|
on Microeconomic European Issues |
|
Issue of 2021‒09‒20
thirty-six papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Clark, Andrew E; Lepinteur, Anthony |
| Abstract: | We use data from the COME-HERE longitudinal survey collected by the University of Luxembourg to assess the effects of the policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic on life satisfaction in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden over the course of 2020. Policy responses are measured by the Stringency Index and the Economic Support Index from the Blavatnik School of Government. Stringency is systematically associated with lower life satisfaction, controlling for the intensity of the pandemic itself. This stringency effect is larger for women, those with weak ties to the labour market, and in richer households. The effect of the Economic Support is never statistically different from zero. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, Life Satisfaction, Policy Stringency, Economic Support |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpm:docweb:2108&r= |
| By: | Nybok, Martin (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy); Stuhler, Jan (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) |
| Abstract: | We use complete-count register data to describe various features of intergenerational mobility in Sweden. First, we document the extent of regional variation in educational and income mobility across Swedish municipalities, and describe its spatial pattern. Second, we study the stability of such regional rankings to the choice of mobility statistic. Third, we show that income inequality and mobility are negatively related, across all mobility measures. Fourth, we exploit variation in local exposure to show that the 1990s economic crisis and the 2007-2008 fi nancial crisis had a negative eff ect on income mobility. |
| Keywords: | The geography of intergenerational mobility; multigenerational mobility; income inequality; recession |
| JEL: | J62 R00 |
| Date: | 2021–09–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2021_011&r= |
| By: | Forth, John (Cass Business School); Theodoropoulos, Nikolaos (University of Cyprus); Bryson, Alex (University College London) |
| Abstract: | Using matched employer-employee data for Britain, we examine ethnic wage differentials among full-time employees. We find substantial ethnic segregation across workplaces: around three-fifths of workplaces in Britain employ no ethnic minority workers. However, this workplace segregation does not contribute to the aggregate wage gap between ethnic minorities and white employees. Instead, most of the ethnic wage gap exists between observationally equivalent co-workers. Lower pay satisfaction and higher levels of skill mismatch among ethnic minority workers are consistent with discrimination in wage-setting on the part of employers. The use of job evaluation schemes within the workplace is shown to be associated with a smaller ethnic wage gap. |
| Keywords: | ethnic wage gap, workplace segregation, skill mismatch, pay satisfaction, job evaluation |
| JEL: | J16 J31 M52 M54 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14697&r= |
| By: | Charlotte Bartels; Cortnie Shupe |
| Abstract: | We compute participation tax rates across the EU and find that work disincentives inherent in tax-benefit systems largely depend on household composition and the individual's earner role within the household. We then estimate participation elasticities using an IV group estimator that enables us to investigate the responsiveness of individuals to work incentives. We contribute to the literature on heterogeneous elasticities by providing estimates for breadwinners and secondary earners separately, according to their potential earnings rather than gender. Our results show an average participation elasticity of 0.0-0.1 among breadwinners and 0.1-0.4 among secondary earners in the EU as well as a high degree of heterogeneity across countries. |
| Keywords: | Participation elasticities, labor supply, taxation, cross-country comparisons |
| JEL: | H24 H31 J22 J65 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1969&r= |
| By: | Morando, Greta (University of Westminster) |
| Abstract: | It has been found that migrants and natives are affected differently by fluctuations in the business cycle. This paper analyses whether this is the case when considering the most recent economic downturn triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. By using UK data, it finds that unemployment has increased for both natives and migrants as has, consequently, the benefits which are aimed to support non-employed households. The rise in these outcomes is particularly important for EU migrants. EU migrants have also been more likely to experience a decrease in pay during the pandemic. Natives, EU workers, and non-EU workers have all suffered similar decreases in hours worked. Since migrants are likely to adjust to negative shocks by return or re-migration, these findings suggest that the recent increase in emigration from the UK can be partly explained by the negative effects of the pandemic on migrants labour market outcomes. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, migration, UK labour market |
| JEL: | F22 J01 J20 J61 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14699&r= |
| By: | Fays, Valentine (University of Mons); Mahy, Benoît (University of Mons); Rycx, Francois (Free University of Brussels) |
| Abstract: | This paper is the first to investigate the role of firm-level upstreamness (i.e. the number of steps before the production of a firm meets final demand) in explaining wage differences according to workers' origin. Using unique linked employer-employee data relative to the Belgian manufacturing industry for the period 2002-2010, our estimates show that firms that are further up in the value chain pay significantly higher wages. However, the wage premium associated with upstreamness is also found to vary substantially depending on the origin of the workers. Unconditional quantile estimates suggest that those who benefit the most from being employed in more upstream firms are high-wage workers born in developed countries. In contrast, workers born in developing countries, irrespective of their earnings, appear to be unfairly rewarded. Quantile decompositions further show that, while differences in average values of upstreamness according to workers' origin play a limited role, differences in wage premia associated with upstreamness account for a substantial part of the wage gap between workers born in developed and developing countries, especially at the top of the earnings distribution. These results are shown to be robust to a number of sensitivity tests, including broader or narrower definitions of workers' wages and different firm environments in terms of technological and knowledge intensity. |
| Keywords: | wage gaps, workers’ origin, global value chains, upstreamness, unconditional quantile estimates and decompositions |
| JEL: | J15 J31 F16 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14696&r= |
| By: | Bernardo Fanfani; Claudio Lucifora (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore; Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore); Daria Vigani |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the characteristics of employer association in Italy, using unique firm-level data with information on employers’ affiliation choices as well as their characteristics. We document that a persistent decline in affiliation rates to employers’ associations has occurred during the last two decades. We show that affiliated companies are positively selected, as they tend to be larger, older, more likely to be located in richer regions, to be export- and innovation-oriented, as well as more likely to provide training. Using longitudinal data and regression decomposition techniques, we show that more fragile and less innovative firms have been more affected by the persistent decline in affiliation rates. Using a firm fixed effect identification strategy, we also show that firms that become members of an employer association tend to experience a faster growth in employment, but there are no significant relationships with productivity dynamics. Finally, the paper analyses whether the level of representativeness of employers’ associations has any effect on bargaining outcomes concerning the level of minimum wages, which are settled by these organizations in national industry-wide collective contracts after a negotiation process with trade unions. Results from this analysis show that a higher representativeness of employers’ organizations has a weak positive relationship with the level of bargained wages. |
| Keywords: | industrial relations; employer association; collective bargaining; wage setting. |
| JEL: | J52 J31 J41 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctc:serie1:def109&r= |
| By: | Valentine Fays (Université de Mons (humanOrg)); Benoît Mahy (Université de Mons (humanOrg)); François Rycx (Université libre de Bruxelles, SBS-EM (CEBRIG & DULBEA)) |
| Abstract: | This paper is the first to investigate the role of firm-level upstreamness (i.e. the number of steps before the production of a firm meets final demand) in explaining wage differences according to workers’ origin. Using unique linked employer-employee data relative to the Belgian manufacturing industry for the period 2002-2010, our estimates show that firms that are further up in the value chain pay significantly higher wages. However, the wage premium associated with upstreamness is also found to vary substantially depending on the origin of the workers. Unconditional quantile estimates suggest that those who benefit the most from being employed in more upstream firms are high-wage workers born in developed countries. In contrast, workers born in developing countries, irrespective of their earnings, appear to be unfairly rewarded. Quantile decompositions further show that, while differences in average values of upstreamness according to workers’ origin play a limited role, differences in wage premia associated with upstreamness account for a substantial part of the wage gap between workers born in developed and developing countries, especially at the top of the earnings distribution. These results are shown to be robust to a number of sensitivity tests, including broader or narrower definitions of workers’ wages and different firm environments in terms of technological and knowledge intensity. |
| Keywords: | Wage Gaps, Workers’ Origin, Global Value Chains, Upstreamness, Unconditional Quantile Estimates and Decompositions |
| JEL: | J15 J31 F16 |
| Date: | 2021–08–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctl:louvir:2021022&r= |
| By: | Ali-Yrkkö, Jyrki; Halme, Kimmo; Deschryvere, Matthias; Lehenkari, Janne; Piirainen, Kalle; Suominen, Arho |
| Abstract: | Abstract This study focuses on factors affecting companies’ research and development (R&D), Finland as a location for R&D activities, and R&D intensity (R&D/GDP). According to our results, R&D investments are increasing in Finland but the R&D intensity will not reach 4 % target by 2030. Our results showed that Sweden, Estonia (and to some extent other Baltic countries), and Germany are Finland’s main competitors regarding the location of R&D investments. The key factors affecting R&D location are the availability of R&D personnel, and the geographical proximity to the companies’ other units and customers. We recommend comprehensive and long-term innovation policy which considers policy actions – not only affecting the increase of R&D and its impacts – but also the increase of capabilities. It should be noted, however, that rather than the ultimate target, R&D is a means to reach other goals. |
| Keywords: | R&D, Research, Development, Target, Location, Factors, Private, Company, Firm, Competition |
| JEL: | D22 D25 E22 F23 H25 O3 O32 O38 |
| Date: | 2021–09–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:briefs:98&r= |
| By: | Anne-Sophie Bruno (CHS - Centre d'histoire sociale des mondes contemporains - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Nathalie Greenan (TEPP - Travail, Emploi et Politiques Publiques - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CEET - Centre d'études de l'emploi et du travail - CNAM - Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers [CNAM] - M.E.N.E.S.R. - Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé, LIRSA - Laboratoire interdisciplinaire de recherche en sciences de l'action - CNAM - Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers [CNAM], CNAM - Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers [CNAM]); Jeremy Tanguy (IREGE - Institut de Recherche en Gestion et en Economie - USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry] - Université Savoie Mont Blanc) |
| Abstract: | Gender equality at work has become in recent years a priority for governments. In France, collective bargaining is a main lever to achieve progress on gender equality issues. In a two-tier bargaining framework, industries and firms are required by law to negotiate on the reduction of gender inequalities. Using firm-level survey data on labor relations issues combined with administrative data, this paper seeks to better understand the dynamics of collective bargaining on gender equality at the firm level by questioning the role played by the gender mix. We find that gender diversity favors gender equality bargaining at the firm level. Under-representation and over-representation of women reduce the probability of firms negotiating an agreement on gender equality. The introduction of sanctions in the recent period has prompted low-feminized firms to negotiate more on gender equality but had little impact on highly feminized firms. |
| Keywords: | gender equality,collective bargaining,gender diversity |
| Date: | 2021–08–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-03325842&r= |
| By: | Colin Wessendorf; Alexander Kopka; Dirk Fornahl |
| Abstract: | The European Commission summarized six young General Purpose Technologies (GPTs) under the label of European Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) in 2009. GPTs are broad, pervasive and widely diffused technologies that enable knowledge creation and economic growth. This study analyzes to what extent the KETs’ structural relevance within their regional knowledge bases leads to regional knowledge creation. Additionally, we analyze whether the structural relevance and the regional knowledge presence in KETs interact with regards to regional knowledge creation. The ‘structure’ of a regional knowledge base describes the relation of all knowledge being present within a given region, while ‘structural relevance’ describes a technology’s impact on the structure. Our analysis focuses on the time period from 1986-2015 and includes Germany’s 141 Labor Market Regions (LMRs) as regional spatial units. Our database consists of patent data from which we map the structure of the regional knowledge bases, by constructing technological spaces based on technology co-occurrences on patents. The structural relevance is operationalized with the help of Social Network Analysis (SNA), by measuring the changes that the removal of KETs causes in the structure of technological spaces. Our findings indicate that KETs enable knowledge creation in different ways. They show that the effects of KETs on regional knowledge creation activities are KET-specific. Furthermore, it proves essential to distinguish between ‘knowledge presence’ and ‘structural knowledge relevance’ when addressing the innovation-spawning function of KETs. Thus, for both further research and for policy-making, it is a fundamental requirement to address KET-driven knowledge creation in particular KET-specific ways. |
| Keywords: | General purpose technologies, GPT, key enabling technologies, KET, regional innovation, regional knowledge base, knowledge space, technological space, technological integration, German regions |
| JEL: | O31 O33 R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2127&r= |
| By: | Roddy, Áine |
| Abstract: | Child chronic illness/ disability can present significant challenges for children, families and society that require appropriate policy responses; yet little is known about the demands placed on families resources from an economics perspective in terms of its impact on household income and the extra income required to achieve the same standard of living as families who do not have a child with a chronic illness/disability. The paper uses data from the Growing Up in Ireland National survey dataset for nine year olds. It is the first study to empirically investigate the impact of child chronic illness/disability on earnings, standard of living and the extra cost of disability together. It is also the first study to explicitly address endogeneity in the standard of living model by using a two-stage process where residuals were harvested to provide efficient estimates. The findings show that families experience significant disadvantage and economic hardship due to reduced household income and a lower standard of living due to the extra cost of disability that would require considerable income to compensate. Policy implications of these findings suggest that a tiered approach to disability support payments which encompass broader criteria for inclusion based on varying severity levels be introduced to alleviate the financial hardship and compromised economic wellbeing of families affected. In addition, more innovative policies are required to implement appropriate timely access to health and social care services and flexi parental employment, which in turn requires the provision of adequate access to high quality educational and care facilities. |
| Keywords: | child disability; family income; household standard of living; extra cost of disability; economic hardship; Springer deal |
| JEL: | C31 I31 J14 |
| Date: | 2021–09–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:111833&r= |
| By: | Ali-Yrkkö, Jyrki; Pajarinen, Mika |
| Abstract: | Abstract In this study, we analyse the size and role of the Finnish event industry by utilising both industry- and firm-level data. Furthermore, we study the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on companies operating in the event industry. Based on our results, the event industry accounts for 1.2% of the Finnish GDP. It should be noted that in addition to companies, the event industry consists of associations, foundations and other non-profit organisations. Depending on the definition, the Finnish event industry included in 2019 approximately 8,354–9,126 companies with 15,200–19,500 employees (full-time equivalent), which corresponds to 0.9–1.2% of the employment of all companies. The companies operating in the event industry generated EUR 800–1,200 million value added, corresponding to 0.6–0.9% of the value added of all companies. The turnover decreased between 2019 and 2020 for 70% of these companies. In every fourth of the companies, turnover decreased by at least 50%. Due to update delays of the firm-level data, these shares are probably downward biased because we were not able to take into account the role of companies that that ceased operations. |
| Keywords: | Event industry, Event, Significance, Covid-19, Impact, Role, Definition |
| JEL: | L16 L8 L84 |
| Date: | 2021–09–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:report:116&r= |
| By: | Paul Fiedler |
| Abstract: | Literature encompassing economic insecurity and its relationship with mental health has increased significantly in recent years. While the association of job insecurity and mental health has been researched extensively, less is known about the general relationship between economic insecurity and mental health. This paper analyses the simultaneous influence of six different economic insecurity indicators on mental health focusing on private sector employees. Using German longitudinal micro-data and applying a fixed effects model, this paper finds a significant negative relationship between a broad range of economic insecurity factors and mental health. Specifically, the relationship stems from self-perceived risks such as economic anxiety and job insecurity as opposed to macro-economic anxiety or objective factors, such as workforce reductions or substantial income losses. This strongly suggests that subjective measures of economic insecurity matter more for mental health than objective ones. Furthermore, the empirical results are robust with respect to various model specifications. From a policy perspective, this paper calls for improved provision of mental health services and also an increased awareness of mental health problems combined with generally de-tabooing the discussion of mental health. |
| Keywords: | mental health, economic insecurity, fixed effects, private sector employees, SOEP |
| JEL: | I14 I31 J01 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1145&r= |
| By: | Hermes, Henning (NHH Bergen,Norway); Lergetporer, Philipp (Ifo Institute for Economic Research); Peter, Frauke (DIW Berlin); Wiederhold, Simon (Ifo Institute for Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | Children with lower socioeconomic status (SES) tend to benefit more from early child care, but are substantially less likely to be enrolled. We study whether reducing behavioral barriers in the application process increases enrollment in child care for lower-SES children. In our RCT in Germany with highly subsidized child care (n > 600), treated families receive application information and personal assistance for applications. For lower-SES families, the treatment increases child care application rates by 21 pp and enrollment rates by 16 pp. Higher-SES families are not affected by the treatment. Thus, alleviating behavioral barriers closes half of the SES gap in early child care enrollment. |
| Keywords: | child care, early childhood, behavioral barriers, information, educational inequality, randomized controlled trial |
| JEL: | I21 J13 J18 J24 C93 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14698&r= |
| By: | Alexander Daminger |
| Abstract: | This paper documents effects of a homeownership subsidy’s full repeal on the urban-rural residential location choice. First, I document the distribution of population across space for German labor market regions, using official NUTS-3 level population statistics. These labor market regions usually consist of a city (the urban core) and adjacent counties (the urban hinterlands) connected by commuter flows. Second, using IV-estimations in Difference-in-Differences and Triple-Differences frameworks, I exploit the 2005 repeal of Germany’s lump-sum direct homeownership subsidy “Eigenheimzulage” on changes in this distribution across space. The results indicate that repealing subsidies to homeownership reverses subsidy-induced population flows to the periphery and thus makes regions re-urbanize. Cities’ population gains derive in large parts from families with children and young residents of “building age”, that are no longer able to become homeowners outside the city gates without the subsidy’s support. |
| Keywords: | homeownership, housing subsidies, residential location choice, suburbanization |
| JEL: | H24 H30 H71 R23 R28 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bav:wpaper:211_daminger&r= |
| By: | Bryson, Alex (University College London); Clark, Andrew E. (Paris School of Economics); Green, Colin P. (Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)) |
| Abstract: | A small literature has shown that individual wellbeing varies with the price of company stock, but it is unclear whether this is due to wealth effects among those holding stock, or more general effects on sentiment, with individuals taking rising stock prices as an indicator of improvements in the economy. We contribute to this literature by using two data sets to establish the relationship between share prices on the one hand and worker wellbeing on the other. First, we use data on share price movements and employee stock holding in a single corporation and provide suggestive evidence that an increase in the firm's stock price increases the wellbeing of those who belong to its employee share purchase plan (ESPP), and that these effects are greatest among those making the largest monthly contributions to the program who have the most to gain (or lose) from stock price fluctuations. There is also some tentative evidence that the wellbeing effects of a rise in the share price are greatest among those with the largest shareholdings. We then use almost 30 years of British panel data to show that employee job satisfaction moves with share prices among those whose pay is partly determined by company fortunes. Taken together these results suggest that the well-being effects of share prices work at least partly via changes in wealth. |
| Keywords: | job satisfaction, wellbeing, share prices, share ownership, profit-sharing |
| JEL: | J28 J33 J54 J63 J81 M52 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14706&r= |
| By: | Sandsør, Astrid Marie Jorde (University of Oslo); Zachrisson, Henrik Daae; Karoly, Lynn A. |
| Abstract: | Socioeconomic achievement gaps measure the disparity in test scores between students from high and low socioeconomic backgrounds, commonly measured as a combination of parental income, education and occupation. However, educational data often limits the ability to create such measures of family background and link them to student test scores, leading researchers to arrive at different conclusions about levels and trends depending on the SES measure and estimation method. In this paper we disentangle the importance of each by using register data from Norway with precise measures of parental income and education. We show that results crucially depend on the SES measure, as parental income and education are not interchangeable measures of socioeconomic background. Achievement gaps by parental income in Norway are large, 0.55-0.93 standard deviations, and have increased by about 10% of a standard deviation over the 11-year time period we study, whereas achievement gaps by parental education are even larger, 0.86-1.15 standard deviations, but remain stable over the same period. Accounting for compositional changes in immigration decreases the magnitude of the gaps, whether measured by parental income or education, while trends remain the same. |
| Date: | 2021–09–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:edarxi:unvcy&r= |
| By: | Drydakis, Nick (Anglia Ruskin University) |
| Abstract: | The study examines whether adverse working conditions for immigrants in Greece bear an association with deteriorated physical health and increased levels of depression during 2018 and 2019. Findings indicate that workers with no written contract of employment, receiving hourly wages lower than the national hourly minimum wages, and experiencing insults and/or threats in their present job experience worse physical health and increased levels of depression. The study found that the inexistence of workplace contracts, underpayment, and verbal abuse in the workplace may coexist. An increased risk of underpayment and verbal abuse reveals itself when workers do not have a contract of employment and vice versa. Immigrant workers without a job contract might experience a high degree of workplace precariousness and exclusion from health benefits and insurance. Immigrant workers receiving a wage lower than the corresponding minimum potentially do not secure a living income, resulting in unmet needs and low investments in health. Workplace abuse might correspond with vulnerability related to humiliating treatment. These conditions can negatively impact workers' physical health and foster depression. Policies should promote written employment contracts and ensure a mechanism for workers to register violations of fair practices. |
| Keywords: | adverse working conditions, physical health, depression, immigrants, refugees, minimum wages, written contracts of employment, threats in job, workplace precariousness |
| JEL: | J81 O15 E24 I14 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14700&r= |
| By: | Fernanda Ricotta (University of Calabria); Victoria Golikova (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Boris Kuznetsov (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate whether CEO characteristics (owner-manager status, age and gender) influence firm innovative performance and test empirically if the effect differs for market and transition economies. We use cross-sectional data of manufacturing firms in six EU countries and in Russia. To address heterogeneity, we explore innovation performance by size among SMEs and large businesses and by Pavitt sector. In both institutional settings, the presence of a family CEO either has no effect or improves innovative performance. On the contrary, the role of CEO gender is different in Russia and in the EU. In the EU, female CEOs are associated with less innovation, especially in SMEs and in the traditional sector. In Russia, CEO gender is not associated with differences in innovative performance and when it is (for the traditional sector), it favors female-run firms. For CEO age, considering product innovations, the oldest group of CEOs are less active in European firms while mature CEOs are more innovative in Russia. |
| Keywords: | CEO age, gender, manager-owner status, innovation, manufacturing firms |
| JEL: | D21 L60 P50 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:251/ec/2021&r= |
| By: | Jonas Jessen; Daniel Kuehnle; Markus Wagner |
| Abstract: | Habit formation theory and the transformative voting hypothesis both imply that voting has downstream consequences for turnout and political involvement. Although several studies have applied causal research designs to study this question, the long-run evidence is extremely limited, especially for potentially transformative effects. We jointly examine the short- and long-term impact of earlier voting eligibility on subsequent turnout and political involvement using rich panel data from the UK. Exploiting the eligibility cut-off for national elections within a regression discontinuity design, our precise estimates document a short-run increase in voting–for those able to vote earlier–alongside a contemporaneous increase in several measures of political involvement. However, we show that these short-term effects fade away quickly and do not translate into permanent changes in turnout propensity or political involvement. Our results imply that, in a setting with low institutional barriers to vote, the transformative effects of voting are short-lived at most. |
| Keywords: | Habit formation, transformative voting hypothesis, voter turnout, political involvement, regression discontinuity |
| JEL: | D01 D70 D72 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1973&r= |
| By: | Buscha, Franz; Gorman, Emma; Sturgis, Patrick |
| Abstract: | Recent studies of social mobility have documented that not only who your parents are, but also where you grow up, substantially influences subsequent life chances. We bring these two concepts together to study social mobility in England and Wales, in three post-war generations, using linked Decennial Census data. Our findings show considerable spatial variation in rates of absolute and relative mobility, as well as how these have changed over time. While upward mobility increased in every region between the mid-1950s and the early 1980s, this shift varied across different regions and tailed off for more recent cohorts. We also explore how domestic migration is related to social mobility, finding that those who moved out of their region of origin had higher rates of upward mobility compared to those who stayed, although this difference narrowed over time. |
| Keywords: | ES/R00627X/1; ES/V003488/1 |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2021–08–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:111605&r= |
| By: | Ximeng Fang; Timo Freyer; Chui Yee Ho; Zihua Chen; Lorenz Goette |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 pandemic induces a typical social dilemma situation, as engaging in preventive behaviors such as social distancing is costly for individuals, but generates benefits that accrue to society at large. The extent to which individuals internalize the social impact of their actions may depend on their (pro-)social preferences. We leverage a nationally representative survey in Germany (n = 5,843), conducted during the second coronavirus wave, to investigate the role of prosociality in reducing the spread of COVID-19. At the individual level, higher prosociality is strongly positively related to compliance with recommended public health behaviors. At the regional (NUTS-2) level, higher average prosociality is associated with significantly lower incidence and growth rates of COVID-19 infections. This association is robust to controlling for a host of regional socio-economic factors, and mediated by stronger average compliance with public health measures. Our correlational results thus confirm the notion that voluntary behavioral change due to prosocial motivations can play an important role in the pandemic. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, collective action, prosociality, economic preferences, online survey |
| JEL: | D64 I12 I18 H41 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2021_319&r= |
| By: | Pascal Flurin Meier (Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich); Raphael Flepp (Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich); Egon Franck (Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether sports betting markets are semistrong-form efficient — i.e., whether new information is rapidly and completely incorporated into betting prices. We use news on ghost games in the top European football leagues due to the COVID-19 pandemic as a clean arrival of new public information. Because spectators are absent during ghost games, the home advantage is reduced, and we test whether this information is fully reflected in betting prices. Our results show that bookmakers and betting exchanges systematically overestimated a home team’s winning probability during the first period of the ghost games, which suggests that betting markets are, at least temporally, not semistrong-form efficient. Examining different leagues, we find that our main results are driven by the German Bundesliga, which was the first league to resume operations. We exploit a betting strategy that yields a positive net payoff over more than one month. |
| Keywords: | Sports Betting Market, Market Efficiency, Home Advantage, COVID-19 |
| JEL: | G14 L83 Z2 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zrh:wpaper:387&r= |
| By: | Oriane Lafuente-Sampietro (TRIANGLE - Triangle : action, discours, pensée politique et économique - ENS Lyon - École normale supérieure - Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - IEP Lyon - Sciences Po Lyon - Institut d'études politiques de Lyon - Université de Lyon - UJM - Université Jean Monnet [Saint-Étienne] - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This article will investigate the links between convertible local currencies (CLCs) and economic localisation. Following on the qualitative study by Marshall and O'Neil (2018), we will answer the following question: to what extent do convertible local currencies foster the localisation of procurement and production by creating new commercial relationships between businesses that use them? We will use data from a quantitative survey conducted by the Mouvement SOL, a French net- work of CLCs, for individual (n=1597) and provider (n=542) users of French CLCs. We will also address how new providers are found through the currency and analyse the change in con- sumption and production practices. This first analysis will be supported by a case study on the Eusko, the largest convertible local currency in France. The Eusko case makes it possible to cross-reference the survey data from Eusko users with the transaction data from digital Eusko users in order to evaluate whether the results of forming commercial relationships between companies are consistent across both sources. We will also use digital Eusko transaction data to run a network analysis, enabling us to observe the development of commercial relationships inside the community over time. We found that between one fourth to one third of businesses in a CLC network find new business partners in their CLC community, connecting with 3.5 new partners on average. These results are more encouraging than the absence of localisation found by Marshall and O'Neil (2018). Transaction data also allows us to determine which sectors benefit the most from the circulation of CLC and thus draw a conclusion on the capacity of the currency to move from the localisation of procurement to the localisation of production. Our results on this point are more balanced. The retail sector benefits the most from the circulation of Eusko and actors in this sector ex- change 40% of the CLC received into national currency, limiting the flow of income exchanged within the CLC. |
| Keywords: | Economic localisation,Convertible local currency,Monnaie locale complémentaire,Monnaie alternative |
| Date: | 2021–06–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-03324630&r= |
| By: | Stefano Colonnello (Department of Economics, University Of Venice CÃ Foscari; Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH)); Roberto Marfè (Collegio Carlo Alberto, Turin); Qizhou Xiong (Saïd Business School, University of Oxford) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates heterogeneity in residential property yields using rental and sale listings from the largest German internet real estate platform. Equipped with property-level rent-to-price ratios obtained via matching properties for sale and for rent, we show that they strongly co-move with local factors, such as population age structure, industry structure, housing supply rigidities, and the liquidity and size of the housing market. Regional differences are particularly pronounced between globally relevant cities and other areas. However, a large fraction of the variation of rent-to-price ratios can be explained neither by local factors nor by an extensive array of property-specific observable features, pointing to the crucial role of idiosyncratic factors and within-city aggregation economies. We then create a pseudo-panel to examine the time-series dimension of house prices and show that the ability of expectations about discount and rent growth rates impounded in rent-to-price ratios to predict return and rent growth is statistically significant but of limited economic magnitude. |
| Keywords: | Housing, Rent-to-Price Ratio, Asset Pricing, Agglomeration Economies |
| JEL: | G12 G51 R31 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2021:21&r= |
| By: | Icks, Andrea |
| Abstract: | Aims: Health-related changes in leisure time are supposed to be implicitly considered by participants of health state valuations. The amount of empirical research on whether respondents in fact include the effects of morbidity on leisure into health state valuations is limited and the results are inconclusive. In this exploratory study, we analyze whether time aspects of diabetes self-care might explain the ratings of the health state (HSR) in addition to the effects of physical and mental health-related quality of life. Methods: Using the data from participants with diagnosed type 2 diabetes in the population-based KORA FF4 study (n=190, 60% Male, mean age 69±10 years), multiple logistic regression models were fitted to explain HSR (good vs. poor) in terms of the SF12 physical and mental component scores, time spent on diabetes self-care and a range of background variables. We assume that if time spent on diabetes self-care competes with other leisure activities and implicitly plays a role in HSR, this additional effect should be seen in regression models. Results: There was no significant association between time spent on diabetes self-care and HSR in models without interaction. Significant interaction term was found between physical score of SF12 and time spent on self-care. In models with interaction self-care time has a small, but significant impact on the HSR. In particular, for a fixed physical score of SF12 value under 40, more time increases the chance to rate the health state as "good", while for physical score value above 40 there is a reverse effect. Conclusions: The additional impact of self-care time on HSR in our sample is small and more complex than a simple linear association. More research is needed on whether inclusion of health-related leisure time changes in the denominator of cost-effectiveness analysis is sufficient. |
| Keywords: | patient time use,diabetes mellitus,health economic evaluation,population-based study |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:udewwd:234&r= |
| By: | Christian Merkl; Heiko Stüber |
| Abstract: | We document substantial cross-sectional heterogeneity of German establishments’ real wage cyclicality over the business cycle. While wages of the median establishment are moderately procyclical, 36 percent of establishments have countercyclical wages. We estimate a negative connection between establishments’ wage cyclicality and their employment cyclicality, thereby providing a benchmark for quantitative macroeconomic models. We propose and calibrate a labor market flow model to match various empirical facts and to perform counterfactual exercises. If all establishments behaved as the most procyclical ones, labor market amplification would drop by one-third. If all followed Nash bargaining, it would drop by more than two-thirds. |
| Keywords: | wage cyclicality, employment cyclicality, labor market flow model, labor market dynamics, establishments, administrative data |
| JEL: | E32 E24 J64 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9283&r= |
| By: | Gyula Seres; Anna Balleyer; Nicola Cerutti; Jana Friedrichsen; Müge Süer |
| Abstract: | During the COVID-19 pandemic, the introduction of mandatory face mask usage triggered a heated debate. A major point of debate is whether community use of masks creates a false sense of security that would diminish physical distancing, counteracting any potential direct benefit from masking. We conducted a randomized field experiment in Berlin, Germany, to investigate how masks affect distancing and whether the mask effect interacts with the introduction of an indoor mask mandate. Joining waiting lines in front of stores, we measured distances kept from the experimenter in two treatment conditions { the experimenter wore a mask in one and no face covering in the other { in two time spans { before and after mask use becoming mandatory in stores. We find no evidence that mandatory masking has a negative effect on distance kept toward a masked person. To the contrary, masks significantly increase distancing and the effect does not differ between the two periods. However, we show that after the mandate, distances are shorter in locations where more non-essential stores, which were closed before the mandate, had reopened. We argue that the relaxations in general restrictions that coincided with the mask mandate led individuals to reduce other precautions, like keeping a safe distance. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, face masks, social distancing, risk compensation, field experiment, health policy |
| JEL: | I12 D9 C93 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1971&r= |
| By: | Karen van Hedel (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Heta Moustgaard; Mikko Myrskylä (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Pekka Martikainen (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Better mental health is observed among women with a partner, children, or employment as compared with women without a partner, children, or employment, respectively. Moreover, women who fulfill all three roles are generally healthier than those with fewer roles. Because of significant changes in work-family life constellations over age, understanding these health differentials requires a life course approach. We linked work-family trajectories to mental health in mid-life for Finnish women using longitudinal registry data. Panel data from an 11% random sample of the population residing in Finland in any year between 1987 and 2007 and followed up until 2013 were used. Work-family combinations were based on partnership status, motherhood status, and employment status. Purchases of prescribed psychotropic medication were used as a measure of mental health. We used sequence analysis to identify 7 distinct groups of women based on their work-family trajectories between ages 20 to 42 years. The associations of typologies of trajectories with mental health at age 43 years were estimated with logistic regression models. Compared to employed mothers with a partner, all other women were more likely to have purchased any psychotropic medication at age 43; especially women without a partner, children or employment and lone mothers had worse mental health. These disadvantages remained after controlling for psychotropic medication purchases earlier in life (to account for potential health selection). Adjusting for age at motherhood did not contribute to the better mental health of employed mothers with a partner. Women combining partnership, motherhood, and employment during early working ages had better mental health later in life than women with other work-family trajectories even after adjusting for mental health earlier in life. Interventions to improve the mental health of women living alone in mid-life, including lone mothers, and individuals without employment, may be needed. Keywords: Work-family life; Mental health; Finland; Life course approach; Sequence analysis; Psychotropic medication use |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2021-015&r= |
| By: | Tim Kovalenko |
| Abstract: | Uncertainty shocks are found to adversely affect labor market outcomes. Most studies attribute labor adjustments costs for the propagation of macroeconomic uncertainty to the labor market. Given that large establishments in Germany face higher labor adjustments cost, they should be affected more strongly by these shocks. Therefore, this paper studies the effects of uncertainty shocks on employment adjustments in large and small establishments employing four structural vector auto-regressive models with quarterly data for Germany in the period 1991-2014. These four models estimate effects of uncertainty shocks on employment, worker flows, job flows as well as worker churn, both for establishments with less than 100 and with at least 100 employees. The results suggest that uncertainty shocks induce considerable employment fluctuations in large establishments, while they have barely an effect on small establishments. Furthermore, large establishments adjust their labor input in response to an uncertainty shock by delaying the replacement of workers who leave these establishments. |
| Keywords: | homeownership, housing subsidies, residential location choice, suburbanization |
| JEL: | H24 H30 H71 R23 R28 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bav:wpaper:212_kovalenko&r= |
| By: | Reme, Bjørn-Atle; Wörn, Jonathan; Skirbekk, Vegard |
| Abstract: | We report on how changes in employment during the COVID-19 pandemic affected mental health using a large Norwegian longitudinal study. In addition to showing a modest increase in symptoms of depression in the full sample, we find a substantially stronger increase in depressive symptoms among those experiencing job loss. We also present evidence on the heterogeneity of the effect across socioeconomic status, and find that while the highest educated men had the lowest risk of job loss, highly educated women experienced the strongest deterioration of mental health following job loss. Last, we investigate the mechanism and find suggestive evidence that economic worries play an important role. |
| Date: | 2021–09–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:4nu7c&r= |
| By: | Chelsea Gray (Metropolitan Police); Kirstine Hansen (Social Research Institute, University College London) |
| Abstract: | On March 23rd 2020, the UK, following close behind a number of other countries went into its first national lockdown in a bid to stop the spread of Covid-19. Boris Johnson told people to stay at home and save lives. But what happens when home isn’t safe? This paper uses data from the Metropolitan Police to examine the impact of the first lockdown on domestic abuse in the 32 boroughs of the London Metropolitan area. Using a before and after approach, and controlling for other factors, we show that domestic abuse crimes rose during lockdown. We find this increase is greater for some crimes and populations than others and is consistent across the whole lockdown period. Once lockdown restrictions are eased, rates decline but remain slightly higher than prior to lockdown up to 3 months later |
| Keywords: | Lockdown, Domestic abuse, victimisation, London |
| JEL: | B41 B55 C01 C12 C25 J12 K42 |
| Date: | 2021–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qss:dqsswp:2127&r= |
| By: | Jeannet, Anne-Marie; Heidland, Tobias; Ruhs, Martin |
| Abstract: | The protection of asylum seekers and refugees has become one of the most politically divisive issues in the European Union, yet there has been a lack of research on public preferences for asylum and refugee policies. This article analyzes which policies Europeans prefer and why. We advance a theoretical framework that explains how asylum and refugee policies that use limits and conditions enable individuals to resolve conflicting humanitarian and perceived national interest logics. Using an original conjoint experiment in eight countries, we demonstrate that Europeans prefer policies that provide refugee protection but also impose control through limits or conditions. In contrast to the divisive political debates between European Union member states, we find consistent public preferences across European countries. |
| Keywords: | asylum and refugee policy,Europe,migration,policy preferences |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkie:240323&r= |
| By: | Ernest Aigner |
| Abstract: | The structure of academic economics has received a fair amount of attention within and beyond the discipline. Less focus has been given the interdependencies of country and global dynamics. Building and advancing this tradition, this explorative study examines geographic variation and country specific developments in research practices in academic economics. More specifically I investigate the interdependencies of global dynamics with country-level developments in the US, Germany, UK, France, Switzerland and Austria. To that purpose the study investigates a large-scale data set using inequality measures and social network analysis. The dataset analysed in this study comprises 453,863 articles published in 477 journals citing each other a total of 3,807,289 times. This exploratory study confirms the high level of concentration and finds similar trends on the country level. Further, an international convergence in the discipline can be observed, possibly limiting the place-specific relevance of knowledge created in academic economics. |
| Keywords: | economic sociology, academic economics, citation analysis, heterodox economics, concentration, geography of economics |
| JEL: | N00 Z1 B3 B5 B00 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwsre:sre-disc-2021_07&r= |
| By: | Lundborg, Petter (Lund University); Plug, Erik (University of Amsterdam); Rasmussen, Astrid Würtz (Aarhus University) |
| Abstract: | We introduce a novel strategy to study the intergenerational transmission of human capital, net of genetic skill transfers. For this purpose, we use unique data on children conceived through sperm and egg donation in IVF treatments in Denmark. Because the assignment of donors is not selective, the intergenerational human capital estimates allow for a causal nurture interpretation. Once we take account of genes, we find that only the education of mothers matters: the association between mother's education and child test scores is significant and large, whereas the association between father's education and child test scores is insignificant and practically zero. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational mobility, human capital, donor children |
| JEL: | I24 J62 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14708&r= |