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on Microeconomic European Issues |
| By: | Giuseppe Simone |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the structural foundations of regional productivity divergence in Italy through the lens of economic complexity. Leveraging a newly constructed Economic Complexity Index (ECI) at the NUTS-3 level, we examine how the sophistication and diversity of local productive structures shape long-run productivity trajectories of Italian provinces over the period 2000–2021. Empirical approach combines panel data models with instrumental variable (IV-GMM) techniques, spatial econometrics, and simultaneous equation systems (3SLS) to capture the direct, spatial, and bidirectional relationships between complexity and productivity. The findings reveal that economic complexity is a robust and consistent predictor of regional labour productivity. This association is particularly strong in Northern provinces, where institutional density and in- novation ecosystems amplify the returns to complexity, and where spatial spillovers from neighbouring territories enhance local outcomes. In contrast, Southern regions experience lower returns and limited externalities, reflecting persistent development traps. Crucially, I provide the first integrated empirical evidence of a cumulative, self-reinforcing loop between complexity and productivity: more complex regions become more productive, and more productive regions are better equipped to diversify into complex activities. |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2536 |
| By: | Guerini, Mattia; Marin, Giovanni; Vona, Francesco |
| Abstract: | We study how monetary policy shapes firm level carbon emissions. Our identification strategy exploits the European Central Bank’s July 2012 move to the zero lower bound as a plausibly exogenous easing of credit supply, combined with rich administrative and survey data on French manufacturing firms from 2000–2019. Using a difference-in-differences design with debt-to-asset ratios as exposure, we find that financially constrained firms cut emissions by about 9.4% more than unconstrained ones. This effect primarily stems from improvements in energy efficiency, lower carbon intensity of energy, and general productivity improvements associated with capital deepening that outweighed modest scale effects. Small and medium firms drive these results, while large and EU ETS regulated firms show no significant response. On average, emissions fell by 3.3% per year, summing up to 5.3 million tonnes of CO2 saved. Despite the smaller marginal effects, total carbon savings due to the monetary easing are comparable to the savings from the EU ETS, highlighting the untargeted nature of the policy. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2025–12–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemwp:376272 |
| By: | Vanegas, Juan Duran; Jordan, Michelle Alicia; Siedschlag, Iulia |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp812 |
| By: | Alessandra Burgio (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica); Cinzia Castagnaro (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica); Gustavo De Santis (Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti", Universita' di Firenze); Vignoli Daniele (Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti", Universita' di Firenze); Vitali Agnese (Universita' di Trento) |
| Abstract: | Delayed childbearing is increasingly common in Italy, contributing to rising demand for medically assisted reproduction (MAR). This paper presents nine possible future scenarios of the share of MAR births in total births, based on the latest (2023) official data and three hypotheses on the evolution of maternal mean age at childbirth (no change, slow ageing, rapid ageing) combined with three hypotheses on the MAR share in the fertility schedule (no change, moderate increase, rapid increase). Our projections indicate that changes in the age structure of women of reproductive age have a negligible effect on future MAR prevalence. In contrast, delayed childbearing and continued expansion of MAR use could raise the share of MAR births from 4.3% in 2023 to 11–12% by mid-century, with a plausible upper bound exceeding 15% under sustained trends. These results underscore the growing demographic and social significance of MAR in Italy and highlight important implications for public health planning, resource allocation, and policies aimed at supporting earlier childbearing. |
| Keywords: | Medically assisted reproduction; MAR births; delayed childbearing; fertility projections; Italy; demographic scenarios |
| JEL: | J13 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fir:econom:wp2025_11 |
| By: | Cruz, Ronize (University of Coimbra); Nobre, Francisco (Kingston University London); Pereira dos Santos, João (ISEG) |
| Abstract: | We analyze how the proliferation of short-term rentals (STRs) affects firm survival, performance, and entry in two European cities with high STR density. Using administrative firm-level accounting data, a shift-share instrument, and an event-study design, we find that STR growth increases exit rates among underperforming firms, while surviving firms experience relative gains in sales and profits, with minimal effects on employment or investment. Operational costs, particularly rents and liabilities, also rise. STR expansion stimulates entrepreneurship, though new entrants face higher costs and lower initial profitability. These findings underscore the nuanced impacts of tourism-driven demand shocks on urban economic ecosystems. |
| Keywords: | tourism, local businesses, short-term rentals, Portugal |
| JEL: | R12 L25 L83 |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18295 |
| By: | Giorgia Casalone; Alessandra Michelangeli; Jurgena Myftiu |
| Abstract: | This study examines the causal impact of additional financial aid granted to students living far from university on their academic performance. It exploits an Italian policy that supports the relocation of scholarship recipients to the university city. Using a fuzzy regression discontinuity design based on a travel-time eligibility threshold, we compare the academic outcomes of scholarship holders enrolled at a medium-sized public university. Results indicate that relocated students accumulate credits more slowly and achieve lower average grades than comparable commuters, with no evidence that relocated students trade exam quality for quantity. A mediation analysis suggests that these effects may be driven by time-management difficulties and the limited adequacy of the financial support to cover living expenses. By focusing on an overlooked dimension of student aid, the paper contributes to the understanding of how financial support mechanisms interact with students’ living arrangements and provides novel causal evidence on the interplay between financial aid and students’ living arrangements in higher education. |
| Keywords: | Scholarships, Higher education, Academic performance, Living arrangements, Regression Discontinuity. |
| JEL: | H2 H4 I2 C3 |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mib:wpaper:563 |
| By: | Christian Buelens; Staffan Lindén |
| Abstract: | This paper looks at household inflation attention in the euro area, using the European Commission's Business and Consumer Survey. The main contributions are to measure inflation inattention and its drivers and to illustrate how inflation inattention differs across socio-economic categories (gender, income, education and age). We use two measures: self-reported inflation inattention, corresponding to the share of `don't know' responses and a new index of revealed inflation attention. This index assesses how well consumer inflation perceptions match actual inflation outturns and takes into account biases by survey participants. We find that inflation attention increases with inflation, and accelerates when inflation exceeds a certain level. Our results also show that inflation perceptions and expectations change not only due to revisions in views, but also because individuals switch from having no view to holding a view when inflation is high. We also find that there are structural differences in inflation inattention across socio-economic categories, which are closely related to the overestimation of inflation in these categories. These findings have implications for the interpretation of inflation perceptions and expectations and are relevant for the targeting of policy communication towards specific groups and depending on the inflation environment. |
| JEL: | C81 D83 D84 E31 E7 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:euf:dispap:225 |
| By: | Aapo Hiilamo (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Moritz Oberndorfer |
| Abstract: | A randomized trial of a partial basic income scheme for the population in unemployment in Finland was conducted in 2017–2018. No studies to date that we are aware of have investigated to what extent the effects of the trial on self-reported mental health were heterogeneous. This is an important question for understanding the implications of basic income schemes for the distribution of mental health in a population. We studied effect heterogeneity using data from a survey conducted at the end of the two-year experiment with a response rate of 20% (intervention n=569, control n=1028). Mental health was measured by the MHI-5 five-item instrument. We considered effect heterogeneity across potential indicators of labor market disadvantages, including age, gender, education, prior employment status, household size, and family type. Participants in the intervention group had moderately better mental health compared with those in the control group (adjusted risk difference for poor mental health -0.08 [95%CI: -0.12; -0.03]). Multilevel modelling and causal forest showed no evidence for heterogenous effects on mental health. Our results suggest that basic incomes schemes have no harmful effects on mental health across multiple potential axes of labor market disadvantage, and are unlikely to increase mental health inequalities among people in unemployment. |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2025-035 |
| By: | Sauermann, Jan (Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy (IFAU), Copenhagen Business School; Institute of Labor Economics (IZA); ROA, Maastricht University; UCLS, Uppsala University.); Butschek, Sebastian (Leopold-Franzens Universität) |
| Abstract: | To estimate the causal effect of employment protection on firms’ worker selection, we study a policy change that reduced dismissal costs for the employers of over a tenth of Sweden’s workforce. Our difference-in-differences analysis of firms’ hiring uses individual ability measures including estimated worker fixed effects, GPA at age 15, and military test scores. We find that the reform reduced minimum hire quality by around 2%. Our results show that firms both decrease their hiring thresholds and hire more workers. We find that firms increasingly hire young, foreign born and long-term non-employed individuals, suggesting potential welfare gains of the reform. |
| Keywords: | worker selection; screening; hiring standard; employment protection; dismissal costs. |
| JEL: | D22 J24 J38 M51 |
| Date: | 2025–11–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2025_022 |
| By: | Ciliberti, Stefano; Frascarelli, Angelo; Martino, Gaetano |
| Abstract: | The study of institutions in the agro-food systems is gaining momentum since it represents an intricate and undoubtedly relevant case study as concerns intermediate-product markets. Moreover, traditionally there is a problem of organization among farmers mainly due to the scarce attitude to pool decisional and property rights on input and/or output. According to the Transaction Costs Economics framework, the paper aims to investigate which are the main drivers of the collective forms of organization in the Italian agro-food system, paying particular attention to transaction costs’ attributes and to the increasing role played by the institutional environment as well. The choice to join to cooperative or producer organization is conceptualized as a governance structure choice, also paying attention to the complementarity between the two alternatives. Based on the Italian version of the Farm Accountancy Data Network, bivariate probit and multinomial are estimated in order to account for three organizational alternatives (participation in cooperative, in OP and join participation in all the three alternatives) and to test the complementarity between the two organizational forms entailed. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Farm Management |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:icae18:276067 |
| By: | Francesca Barigozzi; Natalia Montinari; Giovanni Righetto; Alessandro Tampieri |
| Abstract: | This paper revisits the statistical discrimination model of Phelps (1972) to explain why a gender wage gap emerges immediately at labour-market entry, despite women's superior academic performance. We focus on graduates and extend the framework by adding a productivity-relevant attribute - willingness to work abroad or IT skills - that is correlated with gender and differs across fields of study. Employers observe noisy individual signals and coarse group-level statistics by gender and field, and optimally combine them when setting wages. Within this setting, gender differences in the distribution of these attributes can generate an entry wage premium for men even when women have higher average human capital. We test this mechanism using AlmaLaurea microdata on master's graduates from the University of Bologna (2015-2022). We calibrate the model for the full sample and separately for Economics & Management and Engineering. Human capital alone cannot reproduce the observed wage differences, while augmenting the model with willingness to work abroad or IT skills brings predicted and actual gaps into close alignment. Complementary wage regressions show that mobility intentions explain a substantial share of the raw gender wage gap across fields, whereas IT skills matter primarily in Engineering and only marginally in the aggregate. The combined evidence from the model calibration and the empirical analysis supports an extended statistical discrimination channel operating through gendered distributions of mobility and IT-related attributes. |
| JEL: | J16 J31 J71 J24 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:wp1217 |
| By: | Thérèse Bastin; Nikolaos Koutounidis; Milan van den Heuvel; Ilan Tojerow; Yannelis Constantine |
| Abstract: | This poster presents our paper which examines taxpayers’ behavioural responses to a specific wealth tax. Leveraging an unprecedented tax on the financially wealthiest individuals and a unique individual banking data, this paper provides the first scientific evidence on the answers to specific financial wealth tax. |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulb:ulbeco:2013/397728 |
| By: | Bartscher, Alina (Frankfurt School of Finance and Management); Mann, Katja (Department of Economics, Copenhagen Business School) |
| Abstract: | More and more countries around the world switch from defined-benefit, pay-as-yougo pension systems to funded, defined-contribution systems. This implies substantial wealth accumulation, yet simultaneously exposes individuals to investment risk. While it seems natural to expect that individuals’ investment decisions in pension and non-pension accounts are related, there is little empirical evidence. We compile a new microdataset on Danish savers and document how pension and non-pension investment decisions are linked. We find substantial positive spillover effects between risk-taking in pension and non-pension investments. High-return pension savers also earn the highest return on their non-pension savings, driven by active risk choices. Pension and non-pension investment choices are often made at the same time. An important reason for this are joint responses to individual and aggregate events. Additionally, there are direct spillover effects from changes in stock market policies to pension savings behavior, and vice versa. |
| Keywords: | Stock market participation; Pension savings; Portfolio choice; Return heterogeneity; Financial literacy |
| JEL: | D14 E21 G11 G41 G51 J26 |
| Date: | 2025–12–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cbsnow:2025_012 |
| By: | Dutt, Nilanjana (Bocconi University); Espinosa, Miguel (Bocconi University); Li, Ruyue (Boston University); Rath, Johan (Bocconi University); Sung, Elie (HEC Paris) |
| Abstract: | While we know a lot about how lobbying works in the United States, we know much less about how it operates in the European Union (EU), despite the EU's major global influence. The EU's complex system of governance creates unique challenges and opportunities for corporate lobbying, with important implications for policymaking. This paper helps fill that gap by building a new dataset on lobbying activities in the EU and documenting how companies engage with key institutions like the European Commission and the European Parliament. We also compare lobbying in the EU and the U.S. and examine what drives companies to lobby. Our findings raise important questions about corporate influence in EU policymaking and provide a foundation for future research. |
| Keywords: | Lobbying; European Union |
| JEL: | D72 |
| Date: | 2025–06–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ebg:heccah:1577 |
| By: | Bas Gorrens |
| Abstract: | Carbon pricing is a central policy instrument for reducing emissions, but governments face a trade-off: faster decarbonization can raise output losses and carbon leakage, while gradual implementa-tion slows emission reductions. This paper studies how EU carbon policies have shaped firms’ adoption of abatement technologies and identifies the optimal trajectory to reach the EU’s 2050 net zero target, particularly in a unilateral context. I develop a dynamic heterogeneous-firm model in which forward-looking manufacturing firms choose when to adopt discrete abatement technologies under a gradually tightening carbon price. I estimate it using panel data on EU ETS firms from 2005-2019. The model rationalizes the low carbon prices of the 2010s as a consequence of gradual policy and firm anticipation. Emission reduc-tions arise mainly from large, productive, and initially polluting firms. Anticipation of future tightening mitigates half of the short-run output losses in 2025 and two-thirds by 2050, keeping overall output losses below 2%. A moderately faster tightening could cut cumulative emissions by 15% at an additional cost of only 0.11% of output. Finally, because firms anticipate future policy changes, unilateral and global carbon pricing yield nearly identical effects on domestic output and carbon leakage. |
| Keywords: | trade and environment, technology adoption, firm decisions, climate policy, carbon leakage |
| Date: | 2025–11–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ete:vivwps:777266 |
| By: | F. Javier Rodríguez Román (University of Barcelona, BEAT); Lidia Cruces de Sousa (Goethe University Frankfurt) |
| Abstract: | Are financial incentives effective in increasing fertility rates? Empirical evidence suggests they are, primarily in the short run (around implementation). Can such policies also increase the total number of children in the long run? We address this question by using a structural life-cycle model of fertility and labor supply, calibrated to replicate the short-run effects of a cash transfer paid at childbirth implemented in 2007 in Spain. The model incorporates labor market duality, a defining feature of Spanish labor markets that negatively impacts fertility. Our calibrated model replicates a 6% increase in fertility rates in the short run but only generates a 3% rise in completed fertility over women’s lifetimes—the long run. Eliminating labor market duality increases lifetime fertility by 6.62%, but the discrepancy between short- and long-run effects of the incentive persists. These results highlight the limited impact of financial incentives alone to sustain fertility gains. |
| Keywords: | Cash Transfers, Fertility, Female Labor Force Participation, Dual Labor Markets, Life-Cycle |
| JEL: | J11 J13 J22 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ewp:wpaper:481web |
| By: | Giovanni Marin (Dipartimento di Economia, Società, Politica, Università di Urbino Carlo Bo, SEEDS, and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei) |
| Abstract: | This study examines how extreme heat affects workplace accidents in Italy’s various economic sectors. Using granular data by sector, day, and province (NUTS-3) for 2018–2024, we evaluate the contribution of occupational exposure as a source of diverse effects at the sector level. Our findings imply that while the average effects of extreme heat on workplace accidents are, at best, negligible, high temperatures significantly raise the frequency of medium-to-low severity accidents for sectors with high levels of exposure, while exposure and extreme heat alone do not account for fatalities. |
| Keywords: | workplace accidents, heterogeneous effect, fixed-effect regression, vulnerability, extreme temperature |
| JEL: | Q54 I18 J28 |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2025.28 |
| By: | Holthaus, Krista L.H.; Nuevo-Chiquero, Ana (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) |
| Abstract: | We study within-family differences by order of birth in survival and longevity in 19th century Netherlands. Using existing matched birth and death records from the Dutch provinces of Groningen and Drenthe, we report no significant differences in survival to ages 5 or 18 or longevity for those reaching adulthood by their order of birth among all siblings. When we allow the effect to vary by gender of the individual and of the older siblings, we find a small negative (positive) effect driven by same-(different-)gender older siblings, suggesting certain within-gender competition on survival. The effects, however, are small -- around 0.5 percentage points on survival levels above 75\% -- and are consistently restricted to early life. Longevity, once the individual reaches adulthood, is not consistently correlated with birth order for more flexible specifications. Importantly, we do not detect any differences by socio-economic status as captured by the father's occupation, nor do we observe a particular trend over time. This lack of observable differences by socio-economic status is noteworthy, especially given the radical changes during the study period, suggesting that it was homogeneously distributed by order of birth. |
| Keywords: | historical data, demographic transition, birth order, the Netherlands |
| JEL: | N33 I14 J13 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18298 |
| By: | Khaliliaraghi, Negar (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy) |
| Abstract: | The affordability and stability of housing are key determinants of economic wellbeing, but their effects on the academic success of university students remain underexplored. This paper investigates the causal effect of early access to affordable student housing on academic performance using a unique lottery-based allocation system in Sweden. The findings show that early access to student housing significantly improves students’ academic performance, with grades increasing by 28% of a standard deviation, and students being 33% more likely to rank in the top 5% of their class. The results suggest that housing stability allows students to focus more on their studies, reducing the need for employment and long commutes. |
| Keywords: | Student Housing; Higher Education; Test Scores |
| JEL: | C93 I21 I23 R21 |
| Date: | 2025–12–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2025_023 |
| By: | Klepacka, Anna M.; Florkowski, Wojciech J.; Revoredo-Giha, Cesar; Neupane, Sulakshan |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea24:343848 |
| By: | Lunn, Pete; Shier, Adam Joachim; Belton, Cameron; McGowan, F idhlim McGowan |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp811 |
| By: | Jan Nill; Francesca Crucitti; Magdalena Spooner; Janos Varga |
| Abstract: | The EU’s Fit for 55 policy package to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 has direct impacts on households. The distributional analysis in this paper is in line with the existing literature in pointing to the risk of a moderately regressive distributional impact and to the resources provided by carbon pricing revenues to mitigate this impact. This paper then analyses the measures through which the Fit for 55 policy package addresses its regressive distributional impacts. The package fosters structural measures for negatively impacted population groups that address the root causes of the relative higher share of energy costs of consumption for poorer households, leaving the design of these measures to the Member States. An example is the Social Climate Fund. New stylised ECFIN E-QUEST macroeconomic modelling scenarios of different ETS revenue uses show that redistributive measures can imply a macroeconomic trade-off in terms of equity and efficiency. In case income related financial measures are used to complement structural measures, the modelling indicates that a targeted reduction of labour taxation instead of lump sum payments could mitigate this trade-off. Additional microeconomic modelling of household heating with income inequality and borrowing constraints highlights that only structural measures boost adoption of cleaner more efficient technologies. Overall, the analysis indicates that, from an economic and fiscal point of view and drawing also on energy crisis lessons, redistributive policy measures should be well targeted and preferably structural. |
| JEL: | D1 D3 D4 E1 E6 H2 Q4 Q5 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:euf:dispap:229 |