IAB)); Bastian Schulz (Department of Economics and Business Economics, the Dale T. Mortensen Centre, Aarhus University and CESifo) |
| Abstract: | We study the link between firms’ productivity and the wages firms pay. Guided by labor market sorting theory, we infer firm productivity from estimating firm-level production functions, taking into account that worker ability and firm productivity may interact at the match level. Using German data, we find that high wages are not necessarily a reflection of high firm productivity. Observed worker transitions towards higher wages are sometimes directed downwards on the firm-productivity ladder. Worker sorting into high-productivity firms is thus less pronounced than sorting into high-wage firms. Consequently, an implication of increasing wage sorting could be decreasing allocative efficiency. |
| Keywords: | Assortative Matching, Labor Market Sorting, Wage Inequality, Job Mobility, Unobserved Heterogeneity, Firm Productivity, Production Function Estimation |
| JEL: | J24 J31 J40 J62 J64 L25 |
| Date: | 2021–03–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aah:aarhec:2021-04&r=all |
| By: | Yarine Fawaz (CEMFI, Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros); Pedro Mira (CEMFI, Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros) |
| Abstract: | We provide a comprehensive picture of the health effects of social isolation using longitudinal data over 21 European countries (SHARE) and seven waves (14 years) : first by looking at how social isolation at baseline impacts mortality at follow-up using Cox duration models, then looking at the dynamics of the health effects of social isolation, i.e. how social isolation at baseline affects functional, physical, mental and cognitive health at each future wave, when controlling for all these facets of health at baseline along with an extensive set of other covariates, in a standard linear regression framework. Our results suggest social isolation leads to worse health along all the dimensions we observe, and this effect is persistent. Being socially isolated at baseline is associated with a 20 to 30% increase in the mortality hazard, in line with other studies. Allowing for heterogeneity across countries, we find a remarkably strong association (up to a 45% increase) in Eastern countries. This association is not just picking up a correlation of social isolation with concurrent loneliness, health behaviors or health care utilization. |
| Keywords: | Social isolation, loneliness, health, mortality, SHARE. |
| JEL: | I10 C41 |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cmf:wpaper:wp2020_2003&r=all |
| By: | Linas Tarasonis (Bank of Lithuania, Vilnius University); Jose Garcia-Louzao (Bank of Lithuania) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of the Great Recession on the relationship between reallocation and productivity dynamics in Lithuania. Using detailed microlevel data, we first document the aggregate contribution of firm exit and employment reallocation to productivity growth. Next, we estimate firm-level regressions to confirm the findings and to perform a heterogeneity analysis. This analysis shows that productivity shielded firms from exit, and that this relationship became stronger during the Great Recession. Moreover, we demonstrate that more productive firms experienced on average lower employment losses, and that this effect was even stronger during the economic slump. Taken together, our results suggest that reallocation was productivityenhancing during the Great Recession. However, the analysis also indicates that reallocation intensity varied with sector's dependence on external financing or international trade as well as market concentration. |
| Keywords: | firm dynamics, job reallocation, productivity, Great Recession |
| JEL: | E24 E32 L11 J23 |
| Date: | 2021–03–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lie:wpaper:86&r=all |
| By: | Fabrizio Natale; Stefano Maria Iacus; Alessandra Conte; Spyridon Spyratos; Francesco Sermi |
| Abstract: | This article explores the territorial differences in the onset and spread of COVID-19 and the excess mortality associated with the pandemic, across the European NUTS3 regions and US counties. Both in Europe and in the US, the pandemic arrived earlier and recorded higher Rt values in urban regions than in intermediate and rural ones. A similar gap is also found in the data on excess mortality. In the weeks during the first phase of the pandemic, urban regions in EU countries experienced excess mortality of up to 68pp more than rural ones. We show that, during the initial days of the pandemic, territorial differences in Rt by the degree of urbanisation can be largely explained by the level of internal, inbound and outbound mobility. The differences in the spread of COVID-19 by rural-urban typology and the role of mobility are less clear during the second wave. This could be linked to the fact that the infection is widespread across territories, to changes in mobility patterns during the summer period as well as to the different containment measures which reverse the causality between mobility and Rt. |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2103.08321&r=all |
| By: | Friedrich Schneider; Mangirdas Morkunas; Erika Quendler |
| Abstract: | This study is the first scientific attempt to calculate the size of the informal economy in agriculture. The Multiple indicators multiple causes model (MIMIC) was developed for the estimation of levels of informal economy in 15 “Old” European Union Member States’ agricultural sectors for the period of 1996-2019. The obtained results document the prevalence of higher levels of informal economy in agriculture compared to the overall economy. The impact of subsidies and farm organizations on the development of the informal economy are two important factors for these higher values in agriculture. The effects of taxation, share of import and factor income in agriculture onto the levels of the informal economy in agriculture are sizeable, too. Finally, we disaggregate the informal work into subcategories like entrepreneurial and family work. |
| Keywords: | informal economy, informal work, agriculture, MIMIC, EU-15 countries, causes for informal work |
| JEL: | Q11 Q14 Q19 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8937&r=all |
| By: | Elena Bassoli (Department of Economics, University Of Venice Cà Foscari); Agar Brugiavini (Department of Economics, University Of Venice Cà Foscari; Institute For Fiscal Studies); Irene Ferrari (Department of Economics, University Of Venice Cà Foscari; Netspar) |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on the changes in care provision at the time of the COVID-19 outbreak by exploiting variation in lockdown policies across Europe. We use the SHARE-COVID-19 survey, which involves about 50000 respondents of age 50 and over in 26 countries, to investigate how the stringency of the policy measures have affected care provision. Our study is based on the linkage of the SHARE-COVID-19 data with an individual specific “stringency index” which measures the intensity of the restriction policies and the degree of individual’s exposure. We find that older individuals, low-income individuals and people affected by limitations in everyday life faced a higher probability of receiving help because of the lockdown policies. Women and people in the age group 50-65 were more likely to provide help/care, but we also uncover a complex interaction with the labour market condition of caregivers. Lockdown policies hit hard individuals who were already receiving care as they experienced a form of rationing, both due to higher financial costs and travelling restrictions. Since these individuals are already among the most fragile in society, our evidence raises concern and calls for a re-design of the welfare system. |
| Keywords: | Care provision, caregiving, caregiver, COVID-19, SHARE data, SHARE-COVID-19 questionnaire, lockdown policies |
| JEL: | D1 I14 I18 J14 J16 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2021:10&r=all |
| By: | Carine Milcent (PSE - Paris School of Economics - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Saad Zbiri (UVSQ - Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines) |
| Abstract: | BACKGROUND: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, teleconsultation were seldom used in France. The sanitary crisis has brought with it a great need for the use of teleconsultation and other interventions using digital technology. OBJECTIVE: Indentify how has French teleconsultation for obstetrics and gynecology care services been used prior and during this sanitary crisis. METHODS: We first described the global picture of the teleconsultation context prior to the sanitary crisis and then during the first quarantine and lockdown measures. We set up three aspects, namely: 1-use of teleconsultation as regards to providers' ability; 2- use of teleconsultation as regards to technology features; 3- use of teleconsultation for which type of healthcare. Second, we studied the determinant factors of teleconsultation use and those of provider's satisfaction with teleconsultation practice. RESULTS: We show the central role of training, the importance of some main digital technology benefits including improving public health, responding to patient's request and facilitating healthcare access, as well as the importance of some main digital technology drawbacks including lack of convenience and lack of veracity (truthfulness). CONCLUSIONS: Our results guide the regulator on the suppliers' motivation and needs for teleconsultation adoption. They highlight the conditions for an efficient use of teleconsultation. |
| Keywords: | Technology features,Training,Obstetrics and gynecology,Teleconsultation |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-03163281&r=all |
| By: | Giuntella, Osea (University of Pittsburgh); Rotunno, Lorenzo (Aix-Marseille University); Stella, Luca (Catholic University Milan) |
| Abstract: | Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we analyze the effects of exposure to trade on the fertility and marital behavior of German workers. We find that individuals working in sectors that were more affected by import competition from Eastern Europe and suffered worse labor market outcomes were less likely to have children. In contrast, workers in sectors that benefited from increased exports had better employment prospects and higher fertility. These effects are driven by low-educated and married men, and reflect changes in the likelihood of having any child (extensive margin). While among workers exposed to import competition there is evidence of some fertility postponement, we find a significant reduction of completed fertility. There is instead little evidence of any significant effect on marital behavior. |
| Keywords: | international trade, labor market outcomes, fertility, marriage |
| JEL: | F14 F16 J13 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14224&r=all |
| By: | Stefan Lautenbacher |
| Abstract: | Based on a new survey question in a large and representative panel of German firms, this paper introduces a novel measure of managers’ subjective uncertainty. I compare this measure of business uncertainty to respondents’ business expectations and document a strong negative relationship. However, the link is much weaker in bad times, since uncertainty is then persistently high – even when expectations are favorable. I continue by investigating the relative importance of uncertainty and expectations for corporate decisions. Exploiting information on firms’ investment and labor reactions to the COVID-19 crisis, I do not find evidence that uncertainty induced “wait and see” behavior. However, a deterioration in managers’ expectations and in their assessment of their firms’ business situation predicts investment deferral and a reduction in employment. |
| Keywords: | Subjective uncertainty, expectations, firms, survey data, corporate decisions, business cycles |
| JEL: | C83 D22 D84 E32 E71 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ifowps:_349&r=all |
| By: | Maria Koumenta; Mario Pagliero; Davud Rostam-Afschar |
| Abstract: | We use a unique survey of the EU labor force to investigate the relationship between occupational licensing and the gender wage gap. We find that the gender wage gap is canceled for licensed self-employed workers. However, this closure of the gender wage gap is not mirrored by significant changes in the gender gap in hours worked. Our results are robust using decomposition methods, quantile regressions, different datasets, and selection correction. |
| Keywords: | Licensing, Gender gap, Wages, Female Labour Supply, Quantile regression, Selection. |
| JEL: | J16 J31 J44 J71 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cca:wpaper:631&r=all |
| By: | Caselli, Mauro; Fracasso, Andrea; Scicchitano, Sergio; Traverso, Silvio; Tundis, Enrico |
| Abstract: | This work investigates the impact that the change in the exposure to robots had on the Italian local employment dynamics over the period 2011-2018. A novel empirical strategy focusing on a match between occupations' activities and robots' applications at a high level of disaggregation makes it possible to assess the impact of robotization on the shares of workers employed as robot operators and in occupations deemed exposed to robots. In a framework consistently centered on workers' and robots' activities, rather than on their industries of employment, the analysis reveals for the first time reinstatement effects among robot operators and heterogeneous results among exposed occupations. |
| Keywords: | Robots,Employment,Activities,Tasks,Robot applications |
| JEL: | J21 J23 J24 O33 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:802&r=all |
| By: | Paul Brandily (PSE - Paris School of Economics - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Clément Brébion (CBS - Copenhagen Business School [Copenhagen]); Simon Briole (PSE - Paris School of Economics - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, J-PAL Europe - Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab - Europe); Laura Khoury (Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration - Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration) |
| Abstract: | While a burgeoning literature has documented the unequal distribution of COVID-19 confirmed cases,there is still little evidence on the causal effect of the epidemic on mortality inequalities. In this pa-per, we exploit exhaustive municipality-level data in France, one of the most severely hit country in the world, to identify a persistent negative relationship between income and excess mortality withinurban areas. Over the year 2020, the poorest municipalities experienced a 42% higher increase inexcess mortality. Our analyses further reveal that the policy responses to the epidemic - including thelockdowns - play no role in this heterogeneous impact. Last, we show that both labour-market expo-sure and housing conditions are major determinants of the direct effect of the epidemic on mortalityinequalities, but that their respective role depends on the state of the epidemic and the lockdown policy |
| Keywords: | COVID-19,poverty,inequality,mortality,labor market,housing conditions |
| Date: | 2021–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-03154551&r=all |