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on Microeconomic European Issues |
| By: | Svend E. Hougaard Jensen; David Pinkus; Nina Ruer |
| Abstract: | A comprehensive study of the long-term care (LTC) systems in Germany, France, Slovenia, Italy and Denmark |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bre:wpaper:node_10560 |
| By: | Björn Becker (Institute for Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU), Trier University); Laszlo Goerke (Institute for Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU), Trier University); Yue Huang (Institute for Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU), Trier University) |
| Abstract: | The effects of trade union membership on wages and job satisfaction have been studied extensively. Arguably, life satisfaction serves as a more comprehensive measure of the benefits of union membership and warrants closer examination. Using all relevant waves from the German Socio-Economic Panel between 1985 and 2019, we find a negative correlation between trade union membership and life satisfaction in OLS and FE specifications. The association may arise because union members are more concerned about their job and the economic situation and less satisfied with their work. Social capital and wages also perform as channels between membership and life satisfaction. The negative correlation is more pronounced in settings in which trade unions are relatively weak. |
| Keywords: | german socio-economic panel, industrial relations in germany, life satisfaction, trade union membership |
| JEL: | I31 J28 J51 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iaa:dpaper:202408 |
| By: | CRUCES Hugo (European Commission - JRC); HERNANDEZ Adrian; NARAZANI Edlira |
| Abstract: | The Ingreso Mínimo Vital (Minimum Vital Income), Spain’s nationwide minimum income scheme introduced in 2020, offers beneficiaries a unique national guaranteed income as a last-resort benefit. However, the scheme’s design featured a lack of work incentives for low earners, potentially leading to inactivity traps. To address this flaw the Spanish government introduced an earnings disregard in 2022 enabling beneficiaries to keep all or part of the benefit when their earnings increase up to a certain limit. This paper provides an ex-ante assessment of this reform, looking into its expected fiscal, distributional, and labour market effects using the tax-benefit microsimulation model EUROMOD, and the behavioural labour supply model EUROLAB. Our results show that the reform has the potential to incentivise work for very low earners, particularly lone parents, mainly by promoting part-time employment. Also, the reform and its subsequent employment effects are expected to slightly reduce inequality and poverty. While entailing a step in the right direction, we discuss some avenues for improvement. |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:taxref:202411 |
| By: | Mariia Vasiakina (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Christian Dudel (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Automation transforms work at a rapid pace, with gradually increasing shares of the workforce being at risk of replacement by machines. However, little is known about how this risk is affecting workers. In this study, we investigate the impact of exposure to a high risk of automation at work on the subjective (self-reported health, anxiety, and health satisfaction) and objective (healthcare use and sickness absence) health outcomes of workers in Germany. We base our analysis on survey data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and administrative data from the Occupational Panel for Germany (2013-2018). Employing panel regression, we demonstrate that for workers, exposure to a high risk of automation at the occupational level is associated with lower self-reported health and health satisfaction, increased sickness absence, and, depending on how the risk is measured, anxiety. No effect on healthcare use is found. Our heterogeneity analysis provides evidence that none of the analyzed demographic and occupational groups is disproportionally affected by high automation risk. We also conduct several robustness checks (i.e., alternative model specifications and risk measures with different thresholds), with the results remaining largely consistent with our main findings. |
| Keywords: | Germany, automation, health |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2024-041 |
| By: | Anna Zamberlan; Alessio Tomelleri; Antonio Schizzerotto; Paolo Barbieri |
| Abstract: | Mastering digital skills is an increasingly important factor in the job matching process. This paper employs experimental methods to study how recruiters assess digital skills in the labour markets of Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The aim is to determine the causal impact of job applicants’ digital competences on recruiters’ assessment within the hiring process. The analysis further explores the heterogeneous effects of digital skills in the distribution of opportunities for candidates with varying levels of education applying to high- and mid/low-skilled jobs. Our results show that intermediate and advanced digital skills increase a candidate’s employability, with larger effects in the UK, a highly flexible labour market characterised by the relevance of general educational skills and relatively high returns to tertiary education. Focusing on heterogeneity by education and job types, the impact of digital skills is not univocal and highlights differing patterns across labour markets in shaping job candidate opportunities. |
| Keywords: | Digital skills, Education, Hiring intentions, Job matching, Factorial survey experiment, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom |
| JEL: | H25 H71 L25 D22 D25 L20 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fbk:wpaper:2024-04 |
| By: | Matthias Hans Belau |
| Abstract: | Background - Adverse socioeconomic conditions at the individual and regional levels are associated with an increased risk of mortality. However, few studies have examined this relationship using multilevel analysis and, if so, only within a single country. This study aimed to examine this relationship using data from several European countries. Methods - Individual-level data were obtained from Waves 5 to 9 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, while regional-level data were obtained from the Luxembourg Income Study Database. Cox regression analysis with gamma-shared frailty and a random intercept for country of residence was used to examine the association between individual mortality from all causes, cancer, heart attack, and stroke and measures of socioeconomic deprivation at the individual level, including material and social deprivation indices, and at the area level, including the Gini index. Results - The risk of mortality from all causes was increased for respondents with material deprivation (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.77, 95% CI = [1.60, 1.96]) and social deprivation (HR = 7.63, 95% CI = [6.42, 9.07]) compared with those without. A similar association was observed between individual deprivation and the risk of mortality from cancer, heart attack, or stroke. Regional deprivation had a modest contextual effect on the individual risk of death from all causes and cancer. However, when individual-level deprivation was included in the models, no contextual effects were found. Conclusions - The results indicate that individual socioeconomic conditions significantly predict causes of death in older European adults, with those with material deprivation and social deprivation having a higher risk of death from all causes, including cancer, heart attack, and stroke, while the Gini index has a minimal effect, although the Gini index reflects regional disparities across Europe. |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lis:liswps:890 |
| By: | Andree Ehlert; Andreas Lagemann; Jan Wedemeier |
| Abstract: | This study examines the real estate market in Germany at the district level, focusing on 401 NUTS 3 regions from 2012 to 2022. Using spatial econometric models, the analysis explores how socio-economic variables and COVID-19-related factors—including infection rates and mobility restrictions—affected regional property prices. Our results indicate that high infection rates and containment measures served as significant housing price drivers, with both direct effects within regions and indirect spillover effects to neighbouring regions. We find that these factors, along with socio-economic variables such as average age and childcare provision, contribute to spatial dynamics in property markets. Robustness checks across regional subgroups and different model specifications support these fin dings. The research contributes to the literature by quantifying the influence of socio-economic and pandemic-related factors on regional real estate price variations and providing evidence of spatial spillover effects. The findings highlight the need for regionally tailored real estate policies to address the diverse impacts of these factors on property markets in Germany, while also offering a framework for analysing similar dynamics in other countries. |
| Keywords: | Regional real estate prices, COVID-19 impact, socio-economic factors, spatial econometrics, NUTS 3 regions, Germany |
| JEL: | R1 R31 C23 C21 R11 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:atv:wpaper:2402 |
| By: | Nadine Levratto; Mounir Amdaoud |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates how variety affects regional employment growth in France over the period 2004-2015. Starting from the seminal contribution of Frenken et al. (2007), we argue that intra-industry externalities foster employment growth. However, we don’t distinguish yet between the own effect of related variety of the region and that of its neighbourhood. Hence, we suggest that conceptual progress can be made when analysis considers the direct and indirect (neighbourhood) dimension of variety. Our empirical investigations confirm that related variety has a positive effect on employment growth. Moreover, this impact seems to be driven by the endogenous dimension of related variety in growth phase and by exogenous dimension in crisis period. We also find that the negative relationship between unrelated variety and employment growth goes only through the endogenous canal. |
| Keywords: | Related variety, unrelated variety, employment growth, neighbourhood effects, France |
| JEL: | R11 O18 D62 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:drm:wpaper:2024-34 |
| By: | E. Marrocu; R. Paci |
| Abstract: | This study contributes to the ongoing debate on the assessment of university performance, a critical issue in light of increasing global competition in education and the growing demand for accountability as universities rely on taxpayer funding, particularly when public budget constraints are tight. Using a two-stage approach, we examine the evolution of productivity levels of public universities in Italy from 2010 to 2017, following the introduction of university reform in 2010. In the first stage, we apply the nonparametric bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method to calculate universities internal technical efficiency scores, considering two outputs (teaching and research) and four inputs (students, academic staff, technical staff, and financial resources). In the second stage, we use linear and fractional response models to assess how the socio-economic characteristics of the regions where universities are located impact their internal efficiency. The first stage results reveal a general increase in relative technical efficiency between 2010 and 2017, accompanied by a notable reduction in efficiency dispersion, largely due to improvements among Southern universities. This suggests that universities have responded effectively to the reforms and the specific incentives they introduced. In the second stage, we find convincing evidence that regional contextual factors such as per capita income, student competencies, and the quality of local institutions significantly influence university efficiency. The paper, by suggesting to decision-makers and practitioners an easy procedure to calculate the universities' internal efficiency and the impact of contextual factors, offers valuable tools and insights to inform the design of more balanced policy measures to finance the public university system. |
| Keywords: | university;contextual factors;data envelopment analysis;fractional responses models;italy |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:202424 |
| By: | Roth, Felix; Mitra, Alessio |
| Abstract: | The European Union (EU) faces challenges such as an ageing population, migratory pressures, geopolitical vulnerabilities, and climate change, highlighting the need to enhance its ability to do more with less. This paper examines the drivers of EU labour productivity before and after the 2007 financial crisis, across goods and services sectors, tangible and intangible assets, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and non-ICT tangibles. Using the EUKLEMS 2022 dataset for 14 EU countries and the UK from 1995-2019 and growth regression analysis, we find that Research & Innovation (R&I) is crucial for productivity growth. Labour productivity in the goods sector benefits most from non-ICT tangible assets, while in the service sector, it benefits more from the non-R&D intangibles software, training, and organisational capital. On the other hand, training and ICT tangibles became more important drivers of labor productivity growth after the economic crisis. We argue that the productivity gap between the EU and the United States is largely due to insufficient investment in non-R&D intangibles like software, training, and organizational capital. |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:uhhhdp:19 |
| By: | Guilherme Spinato Morlin; Marco Stamegna; David Cano Ortiz; Simone D'Alessandro; Pietro Guarnieri |
| Abstract: | The effectiveness of statutory minimum wages in reducing income inequality and alleviating working poverty is widely recognized in labour market policy discussions. Less attention has been paid to the potential of salary caps to further reduce wage disparities by targeting the top of the income distribution. In this paper, we simulate the introduction of statutory minimum and maximum wages in Italy using Eurogreen, a dynamic macro-simulation model that combines input output analysis with labour market heterogeneity. Our findings indicate that the joint implementation of the two policies can substantially reduce labour market inequalities across gender, skill levels, occupational categories, and industrial sectors, without negatively affecting the overall performance of the economy. |
| Keywords: | Labour-market policy, Industry heterogeneity, gender gap, Dynamic Macrosimulation |
| JEL: | E24 E27 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2024–11–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pie:dsedps:2024/320 |
| By: | Chiara Bellucci; Armando Rungi |
| Abstract: | Rising market power threatens competition and decreases consumers' welfare. To date, a few works have shown how global firm-level markups increase, but there is scant evidence about the channels of such a change. This study investigates the causal impact of takeovers on markups and related firm-level outcomes on European manufacturing in 2007- 2021. Interestingly, findings suggest that takeovers aimed at vertical integration strategies are procompetitive because they result in lower markups (0.7%) and more sales (2.9%). The effects are higher as time passes from the takeover event, and they increase with the parents' number of already integrated subsidiaries. Notably, we do not find a significant impact on markups in horizontal integration strategies after we control for cherry-picking by acquirers. Eventually, we emphasize that our results on vertical takeovers point to strategies aimed at eliminating double profit margins on the input markets; thus, lower markups increase sales, spreading fixed costs and benefiting from economies of scale. Several checks on methods and sample composition effects confirm our central tenets. Finally, we reconnect with the debate initiated by the U.S. Vertical Merger Guidelines (2020; 2023), where the presumption of harm after vertical deals has been softened, thus considering procompetitive effects, but the discussion of potential foreclosure risks has been expanded. |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2411.12412 |
| By: | Levente Erdelyi (Magyar Nemzeti Bank (the Central Bank of Hungary)); Lajos Tamas Szabo (Magyar Nemzeti Bank (the Central Bank of Hungary)) |
| Abstract: | In our study, we present the job-to-job, hire and separation rates from 2002 to 2021 based on the comprehensive, anonymous database of the Hungarian State Treasury. We filtered out the distortions in the administrative data, for example company reorganisations, from the labour flows. Job-to-job rates occurred procyclical over the 20 years, while the rate of entries and exits responds less to the cyclical state of the economy. By different characteristics, the rates are heterogeneous in terms of level and dynamics. The regional pattern of entry and exit rates remains stable over time and correlates with the development of districts. There is no difference in cyclicality by gender, but men change jobs more frequently than women. Job transitions have a diminishing chance, as the age increases, and job-to-job flows of the younger age group are also more sensitive to economic conditions. Employees in jobs requiring lower qualifications are more likely to change jobs. The flows between firm size categories are mostly the highest within the same size category. Large companies have the lowest turnover rate relative to the number of employees. |
| Keywords: | labour flows, job-to-job rates, worker characteristics |
| JEL: | J21 J61 J62 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mnb:opaper:2024/152 |
| By: | Baute, Sharon |
| Abstract: | Klimaneutralität ist in Europa bis 2050 nicht ohne erhebliche Veränderungen in unserer Wirtschafts- und Gesellschaftsstruktur zu erreichen - und nicht ohne breite gesellschaftliche Unterstützung für diese Transformation. Doch wie nehmen die Bürger:innen den Klimawandel wahr - und welche Art von EU-Klimapolitik findet gesellschaftliche Zustimmung? Einer neuen Umfrage zufolge bevorzugen deutsche Bürger:innen allgemein Maßnahmenpakete, die (1) Subventionen vor allem im Bereich der erneuerbaren Energien einsetzen, (2) sozialinvestive Maßnahmen beinhalten, (3) durch Steuererhöhungen für Reiche finanziert werden und (4) EU-Mittel auf Grundlage der Bevölkerungsgröße auf die Mitgliedstaaten verteilen. Ausgehend von diesen Befunden werden im vorliegenden Policy Paper Implikationen und im Empfehlungen für die Klimapolitik formuliert. |
| Abstract: | Europe's transition towards climate neutrality by 2050 requires major shifts in the structure of our economy and society - and wide societal backing. But how do citizens perceive climate change and what kind of EU climate policies do they support? New survey among German vot- ers shows that Germans generally prefer policy packages that (1) target financial support within the renewable energy sector, (2) include social investment policies, (3) are financed by increasing taxes on the wealthy, and (4) distribute resources across EU member states based on popu- lation size. Based on these findings, this policy paper formulates recom- mendations for climate policy making - inter alia to - couple climate mitigation policies with social investment or compensatory measures for lower-income households. |
| Keywords: | Klimapolitik, EU-Umweltpolitik, Öffentliche Meinung, Deutschland |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cexpps:307109 |
| By: | Sara Biadetti (Università di Roma “Tor Vergata”, Italy); Lorenzo Carbonari (DEF and CEIS, Università di Roma “Tor Vergata”, Italy); Filippo Maurici (Department of Political Sciences, Università Roma Tre, Italy) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores forward-looking ambiguity (Knightian uncertainty) in a model with homogeneous workers and credit-constrained heterogeneous entrepreneurs. Agents are ambiguity-averse, using a worst-case criterion to form expectations about future productivity. We compare our economy with one that lacks uncertainty and find that ambiguity: (i) lowers the productivity threshold for market entry, (ii) reduces the equilibrium interest rate, and (iii) shifts expenditures from entrepreneurs to workers. These results stem from persistent expectation-realization mismatches. While ambiguity does not affect stability, it alters the convergence rate to the steady state and helps explain key macroeconomic comovements. |
| Keywords: | ambiguity, collateral constraints, heterogeneous agents, transition dynamics |
| JEL: | E22 D81 D84 G14 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rim:rimwps:24-20 |