|
on Microeconomic European Issues |
| By: | Gert Bijnens (National Bank of Belgium, Research Department) |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the effectiveness of Belgium’s short-time work (STW) program during the Great Recession, a period when the country recorded the highest STW take-up rate in Europe. STW allows firms to reduce working hours in response to temporary shocks while avoiding layoffs, playing a key role in European labor market insurance systems. Using an instrumental variable strategy that exploits quasi-exogenous variation stemming from an institutional feature of the Belgian program, we estimate the causal effects of STW on employment and wages. We find that, while STW significantly reduces the volume of work per worker, it does not lead to statistically significant employment gains for the average treated firm. Importantly, positive employment effects are concentrated among small manufacturing firms, which are more likely to face binding liquidity constraints. These findings highlight the importance of targeting and screening in improving the cost-effectiveness of STW programs and minimizing deadweight losses. |
| Keywords: | Short-time work; employment; wages; unemployment insurance. |
| JEL: | E24 J22 J23 J63 J65 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbb:reswpp:202509-481 |
| By: | Alex Farnell (Department of Economics, Finance and Accounting, Maynooth University.); Babatunde Buraimo (University of Liverpool); Jessica Hargreaves (University of York); Robert Simmons (Lancaster University) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the determinants of attendance demand in women’s football across three European countries. Our main focus is on the role that short-term (game level) and medium term (seasonal level) uncertainty of outcome play in determining attendances. We find no evidence that fans respond to game uncertainty in England and France in their decisions to attend, though there is some evidence they do in Germany. We explore this using alternative estimators. Moreover, attendances are higher in France and Germany when the match is of greater significance for the away team in terms of winning the championship. Home and away team strengths and scheduling conflicts with the men’s game produce are also shown to be important factors in shaping attendance demand at women’s football matches. Classification-D12, L83, Z21 |
| Keywords: | Attendance Demand, Women’s Football, Outcome Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:may:mayecw:n322-25.pdf |
| By: | Thaning, Max; Nieuwenhuis, Rense (Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | While micro-level research shows that employed individuals are less likely to experience poverty, macro-level trends reveal disappointing poverty reduction despite substantial employment growth across European countries – constituting an employment-poverty paradox. This study addresses this paradox by examining the heterogeneous effects of employment on poverty across different family types, while rigorously accounting for selection processes and confounding through leveraging panel data, varying assumption about causal structure, simulations, and formal sensitivity analysis. We apply a multi-group Kitagawa-Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition to examine how employment prevalences and premiums contribute to poverty differences across varying family-types. Our results suggest that differences in employment prevalences contribute minimally to poverty gaps, while premium effects drive most observable effects. Part-time employment shows even weaker poverty reduction effects across all family types. Sensitivity analysis reveals vulnerability to unmeasured confounding, suggesting true causal effects may be smaller still. In sum, employment is not a panacea for poverty reduction across family types. |
| Date: | 2025–08–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:vqzde_v1 |
| By: | Schnabel, Claus (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg); Abraham, Martin (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg); Wieser, Luisa (FAU, Erlangen Nuremberg); Niessen, Cornelia (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg); Bergmann, Sara (FAU Erlangen Nuremberg) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the digital gender divide (DGD) in Germany by analyzing gendered patterns of digital technology use in both private and professional contexts, and their consequences for wages. Using data from the GESIS Panel, we construct a Digital Involvement at Work index covering ten technologies to assess both active use and passive exposure. Our results reveal a significant DGD in the workplace: women are consistently less involved with digital technologies at work, even after controlling for education, occupational qualification, and digital affinity. In contrast, private digital use appears more balanced. This suggests that structural constraints—rather than individual preferences—play a key role in shaping the divide. Further, we find that digital involvement is positively associated with individual income, yet it does not close the gender pay gap (GPG). On the contrary, digital involvement yields greater wage returns for men than for women. These findings highlight how gendered patterns of digitalization in the workplace reinforce existing inequalities. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for policy and labor market equity, emphasizing the need for measures that promote equitable digital inclusion. |
| Keywords: | gender, digital involvement, digitalisation, wages, gender pay gap, Germany |
| JEL: | J31 J16 O15 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18097 |
| By: | L. Serafini; R. Paci; E. Marrocu |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of green, digital, and twin transition investments on firm performance in Italy during the 2014-2020 programming period. Drawing on detailed project-level data from the OpenCoesione platform on ERDF-funded initiatives, we classify investments according to their thematic focus and apply a staggered Difference-in-Differences approach to estimate their effects on value added, employment, and labour productivity. Our results show that firms supported through twin transition projects, those combining green and digital components, achieve the most substantial and sustained gains in value added and productivity. These integrated interventions appear particularly effective in enhancing firm performance and capacity utilisation, with employment effects emerging more gradually. Purely green and digital projects also yield positive outcomes, though with more moderate and variable effects. We further document significant heterogeneity across regions and sectors, with stronger impacts observed among firms located in Northern and Southern Italy and in knowledge-intensive sectors. Our findings highlight the importance of strategic investment design - transition-oriented and multi-dimensional projects consistently outperform single-focus initiatives. These results suggest that EU cohesion policy plays a pivotal role in supporting structural transformation, particularly when funding is targeted to integrated projects that align with broader environmental and digital policy goals. |
| Keywords: | Twin Transition;Green policies;Digital policies;Innovation and firm Performance;Cohesion Policy;Counterfactual Impact Analysis |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:202511 |
| By: | Oskar Kowalewski (IESEG School of Management, Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9221 - LEM - Lille Économie Management, F-59000 Lille, France); Tat-Kei LAI (IESEG School of Management, Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9221 - LEM - Lille Économie Management, F-59000 Lille, France); Prabesh LUITEL (IESEG School of Management, Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9221 - LEM - Lille Économie Management, F-59000 Lille, France); Pawel WNUCZAK (Department of Finance, Kozminski University, Jagiellońska 59, Warsaw 03-301, Poland) |
| Abstract: | Casual empiricism points to the relative reluctance of senior management of Italian companies to raise equity financing for fear of dilution and relinquishing effective control. Our econometric analysis based on panel data for a sample of listed companies demonstrates that investment outlays of analyzed companies are strongly associated with debt rather than equity issuances. In turn, the size and likelihood of equity issuances are negatively associated with the tenure of both CEOs and supervisory board members. After controlling for firm-level fundamentals and time effects, we find that firms with the highest average tenure of senior management exhibit a relative preference for debt financing over equity except for periods, when a company records negative operating cash flows. Generally, firms with higher average tenure of CEOs and supervisory boards implement more conservative financial management strategies preferring to accumulate cash reserves in good times and slashing them or recuring to debt financing when facing operational difficulties. Importantly, the average age of officers is found to exhibit no similar link with the choice of external financing mode. The observed choices of the modes of external financing may be conducive to slowing the growth of Italian companies, reducing the career mobility of officers, creating entrenched boards, and increasing the average level of indebtedness of the corporate sector. |
| Keywords: | : tenure; capital structure; agency problem; Italy |
| JEL: | G30 G32 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ies:wpaper:f202501 |
| By: | Sonia Bhalotra (Department of Economics, University of Warwick); N.Meltem Daysal (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen); Mircea Trandafir (Rockwool Foundation Research Unit) |
| Abstract: | Mental health disorders tend to emerge in childhood, with half starting by age 14. This makes early intervention important, but treatment rates are low, and antidepressant treatment for children remains controversial since an FDA warning in 2004 that highlighted adverse effects. Linking individuals across Danish administrative registers, we provide some of the first evidence of impacts of antidepressant treatment in childhood on objectively measured mental health indicators and economic outcomes over time, and the first attempt to investigate under- vs overtreatment. Leveraging conditional random assignment of patients to psychiatrists with different prescribing tendencies, we find that treatment during ages 8-15 improves test scores at age 16, particularly in Math, increases enrollment in post-compulsory education at age 18, and that it leads to higher employment and earnings and lower welfare dependence at ages 25–30. We demonstrate, on average, a reduction in suicide attempts, self harm, and hospital visits following AD initiation. The gains to treatment are, in general, larger for low SES children, but they are less likely to be treated. Using a marginal treatment effects framework and Math scores as the focal outcome, we show positive returns to treatment among the untreated. Policy simulations confirm that expanding treatment among low SES children (and boys) generates substantial net benefits, consistent with under-treatment in these groups. Our findings underscore the potential of early mental health treatment to improve longer term economic outcomes and reducing inequality. |
| Keywords: | Antidepressants, mental health, education, test scores, human capital, Denmark, physician leniency, marginal treatment effects |
| JEL: | I11 I12 I18 J13 |
| Date: | 2025–09–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kud:kucebi:2509 |
| By: | Dachille, Giuseppe (University of Rome Tor Vergata); De Paola, Maria (University of Calabria); Nistico, Roberto (University of Naples Federico II) |
| Abstract: | We study the fertility effects of Italy’s Reddito di Cittadinanza (RdC), a national minimum income program introduced in 2019. Exploiting administrative data from the Italian Social Security Institute and a Fuzzy Regression Discontinuity Design, we document that RdC increased recipients’ childbirth probability by 1.5 percentage points (18%) over two years in the South, with no effect in the Centre-North. Labor supply declined by 10%, but only in the Centre-North. Regional heterogeneity reflects differences in gender norms, financial constraints, and opportunity costs of childbearing. Our findings highlight how income transfers interact with local context to shape demographic and labor market behavior. |
| Keywords: | RDD, fertility, guaranteed minimum income |
| JEL: | H53 J13 C21 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18105 |
| By: | Piseddu, Tommaso (Department of Real Estate and Construction Management, Royal Institute of Technology); Stenvall, David (Linköping University) |
| Abstract: | The literature on wildfires and residential property prices is limited and primarily focuses on wildfires in North America. There is a lack of studies examining this relationship in Europe. With the largest forest area in the entire EU, this relationship is particularly relevant to explore in a Swedish context. In this paper, we investigate how the largest wildfire in Sweden's recent history, the 2014 wildfire in Västmanland County, affected nearby housing prices. Using a difference-in-differences method, we find a significant negative effect. Our most conservative estimate indicates an approximate 2.7% reduction in final selling prices for post-fire sales located within 20 km of the wildfire area. However, the negative effect is larger when defining the treated area as a 5 km (-10.1%) or 10 km (-8.9%) distance to the fire, or when using a repeated sales sample that includes only single-family houses. In a heterogeneity assessment with respect to housing types, we find that our effects are driven by the impact on single-family houses rather than apartments. For the former group, we find large negative and significant effects, but we do not detect any impact on apartment prices. The largest impact on prices occurs in the first months after the wildfire and are identified along the trajectory of the fire’s smoke. |
| Keywords: | Wildfires; Housing prices; Natural disasters; Repeated sales |
| JEL: | C21 Q54 R31 |
| Date: | 2025–09–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:kthrec:2025_009 |
| By: | Olivier De Jonghe, Tong Zhao (National Bank of Belgium, Research Department) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the role of collateral using the euro area corporate credit registry, Ana-Credit. We document key facts about the importance, distribution, and composition of collateral, including its presence, types, and values. On average, 70 % of credit amounts are collateralized. Real estate and financial assets are the most pledged, while physical movable assets and other intangible assets are less present. In addition, we show that the aggregate collateral value pledged to the banking sector is substantial, driven mainly by real estate in most countries. For the first time, we examine the collateral channel in bank credit using the actual value of individual collateral. By exploiting within- firm and within-bank variations for newly issued secured loans, we find that the elasticity of collateral value to loan commitment amounts is around 0.7-0.8. This collateral value elasticity exhibits substantial country and time heterogeneity, which can be explained by legal, financial, and macro conditions. |
| Keywords: | Collateral channel, Corporate financing, Secured debt, Bank credit. |
| JEL: | E32 G21 G33 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbb:reswpp:202509-482 |
| By: | Van Havere, Toon (University of Antwerp); Nieuwenhuis, Rense (Stockholm University); Thaning, Max; Van Lancker, Wim; Verbist, Gerlinde |
| Abstract: | This deliverable set out to analyse the context-specificity of financial support policies for families with children and (out-of-pocket fees for) childcare services, two policy areas that feature prominently in rEUsilience recommendations (Daly et al., 2025). Our first question was to what extent child-contingent benefits compensate for the out-of-pocket costs of formal childcare services at different income levels. Based on our newly introduced compensation ratio measure, we showed that the combination of child contingent benefits and out-of-pocket costs tends to be low-income targeted, in the sense that lower-income families pay lower fees for childcare and/or receive higher benefits. In Poland and Sweden, the out-of-pocket expenses for childcare tended to be lower (on average) across the income distribution than child-contingent benefits, whereas high-income families in Belgium and Spain paid more for childcare than they received as financial support. Secondly, we asked to what extent child-contingent benefits compensate for the out-of-pocket costs of formal childcare services for different family types. Here, we found that generally (with the exception of Spain) families with more children receive higher child-contingent benefits relative to their out-of-pocket costs for childcare, compared to families with fewer children. In all the four countries studied here, single-parent families receive higher child-contingent benefits relative to their out-of-pocket costs for childcare, compared to two-parent families. Finally, we asked to what extent child-contingent benefits compensate for the out-of-pocket costs of formal childcare services when families transition into work. Here, we found that, generally, the compensation ratio was higher for families on social assistance or employment at low wages, compared to families working at higher wages. This holds for single-parent families (with the exception of Poland) as well as two-parent families. Moreover, the extent to which the compensation rate was lowered with employment and at higher wage levels differed between countries, with the drop particularly notable in Belgium and moderate to absent in Poland. For average wage employees, the compensation ratio was lowest in Belgium compared to the other countries included here. |
| Date: | 2025–08–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:r6kdh_v1 |
| By: | Riukula, Krista (ETLA - The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy); Väänänen, Touko (Aalto University) |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of transport-induced agglomeration on workers' earnings, as well as the productivity and costs of establishments, in the capital region of Finland using comprehensive individual- and establishment-level registry data. To our knowledge, we are the first to jointly examine firm- and worker-level effects of agglomeration. We find that improved workplace-to-workplace accessibility increases employees’ annual earnings, particularly among workers in smaller firms. However, we find no statistically significant effects on value added or labour costs per worker at the establishment level. We propose two potential explanations for this discrepancy: (1) differences in the composition of workers between the worker- and establishment-level analyses due to, for example, new hires, and (2) rising costs associated with increased agglomeration. Further analysis reveals that enhanced accessibility leads to higher establishment employment and increased operating expenses, such as rents. Taken together, these findings suggest that the benefits of agglomeration are primarily shared between workers and property owners. |
| Keywords: | transport project, productivity, agglomeration, accessibility |
| JEL: | R41 R42 R12 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18103 |
| By: | Valz Gris, Angelica (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy); Cristiano, Antonio; Di Berardino, Francesco; Giacobini, Erika; Tricomi, Vittoria; Pezzullo, Angelo; Cecchin, Erika; Conti, Valeria; Filippelli, Amelia; Gurrieri, Fiorella |
| Abstract: | Pre-emptive pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing involves identifying genetic variants associated with drug response prior to prescribing medication, with the aim of guiding potential future drug selection or dosing to reduce adverse drug reactions and improve treatment outcomes. Despite decreasing costs and growing feasibility of multi-gene panels, implementation pre-emptive pharmacogenetic testing strategies remains limited across Europe. This study explores the potential impact and barriers to implementation in Italy, combining a review of current evidence with multistage consultations with Italian experts in related fields (pharmacology, laboratory medicine, genetics, clinical care, and public health). Our analysis supports the clinical utility, economic sustainability, and feasibility of pre-emptive PGx testing. However, key barriers persist, including limited real-world data, unclear reimbursement mechanisms, insufficient laboratory and IT infrastructure, poor clinician training, and patient concerns related to privacy and data protection. To address these challenges, we propose strategic actions across six areas: regulatory alignment, research investment, professional training and result interpretation, public awareness and consent, laboratory infrastructure, and IT systems and data governance. |
| Date: | 2025–08–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:7vtxp_v1 |
| By: | Robert J. Hill (University of Graz, Austria); Norbert Pfeifer (University of Graz, Austria); Miriam Steurer (University of Graz, Austria) |
| Abstract: | Housing rents are one of the most important and difficult elements of spatial cost of living comparisons. The main difficulty arises from the lack of sufficiently detailed and harmonized data, especially at the international level. The emergence of Airbnb has created a valuable new source of internationally harmonized, micro-level rental data that circumvents this problem. In this paper, we combine hedonic regression and multilateral price index methods to construct an Airbnb spatial rent index for 60 cities across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australia. We then use this index to investigate three main issues: (i) How Airbnb rents differ across cities; (ii) How Airbnb and long-term rents are related; (iii) How housing affordability varies across cities. In particular, our Airbnb rent indices shed light on the extent to which two alternative long-term rent indices are quality-adjusted and highlight two different concepts of housing affordability: rent divided by income versus quality-adjusted rent divided by income. We find that housing affordability is worse in poorer cities according to the latter but not according to the former. |
| Keywords: | Spatial hedonic rent index, Airbnb rent premium, Housing affordability, Quality-adjusted rent/income ratio |
| JEL: | C21 C43 L85 R31 R52 Z32 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grz:wpaper:2025-14 |
| By: | Leonardo Becchetti; Nazaria Solferino |
| Abstract: | We investigate the phenomenon of (private, out-of-pocket) "health expenditure rationing", or whether out-of-pocket health expenditures are shaped by income independently of actual health needs. Using microdata from an Italian Health Interview Survey, we assess the extent to which income explains variation in private health spending, after controlling for objective health conditions, self-assessed health, and a comprehensive set of socio-demographic factors. We find that individuals in the highest income brackets spend approximately 300 euros more annually than those in the lowest. Our findings point to a structural inequity in access and highlight the need for policy measures that address not only formal coverage but also the underlying role of income in shaping healthcare use. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2508.13102 |
| By: | S. Usai; G. Filia; A. Tidu; U.M. Gragnolati |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the spatial concentration of employment at plant level in Italy between 2007 and 2021. We rely on a comprehensive data set including both manufacturing and service sectors at 3-digit ATECO. Our key measure of spatial concentration is theM function, which we analyze both at the aggregate and local level. In this way, we trace how the spatial concentration of economic activities has evolved across various geographic scales, while also keeping track of which local economies have contributed to such change. |
| Keywords: | Spatial concentration;M function;Industrial clusters;structural change |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:202512 |
| By: | Giovanni Di Bartolomeo (Università di Roma La Sapienza); Stefano Papa (DEF, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata"); Alessandra Pelloni (DEF, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata") |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether communication can mitigate in-group favoritism when group membership is based on a real-life trait (Italian vs. non-Italian citizenship among university students) rather than artificially induced, as in the minimal group paradigm. In our natural group setting, the identity effect is presumably stronger, making bias harder to counter. We do not find that communication significantly increases cooperation. Moreover, it does not reduce favoritism. However, the exchange of mutual promises increases cooperation and reduce in-group bias. A notable finding not found in previous studies is that gender differences also emerge: Italian males exhibit stronger in-group bias than females, whereas the opposite holds true among non-Italians. Overall, our findings confirm that not all groups are alike and that results from minimal group experiments may not always generalize to natural groups. |
| Keywords: | In-group bias, promises, exogenous variation, natural groups, gender effect |
| JEL: | A13 C91 D03 D64 D90 |
| Date: | 2025–09–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtv:ceisrp:610 |
| By: | Gert Bijnens (National Bank of Belgium, Research Department) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides the first systematic and comprehensive empirical study of management and strategy consulting. We unveil the workings of this opaque industry by drawing on universal administrative business-to-business transaction data based on value-added tax links from Belgium (2002-2023). These data permit us to document the nature of consulting engagements, take-up patterns, and the effects on client firms. We document that consulting take-up is concentrated among large, high-labor-productivity firms. For TFP and profitability, we find a U-shaped pattern: both high and low performers hire consultants. New clients spend on average 3 % of payroll on consulting, typically in episodic engagements lasting less than one year. Using difference-in-differences designs exploiting these sharp consulting events, we find positive effects on labor productivity of 3.6% over five years, driven by modest employment reductions alongside stable or growing revenue. Average wages rise by 2.7% with no decline in labor’s share of value added, suggesting productivity gains do not come at workers’ expense through rent-shifting. We do observe organizational restructuring with small increases in dismissal rates, and higher services procurement but reduced labor outsourcing. Our heterogeneity analysis reveals larger productivity gains for initially less productive firms, suggesting improvements in allocative efficiency. Our findings broadly align with ex-ante predictions from surveyed academic economists and consulting professionals, validating the productivity- enhancing view of consulting endorsed by most practitioners though only half of academics, while lending less support to a rent-shifting view favored by many economists. |
| Keywords: | Management Consulting, Productivity, Firm Performance, Network Data, Organizational Change, Allocative Efficiency |
| JEL: | E20 E22 E23 J0 L2 M0 O4 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbb:reswpp:202508-480 |
| By: | Ziegler, Lennart (University of Vienna) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how caseworkers influence job finding rates and job quality. To rule out selection effects, I exploit that caseworkers are assigned based on the jobseekers’ month of birth in some offices of the Austrian public employment service. Combining administrative data on caseworkers and jobseekers, I compute value-added measures for multiple jobseeker outcomes. A one-standard-deviation increase in caseworker performance corresponds to six additional days of employment in the first year and two percent higher earnings. For older workers and workers of foreign nationality, I observe the largest differences in caseworker performance. Employment and earnings effects are positively correlated, suggesting that faster job finding does not come at the expense of job quality. Analyzing differences in caseworker strategies, I find that caseworkers who refer more vacancies to jobseekers achieve higher employment rates, and those who refer better-paying jobs also achieve higher earnings. In contrast, frequent use of training programs or benefit sanctions is associated with worse job search outcomes. |
| Keywords: | job search assistance, caseworkers, unemployment, vacancy referrals |
| JEL: | J64 J68 J31 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18094 |
| By: | Kelly, Elish (ESRI, Dublin); Maitre, Bertrand (ESRI, Dublin) |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 health pandemic had a profound impact on labour markets worldwide, disproportionately affecting subgroups of the population, including individuals with disabilities. Despite extensive research on the broader impacts of the pandemic, there remains a notable gap in the literature concerning the labour market impact of COVID-19 on people with disabilities. This paper attempts to fill this gap for Ireland by examining the impact of the pandemic on disabled peoples’ unemployment status. The paper finds that individuals with disabilities were 2.7 percentage points more likely to be unemployed during the pandemic compared to those without disabilities. Even in 2023, people with disabilities remained more likely to be unemployed. However, our year interaction models revealed that the impact of disabilities on unemployment risk remained largely stable during and after the pandemic. |
| Keywords: | Unemployment Risk, Disabilities, COVID-19, Ireland, OLS |
| JEL: | J01 J14 J18 J64 J68 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18088 |
| By: | Halkos, George; Aslanidis, Panagiotis-Stavros |
| Abstract: | The present report assesses the Greek inclusive wealth over 1990–2020 using the Inclusive Wealth Index (IWI), decomposing human, produced, and natural capital and benchmarking against the EU-28. The results show that the produced capital expanded markedly but plateaued after the financial crisis of 2008. Furthermore, the human capital per capita remains ~46% below the EU average, reflecting gaps in education, ICT and managerial skills, labour productivity, and the effects of brain drain and regional disparities. Essentially, the natural capital has been pressured by biodiversity loss, deforestation, marine pollution, and limited circular-economy uptake. Overall, these dynamics place Greece in the lower-middle tier of EU countries for inclusive wealth, therefore, the report outlines priorities to close the gap. The proposed policies target, one the one hand on human capital, by strengthening tertiary and vocational pathways, fostering innovation and university and industry linkages, expanding female employment, enhancing ICT skills, and rebuilding institutional trust. On the other hand on natural capital, through strategies on sustainable forest and land management, marine ecosystem protection, circular-economy incentives, and recognition of socio-cultural ecosystem services to support conservation and eco-tourism. To conclude, the improvement of human and natural capitals is pivotal for long-term wellbeing, intergenerational equity, and alignment with the EU sustainability agenda. |
| Keywords: | Inclusive wealth; beyond GDP; sustainable development; Greece. |
| JEL: | E01 O44 Q01 Q50 Q56 |
| Date: | 2025–08–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:125927 |
| By: | Ahimbisibwe, Isaac (Baylor University); Altjmed, Adam (Swedish Institute for Social Research); Artemov, Georgy (University of Melbourne); Barrios-Fernandez, Andres (Universidad de los Andes); Bizopoulou, Aspasia (VATT, Helsinki); Kaila, Martti (University of Glasgow); Liu, Jin-Tan (National Taiwan University); Megalokonomou, Rigissa (Monash University); Montalban, Jose (SOFI, Stockholm University); Neilson, Christopher A. (Princeton University); Sun, Jintao (Rice University); Otero, Sebastian (Columbia University); Ye, Xiaoyang (Amazon) |
| Abstract: | Women account for only 35% of global STEM graduates, a share that has remained unchanged for a decade. We use administrative microdata from centralized university admissions in ten systems to deliver the first cross-national decomposition of the STEM gender gap into a pipeline gap (academic preparedness) and a choice gap (first-choice field conditional on eligibility). In deferred-acceptance platforms where eligibility is score-based, we isolate preferences from access. The pipeline gap varies widely, from -19 to +31 percentage points across education systems. By contrast, the choice gap is remarkably stable: high-scoring women are 25 percentage points less likely than men to rank STEM first. |
| Keywords: | centralized application platforms, STEM gender gap, gender inequality |
| JEL: | I23 I24 N30 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18092 |
| By: | Van Isacker, Travis |
| Abstract: | This article examines the infrastructuring of the European Union’s Entry/Exit System (EES) at the juxtaposed border controls of the United Kingdom and France. Drawing on expert interviews, industry conferences, and fieldwork conducted at the ports of Dover, Calais, and the Eurotunnel terminals, it traces the detours EES has taken on its journey from imaginary to implementation in response to material, political, and technical challenges. Requirements for the system such as capturing fingerprints to fulfil eu-LISA's interoperability objectives and enrolling biometrics within ‘line of sight’ of a European border guard have created thorny problems at the Channel ports where travellers arrive to the border in vehicles rather than on foot. Solving these problems has necessitated hard infrastructures and political compromises which have provided opportunities for other actors to influence the sociodigital future of EES through infrastructuring their preferred solutions. The fact that what EES is and will be has changed substantially before it has even entered into operation, shows the moment of suspension, between when work on a system starts and before it is complete, to be a decisive one for materially intervening in sociodigitial futures in the making. |
| Date: | 2025–08–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:6t3px_v1 |
| By: | Hellenkamp, Detlef |
| Abstract: | The 2025+ regulatory agenda presents the European banking sector with a significant convergence of complex requirements, including the finalisation of Basel III (CRR III/CRD VI), the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR), the new Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) package with the establishment of the AMLA, and the ongoing implementation of ESG regulations (CSRD/ESRS, EU Taxonomy). The results of this work show that, despite the undeniable need to strengthen the resilience and integrity of the sector, the aggregated regulatory complexity, the considerable implementation costs and potential normative inconsistencies constitute substantial challenges for the competitiveness and innovative capacity of institutions. In particular, interactions in the context of digital transformation, ensuring regulatory proportionality and handling large volumes of data in compliance with data protection regulations require precise calibration in the sense of differentiated and coherent (‘smarter’) regulation. The supervisory priorities of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Banking Authority (EBA) reflect these challenges and require far-reaching. The outlook points to a persistently high regulatory dynamic that will be increasingly characterised by the need to systematically manage the complex interactions between financial stability-related objectives, technological innovation capability and sustainability-oriented requirements. |
| Keywords: | AI-Act, AML/CFT-Paket (AMLA), Aufsichtspriorität, Basel III (CRR III/CRD VI), CSRD, Digitalisierung, Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), Digitale Transformation, ESG-Regulierung, ESRS, Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR), Proportionalität, RegTech, Smart-Regulation, SupTech |
| JEL: | G21 G28 K23 |
| Date: | 2025–04–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:125915 |
| By: | Florent Bresson (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne) |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces a novel analytical approach to assess the efficiency of inequality reduction in poverty alleviation. I develop a general transform of the Lorenz curve that enables the computation of point elasticities of poverty with respect to inequality while perfectly controlling for changes in inequality levels. Unlike previous methods, the suggested approach makes it possible to measure elasticities corresponding to observed inequality changes. It also provides a framework for benchmarking these elasticities. These elasticities are estimated for different subperiods using Brazilian income distribution data from 1981-2022. Results show the increasing powerfulness of inequality reduction as a lever for poverty alleviation. Moreover, while decreased inequality significantly contributed to poverty reduction during Brazil's celebrated poverty reduction period between 2003 and 2014, I observe that the distributional changes were not more pro-poor, compared with later subperiods, yet more efficient than in earlier subperiods in terms of poverty reduction. |
| Keywords: | Brazil, Inequality elasticities of poverty, Inequality, Poverty |
| Date: | 2025–08–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cdiwps:hal-05229456 |