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on Microeconomic European Issues |
| By: | Yeon-Koo Che (Columbia University [New York]); Julien Grenet (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris, IPP - Institut des politiques publiques); Yinghua He (Rice University [Houston]) |
| Abstract: | This chapter surveys the application of matching theory to school choice, motivated by the shift from neighborhood assignment systems to choice-based models. Since educational choice is not mediated by price, the design of allocation mechanisms is critical. The chapter first reviews theoretical contributions, exploring the fundamental trade-offs between efficiency, stability, and strategyproofness, and covers design challenges such as tie-breaking, cardinal welfare, and affirmative action. It then transitions to the empirical landscape, focusing on the central challenge of inferring student preferences from application data, especially under strategic mechanisms. We review various estimation approaches and discuss key insights on parental preferences, market design trade-offs, and the effectiveness of school choice policies. |
| Keywords: | Preference Estimation, Top Trading Cycles, Immediate Acceptance, Deferred Acceptance, Matching Theory, School Choice |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:ipppap:hal-05528233 |
| By: | Gert Bijnens (National Bank of Belgium, Research Department); Sam Desiere (Ghent University, Belgium); Haotian Deng (Ghent University, Belgium); Bart Cockx (Ghent University, Belgium) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how employment subsidies for start-ups shape their performance. We exploit an unexpected policy reform in Belgium that permanently exempted start-ups hiring their first employee from payroll taxes for that employee. Using firm-level administrative data and a regression- discontinuity-in-time design, we find that subsidized post-reform start-ups employed fewer workers and generated lower output, value added, and profits compared to pre-reform start- ups. However, post-reform start-ups were more likely to survive as employers. These effects emerged within the first year after hiring and remained stable over a medium horizon of three years. Our findings indicate a compositional shift: the subsidy primarily induced low-productivity firms to enter the market. As most firms nowadays are nonemployers, our results meaningfully generalize the theoretical implications of standard neoclassical entrepreneurship models (employee–employer margin) and fill the important gap of the nonemployer–employer margin. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship; start-up; employment subsidy; tax reduction; labor demand; small firms. |
| JEL: | H25 J23 J24 J38 L25 L26 M51 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbb:reswpp:202603-488 |
| By: | Torben M. Andersen; Anne Katrine Borgbjerg; Jonas Maibom |
| Abstract: | We analyze how pension wealth influences retirement timing using 25 years of Danish administrative panel data on wealth and labor market status. Exploiting early-career variation in firm-specific mandatory pension contribution rates, we study labor supply decisions from age 55 onward. Greater pension wealth accelerates labor market exit: at age 63, the elasticity is about 0.3 — an additional 100, 000 DKK (15, 000 USD) at age 55 reduces earnings by 1% at age 63. Effects intensify near statutory retirement age, driven by self-support and early occupational pension withdrawals. Mandatory savings raise retirement wealth but induce earlier exit, underscoring key behavioral responses for pension policy design. |
| Keywords: | pension wealth, retirement, labor supply, mandated savings |
| JEL: | J32 J26 J22 D14 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12386 |
| By: | Anna Matysiak (Interdisciplinary Centre for Labour Market and Family Dynamics, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw); Linus Andersson (Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University); Wojciech Hardy (Interdisciplinary Centre for Labour Market and Family Dynamics, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw) |
| Abstract: | This study examines whether long-term structural labour market change, driven by industrial robotization, has influenced family formation and union stability in Sweden. Linking Swedish population register data (1994–2017) with sector-level measures of robot penetration, we analyse transitions into first marriage, first, second, and third births, and divorce. We distinguish between current exposure to robotization among employed workers and residual exposure among individuals who exited employment in robotizing sectors. Event-history models are complemented by an instrumental-variable approach that exploits cross-national variation in robot adoption to strengthen causal interpretation. On average, we find only weak associations between robotization and family transitions. However, substantial heterogeneity emerges by educational attainment. Among low- and medium-educated women and men, higher exposure to automation is linked to lower birth risks, weaker marriage formation, and higher divorce risks. In contrast, highly educated individuals experience neutral or positive associations between automation and family formation, alongside greater union stability. We conclude that the aggregate contribution of structural labour market change caused by industrial automation to Sweden’s post-recession fertility decline appears limited, automation contributes to widening educational disparities in family trajectories and reinforces cumulative disadvantage across labour market and family domains. |
| Keywords: | labour market, technology, industrial robots, family, fertility |
| JEL: | J31 J13 O33 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:war:wpaper:2026-5 |
| By: | Borgbjerg, Anne Katrine (Aarhus University); Sigaard, Hans (Aarhus University); Svarer, Michael (Aarhus University); Vejlin, Rune (Aarhus University) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the effect of a reform-induced increase in the early retirement age (ERA) on labor supply, health, and healthcare utilization using detailed Danish administrative data and a regression discontinuity design. We show that while raising the ERA successfully increased employment, it also led to spillovers into other public transfers and increased the number of self-supporting individuals. We find that the increased ERA led to small and insignificant effects on GP visits and the use of painkillers, as well as borderline significant, small positive effects on the use of antidepressants and CVD medicine. Further analysis shows that individuals who were employed due to the reform had lower pre-reform income and wealth, while the individuals who were not employed despite being affected by the reform were characterized by worse health before the reform announcement. We argue that possibilities for exiting employment serve as a potentially important mitigating mechanism for health and healthcare utilization effects by sorting vulnerable individuals out of employment. |
| Keywords: | retirement reforms, health, healthcare utilization |
| JEL: | I18 J18 J26 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18390 |
| By: | Nagler, Markus (Friedrich Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany); Winkler, Erwin (Friedrich Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | A large literature investigates the employment effects of minimum wages, with comparatively little evidence on other adjustment margins. In this paper, we analyze the impact of a nationwide introduction of minimum wages in Germany on employer-induced work pressure, using detailed worker-level survey data. Applying a difference-in-differences approach, we show that the introduction of minimum wages increased work pressure in occupations more exposed to the minimum wage. The increase in work pressure cannot be explained by compositional changes in terms of demographics, job complexity, or hours worked. |
| Keywords: | minimum wage, work pressure, non-wage amenities, working conditions, compensating differentials |
| JEL: | J28 J31 J32 J33 J81 H80 I31 I38 K31 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18398 |
| By: | Deng, Haotian; Desiere, Sam; Cockx, Bart (ROA / Human capital in the region); Bijnens, Gert |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how employment subsidies for start-ups shape their performance. We exploit an unexpected policy reform in Belgium that permanently exempted start-ups hiring their first employee from payroll taxes for that employee. Using firm-level administrative data and a regression-discontinuity-in-time design, we find that subsidized post-reform start-ups employed fewer workers and generated lower output, value added, and profits compared to pre-reform start-ups. However, post-reform start-ups were more likely to survive as employers. These effects emerged within the first year after hiring and remained stable over a medium horizon of three years. Our findings indicate a compositional shift: the subsidy primarily induced low-productivity firms to enter the market. As most firms nowadays are nonemployers, our results meaningfully generalize the theoretical implications of standard neoclassical entrepreneurship models (employee–employer margin) and fill the important gap of the nonemployer–employer margin. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, start-up, employment subsidy, tax reduction, labor de-mand;, Small firms |
| JEL: | H25 J23 J24 J38 L25 L26 M51 |
| Date: | 2026–02–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:umaror:2026001 |
| By: | Bhalotra, Sonia (University of Warwick); Daysal, N. Meltem (University of Copenhagen); Freget, Louis (Paris Dauphine University-PSL); Hirani, Jonas (VIVE); Majumdar, Priyama (Warwick); Trandafir, Mircea (Rockwool Foundation Research Unit); Wüst, Miriam (University of Copenhagen); Zohar, Tom (CEMFI) |
| Abstract: | Using Danish administrative data linked to two independent, validated postpartum depression screenings, we study how postpartum mental health shocks shape women’s labor market trajectories. Event-study estimates show no pre-birth differences in trends between depressed and non-depressed mothers, but persistent employment gaps that widen immediately after birth. Health-care utilization patterns indicate that these differences reflect acute mental health shocks rather than pre-existing trends. The penalties are concentrated among less educated mothers and those in less family-friendly jobs. Our results highlight postpartum depression as a meaningful and unequal contributor to the motherhood penalty. |
| Keywords: | postpartum depression, motherhood penalty, labor market inequality |
| JEL: | I12 J13 J16 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18366 |
| By: | Stenkula, Mikael (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | This essay examines the rise of “Green Deals” as large-scale state-sponsored active industrial policies to accelerate a transition toward climate neutrality. Building on the concept of mission-oriented innovation policy (MOIP), it documents how environmental and active industrial policies have converged across advanced economies, reshaping the policy toolkit toward direct public investment and publicly supported investment. The essay provides detailed accounts of the European Union’s Green Deal and the U.S. counterpart, situating them in the broader political economy of climate policy. It also highlights initiatives in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden, which additionally illustrate Grean Deal initiatives and how the latter national strategies adapt EU-level frameworks and institutional constraints. A comparative analysis underscores key differences between the EU’s fragmented, case-by-case approach and the more streamlined but fiscally uncertain U.S. model. The essay concludes by stressing the need for greater scrutiny of these policies, including their economic efficiency and fiscal sustainability. |
| Keywords: | Climate neutrality; Climate policy; Green Deal; Mission-oriented innovation policy; Industrial policy |
| JEL: | H23 O38 P18 Q58 |
| Date: | 2026–02–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1554 |
| By: | Cao, Yaming; Fischer-Weckemann, Björn; Geyer, Johannes; Ziebarth, Nicolas R. |
| Abstract: | In 2001, Germany abolished public occupational disability insurance (ODI)-the second tier of its public DI system-for cohorts born after 1960. Using administrative data, we first document that, in the long run, overall DI inflows declined by roughly one-third. Second, using representative survey data, we document at best modest ODI insurance take-up responses in the private individual, risk-rated market, which lacks guaranteed issue. Third, an equilibrium model incorporating interactions between the public safety net, the first-tier public DI, and the private market reveals that coverage denials and weak insurance demand, driven by complementary social insurance, can explain the modest private ODI take-up response. Coverage gradients by income and health are thus substantial. Finally, counterfactual simulations highlight the limited scope of incremental reforms. |
| Keywords: | occupational disability insurance, individual private DI, coverage denials, risk rating, private information, adverse selection, social safety net |
| JEL: | D14 D82 H53 H55 I14 I18 J14 J26 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:337485 |
| By: | Achard, Pascal; Wagner, Sander |
| Abstract: | This paper quantifies how motherhood penalties vary across firms. Using Dutch administrative employer–employee data we estimate firm-specific motherhood penalties in earnings, hours, wages, and labor force participation for 2, 877 firms. We document large heterogeneity: over the ten years following childbirth, mothers at firms in the 10th percentile of the penalty distribution experience earnings losses exceeding 50 percent, compared with about 20 percent at firms in the 90th percentile. Differences across firms are driven primarily by adjustments in hours worked. Firm-level variation in motherhood penalties rivals differences observed across countries, highlighting the central role of workplaces in shaping gender inequality. |
| Date: | 2026–02–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:nmgxz_v1 |
| By: | Giuseppe Croce; Lavinia Stendardo d'Astuto |
| Abstract: | This work aims to test the hypothesis that a larger spread of WFH can improve the efficiency of matching between vacancies and job seekers in the labour market. Although this idea has recently been raised in literature, to the best of our knowledge this is the first empirical study to investigate it. The analysis is based on EU-LFS microdata on workers in European countries for the period 2010-2024. Firstly, we show evidence on the diffusion of WFH across European countries and on trends in cross country Beveridge curves since 2019. Secondly, we estimate the matching efficiency and its variations over time for each country, then we run panel regressions of matching efficiency over a number of control variables including a set of indicators of labour market mismatch. The results show that an increase in the share of WFH has a positive effect on matching, albeit only weakly significant and, as expected, limited to the post-pandemic years. Separate estimates for clusters of countries confirm our main result for countries where the share of workers working from home is above the median. Although our analysis provides only preliminary evidence without addressing the issue of endogeneity, it paves the way to promising future research. |
| Keywords: | Work from home; Beveridge curve; Mismatch; Matching efficiency |
| JEL: | J61 J63 J64 O33 R23 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sap:wpaper:wp271 |
| By: | Hanna Wang |
| Abstract: | I develop and estimate a life-cycle discrete-choice model of fertility and female labor supply to study the optimal design of a range of child-related policies. First, I examine two German reforms that introduced wage-contingent parental leave payments and expanded access to low-cost public childcare. I find that both reforms raised completed fertility, with the parental leave reform having a particularly strong impact on highly educated women. Second, I solve for a budget-neutral optimal policy portfolio that maximizes either aggregate welfare or fertility, while ensuring that welfare and fertility do not decline for any education group. I consider four prominent child subsidies as well as the degree of tax jointness. My results show that optimal policy has the potential to increase welfare by 0.5% or fertility by 5.7%. While the solutions are qualitatively similar, they prioritize different policy instruments depending on the specific objective being targeted. |
| Keywords: | fertility, parental leave, childcare subsidies, optimal policy |
| JEL: | H21 J13 J24 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12416 |
| By: | Luis Perez Garcia |
| Abstract: | Growing concerns about housing affordability have prompted the adoption of rent control policies and renewed debates over their effectiveness. This paper provides the first empirical evaluation of the 2024 rent control policy implemented in Catalonia under Spain's new national housing law. To identify the causal effect of the policy on the rental market, I use municipality-level administrative data and implement several difference-in-differences strategies and event study designs. The results point to a reduction in tenancy agreements and a less robust decrease in rental price growth. While the findings highlight important short-term consequences of rent control, they also underscore the need for caution due to data limitations and limited robustness in some estimates. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2602.08631 |
| By: | Floore Bursens;; Silvia De Poli;; Sofia Maier;; Gerlinde Verbist; |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the distributive impact of a hypothetical carbon tax on households' transport and energy consumption in Belgium. It focuses on the welfare effects across population groups and along the income distribution, as well as on the expected budgetary and environmental effects, accounting for consumer responses under a partial equilibrium microsimulation framework. Given the wellknown regressive features of consumption taxes in general, and of energy- or carbon-related taxes in particular, this study evaluates various methods for making the carbon tax more progressive and assesses how these methods affect the overall distributional outcomes. We assess both the expected results as well as the feasibility of each of the tax design scenarios, considering the effect on household income and its distribution vis-a-vis the expected reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hdl:wpaper:2503 |
| By: | Elise Aerts;; Ive Marx;; Gerlinde Verbist; |
| Abstract: | In recent decades, the principle of ‘make work pay’ has dominated the current policy discourse. Yet, much of the evidence supporting claims that work does not pay and that dependency traps afflict large sections of the population typically builds on model family type data, which are inevitable selective and thus not necessarily representative of realworld financial pay-offs. This paper examines how pervasive and important such dependency and poverty traps really are. Using rich administrative data for Belgium, we simulate participation tax rates (PTR) for those not in work and part-time to full-time tax rates (PTFTR) for those in part-time work. Contrary to common claims, our findings show that only 6% of the non-working and 2% of the part-time working population face strong financial disincentives to take up full-time work. We further evaluate the role of commonly used ‘make work pay’ instruments, confirming just how delicate a balancing act it is to design a system that performs optimally in terms of work incentives at both margins and poverty reduction. Finally, we draw the profiles of those facing weak and strong incentives. We find that nearly half of those with weak incentives to work appear to be single mothers, highlighting the need for targeted policy attention. We, however, also find similar profiles on both ends of the spectrum from low to high work incentives. This suggests that for some there may be another reason for not working full-time that goes beyond the realm of financial incentives and that many individuals also face structural barriers to employment, regardless of their willingness to work. This calls for a more nuanced policy discourse, one that not only expects people to work but also enables them to do so. |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hdl:wpaper:2509 |
| By: | Lara Coulier; Selien De Schryder; Milan van den Heuvel; Tobias Verlaeckt (-) |
| Abstract: | We study how mortgage borrowers adjust their mortgage terms and household balance sheets in response to a loan-to-value (LTV) limit. Focusing on the 2020 Belgian LTV policy, we use granular loan- and account-level data from the country’s largest bank. A substantial share of borrowers reduced their LTV ratios, with adjustment patterns varying by income, liquid wealth, and household type. Borrowers mainly responded by increasing downpayments and reducing loan amounts, though these responses were weaker among lower-income households. While the adjustments led to safer mortgages, they were also associated with declines in liquid wealth and consumption in the year following purchase. |
| Keywords: | Housing, Macroprudential Policy, Mortgage Market, Household Finance, Borrower, Heterogeneity |
| JEL: | E58 G21 G51 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:26/1138 |
| By: | Khaliliaraghi, Negar (IFAU); Lundborg, Petter (Lund University); Vikström, Johan (IFAU) |
| Abstract: | Gender gaps in earnings persist even among high-skilled workers, partly because men and women often perform different tasks within and across jobs. We study a rare setting in which high-skilled men and women perform the same tasks under comparable conditions, allowing us to assess gender differences in productivity and pay without confounding from task or client allocation. Using administrative data from the Swedish Public Employment Service, we exploit a rotation scheme that quasi-randomly assigns job seekers to employment caseworkers. We find that productivity differences are small: job seekers assigned to female and male caseworkers exit unemployment at similar rates, and hourly wages—conditional on productivity—are nearly identical across genders. Despite this, female caseworkers earn about 8 percent less per year, entirely due to differences in contracted and actual hours worked. We also find suggestive evidence that male caseworkers are more likely to be promoted than equally productive female colleagues. When tasks are standardized and performance is measured objectively, gender differences in productivity and hourly pay are minimal, while gaps in annual earnings and career progression persist. |
| Keywords: | gender gaps, productivity, wages, task allocation |
| JEL: | D84 I12 J12 J21 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18379 |
| By: | Janne Tukiainen (Department of Economics, University of Turku); Vesa Soini (Hanken School of Economics and Department of Economics, University of Turku); Susmita Baulia (RBB Economics and Department of Economics, University of Turku); Jan Jääskeläinen (Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority) |
| Abstract: | We study the extent of a one-size-fits-all approach in the design of public procurement (PP) tenders using comprehensive data from Finland. We show that crucial PP design features related to auction and contract rules tend to have significant lack of variation across different tenders for different industries within a contracting authority. We show that this organizational rigidness is due to both organizational level culture and individual employee level work habit formation with the latter being more important. We find that both greater organizational rigidity and deviating from the national industry norms are associated with lower number of bids and higher probability of zero-bid tenders, pointing to a potential efficiency loss from organizational rigidness in PP, and offering a solution that buyers should mimic how other organizations typically buy similar products rather than how they themselves buy very different products. Keywords: public procurement, organizational culture |
| Keywords: | public procurement, organizational culture |
| JEL: | D44 H57 H76 L25 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tkk:dpaper:dp177 |
| By: | Philippe d’Astous; Franca Glenzer |
| Abstract: | Previous research shows that the level of confidence in one’s financial ability is important for decision-making, especially in the realm of retirement planning. We expand on this literature by using survey responses to objective and subjective measures of financial literacy and retirement knowledge. We find that even though overconfident individuals are more likely to state that they have a retirement plan, they are less likely to have registered retirement savings, and when they do, they hold lower balances. Our findings highlight a potential mechanism in which overconfidence in one’s knowledge of the retirement system raises expected income replacement rates, which—consistent with a standard consumption–saving model—reduces private saving. Overconfident individuals also have biased inflation perceptions but take fewer protective actions to mitigate the effect of inflation. Finally, we find that overconfident individuals decrease their scores with repeated participation in different waves of the survey. These results suggest that calibrating confidence about one’s knowledge of the retirement system and of macroeconomic factors may be important for improving private retirement saving. |
| Keywords: | Overconfidence, Financial literacy, Retirement, Inflation |
| JEL: | D14 G53 J26 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rsi:irersi:22 |
| By: | Lentz, Rasmus (University of Wisconsin-Madison); Maibom, Jonas (Aarhus University); Moen, Espen (BI Norwegian Business School) |
| Abstract: | We present a tractable, hybrid framework that nests random and perfectly directed search, in which workers are more likely to direct their search toward submarkets with higher returns, while still searching in inferior submarkets with positive probability. The choice of submarket is governed by a logit choice model with noise parameter μ ∈ [0, ∞). In the respective limits, search becomes either completely random or perfectly directed. We characterize the model equilibrium and show that even the perfectly directed search limit is inefficient, in contrast to its otherwise close cousin, competitive search. We proceed to quantify the extent of directedness on Danish matched employer–employee data. Identification relies on the insight that the two benchmark models differ qualitatively in their implications for job-to-job worker reallocation. We find evidence of substantial directedness in search. Finally, we study the implications for underinvestment due to holdup problems and show that the observed degree of directedness substantially reduces underinvestment relative to a setting with random search. |
| Keywords: | partly directed search, structural estimation, efficiency |
| JEL: | J62 J63 D83 D4 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18375 |
| By: | Klaus Gründler; Michael Lamla; Niklas Potrafke; Timo Wochner |
| Abstract: | Households often struggle to understand policy interventions, limiting the effectiveness of policy transmission. We study how economic policy signals reach and influence households, focusing on the role of professional economists as interpretive intermediaries. When policy signals are complex and households face attentional limits, experts help filter and explain the information. Using a series of large-scale cross-national expert surveys and representative household experiments in Germany during the 2022–23 inflation surge, we show that (i) experts actively update and interpret monetary policy signals, (ii) their policy interpretations influence household expectations and spending decisions, and (iii) households prefer expert interpretations over direct communication from policymakers. Our findings highlight a previously overlooked transmission channel, suggesting that expert intermediation can substantially enhance the effectiveness of macroeconomic policy communication. |
| Keywords: | economic experts, economic policy, macroeconomic expectations, monetary policy, belief formation, cross-national experiments |
| JEL: | E31 E71 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12492 |
| By: | Schmiedeberg, Claudia; Schober, Dominik |
| Abstract: | Given the importance of the transport sector for greenhouse gas emissions, both behavioral change will be needed to mitigate climate change in addition to technological innovation. We focus on the case of remote working as a less carbon-intensive substitute to commuting and analyze whether employees react to price incentives and work more from home in times of higher local fuel prices. Applying an instrumental variables approach based on panel data from Germany, we find moderate fuel price effects on remote working frequency, which are restricted to occupations with high skill- level and regions with limited alternatives to car commuting. We use these results to predict changes in remote working frequency as a consequence to increasing carbon prices as discussed for climate policy. Results indicate that even with ambitious carbon pricing, individual remote working frequency will increase modestly, causing only limited reductions in German national aggregate fuel and carbon emissions. |
| Keywords: | fuel price, elasticity, remote working, telework, commuting, longitudinal |
| JEL: | H23 Q41 Q48 Q54 Q58 R41 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:bubdps:337463 |
| By: | Leander Andres; Stefan Bauernschuster; Gordon B. Dahl; Helmut Rainer; Simone Schüller |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of birthright citizenship on youth crime. We leverage a reform which automatically granted birthright citizenship to eligible immigrant children born in Germany after January 1, 2000 and administrative crime data from three federal states. Immigrant youth who acquired citizenship at birth are substantially less likely to engage in criminal activity, with estimates indicating a 70% reduction. These results are particularly relevant in light of ongoing debates in the U.S. about abolishing birthright citizenship. Our findings suggest that inclusive citizenship policies can reduce crime and its associated costs, which in turn could strengthen social cohesion. |
| Keywords: | birthright citizenship, crime, immigration, integration |
| JEL: | D04 J15 K37 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12397 |