|
on Microeconomic European Issues |
|
Issue of 2021‒08‒30
thirty-one papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Cem Özgüzel |
| Abstract: | During the Great Recession, immigrants reacted to the drop in labour demand in Spain through internal migration or leaving the country. Consequently, provinces lost 13.5% of their immigrants or - 3% of the total labour supply, on average. Using municipal registers and longitudinal administrative data, I find that immigrant outflows slowed the decline in employment and wage of natives. I use a modified shift-share instrument based on past settlements to claim causality. Employment effects were driven by increased entries to employment, while wage effects were limited to natives that were already employed. These effects also persisted in the medium-term. |
| Keywords: | immigrant mobility, wages, employment, local labour market, Great Recession, Spain |
| JEL: | F22 J31 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9268&r= |
| By: | Westhoff, Leonie; Bukodi, Erzsébet; H. Goldthorpe, John |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we seek to contribute to ongoing discussions of the relationship between income and class in analyses of social inequality and mobility. We argue that while class has sometimes been taken as a proxy for long-term earning levels, it is of greater importance, at least when treated in terms of the EGP schema or the European Socio-Economic Classification (ESEC), in capturing differences in the trajectories that employees' earnings follow over the course of their working lives. Moving beyond previous single country studies, we examine how far the theory that underlies ESEC is reflected in men's age-earnings trajectories across 14 European countries, while also taking into account any effects of their educational qualifications. Modelling data from the 2017 EU-SILC survey and focussing on men's full year/full-time equivalent gross annual earnings, we find that although the age-earnings trajectories that are estimated for different classes do reveal some cross-national variation, there are major features, of a theoretically expected kind, that are evident with our pooled sample and that regularly recur in individual countries. Class differences in earnings are at their narrowest for men in the youngest age group but then widen across older age groups. This occurs primarily because the earnings of men in the professional and managerial salariat, and especially in the higher salariat, show a marked rise with age, while the earnings of men in other classes rise far less sharply or remain flat. We also find evidence that these diverging trajectories are primarily shaped by individuals' class positions independently of their level of qualifications - however important the latter is in determining the class positions that they hold. What can be regarded as the logic of different forms of employment relations, as captured by ESEC, leads to a large degree of cross-national commonality in the association that exists between class and the trajectories of earnings over working life. |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:amz:wpaper:2021-17&r= |
| By: | C. Palomino, Juan; G. Rodríguez, Juan; Sebastian, Raquel |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the distributional consequences of social distancing for the case of Spanish regions. Under 2 months of lockdown plus 10 months of partial functioning our study consistently finds potential wage losses that are sizeable and uneven across the wage distribution all around Spain, but with different intensity depending on the region's productive structure. The increase of the headcount poverty index oscillates between 8.2 (Navarre) and 19.2 (the Balearic Islands) percentage points, while the Gini coefficient rises between 2.3 (Navarre) and 5.3 (the Balearic Islands) Gini points. We also find that inequality between regions increases, eroding regional cohesion in Spain. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, poverty, inequality, teleworking, social distancing, regions, Spain |
| JEL: | D33 E24 J21 J31 |
| Date: | 2021–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:amz:wpaper:2021-06&r= |
| By: | Genz, Sabrina (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg); Schnabel, Claus (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg) |
| Abstract: | While numerous studies have analyzed the aggregate employment effects of digital technologies, this paper focuses on the employment development of individual workers exposed to digitalization. We use a unique linked employer-employee data set for Germany and a direct measure of the first-time introduction of cutting-edge digitalization technologies in establishments between 2011 and 2016. Applying a matching approach, we compare workers in establishments investing in digital technologies with similar employees in establishments that do not make such an investment. We find that the employment stability of incumbent workers is lower in investing than non-investing establishments, but most displaced workers easily find jobs in other firms, and differences in days in unemployment are small. We also document substantial heterogeneities in the employment effects across skill groups, occupational tasks performed, and gender. Employment reactions to digitalization are most pronounced for both low- and high-skilled workers, for workers with non-routine tasks, and for female workers. Our results underline the importance of tackling the impending digital divide among different groups of workers. |
| Keywords: | digitalization, employment, separations, skills, tasks |
| JEL: | J21 J63 O33 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14649&r= |
| By: | Nitish Gupta; Jay Shah; Satwik Gupta; Ruchir Kaul |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we estimate the causal impact (i.e. Average Treatment Effect, ATT) of the EU ETS on GHG emissions and firm competitiveness (primarily measured by employment, turnover, and exports levels) by combining a difference-in-differences approach with semi-parametric matching techniques and estimators an to investigate the effect of the EU ETS on the economic performance of these German manufacturing firms using a Stochastic Production Frontier model. |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2108.07163&r= |
| By: | Genz, Sabrina; Schnabel, Claus |
| Abstract: | While numerous studies have analyzed the aggregate employment effects of digital technologies, this paper focuses on the employment development of individual workers exposed to digitalization. We use a unique linked employer-employee data set for Germany and a direct measure of the first-time introduction of cutting-edge digitalization technologies in establishments between 2011 and 2016. Applying a matching approach, we compare workers in establishments investing in digital technologies with similar employees in establishments that do not make such an investment. We find that the employment stability of incumbent workers is lower in investing than non-investing establishments, but most displaced workers easily find jobs in other firms, and differences in days in unemployment are small. We also document substantial heterogeneities in the employment effects across skill groups, occupational tasks performed, and gender. Employment reactions to digitalization are most pronounced for both low- and high-skilled workers, for workers with non-routine tasks, and for female workers. Our results underline the importance of tackling the impending digital divide among different groups of workers. |
| Keywords: | digitalization,employment,separations,skills,tasks |
| JEL: | J21 J63 O33 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwqwdp:042021&r= |
| By: | Granato, Silvia (European Commission, Joint Research Centre); Havari, Enkelejda (European Commission, Joint Research Centre); Mazzarella, Gianluca (European Commission, Joint Research Centre); Schnepf, Sylke V. (European Commission, DG Joint Research Centre) |
| Abstract: | Erasmus+ is one of the most popular programmes financed by the European Union. It provides international mobility grants to university students while staying enrolled at their home university. This paper brings novel evidence on the effect of participating in the programme on students' academic outcomes, using rich administrative data from one of the largest public universities in Italy. We rely on a fuzzy Regression Discontinuity Design, since the selection of applicants to Erasmus mobility programmes depends on a continuous score assigned during the application process. Our results show that Erasmus mobility does not delay graduation at the home university and, in addition, it has a positive and significant impact on undergraduates' final degree mark. Investigating possible heterogeneous effects, we find that Erasmus mobility improves graduation results for undergraduate students in scientific and technical fields (STEM) and for those who apply for the Erasmus grant in the first year of their studies. Finally, the positive impact on performance at graduation appears to be stronger for students who visit foreign universities of relatively lower quality compared with their home university and for those who stay abroad for more than six months. |
| Keywords: | Erasmus+ programme, international student mobility, university, administrative data, Regression Discontinuity Design |
| JEL: | I23 D04 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14651&r= |
| By: | Giangregorio Luca (University Pompeu Fabra); Fana Marta (European Commission – JRC) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at identifying how and to what extent the Italian labour market structure in terms of job composition and institutional changes shape the dynamics of wages and wage inequality in the decade 2007-2017. We investigate the main determinants behind the rise in wage inequality in Italy using Recentered Influence Function (RIF) regressions. This econometric approach allows – on one side – to directly assess the effects over the unconditional distribution and on statistics beyond the mean, like the Gini coefficient. On the other, it decomposes the inequality difference into the endowment and wage effects, following the standard Oaxaca-Blinder technique. We observe that the occupational structure and institutional changes - contractual arrangements (permanent vs temporary contract) and working time (full-time vs part-time) - are the main factors in explaining the wage downgrade at the bottom of the income distribution and the consequent increase in wage inequality. |
| Keywords: | inequality, labour market, wages, RIF |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:laedte:202111&r= |
| By: | Carranza, Rafael; Morgan, Marc; Nolan, Brian |
| Abstract: | In this paper we bridge the gap between two different approaches to measure inequality: one based on household surveys and summary measures such as the Gini, and the other focused on taxable income and top income shares. We explore how these approaches adjust the Gini for equivalised household income in 26 European countries over 2003-2017 using the EU-SILC, focusing on the World Inequality Database (WID) adjustment as proposed in Blanchet et al. (2020). On average, the Gini increases by around 2.4 points as a result of the WID adjustment, for both gross and disposable income, with notable differences across countries, affecting rankings, despite limited impact on trends. We find that differences in inequality depend less on the adjustment method and more on whether it relies on external data sources such as tax data. In fact, SILC countries that rely on administrative register data experience relatively small changes in inequality after the WID adjustment. For recent years, we find that the Gini for 'non-register' countries increases by 2.8 points on average while in 'register' countries it does so by 0.9 points. We conclude by proposing ways in which household surveys can improve their representativeness of income and living conditions. |
| Keywords: | Inequality, Reweighting, Survey Representativeness, Top incomes |
| JEL: | D31 D63 N30 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:amz:wpaper:2021-16&r= |
| By: | Sarah Schneider-Strawczynski (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); Jérôme Valette (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the extent to which media impact immigration attitudes by modifying the salience of this topic. We measure the salience of immigration using original data including all the news covered on the main French national television evening news programs between 2013 and 2017. We combine this information with individual panel data that enable us to link each respondent to his/her preferred TV channel for political information. This allows us to address ideological self-selection into channels with individual-channel fixed effects. In contrast to prior evidence in the literature, we do not find that an increase in the salience of immigration necessarily drives natives' attitudes in a specific direction. Instead, our results suggest that it increases the polarization of natives by pushing individuals with moderate beliefs toward the two extremes of the distribution of attitudes. We show that these results are robust to controlling for differences in the framing of immigration-related subjects across TV channels. Conversely to priming, framing is found to drive natives' attitudes in very specific directions. |
| Keywords: | Immigration,Media,Polarization |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-03322229&r= |
| By: | Stuart Campbell; Lindsey Macmillan; Richard Murphy; Gill Wyness |
| Abstract: | This paper examines inequalities in the match between student and degree quality using linked administrative data from schools, universities and tax authorities. We analyse two measures of match at the university-subject level: undergraduate enrollment qualifications, and graduate earnings. We find for both that disadvantaged students match to lower quality degrees across the entire distribution of achievement, in a setting with uniform fees and a generous financial aid system. While there are negligible gender gaps in academic match, high-attaining women systematically undermatch in terms of expected earnings, driven by subject choice. These inequalities in match are largest among the most undermatched. |
| Keywords: | higher education, educational economics, college choice, mismatch, undermatch |
| JEL: | I23 I24 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9261&r= |
| By: | Advani, Arun (University of Warwick, CAGE, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), and the LSE International Inequalities Institute (III)); Bangham, George (Resolution Foundation); Leslie, Jack (Resolution Foundation) |
| Abstract: | We show that wealth inequality in the UK is high and has increased slightly over the past decade as financial asset prices increased in the wake of the financial crisis. But data deficiencies are a major barrier in understanding the true distribution, composition and size of household wealth. The most comprehensive survey of household wealth in the UK does a good job of capturing the vast majority of the wealth distribution, but that nearly £800 billion of wealth held by the very wealthiest UK households is missing. We also find tentative evidence that survey measures of high-wealth families undervalue their assets – our central estimate of the true value of wealth held by households in the UK is 5% higher than the survey data suggests |
| Keywords: | JEL Classification: |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:576&r= |
| By: | Rafael Carranza (INET Oxford - Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford [Oxford]); Marc Morgan (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, WIL - World Inequality Lab); Brian Nolan (University of Oxford [Oxford], INET Oxford - Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we bridge the gap between two different approaches to measure inequality: one based on household surveys and summary measures such as the Gini, and the other focused on taxable income and top income shares. We explore how these approaches adjust the Gini for equivalised household income in 26 European countries over 2003-2017 using the EU-SILC, focusing on the World Inequality Database (WID) adjustment as proposed in Blanchet et al. (2020). On average, the Gini increases by around 2.4 points as a result of the WID adjustment, for both gross and disposable income, with notable differences across countries, affecting rankings, despite limited impact on trends. We find that differences in inequality depend less on the adjustment method and more on whether it relies on external data sources such as tax data. In fact, SILC countries that rely on administrative register data experience relatively small changes in inequality after the WID adjustment. For recent years, we find that the Gini for 'non-register' countries increases by 2.8 points on average while in 'register' countries it does so by 0.9 points. We conclude by proposing ways in which household surveys can improve their representativeness of income and living conditions. |
| Keywords: | Inequality,Reweighting,Survey Representativeness,Top incomes |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-03321885&r= |
| By: | Samuel Luethi; Stefan C. Wolter |
| Abstract: | In this study, we examine the influence of competitiveness on the stability of labour relations using the example of premature employment and training contract termination in the apprenticeship education sector. The paper extends the small but growing evidence on the external relevance of competitiveness by analysing gender differences in the correlation between competitiveness and labour market success and whether these effects depend on how the students' propensity to compete is measured. By matching a large experimental dataset with administrative data identifying contract terminations, we find that both gender and test specification matter. While competitive men assigned to a difficult competitiveness task are less likely to drop out of the contract than non competitive men, there is no such effect observable for those assigned to the easier task. On the other hand, competitive women are more likely to drop out than non competitive women, irrespective of how competitiveness is measured. |
| Keywords: | Competitiveness, non-cognitive skills, gender, apprenticeship |
| JEL: | C9 J16 J24 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iso:educat:0185&r= |
| By: | Bachelet, Marion (Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC)); Kalkuhl, Matthias (Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC)); Koch, Nicolas (Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC)) |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 pandemic created the largest experiment in working from home. We study how persistent telework may change energy and transport consumption and costs in Germany to assess the distributional and environmental implications when working from home will stick. Based on data from the German Microcensus and available classifications of working-from-home feasibility for different occupations, we calculate the change in energy consumption and travel to work when 15% of employees work full time from home. Our findings suggest that telework translates into an annual increase in heating energy expenditure of 110 euros per worker and a decrease in transport expenditure of 840 euros per worker. All income groups would gain from telework but high-income workers gain twice as much as low-income workers. The value of time saving is between 1.3 and 6 times greater than the savings from reduced travel costs and almost 9 times higher for high-income workers than low-income workers. The direct effects on CO2 emissions due to reduced car commuting amount to 4.5 millions tons of CO2, representing around 3 percent of carbon emissions in the transport sector. |
| Keywords: | working from home, COVID-19, distributional effect, climate impact |
| JEL: | D13 J22 J61 Q40 R11 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14642&r= |
| By: | Maria Esther Oswald-Egg; Michael Siegenthaler |
| Abstract: | Does better access to skilled workers reduce firms' willingness to provide general skills training to unskilled workers? We analyze how the gradual opening of the Swiss labor market to workers from the European Union affected the number of apprenticeship positions that firms provide. We exploit that the availability of skilled workers increased more in firms close to the border because they gained unrestricted access to cross-border workers from neighboring countries. Our Difference-in-Differences estimates suggest that firm-provided training and access to skilled workers are not necessarily substitutes: opening the borders did not have a statistically significant effect on apprenticeship provision. We show theoretically and empirically that the small impact was the consequence of two opposing effects: the greater availability of skilled workers reduced firms' incentive to train because the cost of hiring external labor fell. Positive impacts on firm growth worked in the opposite direction. |
| Keywords: | labor demand, skilled immigration, firm-provided training, apprenticeships, vocational education and training, free movement of workers, cross-border workers, recruitment, immigration policy, labor mobility, hiring costs |
| JEL: | J24 J63 M53 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iso:educat:0186&r= |
| By: | Lars Ludolph |
| Abstract: | Refugees hosted across the developed world often work in low-quality jobs, regardless of education previously attained in their country of origin. In this paper, I analyse the long-term value of formal host-country education for refugees using the example of forcefully displaced Bosnians who arrived in Austria during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. Deploying 22 years of Austrian microcensus data, I exploit the age at the time of forced migration as an instrument for the probability of receiving host-country instead of origin country education to recover local average treatment effects of education attained in Austria vis-à-vis Bosnia on labour market outcomes for refugees aged around schooling thresholds. These estimates show that attaining a formal degree in the host-country significantly reduces the probability of work below educational attainment and low-skill employment over the entire observation period. Income differences between Austrian and Bosnian degree holders are visible after more than two decades of stay in Austria. The discount on Bosnian education declines over time for men but not for women, suggesting that host-country degrees are particularly important to groups that faced cultural barriers to quality employment in their country of origin. |
| Keywords: | refugees, labour market integration, education |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9241&r= |
| By: | Goedemé, Tim; Zardo Trindade, Lorena |
| Abstract: | In this report, we document and analyse how individual income components are aggregated into the EU-SILC target variables. Even though general and country-specific descriptions of income target variables are available in the EU-SILC methodological guidelines and in the national quality reports, it is often not clear how exactly each of the national income components is classified and aggregated into a target variable in practice. On the basis of a survey among national statistical institutes, we compiled a database which maps the exact classification of income components into the EU-SILC target variables. The focus of the database is on EU-SILC 2015, covering 26 EU-SILC countries. The database contains information on the composition of variables on total income before and after transfers; income from benefits, work and capital; social contributions and taxes. For each component, we look at compliance with Eurostat guidelines, misclassifications and omitted income sources, all potentially undermining cross-national comparability. This report is accompanied by a paper which brings together the main findings regarding challenges for cross-country comparability and recommendations for improving further the quality and comparability of the EU-SILC income variables. The MetaSILC 2015 database can be downloaded here: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/TLSZ4S |
| Date: | 2020–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:amz:wpaper:2020-01&r= |
| By: | Buscha, Franz (University of Westminster); Gorman, Emma (University of Westminster); Sturgis, Patrick (London School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we use linked census data to assess whether an academically selective schooling system promotes social mobility, using England as a case study. Over a period of two decades, the share of pupils in academically selective schools in England declined sharply and differentially by area. Using a sample of census records matched to administrative data on selective system schooling within local areas, we exploit temporal and geographic variation to estimate the effects of the selective schooling system on absolute and relative social class mobility. Our results provide no support for the contention that the selective schooling system increased social mobility in England, whether considered in absolute or relative terms. The findings are precisely estimated and robust to a comprehensive battery of robustness checks. |
| Keywords: | social mobility, selective schooling, grammar schools |
| JEL: | I21 J18 J24 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14640&r= |
| By: | Goedemé, Tim; Decerf, Benoit; Van den Bosch, Karel |
| Abstract: | The methodology currently used to measure poverty in the European Union faces some important limitations. Importantly, capturing the major aspects of poverty is done using a dashboard of indicators, which often tell conflicting stories. We propose a new income-based measure of poverty for Europe that captures in a consistent way the level of relative poverty, the intensity of poverty, poverty with a threshold anchored in time and a pan-European perspective of poverty in a single indicator. To do so, we work with a recently developed poverty index, the Extended Headcount ratio (EHC), and derive the relevant poverty lines to apply the index to poverty in Europe. We show empirically that our measure consistently captures the aspects typically monitored using a variety of indicators, and yield rankings that seem more aligned with intuitions than those obtained by these individual indicators. According to our measure, Eastern Europe is much poorer than Southern Europe, which, in turn, is much poorer than North-Western Europe. The evolution of our measure over time correlates most strongly with the at-risk-of-poverty rate in North-Western Europe and correlates most strongly with at-risk-of-poverty with the threshold anchored in time in Southern and Eastern Europe. |
| Keywords: | Poverty, Europe, at-risk-of-poverty, Europe 2020 poverty reduction target, extended headcount ratio, social indicators, EU-SILC |
| Date: | 2020–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:amz:wpaper:2020-26&r= |
| By: | Mello, Marco (University of Surrey); Moscelli, Giuseppe (University of Surrey) |
| Abstract: | We exploit a quasi-experimental setting provided by an election day with multiple polls to estimate the effect of voters' turnout on the spread of new COVID-19 infections and to quantify the policy trade-off implied by postponing elections during high infection periods. We show that post-poll new COVID cases increased by 1.1% for each additional percentage point of turnout. The cost-benefits analysis based on our estimates and real political events shows that averting an early general election has saved Italy up to about e362 million in additional hospital care costs and e7.5 billion in values of life saved from COVID. |
| Keywords: | control function, endogeneity, event-study, public health, civic capital, voting, COVID-19 |
| JEL: | C23 D72 H51 I18 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14658&r= |
| By: | Luca Fumarco (Tulane University); Alessandro Vandromme (Ghent University); Levi Halewyck (Ghent University); Eline Moens (Ghent University); Stijn Baert (Ghent University) |
| Abstract: | We are the first to estimate the impact of relative age (i.e., the difference in classmates’ ages) on both speed and quality of individuals’ transition from education to the labour market. Moreover, we are the first to explore whether and how this impact passes through characteristics of students’ educational career. We use rich data pertaining to schooling and to labour market outcomes one year after graduation to conduct instrumental variables analyses. We find that a one-year increase in relative age decreases the likelihood of having a school delay at sixteen and attending vocational high-school, while it increases the likelihood of having a student job. Furthermore, we find that a one-year increase in relative age increases the likelihood of (i) being employed by 3.5 percentage points, (ii) having a permanent contract by 5.1 percentage points, and (iii) having full-time employment by 6.5 percentage points. We find no effect on the likelihood of obtaining a job that matches one’s educational level. Finally, we find that only 8 percent to 14 percent of relative age effects on the likelihood of being employed and on full-time employment pass through educational attainments. Moreover, the mediator role of having a student job is as important as that of standard educational outcomes. The impact of relative age on student’s job and, in turn, its impact on the labour market was previously neglected. |
| Keywords: | relative age, school starting age, labour market transition |
| JEL: | I21 J23 J24 J6 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tul:wpaper:2112&r= |
| By: | Bozena Wielgoszewska (University College London, England); Alex Bryson (University College London, England); Monica Costa-Dias (University of Bristol and Institute for Fiscal Studies, England); Francesca Foliano (University College London, England); David Wilkinson (University College London, England) |
| Abstract: | The Covid-19 pandemic has caused unexpected disruptions to Western countries which affected women more adversely than men. Previous studies suggest that these gender differences are attributable to two main causes: women being over-represented in the most affected sectors of the economy and women, especially mothers, taking a bigger share of housework and childcare responsibilities following school closures. Using the data from four British nationally representative cohort studies, we test these two propositions. Our findings confirm that the adverse labour market effects of the covid-19 pandemic were still experienced by women a year into the covid-19 pandemic and that these effects were the most severe for women who lived with a partner and children. We show that adjusting for pre-pandemic job characteristics substantially attenuates the gaps, suggesting that women were over-represented in jobs disproportionately affected by covid-19 pandemic. However, the remaining gaps are not further attenuated by adjusting for the partner’s job characteristics or the number and age of children in the household, suggesting that the adversities experienced by women were not driven by their relative labour market position, as compared to their partners. The residual gender differences observed in the rates of active, paid work and furlough for those who live with partner and children point to the importance of unobserved factors such as social norms, preferences, or discrimination. These effects may be long lasting and jeopardise women’s longer-term position through the loss of experience, leading to reinforcement of gender inequalities or even reversal of the progress towards gender equality. |
| Keywords: | Covid-19; Pandemic; Gender; Employment; Furlough |
| JEL: | J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2021–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qss:dqsswp:2123&r= |
| By: | Rughinis, Razvan; Rughinis, Cosima; Vulpe, Simona Nicoleta; Rosner, Daniel |
| Abstract: | We studied variability in General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) awareness in relation to digital experience in the 28 European countries of EU27-UK, through secondary analysis of the Eurobarometer 91.2 survey conducted in March 2019 (N = 27,524). Education, occupation, and age were the strongest sociodemographic predictors of GDPR awareness, with little influence of gender, subjective economic well-being, or locality size. Digital experience was significantly and positively correlated with GDPR awareness in a linear model, but this relationship proved to be more complex when we examined it through a typological analysis. Using an exploratory k-means cluster analysis we identified four clusters of digital citizenship, across both dimensions of digital experience and GDPR awareness: the off-line citizens (22%), the social netizens (32%), the web citizens (17%), and the data citizens (29%). The off-line citizens ranked lowest in internet use and GDPR awareness; the web citizens ranked at about average values, while the data citizens ranked highest in both digital experience and GDPR knowledge and use. The fourth identified cluster, the social netizens, had a discordant profile, with remarkably high social network use, below average online shopping experiences, and low GDPR awareness. Digitalization in human capital and general internet use is a strong country-level correlate of the national frequency of the data citizen type. Our results confirm previous studies of the low privacy awareness and skills associated with intense social media consumption, but we found that young generations are evenly divided between the rather carefree social netizens and the strongly invested data citizens. In order to achieve the full potential of the GDPR in changing surveillance practices while fostering consumer trust and responsible use of Big Data, policymakers should more effectively engage the digitally connected yet politically disconnected social netizens, while energizing the data citizens and the web citizens into proactive actions for defending the fundamental rights to private life and data protection. |
| Keywords: | Privacy awareness; data citizenship; GDPR; Eurobarometer survey; cluster analysis |
| JEL: | Y80 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:109117&r= |
| By: | Kai Fischer (Dusseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE), Heinrich Heine University, Germany); J. James Reade (Department of Economics, University of Reading); W. Benedikt Schmal (Dusseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE), Heinrich Heine University, Germany) |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 pandemic has caused economic shock waves across the globe. Much research addresses direct health implications of an infection, but to date little is known about how this shapes lasting economic effects. This paper estimates the workplace productivity effects of COVID-19 by studying performance of soccer players after an infection. We construct a dataset that encompasses all traceable infections in the elite leagues of Germany and Italy. Relying on a staggered difference-in-differences design, we identify negative short- and longer-run performance effects. Relative to their pre-infection outcomes, infected players’ performance temporarily drops by more than 6%. Over half a year later, it is still around 5% lower. The negative effects appear to have notable spillovers on team performance. We argue that our results could have important implications for labor markets and public health in general. Countries and firms with more infections might face economic disadvantages that exceed the temporary pandemic shock due to potentially long-lasting reductions in productivity. |
| Keywords: | Labor Performance, Economic Costs of COVID-19, Public Health |
| JEL: | I18 J24 J44 |
| Date: | 2021–08–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rdg:emxxdp:em-dp2021-17&r= |
| By: | Zuzana Brokesova (University of Economics in Bratislava); Andrej Cupak (National Bank of Slovakia); Anthony Lepinteur (University of Luxembourg); Marian Rizov (University of Lincoln) |
| Abstract: | We analyse the relationship between wealth/assets and life satisfaction. Using the Household Finance and Consumption Survey microdata from Slovakia in 2017, we first show that real assets (being the major component of household wealth) and life satisfaction are positively correlated. We address endogeneity concerns thanks to the metadata of the survey: we use the interviewers ’ratings of the respondents’ quality of dwellings to instrument the value of real assets. We show that the 2SLS estimate is positive and higher than the baseline OLS estimate, confirming that real assets are measured with error in survey data. Finally, we use the paradata to show that living next to a neighbour with better house quality significantly decreases one’s happiness. Our results suggest that around half of the total effect of real assets on life satisfaction is relative. |
| JEL: | I30 D60 G51 C26 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:svk:wpaper:1081&r= |
| By: | Luc Arrondel (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); Jérôme Coffinet (Banque de France - Banque de France - Banque de France, UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) |
| Abstract: | Between 2004 and 2014, the number of shareholders in France fell by approximately 50%. The over-cautiousness of savers observed after the crisis now seems less topical, especially since 2017 was marked in France by a tax reform designed to support shareholding: the implementation of a flat tax and the abolition of wealth tax, replaced by property wealth tax. We therefore analyze the risky portfolios of French households from the last two waves (2014-2015 and 2017-2018) of the INSEE's "Life History and Wealth" survey, which have the advantage of being panelized. Although the 2017-2018 survey comes a little early to analyze the full impact of these reforms, this paper provides an original analysis of the dynamics of households' risky portfolios over the last three years, just before (and shortly after) the implementation of these policies. We show first that the demand for risky assets depends strongly on the level of household wealth and expectations of returns on the stock market, two variables that have likely been affected by the recent reforms. These data also make it possible to assess the extent to which the announcement of the recent tax reform has led to changes in securities holdings. |
| Keywords: | Portfolio choice,equity demand,risk premium puzzle,household finance |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-03322577&r= |
| By: | Eric Bonsang; Joan Costa-Font; Sonja De New; Joan Costa-i-Font |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the relationship between locus of control (LOC) and the demand for supplementary health insurance. Drawing on longitudinal data from Germany, we find robust evidence that individuals having an internal LOC are more likely to take up supplementary private health insurance (SUPP). The increase in the probability to have a SUPP due to one standard deviation increase in the measure of internal LOC is equivalent to an increase in household income by 14 percent. Second, we find that the positive association between self-reported health and SUPP becomes small and insignificant when we control for LOC, suggesting that LOC might be an unobserved individual trait that can explain advantageous selection into SUPP. Third, we find comparable results using data from Australia, which enhances the external validity of our results. |
| Keywords: | private health insurance, health care use, risk aversion, locus of control, positive selection, supplementary insurance, Germany, Australia |
| JEL: | I12 I13 I18 D15 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9257&r= |
| By: | Maczulskij, Terhi; Haapanen, Mika; Kauhanen, Antti; Riukula, Krista |
| Abstract: | Abstract Using information on collective agreements and administrative data on mental ill-health, sickness absence, and job separations, we study the effect of decentralization on well-being at work in Finland. Our regression results with individual-and firm-level fixed effects show that decentralized wage bargaining leads to distinct outcomes for different employee groups. For example, white-collar employees in white-collar intensive firms show increased well-being at work. In contrast, all employees in blue-collar intensive firms show quite strong and negative responses to decentralization. Decentralization affects mostly job-separation behavior and mental ill-health, whereas no consistent effects for sickness absence are observed. Whether the mechanisms between decentralization and worker’s well-being is explained by pay dispersion, wage level, or different preferences toward wage policy needs to be explored further. |
| Keywords: | Decentralization, Collective agreements, Mental health disorder, Sickness absence, Job separation, Blue-collar, White-collar |
| JEL: | J31 J51 J52 |
| Date: | 2021–08–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:wpaper:89&r= |
| By: | Drydakis, Nick |
| Abstract: | The study replicates the first European field experiment on gay men's labor market prospects in Greece. Utilizing the same protocol as the original study in 2006-2007, two follow-up field experiments took place in 2013-2014 and 2018-2019. The study estimated that gay men experienced occupational access constraints and wage sorting in vacancies offering lower remuneration. It was found that in 2013-2014 and 2018-2019, gay men experienced increasingly biased treatment compared to 2006-2007. Moreover, the results suggested that unemployment bore an association with occupational access constraints and wage sorting in vacancies offering lower remuneration for gay men. In each of the three experiments, this study captured recruiters' attitudes toward gay men. A one standard deviation increase in taste-discrimination attitudes against gay men decreased their access to occupations by 9.6%. Furthermore, a one standard deviation increase in statistical-discrimination attitudes against gay men decreased their access to occupations by 8.1%. According to the findings, in 2013-2014 and 2018-2019, firms excluding gay applicants expressed a higher level of taste- and statistical-discrimination attitudes compared to 2006-2007. A gay rights backlash due to the LGBTIQ+ group's attempt to advance its agenda, rising far-right rhetoric, and prejudice associated with economic downturns experienced in Greece might correspond with increasing biases against gay men. |
| Keywords: | Field experiment,Sexual orientation,Hiring discrimination,Wage sorting,Replication,Backlash,Unemployment,Economic recession |
| JEL: | C93 J7 J16 J31 J42 J64 J71 J83 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:915&r= |
| By: | Vitus Püttmann; Jens Ruhose; Stephan L. Thomsen |
| Abstract: | Academics are increasingly expected to engage in public discussions. We study how engagement conditions affect academics’ engagement attitudes via a survey experiment among 4,091 tenured professors in Germany. Consistent with the crowding-out of intrinsic motivation, we find lesspositive attitudes when emphasizing public authorities’ demands and public expectations regarding science’s societal relevance. Effects are particularly strong among professors endorsing science–society relations. Moreover, effects are similar when highlighting risks associated with engagement, but more pronounced for females, and absent when emphasizing public support for academics’ engagement. We conclude that considering individual incentive structures and safeguarding against repercussions may promote academics’ engagement. |
| Keywords: | science communication, public engagement, professor, survey experiment, intrinsic motivation |
| JEL: | I23 O33 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9258&r= |