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on Microeconomic European Issues |
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Issue of 2022‒06‒27
24 papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Rick Glaubitz; Astrid Harnack-Eber; Miriam Wetter |
| Abstract: | To obtain a more complete understanding of the persisting gender earnings gap in Germany, this paper investigates both the cross-sectional and biographical dimension of gender inequalities. Using an Oaxaca Blinder decomposition, we show that the gender gap in annual earnings is largely driven by women’s lower work experience and intensive margin of labor supply. Based on a dynamic microsimulation model, we then estimate how gender differences accumulate over work lives to account for the biographical dimension of the gender gap. We observe an average gender lifetime earnings gap of 51.5 percent for birth cohorts 1964-1972. We show that this unadjusted gender lifetime earnings gap increases strongly with the number of children, ranging from 17.8 percent for childless women to 68.0 percent for women with three or more children. However, using a counterfactual analysis we find that the adjusted gender lifetime earnings gap of 10 percent differs only slightly by women’s family background. |
| Keywords: | Lifetime earnings, gender inequality, parenthood, dynamic microsimulation |
| JEL: | D31 J13 J16 J31 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp2001&r= |
| By: | Martín-Román, Ángel L.; Moral, Alfonso; Pinillos-Franco, Sara |
| Abstract: | We study the gender gap in the duration of sick leave in Spain by splitting this duration into two types of days – those which are related to biological characteristics and those derived from behavioral reasons. Using the Statistics of Accidents at Work for 2011-2019, we found that women presented longer standard durations (i.e., purely attached to physiological reasons) compared to men. However, when estimating individuals’ efficiency as the ratio between actual and standard durations, we found that women were more inefficient at lower levels of income, whereas in case of men, this occurred at higher levels of income. These results were reinforced when considering that men and women do not recover from the same injury at the same rate. Women were more efficient than men across all the compensation distribution, especially at higher income levels. |
| Keywords: | Moral hazard, Glass ceiling, Workplace injuries, Gender, Stochastic frontiers |
| JEL: | I12 I13 I18 J28 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:113134&r= |
| By: | Sebastian Will; Timon Renz |
| Abstract: | We investigate the relationship between homeownership and life as well as housing satisfaction. Using panel data from Germany, we find that compared to renting, owning a home positively impacts housing satisfaction. Contrarily, we find no significant effects on life satisfaction in the long-term. Analysing short-term effects in an event-study design, we show that both life and housing satisfaction anticipate the event and adapt shortly after. Debt-free buyers, however, do not experience anticipation or adaptation effects at all. Comparing outright homebuyers to debt-financing owners, we show that having a real estate loan impacts homeowners’ life satisfaction negatively. Paying off a loan does not differently affect the housing satisfaction of both types of buyers. We conclude that the negative effect of loan payments on life satisfaction offsets the positive impact of homeownership. |
| Keywords: | subjective well-being, homeownership, household finances, financial burden, adaptation, housing satisfaction |
| JEL: | D15 I31 R20 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1164&r= |
| By: | Julia Bredtmann |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effects of local exposure to refugees on electoral outcomes in the 2016 state election in Germany. Based on quasi-random variation in the allocation of refugees across municipalities and unique data on refugee populations and their type of accommodation, I find that an increase in the population share of refugees increases the vote share of right-wing parties and decreases the vote share of the incumbent federal government parties. The electoral effects, however, are solely driven by refugees living in centralized accommodation, while no such effects are found for refugees living in decentralized accommodation. These findings have important implications for the design of public policies in handling future receptions of refugees, as they reveal that an earlier transfer of refugees from centralized to decentralized accommodation could attenuate a growing support for right-wing parties. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, refugees, political economy, voting |
| JEL: | D72 F22 J15 R23 |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:2213&r= |
| By: | Joachim Merz |
| Abstract: | This study contributes to the subjective well-being and retirement literature by quantifying life satisfaction before (4) and after retirement (9+) periods asking: Are retirees more satisfied? Fixed-effects and causal instrumental variables (IV) estimates with individual longitudinal data of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP, 33 waves) analyze anticipation and adaptation retirement effects of statutory insured and civil service pensioners in Germany. Main findings: The occupational situation absorbs a positive personal and family influence. There are positive anticipation effects before retirement followed by adaptation instantly when retired both for statutory insured and civil service pensioners. With neutral respectively negative post-retirement adaptation there is no positive retirement effect for both pensioner groups. In short: retirees are not more satisfied, a remarkable result both for statutory insured and civil service pensioners. |
| Keywords: | Retirement, statutory insured and civil service pensioners, life satisfaction/subjective well-being, anticipation and adaptation effects, robust fixed-effect regression, causality IV estimates, Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), Germany |
| JEL: | I31 J26 C21 C23 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1163&r= |
| By: | Costa-Font, Joan (London School of Economics); Vilaplana-Prieto, Cristina (Universidad de Murcia) |
| Abstract: | Balancing caregiving duties and work can be both financially and emotionally burdensome, especially when care is provided to a spouse at home. This paper documents that financial respite for caregivers can influence individuals' early retirement decisions. We examine the effect of a reform extending long-term care (LTC) benefits (in the form of subsidies and supports) in Spain after 2007 on caregiving spouse's early retirement intention. We subsequently examine the effect of austerity spending cuts in 2012 reducing such publicly funded benefits, and we subsequent compare the estimates to the effects of an early retirement reform among private sector workers in 2013. We document evidence of a 10pp reduction in the early retirement intentions after the LTC reform even though the effect is heterogeneous by type of benefit. Consistently, austerity spending cuts in benefits are found to weaken retirement intentions. Our estimates suggest that cuts in caregiving subsidies exert a much stronger effect on early retirement intentions than actual early retirement reforms. |
| Keywords: | informal care, retirement, employment, long-term care, caregiving subsidies, home care |
| JEL: | I18 J14 |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15339&r= |
| By: | Aysit Tansel (Department of Economics Middle East Technical University, IZA, ERF Cario); Saziye Gazioglu (Department of Economics and Instituted of Applied Mathematics (IAM) Middle East Technical University, Department of Economics University of Aberdeen) |
| Abstract: | Employees’ wellbeing is important to the firms. Analysis of job satisfaction may give insight into various aspect of labor market behavior, such as worker productivity, absenteeism and job turn over. Little empirical work has been done on the relationship between structure of working environment and job satisfaction. This paper investigates the relationship between working environment, firm size and worker job satisfaction. We use a unique data of 28,240 British employees, Workplace Employee Relations Survey. In this data set the employee questionnaire is matched with the employer questionnaire. Four measures of job satisfaction considered are satisfaction with influence over job, satisfaction with amount of pay, satisfaction with sense of achievement and satisfaction with respect from supervisors. They are all negatively related to the firm size implying lower levels of job satisfaction in larger firms. The firm size in return is negatively related to the degree of flexibility in the working environment. The small firms have more flexible work environments. We further find that, contrary to the previous results lower levels of job satisfaction in larger firms can not necessarily be attributed to the inflexibility in their structure of working environment. |
| Keywords: | Job Satisfactions, Firm Size, Working Environment, Linked Employer-Employee data, Britain. |
| JEL: | J21 J28 J29 J81 |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:koc:wpaper:2205&r= |
| By: | Hugues Champeaux; Lucia Mangiavacchi; Francesca Marchetta (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne); Luca Piccoli |
| Abstract: | School closures, forcibly brought about by the COVID-19 crisis in many countries, have impacted children's lives and their learning processes. The heterogeneous implementation of distance learning solutions is likely to bring a substantial increase in education inequality, with long term consequences. The present study uses data from a survey collected during Spring 2020 lockdown in France and Italy to analyze parents' evaluations of their children's home schooling process and emotional well-being at time of school closure, and the role played by different distance learning methods in shaping these perceptions. While Italian parents have a generally worse judgment of the effects of the lockdown on their children, the use of interactive distance learning methods appears to significantly attenuate their negative perception. This is particularly true for older pupils. French parents rather perceive that interactive methods are effective in mitigating learning losses and psychological distress only for their secondary school children. In both countries, further heterogeneity analysis reveal that parents perceive younger children and boys to suffer more during this period. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19,emotional wellbeing,distance learning,education inequality,children's education |
| Date: | 2022–03–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03656711&r= |
| By: | Pia Schilling; Steven Stillman |
| 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 and negative opinions about immigration spillover to supporters of other parties in these areas. On the other hand, stronger support for pro-immigrant parties enhances social integration. |
| Keywords: | Immigrants’ integration, refugees, hostile attitudes, voting behavior |
| JEL: | J15 J61 Z13 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1166&r= |
| By: | Bengtsson, Mats (Swedish Social Insurance Inspectorate (ISF)); König, Stefanie (University of Gothenburg); Schönbeck, Simon (University of Gothenburg); Wadensjö, Eskil (Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | It is a challenge for politics that an aging population leads to demands that the retirement age is increasing while not everyone is able to work to such a higher age. Sweden, like other countries, has several options for early exit from the labour market. However, the regulations have become more restrictive in the last decade and early retirement usually leads to a lower pension. In this article, we map options for early retirement in other countries. We have found five main types that all have both advantages and disadvantages. There are also problems with integrating them into the Swedish pension system. |
| Keywords: | retirement, employment, pensions, early exit |
| JEL: | H55 J11 J14 J21 J26 |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15327&r= |
| By: | Lindsey Macmillan; Abigail McKnight |
| Abstract: | This paper presents new estimates of recent social mobility in the UK by gender, education and ethnicity, and their intersections. We measure absolute social class mobility using data from the Labour Force Survey 2014-2018. Overall, little change in social mobility occurred over this short period but sub-group analysis using a pooled sample reveals some important new findings. Education is associated with greater chances for upward mobility and lower risk of downward mobility, particularly for men. There are also stark ethnic differences in social mobility prospects in the UK. Opportunities for upward absolute social mobility appear to be more limited for some ethnic groups; particularly Black African men and women, and Black Caribbean men, even after accounting for origin class and disadvantage associated with first generation immigrant status. By contrast, Indian men and women enjoy higher rates of upward social mobility. Risks of downward absolute social mobility are also higher for Black African men and women, and Black Caribbean men, as well as Pakistani/Bangladeshi men and women, even after accounting for origin class and first generation status. But similarities in patterns among those from Black African and Black Caribbean origins mask different initial conditions: much of the reason for the experience of Black African men and women comes down to higher social class origins and a large proportion of first-generation immigrants, whereas for Black Caribbean men, they have low (high) rates of upward (downward) mobility despite lower social class origins and being more settled in terms of immigration status. |
| Keywords: | social mobility, education, gender, ethnicity, intersectionality |
| Date: | 2022–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:spdorp:11&r= |
| By: | Christopher Prömel |
| Abstract: | This study deals with the impact of the 2015 European Refugee Crisis on the ethnic identity of resident migrants in Germany. To derive plausibly causal estimates, I exploit the quasi experimental setting in Germany, by which refugees are allocated to different counties by state authorities without being able to choose their locations themselves. This study finds that higher shares of refugees in a county increased migrants’ attachment to their home countries, while not affecting their perceived belonging to Germany. Further analyses uncover strong heterogeneities with respect to country of origin and immigrant characteristics and suggest that the observed effects may be primarily driven by experiences of discrimination and the consumption of foreign media. Lastly, I find that changes in ethnic identity coincide with the political polarization of migrants. These results have various policy implications in terms of the dispersal of asylum seekers, the modes of communication with different migrant groups and the importance of anti discrimination measures. |
| Keywords: | Refugees, migrants, ethnic identity, European refugee crisis |
| JEL: | F22 J15 P16 Z13 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1160&r= |
| By: | Dominique Cappelletti (Department of Economics (University of Verona)); Maria Vittoria Levati (Department of Economics (University of Verona)); Matteo Ploner (CEEL, University of Trento) |
| Abstract: | The underrepresentation of females in STEM fields negatively affects productivity growth and contributes to labour market inequalities. In countries where children are tracked in educational trajectories from high school (as in Italy, 8th grade), it is crucial to understand what drives gendered pathways before educational segregation starts. Collecting experimental and survey data from Italian 8th graders, we find that perceived comparisons with peers are predictors of the likelihood that girls choose a math-intensive track during high school. Policy initiatives improving girls' expectations about their relative math performance may thus encourage female students to pursue a STEM track. |
| Keywords: | School choice, Math ability, Gender stereotypes, Beliefs, STEM |
| JEL: | C93 J16 J24 I24 |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ver:wpaper:07/2022&r= |
| By: | Giovanni Immordino (Università di Napoli Federico II and CSEF); Tommaso Oliviero (Università di Napoli Federico II and CSEF); Alberto Zazzaro (University of Naples Federico II, CSEF and MoFiR.) |
| Abstract: | Using a survey of Italian households, we find that large income losses suffered during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 are associated with a decline in trust towards political (i.e., Italian Central Government and the EU Parliament) and financial (i.e., ECB and Italian commercial banks) institutions in the management of the Covid-19. The decline is lower for households who received public transfers in the wake of the pandemic. Our results highlight that household exposure to economic losses if not compensated by government income support measures are an important determinant of mistrust in institutions for the management of an economic crisis. |
| Keywords: | Covid-19 crisis, trust in institutions, cash transfers. |
| JEL: | D12 D72 H53 |
| Date: | 2022–05–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sef:csefwp:646&r= |
| By: | Jim Been (Leiden University); Anne C. Gielen (Erasmus University Rotterdam); Marike Knoef (Leiden University); Gloria Moroni (Erasmus University Rotterdam) |
| Abstract: | Recent policies aiming to prolong worklives have increased older males’ labor supply. Yet, little is known about their intergenerational effects. Using unique Dutch administrative data covering three consecutive generations, this paper studies the impact of increased grandfathers’ labor supply following a reform in unemployment insurance for persons aged 57.5+ on grandchildren’s educational performance. We find that increased grandfathers’ labor supply increases grandchildren’s test scores in 6th grade. The effect is driven by substitution of grandparents’ informal care by formal childcare. |
| Keywords: | Intergenerational effects, labor supply, unemployment insurance, child care, child development |
| JEL: | J13 J14 J22 J26 J65 |
| Date: | 2022–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20220033&r= |
| By: | Berlingieri, Francesco; Diegmann, André; Sprietsma, Maresa |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of studying the first-choice university subject on dropout and switching field of study for a cohort of students in Germany. Using detailed survey data, and employing an instrumental variable strategy based on variation in the local field of study availability, we provide evidence that students who are not enrolled in their preferred field of study are more likely to change their field, delay graduation and drop out of university. The estimated impact on dropout is particularly strong among students of low socio-economic status and is driven by lower academic performance and motivation. |
| Keywords: | academic performance,field of study,preferences,university dropout |
| JEL: | I21 I23 J24 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwhdps:162022&r= |
| By: | Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt; Duncan Roth; Tobias Seidel |
| Abstract: | We develop a quantitative spatial model with heterogeneous firms and a monopsonistic labour market to derive minimum wages that maximize employment or welfare. Quantifying the model for German micro regions, we find that the German minimum wage, set at 48% of the national mean wage, has increased aggregate worker welfare by about 2.1% at the cost or reducing employment by about 0.3%. The welfare-maximizing federal minimum wage, at 60% of the national mean wage, would increase aggregate worker welfare by 4%, but reduce employment by 5.6%. An employment-maximizing regional wage, set at 50% of the regional mean wage, would achieve a similar aggregate welfare effect and increase employment by 1.1%. |
| Keywords: | general equilibrium, minimum wage, monopsony, employment, Germany, inequality |
| Date: | 2022–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1823&r= |
| By: | Mattia Filomena (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University); Isabella Giorgetti (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University,- GLO Global Labor Organization, Essen); Matteo Picchio (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University -Ghent University, Ghent - GLO Global Labor Organization, Essen) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effect of nonemployment experienced by Italian youth after leaving secondary school on subsequent labor market outcomes. We focus on the impact on earnings and labor market participation both in the short- and in the long-term, up to 25 years since school completion. By estimating a factor analytic model which controls for time-varying unobserved heterogeneity, we find that the negative effect of nonemployment on earnings is especially persistent, being sizeable and statistically significant up to 25 years after school completion, for both men and women. Penalties in terms of participation last instead shorter; they disappear by the 10th year after school completion. Hence, early nonemployment operates by persistently locking the youth who get off to a bad start into low-wage jobs. |
| Keywords: | Youth nonemployment; scarring effects; earnings; labor market participation; factor analytic model. |
| JEL: | J01 J08 J31 J64 |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:466&r= |
| By: | Meenagh, David (Cardiff Business School); Minford, Patrick (Cardiff Business School) |
| Abstract: | This paper extends Meenagh and Minford (2021) to the four waves of infection in the UK by end-2021, using the unique newly available sample-based estimates of infections created by the ONS. These allow us to estimate the effects on the Covid hospitalisation and fatality rates of vaccination and population immunity due to past infection: the latter was the most significant factor driving both trends, while the vaccination rate also had a significant short run effect on the fatality rate. We also updated our policy comparison with Sweden for the most recent data, with similar conclusions.: lower Swedish lockdown intensity relative to personal response in waves 1 and 2 caused much lower economic costs with no discernible effect on infections. |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdf:wpaper:2022/9&r= |
| By: | Lenka Slegerova (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic) |
| Abstract: | Using a unique survey of almost 2,000 Czech and Slovak medical students run in 2020 and 2021, the paper investigates whether gender inequality and stereotypes as proxied by the gender unemployment rate gap drive students' choices of specialities. The data suggest that the higher the gender unemployment rate gap in the region (by 1 p.p.), the higher the probability its permanent residents choose a respective gender-dominated speciality (by 3.9 p.p.). This effect is driven by men in the sample. However, women report significantly more frequently encountering discrimination during the undergraduate training (41% vs 23%), presumably influencing their speciality choices. The study demonstrates the need to combat the prevalent gender stereotypes and discriminatory behaviour. |
| Keywords: | gender inequality, medical speciality choice, unemployment gap |
| JEL: | I18 I23 J16 |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fau:wpaper:wp2022_12&r= |
| By: | Nicolai T. Borgen; Lars J. Kirkebøen (Statistics Norway); Andreas Kotsadam; Oddbjørn Raaum |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effects of a large-scale Norwegian reform that provided extra teachers to 166 lower secondary schools with relatively high student-teacher ratios and low average grades. We exploit these two margins using a regression discontinuity setup and find that the reform reduced the student-teacher ratio by around 10% (from a base level of 22 students per teacher), with no crowding out of other school resources or parental support. However, the reform did not improve test scores and longer-term academic outcomes, and we can reject even small positive effects. We do find that the reform improved the school environment from the students’ perspective, but with the largest impact on aspects most weakly associated with better academic outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Student-teacher-ratio; class size; test scores; non-cognitive skills; RDD |
| JEL: | J24 I2 |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:982&r= |
| By: | Sarah C. Dahmann; Nathan Kettlewell; Jack Lam |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effect of parental separation on the risk and trust attitudes of German adolescents using a large household survey dataset, which allows us to match respondents to their siblings and parents. Our results indicate that adolescents from separated families are less trusting but have the same risk tolerance as adolescents from non-separated families, even after conditioning on the attitudes of parents and other controls. This trust deficit persists into early adulthood. Moreover, for both trust and risk, we find that separation attenuates the transmission of preferences from father to child. Additional analyses point to reduced parental involvement and greater family conflict as potential mechanisms. |
| Keywords: | Family dissolution, divorce, preferences, risk, trust, intergenerational transmission |
| JEL: | J12 J13 D91 D81 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1161&r= |
| By: | Matthew J. Lindquist; Theodor Vladasel |
| Abstract: | Entrepreneurship is often hailed as a path to upward intergenerational mobility, but few studies have explicitly tested this belief. We study intergenerational income rank mobility among entrepreneurs and employees in Sweden using high-quality measures of lifetime income for 215,000 father-son pairs. Incorporated entrepreneurs are more upwardly mobile than wage earners; this result is driven by selection and not by the causal impact of entrepreneurship on upward intergenerational mobility. By contrast, unincorporated entrepreneurs are more downwardly mobile, a result explained by selection, income underreporting, and lower returns to skills and education. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship, incorporation, intergenerational mobility, lifetime income, upward mobility |
| JEL: | L26 J24 J62 |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1841&r= |
| By: | Jan Bietenbeck; Andreas Leibing; Jan Marcus; Felix Weinhardt |
| Abstract: | Following a landmark court ruling in 2005, more than half of Germany's universities started charging tuition fees, which were subsequently abolished until 2015. We exploit the unusual lack of grandfathering in these policies to show that fees increase study effort and degree completion among incumbent students. However, fees also decrease first-time university enrollment among high school graduates. Combining this enrollment impact with the effect on completion, we find that fees around the zero-price margin have only little effect on overall educational attainment. We conclude by discussing policies targeting the separate effect margins of fees and caution against a general abolition. |
| Keywords: | higher education, fees |
| Date: | 2022–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1839&r= |