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on Microeconomic European Issues |
| By: | Dolado, Marina |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the impact of telework on job well-being in Germany, using data from the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS). Using an empirical analysis based on Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) models, four key dimensions of job well-being are examined: job satisfaction, work-family balance, anxiety and fatigue. The results show that factors such as age, education and hours worked have a significant impact on these dimensions. In addition, a non-linear pattern is observed in the influence of age, where the initial negative effects diminish in later stages of working life. This study contributes to the understanding of telework dynamics in an advanced European context and suggests the need for policies that promote an appropriate balance between work demands and personal well-being. |
| Keywords: | Telework, job well-being, Germany, job satisfaction, work-family balance, anxiety, fatigue. |
| JEL: | C1 J24 J81 |
| Date: | 2025–01–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:123489 |
| By: | Caria, Andrea (University of Cagliari); Checchi, Daniele (University of Milan); Paolini, Dimitri (University of Sassari) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of television on student achievement in Italy, utilizing the staggered rollout of digital television across Italian provinces to isolate television's influence. Using data from national educational assessments (INVALSI) collected in four grades from 2009 to 2012, we uncover a negative effect of television on school performance by applying difference-in-differences techniques. We observe a positive correlation between TV viewing and test scores for a subset of the survey. Still, the negative impact is partly confirmed when instrumenting hours of view with the availability of digital channels. We also find significant heterogeneity: foreign-born pupils benefit from the greater availability of TV channels, while children with graduate parents experience less significant achievement losses. |
| Keywords: | digital television switchover, school performance |
| JEL: | I24 O33 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17623 |
| By: | Aparicio Fenoll, Ainoa (University of Turin); Fernandez-Baldor Laporta, Pablo (University of Geneva); Vall Castello, Judit (University of Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | Dual labor markets are characterized by a group of workers with permanent jobs and a stable income source and another group with short-term contracts who suffer from income uncertainty and employment volatility. These differences in job security translate into several spheres of these workers' lives, with potential implications for families' well-being. This paper analyzes the causal effect of parental job security on children's health. To address endogeneity, we exploit a reform that incentivized secure labor contracts for young (under 30) and female workers in Spain by reducing payroll taxes paid by employers. Using data from several waves of the Spanish National Health Survey and combining Instrumental Variables and Differences-in-Differences methods, we find that having a secure labor contract increases the probability that children are in good or very good health by 20%. We also document some mechanisms, such as reductions in children's accidents, increases in the frequency of physical activity, and a more protein-intense diet. |
| Keywords: | job security, children's health |
| JEL: | I14 I12 J41 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17625 |
| By: | Ayllón, Sara (Universitat de Girona); Lado, Samuel (Universitat de Girona) |
| Abstract: | This paper is the first to provide, in the European context, credible causal estimates for the impact on educational achievement of a means-tested programme that subsidises school lunches. We use administrative data from the city of Barcelona for the whole universe of applications to the programme. Using a Regression Discontinuity Design, we measure the effect of receiving a partial subsidy, as opposed to none; meanwhile a Difference-in-Differences (DiD) strategy allows us to account for the effect of receiving a full subsidy, compared to a partial one. Our results indicate an overall positive effect of the subsidies on educational achievement across all the subjects analysed, with statistically significant estimates only for Catalan language. Heterogeneous results show that those who benefit most are boys who attend large schools and have peers who are, on average, more socio-economically advantaged. The opportunity for subsidy recipients to spend more time at school during lunch, and to communicate and socialise with wealthier and linguistically more competent children is the mechanism that lies behind our main findings. |
| Keywords: | school meals, subsidies, means-tested programmes, children, educational achievement, language proficiency, standardised test scores, annual grades |
| JEL: | H42 H52 I38 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17631 |
| By: | Stefania Albanesi (Department of Economics, University of Miami) |
| Abstract: | We examine the link between labour market developments and new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and software in 16 European countries over the period 2011- 2019. Using data for occupations at the 3-digit level in Europe, we find that on average employment shares have increased in occupations more exposed to AI. This is particularly the case for occupations with a relatively higher proportion of younger and skilled workers. This evidence is in line with the Skill Biased Technological Change theory. While there exists heterogeneity across countries, only very few countries show a decline in employment shares of occupations more exposed to AI-enabled automation. Country heterogeneity for this result seems to be linked to the pace of technology diffusion and education, but also to the level of product market regulation (competition) and employment protection laws. In contrast to the findings for employment, we find little evidence for a relationship between wages and potential exposures to new technologies. |
| Keywords: | artificial intelligence, employment, skills, occupations |
| JEL: | J23 O33 |
| Date: | 2023–06–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mia:wpaper:wp2023-01 |
| By: | Léonard Moulin; Florent Sari |
| Abstract: | In order to estimate the causal impact of grade retention in French lower secondary school on various long-term outcomes, we conducted a longitudinal study on the trajectories of French students who entered grade 6 in the 1995-1996 academic year over a period of 17 years. The results indicate that grade retention has a significant negative impact on both obtaining a secondary school diploma and a higher education qualification. This affected students across all socioeconomic groups, both boys and girls. However, the negative effect on wages is observed only for boys and for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. A series of robustness checks confirm the reliability of the results. |
| Keywords: | grade retention, educational outcomes, labor market outcomes, propensity score matching, medium-term effects, secondary education, France, REUSSITE SCOLAIRE / EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT, SCOLARITE / SCHOOLING, FRANCE / FRANCE, ENSEIGNEMENT SECONDAIRE / SECONDARY EDUCATION, MARCHE DU TRAVAIL / LABOUR MARKET, ANALYSE LONGITUDINALE / LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idg:wpaper:kj4n0jqb_l7qij6swt7i |
| By: | Julien Albertini (University Lumière Lyon 2, CNRS, Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, emlyon business school, GATE, 69007, Lyon, France); Arthur Poirier (LEDa, Paris Dauphine University); Anthony Terriau (GAINS, Le Mans University) |
| Abstract: | Introduced in France in the 1990s to reduce the cost of low-skilled labor, payroll tax reductions on low wages were later expanded and extended to higher wages. This study evaluates the impact of the current payroll tax schedule on employment, fiscal surplus, and welfare. We develop a life-cycle matching model in which workers are heterogeneous in terms of age, education, human capital, family status, hours worked and idiosyncratic productivity, and where search effort, hiring and separations are endogenous. Accounting for interactions with the socio-fiscal system, we demonstrate that reducing payroll tax cuts for low wages would result in declines in both employment and fiscal surplus. Furthermore, we show that increasing the minimum wage would significantly reduce employment and fiscal surplus, with the magnitude of the effect depending on whether the payroll tax schedule and other socio-fiscal measures are indexed to the minimum wage. Lastly, we identify the optimal payroll tax schedule, revealing that employment, fiscal surplus, and welfare can all be improved by increasing payroll tax reductions for wages near the minimum wage while reducing them for wages exceeding twice the minimum wage. |
| Keywords: | Payroll Tax Reductions; Minimum Wage; Search and Matching; Life Cycle |
| JEL: | J23 J31 J32 J38 J64 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gat:wpaper:2501 |
| By: | Eliana Coschignano; Robin Jessen |
| Abstract: | Men at the bottom quintile of the German male earnings distribution had lower average earnings in 2019 than in 2001. In contrast, female earnings have increased throughout the distribution. What explains these diverging trends and how did they translate into changes in net income? Data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) reveal that the drop in bottom male earnings is mostly due to a decrease in work hours, while hours worked of females with low earnings have increased. Changes in socio-demographic characteristics explain little of the evolution of income inequality. Households and the welfare state have cushioned much of low-earning men’s income drop, while disposable incomes of women have increased by less than their earnings. Finally, earnings poverty is persistent: About half of individuals in the bottom quintile are still in the bottom quintile after five years. |
| Keywords: | income inequality, earnings inequality, working hours, decomposition |
| JEL: | D31 I38 J3 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1217 |
| By: | Dangel, Alexander; Goeschl, Timo |
| Abstract: | This paper studies temporal factors influencing the effectiveness of don't drive appeals (DDAs) which policy-makers use to encourage motorists to voluntarily reduce driving during transitory high pollution episodes. We derive and empirically validate a theoretical framework for DDAs where the desired behavioral response is sensitive to the number of consecutive DDA days and recovery time between episodes. Our analysis of daily traffic ows from automatic traffic counters in Stuttgart, Germany shows that DDAs at best reduce overall car trip demand during pollution events by less than 1% on average, but treatment effects vary. Difference-in-difference event study estimates reveal that DDAs: i) lead to approximately 3% traffic reductions on the first three days of DDAs and taper off in effectiveness during longer episodes, ii) regain effectiveness at the tail end of DDA episodes once local authorities announce when they will be lifted, and iii) only reduce city center traffic following lengthy recovery periods between events. Our findings provide evidence that temporal factors like social norms and intertemporal substitution dynamically affect voluntary short-term pollution mitigation programs. They also confirm prior North American evidence on DDA traffic displacement and limited overall impact in a European setting. |
| Keywords: | pollution mitigation; information-based regulation; voluntary policies; air quality alerts; policy timing; prosocial behavior; transportation choice |
| Date: | 2025–01–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:awi:wpaper:0760 |
| By: | Brice Fabre (aParis School of Economics (PSE) and Institut des Politiques Publiques (IPP)); Marc Sangnier (Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, AMSE, Marseille, France) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses French data to simultaneously estimate the impact of two types of connections on government subsidies allocated to municipalities. Investigating different types of connection in a same setting helps to distinguish between the different motivations that could drive pork-barreling. We differentiate between municipalities where ministers held office before their appointment to the government and those where they lived as children. Exploiting ministers’ entries into and exits from the government, we show that municipalities where a minister was mayor receive 30% more investment subsidies when the politician they are linked to joins the government, and a similar size decrease when the minister departs. In contrast, we do not observe these outcomes for municipalities where ministers lived as children. These findings indicate that altruism towards childhood friends and family does not fuel pork-barreling, and suggest that altruism toward adulthood social relations or career concerns matter. We also present complementary evidence suggesting that observed pork-barreling is the result of soft influence of ministers, rather than of their formal control over the administration they lead. |
| Keywords: | Local favouritism, distributive politics, Political Connections, personal connections. |
| JEL: | D72 D73 H50 H77 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aim:wpaimx:2434 |
| By: | Harald Mayr; Mateus Souza |
| Abstract: | Without heat metering, households face strong free-riding incentives. Using data from Swiss households, we find that the staggered introduction of submetering reduced heating expenses by 17%, on average. Machine learning techniques reveal highly heterogeneous effects, consistent with coordination failure in larger buildings and strategic exit of free-riders. We find that households are price elastic even when they share a common heating bill. Our results suggest that most households do not exploit the free-riding incentive, especially in smaller buildings. “Schmeduling, ” inattention to the billing regime, and pro-social behavior can explain the low prevalence of free-riding. Nevertheless, submetering is welfare-improving for most buildings. |
| Keywords: | Free-riding, submetering, individual billing, heating energy, tragedy of the commons, welfare |
| JEL: | D61 Q41 Q52 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2025_629 |
| By: | Tommaso Pardi (IDHES - Institutions et Dynamiques Historiques de l'Économie et de la Société - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - UP8 - Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - ENS Paris Saclay - Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, MSH Paris-Saclay - Maison des Sciences de l'Homme - Paris Saclay - UVSQ - Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines - Université Paris-Saclay - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - ENS Paris Saclay - Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, ENS Paris Saclay - Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay); Marc Alochet (X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris); Bernard Jullien (UB - Université de Bordeaux); Samuel Klebaner (CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Université Sorbonne Paris Nord) |
| Abstract: | From executive summary (page 6): Why do we need a small, affordable, sustainable electric vehicle (ASEV)? Why do we not have an ASEV in Europe? What can we learn from countries (Japan, China) where such AS(E)V exist? How can we promote a European made ASEV ? 1) Create a sub-M1 category (M1 ASEV) and create a new-M0 category (M0 ASEV) 2) Adjust the CO2 regulation for ASEV and more efficient decarbonisation 3) Introduction of a dedicated financial framework to support production take-off 4) Introduction of a European Eco score for cars: 5) Promotion of a European ASEV toolkit for Member States, regions and cities What would be the impact of ASEV on decarbonisation, just transition and European industry competitiveness? |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04878220 |
| By: | José Alberto Fuinhas (Faculty of Economics, and Centre for Business and Economics Research (CeBER), University of Coimbra); Asif Javed (School of Advanced Studies, University of G. D'Annunzio Chieti-Pescara); Dario Sciulli (Department of Economic Studies, University of G. D'Annunzio Chieti-Pescara); Edilio Valentini (Department of Economic Studies, University of G. D'Annunzio Chieti-Pescara) |
| Abstract: | Governments across the globe are implementing stricter environmental policies to combat climate change and promote sustainability. This study contributes to the growing literature exploring the influence of environmental policy on skill-biased employment across various occupations. Specifically, we examine the causal effect of the revised version of Environmental Policy Stringency Index (EPS) and its components on skill-biased employment, focusing on occupations such as managers, professionals, technicians, and manual workers across 21 European economies from 2008 to 2020. Using the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR), the findings reveal that stringent environmental policies affect employment shares across different occupational categories. Skilled workers tend to benefit more from such policies, with a notable increase in the employment of professionals across all policy measures and a more differentiated impact among technicians and managers. In contrast, manual workers are generally adversely affected by environmental policies. These asymmetric effects on occupations exacerbate labour market inequalities, including disparities in employment levels and potential earnings. This research highlights the importance of designing tailored policies to mitigate adverse labour market outcomes while facilitating a transition to sustainable economic practices. |
| Keywords: | Environmental policy stringency, Skilled workers, Employment, Method of Moments Quantile Regression |
| JEL: | Q58 J24 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2025.02 |
| By: | Ursel Baumann; Annalisa Ferrando; Dmitris Georgarakos; Yuriy Gorodnichenko; Timo Reinelt |
| Abstract: | Does a successful disinflation contribute to the anchoring of inflation expectations? We provide novel survey evidence on the dynamics of euro area firms’ inflation expectations during the disinflation episode since 2022. We show that firms’ short-term inflation expectations declined steadily towards the inflation target as the disinflation progressed. However, we also document a thick tail in longer-term inflation expectations, substantial disagreement about the inflation outlook, and an increased sensitivity of longer-term inflation expectations to short-term inflation expectations. These findings suggest that it may take more time to bring inflation expectations fully in line with central bank objectives. |
| Keywords: | inflation expectations; firms; surveys; anchoring |
| JEL: | E31 E52 |
| Date: | 2025–01–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedfwp:99484 |
| By: | CURTALE Riccardo (European Commission - JRC); STUT Martijn (European Commission - JRC); ALESSANDRINI Alfredo; DEUSTER Christoph (European Commission - JRC); BATISTA E SILVA Filipe (European Commission - JRC); NATALE Fabrizio (European Commission - JRC); DIJKSTRA Lewis (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | The European Union is experiencing profound demographic shifts. This paper presents an analysis of observed population trends encompassing observations for the period 2000-2022 and projections until 2040 at the NUTS3 level. The projections were obtained by regionalizing the 2021 Ageing Report’s demographic projections using the Demography-Economy-Land use interaction (DELi) model, which considers explicitly the interlinkages between demographic and economic dynamics. Results show that urban regions are expected to increase their populations primarily due to economic opportunities pulling migrants, while intermediate and rural regions are projected to face population decline, with remote rural regions being the most affected. The natural change rate is trending downwards across all regional typologies, while the net migration rate, historically positive in all typologies, is projected to compensate for the natural change only in urban regions. The implications of these demographic changes are far-reaching, affecting labour markets, public service provision, and economic growth. The paper discusses the potential for regional convergence in GDP per capita, particularly in rural regions close to cities, and the challenges posed by changes in the demographic structure, affected by increasing old age dependency ratio and a shrinking working-age population, and the need for adaptation. |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:termod:202501 |