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on Microeconomic European Issues |
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Issue of 2021‒12‒13
35 papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Grund, Christian (RWTH Aachen University); Tilkes, Katja Rebecca (RWTH Aachen University) |
| Abstract: | Evidence shows that working time mismatch, i.e. the difference between actual and desired working hours, is negatively related to employees' job satisfaction. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we examine the potential moderating effect of working time autonomy on this relation and we also consider the corresponding role of gender. First, individual fixed effects panel estimations reaffirm both the negative link of working hours mismatch and the positive relation of working time autonomy to employees' job satisfaction. Second, our results show a positive moderating relation of working time autonomy on the link between mismatch and job satisfaction. Third, our analyses hint at gender-specific differences: particularly women seem to benefit from the moderation role of working time autonomy. |
| Keywords: | working time mismatch, working hours discrepancies, job satisfaction, over-employment, Socio-Economic Panel, working time autonomy |
| JEL: | J22 J28 J81 M5 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14732&r= |
| By: | Illing, Hannah (University of Bonn); Schmieder, Johannes F. (Boston University); Trenkle, Simon (IZA) |
| Abstract: | Existing research has shown that job displacement leads to large and persistent earnings losses for men, but evidence for women is scarce. Using administrative data from Germany, we apply an event study design in combination with propensity score matching and a reweighting technique to directly compare men and women who are displaced from similar jobs and firms. Our results show that after a mass layoff, women's earnings losses are about 35% higher than men's, with the gap persisting five years after job displacement. This is partly explained by a higher propensity of women to take up part-time or marginal employment following job loss, but even full-time wage losses are almost 50% (or 5 percentage points) higher for women than for men. We then show that on the household level there is no evidence of an added worker effect, independent of the gender of the job loser. Finally, we document that parenthood magnifies the gender gap sharply: while fathers of young children have smaller earnings losses than men in general, mothers of young children have much larger earnings losses than other women. |
| Keywords: | household structure, labor supply, gender pay gap, job-loss |
| JEL: | J63 J22 J23 J16 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14724&r= |
| By: | Aurélien Quignon; Nadine Levratto |
| Abstract: | This paper seeks to estimate the effect of a European policy that subsidizes innovation investments. By carefully selecting observables, we compare recipients of the program with non-recipient firms to overcome the endogeneity of R&D grants. We conduct a difference-in-differences design on the universe of a unique firm-level dataset of European SMEs between 2008 and 2017. We find a significant effect of proof of concept grants, which implies an increase in the number of patentapplications and the probability of patenting. There are positive impacts on credit financing, which suggest a signal effect to investors about the project quality of young firms. |
| Keywords: | R&D subsidies, Innovation, Patent, Financing constraints, H2020 |
| JEL: | G28 G32 O30 O38 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:drm:wpaper:2021-34&r= |
| By: | Cattani, Luca; Dughera, Stefano; Landini, Fabio (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | The drivers of large within-industry heterogeneity in the use of non-standard employment are still poorly understood. Specifically, there is little evidence on how firm-specific factors related to the organization of work affect the diversity of hiring decisions. This paper contributes to this line of research by studying the existence of interlocking complementarities between job design and labour contract at the firm level. Using a formal model, we show that firms face two organizational equilibria: one in which job designs with high routine task intensity are matched with a large use of non-standard contracts; and the other in which low routine task intensity combines with a small use of non-standard contracts. These complementarities exist because while non-standard contracts allow firm to adjust to external shocks, they also provide little incentive to invest in firm-specific knowledge. Since the cost associated with the lack of such knowledge is lower (higher) in firms with high (low) routine task intensity, they are also more (less) likely to use this type of contracts. We test the predictions of our model using linked-employer-employee data from the Emilia-Romagna region. We build an index of firm's routine task intensity by matching information from INAPP data at the occupation level. The empirical evidence is consistent with our theory: the use of non-standard contracts is positively associated with routine task intensity at the firm level. This result holds controlling for a wide range of firm-specific and contextual covariates and it is robust to alternative estimation methods (OLS, panel and IV). The related managerial and policy implications are discussed. |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:202114&r= |
| By: | Hanushek, Eric A. (Stanford University); Jacobs, Babs (Maastricht University); Schwerdt, Guido (University of Konstanz); Van der Velden, Rolf (ROA, Maastricht University); Vermeulen, Stan (Maastricht University); Wiederhold, Simon (Ifo Institute for Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | The extensive literature on intergenerational mobility highlights the importance of family linkages but fails to provide credible evidence about the underlying family factors that drive the pervasive correlations. We employ a unique combination of Dutch survey and registry data that links math and language skills across generations. We identify a causal connection between cognitive skills of parents and their children by exploiting within-family between-subject variation in these skills. The data also permit novel IV estimation that isolates variation in parental cognitive skills due to school and peer quality. The between-subject and IV estimates of the key intergenerational persistence parameter are strikingly similar and close at about 0.1. Finally, we show the strong influence of family skill transmission on children's choices of STEM fields. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational mobility, parent-child skill transmission, causality, STEM |
| JEL: | I24 I26 J12 J24 J62 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14854&r= |
| By: | Hannes Fauser (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic); Sarah Godar (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates income tax underreporting for the case of Germany, by income category and along the income distribution. Comparing weighted samples of survey and tax data, we find patterns that are in line with the literature: Average income from self-employment and from rent and lease in the survey is higher than in the tax data, increasing in upper quintiles. Income underreporting to the tax authorities may be one of several possible explanations for these descriptive findings. We therefore expand our analysis with the Pissarides & Weber (1989) approach that has been applied to a range of countries and data sources before. We use the German Socioeconomic Panel and the Taxpayer Panel, estimating food, housing cost and donation regressions. Results indicate that self-employment is associated with higher housing cost but not with higher food expenditure in the SOEP. In the TPP we find more robust indication of underreporting as self-employment and business incomes are significantly associated with higher donations and even more so for the top-income decile. We use our results to derive tentative estimates of aggregate tax revenue losses due to underreporting of self-employment and other non-wage incomes. |
| Keywords: | tax evasion, income misreporting, personal income tax, self-employment, distributional effects |
| JEL: | D12 D31 H24 H26 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fau:wpaper:wp2021_36&r= |
| By: | Isphording, Ingo E. (IZA); Diederichs, Marc (University of Mainz); van Ewijk, Reyn (University of Mainz); Pestel, Nico (ROA, Maastricht University) |
| Abstract: | We use event-study models based on staggered summer vacations in Germany to estimate the effect of school re-openings after the summer of 2021 on the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Estimations are based on daily counts of confirmed coronavirus infections across all 401 German counties. Our results are consistent with mandatory testing contributing to containment of cases by uncovering otherwise undetected (asymptomatic) cases. Case numbers in school-aged children spike in the first week after the summer breaks but then turn not significantly different from zero. Case numbers in prime-aged age groups gradually decrease after school re-openings, arguably as a result of detected clusters through the school testing. The age group 60+ remains unaffected by the school re-openings. We conclude that the combination of mandatory testing and compulsory school attendance can provide an unbiased and near-complete surveillance of the pandemic. Thus, under certain conditions open schools can play a role in containing the spread of the virus. The trade-off between reducing contacts and losing an important monitoring device has to be taken seriously when re-considering school closures as a nonpharmaceutical intervention under the current circumstances. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, schooling, education, Germany |
| JEL: | I12 I18 I28 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14844&r= |
| By: | Magda, Iga (Warsaw School of Economics); Lipowska, Katarzyna (Institute for Structural Research (IBS)) |
| Abstract: | We use data from the 2019 EU Labor Force Survey to study gender and parenthood gaps in two dimensions of flexibility in working time arrangements in 25 European countries. We find that overall in Europe, there is no statistically significant gender difference in access to flexible work arrangements. However, women are less likely than men to have flexible working hours in the Central-Eastern and Southern European countries, whereas this gender gap is reversed in Continental Europe. At the same time, women are less likely than men to face demands from their employers that they work flexible hours. We also find that both mothers and fathers are more likely than their childless colleagues to have access to flexible working hours, but that fathers' workplaces are more likely than mothers' workplaces to demand temporal flexibility from employees. In addition, we find that working in a female-dominated occupation decreases the probability of having access to flexible work arrangements, and that this effect is stronger for women than for men. At the same time, we observe that both men and women who work in female-dominated occupations are less exposed to flexibility demands from employers than their counterparts who work in male-dominated or gender-neutral occupations. Finally, we find that compared to employers in other Europeans countries, employers in the Central and Eastern European countries are less likely to offer flexible working hours, especially to women, and with no additional flexibility being offered to parents; whereas employers in Continental and Nordic countries are more likely to offer flexible work arrangements, and with no gender gap. |
| Keywords: | working time flexibility, gender segregation, work life balance, parenthood |
| JEL: | J13 J22 J32 |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14812&r= |
| By: | Jacobs, Valentine (Free University of Brussels); Rycx, Francois (Free University of Brussels); Volral, Mélanie (University of Mons) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the influence of educational mismatch on wages according to workers' region of birth, taking advantage of our access to rich matched employer-employee data for the Belgian private sector for the period 1999-2010. Using a fine-grained approach to measuring educational mismatch and controlling for a large set of covariates, we first find that workers born in developed countries benefit from positive wage returns to their years of attained-, required and over-education, and that these returns are significantly higher for them than for their peers born in developing countries. Second, our results show that the wage return to a year of over-education is positive but lower than that to a year of required education. This suggests that over-educated workers suffer a wage penalty compared to their well-matched former classmates (i.e. workers with the same level of education in jobs that match their education). However, the magnitude of this wage penalty is found to vary considerably depending on the origin of the workers. Indeed, all else being equal, our estimates show that it is much greater for workers from developing countries – especially for those born in Africa and the Middle and Near East – than for those from developed countries. Regardless of workers' origin, our estimates further indicate that the wage penalty associated with over-education is higher for workers who: i) have attained tertiary education, ii) are male, iii) have more seniority in employment, iv) are employed in smaller firms, and v) are covered by a collective agreement at the firm level. Yet, whatever the moderating variable under consideration, the estimates also show that the wage penalty associated with over-education remains higher for workers born in developing countries. |
| Keywords: | immigrants, educational mismatch, wage gap, linked employer-employee data |
| JEL: | I24 I26 J15 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14813&r= |
| By: | Schilling, Pia (Free University of Bozen/Bolzano); Stillman, Steven (Free University of Bozen/Bolzano) |
| Abstract: | Exploiting the random allocation of asylum seekers to different locations in Germany, we study the impact of right-wing voting on refugees' integration. We find that in municipalities with more voting for the right-wing AfD, refugees have worse economic and social integration. These impacts are largest for groups targeted by AfD campaigns and refugees are also more likely to suffer from harassment and right-wing attacks in areas with greater AfD support. Positive interactions with locals are also less likely in these areas. |
| Keywords: | immigrants’ integration, refugees, hostile attitudes, voting behaviour |
| JEL: | J15 J61 Z13 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14728&r= |
| By: | Leonzio Rizzo; Massimiliano Ferraresi; Riccardo Secomandi |
| Abstract: | It is widely recognized that politicians deliberately allocate goods and services just prior to the election, and road investments are arguably among the most visible infrastructure to influence voters. Using a comprehensive dataset on Italian municipalities over the period 2010-2015, we test whether investments in roads and transport services are affected by political manipulations close to elections using as independent variables the year-in-term dummies. We exploit the staggered time of local election to show, indeed, that investment spending on road and transport in the year before election is 30% higher than in the electoral year. Further analyses suggest that our results are more marked (i) in cities guided by a mayor who can run for re-election and (ii) in municipalities with a lower share of educated voters. We isolated the portion of the (exogenous) correlation between the probability of observing an accident and the amount of expenditure on road services that is induced by the political cycle by using the year-in-the-term dummies as instruments. We did not detect any relationship between the increase of investments in road services induced by the political cycle and the local need for road safety, as the probability of having an accident in local roads remained unchanged. Taken together, these findings suggest that politicians manipulate the budget only for re-electoral purposes. Therefore, it is needed a rule, binding visible expenditures, such as those on road services, of the year before the election, or allowing visible expenditures not to exceed those of the previous year within the mandate of the mayor. Such rules would let avoid or at least reduce the estimated inefficient spending by properly programming investment according to real needs and not to electoral convenience. |
| Keywords: | Political Budget Cycle; road accidents; municipalities; local elections; road investments |
| JEL: | D72 H12 H77 Z18 |
| Date: | 2021–12–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:udf:wpaper:20210710&r= |
| By: | Bernhard Hammer (TU Wien and Wittgenstein Centre); Michael Christl (European Commission - JRC); Silvia De Poli (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | Governments face a potential trade-off between provision for the growing population in retirement and the support of working-age households with low income. Using EUROMOD-based microdata from 28 countries, we (a) quantify the redistribution to the pensioner and non-pensioner populations, (b) study the position of net beneficiaries in the overall income distribution and (c) analyse how taxes and benefits affect the working-age population with low income. Our results provide novel insights into the distributive role of tax-benefit systems across Europe. Interestingly, a strong overall redistribution between households is associated with generous pensions for a portion of the retirees but negatively related to support for low-income households. |
| Keywords: | Redistribution, Welfare state, Inequality, Microsimulation, EUROMOD |
| JEL: | H11 H23 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:taxref:202114&r= |
| By: | Fabian J. Baier (Europäisches Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen (EIIW)); Paul J.J. Welfens (Europäisches Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen (EIIW)); Tobias Zander (Europäisches Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen (EIIW)) |
| Abstract: | Based on an analysis of a survey carried out by the EIIW/Jobcenter Wuppertal among female refugees, we identify significant drivers of the prospect of finding employment and of being in employment for individuals from this particular sub-group in society. The majority of survey respondents used German or Arabic as their preferred language to complete the survey questionnaire of the EIIW/Jobcenter Wuppertal. Probit/ordered probit and Logit/ordered logit regressions are used to identify the impact of a battery of potential influences relevant for the employment perspectives of female refugees. The probit variable meant looking at those currently in employment (coded 1) or, alternatively, those currently unemployed while the alternative approach was to consider an ordered variable indicating ascending hours worked as a measure of "more work" being undertaken. Personal skills, demographic characteristics, as well as family-related characteristics plus certain types of knowledge/skills and competencies as well as access to digital technologies and social networks, respectively, are identified as being key drivers of employment perspectives for female refugees. For female refugees, access to a computer increases the likelihood of having a job. Marriage also has a positive indirect impact on finding a job. Female refugees with university degrees do not have better chances of finding a job in Germany than those of the respective control group - i.e., those without a degree. It is found that the amount of years women already live in Germany is positively and significantly related to the probability of finding employment, a result which holds across a broad framework of control variables. Concerning the country of origin - using specific control groups - we find weak evidence that women from African countries find it more difficult to integrate into the job market than women from Europe who tend to find a job more easily regardless of their language, culture, family status and education. Refugees from Syria are also rather difficult to integrate into the job market. |
| Keywords: | International migration, labor market, supply of labor, immigrant workers |
| JEL: | F22 J20 J61 J82 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bwu:eiiwdp:disbei308&r= |
| By: | Kenny, Michael; Luca, Davide |
| Abstract: | Relatively little research has explored whether there is a systemic urban-rural divide in the political and socioeconomic attitudes of citizens across Europe. Drawing on individual-level data from the European Social Survey, we argue that there are strong and significant differences between the populations in these different settings, especially across western European countries. We suggest that this divide is a continuum, running on a gradient from inner cities to suburbs, towns and the countryside. The differences are explained by both composition and contextual effects, and underscore how a firmer appreciation of the urban-rural divide is integral to future place-based policy responses. |
| Keywords: | Europe; geography of discontent; political disenchantment; regional inequality; urban-rural divide |
| JEL: | D72 R20 R58 Z13 |
| Date: | 2021–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:112683&r= |
| By: | Drydakis, Nick (Anglia Ruskin University) |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews studies on LGBT workplace outcomes published between 2015 and 2020. In terms of earnings differences, in the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia, gay men were found to experience earnings penalties of 7% in comparison to heterosexual men, bisexual men experienced earnings penalties of 9% in comparison to heterosexual men, and bisexual women faced earnings penalties of 5% in comparison to heterosexual women. In the same regions, lesbian women experienced an earnings premium of 7% in comparison to heterosexual women. Trans women, in the US and Europe, faced earnings penalties ranging from 4% to 20%. In terms of job satisfaction, in the US, Canada, and Europe, gay men, and lesbian women experienced 15% and 12%, respectively lower job satisfaction than their heterosexual counterparts. Additionally, bullying against sexual minorities has persisted. In the UK, sexual minorities who experienced frequent school-age bullying faced a 32% chance of experiencing frequent workplace bullying. In relation to job exclusions, in OECD countries, gay men and lesbian women were found to experience 39% and 32%, respectively lower access to occupations than comparable heterosexual men and women. For trans men and women in Europe, comparable patterns are in evidence. Given these patterns, it is not of surprise that LGBT people in the US and the UK experience higher poverty rates than heterosexual and cis people. However, in these two regions, anti-discrimination laws and positive actions in the workplace helped reduce the earnings penalties for gay men, enhance trans people's self-esteem, spur innovation and firms' performance, and boost marketing capability, corporate profiles, and customer satisfaction. The evidence indicated that LGBT inclusion and positive economic outcomes mutually reinforced each other. |
| Keywords: | sexual orientation, gender identity, discrimination, earnings, poverty, bullying, job satisfaction, inclusivity |
| JEL: | C93 E24 J15 J16 J71 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14845&r= |
| By: | Eirini Andriopoulou (Athens University of Economics and Business); Alexandros Karakitsios (Athens University of Economics and Business) |
| Abstract: | During the last decade, unemployment in Greece climbed up to 28%, almost quadrupling due to the economic crisis that hit Greece. In the present paper, we examine the determinants of the unemployment dynamics and the impact of the minimum wage on the probability of making a transition into and out of unemployment. We use micro-level data from the Greek Labour Force Survey for the period 2004-2019 and control for several demographic factors, macro-economic conditions, regional differences and changes in statutory minimum wage. The results suggest that individual-level characteristics play an important role in making a transition into or out of unemployment. Changes in the real minimum wage are estimated to have either a statistically insignificant or a very small impact on unemployment entries and exits. Further, the impact of economy's growth rate follows the theoretical predictions as higher growth rates increase unemployment outflows and decrease inflows, while the regional differences are also important. Our findings persist even when we split the sample in three periods (pre-crisis, crisis, recovery). The results have important policy implications. Given that the disemployment effect of the minimum wage seems to be very limited in the Greek labour market, while the socioeconomic characteristics and regional characteristics play an important role, improving the skills of individuals through the educational system and reskilling or up-skilling programs, while targeting specific regions, may facilitate labour market mobility. |
| Keywords: | minimum wage, unemployment transitions, labour mobility, Greek crisis |
| JEL: | J08 J21 J38 I38 |
| Date: | 2021–11–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aue:wpaper:2116&r= |
| By: | Ali Bayar (EcoMode CESifo); Barbara Bratta (Department of Finance Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance); Silvia Carta (Department of Finance Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance); Paolo Di Caro (Department of Law University of Catania Italy - Tax Administration Research Centre University of Essex Business School United Kingdom); Marco Manzo (Department of Finance Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance); Carlo Orecchia (Department of Finance Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance) |
| Abstract: | Reforming the structure of the Value Added Tax (VAT) is an open issue in different countries, mostly for raising revenues and improving the efficiency of the tax system. However, most of the existing analyses do not combine micro- and macro-modelling tools for assessing the welfare and redistributive effects of VAT reforms. Aspects like tax evasion and erosion, moreover, are usually of secondary importance when studying VAT changes. The objective of this paper is twofold. First, we propose an integrated approach, based on the new dynamic multi-sector, multi-household tax computable general equilibrium (CGE) model (ITAXCGE) recently developed at the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, to study a uniform VAT rate reform in Italy. Our empirical approach has the merit of including new information when evaluating VAT reforms: tax evasion and erosion, irregular labour, different household groups, and a detailed structure of taxation. Second, we simulate the effects of a uniform VAT rate reform on welfare and redistribution, by taking into consideration the consequences of such reform on VAT gap changes. Our results suggest that the equity-efficiency trade-off deriving from the reform under investigation is reduced when including information on tax evasion in the analysis. The policy implications of our study are finally discussed |
| Keywords: | Microsimulation, CGE-Modelling, integrated approach, VAT, tax gap. |
| JEL: | H31 D58 J22 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ahg:wpaper:wp2021-14&r= |
| By: | Ulrika Ahrsjö (Department of Economics, Stockholm University); René Karadakic (Department of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics); Joachim Kahr Rasmussen (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen) |
| Abstract: | We present new evidence on the existence and drivers of trends in intergenerational income mobility using administrative income data from Scandinavia along with survey data from the United States. Harmonizing the data from Sweden, Denmark and Norway, we first find that intergenerational rank associations in income have increased uniformly across Scandinavia for cohorts of children born between 1951 and 1979. These trends are robust to a large set of empirical specifications that are common in the associated literature. However, splitting the trends by gender, we find that father-son mobility has been stable in all three countries, while correlations involving females display substantial trends. Similar patterns are confirmed in the US data, albeit with slightly different timing. Utilizing information about individual occupation, education and income in the Scandinavian data, we find that intergenerational mobility in latent economic status has remained relatively constant for all gender combinations. This suggests that a gradual reduction in gender-specific labor market segregation, increased female labor force participation and increased female access to higher education has strengthened the signal value that maternal income carries about productivity passed on to children. Based on these results, we argue that the observed decline in intergenerational mobility in Scandinavia is consistent with a socially desirable development where female skills are increasingly valued at the labor market, and that the same is likely to be true also in the US. |
| Keywords: | Intergenerational Mobility, Labor Force Participation |
| JEL: | J62 J21 |
| Date: | 2021–11–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kud:kucebi:2119&r= |
| By: | Bonsang, Eric (Université Paris-Dauphine); Caroli, Eve (Université Paris-Dauphine); Garrouste, Clémentine (Université Paris-Dauphine) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the gender gap in hypertension misreporting using the French Constances cohort. We show that false negative reporting of hypertension is more frequent among men than among women, even after conditioning on a series of individual characteristics. As a second step, we investigate the causes of the gender gap in hypertension misreporting. We show that women go to the doctor more often than men do and that they have better knowledge of their family medical history. Once these differences are taken into account, the gender gap in false negative reporting of hypertension is reversed. This suggests that information acquisition and healthcare utilisation are crucial ingredients in fighting undiagnosed male hypertension. |
| Keywords: | gender, objective health, subjective health, hypertension, false negative reporting |
| JEL: | I10 I12 J18 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14742&r= |
| By: | Mariani, Rama Dasi (University of Rome Tor Vergata); Rosati, Furio C. (University of Rome Tor Vergata) |
| Abstract: | The availability of child-care services has often been advocated as one of the instruments to counter the fertility decline observed in many high-income countries. In the recent past large inflows of low-skilled migrants have substantially increased the supply of child-care services. In this paper we examine if immigration has actually affected fertility exploiting the natural experiment occurred in Italy in 2007, when a large inflow of migrants – many of them specialized in the supply of child care – arrived unexpectedly. With a difference-in-differences method, we show that immigrant female workers have increased native births by a number that ranges roughly from 2 to 4 per cent. We validate our result by the implementation of an instrumental variable approach and several robustness tests, all concluding that the increase in the supply of child-care services by immigrant women has positively affected native fertility. |
| Keywords: | household economics, fertility, immigrant labour, international migration |
| JEL: | D12 F22 J13 J61 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14750&r= |
| By: | Pauline Affeldt; Tomaso Duso; Klaus Gugler; Joanna Piechucka |
| Abstract: | Worldwide, the overwhelming majority of large horizontal mergers are cleared by antitrust authorities unconditionally. The presumption seems to be that efficiencies from these mergers are sizeable. We calculate the compensating efficiencies that would prevent a merger from harming consumers for 1,014 mergers affecting 12,325 antitrust markets scrutinized by the European Commission between 1990 and 2018. Compensating efficiencies seem too large to be achievable for many mergers. Barriers to entry and the number of firms active in the market are the most important factors determining their size. We highlight concerns about the Commission’s merger enforcement being too lax. |
| Keywords: | compensating efficiencies, efficiency gains, merger control, concentration, screens, HHI, mergers, unilateral effects, market definition, entry barriers |
| JEL: | L19 L24 L00 K21 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9403&r= |
| By: | Stergiou, Eirini; Rigas, Nikos; Kounetas, Konstantinos |
| Abstract: | European industries are under pressure regarding their environmental performance and productivity growth. The current energy crisis offsets governments efforts to achieve carbon neutrality while removing significant degrees of freedom in terms of firm's competitiveness. This paper studies environmental productivity and its components at a European industrial level using a dataset of 13 industries of the manufacturing sector from 27 European countries over the 1995-2014 period. Our results point out that industrial environmental productivity has deteriorated across Europe with best practice change being the main contributor. In addition, referring to the technological leaders in Europe, the findings point out that low tend to follow the middle-high technology industries. Finally, the non-convergence hypothesis and the creation of discrete clubs for the productivity index case and its components are supported. |
| Keywords: | European Industries; Metafrontier Malmquist Luenberger index; Convergence; Technological heterogeneity |
| JEL: | C61 D24 L60 Q43 Q56 |
| Date: | 2021–11–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:110780&r= |
| By: | Gustave Kenedi (Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Paris); Louis Sirugue (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) |
| Abstract: | We provide new estimates of intergenerational income mobility in France for children born in the 1970s using rich administrative data. Since parents' incomes are not observed, we employ a two-sample two-stage least squares estimation procedure. At the national level, every measure of intergenerational income persistence (intergenerational elasticities, rank-rank correlations, and transition matrices) suggests that France is characterized by relatively strong persistence relative to other developed countries. Children born to parents in the bottom 20% of their income distribution have a 10.1% probability of reaching the top 20% as adults. This probability is of 39.1% for children born to parents in the top 20%. At the local level, we find substantial spatial variations in intergenerational mobility. It is higher in the West of France and particularly low in the North and in the South. We uncover significant relationships between absolute upward mobility and characteristics of the environment an individual grew up in, such as the unemployment rate, population density, and income inequality. |
| Keywords: | France,Spatial variations,Measurement,Intergenerational mobility |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-03455282&r= |
| By: | Andrea Geraci; Mattia Nardotto; Tommaso Reggiani; Fabio Sabatini |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of broadband penetration on social capital in the UK. Our empirical strategy exploits a technological feature of the telecommunication infrastructure that generated substantial variation in the quality of Internet access across households. The speed of a domestic connection rapidly decays with the distance of a user's line from the network's node serving the area. Merging information on the topology of the network with geocoded longitudinal data about individual social capital from 1997 to 2017, we show that access to fast Internet caused a significant decline in civic and political engagement. Overall, our results suggest that broadband penetration crowded out several dimensions of social capital. |
| Keywords: | ICT; broadband infrastructure; networks; Internet; social capital; civic capital |
| JEL: | D91 L82 Z13 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sap:wpaper:wp210&r= |
| By: | Daniel Schaefer (Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre, Johannes-Kepler-Universität Linz); Carl Singleton (Department of Economics, University of Reading) |
| Abstract: | Low inflation has forced the topic of downward nominal wage rigidity (DNWR) back to the centre stage of macroeconomics. We use over a decade of representative payroll data from Great Britain to document novel facts about wage adjustments. We find that basic wages drive the cyclicality of marginal labour costs, which makes them the most relevant wage measure for macroeconomic models that incorporate wage rigidity. Basic wages show substantially more evidence of downward rigidity than previously documented. Every fifth hourly-paid and every sixth salaried employee normally sees no basic wage change from year-to-year, and very few experience cuts. Wage freezes were more common in the Great Recession and are far more likely in smaller firms. We also find evidence that employers compress wage growth when inflation is low, indicating that DNWR constrains wage setting. Further, we show that the wages of new hires and incumbent employees respond equally to the business cycle. These results all point to the importance of including DNWR in macroeconomic and monetary policy models, and our simulations demonstrate that the empirical extent of DNWR can cause considerable long-run output losses. |
| Keywords: | Downward nominal wage rigidity, Hiring wages, Unemployment fluctuations, Macroeconomic policy, Marginal labour costs |
| JEL: | E24 E32 J31 J33 |
| Date: | 2021–11–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rdg:emxxdp:em-dp2021-22&r= |
| By: | Chadi, Adrian (University of Konstanz); Hoffmann, Manuel (Texas A&M University) |
| Abstract: | Watching television is the most time-consuming human activity besides work but its role for individual well-being is unclear. Negative consequences portrayed in the literature raise the question whether this popular pastime constitutes an economic good or bad, and hence serves as a prime example of irrational behavior reducing individual health and happiness. Using rich panel data, we are the first to comprehensively address this question by exploiting a large-scale natural experiment in West Germany, where people in geographically restricted areas received commercial TV via terrestrial frequencies. Contrary to previous research, we find no health impact when TV consumption increases. For life satisfaction, we even find positive effects. Additional analyses support the notion that TV is not an economic bad and that non-experimental evidence seems to be driven by negative self-selection. |
| Keywords: | health, happiness, well-being, natural experiment, television consumption, time-use, entertainment, CSPT, ArcGIS, mass media |
| JEL: | C26 D12 I31 H12 J22 L82 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14721&r= |
| By: | E. Marrocu; R. Paci; S. Usai |
| Abstract: | For the first time we investigate the effects that Universities exert on Total Factor Productivity dynamics for a very ample sample of 270 European regions over the period 2000-2016. This novel contribution goes beyond the traditional human capital and technological capital indirect effects and proposes a sound empirical assessment of the highly differentiated "third mission" activities. These are unique to engaged academic institutions and shape the key role they play as societal development-promoting agencies. Our analysis provides evidence of sizeable and robust universities direct supply-side effects, which complement the traditional ones in driving European regional productivity growth. |
| Keywords: | university;Regional Total Factor Productivity;human capital;technological capital;Universities' third mission |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:202107&r= |
| By: | Libertad González Luna; Hosny Zoabi |
| Abstract: | We consider a non-cooperative model of the household, in which the husband and wife decide on parental leave and the allocation of time between child rearing and the labor market. They can choose the non-cooperative outside option or cooperate by reaching an agreement of specialization in which the wife specializes in raising kids (home production) while the husband works and transfers consumption to his wife. The model identifies three distinct groups of couples: Egalitarian couples (with a sufficiently low gender wage gap), Intermediate-gap couples (with an intermediate gender wage gap) and high-gap couples (with a sufficiently high gender wage gap). Our model predicts that while egalitarian couples never specialize and always share home production, those with intermediate and high gaps do have such an agreement. An expansion in paternity leave reduces the net benefits from the agreement and moves the intermediate-gap couples to their outside option where women work more and men do more home production. As a result, the cost of raising children increases and fertility declines. Assuming a loss of utility from children in the case of divorce, lower fertility increases the probability of divorce. Using Spanish data and RDD analysis, we confirm our model’s predictions. Specifically, while we don’t find systematic effects of paternity leave expansion on egalitarian and high-gap couples, we find that, among intermediate-gap couples, the two-week paternity leave introduced in 2007 resulted in a reduction in fertility by up to 60%, an increase in the probability to divorce by 37%, and an increase in father’s childcare and housework time as much as 2-3 hours per day. |
| Keywords: | Gender equality, specialization, fertility, divorce, time allocation |
| JEL: | D13 J12 J13 J16 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1806&r= |
| By: | Echeverría, Lucía (University of Zaragoza); Gimenez-Nadal, J. Ignacio (University of Zaragoza); Molina, José Alberto (University of Zaragoza) |
| Abstract: | Carpooling is a sustainable daily mobility mode, implying significant reductions in energy consumption and CO2 emissions, although it remains an uncommon practice. With the aim of stimulating this green transportation mode, this paper focus on understanding why certain individuals will agree to share a car to a common destination, apart from the obvious environmental benefit in emissions. It first describes the profile of users and then explores the relationship between this transportation mode and the participants' well-being. To that end, we have selected two countries, the UK and the US, where the use of cars represents a high proportion of daily commuting. We use the UK Time Use Survey (UKTUS) from 2014-2015 and the Well-Being Module of the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) from 2010-2012-2013 to identify which groups in the population are more likely to pool their cars, and with whom those individuals enjoy carpooling more. Results indicate that individuals with certain socio-demographic characteristics and occupations are more likely to commute by carpooling, but the profile seems to be country-specific. Furthermore, our evidence reveals a positive relationship between carpooling and well-being during commuting. |
| Keywords: | carpooling, green mobility, user profiles, subjective well-being |
| JEL: | R40 J22 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14736&r= |
| By: | Jessen, Jonas (DIW Berlin); Spiess, C. Katharina (Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung (BiB)); Waights, Sevrin (DIW Berlin) |
| Abstract: | We examine the relationship between parenting activities and center-based care using time diary and survey data for mothers in Germany. While mothers using center-based care spend significantly less time in the presence of their child, we find that differences in the time spent on specific activities such as reading, talking, and playing with the child are relatively small or zero. The pattern of results is more pronounced for lower education mothers. The lack of large decreases in activities are explained by two factors: (i) that center care replaces time that parents spend with the child but are doing other things such as housework or leisure (a small direct effect), and (ii) that evenings become relatively more activity-rich (a compensating indirect effect). For the intensive margin (full-day vs. half-day) we find more additional reductions in parenting activities, but these are compensated for by lower education mothers during non-center hours. Our findings represent novel evidence that activities in the home environment are a complement to center-based care, highlighting a credible additional mechanism for child development effects of center-based care. |
| Keywords: | child care, child development, time use, parenting investments, Oster method |
| JEL: | D13 I21 J13 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14851&r= |
| By: | Sara Grubanov-Boskovic; Spyridon Spyratos; Stefano Maria Iacus; Umberto Minora; Francesco Sermi |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 pandemic has created a sudden need for a wider uptake of home-based telework as means of sustaining the production. Generally, teleworking arrangements have direct effect on worker's efficiency and motivation. The direction of this impact, however, depends on the balance between positive effects of teleworking (e.g. increased flexibility and autonomy) and its downsides (e.g. blurring boundaries between private and work life). Moreover, these effects of teleworking can be amplified in case of vulnerable groups of workers, such as women. The first step in understanding the implications of teleworking on women is to have timely information on the extent of teleworking by age and gender. In the absence of timely official statistics, in this paper we propose a method for nowcasting the teleworking trends by age and gender for 20 Italian regions using mobile network operators (MNO) data. The method is developed and validated using MNO data together with the Italian quarterly Labour Force Survey. Our results confirm that the MNO data have the potential to be used as a tool for monitoring gender differences in teleworking patterns. This tool becomes even more important today as it could support the adequate gender mainstreaming in the `Next Generation EU' recovery plan and help to manage related social impacts of COVID-19 through policymaking. |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2111.09442&r= |
| By: | Barban, Nicola (University of Bologna); De Cao, Elisabetta (London School of Economics); Francesconi, Marco (University of Essex) |
| Abstract: | Fertility has a strong biological component generally ignored by economists. Using the UK Biobank, we analyze the extent to which genes, proxied by polygenic scores, and the environment, proxied by early exposure to the contraceptive pill diffusion, affect age at first sexual intercourse, age at first birth, completed family size, and childlessness. Both genes and environment exert substantial influences on all outcomes. The anticipation of sexual debut and the postponement of motherhood led by the diffusion of the pill are magnified by gene-environment interactions, while the decline in family size and the rise in childlessness associated with female emancipation are attenuated by gene-environment effects. The nature-nurture interplay becomes stronger in more egalitarian environments that empower women, allowing genes to express themselves more fully. These conclusions are confirmed by heterogenous effects across the distributions of genetic susceptibilities and exposure to environmental risks, sister fixed effects models, mother-daughter comparisons, and counterfactual simulations. |
| Keywords: | fertility, genetics, polygenic score, contraceptive pill, nature versus nurture, social norms |
| JEL: | D10 I14 I15 J01 J13 J16 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14756&r= |
| By: | Kung, Claryn S. J. (Monash University); Pudney, Stephen (ISER, University of Essex); Shields, Michael A. (Monash University) |
| Abstract: | Studies have found that loneliness is as bad as smoking or obesity for mortality risk, and the prevalence of loneliness is predicted to increase with ageing populations, more people living alone, and with chronic health conditions. Despite the substantial literature on loneliness, there is little detailed research on the extent of economic gradients. In this paper we provide this evidence using a sample of around 400,000 respondents (aged 40-70) from the UK Biobank. We focus on differences in loneliness across educational attainment, household income and neighbourhood deprivation, as well as recent major life events including financial difficulties. Using two statistical approaches, we find a substantially higher probability of experiencing loneliness, but also social isolation and a lack of social support, for men and women with low socioeconomic status, even when comparing those residing in the same postcode district. Additionally, the recent experience of financial stress is strongly associated with worse social health. Our results are robust to a panel analysis that accounts for intercorrelations between loneliness, social isolation and lack of social support, and controls for sample attrition. |
| Keywords: | loneliness, social isolation, social support, UK Biobank, economic gradients |
| JEL: | I1 J1 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14731&r= |
| By: | Anna Bindler (University of Cologne and University of Gothenburg); Randi Hjalmarsson (University of Gothenburg); Nadine Ketel (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); Andreea Mitrut (University of Gothenburg) |
| Abstract: | Many rights are conferred on Dutch youth at ages 16 and 18. Using national register data for all reported victimizations, we find sharp and discontinuous increases in victimization rates at these ages: about 13% for both genders at 16 and 9% (15%) for males (females) at 18. These results are comparable across subsamples (based on socio-economic and neighborhood characteristics) with different baseline victimization risks. We assess potential mechanisms using data on offense location, cross-cohort variation in the minimum legal drinking age driven by a 2014 reform, and survey data of alcohol/drug consumption and mobility behaviors. We conclude that the bundle of access to weak alcohol, bars/clubs and smoking increases victimization at 16 and that age 18 rights (hard alcohol, marijuana coffee shops) exacerbate this risk; vehicle access does not play an important role. Finally, we do not find systematic spillover effects onto individuals who have not yet received these rights. |
| Keywords: | victimization, crime, youth, youth protection laws, alcohol, inequality, RDD |
| JEL: | K42 K36 J13 I12 I14 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ajk:ajkdps:130&r= |
| By: | Mantovan, Noemi (Bangor University); Sauer, Robert M. (Royal Holloway, University of London); Wilson, John (Duke University) |
| Abstract: | Recent trends in the labor market see increasing numbers of workers having to deal with "schedule precarity" including volatile hours, rotating shift work, unpredictable work hours and lack of choice on the part of the employee. These trends are of concern to those interested in fostering levels of civic engagement because they potentially limit volunteering. This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) containing information on work schedules in 2011 and 2013 among employees to determine the effect of changes in work schedules on becoming a volunteer using transition regressions. We investigate interactions between work schedule measures and pay structure because workers paid by the hour have lower volunteer rates than salaried workers. The study finds that, while three of the schedule dimensions are unrelated to volunteering, transitioning towards more schedule control has a positive effect on volunteering. However, interaction analysis shows this positive effect is confined to salaried workers whereas for hourly paid workers the effect is negative. The results support the idea that having more freedom to set one's work schedule reduces work-life conflict but suggest that this positive effect is limited to those who can take advantage of it. |
| Keywords: | volunteer work, precarious employment, work-schedules, pay structure |
| JEL: | J10 J20 J30 |
| Date: | 2021–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14723&r= |