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on Microeconomic European Issues |
| By: | Winfried Koeniger (University of St. Gallen; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); Center for Financial Studies (CFS); IZA Institute of Labor Economics; Swiss Finance Institute); Peter Kress (University of St. Gallen); Jonas Lehmann (University of St. Gallen) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the novel transactional card expenditure data for Germany and Austria provided by Fable Data. We describe key features of the data in terms of the coverage of expenditure items, payment channels, and the distribution of expenditures across regions and time. We highlight strengths and limitations of the data by comparing them to more consolidated lower-frequency information from external data sources. We find very similar expenditure patterns in Germany and Austria. We illustrate the advantages of the granular, higher-frequency information across expenditure items and locations by analyzing how consumption expenditures evolved during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. |
| Keywords: | consumption expenditures, transactional data, Austria, Germany, COVID-19 |
| JEL: | C80 D12 E21 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp24105 |
| By: | Angela Dalmonte; Tommaso Frattini; Sofia Giorgini |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the overeducation of tertiary-educated migrants in European labour markets. Using data from the European Labour Force Survey (2012-2022), we show that immigrants, particularly those from non-EU countries, are significantly more likely to be overeducated than natives. Despite a general decline in overeducation levels for all groups over time, the immigrant-native gap remains, especially for foreign-educated migrants. Furthermore, the likelihood of overeducation for foreign-educated migrants increases until 15-19 years after migration, a pattern consistent across all areas of origin and migration cohorts. Importantly, differences in educational quality between origin and destination countries do not primarily account for these overeducation differentials. The findings underscore the need for policies that better align immigrants' skills with labour market demands in Europe to avoid the waste of valuable immigrants' skills, which are harmful not only to migrants but to the economies of receiving countries too. |
| Keywords: | EU labour markets, immigration, Skill mismatch |
| JEL: | J15 J61 F22 |
| Date: | 2024–10–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csl:devewp:496 |
| By: | Henning Hermes (ifo Institute Munich); Philipp Lergetporer (Technical University of Munich); Frauke Peter (German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies); Simon Wiederhold (University of Halle) |
| Abstract: | Why are children with lower socioeconomic status (SES) substantially less likely to be enrolled in child care? We study whether barriers in the application process work against lower-SES children — the group known to benefit strongest from child care enrollment. In an RCT in Germany with highly subsidized child care (N = 607), we offer treated families information and personal assistance for applications. We find substantial, equity-enhancing effects of the treatment, closing half of the large SES gap in child care enrollment. Increased enrollment for lower-SES families is likely driven by altered application knowledge and behavior. We discuss scalability of our intervention and derive policy implications for the design of universal child care programs. |
| Keywords: | early childhood, educational inequality, randomized controlled trial |
| JEL: | I21 J13 J18 J24 C93 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2024-022 |
| By: | Casati, Paola; Kalantzis, Fotios |
| Abstract: | This study investigates how regional spillovers influence firms' climate investment decisions across EU regions using spatial econometric models. Using data from the European Investment Bank Investment Survey (EIBIS) 2023, we address two key questions: what triggers firms to adopt greener profiles, and how spillover effects impact investment decisions in neighbouring regions. Our study, reveals the existence of significant spatial dependence in firms' climate investment decisions across EU regions, underscoring at the same time the interconnected nature of adaptation and mitigation efforts. Further, risk perceptions, financial capabilities, external conditions like economic and institutional frameworks and EU funds, play a key role in shaping climate investment choices both locally and in neighbouring regions. The results underscore the critical need for spatial considerations in climate policy development, suggesting that policies tailored to regional dynamics can more effectively foster climate resilience and climate investments. |
| Keywords: | European Investment Bank Investment Survey, Green investment, Spatial regression analysis |
| JEL: | C21 Q54 Q55 Q56 Q58 R11 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:eibwps:306851 |
| By: | Kohl, Sebastian; Steinhardt, Max Friedrich; Stella, Luca; Voss, Simon |
| Abstract: | This study explores the factors influencing household overcrowding using longitudinal survey data from Germany spanning the years 1985 to 2022. As average square meters per capita have declined for urban tenants, we find that overcrowding rates have substantially increased since 2012: By 2022, 11% of the population lived in overcrowded housing (Eurostat definition), while up to 19% of individuals subjectively felt overcrowded. At the same time, under-occupation also rose, with 39% of dwellings objectively classified as under-occupied, and 16% of residents subjectively perceiving their homes as under-occupied. We demonstrate that the likelihood of entering, experiencing, and remaining in overcrowded housing increases in early adulthood and decreases over the life cycle. Moreover, we find that, after controlling for socio-demographic characteristics such as the number of children or a migration background, economic factors contribute relatively little to explaining the likelihood of living in an overcrowded household. In policy terms, our paper highlights a misallocation of housing space and the need for housing policies to target particular vulnerable groups at high risk of overcrowding. |
| Keywords: | Housing affordability, Living space, Inequality, Germany, Overcrowding, Well-being |
| JEL: | D31 I32 J13 R21 R31 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fubsbe:306845 |
| By: | Chiara Puccioni (Research Department, Confindustria); Daniela Vuri (DEF & CEIS, University of Rome "Tor Vergata") |
| Abstract: | This study evaluates the impact of an Italian government initiative launched in 2007, which allocated e1 billion to regional governments to enhance early childhood care services for children aged 0-2, targeting both public and private childcare options. Exploiting variations in the timing of implementation across regions, we assess the program’s effectiveness in increasing the public provision of early childcare services and maternal labor market participation. Results show a significant increase in both public childcare slots and labor market participation among mothers. However, the initiative had limited effects on less-educated women, likely due to the service’s relatively high costs, which may hinder broader accessibility. |
| Keywords: | early childcare services; mothers’ labor supply; staggered difference-in-difference; dynamic estimates |
| JEL: | C21 C22 H52 H75 J13 J22 |
| Date: | 2024–12–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtv:ceisrp:588 |
| By: | Camille Remigereau; Clara Schäper |
| Abstract: | This study examines how student aid eligibility influences application decisions to higher education using administrative data from France. We study the impact of a change in income thresholds for aid eligibility. We find that aid eligibility did not have a uniform effect on students’ applications but varied by gender and academic performance. Highperforming male students shifted their First-Ranked application from non-selective to selective long-term programs. Yet, female students did not show a systematic response. We suggest that female students were more certain in their application choices, while male students faced stronger financial constraints than females when attending long-term selective programs. |
| Keywords: | Education, inequality, financial aid, gender |
| JEL: | I22 I23 I24 I38 J16 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp2104 |
| By: | Hall, Caroline (d Uppsala Center for Labor Studies (UCLS)); Lindahl, Erica (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy); Roman, Sara (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy) |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of access to a child home care allowance on parents’ labor supply and childcare decisions, as well as their longer-term earnings trajectories and children’s school performance. To establish causality, we exploit variation in the availability of the allowance over time and across municipalities. The analysis is based on rich administrative data for the entiren Swedish population. Our results suggest a negative impact of benefit eligibility on mothers’ labor supply and earnings as well as on children’s enrollment in childcare during the time the family is entitled to the benefit (until the child turns 3 years old). Negative impacts on mothers’ earnings persist after benefit eligibility has expired and are still visible 7 years after childbirth. These effects are driven by mothers who lacked earnings before childbirth, while there are no lasting impacts for mothers with prior employment. We find no effects on fathers’ earnings. As for the children, our results suggest that access to the home care allowance had a negative impact on boys’ scores on standardized tests at age 10, while there are no significant effects on girls’ test scores. |
| Keywords: | Home care allowance; labor supply; earnings; childcare; preschool; school performance |
| JEL: | J13 J18 J24 |
| Date: | 2024–12–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2024_023 |
| By: | Berlemann, Michael; Haustein, Erik; Steinhardt, Max Friedrich; Tutt, Jascha |
| Abstract: | Recently, there is a growing interest in understanding how individuals adapt to changing climate conditions and climate-induced extreme weather events, An underexplored question is whether and how climate-related natural hazards affect household saving behavior, For this purpose, we exploit a natural experiment stemming from the European Flood of August 2002, Combining micro data with geo-coded flood maps allows us to analyze the causal impact of flood exposure on household savings within a differences-in-differences setting, We find that flood exposure depresses household saving behavior in the medium run, The most likely explanation is moral hazard induced by massive government support for affected households. |
| Keywords: | Natural disasters, flood, saving behavior, natural experiment |
| JEL: | D14 H84 Q54 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fubsbe:306363 |
| By: | Elizabeth Webster (Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, University of Melbourne); Alfons Palangkaraya (Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology); Paul H. Jensen (Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Melbourne); Russell Thomson (Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | We quantify how competitive funding programs that promote university-industry (U-I) research partnerships affect firm performance. To do this, we estimate staggered difference-indifference models using data from more than 5, 000 funded and unfunded Australian Research Council Linkage Project grant applications from 2002 until 2015. Our results show grant funding led to a 12 percent increase in employment over a five-year period with both employment and turnover trending upward relative to untreated firms over our five-year posttreatment window. |
| Keywords: | university, industry, research, collaboration |
| JEL: | O31 O32 O34 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2024n14 |
| By: | Conall Heussaff |
| Abstract: | Energy prices are higher in the European Union than in most other industrialised economies, presenting a fundamental competitiveness challenge |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bre:polbrf:node_10517 |
| By: | Ludovic Dibiaggio (SKEMA Business School); Lionel Nesta (Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, GREDEG, France; SKEMA Business School; Sciences Po Paris, OFCE, France); Simone Vannuccini (Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, GREDEG, France) |
| Abstract: | We present a first-of-its-kind empirical study of technological sovereignty in artificial intelligence, adopting a competence-based perspective. We use patents and publication data to map competencies across AI techniques, functions and applications, and develop a novel measure of integration based on relative specializations and complementarities. We argue that our measure approximates technological sovereignty by capturing local capabilities to innovate in AI. We use our novel measure to explain AI innovation, and unpack integration determinants. Our focus is on the European Union, given its lagging position yet key role in a global landscape increasingly characterized by growing rivalries and fragmentation. |
| Keywords: | Greening value chains, Firm internal markets failures, Transfer pricing, Fiscal compliance and the environment, environmental governance |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gre:wpaper:2024-34 |
| By: | Ignacio García Bercero; Petros C. Mavroidis; André Sapir |
| Abstract: | This Policy Brief focuses on possible new Trump tariffs, based on statements made by the President-elect |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bre:polbrf:node_10520 |