|
on German Papers |
| By: | Alexander Herzog-Stein; Heike Joebges; Ulrike Stein; Rudolf Zwiener |
| Abstract: | Das IMK analysiert regelmäßig mittels Daten von Eurostat die Entwicklung der Arbeitskosten und der Lohnstückkosten in Europa. In dieser aktuellen Auswertung wird zunächst die Entwicklung der Arbeitskosten in der Privatwirtschaft, dem privaten Dienstleistungssektor und dem Verarbeitenden Gewerbe in wichtigen europäischen Ländern, dem Euroraum und der Europäischen Union als Ganzes dargestellt. Dabei werden auch Ergebnisse einer neuen Untersuchung zum Umfang der Kostenentlastung der deutschen Industrie durch die Verbundeffekte mit dem Dienstleistungssektor präsentiert. Zudem wird die Entwicklung der Arbeitskosten im öffentlichen Dienstleistungssektor aufgezeigt. Im Anschluss daran wird die Entwicklung der Lohnstückkosten untersucht, dabei wird insbesondere der Frage nach dem Zusammenhang zwischen der preislichen Wettbewerbsfähigkeit, den Exportpreisen und den Lohnstückkosten nachgegangen. Im Jahr 2012 kostete in Deutschland eine Arbeitsstunde in der Privatwirtschaft 31,00 Euro. Obwohl sich die Arbeitskostenentwicklung zuletzt normalisiert und mit einer Veränderungsrate von 2,8 % höher als der durchschnittliche Euroraumzuwachs war, ist Deutschland im Vergleich zum Vorjahr im europäischen Länderranking um einen Platz nach unten auf den achten Platz gerutscht. In Deutschland ist eine Arbeitsstunde im privaten Dienstleistungssektor um rund ein Fünftel billiger als im Verarbeitenden Gewerbe; in keinem anderen europäischen Land ist der Abstand so groß. Die deutsche Industrie profitiert durch die Verbundeffekte mit dem Dienstleistungssektor hiervon beträchtlich. So reduzieren sich durch die deutlich preiswerteren Vorleistungen aus dem Dienstleistungssektor die Arbeitskosten der deutschen Industrie um acht bis zehn Prozent. Alles in allem bestätigt dies das Bild, dass die deutsche Volkswirtschaft weiterhin über eine extrem hohe preisliche Wettbewerbsfähigkeit gegenüber dem Rest Europas verfügt. Die sogenannten Krisenländer haben durch die dramatische Lohnstückkostenentwicklung der vergangenen Jahre ihre preisliche Wettbewerbsfähigkeit in Bezug auf ihre Kostensituation zurückerlangt. Problematisch ist aber nach wie vor, dass die deutsche Volkswirtschaft, als größter Absatzmarkt Europas, bei der Importnachfrage schwächelt und so den Anpassungsprozess in diesen Ländern behindert. Notwendig wäre deshalb, dass die deutschen Löhne vorübergehend um deutlich mehr als 3 % jährlich steigen. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:report:88-2013&r=ger |
| By: | Spermann, Alexander (IZA) |
| Abstract: | Die zentrale Antwort auf die demografische Herausforderung in Deutschland ist das lebenslange Lernen. Mit Blick auf den beruflichen Erfolg sind dabei nicht nur die hard skills, sondern auch die soft skills von Bedeutung. Kompetenzen wurden durch die OECD-Kompetenztests PISA und PIAAC zwar in den Vordergrund gerückt, doch sind erworbene Qualifikationen weiterhin relevanter. Angesichts des zunehmenden Fachkräftemangels und der gesunkenen Halbwertszeit von Qualifikationen gewinnt die Weiterbildung an Bedeutung – auch im Rahmen von Employer Branding- und Corporate Social Responsibility-Aktivitäten von Unternehmen. Es fehlt jedoch die Verknüpfung von Kompetenzerwerb in der Weiterbildung mit dem automatischen Erwerb von Qualifikationen. Dazu könnten Online-Portale für Kompetenztests für Jung und Alt in Verbindung mit Credit Points eine wichtige Rolle einnehmen. |
| Keywords: | Demografie, lebenslanges Lernen, Kompetenzen, hard skills, soft skills |
| JEL: | D83 I23 J11 J14 R20 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izasps:sp67&r=ger |
| By: | Bauer, Anja (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Gartner, Herrmann |
| Abstract: | Ein nicht unerheblicher Teil der Arbeitslosigkeit in Deutschland ist darauf zurückzuführen, dass Arbeitsuchende und offene Stellen nicht zusammenpassen. Die Ursachen für diesen "Mismatch" sind vielfältig, die Diskrepanzen können beruflicher, sektoraler oder regionaler Natur sein. Geeignete Maßnahmen müssen sowohl auf der Angebotsseite als auch auf der Nachfrageseite des Arbeitsmarktes ansetzen, um die Mismatch-Arbeitslosigkeit weiter abzubauen. |
| Date: | 2014–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabfob:201405&r=ger |
| By: | Gustav A. Horn; Alexander Herzog-Stein; Peter Hohlfeld; Fabian Lindner; Ansgar Rannenberg; Katja Rietzler; Sabine Stephan; Silke Tober |
| Abstract: | Das Wachstum der Weltwirtschaft hat sich im vergangenen Jahr beschleunigt. Im Prognosezeitraum wird die Weltkonjunktur weiter an Tempo gewinnen, insbesondere in den USA. Die Wirtschaft im Euroraum außerhalb Deutschlands hat sich im Verlauf des vergangenen Jahres aus der Rezession gelöst. Maßgeblich für die Stabilisierung war neben dem Rückgang der Spannungen auf den Finanzmärkten, die Verlangsamung des Tempos der Haushaltskonsolidierung. Die Belebung des Wachstums wird sich im Euroraum außerhalb Deutschlands 2014 (0,7 %) und 2015 (1,5 %) fortsetzen.In Deutschland hat der Aufschwung begonnen. Dieser ist nachhaltiger ausgerichtet als seine Vorgänger, weil er stärker binnenwirtschaftlich fundiert ist. Im Prognosezeitraum nehmen insbesondere die privaten Konsumausgaben spürbar zu und auch die Investitionen erholen sich kräftig. Das Bruttoinlandsprodukt wächst 2014 um 1,6 % und 2015 um 2,4 %. Die Verbraucherpreise nehmen nur sehr verhalten zu (2014: 1,4 % und 2015: 1,5 %). Die Arbeitslosenquote beträgt in diesem Jahr 6,7 % und im nächsten Jahr 6,5 %. Es gibt aber Risiken. Um den wichtigsten davon (wieder zunehmende Unsicherheit über den Erhalt des Euroraums und Deflationsgefahren) für den Aufschwung zu begegnen, sollte die Geldpolitik stärker expansiv werden und die Finanzpolitik im Euroraum insgesamt expansiv ausgerichtet sein. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:report:91-2014&r=ger |
| By: | Gustav A. Horn; Alexander Herzog-Stein; Ansgar Rannenberg; Katja Rietzler; Silke Tober; Peter Hohlfeld; Fabian Lindner; Sabine Stephan |
| Abstract: | Das weltwirtschaftliche Umfeld außerhalb des Euroraums weist im Prognosezeitraum moderate Wachstumsraten auf. Dagegen verharrt der Euroraum vorerst in der Rezession. Die Fiskalpolitik im Euroraum außerhalb Deutschlands bleibt restriktiv, wenngleich es auch zu einer Mäßigung der Austeritätspolitik in vielen Ländern kommt. Gleichwohl bleibt die damit verbundene Belastung der Inlandsnachfrage hoch. Vor diesem Hintergrund wird das Bruttoinlandsprodukt im Euroraum insgesamt im Durchschnitt dieses Jahres um 0,9 % schrumpfen und im Jahr 2014 um lediglich 0,1 % leicht zunehmen. Die Konjunktur in Deutschland befindet sich in einem Spannungsfeld zwischen dem Sog nach unten aus den Krisenländern und einem stabilen weltwirtschaftlichen Umfeld. Für den Prognosezeitraum ist mit einer insgesamt nahezu stagnierenden Konjunktur zu rechnen. Im Jahresdurchschnitt 2013 steigt das Bruttoinlandsprodukt um 0,3 % und im Jahr 2014 um 0,8 %. Die Arbeitslosenquote liegt 2014 im Jahresdurchschnitt bei 7,0 %, nach 6,9 % im Jahr 2013. Der Anstieg der Verbraucherpreise wird in diesem Jahr 1,5 % betragen und im Jahr 2014 nur 1,4 %, womit er in beiden Jahren deutlich hinter dem Inflationsziel der EZB zurückbleibt. Die Krise im Euroraum ist bei weitem nicht vorbei. Die wirtschaftliche Lage ist fragil und erfordert entschiedene politische Schritte, nicht zuletzt zur Wiederherstellung der Effektivität der Geldpolitik in den Krisenländern, damit die expansiven Impulse dort, wo sie am dringendsten benötigt werden, ankommen. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:report:84-2013&r=ger |
| By: | Jan Behringer; Nikolaus Kowall |
| Abstract: | Die USA haben zwischen 1999 und 2012 ihre Handelsverflechtungen mit dem Ausland intensiviert. Aufgrund der kräftigen Expansion des gesamten Welthandels haben die USA jedoch Weltmarktanteile verloren. Seit Mitte der 1970er Jahre ist der Außenhandelssaldo der USA nahezu ununterbrochen negativ, so dass sich mittlerweile beträchtliche Nettoauslandsverbindlichkeiten aufgebaut haben. Die wichtigsten Handelspartner der USA waren in den vergangenen Jahren Süd- und Ostasien sowie die NAFTA-Länder Mexiko und Kanada. Insbesondere China hat als Handelspartner für die USA stark an Bedeutung gewonnen, während das Gewicht Japans abgenommen hat. Die EU ist nach Süd- und Ostasien sowie der NAFTA der drittwichtigste Handelspartner der USA, hat in den vergangenen Jahren sowohl einfuhr- als auch ausfuhrseitig jedoch an Bedeutung verloren. Insofern sind von einem Freihandelsabkommen mit der EU keine kurzfristigen konjunkturellen Impulse für die USA zu erwarten. Darüber hinaus sind die USA eine relativ geschlossene Volkswirtschaft, in der eine Belebung der Konjunktur aus der Binnenwirtschaft kommen muss. Die US-Exporte haben sich aufgrund der hohen Wachstumsdynamik im Warenverkehr mit China und Mexiko rasch vom krisenbedingten Einbruch erholt. Die Importnachfrage der USA erholte sich hingegen zögerlicher. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:report:85-2013&r=ger |
| By: | Hachmeister, Dirk; Ruthardt, Frederik; Autenrieth, Matthias |
| Abstract: | Die Diskussion über die richtige methodische Ableitung und Höhe der Marktrisikoprämie wurde durch die Finanzmarkt- und Staatsschuldenkrise neu entfacht. Während in Deutschland der Ansatz impliziter Kapitalkosten als Alternative zu historischen Marktrisikoprämien diskutiert wird, wird in den USA zunehmend auf das Konzept der angebotsseitigen Marktrisikoprämie verwiesen. Dieser Beitrag ermittelt erstmals angebotsseitige Marktrisikoprämien für den deutschen Kapitalmarkt. Darüber hinaus werden historische Marktrisikoprämien für den deutschen Kapitalmarkt in Abhängigkeit vom Beobachtungszeitraum simuliert. Darauf aufbauend kann eine Einschätzung des Konzeptes der angebotsseitigen Marktrisikoprämie für den deutschen Kapitalmarkt erfolgen. Darüber hinaus ergeben sich neue Erkenntnisse zur Stabilität historischer Marktrisikoprämien am deutschen Kapitalmarkt. -- |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hohrsw:201401&r=ger |
| By: | Dobusch, Leonhard |
| Abstract: | [Fazit] Mehr als 30 Jahre nachdem mit dem CCC eine erste zivilgesellschaftliche Organisation mit dem Fokus auf digitale Technologien und deren gesellschaftliche Implikationen gegründet wurde, ist der Organisierungsgrad trotz eines klar beobachtbaren Bedeutungszuwachses überschaubar geblieben. Der Professionalisierungsgrad und, damit verbunden, die Finanzkraft der Bewegungsorganisationen ist verglichen mit Umweltschutzorganisationen völlig vernachlässigbar. Die verfolgten Themen fokussieren zum größten Teil Fragen von Überwachung bzw. Datenschutz und sind stark defensiv geprägt. Eine Kanalisierung von kurzfristig-emotionalisierender Mobilisierung in langfristig-organisiertes, zumindest teilweise auch pro-aktives Engagement gelingt nur in einem sehr beschränkten Ausmaß. Die vorliegende Analyse kann bestenfalls als Ausgangspunkt für Diskussionen über strategische Optionen und Potentiale dienen. Zu den möglichen Ansatzpunkten zählen beispielsweise: - Verbreiterung der behandelten Themenstellungen um neue Zielgruppen und BündnispartnerInnen zu gewinnen. - Ausbau offensiver Kampagnenschwerpunkte und diesbezüglicher Framingstrategien, die auch prognostisch-lösungsorientierte Aspekte berücksichtigen. - Stärkere Fokussierung auf Kanalisierung von kurzfristiger Mobilisierung in langfristige Organisationsstrukturen. - Professionalisierung von Organisations- sowie insbesondere Fundraising-Strukturen. Die Herausforderung bei der zuletzt angesprochenen Professionalisierungsstrategie wird allerdings auch darin bestehen, größere Finanzkraft zu erreichen ohne legitimitätsschwächende Kooperation mit großen IndurstrieakteurInnen einzugehen. -- |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fubsbe:20147&r=ger |
| By: | Fabian Lindner |
| Abstract: | Der Report betrachtet das Verhalten der Gläubiger - vor allem der Banken - in der Eurokrise. Die größten Gläubiger der heutigen Krisenländer Griechenland, Spanien, Irland, Portugal und Italien sind deutsche und französische Banken. Diese haben 2008 große Verluste in der US-Subprimekrise erlitten und mussten ihre Bilanz verkürzen, was zu einem Abbau ihrer Auslandsforderungen geführt hat. Der Forderungsabbau hat zu einem plötzlichen Anhalten der Kreditvergabe geführt, der die Krise im Euroraum mit ausgelöst hat. Dass die Banken sich so verhalten haben, liegt an der Bankenregulierung und den Regeln des Euroraums. Nach der Bankenregulierung Basel II müssen Banken prozyklisch ihr Kapital erhöhen, wenn ihre Forderungen risikoreicher werden. In einer Finanzkrise erfolgt diese Kapitalanpassung meist über den Abbau von Forderungen. Die Regeln des Euroraums erlauben eine staatliche Insolvenz, so dass Gläubiger Verluste tragen müssen. Steigt die Wahrscheinlichkeit einer Insolvenz, müssen Gläubiger ihre Forderungen so schnell wie möglich verringern, um selbst ihr Kapital und damit ihre eigene Solvenz zu erhalten. Notwendige Bedingung der Stabilisierung des Euroraums wäre damit eine Garantie, Staaten nicht insolvent gehen zu lassen. Darüber hinaus sollte die Bankenregulierung weniger prozyklisch ausgestaltet werden. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:report:82-2013&r=ger |
| By: | Jürges, Hendrik (Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA)) |
| Abstract: | In Deutschland ist soziale Ungleichheit in Gesundheit kaum in der öffentlichen Diskussion, obwohl auch hier besser gebildete, reichere, und in der beruflichen Hierarchie höher stehende Menschen zeitlebens gesünder sind und länger leben als andere. Soziale Ungleichheit wird dadurch entlang einer weiteren wichtigen Dimension verstärkt. In diesem Beitrag werden kurz Ausmaß und Dimensionen derartiger Ungleichheit in Deutschland dargestellt. In Abgrenzung zur vorherrschenden sozialepidemiologischen Literatur wird auf Basis der aktuellen gesundheits- und bildungsökonomischen Literatur diskutiert, ob und wie soziale Ungleichheit in Gesundheit mit wirtschafts- und sozialpolitischen Mitteln vermindert werden kann. Dabei wird als Defizit erkannt, dass wir aufgrund einer ausnehmend schlechten Datenlage viel zu wenig über ihre Entstehung wissen. Dies mündet in der Forderung nach einer neuen Evaluationskultur im Bereich der Bildungs- und Gesundheitspolitik. |
| Date: | 2013–10–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mea:meawpa:13275&r=ger |
| By: | Gunther Schnabl (Universität Leipzig) |
| Abstract: | Das Papier zeigt den Ursache-Wirkungs-Zusammenhang zwischen expansiver Geldpolitik und Boom-und-Krisen-Zyklen auf Finanzmärkten einschließlich der Rückwirkungen auf die Finanzpolitik und Wachstumsperspektiven auf. Seit den 1990er Jahren reagierten die großen Zentralbanken mit Zinssenkungen auf Krisen in den Finanzmärkten. Die Liquiditätszufuhr in der Krise bewirkte erneute Spekulationsphasen, die beim Platzen der Blasen neue Zinssenkungen notwendig machten. Es wird gezeigt, dass die daraus resultierenden strukturellen Zinssenkungen gegen Null in den großen Industrieländern einen Anreiz zur Erhöhung der Staatsverschuldung gegeben haben. Hohe Staatsverschuldung wird als treibende Größe der Persistenz der Nullzinsfalle sowie für die Zerstörung der Allokations- und Signalfunktion von Zinsen identifiziert. Der Artikel zeigt am Beispiel Japan, wie die resultierende Niedrigzins- und Hochverschuldungsfalle die Wachstumsperspektiven eintrübt. |
| Keywords: | Geldpolitik, Finanzpolitik, Niedrigzinsfalle, Hochverschuldungsfalle, Finanzmarktkrisen |
| JEL: | E32 E44 E58 E62 |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hlj:hljwrp:50-2013&r=ger |
| By: | Sabine Stephan; Jonas Löbbing |
| Abstract: | Die EU27 hat zwischen 1999 und 2012 ihre Handelsverflechtungen mit den Ländern außerhalb der EU (Drittländer) intensiviert, gleichwohl entfällt mit einem Anteil von etwa 60 % immer noch der weitaus größte Teil des Außenhandels der EU-Mitgliedstaaten auf den Handel untereinander (Intrahandel). Die EU hat in den vergangenen Jahren von dem Aufholprozess der aufstrebenden Schwellenländer - insbesondere China und Russland - und der damit verbundenen starken Nachfrage nach Investitionsgütern und Produktionsanlagen profitiert. Entsprechend haben China und Russland als Handelspartner für die EU stark an Bedeutung gewonnen, während die USA und Japan beträchtlich an Bedeutung verloren haben. Anders als der Extrahandel hat sich der EU Intrahandel noch nicht vom krisenbedingten Einbruch erholt, was maßgeblich daran liegt, dass die Austeritätspolitik in Europa die Binnennachfrage stark belastet. Das geplante transatlantische Freihandelsabkommen zwischen der EU und den USA wird vermutlich eher bestehende Handelsbeziehungen zwischen den beiden Wirtschaftsräumen stärken, denn in großem Umfang neue Vernetzungen schaffen. Vor allem aber werden sich positive Effekte erst längerfristig zeigen, kurzfristige gesamtwirtschaftliche Wachstumsimpulse sind hingegen von diesem Abkommen nicht zu erwarten. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:report:83-2013&r=ger |
| By: | Bristle, Johanna (Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA)) |
| Abstract: | Soziale Ungleichheit im Gesundheitsverhalten ist ein in der Gesundheitssoziologie viel diskutiertes Forschungsfeld, wobei gesundheitlichen Vorsorgeuntersuchungen bisher eher wenig Aufmerksamkeit zukam. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht für drei Vorsorgeuntersuchungen, ob die Teilnahme nach Bildung und Einkommen variiert und somit auch hier soziale Ungleichheit besteht. Daraufhin soll gezeigt werden, inwieweit diese sozial ungleiche Inanspruchnahme von Vorsorgeuntersuchungen im europäischen Vergleich und nach spezifischen institutionellen Merkmalen der Gesundheitssyteme variiert. Die Arbeit orientiert sich theoretisch an einem mikrosoziologischem Handlungsmodell, welches rationaler Kosten- Nutzen-Kalkulation folgt. Datengrundlage bilden die ersten beiden Wellen des Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), welche sich auf die Bevölkerung 50+ in 13 europäischen Ländern bezieht. Für Makroeinflüsse werden Daten der OECD zu den staatlichen Ausgaben für Prävention und Public Health sowie zu der Höhe privater Zuzahlungen herangezogen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Teilnahme sich nach Bildung und Einkommen unterscheidet, dies aber auf wenige spezifische Länder in den Analysen zurückzuführen ist. Von systemischer Seite haben die privaten Zuzahlungen keinen Einfluss auf die soziale Ungleichheit von Vorsorgeuntersuchungen, wohingegen staatliche Ausgaben zumindest teilweise Erkärungskraft besitzen. |
| Date: | 2014–02–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mea:meawpa:14278&r=ger |
| By: | Katja Rietzler; Dieter Teichmann; Achim Truger |
| Abstract: | Nach der aktuellen IMK-Steuerschätzung für den Zeitraum 2013-2017 dürfte das Aufkommen in diesem Jahr nur noch um 2 % auf 612,2 Mrd. Euro zunehmen und damit erheblich langsamer steigen als in den vergangenen Jahren. Am Ende des Schätzzeitraums sind Steuereinnahmen von knapp 700 Mrd. Euro zu erwarten. Nach wie vor weisen die öffentlichen Haushalte eine gravierende strukturelle Einnahmenlücke auf. Mehrfache Steuersenkungen, nicht übermäßiges Ausgabenwachstum, sind die Ursache. An Steuererhöhungen führt daher mittelfristig kein Weg vorbei. Die Oppositionsparteien im Bundestag haben entsprechende Pläne für die kommende Legislaturperiode. Erhöhungen des Einkommensteuertarifs sind dabei ein wesentliches Element. Befürchtungen von höheren Belastungen für die Mittelschicht erweisen sich als unbegründet: Die Mehrbelastungen aller Vorschläge setzen erst bei hohen Bruttoeinkommen ein. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:report:81-2013&r=ger |
| By: | Mertens, Oliver; Diederichs, Stefan; Meyer, Melanie |
| Abstract: | Für Unternehmen des produzierenden Gewerbes sind die Energiepreise bzw. deren Steigerung ein wesentlicher Grund, sich mit Effizienzsteigerungen auseinanderzusetzen. Naturgemäß können Kosteneinsparungen durch eine direkte Verminderung des Verbrauches erzielt werden. Daneben können Unternehmen die Höhe der gezahlten Ökosteuer reduzieren, wenn sie sich im Rahmen der Einführung eines Energiemanagementsystems strategisch mit dem Thema Energieeffizienz auseinandersetzen. Anerkannt sind Energiemanagementsysteme nach DIN EN ISO 50001:2012 und das Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). Kleine und mittlere Unternehmen (KMU) können auf Grund der hohen Einführungs- und Unterhaltungskosten der oben genannten Mana-gementsysteme auch weniger komplexe alternative Systeme nach Spitzenausgleich-Effizienzverordnung (SpaEfV) einführen. Bei Beantragung der Steuerrückerstattung können dann bis zu 70 % der zu zahlenden Steuer eingespart werden. Im vorliegenden Bericht wird zunächst genauer auf die Gesetze und Verordnungen sowie die Anforderungen der Energiemanagementsysteme an die Unternehmen eingegangen, die bei der Beantragung der Steuererstattung beachtet werden müssen. Im Anschluss werden die wesentlichen Parameter beschrieben, die einen Einfluss auf die tatsächliche Höhe der Rückerstattung haben. Zudem werden beispielhaft die potentiellen Rückerstattungen für verschiedene Unternehmensgrößen der Sägeindustrie berechnet. Dabei werden einige Annahmen getroffen, deren Auswirkungen auf die Höhe des Spitzenausgleichs einer Sensitivitätsanalyse unterzogen werden. Insgesamt zeichnet sich ab, dass für die Höhe der Steuerrückerstattung in der Holzindustrie der Stromverbrauch eine wesentliche Rolle spielt und alle anderen bei der Berechnung der Rückerstattung zu beachtenden Faktoren - insbesondere für größere Unternehmen - von nur untergeordneter Bedeutung sind. Bezogen auf die Schnittholzproduktion liegen die möglichen Rückerstattungen bei etwa 1€ je m3. -- For industry members energy prices are a major reason to deal with energy efficiency issues. Naturally, cost reduction can be achieved by direct reduction of energy consumption. Besides this, enterprises can reduce the amount of the German eco-tax to be paid, if they deal with the issue of energy efficiency on a strategic level by implementing energy management systems. Accepted energy management systems are those in accordance with ISO 50001:2012 and the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). Small and medium sized enterprises are also allowed to implement alternative systems according to Spitzenausgleich-Effizienzverordnung (SpaEfV). As a consequence, up to 70 % of the eco-tax can be saved if companies request a refund. The report in hand is initially describing the relevant laws and regulations as well as the demands an energy management system has to meet, in order to allow the enterprise to get the tax refund. Subsequently the essential parameters are described, which have an influence on the amount of eco-tax refund. In addition, the potential refunds will be calculated for different sizes of enterprises of the sawmill industry as an example. The assumptions made in this context will be analysed in a sensitivity analysis. Altogether it becomes apparent, that the amount of electricity consumed is the essential parameter for the amount of tax refund. All other parameters - particularly for large enterprises - are of minor importance. Based on the production of timber, the potential refunds are about 1€ per m3. |
| Keywords: | Energieeffizienz,Energiemanagement,Sägewerksindustrie,Stromsteuer,Energy efficiency,energy management,sawmill industry,electricity tax,Energiewende,Erneuerbare Energie,regionale Verteilungswirkungen der Energiewende,Wertschöpfungseffekte erneuerbarer Energien,Energy transformation,renevable energies,regional distribution effects of the energy transformation,value creation effects of renewable energies |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:jhtiwp:18&r=ger |
| By: | Fertig, Michael |
| Abstract: | "The pilot project 'Berliner Joboffensive' (BJO) aimed at increasing the number of labor market integrations of individuals receiving means-tested unemployment benefits II (also known as Hartz IV) by intensified counseling and assistance. To this end, the caseload of 650 caseworkers in twelve Jobcenters in Berlin was reduced to 100 jobseekers per caseworker. Furthermore, these jobseekers were considered to be relatively close to the labor market and should have received intensive and individualized help to find an appropriate job on the (first) labor market quickly. The Federal Employment Office commissioned the ISG-Institute to identify the causal effects of the BJO. To this end, a conditional difference-in-difference approach was established to assess effectiveness and efficiency of the BJO. The report at hand summarizes the results." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | Beschäftigungsförderung - Modellversuch, arbeitsmarktpolitische Maßnahme - Erfolgskontrolle, Arbeitslosengeld II-Empfänger, berufliche Reintegration, Langzeitarbeitslose, Case Management, Job-Center, Arbeitsvermittlung, Beschäftigungseffekte, matching - Effizienz, Integrierte Erwerbsbiografien, IAB-Leistungsempfängerhistorik, Beschäftigungsdauer, Grundsicherung nach SGB II - Zu- und Abgänge, Berlin, Bundesrepublik Deutschland |
| Date: | 2014–03–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabfob:201404&r=ger |
| By: | Dederke, Julian |
| Abstract: | Ehemals staatliche oder staatsnahe Sektoren wie der Schienenverkehr sind im Zuge der Europäischen Integration und des Binnenmarktprojekts einem markt- und wettbewerbsorientierten Liberalisierungsprozess ausgesetzt. Diesen treibt die Europäische Kommission (KOM) auf verschiedenen Wegen voran. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht eine Reihe von Vertragsverletzungsklagen der KOM gegen Mitgliedstaaten (MS), die keine ausreichenden Umsetzungsschritte bei der Eisenbahnliberalisierung ergriffen hätten. Mit dieser Klagewelle erhielt der EuGH erstmals die Möglichkeit zur Rechtsauslegung im Schienenverkehrssektor und fällte unterschiedliche Urteile. Die Arbeit fragt nach den Gründen für die Differenzierung im Angesicht der Rolle des EuGH als politischer und politisch restringierter Akteur. Diese wird in der wissenschaftlichen Debatte unterschiedlich bewertet: integrationsorientierter Liberalisierungsmotor einerseits, politisch restringiert innerhalb des politischen Umfelds andererseits. Anknüpfend an eine Debatte im American Political Science Review werden konkurrierende Hypothesen zur politischen Autonomie des EuGH generiert. In den Verfahren kam es zu zahlreichen Interventionen durch MS, die als Streithelfer aufseiten der Verklagten auftraten. Die Befunde der Arbeit weisen den Streithelfern in der untersuchten Klagewelle jedoch keinen zentralen Einfluss zu. Dagegen folgten die RichterInnen fast ausnahmslos den Empfehlungen des EuGH-Generalanwalts, der als unabhängiger Sachverständiger sachlich differenziert einzelne Rügen in Klageverfahren bestätigt oder zurückweist. Dies traf sowohl bei Empfehlungen zugunsten der Klägerin (KOM) als auch zugunsten der Verklagten (MS) zu. Das Urteilsmuster des EuGH zeigt außerdem, dass er Bahn-Holdingmodelle - als vertikal integrierte Unternehmensstrukturen einer der stärksten Konfliktpunkte zwischen KOM und MS - toleriert. Eine grundsätzlich liberalisierende und KOM-freundliche Positionierung des EuGH ist nicht erkennbar. -- Former public sectors or sectors close to the state (staatsnahe Sektoren) like rail transport are exposed to a market- and competition-based liberalisation process in the context of European integration and the single market project. The European Commission (COM) promotes liberalisation in various ways. This paper analyses a number of infringement lawsuits led by COM against several member states (MSs) accused of not having transposed the sectoral directives on railway liberalisation properly. These lawsuits allowed the ECJ to interpret the European legislation on rail transport for the first time. The role of the ECJ as political and politically restricted actor is evaluated differently in the scientific debate. On the one hand, the ECJ is argued to be an integrationist engine of liberalization. On the other hand, it is perceived to be bounded by its political surroundings. The judgments in the cases considered differ and the paper asks for the reason for this differentiation. For this purpose, following a debate in the American Political Science Review, competing hypotheses concerning the ECJ's political autonomy are generated and tested statistically. Since many MSs decided to intervene as third parties in support of other MSs during the proceedings at a first glance the interventions seemed to be of vital importance. However, the results don't support assumptions of MS interveners playing a key role in the observed lawsuits. Against this, the judges followed the court's Advocate General nearly without exception, who as an independent expert witness confirms or rejects individual complaints of an infringement process in a factual manner. This holds true for recommendations in favour of the plaintiff (COM) as well as for those in favour of the indictee (MS). Beyond this, the judgment pattern shows that railway company holding models are tolerated by the ECJ. Such vertically integrated firm structures have been one of the core points of contention between COM and MS. In this paper, I do not find evidence that the ECJ holds a strict bias in favor of liberalisation or the European Commission. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fubipe:202014&r=ger |
| By: | Maaß, Frank; Chlosta, Simone; Icks, Annette; Welter, Friederike |
| Abstract: | Betriebliches Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement zielt auf einen verantwortungsvollen Umgang mit Ressourcen und auf die entsprechende Gestaltung der innerbetrieblichen Abläufe ab. Dabei nutzen Unternehmen, die nachhaltiges Wirtschaften mit strategischen Zielen verbinden und hierbei über das gesetzlich Geforderte und bloße Philanthropie hinausgehen, die Instrumente des Stakeholder Managements sowie der Corporate Compliance. Im Alltag werden diese Managementansätze von kleinen, mittleren wie auch großen Unternehmen gleichermaßen angewendet. Daneben existiert eine Vielzahl an weiteren Konzepten, die sich bei näherer Betrachtung jedoch als Varianten der beiden vorgenannten Nachhaltigkeitskonzeptionen erweisen. Während die Unternehmen die betriebswirtschaftlichen Effekte ihres Nachhaltigkeitsengagements durchaus einschätzen können (Ressourcenzugewinn, Signal-, Motivations- und Bindungswirkungen), sind die volkswirtschaftlichen Effekte kaum eindeutig messbar. -- Sustainability aims at a responsible use of natural resources and the environment as well as at shaping corporate relations and restructuring the constitution of the firm. As such, sustainability is commonly and successfully used by small, medium as well as large enterprises. Enterprises that turn sustainability into a strategic business goal, going beyond legal compliance and philanthropic generosity, can make use of a variety of instruments within the scope of Stakeholder Management and Corporate Compliance. Other existing management concepts turn out to be variants of the before mentioned strategic concepts. Enterprises recognise in resource gains as well as signal-, motivation- and binding-effects the main impacts of their sustainable involvement. The effects of enterprise sustainability on the national economy, however, can hardly be quantified. |
| Keywords: | Nachhaltigkeit,Unternehmerische Verantwortung,CSR,Stakeholder Management,Corporate Compliance,KMU,Deutschland,Sustainability,Corporate Social Responsibility,Stakeholder Management,Corporate Compliance,SME,Germany |
| JEL: | D22 L11 L25 M12 M14 Q01 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifmmat:227&r=ger |
| By: | Gustav A. Horn; Alexander Herzog-Stein; Ansgar Rannenberg; Katja Rietzler; Silke Tober; Peter Hohlfeld; Fabian Lindner |
| Abstract: | The global economy will be slightly more dynamic during the forecast period. In particular, the emerging market economies will grow a bit faster as a result of higher export demand. The recovery in the United States will gain in strength, supported above all by private consumption expenditure. In the euro area outside Germany, production will pick up slightly given the decline in fiscal restriction, and GDP will increase by 0.6% in 2014. In the euro area as a whole, GDP growth will average 0.8% in 2014. In Germany, economic growth will continue to be restrained during the forecast period. Domestic demand remains the main driving force, the growth contribution of foreign trade being negative. German GDP will increase by 1.2% in 2014, after 0.4% in 2013. Unemployment will rise slightly to 7.0% in 2014, up from 6.9% in 2013. Consumer price inflation will average 1.5% in both years. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:report:89-2013&r=ger |
| By: | Hansen, Lars Peter (University of Chicago) |
| Abstract: | Lars Peter Hansen delivered his Prize Lecture on 8 December 2013 at Aula Magna, Stockholm University. |
| Keywords: | Asset Pricing; |
| JEL: | G12 |
| Date: | 2013–12–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:nobelp:2013_007&r=ger |
| By: | Shiller, Robert J. (Yale University) |
| Abstract: | Robert J. Shiller delivered his Prize Lecture on 8 December 2013 at Aula Magna, Stockholm University. |
| Keywords: | Asset Pricing; |
| JEL: | G12 |
| Date: | 2013–12–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:nobelp:2013_006&r=ger |
| By: | van der Klaauw, Bas (VU University Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | This overview describes the development of methods for empirical research in the field of labor economics during the past four decades. This period is characterized by the use of micro data to answer policy relevant research question. Prominent in the literature is the search for exogenous variation in treatment assignment which can be exploited to estimate causal effects. With the increased availability of detailed administrative data empirical labor economics and more generally empirical microeconomics will become an even more prominent field in economics research. |
| Keywords: | treatment effects, endogeneity, selection, experiments, labor market behavior, microeconometrics |
| JEL: | C21 C26 C93 J68 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8047&r=ger |
| By: | 黃登興 (Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan) |
| Abstract: | 台灣實質薪資水準於近十多年來近乎停滯狀態。2001年的薪資還與韓國相當,月薪大約1300美元左右，到2011年台灣薪資停留1477美元的水準，而韓國則已經高達2738美元, 幾乎是台灣的兩倍。若考慮物價水準的趨勢變化, 則台灣的實質薪資甚至是倒退的。有鑑於台灣高度依賴外貿的經濟特質, 本文將從全球化與兩岸經貿關係來解析台灣的薪資停滯現象。理論上隨著經濟發展的演進，薪資成長減緩有其必然性，全球化尤其是勞工豐沛的大經濟體如中國的開放與融入國際貿易體系, 則促使這個薪資增長速度從遞增而減緩乃至停滯的演進速度變快。相對於日韓等鄰近國家,台灣高度依賴中國大陸的出口貿易與投資, 使得台灣薪資進入停滯期的階段提早到來。透過中國主要貿易夥伴的實證分析, 我們得到保持經濟發展的領先與技術優勢，可以顯著地讓先進國家拋開被中國低薪資水準所 牽絆的困境。 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sin:wpaper:14-a005&r=ger |
| By: | Arman, Rebecka (Department of Business Administration, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Bergström, Ola (Department of Business Administration, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University) |
| Abstract: | Denna studies övergripande syfte är att bidra med ökad kunskap om konsekvenserna av strukturomvandling inom detaljhandeln, när det gäller uppsägningar och omställningsarbete. Rapporten återger resultaten av en första delstudie som beskriver och analyserar varför och hur företag i detaljhandeln genomför uppsägningar. För att undersöka omställningsarbetet har vi genomfört intervjuer i ett urval av 15 företag inom detaljhandeln som genomgått förändringar och sagt upp personal. Resultaten av analysen beskrivs i tre olika grupper beroende på företagens storlek. Studien visar att ju större företag och ju mer komplex organisation, desto mer utförlig och komplicerad motivering gavs till uppsägningarna. Med ökad storlek kom ökad specialisering av omställningsarbetet inom företagen och även ökad distans till konsekvenserna för de enskilda anställda. |
| Keywords: | detaljhandeln; uppsägningar; förändringsledarskap; restructuring; retail; omställningsstöd; omställning |
| Date: | 2014–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhb:gunwba:2014_421&r=ger |
| By: | Eliasson, Jonas (KTH); Aronsson, Martin (SICS) |
| Abstract: | När inte järnvägskapaciteten räcker till för alla tågoperatörers önskemål ska Trafikverket enligt järnvägslagen fördela kapacitet till olika operatörer på ett samhällsekonomiskt effektivt sätt. För att utföra detta använder Trafikverket s k prioriteringskriterier. Vi diskuterar vi först ett antal problem med dessa, för att sedan argumentera att det i praktiken är omöjligt för Trafikverket att göra en samhällsekonomiskt effektiv prioritering mellan olika typer av kommersiell trafik och mellan kommersiell och offentligt beslutad trafik (såsom pendeltåg), eftersom väsentlig information om den kommersiella trafiken som t ex trafikvolymer, priser och vinster är okända för Trafikverket. Vi föreslår i stället en princip för kapacitetstilldelning där offentligt beslutad trafik värderas samhällsekonomiskt, medan kommersiell trafik (såväl som gods) tilldelas kapacitet med hjälp av olika typer av marknadsmekanismer såsom auktioner eller dynamisk prissättning. |
| Keywords: | Railway |
| JEL: | R40 |
| Date: | 2014–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2014_004&r=ger |
| By: | Gisselquist, Rachel M. |
| Abstract: | Recent years have seen a proliferation of .composite indicators. or .indexes. of governance. Such measures can be useful tools for analysing governance, making public policy, building scientific knowledge, and even influencing ruling elites, but some are |
| Keywords: | governance, indexes, composite indicators, research methods, development |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-068&r=ger |
| By: | Fama, Eugene F. (University of Chicago) |
| Abstract: | Eugene F. Fama delivered his Prize Lecture on 8 December 2013 at Aula Magna, Stockholm University. |
| Keywords: | Asset Pricing; |
| JEL: | G12 |
| Date: | 2013–12–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:nobelp:2013_008&r=ger |
| By: | Aurelio Volpe (CSIL Centre for Industrial Studies); Mauro Spinelli (CSIL Centre for Industrial Studies) |
| Abstract: | The Report 'The kitchen furniture market in Middle East and North Africa (MENA)' analyses supply structure, distribution system (channels), market demand, import-export flows, competitive system, providing statistical data and trends of kitchen furniture production and consumption, as well as import and export data. 2015 forecasts on number of kitchen sold is given for each country considered (Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates). |
| JEL: | L11 L22 L68 L81 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mst:csilre:s71&r=ger |
| By: | Richard Funderburg Author Workplace: University of Iowa; Timothy J. Bartik (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research); Alan H. Peters (University of New South Wales Author Name: Peter S. Fisher Author Workplace: University of Iowa) |
| Keywords: | REGIONAL ISSUES, Business incentives, Tax incentives, Regional and urban studies |
| JEL: | R1 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upj:weupjo:fbpfjrs&r=ger |
| By: | L. Ingber |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lei:ingber:14bi&r=ger |
| By: | Céline Antonin (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Alors que le premier semestre 2012 avait été marqué par une grande volatilité des cours, les prix du Brent sont restés relativement stables au deuxième semestre avec une moyenne à 110 dollars. Le Brent est actuellement soumis à plusieurs forces antagonistes (...). |
| Keywords: | petrole |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n2l47ae14&r=ger |
| By: | Mitra, Arup; Verick, Sher |
| Keywords: | youth employment, youth unemployment, young worker, labour force participation, India, emploi des jeunes, chômage des jeunes, jeune travailleur, taux d'activité, Inde, empleo de jóvenes, desempleo de jóvenes, joven trabajador, tasa de actividad de mano de obra, India |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:480686&r=ger |
| By: | Aurelio Volpe (CSIL Centre for Industrial Studies) |
| Abstract: | During the 2008-2013 period, imports of lighting fixtures in Azerbaijan registered an average 20% growth yearly. There are a lot of projects planned to be realized in next several years, including construction of tourism resorts, hotel and business centers, health and recreation centers. The overall costs of projects provide for about USD 528 million. This report analyzes the lighting fixtures market in Azerbaijan, providing trends (2008-2013) in lighting fixtures production and consumption, imports and exports. Data on the supply structure, reference prices and distribution channels are also provided, as well as sales data, market shares and short company profiles of the major lighting fixtures companies operating on Azerbaijani market. |
| JEL: | L11 L22 L68 L81 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mst:csilre:s78&r=ger |
| By: | Jae-Hyun Jung; Eli Peli |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qsh:wpaper:156421&r=ger |
| By: | Welter, Friederike; Brush, Candida; De Bruin, Anne |
| Abstract: | The paper builds on the understanding of context as suggested by Welter (2011) who introduced different dimensions of context along a continuum of where entrepreneurship takes place and when this happens. Where context has been studied in relation to gender and women, the focus has been on the influence of social contexts such as networks, family and household embeddedness of women entrepreneurs or the institutional environment for women's entrepreneurship. We contribute to the literature by identifying three further themes, based on a systematic literature review: how to conceptualise the spatial and institutional contexts for women's entrepreneurship and their intersections, as informed by entrepreneurship, gender and geography studies; the paradox of empowering women and the debate around mumpreneurship. Our analysis highlights the influence of spatial-institutional contexts on entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurial behaviour is gendered because of place which itself is gendered, reflecting local institutions such as accepted gender norms which may force women into specific industries or business sizes. We also highlight the agency of women entrepreneurs in influencing their spatial-institutional contexts. -- |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship,women's entrepreneurship,gender,entrepreneurship context |
| JEL: | J16 L26 M13 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifmwps:0114&r=ger |
| By: | Géraldine Rieucau (CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi - Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé, LED - Laboratoire d'Economie Dionysien - Université Paris VIII - Vincennes Saint-Denis : EA3391) |
| Abstract: | Les politiques publiques encouragent les chômeurs les moins qualifiés à intensifier leurs recherches d'emploi et à se former. Or, les difficultés que rencontrent ces derniers sur le marché du travail peuvent aussi résulter de la sélection opérée par les recruteurs. C'est ce que montrent des enquêtes sur les pratiques de recrutement menées dans la grande distribution en France et au Royaume-Uni. Cette recherche souligne le rôle des canaux d'embauche et leurs liens avec les critères de sélection déterminants. À côté des mises en relation de proximité (candidatures déposées en mains propres, annonces placardées) où la sélection des candidats est assurée en magasin et porte sur l'apparence, l'attitude et la disponibilité, co-existent des appariements via les sites internet, où la sélection se fait sur CV ou par test. Le recrutement en magasin peut alimenter les jugements arbitraires, celui via internet exclure ceux qui maîtrisent mal l'outil informatique ou ne sont pas retenus sur CV. S'il devenait exclusif, le recrutement à distance pourrait pénaliser les chômeurs les moins avantagés. |
| Keywords: | recherche d'emploi et recrutement;études et comparaisons sectorielles;comparaisons internationales |
| Date: | 2013–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00969310&r=ger |
| By: | Socha-Dietrich, Karolina (COHERE, Department of Business and Economics); Zweifel, Peter (Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | In several countries, public healthcare providers purchase services from private providers to shorten waiting times. Some private providers in turn combine public service with practice in their own facilities. According to the existing literature, they are viewed as cream-skimming profitable (low-severity) public patients to the benefit of private practice, causing cost of treatment in the public sector to increase. This is particularly problematic when public provider payment is prospective. However, two facts seem to be neglected. First, cream skimming involves effort and thus does not occur in all circumstances. Second, public providers might have an incentive to select patients too, resulting in dumping of the least profitable (high-severity) patients on the private sector. This paper derives the conditions under which both creaming and dumping are predicted to occur. |
| Keywords: | Creaming; Dumping; Waiting lists; Public Service; Dual Practice |
| JEL: | I11 I18 |
| Date: | 2014–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sduhec:2014_004&r=ger |
| By: | Henri Sterdyniak (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Sous la pression des marchés financiers et des institutions européennes, le gouvernement s’est cru tenu de présenter une nouvelle réforme des retraites en 2013, trois ans après celle de 2010. Pourtant, la question des retraites ne devrait pas être aujourd’hui la priorité de la politique économique française : retrouver une croissance satisfaisante, réorienter la stratégie macroéconomique de la zone euro, donner une nouvelle impulsion à la politique industrielle française dans le cadre de la transition écologique sont des réformes autrement plus urgentes... |
| Date: | 2013–09–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09nge336sbj&r=ger |
| By: | Sandrine Levasseur (OFCE); Céline Antonin (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Le 1er juillet 2013, 10 ans après avoir déposé sa demande d’adhésion à l’Union européenne, la Croatie deviendra le 28e État membre de l’UE, et le deuxième pays de l’ex-Yougoslavie à intégrer l’Union. Dans cette note, après un rapide état des lieux, nous reviendrons sur ce qui nous semble être les deux principales faiblesses du pays : d’une part, son manque de compétitivité, et d’autre part, son niveau de corruption encore beaucoup trop élevé pour lui garantir une croissance soutenue et durable (...). |
| Date: | 2013–06–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09ne294b21o&r=ger |
| By: | Nicholas Sander (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | Macroeconomics makes extensive use of concepts for which there are no observed data. Empirical estimates of such unobservable variables - core inflation is one example - have to be estimated from observed data. The data decomposition tool helps identify the contribution of each piece of observed data to the estimate of the unobservable variable. |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nzb:nzbans:2013/09&r=ger |
| By: | Gisselquist, Rachel M.; Nino-Zarazua, Miguel |
| Abstract: | In recent years, randomized controlled trials have become increasingly popular in the social sciences. In development economics in particular, their use has attracted considerable debate in relation to the identification of .what works. in development pol |
| Keywords: | randomised control trials, governance, development |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-077&r=ger |
| By: | Rogner, H-Holger |
| Abstract: | Foreign aid and technology transfer are an essential means, especially for the least developed countries, towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals as well as facilitating adaptation to, and mitigation of, climate change. The deployment of technolo |
| Keywords: | official development assistance, foreign aid, climate change mitigation, renewables, good practices |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-055&r=ger |
| By: | Casey B. Mulligan |
| Abstract: | Under the Affordable Care Act, between six and eleven million workers would increase their disposable income by cutting their weekly work hours. About half of them would primarily do so by making themselves eligible for the ACA's federal assistance with health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket health costs, despite the fact that subsidized workers are not able to pay health premiums with pre-tax dollars. The remainder would do so primarily by relieving their employers from penalties, or the threat of penalties, pursuant to the ACA's employer mandate. Women, especially those who are not married, are more likely than men to have their short-term financial reward to full-time work eliminated by the ACA. Additional workers, beyond the six to eleven million, could increase their disposable income by using reduced hours to climb one of the "cliffs" that are part of the ACA's mapping from household income to federal assistance. |
| JEL: | E24 H21 I38 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20020&r=ger |
| By: | Yanai, Akiko |
| Abstract: | With the growing interest in environmental issues in the global community, recently concluded regional trade agreements (RTAs) have introduced environmental provisions. These RTAs will help achieve sustainable development at the intersection of trade liberalization and ever-increasing environmental concerns. However, environmental provisions are not incorporated into all RTAs. For example, Japanese RTAs often incorporate environmental issues only in the preamble or relevant articles. As the first step in examining the environmental provisions in RTAs, this paper focuses on the RTAs that Japan has concluded with developing countries. The main characteristic of environmental provisions in Japanese RTAs is that there are very few relevant provisions. All Japanese RTAs has neither environmental chapters nor side agreements. However, the attitude toward the environment in Japanese RTAs has gradually changed since the signing of the Japan-Chile EPA in 2007, in which a joint environmental statement was adopted. Although Japanese RTAs have environmental provisions, environmental problems originating from the RTAs may occur. One of the possible causes is a lack of environmental impact assessment. Japanese RTAs need to incorporate an environmental impact assessment system in order to identify environmental problems resulting from its RTAs, and to enable the country to take appropriate measures at the appropriate time. |
| Keywords: | Developing countries, Japan, Environmental protection, International trade, FTA, International agreements, Sustainable development, Regional trade agreement, Environmental provisions, Trade and the environment, RoHS, REACH |
| JEL: | F18 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper467&r=ger |
| By: | Markus Pasche (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena) |
| Abstract: | In case of digital goods such like music, intellectual property rights are typically not exerted by the creators (artists) but by intermediaries. Their profits, and therefore also the income of the artists, are endangered by copyright infringements (piracy). It is well known from static welfare analysis that to some extent piracy reduces the deadweight loss by limiting monopoly power and could therefore increase welfare. This paper contributes to the discussion by including the costs of law enforcement into the welfare analysis. Most models in the literature assume that law is enforced by governmental activities. In contrast, this paper considers that law enforcement is exerted by agents (e.g. lawyer chancellories, provider of screening technologies) which are also seen as intermediaries. The enforcement effort is therefore endogenously determined. It is shown that this will lead to suboptimal welfare outcomes. A social planner has to regulate punishment and enforcement effort to a moderate level. A more rigorous fight against piracy could only be justified by negative dynamic welfare effects due to a loss of creativity. However, there is no empirical evidence for that. |
| Keywords: | digital goods, music, piracy, copyright, intermediation, law en- forcement, welfare |
| JEL: | D60 L12 K11 K42 |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2014-008&r=ger |
| By: | Yusuf Kocoglu (LEAD - Laboratoire d'Économie Appliquée au Développement - Université de Toulon : EA3163, CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi - Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé); Frédéric Moatty (CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi - Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé, TEPP - Travail, Emploi et Politiques Publiques - CNRS : FR3435 - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV)) |
| Abstract: | À partir d'un échantillon représentatif des entreprises françaises de dix salariés et plus des secteurs marchands, issu de l'enquête Changements Organisationnels et Informatisation (COI) de 2006, les auteurs dressent un bilan statistique de la diffusion des ERP (Progiciels de gestion intégrée) et montrent que celle-ci se situe entre mythe et réalité. Tout d'abord, la diffusion des ERP se renforce, principalement à l'intérieur de ses bastions d'origine, les grandes entreprises, les groupes et l'industrie manufacturière. Mais, dans les entreprises, l'intégration des fonctions au moyen des ERP reste partielle en 2006 et n'est pas plus importante que celle permise par d'autres progiciels. Ces résultats révèlent que les stratégies évolutionnistes d'adoption et l'intégration limitée sont beaucoup plus répandues que les stratégies d'intégration totale. La rationalisation des organisations par les ERP ne conduit pas à une convergence vers un modèle unique mais témoigne de la variété des degrés et des stratégies d'intégration. L'entreprise intégrée reste marquée par des choix stratégiques qui reflètent sa position économique et une certaine prudence dans ses investissements technico-organisationnels. |
| Keywords: | ERP; intégration; changement organisationnel; stratégies des firmes; statistiques |
| Date: | 2014–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00966857&r=ger |
| By: | Fabien Santini (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Fatmir Guri (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Audrey Aubard; Demetrios Psaltopoulos (Department of Economics University of Patras); Robert Read (Department of Economics Management School Lancaster University); Sergio Gomez y Paloma (European Commission – JRC - IPTS) |
| Abstract: | Farming in the islands of the European Union faces specific challenges due to isolation and small size, which justify specific policy tools in terms of structural and regional polices. The question whether the output of island farming (island agricultural and food products) is of such a specific quality that labelling it as such by ways of an optional quality term in the sense of Regulation (EC) No 1151/2012 is justified or not. Capturing the socio-economic reality of island farming in the EU as well as the labelling strategies pursued by stakeholders on the market demonstrates that a specific labelling rule for island products has benefits in particular for small producers and/or small islands, but that it would better be accompanied by the labelling of the specific name of the island(s) concerned. |
| Keywords: | Sustainable agriculture, Food quality, agricultural products quality policy, food labelling, rural development, Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), island farming, less favoured areas |
| JEL: | Q18 Q13 R11 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc84949&r=ger |
| By: | Thomas Y. Mathä; Alessandro Porpiglia; Michael Ziegelmeyer |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses empirically how cross-border consumption varies across product and services categories and across household characteristics. It focuses on the part of crossborder sales that arise due to work-related cross-border crossings; it analyses the crossborder consumption behaviour of cross-border commuter households residing in Belgium, France and Germany and working in Luxembourg. In total, it is estimated that these households spend ?925 million per annum in Luxembourg, reflecting about 17% of their gross annual income from Luxembourg and contributing about 10% to total household final consumption expenditure in Luxembourg. Cross-border consumption expenditure is shown to depend on individual and household characteristics, such as total household income, the number of cross-border commuters in the household, distance between home and work, as well as price level (index) differences between Luxembourg and its neighbouring countries. Cross-border commuters take advantage of existing arbitrage opportunities. |
| Keywords: | Cross-border shopping, commuting, consumption, expenditure, households |
| JEL: | F15 R12 R23 J61 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcl:bclwop:bclwp089&r=ger |
| By: | Rick Van der Ploeg; Samuel Wills; Ton van den Bremer |
| Abstract: | Many oil exporters accumulate large sovereign wealth funds, though their portfolio allocation does not take into account below-ground assets, like oil. Similarly, the above-ground portfolio does not affect the decision to extract oil. This paper shows that subsoil oil wealth should change a country's above-ground asset allocation in two ways. First, the holding of all risky assets is leveraged because there is additional wealth outside the fund. Second, more (less) is invested in financial assets that are negatively (positively) correlated with oil to hedge against the riskiness of subsoil exposure. Furthermore, if marginal oil rents move pro-cyclically with the value of the financial assets in the fund, then oil will be extracted slower than predicted by the standard Hotelling rule. This leaves a buffer of oil to be extracted when both oil prices and asset returns are high. Finally, any unhedged residual volatility must be managed through additional precautionary saving. |
| Keywords: | oil, portfolio allocation, sovereign wealth fund, optimal extraction |
| JEL: | E21 G11 G15 O13 Q32 Q33 |
| Date: | 2013–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:oxcarre-research-paper-129&r=ger |
| By: | Lucie Vidoviæová |
| Abstract: | In this paper we present a general assessment of the labour market situation of older workers in the Czech Republic, starting with a more general overview of the demographic situation and emphasizing the generational differences among the young-old and older cohorts, underlying a number of different problems as well as solutions. Further in the paper we address the impact of the recent economic situation on employment levels, showing that the recovery in terms of employment has not yet begun and that the impact on older workers is (at least) two-fold: firstly, for older workers it is very difficult to find a new job once unemployed; secondly, if employed, the pressure on workability and the increasing demands of workplaces may be harder to bear for the older the worker. We describe a National Action Plan Supporting Positive Ageing (2013-2017) and other examples of good and transferable praxes which address some of the active ageing issues in an innovative way. The second part of this report examinethe issues of employability, workability and age-managementas perceived by some of the key actors. We go into greater detail on the topic of paid work after retirement, which is considered an important part of the Czech economy, despite the fact that the employment of sizable groups of older workers after retirement is undeclared. Self-entrepreneurship and independent work in later life are another realm of employment that is increasing in importance in the Czech economy; however, as consulted experts argue, it is not to be taken as an unproblematic solution to late-life careers. In the last chapter we turn our attention to the lifelong learning of older workers and to their up-skilling/retraining. In the concluding remarks, we reemphasize the need to address the heterogeneity of the older workforce, in the sense of age/generational affiliation, health, socio-economic and other characteristics. |
| Keywords: | Older workers, Labour market, Lifelong learning, Active ageing, Good practice, Czech Republic, Paid work after retirement, Self-entrepreneurship, Trade unions, Focus groups |
| JEL: | H55 H75 M12 M50 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sec:cnstan:0469&r=ger |
| By: | Henri Sterdyniak (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | François Hollande et le gouvernement Ayrault veulent de nouveau réformer les retraites en 2013, trois ans après la réforme de 2010. Dans son intervention du 28 mars, François Hollande a mis en avant le déficit prévu de 20 milliards en 2020 pour annoncer un nouvel allongement de la durée de cotisations tout en refusant la désindexation des petites retraites et des retraites du régime général. Jean-Marc Ayrault annonce que la « réforme traitera la pénibilité au travail, la complexité des régimes et résoudra les inégalités. Au final, nous paierons les retraites, nous préserverons les plus petites retraites et nous pérenniserons les régimes de retraite pour les générations à venir » (...). |
| Date: | 2013–04–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09ne5qj60b2&r=ger |
| By: | Guillaume Allegre (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Dans un article à paraître dans le Journal of Economic Perspectives, Greg Mankiw, professeur à l’Université Harvard et auteur reconnu de manuels universitaires, défend les revenus perçus par les 1 % les plus aisés (en opposition au mouvement 99 % qui dénonce l’explosion des inégalités et la concentration des revenus et du patrimoine). Mankiw cite ainsi l’étude de Thomas Piketty et Emmanuel Saez (2003, mise à jour 2011)2, montrant qu’aux États-Unis, la part du revenu gagnée par les 1 % les plus aisés est passée de 7,7 % en 1973 à 17,4 % en 2010 (...). |
| Date: | 2013–07–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09ne24mao35&r=ger |
| By: | Christine Rifflart (OFCE); Sabine Le Bayon (OFCE); Pierre Madec |
| Abstract: | Le marché locatif privé est, depuis maintenant plus d’une décennie, sujet à une crise profonde (hausse des loyers, paupérisation des locataires, mobilité résidentielle bloquée, ...). Dans ce contexte, les pouvoirs publics ont récemment mis en place deux mesures. L’une encadrant l’évolution des loyers dans les zones sous tensions, l’autre agissant sur l’offre par le biais d’un nouveau dispositif d’incitation fiscale à l’investissement locatif. Après un état des lieux du marché locatif privé, nous nous proposons d’évaluer l’impact de ces mesures gouvernementales sur les loyers, les taux d’effort supportés par les locataires, les rendements perçus par les propriétaires, ou encore sur la construction. Il ressort de cette étude quel’encadrement, s’il est pérennisé, pourrait certes stopper l’inflation des loyers dans les zones ciblées et avoir un impact positif sur le taux d’effort des ménages les plus modestes,notamment si plusieurs obstacles sont surmontés (maintien de l’offre, transparence de l’information, ...). Concernant le dispositif Duflot, en s’appuyant sur des plafonds de ressources et de loyers trop élevés, il bénéficierait peu aux classes moyennes inférieures, alors même que son coût fiscal s’avère non négligeable. Bien que la régulation du marché locatif paraisse être, dans ces conditions, une équation insoluble compte tenu des attentes des parties prenantes (État, bailleurs privés et locataires), certaines solutions existent comme le développement de l’offre locative sociale ou encore de l’accession sociale à la propriété. Ces solutions, coûteuses mais pérennes, permettraient de détendre durablement un marché locatif privé saturé. |
| Keywords: | marché locatif; logement; regulation; encadrement; taux d'effort; loyers |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p50316t2l&r=ger |
| By: | Various authors |
| Keywords: | Social Enterprises |
| JEL: | J |
| Date: | 2014–03–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:8079&r=ger |
| By: | Céline Antonin (OFCE); Vincent Touze (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Depuis août 2012, la remontée en Bourse des valeurs bancaires et la baisse de leur volatilité attestent d’un retour de la confiance. Cette confiance retrouvée est-elle durable ? C’est à cette question que la Note de l’OFCE n° 36 du 11 décembre 2013 s’attache à répondre, à partir de l’état des lieux de la situation des banques fin 2013. |
| Date: | 2013–12–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oe802esrl&r=ger |
| By: | Michaël Zemmour (Centre lillois d'études et de recherches sociologiques et économiques (CLERSE)) |
| Abstract: | La France a recours aux dépenses socio-fiscales (i.e. des dispositifs de dérogations aux prélèvements obligatoires) pour intervenir dans le champ de la protection sociale : i) soit du côté des prestations comme complément ou substitut aux prestations directes ii) soit du côté du financement en modifiant la structure des prélèvements sociaux. Sur la base de rapports publics récents, nous proposons une base de données chiffrée de l’ensemble des dépenses sociofiscales qui interviennent dans le champ de la protection sociale en 2011. Nous proposons une classification en quatre catégories : i) renoncement à des recettes sociales pour des motifs de politiques économiques (emploi) ii) dépenses fiscales assimilables à des prestations en espèces ii) incitations à la réalisation de dépenses privées iii) non-imposition ou imposition à taux réduit des prestations sociales. Chacune de ces catégories contribue à façonner l’Etat-providence à la française. Les dépenses socio-fiscales jouent un rôle particulièrement structurant dans les domaines des politiques de l’emploi, des services à la personne, de la protection sociale privée en entreprise et dans la politique familiale. Nous passons en revue les principales évaluations académiques et nous confrontons nos données aux éléments de comparaison internationale disponibles. |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6o65lgig8d0qcro9oj599gl90&r=ger |
| By: | Baulch, Bob; Tam, Le Vi An |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the distribution of total aid and aid to the social sectors between 2009 and 2011. Its key findings are four-fold. First, despite the stated objectives of donors, total aid disbursements are broadly neutral, favouring neither the most |
| Keywords: | aid, social sectors, concentration curves, progressivity |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-075&r=ger |
| By: | Andersson, Åke E. (Jönköping International Business School); Andersson , David Emanuel (Nottingham University Business School China); Hårsman, Björn (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology); Daghbashyan, Zara (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | Unemployment rates differ dramatically across European regions. This paper analyses these differences by integrating institutional and spatial perspectives into a unified theoretical framework. An econometric model is then used to analyse differences among European NUTS2 regions. The results of random-effects models indicate that there are four key factors that explain regional unemployment rates. Flexible labour market regulations and above-average levels of interpersonal trust are institutional factors that reduce unemployment. Accessibility factors such as inter-regional transport connectivity and local access to skilled workers have similarly substantial effects. Whether a region belongs to the Eurozone or not seems to be less important. |
| Keywords: | unemployment; Euro; institutions; accessibility |
| JEL: | R10 R15 R23 R28 |
| Date: | 2014–03–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0355&r=ger |
| By: | Amel Falah (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | En 2012, la croissance de l’activité en Asie a bien résisté, malgré une baisse de régime durant l’été. Son dynamisme toujours impressionnant contraste encore avec une conjoncture mondiale souvent incertaine. Malgré la faiblesse des économies avancées, l’Asie émergente a maintenu un rythme de croissance assez soutenu, même s’il a ralenti en 2012 (+5,8 % en net repli par rapport aux +7,5 % de 2011). La demande intérieure a soutenu la croissance dans l’ensemble de la région, les gouvernements recourant à la fois aux politiques budgétaire et monétaire pour stimuler la consommation et l’investissement. Les marges de manoeuvre monétaire et budgétaire sont confortables, même si les tensions inflationnistes en Inde et en Indonésie et la hausse des prix immobiliers en Chine incitent à la prudence. La faiblesse de la demande extérieure a pesé sur la croissance en 2012 dans la plupart des économies de la région. De ce fait, les excédents des soldes courants se sont détériorés l’an dernier, mais les positions des réserves internationales sont demeurées fortes, reflétant des entrées considérables de capitaux. Malgré les politiques monétaires très expansionnistes des pays émergents, leurs monnaies se sont ré appréciées vis-à-vis du dollar, particulièrement depuis fin 2012. Des mouvements violents vis-à-vis du yen ont été enregistrés fin 2012 avec l’arrivée au pouvoir du nouveau Premier ministre. |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oap3o08ol&r=ger |
| By: | Noélie Delahaie (IRES - Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales - IRES); Richard Duhautois (CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi - Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé, TEPP - Travail, Emploi et Politiques Publiques - CNRS : FR3435 - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV)) |
| Abstract: | En France, les dispositifs collectifs de partage des bénéfices - intéressement et participation aux bénéfices - sont des mécanismes qui permettent la constitution d'une épargne salariale. D'après les résultats de l'enquête PIPA (Participation, Intéressement, Plan d'épargne entreprise et Actionnariat des salariés) menée par la Dares depuis 1999, l'épargne salariale connaît une diffusion croissante dans les entreprises. En 2010, plus de 57 % des salariés du secteur marchand non agricole étaient concernés par au moins un dispositif. En raison de l'obligation légale de mise en œuvre dans les entreprises de 50 salariés ou plus, la participation aux bénéfices demeure le dispositif le plus répandu et concerne 44,8 % des salariés en 2010, contre 38,1 % en 1999. Sur la même période, la part des salariés couverts par un accord d'intéressement passe de 27,4 % à 37,3 %. Dans la littérature économique, les enjeux de l'épargne salariale, et surtout de l'intéressement, en termes d'incitation à l'effort sont bien documentés : la majorité des travaux observe des effets positifs de ce dispositif sur la productivité du travail. En revanche, les effets sur les salaires font l'objet d'un nombre plus réduit d'études, notamment sur des données françaises et sur la période récente. Dans ce contexte, quel est l'impact des dispositifs collectifs de partage des bénéfices (intéressement et participation aux bénéfices) sur les salaires en France entre 1999 et 2007 ? Les dispositifs collectifs de partage des bénéfices et les primes auxquelles ils donnent lieu se substituent-ils aux augmentations de salaire ? Ou bien sont-ils complémentaires ? |
| Keywords: | partage du profit; intéressement; participation;salaires. |
| Date: | 2013–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00967479&r=ger |
| By: | Gregory, Bob (Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | Three decades ago most immigrants to Australia with work entitlements came as permanent settlers. Today the annual allocation of temporary visas, with work entitlements, outnumbers permanent settler visas by a ratio of three to one. The new environment, with so many temporary visa holders, has led to a two-step immigration policy whereby an increasing proportion of immigrants come first as a temporary immigrant, to work or study, and then seek to move to permanent status. Around one half of permanent visas are allocated on-shore to those who hold temporary visas with work rights. The labour market implications of this new two-step system are substantial. Immigrants from non-English speaking countries (NES), are affected most. In their early years in Australia, they have substantially reduced full-time employment and substantially increased part-time employment, usually while attending an education institution. Three years after arrival one third of NES immigrants are now employed part-time which, rather than unemployment, is becoming their principal pathway to full-time labour market integration. Surprisingly, little has changed for immigrants from English speaking countries (ES). |
| Keywords: | immigrant part-time employment, fee paying foreign students, temporary employment visas, labour market integration, immigrants, employment |
| JEL: | J15 J61 J68 F22 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8061&r=ger |
| By: | Cetrángolo, Oscar; Goldschmit, Ariela; Gómez Sabaíni, Juan Carlos; Morán, Dalmiro |
| Keywords: | informal economy, informal workers, social protection, social security, contributions, Argentina, économie informelle, travailleurs informels, protection sociale, sécurité sociale, cotisations, Argentine, economía informal, trabajadores informales, protección social, seguridad social, cotizaciones, Argentina |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:484593&r=ger |
| By: | Samuel T. Edwards; Melinda K. Abrams; Richard J. Baron; Robert A. Berenson; Eugene C. Rich; Gary E. Rosenthal; Meredith B. Rosenthal; Bruce E. Landon |
| Keywords: | PCMH, Patient Centered Medical Home, Affordable Care Act, Structuring Payment |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2014–04–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:8091&r=ger |
| By: | Jean-Luc Gaffard (OFCE); Jean-Paul Pollin (Laboratoire d'économie d'Orleans) |
| Abstract: | C’est au niveau européen que se situe la dernière chance d’une réforme structurelle des systèmes bancaires, c’est-à-dire d’une séparation entre les activités de banque d’investissement et celles de banque commerciale. A en croire la profession bancaire et certains milieux académiques, cette séparation est au mieux inutile et au pire dommageable. Il serait illusoire de vouloir séparer les activités risquées des activités non risquées, les activités non spéculatives des activités spéculatives. Toute activité bancaire est risquée, sinon spéculative. Après tout, la crise des subprime aux Etats-Unis, la crise des caisses d’épargne en Espagne, la crise de la Northern Rock en Grande-Bretagne résultent de risques inconsidérés pris dans l’octroi de crédits immobiliers aux ménages (...). |
| Date: | 2013–11–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/1cud3763momrc7c9o91o4g581&r=ger |
| By: | Amel Falah (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | En 2012, l’Asie apparaît encore comme la principale zone de croissance dans le monde, même si les scores ne sont plus aussi flamboyants qu’auparavant. Elle affiche une croissance de 5,8 %, en net repli par rapport aux 7,5 % de 2011. Ces dernières années, les pays émergents s’en sont, d’une manière générale, beaucoup mieux sortis que les pays développés, que ce soit en termes de croissance économique, d’endettement public ou de balance commerciale (...). |
| Keywords: | Asie |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n2lgl8ggo&r=ger |
| By: | Christine Rifflart (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Engagée depuis la fin de l’année 2009, la reprise se poursuit aux Etats-Unis à un rythme modéré. Après 1,8 % en 2011 et 2,8 % en 2012, la croissance a ralenti fin 2012. Frappée par les mesures d’ajustement budgétaire décidées en début d’année à la suite des négociations autour du fiscal cliff, elle est passée en rythme annuel à 1,6 % au deuxième trimestre 2013. Ce choc vient à nouveau interrompre une reprise encore fragile. De par son faible contenu en emploi, cette reprise s’avère insuffisante pour enclencher une véritable dynamique de la demande. Tant que cette situation durera, le marché du travail restera bloqué et la croissance américaine ne suffira pas à refermer un output gap, d’environ 3 % du PIB. D’autant que le changement de discours de la Réserve fédérale sur sa politique monétaire non conventionnelle s’est déjà traduit par la hausse des taux d’intérêt à long terme et que l’importance de la dette publique (16 738 milliards de dollars, soit 100,5 % du PIB à la fin du deuxième trimestre 2013) maintient la pression sur l’ajustement budgétaire. En 2013, l’impulsion budgétaire devrait rester élevée avant de s’alléger à -0,7 en 2014. La croissance, après 1,5 % en 2013 pourrait s’accélérer autour de 2,5 % en 2014 et 2015. |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oap3444q2&r=ger |
| By: | Maxime Parodi |
| Abstract: | Une monnaie cosmopolitique est une monnaie commune à plusieurs nations et fondée explicitement sur une forme de co-souveraineté. Une telle monnaie n’est possible qu’en acceptant une politique monétaire et des politiques budgétaires et fiscales fondées sur des raisons partagées, où chacun est responsable des engagements monétaires qu’il prend et coresponsable de la capacité de chacun à mener une politique économique adéquate. Pour durer, cette monnaie exige une attention soutenue sur les divergences macroéconomiques entre les partenaires et les difficultés que rencontrent chacun; elle impose une concertation ouverte sur les raisons de ces divergences et de ces difficultés; elle nécessite une force de propositions sur les remèdes possibles, à court, moyen et long terme; enfin, elle exige la coopération volontaire de chacun, à condition toutefois d’en avoir la capacité.Une telle coopération monétaire repose sur une union cosmopolitique, qui est comme une société toujours en train de se faire mais jamais achevée entre des partenaires conservant leur souveraineté.Une telle union n’écrit pas de contrat social; elle ne promulgue pas nécessairement de lois ou de traités pour résoudre ses problèmes, même lorsqu’elle est convaincue de la nécessité d’une réponse collective au problème. Face à certains problèmes hautement conflictuels, il n’y aura ainsi pas d’autre choix que d’en passer à chaque fois par le jugement commun des gouvernements co- souverains. Dans ce cas, la seule garantie que peuvent espérer obtenir les partenaires de l’union, c’est que le jugement commun traduira le mieux possible l’esprit de l’union, la volonté de continuer à faire le chemin ensemble. |
| Keywords: | E42; E61; F42 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p50c4i5qm&r=ger |
| By: | Feder, Christof (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | Antonelli and Quatraro (2010) apply a speciÖc methodology to identify the e§ects of biased technological change on productivity growth. However, this method has been criticized by Ji and Wang (2014). This research note is a reply to their critique. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:201404&r=ger |
| By: | Thomas J. Miceli (University of Connecticut); Kathleen Segerson (University of Connecticut) |
| Abstract: | The holdup and holdout problems arise in different contexts, but they share certain fundamental similarities that have not generally been recognized. In particular, both involve activities requiring an up-front, non-salvageable investment, and both require the investor to purchase an input, the price of which is determined by bargaining after the initial investment has been made. The effect of the up-front investment is to reduce the investor’s bargaining power with the seller of the input. The anticipation of the outcome of this bargaining creates a disincentive for the investor to undertake the project in the first place, causing some efficient projects to be foregone. Remedies for the two problems, though outwardly different, share features that reflect the common source of their inefficiency. |
| Keywords: | Holdup problem, holdout problem, non-salvageable investments, eminent domain, contracts, vertical integration |
| JEL: | D23 K11 L14 L23 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uct:uconnp:2014-08&r=ger |
| By: | Lundborg , Per (Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University); Skedinger, Per (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | - |
| Keywords: | - |
| Date: | 2014–03–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sofiwp:2014_004&r=ger |
| By: | Aghadadashli, Hamid; Wey, Christian |
| Abstract: | We study sequential bargaining between two unions and a single firm. Parties bargain bilaterally and efficiently (over wage and employment). The unions' workforces can be substitutable (tariff competition) or complementary (tariff plurality or craft unionism). If unions are substitutable, then too many workers from the first union are employed at the cost of employment from the second union (with overall overemployment). If unions are complementary, then employment of both unions is reduced (with overall underemployment). Unions merge when workers are substitutable but stay separate if complementary, so that the inefficiencies associated with craft unionism persist. -- |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:138&r=ger |
| By: | Kévin André (ESSEC Business School - ESSEC Business School) |
| Abstract: | Si les relations de care émergent généralement de manière spontanée dans le contexte domestique (Noddings, 1984), certains auteurs plaident pour la reconnaissance de leur rôle en dehors de la sphère privée (Tronto, 2009), notamment dans le contexte de la prise en charge des personnes en situation de dépendance (Winnicott, 1970). Nous nous appuyons sur une recherche menée au sein de l'Association Française contre les Myopathies (AFM) pour montrer en quoi les " référents de parcours de santé " de l'AFM peuvent être qualifiés de professionnels du care. Nous discutons des conditions qui ont permis cette professionnalisation du care et des implications pour une meilleure intégration des soins. |
| Keywords: | éthique du care; intégration des systèmes de soin; professionnalisation; dépendance; gestion de cas |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00967178&r=ger |
| By: | Adoho, Franck; Chakravarty, Shubha; Korkoyah, Jr, Dala T.; Lundberg, Mattias; Tasneem, Afia |
| Abstract: | This paper presents findings from the impact evaluation of the Economic Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women (EPAG) project in Liberia. The EPAG project was launched by the Liberian Ministry of Gender and Development in 2009 with the goal of increasing the employment and income of 2,500 young Liberian women by providing livelihood and life skills training and facilitating their transition to productive work. The analysis in this paper is based on data collected during two rounds of quantitative surveys in 2010 and 2011, the second of which was conducted six months after the classroom-based phase of the training program ended. Strong impacts are found on the employment and earnings outcomes of program participants, relative to a control group of non-participants. The EPAG program increased employment by 47 percent and earnings by 80 percent. In addition, the impact evaluation documents positive effects on a variety of empowerment measures, including access to money, self-confidence, and anxiety about circumstances and the future. The evaluation finds no net impact on fertility or sexual behavior. At the household level, there is evidence of improved food security and shifting attitudes toward gender norms. These results reinforce the highly positive feedback received from focus group discussions with program participants. Finally, preliminary cost-benefit analysis indicates that the budgetary cost of the EPAG business development training for young women is equivalent to the value of three years of the increase in income among program beneficiaries. These preliminary results provide strong evidence for further investment and research into young women's livelihood programs in Liberia. |
| Keywords: | Primary Education,Population Policies,Education For All,Access&Equity in Basic Education,Labor Policies |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6832&r=ger |
| By: | Pieter Laubscher (Bureau for Economic Research, University of Stellenbosch) |
| Abstract: | The SA Reserve Bank (SARB) regularly determines the upper and lower turning points of the South African business cycle, but this is only completed after all the relevant information has been obtained, confirmed and analysed, causing a lengthy time lag between the actual determination and the event. The current research aimed to design a recession-dating algorithm, which could allow the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) to make accurate calls on business cycle turning points substantially sooner after the event than is the case with the official SARB determination, which typically lags actual turning points by 18 to 24 months. The proposed algorithm includes, as a point of departure, the advance signals given by the yield spread (between 3-month and 10-year government bonds), as well as a consideration of the local moments of five high-frequency economic time series. The turning point signals provided by these indicators (and after the application of censoring rules) are integrated by reconciling the differences through the use of the median date in order to derive true business cycle turning points. The algorithm was tested for the five recessions experienced over the 1981 to 2013 period. It was found that the algorithm could be applied successfully in calling the business cycle turning points over this 32-year period avoiding any false positives. A high degree of accuracy was also obtained, i.e. a median two month lag in respect of upper turning points (or peaks) of the SARB-determined business cycle and a one month lead in respect of lower turning points (i.e. troughs). The algorithm will not only allow the BER to make close calls on business cycle turning points, it will be able to do this with a much shorter time delay following actual turning points compared to the SARB’s official determination. |
| Keywords: | Business cycles, turning points, quantitative analysis of business cycles |
| JEL: | C41 E32 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sza:wpaper:wpapers211&r=ger |
| By: | Margarida Hatem Pinto Coelho; Patrícia A. Morita Sakowski |
| Abstract: | Este texto tem como base uma série de estudos e pesquisas que o Ipea desenvolve desde 2003 a respeito do mercado de trabalho e do desempenho do setor turismo, bem como do impacto econômico e social deste setor em nível nacional, regional e estadual. Complementa textos anteriores, trazendo dados detalhados sobre o perfil da mão de obra formal do turismo no Brasil. As estimativas contemplam oito atividades características do turismo (ACTs) que representam a maior parte dos gastos dos turistas: alojamento; alimentação; transporte aéreo; transporte terrestre; transporte aquaviário; agências de viagem; aluguel de transporte; e cultura e lazer. As observações apresentadas têm caráter descritivo, a maior parte delas referindo-se a um marco específico no tempo (dezembro de 2011) e poderão servir para o monitoramento do setor; a elaboração de análises sobre a sua dinâmica; o diagnóstico e a definição de ações voltadas para a capacitação da mão de obra e o incremento da competitividade do turismo no Brasil, bem como subsidiar futuras análises e estudos sobre o tema, em especial pelos órgãos responsáveis pela gestão das políticas do setor. Os resultados trazem informações sobre atributos individuais e ocupacionais – como gênero, idade, escolaridade, tempo de emprego, remuneração, tamanho do estabelecimento e número de horas contratuais – e são apresentados sob a forma de gráficos, para cada ACT, para o conjunto das ACTs (denominado no texto turismo ou setor turismo), para o núcleo das ACTs ou do turismo (ACTs mais fortemente vinculadas ao turismo: alojamento, agências de viagem e transporte aéreo) e para a economia como um todo. São apresentados também dados relativos a ocupações mais frequentes em atividades que constituem o núcleo do turismo e da atividade alimentação, como garçom, camareiro e emissor de passagens. Inicialmente, faz-se uma contextualização do tema, abordando resumidamente aspectos metodológicos, e, em seguida, apresentam-se os resultados. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:1938&r=ger |
| By: | Jennifer Aston; Paolo Di Martino |
| Date: | 2014–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:number-125&r=ger |
| By: | Christian Calmès (Chaire d'information financière et organisationnelle ESG-UQAM, Laboratory for Research in Statistics and Probability, Université du Québec (Outaouais)); Raymond Théoret (Chaire d'information financière et organisationnelle ESG-UQAM, Université du Québec (Montréal), Université du Québec (Outaouais)); François-Éric Racicot (Chaire d'information financière et organisationnelle ESG-UQAM, Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa) |
| Abstract: | Since the subprime crisis, securitization by financial institutions has been threatened, both in the U.S. and in Canada. In the U.S., private financial institutions have almost completely stopped their securitization activities. In Canada, the asset-backet commercial paper market is moribund and the new accounting rules (IFRS) hamper the future of residential mortgage securitization. Nevertheless, in spite of obvious weaknesses, securitization contributes to decrease the procyclicality of credit. Public measures must thus be taken to revive these markets. |
| Keywords: | Securitization; Asset-backed commercial paper; Banks; Disintermediation; Procyclicality; IFRS. |
| JEL: | G20 G21 |
| Date: | 2014–04–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pqs:wpaper:032014&r=ger |
| By: | Eichhorst, Werner (IZA); Neder, Franziska (IZA) |
| Abstract: | In all Mediterranean countries youth unemployment has reached alarming record levels. This paper analyses the current situation in France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. In all countries school dropout rates are high, returns to education are low and the transition from education to work is problematic and difficult. This is due to a poor working vocational training system, the dualization of the labor market and minimum wages that are set too high. The Great Recession deteriorated the situation of young people, but youth unemployment is mostly structural. To overcome this crisis the overall performance of the labor market has to be improved. |
| Keywords: | vocational training, Europe, Mediterranean countries, youth unemployment |
| JEL: | J21 J23 J24 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izapps:pp80&r=ger |
| By: | Flatø, Martin (Dept. of Economics, University of Oslo); Kotsadam, Andreas (Dept. of Economics, University of Oslo) |
| Abstract: | Are African girls more exposed than boys to risk of infant mortality during crises and if so, is the difference due to discrimination? To answer these questions, we combine retrospective fertility data on over 1.5 million births from Demographic and Health Surveys with data on rainfall variability and find a substantial gender difference favouring boys following droughts. We substantiate that this difference has social determinants by showing that the difference is only present in contexts in which we would expect discrimination of daughters. The difference is only present in communities with strong preferences for sons and in areas where fertility desires are low. In areas with low levels of female employment there is a large gender gap following droughts, especially for infants with mothers who are not working. In contrast, there is no gender difference in infant mortality after droughts in areas where many women work, irrespective of the employment status of the individual mother under consideration. No difference is found across mothers with different levels of education, perhaps due to the lower fertility preferences of more educated women. In total, the results indicate a large and socially founded gender bias in infant mortality after crises. They also shed light on factors behind the African exceptionalism of little gender discrimination in infant mortality. As communities with strong son preferences, low fertility preferences, and low female employment display gender bias after crises in Africa, the results are consistent with factors explaining differences in gender biases between countries across the world. |
| Keywords: | Rainfall; Drought; Gender; Infant mortality; Africa |
| JEL: | I15 J13 J16 O55 Q54 |
| Date: | 2014–02–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:osloec:2014_002&r=ger |
| By: | Das, Sabuj; Mohajan, Haradhan |
| Abstract: | This paper shows how to prove the two Theorems first and second mock theta conjectures respectively. |
| Keywords: | Mock theta, rank of partition. |
| JEL: | C3 |
| Date: | 2014–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:55070&r=ger |
| By: | Yoshito Takasaki |
| Abstract: | Although international remittances are important insurance against natural disasters in developing countries, fraud is a pitfall of international labor migration. This paper addresses an unexplored question about the disaster-fraud nexus: Do natural disasters beget fraud victimization among the poor as they seek labor migration for coping? I exploit a natural experiment: Two years after a cyclone, a huge number of Fijian males were defrauded of application fees for labor migration to the Middle East in 2005. My household survey data, which by chance I collected before the fraudulence was noticed, are free from underreporting/misreporting out of embarrassment. Controlling for the endogeneity of household housing damage reveals that housing damage strongly increases individual memberfs job application that later turned out to be fraud victimization. Households resort to high-risk, highreturn labor migration because their domestic coping options are constrained by their labor endowment. |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tsu:tewpjp:2013-002&r=ger |
| By: | Michida, Etsuyo; Ueki, Yasushi; Nabeshima, Kaoru |
| Abstract: | This paper summarizes the main results of a unique firm survey conducted in Penang, Malaysia in 2012 on product-related environmental regulations. The results show that firms receiving foreign-direct investment have adapted well to regulations but faced more rejections. Several research questions are addressed and examined by using the survey data. Major findings are as follows. First, adaptation involves changes in input procurement and market diversification, which potentially changes the structure of supply chains. Second, belonging to global supply chains is a key factor in compliance, but this requires firms to meet tougher customer requirements. Third, there is much room for government policy to play a role in assisting firms. |
| Keywords: | Malaysia, Environmental protection, Environmental policy, Industrial standards, International trade, Global supply chain, FDI, PRERs (Product-related environmental regulations), REACH, RoHS |
| JEL: | F18 O14 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper457&r=ger |
| By: | Velibor Mačkić (Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb) |
| Abstract: | U radu se istražuju političko-proračunski ciklusi (engl. political-budget cycles: PBC) na lokalnoj razini u Republici Hrvatskoj. Istraživanje obuhvaća razdoblje od 2002. do 2011. i provodi se na uzorku od 19 županijskih središta, Grada Zagreba i Pule. U navedenom razdoblju održana su tri ciklusa parlamentarnih izbora (2003., 2007. i 2011.) i dva ciklusa lokalnih izbora (2005. i 2009.), te su svi rezultati prikazani na razini odabranih gradova. Rezultati istraživanja ne potvrđuju postojanje oportunističkog PBC-a i upućuju na restrukturiranje ukupnih rashoda uslijed institucionalnih ograničenja prisutnih na razini gradova. Uz empirijsku analizu prikazani su različiti teorijski modeli PBC-a i pregled empirijskih istraživanja o postojanju PBC-a u razvijenim i tranzicijskim zemljama, te u zemljama u razvoju. |
| Keywords: | političko-proračunski ciklusi, izbori, dinamička panel analiza, Hrvatska |
| JEL: | D72 |
| Date: | 2014–03–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zag:wpaper:1401&r=ger |
| By: | Sabine Le Bayon (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Après un bon deuxième trimestre 2013 (+0,7 %), l'Allemagne va connaître une croissance plus modérée. Mais elle afficherait tout de même en 2014 une croissance proche de son potentiel : 1,3 %. En effet, elle va bénéficier de la moindre restriction menée par ses partenaires européens en 2014 (avec un effet sur sa croissance de - 0,5 point de PIB en 2014 contre -0,9 en 2013). De plus, la consommation des ménages continuerait de soutenir la demande, dans un contexte de faibles créations d'emplois mais de dynamisme des salaires. Porté par des perspectives de demande plus favorables, l'investissement des entreprises redémarrerait. À l'horizon de notre prévision, le taux d'investissement productif resterait cependant bien en-deçà de son niveau d'avant-crise. Un solde public proche de l'équilibre inciterait l'Allemagne à mener une politique légèrement expansionniste. L'Allemagne serait ainsi le seul pays de la zone euro où il n'y aurait pas de restriction budgétaire en 2014. La seule contrainte à laquelle doit faire face l'Allemagne est en effet de ne pas avoir un déficit structurel supérieur à 0,35 % du PIB à partir de 2016. En sachant que le solde structurel devrait être de 0,3 % du PIB en 2013, l'objectif est d'ores et déjà atteint. Le ratio dette publique brute PIB poursuivrait sa baisse pour passer sous les 80 % en 2014. Il resterait cependant supérieur d'environ 10 points à son niveau d'avant-crise. |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oasc98gqh&r=ger |
| By: | Aurelio Volpe (CSIL Centre for Industrial Studies); Mauro Spinelli (CSIL Centre for Industrial Studies) |
| Abstract: | Furniture consumption in India recorded 10% average yearly growth over the last decade, reaching about US$ 15 billion in 2013 at retail prices. A further 4%-5% yearly increase is forecasted for the coming two years. The Report focuses on suggested eight megacities and 6 Indian states where the outlook of growth of household expenditure is given by around 50% up to the year 2020. The CSIL report Furniture Distribution in India offers an accurate comprehensive picture of the Indian furniture market, providing 2008-2013 trends, short (2014-2015) and medium term forecasts (2020). Statistics of furniture production, imports and exports are also provided. The furniture market is broken down by product segment 2013. Distribution channels and Reference Prices of the Indian furniture market are further considered both for domestically produced furniture and imported items. The analysis of the Indian furniture market includes: demand drivers (macroeconomic indicators, population distribution and construction market) and purchasing process among Indian consumers. The analysis of furniture distribution channels includes: Large scale furniture retailers, independent furniture specialists, architects and interior designers, E-commerce, local craftsmen and artisans (unorganized sector). Profiles of the main distributors and manufacturers, both for domestic and imported furniture operating on the Indian furniture market are also available. |
| JEL: | L22 L81 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mst:csilre:s75&r=ger |
| By: | John D. Singleton |
| Abstract: | A substantial and diverse literature in economics traces its intellectual roots to Charles Tiebout's 1956 article, "The Pure Theory of Local Expenditure." Its present recognition frequently attributed to originating the idea of "voting with your feet," however, contrasts sharply with its obscurity during Tiebout's academic career, which was tragically cut short by his passing in 1968. Penned as a qualification to Paul Samuelson's "pure theory," the article failed to influence the stabilization of postwar public good theory, despite Tiebout's engagement with key figures in its construction. Moreover, his death preceded the application of its central mechanism to public, urban, and environmental topics via hedonic, sorting, and computational general equilibrium models. Viewed in this way, the history of Tiebout's article, and thereby the history of public economics, has remarkably little to do with Tiebout himself. Professionally, though, the article reflected Tiebout's lifelong interest in issues of local economies and governance. The social and political context of urban sprawl and political fragmentation that accompanied the rapid growth of metropolitan area, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle, raised novel questions in local public finance for researchers before a knowledge community existed to credit their work. For Tiebout, it stimulated his collaboration with Vincent Ostrom and Robert Warren and later involvement in the burgeoning interdisciplinary field of regional science. |
| Keywords: | public goods, Charles Tiebout, Tiebout sorting, James Buchchanan, Richard Musgrave, Paul Samuelson |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hec:heccee:2013-20&r=ger |
| By: | Adrien Renaud |
| Abstract: | Paying health facilities incentives based on their performance is one form of results-based financing (RBF). Verification of the performance of the providers is a vital part of RBF program implementation. Burundi was one of the first African countries to introduce performance-based financing (PBF). The PBF scheme is implemented in the whole country and is led by the Ministry of Health (MoH). It pays incentives based on quantity of services provided as well as a quality of care component. This study describes the methods used for verification in Burundi, which include monthly verification of the quantity and technical quality of services provided on a quarterly basis; semiannual patient tracing and assessment of patient satisfaction; and counter-verification of the information provided by these three mechanisms. The results of verification are presented and it discusses obstacles to verification, how they have been addressed, and the challenges ahead. The case study is part of a broader analysis, which includes multiple country case examples, to expand knowledge about the verification process and practices to address the design and implementation needs of RBF programs. |
| Keywords: | Caesarean section, Circumcision, cleanliness, clinical guidelines, confidentiality, description, districts, domain, domains, e-mail, family planning, fraud, health care ... See More + health care provider, health care providers, Health Centers, Health Centres, health expenditure, health facilities, Health indicators, Health Management, health providers, health sector, health services, health system, health system performance, HIV, hospital services, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Human Development, income, Information System, inhabitants, institution, integration, life expectancy, material, medicine, morality, mortality, Nurses, nursing, Nutrition, patient, patient satisfaction, patients, performances, physician, Physicians, pilot project, pilot projects, pregnancy, Pregnant woman, pregnant women, provider payment, Public Health, quality of health, quality of health care, quality of services, refugees, registries, regulatory system, reliability, Result, results, supervision, surgery, technical assistance, telephone, tetanus, training workshops, trainings, treatment, tuberculosis, under-five mortality, user, vaccination, VERIFICATION, verifications, web, workers |
| Date: | 2013–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:hnpdps:86190&r=ger |
| By: | Prema-chandra Athukorala |
| Keywords: | Automotive industry, Malaysia, multinational enterprise |
| JEL: | F21 F23 I25 O14 O53 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:papers:2014-06&r=ger |
| By: | Maxime Parodi (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Ce n’est pas la même chose d’interroger les Français sur l’immigration ou la peine de mort par internet ou par téléphone. L’enquête post-électorale de la présidentielle 2012 du CEVIPOF permet de s’en rendre compte puisque les deux modes d’interrogation ont été utilisés sur la même période avec le même questionnaire et l’ambition, dans les deux cas, de fournir une image représentative de la population française. La comparaison des résultats est toutefois problématique. Non seulement chaque mode d’enquête introduit des biais d’échantillonnage différents et plus ou moins importants, mais encore les enquêtés ne répondent pas toujours de la même manière au téléphone et par internet. Pour certaines questions délicates, ils peuvent mentir à leur interlocuteur au téléphone, mais dire la vérité sur internet. Ils peuvent également se laisser aller au pessimisme et à la défiance devant leur écran, mais se montrer plus mesurés au téléphone. Mais il est clair néanmoins que toutes les questions ne sont pas égales en termes de fragilité de l’opinion. Les questions délicates sont loin d’être anodines : immigration, islam, peine de mort, homosexualité... Selon l’interprétation que l’on retiendra, on dira alors soit que l’opinion est pleine de non-dits et que, derrière des propos bienséants se cachent souvent la haine de l’étranger et la peur de l’autre ; soit que l’opinion est pleine de doutes et que, derrière des opinions tranchées, il y a matière à discussions – même si, par crainte d’être jugés, les protagonistes ne participent pas à ces débats en toute sérénité. |
| Keywords: | désirabilité sociale; sondage; CATI; CAWI |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p4oq5cqa3&r=ger |
| By: | Dana Rotz; Anu Rangarajan; Evan Borkum Swetha Sridharan; Sukhmani Sethi; Mercy Manoranjini |
| Keywords: | TBGI, Frontline Health Worker Team Based Goals, Bihar, Ananya, International |
| JEL: | F Z |
| Date: | 2014–02–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:8094&r=ger |
| By: | Jennifer Edwards; Diana Rodin |
| Keywords: | ELE Evaluation, Express Lane Eligibility Evaluation, Massachusetts, CHIPRA |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2013–11–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:8088&r=ger |
| By: | Dominika Nowicka (UE - Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny - Poznan University of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This article presents a new method to assess the financial situation, developed by John Zietlowa, and its use to estimate the Financial Health Index for three entities: * non-profit organization whose aim is to educate people not connected professionally with the legal system, * trading company - a network of grocery stores, * a financial institution - one of the leading banks in Poland. Job involve not only the presentation of the method, manner and methodology of calculation. It also relates to the problem of practical use FHI. The issue of the application is primarily due to the fact that it was created in order to assess the financial condition of non-profit organizations. Article points out, however, that the use of FHI combined with the basic knowledge about the activities of the company and the segment in which it operates, allows to determine the financial position of the entity. |
| Keywords: | FHI Zietlowa, PHI Zietlowa, Financial Health Index, assessment of liquidity risk of bankruptcy |
| Date: | 2014–03–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00966006&r=ger |
| By: | durongkaveroj, wannaphong |
| Abstract: | Government expenditure is realized to be the exogenous variable and its change impacts national income through Aggregate Demand expression. The purpose of this study is to derive new macroeconomic expression based on Keynesian basis with SAM multiplier through mathematical approach. The study reveals that there are factors determined government spending including exogenous shock (government subsidy), taxation, and money supply. |
| Keywords: | macroeconomics, government expenditure |
| JEL: | C02 E12 |
| Date: | 2014–04–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:55048&r=ger |
| By: | Françoise Milewski (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | La part des emplois à temps partiel dans l’emploi total a fortement progressé. Si cette hausse était encore limitée dans les années 1970, elle s’est accélérée dans les années 1980 et surtout 1990. Durant les années 2000 et au début des années 2010, les fluctuations ont été moins marquées au regard de la longue période. La part du temps partiel a plus que doublé depuis quarante ans et il représente désormais près d’un cinquième de l’emploi (...). |
| Date: | 2013–12–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oe80935b4&r=ger |
| By: | Marion Cochard (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Le ralentissement de l’activité s’est poursuivi dans les pays d’Europe centrale et orientale au second semestre 2012, à la fois du fait de l’intégration commerciale et financière avec la zone euro et des politiques de restriction budgétaire. À la fin de l’année 2012, aucun pays de la zone, à l’exception de la Pologne, n’avait retrouvé son niveau d’activité d’avant-crise. La persistance d’indicateurs conjoncturels au plus bas et de perspectives moroses pour la zone euro annoncent une année 2013 à l’image de 2012 (+0,7 % en 2012 sur l’ensemble de la zone), avant un léger mieux en 2014. Toujours tirée par le haut niveau du prix des matières premières, la Russie devra quant à elle faire face à un risque de surchauffe en limitant l’accès au crédit, ralentissant ainsi la croissance en dessous de 4 % à l’horizon de la prévision. |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n2so32i36&r=ger |
| By: | Catherine Mathieu (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | En ce début de printemps, la croissance britannique est quasiment nulle. Le PIB a augmenté de 0,3 % seulement en moyenne annuelle en 2012, après 1 % en 2011. A la fin 2012, le PIB restait encore près de 3 % en dessous de son niveau d’avant-crise, celui du premier trimestre 2008 (...). |
| Keywords: | Royaume uni; Budget |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n2liha8qk&r=ger |
| By: | Sabine Le Bayon (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | A la suite de la chute du PIB de 2008-2009, la croissance avait été très forte, permettant à l'Allemagne de retrouver début 2011 son PIB d'avant-crise. Après une année 2011 toujours dynamique, avec une croissance de 3,1 %, l'année 2012 s'est inscrite en net retrait (0,9 %). La croissance annuelle est néanmoins restée positive, contrairement à celle de la zone euro (-0,5 %). Ceci resterait le cas en 2013, où le PIB progresserait de 0,4 % en Allemagne, alors qu'il reculerait encore dans la zone euro (-0,4 %). En 2014, le PIB allemand croîtrait de 1,5 %. Après la forte amélioration déjà observée en 2011 dans le sillage de la reprise économique, le solde public est devenu excédentaire en 2012 (0,2 % du PIB). Ce rétablis- sement rapide des finances publiques permet à l'Allemagne de se distinguer en étant le seul pays de la zone euro avec une impulsion budgétaire quasi-neutre en 2013 comme en 2014. La consommation privée repartirait progressivement dans un contexte de négociations salariales toujours favorables aux ménages. Le PIB allemand serait en revanche toujours amputé par l'impact de la crise de la zone euro sur ses exportations, puisque 40 % de ces dernières sont destinées à la zone euro. La restriction budgétaire de ses partenaires réduirait sa croissance de 0,9 point en 2013 puis de 0,8 point en 2014. |
| Keywords: | Allemagne; Croissance |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n2so74h2k&r=ger |
| By: | Christine Rifflart (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | En ligne avec la moyenne observée depuis le début de la reprise de 2010, la croissance américaine a atteint 2,2 % en 2012. Le rythme de sortie de crise reste inchangé autour de 2 % l’an. Mais le début de l’année 2013 pourrait marquer un tournant. D’un côté, les conditions d’une reprise plus franche sont réunies avec la levée progressive de la contrainte financière pesant sur les ménages depuis le déclenchement de la crise immobilière ; d’un autre côté, l’ajustement budgétaire devrait prendre une dimension plus contraignante en 2013 et 2014. Les engagements déjà pris au sein du Congrès et la crise politique qui bloque l’adoption des choix budgétaires souhaités par les Républicains se traduisent par des coupes brutales dans les dépenses de l’État. Ces coupes pourraient ramener la croissance de l’économie américaine à 1,5 % cette année et 1,7 % en 2014 et conduire à une hausse du taux de chômage autour de 8,3 % fin 2014. |
| Keywords: | Etats Unis; Budget |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n2skj65b5&r=ger |
| By: | Vaidya, Kirit |
| Keywords: | wage determination, wage rate, labour supply, data collecting, survey, data analysis, public works, fixation du salaire, taux des salaires, offre de main-d'oeuvre, collecte des données, enquête, analyse des données, travaux publics, determinación del salario, tasa de salario, oferta de mano de obra, recopilación de datos, encuesta, análisis de datos, obras públicas |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:482165&r=ger |
| By: | Céline Antonin (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Les craintes du début de l’année de voir les cours du Brent dépasser durablement la barre des 120 dollars ne se sont pas matérialisées et le premier semestre 2013 a été marqué par une baisse des cours du baril de Brent de 116 à 103 dollars entre janvier et juin 2013. Ce fléchissement s’explique par plusieurs facteurs : la faiblesse de la demande en provenance des pays industriels, la montée en puissance de nouveaux gisements non conventionnels en Amérique du Nord, et la présence de capacités de production inutilisées au sein des pays de l’OPEP. |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oaor9894i&r=ger |
| By: | Ikhlas Hentati-Klila (FSEG - University of Sfax, Tunisia); Habib Affes (FSEG - University of Sfax, Tunisia) |
| Abstract: | L'objectif de cette recherche est de rendre compte au plus prés de la réalité des compétences éthiques des auditeurs Tunisiens dans le contexte post-révolution. Dans une première partie, nous allons mettre l'accent sur la récurrence des dilemmes éthiques auxquels les auditeurs ont à faire face à l'occasion de l'exercice de leur jugement. Ce dernier ne peut trouver son assise que dans une éthique irréprochable. Par définition, la capacité d'un auditeur à rendre des jugements éthiques est tributaire d'un type particulier de compétences à savoir la compétence éthique. Celle-ci a pu s'imposer comme une compétence clef au même titre que les autres compétences professionnelles requises dans le métier de l'auditeur. Dans la deuxième partie, nous allons proposer une approche d'évaluation des compétences éthiques des acteurs en mobilisant à cette fin la théorie du développement moral cognitif de Kolhberg(1969). Les résultats ont montré que les auditeurs Tunisiens ont des niveaux hétérogènes decompétences éthiques qui varient en fonction de la nature du diplôme obtenu. En plus, l'enseignement à l'éthique ainsi que le développement des méthodes pédagogiques pour sensibiliser les futurs auditeurs sur les dilemmes éthiques semblent être des facteurs déterminants pour l'acquisition d'une telle compétence. Par contre, l'instauration d'un climat éthique au sein du cabinet n'a aucune influence sur la dite compétence. |
| Keywords: | ompétences éthiques, Asymétrie, auditeurs Tunisiens, Contexte Tunisien post- révolution. |
| Date: | 2013–05–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00962396&r=ger |
| By: | Pedersini, Roberto; Regini, Marino |
| Keywords: | labour relations, social dialogue, collective bargaining, social implication, economic recession, Italy, relations de travail, dialogue social, négociation collective, conséquences sociales, récession économique, Italie, relaciones laborales, diálogo social, negociación colectiva, consecuencias sociales, recesión económica, Italia |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:480976&r=ger |
| By: | Jean-Luc Gaffard (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | L’objet de cet article est de proposer une lecture de l’évolution des faits et des idées économiques, dans la perspective de montrer que les vieilles idées resurgissent sous de nouveaux atours, au point d’en cacher les lacunes et de rendre les crises, non seulement, difficiles à prévoir, mais même à imaginer. Vouloir incriminer la seule finance et l’incapacité des économistes d’en cerner les véritables arcanes pour les expliquer ne saurait suffire, pas plus d’ailleurs que ne le saurait la tentative de construire une macroéconomie pour temps de crise différente de celle pour temps calmes. Les crises ne viennent pas de nulle part. Elles sont le fruit d’une longue maturation dont les clés sont difficilement perceptibles par temps calme, mais existent bel et bien. |
| Keywords: | chômage; crise; depression; inflation |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p4sqhi4gm&r=ger |
| By: | Guillemette De Larquier (EconomiX - CNRS : UMR7166 - Université Paris X - Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense); Géraldine Rieucau (CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi - Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé, LED - Laboratoire d'Economie Dionysien - Université Paris VIII - Vincennes Saint-Denis : EA3391); Carole Tuchszirer (CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi - Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé) |
| Abstract: | La méthode de recrutement par simulation (MRS) mise en place par Pôle emploi entend placer des chômeurs éloignés de l'emploi sur des offres réputées difficiles à satisfaire. En se basant sur l'évaluation des " habiletés " à occuper le poste et non plus sur les éléments du CV, elle permet de s'affranchir d'une sélection sur le diplôme et l'expérience. Une enquête récente menée dans trois secteurs utilisateurs de la MRS (grande distribution, chaînes d'hôtellerie-restauration et banque) montre comment, malgré le bien-fondé que lui reconnaissent les entreprises, la méthode trouve des limites auprès de celles qui l'ont expérimentée. Pour les unes, elle est trop lourde ; pour les autres, elle est insuffisante. Parce qu'elle bouleverse les modes de recrutement habituels et n'entend pas composer avec ces derniers, la MRS suscite des réticences auprès des entreprises. Parce qu'elle conduit les employeurs à réviser leur jugement sur les chômeurs les plus éloignés de l'emploi, elle est cependant un outil indispensable pour qu'entreprises et Pôle emploi travaillent de concert. |
| Keywords: | recherche d'emploi et recrutement;études et comparaisons sectorielles |
| Date: | 2013–10–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00969283&r=ger |
| By: | Diewert, W. Erwin; Nishimura , Kiyohiko; Shimizu, Chihiro; Watanabe, Tsutomu |
| Abstract: | Fluctuations in housing prices have substantial economic impacts. Thus, it is essential to develop housing price indexes that can adequately capture housing market trends. However, construction of such indexes is very difficult due to the fact that residential properties are heterogeneous and do not remain at constant quality over time due to renovations and depreciation of the structure. In order to improve the quality of housing price statistics Eurostat published the Residential Property Price Indices Handbook in 2012. The present paper discusses alternative methods for obtaining constant quality housing price statistics and alternative data sources in the Japanese context. |
| Keywords: | House price indexes; hedonic price indexes; repeat sales price indexes; aggregation bias; housing depreciation; land and structure components; flexibl |
| JEL: | C2 C23 C43 D12 E31 R21 |
| Date: | 2014–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:bricol:erwin_diewert-2014-17&r=ger |
| By: | Emmanuel Duguet (ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l'Utilisation des Données Individuelles Temporelles en Economie - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne (UPEC) : EA437 - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV), TEPP - Travail, Emploi et Politiques Publiques - CNRS : FR3435 - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV)); Christine Le Clainche (LAMETA - Laboratoire Montpelliérain d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - Université Montpellier I - CNRS : UMR5474 - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA) : UR1135 - Centre international de hautes études agronomiques méditerranéennes [CIHEAM], ENS Cachan - École Normale Supérieure de Cachan - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Cachan) |
| Abstract: | Nous évaluons l'impact d'un aménagement des conditions de travail sur le retour au travail après un cancer. En appliquant une méthode d'appariement, nous trouvons que, toutes choses égales par ailleurs, l'obtention d'un aménagement augmente fortement la probabilité de retour au travail et améliore l'état de santé auto-évalué. Toutefois, pour les hommes, ceci va de pair avec un sentiment de pénalisation au travail et une baisse des revenus du ménage causée par la maladie, dans le cas d'un aménagement de la durée ou des horaires de travail. Pour les femmes, la même conclusion s'applique lors d'un aménagement du poste de travail. |
| Keywords: | santé; travail; cancer; appariement |
| Date: | 2014–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00966861&r=ger |
| By: | Laurent Caron (CESTP-ARACT - Centre d'ergonomie et sécurité du travail en Picardie - Association régionale pour l'amélioration des conditions de travail - Centre d'ergonomie et sécurité du travail en Picardie - Association régionale pour l'amélioration des conditions de travail); Fabienne Caser (ANACT - Agence Nationale d'Amélioration des Conditions de Travail - Anact, Lyon); Catherine Delgoulet (LATI - Laboratoire Adaptations Travail Individus - Université Paris V - Paris Descartes : EA4469); Élise Effantin (CESTP-ARACT - Centre d'ergonomie et sécurité du travail en Picardie - Association régionale pour l'amélioration des conditions de travail - Centre d'ergonomie et sécurité du travail en Picardie - Association régionale pour l'amélioration des conditions de travail); Annie Jolivet (CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi - Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé); Laurence Théry (CESTP-ARACT - Centre d'ergonomie et sécurité du travail en Picardie - Association régionale pour l'amélioration des conditions de travail - Centre d'ergonomie et sécurité du travail en Picardie - Association régionale pour l'amélioration des conditions de travail); Serge Volkoff (CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi - Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé) |
| Abstract: | Ce rapport présente la démarche et les résultats d'une étude qualitative sur les volets " conditions de travail " d'accords ou plans d'action d'entreprises françaises concernant l'emploi des seniors ; ou, à l'inverse, les volets qui concernent les seniors dans des accords ou plans d'action sur les conditions de travail. L'étude a été menée en 2011, pour le compte du Conseil d'orientation des conditions de travail (Coct), qui l'a commanditée. Elle a été présentée, à un stade intermédiaire et vers sa fin, d'une part devant un " groupe de pilotage " (composé de membres du secrétariat général du comité permanent du Coct, de représentants d'administrations et organismes impliqués, et de deux personnalités scientifiques), d'autre part devant le groupe de réflexion " seniors " du Coct, où sont représentés les partenaires sociaux. Les auteurs sont : Laurent Caron et Laurence Théry (Aract Picardie), Fabienne Caser (Anact), Catherine Delgoulet (Université Paris Descartes), Annie Jolivet (Ires, Créapt) et Serge Volkoff (Centre d'études de l'emploi, Créapt) qui a assuré la coordination de l'étude. Cette équipe est pluridisciplinaire (ergonomie, économie, gestion, droit) ; l'étude a été organisée de manière à favoriser ces rapprochements entre disciplines. Les entreprises dans lesquelles l'étude a été menée sont de tailles et secteurs divers. Elles sont désignées ici sous des noms d'emprunt. Les auteurs remercient vivement les responsables de ces entreprises, et les divers acteurs rencontrés. Même si nous avons cherché à rendre compte avec soin des éléments que nous avons recueillis, des imprécisions sont toujours possibles, et nous en prenons bien sûr la responsabilité. De même, nous assumons les choix que nous avons faits pour sélectionner les aspects qui nous semblaient les plus pertinents, et les mettre en perspective. Les analyses présentées n'engagent donc ni les entreprises concernées, ni le Coct lui-même. |
| Keywords: | conditions de travail, qualité de vie au travail;emploi des seniors;relations professionnelles |
| Date: | 2014–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00967302&r=ger |
| By: | Goodridge, PR |
| Date: | 2014–03–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imp:wpaper:12918&r=ger |
| By: | Bourguignon, Francois; Platteau, Jean-Philippe |
| Abstract: | Aid co-ordination is a constant theme of discussion among national and international aid agencies in their search for more effectiveness and efficiency in delivering development assistance. This paper seeks to clarify some of the arguments currently made |
| Keywords: | development aid, co-ordination, aid efficiency |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-073&r=ger |
| By: | Christophe Blot (OFCE); Paul Hubert; Fabien Labondance (Atelier de recherche sur la politique économique et la gestion des entreprises (ARPEGE)); Catherine Mathieu (OFCE); Christine Rifflart (OFCE); Vincent Touze (OFCE); Céline Antonin (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Depuis 2009, les principales banques centrales mettent en oeuvre des politiques monétaires expansionnistes afin de stimuler l'activité économique, réduire les risques de spirale déflationniste et soutenir le système financier. Ces politiques se sont traduites par des taux d'intérêt fixés à leur plus bas niveau ou presque et par des mesures non conventionnelles. L'amélioration récente du climat conjoncturel et la volonté affichée des banques centrales d'organiser le retrait progressif des mesures non conventionnelles posent la question d'une éventuelle normalisation des politiques monétaires. Pour autant, toute hausse des taux d'intérêt d'ici 2014 est exclue. En effet, le risque inflationniste est inexistant et la croissance anticipée trop modérée pour entraîner une baisse rapide du taux de chômage. Or, la Réserve fédérale et la Banque d'Angleterre ont conditionné un relèvement du taux d'intérêt à une cible de taux de chômage. Cette politique de communication (forward guidance ou orientation prospective) relative aux taux d'intérêt a pour objectif d'ancrer les anticipations de taux et de fournir par ce biais un soutien à la croissance. Cette stratégie accompagne l'ensemble des mesures non conventionnelles de nature plus quantitatives telles que les programmes d'achat de titre ou les opérations exceptionnelles de refinancement du système bancaire. La normalisation des opérations de politique monétaire passe par un retrait progressif de ces mesures non conventionnelles. Mais l'annonce de Ben Bernanke d'un éventuel ralentissement progressif du rythme des achats de titres par la Réserve fédérale a provoqué de la volatilité sur les marchés et une augmentation rapide des taux à long terme. Dès lors, les banques centrales doivent faire preuve d'une grande prudence afin d'éviter une normalisation trop hâtive des politiques monétaires. Ceci d'autant plus que les risques associés à ces mesures (développement de nouvelles bulles, indépendance des banques centrales ou risques inflationnistes) ne paraissent pas être aujourd'hui la principale menace dans les pays industrialisés... |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oasij6sc6&r=ger |
| By: | Siddig Umbadda; Ismail Elgizouli |
| Abstract: | Although agriculture is important for the livelihood of most Africans, especially the poor, donors did not accord it a high priority. Both volume and share of aid earmarked for agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa not only remained low, around five per cent, |
| Keywords: | agriculture, foreign aid, effectiveness, upscaling, transferability, sustainable |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-081&r=ger |
| By: | Khaing, Sape Saw |
| Abstract: | Where the Myanmar is with regards to the MDG goals and targets? Progress by which Myanmar is moving towards the MDGs |
| Keywords: | Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) |
| JEL: | O10 |
| Date: | 2014–03–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:55039&r=ger |
| By: | James Mabli |
| Keywords: | SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Food Security, Geographic Access |
| JEL: | I0 I1 |
| Date: | 2014–03–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:8083&r=ger |
| By: | Baggio Rodolfo (Department of Policy Analysis and Public Management, Bocconi University); Sheresheva Marina (Department of Economics, Lomonosov Moscow State University) |
| Abstract: | This article focuses on the interdisciplinary nature of the emerging network paradigm in economic and management sciences. The intersection of different approaches is unveiled, including those with roots in the natural sciences. The authors briefly describe the contribution of different disciplines in the development of research methodology applied to network forms widespread in contemporary economy. The second part presents an example of using techniques originally applied to solve the problems of theoretical physics to the study of tourism business networks. Conclusions are drawn about the prospects for an interdisciplinary approach in shaping the science of networks. |
| Keywords: | network, coordination mechanism, network approach |
| JEL: | A10 C00 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upa:wpaper:0011&r=ger |
| By: | Alexander Herzog-Stein; Heike Joebges; Ulrike Stein; Rudolf Zwiener |
| Abstract: | Based on data from Eurostat the Macroeconomic Policy Institute (IMK) regularly analyses the development of labour costs and unit labour costs in Europe. This report presents labour cost trends in the private sector, and disaggregated for private services and manufacturing industry, for a selection of European countries, the Euro Area and the European Union. Additionally, results of a new study investigating the extent of the labour-cost relief for industrial production in Germany associated with the use of intermediate inputs from the service sector are presented. Furthermore, labour cost trends in public services are presented. Next, the development of unit labour costs in Europe and more specifically the relationship between international price competitiveness, export prices, and unit labour costs are investigated.In 2012 hourly labour cost in the German private sector averaged 31.0 euro. Despite a recent normalisation in labour-cost trends in Germany, and an annual rate of change of 2.8 per cent, well above the European average, the German economy is in eighth place in the ranking of EU countries, one place down from the previous year. Hourly labour costs in private services are one fifth lower than in manufacturing industry; in no other European country does the service sector lag manufacturing to such an extent. Due to the use of cheaper intermediate inputs from the service sector, labour costs in the German industry are reduced by eight to ten per. Overall, the picture of a highly competitive German economy is confirmed.In recent years as a consequence of dramatic unit-labour-cost developments the so called European crisis countries regained their price competitiveness. However, German demand for imports remains relatively modest and hence is still a handicap for the ongoing economic adjustment processes in these countries. Therefore wages in Germany need to increase by more than 3 % per annum for an extended period. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:report:88e-2013&r=ger |
| By: | Elizabeth Watson (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | This note takes a closer look at some factors that influence demand and supply in residential property markets, and goes on to consider how such factors might be relevant in interpreting current New Zealand developments. |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nzb:nzbans:2013/11&r=ger |
| By: | Chia-Lin Chang (Department of Applied Economics, Department of Finance, National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan); Michael McAleer (Econometric Institute, Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Tinbergen Institute, The Netherlands, Department of Quantitative Economics, Complutense University of Madrid, and Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University.) |
| Abstract: | The paper analyses academic journal quality and impact using quality weighted citations that are based on the widely-used Thomson Reuters ISI Web of Science citations database (ISI). A recently developed Index of Citations Quality (ICQ), based on quality weighted citations, is used to analyse the top 276 Economics and top 10 Econometrics journals in the ISI Economics category using alternative quantifiable Research Assessment Measures (RAMs). It is shown that ICQ is a useful additional measure to the 2-Year Impact Factor (2YIF) and other well known RAMs available in ISI for the purpose of evaluating journal impact and quality, as well as ranking, of Economics and Econometrics journals as it contains information that has very low correlations with the information contained in alternative well-known RAMs. Among other findings, the top Econometrics journals have some of the highest ICQ scores in the ISI category of Economics. |
| Keywords: | Research assessment measures; Impact factors; Eigenfactor; Article Influence; Quality weighted citations; Index of citations quality; Economics journal rankings. |
| JEL: | C18 C81 Y10 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucm:doicae:1403&r=ger |
| By: | Arina Nikandrova (Department of Economics, Mathematics & Statistics, Birkbeck) |
| Abstract: | Costly information acquisition is introduced into a dynamic trading model of Glosten and Milgrom (1985). The market maker and some traders, called "value traders," value the asset at its fundamental value, which can be either high or low. The remaining traders, called "liquidity traders," have idiosyncratic valuations that are independent of the fundamental. At a cost, each value trader can acquire an informative, but imperfect, signal about the fundamental. In this setting, at equilibrium, each value trader acquires the signal if and only if the uncertainty about the fundamental's value conditional on publicly available information is sufficiently high. Thus, the prices quoted by the market maker are "informationally inefficient," as they do not reveal the value of the fundamental, even in the long-run. Equilibrium amount of information acquisition is either excessive or insufficient relative to the social optimum and results in an inefficient allocation of the asset among the market maker and liquidity traders. |
| Keywords: | Sequential Trading, Cost of Information, Endogenous Information Acquisition. |
| JEL: | D80 D83 D84 G12 G14 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bbk:bbkefp:1403&r=ger |
| By: | Y. Dolinsky; H. M. Soner |
| Abstract: | The dual representation of the martingale optimal transport problem in the Skorokhod space of multi dimensional c?adl?ag processes is proved. The dual is a minimization problem with constraints involving stochastic integrals and is similar to the Kantorovich dual of the standard optimal transport problem. The constraints are required to hold for very path in the Skorokhod space. This problem has the ?nancial interpretation as the robust hedging of path dependent European options. |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1404.1516&r=ger |
| By: | Marion Cochard (OFCE); Mathieu Plane (OFCE); Danielle Schweisguth (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Le potentiel de production, son niveau, sa croissance et l’output gap qui en résulte sont, à l’image du multiplicateur budgétaire, des indicateurs essentiels pour déterminer les stratégies macroéconomiques à suivre à moyen terme. Pour autant, leurs mesures sont sujettes à un grand nombre de controverses, notamment au sein des institutions internationales (FMI, Commission européenne et OCDE) qui peinent à s’accorder sur ces sujets. Notre évaluation des variations d’output gap, effectuée à partir des données portant sur le marché du travail, nous révèle un creusement important de l’écart de production au cours de la crise et des différences très fortes entre les pays. Dans le même temps, nos simulations de trajectoires macroéconomiques à moyen terme font apparaître le coût économique et social élevé associé à une stratégie de réduction rapide des déficits publics de manière coordonnée dans l’ensemble des pays de la zone euro. Il ressort des différents scénarios testés (multiplicateur faible, prime de risque, croissance potentielle réduite) qu’une stratégie équilibrée et optimale se traduirait par une réduction modérée et progressive des déséquilibres budgétaires structurels. Les nouveaux délais accordés à un certain nombre de pays européens pour ramener leur déficit public en-dessous du seuil d’un déficit à 3 % du PIB semblent aller dans ce sens. |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n2p9k74a8&r=ger |
| By: | Catherine Mathieu; Henri Sterdyniak (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Introduction du numéro spécial de la Revue de l'Ofce consacré à "La zone Euro en crise". |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/dambferfb7dfprc9lip2l15gl&r=ger |
| By: | Carol Alexander; Johannes Rauch |
| Abstract: | Extensive research illustrates the jump and discretisation errors that affect the valuation of standard swap contracts. We introduce a vector space of price and return characteristics that allow to define swaps which can be valued exactly, assuming only that the market is free of arbitrage. Although fair-value swap rates are independent of monitoring frequency, the associated risk premiums are not. A historical analysis based on 16 years of S&P500 data demonstrates the diversity of the risk exposures attainable through trading these swaps, as well as floating-floating swaps that trade differential risk premiums and maturities. |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1404.1351&r=ger |
| By: | Christine Rifflart (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Après la reprise soutenue de 2010, l’économie latino-américaine a ralenti, la croissance de la région atteignant 2,9 %, contre 6,1 % en 2010. Dans un environnement international en berne, les dynamiques nationales reprennent une place prépondérante. Or la situation reste contrastée selon les pays. Si les petits pays s’en sortent plutôt bien, le Brésil et l’Argentine connaissent un certain ralentissement. En 2013 et surtout 2014, la situation devrait cependant s’améliorer. |
| Keywords: | Amérique Latine; croissance |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n2skpek03&r=ger |
| By: | Subuhi Asheer; Ellen Kisker |
| Keywords: | Teen pregnancy prevention , repeat births, Teen Mothers, implementation evaluation |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2014–02–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:8089&r=ger |
| By: | Mendoza, Rodrigo (UPC) |
| Abstract: | Este documento evalúa la eficiencia financiera de los portafolios de inversión de las Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones (AFP) durante el periodo 2006-2011. Se encuentra que un portafolio es más eficiente, en el sentido financiero, cuando se minimiza la diferencia entre el ratio de Sharpe del mismo respecto del portafolio de mercado. La estimación de dicho ratio se realiza, en el marco de una optimización robusta de portafolio, por medio del enfoque denominado ‘Encogimiento No Paramétrico’. Se consideran las restricciones legales relevantes así como aquellas que capturan el grado de liquidez del mercado de capitales local. Se concluye que, en el periodo de análisis, ninguno de los tres tipos de fondos satisface los criterios de eficiencia financiera establecidos. |
| Keywords: | AFP, Multifondos, Sistema Privado de Pensiones, optimización de portafolio, robustez, eficiencia financiera |
| JEL: | G11 G23 G28 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rbp:wpaper:2014-005&r=ger |
| By: | Fábio Ferreira Batista; Alceu Roque Rech; Cleide de Andrade Gomes; Diana Leite Nunes dos Santos; Eron Campos Saraiva de Andrade; Rosane Maria Pimentel Magalhães Ferreira; Veruska da Silva Costa |
| Abstract: | Este trabalho analisa casos reais de implantação do modelo de gestão do conhecimento para a administração pública brasileira (MGCAPB) em cinco organizações públicas: Superintendência de Aeronavegabilidade (SAR) da Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC); Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos (ECT); Ipea; Agência Brasileira de Desenvolvimento Industrial (ABDI); e Ministério Público do Distrito Federal e Territórios (MPDFT). Este modelo e um método de implementação da GC são descritos no livro, publicado pelo Ipea, em 2012, intitulado Modelo de gestão do conhecimento para a administração pública brasileira (Batista, 2012). Como o início da implantação do MGCAPB nessas instituições ocorreu recentemente (entre 12 e 18 meses), ainda não houve impacto observável em termos de aumento de eficiência e melhoria da qualidade de processos, produtos e serviços. Por isto, para conhecer a efetividade da aplicação do modelo, será necessário acompanhar estes casos de implementação nos próximos anos. Este trabalho revela, no entanto, que a adoção do modelo trouxe resultados relevantes para a institucionalização da GC nestas organizações. This paper aims to analyse the implementation of the Knowledge Management (KM) Framework for the Brazilian Public Administration in five organizations: The Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency; The Brazilian Postal Service Company; The Institute for Applied Economic Research; The Brazilian Industrial Development Agency; and The Prosecution Office of the Federal District and Territories. This framework and a KM implementation method are described in a book published by the Institute for Applied Economic Research in 2012 entitled “KM Framework for Brazilian Public Administration”. Because the adoption of the KM framework is recent in these organizations (the implementation process started in the last 12 to 18 months), efficiency and quality improvements in processes, products and services cannot be noticed yet. Therefore, to find out the framework effectiveness will require further studies in the upcoming years. However, the paper shows that the framework adoption has brought important results for KM institutionalization in these organizations. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:1941&r=ger |
| By: | Sabine Stephan; Jonas Löbbing |
| Abstract: | Between 1999 and 2012 the EU intensified its trade relations with countries outside the European Union (third countries). However, the major part (about 60 %) of the EU member states' external trade consists of trade with each other (intra-trade). In past years, the EU has benefited from the catching-up process of the emerging economies - especially China and Russia - and the associated strong demand for capital goods and production facilities. Consequently, China and Russia became more important trading partners for the EU, whereas the US and Japan declined in importance. Unlike EU's foreign trade with countries outside the EU, the foreign trade among EU member states has not yet recovered from the massive slump due to the economic and financial crisis 2008/2009. This is mainly due to the fact that many European countries have followed a strict austerity policy which has severely depressed domestic demand. While it may have longer-run impacts, in the short run the proposed Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement will do little to reverse the relative decline in EU-US trade, much less can it be expected to serve as a stimulus for economic recovery. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:report:83e-2013&r=ger |
| By: | Masaaki Kijima (Graduate School of Social Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University); Akihisa Tamura (Department of Mathematics, Keio University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the B¨uhlmann’s equilibrium pricing model (1980) in the presence of transaction cost and derives the (multivariate) Esscher transform within the framework under some assumptions. The result reveals that the Esscher transform is an appropriate probability transform for the pricing of insurance risks even in the market with transaction costs. |
| Keywords: | Equilibrium pricing, Equilibrium allocation, Incomplete market, Esscher transform, Transaction cost |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kyo:wpaper:893&r=ger |
| By: | Mikhail Antonov (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to analyse the philosophical premises on which the idea of unity of law (identity of legal system) is based. In the history of legal philosophy this idea found its main arguments in the presumption of totality of legal regulation. Such totality translated the philosophical tenets of holism according to which law is not limited to the positive-law rules and institutes. Law refers to the supreme values priming over the legal instruments human beings and collectives create for regulation of their mutual behaviour. This argument implies that there are highest values (that of justice, good…) under which all the social relations can be subsumed and which finally give the binding force to positive law. The author argues that this line of thought is based on philosophical objectivism and naturalism, and can easily lead to primacy of the social over the individual. To substantiate the idea of systemacity of law, one can turn to the modern debates about logic of social cohesion and construct a legal system identity as a purely intellectual hypothesis necessary for thinking about law. This integrity can be described as a unity of discourse, or as a unity of societal practices. This reconstruction of integrity of law can be extended by appealing to the basic ideas of normative philosophy of law (from Hart and Kelsen to Raz and Dworkin) and is reconcilable with the conception of normative systems of Bulygin–Alchourron. |
| Keywords: | normativity, social control, legal system, positivity of law, unity of law, identity of legal system |
| JEL: | K10 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:34/law/2014&r=ger |
| By: | James Mabli |
| Keywords: | SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Food Security, Urban and Rural |
| JEL: | I0 I1 |
| Date: | 2014–03–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:8084&r=ger |
| By: | Todd R. Kaplan; Shmuel Zamir |
| Abstract: | As a selling mechanism, auctions have acquired a central position in the free market econ-omy all over the globe. This development has deepened, broadened, and expanded the theory of auctions in new directions. This chapter is intended as a selective update of some of the developments and applications of auction theory in the two decades since Wilson (1992) wrote the previous Handbook chapter on this topic. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:huj:dispap:dp662&r=ger |
| By: | Xavier Timbeau (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Ce numéro spécial sur les prévisions est composé de plusieurs articles qui peuvent être lus indépendamment. Le premier article présente le scénario de prévision pour l'ensemble du monde et le deuxième pour la zone euro. Le troisième article détaille l'analyse conjoncturelle de la France. Des fiches pays et thématiques suivent ces deux articles, détaillant d'autres zones géographiques. Une première étude spéciale traite de la déflation salariale et de son lien avec la compétitivité ; elle s'intitule « La quête de la compétitivité ouvre la voie de la déflation ». La seconde intitulée « PIB, déficit, dette, chômage : où vont les économies à moyen terme ? » aborde les perspectives à moyen terme concernant le potentiel d'activité, les déficits et la dette publique. Insérés dans cette prévision, 17 encadrés abordent des points spécifiques. Enfin, le débat sur les perspectives économiques permet de confronter les analyses de l'OFCE à celles d'Axelle Lacan et d'Edouard Tétreau. |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n09hk8ojo&r=ger |
| By: | Emmanuel Gobet (CMAP - Centre de Mathématiques Appliquées - Ecole Polytechnique - Polytechnique - X - CNRS : UMR7641); Ali Suleiman (ENSIMAG - École nationale supérieure d'informatique et de mathématiques appliquées - Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble I) |
| Abstract: | For general time-dependent local volatility models, we propose new approximation formulas for the price of call options. This extends previous results of [BGM10b] where stochastic expansions combined with Malliavin calculus were performed to obtain approximation formulas based on the local volatility At The Money. Here, we derive alternative expansions involving the local volatility at strike. Averaging both expansions give even more accurate results. Approximations of the implied volatility are provided as well. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00523369&r=ger |
| By: | Danielle Schweisguth (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | La situation économique espagnole est très préoccupante et le spectre de la décennie perdue japonaise plane sur la péninsule ibérique (...). |
| Keywords: | Espagne |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n2or5ikbo&r=ger |
| By: | Stan Dorn; Margaret Wilkinson; Sara Benatar |
| Keywords: | ELE Evaluation, Express Lane Eligibility Evaluation, Louisiana, CHIPRA |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2014–01–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:8086&r=ger |
| By: | Nicholas Longford |
| Abstract: | The restricted maximum likelihood is preferred by many to the full maximum likelihood for estimation with variance component and other random coefficient models, because the variance estimator is unbiased. It is shown that this unbiasedness is accompanied in some balanced designs by an inflation of the mean squared error. An estimator of the cluster-level variance that is uniformly more efficient than the full maximum likelihood is derived. Estimators of the variance ratio are also studied. |
| Keywords: | efficiency, random effects, truncation, variance component. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1415&r=ger |
| By: | Michael West; John Kregel |
| Keywords: | Veterans, Disabilities, Veterans Affairs, Federal Agencies |
| JEL: | I J |
| Date: | 2014–03–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:8092&r=ger |
| By: | Sandrine Levasseur (OFCE); Christine Rifflart (OFCE); Sabine Le Bayon (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | La France bénéficie d’un important parc de logements sociaux. Faut-il l’étendre ? Peut-on lui attribuer un rôle régulateur dans le fonctionnement du marché résidentiel ? Faut-il s’inspirer des modèles de logement social de nos voisins néerlandais et britanniques ? Sur le marché privé, l’augmentation des prix et de loyers révèle la pénurie de logements dans les zones attractives du territoire français. Les politiques à mettre en place doivent fluidifier l’accès aux logements existants et stimuler la construction de nouveaux logements. Pour construire plus, faut-il mobiliser davantage de foncier non-bâti ou faut-il densifier ? Et comment financer la rénovation du parc de logements ? C’est à ces multiples questions que tentent de répondre les contributions présentées ici. En faisant appel à des auteurs d’horizons divers (chercheurs et acteurs du monde institutionnel) dont l’approche disciplinaire est différente (économie, sociologie, science politique, urbanisme), nous avons voulu élargir le champ de l’analyse pour enrichir notre connaissance du logement et de la ville. |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09mitalgtqp&r=ger |
| By: | Christophe Blot (OFCE); Danielle Schweisguth (OFCE); Céline Antonin (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Le recul de l’activité observée dans la zone euro depuis le quatrième trimestre 2011 s’est amplifié en fin d’année 2012 malgré le retour annoncé de la confiance. Depuis l’été 2012, la ratification du TSCG (Traité sur la stabilité, la coordination et la gouvernance) ainsi que l’annonce par la BCE de l’OMT (Outright monetary transactions ou aussi Opérations monétaires sur titres) avaient écarté les risques d’un éclatement de la zone euro contribuant à la baisse des primes de risques sur les marchés obligataires publics. Cet espoir fut cependant insuffisant pour compenser le fort impact récessif de la consolidation budgétaire. Les demandes interne et externe, du fait des fortes interdépendances entres les pays de la zone euro, ont par conséquent continué à fléchir. Le vote des budgets pour l’année 2013 annonce d’ores et déjà la poursuite de ce scénario. Bien qu’en léger recul, l’impulsion budgétaire serait de -1,1 point de PIB. 2013 sera par conséquent une nouvelle année de récession dans la zone euro, le PIB reculerait de 0,4 %. En 2014, le rythme de consolidation marquera encore le pas dans la mesure où certains pays auront atteint la cible de 3 % pour le déficit budgétaire (Allemagne, Autriche, Belgique, Finlande) ou en seront assez proches (Pays-Bas). La croissance serait alors positive (0,9 %) mais insuffisante pour permettre une décrue du chômage. Les risques resteront orientés à la baisse en raison des pressions déflationnistes qui vont s’intensifier. La déflation est déjà enclenchée en Espagne et en Grèce et pourrait se généraliser à tous les pays où le taux de chômage se maintient à des niveaux très élevés, d’autant plus qu’à ce mécanisme s’ajoutent de nombreuses réformes ou mesures visant à réduire le coût du travail. La concurrence entre pays de la zone euro pour gagner des parts de marché devrait s’intensifier ce qui amplifiera les pressions déflationnistes sans réussir à générer l’effet positif escompté sur la croissance de l’ensemble de la zone euro. |
| Keywords: | zone euro |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n2i0g0a33&r=ger |
| By: | Dominique Bureau (MEEDDAT); Lionel Fontagné (Maison des Sciences Economiques); Philippe Martin (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | Dans un contexte de renchérissement prévisible de l’énergie au cours des vingt prochaines années, orienter l’effort d’innovation industrielle et l’offre de biens et services vers des technologies économes en énergie est une nécessité. Toutefois, une hausse des prix de l’énergie plus marquée en France que chez nos concurrents pénaliserait la compétitivité à court terme de l’industrie française. Cette Note expose les termes de l’arbitrage que doit affronter la France entre la préservation d’un élément significatif de sa compétitivité à court terme (le coût relativement faible de son énergie en particulier électrique) et la nécessaire transformation de ses avantages comparatifs à moyen-long terme (sous l’effet d’une vérité des prix énergétiques). À partir d’un travail économétrique original portant sur les exportations des entreprises françaises, nous estimons qu’une hausse de 10 % des prix de l’électricité en France réduirait la valeur des exportations en moyenne de 1,9 % et qu’une même augmentation du prix du gaz les réduirait de 1,1 %. La perte de compétitivité est sensiblement plus marquée pour les plus gros exportateurs, parti- culièrement dans les secteurs fortement dépendants de l’énergie. Cet effet négatif de court terme est à mettre en regard de l’effet de signal d’une hausse des prix de l’énergie sur les spécialisations à moyen-long terme, afin que la France ne reste pas en arrière dans la course à l’innovation « verte ». Nous tirons de cette analyse plusieurs enseignements. Tout d’abord, il convient d’annoncer la hausse des prix de l’énergie, de manière crédible, afin que les agents économiques l’intègrent dans leurs calculs et réorientent leurs choix de consommation et de production. Afin de limiter les effets négatifs d’un renchérissement de l’énergie sur la compétitivité à court terme, nous recommandons que la taxation supplémentaire de l’énergie soit utilisée pour réduire le coût du travail, une grande prudence quant au rythme de déclassement des équipements nucléaires historiques, dont le coût au kWh est particulièrement performant, une imputation différenciée de la charge de service public en fonction de l’intensité énergétique (comme en Allemagne) et une convergence des approches au niveau européen pour ce qui concerne les coûts de réseau. |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09mitbo4d9n&r=ger |
| By: | Jae-Hyun Jung; Eli Peli |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qsh:wpaper:154796&r=ger |
| By: | Sarah Guillou (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Début juillet 2013, c’est encore une entreprise de l’industrie du solaire, Conergy, qui est déclarée en faillite. La sortie de cette entreprise allemande, créée en 1998, illustre la fin d’un cycle pour l’industrie solaire. Cette faillite s’ajoute à une série de fermetures et de liquidations, tous pays confondus, qui ont ponctué la montée de la tension commerciale entre les États-Unis et l’Europe d’un côté et la Chine de l’autre au sujet des panneaux solaires. Au sommet de cette tension, en juin, la Commission européenne a décidé de menacer la Chine de droits de douanes de plus de 45 %. La guerre commerciale conclut une décennie d’engagements des gouvernements comme s’il s’agissait de sauver les deniers publics investis. Mais, elle signe surtout l’échec industriel d’une politique énergétique mondiale non coopérative... |
| Date: | 2013–09–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09nge3o54bg&r=ger |
| By: | Finn Christensen (Department of Economics, Towson University) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies stability and slope properties of market demand when disaggregated consumption externalities exist. Equilibrium is stable when feedback effects are limited, where feedback effects exist when own demand is indirectly affected by own consumption. Market demand is downward sloping if consumption externalities are not too strong and negative consumption externalities are not too varied. Under purely positive consumption externalities market demand is downward sloping in any stable equilibrium. Demand may be stable and upward sloping when negative consumption externalities exist. Under purely negative consumption externalities, upward sloping demand requires at least one "spoiler" whose consumption has a cumulatively large negative effect on others' demand. |
| Keywords: | Demand, consumption externalities, bandwagon and snob effects,network effects, strategic complements and substitutes, interdependent preferences, congestion, feedback effects, stability, slope of market demand, moderate social influence. |
| JEL: | D11 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tow:wpaper:2014-02&r=ger |
| By: | Christophe Benaroya (M&CN - Marketing & Communication Networks - Toulouse Business School); Christine Fèvre-Pernet (Cérep - Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur les Emplois et les Professionnalisations - Université de Reims - Champagne Ardenne) |
| Abstract: | Une très grande variété de travaux académiques porte sur la marque y compris, et plus récemment, dans le domaine business to business. En revanche, probablement considéré comme allant de soi, le processus même d'attribution d'un nom (naming) n'est pas étudié en tant que tel en marketing. En mobilisant les apports de la linguistique principalement et en les combinant aux concepts marketing, cet article à visée exploratoire met en œuvre une approche abductive appliquée aux grands projets industriels. La double démarche adoptée auprès d'experts en marques et noms et d'experts en projets aéronautiques permet de définir plus précisément ici la notion de naming. Est souligné le rôle essentiel du naming pour permettre l'identification, la différenciation et l'authentification d'un projet. Mais, au-delà, les résultats principaux révèlent d'autres fonctions managériales insoupçonnées/ du naming : le nom donne vie au projet (au sens fort du terme) ce qui a pour résultat de mieux fédérer et mobiliser les parties prenantes autour du projet et ainsi d'en faciliter l'organisation et le pilotage. |
| Keywords: | Abductif; BtoB; Management; Marketing; Marque; Naming; Projet; Onomastique commerciale ; Onomastique des organisations |
| Date: | 2014–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00972031&r=ger |
| By: | L. Jiang (ESSEC Business School - ESSEC Business School); Anne Jeny-Cazavan (ESSEC Business School - ESSEC Business School); Sophie Audousset-coulier (Department of accounting - Concordia University) |
| Abstract: | Cette recherche analyse les effets de l'utilisation de diverses mesures de la spécialisation sectorielle des auditeurs. Les auditeurs spécialistes développent une expertise sectorielle spécifique qui leur permet d'offrir un audit de meilleure qualité. Ils obtiennent une réputation supérieure et peuvent ainsi facturer des honoraires plus élevés (prime de spécialisation). Sur un échantillon de 29 726 entreprises cotées américaines, nous avons calculé et comparé 35 mesures différentes de spécialisation sectorielle pour montrer que ces mesures différentes conduisent à des classifications non homogènes. Ce problème de classification représente une erreur de mesure significative car elle remet en question la validité du calcul des primes de spécialisation estimées dans les recherches antérieures. En effet, nous montrons que la significativité, le signe et l'amplitude de la prime de spécialisation dépend fortement de la mesure de spécialisation choisie. Notre analyse suggère que les mesures de spécialisation sectorielle des auditeurs employées dans la recherche empirique en audit ont une faible validité interne et externe. |
| Keywords: | spécialisation sectorielle, honoraires audit, validité de construit |
| Date: | 2013–05–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00962383&r=ger |
| By: | Ross Kendall; Tim Ng (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | The Taylor Rule is often used to describe simply how central banks adjust short-term interest rates in response to economic conditions. We use this approach to analyse monetary policy in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States since the early 1990s. We find that the response of monetary policy to changing economic conditions is similar in New Zealand and Australia. Robust results could not be found for the United States, and in recent years it has become even more difficult to do so as the Federal Reserve has been constrained by the zero lower bound on nominal interest rates. |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nzb:nzbans:2013/04&r=ger |
| By: | Andrej Svorenčík |
| Abstract: | The core question of MIT Economics Department’s history – why has MIT economics risen to prominence so quickly – requires an approach to history of economics that focuses on the role of the networks within which economists operate, their ideas diffuse, and gain scientific credit. By reconstructing the network of MIT economics Ph.Ds. and their advisors, this paper furnishes not just evidence of how MIT rose to prominence as documented by the numerous ties of Nobel Laureates, Clark Medalists, elected officials of the AEA or the Council of Economic Advisors to the MIT network. The MIT Economics Department is also revealed as a community of self-replicating economists who are to a large extent trained by a few key advisers who were mostly trained at MIT as well. MIT exhibits a large share of graduates who remain in American academia that is disproportionate to the number of graduates it has produced. It is hypothesized that this has been an important factor in MIT’s rise to prominence. On a methodological level this paper introduces prosopography or collective biography, a well-established historiographic method, to the field of history of economics. |
| Keywords: | MIT, networks of economists, advisor-advisee relations, prosopography, collective biography |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hec:heccee:2013-19&r=ger |
| By: | Isabelle Bensidoun (CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi - Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé); Ali Souag (CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi - Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé) |
| Abstract: | Cet article présente dans un premier temps les principales caractéristiques des emplois informels en Algérie et leur évolution entre 2001 et 2007. Pour ce faire, il s'appuie sur les enquêtes emploi auprès des ménages réalisées par l'Office national des statistiques. Il s'interroge ensuite sur les raisons d'être de ces emplois, à savoir leur caractère subi ou choisi, en mobilisant les réponses fournies dans les enquêtes par les salariés sur leur souhait de changer de travail. Il montre que, sur cette période, le retrait du secteur public comme pourvoyeur d'emplois s'est traduit par une expansion marquée de l'emploi informel. Celui-ci touche particulièrement les jeunes, les moins éduqués, ceux qui exercent leur activité dans de très petites entreprises et dont l'emploi est précaire. Les premiers enseignements que l'on peut dégager sur les raisons d'être de ces emplois indiquent que l'emploi salarié informel en Algérie constituerait un emploi en dernier ressort pour échapper au chômage. |
| Keywords: | emploi informel, Algérie, satisfaction dans l'emploi, segmentation du marché du travail. |
| Date: | 2013–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00965775&r=ger |
| By: | Laurent Davezies (Laboratoire Ville, Mobilité, Transport) |
| Abstract: | Cette thèse se compose de quatre travaux indépendants. Le premier concerne les modèles partiellement identifiés, c'est-à-dire des modèles dans lesquels la valeur du paramètre d’intérêt ne peut pas être déduite de la distribution des données et des hypothèses du modèle. Dans certaines situations, aucune ou au contraire plusieurs valeurs du paramètre d’intérêt sont compatibles avec les données et les hypothèses du modèle. Ce travail démontre entre autre que si l’ensemble des distributions de probabilités compatibles avec le modèle est convexe, alors les parties extrêmes de ce convexe caractérise l’ensemble des distributions compatibles avec le modèle. Le deuxième travail propose une méthode basée sur une condition d’exclusion pour corriger de l’attrition endogène dans les panels. Nous appliquons cette méthode pour estimer les transitions sur le marché du travail à partir de l’enquête emploi française. Le troisième travail propose une méthode simple pour estimer un modèle logistique avec effets fixes et dépendance d’état tel qu’étudié par Honoré et Kiriazidou. Il propose également un nouvel estimateur des écarts-types qui semble avoir de meilleures propriétés à distance finie. Le quatrième travail est une évaluation sur les collèges de la politique éducative des Réseaux-Ambition-Réussite lancée en 2006. Nous exploitons une discontinuité dans la sélection des collèges pour comparer entre eux certains collèges « identiques » avant la mise en place de la politique. Les résultats de cette évaluation laissent place à peu d’optimisme concernant l’efficacité de cette politique. |
| Keywords: | Identification partielle, Attrition, Dépendance d’état, Evaluation de politiques publiques; Partial identification, Attrition, State dependence, Policy Evaluation |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6o65lgig8d0qcro9p14826c84&r=ger |
| By: | Yoshitsugu Kitazawa (Faculty of Economics, Kyushu Sangyo University) |
| Abstract: | This paper advocates the transformations used for the consistent estimation of the full-fledged fixed effects zero-inflated Poisson model whose zero outcomes can arise from both of logit and Poisson parts and which equips both parts with the fixed effects. The valid moment conditions are constructed on the basis of the transformations. The finite sample behaviors of GMM and EL estimators employing the moment conditions are investigated by use of Monte Carlo experiments. |
| Keywords: | fixed effects zero-inflated Poisson model; predetermined explanatory variables in Poisson part; moment conditions; GMM; EL; Monte Carlo experiments |
| JEL: | C23 C25 C51 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kyu:dpaper:66&r=ger |
| By: | A. Mantovi |
| Abstract: | Building on a class of transcendental preferences for luxury, explicit solutions for price taking behavior and exchange equilibrium are discussed, which share the analytical tractability of Cobb-Douglas models and display positive relevance, along the lines discussed by Freixas and Mas-Colell (1987). The monotone comparative statics of the luxury effect is discussed. Pareto sets admit a simple characterization which generalizes the one set forth by Afriat (1987) for Cobb-Douglas exchange economies. Potential lines of progress are envisaged. |
| Keywords: | Edgeworth Box; General Equilibrium; Luxury; Necessity; Comparative Statics; Pareto Set |
| JEL: | D50 D51 D58 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:par:dipeco:2014-ep02&r=ger |
| By: | Philip, Kate |
| Keywords: | public works, community participation, community development, part time employment, employment creation, local economic development, social service, South Africa R, travaux publics, participation de la communauté, développement communautaire, emploi à temps partiel, création d'emploi, développement économique local, services sociaux, Afrique du Sud R, obras públicas, participación comunitaria, desarrollo de la comunidad, empleo a tiempo parcial, creación de empleos, desarrollo económico local, servicios sociales, República de Sudáfrica |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:482779&r=ger |
| By: | Wixe, Sofia (Centre for Entrepreneurship and Spatial Economics (CEnSE), Jönköping International Business School,) |
| Abstract: | This paper tests the importance of firm level knowledge and neighborhood diversity, as a source for localized knowledge spillovers, on firms propensity to innovate. Diversity is measured in terms of industries as well as employee education and occupation, of which the results show a positive neighborhood effect from diversity in education. In addition, an added positive effect from neighborhood diversity in education is found for firms with a larger share of highly educated employees, which points to the importance of absorptive capacity. However, firm characteristics, such as the knowledge of the own employees, provide to be the strongest determinants for the innovativeness of firms. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge; neighborhood diversity; education; skills; innovation |
| JEL: | J21 J24 O31 R32 |
| Date: | 2014–04–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0360&r=ger |
| By: | Ebrahim, Amina; Woolard, Ingrid (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Leibbrandt, Murray (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | In comparison to other continents, Africa has received little scholarly attention with regard to household composition. Household composition is endogenous to a variety of welfare issues and little is understood about the determinants of this composition. Understanding the household composition and formation decision may improve our understanding of how the unemployed gain access to resources and how household composition could provide a safety net to the unemployed. However, increasingly, more work is surfacing around the topic in South Africa. |
| Keywords: | household composition; unemployment; South Africa; National Income Dynamics Study; NIDS |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:126&r=ger |
| By: | Cédric Dalmasso (CGS - Centre de Gestion Scientifique - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris); Sébastien Gand (CGS - Centre de Gestion Scientifique - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris) |
| Abstract: | La crise de ce qui est couramment appelé l' "ascenseur social" revient régulièrement dans les médias. Elle interroge les politiques de RSE et de manière plus générale les modèles de cohésion sociale des grandes entreprises dans un contexte mêlant crise de l'emploi, allongement des carrières, problématiques d'intensification du travail et de santé. Deux grands types d'institution influent particulièrement sur le devenir professionnel des individus : l'école et l'entreprise. Le rôle de l'entreprise a été traditionnellement suivi à travers l'évolution de la composition de la catégorie des "cadres". En France le terme de "promotion sociale" est resté très associé aux pratiques de promotion interne de cadres. Si des enquêtes de grande envergure décrivent l'évolution d'ensemble et sectorielle de la promotion sociale, elles ne permettent pas de distinguer les mouvements et leurs explications au niveau d'une entreprise dans le temps. Or la compréhension de la composition de facteurs pluriels qui peuvent influer sur les résultats des politiques de promotion sociale est très structurante pour comprendre la capacité des entreprises à les inscrire dans leurs politiques de RSE et de performance économique. L'objectif de notre communication est d'appréhender l'évolution de la promotion sociale au niveau d'une entreprise. Dans quelle mesure et à quelles conditions les entreprises peuvent-elles agir sur la promotion sociale de leurs salariés ? Nous souhaitons ainsi expliquer la manière dont une politique de promotion sociale prend corps ou au contraire est freinée. Afin d'appréhender un phénomène multifactoriel, nous adoptons une démarche de modélisation puis de simulation. Nous élaborons un modèle qui s'appuie sur la théorie des files d'attente et dont le choix des paramètres a été élaboré à partir d'une étude approfondie d'une grande entreprise française. Dans un second temps, nous procédons à des simulations afin de montrer des effets stylisés du phénomène. Un premier résultat est de proposer une modélisation à 4 dimensions (structure hiérarchique de l'entreprise, répartition de la couverture des besoins d'encadrement entre recrutement et promotion, durée des carrières et volume de recrutement au niveau exécutant) et 3 paramètres (les 3 premières dimensions). Les simulations permettent de montrer le fort conditionnement de la réussite d'une politique de promotion sociale par l'espace d'encadrement disponible par rapport au facteur d'allongement de carrière. La compensation d'une éventuelle diminution de la structure d'encadrement par une augmentation de la part de promotions demande d'autant plus d'efforts que le niveau d'encadrement initial est faible. Nos résultats explicitent ainsi les conditions historiques de réussite des politiques de promotion sociale. Ils invitent également à ouvrir un nouvel agenda de recherche autour de modèles de "carrières positives" qui enrichissent et renouvellent les possibilités de mobilité des niveaux d'exécution dans les grandes entreprises. |
| Keywords: | Promotion sociale, responsabilité sociale des entreprises, diversité, modélisation, simulation |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00968534&r=ger |
| By: | Henri Sterdyniak (OFCE); Maylis Avaro |
| Abstract: | The banking union emerged from the June 2012 European Council as a new project expected to help and solve the euro area crisis. Is banking union a necessary supplement to monetary union or a new rush forward? The banking union would break the link between the sovereign debt crisis and the banking crisis, by asking the ECB to supervise banks, establishing common mechanisms to solve banking crises, and encouraging banks to diversify their activities. The banking union project is based on three pillars: a Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), a Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM), a European Deposit Guarantee Scheme. Each of these pillars raises specific problems. Some are related to the current crisis (can deposits in euro area countries facing difficulties be guaranteed?); some other are related to the EU complexity (should the banking union include all EU member states? Who will decide on banking regulations?), some other are related to the EU specificity (is the banking union a step towards more federalism?), the more stringent are related to structural choices regarding the European banking system. The banks' solvency and their ability to lend would primarily depend on their capital ratios, and thus on financial markets' sentiment. The links between the government, firms, households and domestic banks would be cut, which is questionnable. Will governments be able tomorrow to intervene to influence bank lending policies, or to settle specific public banks? An opposite strategy could be promoted: restructuring the banking sector, and isolating retail banking activity from risky activities. Retail banks would focus on lending to domestic agents, and their solvency would be guaranteed because they would not be allowed to run risky activity. Can European peoples leave such strategic choices in the hands of the ECB? |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p4srjesb4&r=ger |
| By: | Catarina Roseira (FEP-U.Porto); Carla Ramos (Insper - Investigação e Ensino); Francisco Maia (FEP-U.Porto) |
| Abstract: | Abstract Networking represents a cornerstone for entrepreneurial action, nurturing relationships that provide access to necessary resources. Previous research shows that such relationships can be fostered as part of incubation processes. However, there is a lack of understanding of the underlying networking process, particularly in settings aimed at promoting them such as Networked Incubators (NIs). Moreover, little is known about entrepreneurs’ expectations when joining a NI, or about entrepreneurs’ satisfaction regarding the fulfilment of those expectations. We address these issues by investigating the features of networking within NIs, and by positing new ways of measuring incubator performance: performance from the entrepreneurs’ perspective. The article focuses on the start-ups located in UPTEC - Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto, a NI. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methodological tools (including content and social network analysis) is used. Findings show how entrepreneurs hold relatively high expectations for the dimensions of Legitimacy/Credibility, Infrastructure, and Networking, and lower expectations regarding the Business Support provided by the incubator. However, the UPTEC network shows low levels of Networking, raising questions regarding effectiveness of NIs. The findings also reveal a number of factors that impact the value and effectiveness of the networking process within a NI. |
| Keywords: | University Incubators; Networked Incubators; Business Networks; Value; Entrepreneurship; Social Network Analysis. |
| JEL: | M13 L24 L29 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:por:fepwps:532&r=ger |
| By: | Marion Cochard (OFCE); Danielle Schweisguth (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Le 29 mai dernier, la Commission européenne adressait aux États membres de l’Union ses nouvelles recommandations de politique économique. Dans ces recommandations, la Commission préconise un report des objectifs de déficit public pour quatre pays de la zone euro (Espagne, France, Pays-Bas, Portugal), leur laissant plus de temps pour atteindre la cible de 3% de déficit public. L’Italie sort de la procédure de déficit excessif. Seule la Belgique est sommée d’intensifier ses efforts. Cette nouvelle feuille de route peut-elle être interprétée comme un changement de cap annonçant un assouplissement des politiques d’austérité en Europe ? Peut-on en attendre un retour de la croissance sur le vieux continent ? |
| Date: | 2013–07–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09ne286g5jg&r=ger |
| By: | Denisova-Schmidt, Elena; Huber, Martin |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates regional differences in the perception of corruption and informal practices among Ukrainian firms. Using two different data sets from Ukraine we show that perceived corruption differs significantly across regions, even when taking into account the size, industry, workforce composition, and other characteristics of the firms based on propensity score matching. In particular, perceived corruption is highest in the eastern areas and lowest in the western region, which points to distinct business practices that may be rooted in the different political, cultural, and historical development of Ukrainian regions. |
| Keywords: | Corruption, Informal Practices, Regionalism, Ukraine |
| JEL: | C21 D73 K42 O17 P2 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usg:econwp:2014:07&r=ger |
| By: | Yannick Fondeur (CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi - Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé); France Lhermite (CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi - Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé, LATTS - Laboratoire Techniques, Territoires et Sociétés - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - CNRS : UMR8134) |
| Abstract: | Apparus à la fin des années 1990, les progiciels de gestion de recrutement constituent aujourd'hui une norme d'équipement dans les grandes entreprises. Leur adoption y répond souvent à la volonté de standardiser les façons de recruter, avec en arrière-plan des enjeux gestionnaires et de " professionnalisation ". En particulier, la pénétration des indicateurs de gestion dans le champ du recrutement, les enjeux autour de l'" image employeur " et la question de la lutte contre les discriminations constituent pour les grandes entreprises des incitations fortes à normaliser leurs processus. Pour aligner les pratiques sur des standards communs, les porteurs de projets d'équipement se réfèrent aux " bonnes pratiques " que l'outil permettrait de mettre en œuvre. La transversalité de la fonction " ressources humaines " (RH), et sa quête de légitimité professionnelle face aux opérationnels sur le champ du recrutement, sont particulièrement propices à l'usage de cette rhétorique. Les éditeurs de progiciels et consultants s'emparent aussi largement de cet argument, pour que les clients renoncent à la personnalisation de l'outil, que le mode de commercialisation de ces solutions (Software as a Service) rend économiquement peu viable. |
| Keywords: | progiciels de gestion; recrutement; standardisation; sélectivité;Software as a Service;mimétisme organisationnel. Cette |
| Date: | 2013–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00971311&r=ger |
| By: | Walter Nicholson; Karen Needels; Heinrich Hock |
| Keywords: | Unemployment Compensation, Unemployment Insurance, Great Recession, Federal Policy |
| JEL: | J |
| Date: | 2014–03–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:8080&r=ger |
| By: | Rick Van der Ploeg; Gerard van der Meijden; Cees Withagen |
| Abstract: | In partial equilibrium a rapidly rising carbon tax encourages oil producers to extract fossil fuels more quickly, giving rise to the Green Paradox. General equilibrium analysis for a closed economy shows that a rapidly rising carbon tax negatively affects the interest rate, which tends to weaken the Green Paradox. However, in a two-country world with an oil-importing and an oil-exporting region the Green Paradox may be amplified in general equilibrium if exporters are relatively patient. On the contrary, if oil exporters are relatively impatient, the Green Paradox might be reversed. Furthermore, general equilibrium effects tend to weaken the link between a capital asset tax and the time profile of resource extraction so that the capital asset tax becomes less useful as an instrument to offset the Green Paradox effect associated with the announcement of a future carbon tax. Taking exploration costs into account, we show that the effect of both policy instruments on cumulative extraction is of opposite sign as the effect on current extraction. Moreover, if the change in current extraction is amplified or reversed in general equilibrium, so will be the change in cumulative extraction. |
| Keywords: | Green Paradox, Hotelling rule, oil importers, oil producers, investment, capital markets, carbon tax, asset holding tax |
| JEL: | D81 H20 Q31 Q38 |
| Date: | 2014–01–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:oxcarre-research-paper-130&r=ger |
| By: | Mandell, Svante (KTH and VTI); Nilsson , Jan-Eric (VTI); Vierth , Inge (VTI) |
| Abstract: | The impact of policy instruments supposed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from road freight transports may seem smaller than expected. Using insights from economics and contract theory, the paper sorts out the (possible) instances of market failure in the freight transport market; operator market power, asymmetric information split incentives, and public goods. The primary limitations of standard policy instruments are demonstrated to be linked to unobservable information. Some of these may be reduced but not eliminated as information technologies develop, making it possible to observe, verify and provide contract-relevant information to the uninformed parties. There is little reason to believe that possible market failures present major limitations to the efficiency of economic instruments geared toward protecting the climate, other than possibly in the short run |
| Keywords: | Freight transport; Climate; Greenhouse gas; Policy instruments; Asymmetric information; Split incentives |
| JEL: | R40 |
| Date: | 2014–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2014_005&r=ger |
| By: | Stefan Behrendt (Graduate Programme "Global Financial Markets") |
| Abstract: | This paper shall give an overview of the implications to the sectoral balances stemming from the implementation of the Fiscal Compact in the Euro area in 2013. Since there is now a more or less strict limit to deficit spending-absent from cyclical factors-some other sector has to make up for the reduction of the financial deficit of Euro area gov- ernments. While applying sensible estimates on the trajectories of the sectoral balances in the Euro area, I reach the conclusion that the only logical outlet for these (potentially) reduced deficits would be the for- eign sector, reflecting the inability of the private sector to run a sizeable surplus of investments over savings over the long-run. Under the sce- nario described in the paper, the Euro area would run a considerable current account surplus in the foreseeable future. |
| Keywords: | fiscal policy, Fiscal Compact, current account, sectoral balances |
| JEL: | E27 E61 E62 E66 F32 H62 H63 |
| Date: | 2014–03–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hlj:hljwrp:52-2014&r=ger |
| By: | Aurelio Bruzzo; Elena Curzola |
| Abstract: | The evolution socio-demographics of the province of Ferrara in the 150 years since the Unification of Italy. Among the many initiatives developed during the 150 years of the Unification of Italy also included a survey conducted, in collaboration with a small group of students (or undergraduates) of the Faculty of Economics, with the objective of reconstruct (or sketch) the demographic change, social and productive recorded in the province of Ferrara from 1861 to 2011, using Census made by ISTAT. After the diffusion of data of the population Census 2011 has become possible to publish the results of calculations performed on the complete series in relation to the socio-demographic aspects that, unfortunately, starting from the flood of Polesine, which took place in November 1951, not appear to be satisfactory. |
| Keywords: | evolution socio-demographics; long period; provincial level |
| JEL: | J10 |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:udf:wpaper:2014063&r=ger |
| By: | Bruno Ducoudre (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Après une année 2012 moins bonne que prévue (+2,0 % de croissance contre +2,4 % prévu en octobre 2012), l'année 2013 sera marquée par un policy-mix dont l'objectif principal est un retour de la croissance associé à une sortie rapide de la déflation, avant la hausse de 3 points de la TVA qui devrait intervenir en avril 2014 si la croissance est au rendez-vous (...). |
| Keywords: | Japon |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n2lgi0928&r=ger |
| By: | Arden Finn (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Murray Leibbrandt (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Ingrid Woolard (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | Gauging levels of welfare using data on income and expenditure is informative yet limited and can be enhanced by including non-money-metric measures. Nationally representative data sets from 1993 and 2010-2011 which cover a broad set of domains are used to calculate a multidimensional poverty index (MPI) for each year. This paper calculates these indices and uses them to assess trends in multidimensional poverty in South Africa over the post-apartheid period. From 1993 to 2010 MPI poverty fell by 29 percentage points from 37% to 8%. During this time period, the level of severe MPI poverty also dropped substantially from 17% of the population in 1993 to just over 1% in 2010. Not only did the incidence and intensity of multidimensional poverty fall significantly, but the average distance from the multidimensional poverty line across all dimensions also decreased over the period. These declines in multidimensional poverty are notably stronger than the estimated declines in money-metric poverty, which are also estimated and compared for the post-apartheid period. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:099&r=ger |
| By: | Pan Ké Shon, Jean-Louis (CREST-LSQ); Verdugo, Gregory (Bank of France) |
| Abstract: | Analysing restricted access census data, this paper examines the long-term trends of immigrant segregation in France from 1968 to 2007. Similar to other European countries, France experienced a rise in the proportion of immigrants in its population that was characterised by a new predominance of non-European immigration. Despite this, average segregation levels remained moderate. While the number of immigrant enclaves increased, particularly during the 2000s, the average concentration for most groups decreased because of a reduction of heavily concentrated census tracts and census tracts with few immigrants. Contradicting frequent assertions, neither mono-ethnic census tract nor ghettoes exist in France. By contrast, many immigrants live in census tracts characterised by a low proportion of immigrants from their own group and from all origins. A long residential period in France is correlated with lower concentrations and proportion of immigrants in the census tract for most groups, though these effects are sometimes modest. |
| Keywords: | immigration, spatial segregation, France |
| JEL: | J61 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8062&r=ger |
| By: | Scott Scheall |
| Abstract: | From the early-1950s on, F.A. Hayek was concerned with the development of a methodology of sciences that study systems of complex phenomena. Hayek argued that the knowledge that can be acquired about such systems is, in virtue of their complexity (and the comparatively narrow boundaries of human cognitive faculties), relatively limited. The paper aims to elucidate the implications of Hayek’s methodology with respect to the specific dimensions along which the scientist’s knowledge of some complex phenomena may be limited. Hayek’s fallibilism was an essential (if not always explicit) aspect of his arguments against the defenders of both socialism ([1935] 1948, [1940] 1948) and countercyclical monetary policy ([1975] 1978); yet, despite the fact that his conceptions of both complex phenomena and the methodology appropriate to their investigation imply that ignorance might beset the scientist in multiple respects, he never explicated all of these consequences. The specificity of a scientific prediction depends on the extent of the scientist’s knowledge concerning the phenomena under investigation. The paper offers an account of the considerations that determine the extent to which a theory’s implications prohibit the occurrence of particular events in the relevant domain. This theory of “predictive degree” both expresses and – as the phenomena of scientific prediction are themselves complex in Hayek’s sense – exemplifies the intuition that the specificity of a scientific prediction depends on the relevant knowledge available. |
| Keywords: | Hayek, Economic Methodology, Fallibilism, Complexity, Explanation, Prediction, Underdetermination, Quine |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hec:heccee:2013-21&r=ger |
| By: | Raul V. Fabella (School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman) |
| Abstract: | This paper revisits the record of CARP over the quarter century of its existence. By 2014, 5.05 million of the 5.37m hectares of the targeted agricultural land shall have been distributed. As a program for land asset equity, it shall have accomplished 99% of its target, whopper of a success for a government program. As a program to advance the economic welfare of farmers, it has accomplished the opposite of its stated goals. Productivity has fallen drastically in coconut and sugar and poverty incidence among agrarian reform beneficiaries in agrarian reform communities stood at 54% in 2011 higher than for farmers in general. CARP and CARPER has created a new class of people: the landed poor. The paper then explores the many design and implementation flaws that has brought this sad result among which are: CARP’s illegalization of the market for land assets (Section 27) sending Coasean bargains underground and the 5-hectare land ownership ceiling leading to the demise of the legal rural financial market and the flight of private capital. It is time to shift from land equity to farm efficiency. The paper argues for the return of the market in rural production: let productive farmers legally cultivate 10 or more hectares as the market dictates; let PSE-registered firms legally operate agro-industrial farms without land ceiling. Poverty reduction requires the shift of resources and manpower from informal to formal sectors. CARP has done the opposite. To echo the architect of the great Chinese Economic Miracle, Deng Xiaoping: It is time to stop redistributing poverty! |
| Keywords: | CARP, agrarian reform, agriculture, Coase Theorem, Philippines |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phs:dpaper:201402&r=ger |
| By: | Linda Rosenberg; Megan Davis Christianson; Megan Hague Angus; Emily Rosenthal |
| Keywords: | SIG, School Improvement Grants, Rural Schools, Education |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2014–04–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:8093&r=ger |
| By: | Pascual, Unai; Garmendia, Eneko; Phelps, Jacob; Ojea, Elena |
| Abstract: | Forest loss and degradation remains a leading environmental problem. The long history of sustainable forest management has often failed to meet expectations.constrained by funding, governance, capacity and competing interests. Initiatives from the climate |
| Keywords: | sustainable forest management, foreign aid, official development assistance, climate change finance, REDD+, forestry sector governance |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-054&r=ger |
| By: | Bruno Ducoudre (OFCE); Hervé Péléraux (OFCE); Christine Rifflart (OFCE); Hélène Périvier-Timbeau (OFCE); Christophe Blot (OFCE); Marion Cochard (OFCE); Eric Heyer (OFCE); Catherine Mathieu (OFCE); Danielle Schweisguth (OFCE); Mathieu Plane; Amel Falah (OFCE); Céline Antonin (OFCE); Sabine Le Bayon (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | La Grande Récession se poursuit pour la cinquième année consécutive. De 2010 à 2013, les efforts budgétaires réalisés et annoncés par les pays développés ont été sans précédent, avec pour objectif une réduction rapide des déficits. Mais dans un contexte de multiplicateurs élevés, l’effort budgétaire a un coût en termes d’activité. Trop longtemps ignoré, ce mécanisme a conduit à ce que les espoirs de réduction des déficits publics furent toujours déçus. En 2013 puis en 2014, l’ensemble des pays développés continuera donc l’effort de consolidation budgétaire, malgré le haut niveau du chômage involontaire. Les multiplicateurs budgétaires restant élevés, les pays développés s’enfonceront dans le cercle vicieux d’une hausse du chômage, d’une récession qui se prolonge et de doutes croissants quant à la soutenabilité des finances publiques. La poursuite de cette stratégie d’austérité budgétaire porte en elle le germe de la déflation salariale dans les pays les plus touchés. Les réformes structurelles imposées par la troïka consistant notamment à couper dans les rémunérations des fonctionnaires indiquent que cette déflation n’est pas subie, mais encouragée, avec pour objectif la restauration de la compétitivité des pays en crise. Mais, puisque la zone euro est un espace de change fixe, cette déflation salariale ne pourra que se transmettre aux autres pays. Un nouveau levier sera activé par lequel la crise se prolongera. Lorsque les salaires décroissent, l’accès au système financier pour lisser les choix des agents économiques devient impossible. Les dettes que l’on cherche à réduire depuis le début de la crise vont s’apprécier en termes réels. La déflation par la dette deviendra le nouveau vecteur du piège de la crise. |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n2hr7gdj1&r=ger |
| By: | Marion Cochard (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Après une année 2012 en fort ralentissement, les pays d’Europe centrale et orientale ont connu un léger rebond de croissance au premier semestre 2013. Dans le sillage de la zone euro, de l’Allemagne en particulier, les économies de la zone bénéficient d’un regain de demande de l’extérieur et multiplient les signes de reprise. L’amélioration des perspectives de la zone euro à l’horizon de la prévision, de même qu’un assouplissement de la politique budgétaire, devraient sortir progressivement la zone de l’ornière au cours de l’année 2013. Le véritable rebond de croissance devrait se faire sentir à partir de 2014, avec une croissance économique moyenne de la zone à 2,4 %, contre 0,9 % en 2013. L’économie russe, quant à elle, voit sa croissance ralentir depuis la mi-2012, entravée par un risque de surchauffe. Compte tenu de nos prévisions de prix des matières premières, les perspectives de croissance de la Russie baissent à 2,9 % pour 2014. |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oap87i993&r=ger |
| By: | Eicker-Wolf, Kai; Truger, Achim |
| Keywords: | taxation, fiscal policy, public expenditure, investment, Germany, fiscalité, politique fiscale, dépenses publiques, investissement, Allemagne, tributación, política fiscal, gasto público, inversión, Alemania |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:484519&r=ger |
| By: | Gomber, Peter; Haferkorn, Martin; Zimmermann, Kai |
| Abstract: | The general concept of a Securities Transaction Tax is controversial among academics and politicians. While theoretical research is quite advanced, the empirical guidance in a fragmented market context is still scarce. Possible negative effects for market liquidity and market efficiency are theoretically predicted, but have not been empirically tested yet. In light of the agreement of eleven European member states to implement an STT, this study aims to give a comprehensive overview of the effects of the STT, introduced in France in 2012, on liquidity demand, liquidity supply, volatility and inter-market information transmission. The results show that the STT has led to a decline in liquidity demand, has had a detrimental effect on liquidity supply and negatively influences the inter-market information transmission efficiency. However, no effect on volatility can be observed. -- |
| Keywords: | financial transaction tax,market fragmentation,speculative trading,market quality |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:safewh:11&r=ger |
| By: | Céline Antonin (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | 2012 restera une année de purge budgétaire pour l'Italie qui clôture l'année avec une baisse de son PIB de 2,4 %, et un acquis de -1 % pour 2013 (...). |
| Keywords: | Italie; budget |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n2p8ge107&r=ger |
| By: | Ruiz, Manuel (Banco Central de Reserva del Perú) |
| Abstract: | En este documento se contrasta la hipótesis modificada de autoselección para empresas formales peruanas. Se consideran 3 tipos: aquellas que producen solo para el mercado interno, las que producen para el mercado interno y para el mercado externo indirectamente vía intermediarios comerciales, y aquellas que producen para el mercado interno y para el mercado externo directamente a través de filiales de distribución establecidas en el exterior, de acuerdo con Felbermayr y Jung (2011) y con Verma y Mc Williams (2013). Se utiliza un modelo de datos ordenados que permite discriminar entre estas tres categorías. Se encuentra que el ordenamiento para la elección de los modos de exportación se da a través de diferencias de productividad factorial total aproximadas por variables tales como el tamaño de la firma, entre otras. |
| Keywords: | Intermediación comercial, firmas heterogéneas, productividad, probit ordenado, tamaño de la firma |
| JEL: | D24 F14 F23 L25 O30 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rbp:wpaper:2014-004&r=ger |
| By: | Yannick L'Horty (TEPP - Travail, Emploi et Politiques Publiques - CNRS : FR3435 - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV), ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l'Utilisation des Données Individuelles Temporelles en Economie - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne (UPEC) : EA437 - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV)); Etienne Lehmann (TEPP - Travail, Emploi et Politiques Publiques - CNRS : FR3435 - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV), CREST - Centre de Recherche en Économie et Statistique - INSEE - École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Économique, ERMES - Equipe de recherche sur les marches, l'emploi et la simulation - CNRS : UMR7017 - Université Paris II - Panthéon-Assas) |
| Abstract: | La coexistence de trois dispositifs massifs de réduction du coût du travail, les exonérations générales de cotisations employeurs, le Crédit d'Impôt pour la Compétitivité et l'Emploi, et le " pacte de responsabilité " dont la mise en place a été annoncée au début 2014, n'est pas un gage de lisibilité, de simplicité et de cohérence. L'objet de cet article, est de proposer les grandes lignes d'une remise à plat de l'ensemble de ces dispositifs. Nous mobilisons les leçons de l'expérience, au travers de l'histoire des prélèvements sociaux et de celle des exonérations. Nous mobilisons aussi les enseignements de la théorie économique, des arguments classiques à ceux des modèles d'appariement, et ceux des études économétriques appliquées. Nous plaidons pour un renforcement de la progressivité des prélèvements sociaux, c'est-à-dire pour concentrer les exonérations sur les plus bas salaires |
| Keywords: | prélèvements sociaux ; cotisations employeurs ; chômage |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00972293&r=ger |
| By: | Hélène Périvier-Timbeau (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Le projet de loi sur l’égalité entre femmes et hommes, voté par le Sénat le 18 septembre 2013, comprend notamment un volet visant à modifier les modalités d’accès à l’allocation de congé parental, le Complément libre choix d’activité (CLCA). Le droit à cette allocation est un droit familial : il est attribué à celui des deux parents qui réduit ou cesse son activité professionnelle pour s’occuper de l’enfant, et ce pour une durée de 3 ans maximum. Partant du constat que 98 % des allocataires sont des femmes, l’objectif visé par la loi est d’encourager les pères à y recourir : désormais sur les 36 mois de droit à l’allocation de congé parental, 6 devront être pris par l’autre parent. Autrement dit, au terme de 30 mois de congé parental pris par la mère, le père devra prendre le relais pour les 6 mois restant, au risque pour la famille de perdre ces 6 mois. L’Unaf, hostile à cette réforme, a publié sur son site une enquête sur « Les pères et le congé parental »... |
| Date: | 2013–09–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/cnic3v8rndpflfg9o121kei47&r=ger |
| By: | Vincent Touze (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Bien que le vieillissement démographique soit avant tout une bonne nouvelle puisqu’il signifie que les individus vivent plus longtemps, il est aussi souvent présenté comme un fardeau économique et social. Il affecterait les capacités productives (baisse de la productivité et diminution de la population active) et réduirait le revenu par tête (augmentation de la population inactive). Il conduirait aussi à un alourdissement des dépenses sociales en faveur des populations âgées (retraite, santé et dépendance) et la fiscalisation de leur financement pourrait peser lourdement sur les incitations à produire des richesses. En toute logique, l’Allemagne devrait être pénalisée d’un vieillissement plus fort que celui observé en France. Pour autant, un dividende démographique en faveur de la France ne va pas de soi. Certes les tendances démographiques prévoient un avenir radieux pour la France. Mais, les évolutions économiques récentes ont plutôt été très favorables à l’économie allemande alors que la France s’est embourbée dans le chômage de masse et une croissance faible... |
| Date: | 2013–10–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/cnic3v8rndpflfg9o400jh0qo&r=ger |
| By: | Kaminski, Jonathan; Christiaensen, Luc |
| Abstract: | The 2007-2008 global food crisis has renewed interest in post-harvest loss, but estimates remain scarce, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper uses self-reported measures from nationally representative household surveys in Malawi, Uganda, and Tanzania. Overall, on-farm post-harvest loss adds to 1.4-5.9 percent of the national maize harvest, substantially lower than the Food and Agriculture Organization's post-harvest handling and storage loss estimate for cereals, which is 8 percent. Post-harvest loss is concentrated among less than a fifth of households. It increases with humidity and temperature and declines with better market access, post-primary education, higher seasonal price differences, and possibly improved storage practices. Wider use of nationally representative surveys in studying post-harvest loss is called for. |
| Keywords: | Markets and Market Access,Crops and Crop Management Systems,Food&Beverage Industry,Technology Industry,Environmental Economics&Policies |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6831&r=ger |
| By: | Richard Bennett (American Enterprise Institute) |
| Abstract: | American citizens are far ahead of government agencies and holdout populations such as the elderly in transitioning to new networking technologies. The FCC should revise its Internet Protocol Technology Transitions Order to, among other things, accelerate the adoption of IP technologies in the realms of public safety, defense, and aviation. |
| Keywords: | network services,government,FCC,Broadband networks,Broadband access |
| JEL: | A O |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aei:rpaper:40736&r=ger |
| By: | Wahl, Peter |
| Keywords: | financial management, taxation, economic recession, Community law, regulation, comment, public opinion, trade union role, EU countries, gestion financière, fiscalité, récession économique, droit communautaire, réglementation, commentaire, opinion publique, rôle du syndicat, pays de l'UE, dirección financiera, tributación, recesión económica, derecho comunitario, reglamento, comentario, opinión pública, papel del sindicato, países de la UE |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:484767&r=ger |
| By: | Jennifer Edwards; Rebecca Kellenberg |
| Keywords: | ELE Evaluation, Express Lane Eligibility Evaluation, South Carolina, CHIPRA |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2013–11–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:8087&r=ger |
| By: | Catherine Mathieu (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | L’économie britannique a connu une croissance soutenue au premier semestre 2013. Le PIB a augmenté de 0,4 % au premier trimestre et de 0,7 % au deuxième, soit une hausse de 1,4 % en glissement sur un an au deuxième trimestre, contre -0,2 % à la fin de 2012. Le taux de chômage est resté quasiment stable, passant de 7,8 % en décembre 2012 à 7,7 % en juin 2013. L’inflation, mesurée selon l’indice des prix à la consommation harmonisé était de 2,7 % en glissement sur un an en août 2013, comme en décembre 2012. La Banque d’Angleterre poursuit sa politique de soutien à la croissance via le maintien de son taux directeur à 0,5 %, et des mesures non conventionnelles, tandis que le gouvernement britannique continue de mettre en oeuvre son plan de réduction du déficit public, souhaitant faire baisser le ratio de dette publique à partir de 2017-2018. En 2012, le déficit public au sens de Maastricht était de 6,2 points de PIB et la dette publique de 89 points de PIB. Les taux d’intérêt publics à long terme ont commencé à augmenter à partir de mai 2013, comme aux États-Unis et un peu plus rapidement que dans la zone euro, pour approcher 3 % en septembre 2013, soit des niveaux encore historiquement faibles. Les indicateurs conjoncturels signalent tous la poursuite de la reprise au troisième trimestre, mais la question se pose de savoir à quel point cette reprise, jusqu’ici tirée par la consommation des ménages et les exportations, sera relayée par l’investissement des entreprises, alors que la politique budgétaire restera restrictive. |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oasc3ekcp&r=ger |
| By: | Rodríguez, Julieta A.; Rodríguez, Elsa Mirta M. |
| Abstract: | La Producción Integrada (PI) es un Sistema Agrícola de Producción de alimentos que utiliza al máximo los recursos y los mecanismos de regulación naturales y asegura a largo plazo una agricultura viable. En el sudeste bonaerense, este sistema productivo ha sido plasmado en un Protocolo realizado por la E.E.INTA Balcarce para papa. El objetivo de esta investigación es estimar el Costo de Producción Integrada de Papa -en comparación con el costo de Producción Convencional- y el beneficio factible de obtener con el nuevo proceso productivo, teniendo en cuenta la disponibilidad a pagar de los consumidores por una papa diferenciada. El estudio utiliza técnicas cualitativas para obtener información global sobre la producción de papa en el sudeste bonaerense e información desagregada sobre los elementos que componen el costo de producción y comercialización de los dos sistemas productivos analizados y técnicas cuantitativas para estimar los Costos de Producción de papa -integrada y convencional- y los Flujos de Fondos (Cash Flow). Los resultados indican que los cambios que se introducen en un establecimiento papero convencional del sudeste bonaerense a través de la implementación de un Sistema de Producción Integrada de papa incorporan nuevos elementos en el Estado de Costos y provocan una reducción del costo de producción. Adicionalmente, se observa que los Flujos de Fondos descontados arrojan un valor notablemente mayor al aplicar el Sistema de Producción Integrada en lugar del Convencional. |
| Keywords: | Papa; Producción Alimentaria; Proceso Productivo; Costos de Producción; Flujo de Fondos |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nmp:nuland:1932&r=ger |
| By: | Nicholas Sander (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | Fluctuations in migration are a significant feature of New Zealand's economy. This note reports results of statistical modelling that analyses the relationship between permanent and long-term migration (and its components) and developments in the housing market. |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nzb:nzbans:2013/10&r=ger |
| By: | Marisa Ratto (CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi - Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé) |
| Abstract: | Novembre 2013 Télécharger au format PDF : Document 167 (267 Ko) Ce document de travail fournit une analyse empirique de la relation entre utilisation de certaines pratiques de travail et coopération entre collègues. À partir des données de l'enquête couplée Changements organisationnels et informatisation-COI 2006, cinq pratiques de travail sont identifiées qui, selon la littérature économique, favorisent la coopération entre collègues : les interactions répétées entre collègues, les interdépendances dans la production, l'autonomie décisionnelle au travail, le contrôle réciproque du travail entre collègues et l'accomplissement de tâches variées. On repère ainsi une importante corrélation positive entre l'autonomie décisionnelle au travail et l'entraide, et entre le contrôle réciproque du travail et l'entraide. Quand on considère l'adoption de deux de ces pratiques à la fois, ce sont deux combinaisons particulières qui sont les plus fortement corrélées à l'entraide : les interdépendances dans la production combinées à l'autonomie décisionnelle et la diversité des tâches également combinée à l'autonomie décisionnelle. Les incitations telles que la rémunération basée sur la performance de l'équipe et les systèmes d'évaluation de la performance, qui ont des conséquences réelles sur le salaire et la carrière, sont aussi associées positivement à l'entraide. |
| Keywords: | pratiques de travail; coopération; travail d'équipe |
| Date: | 2013–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00966235&r=ger |
| By: | Socha, Karolina (COHERE, Department of Business and Economics) |
| Abstract: | When introducing Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) tariffs as the basis for paying hospitals in Europe, one of the major problems was to find a balancing point between the aim of increasing hospital activity and the need to control global expenditures on hospital care. Consequently, in several European countries, DRG-based reimbursement has been mixed with the already existing forms of hospital reimbursement, such as block budgets, instead of replacing the latter entirely. The mixed reimbursement is viewed as a cautious way of introducing DRG-based funding, which offers the potential for achieving activity expansion without jeopardizing global expenditures control. Denmark is one of the countries where DRG tariffs have been added to the system of block budgets coupled with activity targets. The transition to the mixed reimbursement occurred by replacing a part of each hospital’s ‘old’ block budget by a ‘new’ DRG-based component. The DRG-based component depends on a hospital’s case mix and applicable DRG tariffs, which are, however, reduced by, e.g. 30-50% as compared with a monetary value of a full tariff. The usual interpretation is that such a mix of reimbursement methods provides a specific set of incentives that is different from other hospital payment methods. Yet, the exact modus operandi of the mixed reimbursement remains obscure. It is not entirely clear whether and how the unit rate of reimbursement was changed after the transition? Was the entire volume of a hospital’s activity affected or only certain treatments and/or higher levels of activity? Another question is what happened with the activity targets that traditionally accompanied the ‘old’ block budgets? The aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive description of the change in hospital incentive scheme that followed the transition to the mixed reimbursement in Denmark. In doing so, the paper provides a qualitative assessment of the mixed reimbursement with regard to the asserted exceptionality of its incentive structure, with a particular focus on its ability to balance incentives for activity expansion and global expenditures control. We show that the mixed reimbursement is simply a veiled version of the usual block budget system, which due to certain added complications might even distort activity/efficiency improvements in a new way. The cautions way of implementing DRG –based reimbursement resulted in a system that has hardly moved away from the historical patterns of activity and costs. The sum of the ‘new’ DRG-based component and the remaining part of the ‘old’ block budget simply added up to the total of the ‘old’ block budget (+/- standard annual corrections for inflation, etc.), which allowed hospitals to produce unchanged sort and volume of activity at unchanged unit cost. Only few percent of the annual activity volume is indeed subject to altered reimbursement incentives. In sum, the mixed reimbursement as implemented in Denmark does not present any innovation. Hence, any empirical research based on the assumption that the incentive scheme for the entire volume of hospital activity was changed by the transition to the mixed reimbursement might produce false conclusions. |
| Keywords: | Diagnosis-Related Groups; Block budgets; Hospital reimbursement; Denmark |
| JEL: | I12 I13 I14 |
| Date: | 2014–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sduhec:2014_003&r=ger |
| By: | David C Broadstock (TIERS, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, China and Surrey Energy Economics Centre (SEEC), School of Economics, University of Surrey, UK.); Rui Wang (TIERS, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, China); Dayong Zhang (TIERS, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, China) |
| Abstract: | We attempt to consolidate (at least in part) the vast literature on oil shocks and stock returns by decomposing the influence of oil shocks into two channels of effect: ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’. Using a simple empirical asset pricing model it is shown that oil shocks can affect stocks not only directly, but also indirectly through general market risk (which is shown to be due in part to oil shocks), or put another way that additional oil price risk exposure is embedded in the traditional market beta. As far as is known, this is the first paper explicitly quantifying both effects together. By doing so we offer a more complete picture of when and how oil shocks impact stock returns, thus allowing investors to make more informed responses to oil shocks. The results are illustrated using daily data from all (active) listed energy related stock portfolios in the Asia Pacific Region, and are robust to structural instability and the specification of oil-shock used. |
| Keywords: | Oil Prices, Energy Related Stocks, Threshold GARCH, Asset Pricing, Structural Break. |
| JEL: | G12 G15 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sur:seedps:146&r=ger |
| By: | González Gómez, Daniel A. |
| Abstract: | El diseño y la implementación de políticas industriales por parte del Estado son condición sine qua non para conducir la economía sobre un sendero de desarrollo sostenible. En particular el avance en las cadenas de valor y en los procesos de eslabonamiento requiere de políticas activas que contemplen tanto a las economías sectoriales como al desarrollo armónico y equilibrado entre las regiones. En esta línea, las políticas productivas y más específicamente la promoción de agrupamientos empresariales constituyen una herramienta para el fortalecimiento económico local. Esta tesis presenta el estudio de la aplicación del Programa Sistemas Productivos Locales (SPL) a través de las Agencias de Desarrollo Local de todo el país, como instrumento de política industrial y de desarrollo económico implementado por la Secretaría de la Pequeña y Mediana Empresa y Desarrollo Regional. El marco teórico y objetivo de la tesis se desarrollan a partir del estudio de la literatura existente, información bibliográfica y de la investigación llevada a cabo entre los grupos promovidos por estas instituciones. Precisamente el trabajo de campo consistió en la búsqueda de información entre los coordinadores de grupos con planes de trabajo asociativo aprobados por el Programa SPL. Por último, los resultados generales de la tesis permiten contrastar la hipótesis de trabajo y realizar las correspondientes conclusiones. |
| Keywords: | Conglomerados Productivos; Asociación de Empresas; Desarrollo Local; Sistema Productivo |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nmp:nuland:1927&r=ger |
| By: | Elise Huillery (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | Was colonization costly for France? Did French taxpayers contribute to colonies' development? This paper reveals that French West Africa's colonization took only 0.29 percent of French annual expenditures, including 0.24 percent for military and central administration and 0.05 percent for French West Africa's development. For West Africans, the contribution from French taxpayers was almost negligible: mainland France provided about two percent of French West Africa's revenue. In fact, colonization was a considerable burden for African taxpayers since French civil servants' salaries absorbed a disproportionate share of local expenditures. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09na41pc24o&r=ger |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | Teachers’ salaries increased in real terms between 2000 and 2011 in virtually all OECD countries, but mostly remain below those of other tertiary-educated workers. Statutory salaries for lower secondary school teachers with 15 years of experience are 35% higher than starting salaries in OECD countries. Among OECD countries, education systems that pay teachers more relative to their national income per capita tend to perform slightly better in mathematics as shown by the PISA study. An increasing number of countries are now targeting salary increases to attract high-level graduates in the profession, to retain the best teachers or to assign the most experienced teachers to disadvantaged schools. |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaaf:21-en&r=ger |
| By: | Divakaran, Shanthi; McGinnis, Patrick J.; Shariff, Masood |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses the constraints for private equity financing of small and medium enterprises in developing economies. In addition to capital, private equity investors bring knowledge and expertise to the companies in which they invest. Through active participation on the board of directors or in partnership with management, private equity investors equip companies with critical improvements in governance, financial accounting, access to markets, technology, and other drivers of business success. Although private equity investors could help to create, deepen, and expand growth of small and medium enterprises in developing economies, the vast majority of private equity in such markets targets larger or more established enterprises. Technical assistance, when partnered with private equity, can unlock more investor commitments and considerably enhance the ability of small and medium enterprises in emerging markets to raise private equity capital. Technical assistance provides funding that allows private equity funds to extend their reach to smaller companies. Technical assistance can mitigate some level of risk and increase the probability of successful investments by funding targeted operational improvements of investee companies. Dedicated technical assistance facilities financed by third parties, such as development finance institutions, governments, or other parties, have emerged to fill this critical need.The paper discusses the provision of investment capital twinned with technical assistance, which is now more accepted by limited partners and general partners or fund managers and is becoming more of a market model for private equity finance focused on small and medium enterprises. |
| Keywords: | Debt Markets,Access to Finance,Emerging Markets,Investment and Investment Climate,Microfinance |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6827&r=ger |
| By: | Etienne Wasmer (Département d'économie); Nicolas Lepage-Saucier; Juliette Schleich |
| Abstract: | Bien que peu prisé des syndicats de salariés et des représentants patronaux, le contrat unique reste paradoxalement au coeur du débat public. Si le contrat unique semble à première vue être une réponse séduisante pour réduire le dualisme, il ne règle pas pour autant les problèmes liés à la précarité et à l’impact de la protection de l’emploi ; ceuxci peuvent être traités par des politiques alternatives ciblées plus efficaces. De plus, bien que réels, les coûts du dualisme sont moins évidents et moins bien démontrés que ceux engendrés par la protection de l’emploi. Enfin, la suppression des CDD entrainerait, à protection inchangée, une perte d’emploi importante car tous ces emplois ne seraient pas remplacés par des CDI compte tenu de la prudence à l’embauche des entreprises. Un assouplissement fort de la protection de l’emploi prévue dans ce nouveau contrat unique serait alors nécessaire, mais il peut d’ores et déjà intervenir dans les cadres légaux actuels et n’a pas à être lié à un nouveau contrat : des contreparties en termes d’assurance chômage ou de formation professionnelle sont possibles. |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n8tj78lbn&r=ger |
| By: | Hisayuki Tsukuma (Faculty of Medicine, Toho University); Tatsuya Kubokawa (Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | 　　 This paper addresses the problem of estimating the normal mean matrix with an unknown covariance matrix. Motivated by an empirical Bayes method, we suggest a unied form of the Efron-Morris type estimators based on the Moore-Penrose inverse. This form not only can be dened for any dimension and any sample size, but also can contain the Efron-Morris type or Baranchik type estimators suggested so far in the literature. Also, the unied form suggests a general class of shrinkage estimators. For shrinkage estimators within the general class, a unied expression of unbiased estimators of the risk functions is derived regardless of the dimension of covariance matrix and the size of the mean matrix. An analytical dominance result is provided for a positive-part rule of the shrinkage estimators. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2014cf926&r=ger |
| By: | Wittenberg, Martin (DataFirst, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | Bhorat and van der Westhuizen (2013) use asset indices to explore inequality in post-Apartheid South Africa. We show that the way in which the asset indices were transformed to calculate the Gini coefficients does not preserve the relative ranking of inequality measures on subgroups. This means that the reported trends are not robust. Even if they were, it is difficult to interpret the coefficients. |
| Keywords: | inequality, asset index |
| JEL: | D63 I32 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:110&r=ger |
| By: | Chao Wang; Ilaria Dalla Pozza |
| Abstract: | Maintaining long-term customer relationships and increasing customer value are always the two crucial objectives in service management and relationship marketing. Both researchers and market practitioners are ardent on exploring and comprehending the drivers of customer lifetime duration and number of future transactions (discounted expected transactions). This study implements a probability model to estimate the lifetime duration and discounted expected transactions with relatively simple and standard discrete-time based transaction data which are easily approachable for managers, and identifies the relational and demographic factors that have significant contribution in the explanation of the variance in customer lifetime duration and discounted expected transactions. Several important managerial implications are discussed to offer some insights to marketing managers and decision makers. |
| Date: | 2014–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-203&r=ger |
| By: | Hairault, Jean-Olivier (University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne); Langot, François (University of Le Mans); Sopraseuth, Thepthida (University of Cergy-Pontoise) |
| Abstract: | Since the last recession, it is usually argued that older workers are less affected by the economic downturn because their unemployment rate rose less than the one of prime-age workers. This view is a myth: older workers are more sensitive to the business cycle. We document volatilities of worker flows and hourly wage across age groups on CPS data. We find that old worker's job flows are characterized by a higher responsiveness to business cycles than their younger counterparts. In contrast, their wage cyclicality is lower than prime-age workers'. Beyond this empirical contribution, we show that a life-cycle Mortensen & Pissarides (1994) model is well suited to explain these facts: older workers' shorter work-life expectancy endogenously reduces their outside options and leads their wages to be less sensitive to the business cycle. Thus, in a market where wage adjustments are small, quantities vary a lot: this is the case for older workers, whereas the youngest behave like infinitively-lived agents. Our theoretical results point out that Shimer (2005)'s view on the MP model is consistent with prime-age workers' labor market while aging endogenously introduces real wage rigidities, allowing to match what we observe for old workers, without specific assumptions as in Hagendorn & Manovskii (2008). |
| Keywords: | search, matching, business cycle, life-cycle |
| JEL: | E32 J11 J23 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8076&r=ger |
| By: | Peter J. Wallison (American Enterprise Institute) |
| Abstract: | In September 2013, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) designated Prudential Financial as a systemically important financial institution (SIFI); its rationale was perfunctory and data-free, suggesting that the FSOC sees no need to justify its designation decisions. Congress must step in, and quickly, before this pattern continues. |
| Keywords: | SIFIs,FSOC,Dodd-Frank Act,banking regulation |
| JEL: | A G |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aei:rpaper:40673&r=ger |
| By: | Xavier Timbeau (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | La région Ile-de-France est caractérisée par une faible augmentation de l’offre de logements et une hausse importante des prix de l’immobilier. Pour lever la contrainte foncière, la densification, tout au moins dans la proche périphérie de l’hypercentre, paraît une solution envisageable. Nous proposons ici un mécanisme de partage de la valeur créée lors d'une densification importante par la destruction d'un immeuble existant et sa reconstruction avec un nombre d’étages accru. Le partage se veut incitatif pour les propriétaires mais aussi pour les collectivités locales. De fait, pour ces dernières, la densification est à la fois une charge économique, implique des investissements, demande de compenser les perdants à la densification et induit un risque de modification de la base électorale. Si la densification se fait par une augmentation suffisante de l’élévation et dans une zone où les prix au m² sont élevés, la valeur créée est alors d'un ordre de grandeur suffisant pour renverser les logiques de malthusianisme foncier à l'oeuvre. En simulant un tel dispositif sur l’Ile-de-France, il apparaît un potentiel de construction d'un million de nouveaux logements, un investissement des collectivités locales de l'ordre de 60 milliards d'euros et un surcroît d’activité dans le bâtiment de près de 140 milliards d'euros. Le dispositif actuel d’assujettissement de la valeur totale des constructions neuves à la TVA au taux normal devrait être aménagé afin de permettre de financer les incitations nécessaires à une telle opération. |
| Keywords: | construction de logement; Etalement urbain; Densité résidentielle; Taxation de basses densités |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09mgl120sj7&r=ger |
| By: | Backman, Mikaela (Jönköping International Business School, & Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS)) |
| Abstract: | It is natural to assume that the characteristics of the bank sector are important factors for new firm formation when external capital is needed for establishing new firms. The local bank sector acts as the main provider of financial funds in Sweden since other sources of external capital are limited. In addition, the banking services needed in the start-up process tend to be sensitive to distance and are mainly supplied locally. Thus, the structure of the local bank sector is an important factor that determines the conditions for start-ups. The finding in this paper supports the hypothesis that new firm formation is positively influenced by (1) the average size of the bank branches, (2) number of independent banks and bank branches per capita, and (3) the intensity of competition level. Access to independent banks and bank branches has a stronger influence on start-ups in more rural locations. |
| Keywords: | new firm formation; local bank sector; Sweden |
| JEL: | G21 L26 R11 |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0358&r=ger |
| By: | Vicente Correia Lima Neto; Cleandro Henrique Krause; Renato Nunes Balbim |
| Abstract: | Este trabalho busca discutir a dinâmica do uso de instrumentos urbanísticos pós-Estatuto da Cidade como elemento de análise dos planos diretores (PDs) municipais. A pesquisa parte do argumento de que a política urbana municipal estaria consolidada a partir da presença do seu instrumento básico – o PD municipal, conforme especifica o Estatuto da Cidade (EC). No entanto, a simples presença desse plano no âmbito do município não reflete sua efetividade. Como avaliar, portanto, tais PDs, que não pela sua simples presença? A premissa desta pesquisa é de que a previsão integrada e detalhada dos instrumentos previstos pelo EC e presentes nos PDs ensejaria planos mais minuciosos e aderentes à realidade municipal. A integração, nesse sentido, poderia ser analisada a partir da construção, previsão e detalhamento de um circuito de intervenção no espaço urbano, que traria os instrumentos urbanísticos como ferramenta transformadora da cidade. Um maior detalhamento a priori, sem a necessidade de regulamentações futuras, permitiria o próximo passo no contexto da política urbana municipal – o nível operacional dos PDs. A escolha dos instrumentos corresponde àqueles que, de certa forma, estão mais presentes no ideário urbano, possuem esse caráter tácito pretendido e possibilitam atuar de forma integrada ou integradora de outros instrumentos. Nesse sentido, o que se denomina circuito é composto dos instrumentos outorga onerosa (OO), operação urbana consorciada (OUC) e zona especial de interesse social (Zeis). Destaca-se ainda que os instrumentos citados já haviam sido utilizados por municípios brasileiros anteriormente ao EC, pesando esse motivo nas suas escolhas. Assim, a existência do circuito favoreceria a consolidação dos princípios da política urbana previstos no EC, o ordenamento do espaço urbano, a recuperação das mais-valias fundiárias urbanas e a provisão habitacional, resultando em proxy da capacidade de ordenamento e efetividade de ação transformadora do PD. Esta análise busca responder, a partir dos dados da Pesquisa de Informações Básicas Municipais (MUNIC) – Perfil dos Municípios Brasileiros, da Rede de Avaliação e Capacitação para Implementação dos Planos Diretores Participativos (Rede PDP) e da leitura da base legal dos municípios que compuseram a amostra, a questionamentos a respeito da incorporação dos preceitos de política urbana previstos no EC, da previsão e do detalhamento dos instrumentos urbanísticos e da eventual influência do porte do município na previsão do circuito. Conclui-se que existe um forte impacto das políticas federais na política urbana municipal, apresentando uma recente inflexão em relação à previsão dos instrumentos urbanísticos. Contudo, observa-se o baixo apontamento das áreas específicas para o uso de tais instrumentos, ou seja, a indicação de seus locais de aplicação nos municípios, a despeito de sua necessidade legal, e uma tendência de maior completude do uso e previsão dos instrumentos em municípios de maior porte e em posições superiores na hierarquia da rede brasileira de cidades. This paper discusses the use of urban policy instruments in Brazil, brought by the City Statute (CS) a federal law passed in 2001 (“Estatuto da Cidade” in Portuguese), as a tool of analysis of municipal master plans (MP). The main argument of this research is that the municipal urban policy would be consolidated by the presence of MP as specified in the CS. However, the mere presence of this plan within the municipality may not reflect its effectiveness. Therefore, how to evaluate the cities master plans if not by their presence? The premise established for this research is that the integrated and detailed prevision of urban policy instruments provided by the CS in the MPs would develop more real and useful MPs. Such integration could be analyzed from the construction, prevision and detailing of a circuit of intervention in the urban space, which would bring the urban instruments as a transformative tool of cities. And, at first, a more detailed MP, without the need for further regulations, could make itself promptly operational. The choice of which instruments to analyse corresponds to those which: i) are more present in Brazil’s urban reform ideary; ii) have tacit knowledge; and iii) enable the integrated use of other instruments. In this sense, what is here called circuit consists of the instruments: i) onerous grant of building rights; ii) urban operations consortium; and iii) special area of social interest. Additionally, the above instruments had been used by the municipalities prior to the CS. Thus, the existence of the circuit would favor the consolidation of the urban policy principles brought by the CS, the rational use of the urban space, the recovery of socially created land values and the provision of social housing. Meanwhile, the circuit could be a proxy of the planning capacity and the effectiveness of a MP. This analysis is based on data from the Survey of Basic Municipal Information (MUNIC) - Profile of Brazilian Municipalities, and from the Network of Assessment and Training for Implementation of Participatory Local Master Plans (PDP) as well as the legal texts of MPs comprised in a sample. The research seeks to answer which facts influence the existence of the circuit: i) city size; ii) if the MPs contain the principles brought by the CS; and iii) the prevision and detailing of urban policy tools in the MPs. We find that there is a strong impact of federal urban policies at a local level, with a recent increase in the prevision of urban policy instruments. However, there are few indications of the sites where they are supposed to be used in the municipalities’ territory. We also observe a trend towards a greater presence of urban policy tools in larger municipalities on higher positions in the hierarchy of the Brazilian network of cities. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:1943&r=ger |
| By: | Jose Olmo; William Pouliot |
| Abstract: | This article introduces a U-statistic type process that is fashioned from a kernal which can depend on nuisance parameters. It is shown that this process can accommodate, in a straightforward manner, anti-symmetric kernels, which have proved useful for detecting changing patterns in the dynamics of time series, and weight functions. Weight functions have been shown to improve the power of test statistics employed to detect these changing patterns throughout the evaluation perios; early and late as well. Theory and related test statistics are developed here and applied to detection of structural breaks in linear regression models (LRM). This flexibility is exploited to develop tests to detect changes in intercept or slope in LRMs that are robust to changes in the rest of medal parameters. The statistics developed here are applied to detect changing patterns in mutual fund manager's stock selecting ability over the period 2001 to 2010. |
| Keywords: | Change-Point tests; CUSUM test; Linear regression models; Stochastic processes; U-Statistics |
| JEL: | C12 C22 C52 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bir:birmec:14-02&r=ger |
| By: | IMK Düsseldorf; OFCE Paris; WIFO Wien |
| Abstract: | The German economy achieved only a weak growth performance in 2012. GDP grew by 0.7 % on annual averages and by just 0.4 % over the course of the year. The prospects during the forecast period are mildly optimistic. The global economy will initially pick up only slowly, but the growth dynamic is expected to be stronger next year, boosting German exports. In the wake of the apparent stabilisation of the Euro area, uncertainty will gradually dissipate and investors will increasingly drop their wait-and-see attitude. Private consumption will, moreover, bolster growth in both the current and the coming year. The Institutes forecast GDP growth of 0.9 % on annual averages this year, a figure which understates the underlying dynamic: comparing the fourth quarter of 2013 with that of 2012 growth will reach a very much more substantial 1.9 %. In 2014 GDP growth is expected to be 1.5 %. The unemployment rate will remain more or less unchanged over the two years, at 5.1 % and 5.0 % on ILO definitions and 6.8 and 6.7 % respectively on German national definitions. Medium-term simulations indicate that the German economy is likely to remain constrained by the impact of the euro area crisis for an extended period. There are two main causal channels: German exports to the euro area will continue to be squeezed severely by the austerity policies being pursued across Europe, and even in Germany fiscal policy is expected to be contractionary, dampening the growth of incomes and domestic demand. Growth is expected to average 1.3 % in the years to 2017. Alternative scenarios show that by means of expansionary policies, including a European investment programme, far more favourable results could be obtained in the euro area as a whole and its member states individually than in the baseline scenario.The recession in the crisis-hit countries and the current stagnation in the remaining EMU member states must be overcome and give way to economic growth strong enough to increase capacity utilization and reduce unemployment. The necessary process of deleveraging must continue and public finances be put on a sustainable footing. At the same time, current account imbalances must be reduced and the financial sector stabilised. The current economic policy strategy, consisting first and foremost of fiscal austerity and a monetary policy rendered ineffective by country-specific risks, will almost certainly be unable to generate sustained improvements in these four key areas.A necessary condition for exiting from the crisis is to make monetary policy effective once more by re-establishing confidence in the government bonds of the crisis countries. This must be accompanied by a turnaround in fiscal policy. Fiscal consolidation must occur in such a way that it does not impinge negatively on aggregate demand. The Macro group proposes a European investment offensive. The crisis countries should receive external financing equal to 1 % of current GDP for a period of five years. This should be used to finance public investment and/or support for private investment. Member States with current account surpluses, especially Germany, should implement expansionary fiscal policy measures representing at least 1 % of GDP, such that they play the role of locomotive for the European business cycle. . |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:report:80e-2013&r=ger |
| By: | Harro Maas |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how Samuelson defined his own role as an economist as a technical expert, who walked what he called ‘the middle of the road’ to – seemingly – stay out of the realm of politics. As point of entry I discuss the highly tempting offers made by Theodore M. Schultz in the 1940s to come over to Chicago, which Schultz persistently repeated over a period of three years and despite strong Chicago faculty resistance. A contrast between Schultz’s own experiences as an economic expert at Iowa State, Samuelson’s work as an external consultant for the National Resources Planning Board during the Second World War and the firm support of the MIT administration for Samuelson’s research, serve to pinpoint the meaning of being technical for Samuelson, and the relation of the technical economic expert to the realm of politics. |
| Keywords: | technical expertise, economic modeling, ‘middle of the road’ economists, National Resources Planning Board, MIT, University of Chicago |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hec:heccee:2014-1&r=ger |
| By: | Michida, Etsuyo; Nabeshima, Kaoru; Ueki, Yasushi |
| Abstract: | This paper summarizes the main results of a unique firm survey conducted in Vietnam in 2011 on product-related environmental regulations (PRERs). The results of this survey are compared with the results of a corresponding survey of firms in Penang, Malaysia (Michida, et al. 2014b). The major findings are as follows. First, adaptation to PRERs involves changes in input procurement and results in market diversification, which potentially alters the structure of supply chains. This finding is consistent with the Malaysian survey result. Second, connections to global supply chains are key to compliance, but this requires firms to meet more stringent customer requirements. Third, government policy can play an important role in assisting firms to comply with PRERs. |
| Keywords: | Vietnam, Environmental protection, Industrial standards, Foreign investments, International trade, Statistics, Global supply chain, FDI, PRERs (Product-related environmental regulations), REACH, RoHS |
| JEL: | F18 O14 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper466&r=ger |
| By: | Eric Heyer (OFCE); Marion Cochard (OFCE); Bruno Ducoudre (OFCE); Hervé Péléraux (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | En 2013, l'économie française devrait croître de 0,2 % en moyenne annuelle, ce qui lui permettrait de retrouver en fin d'année le niveau de production atteint six ans plus tôt, fin 2007. Cette performance médiocre est très éloignée du chemin qu'aurait dû normalement emprunter une économie en sortie de crise. Cinq ans après le début de la crise, le potentiel de rebond de l'économie française est important. Mais cette « reprise » a été freinée principalement par les plans d'écono- mies budgétaires en France et dans l'ensemble des pays européens. Pour la seule année 2013, cette stratégie budgétaire aura amputé de 2,4 points de PIB l'activité en France. La prise de conscience de l'existence de multiplicateurs budgétaires élevés a été tardive, une fois que l'expérience de l'austérité eût produit ses effets sur la croissance. En mai 2013, elle a poussé les autorités européennes à étaler l'effort en prolongeant le délai imparti pour la correction du déficit excessif de six pays de l'Union, dont la France. L'allègement des exigences de la Commission offre un ballon d'oxygène au gouvernement pour atténuer l'austérité en 2014. Selon le budget présenté à l'automne 2013, l'effet interne de l'austérité s'atténuerait de 0,5 point entre 2013 et 2014, et dans la mesure où nos partenaires relâcheraient également leur restriction, une amélioration de la demande adressée à la France est anticipée. Au total, c'est près d'un point de croissance qui serait regagné en 2014 par rapport à 2013 grâce à l'allègement de la rigueur. Dans ces conditions, la croissance devrait être de 1,3 % en 2014 en moyenne annuelle, rythme trop faible pour envisager une amélioration du marché du travail. Le taux de chômage en France métropolitaine augmenterait légèrement pour s'établir à 10,9 % fin 2014. Il s'élèverait à 11,4 % pour la France entière. La contrepartie à l'allègement de la rigueur est un déficit public plus élevé que celui qui avait été initialement programmé. Il devrait s'établir à 3,5 % du PIB en 2014 après avoir atteint 4,1 % en 2013. |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oaor10q44&r=ger |
| By: | Bingley, Paul (The Danish National Centre for Social Research – SFI); Lundborg, Petter (Department of Economics, Lund University); Vincent Lyk-Jensen, Stéphanie (The Danish National Centre for Social Research – SFI) |
| Abstract: | Military conscription implicitly taxes draftees. Those who would have volunteered at the market wage may be forced to serve for lower wages, and those with higher opportunity costs may be forced to serve regardless, yet little is known about the distribution of this burden. We exploit the Danish draft lottery to estimate the causal effect of military service on labor earnings of young men across the cognitive ability distribution. We find that high ability men who are induced to serve face a 7 percent earnings penalty, whereas low ability men face none. Educational career disruption is an important channel. |
| Keywords: | conscription; military service; earnings; draft lottery |
| JEL: | J24 J31 J45 |
| Date: | 2014–03–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2014_010&r=ger |
| By: | Richard Darbéra (LATTS - Laboratoire Techniques, Territoires et Sociétés - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - CNRS : UMR8134) |
| Abstract: | Les taxis ne peuvent prendre des clients dans la rue ou en station qu'à l'intérieur du périmètre de l'autorité qui leur a accordé la licence. C'est leur " zone de prise en charge ". Dans la plupart des pays d'Europe il n'y a que quelques centaines de ces zones. En France il y en a potentiellement 36 000. Leur étroitesse, combinée au fait que ces licences sont négociables, empêche les taxis d'offrir un service optimisé pour le transport de malades ou d'adopter les nouvelles technologies de réservation par applications de téléphonie mobile. |
| Keywords: | taxi; régulation; téléphonie mobile |
| Date: | 2014–02–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00971522&r=ger |
| By: | Hiroyuki Yamada (Associate Professor, Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP)); Satoshi Shimizutani (Research Fellow, Research Division, Gender Equality Bureau, Cabinet Office) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the labor supply outcomes of family care provision for Japanese households in 2010, ten years after the introduction of the public long-term care insurance (LTCI) program. We found that family care provision for parents adversely affected labor market outcomes of main caregivers at home in terms of probability of working, employment status and hours worked. The adverse effect was found to be more serious for female caregivers than for male caregivers. Moreover, our results suggest that the public LTCI program seems to only partially mitigate the disadvantages of the main caregivers for both males and females. |
| Keywords: | Informal care, Caregiver, Long-term care insurance, Labor supply, Japan |
| JEL: | J22 I11 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osp:wpaper:14e004&r=ger |
| By: | Huang, Yongfu; Quibria, M. G. |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether foreign aid, together with other economic, social and environmental factors, contributes to sustainable development. It starts with a theoretical model where sustainable development is modelled as a different kind of growth tha |
| Keywords: | sustainable development, aid effectiveness, post-2015 development agenda, economic growth, natural resource exploitations, energy intensity, factor-IV, factor-GMM |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-057&r=ger |
| By: | Helle M. Alvesson; Menno Mulder-Sibanda |
| Abstract: | The objective of this review was to study where community-based family planning and nutrition programs have been integrated, how this has been accomplished, and what the results have been. Although family planning is a nontraditional intervention in community-based nutrition programs, it can have profound effects on maternal and child health and nutrition. When family planning does not occur, short intervals between pregnancies deplete mothers' reserves of nutrients needed for pregnancy and later for breastfeeding. As a result, short birth intervals are associated with higher maternal and neonatal mortality and malnutrition rates of infants. Family planning, which promotes contraceptive use and the lactational amenorrhea method, can thus improve nutrition outcomes in both mothers and babies. The authors identified a few studies on integrated services in the published literature; thus the main part of the review is built on operational research studies and unpublished smaller scale intervention studies. However, the controlled studies that were identified indicate positive correlation between breastfeeding levels and increased contraception use. Additionally, although the design of the intervention studies did not make it possible to assess the degree to which integration had an impact, the studies did highlight factors that were key to a successful integration process. These are community engagement; multiple and frequent contact points between mothers, community volunteers, and health workers; involvement of husbands; moving implementation decisions closer to the users of the program; and assuring transparency, clarity, and simplicity in the transmission of development objectives to communities. |
| Keywords: | abortion, access to family planning, access to health care, adolescent girls, adolescent pregnancies, adolescents, age of marriage, Antenatal care, antenatal visits, ... See More + vailability of family planning, babies, baby, BASIC HEALTH CARE, Behavior Change, birth control, breast milk, breastfeeding, care during pregnancy, Child Development, child health, child health services, child marriage, Child Mortality, child mortality rate, child mortality rates, CHILD NUTRITION, CHILD SURVIVAL, childbearing, childbirth, children per woman, clinics, Community health, complementary food, condoms, contraception, contraceptive method, Contraceptive prevalence, contraceptive services, contraceptive use, counselors, declines in fertility, delivery care, demographic targets, development objectives, diabetes, diseases, Early childbearing, economic growth, economic status, emergency obstetric care, exchange of information, existing family planning, families, Family Health, Family Health International, FAMILY PLANNING, family planning methods, FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMS, family planning services, family size, fertility, fertility rate, fertility rates, fewer pregnancies, first pregnancy, forms of contraception, gender issues, global policy, HEALTH CARE, health care providers, health care services, health centers, HEALTH EDUCATION, health facilities, health indicators, health interventions, health messages, health outcomes, health promotion, Health sector, health system, health systems, health workers, high child mortality, HIV, home visits, hospital, hospitals, household surveys, Human Development, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, husbands, hygiene, ill-health, Illness, immunization, Immunizations, Immunodeficiency, individual women, Infant, infant feeding, Infant mortality, Infant mortality rate, infant mortality rates, infant nutrition, INTEGRATING FAMILY PLANNING, international organizations, intervention, iodine deficiency, iron, IUD, IUDs, lactational amenorrhea, lactational amenorrhea method, LAM, large families, laws, live births, local community, longitudinal research, Low-Income Settings, male involvement, malnourished children, maternal care, maternal deaths, maternal health, MATERNAL MORTALITY, Maternal mortality rate, maternal mortality rates, Maternal mortality ratio, maternal nutrition, maternity services, medical facilities, midwife, midwifery, midwives, Millennium Development Goals, Ministry of Health, modern contraceptives, morbidity, mortality, mortality among infants, MORTALITY REDUCTIONS, mother, national Drug, national level, National Population, National Population Policy, neonatal mortality, newborns, number of children, number of women, nurses, NUTRITION, nutrition education, nutritional status, oral contraceptives, outreach workers, peer groups, pill, population control, population growth, postabortion, postabortion care, postnatal care, postpartum period, practitioners, pregnancies, pregnancy, pregnant women, preventive health care, Primary Health Care, progress, promotion of family planning, provision of family planning, puberty, public debate, Public Health, public health services, quality of services, radio, religious leaders, reproductive age, reproductive health, reproductive health services, risk of death, role models, rural areas, safe motherhood, sanitation, scientific evidence, screening, service delivery, sexually active, siblings, skilled personnel, small families, smaller families, social services, stillbirth, surgery, teenage girls, teenage pregnancies, teenagers, UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, unmarried adolescent, unmarried women, use of family planning, use of family planning methods, vaccination, village chiefs, voluntary family planning, woman, workers, World Health Organization, Young Child, young children |
| Date: | 2013–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:hnpdps:85743&r=ger |
| By: | Arraigada, Mariana Cecilia |
| Keywords: | Calidad de los Servicios; Engagement; Clima Organizacional; Recursos Humanos |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nmp:nuland:1929&r=ger |
| By: | Christophe Blot (OFCE); Danielle Schweisguth (OFCE); Céline Antonin (OFCE); Sabine Le Bayon (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Après six trimestres de baisse, la zone euro a renoué avec une croissance positive au deuxième trimestre 2013, le PIB progressant de 0,3 %. À l’exception du secteur de la construction, les enquêtes de conjoncture sont mieux orientées, confirmant le retour d’une croissance positive dans les prochains trimestres sur l’ensemble de la zone. La confiance des marchés est revenue, comme en témoigne la poursuite de la baisse des taux souverains en Espagne en Italie. Un mouvement de convergence semble d'ailleurs amorcé puisque dans le même temps les taux sur la dette souveraine allemande et française ont augmenté. Les risques de crise de liquidité dans la zone euro semblent aussi s'atténuer. Le guichet de la BCE reste ouvert et les demandes de refinancement diminuent progressivement. La crainte d'un éclatement de la zone euro étant écartée, les principales menaces qui pourraient contrarier le retour de la croissance dans la zone euro résident dans la poursuite de l'ajustement budgétaire. Pour autant, il est encore prématuré d’affirmer que la zone euro est sortie de la récession. La poursuite, même à un moindre rythme, de la consolidation conjuguée aux pressions à la baisse des salaires en lien avec le niveau élevé du chômage pèsera sur le pouvoir d’achat des ménages dans la plupart des pays. Il ne devrait donc pas y avoir de reprise par la consommation, en dehors du cas particulier de l’Allemagne. La croissance sera insuffisante pour combler l’écart de croissance qui s’est creusé et réduire les divergences qui sont apparues dans la zone euro. Les pressions déflationnistes dans les pays du sud de l’Europe restent fortes, ce qui contraint le pouvoir d’achat et la consommation des ménages, en particulier les agents les plus endettés qui doivent faire face à leurs échéances. Dans ces conditions, la zone euro restera écartelée entre une fraction de pays où la crise laisse peu de traces et une autre durablement affaiblie économiquement, financièrement et socialement. |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oaoq8f41m&r=ger |
| By: | Satoshi Baba (Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | 　　 Germany's urban land policy (kommunale Bodenpolitik) attracted the attention of foreign countries. There were also many contemporary publications about this policy in Germany because it was a precondition for city planning, which included housing and transportation policies. The aim of this paper is to clarify Frankfurt am Main's land policy at the turn of the twentieth century, especially under Franz Adickes' era. Adickes, the third senior mayor (1891-1912), carried out urban land policy as a consciously planned intervention in the land market. His land policy had two additional objectives: The first was securing land for administrative buildings and public facilities. The second was the facilitation of city extension and the preparation for future incorporation. Frankfurt's municipal land increased from 4,229.17 ha in 1900 to 6,370.19 ha in 1913. Land purchased by the city consisted of 11,649 estates during the period 1895-1915. Conversely, land sold during the same period consisted of only 2,465 estates because it was difficult to set land prices. As a result, the Erbbaurecht (Heritable Building Right) was utilized as a substitute measure for land sales. Though Frankfurt's urban land policy produced good results, it was forced to change owing to 'the predominance of purchasing policy' and increasing debt. Thus, the state government also became involved with the land and housing policies. The land policy shifted from the stage of 'social city' to that of 'social state' after World War I. |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2014cf920&r=ger |
| By: | Richard V. Burkhauser (Cornell University and University of Melbourne); T. Lynn Fisher (Social Security Administration); Andrew J. Houtenville (University of New Hampshire); Jennifer R. Tennant (Ithaca College) |
| Abstract: | Using linked 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS)-Annual Social and Economic Supplement/Social Security Administration records data and a definition of disability based on the six-question disability sequence (6QS) in the CPS-Basic Monthly Survey, we perform a face validity test that shows that the 6QS captures only 66.3 percent of those who administrative records confirm are receiving Social Security benefits based on their disability. Adding a work-activity question to the 6QS increases our capture rate by another 23.1 percentage points for a total of 89.3 percent. We find little difference in the distribution of conditions between those who only report a 6QS-based disability and those who only report a work activity-based disability. The four function-related questions in the 6QS do a relatively good job of capturing those receiving benefits based on these conditions. But the work-activity question does a far better job of capturing those receiving benefits than the two activity-related questions in the 6QS. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrr:papers:wp267&r=ger |
| By: | Xavier Timbeau (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | L'accélération attendue de la croissance mondiale en 2014 pourrait enfin laisser espérer la fin du marasme après six années de crise. Le terme possible de la crise dans la zone euro porte l'espoir d'une normalisation du fonctionnement de l'économie mondiale. Mais, au-delà de quelques chiffres positifs publiés depuis le début de l'année et de l'anticipation d'une fin de récession dans la zone euro, rien aujourd'hui n'indique que les difficultés sont surmontées. Les mécanismes de la crise des dettes souveraines peuvent se réactiver, les péripéties politico-budgétaires américaines, qui ont trouvé une issue temporaire, peuvent resurgir début 2014 et les tensions autour de la fiscalité et la hausse du chômage nourrissent les inquiétudes sociales. Selon les tenants de la rigueur à marche forcée, l'amélioration du climat conjoncturel dans la zone euro illustrerait les premiers bénéfices de la stratégie de consolidation budgétaire telle qu'elle a été conduite depuis 2010. C'est négliger l'effet multiplicateur très négatif de la rigueur sur l'activité, l'absence de coordination des ajustements qui a accentué l'effet récessif de ces choix de politique économique, et le mauvais calibrage de l'effort imposé aux pays qui a étouffé la reprise naissante en 2010 et empêché la résorption de la partie conjoncturelle des déficits. On peut plutôt voir dans l'embellie de la conjoncture en zone euro la conséquence des arrangements institutionnels qui ont permis de contenir la crise des dettes souveraines et qui ont consisté à faire endosser le risque de détention de dette souveraine par des tiers via une forme de mutualisation. La zone euro sera enlisée dans la faible croissance d'ici à 2015 et ne pourra guère compter sur le dynamisme vacillant de ses partenaires extérieurs, les États-Unis et les pays émergents. |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oaop3ak9h&r=ger |
| By: | Miles Parker; Benjamin Wong (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | Exchange rate changes affect prices in New Zealand. Using data from the last 25 years, this note illustrates how the inflation responses have differed depending on what caused the exchange rate to move. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nzb:nzbans:2014/01&r=ger |
| By: | Jérôme Maucourant (TRIANGLE - Triangle : action, discours, pensée politique et économique - CNRS : UMR5206 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Lyon - École Normale Supérieure (ENS) - Lyon - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne) |
| Abstract: | La crise que traverse le capitalisme occidental devrait avoir une conséquence théorique immédiate : contester les énoncés de la " science économique " dominante, qui se glorifie d'être une science, alors qu'elle est avant tout un outil performatif du capitalisme transnational dont la puissance ne réside pas dans la caractère " autorégulateur " des marchés concurrentiels, mais dans sa capacité à dévaluer le travail humain et nier les formes de vie. Ceci implique d'en revenir à la problématique de l' " économie politique ", qui part des fondements sociaux et institutionnels rendant possible la création de richesses. Mais, le passage au postcapitalisme, que peut précipiter la catastrophe dite " écologique ", devrait aussi impliquer de repenser à nouveaux frais le concept de capitalisme lui-même. Le propos de l'article est ainsi d'opposer le vieux principe capitaliste au système capitaliste, lequel est donc nouveau et contingent, ce qui est intéressant dans une perspective postcapitaliste. Certes, la puissance du " capitalisme rationnel ", inventé par l'Occident, est remarquable, mais sa dynamique même le conduit à une irrationalisation profonde de la vie sociale et, in fine, économique, du fait que le " fétichisme de la liquidité " est devenu son principe organisateur. Paradoxalement, l'émergence de formes alternatives de capitalisme, adaptant et actualisant, comme en Chine, les vieux principes du " capitalisme politique " à la Weber, a rendu possible la mondialisation. Sans les marchés créés par le capitalisme occidental, la mondialisation n'eût certes pas été possible, mais, sans la diversité des capitalismes, elle n'aurait pas pu se poursuivre. L'inquiétante convergence de ce processus capitaliste est liquidation de l'idée même de contrôle démocratique de l'économie. |
| Keywords: | Capitalisme politique, capitalisme rationnel, Marx, Weber, postcapitalisme |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00967678&r=ger |
| By: | Camille Hémet (Aix-Marseille School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | La diversité reflète le fait que les membres d’une communauté diffèrent selon certaines caractéristiques, liées à l'origine ethnique, au statut socio-économique ou à la culture. L’essor du commerce et l'intégration économique placent les sociétés modernes face à des niveaux de diversité croissants. Cette thèse évalue l’impact social et économique de la diversité locale. elle montre comment la diversité d’un quartier influe sur les conditions de vie et les perspectives d'emploi de ses habitants. Ce travail contribue à la littérature de trois façons: il examine des questions inexplorées à un niveau très local, révèle les mécanismes sous-jacents et fournit de nouvelles méthodes pour aborder la question de l'endogénéité. Le chapitre 1 montre que la diversité des origines a un effet négatif sur la qualité des biens publics locaux, du fait d’actes de vandalisme liés à un manque de pression des pairs, et du fait de l'échec de l'action collective qui permettrait une gestion efficace de la propriété. Aucun effet robuste sur la sécurité publique n’est à noter. Le chapitre 2 révèle que l'effet du chômage sur la criminalité a une dimension spatiale. Pour les crimes économiques, le taux de chômage des quartiers environnants a un effet plus fort que celui du voisinage immédiat, l'inverse étant vrai pour vandalisme. Le chapitre 3 montre que les personnes vivant dans un quartier plus diversifié ont des perspectives d'emploi inférieures, cet effet étant plus lié à la dimension culturelle qu’ethnique de la diversité. Le chapitre 4 développe un modèle rationalisant le recours des minorités ethniques à l'économie informelle en réponse à des conditions défavorables sur le marché du travail. |
| Keywords: | diversité ethnique et culturelle, conditions de vie, relations sociales, chômage; ethnic and cultural diversity, living conditions social, relationships, unemployment |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6o65lgig8d0qcro9oj5ak8gr4&r=ger |
| By: | Einav Hart; Judith Avrahami; Yaakov Kareev; Peter M. Todd |
| Abstract: | Many competitions require investment of nonrefundable resources, e.g., political campaigns, financial markets, sports or courting rituals. One contestant wins the prize for the invested amount, while all others forfeit their investments without receiving compensation. Frequently, contests are asymmetric, due to differing resources or prize valuations. This could lead weaker contestants to avoid investing, and stronger ones to lower their investment. Two experiments explored the effects of asymmetry between the contestants – arising from their endowments or prizes – on investments. Subjects played both symmetric and asymmetric contests, enabling direct within-subject comparisons. We observed an effect of asymmetry only when it concerned endowments: Subjects invested less when their endowments were asymmetric, whereas (a-)symmetry in the prizes did not influence investments. The changes between consecutive investments can be explained by reactions to the previous outcome (win or loss) in terms of regret over the previous investment being too much or too little. |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:huj:dispap:dp660&r=ger |
| By: | Kemal Türkcan (Akdeniz University) |
| Abstract: | Purpose: Recent empirical research in international trade emphasizes the role of the extensive and intensive margin to the export growth. This paper examines the sources of export growth in Turkey. For this purpose, the study decomposes Turkey’s export growth into extensive and intensive margins by using two methodologies, the count method and the decomposition method of export growth shares. The intensive margin into price and quantity components is further decomposed in order to evaluate the role of changes in price and changes in quantity. Detailed bilateral trade data, BACI, from CEPII are employed to analyze Turkey’s export statistics with 209 countries at the HS-6 level over the period 1998–2011. Additionally, these methods are employed for different categories of goods (final goods and intermediate goods exports). The results suggest that the extensive margin, particularly geographic diversification, plays the most important role in Turkey’s total goods export growth. Further, the growth in Turkey’s total goods exports is mainly explained by quantity rather than price growth. The results further point out that growth in Turkey’s final goods was driven by price growth, whereas growth in intermediate goods exports was mainly explained by quantity growth. Yet the results also suggested that product and geographic diversification of Turkey’s have not been fully realized and thus many more opportunities exist for Turkey to expand product range or expand into new markets, which in turn will bring significant benefits in the form of stable, sustainable economic growth. |
| Keywords: | Turkey, export margins |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tek:wpaper:2014/2&r=ger |
| By: | Céline Antonin (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Fin 2012, l’Italie a réussi à ramener son déficit budgétaire à 3 % du PIB et à respecter ses engagements européens. La réduction du déficit est pourtant lente si l’on tient compte de l’ampleur de l’impulsion budgétaire : en raison d’un multiplicateur supérieur à 1, la réduction du déficit de 0,8 points en 2012 a nécessité une impulsion négative de 3 points de PIB. Ainsi, la purge budgétaire s’est faite au prix d’une forte récession : au deuxième trimestre 2013, l’Italie a enregistré son huitième trimestre consécutif de baisse du PIB. Au premier semestre 2013, la consommation privée a fortement chuté (-3,3 %) de même que l’investissement ; seule le commerce extérieur a permis d’amortir la baisse de PIB, mais seulement par le canal de la chute des importations. |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oashm8m15&r=ger |
| By: | Jae-Hyun Jung; Eli Peli |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qsh:wpaper:154791&r=ger |
| By: | Alexander Herzog-Stein; Fabian Lindner; Rudolf Zwiener |
| Abstract: | In the last decade economic policy in Germany was strongly focused on supply-side policies, and the demand side was mainly ignored. Labour-market and welfare-state reforms reduced firms' costs from wages, social security contributions, and taxes. The aim was to increase incentives for job creation. In the public debate many claim that the implemented supply-side policies were a success story. However, the question is how successful these one-sided supply-side policies have really been since the end of the 1990s. By comparing business cycles in Germany over time, comparing Germany's economic development to other European countries, and by using macro-econometric simulations this question is investigated and all the implemented supply- and demand-side policies of the last ten to fifteen years are examined. It is shown that the implemented structural reforms weakened aggregate demand for a long time. Since appropriate demand-side policies were neglected, the consequence was a long period of stagnating aggregate demand. During this period foreign demand for German goods was nearly the only source for growth impulses. Consequently, German economic and employment performance was worse than in other European economies. Only with more active anti-cyclical demand-side policies and the tripartite policy of safeguarding jobs during the global financial crisis 2008/09 did economic circumstances change. The macro-econometric simulations with the IMK-Model show that a macro-economically oriented wage policy and fiscal and welfare policies that stabilise aggregate demand would have led to a better and more evenly balanced economic performance, to more jobs and less inequality in Germany. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:report:87e-2013&r=ger |
| By: | Thomas Masterson |
| Abstract: | The quality of match of the statistical match used in the LIMTIP estimates for South Korea in 2009 is described. The match combines the 2009 Korean Time Use Survey (KTUS 2009) with the 2009 Korean Welfare Panel Study (KWPS 2009). The alignment of the two datasets is examined, after which various aspects of the match quality are described. The match is of high quality, given the nature of the source datasets. The method used to simulate employment response to availability of jobs in the situation in which child-care subsidies are available is described. Comparisons of the donor and recipient groups for each of three stages of hot-deck statistical matching are presented. The resulting distribution of jobs, earnings, usual hours of paid employment, household production hours, and use of child-care services are compared to the distribution in the donor pools. The results do not appear to be anomalous, which is the best that can be said of the results of such a procedure. |
| Keywords: | Statistical Matching; Time Use; Household Production; Poverty; LIMTIP; South Korea |
| JEL: | C14 C40 D31 J22 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_793&r=ger |
| By: | Silfverberg, Denise Valerie |
| Abstract: | The Individually Paying Program (IPP) is the voluntary component of the Philippines` social health insurance program. The program caters to those in the informal sector and those without a formal employer-employee relationship. Coverage levels for the IPP were found to be considerably low with a regional average of 57 percent and a provincial average of 53 percent. Massive variation between provinces was found. Four important factors were identified when looking into said variation. First, availability and accessibility is an issue. Second, substitution effect between private and public facilities was observed. Third, income levels do not appear to be a factor in determining the level of insurance coverage. Lastly, the size of certain sectors had a significant effect on the coverage levels observed in the province. Although there is a need to corroborate the findings with an individual-level analysis, these results are good indicators to start with in order to address the lack of coverage in the voluntary program of PhilHealth. |
| Keywords: | health care financing, Philippines, social health insurance, universal coverage, informal sector, voluntary program |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2014-15&r=ger |
| By: | Pickbourn, Lynda; Ndikumana, Leonce |
| Abstract: | While developing countries have made some progress in achieving human development since the turn of the century, many are still lagging behind in important human development goals such as education, health, nutrition and access to clean drinking water and |
| Keywords: | foreign aid, human development, gender equity, education, health |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-066&r=ger |
| By: | Martin Gelter (Fordham University School of Law); Kristoffel Grechenig (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods & Amsterdam Center for Law & Economics (ACLE)) |
| Abstract: | The roots of law & economics lie in late 19th century continental Europe. However, this early movement did not persist, having been cut off in the 1930s. After World War II, modern law & economics was (re-)invented in the United States and subsequently grew into a major field of research at U.S. law schools. In continental Europe, law & economics was re-imported as a discipline within economics, driven by economists interested in legal issues rather than by legal scholars. Hence, the European discourse was more strongly influenced by formal analysis, using mathematical models. Today, research in the U.S., Europe, and in other countries around the world, including Latin America and Asia, uses formal, empirical, and intuitive methods. New subfields, such as behavioral law & economics and experimental law & economics, have grown in the U.S. and in Europe during the past two decades. |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpg:wpaper:2014_05&r=ger |
| By: | Gaétan de Rassenfosse (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, and Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia, The University of Melbourne); Hélène Dernis (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris); Geert Boedt (European Patent Office, Austria) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an introduction to the Patstat patent database. It offers guided examples of ten popular queries that are relevant for research purposes and that cover the most important data tables. It is targeted at academic researchers and practitioners willing to learn the basics of the database. |
| Keywords: | Patent, Patstat |
| JEL: | O30 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2014n08&r=ger |
| By: | Cristos Shiamptanis (LCERPA) |
| Abstract: | This study revisits the sectoral shifts hypothesis for the US for the period 1948 to 2011. A quantile regression approach is employed in order to investigate the asymmetric nature of the relationship between sectoral employment and unemployment. Significant asymmetries emerge. Lilien's dispersion index is significant only for relatively high levels of unemployment and becomes insignificant for low levels suggesting that reallocation affects unemployment only when the latter is high. More job reallocation is associated with higher unemployment. |
| Keywords: | unemployment, employment reallocation, sectoral shifts, aggregate shocks, conditional quantile regression model, bootstrapping; Nonlinear Öscal rule, Fiscal Sustainability, Solvency Crisis, Policy Switching, Canada |
| JEL: | C63 E62 E63 F34 H63 |
| Date: | 2014–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wlu:lcerpa:wm0070&r=ger |
| By: | Sumner, Andy |
| Abstract: | The majority of the world.s poor, by income poverty and multi-dimensional poverty, now live in countries officially classified by the World Bank as middle-income countries. Of course nothing happens when a country crosses a (somewhat) arbitrary threshold |
| Keywords: | poverty, inequality, economic development |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-062&r=ger |
| By: | Orazio Attanasio; Sally Grantham-McGregor; Camila Fernández; Emla Fitzsimons; Marta Rubio-Codina; Costas Meghir |
| Keywords: | Home Enviornment, Low-Income Families, Colombia, Child Development |
| JEL: | F Z |
| Date: | 2013–06–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:8090&r=ger |
| By: | Keith Head (Sauder School of Business [British Columbia]); Thierry Mayer (Département d'économie); Mathias Thoenig (Centre Universitaire d'Informatique) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the consequences of replacing the assumption of Pareto heterogeneity with log-normal heterogeneity. This case is interesting because it (a) maintains some desirable analytic features of Pareto, (b) ts the complete distribution of rm sales rather than just approximating the right tail, and (c) can be generated under equally plausible processes (see online appendix). The log-normal is reasonably tractable but its use sacrices some \scale-free" properties conveyed by the Pareto distribution. Aspects of the the calibration that do not matter under Pareto lead to important dierences in the gains from trade under log-normal. |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p2m9j4i07&r=ger |
| By: | Stefan Lutz (Royal Docks Business School, University of East London) |
| Abstract: | Economic theory implies that research and development (R&D) efforts increase firm productivity and ultimately profits. In particular, R&D expenses lead to the development of intangible assets in the form of intellectual property (IP) and these assets command a return that increases overall profits of the firm. This hypothesis is investigated for the North American and European automotive supplier industries. Results indicate that R&D expenses in fact increase both intangible asset levels and their profit contributions. In particular, increases in the R&D expense to sales ratio lead to increases in the profit contribution of intangible assets relative to sales. This indicates that more R&D intensive IP should command higher royalty rates per sales when licensed to third parties and within multinational enterprises alike. |
| Keywords: | Productivity; Intellectual property; Royalties; MNE; Transfer pricing. |
| JEL: | D24 L20 L62 M21 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucm:doicae:1406&r=ger |
| By: | Alp Simsek (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); Anton Korinek (Johns Hopkins University and IMF) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the role of debt market policies in mitigating liquidity traps driven by household leverage. When borrowers engage in deleveraging, the interest rate needs to fall to induce lenders to pick up the decline in aggregate demand. However, if the fall in the interest rate is limited by the zero lower bound, aggregate demand is insufficient and the economy enters a liquidity trap. In such an environment, households' borrowing and saving decisions are associated with aggregate demand externalities. The competitive equilibrium allocation is constrained inefficient. Welfare can be improved by ex-ante restrictions on leverage to mitigate prospective deleveraging. Ex-post policies to write down debt also generate positive demand externalities. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed013:1369&r=ger |
| By: | M. Neuenkirch, P. Siklos (LCERPA) |
| Abstract: | Monetary policy decisions are typically taken after a committee has deliberated and voted on a proposal. However, there are well-known risks associated with committee-based decisions. In this paper we examine the record of the shadow Monetary Policy Council in Canada. Given the structure of the committee, how decision-making takes place, as well as the voting arrangements, the MPC does not face the same information cascades and group polarization risks faced by actual decision-makers in central bank monetary policy councils. We find a considerable diversity of opinion about the recommended future path of interest rates inside the MPC. Beginning with the explicit forward guidance provided by the Bank of Canada market determined forward rates diverge considerably from the recommendations implied by the MPC. There is little evidence that the Bank and the MPC coordinate their future views about the interest rate path. However, it is difficult to explain the basis on which median voter inside the MPC, as well as doves and hawks on the committee, change their views about future changes in policy rates. This implies that there remain challenges in understanding the evolution of future interest rate paths over time. |
| Keywords: | Bank of Canada, central bank communication, committee behaviour, monetary policy committees, shadow councils, Taylor rules |
| JEL: | E43 E52 E58 E61 E69 |
| Date: | 2014–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wlu:lcerpa:wm0066&r=ger |
| By: | Silfverberg, Raymunda R. |
| Abstract: | This study established the breadth of socialized Philippine health insurance, known as the PhilHealth Sponsored Program. It examined the extent of coverage relative to its target "poor" population, how much coverage rates varied across provinces and the factors likely to explain variation. PhilHealth Sponsored Program appeared to have attained universal coverage over the targeted "poor" population at the national level for the year 2011. However, universal coverage was not true in all regions or provinces. Majority of provinces experienced mild to extreme leakages in the program. Several demand and supply variables identified to have strong statistical significance in explaining variations were age-groups, education, LGUs` real per capita income, health expenditures, governance style, accessibility to PHIC support offices and availability of health professionals, all of which were found to very likely affect undercoverage rates relative to full coverage. Severity of poverty, administrative and political governance, and availability of accredited RHUs and private hospitals provided strong statistical evidence in influencing the levels of leakage vis-a-vis full coverage. Effects of most variables conformed to expectations. Results of the study point to a number of research issues that can be undertaken and some policy recommendations addressed to the national agencies and local government implementers and financiers for the PhilHealth Sponsored Program. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, PhilHealth Sponsored Program, universal coverage, national health insurance, regional/provincial PhilHealth coverage, NHTS-PR data, Good Governance Index (GGI) |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2014-19&r=ger |
| By: | Mikel Berdud (Departamento de Economía-UPNA); Juan M. Cabasés Hita (Departamento de Economía-UPNA); Jorge Nieto (Departamento de Economía-UPNA) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores optimal incentive schemes in public health institutions when agents (doctors) are intrinsically motivated. We develop a principal-agent dynamic model with moral hazard in which agents’ intrinsic motivation could be promoted (crowding-in) by combining monetary and non-monetary rewards, but could also be discouraged (crowding-out) when the health manager uses only monetary incentives. We discuss the conditions under which investing in doctors’ motivational capital by the use of well designed nonmonetary rewards is optimal for the health organizations manager. Our results show that such investments will be more efficient than pure monetary incentives in the long run. We will also prove that when doctors are riskaverse, it is profitable for the health manager to invest in motivational capital. |
| Keywords: | contracts, moral hazard, intrinsic motivation, crowding effects, motivational capital |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nav:ecupna:1402&r=ger |
| By: | Yolanda F. Rebollo-Sanz (Department of Economics, Universidad Pablo de Olavide); Jose Ignacio García Pérez (Department of Economics, Universidad Pablo de Olavide) |
| Abstract: | Unemployment insurance is usually found to show negative effects in the transition from unemployment to a new job. However, the extent to which workers’ careers might improve or deteriorate as a result of the unemployment insurance system is not immediately clear. This paper addresses the effects of certain aspects of this system on employment stability by jointly accounting for benefits endogeneity, dynamic selection issues and occurrence dependence. The analysis is undertaken for a dual labour market, such as the market in Spain, where temporary and permanent workers differ with respect to numerous individual and labour market characteristics. We find that non-insured unemployed workers experience a greater rate of transition to employment than insured workers. But we also find that benefits encourage job stability for temporary workers not only by increasing subsequent job tenure but also by increasing the probability of entering into a permanent contract. Finally, we get that shortening the duration of the benefit entitlement period does not seem to lead to significant gains in overall employment stability, which increases at most by 4.3%. . |
| Keywords: | Unemployment insurance; Multivariate Mixed Proportional Hazard Model; Job Turnover; Employment Stability; Employment Dynamics |
| JEL: | J63 J64 J65 J68 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pab:wpaper:14.02&r=ger |
| By: | Li, Defu; Huang, Jiuli; Zhou, Ying |
| Abstract: | Taking into account the adjustment costs of investment, this paper proves that it is not the neoclassical growth model itself but the specific form of capital accumulation function that requires technical change to exclusively be Harrod neutral in steady state. Uzawa’s(1961)steady-state growth theorem holds only when the marginal efficiency of capital accumulation is constant, which implies that the capital supply is infinitely elastic. Therefore, it is unnecessary to make strong assumptions about the shape of the production function and the direction of technical change for neoclassical growth model to exhibit steady-state growth. |
| Keywords: | Neoclassical Growth Model; Uzawa’s Steady-state Growth Theorem; Direction of Technical Change;Adjustment Cost |
| JEL: | E13 O33 O41 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:55046&r=ger |
| By: | Marina Durano (School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman) |
| Abstract: | The Magna Carta of Women (R.A. 7910) is the Philippines comprehensive women’s human rights law. The Magna Carta of Women is found to be consistent with Rawlsian notions of justice, particularly when it undertakes inequality evaluation in primary goods. Identity-based inequality evaluation is also present in the Magna Carta of Women as implied in its definition of discrimination and marginalization. With the state as the primary duty bearer, the Magna Carta of Women gives prominence to an instrumental view of agency since participation is mediated through state mechanisms and institutions. The Magna Carta of Women fails to acknowledge the contributions of care work and the implications of the gendered division of labor. The capabilities approach highlights the challenges attached to these observations. Where human rights are viewed as ethical demands, the MCW succeeds in giving attention to aspects of women’s lives that require state support. |
| Keywords: | gender equality, law and economics, human rights, capabilities |
| JEL: | K3 J16 K00 D63 I31 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phs:dpaper:201404&r=ger |
| By: | Elsayed, Ahmed (ROA, Maastricht University); de Grip, Andries (ROA, Maastricht University); Fouarge, Didier (ROA, Maastricht University) |
| Abstract: | Using data from the UK Skills Surveys, we show that the part-time pay penalty for female workers within low- and medium-skilled occupations decreased significantly over the period 1997-2006. The convergence in computer use between part-time and full-time workers within these occupations explains a large share of the decrease in the part-time pay penalty. However, the lower part-time pay penalty is also related to lower wage returns to reading and writing which are performed more intensively by full-time workers. Conversely, the increasing returns to influencing has increased the part-time pay penalty despite the convergence in the influencing task input between part-time and full-time workers. The relative changes in the input and prices of computer use and job tasks together explain more than 50 percent of the decrease in the part-time pay penalty. |
| Keywords: | part-time work, pay penalty, job tasks, computer use |
| JEL: | J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8069&r=ger |
| By: | Jae-Hyun Jung |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qsh:wpaper:155036&r=ger |
| By: | Anouk Bonnemains (EDYTEM - Environnements, Dynamiques et Territoires de la Montagne - CNRS : UMR5204 - Université de Savoie) |
| Abstract: | La France est l'une des premières nations pour les sports d'hiver avec les Etats Unis et l'Autriche. Le département de la Savoie rassemble 39,2 % de part de marché, 37% de la fréquentation touristique hivernale se regroupent dans 13 très grandes stations dont 8 se trouvent en Savoie . Au sein de ce même département la fréquentation est concentrée sur la Tarentaise . La Tarentaise a donc un poids important dans l'industrie des sports d'hiver, engendrant une quasi mono-économie sur le territoire. Il semble donc intéressant de questionner ces " très grandes stations " au regard des changements climatiques et de leur liens avec le territoire dans un contexte de construction territoriale. Certain élus locaux cherchent à renforcer leur légitimé à travers une politique climatique et la mise en place de politiques territoriales volontaire : Schéma de Cohérence Territoriale, Plan Climat Energie. Deux grandes questions souhaitent être traitées dans cet article : comment la spécialisation dans le tourisme hivernal, modèle performant économiquement, a entraîné une forte vulnérabilité du territoire face aux changements climatiques ? Et de fait, comment le système touristique est pris en charge dans les politiques climatiques territoriales ? Et comment celle-ci sont comprises dans des politiques territoriales plus large ? |
| Keywords: | Tourisme; Innovation; Changement global ; Labex ITEM ; Montagne; Tarentaise |
| Date: | 2014–01–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00966470&r=ger |
| By: | Sidartha Gordon (Département d'économie); Olivier Bochet (University of Bern); René Saran |
| Abstract: | We consider collective decision problems given by a profile of single-peakedpreferences defined over the real line and a set of pure public facilities to be located on the line. In this context, Bochet and Gordon (2012) provide a large class of priority rules based on efficiency, object-population monotonicity and sovereignty. Each such rule is described by a fixed priority ordering among interest groups. We show that any priority rule which treats agents symmetrically - anonymity - , respects some form of coherence across collective decision problems - reinforcement - and only depends on peak information - peak-only -, is a weighted majoritarian rule. Each such rule defines priorities based on the relative size of the interest groups and specific weights attached to locations. We give an explicit account of the richness of this class of rules. |
| Keywords: | Multiple Public Facilities; Priority Rules; Weighted Majori- tarian Rules; Object-Population Monotonicity; Sovereignty; Reinforcement; Anonymity. |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oc5kng5b4&r=ger |
| By: | Kevin D. Hoover |
| Abstract: | In many sciences – physical, but also biology, neuroscience, and other life sciences – one object of reductionism is to purge intentionality from the fundamental basis of both explanations and the explanatory target. The scientifically relevant level – ontologically and epistemologically – is thought to lie deeper than the level of ordinary human interactions. In the material and living world, the more familiar is the less fundamental. In contrast, the economic world of day-to-day life – the world of market interactions – appears to be the relevant level. Macroeconomics is thought to provide an account that is above, not below or behind, ordinary economic decisionmaking. An advantage of a macroeconomic account is that it is possible to employ causal analysis of the economy as a whole analogous to the causal analysis of physical systems. The fear of many economists is that such analyses are untethered to ordinary economic decisionmaking. The object of reductionism in economics – the so-called microfoundations of macroeconomics – is adequately to ground or replace higher level causal analysis with an analysis of the day-to-day interactions of people. The object is not to purge intentionality, but to reclaim it. The paper will attempt to understand the key issues surrounding the microfoundations of macroeconomics from a perspectival realist perspective that elucidates the relationship between economists’ methodological preference for microfoundations and need for macroeconomic analysis – that is, between economists’ respect for the intentional nature of economic life and the need for a causal analysis of the economy. The paper favors metaphysical humility and methodological pragmatism. |
| Keywords: | microfoundations of macroeconomics, reductionism, causation, intentionality, Lucas critique |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hec:heccee:2014-3&r=ger |
| By: | Thomas Paris (GREGH - Groupement de Recherche et d'Etudes en Gestion à HEC - GROUPE HEC - CNRS : UMR2959); Frédéric Leroy (HEC Paris - Recherche - Hors Laboratoire - GROUPE HEC) |
| Abstract: | The important role of entrepreneurship in the dynamics of the arts sector and the influence of the leader's personality make succession a key issue in creative industries. What happens to an artistic organization when its founder leaves? How does it evolve? Can it adopt a style of management that is compatible with the founder's absence? This article focuses on the case of Groupe Bernard Loiseau, an iconic French company in the culinary arts whose owner and chef died suddenly. It sheds light on how the question of succession and that of style were addressed in this organization and how they are addressed in artistic organizations in general. |
| Keywords: | Succession; culinary art;entrepreneurial management;creative industries |
| Date: | 2014–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00973150&r=ger |
| By: | Eliasson, Jonas (KTH) |
| Abstract: | Congestion charges were introduced in Stockholm in 2006 as a seven-month trial, followed by a referendum where a majority voted in favour of the charges. This led to the reintroduction of congestion charges in August 2007, and they have been operational since then. The system has attracted worldwide attention worldwide, both because it achieved substantial congestion reductions, and because the system overcame fierce initial hostility, surviving a heated and complicated political and legal process, and eventually gaining support by more than 2/3 of the population and all political parties. This report summarises the story of the Stockholm congestion charges, pointing out experiences and lessons learnt. |
| Keywords: | Congestion charges; Stockholm; Sustainable transport |
| JEL: | H23 H54 R41 R48 |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2014_007&r=ger |
| By: | Jonsson, Adam (Department of Engineering Science and Mathematics); Voorneveld, Mark (Dept. of Economics, Stockholm School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides axiomatic descriptions of social welfare relations, defined on infinite streams of utility, that are consistent with the utilitarian criterion on subsets where maximizing aggregate utility has a clear interpretation: the streams, or their differences, are summable. Besides standard assumptions on efficiency, equity and interpersonal comparability, two axioms are introduced and shown to be necessary and sufficient. A more general version of one axiom suffices to distinguish streams with different long-run averages. |
| Keywords: | Intergenerational equity; aggregating infinite utility streams; ethical social welfare relations |
| JEL: | D63 D70 D90 |
| Date: | 2014–03–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:hastef:0747&r=ger |
| By: | Sandrine Levasseur (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | A compter du 1er Août 2013, le taux rémunérant les dépôts sur les Livrets A passera à 1,25 %, soit une baisse de 50 points de base par rapport à son précédent niveau. Cette baisse est la 8e modification du taux de Livret A depuis le début de la crise (graphique 1). Cette note tente de quantifier l’impact de la baisse du taux du Livret A sur les montants collectés en 2013 et 2014. |
| Date: | 2013–07–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09ne28ib21l&r=ger |
| By: | Arthur Charpentier (Department of Economics, Ecole Polytechnique - CNRS : UMR7176 - Polytechnique - X, CREM - Centre de Recherche en Economie et Management - CNRS : UMR6211 - Université de Rennes 1 - Université de Caen Basse-Normandie); Benoît Le Maux (CREM - Centre de Recherche en Economie et Management - CNRS : UMR6211 - Université de Rennes 1 - Université de Caen Basse-Normandie) |
| Abstract: | The present research relaxes three of the usual assumptions made in the insurance literature. It is assumed that (1) there is a finite number of risks, (2) the risks are not statistically independent and (3) the structure of the market is monopolistic. In this context, the article analyses two models of natural catastrophe insurance: a model of insurance with limited liability and a model with unlimited guarantee. Among others, the results confirm the idea that the natural catastrophe insurance industry is characterized by economies of scale. The government should consequently encourage the emergence of a monopoly and discipline the industry through regulated premiums. It is also shown that government intervention of last resort is not needed when the risks are highly correlated. Lastly, the results point out that when the risks between two regions are not sufficiently independent, the pooling of the risks can lead to a Pareto improvement only if the regions face similar magnitude of damage. If not, then the region with low-damage events needs the premium to decrease to accept the pooling of the risks. |
| Keywords: | Insurance, Ruin, Natural Catastrophe, Market Failure, Government Intervention |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00536925&r=ger |
| By: | Elizabeth Beasley; Yann Algan (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | Les essais contenus dans cette thèse utilisent des preuves empiriques pour répondre à deux questions qui sont d'une importance capitale compte tenu de notre compréhension croissante de la relation de préférences sociales et de la croissance économique et le bien-être au niveau des pays : les bases du comportement prosocial et l'impact des politiques visent à l'augmenter. Les niveaux de comportement prosocial ont souvent été pris comme une donnée fixée, or ces essais fournissent la preuve qu'ils sont susceptibles de changer à partir des interventions politiques. Étant donné qu'il y a peu d'interventions spécifiquement axées sur la confiance et la coopération, il peut y avoir une grande portée pour améliorer du bien-être en augmentant la politique axée sur cette question. C’est ce qui est démontré dans ces essais. Chapitre 1 aborde les bases du comportement pro-social en utilisant différents cadres dans les demandes d'une contribution au bien public, et montre que les informations sur la norme sociale est le facteur de motivation le plus puissant. Chapitre 2 fournit des résultats empiriques et théoriques que le comportement pro-social au niveau communautaire (en contribuant aux services publics locaux) dépend de l'efficacité attendue de ce comportement. Le chapitre 3 fournit de nouvelles résultats sur l'impact de la confiance sur le plan individuel, et montre qu'un programme de formation de l'enfance qui a augmenté la confiance (ainsi que amélioré l'attention et réduit la délinquance), a déclenché une chaîne d'événements pour améliorer les résultats à long terme en termes d’éducation, criminalité et performance économique. |
| Keywords: | Behavioral Economics, Education, Experiments, Trust, Economie comportementale, Education, Expériences, Confiance |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/5adcidkke9omt0s9p8h1kc140&r=ger |
| By: | Bolander, Pernilla (Department of Management); Asplund, Kajsa (Department of Management); Werr, Andreas (Department of Management) |
| Abstract: | Talent Management (TM) is currently on top of the HR agenda of managers all over the world. Still, TM research and writing has to a large extent been focused on multinational, US-based firms. Recent research has identified a need for empirical research on TM in other national and cultural contexts. The current study focuses on TM practices in the Swedish context which is characterized by collectivistic and egalitarian values at odds with the individualistic and elitist values of TM. Based on a study of 16 organizations, three approaches to TM are identified – a Humanistic approach, a Competitive approach and an Entrepreneurial approach. The three approaches are described and discussed in relation to the organizational and cultural context in which they were identified. Hereby, the paper contributes to a more context-specific understanding of TM, which has been called for in previous research. |
| Keywords: | Talent Management; HR strategy; Culture |
| Date: | 2014–03–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhb:hastba:2014_002&r=ger |
| By: | Guillaume Allegre (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | A la suite de la remise des 125 000 signatures réunies par des organisations défendant l’introduction d’un revenu de base, les citoyens suisses se prononceront lors d’un référendum d’initiative populaire sur l’inscription du principe du revenu de base dans la constitution fédérale helvétique. Si le revenu de base, défendu par Vanderborght et Van Parijs (2005) sous le terme allocation universelle, peut prendre plusieurs formes, son principe est d’être versé (1) de manière universelle, d’un montant égal pour tous3, sans contrôle des ressources ou des besoins ; (2) sur une base individuelle et non aux foyers ou ménages ; (3) de façon inconditionnelle, sans exigence de contrepartie (...). |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oehj92o15&r=ger |
| By: | Rick Van der Ploeg |
| Abstract: | The principles of how best to manage the various components of national wealth are outlined, where the permanent income hypothesis, the Hotelling rule and the Hartwick rule play a prominent role. As far as managing natural resource wealth is concerned, a case is made to use an intergenerational sovereign wealth fund to smooth consumption across generations, a liquidity fund for the precautionary buffers to deal with commodity price volatility, and an investment fund to park part of the windfall until the country is ready to absorb extra spending on domestic investment. Capital scarcity implies that a positive part of the windfall should be spent on domestic investment. The conclusions highlight the political economy problems that will have to be tackled with these normative proposals for managing wealth. |
| Keywords: | permanent income, Hotelling rule, Hartwick rule, precaution, capital scarcity, absorption constraints, Dutch disease, investing to invest, political economy |
| JEL: | E21 E22 D91 Q32 |
| Date: | 2013–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:oxcarre-research-paper-128&r=ger |
| By: | Haucap, Justus; Müller, Andrea |
| Abstract: | We analyze the behavior of 577 economics and law students in a simple binary trust experiment. While economists are both significantly less trusting and less trustworthy than law students, this difference is largely due to differences between female law and economics students. While female law students are already different in nature (during the first term of study) from female economists, the gap between them also widens more drastically over the course of their study compared to their male counterparts. This finding is rather critical as the detailed composition of students is typically neglected in most experiments. -- |
| Keywords: | Gender Effects,Trust Game,Economists,Nature,Nurture |
| JEL: | A12 A22 C35 C91 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:136&r=ger |
| By: | Paul Hallwood (University of Connecticut); Thomas J. Miceli (University of Connecticut) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the economic characteristics of the balance that federal law aims to achieve between the interests of paleontologists and amateur and commercial collectors of fossils on US federal lands. The objective function is taken to be the maximization of the social value of these resources. Allowing ‘open access’ to amateurs and commercial collectors would maximize search activity. However, as a fossil’s scientific value is not necessarily their priority, they may under-invest in the recovery of such information. We trace how US federal law has tried to strike a balance between search activity and scientific recovery. We also comment favorably on the developing trend of promoting professional (paleontologist)-amateur partnerships in both search and recovery. |
| Keywords: | Fossils, scientific value, search and recovery, paleontology |
| JEL: | D83 H41 I23 K11 O32 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uct:uconnp:2014-07&r=ger |
| By: | Carmit Shwartz (School of Economics, Australian School of Business, the University of New South Wales); W. Erwin Diewert (University of British Columbia and University of New South Wales); Kevin J. Fox (School of Economics & Centre for Applied Economic Research, Australian School of Business, the University of New South Wales) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides methodologies for evaluating consumer benefits of infrastructure services using potentially observable information. We define benefit measures for consumers and, using general principles from the index number literature, derive alternative first and second order approximations to these measures under the assumption of fixed prices for market goods and services. We then describe how the benefit measures and their associatedapproximations can be used in quantifying the economic benefits when prices are allowed to change endogenously as the provision of infrastructure services changes. In addition, under quite unrestrictive assumptions, a measure of welfare change based only on potentially observable data is derived. |
| Keywords: | Consumer benefits; infrastructure services; first order approximation; second order approximation; exible functional forms; index number theory |
| JEL: | C43 D61 H41 H43 H54 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:swe:wpaper:2014-17&r=ger |
| By: | Richard Darbéra (LATTS - Laboratoire Techniques, Territoires et Sociétés - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - CNRS : UMR8134) |
| Abstract: | La libre interaction de l'offre et de la demande ne permet pas de réguler le marché du transport particulier de personnes que l'on hèle dans la rue. C'est pourquoi, l'offre de taxis est généralement strictement régulée en prix et en quantité par les pouvoirs publics. Mais à côté du marché des courses que l'on hèle dans la rue, il existe un marché des contrats de transport où les courses sont commandées à l'avance, c'est le marché des " voitures de remise ". Sur ce marché l'offre et la demande s'ajustent spontanément pour déterminer les prix et les quantités. Partout les taxis, qui sont présents sur les deux marchés, ont mal supporté la concurrence des voitures de remise. Ce conflit, qui a existé partout depuis les années 1960, connaît actuellement un regain en France avec la résurrection des " voitures de petite remise " sous le nom de VTC. Notre étude compare les approches de cette question par le régulateur anglais et par le régulateur français. |
| Keywords: | taxi; régulation; Angleterre; |
| Date: | 2014–03–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00968620&r=ger |
| By: | Christophe Blot (OFCE); Céline Antonin (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | En économie, les miracles s’avèrent parfois être des mirages. L’Islande et l’Irlande en font l’expérience. Ces deux petites économies ouvertes, paradis de la finance libéralisée et dérégulée, havres de croissance au début des années 2000, ont été frappées de plein fouet par la crise financière. La nationalisation quasi-intégrale des systèmes financiers qui en a résulté a pesé sur la dette publique de ces deux pays. Pour endiguer la hausse de la dette et les risques d’insoutenabilité, les gouvernements des deux pays ont, dès 2010, mis en œuvre des plans d’austérité budgétaire, mais avec une différence de taille : l’Irlande appartient à la zone euro, ce qui n’est pas le cas de l’Islande. La dernière Note de l’OFCE (n°25 du 4 février 2013) revient sur la situation financière et macroéconomique récente de ces deux pays afin de montrer dans quelle mesure les divergences de policy-mix peuvent rendre compte de trajectoires de sortie de crise différentes. |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/dambferfb7dfprc9m09b0a21l&r=ger |
| By: | Li, Ziran; Jacobs, Keri; Artz, Georgeanne M. |
| Keywords: | Cooperatives; equity; capital constraint |
| Date: | 2014–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:37451&r=ger |
| By: | José Ramón García (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona); Fabio Manca (IPTS- JRC European Commission and Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona); Jordi Suriñach (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | Globalisation and technological advances have made possible to offshore specific productive tasks (that do not require physical proximity to the actual location of the work unit) to foreign countries where these are usually performed at lower costs. We analyse the effect of task trade (i.e. task offshorability) on Spanish regional and national employment levels correlating a newly built index of task-delocalisation index to key variables such as the region’s wealth, the worker’s age and level of education, the importance of the service sector and the technological level of the economic activities undertaken in that particular geographical area. We conclude that approximately 25% of Spanish occupations are potentially affected by task trade/offshoring and that this is likely to benefit Spanish economy (and the performance of specific regions, categories of workers and sectors) being Spain a potential recipient of tasks offshored from abroad. Also we obtain that Spain’s trade in tasks correlates strongly with the above variables, presenting significant regional differences. |
| Keywords: | task trade, offshore, occupations, national/regional offshoring, tasks. JEL classification: F14, F16, J23, J24, J62 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ira:wpaper:201412&r=ger |
| By: | Kosfeld, Michael; Schüwer, Ulrich |
| Abstract: | This paper explores consequences of consumer education on prices and welfare in retail financial markets when some consumers are naive about shrouded add-on prices and firms try to exploit it. Allowing for different information and pricing strategies we show that education is unlikely to push firms to disclose prices towards all consumers, which would be socially effifficient. Instead, price discrimination emerges as a new equilibrium. Further, due to a feedback on prices, education that is good for consumers who become sophisticated may be bad for consumers who stay naive and even for the group of all consumers as a whole. -- |
| Keywords: | consumer education,financial literacy,bounded rationality,competition,regulation |
| JEL: | D40 D80 L50 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:safewp:47&r=ger |
| By: | Acir Almeida |
| Abstract: | Este estudo analisa os correlatos políticos do uso de medidas provisórias (MPs) pelos presidentes brasileiros na produção de leis. Argumenta-se que o uso intenso deste instrumento legislativo reflete uma delegação tácita de poderes de agenda do Congresso para o Executivo, e que esta delegação segue uma lógica informacional, pois é motivada pelo interesse dos congressistas em reduzir sua incerteza decisória e limitada pela credibilidade da recomendação do Executivo. Com base nesta lógica, espera-se que a MP seja usada com maior frequência para políticas menos complexas, que uma maioria parlamentar tem urgência em votar ou nas quais existe pouca discordância entre uma maioria e o Executivo. Estas expectativas são secundadas por evidência correlacional de uma análise multivariada que usa dados originais de iniciativas de lei editadas pelo Executivo entre 1989 e 2012. This study analyses the political correlates of the use of provisionary decrees (medidas provisórias) by Brazilian presidents in law-making. It is argued that the intense use of this legislative tool reflects a tacit delegation of agenda powers from the Congress to the Executive branch, and that such delegation follows an informational logic, in the sense that it is motivated by the interest of congress members in reducing their decision-making uncertainty and limited by the credibility of the Executive’s recommendation. Based on this logic, it is expected that decrees will be used more frequently for policies that are less complex, that some parliamentary majority considers urgent to vote on, or for which there is little disagreement between some majority and the Executive. These expectations are backed by correlational evidence from a multivariate analysis that uses original data on law initiatives issued by the Executive between 1989 and 2012. |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:1933&r=ger |
| By: | Rania Jammazi; Chaker Aloui |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to question the traditional conventional view on the exchange rate targeting that real shocks have |
| Keywords: | exchange rates; time series decomposition; HML test; dual long memory. |
| JEL: | E30 F31 |
| Date: | 2014–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-198&r=ger |
| By: | Junior Ruiz Garcia; José Eustáquio Ribeiro Vieira Filho |
| Abstract: | O estudo procura analisar a importância da política comercial agrícola do Brasil para o desenvolvimento econômico, discutindo questões como segurança alimentar, redução da pobreza e da desigualdade, geração de empregos, mitigação e adaptação às mudanças climáticas, bem como sustentabilidade ambiental. Busca-se questionar quais as contribuições da política agrícola do Brasil para o desenvolvimento sustentável. Como hipótese, entende-se que a política agrícola pode ser um importante instrumento para o desenvolvimento, redução das desigualdades e gestão dos recursos naturais no Brasil. The study seeks to analyze the importance of agricultural trade policy in Brazil for economic development, discussing issues such as food security, poverty reduction and inequality, employment creation, mitigation and adaptation to climate change and environmental sustainability. The problem aims to question the contributions of Brazil’s agricultural trade policy for sustainable development. The hypothesis is understood that agricultural trade policy can be an important tool for development, reducing inequalities and promoting sustainable management of natural resources in Brazil. |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:1936&r=ger |
| By: | Lee, Kyung-Gon (Korean Labor Institute); Polachek, Solomon (Binghamton University, New York) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes how changes in school expenditures affect dropout rates and standardized test scores based on data from 465 school districts in New York during the 2003/04 to the 2008/09 school years. Past traditional regression approaches show inconsistent results of school expenditures because of an endogeneity problem. The regression discontinuity design used in this study isolates exogenous variation in school expenditures per pupil by comparing school districts where budget referenda passed and failed by narrow margins. The results indicate that increases in school expenditures reduce dropout rates but have limited effects on student test scores. |
| Keywords: | educational expenditures, school budget referenda, school dropout rates, student performance |
| JEL: | I20 I21 I22 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8056&r=ger |
| By: | Bjerkholt, Olav (Dept. of Economics, University of Oslo) |
| Abstract: | The journal of the Econometric Society, Econometrica, was established in 1933 and edited by Ragnar Frisch for the first 22 years. As a new journal Econometrica had three key characteristics. First, it was devoted to a research program stated in few but significant words in the constitution of the Econometric Society and for many years printed in every issue of the journal. Second, it was the first international journal in economics. Third, it was the journal of association (Econometric Society) with members committed to a serious interest in econometrics. The paper gives a brief account of the circumstances around the establishment of the journal and of the relationship between Frisch and Alfred Cowles 3rd who in various capacities played a major role in launching the journal and keeping it going. It furthermore conveys observations and comments related to the editing of the first seven volumes of Econometrica, i.e. 1933-39. The main aim of the paper is to shed light on how the editor and a small core group of econometrician attempted to promote econometrics via Econometrica. The paper is overwhelmingly based on unpublished material from Frisch’s editorial files. Editorial principles, controversies, and style are illuminated through excerpts from the editorial correspondence. The paper was presented at ESEM-67, University of Gothenburg, 26-30 August, 2013. |
| Keywords: | Econometrica; Ragnar Frisch; editorial style |
| JEL: | B23 B31 |
| Date: | 2014–02–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:osloec:2013_028&r=ger |
| By: | Silfverberg, Denise Valerie |
| Abstract: | The Employed Program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) caters to those in the formal sector. Included are those in the government and private sectors with a formal employer-employee relationship. Coverage levels for both the government and private sectors are promising with regional averages of 74 percent and 71 percent, respectively; and provincial averages of 80 percent and 75 percent, respectively. For the private sector, certain sectors were found to be more prone to undercoverage. For the government sector, no clear pattern was found to explain the causes of variation between provinces. This is likely due to the absence of casual and contractual employees in the model. The findings for both sectors are possible propositions on how targeting should be implemented to address the gaps that exist in what is supposed to be a mandatory scheme. |
| Keywords: | health care financing, Philippines, social health insurance, universal coverage, formal sector, employed program |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2014-16&r=ger |
| By: | Liang Guo-Fitoussi (RITM - Réseaux Innovation Territoires et Mondialisation - Université Paris-Sud); Olivier Darné (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - Université de Nantes : EA4272) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we compare the properties of the main criteria proposed for selecting the number of factors in dynamic factor model in a small sample. Both static and dynamic factor numbers' selection rules are studied. Simulations show that the GR ratio proposed by Ahn and Horenstein (2013) and the criterion proposed by Onatski (2010) outperform the others. Furthermore, the two criteria can select accurately the number of static factors in a dynamic factors design. Also, the criteria proposed by Hallin and Liska (2007) and Breitung and Pigorsch (2009) correctly select the number of dynamic factors in most cases. However, empirical applications show most criteria select only one factor in presence of one strong factor. |
| Keywords: | Dynamic factor model; factor numbers; small sample properties |
| Date: | 2014–03–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00962247&r=ger |
| By: | Amanda Gosling; Mathan Satchi |
| Abstract: | We present a job posting model of a labour market where jobs differ in characteristics other than wages and workers differ in their marginal willingness to pay for such characteristics. This creates incentives for firms to separate workers by posting multiple jobs. The interaction between these separation incentives and the standard search frictions is the key contribution of the paper. The paper examines the implications for policies such as a minimum wage or ones which set minimum standards on these non-wage job characteristics. We show that policies that set standards on wages and the other job characteristics can increase the utility of the worst-off workers and may reduce inefficient forms of unemployment. Policies that only intervene in one aspect on the other hand may increase these forms of unemployment. |
| Keywords: | Search; Job posting; Non-wage characteristics; Separation incentives; Minimum Wages |
| JEL: | J31 J32 J42 J64 J80 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ukc:ukcedp:1401&r=ger |
| By: | Ouafa Sakka (Carleton University - Carleton University); Louise Côté (HEC Montréal - HEC MONTRÉAL); Henri Barki (HEC Montréal - HEC MONTRÉAL) |
| Abstract: | L'objectif de cet article est de faire une revue critique de la littérature sur le lien entre l'incertitude reliée à la tâche et les systèmes de contrôle de gestion (SCG) formels. Deux résultats sont mis en exergue : certaines recherches montrent que le recours aux SCG formels est incompatible avec les situations d'incertitude élevée, alors que d'autres soutiennent qu'il est très utile pour la résolution de l'incertitude. Nous concluons que ces études sont complémentaires et non contradictoires, mais qu'elles soulèvent plusieurs critiques. Nous pensons que les chercheurs devront prêter attention au choix du modèle de contingence pour étudier les relations entre l'incertitude, les SCG et la performance ainsi qu'aux choix des définitions et mesures de ces construits. |
| Keywords: | Incertitude reliée à la tâche, Systèmes de contrôle formels, Recension de littérature, théorie de contingence. |
| Date: | 2013–05–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00962419&r=ger |
| By: | Samuel Kobina Annim (Department of Economics, University of Cape Coast, Ghana); Katsushi S. Imai (School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester (UK) and RIEB, Kobe University (Japan)) |
| Abstract: | The empirical literature of household savings tends to treat savings as "a black box" defined as annual income minus consumption. This paper takes a unique approach to reconstruct the cash and asset balances using the detailed household transaction data of farm households in rural India and generates the long monthly and seasonal panel data. We have found that households - both the poor and the relatively affluent in terms of landholding classes - cope with temporary shocks quite well using crop inventory, currency and capital assets, rather than livestock, as buffer. The importance of portfolio adjustment in smoothing consumption is also confirmed by the system equation in which both portfolio and production decisions are made endogenous. It is concluded that not only the level but also the diversification of household assets are important for buffering consumption. |
| Keywords: | Diversified diet, Livestock, Ethnicity, Height-for-age, Weight-for-Age and Weight-for-Height, Lao PDR |
| JEL: | I12 I18 Q18 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kob:dpaper:dp2014-17&r=ger |
| By: | Tomoko Ono; Michael Schoenstein; James Buchan |
| Abstract: | Doctors are distributed unequally across different regions in virtually all OECD countries, and this causes concern about how to continue to ensure access to health services everywhere. In particular access to services in rural regions is the focus of attention of policymakers, although in some countries, poor urban and sub-urban regions pose a challenge as well. Despite numerous efforts this mal-distribution of physician supply persists. This working paper first examines the drivers of the location choice of physicians, and second, it examines policy responses in a number of OECD countries... La répartition des médecins entre les régions est inégale dans pratiquement tous les pays de l’OCDE, et cela pose la question de savoir comment continuer de garantir l’accès aux services de santé partout. L’accès aux services dans les régions rurales préoccupe tout particulièrement les responsables publics, même si, dans certains pays, les régions urbaines et suburbaines pauvres posent aussi un problème. En dépit d’importants efforts, les inégalités dans la répartition des effectifs médicaux persistent. Le présent document de travail examine, dans un premier temps, les critères déterminants, pour les médecins, dans le choix de leur lieu d’exercice et, dans un second temps, les réponses apportées par les pouvoirs publics dans un certain nombre de pays de l’OCDE... |
| JEL: | I18 |
| Date: | 2014–04–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:elsaad:69-en&r=ger |
| By: | Ivar Ekeland (Université Paris-Dauphine - Paris IX); Alfred Galichon (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | This paper exhibits a duality between the theory of revealed preference of Afriat and the housing allocation problem of Shapley and Scarf. In particular, it is shown that Afriat’s theorem can be interpreted as a second welfare theorem in the housing problem. Using this duality, the revealed preference problem is connected to an optimal assignment problem, and a geometrical characterization of the rationalizability of experiment data is given. This allows in turn to give new indices of rationalizability of the data and to define weaker notions of rationalizability, in the spirit of Afriat’s efficiency index. |
| Keywords: | Afriat's theorem; Indivisible allocations; Optimal assignment; Revealed preferences |
| JEL: | D11 C60 C78 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/5rkqqmvrn4tl22s9mc0o6ctj2&r=ger |
| By: | Alexandre Arbex Valadares |
| Abstract: | ste texto busca oferecer uma crítica aos critérios oficiais de classificação da população segundo a situação de domicílio – rural ou urbano. Com argumentos fundados na evolução normativa desta classificação e um exercício quantitativo de sentido ilustrativo, o texto intenta chamar a atenção para a presença ainda marcante da ruralidade como traço característico da estrutura socioespacial de ocupação do território brasileiro. This text seeks to offer a critique of the official criteria for the classification of the population according to their place of residence – rural or urban. With arguments based on the normative evolution of this classification and a quantitative exercise in an illustrative way, the text tries to draw attention to the still strong presence of rurality as a characteristic feature of socio-occupational structure of the Brazilian territory. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:1942&r=ger |
| By: | Seeun Jung (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS : UMR8545 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Paris - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA), EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates a new way to decompose the gender wage gap with the introduction of individual risk attitudes using representative Korean data. We estimate the wage gap with correction for the selection bias, which latter results in the overestimation of this wage gap. Female workers are more risk averse. They hence prefer working in the public sector, where wages are generally lower than in the private sector. Therefore, our observation of the gender wage differential based on the normal Mincerian wage equation is overestimated. Our (corrected) wage differential is significantly reduced by 5% points, by applying the Switching Regression Model and Dubin & McFadden's selection correction. Self-selection based on risk attitudes therefore explains, in part, what is popularly perceived as gender discrimination. |
| Keywords: | Occupational Choice ; Gender Wage Gap ; Risk Preference ; Selection Bias |
| Date: | 2014–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-00965520&r=ger |
| By: | Frederic Teulon |
| Abstract: | The euro area is experiencing a sovereign debt crisis; as a result, the foundations of its monetary union have been shattered. This crisis, which is an extension of an international financial crisis, shows that the European Union is not an optimum currency area. Robert Mundell’s work remains an indispensable reference on this subject: a monetary union among greatly different countries and propelled by considerably weak solidarity is problematic. In the present context, the possibilities are limited for permanently improving the situation, for transforming sovereign debts into sustainable ones, and for regaining a higher level of growth. Experience seems to show that a single currency cannot accommodate national budgetary policies and that national policies are hindered by the existence of a single currency in a context of asymmetries. Eventually, a scenario where the euro area would collapse becomes highly probable. This paper puts forward a model of debt sustainability and discusses eight related proposals. |
| Keywords: | European Monetary Union; European Central Bank (EBC); Eurozone; Stability growth pact; Financial crisis; Fiscal policy and debt sustainability; Optimal currency area; Sovereign debt |
| JEL: | E42 E44 G38 |
| Date: | 2014–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-196&r=ger |
| By: | Graziella Bertocchi; Alfonso Gambardella; Tullio Jappelli; Carmela A. Nappi; Franco Peracchi |
| Abstract: | A relevant question for the organization of large scale research assessments is whether bibliometric evaluation and informed peer review where reviewers know where the work was published, yield similar results. It would suggest, for instance, that less costly bibliometric evaluation might - at least partly - replace informed peer review, or that bibliometric evaluation could reliably monitor research in between assessment exercises. We draw on our experience of evaluating Italian research in Economics, Business and Statistics, where almost 12,000 publications dated 2004-2010 were assessed. A random sample from the available population of journal articles shows that informed peer review and bibliometric analysis produce similar evaluations of the same set of papers. Whether because of independent convergence in assessment, or the influence of bibliometric information on the community of reviewers, the implication for the organization of these exercises is that these two approaches are substitutes. |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mod:recent:093&r=ger |
| By: | Talia Bar (University of Connecticut); Sidartha Gordon (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | We study mechanisms for selecting up to m out of n projects. Project managers’ private information on quality is elicited through transfers. Under limited liability, the optimal mechanism selects projects that maximize some function of the project’s observable and reported characteristics. When all reported qualities exceed their own project-specific thresholds, the selected set only depends on observable characteristics, not reported qualities. Each threshold is related to (i) the outside option level at which the cost and benefit of eliciting information on the project cancel out and (ii) the optimal value of selecting one among infinitely many ex ante identical projects. |
| Keywords: | adverse selection, information acquisition, mechanism design, project selection, limited liability, R&D. |
| JEL: | D82 O32 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n8t49coi7&r=ger |
| By: | John Burnett (Towers Watson); Kevin Davis (Australian Centre for Financial Studies; Department of Finance, Monash University; and Department of Finance, The University of Melbourne); Carsten Murawski (Department of Finance, The University of Melbourne); Roger Wilkins (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne); Nicholas Wilkinson (Towers Watson) |
| Abstract: | This article introduces four metrics quantifying the adequacy of retirement savings taking into account all major sources of retirement income. The metrics are applied to a representative sample of the Australian population aged 40 and above. Employers in Australia currently make compulsory contributions of 9.25 per cent of wages and salaries to tax-advantaged defined-contribution employee retirement savings accounts. Our analysis reveals that compulsory retirement savings, even when supplemented by the means-tested government pension and private wealth accumulation, are not in general sufficient to fund a comfortable lifestyle during retirement. We further find that omitting one or more ‘pillars’ of saving will significantly bias estimates of retirement savings adequacy. Our analysis also points to several shortcomings of the widely-used income replacement ratio as an indicator of savings adequacy. |
| Keywords: | Retirement savings, financial literacy, life-cycle consumption and savings, household finance |
| JEL: | D14 D91 P46 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2014n05&r=ger |
| By: | Mario Forni; Luca Gambetti; Marco Lippi; Luca Sala |
| Abstract: | We introduce noisy information into a standard present value stock price model. Agents receive a noisy signal about the structural shock driving future dividend variations. The resulting equilibrium stock price includes a transitory component —the “noise bubble”— which can be responsible for boom and bust episodes unrelated to economic fundamentals. We propose a non-standard VAR procedure to estimate the structural shock and the “noise” shock, their impulse response functions and the bubble component of stock prices. We apply such procedure to US data and find that noise explains a large fraction of stock price volatility. In particular the dot-com bubble is entirely explained by noise. On the contrary the stock price boom peaking in 2007 is not a bubble, whereas the following stock market crisis is largely due to negative noise shocks. |
| JEL: | C32 E32 E62 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mod:recent:096&r=ger |
| By: | Paola Manzini (University of St Andrews and IZA); Marco Mariotti (University of St Andrews) |
| Abstract: | We introduce attention games. Alternatives ranked by quality (producers, politicians, sexual partners...) desire to be chosen and compete for the imperfect attention of a chooser by investing in their own salience. We prove that if alternatives can control the attention they get, then "the showiest is the best": the equilibrium ordering of salience (weakly) reproduces the quality ranking and the best alternative is the one that gets picked most often. This result also holds under more general conditions. However, if those conditions fail, then even the worst alternative can be picked most often. |
| Keywords: | Consideration sets, bounded rationality, stochastic choice |
| JEL: | D01 |
| Date: | 2014–04–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:san:wpecon:1403&r=ger |
| By: | Huang, Yongfu; Quibria, M. G. |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the determinants of inclusive growth with a focus on foreign aid. Based on the Solow growth model, a theoretical model has been developed which shows that foreign aid can stimulate inclusive growth if it is effectively used for aug |
| Keywords: | inclusive growth, aid effectiveness, post-2015 development agenda, access to water, access to sanitation, primary school enrolment, limited information maximum likelihood |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-059&r=ger |
| By: | Thomas Chalaux; Cyrille Schwellnus |
| Abstract: | This paper extends the OECD Economics Department’s suite of short-term indicator models for quarterly GDP growth, which currently cover only the G7 countries, to the BRIICS countries. Reflecting the relative scarcity of high-quality macroeconomic time series, the paper adopts a small-scale bridge model approach. The results suggest that in terms of short-term forecast accuracy for the first and second quarter following the most recent GDP release these models outperform simple autoregressive or constant growth benchmarks. The small-scale indicator models would have allowed the identification of the growth slowdown during the global crisis of 2008-09 and the subsequent rebound several months ahead of official GDP releases. Overall, forecast accuracy appears to be similar to that of the existing indicator model suite for the G7 countries, especially once the higher GDP growth volatility in most BRIICS is accounted for. Modèles d'indicateurs de la croissance du PIB à court terme dans les BRIICS : une approche avec des modèles d'étalonnage à petite échelle Ce papier étend aux BRIICS les modèles de prévision de croissance à court terme du Département des Affaires économiques de l’OCDE qui n’englobent pour l’instant que les pays du G7. Considérant le manque de séries macroéconomiques de qualité, ce papier adopte une approche avec des modèles d’étalonnage à petite échelle. Les résultats suggèrent que les prévisions de ces modèles pour les deux trimestres suivant la publication la plus récente du PIB sont plus précises que celles des modèles autorégressifs ou qu’une hypothèse de croissance constante. Ces modèles à petite échelle auraient permis l’identification du ralentissement puis du rebond de la croissance durant la crise globale de 2008-2009 et ce plusieurs mois avant les publications officielles du PIB. Dans l’ensemble, la précision des prévisions semble être similaire à celle des modèles existants pour les pays du G7, particulièrement lorsque la forte volatilité du PIB que connaît la plupart des BRIICS est prise en compte. |
| Keywords: | growth, forecasting, bridge models, short-term indicators, indicateurs de court terme, modèle d’étalonnage, prévisions, croissance |
| JEL: | C53 E37 |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1109-en&r=ger |
| By: | Hiro Lee (Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University); Ken Itakura (Graduate School of Economics, Nagoya City University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we compare welfare effects and the extent of sectoral adjustments under the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) accords using a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model from the perspective of Japan. The ambitious goals of both organizations, as well as overlapping membership, make comparisons of different scenarios particularly intriguing. Another objective of this paper is to examine the effects of Japan's agricultural policy reforms on its agricultural output. If agricultural reforms, such as phasing out gentan and consolidation of agricultural land, lead to an improvement in productivity of agricultural sectors, then the extent of output contraction of agricultural and processed food sectors in Japan would be reduced significantly except for dairy products. This suggests the importance of carrying out agricultural reforms in Japan for region-wide trade accords. |
| Keywords: | TPP, RCEP, CGE model, Japan, agricultural policy reform |
| JEL: | F15 F17 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osp:wpaper:14e003&r=ger |
| By: | Gang Liu |
| Abstract: | Reducing food losses and food waste is attracting growing public attention at the international, regional, and national levels, and is widely acknowledged to contribute to abating interlinked sustainability challenges such as food security, climate change, and water shortage. However, the pattern and scale of food waste throughout the supply chain remains poorly understood for developing countries such as China, despite growing media coverage and public concerns in recent years. The data in the literature are either out of date or fragmented. This report presents estimates of food losses and food waste in China, based on literature data, informed estimates, and other publicly available information. |
| Keywords: | China, food waste reduction, municipal solid waste, agricultural losses, food loss, food waste, data, policy information, grain storage, food value chain |
| JEL: | Q18 Q53 Q58 |
| Date: | 2014–04–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:66-en&r=ger |
| By: | Chowdury, Sadia; Vergeer, Petra; Schmidt, Harald; Barroy, Helene; Bishai, David; Halpern, Scott |
| Abstract: | This paper was developed for World Bank task team leaders (TTLs) and teams designing results-based financing (RBF) programs in family planning (FP). It explores the rationale for introducing such incentives based on insights from classical and behavioral economics, to respond to supply- and demand-side barriers to using FP services. To help the reader understand why incentivizing FP requires specific attention in RBF, the evolution of incentives in vertical FP programs introduced from the 1950s to the early 1990s and the ethical concerns raised in these programs are described. RBF programs after the 1990s were also studied to understand the ways FP is currently incentivized. The paper also touches on the effects of the incentive programs for FP as described in the literature. Finally, it examines ethical concerns related to FP incentives that should be considered during the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs and provides a conceptual framework that can be of use for task teams in the decision making process for FP in RBF programs. It should be noted that the paper is concerned exclusively with developing a framework that can help design ethical programs to address the unmet need for FP. |
| Keywords: | abortion, abstinence, access to health services, adolescents, aggressive, approach to women, babies, behavior change, birth rate, birth rates, capitation, changes in ... See More + ertility, child health, child mortality, child survival, childbirth, children per woman, cities, classical economics, coercion, Commission on Population, community health, complications, comprehensive reproductive health, condoms, consumers, contraceptive acceptors, contraceptive choices, contraceptive methods, contraceptive prevalence, contraceptive use, counseling, DECISION MAKING, demand curve, demographers, demographic goals, Department of Population, developing countries, drugs, earthquake, economic performance, employment, Equal access, essential health services, ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS, expenditures, extended families, families, FAMILY PLANNING, Family Planning Programs, Family Planning Services, family size, Family Welfare, fatigue, female sterilization, fertility, fertility decline, Fertility declines, fertility rate, fertility rates, food supplies, forced abortion, free choice, gender equity, health care, health care coverage, health care policy, health care providers, health care services, health care workers, health centers, Health Economics, health education, health effects, health facilities, health indicators, health investments, health outcomes, Health Policy, health professionals, health providers, Health Results, health risks, health sector, health service, health services, Health Specialist, health system, health workers, high fertility, HIV, HIV/AIDS, hospital, hospitals, household income, human capital, Human Development, human resources, human rights, illness, immunizations, impact evaluations, impact on health, infants, information services, informed choice, informed choices, informed decisions, injectable contraceptives, insurance, integration, INTERNATIONAL ACTION, International Conference on Population, International Family Planning, IUD, IUDs, lack of information, lack of knowledge, large families, live births, low-income countries, lower fertility, married women, maternal deaths, maternal health, maternal health care, maternal mortality ratio, maternity leave, MEDICAL CARE, Medical Ethics, medical records, medical specialists, medical treatment, method of choice, methods of family planning, Ministry of Health, modern contraception, modern contraceptive methods, modern family, modern family planning, modern family planning methods, mortality, national government, National Population, natural resources, newborns, number of couples, number of people, number of women, Nutrition, oral contraceptives, outpatient care, pace of population growth, pamphlet, pandemic, Parenthood Federation, patient, patient satisfaction, patients, pensions, Policy Implications, policy makers, Population and Development, population control, population growth, Population Policies, Population Research, Population Research Centre, posters, pregnancies, pregnancy, pregnant women, prenatal care, Price subsidies, production costs, provision of services, Public Health, quality assurance, quality care, quality of care, quality of services, quality services, reducing maternal mortality, religious reasons, Reproductive Health, reproductive health program, reproductive rights, respect, rural women, safe motherhood, screening, service delivery, service providers, sex, sexually active, side effects, small families, smaller families, smoking, social compensation, social consequences, Social marketing, social reasons, socioeconomic development, socioeconomic factors, Spouse, spouses, state governments, sterilization, substance abuse, supply curve, supply curves, training health workers, transportation, unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, urban areas, vasectomy, workers |
| Date: | 2013–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:hnpdps:84663&r=ger |
| By: | Reyes, Krishna; Amores, Juan Carlos |
| Abstract: | Over the last decade, there was a significant drop in mortality and morbidity cases attributed to tuberculosis (TB). The high TB Case Detection (CDR) and Treatment Success Rates (TSR) may have underpinned the decreasing prevalence. Despite these successes, TB still appears to be a major health problem in the country. Disturbingly, the rate of decrease in the mortality and morbidity is not fast enough. This makes the country`s MDG goal targets on TB eradication shaky. The Philippines is also in the list of 27 countries with the highest burden of TB. To further augment case detection rate and early diagnosis, this study aims to qualitatively explore the barriers to diagnosis among the poor highly urbanized population, one of the identified high-risk population groups. Using focus group discussions of TB patients with delayed diagnosis conducted in three highly urbanized cities in the Philippines, namely, Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao, the researchers investigated and explored wide range of factors that hinder patients to seek health care despite the presence of triggering factors among urban poor. Results suggest sociocultural, financial, and health system factors are identified as important barriers. These factors ascertain the findings identified in most developing countries. This study hopes to augment the prevention and control program of the Department of Health and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation to increase awareness and health-seeking behavior. |
| Keywords: | poverty, Philippines, tuberculosis, TBDOTS, early diagnosis, case detection rate, highly urbanized population |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2014-18&r=ger |
| By: | Fortmannm Lea; Salas, Paula Cordero; Sohngen, Brent; Roe, Brian |
| Abstract: | Implementation arrangements for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation can be seen as contracts that could address some of the inherent problems with forest carbon credits that often lead to high transaction costs -- measuring, monitoring, and verification. Self-enforcing contracts, where it is in the best interest of the environmental service providers to comply with the contracts, may be one way to reduce these costs if providers have incentives to uphold their end of the contract. While the literature on Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation is extensive, there is little information available to guide policy makers or investors on what form such contracts should take. After providing an overview of the current status of Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and its role as a tool for reducing carbon emissions on an international scale, the paper describes key issues regarding implementation and reviews the literature on contracts from the related area of Payments for Ecosystem Services programs, which face similar challenges. The remainder of the paper reviews various contractual mechanisms from agricultural and forestry related projects that have been proposed or are being used in practice and discusses the various implications associated with their design and implementation. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Environmental Economics&Policies,Climate Change Economics,Debt Markets,Environment and Energy Efficiency |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6829&r=ger |
| By: | Paula Armstrong (Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates different theoretical models of incentives for teachers in education. It highlights key characteristics likely to render incentives successful in encouraging productive behaviour, provides evidence of where these systems have been successfully and unsuccessfully implemented internationally and the likelihood of successful implementation of teacher incentive programmes in South Africa. |
| Keywords: | incentives, teachers |
| JEL: | I2 J5 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sza:wpaper:wpapers212&r=ger |
| By: | Sau Soon, Chen; Mohd Helan, Mohd Helme bin; Ujang, Zunairah; Michida, Etsuyo; Nabeshima, Kaoru |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how a country which has been successful in creating agglomeration of a manufacturing industry has faced various types of product-related environmental regulations. Then the paper shows how the government and testing laboratory have taken measures to adapt to PRERs overseas in response to the needs by firms affected by regulations. In reaction to the introductions of PRERs overseas, Malaysia also has introduced equivalent policies domestically, proving that PRERs have spread to Malaysia. |
| Keywords: | Malaysia, Environmental policy, Industrial standards, Manufacturing industries, International trade, Trade and the environment, Product-related environmental regulations (PRERs) |
| JEL: | F18 O2 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper452&r=ger |
| By: | Keiji Saito (Graduate School of Economics, University of Tokyo); Shin-ichi Hanada (Faculty of Economics, Kanazawa Seiryo University); Hiroshi Ohashi (Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effects of large-scale penetration of solar PV in Japan. Since the government adopted in 2009 the feed-in tariff on renewable energy sources, the solar PV has been popular for both for residential and non-residential users. This paper employs power system simulation and assess several scenarios on the penetration of solar PV in 2020. The paper finds two major results; (1) the penetration is reached at 4000GW, the annual peak demand would shift from summer to winter. No kW value would be placed on an additional unit of solar PV. (2) Since solar PV would replace thermal power generation, the fuel cost of the generation would reduce with penetration of solar PV, but at a slower rate. |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:jseres:2014cj258&r=ger |
| By: | Pauw, Karl; Thurlow, James |
| Abstract: | Prioritizing public investments requires information on relative returns that are difficult to derive from disparate evaluation studies. This paper presents a .hybrid. approach that combines ex post evaluation data with an economy-wide model for experimen |
| Keywords: | rural investment, impact evaluation, agricultural growth, poverty |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-060&r=ger |
| By: | Voß, Achim |
| Abstract: | The public management of stock pollutants is an intertemporal problem; today's optimal choice takes the behavior of future governments into account. If a government expects a successor with different environmental preferences - for instance, if Conservatives expect green successors - it must choose strategically. I model this interaction in a two-period game in which the government of each period chooses consumption as a flow variable that adds to a stock of pollution. In this setting, I analyze how the prospect of losing political power changes the incumbent's policy choice. It is shown that both the prospect of a more conservative or of a greener successor reduce present consumption. This implies that losing power in the future makes a conservative government choose a compromise policy today - which may explain why in some countries, conservative governments seem to adopt green policies. By contrast, the expected loss of power makes a green government choose a policy that appears as a radicalization of their position. -- |
| Keywords: | Stock Pollution,Political Economy of Environmental Policy,Time Inconsistency,Strategic choice of stock variables,Sequential Game,Partisan Politicians,Ideological Preferences,Green Parties |
| JEL: | Q58 D72 C72 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cawmdp:66&r=ger |
| By: | Sandy Tubeuf (Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds); Richard Edlin (School of Population Health, University of Auckland); Swati Shourie (Monash Injury Research Institute, Monash University); Francine Cheater (School of Nursing Sciences, University of East Anglia); Hilary Bekker (Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds); Cath Jackson (York Trials Unit, University of York) |
| Abstract: | Background: Levels of measles in England and Wales are at their highest for 18 years and strategies targeting the different groups of parents who don’t vaccinate their children continue to be needed. Decision aids for childhood immunisation decisions appear to be effective in achieving vaccine uptake, however their cost effectiveness is unknown. Aim: To assess the cost-effectiveness of a web-based decision aid to increase MMR vaccine uptake. Design and Setting: Economic evaluation conducted alongside a cluster randomised controlled trial. 50 GP practices in the North of England were randomised to one of three trial arms (decision aid, leaflet, nothing) alongside usual practice. 220 first-time parents (child aged 3 to 12 months) were recruited. Methods: Parents self-reported their contacts with the NHS and other previous/expected resource utilisation; associated costs were calculated. Vaccine uptake was collected from GP practices. Cost-effectiveness is expressed in terms of incremental cost per first vaccine uptake. Multiple imputations were used to account for missing data and findings were adjusted for baseline differences in parents’ levels of decisional conflict for the MMR decision. Results: MMR uptake was highest for those receiving the decision aid (42/42, 100% vs. usual practice 61/62, 98% and leaflet arm 69/75, 92%) and was associated with lower cost. The decision aid has a high chance of being cost-effective regardless of the value placed on obtaining additional vaccinations. Conclusions: The decision aid appears to offer an efficient means of decision support for parents. |
| Keywords: | cost-effectiveness;decision aid; vaccination; immunisation; MMR |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lee:wpaper:1401&r=ger |
| By: | Kümmerling, Angelika; Lehndorff, Steffen |
| Abstract: | In principle, two different types of working-time instruments were used to introduce working-time changes during the crisis. First, work-sharing schemes (with their country-specific institutional background and public subsidies); second, working-time adjustments based on unilateral or bilateral decisions taken at the level of the firm, with or without a framework of collective agreements, but in either case without public financial support. While the former have been studied extensively (Messenger and Ghosheh, 2013), the present report takes stock of working time-related crisis-response measures at the firm level beyond those supported by work-sharing schemes. It covers conventional instruments such as reductions of working time with or without financial compensation and variations in the use of overtime hours, but also more innovative approaches such as the use of working time accounts, “working- time corridors”1 and various other forms of changes in working-time organization, such as teleworking or compressed working weeks. |
| Keywords: | labour flexibility, hours of work, work sharing, flexible hours of work, time management, small enterprise, economic recession, flexibilité du travail, durée du travail, partage du travail, horaire de travail variable, gestion du temps, petite entreprise, récession économique, flexibilidad del trabajo, horas de trabajo, repartición del trabajo, horario de trabajo variable, gestión de tiempo, pequeña empresa, recesión económica |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:484127&r=ger |
| By: | Manabu Asai (Faculty of Economics, Soka University); Michael McAleer (Econometric Institute, Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Tinbergen Institute, The Netherlands, Department of Quantitative Economics, Complutense University of Madrid, and Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University.) |
| Abstract: | Modelling covariance structures is known to suffer from the curse of dimensionality. In order to avoid this problem for forecasting, the authors propose a new factor multivariate stochastic volatility (fMSV) model for realized covariance measures that accommodates asymmetry and long memory. Using the basic structure of the fMSV model, the authors extend the dynamic correlation MSV model, the onditional/stochastic Wishart autoregressive models, the matrix-exponential MSV model, and the Cholesky MSV model. Empirical results for 7 financial asset returns for US stock returns indicate that the new fMSV models outperform existing dynamic conditional correlation models for forecasting future covariances. Among the new fMSV models, the Cholesky MSV model with long memory and asymmetry shows stable and better forecasting performance for one-day, five-day and ten-day horizons in the periods before, during and after the global financial crisis. |
| Keywords: | Dimension reduction; Factor Model; Multivariate Stochastic Volatility; Leverage Effects; Long Memory; Realized Volatility. |
| JEL: | C32 C53 C58 G17 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucm:doicae:1405&r=ger |
| By: | Ambrosino, Angela (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | The mediation procedure, as outlined by D.lg 28/2010 and subsequent amendments, introduced in our legal system a new tool for coordinating the decisions of economic agents. The new civil mediation is proposed, therefore, as an instrument characterized by a different procedure and objectives from those of ordinary judgment. The evaluation of its efficiency requires the introduction of new theoretical tools that allow to evaluate the different aspects of social interaction in mediation. The traditional cost-benefit analysis proposed by the economic analysis of law, or simple considerations on Pareto-efficiency proposed by standard economics seem not sufficient analytical tools in this perspective. This article shares Mitchell’s cognitive approach to the theory of law, and it is aimed at analyzing the new model of mediation introduced into Italian legislation through the lens offered by F.A. Hayek’s theory of law (1973, 1976, 1979), with particular reference to the distinction he made between law and legislation and its consequence on the analysis of the role of the judge in common law as the discoverer of law. Moreover, Hayek’s legal theory will be analyzed jointly to his concept of social order. In the light of the contribution of this author, in fact, the choice of our legislator seems to be close to the idea of developing regulatory structures that simply delineate the action of subjects without imposing specific behaviors or ex ante solutions to given situations |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:201406&r=ger |
| By: | Thomas J. Miceli (University of Connecticut) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines markets, firms, and the law as alternative institutional arrangements for organizing transactions that involve transaction-specific investments and uncertain performance. The analysis is the logical extension of Coase’s seminal analysis of the market-firm boundary on one hand, and the market-law boundary on the other. It thus combines insights from the literature on industrial organization and law and economics. The result is a unified framework that reveals the relative advantages and disadvantages, within a fairly simple economic setting, of market exchange, court ordering (contracts), and internal governance (agency). |
| Keywords: | Asset specificity, contracts, firms, holdup problem, market exchange |
| JEL: | D23 K12 L14 L22 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uct:uconnp:2014-06&r=ger |
| By: | Naylor, Robin (Department of Economics, University of Warwick); Soegaard, Christian (Department of Economics, University of Warwick) |
| Abstract: | We show that a firm's profits under Cournot oligopoly can be increasing in the number of firms in the industry if wages are determined by decentralised bargaining in unionised bilateral oligopoly. The intuition for the result is that increased product market competition following an increase in the number of firms is mirrored by increased labour market rivalry which induces (profit-enhancing) wage moderation. Whether the product or labour market effect dominates depends both on the extent of union bargaining power and on the nature of union preferences. An incumbent monopolist will have an incentive to accommodate entry if the labour market effect dominates. We also show that this incentive is stronger if the incumbent anticipates that, post entry, it will be able to act as a Stackelberg leader. Key words: Oligopoly ; wage bargaining ; profits and entry JEL classification: D43 ; J50 ; L13 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1044&r=ger |
| By: | Kraay, Aart; McKenzie, David |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the empirical evidence on the existence of poverty traps, understood as self-reinforcing mechanisms through which poor individuals or countries remain poor. Poverty traps have captured the interest of many development policy makers, because poverty traps provide a theoretically coherent explanation for persistent poverty. They also suggest that temporary policy interventions may have long-term effects on poverty. However, a review of the reduced-form empirical evidence suggests that truly stagnant incomes of the sort predicted by standard models of poverty traps are in fact quite rare. Moreover, the empirical evidence regarding several canonical mechanisms underlying models of poverty traps is mixed. |
| Keywords: | Rural Poverty Reduction,Achieving Shared Growth,Economic Theory&Research,Debt Markets,Poverty Reduction Strategies |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6835&r=ger |
| By: | Faruk Ülgen (CREG - Centre de recherche en économie de Grenoble - Université Pierre-Mendès-France - Grenoble II : EA4625) |
| Abstract: | In the wake of the global change of a new accumulation regime in major capitalist economies, the opening up and liberalisation process of emerging economies from the 1980s has provoked great expectations that resulted in recurrent disappointing crises. Studied as a stylized fact, the Turkish experience leads us to assess the role of liberalised macroeconomic environment, unsuitable economic policies and hesitant and weak regulatory mechanisms as the main sources of perverse sequencing in the reform area. The paper shows that the Turkish crises since the 1980s arose from bad macroeconomic policies, which implemented the neo-liberal shock therapy model and triggered boom-and-bust cycles. After three decades of liberal reforms, the Turkish economy remains still subject to structural downturns. The economic recovery is not guaranteed by a hasty liberalisation. It requires consistent policies which should frame economic agents' forms of behaviour in order to induce a sustainable macroeconomic development. |
| Keywords: | liberalisation ; stability ; sustainable growth regime ; Turkish economy |
| Date: | 2013–10–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00968501&r=ger |
| By: | Rantala, Olavi |
| Abstract: | The euro area economic crisis is largely a result of the competitiveness disparity between Germany and the rest of the euro area. The wage moderation in Germany has considerably improved its competitiveness in relation to the rest of the euro area. Wage policy has been deflationary in Germany in the 2000s in the sense that real wage growth has fallen below labour productivity growth. In the rest of the euro area wage policy has been inflationary since real wage growth has exceeded labour productivity growth. The input- output price model implies that due to the lower wage inflation the unit cost of production in industry has grown much less in Germany than in the rest of the euro area. Restoring competitiveness necessitates a clear wage inflation halt in the rest of the euro area in the coming years. |
| Keywords: | Euro crisis, competitiveness |
| JEL: | C67 E64 F16 |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:report:23&r=ger |
| By: | Areski Cousin (SAF - Laboratoire de Sciences Actuarielle et Financière - Université Claude Bernard - Lyon I : EA2429); Ibrahima Niang (SAF - Laboratoire de Sciences Actuarielle et Financière - Université Claude Bernard - Lyon I : EA2429) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyze the diversity of term structure functions (e.g., yield curves, swap curves, credit curves) constructed in a process which complies with some admissible properties: arbitrage-freeness, ability to fit market quotes and a certain degree of smoothness. When present values of building instruments are expressed as linear combinations of some primary quantities such as zero-coupon bonds, discount factor, or survival probabilities, arbitrage-free bounds can be derived for those quantities at the most liquid maturities. As a matter of example, we present an iterative procedure that allows to compute model-free bounds for OIS-implied discount rates and CDS-implied default probabilities. We then show how mean-reverting term structure models can be used as generators of admissible curves. This framework is based on a particular specification of the mean-reverting level which allows to perfectly reproduce market quotes of standard vanilla interest-rate and default-risky securities while preserving a certain degree of smoothness. The numerical results suggest that, for both OIS discounting curves and CDS credit curves, the operational task of term-structure construction may be associated with a significant degree of uncertainty. |
| Keywords: | Term-structure construction methods; OIS discounting curves; credit curves; model risk; arbitrage-free bounds; affine term-structure models |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00968943&r=ger |
| By: | Ali T. Akarca (University of Illinois at Chicago); Aysýt Tansel (Middle East Technical University) |
| Abstract: | During last sixty years, Turkish population moved from one province to another at the rate of about 7-8 percent per five-year interval. As a consequence of this massive internal migration, population residing in a province other than the one they were born in increased from 12 percent in 1950 to 39 percent in 2011. Impact of this population instability on provincial turnout rates in 2011 parliamentary election is studied, controlling for the effects of other socio-economic, demographic, political and institutional factors. Consequences of migration both at destinations and origins are considered. According to robust regressions estimated, the relationship between turnout and education is inverse U-shaped, and between turnout and age, U-shaped. The latter reflects generational differences as well. Large population, large number parliament members to be elected from a constituency, participation by large number of parties, and existence of a dominant party depress the turnout rate. A percentage increase in the proportion of emigrants among the people born in a province reduces turnout rate in that province by 0.13 percentage points, while a percentage increase in the ratio of immigrants in the population of a province reduces it by 0.06 percentage points. However, at destinations where large numbers of immigrants from different regions are concentrated, the opportunity afforded to immigrants to elect one of their own, reduces the latter adverse impact significantly and in some cases turns it to positive. |
| Keywords: | Election turnout, internal migration, political participation, Turkey, voter behavior. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tek:wpaper:2014/4&r=ger |
| By: | Ana B. Ania; Andreas Wagener |
| Abstract: | Fiscal federalism is often hailed as an innovation procedure: successful policy experiments in one jurisdiction will, via imitation, spread through the entire system, leading to overall better policy performance. We show that such hopes set in laboratory federalism may be ill-founded. For a standard framework of decentralized redistribution in a common labor market with mobile transfer recipients imitationwith- experimentation will lead to a complete breakdown of the welfare state: zero transfers. |
| JEL: | H77 H75 C73 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vie:viennp:1402&r=ger |
| By: | Todd Honeycutt; Jennifer A. Lyons; Lorenzo Moreno |
| Keywords: | Youth Disabilities, Disability Support System, International, Disability |
| JEL: | I J |
| Date: | 2014–03–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:8095&r=ger |
| By: | Clément Bosquet (Spatial Economic Research Center); Pierre-Philippe Combes (Groupement de Recherche en Économie Quantitative d'Aix-Marseille); Cecilia Garcia-Peñalosa (Aix-Marseille School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Differences in promotion across genders are still prevalent in many occupations.Recent work based on experimental evidence indicates that women participate less in or exert lower effort during contests. We exploit the unique features of the promotion system for French academics to look at women's attitudes towards competition in an actual labour market. Using data for academic economists over the period 1991-2008 we find that, conditional on entering the competition, there is no difference in promotions across the genders, which is difficult to reconcile with either discrimination or a poorer performance of women in contests. In contrast, women have a substantially lower probability than men to enter the promotion contest. Our data does not support that this gap is due to differences in costs or in preferences concerning department prestige, indicating that women are less willing than men to take part in contests. |
| Keywords: | gender gaps, promotions, academic labour markets |
| JEL: | J16 J7 I23 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oc99l12b6&r=ger |
| By: | John M. Nunley; Adam Pugh; Nicholas Romero; Richard Alan Seals, Jr. |
| Abstract: | We present experimental evidence from a correspondence test of racial discrimination in the labor market for recent college graduates. Online job advertisements were answered with over 9,000 résumé s from fictitious, recently-graduated job seekers. We find strong evidence of differential treatment by race: black applicants receive approximately 14 percent fewer interview requests than their otherwise identical white counterparts. The racial gap in employment opportunities increases as perceived productivity characteristics are added, which is difficult to reconcile with models of statistical discrimination. We investigate different channels through which the observed racial differences might occur and conclude that taste-based discrimination at the race-skill level is the most likely explanation. The racial differences identified operate primarily through customer-level discrimination. |
| Keywords: | Racial Discrimination; Employment; Productivity; Field Experiments; Correspondence Studies |
| JEL: | J23 J24 J71 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:abn:wpaper:auwp2014-06&r=ger |
| By: | Guillaume Allegre (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Après avoir annoncé son intention de réformer les dispositifs de soutien aux revenus d’activité modestes (RSA activité et Prime pour l’emploi - PPE), le Premier ministre a confié au député Christophe Sirugue l’élaboration d’un rapport portant sur les voies de réforme permettant de trouver un équilibre entre redistribution vers les plus pauvres et accompagnement du retour à l’emploi. Deux autres objectifs sont fixés par le Premier ministre : éviter les écueils du non-recours et de la complexité administrative... |
| Date: | 2013–09–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/cnic3v8rndpflfg9o64k34s2h&r=ger |
| By: | Berliant, Marcus; Fujishima, Shota |
| Abstract: | We consider the optimal nonlinear income taxation problem in a dynamic, stochastic environment when the government is sluggish in the sense that it cannot change the tax rule as uncertainty resolves. We show that the sluggish government cannot allow saving or borrowing regardless of the utility function. Moreover, we argue that the zero top marginal tax rate result in static models is of little practical importance because it is actually relevant only when the top earner in the initial period receives the highest shock in every period. |
| Keywords: | Optimal income taxation; New dynamic public finance |
| JEL: | H21 |
| Date: | 2014–04–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:55088&r=ger |
| By: | Moreno-Ternero, Juan D. (Department of Economics, Universidad Pablo de Olavide); Østerdal, Lars Peter (COHERE, Department of Business and Economics, University of Southern Denmark) |
| Abstract: | Standard models for the evaluation of population health, such as the so-called models of aggregate Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs), or aggregate Healthy Years Equiva- lent (HYEs), are usually criticized on equity grounds. We provide in this paper normative justi_cations for alternative equity-sensitive models, such as the so-called models of mul- tiplicative QALYs, multiplicative HYEs, and generalizations of the two. Our axiomatic approach assumes social preferences over distributions of individual health states experi- enced in a given period of time. It conveys informational simplicity, as it does not require information about individual preferences on health. |
| Keywords: | Population health; equity; HYEs; QALYs; axioms |
| JEL: | D63 I10 |
| Date: | 2014–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sduhec:2014_001&r=ger |
| By: | Nabila JAWADI; Likoebe M. MARUPING; Nabila BOUKEF CHARKI |
| Abstract: | Shared leadership has emerged as an important determinant of team performance. However, the efficacy of such leadership in facilitating effective performance in distributed contexts is little understood. We extend theory by examining how shared leadership influences performance in distributed teams. Specifically, we focus on spatial, temporal, and configurational aspects of dispersion and how shared leadership enables teams to overcome the barriers posed by these forms of dispersion. We conducted a five-month study of ten distributed teams to examine shared versus concentrated leadership. Results of the study suggest that highly distributed teams achieve high performance when leadership influence in team coordination and monitoring processes is distributed across multiple team members. In contrast shared and concentrated leadership both seemed to facilitate high performance in less distributed teams. Further, we found that shared leadership in coordination processes was particularly important in facilitating effective communication patterns and, ultimately, high performance. The implications of our findings for theory are discussed. |
| Keywords: | shared leadership, team dispersion, team performance, team processes, virtual interaction. |
| Date: | 2014–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-201&r=ger |
| By: | Richard Layard (London School of Economics and Political Science); Andrew Clark (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering); Nattavudh Powdthavee; Francesca Cornaglia |
| Abstract: | If policy-makers care about well-being, they need a recursive model of how adult life satisfaction is predicted by childhood influences, acting both directly and (indirectly) through adult circumstances. We estimate such a model using the British Cohort Study (1970).The most powerful childhood predictor of adult life-satisfaction is the child’s emotional health. Next comes the child’s conduct. The least powerful predictor is the child’s intellectual development. This has obvious implications for educational policy. Among adult circumstances, family income accounts for only 0.5% of the variance of life-satisfaction. Mental and physical health are much more important. |
| Keywords: | Well-being, Life-satisfaction, Intervention, Model, Life-course, Emotional health, Conduct, Intellectual performance, Success |
| JEL: | A12 D60 H00 I31 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oc90kh192&r=ger |
| By: | Sergey Kichko (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Sergey Kokovin (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Evgeny Zhelobodko (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | We develop a two-factor, two-sector trade model of monopolistic competition with variable elasticity of substitution. Firms' profits and sizes may increase or decrease with market integration depending on the degree of asymmetry between countries. The country in which capital is relatively abundant is a net exporter of the manufactured good, although both firm sizes and profits are lower in this country than in the country where capital is relatively scarce. The pricing policy adopted by firms neither depends on capital endowment nor country asymmetry. It is determined by the nature of preferences: when demand elasticity increases (decreases) with consumption, firms practice dumping (reverse-dumping) |
| Keywords: | international trade, monopolistic competition, capital asymmetry, variable markups |
| JEL: | F12 F13 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:54/ec/2014&r=ger |
| By: | Dreger, Christian (DIW Berlin); Rahmani, Teymur (University of Tehran) |
| Abstract: | In line with the neoclassical growth model a persistent stream of oil revenues might have a long lasting impact on GDP per capita in oil exporting countries through higher investment activities. This relationship is explored for Iran and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) using (panel) cointegration techniques. The existence of cointegration between oil revenues, GDP and investment can be confirmed for all countries. While the cointegration vector is found to be unique for Iran, long run equations for GDP and investment per capita are distinguished for the Gulf countries. Both variables respond to deviations from the steady state, while oil income can be treated as weakly exogenous. The long run oil elasticities for the Gulf states exceed their Iranian counterparts. In addition, investment in Iran does not react to oil revenues in the long run. Hence, oil revenues may have been spent less wisely in Iran over the past decades. |
| Keywords: | oil exporting countries, oil revenues, panel cointegration |
| JEL: | F43 O53 Q30 C33 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8079&r=ger |
| By: | Francis Bloch (EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris); Gabrielle Demange (EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS : UMR8545 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Paris - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA)); Rachel Kranton (EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS : UMR8545 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Paris - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA)) |
| Abstract: | Why do people spread rumors? This paper studies the transmission of possibly false information---by rational agents who seek the truth. Unbiased agents earn payoffs when a collective decision is correct in that it matches the true state of the world, which is initially unknown. One agent learns the underlying state and chooses whether to send a true or false message to her friends and neighbors who then decide whether or not to transmit it further. The papers hows how a social network can serve as a filter. Agents block messages from parts of the network that contain many biased agents; the messages that circulate may be incorrect but sufficiently informative as to the correct decision. |
| Keywords: | Bayesian updating ; Rumors ; Misinformation ; Social networks |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-00966234&r=ger |
| By: | Jean-Luc Gaffard (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Real divergences in economic performances that emerge between countries belonging to the eurozone make it necessary to define an economic policy oriented toward a re-industrialization of some regions in Europe. In a world characterised by irreversibility of investment and imperfection of marketinformation, supply reforms should consist inestablishing a framework aimed at supporting both botcompetition and cooperation between the various players of innovation, and thus allowing firms’strategies tobesuccessful. This requires reconsidering both national and European policies that are growth-enhancing, that is,competition policy, labour policy, regional policy, but also industrial policythat takes the form of large public programmes. However, any change in the industrial landscape in Europe will only be possible if a new macroeconomicpolicy prevents inappropriate destruction ofproductive capacities |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p50bp1219&r=ger |
| By: | Grillitsch, Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | The overall objective of this paper is to contribute conceptually to the questions why and how regions transform and it joins the debate on economic evolution and institutional change. The paper addresses the challenge of how to conceptualise the interdependencies of institutions of different types and spatial scales. It aims at developing a conceptual framework that i) appreciates the variety of institutional forms and the multi-scalar nature of institutional landscapes, ii) is tangible enough for operationalization in the context of empirical research, and iii) contributes to our understanding about institutional change and economic evolution in regions. The paper offers a review on how institutions have been conceptualised in the context of evolutionary economic geography, a proposal for understanding regional institutional frameworks and institutional change through a novel way of conceptualising institutional layering, a clear distinction between concepts such as agency, networks, social structures and institutional layers, and a discussion about how this can improve our understanding about regional transformation. |
| Keywords: | Evolutionary economic geography; institutional theory; regional change; institutional layering |
| JEL: | B52 R11 |
| Date: | 2014–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2014_001&r=ger |
| By: | Silke Übelmesser (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena); Marcel Gérard (CESifo, Munich) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at linking cross border mobility of students and graduates with the financing of higher education. Against the background of institutional features and empirical evidence of the European Union and Northern America, a theoretical framework is developed. This allows analyzing the optimal financing regimes for different migration scenarios, comparing them with the regimes in place and discussing possible remedies. In particular, the (optimal) sharing of education costs between students / graduates and tax-payers is studied as well as the (optimal) sharing of the tax-payers' part between the various countries involved: the country which provides higher education (the host country), the country of previous education (the origin country) and possibly the countries which benefit from the improved skills of the workers. Alternative designs exhibiting potentially desirable properties are developed and policy recommendations derived. |
| Keywords: | Mobility of students, Mobility of graduates, Financing of higher education |
| JEL: | F22 H52 I23 |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2014-009&r=ger |
| By: | Calypso Herrera; Louis Paulot |
| Abstract: | In this paper we introduce a new algorithm for American Monte Carlo that can be used either for American-style options, callable structured products or for computing counterparty credit risk (e.g. CVA or PFE computation). Leveraging least squares regressions, the main novel feature of our algorithm is that it can be fully parallelized. Moreover, there is no need to store the paths and the payoff computation can be done forwards: this allows to price structured products with complex path and exercise dependencies. The key idea of our algorithm is to split the set of paths in several subsets which are used iteratively. We give the convergence rate of the algorithm. We illustrate our method on an American put option and compare the results with the Longstaff-Schwartz algorithm. |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1404.1180&r=ger |
| By: | Hartmut Lehmann; Anzelika Zaiceva |
| Abstract: | This paper takes stock of informal employment in Russia analyzing its incidence and determinants, developing several measures of informal employment and demonstrating that the incidence varies widely across the different definitions. We, however, show that the determinants of informal employment are roughly stable across the different measures. We also estimate an informal-formal wage gap at the means and across the entire wage distributions. We find only weak evidence for labor market segmentation in Russia for salaried workers but establish a segmented informal sector with a lower free entry tier and an upper rationed tier when including the self-employed and entrepreneurs Classification-JEL: J31, J40, P23 |
| Keywords: | Informal employment, transition economies, labor market segmentation, Russia Length: pages 39 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mod:recent:098&r=ger |
| By: | Alain Bienaymé (LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - Université Paris IX - Paris Dauphine) |
| Abstract: | After a few centuries of speeding up, the distribution of GNP's growth rates has widely changed all round the world. Growth is slowing down in advanced countries and has accelerated in emerging countries. Moreover growth is questioned as a matter of principle. Considering the vast array of issues at stake, mainly the depletion of natural resources and the enduring waste of human resources caused by mass unemployment, growth has reached a new stage. Economics needs to be provided food for thought from social sciences as well as from geography, natural sciences and philosophy : growth is a field of research open to co - disciplinarity. History shows how important the intellectuel climate, the zeit geist has been and still is for economic performances. As regards the future of growth, we explore two feasible scenarios able to conciliate at least two of the following goals : better protection and maintenance of natural resources, satisfaction of human aspirations to get better life conditions, alternative activities to paid jobs and idleness entailed by the labour saving technologies and significative efforts of households to temper their consumption. |
| Keywords: | Co - disciplinarity; sustainable development; emergent economies; employment; labour; natural resources; rationality; risk |
| Date: | 2014–02–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00946602&r=ger |
| By: | Peter Neary; Monika Mrazova |
| Abstract: | We show that relaxing the assumption of CES preferences in monopolistic competition has surprising implications when trade is restricted.� Integrated and segmented markets behave differently, the latter typically exhibiting reciprocal dumping.� Globalization and lower trade costs have different effects: the former reduces spending on all existing varieties, the latter switches spending from home to imported varieties; when demands are less convex than CES, globalization raises whereas lower trade costs reduce firm output.� Finally,calibrating gains from trade is harder.� Many more parameters are needed, while import demand elasticities typically overestimate the true elasticities, and so underestimate the gains from trade. |
| Keywords: | Additively Separable Preference, CES Preference, Iceberg Trade Costs, Quantifying Gains from Trade, Super- and Subconvexity of Demand, Super- and Subconcavity of Utility |
| JEL: | F12 F15 F17 |
| Date: | 2014–01–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:694&r=ger |
| By: | Masahiro Shoji (Faculty of Economics, Seijo University) |
| Abstract: | 　　 This study empirically disentangles the channels of peer effects in crime through an experiment conducted in rural Bangladesh. The first part of this study assumes that individuals exhibit guilt aversion, which predicts the peer effects via guilt sensitivity and belief. By incorporating peer effects in a take-away game, the criminal player is informed about the victim player's belief only in the treatment group, so that the peer effects in the treatment group are driven only through guilt sensitivity. The experime ntal results suggest that peer effects affect and bring about changes in belief. The second part elicits guilt sensitivity to test guilt aversion. I find robust supporting evidence for my results, and reject the alternatives such as pure altruism and trustw orthiness. Finally, external validity is also confirmed: the criminal behaviour of subjects in the experiment is correlated with their attitude towards illegal activities in the real wo rld, and individuals are less likely to suffer from property crime in villages with a higher guilt sensitivity neighbourhood. |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2014cf923&r=ger |
| By: | Nathalie Lazaric (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - CNRS : UMR7321 - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (UNS)); Alain Raybaut (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (UNS) - CNRS : UMR6227) |
| Abstract: | In this article, we explore the potential tensions between the incentive systems of group of inventors and knowledge diversity in a high tech firm. |
| Keywords: | Work motivation, groups of inventors, knowledge diversity, Knowledge creation |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00930186&r=ger |
| By: | Jane Humphries; Jacob Weisdorf |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a wage series for unskilled English women workers from 1260 to 1850 and compares it with existing evidence for men.� Our series cast light on long run trends in women's agency and wellbeing, revealing an intractable, indeed widening gap between women and men's remuneration in the centuries following the Black Death.� This informs several debates: first whether or not "the golden age of the English peasantry" included women; and second whether or not industrialization provided women with greater opportunities.� Our contributions to both debates have implications for analyses of growth and trends in wellbeing.� If the rise in wages that followed the Black Death enticed female servants to delay marriage, it contributed to the formation of the European Marriage Pattern, a demographic regime which positioned England on a path to modern economic growth.� If the industrial revolution provided women with improved economic options, their gains should be included in any overall assessment of trends in the standard of living distorts the overall evaluation of the gains from industrialization. |
| Keywords: | Black Death, England, gender wage gap, industrial revolution, gender segregation, wages, women |
| JEL: | J3 J4 J5 J6 J7 J8 N33 |
| Date: | 2014–03–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:number-127&r=ger |
| By: | Katrin Rabitsch (Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business) |
| Abstract: | A large literature has related the failure of interest rate parity in the foreign exchange market to the existence of a time-varying risk premium. Nevertheless, most modern open economy DSGE models imply a (near) perfect interest rate parity condition. This paper presents a stylized two-country incomplete-markets model in which countries have strong precautionary motives because they face international liquidity constraints, the presence of which successfully generates a time-varying risk premium: the country that has accumulated debt after experiencing relative worse times has stronger precautionary motives and its asset carries a risk premium. |
| Keywords: | Uncovered Interest Rate Parity, Incomplete Market, Precautionary Savings, Time-Varying Risk Premium |
| JEL: | F31 F41 G12 G15 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwwuw:wuwp171&r=ger |
| By: | Robert Stelzer; Jovana Zavi\v{s}in |
| Abstract: | We consider the supOU stochastic volatility model which is able to exhibit long-range dependence. For this model we give conditions for the discounted stock price to be a martingale, calculate the characteristic function, give a strip where it is analytic and discuss the use of Fourier pricing techniques. Finally, we present a concrete specification with polynomially decaying autocorrelations and calibrate it to observed market prices of plain vanilla options. |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1404.1773&r=ger |
| By: | David Morgan; Roberto Astolfi |
| Abstract: | The global economic crisis which began in 2008 has had a dramatic effect on health spending across OECD countries. Estimates of expenditure on health released back in 2012 showed that, for the first time, health spending had slowed markedly or fallen across many OECD countries after years of continuous growth. As a result, close to zero growth in health expenditure was recorded on average in 2010. Preliminary estimates suggested that the low or negative growth in health spending was set to continue in many OECD countries in following years... La crise économique mondiale qui a débuté en 2008 a profondément modifié l'évolution des dépenses de santé des pays de l’OCDE. Les estimations publiées en 2012 ont montré que, pour la première fois après des années de croissance ininterrompue, les dépenses de santé avaient sensiblement ralenti, voire diminué, dans de nombreux pays. Ainsi, leur taux de croissance moyen s’établissait autour de zéro en 2010 et, d’après les premières estimations, il serait resté faible ou négatif dans de nombreux pays en 2011... |
| JEL: | H51 I12 I18 |
| Date: | 2014–04–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:elsaad:68-en&r=ger |
| By: | Arokiasamy, Perianayagam; Uttamacharya, Uttamacharya; Jain, Kshipra |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the prevalence and determinants of multiple chronic diseases and their association with the self-rated health, functional health and quality of life among adults in six SAGE countries: China, India, Russia, South Africa Mexico and Ghana. We use ADL and IADL activities as measures of functional health and WHOQoL index as a measure of quality of life. Poisson regression models are estimated to understand the social determinants of multiple chronic diseases. Logit models and OLS are estimated to examine the association between multiple chronic morbidities and self-rated health, functional health and quality of life. Russia had the highest prevalence of multi-morbidity (32.8%, 95%CI=25.5-41.1) followed by South Africa (22%, 95%CI=17.7-26.9); the other four countries had prevalence of multi-morbidity around 21%. Measures of socioeconomic status: education and wealth were found negatively associated with the number of chronic diseases. Higher number of chronic conditions was associated with the poorer self rated health, functional health and WHOQoL. |
| Keywords: | Multiple morbidity, Chronic diseases, Developing Countries, SAGE |
| JEL: | I14 I18 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:54914&r=ger |
| By: | Elisa Botella-Rodríguez |
| Abstract: | While the rest of Latin America followed outward-looking policies of agrarian development during the 1990s and early 2000s, Cuba implemented an inward-looking model during this period. In the midst of the most severe crisis in its history, the Special Period, Cuba dramatically shifted from export dependency to inward-looking development. Cuba is a unique case in terms of agricultural development. Cuba’s agricultural development model provoked important transformations in the country’s agriculture sector. It revolutionised food production patterns and decentralised land structures and commercialisation. But did these changes create spaces for private small farmers to increase national food production during the 1990s and early 2000s? And if so, what particular spaces were created? This paper explores these questions concentrating on three key dimensions: 1) income and employment; 2) production and productivity levels; and, 3) small farmers’ contribution to national food security. |
| Keywords: | Cuba, small farmers, inward-looking development, food security, agriculture development, land structures |
| JEL: | N56 O11 Q15 Q18 |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:seh:wpaper:1406&r=ger |
| By: | Seeun Jung (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS : UMR8545 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Paris - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA), EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris); Kenneth Houngbedji (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS : UMR8545 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Paris - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA), EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the effect of risk aversion on effort under different monitoring schemes. It uses a theoretical model which relaxes the assumption of agents being risk neutral, and investigates changes of effort as monitoring varies. The predictions of the theoretical model are tested using an original experimental setting where the level of risk aversion is measured and monitoring rates vary exogenously. Our results show that shirking decreases with risk aversion and monitoring. Moreover, monitoring is more effective to curtail shirking behaviors for subjects who are less risk averse. |
| Keywords: | Risk aversion |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-00965532&r=ger |
| By: | Emily E. Wiemers |
| Abstract: | Doubling up with family and friends is one way in which individuals and families can cope with job loss but there is still relatively little work on the extent to which people use co-residence to weather a spell of unemployment. This project uses data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation to provide evidence on the relationship between household composition and unemployment across working ages focusing on differences in behavior by educational attainment. Using the SIPP panels, I find that individuals who become unemployed are twice as likely to move in with other people. Moving into shared living arrangements in response to unemployment is not evenly spread across the distribution of educational attainment; it is most prevalent among individuals with the less than a high school degree and those with at least some college. |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mab:wpaper:2014_05&r=ger |
| By: | Wong, John Q.; Baclay, J. Richelcyn M.; Duque, Richelle G.; Roque, Patricia Margarita S.; Serrano, Grace Kathleen T.; Tumlos, Jenina Olivia A.; Ronsing, Aisha-Aziza A. |
| Abstract: | This study was designed to address the issue of compliance of physicians and drugstores to the provisions of Generics Act of 1988. Furthermore, it aims to explore the awareness of consumers on generic medicines to explain current trends and practices in drug prescribing, dispensing, and use. The study utilized a cross-sectional design. It is a descriptive study that assessed four variables: generic drug prescription, generic drug substitution/dispensing, price menu cards, and use of generic drugs. The country was divided into six zones, namely: North Luzon, South Luzon, NCR, Visayas, Mindanao, and ARMM. Stratified cluster random sampling was used to identify which provinces and cities would be included in the study. Data collection techniques used include the following: a survey of consumers coming out of a drugstore (a total of 1,160 respondents), key informant interview of 30 physicians, and focus group discussion with 6 to 11 patients/watchers per zone. The survey revealed that five out of six drugs were written with generic names, with doctors in the public sector prescribing generics significantly more often than those in the private sector. Factors that positively affect generics prescribing behavior are patient`s welfare, compliance, patient`s financial situation, and fear of punishment. Quality concerns, lack of regulation by FDA, poor recall, patient`s preference, and personal experience are factors that negatively affect generics prescribing behavior. Less than half of the consumers were offered with generic alternatives, and even less number of consumers actually asked for the alternative. There is preference for branded medicines over generics. The consumers more likely to purchase generic medicines consulted a public facility, knew the requirement to write generic name, and was influenced by friends and relatives. Because there is already high compliance from drug prescribers, government efforts should now focus on the drugstores and consumers. Drugstore compliance should be regularly monitored, and consumers empowered on their right to know alternatives. Bioequivalence tests should be done to finally put an end to concerns on the quality of generic medicines. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, generics, prescribing, dispensing, drug use, social marketing, cross-sectional survey |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2014-17&r=ger |
| By: | Gernot Sieg (Institute of Transport Economics, Muenster) |
| Abstract: | This study presents a cost-benefit analysis of a law requiring cyclists to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle in Germany. The cost benefit-analysis takes into account the benefit of increased security when cyclists wear a helmet or use a transport mode that is less risky than cycling. The analysis also considers the cost of purchasing helmets, reduced fitness when cycling is replaced by a motorized transport mode, the discomfort of wearing helmets and environmental externalities. The benefits of a helmet law are estimated at about 0.714 of the costs. A bicycle helmet law for Germany is found to be a waste of resources. |
| Keywords: | bicycle helmets, cost-benefit analysis, helmet law |
| JEL: | K32 L91 R41 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mut:wpaper:21&r=ger |
| By: | Damien Besancenot (CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord - Université Paris 13 - CNRS : UMR7234 - Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (USPC)); Radu Vranceanu (Economics Department - ESSEC Business School) |
| Abstract: | In April 2013, all of the major academic publishing houses moved thousands of journal titles to an original hybrid model, under which authors of accepted papers can choose between an expensive open access track and the traditional track available only to subscribers. This paper argues that authors might use publication strategy as a quality signaling device. The imperfect information game between authors and readers presents several types of Perfect Bayesian Equilibria, including a separating equilibrium in which only authors of high quality papers are driven toward the open access track. The publishing house will choose the open-access publication fee that supports the emergence of the highest return equilibrium. Journal structures will evolve over time according to the journals' accessibility - quality profiles. |
| Keywords: | Academic publishing ; Open access ; Knowledge di¤usion ; Imperfect information ; Signaling |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00971541&r=ger |
| By: | Elizabeth Beasley; Elise Huillery (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | Increasing school resources has often shown disappointing effects on school quality in developing countries, a lack of impact which may be due to student, parent or teacher behavioral responses. We test the short-term impact of an increase in school resources under parental control using an experimental school grant program in Niger. |
| JEL: | H52 O15 I21 I28 |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09na40maa99&r=ger |
| By: | Diether W. Beuermann (Inter-American Development Bank); Inder J. Ruprah (Inter-American Development Bank); Ricardo E. Sierra (Inter-American Development Bank) |
| Abstract: | Social networks provide an important means by which individuals and households share risk. One of the mechanisms by which informal risk sharing could be achieved is through remittances. Accordingly, this paper identifies whether and how remittances facilitate consumption smoothing during health shocks in Jamaica. In addition, we identify whether remittances are subject to moral hazard by receivers, how the informal insurance provided by remittances interacts with formal health insurance, and whether there are differential effects by gender of the household head. Overall, we find that remittances offer complete insurance towards decreased consumption during health shocks and that moral hazard is weak. The role of remittances as a social insurance mechanism, however, is only relevant in the absence of private health insurance. Public formal health insurance is found to perform a poor job as a safety net that is completely offset by the social insurance provided by remittances. |
| Keywords: | Consumption Smoothing, Jamaica, Remittances, Health Shocks |
| JEL: | F24 I13 O15 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:apc:wpaper:2014-012&r=ger |
| By: | Mollah, Sabur (Stockholm University, School of Business); Zafirov, Goran (Stockholm University, School of Business); Quoreshi, AMM Shahiduzzaman (CITR, Blekinge Inst of Technology) |
| Abstract: | Scholars worldwide have provided both theoretical and empirical insights into financial market contagion. The devastation from the recent financial crisis is immeasurable, and researchers commonly believe that the crisis seemingly originated from the U.S. and spread immediately to the other global financial hubs. Several studies have been conducted on financial markets, but this issue has yet to be addressed. Using U.S. dollar-denominated MSCI daily indices for the period 2006–2010, this paper employs Dynamic Conditional Correlation-Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (DCC-GARCH) and vector error correction (VEC) models to address the multi-dimensional phenomena around financial market contagion. The empirical results demonstrate the existence of contagion in the financial markets during the global crisis. However, the crisis originated in the U.S., and its effects escalated immediately to the other global markets. The results also indicate that benefits from portfolio diversification decayed significantly among countries during the crisis. |
| Keywords: | Contagion; Financial Markets; Global Crisis |
| JEL: | C58 F36 G01 |
| Date: | 2014–04–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bthcsi:2014-005&r=ger |
| By: | Jinjarak, Yothin (Asian Development Bank Institute); Mutuc, Paulo Jose (Asian Development Bank Institute); Wignaraja, Ganeshan (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies factors associated with firm participation in export markets, focusing primarily on firm size and access to credit, based on a survey sample comprising observations of 8,080 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) (with fewer than 100 employees) and non-SME firms in developing East Asian countries across sectors. The main findings suggest the interdependent relationships between export participation, firm size, and access to credit. SMEs participating in export markets tend to gain more access to credit, while potential scale economies (firm sizes) of SMEs are positively associated with participation in export markets. The estimation results also point to the supportive influences of foreign ownership, worker education, and production certification on export participation, and the positive effects of financial certification, managerial experience, and collateral/loan value on access to credit for SMEs. |
| Keywords: | small and medium enterprises; sme; international trade; export markets |
| JEL: | D22 E44 F14 L16 O14 |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0470&r=ger |
| By: | Hicham ABBAD; Gilles PACHÉ; Dominique BONET FERNANDEZ |
| Abstract: | The relationships between large retailers and manufacturers are often perceived as conflicting, as part of a fierce struggle to get a share of value added. To extend its market power, the retailer develops a short-term vision of exchange, with no will of long-term commitment. However, the literature insists on the emergence of a new form of relational dynamics that breaks with the old ways of relationship governance. The paper examines the reality of this mutation from a field study conducted in an emerging country, and concludes with the adoption of a long-term orientation by the retailer, under a number of specific conditions. |
| Keywords: | canal de distribution, confiance, dépendance, orientation à long terme, relations interorganisationnelles. |
| Date: | 2014–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-202&r=ger |
| By: | Seeun Jung (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS : UMR8545 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Paris - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA), EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris); Carole Treibich (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS : UMR8545 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Paris - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA), Paris School of Economics - Université Paris 1 - Panthéon-Sorbonne, AMSE - Aix-Marseille School of Economics - Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole Centrale Marseille (ECM)) |
| Abstract: | We examine a Japanese Panel Survey in order to verify whether self-reported risk aversion varies over time. In most panels, risk attitudes variables are collected only once (found in only one survey wave), and it is assumed that self-reported risk aversion reflects individual's time-invariant component of preferences toward risk. Nonetheless, one may wonder whether financial and health shocks a person faces over his lifetime modify his risk aversion. Our empirical analysis provides proof that risk aversion is composed of a time-variant part and shows that the variation cannot be reduced to measurement error or noise given that it is related to income or health shocks. Then, we nonetheless find that time-invariant factors explain a bigger share of individual risk aversion than time-variant ones. Taking into account the fact that there are still time-variant factors in risk aversion, we investigate how often it is preferable to collect the risk aversion measure in long panel surveys. Our result suggests that the best predictor for current behaviors is the average of risk aversion, where risk aversion is collected every 3-4 years. The risk aversion measure is, therefore, advised to be collected every 3 or 4 years in long panel surveys. |
| Keywords: | Risk Aversion |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-00965549&r=ger |
| By: | Corak, Miles; Lindquist, Matthew (Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University); Mazumder., Bhashkar |
| Abstract: | - |
| Keywords: | - |
| Date: | 2014–03–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sofiwp:2014_005&r=ger |
| By: | Michael Assous; Roberto Lampa |
| Abstract: | Oskar Lange’s 1938 article “The Rate of Interest and the Optimum Propensity to Consume”, is usually associated with the original IS-LM approach of the late 1930s. However, Lange’s article was not only an attempt to illuminate Keynes’s main innovations but the first part of a wide project that included the development of a theory of economic evolution. This paper aims at showing that Lange’s article can help illuminating critical aspects of this project: in particular, Lange’s idea that a synthesis between Kaldor’s and Kalecki’s theories and that of Schumpeter, might have been possible and that it represented (in intentions) a “modern” and consistent reconstruction of the Marxist theory of the business cycle. Section 1 clarifies Lange’s early reflection on dynamics. Section 2 centers on Lange’s 1938 static model and indicates the effects of a change of saving on investment. Section 3 suggests a dynamic reconstruction from which are addressed important arguments raised by Lange in a series of papers written between 1934 and 1942. |
| Keywords: | Lange; Kalecki; Marxian theory of the business cycle; marginal propensity to save; non-linearity |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hec:heccee:2014-2&r=ger |
| By: | Cherchye, Laurens (K.U.Leuven); Demuynck, Thomas (Maastricht University); De Rock, Bram (ECARES, Free University of Brussels); Vermeulen, Frederic (Tilburg University) |
| Abstract: | We develop a novel framework to analyze the structural implications of the marriage market for household consumption patterns. We start by defining a revealed preference characterization of efficient household consumption when the marriage is stable. In particular, stability means that the marriage matching is individually rational and has no blocking pairs. We show that this revealed preference characterization generates testable conditions even if there is only a single consumption observation per household and individual preferences are heterogeneous across households. In addition, the characterization allows for identifying the intrahousehold decision structure (including the sharing rule) under the same minimalistic assumptions. An application to Dutch household data demonstrates the empirical usefulness of our theoretical results. |
| Keywords: | marriage market, stable matching, Pareto efficient household consumption, testable implications, sharing rule identification, preference heterogeneity |
| JEL: | C14 D11 C78 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8070&r=ger |
| By: | Gael Price (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | The sectoral core factor model of inflation is one of many series that the Reserve Bank uses to help interpret inflation developments. This Analytical Note explains the model and outlines some modifications that have led to revisions to the published historical series. |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nzb:nzbans:2013/06&r=ger |
| By: | Francesco Zanetti |
| Abstract: | This paper derives closed-form and numerical solutions for relative risk aversion in a standard consumption-based model enriched with housing.� The presence of housing enables the household to hedge against unexpected shocks and may decrease relative risk aversion.� In addition, housing may generate state-dependent, time-varying risk aversion. |
| Keywords: | Relative risk aversion, housing |
| JEL: | D81 E21 R21 |
| Date: | 2014–01–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:693&r=ger |
| By: | Michida, Etsuyo |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on EU chemical regulations, RoHS and REACH, and shows these EU regulations have driven Asian countries to introduce regulations that are similar yet modified versions to the EU regulations. Asia as the world manufacturing center has extensive production networks where parts and components of a final good are traded across borders. We discuss how product-related environmental regulations could impact on firms' activities then show that if Asian countries with complex supply chains introduce different product related chemical regulations without coordinating with neighboring countries, it could work as trade barrier for manufacturing activities in the region. |
| Keywords: | Asia, Europe, Environmental protection, Manufacturing industries, Industrial standards, Environmental policy, International trade, Product-related environmental regulation, Trade, RoHS, REACH |
| JEL: | F18 O2 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper451&r=ger |
| By: | Prasad, Eswar (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the prospects for the renminbi’s role as an international currency and the implications for global financial markets. Although the People’s Republic of China (PRC) does not have either an open capital account or a flexible exchange rate, the renminbi has attained considerable traction as an international currency on account of the PRC’s rising shares of global trade and gross domestic product. Through bilateral swaps that the People's Bank of China has established with other central banks, the renminbi is also becoming more prominent in international finance. However, the renminbi is unlikely to become a major reserve currency in the absence of capital account convertibility, a flexible exchange rate, and better-developed financial markets. The renminbi’s rising prominence—if it is accompanied by significant economic reforms within the PRC—could add to the stability of Asian and global financial systems. |
| Keywords: | renminbi internationalization; reserve currency; capital account convertibility; exchange rate flexibility; currency swaps |
| JEL: | E50 F30 F40 |
| Date: | 2014–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0469&r=ger |
| By: | Osili, Una Okonkwo |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the role of non-traditional aid in meeting global challenges in improving gender equality and gender-related socioeconomic needs in the twenty-first century. We define non-traditional aid as private donations from individuals, foun |
| Keywords: | foreign aid, private donations, gender equity, development |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-076&r=ger |
| By: | Ayeley Tchangani (LGP - Laboratoire Génie de Production - Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Tarbes) |
| Abstract: | The issue of designing a procedure to assign objects (candidates, projects, decisions, options, etc.) characterized by multiple attributes or criteria to predefined classes characterized by fuzzyly defined multiple features, conditions or constraints, is considered in this paper. Such assignment problems are known in the literature as nominal or non ordered classification problems as opposed to ordinal classification in which case classes are ordered according to some desires of decision maker(s). Because of the importance of these problems in many domains such as social, economics, medical, engineering, mangement etc., there is a need to design sound and appropriate evaluation algorithms and methods to deal with them. In this paper we will consider an approach based on an evaluation strategy that consists in aggregating separately elements that act in the same sens (either contributing to the exlusion of a class from assignment or its consideration for inclusion given an object) that we refer to as bipolar analysis. Then, relying on the fact that elements to aggregate have synergetic relationships (they are complementary), we propose to use Choquet integral as the appropriate aggregation operator with a proposed fuzzy measure or capacity known as weighted cardinal fuzzy measure (WCFM) which tractability permits to overcome dificulties that dissuade the use of Choquet integral in practices. Furthermore, bipolar property results in evaluation by two degrees: classifiability measure that measures to what extent an object can be considered for inclusion in a class and rejectability measure, a degree that measures the extent to which one must avoid including an object to a class rendering final choice flexible as many classes may be qualified for inclusion of an object. Application of this approach to a real world problem in the domain of banking has shown a real potentiality. |
| Keywords: | Nominal classification;Multi-attributes;Multi-features;Bipolar aggregation;Choquet integral;Weighted cardinal fuzzy measure (WCFM);Classifiability;Rejectability |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00968057&r=ger |
| By: | Sina Xie; Orachos Napasintuwong (Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics,Faculty of Economics,Kasetsart University,Thailand) |
| Abstract: | China, Thailand, and Vietnam are key players in world rice market in terms of production and trade. In the past few decades, rice policies in these three countries have changed significantly resulted in changes in production, exports and influences in the world market. This paper reviews major rice policy reforms in China, Thailand and Vietnam during past five decades. It is observed that although each country has practiced different policies at different periods, with the economic development, individuals and market forces have played more important roles in domestic market while government interventions still exist and it is important for the government to invest in rice breeding technology and infrastructure construction. It was found that China and Vietnam have benefited from farm system reforms, the adoption of hybrid rice and the investment in irrigation while liberalization of rice export premium and provision of credits in 1980s have helped Thailand to become the largest rice exporter. |
| Keywords: | rice, policy, China, Thailand, Vietnam |
| JEL: | Q17 Q18 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kau:wpaper:201403&r=ger |
| By: | Antoine Leblois (JRC, Ispra - Commission européenne); Philippe Quirion (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement [CIRAD] : UMR56 - CNRS : UMR8568 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - AgroParisTech); Benjamin Sultan (LOCEAN - Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques - Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] - INSU - CNRS : UMR7159 - Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC) - Paris VI - Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN)) |
| Abstract: | In the Sudano-sahelian zone, which includes Northern Cameroon, the inter- annual variability of the rainy season is high and irrigation scarce. As a consequence, bad rainy seasons have a detrimental impact on crop yield. In this paper, we assess the risk mitigation capacity of weather index-based insurance for cotton farmers. We compare the ability of various indices, mainly based on daily rainfall, to increase the expected utility of a representative risk-averse farmer. We first give a tractable definition of basis risk and use it to show that weather index-based insurance is associated with a large basis risk, whatever the index considered. It has thus limited potential for income smoothing, a conclusion which is robust to the utility function. Second, in accordance with the existing agronomical literature we find that the length of the cotton growing cycle, in days, is the best performing index considered. Third, we show that using observed cotton sowing dates to define the length of the growing cycle significantly decreases the basis risk, compared to using simulated sowing dates. Finally we find that the gain of the weather-index based insurance is lower than that of hedging against cotton price fluctuations provided by the national cotton company. This casts doubt on the strategy of supporting weather-index insurances in cash crop sectors selling at international market prices without recommending any price stabilisation scheme. |
| Keywords: | Weather, index-based insurance, cash crop, price risk. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00967313&r=ger |
| By: | Feicht, Robert; Grimm, Veronika; Seebauer, Michael |
| Abstract: | We experimentally investigate a Bertrand market with homogenous goods where sellers may behave socially responsible by donating a share of their profits to an existing non-profit organization. In our experiment, we find that this Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) component is used independent of its credibility. However, market outcomes in terms of prices and profits do neither significantly differ with respect to the credibility of the CSR component nor in comparison to a market without the availability of CSR components. Moreover, prices have the main impact on purchase decisions while higher donations only affect purchase decisions when they are credible and price differences are negligible. We conclude that competition severely limits the possibility to attract customers with CSR components. Actual donations are small and the burden induced by the CSR components is shifted partly to the buyers resulting in equal profits in all treatments. -- |
| Keywords: | Corporate Social Responsibility,Competition,Charitable Giving,Experiment |
| JEL: | C92 D22 M31 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwqwdp:032014&r=ger |
| By: | van den Berg, Gerard J. (University of Mannheim); Effraimidis, Georgios (University of Southern Denmark) |
| Abstract: | Bivariate duration data frequently arise in economics, biostatistics and other areas. In "bivariate frailty models", dependence between the frailties (i.e., unobserved determinants) induces dependence between the durations. Using notions of quadrant dependence, we study restrictions that this imposes on the implied dependence of the durations, if the frailty terms act multiplicatively on the corresponding hazard rates. Marginal frailty distributions are often taken to be gamma distributions. For such cases we calculate general bounds for two association measures, Pearson's correlation coefficient and Kendall's tau. The results are employed to compare the flexibility of specific families of bivariate gamma frailty distributions. |
| Keywords: | bivariate gamma distribution, duration models, competing risks, Kendall's tau, negative and positive quadrant dependence, Pearson's correlation coefficient, unobserved heterogeneity, survival analysis |
| JEL: | C41 C51 C34 C33 C32 J64 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8083&r=ger |
| By: | Ariel Pakes |
| Abstract: | Empirical work on choice models, especially work on relatively new topics or data sets, often starts with descriptive, or what is often colloquially referred to as "reduced form", results. Our descriptive form formalizes this process. It is derived from the underlying behavioral model, has an interpretation in terms of fit, and can sometimes be used to quantify biases in agents' expectations. We consider estimators for the descriptive form of discrete choice models with (and without) interacting agents that take account of approximation errors as well as unobservable sources of endogeneity. We conclude with an investigation of the descriptive form of two period entry models. |
| JEL: | B4 C51 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20022&r=ger |
| By: | Bernd Hayo (University of Marburg); Matthias Neuenkirch (University of Trier) |
| Abstract: | We study how financial market participants process news from four major central banks - the Bank of England (BoE), the Bank of Japan (BoJ), the European Central Bank (ECB), and the Federal Reserve (Fed), using a novel survey of 450 financial market participants from around the world. Our results indicate that, first, respondents rely more on newswire services to learn about central bank events than on self- |
| Keywords: | Central Bank Communication, Financial Market Participants, Information Processing, Interest Rate Decisions, Newswire Services, Reliability, Survey. |
| JEL: | D83 E52 E58 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201423&r=ger |
| By: | Takashi Kamihigashi (Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration (RIEB), Kobe University, Japan); John Stachurski (Research School of Economics, Australian National University, Australia) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we introduce a technique for perfect simulation from the stationary distribution of a standard model of industry dynamics. The method can be adapted to other, possibly non-monotone, regenerative processes found in industrial organization and other fields of economics. The algorithm we propose is a version of coupling from the past. It is straightforward to implement and exploits the regenerative property of the process in order to achieve rapid coupling. |
| Keywords: | Regeneration, Simulation, Coupling from the past, Perfect sampling |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kob:dpaper:dp2014-09&r=ger |
| By: | Ning Li (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research) |
| Abstract: | In social and economic analysis of longitudinal data, the socio-economic variables that are statistically significant in pooled data regressions sometimes become insignificant after individual fixed effects are controlled for. This phenomenon has been observed in the analysis of the relationship between age and happiness. The discrepancy in results between regressions with and without controlling for individual fixed effects is sometimes known as a mystery in the research of age and happiness. This paper points out that cross-sectional information and longitudinal information reflect distinct aspects of the phenomenon under study. In age-happiness studies, cross-sectional information describes whether, in a particular year, people of a certain age are happier than people of other ages. Longitudinal information describes whether people become happier or less happy over the life cycle. The former compares happiness between different people, and the later compares happiness within the same person. Average happiness is U-shaped in age among different cohorts, and simultaneously decreases with age in the life cycle within individuals. Using data on happiness from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, this paper explains what “individual fixed effects are controlled for” means in the context of FE regression, gives insight into the age-happiness puzzle and raises awareness of the multidimensionality of longitudinal data. |
| Keywords: | Life satisfaction, cohort, ageing, OLS, individual fixed effects, between-person variation, within-person variation, HILDA |
| JEL: | I31 C10 C80 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2014n04&r=ger |
| By: | Cheung, Yin-Wong (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been quite aggressive recently in promoting the international use of its currency, the renminbi. Historical experience suggests that an active offshore market is essential for a global currency. Indeed, anecdotal evidence affirms the role of offshore markets in pushing the renminbi currency to the world. One should not, however, overplay the contribution of offshore markets. While offshore markets offer the opportunities to experiment with the global use of the currency, the overseas acceptance of the renminbi is ultimately determined by both internal and external economic forces, and geopolitical factors. With its relatively small size, the offshore renminbi is not likely to pressure the PRC and alter its financial liberalization policy. A well-organized offshore renminbi market will complement the PRC’s renminbi internationalization policy, but it is not possible to raise the currency’s global status beyond the level justified by its economic and political attributes. |
| Keywords: | renminbi; yuan; international monetary policy; currency internationalization; offshore currency market; onshore currency market; foreign exchange; financial centers |
| JEL: | F33 |
| Date: | 2014–04–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0472&r=ger |
| By: | Necker, Sarah; Ziegelmeyer, Michael (Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA)) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates whether and how the crisis in 2008/2009 aects households' risk attitudes, subjective risk and return expectations, and planned - financial risk taking using the German SAVE study. Households' wealth change from end-2007 to end-2009 is not found to have an eect. However, households that attribute losses to the crisis decreased their risk tolerance and planned risk taking; the probability of expecting an increase in risks and returns is raised. According to economic theory, wealth changes attributed to a dramatic event should not have a dierent eect than other wealth changes. The results suggest an emotional reaction. |
| JEL: | D81 D14 G11 |
| Date: | 2014–02–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mea:meawpa:14279&r=ger |
| By: | Keser, Claudia; Kimpel, Gerrit; Oestreicher, Andreas |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper is to look into the probability that, given the choice, corporate groups would opt for taxation on a consolidated basis. Consolidation would allow them to offset losses crossborder but remove the opportunity to exploit international tax-rate differentials between entities via transfer pricing. We present a laboratory experiment in which we investigate to what extent a corporation would be inclined to take up the consolidation option and how this would impact on the corporation´s location of investment and its transfer pricing activities involving locations outside the consolidated group. We use a 2-by-2 treatment design with two levels of tax-rate differential between two investment locations, and two different remuneration functions allowing the participants to act as owners or managers of a company. -- |
| Keywords: | international company taxation,separate accounting,formula apportionment,transfer pricing,experimental economics |
| JEL: | C91 H25 M41 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cegedp:199&r=ger |
| By: | Voß, Achim; Lingens, Jörg |
| Abstract: | Many environmental-policy problems are characterized by complexity and uncertainty. Government's choice concerning these policies commonly relies on information provided by a bureaucracy. Environmental bureaucrats often have a political motivation of their own, so they might be tempted to misreport environmental effects in order to influence policy. This transforms a problem of uncertainty into one of asymmetric information. We analyze the ensuing principal-agent relationship and derive the government's optimal contract, which conditions policy and rewards on reported environmental effects. We find that agents who are more environmentalist than the government are rewarded for admitting that the environmental impact is low (and vice versa). With higher uncertainty, the bureaucrat has a stronger influence on policy. For some values of the environmental impact, the bureau is permitted to set its own preferred policy (optimal delegation). -- |
| Keywords: | Environmental Policy,Political Economy,Delegation,Bureaucracy,Regulatory Agency,Mechanism Design,Type-dependent Participation Constraint,Pure State Constraints in Optimal Control |
| JEL: | D73 D82 C61 Q52 Q58 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cawmdp:67&r=ger |
| By: | Rudi Stracke; Wolfgang Höchtl; Rudolf Kerschbamer; Uwe Sunde |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether a designer can improve both the incentive provision and the selection performance of a promotion contest by making the competition more (or less) dynamic. A comparison of static (one-stage) and dynamic (two-stage) contests reveals that this is not the case. A structural change that improves the performance in one dimension leads to a deterioration in the other dimension. This suggests that modifications of the contest structure are an alternative to strategic handicaps. A key advantage of structural handicaps over participant-specific ones is that the implementation of the former does not require prior identification of worker types. |
| Keywords: | Promotion Contests, Heterogeneity, Incentives, Selection, Handicapping |
| JEL: | M52 J33 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inn:wpaper:2014-09&r=ger |
| By: | Bonin, John (BOFIT); Hasan, Iftekhar (BOFIT); Wachtel , Paul (BOFIT) |
| Abstract: | Modern banking institutions were virtually non-existent in the planned economies of central Europe and the former Soviet Union. In the early transition period, banking sectors began to develop during several years of macroeconomic decline and turbulence accompanied by repeated bank crises. However, governments in many transition countries learned from these tumultuous experiences and eventually dealt successfully with the accumulated bad loans and lack of strong bank regulation. In addition, rapid progress in bank privatization and consolidation took place in the late 1990s and early 2000s, usually with the participation of foreign banks. By the mid 2000s the banking sectors in many transition countries were dominated by foreign owners and were able to provide a wide range of services. Credit growth resumed, sometimes too rapidly, particularly in the form of lending to households. The global financial crisis put transition banking to test. Countries that had expanded credit rapidly were vulnerable to the macroeconomic shock and there was considerable concern that foreign owners would reduce their funding to transition country subsidiaries. However, the banking sectors turned out to be resilient, a strong indication of the rapid progress in institutional development and regulatory capabilities in the transition countries. |
| Keywords: | transition banking; bank privatization; foreign banks; bank regulation; credit growth |
| JEL: | G21 O57 P27 |
| Date: | 2014–03–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofitp:2014_008&r=ger |
| By: | Andersson, Martin (CITR, Blekinge Inst of Technology); Gråsjö, Urban (University West); Karlsson, Charlie (CITR, Blekinge Inst of Technology) |
| Abstract: | Multinational firms (MNFs) have been shown to have a set of defining characteristics. Compared to domestic firms, they have a larger fraction of skilled workers, higher R&D to sales ratios and established networks to knowledge sources in several different countries. As illustrated by the so-called ‘anchor-tenant’ hypothesis, they can be described as “knowledge spillover agents”. MNF affiliates, as defined in this paper, are firms that are part of large domestic and foreign MNFs. In this paper we test whether the local presence of MNF affiliates generate spillover effects on the local industry. The empirical analysis focuses on assessing whether the productivity of the regional manufacturing industry of non-affiliated firms is higher in regions with a large fraction of MNF affiliates. The analysis uses data on Swedish firms and is conducted on regional level as well as on firm level. The regressions show that local presence of MNFs in a region has a positive effect on Gross Regional Product (GRP) from non-MNFs. The paper also shows that regions where the low-productive non-MNFs are located appear to benefit the most from local presence of MNFs. The MNFs have, on the other hand, no effect on non-MNF productivity in regions where the high-productive non-MNFs are located. |
| Keywords: | Multinational firms; affiliates; productivity; R&D; knowledge; spillovers; skilled workers; region |
| JEL: | F23 J24 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2014–04–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bthcsi:2014-004&r=ger |
| By: | Eugenio Caverzasi |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to develop a structural explanation of the subprime mortgage crisis, grounded on the combination of two apparently incompatible financial theories: the financial instability hypothesis by Hyman P. Minsky and the theory of capital market inflation by Jan Toporowski. Our thesis is that, once the evolution of the financial market is taken into account, the financial Keynesianism of Minsky is still a valid framework to understand the events leading to the crisis. |
| Keywords: | Hyman Minsky; Financial Instability Hypothesis; Jan Toporowski; Capital Market Inflation; Financialization; Financial Crisis; Subprime Mortgage Crisis |
| JEL: | B2 B5 E44 G01 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_796&r=ger |
| By: | Reyntjens, Filip |
| Abstract: | The genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda started on 7 April 1994. In a mere hundred days, three-quarters of the Tutsi minority was exterminated. At the beginning of the massacres, the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) the rebel movement that invaded the country in October 1990 from Uganda and with Ugandan support launched an offensive that gave it military victory in early July. As the Hutu extremists had massively killed Tutsi "live" on television, these were the "bad guys", while those who fought them, the RPF rebels, had to be the "good guys". Few observers realised in these days that this was not a conflict between "good" and "bad" guys, but one between "bad guys". |
| Keywords: | Rwanda; genocide |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iob:apbrfs:2014001&r=ger |
| By: | Satoshi Myojo (Faculty of Economics, Hosei University); Hiroshi Ohashi (Faculty of Economics, the University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | 　　 This paper examines the e¤ectiveness of consumer subsidies to encourage the in- stallment of solar panels in Japan. Such subsidies can be justi…ed on the ground that the prices to consumers of the conventional energy alternative do not re‡ect their full social costs. The paper investigates two types of subsidies: buy-back rebates and feed-in tari¤s. Estimates reveals modest demand elasticity and small learning e¤ect. Simula- tions, based on structural demand and supply estimates, indicate that the subsidies can have either bene…cial or detrimental e¤ects on social welfare. The paper concludes that the impacts of the subsidies critically rely on the cost structure and the magnitude of external costs arising from greenhouse emissions. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2014cf925&r=ger |
| By: | Boualem Djehiche; Hamidou Tembine; Raul Tempone |
| Abstract: | In this paper we study mean-field type control problems with risk-sensitive performance functionals. We establish a stochastic maximum principle (SMP) for optimal control of stochastic differential equations (SDEs) of mean-field type, in which the drift and the diffusion coefficients as well as the performance functional depend not only on the state and the control but also on the mean of the distribution of the state. Our result extends the risk-sensitive SMP (without mean-field coupling) of Lim and Zhou (2005), derived for feedback (or Markov) type optimal controls, to optimal control problems for non-Markovian dynamics which may be time-inconsistent in the sense that the Bellman optimality principle does not hold. In our approach to the risk-sensitive SMP, the smoothness assumption on the value-function imposed in Lim and Zhou (2005) need not to be satisfied. For a general action space a Peng's type SMP is derived, specifying the necessary conditions for optimality. Two examples are carried out to illustrate the proposed risk-sensitive mean-field type SMP under linear stochastic dynamics with exponential quadratic cost function. Explicit solutions are given for both mean-field free and mean-field models. |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1404.1441&r=ger |
| By: | Adnen Ben Nasr (Laboratoire BESTMOD, ISG de Tunis, Universite de Tunis, Tunisia); Thomas Lux (Department of Economics, University of Kiel, Germany and Banco de Espana Chair in Computational Economics, University Jaume I, Castellon, Spain); Ahdi N. Ajmi (College of Science and Humanities in Slayel, Salman bin Abdulaziz University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia); Rangan Gupta (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria) |
| Abstract: | The financial crisis has fueled interest in alternatives to traditional asset classes that might be less affected by large market gyrations and, thus, provide for a less volatile development of a portfolio. One attempt at selecting stocks that are less prone to extreme risks, is obeyance of Islamic Sharia rules. In this light, we investigate the statistical properties of the Dow Jones Islamic Finance (DJIM) index and explore its volatility dynamics using a number of up-to-date statistical models allowing for long memory and regime-switching dynamics. We find that the DJIM shares all stylized facts of traditional asset classes, and estimation results and forecasting performance for various volatility models are also in line with prevalent ndings in the literature. Overall, the relatively new Markov-switching multifractal model performs best under the majority of time horizons and loss criteria. Long memory GARCH-type models always improve upon the short-memory GARCH specification and additionally allowing for regime changes can further improve their performance. |
| Keywords: | Islamic finance, volatility dynamics, long memory, multifractals |
| JEL: | G15 G17 G23 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pre:wpaper:201412&r=ger |
| By: | Sandra Camus; Lubica Hikkerova; Jean-Michel Sahut |
| Abstract: | Today, tourism is oriented towards new forms of development pertaining to an insight of “sustainable development” that aims at respecting, preserving, and sustainably highlighting the patrimonial resources (natural, cultural, and social) of a territory to the hosted tourists so as to reduce the negative impacts they may engender. Our modeling approach for the tourist sector as a complex social system, based on systemic approach may apprehend specific issues related to sustainable tourism and envisage innovative and lasting solutions on the long term. It equally shows that a sustainable tourist initiative can be part of a virtuous circle under the effect of learning and feedback loops. |
| Keywords: | tourism; sustainable development; systemic; stakeholders; learning |
| JEL: | Q56 L83 |
| Date: | 2014–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-193&r=ger |
| By: | Burger, Ronelle (Stellenbosch University); Dasgupta, Indraneel (Indian Statistical Institute); Owens, Trudy (University of Nottingham) |
| Abstract: | We examine the case for donors providing financial incentives to NGOs to increase community participation. We show that, when such incentives are provided, there need not exist any meaningful relationship between beneficiary welfare and the extent of community participation implemented by an NGO. Higher community participation is consistent even with reduced beneficiary welfare. Thus, eliminating community participation from the set of conditions for funding an NGO may improve beneficiary welfare. We provide evidence from the NGO sector in Uganda consistent with our theoretical conclusions. Beneficiaries themselves do not appear to perceive community participation as generating appreciable value-addition in project output. |
| Keywords: | regulation of non-governmental organizations, developing countries, community participation, Uganda |
| JEL: | I38 L31 L38 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8051&r=ger |
| By: | Masayoshi Noguchi (Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration (RIEB), Kobe University, Japan); Yasuhiro Shimizu (Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe University); Tsunehiko Nakamura (Faculty of Business Administration, Momoyama Gukuin University) |
| Abstract: | The study, which makes extensive use of official Holding Company Liquidation Commission (HCLC) documents possessed by the National Archives of Japan, examines accounting practices adopted by three Japanese mining corporations in their dissolution in the immediate postwar period from 1946 to 1950. The study finds that (1) the conventional accounting practices adopted by the zaibatsu companies were adequate to enable them to implement their own dissolution and that (2) forecast balance sheets prepared by the companies, produced after the HCLC decided to split them up, provided an important basis for the development of the postwar corporate accounting system. This was because they supplied a practical precedent, in which features of the new system materialized before it was formally instituted, as the forecast balance sheets make use of provisions in the 'Instruction for the Preparation of Financial Statements of Manufacturing and Trading Companies', issued by the General Headquarters (GHQ) in July 1947. The study's results contribute to the literature on the quality of accounting information provided by the Japanese zaibatsu organizations. Early research generally assessed the financial statements submitted to the HCLC as having many defects, while more recent research indicates that the accounting practices adopted by these companies were not deficient in their own domestic environment. Since neither assertion is founded on empirical data, the examination conducted in this study provides important evidence to support the latter view. |
| Keywords: | Holding Company Liquidation Commission, Zaibatsu, Dissolution, Excessive concentration of economic power, Mining corporations, Coal, Metal |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kob:dpaper:dp2014-15&r=ger |
| By: | Branson, Nicola (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Kekana, Dineo (Saldru, University of Cape Town); Lam, David (University of Michigan) |
| Abstract: | Differential education expenditure by racial group was a pillar in the architecture of apartheid. School systems diverged by racial group, with large funding and curriculum differences (Fiske and Ladd, 2004). In 1994, spending on white learners was about 1.5 times the spending on urban African learners and more than four times the spending on rural African learners (Fiske and Ladd, 2004). Since 1994 much focus has been paid by government to redress these educational expenditure inequalities with policies such as the National Norms and Standards for School Funding (NNSSF) and the rollout of the no fee schools program disproportionately allocating state funds to low socioeconomic schools and the fee-exemption policy providing low income households and grant recipients access to free education. Little is however known about how these policies have affected household educational expenditure across the income distribution. |
| Keywords: | educational expenditure; South Africa; NIDS; National Income Dynamics Study |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:124&r=ger |
| By: | Kakarot-Handtke, Egmont |
| Abstract: | Economists have the habit of solving the wrong problems. They speculate circumstantially about the behavior of agents and do not come to grips with the behavior of the monetary economy. This is the consequence of the methodological imperative that all explanations must run in terms of the actions and reactions of individuals. The critical point is that no way leads from the understanding of the interaction of the individuals to the understanding of the working of the economy as a whole. The solution consists in moving from subjective-behavioral axioms to objective-structural axioms, i.e. from past to future. |
| Keywords: | new framework of concepts; structure-centric; axiom set; methodology; complex adaptive system; profit |
| JEL: | B59 D01 D50 |
| Date: | 2014–04–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:55031&r=ger |
| By: | Haavelmo, Trygve (Dept. of Economics, University of Oslo); Bjerkholt, Olav (Dept. of Economics, University of Oslo) |
| Abstract: | The memo consists of six papers on a common theme: applying economic analysis to subjects at the time, 1972, considered non-economic. The first paper considers changes in preferences. The second considers strategies of a regime and its opposition. The third discusses collective decision making in the light of Arrow's possibility theorem and the voting paradox. The fourth discusses some problems of inefficiency in modern industrialised societies, and the onsequences on the welfare of the population. The fifth discusses some aspects of redistributive policies, and the sixth various instances of the conflict between individual and collective rationality, particularly in the case of environmental and population policies. |
| Keywords: | Welfare; government policy; relation of economics to other disciplines |
| JEL: | A12 D01 I38 |
| Date: | 2013–12–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:osloec:2013_027&r=ger |
| By: | Prema-chandra Athukorala |
| Abstract: | The end of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka in 2009 generated widespread expectations of a period of sustained economic growth, building on the achievements of the liberalisation reforms sustained over three previous decades. However, recent developments have dampened that optimism, rekindling fears that Sri Lanka’s tale of missed opportunities may continue. The analysis in this paper suggests that return to the failed past policies of inward-oriented development strategies offers no viable solutions for the economic problems confronting Sri Lanka. |
| Keywords: | Sri Lanka, ethnic conflict, economic growth, trade liberalization, foreign debt |
| JEL: | O11 O53 F34 F52 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:papers:2014-05&r=ger |
| By: | Catherine Mathieu (OFCE); Henri Sterdyniak (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | The economic crisis which started in 2008 led to a strong rise in public debts. The sovereign debt crisis in euro area southern countries breached the unity of the euro area and weakened the ‘single currency’ concept. The paper shows that this situation is not due to a lack of fiscal discipline in Europe, but to drifts in financial capitalism and to an inappropriately designed euro area economic policy framework.Public debts homogeneity needs to be resettled in Europe. European public debts should become safe assets again, and should not be subject to financial markets’ assessment. European Member Statesshould not be requested to pay for past sins through austerity measures, and should not strengthen fiscal discipline through rules lacking economic rationale. The paper deals with recent proposals which have been made to improve euro area governance (redemption fund, Eurobonds, public debt guarantee by the ECB). The paper advocates for a full guarantee of government bonds for the Member States who commit to an economic policy coordination process, which should target GDP growth and coordinated reduction of imbalances. |
| Keywords: | EU fiscal policy; EU governance |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p503i2pp3&r=ger |
| By: | Adrien Vogt-Schilb (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement [CIRAD] : UMR56 - CNRS : UMR8568 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - AgroParisTech); Stéphane Hallegatte (World Bank - World Bank); Christophe De Gouvello (World Bank - World Bank) |
| Abstract: | Decision makers facing abatement targets need to decide which abatement measures to implement, and in which order. This paper investigates the ability of marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves to inform this decision, reanalysing a MAC curve developed by the World Bank on Brazil. Misinterpreting MAC curves and focusing on short-term targets (e.g., for 2020) would lead to under-invest in expensive, long-to-implement and large-potential options, such as clean transportation infrastructure. Meeting short-term targets with marginal energy-efficiency improvements would lead to carbon-intensive lock-ins that make longer-term targets (e.g., for 2030 and beyond) impossible or too expensive to reach. Improvements to existing MAC curves are proposed, based on (1) enhanced data collection and reporting; (2) a simple optimization tool that accounts for constraints on implementation speeds; and (3) new graphical representations of MAC curves. Climate mitigation policies can be designed through a pragmatic combination of two approaches. The synergy approach is based on MAC curves to identify the cheapest mitigation options and maximize co-benefits. The urgency approach considers the long-term objective (e.g., halving emissions by 2050) and works backward to identify actions that need to be implemented early, such as public support to clean infrastructure and zero-carbon technologies. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00966821&r=ger |
| By: | Aase, Knut K. (Dept. of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | We derive the equilibrium interest rate and risk premiums using recursive utility for jump-diffusions. Compared to to the continuous version, including jumps allows for a separate risk aversion related to jump size risk in addition to risk aversion related to the continuous part. We also consider a version that allows marginal utility to depend on past consumption. The models with jumps are shown to have a potential to give better explanation of empirical regularities than the recursive models based on merely continuous dynamics. |
| Keywords: | Recursive utility; jump dynamics; the stochastic maximum principle; early resolution; utility gradients |
| JEL: | D51 D53 D90 E21 G10 G12 |
| Date: | 2014–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhhfms:2014_009&r=ger |
| By: | Timm, Christian |
| Abstract: | The article analyzes state dominance in Georgia's economy between 2003 and 2010 from the perspective of the (new) developmental state. The specific interlinkage of economic model, law and administration through which state interventions may generate market-enhancing effects provides the analytical framework for the examination of Georgia's institutional setting. The article argues that Georgia enjoyed favorable exogenous conditions for the emergence of a developmental state and was about to introduce a set of administrative features similar to developmental states. However, two factors significantly shaped state-economy relations different to developmental states. Firstly, Georgia opted for a radical anti-corruption-driven separation of state and economy and pursued, consequently, a strict Washington Consensus economic policy. In doing so, the government simultaneously abandoned effective formal instruments for the politically relevant steering of the distribution of economic advantages. This in turn increased the necessity for informal interventions in economic processes contradicting the chosen economic model. Secondly, the flexibility-approach of the government, which relied rather on capable managers than on structures and procedures, undermined the administrative reforms and prevented the emergence of an 'embedded autonomy' of the public service. The absence of a capable, institutional learning and autonomous administration must be seen as the major obstacle for the elaboration of appropriate strategies after 2008 when the government altered its neo-liberal approach towards state-managed capitalism. Although the government was able to steer private and public investments in the specific sectors by relying on its informal coercive power, the economic success of this economic policy, however, failed to appear. The article argues that the lack of an independent administration and the renunciation of means of formal coordination and of law in general are to be made responsible for this. In doing so, Georgian policy makers also waived the chance to reconcile their agenda of sustainable economic growth with the agenda of political power preservation. The study seeks to contribute to the question of institutional prerequisites for successful state interventions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries and, hence, to the growing literature on Post-Washington Consensus and New Developmentalism. -- |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:pfhrps:201402&r=ger |
| By: | Willy Chetwin; Amy Wood (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | Estimates of neutral interest rates play a useful role in thinking about monetary policy. This note explores the concept of a neutral interest rate and provides some simple empirical illustrations of the trend decline in neutral rates, here and abroad, over the last couple of decades. |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nzb:nzbans:2013/07&r=ger |
| By: | Christopher Hoag; Kamal Lamsal |
| Abstract: | In a linear city model of firm location, firms have altruistic objective functions that consist of a linear combination of maximizing profits and producing output, although firms are constrained to earn nonnegative profits. If firms place sufficient weight on maximizing profits, then firms locate at the ends of the linear city, just as in the firm location game under profit maximization. If firms place sufficient weight on producing output, then firms will locate at the median of the linear city, just as in the candidate voting game. |
| Keywords: | Nonprofit, Linear City |
| JEL: | L13 L31 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tri:wpaper:1403&r=ger |
| By: | Peter Tulip (Reserve Bank of Australia) |
| Abstract: | Low interest rates in the United States have recently been accompanied by large fiscal stimulus. However, discussions of monetary policy have neglected this fiscal activism, leading to over-estimates of the costs of the zero lower bound and, hence, of the appropriate inflation target. To rectify this, I include countercyclical fiscal policy within a large-scale model of the US economy. I find that fiscal activism can substitute for a high inflation target. An increase in the inflation target is not warranted, despite increased volatility of macroeconomic shocks, so long as fiscal policy behaves as it has recently. |
| Keywords: | fiscal policy; zero bound; inflation target |
| JEL: | E52 E62 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rba:rbardp:rdp2014-02&r=ger |
| By: | A. Agreda; K. Tucci |
| Abstract: | We present a model in which we investigate the structure and evolution of a random network that connects agents capable of exchanging wealth. Economic interactions between neighbors can occur only if the difference between their wealth is less than a threshold value that defines the width of the economic classes. If the interchange of wealth cannot be done, agents are reconnected with another randomly selected agent, allowing the network to evolve in time. On each interaction there is a probability of favoring the poorer agent, simulating the action of the government. We measure the Gini index, having real world values attached to reality. Besides the network structure showed a very close connection with the economic dynamic of the system. |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1404.1367&r=ger |
| By: | Burns, Andrew; Kida, Mizuho; Lim, Jamus Jerome; Mohapatra, Sanket; Stocker, Marc |
| Abstract: | As the recovery in high-income countries firms amid a gradual withdrawal of extraordinary monetary stimulus, developing countries can expect stronger demand for their exports as global trade regains momentum, but also rising interest rates and potentially weaker capital inflows. This paper assesses the implications of a normalization of policy and activity in high-income countries for financial flows and crisis risks in developing countries. In the most likely scenario, a relatively orderly process of normalization would imply a slowdown in capital inflows amounting to 0.6 percent of developing-country GDP between 2013 and 2016, driven in particular by weaker portfolio investments. However, the risk of more abrupt adjustments remains significant, especially if increased market volatility accompanies the unwinding of unprecedented central bank interventions. According to simulations, abrupt changes in market expectations, resulting in global bond yields increasing by 100 to 200 basis points within a couple of quarters, could lead to a sharp reduction in capital inflows to developing countries by between 50 and 80 percent for several months. Evidence from past banking crises suggests that countries having seen a substantial expansion of domestic credit over the past five years, deteriorating current account balances, high levels of foreign and short-term debt, and over-valued exchange rates could be more at risk in current circumstances. Countries with adequate policy buffers and investor confidence may be able to rely on market mechanisms and countercyclical macroeconomic and prudential policies to deal with a retrenchment of foreign capital. In other cases, where the scope for maneuver is more limited, countries may be forced to tighten fiscal and monetary policy to reduce financing needs and attract additional inflows. |
| Keywords: | Debt Markets,Emerging Markets,Currencies and Exchange Rates,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6830&r=ger |
| By: | Frederic Gavrel (CREM - Centre de Recherche en Economie et Management - CNRS : UMR6211 - Université de Rennes 1 - Université de Caen Basse-Normandie, TEPP - Travail, Emploi et Politiques Publiques - CNRS : FR3435 - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV)) |
| Abstract: | This paper reexamines the e ciency of participation with heterogeneous workers in a search-matching model with bargained wages and free entry. As- suming that rms hire their best applicants, we state that participation is insu cient whatever workers' bargaining strengths. The reason for this is that, when holding a job, the marginal participant should receive the entire output. As a consequence, introducing a (small) minimum wage raises participation, job creation, and employment. Therefore the aggregate income of the economy is enhanced. |
| Keywords: | search and maching ; participation ; heterogeneous workers ; applicant ranking ; efficiency ; minimum wage |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00972289&r=ger |
| By: | Bertrand Pauget (IREBS - Institut de recherche de l'European Business School - European Business School); Mathieu Cabrol (IREGE - Institut de Recherche en Gestion et en Economie - Université de Savoie - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises (IAE) - Savoie Mont-Blanc) |
| Abstract: | The role of entrepreneurs is highly regarded in our societies. It is widely recognized that their roles are not limited to the private sector, but can affect all sectors of the economy. In view of this, we focus on entrepreneurs acting in the healthcare sector. We concentrate more particularly on these entrepreneurs' specific competences. We propose to conceptualise the concept of relational competence, defined as the act of building and structuring relationships in order to adapt and innovate in a given environment. The aim of this exploratory study is to better understand why this type of competence is expected on the construction site of a new hospital in France. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneur; relational processes; relational competence; hospital; healthcare system |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00960124&r=ger |
| By: | Takashi Kamihigashi (Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration (RIEB), Kobe University, Japan) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we show that multiple interior steady states are possible in the Ramsey model with elastic labor supply. In particular we establish the following three results: (i) for any discount factor and production function, there is a utility function such that a continuum of interior steady states exist; (ii) the number of interior steady states can also be any nite number; and (iii) for any discount factor and production function, there is a utility function such that there is no interior steady state. Some numerical examples are provided. |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kob:dpaper:dp2014-11&r=ger |
| By: | Bettina Klaus and; Jonathan Newton |
| Abstract: | In a dynamic model of assignment problems, small deviations suffice to move between stable outcomes. This result is used to obtain no-selection and almost-no-selection results under the stochastic stability concept for uniform and payoff-dependent errors. There is no-selection of partner or payoff under uniform errors, nor for agents with multiple optimal partners under payoff-dependent errors. There can be selection of payoff for agents with a unique optimal partner under payoff-dependent errors. However, when every agent has a unique optimal partner, almost-no-selection is obtained. |
| Keywords: | Assignment problem; (core) stability; decentralization; stochastic stability |
| JEL: | C71 C78 D63 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lau:crdeep:14.02&r=ger |
| By: | Evgeny A. Antipov (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Some Internet stores manage to charge prices that are significantly higher than market averages, therefore, obtaining some sort of price premium. This paper is dedicated to building a model that can be used to explain and predict a typical price premium that an Internet store charges for a specific product based on the information about the characteristics of the store and the features of the market for this product. Such models can provide support for pricing and assortment decisions: in particular, they allow detecting products that a store is likely to sell with the highest or the lowest markup based on price premia that are charged by stores with similar characteristics on similar markets |
| Keywords: | hierarchical linear modeling, e-Commerce, price dispersion |
| JEL: | L81 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:19man2014&r=ger |
| By: | P. Siklos, B. Lavender (LCERPA) |
| Abstract: | Recent events highlight the importance of understanding the relationship between credit availability and real economic activity. This paper estimates macroeconomic models for Canada to investigate the relationship between changes in non-price lending standards, business loans and output. We allow for the possibility that macroeconomic and financial market conditions in the U.S. affect those in Canada. The responses to financial shocks are dissimilar in both countries. Real time data are also found to have a significant impact on the results. The U.S. and Canada may indeed be likened to 'two solitudes' insofar as the impact of credit conditions is concerned. Differences in the quality of banking standards and supervision of financial institutions, as well differences in the effectiveness of monetary policies in the two countries may partially explain the results. |
| Keywords: | macro-financial linkages, credit standards, Loan Officer Survey |
| JEL: | E32 E5 G21 |
| Date: | 2014–03–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wlu:lcerpa:wm0065&r=ger |
| By: | Bruno Amable (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne & Institut Universitaire de France) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the French political crisis since the late 1970s by investigating the links between the social structure and the economic policy expectations of the electorate. To this end, data on post-electoral survey are used to estimate structural models of political support to political parties for 1978 and 2012, and the estimation results are used to propose an analysis of the French crisis. The enduring French political crisis is found to be the expression of contradictions between the economic policies implemented by the successive governments and the existence of a dominant social bloc, i.e. a coalition of social groups that would politically support the dominant political strategy. Since 1978, both the right and the left have failed to find a solution to the contradictions between the policies they implemented and the expectations of their social bases, which are themselves inhabited by tensions and contradictions that evolve with the structure of French capitalism. The failure of all governing coalitions so far is a new expression of that of the “modernists” to take into account the expectations of the popular classes. |
| Keywords: | France, political crisis, political economy, social base. |
| JEL: | P16 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:14023&r=ger |
| By: | Romain Biard (LM-Besançon - Laboratoire de Mathématiques - CNRS : UMR6623 - Université de Franche-Comté) |
| Abstract: | In ruin theory, the univariate model may be found too restrictive to describe accurately the complex evolution of the reserves of an insurance company. In the case where the company is composed of multiple lines of business, we compute asymptotics of finite-time ruin probabilities. Capital transfers between lines are partially allowed. When claim amounts are regularly varying distributed, several forms of dependence between the lines are considered. We also study the optimal allocation of a large global initial reserve in order to minimize the asymptotic ruin probability. |
| Keywords: | Multivariate finite-time ruin probabilities; Multivariate regular variation; Capital transfer; Optimal allocation |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00538571&r=ger |
| By: | William R. White |
| Abstract: | It is now six years since a devastating financial and economic crisis rocked the global economy. Supported strongly by the G20 process, international regulators led by the Financial Stability Board have been working hard ever since to develop new regulatory standards designed to prevent a recurrence of these events. These international standards are intended to provide guidance for the drawing up of national legislation and regulation, and have already had a pervasive influence around the world. This paper surveys recent international developments concerning the prudential regulation of financial institutions: banks, the shadow banking system and insurance companies. It concludes that, while substantial progress has been made, the global economy nevertheless remains vulnerable to possible future financial instability. This possibility reflects three sets of concerns. First, measures taken to manage the crisis to date have actually made the prevention of future crises more difficult. Second, the continuing active debate over virtually every aspect of the new regulatory guidelines indicates that the analytical foundations of what is being proposed remain highly contestable. Third, implementation of the new proposals could suffer from different practices across regions. Looking forward, the financial sector will undoubtedly continue to innovate in response to competitive pressures and in an attempt to circumvent whatever regulations do come into effect. If we view the financial sector as a complex adaptive system, continuous innovation would only be expected. This perspective also provides a number of insights as to how regulators should respond in turn. Not least, it suggests that attempts to reduce complexity would not be misguided and that complex behavior need not necessarily be accompanied by still more complex regulation. Removing impediments to more effective self-discipline and market discipline in the financial sector would also seem recommended. Réglementation prudentielle des institutions financières : Pourquoi les réponses réglementaires à la crise pourraient ne pas suffire Cela fait maintenant six ans que l’économie mondiale a été mise à mal par une terrible crise économique et financière. Avec le soutien appuyé du G20, les instances de réglementation internationales, sous la houlette du Conseil de stabilité financière, s’efforcent depuis lors de mettre au point de nouvelles normes réglementaires destinées à empêcher que de tels événements se reproduisent. L’influence de ces normes internationales, conçues pour guider la conception de législations et de réglementations nationales, se fait déjà sentir partout dans le monde. La présente étude s’intéresse aux évolutions récemment intervenues dans la réglementation prudentielle des institutions financières : banques, système bancaire parallèle et compagnies d’assurances. Ses auteurs concluent que si des progrès considérables ont été accomplis, l’économie mondiale reste néanmoins vulnérable en cas d’éventuelle instabilité financière future. Cette éventualité repose sur trois sources de préoccupation : d’abord, les mesures prises à ce jour pour gérer la crise rendent plus difficile la prévention des crises futures. Ensuite, le débat très vif que continuent à susciter quasiment chacun des aspects des nouveaux principes réglementaires montre que les fondements analytiques sur lesquels reposent les propositions sont loin de faire l’unanimité. Enfin, la diversité des pratiques d’une région à l’autre pourrait nuire à la mise en oeuvre des nouvelles normes proposées. À n’en pas douter, le secteur financier continuera d’innover à l’avenir, en réponse aux pressions concurrentielles et pour tenter de se soustraire à toutes les réglementations entrant en vigueur, quelle qu’en soit la nature. Si l’on considère que le secteur financier est un système évolutif complexe, il s’ensuit qu’il ne peut qu’innover en permanence, et ce point de vue apporte un certain nombre d’éclairages sur la manière dont les instances de réglementation devraient réagir. Surtout, il montre qu’aller dans le sens d’une moins grande complexité serait sans doute judicieux, et qu’un système complexe ne doit pas forcément aller de pair avec une réglementation plus complexe encore. Il serait sans doute également recommandé de lever les obstacles à une plus grande efficacité de l’autoréglementation et de la discipline de marché dans le secteur financier. |
| Keywords: | globalisation, financial crisis, bank regulation, bail out, sauvetage, réglementation bancaire, crise financière, mondialisation |
| JEL: | G28 |
| Date: | 2014–03–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1108-en&r=ger |
| By: | Hirshleifer, Sarojini (University of California, San Diego); McKenzie, David (World Bank); Almeida, Rita K. (World Bank); Ridao-Cano, Cristobal (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | We use a randomized experiment to evaluate a large-scale active labor market policy: Turkey's vocational training programs for the unemployed. A detailed follow-up survey of a large sample with low attrition enables precise estimation of treatment impacts and their heterogeneity. The average impact of training on employment is positive, but close to zero and statistically insignificant, which is much lower than either program officials or applicants expected. Over the first year after training we do find training to have had statistically significant effects on the quality of employment, and that the positive impacts are stronger when training is offered by private providers. However, longer-term administrative data shows that after three years these effects have also dissipated. |
| Keywords: | vocational training, active labor market programs, randomized experiment, private provision |
| JEL: | I28 J24 J68 O12 C93 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8059&r=ger |
| By: | Michi Nishihara (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | We develop a real options model for evaluating and optimizing an R&D project. The model can capture key features of R&D, including research duration, growth opportunity, debt financing, and uncertainty of technological, demand market, and rival preemption. Nevertheless, it is computationally tractable and thus helps practitioners to evaluate various cases of R&D investment. Further, by analyzing the model with a wide range of parameter values, we unveil the interactions of key R&D features. The effect of duration on investment depends on whether there is a possibility of rival preemption. Higher uncertainty of research duration speeds up project inception in the presence of rival preemption. Higher uncertainty of technological success, combined with a growth opportunity embedded in the R&D project, accelerates investment. Debt financing can greatly decrease time lag between the first stage project and growth project. These results are consistent with the empirical evidence. |
| Keywords: | R&D; technological uncertainty; investment lag; real options; compound option. |
| JEL: | G31 G33 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:1413&r=ger |
| By: | Federico GIRI (Universit… Politecnica delle Marche, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of the interbank market on the business cycle fluctuations. We build a DSGE model with heterogeneous households and banks. Two kind of banks are in the model: Deficit banks which are net borrowers on the interbank market and they provide credit to the real economy. The surplus bank are net lender and they could choose to provide interbank lending or purchase government bonds.;The portfolio choice of the surplus bank is affected by an exogenous shock that modifies the riskiness of the interbank lending thus allowing us to capture the collapse of the interbank market and the fl y to quality mechanism underlying the 2007 financial crisis.;The main result is that an interbank riskiness shock seems to explain part of the 2007 downturn and the rise of the interest rate on the credit market just after the financial turmoil. |
| Keywords: | Bayesan estimation, DSGE model, financial frictions, interbank market |
| JEL: | E30 E44 E51 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:398&r=ger |
| By: | Martin Altemeyer-Bartscher |
| Abstract: | Jurisdictions that engage in inter-regional tax competition usually try to attenuate competitive pressures by substituting salient tax instruments with hidden ones. On this effect, we investigate the efficiency consequences of inter-regional tax competition and fiscal equalization in a federal system when taxpayers fail to optimally react on shrouded attributes of local tax policy. If the statuary tax rate is a relatively salient instrument and taxpayers pay low attention to the quality and the frequency of tax enforcement, the underlying substitution of tax instruments with the aim of reducing the perceived tax price may suppress the under-exploitation of tax bases that is typically triggered by fiscal equalization. |
| Keywords: | fiscal equalization, tax salience, tax competition, fiscal federalism, tax-cut-cum-base-broadening policy |
| JEL: | H77 H22 H30 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwh:dispap:3-14&r=ger |
| By: | Joseph P. Newhouse; Mary Price; J. Michael McWilliams; John Hsu; Thomas G. McGuire |
| Abstract: | There are two types of selection models in the health economics literature. One focuses on choice between a fixed set of contracts. Consumers with greater demand for medical care services prefer contracts with more generous reimbursement, resulting in a suboptimal proportion of consumers in such contracts in equilibrium. In extreme cases more generous contracts may disappear (the “death spiral”). In the other model insurers tailor the contracts they offer consumers to attract profitable consumers. An equilibrium may or may not exist in such models, but if it exists it is not first best. The Medicare Advantage program offers an opportunity to study these models empirically, although unlike the models in the economics literature there is a regulator with various tools to address selection. One such tool is risk adjustment, or making budget neutral transfers among insurers using observable characteristics of enrollees that predict spending. Medicare drastically changed its risk adjustment program starting in 2004 and made a number of other changes to reduce selection as well. Previous work has argued that the changes worsened selection. We show, using a much larger data set, that this was not the case, but that some inherent selection may remain. |
| JEL: | I1 I13 I18 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20021&r=ger |
| By: | Olivier Bargain (AMSE - Aix-Marseille School of Economics - Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole Centrale Marseille (ECM), IZA - Institute for the Study of Labor); Karina Doorley (IZA - Institute for the Study of Labor, CEPS/INSTEAD - CEPS/INSTEAD) |
| Abstract: | Natural experiments provide explicit and robust identifying assumptions for the estimation of treatment effects. Yet their use for policy design is often limited by the difficulty in extrapolating on the basis of reduced-form estimates of policy effects. On the contrary, structural models allow us to conduct ex ante policy analysis but their internal validity is often questioned. In this paper, we suggest combining the two approaches by putting structure on a regression discontinuity (RD) design. We start with a RD estimation, exploiting the fact that childless single individuals under 25 years of age are not eligible for social assistance in France. A behavioral model is then identified using the same age discontinuity. While this model replicates well the employment effect obtained by RD, it can also be used to predict actual policy reforms and, hence, to check external validity. Showing good performances in this regard, it is finally used to simulate important counterfactual policies, namely the extension of social assistance to young people and the employment effects of a large in-work benefit reform. |
| Keywords: | behavioral model; regression discontinuity; labor supply |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00967329&r=ger |
| By: | María D. Parra (Department of Economics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain); Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso (Instituto de Economía Internacional, Universidad Jaume I, Castellón, Spain and Department of Economics, Georg-August Universitaet Goettingen, Göttingen, German) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at exploring the links between firms’ exporting and importing activities in Egyptian firms. With this aim, a panel dataset of 554 Egyptian manufacturing firms that contains yearly data over the period from 2003 to 2007 is used to estimate the probability of exporting /importing. According to the related literature a complementarity gain is generated when firms are involved in both activities because then they are able to internalize the common fixed costs to access a given foreign market (e.g. Kashara and Lapham, 2013). Stylized facts indicate that firms that start exporting or importing are more likely to become two-traders. The purpose of our research is to better understand this relationship in Egypt, which is the most populated and economically influential country in the Middle East. The main results show a high degree of hysteresis on past international activity, where past experience still most important to determine the continuance in the same activity and we achieve that Egyptian firm’s face to higher sunk cost of imported intermediates than sunk cost faced to sell their products in foreign markets. |
| Keywords: | imported intermediates, exporting activity, internationalization, Egypt |
| JEL: | F10 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jau:wpaper:2014/09&r=ger |
| By: | Carbone, Jared C. (Department of Economics, University of Calgary); Kverndokk, Snorre (Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | Empirical studies show that years of schooling are positively correlated with good health, and that education is better correlated with health than with variables like occupation and income. This can be explained in different ways as the implication may go from education to health, from health to education, and there may be variables that influence health and education in the same direction. The effect of different policy instruments to reduce the social gradient in health will depend on the strength of these causalities. In this paper we formalize a model that simultaneously determines an individual’s demand for knowledge and health based on the mentioned causal effects. We study the impacts on both health and education of different policy instruments such as subsidies on medical care, subsidizing schooling, income tax reduction, lump sum transfers and improving health at young age. Our results indicate that income transfers such as distributional policies may be the best instrument to improve welfare, while subsidies to medical care is the best instrument for longevity. However, subsidies to medical care or education would require large imperfections in the markets for health and education to be more welfare improving than distributional policies. Finally, our simulations suggest that underlying factors that impact both health and education is the main explanation for the correlation shown empirically. |
| Keywords: | Demand for health; Demand for education; Human capital; Numerical modeling; Causality |
| JEL: | C61 D91 I12 I21 |
| Date: | 2014–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:oslohe:2014_001&r=ger |
| By: | Chen, Kaihua |
| Abstract: | The combination way of component efficiencies into the overall efficiency is a central topic in the efficiency modeling of network systems based on data envelopment analysis (DEA). In terms of the feature and advantage of DEA modeling as the multiplier generation on inputs/outputs, it is desirable that the combination weights are derived from the data and self-generated in calculation process. The prior weights choice makes DEA modeling lose the objectivity and generalization in efficiency measures. This study proposes a new formulating approach of dynamic network DEA (DN-DEA) models to measure and decompose the overall efficiency of multi-period and -division systems without the pre-specified weights to combine component efficiencies into the overall efficiency. In our formulating approach, the double identities of carry-overs connecting consecutive periods and linkers connecting consecutive divisions are fully accounted for. This approach is applicable for the formulations of both radial measures (DN-CCR and DN-BCC) and non-radial measures (DN-SBM). This study extends Kao’s (in press) relational approach of dynamic DEA to dynamic network systems for empirical comparison. In contrast to Kao’s (in press) approach, our approach can present a weighted average decomposition of the overall (in)efficiency score into components ones by a set of endogenous weight sets which are the most favorable for the tested multi-period and -division system. This makes sense of the comparison between overall and component (in)efficiency scores. In this context, the overall efficiency score is less or more than all component ones. We applied our models to evaluate the innovation efficiency of OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. |
| Keywords: | Dynamic network DEA; Multi-period and -division systems; Efficiency measurement and decomposition; Innovation efficiency; OECD countries |
| JEL: | C51 O31 P51 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:55073&r=ger |
| By: | Geert Dhaene; Koen Jochmans (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | We calculate the bias of the profile score for the regression coefficients in a multistratum autoregressive model with stratum-specific intercepts. The bias is free of incidental parameters. Centering the profile score delivers an unbiased estimating equation and, upon integration, an adjusted profile likelihood. A variety of other approaches to constructing modified profile likelihoods are shown to yield equivalent results. However, the global maximizer of the adjusted likelihood lies at infinity for any sample size, and the adjusted profile score has multiple zeros. We argue that the parameters are local maximizers inside or on an ellipsoid centered at the maximum likelihood estimator. |
| Keywords: | adjusted likelihood, autoregression, incidental parameters, local maximizer, recentered estimating equation |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/dambferfb7dfprc9m052g20qh&r=ger |
| By: | Heshmati, Almas (Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS), & Department of Economics, Sogang University); Lenz-Cesar, Flávio (Ministry of Communications, Esplanada dos Ministério) |
| Abstract: | This study utilizes results from an agent-based simulation model to conduct public policy simulation of firms’ networking and cooperation in innovation. The simulation game investigates the differences in sector responses to internal and external changes, including cross-sector spillovers, when applying three different policy strategies to promote cooperation in innovation. The public policy strategies include clustering to develop certain industries, incentives to encourage cooperative R&D and spin-off policies to foster entrepreneurship among R&D personnel. These policies are compared with the no-policy alternative evolving from the initial state serving as a benchmark to verify the gains (or loses) in the number of firms cooperating and networking. Firms’ behavior is defined according to empirical findings from analysis of determinants of firms’ participation in cooperation in innovation with other organizations using the Korean Innovation Survey. The analysis based on manufacturing sector data shows that firms’ decision to cooperate with partners is primarily affected positively by firm’s size and the share of employees involved in R&D activities. Then, each cooperative partnership is affected by a different set of determinants. The agent-based models are found to have a great potential to be used in decision support systems for policy makers. The findings indicate possible appropriate policy strategies to be applied depending on the target industries. We have applied few examples and showed how the results may be interpreted. Guidelines are provided on how to generalize the model to include a number of extensions that can serve as an optimal direction for future research in this area. |
| Keywords: | agent-based simulation; collaborative R&D; innovation networks; simulation game; policy strategy; |
| JEL: | C15 C71 D21 D85 L20 O31 |
| Date: | 2014–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0357&r=ger |
| By: | Tayler, William; Zilberman, Roy |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the macroprudential roles of bank capital regulation and monetary policy in a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium model with endogenous financial frictions and a borrowing cost channel. We identify various transmission channels through which credit risk, commercial bank losses, monetary policy and bank capital requirements affect the real economy. These mechanisms generate significant financial accelerator effects, thus providing a rationale for a macroprudential toolkit. Following credit shocks, countercyclical bank capital regulation is more effective than monetary policy in promoting financial, price and overall macroeconomic stability. For supply shocks, macroprudential regulation combined with a strong response to inflation in the central bank policy rule yield the lowest welfare losses. The findings emphasize the importance of the Basel III regulatory accords and cast doubt on the desirability of conventional Taylor rules during periods of financial distress. -- |
| Keywords: | Bank Capital Regulation.,Macroprudential Policy,Basel III,Monetary Policy,Cost Channel |
| JEL: | E32 E44 E52 E58 G28 |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:95230&r=ger |
| By: | Rudi Stracke; Wolfgang Höchtl; Rudolf Kerschbamer; Uwe Sunde |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the implications of different prize structures on effort provision in dynamic (two-stage) elimination contests. Theoretical results show that, for risk-neutral participants, a structure with a single prize for the winner of the contest maximizes total effort, while a structure with two appropriately chosen prizes (a runner-up prize and a final prize) ensures incentive maintenance across stages. In contrast, a structure with two prizes may dominate a winner-takes-all contest in both dimensions if participants are risk-averse. Evidence from laboratory experiments is largely consistent with these predictions, suggesting that contest design should account for risk attitudes of participants. |
| Keywords: | Dynamic Contests, Multiple Prizes, Risk Aversion, Experiment, Over-provision |
| JEL: | C72 D72 J33 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inn:wpaper:2014-08&r=ger |
| By: | Stuart Graham; Nicolas van Zeebroeck |
| Abstract: | Although patent litigation has become increasingly global, with litigants earning billion-dollar verdicts and seeking judgments in many different jurisdictions around the world, scholarship has been almost completely silent on how such litigation develops outside the United States. This void in understanding is particularly glaring in Europe, where U.S. and other litigants are increasingly drawn, and to which policy makers interested in harmonizing the U.S. patent system look in vain for answers. Courts, litigants, commentators and policy makers speculate about how litigation and judicial outcomes differ, but have no factual basis for comparing or understanding what really transpires. With a view to settling this uncertainty and allowing for the emergence of a more robust body of scholarship, this Article sets forth the results of an empirical study of a database including nearly 9,000 patent suits from seven of the largest and most judicially-active countries in the European Union during 2000 to 2010. In the process, it shows that the incidence of litigation and the bases of judicial outcomes diverge radically across the different countries and varying patented technologies in Europe. Accordingly, the Article for the first time provides an empirically grounded, factual basis for examining stubborn questions relevant to those needing clarity about the legal environment in Europe, and to comparatively study the United States’ system. The results unveiled in this Article are profound, bringing clarity to a legal environment that has been heretofore shrouded in shadow. The results shows that the frequency of patents reaching a judgment in litigation varies widely across European countries, in ways that belie the simple differences associated with the quantity of domestic stocks of enforceable patents. By demonstrating that disputes are much more frequent in some countries (e.g. the Netherlands and France) compared to others, the Article uncovers that practitioners’ estimates – the sole previous source – are incorrect. In showing how litigation varies widely across technologies, this Article provides critical insights on the likelihood of different kinds of patents reaching a judgment in diverse European courts. It also offers surprising evidence on how litigants’ raising patent validity and infringement claims differs from one European court to another, and that outcomes too are starkly different. The main policy implications of the Article are derived from the patterns reported concerning patent litigation across technologies and countries. The findings highlight both the fragmentation and variation within the European patent system, and the fundamentally different dynamics that will continue to shape patent enforcement across technology sectors and industries. The patterns also underline the variation in predictability, and differences in legal certainty, that innovators, patent holders, and their technology competitors experience in the fragmented European system. These cross-country differences highlight institutional variation among the jurisdictions, which in turn drives the costs and incentives to use the courts, helping to provide critical evidence as Europe implements a move to a continent-wide Unitary Patent and Unitary Patent Court in 2015. Moreover, the Article’s teaching is relevant to current U.S. policy debates about reforms intended to address perceived problems in patent litigation, since several of the changes proposed in Congress closely resemble rules already in place in the several European jurisdictions, about which this Article presents important trends and outcomes. |
| JEL: | O34 K41 L24 O52 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulb:ulbeco:2013/159411&r=ger |
| By: | Emilio Guterriez; Ruben Durante (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the relationship between inter-jurisdictional cooperation and law enforcement in Mexico. Exploiting a Regression Discontinuity Design in close municipal elections, we study how improved opportunities for cooperation in crime prevention among neighboring municipalities - proxied by their degree of political alignment - may result in lower rates of violent crime. We find that municipalities in which the party in power in the majority of neighboring jurisdictions barely won experience significantly lower homicide rates during the mayor’s mandate than those in which it barely lost. This effect is sizeable and independent of which party is in power in the neighboring municipalities. |
| Keywords: | Crime; Mexico; Party Affiliation; Cooperation |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oaso1e0k4&r=ger |
| By: | Duque, Juan Carlos (Universidad EAFIT); Jetter, Michael (Universidad EAFIT); Sosa, Santiago (Universidad EAFIT) |
| Abstract: | This paper argues that UN military interventions are geographically biased. For every 1,000 kilometers of distance from the three Western permanent UNSC members (France, UK, US), the probability of a UN military intervention decreases by 4 percent. We are able to rule out several alternative explanations for the distance finding, such as differences by continent, colonial origin, bilateral trade relationships, foreign aid flows, political regime forms, or the characteristics of the Cold War. We do not observe this geographical bias for non-military interventions and find evidence that practical considerations could be important factors for UNSC decisions to intervene militarily. |
| Keywords: | United Nations, conflict resolution, international organizations |
| JEL: | D74 F52 F53 N40 R12 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8052&r=ger |
| By: | Arndt, Channing; Jones, Sam; Tarp, Finn |
| Abstract: | This paper confirms recent evidence of a positive impact of aid on growth and widens the scope of evaluation to a range of outcomes including proximate sources of growth (e.g., physical and human capital), indicators of social welfare (e.g., poverty and i |
| Keywords: | growth, foreign aid, aid effectiveness, simultaneous equations |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-072&r=ger |
| By: | Estêvão Kopschitz Xavier Bastos; Patrícia Vivas da Silva Fontes |
| Abstract: | Neste trabalho, descreve-se o funcionamento do mercado de câmbio no Brasil e abordam-se as relações entre preços de derivativos e preços à vista. É feita uma revisão bibliográfica a respeito do assunto e são estudadas, de forma descritiva e exploratória, as intervenções do Banco Central do Brasil no mercado cambial brasileiro, tanto no mercado com entrega física de moeda quanto no de swaps, de 2000 a 2012, e as regulamentações do mercado cambial de 1999 a 2012, por meio de compilação e de breve análise das medidas tomadas no período. In this paper, we describe the operation of the foreign exchange (FX) market in Brazil and discuss the relations between prices of derivatives and spot prices. A literature review of interventions in the FX market is done. Then, we study, in a descriptive way, the interventions of the Central Bank of Brazil, both in the market with physical delivery of currency, and in the swaps market, from 2000 to 2012, as well as the regulations of the Brazilian FX market, from 1999 to 2012, by compiling and briefly analysing the measures taken during the period. |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:1934&r=ger |
| By: | Douzounet Mallaye; Yogo Thierry Urbain |
| Abstract: | This study addresses the macroeconomic effect of foreign aid on the factors of growth. Specifically, we examine the effects of foreign aid on capital investment (human capital, physical capital) in sub-Saharan Africa. Our methodological approach evaluates |
| Keywords: | foreign aid, physical capital, human capital, panel data, Africa |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-103&r=ger |
| By: | Alem, Yonas |
| Abstract: | Previous studies of poverty in developing countries have to a great extent focused on the characteristics of the household head and used these as proxies for the underlying ability of the household to generate income. This paper uses five rounds of panel data to investigate the persistence of poverty in urban Ethiopia with a particular focus on the role of intra-household heterogeneity in occupations. Dynamic probit and system GMM regression results suggest that international remittances and labor market status of non-head household members are important determinants of households' poverty status. Results also show that controlling for these variables and the initial conditions problem encountered in non-linear dynamic probit models reduces the magnitude of estimated poverty persistence significantly for urban Ethiopia. These findings have important implications for identifying the poor and formulating effective poverty reduction and targeting strategies. |
| Keywords: | Urban Ethiopia, poverty persistence, dynamic probit, system GMM, labor market status |
| JEL: | I32 R11 R20 |
| Date: | 2014–03–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-14-05-efd&r=ger |
| By: | Imbens, Guido W. (Stanford University) |
| Abstract: | I review recent work in the statistics literature on instrumental variables methods from an econometrics perspective. I discuss some of the older, economic, applications including supply and demand models and relate them to the recent applications in settings of randomized experiments with noncompliance. I discuss the assumptions underlying instrumental variables methods and in what settings these may be plausible. By providing context to the current applications a better understanding of the applicability of these methods may arise. |
| Keywords: | simultaneous equations models, randomized experiments, potential outcomes, noncompliance, selection models, instrumental variables |
| JEL: | C01 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8048&r=ger |
| By: | Somayeh Koohborfardhaghighi (College of Engineering, Seoul National University); Jorn Altmann (College of Engineering, Seoul National University) |
| Abstract: | The power of using knowledge against competitors is a key success factor in the information age. However, the knowledge itself is not the source of competitive advantage for an organization; rather its power lies in its use. In a learning organization, collective knowledge of the individuals is needed, in order to reach the overall goals of the organization. From an organizational perspective, the most important aspect of knowledge management is knowledge transfer. Therefore, knowledge within the organization should be available to others through social interactions. The contributions of this paper are two-fold: First, we show that the network structure that emerges from those social interactions depends on the variability in individual patterns of behavior. Second, we emphasize the importance of network structure changes for organizational learning. A consequence is that a high clustering coefficient within a network does not necessarily produce a high learning outcome. It can even result in a loss of innovation. Another consequence is that a small average shortest path length within a network of individuals positively affects organizational learning. Therefore, certain topological features of a network can help network members to have a better access to information within an organization. |
| Keywords: | Complex Networks, Organizational Learning, Knowledge Management, Network Formation. |
| JEL: | C02 C6 C15 D23 D81 D85 L22 L25 M12 O31 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:snv:dp2009:2014111&r=ger |
| By: | Willassen, Yngve (Dept. of Economics, University of Oslo) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this study is to determine optimal migration policies for an individual of known age-dependent mortality who accumulates capital by compound interest and also by skill-dependent income. By a continuing choice of several environments, which vary in intrinsic preference and in the rates at which they improve and reward skills, the individual have the option of developing skills, current earnings and residential preference by moving between the environments. Specifying the expected future utility which recognizes the preference for residence as well as for consumption, the corresponding dynamic programming (DP) equations are derived. The optimality of return migration is particularly investigated by studying the movement between two environments. The analysis is then extended to allow for several environments. The DP-equations are also modified to examine the effect of monetary as well as non-monetary psychic) costs. In combining the essential causes motivating migration in a tractable dynamic control model that can be used for analysing the impacts of the various factors, this paper is believed to be an contribution to the migration literature. |
| Keywords: | Residential preferences; development of skills; reward of human capital; optimal migration; dynamic programming |
| JEL: | C61 J24 R23 |
| Date: | 2014–01–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:osloec:2014_001&r=ger |
| By: | Verhoest, Koen (University of Antwerp); Petersen, Ole Helby (University of Roskilde); Scherrer, Walter (University of Salzburg); Murwantara Soecipto, Raden (University of Antwerp) |
| Abstract: | Abstract In this paper we develop an index of the governmental support for PPP – a ‘PPP Governmental Support Index’ - which aims to measure the extent to which national governments provide an institutional framework that is either conducive or preventive for the introduction and diffusion of PPPs within infrastructure. First, based on a substantive review of the literature we define the elements of the PPP Governmental Support Index, including the policy and political commitment regarding PPPs, the legal and regulatory framework regarding PPPs, as well as the presence/absence of PPP-supporting structures and instruments (PPP-units, procedures for project appraisal and green lightning, and standardization of instruments and contracts). Second, we calculate the ‘PPP Governmental Support’-index for 15 European countries, cluster them and compare similarities and differences in national institutional support of PPPs. Third, we present a first and preliminary exploration of a potential link between national institutional index scores and the number and capital value of implemented PPP projects. Lastly, we discuss the potential and usefulness as well as methodological limitations of the presented PPP Governmental Support Index and elaborate on how this index might be utilized to strengthen future comparative PPP research. |
| Keywords: | Public-private partnerships; -comparative index; country rankings; institutional framework; COST Action TU1001. |
| JEL: | L32 |
| Date: | 2014–04–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:sbgwpe:2014_003&r=ger |
| By: | Nicole El Karoui (LPMA); Caroline Hillairet (CMAP); Mohamed Mrad (LAGA) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper relies on the study of long term yield curves modeling. Inspired by the economic litterature, it provides a financial interpretation of the Ramsey rule that links discount rate and marginal utility of aggregate optimal consumption. For such a long maturity modelization, the possibility of adjusting preferences to new economic information is crucial. Thus, after recalling some important properties on progressive utility, this paper first provides an extension of the notion of a consistent progressive utility to a consistent pair of progressive utilities of investment and consumption. An optimality condition is that the utility from the wealth satisfies a second order SPDE of HJB type involving the Fenchel-Legendre transform of the utility from consumption. This SPDE is solved in order to give a full characterization of this class of consistent progressive pair of utilities. An application of this results is to revisit the classical backward optimization problem in the light of progressive utility theory, emphasizing intertemporal-consistency issue. Then we study the dynamics of the marginal utility yield curve, and give example with backward and progressive power utilities. |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1404.1895&r=ger |
| By: | Cordoba, Juan Carlos; Liu, Xiying |
| Abstract: | This paper studies fertility choices and fertility policies when children's earning abilities are random and parents are altruistic. We characterize equilibrium allocations arising in endowment economies with either complete or incomplete markets. Both models can replicate a number of empirical regularities, such as inequality, social mobility and fertility decreasing with ability, but the incomplete markets model provides a number of more plausible predictions. We find that fertility policies are generally welfare detrimental in our models even when fertility is inefficiently high. |
| Keywords: | Idiosyncratic risk; Bewley model; Fertility; uninsurable risk; complete markets; incomplete markets |
| JEL: | D11 D31 D51 D61 I3 J1 |
| Date: | 2014–04–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:37481&r=ger |
| By: | Jean-Luc Gaffard (OFCE); Mario Amendola (Università di Roma "La Sapienza"); Fabricio Patriarca |
| Abstract: | The explosion of the global financial crisis in 2008 and its transmission to the real economies have been interpreted as calling for new kinds of regulation of the banking and the financial systems that would have allowed reestablishing a virtuous relation between the real and the financial sectors of the economy. In this paper we maintain the different view that the financial crisis and the ensuing real crisis have roots in the strong increase in incomes inequality that has been taking place in the Western world in the last thirty years or so. This has created an all around aggregate demand deficiency crisis that has strongly reduced prospects and opportunities for investments in productive capacities and shifted resources toward other uses, thus feeding a perverse relation between the productive and the non‐productive assets of the economy. In this context the way out of the crisis is re‐establishing the right distributive conditions: which cannot be obtained by a policy aimed at relieving the weight of private debts but calls for a redistribution through taxes on the incomes of non‐productive sectors, according to a fine tuning that should prevent from excessive taxations transforming positive into negative effects. |
| Keywords: | assets; debt; inequality; taxation |
| JEL: | D3 E2 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p4sq3h62k&r=ger |
| By: | Wolfgang Kerber (University of Marburg); Julia Wendel (University of Marburg) |
| Abstract: | The vertical allocation of regulatory powers within the European two-level system of network sector regulation is analysed from the perspective of the economic theory of legal federalism. The analysis shows that sophisticated combinations of harmonised European rules along with sufficient scope for decentralised decisions of national regulators seem to be optimal. Especially interesting is that networks of regulatory authorities (as BEREC in telecommunications) can play an important role in regard to balancing the advantages and disadvantages of (de)centralisation. Whereas in regard to telecommunication a further shifting of regulatory powers to the EU level cannot be recommended, both in energy and railway markets it might still be necessary to strengthen the regulatory power of the EU. |
| Keywords: | EU sector regulation, legal federalism, regulatory networks, telecommunication |
| JEL: | K23 H77 F15 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201422&r=ger |
| By: | Kok, Suzanne (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis); ter Weel, Bas (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis) |
| Abstract: | This research applies a task-based approach to measure and interpret changes in the employment structure of the 168 largest US cities in the period 1990-2009. As a result of technological change some tasks can be placed at distance, while others require proximity. We construct a measure of task connectivity to investigate which tasks are more likely to require proximity relative to others. Our results suggest that cities with higher shares of connected tasks experienced higher employment growth. This result is robust to a variety of other explanations including industry composition, routinisation, and the complementarity between skills and cities. |
| Keywords: | occupations, tasks, cities, employment |
| JEL: | J20 J30 O30 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8053&r=ger |
| By: | Li, Defu; Huang, Jiuli; Zhou, Ying |
| Abstract: | Since the publication of Uzawa(1961), it has been widely accepted that technical change must be purely labor-augmenting for a growth model to exhibit steady-state path. But in this paper, we argue that such a constraint is unnecessary. Further, our model shows that, as long as the sum of the growth rate of marginal efficiency of capital accumulation and the rate of capital-augmenting technological progress equals zero, steady-state growth can be established without constraining the direction of technological change. Thus Uzawa’s theorem represents only a special case, and the explanatory power of growth models would be greatly enhanced if such a constraint is removed. |
| Keywords: | Neoclassical Growth Model; Uzawa’s Steady-state Growth Theorem; Direction of Technical Change;Adjustment Cost |
| JEL: | E13 O33 O41 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:55045&r=ger |
| By: | Gianluigi Mongillo; Hanan Shteingart; Yonatan Loewenstein |
| Abstract: | Organisms modify their behavior in response to its consequences, a phenomenon referred to as operant learning. The computational principles and neural mechanisms underlying operant learning are a subject of extensive experimental and theoretical investigations. Theoretical approaches largely rely on concepts and algorithms from Reinforcement Learning. The dominant view is that organisms maintain a value function, that is a set of estimates of the cumulative future rewards associated with the different behavioral options. These values are then used to select actions. Learning in this framework results from the update of these values depending on experience of the consequences of past actions. An alternative view questions the applicability of such a computational scheme to many real-life situations. Instead, it posits that organisms exploit the intrinsic variability in their action selection mechanism(s) to modify their behavior, e.g., via stochastic gradient ascent, without the need of an explicit representation of values. In this review, we compare these two approaches in terms of their computational power and flexibility, their putative neural correlates and, finally, in terms of their ability to account for behavior as observed in repeated-choice experiments. We discuss the successes and failures of these alternative approaches in explaining the observed patterns of choice behavior. We conclude by identifying some of the important challenges to a comprehensive theory of operant learning. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:huj:dispap:dp661&r=ger |
| By: | Sarah Guillou (OFCE); Christophe Charlier |
| Abstract: | The China - Raw Materials dispute recently arbitrated by the WTO opposed China as defendant to the US and the EU as claimants, on the somewhat unusual issue of export restrictions. For the claimants, Chinese export restrictions on various raw materials of which the country is a major producer create shortages in foreign markets. This scarcity does not prevail in the Chinese market and the price in the foreign markets increases, providing a cost advantage to the Chinese industries using these raw materials. China defends export limitations using Article XX of the GATT 1994 on possible exceptions to the prohibition of quantitative restrictions to conserve natural resources. This paper oers a theoretical analysis of the dispute with the help of a model of a monopoly extracting a non-renewable resource and selling it on both the domestic and foreign markets using Fischer and Laxminarayan (2004)'s framework. The theoretical results focus on the eects of imposing an export quota on quantities, prices and ecacy, and are used to comment on the claims of the parties and on the ndings of the Panel and Appellate Body. Given the crucial importance of demand elasticities in this theoretical understanding of the con ict, the empirical part of the paper provides estimates of import demand elasticity of the claimants as well as of China { for each product concerned in the case, dened at the HS6 level. The empirical results show that among the products concerned in the dispute, two groups can be dierentiated depending on China's export position. When China is a major or rst exporter, there is no evident sign of the distortionary eect of an exportquota. When China is a weak exporter, but a strong producer and consumer, thereis evidence coherent with the model according to which China is imposing a quotaexport restriction that is inecient. |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p504jih2g&r=ger |
| By: | Judith Favereau (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne) |
| Abstract: | By trying to guarantee that the fight against poverty is based on evidence, randomized experiments, essentially developed by Esther Duflo within the J-PAL, offer a new way to fight poverty. The originality of such approach is to import the methodology of clinical trials in development economics. In order to stress the main epistemological issues of Esther Duflo's methodology, this paper aims to interrogate this new approach in development economics through the philosophical analysis of Georges Canguilhem in medicine. Afterwards, we show that such approach struggles to produce efficient remedies against poverty; instead, it offers a global view of poverty symptoms. |
| Keywords: | Randomization, medical clinical trials, epistemology of economics, poverty, development economics. |
| JEL: | A12 B40 O20 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:14026&r=ger |
| By: | Meixing Dai; Moïse Sidiropoulos; Eleftherios Spyromitros |
| Abstract: | This paper examines monetary and fiscal interactions in a framework where the government worries about political costs of low institutional quality and central bank opacity acts as a disciplinary device leading the government to reduce distortionary taxes and public expenditures. Greater opacity could thus lower the reactions of inflation expectations and inflation but increase those of the output gap to supply shocks and the target of public expenditures, and would be beneficial in terms of less macroeconomic volatility. Under the least favourable assumptions on the effect of corruption, i.e. ‘sanding-the-wheels’ effect or weak ‘greasing-the-wheels’ effect, we have shown that there is a fiscal disciplining effect of central bank opacity in a game framework where the government is a Stackelberg leader. Imperfect transparency could increase corruption only if the ‘greasing-the-wheels’ effect is relatively large. These results could be reinforced by the presence of grand corruption. |
| Keywords: | Central bank opacity, fiscal disciplining effect, distortions, institutional quality, corruption. |
| JEL: | D73 E52 E58 E61 E63 H50 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2014-04&r=ger |
| By: | Pedersen, Kjeld Møller (COHERE, Department of Business and Economics); Skagen, Kristian (COHERE, Department of Business and Economics) |
| Abstract: | There are three levels in this paper: A search for economic theories about presenteeism, a search for appropriate econometric approaches, and finally empirical results based on a unique Danish cross sectional data set. There are two economic approaches to presenteeism: 1. Productivity losses and 2. labor supply. The first is part of the indirect cost component in cost-of-illness studies and economic evaluation. There are two core questions in the productivity loss literature: Measurement of productivity losses (‘how much’) which has dominated the research agenda and valuation of incurred productivity losses (monetary value). Few economists have addressed the valuation issue and point out that the wage rate sometimes is inadequate. The starting point in the labor supply literature is sickness absence coupled with labor demand. The few economic models about presenteeism are explored and found lacking in the sense that they do not capture the essence of presenteeism. However, discrete choice models (random utility models) seem to be adequate in that the choice about going sick to work basically is a discrete choice situation that can be extended to include discrete counts, i.e. episodes of presenteeism within a given time period. The econometrics of presenteeism must have count models as the starting point due to the many zeroes, i.e. many persons do not experience presenteeism and, if they do, usually relatively few days (‘events’) in a given period and the discrete choice nature of presenteeism. Drawing on the econometric literature on utilization of medical services, the following models are discussed briefly: Poisson models, negative binominal, zero-inflated negative binomial, two part models (hurdle models) and latent class models (finite mixture models). This is in contrast to almost all previous literature where logistic regression has been the dominant statistical strategy. The Poissson model is discarded because an important feature (mean – variance) does not hold. The other models are all used in the empirical part of the paper, and an attempt at model selection is made. The empirical analyses are based on a cross-section survey of Danes in the labor force, N=4,060. The survey was designed with presenteeism in mind – one of the few available data sets at present. Ideally, theory/models should guide empirical work, but can do so only if fully specified theories are available and this is not the case for the random utility models that do no provide much guidance on relevant explanatory variables. The explanatory variables therefore are selected from the existing empirical works along with a number of new variables used in the survey, e.g. attitudinal variables about presenteeism and sickness absence and questions about work environment. A consistent result across all analyses is – not surprisingly - the importance of self reported health status: The worse health situation, the more presenteeism. . Another consistent result is that sickness absence and presenteeism are positively correlated. Persons with managerial positions also consistently have more presenteeism Age and genders are also (almost) consistently statistically significant. Fear of unemployment is also consistently and significantly related to presenteeism. |
| Keywords: | Presenteeism; sickness absence; labor supply; cost-of-illness; economic evaluation; count models |
| JEL: | C35 I12 J22 J24 |
| Date: | 2014–02–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sduhec:2014_002&r=ger |
| By: | Ornella Wanda Maietta (DISES and CSEF, University of Naples Federico II.; CSEF, University of Naples) |
| Abstract: | The objective of the paper is to determine the role that R&D networking, through the collaboration of firms with universities, plays among the determinants of product and process innovation in the Italian food and drink industry and how geographical proximity to a university affects both R&D university-industry collaboration and innovation. The data are sourced from the 7th (1995-1997), 8th (1998-2000), 9th (2001-2003) and 10th (2004-2006) waves of Capitalia survey data. The approach is a triprobit analysis in which the dependent variables are R&D collaboration with a university, process and product innovation; the independent variables are firm, territorial and university characteristics. |
| Keywords: | product and process innovation, university-industry interaction, geographical distance, food and drink industries |
| JEL: | O31 D21 R1 |
| Date: | 2014–03–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sef:csefwp:358&r=ger |
| By: | Mehmet Ekmekci; Nenad Kos |
| Abstract: | We analyze the value of information in the market for corporate control. The raider and the shareholders are privately and imperfectly informed about the post-takeover value of the firm. We show that public information provision reduces the dispersion of the shareholders’ beliefs resulting in a transfer of surplus from the raider to the shareholders. What is more, if the raider is privately informed all his private information is revealed through the price offer, hence he prefers not to acquire private information, provided that the shareholders do not engage in information acquisition. The target shareholders, on the other hand, have incentives to acquire information—solicit a fairness opinion—after the raider makes a price offer. However, when both parties have access to an information market, they both have incentives to acquire information. Keywords: takeovers, fairness opinion, tender offers, lemons problem, large shareholder. JEL Classification Numbers: D82, G34. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:igi:igierp:510&r=ger |
| By: | Jörg Mayer |
| Abstract: | The global crisis has disrupted the favourable external environment that made export-led development strategies viable. Developing countries can compensate for the resulting decline in aggregate demand growth through domestic demand if their domestic markets are sufficiently large and if they avoid an import boom, which would cause balance of payments problems. Concentrating on household consumption, the paper shows that the sales potential in some large emerging economies is approaching that in developed countries but also that imports might meet most new domestic consumption demand. Sustaining a shift towards a more balanced growth path requires changes in the production structure, fostered by product innovation, to make domestic production patterns better correspond to newly emerging demand patterns. The associated new employment and wage opportunities would allow realizing emerging sales potentials through rising incomes, rather than rising household debt. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unc:dispap:214&r=ger |
| By: | Paul Hubert; Mirza Harun |
| Abstract: | Assuming that private agents need to learn inflation dynamics to form their inflation expectations and that they believe a hybrid New-Keynesian Phillips Curve (NKPC) is the true data generating process of inflation, we aim at establishing the role of forward-looking information in inflation expectation dynamics. We find that longer term expectations are crucial in shaping shorter-horizon expectations. Professional forecasters put a greater weight on forward-looking information presumably capturing beliefs about the central bank inflation target or trend inflation while lagged inflation remains significant. Finally,the NKPC-based inflation expectations model fits well for professional forecasts in contrast to consumers. |
| Keywords: | survey expectations; inflation; new keynesian; Philipps curve |
| JEL: | E31 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6g0gsihsjmn5snc9pb0hlas97&r=ger |
| By: | John M. Nunley; Adam Pugh; Nicholas Romero; Richard Alan Seals, Jr. |
| Abstract: | We use experimental data from a résumé-audit study to estimate the impact of particular college majors and internship experience on employment opportunities. Our experimental design relies on the randomization of résumé characteristics to identify the causal effects of these attributes on job opportunities. Despite applying exclusively to business-related job openings, we find no evidence that business degrees improve employment prospects. Furthermore, we find no evidence linking particular degrees to interview-request rates. By contrast, internship experience increases the interview-request rate by about 14 percent. In addition, the “returns” to internship experience are larger for non-business majors than for business majors. |
| Keywords: | College Major; Internship; Employment; Field Experiments; Correspondence Studies; Résumé Audit |
| JEL: | J23 J24 J60 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:abn:wpaper:auwp2014-03&r=ger |
| By: | Alberto Botta |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyze and try to measure productive and technological asymmetries between central and peripheral economies in the eurozone. We assess the effects such asymmetries would likely bring about on center–periphery divergence/convergence patterns, and derive some implications as to the design of future industrial policy at the European level. We stress that future European Union (EU) industrial policy should be regionally focused and specifically target structural changes in the periphery as the main way to favor center–periphery convergence and avoid the reappearance of past external imbalances. To this end, a wide battery of industrial policy tools should be considered, ranging from subsidies and fiscal incentives to innovative firms, public financing of R and D efforts, sectoral policies, and public procurements for home-produced goods. All in all, future EU industrial policy should be much more interventionist than it currently is, and dispose of much larger funds with respect to the present setting in order to effectively pursue both short-run stabilization and long-run development goals. |
| Keywords: | Center–Periphery Structural Symmetries, EU Industrial Policy |
| JEL: | E12 F15 O25 O52 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_794&r=ger |
| By: | Fagan, Colette; Norman, Helen; Smith, Mark; Gonzalez Menendez, María C |
| Abstract: | This report: - Assesses the current employment conditions of part-time workers in comparison with those of comparable full-time workers across a range of countries. - Investigates the barriers to mutually agreed and freely chosen part-time work that meets the needs of both employers and workers. - Identifies those government policies and enterprise policies and practices regarding working hours and working-time arrangements, which appear to be likely to improve both access to, and the quality of, part-time work arrangements, while also advancing gender equality. - Reviews and analyses those government and enterprise policies, practices and overall conditions that may help workers to successfully transition between full- and part-time work. |
| Keywords: | part time employment, working conditions, quality of working life, gender equality, emploi à temps partiel, conditions de travail, qualité de la vie de travail, égalité des genres, empleo a tiempo parcial, condiciones de trabajo, calidad de la vida de trabajo, igualdad de géneros |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:483968&r=ger |
| By: | Nabila Jawadi |
| Abstract: | Information systems play an important role in the management of organizations. They are considered as social objects interacting with users and the context of their implementation. The purpose of our research is to identify the key factors influencing the users’ behavior toward a decision support system (DSS) in the particular context of a French grocery retailer in supermarkets. To this end, we adopt the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) as a theoretical approach to build our research model. We then conducted a survey with 129 Managers and store managers in this supermarket. Our findings show that the perceptions of the expected performance of the DSS use as well as the facilitating conditions of its use are determinant variables favoring the acceptance among users. However, social influence, voluntariness and perceptions of expected effort have no significant effect on the DSS use. |
| Keywords: | technology acceptance, UTAUT, decision support systems, structural equation |
| Date: | 2014–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-199&r=ger |
| By: | Mehmet Burak Turgut (University of Warsaw) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the spatial economic activity in Turkey and estimates the correlation between wages and consumer demand across NUTS1 regions of Turkey. First, I estimate simple market potential function to test whether closeness to larger markets has impact on wages. Second, I estimate Krugman (1993) economic geography model to see the agglomeration forces in Turkey. The results suggest that wages are higher in the regions close to larger markets and low trade costs and high share of expenditure on manufactured goods are the forces of agglomeration in Turkey. |
| Keywords: | Regional economic activity, Turkey, economic geography model |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tek:wpaper:2014/5&r=ger |
| By: | Karlsson, Charlie (CITR, Blekinge Inst of Technology); Rouchy, Philippe (CITR, Blekinge Inst of Technology) |
| Abstract: | Large media clusters have emerged in a limited number of large cities, characterizing the geographical concentration of the global media industry. This paper starts by exploring the effect of the rapid advancement of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) had on the media economy. It concludes that the role of the “weightless economy” on media cluster has enhanced its production and distribution functions. We review the specificities of media cluster that ties agglomeration to creative, diversified attributes of production and distribution. The implication is that media firms hold strong tendencies to cluster in urban regions since they make full usage of its resources, namely its export capabilities and import transformation strength. Finally, we invite researchers to consider Jacobs’ metropolitan and global reciprocating system of city growth as a valid unit for analysing media clusters. The question leads envisaging if media clusters' strong metropolitan base allows them to grow further through globalised circuits. The paper concludes that large, media clusters drive on intellectually dense network of information, which can only be cultivated through large agglomerations existing capabilities. Consequently, the research question focuses upon the economic role of knowledge in media creation and export replacement. We emphasize the strength of Jacob’s model of media cluster for understanding its mechanism of value creation and endogenous system of globalisation. |
| Keywords: | Clustering; media industry; agglomeration; weightless economy; creative industry; globalization; regional development |
| JEL: | L82 R11 |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bthcsi:2014-001&r=ger |
| By: | Lof, Matthijs; Mekasha, Tseday Jemaneh; Tarp, Finn |
| Abstract: | In a recent article, Nowak-Lehmann, Dreher, Herzer, Klasen, and Mart.nez-Zarzoso (2012) (henceforth NDHKM) conclude that foreign aid has not had a significant effect on income, based on evidence from panel data potentially covering 131 countries over the |
| Keywords: | foreign aid, growth, time series, VAR models |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-069&r=ger |
| By: | Ronaldo Herrlein Júnior |
| Abstract: | Este texto investiga as características e as possibilidades históricas de um Estado desenvolvimentista construído a partir da democracia, em contraste com o modelo histórico do Estado desenvolvimentista no Leste Asiático. Após uma breve introdução, este modelo histórico e o desenvolvimento capitalista almejado pelas nações subdesenvolvidas são interpretados e submetidos a uma avaliação crítica. A resposta às críticas é formulada propositivamente em dois níveis: a ressignificação do desenvolvimento e a perspectiva de um novo modelo histórico de Estado democrático para o desenvolvimento. O desenvolvimento endógeno (Furtado, 1984) é explicitado como alternativa de transformação social em que a mobilização popular provoca a expansão das capacidades humanas (Sen, 2000, 2008), por meio da democratização dos mercados e do aprofundamento da democracia (Unger, 2008). O Estado democrático para o desenvolvimento (EDD) é definido por funções desenvolvimentistas reconcebidas e inovações institucionais que podem viabilizar o desenvolvimento endógeno. As bases sociais e os fundamentos ideológicos que podem sustentar o padrão histórico do EDD são identificados para apontar a possibilidade histórica de uma convergência construtiva de forças sociais populares e ideologias “humanistas” em alguns países da periferia. O texto conclui indicando caminhos para viabilizar um programa simultâneo de transformação do Estado e da sociedade, com vistas à superação do subdesenvolvimento e ao enfrentamento das contradições do capitalismo contemporâneo. This essay inquires into the characteristics and historical possibilities of a Developmental State built on democracy, in opposition to the East Asian Developmental State historical model. After a brief introduction, this model and the capitalism development the underdeveloped peoples crave are interpreted and subjected to a critical evaluation. The answer to the criticisms is made in two levels: the reframing of development and the perspective of a new historical model of a Democratic State for Development. The endogenous development (Celso Furtado) is explained as an alternative of social change in which popular mobilization provokes the expansion of human capabilities (Amartya Sen) through market democratization and deepening democracy (Mangabeira Unger). The Democratic State for Development (DSD) is defined by redesigned developmental functions and institutional innovations that can make endogenous development feasible. The social bases and ideological foundations that can endorse the DSD historical pattern are identified to point the historical possibility of a constructive convergence of popular social forces and “humanist” ideologies in some countries of the periphery. The essay concludes indicating ways to make feasible a simultaneous program of State and society transformation, envisioning the overcoming of underdevelopment and the confrontation of contemporary capitalism contradictions. |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:1935&r=ger |
| By: | Marek Dabrowski |
| Abstract: | The current fiscal imbalances and fragilities in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries (SEMC) are the result of decades of instability, but have become more visible since 2008, when a combination of adverse economic and political shocks (the global and European financial crises, Arab Spring) hit the region. In an environment of slower growth and higher public expenditure pressures, fiscal deficits and public debts have increased rapidly. This has led to the deterioration of current accounts, a depletion of official reserves, the depreciation of some currencies and higher inflationary pressure. To avoid the danger of public debt and a balance-of-payment crisis, comprehensive economic reforms, including fiscal adjustment, are urgently needed. These reforms should involve eliminating energy and food subsidies and replacing them with targeted social assistance, reducing the oversized public administration and privatizing public sector enterprises, improving the business climate, increasing trade and investment openness, and sector diversification. The SEMC may also benefit from a peace dividend if the numerous internal and regional conflicts are resolved. However, the success of economic reforms will depend on the results of the political transition, i.e., the ability to build stable democratic regimes which can resist populist temptations and rally political support for more rational economic policies. |
| Keywords: | Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, fiscal policy, macroeconomic policy, energy and food subsidies, Arab Spring, Arab transition |
| JEL: | E62 E63 H24 H56 H62 H63 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sec:cnstan:0471&r=ger |
| By: | AÌlvaro Bustos; Tonja Jacobi |
| Abstract: | Even justices who have already decided to retire may not wish to make that information public immediately. Strategically shaping perceptions of their own retirement possibilities can maximize justices’ chances of leaving behind a Court with an ideology aligned with their own ideologies. An obvious mechanism to achieve this is to influence the President and the Senate to choose an ideologically compatible replacement. More specifically, a retiring justice can manipulate his perceived probability of retirement in a way that exploits the fact that case votes of relatively new members of the Court shape how their own ideologies are perceived; influencing the expression of preferences of newer justices can in turn induce the President and the Senate to fill the vacancy with a nominee whose ideology is preferred by the retiring justice. We show that "strong messages" (indicating a high probability of retirement) are more likely when relatively new members of the Court engage in untruthful voting and the ideologies of the retiring justice and the new members are aligned. In contrast, "weak messages" (indicating a low probability of retirement) are more likely when the relatively new members of the Court vote sincerely or, if they do vote untruthfully, the ideologies of the retiring justice and the new members are not aligned. |
| JEL: | K10 K30 K40 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ioe:doctra:450&r=ger |
| By: | Junior Ruiz Garcia; José Eustáquio Ribeiro Vieira Filho |
| Abstract: | As técnicas de engenharia genética são fundamentais na moderna produção agrícola e, ao mesmo tempo, demandam regulação em vários níveis. A difusão do plantio de orga¬nismo geneticamente modificado (OGM) tem crescido desde 1996, notadamente nos Estados Unidos, na Argentina e no Canadá. No Brasil, a partir de 1997, a produção de soja transgênica se iniciou de forma ilegal e com lenta taxa de adoção. A legalização do plantio de soja em 2003 intensificou a difusão da biotecnologia no Brasil. O presente estudo procurou apresentar modelos epidemiológicos de difusão: exponencial de fonte central e logístico de contágio. O exemplo que melhor representa o processo de difusão seria o descrito por uma função logística. Embora o trabalho não faça uma discussão aprofundada dos parâmetros desta função, entende-se que o comportamento da curva logística é muito mais complexo, dado que não existe equilíbrio nos valores parametrizados ao longo do tempo. The genetic engineering techniques are essential in modern agriculture and, at the same time, demand regulation on several levels. The diffusion of planting genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has grown since 1996, notably in the United States, Argentina and Canada. In Brazil, the production of genetically modified soybeans began illegally and with a slow adoption rate in 1997. The legalization of genetically modified soybean planting in 2003 intensified the spread of biotechnology in Brazil. This study presents two epidemic models of technology diffusion: exponential (central source) and logistic (contagion). The results obtained suggest that the diffusion process is best described by a logistic function. Although the study does not discuss in detail the function’s parameters, it is understood that the trajectory of the logistic curve is fairly complex, since there is no equilibrium for fixed values over time. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:1937&r=ger |
| By: | Akin Osman Kazakci (CGS - Centre de Gestion Scientifique - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris); Thomas Gillier (ERPI - Equipe de Recherche sur les Processus Innovatifs - Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine (INPL) - Ecole Nationale Supérieure en Génie des Systèmes Industriels); Gerald Piat (EDF R&D - EDF); Armand Hatchuel (CGS - Centre de Gestion Scientifique - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris) |
| Abstract: | In industrial settings, brainstorming is seen as an effective technique for creativity in innovation processes. However, bulk of research on brainstorming is based on an oversimplified view of the creativity process. Participants are seen as idea generators and the process aims at maximizing the quantity of ideas produced, and the evaluation occurs post-process based on some originality and feasibility criteria. Design theories can help enrich this simplistic process model. The present study reports an experimental investigation of creativity process within the context of real-life design ideation task. Results lead to the rejection of the classical 'quantity breeds quality' hypothesis. Rather, we observe that successful groups are the ones who produce a few original propositions that hold great value for users while looking for ways to make those propositions feasible. |
| Date: | 2014–04–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00969300&r=ger |
| By: | Vitor Gonçalves (Phd Student of Finance, FEP.UP); Francisco Vitorino Martins (Professor FEP.UP); Elísio Brandão (Professor of Finance, FEP.UP) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we investigate the behaviour of credit default in start-up companies. Using a logit regression technique on a panel data of 1430 start-ups and considering a tracking period of three years, we tested the impact on the probability of occurrence of the first credit event in financing agreements due to variables grouped into three categories: financial capital, human capital and industry dynamics. We concluded from a financial point of view, that the support provided by partners in the financing of the company’s activity, the intensity of use of assets under management and reduced debt pay-back periods, were decisive in mitigating risk of default. In addition we found that the occurrence of a credit event will only be as limited as higher the quality of human capital held by the promoter of the project in terms of educational background and management experience. |
| Keywords: | Credit Default; Start-Up; Financial Capital; Human Capital; Industry Dynamics |
| JEL: | G33 M13 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:por:fepwps:534&r=ger |
| By: | Costantini, Mauro; Lupi, Claudio |
| Abstract: | Sequential panel selection methods (spsms) are based on the repeated application of panel unit root tests and are increasingly used to identify I (0) time series in macro- panels. We check the reliability of spsms by using Monte Carlo simulations based on generating the individual test statistics and the p values to be combined into panel unit root tests, both under the unit root null and under selected local alternatives. The analysis is carried out considering both independent and dependent test statistics. We show that spsms do not possess better classification performances than conventional univariate tests. |
| Keywords: | Unit root, Panel data, ROC curve, Simulation |
| JEL: | C12 C15 C23 |
| Date: | 2014–03–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mol:ecsdps:esdp14073&r=ger |
| By: | Roberta Longo (Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds); Claire Hulme (Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds); Armando Vargas-Palacios (Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds); Karen Vinall-Collier (Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds); Jane South (Leeds Metropolitan University); Anne Marie Bagnall (Leeds Metropolitan University); James Woodall (Leeds Metropolitan University); Gary Raine (Leeds Metropolitan University); Karina Kinsella (Leeds Metropolitan University) |
| Abstract: | Aim: To assess the cost-effectiveness of peer-based sexual behaviour education interventions in prison settings to prevent primary and secondary HIV infections. Methods: Based on the results of a systematic review of peer-based interventions in prison settings, we developed a Bernoulli model to estimate the number of HIV infections averted, consequent loss of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) avoided and associated savings in health care costs over a lifetime respectively for a peer-led and a professionally-led education intervention. Results: The economic model showed that peer-led and professionally-led educational interventions prevent future HIV infections among offenders in prison settings, thus saving a significant amount of health care costs compared to a ‘do nothing’ scenario. In addition the peer-led intervention is dominant when compared to the professionally-led intervention (it is more effective and less costly). Whilst the model is surrounded by considerable uncertainty, the dominance scenario is confirmed in the one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analysis conducted. Conclusions: This study adds to previous evidence on the effectiveness of peer based educational interventions in preventing HIV in prison by showing that these are not only more effective but also cost less than the professionally-led alternative. |
| Keywords: | Cost-effectiveness analysis; HIV; prevention in prison; sexual behaviour; peer education |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lee:wpaper:1402&r=ger |
| By: | Katarina Borovickova (New York University) |
| Abstract: | I present new empirical evidence on the relationship between the job flows, worker flows, and the time horizon at which these flows are measured. In particular, I show that worker flows grow linearly with the horizon at which they are measured; job flows grow approximately with the square root of the horizon. Further, I show that these patterns hold for all firm size categories separately, and that the magnitude of the job and worker flows decreases with employer's size. To interpret these patterns, I explore simple models of a representative firm which faces employment adjustment costs. I show that such a model can replicate some of the observed patterns. I discuss the implications of presented facts for interpreting the differences in the characteristics of the labor markets in Europe and the U.S. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed013:1338&r=ger |
| By: | Paulo Rocha; Frank Raischel; Jo\~ao P. da Cruz; Pedro G. Lind |
| Abstract: | Using available data from the New York stock market (NYSM) we test four different bi-parametric models to fit the correspondent volume-price distributions at each $10$-minute lag: the Gamma distribution, the inverse Gamma distribution, the Weibull distribution and the log-normal distribution. The volume-price data, which measures market capitalization, appears to follow a specific statistical pattern, other than the evolution of prices measured in similar studies. We find that the inverse Gamma model gives a superior fit to the volume-price evolution than the other models. We then focus on the inverse Gamma distribution as a model for the NYSM data and analyze the evolution of the pair of distribution parameters as a stochastic process. Assuming that the evolution of these parameters is governed by coupled Langevin equations, we derive the corresponding drift and diffusion coefficients, which then provide insight for understanding the mechanisms underlying the evolution of the stock market. |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1404.1730&r=ger |
| By: | Timo Teräsvirta (Aarhus University and CREATES); Yukai Yang (CORE, Université catholique de Louvain and CREATES) |
| Abstract: | We consider a nonlinear vector model called the logistic vector smooth transition autoregressive model. The bivariate single-transition vector smooth transition regression model of Camacho (2004) is generalised to a multivariate and multitransition one. A modelling strategy consisting of specification, including testing linearity, estimation and evaluation of these models is constructed. Nonlinear least squares estimation of the parameters of the model is discussed. Evaluation by misspecification tests is carried out using tests derived in a companion paper. The use of the modelling strategy is illustrated by two applications. In the first one, the dynamic relationship between the US gasoline price and consumption is studied and possible asymmetries in it considered. The second application consists of modelling two well known Icelandic riverflow series, previously considered by many hydrologists and time series analysts. JEL Classification: C32, C51, C52 |
| Keywords: | Vector STAR model, Modelling nonlinearity, Vector autoregression, Generalized impulse response, Asymmetry, Oil price River flow |
| Date: | 2014–03–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aah:create:2014-08&r=ger |
| By: | Donatella Baiardi (Department of Economics, Quantitative Methods and Business Strategies, University of Milano-Bicocca); Carluccio Bianchi (Department of Economics and Management, University of Pavia); Eleonora Lorenzini (Department of Economics and Management, University of Pavia) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the main export function features of twelve top clothing exporters (China, Hong Kong, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, UK and USA) in the period between 1992 and 2011. Price and income elasticities are estimated for each country using a panel data approach, after controlling for nonstationarity, cointegration and Granger causality. Rolling regressions are also performed, and show the existence of elasticities instability over time. The analysis suggests that most advanced countries, including Hong Kong, changed their position in the clothing global value chain towards an “organisational” role. China confirms its leadership in clothing exports although its rising price elasticity sounds a warning with regard to future prospects. |
| Keywords: | Clothing exports, Price and income elasticities, Parameter stability, Panel data analysis Quality, Panel Granger causality |
| JEL: | F14 C23 L67 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pav:demwpp:074&r=ger |
| By: | Jérôme Creel (OFCE); Paul Hubert; Francesco Saraceno (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the debate on the French public finances’ consolidation by investigating the long-term sustainability of France’s fiscal position. We trace the historical trends of government’s tax receipts and expenditures. We find that while the level of public expenditure in France is larger than in the rest of the Euro Area (mostly because of public wages and social benefits), its trend is comparable to its neighbours. Net lending is also under control, thanks to the high levels of taxation, so that we see no real risk of future unsustainability. However, the French tax system is unfair, is not sufficiently progressive, and is too complex. The paper then proceeds to assess the future of France’s public finances on the basis of the current debate on the Euro Area fiscal rules. We report two analyses – theoretical and empirical – that project the inflation rate and output gap paths for the next twenty years. We finally assess fiscal rules on this ground. The ‘fiscal compact’ fares rather poorly compared to the alternative rules that we assess. |
| Keywords: | deficits; dettes; dettes management; fiscales rule; fiscale compact; golden rule |
| JEL: | E62 E63 H61 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p5488g8pn&r=ger |
| By: | Bluhm, Marcel; Faia, Ester; Krahnen, Jan Pieter |
| Abstract: | This paper makes a conceptual contribution to the e ffect of monetary policy on financial stability. We develop a microfounded network model with endogenous network formation to analyze the impact of central banks' monetary policy interventions on systemic risk. Banks choose their portfolio, including their borrowing and lending decisions on the interbank market, to maximize profit subject to regulatory constraints in an asset-liability framework. Systemic risk arises in the form of multiple bank defaults driven by common shock exposure on asset markets, direct contagion via the interbank market, and firesale spirals. The central bank injects or withdraws liquidity on the interbank markets to achieve its desired interest rate target. A tension arises between the bene ficial effects of stabilized interest rates and increased loan volume and the detrimental effects of higher risk taking incentives.We fi nd that central bank supply of liquidity quite generally increases systemic risk. -- |
| Keywords: | network formation,contagion,central banks' interventions |
| JEL: | C63 D85 G01 G28 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:safewp:46&r=ger |
| By: | David R. Mann; David C. Stapleton; Bonnie L. O'Day |
| Keywords: | Brain Injury, Disability, SSDI, SSI |
| JEL: | I J |
| Date: | 2014–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:8085&r=ger |
| By: | Feldman, Maryann (Department of Public Policy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA); Tavassoli, Sam (CITR, Blekinge Inst of Technology) |
| Abstract: | The focus of this paper is on the question of how new industries originate in places. There is often confusion between the process of diffusion and the locational factors that give rise to early stage creative discovery. There is a long and distinguished literature that considers the diffusion of ideas. Diffusion is important as it influences the general uptake and implementation of ideas across geography but it is a different process than our focus here. We advance the argument that the creation of new industries is a process that has inherently geographic features. Something new is created out of prior knowledge but a more complex process is required to develop an industry and reap the economic benefits. |
| Keywords: | new industries; Schmookler scissor; locational factors |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bthcsi:2014-002&r=ger |
| By: | Fabrizio Patriarca; Claudio Sardoni |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the debate on income growth and distribution from a nonmainstream perspective. It looks, in particular, at the role that the degree of capacity utilization plays in the process of growth of an economy that is not perfectly competitive. The distinctive feature of the model presented in the paper is the hypothesis that the rate of capital depreciation is an increasing function of the degree of capacity utilization. This hypothesis implies analytical results that differ somewhat from those yielded by other Kaleckian models. Our model shows that, in a number of cases, the process of growth can be profit-led rather than wage-led. The model also determines the value to which the degree of capacity utilization converges in the long run. |
| Keywords: | Kaleckian Models of Growth; Capital Accumulation; Capital Depreciation; Income Distribution and Growth |
| JEL: | E12 E25 O40 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_795&r=ger |
| By: | Lubica Hikkerova; Jean-Michel Sahut |
| Abstract: | The object of this article is to study the consumer perception of innovative Yield Management (YM) strategies in the hotel sector. Hotels use these practices in order to increase their incomes. These strategies rely heavily on ICT and are more comparable with the development of the Internet. However, economic literature suggests that if YM practices are considered to be unfair, they are likely to influence customers’ purchasing intentions negatively, that we verify empirically. Our study shows that the assumption that the YM induces dissatisfaction in all circumstances is rejected. But when a practice of YM is perceived as unfair, it causes a loss of customers. Moreover, the manner of presenting the YM practices to consumers (positive or negative frame) has a considerable influence on their perception. From this point of view, there are several managerial levers in the communication of tariff practices and the management of loyalty programs to avoid or reduce the conflicts with customers. |
| Date: | 2014–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-192&r=ger |
| By: | Francis X. Diebold (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania); Minchul Shin (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania) |
| Abstract: | We propose and explore several related ways of reducing reliance of point forecast accuracy evaluation on expected loss, E(L(e)), where e is forecast error. Our central approach dispenses with the loss function entirely, instead using a \stochastic error divergence" (SED) accuracy measure based directly on the forecast-error c.d.f., F(e). We explore several variations on the basic theme; interestingly, all point to the primacy of absolute-error loss and its generalizations. |
| Keywords: | Forecast accuracy, forecast evaluation, absolute-error loss, quadratic loss, squared-error loss |
| JEL: | C53 |
| Date: | 2014–03–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pen:papers:14-011&r=ger |
| By: | Battistin, Erich (Queen Mary, University of London); De Nadai, Michele (University of Padova); Padula, Mario (Ca' Foscari University of Venice) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the role of childcare provided by grandparents for the fertility decisions of their offspring. We exploit a decade of pension reforms in Italy that mandated the grandparental generation to a working horizon longer than they would have had otherwise. We argue that the rise in retirement age meant a negative shock to the supply of informal childcare for the next generation. Our results show that one additional grandparent available in the early child-bearing years increases by about five percent the number of children. We show that the fertility effects of delayed retirement are limited to close-knits with a strong familistic structure. The result is not just the mechanical consequence of delayed exit from parental home, of more investment in education or of more attachment to the labour market. In light of the Italian lowest low fertility we conclude that pension reforms may have had unintended inter-generational effects. This conclusion is consistent with the sharp drop in total fertility documented by official statistics for the most conservative areas of the country. |
| Keywords: | fertility, informal child care, pension reforms |
| JEL: | J08 J13 H42 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8071&r=ger |
| By: | Scholte, Robert (SEO Economic Research); van den Berg, Gerard J. (University of Mannheim); Lindeboom, Maarten (VU University Amsterdam); Deeg, Dorly J. H. (VU University Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | This paper considers determinants of physical-functional limitations in daily-life activities at high ages. Specifically, we quantify the extent to which the impact of adverse life events on this outcome is larger in case of exposure to adverse economic conditions early in life. Adverse life events include bereavement, severe illness in the family, and the onset of chronic diseases. We use a longitudinal data set of individuals born in the first decades of the 20th century. The business cycle around birth is used as an indicator of economic conditions early in life. We find that the extent to which functional limitations suffer from the onset of chronic diseases is larger if the individual was born in a recession. The long-run effect of economic conditions early in life on functional limitations at high ages runs primarily via this life event. |
| Keywords: | functional limitations, long-run effects, business cycle, panel data, health, bereavement, chronic diseases |
| JEL: | I12 C33 J14 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8075&r=ger |
| By: | Dr. Terry Najja Kakeeto-Aelen (Maastricht School of Management, The Netherlands); Professor Jan C van Dalen (Maastricht School of Management, The Netherlands); Professor H. Jaap van den Herik (Tilburg University, The Netherlands); Dr. Bartel A. Van de Walle (Tilburg University, The Netherlands) |
| Abstract: | In the marketing arena, the last two decades have been characterised by increased attention towards the subject of Relationship Marketing (RM). Both academics and practitioners today increasingly recognize RM as one of the main marketing strategies that is necessary to keep companies visible and competitive in the eyes of their customers. However, what we observe is that inspite of increased interest in the subject, we know quite little, from an empirical perspective, about the manner in which Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), especially those in developing countries, use RM to build and enhance long-term relationships with their customers and thus remain competitive. The purpose of this article is to examine the role of customer satisfaction, trust and commitment in the formation and enhancement of long-term customer relationships among SMEs in the service sector in Uganda and to suggest practical tools that policy makers in developing countries can use to enhance SME competitiveness. We obtained the required data for the study from SME owner-managers, customers, and frontline employees of SMEs operating in two service sectors in Uganda, namely the restaurant sector and the travel-agency sector. Our findings indicate that customer satisfaction, trust and commitment all play a significant role in the building and enhancement of long-term customer relationships among SMEs in Uganda. However, their role varies between different SME sectors. The findings also show that in general, those SMEs whose RM practices customers were more satisfied with had higher levels of customer loyalty compared to those SMEs whose RM practices customers were less satisfied with. This study has increased our awareness about the processes that SMEs in developing countries go through to build customer loyalty and thus long-term competitiveness. In this way, the study has helped to narrow the gap in current literature about the RM practices of SMEs in developing countries. |
| Keywords: | Relationship Marketing, SMEs, Customer Satisfaction, Trust, Commitment, Customer Loyalty |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msm:wpaper:2014/06&r=ger |
| By: | Aurélien Alfonsi (CERMICS - Centre d'Enseignement et de Recherche en Mathématiques et Calcul Scientifique - Université Paris Est (UPE) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC), INRIA Paris-Rocquencourt - MATHRISK - INRIA - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV)); Pierre Blanc (CERMICS - Centre d'Enseignement et de Recherche en Mathématiques et Calcul Scientifique - Université Paris Est (UPE) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC), INRIA Paris-Rocquencourt - MATHRISK - INRIA - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV)) |
| Abstract: | We study a linear price impact model including other liquidity takers, whose flow of orders either follows a Poisson or a Hawkes process. The optimal execution problem is solved explicitly in this context, and the closed-formula optimal strategy describes in particular how one should react to the orders of other traders. This result enables us to discuss the viability of the market. It is shown that Poissonian arrivals of orders lead to quite robust Price Manipulation Strategies in the sense of Huberman and Stanzl. Instead, a particular set of conditions on the Hawkes model balances the self-excitation of the order flow with the resilience of the price, excludes Price Manipulation Strategies and gives some market stability. |
| Date: | 2014–04–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00971369&r=ger |
| By: | Pierre Henri-Labordère; Nizar Touzi (Centre de Mathématiques Appliquées - Ecole Polytechnique); Alfred Galichon (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | We consider the problem of superhedging under volatility uncertainty for an investor allowed to dynamically trade the underlying asset, and statically trade European call options for all possible strikes with some given maturity. This problem is classically approached by means of the Skorohod Embedding Problem (SEP). Instead, we provide a dual formulation which converts the superhedging problem into a continuous martingale optimal transportation problem. We then show that this formulation allows to recover previously known results about Lookback options. In particular, our methodology induces a new presentation of the Azema-Yor solution of the SEP. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/5rkqqmvrn4tl22s9mc0ck8ecp&r=ger |
| By: | Mathieu Couttenier (University of Lausanne.); Pauline Grosjean (School of Economics, Australian School of Business, the University of New South Wales); Marc Sangnier (Aix-Marseille University, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, CNRS & EHESS.) |
| Abstract: | We uncover interpersonal violence as a dimension and a mechanism of the re- source curse. We rely on a historical natural experiment in the United States, in which mineral discoveries occurred at various stages of governmental territorial ex- pansion. “Early” mineral discoveries, before full-fledged rule of law is in place in a county, are associated with higher levels of interpersonal violence, both historically and today. The persistence of this homicide resource curse is partly explained by the low quality of (subsequent) judicial institutions. The specificity of our results to violent crime also suggests that a private order of property rights did emerge on the frontier, but that it was enforced through high levels of interpersonal violence. The results are robust to state-specific effects, to comparing only neighboring counties, and to comparing only discoveries within short time intervals of one another. |
| Keywords: | Homicide, Institutions, Resource curse, United States |
| JEL: | K42 N51 Z13 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:swe:wpaper:2014-12&r=ger |
| By: | Benjamin Lester; Ludo Visschers; Ronald Wolthoff |
| Abstract: | In a market in which sellers compete by posting mechanisms, we allow for a general meeting technology and show that its properties crucially affect the mechanism that sellers select in equilibrium. In general, it is optimal for sellers to post an auction without a reserve price but with a fee, paid by all buyers who meet with the seller. However, we deï¬ne a novel condition on meeting technologies, which we call invariance, and show that meeting fees are equal to zero if and only if this condition is satisï¬ed. Finally, we discuss how invariance is related to other properties of meeting technologies identiï¬ed in the literature. |
| Keywords: | search frictions, matching function, meeting technology, competing mechanisms |
| JEL: | C78 D44 D83 |
| Date: | 2014–04–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-508&r=ger |
| By: | Philip Merrigan (CIRPEE - Université du Québec Montéal); François Gardes (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne - Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The panel structure of the Survey on Smoking in Canada (1994-95) and novel methods are used to estimate the impact of an important decrease in the levels of taxation of cigarettes occurring in five out of the ten Canadian provinces that intended to eradicate black market sales of cigarettes in the spring of 1994. Given that black market sales have recently increased substantially because of new taxes, a complete and thorough analysis of the 1994 policy is of particular importance for policy makers. We revisit the issue with new econometric methods to address this evaluation problem as well as focus on particular sub-groups in the Canadian population. The large sample permits precise estimation of the impact of the policy by sub-group showing that females, young males, the poorly educated and separated or divorced individuals were particularly sensitive to these dramatic changes in cigarette prices. We also compute under realistic assumptions a price-elasticity for the probability of smoking and a lower bound on the price-elasticity for the quantities of cigarettes smoked. |
| Keywords: | Cigarette, price-elasticity, difference in difference. |
| JEL: | D1 E2 H2 I1 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:14027&r=ger |
| By: | L. Randall Wray |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the intellectual history of the state, or chartalist, approach to money, from the early developers (Georg Friedrich Knapp and A. Mitchell Innes) through Joseph Schumpeter, John Maynard Keynes, and Abba Lerner, and on to modern exponents Hyman Minsky, Charles Goodhart, and Geoffrey Ingham. This literature became the foundation for Modern Money Theory (MMT). In the MMT approach, the state (or any other authority able to impose an obligation) imposes a liability in the form of a generalized, social, legal unit of account--a money--used for measuring the obligation. This approach does not require the preexistence of markets; indeed, it almost certainly predates them. Once the authorities can levy such obligations, they can name what fulfills any obligation by denominating those things that can be delivered; in other words, by pricing them. MMT thus links obligatory payments like taxes to the money of account as well as the currency. This leads to a revised view of money and sovereign finance. The paper concludes with an analysis of the policy options available to a modern government that issues its own currency. |
| Keywords: | Modern Money Theory; Chartalism; State Money; Knapp; Innes; Schumpeter; Keynes; Minsky; Goodhart; Ingham; Sovereign Currency |
| JEL: | B1 B3 B15 B22 B25 B52 E40 E50 E62 H5 H60 N1 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_792&r=ger |
| By: | Baye, Irina; Hasnas, Irina |
| Abstract: | We analyze firms' location choices in a Hotelling model with two-dimensional consumer heterogeneity, along addresses and transport cost parameters (flexibility). Firms can price discriminate based on perfect data on consumer addresses and (possibly) imperfect data on consumer flexibility. We show that firms' location choices depend on how strongly consumers differ in flexibility. Precisely, when consumers are relatively homogeneous, equilibrium locations are socially optimal regardless of the quality of customer flexibility data. However, when consumers are relatively differentiated, firms make socially optimal location choices only when customer flexibility data is perfect. These results are driven by the optimal strategy of a firm on its turf, monopolization or market-sharing, which in turn depends on consumer heterogeneity in flexibility. Our analysis is motivated by the availability of customer data, which allows firms to practice third-degree price discrimination based on both consumer characteristics relevant in spatial competition, addresses and transport cost parameters. -- |
| Keywords: | Location Choice,Price Discrimination,Customer Data |
| JEL: | D43 L13 R30 R32 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:139&r=ger |
| By: | A.S. Hurn (School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology); Annastiina Silvennoinen (School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology); Timo Teräsvirta (Aarhus University and CREATES) |
| Abstract: | We consider a nonlinear vector model called the logistic vector smooth transition autoregressive model. The bivariate single-transition vector smooth transition regression model of Camacho (2004) is generalised to a multivariate and multitransition one. A modelling strategy consisting of specification, including testing linearity, estimation and evaluation of these models is constructed. Nonlinear least squares estimation of the parameters of the model is discussed. Evaluation by misspecification tests is carried out using tests derived in a companion paper. The use of the modelling strategy is illustrated by two applications. In the first one, the dynamic relationship between the US gasoline price and consumption is studied and possible asymmetries in it considered. The second application consists of modelling two well known Icelandic riverflow series, previously considered by many hydrologists and time series analysts. JEL Classification: C23, C51, L94, Q41. |
| Keywords: | Smooth transition, binary choice model, logit model, electricity spot prices, peak load pricing, price spikes |
| Date: | 2014–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aah:create:2014-09&r=ger |
| By: | Finn, Arden (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Leibbrandt, Murray |
| Abstract: | We use the first three waves of data from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) to analyse poverty dynamics in South Africa between 2008 and 2012. Restricting ourselves to the sub-sample of balanced panel respondents, we find that poverty exit rates increased with time, though a substantial proportion of the population was trapped in severe poverty, defined as having income of less than half of the poverty line. The importance of demographic events in the household as drivers of poverty transitions are highlighted in a univariate and multivariate setting. Finally we look at the joint distributions of multidimensional poverty and income poverty in order to ascertain the extent to which they complement or offset one another. |
| Keywords: | poverty; households; South Africa; National Income Dynamics Study; NIDS |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:119&r=ger |
| By: | Giorgio Giorgi (Department of Economics and Management, University of Pavia); Cesare Zuccotti (Department of Economics and Management, University of Pavia) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we take in to considerations some classes of matrices which are generalizations of the class of K-matrices, in the terminology of Fielder and Ptàk (1962). We study the hierarchy and inclusion relations between the classes considered and we point out some economic applications |
| Keywords: | K-matrices; M-matrices; S-matrices; P-matrices; dominant diagonal matrices; stabiliy matrices; linear economic models. |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pav:demwpp:demwp0075&r=ger |
| By: | Klaus Adam; Johannes Beutel; Albert Marcet |
| Abstract: | The booms and busts in U.S. stock prices over the post-war period can to a large extent be explained by fluctuations in investors’subjective capital gains expectations. Survey measures of these expectations display excessive optimism at market peaks and excessive pessimism at market throughs. Formally incorporating subjective price beliefs into an otherwise standard asset pricing model with utility maximizing investors, we show how subjective be- lief dynamics can temporarily de-link stock prices from their fundamental value and give rise to asset price booms that ultimately result in a price bust. The model successfully replicates (1) the volatility of stock prices and (2) the positive correlation between the price dividend ratio and expected returns observed in survey data. We show that models imposing objective or ‘rational’price expectations cannot simultaneously account for both facts. Our …findings imply that large part of U.S. stock price fluctuations are not due to standard fundamental forces, instead result from self-reinforcing belief dynamics triggered by these fundamentals. |
| Keywords: | Stock Price Volatility, learning, survey expectations, internal rationality |
| JEL: | G12 D84 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:757&r=ger |
| By: | Singerman, Ariel; Lence, Sergio H.; Kimble-Evans, Amanda |
| Abstract: | Cointegration is tested between organic and conventional corn and soybean markets in several locations throughout the U.S. using a unique data set. Organic prices are found to behave like pure jump processes rather than diffusions. A simple specification for pure jump processes is introduced and used with Monte Carlo methods to compute appropriate critical values for unit-root and cointegration tests. Findings indicate that no long-run relationship exists between organic and conventional prices, implying that price determination for organic corn and soybean is independent from that for the conventional crops. This suggests that organic corn and soybean prices are driven by demand and supply forces idiosyncratic to the organic market. For each crop, cointegrating spatial relationships are found between prices at the main organic markets. However, such relationships are generally weaker than the ones for the corresponding conventional prices, implying that organic markets are more affected by idiosyncratic shocks than conventional markets. |
| Keywords: | cointegration; jump price process; organic crops; organic production; price analysis |
| JEL: | Q13 Q18 |
| Date: | 2013–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:37467&r=ger |
| By: | George Halkos; George Papageorgiou |
| Abstract: | In this paper, one of the basic assumptions is that the environment provides two different kinds of services. First, the environment may serve as an input to the production of conventional goods. For example, the exploitation of an oil source from which one firm extracts the oil which in turn is used as a fossil fuel for an industry. In the worst case, the use of the environment for industrial purposes will negatively affect the environment, e.g. the water quality of a paper mill along a river. Nevertheless, the possibility to pollute, i.e., to save abatement costs, lowers production costs. Hence, firms and consumers evaluate this service positively. Second, the environment itself-clean air, natural creeks and rivers instead of paper mills, hydro power plants, etc.-provides amenities and thus a second service that is different, because enjoying this service does not degrade environmental quality. As it is intuitively clear, the environment provides consumptive and non-consumptive uses. In renewable resources means, the environmental stock may be harvested and used as an input for conventional goods� production but provides simultaneously a positive externality. The purpose of this paper is to study the dynamics of pollution and the possibility of cycles and instability, while the major findings of this paper are the following: First, taking the simplest pollution model with one state and one control variables and extending it into two state variables, equilibrium may change from the fixed point into a limit cycle equilibrium, i.e. the optimal emissions rate may be cyclical. Second, taking the conflicting case as a differential game we found again the conditions under which the richer limit cycle equilibrium takes place. |
| Keywords: | Renewable resources; environmental economics; pollution management |
| JEL: | C61 C62 D43 H21 |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aue:wpaper:1404&r=ger |
| By: | Makiko Hino (Faculty of Commerce, Doshisha University); Mototsugu Fukushige (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the stocks of patents and their growth rates in the Italian textile and chemical industries between 1904 and 1937. The stocks and growth rates by nationality are estimated for Italy, France, Germany, the UK, Switzerland, and the USA. The Italian patent stock in the textile industry followed and attempted to catch up with the stock of the leading countries; by contrast, that in the chemical industry fell behind during that period. Although growth rates were similar, Italyfs growth rates fell into the lower group before and after World War I. Our results indicate that not all Italian industries succeeded in catching up with the leading countries. |
| Keywords: | technological progress, patent, textile, chemical, Italy |
| JEL: | N62 N63 O31 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:1414&r=ger |
| By: | Mauro Napoletano (OFCE); Andrea Roventini (Department of economics); Giovanni Dosi (Laboratory of Economics and Management); Giorgio Fagiolo (Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM)); Tania Treibich |
| Abstract: | In this paper we explore the effects of alternative combinations of fiscal and monetary policies under different income distribution regimes. In particular, we aim at evaluating fiscal rules in economies subject to banking crises and deep recessions. We do so using an agent-based model populated by heterogeneous capital- and consumption-good forms, heterogeneous banks, workers/consumers, a Central Bank and a Government. We show that the model is able to reproduce a wide array of macro and micro empirical regularities, including stylised facts concerning financial dynamics and banking crises. Simulation results suggest that the most appropriate policy mix to stabilise the economy requires unconstrained counter-cyclical fiscal policies, where automatic stabilisers are free to dampen business cycles fluctuations, and a monetary policy targeting also employment. Instead, discipline-guided" fiscal rules such as the Stability and Growth Pact or the Fiscal Compact in the Eurozone always depress the economy, without improving public finances, even when escape clauses in case of recessions are considered. Consequently, austerity policies appear to be in general self-defeating. Furthermore, we show that the negative effects of austere fiscal rules are magnified by conservative monetary policies focused on ination stabilisation only. Finally, the effects of monetary and fiscal policies become sharper as the level of income inequality increases. |
| Keywords: | Agent based model; fiscal policy; monetary policy; banking crises; income inequality; austerity policies; disequilibrium dynamics |
| JEL: | C63 E32 E6 E52 G21 O4 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p6go0e900&r=ger |
| By: | Gary Gorton (Department of Economics, Yale University); Guillermo Ordonez (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania) |
| Abstract: | Credit booms usually precede financial crises. However, some credit booms end in a crisis (bad booms) and other booms do not (good booms). We document that, while all booms start with an increase in the growth of Total Factor Productivity (TFP), such growth falls much faster subsequently for bad booms. We then develop a simple framework to explain this. Firms finance investment opportunities with short-term collateralized debt. If agents do not produce information about the collateral quality, a credit boom develops, accommodating firms with lower quality projects and increasing the incentives of lenders to acquire information about the collateral, eventually triggering a crisis. When the quality of investment opportunities also grow, the credit boom may not end in a crisis because there is a gradual adoption of low quality projects, but those projects are also of better quality, not inducing information about collateral. |
| Keywords: | Financial Crises, Credit booms, Productivity |
| JEL: | E3 E5 |
| Date: | 2014–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pen:papers:14-008&r=ger |
| By: | Holden, Stein (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | This report documents agricultural household models developed for agricultural policy analyses related to the assessment of impacts of agricultural input subsidies and maize technology choices in Malawi. The models have been calibrated to a typology of households in Central and Southern Regions of Malawi based on household survey data collected for the period 2005-2010. Households are assumed to be drudgery averse and rational given their preferences and the resource constraints and imperfect markets they face. The impacts of varying access to resources, input subsidies, off-farm employment opportunities, and prices during the period of study are simulated. The models in particular demonstrate the vulnerability of land-poor households and their dependence on non-farm income for them to meet their basic needs. Access to improved maize varieties and subsidies may facilitate land use intensification and survival on smaller farms. Price shocks in form of higher fertilizer prices and lower tobacco prices contribute to further impoverishment while the costs of the input subsidy program also reached nonsustainable levels during the period of study. The models give insights about some possible avenues for scaling down the subsidy program towards a more sustainable level. Reduction of subsidies from two bags to one bag of fertilizer per household and concentration of targeting towards more land-poor households can be two important mechanisms. Rather than providing free improved maize seeds it may be better to improve the availability of improved seeds in local markets. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural household programming model; Malawi; production systems; market characteristics; impact of input subsidies; fertilizer and tobacco price shocks |
| JEL: | Q12 Q18 |
| Date: | 2014–04–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2014_005&r=ger |
| By: | Cécile Bourreau-Dubois (BETA); Agnès Gramain (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne); Helen Lim (BETA); Jingyue Xing (CMH) |
| Abstract: | In France, since 2001, home care for disabled elderly can be partially subsidized by a public allowance (allocation personnalisée d'autonomie - APA). For eligible elderly people, the amount to be paid for one hour of formal home care depends on their income, according to a national rule, but also on the rate charged by the chosen provider, and the type of provider, according to parameters fixed by local authorities. This specific institutional frame allows us to estimate the price- and income elasticity of the demand for formal home care by disabled elderly, using administrative data, collected in a local district in October 2010, on 11 040 APA beneficiaries and 13 providers. Our estimation results show that, in this district and for regulated long-term care providers, the price-elasticity of demand is slightly negative. An increase of the price charged by the provider by 10% induces a reduction of the number of care hours by 5.5%. |
| Keywords: | Price-elasticity, income-elasticity, long-term care. |
| JEL: | D12 I18 H42 H71 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:14024&r=ger |
| By: | Duso, Tomaso; Herr, Annika; Suppliet, Moritz |
| Abstract: | We investigate the welfare impact of parallel imports using a large panel data set containing monthly information on sales, ex-factory prices, and further product characteristics for all 700 anti-diabetic drugs sold in Germany between 2004 and 2010. We estimate a two-stage nested logit model of demand and, based on an oligopolistic model of multi- product firms, we then recover the marginal costs and markups. We finally evaluate the effect of the parallel imports' policy by calculating a counter-factual scenario without parallel trade. According to our estimates, parallel imports reduce the prices for patented drugs by 11% and do not have a significant effect on prices for generic drugs. This amounts to an increase in the demand-side surplus by e19 million per year (or e130 million in total) which is relatively small compared to the average annual market size of around e227 million based on ex-factory prices. The variable profits for the manufacturers of original drugs from the German market are reduced by e18 million (or 37%) per year when parallel trade is allowed, yet only one third of this difference is appropriated by the importers. -- |
| Keywords: | parallel imports,pharmaceuticals,structural models,anti-diabetic drugs |
| JEL: | I11 I18 L13 L51 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:137&r=ger |
| By: | Kyu Sang Lee |
| Abstract: | Thanks to the recent studies of the history and philosophy of experimental economics, it is well known that around the early 1980s, experimental economists made a case for the legitimacy of their laboratory work by emphasizing that it was a nice and indispensable complement to mechanism design theorists’ mathematical study of institutions. The present paper examines what mechanism design theorists thought of laboratory experimentation, or whether they were willing to form a coalition with experimental economists circa the mid-1980s. By exploring several dimensions of the relationship between mechanism design theory and experimental economics, the present paper shows that a close rapport had been established by the early 1980s between the representative members of the two camps, and also that mechanism design theorists were among the strongest supporters of laboratory experimentation in the economics profession in the mid-1980s. |
| Keywords: | mechanism design theory, experimental economics, institutional design, Stanley Reiter, Vernon Smith, Charles Plott |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hec:heccee:2013-18&r=ger |
| By: | Irastorza, Nahikari (Malmö University); Bevelander, Pieter (Malmö University) |
| Abstract: | We use Swedish register data to compare the employment and income of immigrants who intermarry natives versus those of immigrants who intramarry other immigrants in Sweden. We conduct the same analyses on three subsamples: labour migrants, refugees and family migrants. We find that intermarried immigrants outperformed intramarried ones in employment rates and salaries before and after marriage, in 1997 and 2007 respectively, and the same in true for each of the three subsamples analyzed. There is a statistically significant difference in income growth between intermarried and intramarried immigrants within that time period, but this difference is only significant for the subsample of family migrants. Finally, the upward mobility in employment status between 1997 and 2007 is higher for intermarried immigrants than for intramarried ones, with this being also the case for each of the three groups of labour migrants, refugees and family migrants. Our findings provide evidence to support both the selection hypothesis and the intermarriage premium hypothesis for the whole group of immigrants to Sweden. They also fully support the selection hypothesis for labour and family migrants but only partially for refugees; whereas they fully confirm the intermarriage premium hypothesis for family migrants but only partially for refugees and labour migrants. |
| Keywords: | economic integration, binational couples, immigrants, intermarriage premium, Sweden |
| JEL: | J1 J12 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8065&r=ger |
| By: | Chen, Kaihua |
| Abstract: | This paper uncovers the“mysterious veil”above the formulations and concerned properties of existing weighted additive data envelopment analysis (WADD) models associated with dataset standardization techniques. Based on the truth that the formulation of objective functions in WADD models seems random and confused for users, the study investigates the correspondence relationship between the formulation of objective functions by statistical data-based weights aggregating slacks in WADD models and the pre-standardization of original datasets before using the traditional ADD model in terms of satisfying unit and translation invariance. Our work presents a statistical background for WADD models’ formulations, and makes them become more interpretive and more convenient to be computed and practically applied. Based on the pre-standardization techniques, two new WADD models satisfying unit invariance are formulated to enrich the family of WADD models. We compare all WADD models in some concerned properties, and give special attention to the (in)efficiency discrimination power of them. Moreover, some suggestions guiding theoretical and practical applications of WADD models are discussed. |
| Keywords: | Data envelopment analysis; Weighted additive models; Formulations and applications; Dataset standardization techniques |
| JEL: | C51 C61 O31 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:55072&r=ger |
| By: | Jake Anders (Department of Quantitative Social Science, Institute of Education, University of London) |
| Abstract: | The increasing use of aptitude tests as part of the admissions processes at elite English universities potentially has significant implications for fair access to these institutions. I attempt to isolate the impact of the introduction of one such test on the proportion of successful applicants by school type (as a proxy for socioeconomic status) and by gender using a difference in differences approach and administrative data from the University of Oxford. The introduction of the test coincided with the implementation of a guideline number of interviews per available place, significantly reducing the proportion of applicants offered an interview (by 14 percentage points) and, hence, increasing the proportion of interviewees offered places (by 3.6 percentage points). By gender, I find some evidence that these changes may be having differing effects at different stages of the admissions process, but not on each group's overall chances of securing an offer. I do not find any evidence that the policy has negative side effects on the chances of applicants from less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds at any stage of the process. |
| Keywords: | Higher Education, Aptitude Test, Gender, Socioeconomic Gradient, Difference in Differences. |
| JEL: | I23 I24 |
| Date: | 2014–04–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qss:dqsswp:1407&r=ger |
| By: | T. Randolph Beard; Richard Alan Seals Jr.; Michael L. Stern |
| Abstract: | The security necessary for investment and income growth is difficult to establish in areas where the government is weak. A prescriptive political objective for unstable countries is to strengthen the government’s ability to make credible commitments to establish security. We model the production of security in regions characterized by relatively weak central governments as a pseudo-public goods provision game in which both national and local authorities make contributions to jointly determine the level of public security. Strategic underinvestment in security by the government occurs whenever the government is able to credibly pre-commit to a minimum level of public safety. When the central government is unable to pre-commit, aggregate security (and economic output) is higher than under pre-commitment, and it increases as the locals become more efficient at security provision. We show free riding by central powers on local authorities potentially describes the security structure of inner-city neighborhoods and prisons in the United States, despite a strong central government with the capacity to make credible commitments. |
| Keywords: | Commitment; Gangs; Warlord; Security |
| JEL: | D7 H4 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:abn:wpaper:auwp2014-07&r=ger |
| By: | Fogelberg, Sara (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)); Lazarczyk, Ewa (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | Anecdotal evidence indicates that electricity producers use production failures to disguise strategic reductions of capacity in order to influence prices, but systematic evidence is lacking. We use a quasi-experimental set up and data from the Swedish energy market to examine such behavior. In a market without strategic withholding, the decision of reporting a failure should be independent of the market price. We show that marginal producers in fact base their decision to report a failure in part on prices, which indicates that failures are a result of economic incentives as well as of technical problems. |
| Keywords: | Electricity markets; Urgent Market Messages (UMMs); Unplanned failures |
| JEL: | L49 L94 |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1015&r=ger |
| By: | Otsuki, Tsunehiro; Michida, Etsuyo; Nabeshima, Kaoru; Ueki, Yasushi |
| Abstract: | This paper uses firm-level data to examine the impact of chemical safety regulations imposed by importing countries such as RoHS and REACH on the production costs and export performance of firms in Malaysia and Vietnam. We find that in addition to the initial setup costs for compliance, EU RoHS and REACH implementation causes firms to incur additional variable production costs by requiring additional labor and capital expenditures of around 12% of the variable costs, respectively. We also find that compliance with RoHS and REACH significantly increases the probability of export. Furthermore, we find that compliance with EU RoHS and REACH helps firms to penetrate into a greater variety of countries. Also, we find that multinational enterprises and firms participating in global value chains generally exhibit better export performance and their costs rise less steeply. |
| Keywords: | Malaysia, Vietnam, Environmental protection, International trade, Environmental policy, Industrial standards, Costs, Trade, RoHS, REACH cost function, Market access |
| JEL: | F14 L15 O53 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper455&r=ger |
| By: | Michida, Etsuyo; Ueki, Yasushi; Nabeshima, Kaoru |
| Abstract: | This paper sheds light on the important role played by global supply chains in the adaptation to product-related environmental regulations imposed by importing countries, with a focus on chemicals management. By utilizing a unique data collected in Penang, Malaysia, we depict the supply chain structures and how differences among firms in participation to global supply chain link to differences in chemical management. We found that firms belonging to a supply chain are in a better position to comply with these regulations because information and requirements are transmitted through global supply chains. In contrast, those firms that are neither exporters nor a part of a global supply chain lack the knowledge and information channels relevant to chemical management in a product. |
| Keywords: | Malaysia, Environmental protection, International trade, Industrial standards, Foreign investments, Global supply chain, FDI, Product-related environmental regulation, REACH, RoHS |
| JEL: | F18 O14 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper453&r=ger |
| By: | Akin Osman Kazakci (CGS - Centre de Gestion Scientifique - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris) |
| Abstract: | The current paper offers a perspective on what we term conceptive intelligence - the capacity of an agent to continuously think of new object definitions (tasks, problems, physical systems, etc.) and to look for methods to realize them. The framework, called a Brouwer machine, is inspired by previous research in design theory and modeling, with its roots in the constructivist mathematics of intuitionism. The dual constructivist perspective we describe offers the possibility to create novelty both in terms of the types of objects and the methods for constructing objects. More generally, the theoretical work on which Brouwer machines are based is called imaginative constructivism. Based on the framework and the theory, we discuss many paradigms and techniques omnipresent in AI research and their merits and shortcomings for modeling aspects of design, as described by imaginative constructivism. To demonstrate and explain the type of creative process expressed by the notion of a Brouwer machine, we compare this concept with a system using genetic algorithms for scientific law discovery. |
| Date: | 2014–04–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00969305&r=ger |
| By: | Athanasopoulos, Thanos (Department of Economics, University of Warwick) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses firms’ behaviour towards compatibility and the relation of these decisions with their incentives to invest into improving their durable, network goods. By using a sequential game where the dominant firm plays first, we give its competitor the ability to build on innovations previously introduced by the market leader. Recognizing the intertemporal linkage in forward looking customers’purchasing choices, we find that in anticipation of a relatively large quality improvement by the rival, strategic pricing leads the dominant firm to support compatibility even if it could exclude its rivals by using a patent for its invention. Furthermore, not only doesn’t interoperability de-facto maximise social welfare but we also identify no market failure when network effects are not particularly strong. Key words: Firms ; Pricing ; Compatibility ; Innovation ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights ; Antitrust Law ; Competition ; Externalities ; Product Durability ; Welfare JEL classification: D43 ; L13 ; D71 ; D62 ; L15 ; L4 ; K21 ; L51 ; O34 ; O31 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1043&r=ger |
| By: | Bjornskov, Christian; Bogetic, Zeljko; Hillman, Arye L.; Popovic, Milenko |
| Abstract: | The principal focus in the substantial literature on impediments to economic development has been on the inadequacies of policies and governance. However, successful economic development requires effectiveness of markets and incentives for investment, which in turn require trust. This paper reports on trust in a development context. The paper uses trust experiments, a post-experiment survey, and econometric analysis relating trust to identity and other personal attributes in the setting of Montenegro, a small, recently-independent, post-socialist, post-crisis society. External validity was sought by providing sufficient material reward to balance identity-related expressive motives and by having two groups of subjects, one usual university students and another group that, while also students, was somewhat older and had had greater market or commercial experience. The paper reviews cultural priors that can be expected to affect trust and distinguishes between generalized trust that can be socially beneficial and particularized trust that can be disadvantageous for development. The empirical results suggest that trust among private individuals is not an impediment to development in Montenegro. As a result, policy reform can improve economic and social outcomes. However, the results redirect the focus to issues of governance and political entrenchment as potential explanations for impediments to development. |
| Keywords: | Post Conflict Reconstruction,Social Capital,Political Economy,Ethics&Belief Systems,Business Ethics, Leadership and Values |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6828&r=ger |
| By: | Minxian Yang (School of Economics, Australian School of Business, the University of New South Wales) |
| Abstract: | The risk return relationship is analysed in bivariate models for return and realised variance(RV) series. Based on daily time series from 21 international market indices for more than 13 years (January 2000 to February 2013), the empirical findings support the arguments of risk return tradeoff, volatility feedback and statistical balance. It is reasoned that the empirical risk return relationship is primarily shaped by two important data features: the negative contemporaneous correlation between the return and RV, and the difference in the autocorrelation structures of the return and RV. |
| Keywords: | risk premium, volatility feedback, return predictability, realised variance model, statistical balance |
| JEL: | C32 C52 G12 G10 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:swe:wpaper:2014-16&r=ger |
| By: | Grimm, Veronika; Martin, Alexander; Weibenzahl, Martin; Zoettl, Gregor |
| Abstract: | In this paper we propose a three-level computational equilibrium model that allows to analyze the impact of the regulatory environment on transmission line expansion (by the regulator) and investment in generation capacity (by private firms) in liberalized electricity markets. The basic model analyzes investment decisions of the transmission operator (TO) and private firms in expectation of an energy only market and cost-based redispatch. In different specifications we consider the cases of one versus two price zones (market splitting) and analyze different approaches to recover network cost, in particular lump sum, capacity based, and energy based fees. In order to compare the outcomes of our multi-stage market model with the first best benchmark, we also solve the corresponding integrated planer problem. In two simple test networks we illustrate that energy only markets can lead to suboptimal locational decisions for generation capacity and thus, imply excessive network expansion. Market splitting heals those problems only partially. Those results obtain for both, capacity and energy based network tariffs, although investment slightly differs across those regimes. -- |
| Keywords: | Electricity markets,Network Expansion,Generation Expansion,Investment Incentives,Computational Equilibrium Models,Transmission Management |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwqwdp:042014&r=ger |
| By: | Mario Forni; Luca Gambetti; Marco Lippi; Luca Sala |
| Abstract: | The contribution of the present paper is twofold. First, we show that in a situation where agents can only observe a noisy signal of the shock to future economic fundamentals, the "noisy news", SVAR models can still be successfully employed to estimate the shock and the associated impulse response functions. Identification is reached by means of dynamic rotations of the reduced form residuals. Second, we use our identification approach to investigate the role of noise and news as sources of business cycle fluctuations. We find that noise shocks, the component of the signal unrelated to economic fundamentals, generate hump-shaped responses of GDP, consumption and investment and account for a third of their variance. Moreover, news and noise together account for more than half of the fluctuations in GDP, consumption and investment |
| Keywords: | Invertibility, Nonfundamentalness, SVAR, Imperfect Information, News, Noise, Signal, Business cycles |
| JEL: | C32 E32 E62 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mod:recent:097&r=ger |
| By: | Jonsson, Adam (Department of Engineering Sciences and Mathematics); Voorneveld, Mark (Dept. of Economics, Stockholm School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents an infinite-horizon version of intergenerational utilitarianism that is both satisfactorily complete and consistent. By studying discounted utilitarianism as the discount factor tends to one, we obtain a welfare criterion --- limit-discounted utilitarianism --- that combines efficiency and the equal treatment of generations with analytical tractability and a high degree of comparability. We show that limit-discounted utilitarianism satisfies a number of consistency properties; in particular, it provides (i) an intuitive link between preferences over infinite-horizon streams and large, but finite-horizon truncations, and (ii) a complete view of the consequences of delaying streams with well-defined finite averages. The latter is formulated through a principle of compensation. Through this compensation principle, limit-discounted utilitarianism gives a coherent view on the consequences of delaying welfare which is compatible with stationarity. Limit-discounted utilitarianism is characterized on a large domain of infinite-horizon utility streams. |
| Keywords: | Intergenerational equity; aggregating infinite utility streams; ethical social welfare relations |
| JEL: | D63 D70 D90 |
| Date: | 2014–03–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:hastef:0748&r=ger |
| By: | Rosina Moreno (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona); Jordi Suriñach (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | The idea in this paper is to provide an empirical verification of the relationship between innovation adoption and productivity growth. After a brief revision of the literature about the concept and main determinants of innovation adoption/diffusion, the paper provides empirical evidence of the above-mentioned relationship through means of descriptive statistics and subsequently, we study the impact that innovation adoption may have on productivity growth through a regression analysis. The analysis is made with the statistical information provided by the Community Innovation Survey in its third and fourth waves, which concern innovative activities carried out between 1998 and 2000 and between 2002 and 2004 respectively. The countries covered are the 25 EU Member States plus Iceland and Norway as well as Turkey. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, Innovation adoption, Productivity, Europe, Community Innovation Survey. JEL classification: C8, J61, O31, O33, R0 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ira:wpaper:201413&r=ger |
| By: | Matthew Cole; Robert Elliott; Eric Strobl |
| Abstract: | We examine Africa's increasing reliance on hydropower in light of climate change induced variations in rainfall and the potential power outages that may result. We use a continent wide riverflow material model and IPPC climate change scenarios and show that current plans for African dam building are fairly well matched with river-flow predictions so that fears that international donors and national governments are making a series of expensive and environmentally damaging investments may be overstated. However, predictions of an increase in extreme events and reduced rainfall for certain countries means there are still viabilty concerns for certain planned hydropower investments. |
| Keywords: | Hydropower, Climate Change, Africa Energy |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bir:birmec:14-03&r=ger |
| By: | Valentino Larcinese |
| Abstract: | What are the political consequences of introducing de jure political equality? Does it change patterns of political representation and the identity of elected legislators? This paper uses an important electoral reform passed in 1912 in Italy to provide evidence on these questions. The reform trebled the electorate (from slightly less than three million to 8.650.000) leaving electoral rules and district boundaries unchanged. By exploiting differences in enfranchisement rates across electoral districts we identify the effect of franchise extension on various political outcomes. Enfranchisement increased the vote share of left-wing social reformers but had no impact on their parliamentary representation, no impact on parliamentary representation of aristocracy and traditional elites and no effect on political competition. We show that left-wing parties decreased their vote shares and were systematically defeated in key swing districts. We document elite's effort to minimize the political impact of the reform and, in particular, we show that the Vatican's secret involvement in the post-reform electoral campaign had a substantial impact on voting results, although formerly and newly enfranchised voters were equally affected. We relate our results to economic theories of democratization, which appear to be only partially compatible with our evidence. Keywords: democratization, voting, electoral competition, inequality, swing districts, political violence, Vatican, socialism. JEL code: D72 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:igi:igierp:512&r=ger |
| By: | Baird, Sarah; Bohren, Aislinn; McIntosh, Craig; Ozler, Berk |
| Abstract: | This paper formalizes the design of experiments intended specifically to study spillover effects. By first randomizing the intensity of treatment within clusters and then randomly assigning individual treatment conditional on this cluster-level intensity, a novel set of treatment effects can be identified. The paper develops a formal framework for consistent estimation of these effects, provides explicit expressions for power calculations, and shows that the power to detect average treatment effects declines precisely with the quantity that identifies the novel treatment effects. A demonstration of the technique is provided using a cash transfer program in Malawi. |
| Keywords: | Disease Control&Prevention,Science Education,Scientific Research&Science Parks,Technology Industry,Labor Policies |
| Date: | 2014–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6824&r=ger |
| By: | Bolin, Kristian (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Liljas, Bengt (Astra Zeneca, R&D, Mölndal, Sweden); Lindgren, Björn (Centre for Health Economics at the University of Gothenburg; Lund University; National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge MA, US) |
| Abstract: | People differ in their ability to produce health investments and in their capacity to benefit from such efforts. In this paper, we assume (1) that the individual’s health-investment production function exhibits diminishing returns to scale and (2) that the individual’s capacity to benefit from the investments is diminishing in the stock of health. Previous research has only shown the importance of the first assumption for the health-capital adjustment process. The simultaneous effects go well beyond those results, however. Thus, this paper provides an extended demand-for-health framework that distinguishes between individuals both by their capacities to benefit and by their abilities to produce,when transforming health efforts into health increments. The potential usefulness of this framework for health-policy purposes is demonstrated by solving a numerically specified version of the model, and computing individual welfare effects of medical-care goods changes. |
| Keywords: | investments in health; diminishing returns; capacity to benefit; human capital; Grossman model |
| JEL: | I12 J24 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0587&r=ger |
| By: | Carlos Henrique L. Corseuil; Marcelo Côrtes Neri; Gabriel Ulyssea |
| Abstract: | Este texto apresenta uma análise exploratória dos potenciais impactos da Lei do Empreendedor Individual (LMEI). O objetivo é trazer evidências que contribuam para esclarecer, ainda que parcialmente, se a política teve êxito em promover: i) o microempreendedorismo no Brasil; e ii) a formalização dos empreendedores individuais. Em relação à promoção do microempreendedorismo, há evidências de que a política pode ter atingido este objetivo. Cabe destacar, no entanto, que as evidências deste trabalho são compatíveis com empresários maiores reduzindo a escala para se enquadrarem no programa, e também com a possibilidade de que algumas empresas, em particular as menores, estejam usando o programa para trocar uma relação de trabalho assalariado por uma de prestação de serviços. A formalização dos empreendedores individuais parece ter sido afetada positivamente pela política no que diz respeito à contribuição para a previdência, mas não à inscrição no Cadastro Nacional de Pessoa Jurídica (CNPJ). This paper provides a preliminary analysis of the potential impacts from a formalization policy introduced in Brazil targeted at micro entrepreneurs with at most one employee. Our goal is to provide evidence to shed light on the following points: i) Did the program fostered micro entrepreneurship? ii) Did the program lead to greater formalization rates? The evidence suggests that the program might have positive effects on both points. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:1939&r=ger |
| By: | Imbens, Guido W. (Stanford University) |
| Abstract: | There is a large theoretical literature on methods for estimating causal effects under unconfoundedness, exogeneity, or selection-on-observables type assumptions using matching or propensity score methods. Much of this literature is highly technical and has not made inroads into empirical practice where many researchers continue to use simple methods such as ordinary least squares regression even in settings where those methods do not have attractive properties. In this paper I discuss some of the lessons for practice from the theoretical literature, and provide detailed recommendations on what to do. I illustrate the recommendations with three detailed applications. |
| Keywords: | matching methods, propensity score methods, causality, unconfoundedness, potential outcomes, selection on observables |
| JEL: | C01 C14 C21 C52 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8049&r=ger |
| By: | Fuchs, Alan; Rodriguez-Chamussy, Lourdes |
| Abstract: | The paper estimates the effects on presidential election returns in Mexico of a government climatic contingency transfer that is allocated through rainfall-indexed insurance. The analysis uses the discontinuity in payments that slightly deviate from a pre-established threshold, based on rainfall accumulation measured at local weather stations. It turns out that voters reward the incumbent presidential party for delivering drought relief compensation. The paper finds that receiving indemnity payments leads to significantly greater average electoral support for the incumbent party of approximately 7.6 percentage points. The analysis suggests that the incumbent party is rewarded by disaster aid recipients and punished by non-recipients. The paper contributes to the literature on retrospective voting by providing evidence that voters evaluate government actions and respond to disaster spending. |
| Keywords: | Hazard Risk Management,Global Environment Facility,Natural Disasters,Technology Industry,Rural Poverty Reduction |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6836&r=ger |
| By: | Michelle Lewis; Lauren Rosborough (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | We use statistical techniques to identify the co-movement among the bond yields of 12 advanced countries, and thus estimate two-year and 10-year World Interest Rates. Daily and monthly changes in the estimated World Interest Rates explain a lot of the variation in New Zealand bond yields. |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nzb:nzbans:2013/08&r=ger |
| By: | Mikel Berdud (Departamento de Economía-UPNA); Juan M. Cabasés Hita (Departamento de Economía-UPNA); Jorge Nieto (Departamento de Economía-UPNA) |
| Abstract: | Where the contracts are incomplete, the resulting co-ordination problems may be attenuated if workers are intrinsically motivated to do the work. It is established by theoretical and empirical literature that workers within public organizations are intrinsically motivated to exert effort doing the job and have a strong sense of social agents with the mission of providing collective goods to citizens and tax payers. This paper is an empirical pilot study in the health care sector using methods of Qualitative Analysis research. We run semistructured interviews á-la- Bewley to sixteen physicians of Navarre’s health Care Servicio Navarro de Salud-Osasunbidea (SNS-O). The objective of the work is twofold: first, to find empirical evidence about doctors’ non-monetary motives and second, to find evidence about how these non-monetary motives shape doctors’behavior. We formulate several testable hypotheses: (1) Doctors are intrinsically motivated agents, (2) Economic incentives and control policies may crowd- out intrinsic motivation and (3) Well designed incentives may crowd-in agents intrinsic motivation. Results confirm the hypotheses formulated above and coming from our theoretical findings [11], [12]. Finally, we also found empirical evidence of conflict between political advisors or health managers (principals) and physicians (agents). Results are a step forward in the optimal design of incentive schemes and policies which crowd in doctors’ intrinsic motivation. |
| Keywords: | qualitative research, interviews, intrinsic motivation, crowding effects |
| JEL: | D03 D86 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nav:ecupna:1401&r=ger |
| By: | Österholm, Pär (National Institute of Economic Research); Stockhammar, Pär (National Institute of Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, a Bayesian VAR model is used to study the effects of euro area shocks on GDP growth in the small open economy of Sweden. A novel feature is that the new policy uncertainty index of Baker et al.(2013) is introduced in the model. The model behaves well in terms of reasonable impulse response functions. The specific effects of the euro crisis are investigated through a historical decomposition which shows that shocks to euro area GDP growth have been a reasonably important factor for Swedish GDP growth, supporting it during 2010 and holding it back thereafter. Generally, shocks to policy uncertainty have held back Swedish GDP growth during the euro crises. |
| Keywords: | Small open economy; Bayesian VAR; Policy uncertainty index |
| JEL: | C32 F43 |
| Date: | 2014–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nierwp:0134&r=ger |
| By: | Seeun Jung (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS : UMR8545 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Paris - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA), EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris); Yasuhiro Nakamoto (Kyushu Sangyo University - Kyushu Sangyo University); Masayuki Sato (Graduate School of Human Development and Environment - Kobe University); Katsunori Yamada (ISER - Institute of Social and Economic Research - Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | We investigate people's different conceptions of the economic term "consumption" when comparing with others. An Internet-based hypothetical discrete choice experiment was conducted with Japanese participants. As in other relative income comparison studies, we found that own consumption and own saving had a positive impact on utility, whereas the consumption and saving of a reference person had a negative impact on utility. However, the results show that the magnitudes of consumption and saving differ in size; saving could affect utility much more than consumption for the Japanese subjects. By using scope tests, we found that the impact of own consumption is not monotonic and so does not necessarily increase utility. This calls into question the conventional assumption of the monotonicity of "the utility of consumption"; consumption could be perceived as a negative good. Our results, therefore, provide some evidence that, in reality, people understand and perceive the economic terms differently from what economists would expect. Furthermore, when considering the consumption of others as well as their own, the size of the discrepancy is even bigger. |
| Keywords: | Relative Utility ; Choice Experiment ; Misperception of Economic Terms |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-00965671&r=ger |
| By: | Robalino, Juan; Jimenez, José; Chacon, Adriana |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effect of hydro-meteorological emergencies on internal migration in Costa Rica between 1995 and 2000. Nationwide, we find that an increase of one emergency in a canton significantly increases average migration rates from that canton, after controlling for several social, economic, climatic and demographic factors in both the canton of origin and destination. Moreover, when we separately analyze landslides and floods, we find that both increase migration. However, we also find that emergencies with the most severe onsequences, those with loss of lives, decrease migration. The severity of the consequences may explain the differences in the sign of the effect in previous research. We also find that emergencies will significantly increase population in metropolitan areas. Less severe emergencies significantly increase migration toward metropolitan areas. More severe emergencies significantly decrease migration toward non-metropolitan areas. This is especially important in developing countries, where cities face problems associated with overpopulation. |
| Keywords: | separated by commas |
| Date: | 2013–12–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-13-17-efd&r=ger |
| By: | Maria Bas (Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales); Vanessa Strauss-Kahn |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the impact of input-trade liberalization on imported input and exported product prices. Using Chinese transaction data for 2000-2006, we capture causal effects between exogenous input tarif reductions and within firm changes in HS6 traded product prices. Identifcation is based on a quasi-natural experiment where some forms are exempt from paying tariffs and stand as a control group. Both imported input and export prices rise. The effect on export prices is specific to forms sourcing inputs from developed economies and exporting output to high-income countries. Results are consistent with a scenario within which forms exploit the input tariff cuts to access high-quality inputs in order to quality-upgrade their exports. |
| Keywords: | Firm heterogeneity, imported inputs, trade liberatization, export prices, quality upgrade, mark-up, |
| JEL: | F10 F12 F13 |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oc1hggs11&r=ger |
| By: | Kalenkoski, Charlene M. (Texas Tech University); Lacombe, Donald J. (West Virginia University) |
| Abstract: | Studies of the joint time-use decisions of spouses have relied on joint estimation of time-use equations, sometimes assuming correlated errors across spouses' equations and sometimes directly examining the effects of one spouse's time use on another's, relying on panel data or instrumental variables techniques to account for endogeneity. However, panel data often are not available and available instruments often are not satisfactory, making examination of the direct relationship between spouses' time use difficult. Spatial econometric techniques applied to cross-sectional data do not require instrumental variables. This study estimates a Spatial Autoregressive (SAR) Model to examine the labor hours of husbands and wives in dual-earner couples using the 2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey (ASEC). In this model, each spouse is treated as a direct “neighbor” of the other in a spatial weight matrix and non-spouses are treated as non-neighbors. Estimates of both the own- and cross-wage effects on labor hours and an estimate of the direct relationship between spouses' labor hours are obtained. |
| Keywords: | employment, intrahousehold allocation of time, own- and cross-wage effects, spatial econometrics |
| JEL: | J22 D13 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8050&r=ger |
| By: | Quoreshi, A.M.M. Shahiduzzaman (CITR, Blekinge Inst of Technology) |
| Abstract: | We develop a model to account for the long memory property in a bivariate count data framework. We propose a bivariate integer-valued fractional integrated (BINFIMA) model and apply the model to high frequency stock transaction data. The BINFIMA model allows for both positive and negative correlations between the counts. The unconditional and conditional first and second order moments are given. The CLS and FGLS estimators are discussed. The model is capable of capturing the covariance between and within intra-day time series of high frequency transaction data due to macroeconomic news and news related to a specific stock. Empirically, it is found that Ericsson B has mean recursive process while AstraZeneca has long memory property. It is also found that Ericsson B and AstraZenica react in a similar way due to macroeconomic news. |
| Keywords: | Count data; Intra-day; Time series; Estimation; Reaction time; Finance |
| JEL: | C13 C22 C25 C51 G12 G14 |
| Date: | 2014–04–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bthcsi:2014-003&r=ger |
| By: | Gabriel Chodorow-Reich |
| Abstract: | Unconventional monetary policy affects financial institutions through their exposure to real project risk, the value of their legacy assets, their temptation to reach for yield, and their choice of leverage. I use high frequency event studies to show the introduction of unconventional policy in the winter of 2008-09 had a strong, beneficial impact on banks and especially on life insurance companies, consistent with the positive effect on legacy asset prices dominating any impulse for additional risk taking. Subsequent policy announcements had minor effects on these institutions. The interaction of low nominal interest rates and administrative costs led money market funds to waive fees, producing a possible incentive to reach for higher returns to reduce waivers. I find some evidence of high cost money market funds reaching for yield in 2009-11, but little thereafter. Private defined benefit pension funds with worse funding status or shorter liability duration also seem to have reached for higher returns beginning in 2009, but again the evidence suggests such behavior dissipated by 2012. Overall, in the present environment there does not seem to be a trade-off between expansionary policy and the health or stability of the financial institutions studied. |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qsh:wpaper:156866&r=ger |
| By: | Lionel Nesta (OFCE); Thomas Grebel |
| Abstract: | We investigate the conditions under which R&D investment by rival firms may be negatively or positively correlated. Using a two-stage game the influence of spillovers and product substitution is investigated. It is shown that under Cournot competition, the sign of the R&D reaction function depends on four types of environments in terms of the level of product substitution and of spillovers. We then test the prediction of the model on the world’s largest manufacturing corporations. We assume that firms make oblivious R&D investments based on the R&D decision of the average rival company. We then develop a dynamic panel data model that accounts for the endogeneity of the decision of the mean rival firms. Results corroborate the validity of the theoretical model. |
| Keywords: | Process R&D; spillovers; product substitution ; reaction function; GMM |
| JEL: | D43 L13 O31 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p529o10r5&r=ger |
| By: | Richard Startz; Kwok Ping Tsang |
| Abstract: | We construct a cross-section of stock prices and their corresponding present values of future cash flows. A regression of present value on the initial stock price should have a slope coefficient equal to 1.0. For short horizons, this is a cross-section version of checking the random walk model and the present value model holds up well. In contrast, using three different samples that go as far back as 1926, the present value model is rejected decisively at moderate and long horizons. We can rule out the possibility that the failure of the present value relationship is due to a misunderstanding of the dividend process. The remaining possibilities are either that agents do not discount very far into the future in a manner consistent with the present value model, or that models of discount rates are too limited to allow the present value model to be a good fit to the data for most firms. We find that the present value works much better, albeit still imperfectly, for larger firms. We also find that stocks that appear on the exchanges for fewer years than longer-lasting stocks deviate even more from the present value model. Our results can be interpreted as a cross-section version of the variance-bounds test, with the result that prices are very much more variable than they ought to be. |
| Keywords: | present value model, stock price, discount rate |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vpi:wpaper:e07-46&r=ger |
| By: | Jaewon Jung (THEMA - Théorie économique, modélisation et applications - CNRS : UMR8184 - Université de Cergy Pontoise); Jean Mercenier (ERMES - Equipe de recherche sur les marches, l'emploi et la simulation - CNRS : UMR7017 - Université Paris II - Panthéon-Assas) |
| Abstract: | We adapt Yeaple's (2005) heterogeneous agents framework to model firms in the North as making explicit offshore outsourcing decisions to cheap-labor economies. Globalization results from a lowering of the set-up costs incurred when engaging in offshore activities. We highlight how firms' technology transformations due to globalization will induce skill upgrading in the North, increase aggregate productivity, average wages and therefore total welfare at the cost of increased wage inequalities. We analytically derive mild conditions under which all consumers--including lower-skilled workers--will nevertheless gain from the surge of offshore outsourcing. A parameterized version of the model roughly calibrated on U.S. data is then numerically explored and confirms our positive welfare predictions. |
| Keywords: | Offshore outsourcing ; Globalization ; Skill upgrading, Technology upgrading ; Firm heterogeneity |
| Date: | 2014–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00967369&r=ger |
| By: | Talia Bar (University of Connecticut); Vidya Atal (Montclair State University); Sidartha Gordon (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | We examine project adoption decisions of firms constrained in the number of projects they can handle at once. Adoption requires a commitment for a period of uncertain duration, restricting the firm in subsequent periods. Capacity constraints create a “fear of commitment” — some positive return projects are not adopted. In the sequential move dynamic game, the second mover sometimes adopts projects that were rejected by the first, even when both firms are symmetric and equally informed. We study the e§ects of competition on the fear of commitment, and compare the jointly optimal adoption decision to the behavior of strategic non-cooperative firms. |
| Keywords: | adoption, project selection, commitment, Markov perfect equilibrium |
| JEL: | L10 L13 D21 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n8t8j8cil&r=ger |
| By: | Khayyat, Nabaz T. (College of Engineering, Seoul National University); Heshmati, Almas (Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS) and Sogang University) |
| Abstract: | Korea imports all of its primary energy, which leads to high dependency and vulnerability related to its energy supply. Efficiency in the use of energy is a way to reduce dependency and emissions. This study provides empirical results of the stochastic production process in energy use. Special attention is given to the factors that increase the risk or variation of using more of the energy input in production. A dynamic panel model is specified and applied to 25 Korean industrial sectors over the period 1970-2007. The determinants of energy use are identified and their effects in the form of elasticities of energy use are estimated. Stochastic production technology is applied to estimate an energy demand model based on an inverted factor demand. The findings reveal that: first, there are large variations in the degree of overuse or inefficiency in energy use among the individual industries as well as over time; second, information and communication technology (ICT) capital and labor are substituting for energy; and third, ICT capital input decreases the variability of energy demand while non-ICT capital, material and labor increase the variability of energy demand. The results suggest that technical progress contributes more to the increase in the mean energy demand than to the reduction in the level of risk. It is recommended that industries increase their level of ICT capital as well as digitalize and invest more in R&D activities and value added services to reduce the uncertainty related to their demand for energy. |
| Keywords: | Production risk; Energy use efficiency; Technical change; Stochastic production; Panel data; Industrial Sector; Korea |
| JEL: | C23 D24 L60 O13 O33 |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0359&r=ger |
| By: | Pedro Ramos (Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto); Álvaro Almeida (CEF.UP and Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto) |
| Abstract: | Evidence on the impact of user costs on healthcare demand in “universal” public National Health Service (NHS) systems is scarce. The changes in copayments and in the regulation of the provision of free patient transportation, introduced in early 2012 in Portugal, provide a natural experiment to evaluate that impact. However, those changes in user costs were accompanied with changes in the criteria that determine which patients are exempt from copayments, implying that changes to the underlying populations made simple comparisons of user rates meaningless. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of increases in direct and indirect user costs on the demand for emergency services (ES), in the context of changes to the underlying populations of exempt and non-exempt patients. Our contributions are twofold: we develop a new methodology for analyzing ES demand changes following user cost increases when the underlying population is not constant, and we measure the relative impact of copayments and distance costs on ES demand, in NHS-countries, with “almost free” access to healthcare. Our results show that the increase in copayments did not have a significant effect in moderating ES demand by paying users. On the other hand, we find a significant effect of the change in transport regulation in the demand for ES, especially in the more general polyvalent ES and for older patients. Thus, our results support the conclusion that indirect costs may be more important than direct costs in determining healthcare demand in NHS-countries where copayments are small and wide exemption schemes are in place, especially for older patients. |
| Keywords: | Copayments; Indirect costs; healthcare demand |
| JEL: | I11 I13 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:por:fepwps:531&r=ger |
| By: | Gabriel Desgranges (THEMA - Université de Cergy); Stéphane Gauthier (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne - Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | We study rationalizable solutions in a linear asymmetric Cournot oligopoly. We show that symmetry across firms favors multiplicity of rationalizable solutions: A merger (implying a greater asymmetry across firms) makes out-of-equilibrium behavior less likely and should dampen &lquo;coordination&rquo; volatility. The market structure maximizing consumers' surplus at a rationalizable solution is not always the competitive one: This may be a symmetric oligopoly with few firms. An empirical illustration to the airlines industry shows that a reallocation of 1% of market share from a small carrier to a larger one yields a 1.3% decrease in volatility, measured by the within carrier standard error of the number of passengers. |
| Keywords: | Competition policy, Cournot oligopoly, dominance solvability, efficiency, rationalizability, stability, airline industry. |
| JEL: | D43 D84 L40 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:14028&r=ger |
| By: | Antonio Di Paolo (University of Barcelona); Aysýt Tansel (Middle East Technical University) |
| Abstract: | Foreign language skills represent a form of human capital that can be rewarded in the labor market. Drawing on data from the Adult Education Survey of 2007, this is the first study estimating returns to foreign language skills in Turkey. We contribute to the literature on the economic value of language knowledge, with a special focus on a country characterized by fast economic and social development. Although English is the most widely spoken foreign language in Turkey, we initially consider the economic value of different foreign languages among the employed males aged 25 to 65. We find positive and significant returns to proficiency in English and Russian, which increase with the level of competence. Knowledge of French and German also appears to be positively rewarded in the Turkish labor market, although their economic value seems mostly linked to an increased likelihood to hold specific occupations rather than increased earnings within occupations. Focusing on English, we also explore the heterogeneity in returns to different levels of proficiency by frequency of English use at work, birth-cohort, education, occupation and rural/urban location. The results are also robust to the endogenous specification of English language skills. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tek:wpaper:2013/14&r=ger |
| By: | Bary S.R. Pradelski |
| Abstract: | We study evoloutionary, decentralized dynamics for the classic assignment game (Shapley and Shubik 1972).� Players encounter each other at random and agree to match if they are feasible.� We propose a variant of the behaviorally motivated model in Nax, Pradelski, and Young (2013) which converges to stable and optimal outcomes in polynomial time in the number of players.� This is achieved although players have no knowledge about other players' payoffs or actions.� Instead, there is a market sentiment: if negative players on one side of the market (workers) are asking for a bit less, if positive players on the other side of the market (firms) are offering a bit more.� We also show that the latter condition is necessary. |
| Keywords: | assignment games, core, evolutionary game theory, matching markets, convergence time |
| JEL: | C71 C73 C78 D83 |
| Date: | 2014–03–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:700&r=ger |
| By: | van den Berg, Gerad J. (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy); Back Kjaersgaard, Lene (Aarhus University); Rosholm, Michael (Aarhus University) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effects of meetings between the unemployed and their case workers on the transition rate from unemployment to employment using detailed Danish event history data obtained from administrative registers. We find large positive effects of meetings. The transition rate strongly increases in the week the meeting is held, and this effect persists for some weeks after the meeting. The effect size tends to increase with the number of meetings. The effect of the first meeting on the transition rate to work does not depend on the timing of the meeting. |
| Keywords: | Unemployment; active labor market policy; unemployment duration; treatment effects; meetings; job search assistance; employment agency |
| JEL: | C31 J64 |
| Date: | 2014–03–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2014_006&r=ger |
| By: | Dieter Pennerstorfer (WIFO) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the influence of competition on price and product quality among Austrian camping sites, a market charactised by both horizontal (spatial) and vertical product differentiation. Theoretically, the effect of competition on quality is ambiguous and depends on the degree of cost substitutability between output and quality. Estimating a system of equations shows that intense competition has a positive impact on product quality and a negative effect on prices (conditional on quality). As high quality is associated with high prices, the total effect of competition on prices is quite small. |
| Keywords: | Spatial competition, price and quality competition, retail markets, camping sites |
| Date: | 2014–04–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wfo:wpaper:y:2014:i:466&r=ger |
| By: | Heshmati, Almas (Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS), & Department of Economics, Sogang University) |
| Abstract: | The unprecedented deterioration of our global environment has increased the necessity of relying upon Green Economic policies as critical and effective environmental management tools. The current situation has stimulated extensive research and debate among global interest groups. This has fostered an ever-growing volume of literature that provides a picture of the best measures affecting the establishment of the Green Economy – including its development and outcomes. This paper provides a survey of the green economy in self-contained form and accessible to the non-specialist readers. First, it reviews the recent developments in green economy: its theoretical foundation, political background and developmental strategies towards genuine, sustainable development. Second, the circular economy, networks, organizations, policies, infrastructure and measurable expected effects are discussed. Third, the theoretical and empirical results and findings regarding the green economy and its practice do lead to a number of conclusions regarding measurement of improvements, achievement of outcomes and identification of causal effects. Finally, summaries of current and possible future Green Development tendencies with a focus upon directions, policy, organizations, capacity, areas and interventions are provided and extensions that can serve as optimal directions for future research and policy are suggested. |
| Keywords: | green economy; development strategy; sustainable development; circular economy; green taxes; green jobs; green finances; green consumption; green trade |
| JEL: | D62 H23 K32 L72 O13 Q01 Q20 Q42 Q50 Q56 |
| Date: | 2014–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0356&r=ger |
| By: | Gilad Bavly; Abraham Neyman |
| Abstract: | Correlation of players' actions may evolve in the common course of the play of a repeated game with perfect monitoring (``obline correlation''). In this paper we study the concealment of such correlation from a boundedly rational player. We show that ``strong'' players, i.e., players whose strategic complexity is less stringently bounded, can orchestrate the obline correlation of the actions of ``weak'' players, where this correlation is concealed from an opponent of ``intermediate'' strength. The feasibility of such ``\ol concealed correlation'' is reflected in the individually rational payoff of the opponent and in the equilibrium payoffs of the repeated game. This result enables the derivation of a folk theorem that characterizes the set of equilibrium payoffs in a class of repeated games with boundedly rational players and a mechanism designer who sends public signals. The result is illustrated in two models, each of which captures a different aspect of bounded rationality. In the first, players use bounded recall strategies. In the second, players use strategies that are implementable by finite automata. |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:huj:dispap:dp659&r=ger |
| By: | Baird, Sarah; Gong, Erick; McIntosh, Craig; Ozler, Berk |
| Abstract: | An extensive multi-disciplinary literature examines the effects of learning one's HIV status on subsequent risky sexual behaviors. However, many of these studies rely on non-experimental designs; use self-reported outcome measures, or both. This study investigates the effects of a randomly assigned home based HIV testing and counseling (HTC) intervention on risky sexual behaviors and schooling investments among school-age females in Malawi. The study finds no overall effects on HIV, Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV-2), or achievement test scores at follow-up. However, among the small group of individuals who tested positive for HIV, a large increase in the probability of contracting HSV-2 is found, with this effect stronger among those surprised by their test results. Similarly, those surprised by HIV-negative test results see a significant improvement in achievement test scores, consistent with increased returns to investments in human capital. The finding of increased HSV-2 prevalence among HIV-positive individuals suggests that the conventional wisdom that those who learn they are HIV-positive will adopt safer sexual practices should be treated with caution. |
| Keywords: | Disease Control&Prevention,Population Policies,HIV AIDS,Gender and Health,HIV AIDS and Business |
| Date: | 2014–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6823&r=ger |
| By: | Dorra Najar |
| Abstract: | Fund managers compensation is a particular problem area in terms of its tax treatment in the United States and some European countries. This problem originates in the difficulty of defining these particular forms of incentive and therefore their estimated fair value. Based on the literature, carried interest, which is one of the most common profit-sharing arrangements observed in practice, may be considered as an option characterized by several constraints. The use of classical option-pricing models is inappropriate to take into account all these constraints. In this paper, we build a model to estimate the expected revenue to managers as a function of their investor contracts and we test how this estimated revenue varies across the characteristics of funds. We used the Monte Carlo simulation model and we introduced the non-marketability discount of the carried interest in order to calculate its fair value. A sensitivity analysis is performed in order to show the change in the fair value of carried interest after the change of each criterion. We find sharp differences between venture capital (VC) and buyout (BO) funds and between “deal by deal funds” and “whole funds”. |
| Keywords: | private equity; venture capital; managerial compensation; simulations |
| JEL: | G1 G2 G3 G17 G24 G34 |
| Date: | 2014–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-195&r=ger |
| By: | de Hoop, Jacobus; Rosati, Furio C. |
| Abstract: | Cash transfer programs are widely used in settings where child labor is prevalent. Although many of these programs are explicitly implemented to improve children's welfare, in theory their impact on child labor is undetermined. This paper systematically reviews the empirical evidence on the impact of cash transfers, conditional and unconditional, on child labor. The authors find no evidence that cash transfer interventions increase child labor in practice. On the contrary, there is broad evidence that conditional and unconditional cash transfers lower both children's participation in child labor and hours worked and cushion the effect of economic shocks that may lead households to use child labor as a coping strategy. Boys experience particularly strong decreases in economic activities, girls in household chores. The findings underline the usefulness of cash transfers as a relatively safe policy instrument to improve child welfare, but also point to knowledge gaps, for instance regarding the interplay between cash transfers and other interventions, that should be addressed in future evaluations to provide detailed policy advice. |
| Keywords: | Street Children,Labor Policies,Youth and Governance,Children and Youth,Debt Markets |
| Date: | 2014–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6826&r=ger |
| By: | Javier Rivas (Department of Economics University of Bath); Carmelo Rodríguez-Álvarez (Departamento de Fundamentos del Análisis Económico II (Economía Cuantitativa) Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales Universidad Complutense de Madrid; Instituto Complutense de Analisis Economico (ICAE) Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales Universidad Complutense de Madrid) |
| Abstract: | We analyse committees of voters who take a decision between two options as a two- stage process. In a discussion stage, voters share non-verifiable information about a private signal concerning what is the best option. In a voting stage, votes are cast and one of the options is implemented. We introduce the possibility of leadership whereby a certain voter, the leader, is more influential than the rest at the discussion stage even though she is not better informed. We study information transmission and characterize the effects of the leader on the deliberation process. We find, amongst others, that both the quality of the decision taken by the committee and how truthful voters are at the discussion stage depends non-monotonically on how influential the leader is. In particular, although a leader whose influence is weak does not disrupt the decision process of the committee in any way, a very influential leader is less disruptive than a moderately influential leader. |
| Keywords: | Committees; Information Aggregation; Leadership; Voting. |
| JEL: | D71 D72 D82 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucm:doicae:1404&r=ger |
| By: | James Fenske; Achyuta Adhvaryu; Anant Nyshadham |
| Abstract: | We show that psychological well-being in adulthood varies substantially with circumstance in early life.� Combining a time series of real producer prices of cocoa with a nationally representative household survey in Ghana, we find that a one standard deviation rise in the cocoa price in early life decreases the likelihood of severe mental distress in adulthood by 3 percentage points (or half the mean prevalence) for cohorts born in cocoa-producing regions relative to those born in other regions.� Impacts on related personality traits are consistent with this result.� Maternal nutrition, reinforcing childhood investments, and adult circumstances are operative channels of impact. |
| Keywords: | mental health, subjective well-being, early life, fetal origins, endowments, commodity prices |
| JEL: | I12 I15 I31 Q02 O12 |
| Date: | 2014–02–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:698&r=ger |
| By: | John M. Nunley; Adam Pugh; Nicholas Romero; Richard Alan Seals, Jr. |
| Abstract: | We conduct a résumé audit to estimate the impact of unemployment and underemployment on the employment prospects facing recent college graduates. We find no evidence that employers use current or past unemployment spells, regardless of their length, to inform hiring decisions. By contrast, college graduates who became underemployed after graduation receive about 15-30 percent fewer interview requests than job seekers who became “adequately” employed after graduation. Internship experience obtained while completing one's degree reduces the negative effects of underemployment substantially. |
| Keywords: | College Major; Underemployment; Unemployment; Duration Dependence; Employment Opportunities; Internships; Labor Demand; Field Experiments; Correspondence Studies |
| JEL: | J23 J24 J64 J70 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:abn:wpaper:auwp2014-04&r=ger |
| By: | Furkan Emirmahmutoglu (Department of Econometrics, Gazi University, Turkey); Nicholas Apergis (Department of Banking and Financial Management, University of Piraeus, Greece); Beatrice D. Simo-Kengne (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria); Tsangyao Chang (Department of Finance, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan); Rangan Gupta (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the causal relationship between asset prices and per capita output across 50 US states and the District of Columbia over 1975 to 2012. A bootstrap panel Granger causality approach is applied on a trivariate VAR comprising of real house prices, real stock prices and real per capita personal income (proxying output), which allows us to account not only for heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence, but also for interdependency between the two asset markets. Empirical results reveal the existence of a unidirectional causality running from both asset prices to output. This confirms the leading indicator property of asset prices for the real economy, while also substantiating the wealth and/or collateral transmission mechanism. Moreover, the absence of reverse causation from the personal income per capita to both housing and stock prices tend to suggest that non-economic fundamentals may have played an important role in the formation of bubbles in these markets. |
| Keywords: | House prices, stock prices, output, granger causality |
| JEL: | C32 G10 O18 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pre:wpaper:201411&r=ger |
| By: | Gebreegziabher, Zenebe; Mekonnen, Alemu; Deribe, Rahel; Abera, Samuel; Kassahun, Meseret Molla |
| Abstract: | There have been few attempts to look into the economic impacts of climate change in the context of Ethiopia. Although mixed crop-livestock farming is a dominant farming style, most of the studies on climate change, at least in the context of Ethiopia, have emphasized only crop agriculture and disregarded the role of livestock. In this research, we analyze climate change and agricultural productivity in Ethiopia in its broader sense, inclusive of livestock production. We employ a Ricardian approach, estimating three modified versions of the Ricardian model. Results show that warmer temperature is beneficial to livestock agriculture, while it is harmful to the Ethiopian economy from the crop agriculture point of view. Moreover, increasing/decreasing rainfall associated with climate change is damaging to both agricultural activities. |
| Keywords: | crop-livestock inter-linkages, agriculture, climate change, Ricardian model, Ethiopia |
| JEL: | C31 Q1 Q24 Q54 |
| Date: | 2013–12–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-13-14-efd&r=ger |
| By: | Yýlmaz Akyüz (South Centre) |
| Abstract: | The ultra-easy monetary policy has not been very effective in easing the debt overhang and stimulating spending – hence, the crisis is taking too long to resolve, entailing unnecessary losses of income and jobs and aggravating inequality. But it has generated financial fragility at home and abroad, exposing developing countries to a new boom-bust cycle. Tapering does not yet signal a return to monetary tightening and normalization of the Fed’s balance sheet. Besides, the policy rates are pledged to remain at historical lows for some time to come. Thus, ultra-easy money is still with us. But the markets have already started pricing-in the normalization of monetary policy and this is the main reason for the rise in long-term rates and the turbulence in emerging economies. The crisis has in effect demolished the myth that South has decoupled from the economic vagaries of the North and major emerging economies have become new global engines. Policy response to a deepening of the current financial turbulence in the South should depart from past practices. Emerging economies should avoid using their reserves to finance large and persistent outflows of capital and seek, instead, to involve private lenders and investors in crisis resolution. This may call for exchange restrictions and temporary debt standstills. |
| Keywords: | Monetary policy, quantitative easing, tapering, emerging markets |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tek:wpaper:2014/3&r=ger |
| By: | Giuntella, Osea (University of Oxford); Mazzonna, Fabrizio (University of Lugano) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the effects of immigration on health. We merge information on individual characteristics from the German Socio-Economic Panel with detailed local labor market characteristics for the period 1984 to 2009. We exploit the longitudinal component of the data to analyze how immigration affects the health of both immigrants and natives over time. Immigrants are shown to be healthier than natives upon their arrival ("healthy immigrant effect"), but their health deteriorates over time spent in Germany. We show that the convergence in health is heterogeneous across immigrants and faster among those working in more physically demanding jobs. Immigrants are significantly more likely to work in strenuous occupations. In light of these facts, we investigate whether changes in the spatial concentration of immigrants affect natives' health. Our results suggest that immigration reduces residents' likelihood to report negative health outcomes by improving their working conditions and reducing the average workload. We show that these effects are concentrated in blue-collar occupations and are larger among low educated natives and previous cohorts of immigrants. |
| Keywords: | immigration, health |
| JEL: | F22 I10 J15 J61 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8073&r=ger |
| By: | Eggert, Håkan; Greaker, Mads |
| Abstract: | The transport sector contributes almost a fifth of the current global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), and its share is likely to increase in the future. The US, Brazil, and a number of European and other countries worldwide have introduced various support schemes for biofuels. The advantage of biofuels is that they are easily integrated with the current fossil fuel–based transport sector. However, recent studies question whether the supply of feedstock is sufficient, and to what extent biofuels lead to GHG emission reductions. In addition, studies find that some first generation (1G) biofuels have had a significant impact on food commodity prices. 1G biofuels’ problems can be overcome by a transition to second generation (2G) biofuels. So far, 2G biofuels are much more costly to produce. We therefore ask to what extent targeted support to 2G biofuels is likely to bring costs down. Are current support schemes for biofuels well designed in order to promote the development of 2G biofuels? We find that ethanol made from cellulose using the biochemical conversion process is far from a ripe technology, with several cost-reducing opportunities yet to be developed. Hence, targeted support to cellulosic ethanol might induce a switch from 1G to 2G biofuels. However, we find little evidence that production and use of 1G biofuels will bridge the conversion to 2G biofuels. The production processes are so different that more use of 1G biofuels will have little impact on technological development in 2G biofuels. Hence, to the extent that private investment in the development of 2G biofuels is too low,current support schemes for 1G fuels may block 2G biofuels instead of promoting them. Classification-JEL: separated by commas |
| Keywords: | biofuels, ethanol, cellulose, second generation |
| Date: | 2013–12–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-13-18-efd&r=ger |
| By: | Li, Yushu (Dept. of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics); Reese, Simon (Dept. of Economics, School of Economics and Management, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | The Hidden Markov Model (HMM) has been widely used in regime classification and turning point detection for econometric series after the decisive paper by Hamilton (1989). The present paper will show that when using HMM to detect the turning point in cyclical series, the accuracy of the detection will be influenced when the data are exposed to high volatilities or combine multiple types of cycles that have different frequency bands. Moreover, outliers will be frequently misidentified as turning points. The present paper shows that these issues can be resolved by wavelet multi-resolution analysis based methods. By providing both frequency and time resolutions, the wavelet power spectrum can identify the process dynamics at various resolution levels. We apply a Monte Carlo experiment to show that the detection accuracy of HMMs is highly improved when combined with the wavelet approach. Further simulations demonstrate the excellent accuracy of this improved HMM method relative to another two change point detection algorithms. Two empirical examples illustrate how the wavelet method can be applied to improve turning point detection in practice. |
| Keywords: | HMM; turning point; wavelet; wavelet power spectrum; outlier |
| JEL: | C22 C38 C63 |
| Date: | 2014–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhhfms:2014_010&r=ger |
| By: | Florian Schuett (University of Tilburg); Amedeo Piolatto (Universidad de Alicante) |
| Abstract: | We build a framework linking competition in the media market to political participation. Media outlets report on the ability of candidates running for office and compete for audience through their choice of slant. Citizens consume news only if the expected utility of being informed about candidates' ability is sufficiently large for their group collectively. Our results can reconcile seemingly contradictory empirical evidence showing that entry in the media market can either increase or decrease turnout. While information pushes up independent turnout, partisans adjust their turnout to the ability of their preferred candidate, and on average they vote less when informed. |
| Keywords: | Demand for news, Electoral turnout, Group-rule utilitarianism, Media bias. |
| JEL: | D72 L82 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ivi:wpasad:2014-03&r=ger |
| By: | Miguel Sánchez Villalba (Dpto. Fundamentos del Análisis Económico); Silvia Martínez-Gorricho (Dpto. Análisis Económico Aplicado) |
| Abstract: | We analyze two incentive mechanisms as a way of financing public goods. Our mechanism can be interpreted as a variation of a parimutuel lottery in which the total rebate (prize) is made endogenous by setting it equal to a non-increasing function of total bets. The mechanism changes the nature of the standard VCM from a Prisoner’s Dilemma to a Stag-Hunt game. We tested —and found support for— the theoretical predictions of the model by means of a computer-based experiment. The theoretical model and the supporting experimental evidence both suggest the mechanism is an efficient and equitable means to finance public goods through voluntary contributions. In policy terms, and beyond the efficiency and equity considerations, the mechanism would be easy to implement and run given its simplicity and self-sufficiency. |
| Keywords: | Public Goods, Voluntary Contribution Mechanism, Subsidy Schemes, Laboratory Experiments |
| JEL: | C72 C92 H41 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ivi:wpasad:2014-02&r=ger |
| By: | Bertazzi, Ilaria (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | Due to contemporary economic situation, with systemic financial and real economy crisis, many studies started to investigate the nature of debt. Not that the subject (and its controversy) was ignored before, but one of the major limit of current theory is the uniformity of treatment and analysis as if there were no fundamental difference in the variety of debt, bankruptcy and possible bailout with no relevant distinctions in terms of causes, categories of agents involved and respective relationships, normative framework and uses of the loan money. Economic theory defines debt as a relationship between someone with surplus of money and somebody in “need”, with a temporal partition between one exchange and the other. Distinct models for different loan types are necessary, in particular when related to norms and social concept of justice, such as the issues raised by debt revolts, debt imprisonments and debt slavery. Debtors’ movements appeared in different situation, but generally have in common the type of debtors involved: household or small family-level businessmen that experience great pressure related to collaterals nature. Insolvency highly influences welfare, both in terms of reputation in their social network, and in terms of material life. This characteristic reveals itself to be crucial in the study, both for the birth and rise of movements, and for the comprehension of the moral and power mechanisms that withstand this kind debt, and should give economic theory a starting point to develop new types of models on debts. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:201405&r=ger |
| By: | Florian Neumeier (University of Marburg); Matthias Neuenkirch (University of Trier) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we empirically assess how economic sanctions imposed by the UN and the US affect the target states' GDP growth. Our sample includes 68 countries and covers the period 1976-2012. We find that sanctions imposed by the UN have a statistically and economically significant influence on economic growth, but that the effect of US sanctions is less clear. On average, the imposition of UN sanctions decreases the target state's real per capita GDP growth rate by 2.3-3.5 percentage points (pp). Comprehensive UN economic sanctions, that is, embargoes affecting nearly all economic activity, trigger a reduction in GDP growth by more than 5 pp. |
| Keywords: | Economic growth, economic sanctions, United Nations, United States. |
| JEL: | F43 F51 F52 F53 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201424&r=ger |
| By: | Naghsh Nejad, Maryam (IZA); Young, Andrew (West Virginia University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we model the migration decisions of high-skilled women as a function of the benefits associated with moving from an origin with relatively low women's rights to a destination with a relatively high level of women's rights. However, the costs faced by women are decreasing in the level of women's rights provided. The model predicts a non-linear relationship between the relative levels of women's rights in destination versus origin countries (the women's rights gap) and the gender gap in high-skilled migration flows (the female brain drain ratio). In particular, starting from large values of the women's rights gap (where women's rights are very low in the origin) decreases in the gap may be associated with increases in the female brain drain ratio. However, starting from lower levels of the gap the relationship is positive: a greater gain in women's rights moving from origin to destination is, all else equal, associated with a greater likelihood of migration. Using a cross section of over 3,000 bilateral migration flows across OECD and non-OECD countries and the women's rights indices from the CIRI Human Rights Dataset, we report evidence consistent with the theory. A statistically significant and nonlinear relationship exists between women's rights gaps and female brain drain ratios. The evidence is particularly strong for the case of women's political rights. |
| Keywords: | female brain drain, high skilled female migration, bilateral migration flows, women's rights, institutional quality, gravity models |
| JEL: | F22 J11 J61 J16 O17 O43 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8067&r=ger |
| By: | Connelly, Rachel (Bowdoin College); Maurer-Fazio, Margaret (Bates College); Zhang, Dandan (Peking University) |
| Abstract: | Over the course of China's economic reforms, a pronounced divergence in the labor force participation patterns of rural and urban elders emerged – rural elders increased their rates of participation while urban elders reduced theirs. In this project, based on the data of the Chinese population censuses of 1982 and 2000, we employ a two-stage procedure to take into account the endogeneity of the residency and labor force participation decisions of older persons. We find that the effect of coresidency with adult children on the labor force participation of older adult differs by urban vs. rural residence. In 1982, the LFPR of urban elders who coresided with their adult children were significantly higher than those who did not coreside. By 2000, this effect completely disappeared. In contrast, in rural areas, coresidency with adult children had a large and significant negative effect on the labor force participation of both male and female elders. This effect diminished only slightly over the reform period. Finally, we decompose the changes over time in elders' labor force participation decisions and find that the response effect for all groups (male and female, urban and rural) is positive, such that, holding the levels of demographic and economic variables constant, each group of elders would have had higher rates of participation in 2000 than in 1982. The remarkable divergence in urban and rural elders' labor force participation trends are due to differences in the relative sizes of their attribute and response effects. |
| Keywords: | labor force participation, elders, China, retirement, coresidency, rural and urban, living arrangements |
| JEL: | J14 J26 J11 J12 J13 J16 J22 O15 O53 P23 R23 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8068&r=ger |
| By: | Wang, Lanlan; Xu, Jintao; Zheng, Xinye; Qin, Ping |
| Abstract: | A driving restriction policy, as a control-and-command rationing measure, is a politically acceptable policy tool to address traffic congestion and air pollution in some countries and cities. Beijing was the first city in China to implement this policy. A one-day-a-week driving restriction scheme was expected to take 20 percent of cars off the road every weekday. Using household survey and travel diary data, we analyze the short-term effect of the driving restriction policy on individual mode choice. The data also allow us to identify which demographic groups are more likely to break the rules. The estimates reveal that the restriction policy in Beijing does not have a significant influence on individual driving choices, as compared with its influence on public transit. The rule-breaking behavior is constant and pervasive. We found that 47.8 percent of the regulated car owners didn’t follow the rules and drove “illegally” to their destinations. On average, car owners who traveled during peak hours or for work trips, and those whose destinations were farther away from the city center or subway stations, were more likely to break the rules. |
| Keywords: | driving restriction policy, Beijing, mode choice, rule breaker Creation-Date: 2013-09-30 |
| JEL: | Q58 R41 D01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-13-11-efd&r=ger |
| By: | Éric Darmon (CREM UMR CNRS 6211, University of Rennes 1, France); Thomas Le Texier (CREM UMR CNRS 6211, University of Rennes 1, France) |
| Abstract: | In the case of digital piracy should rights be publicly or privately enforced? The emergence of large-scale anti-piracy laws and the existence of non-monitored illegal channels raise important issues for the design of digital anti-piracy policies. In this paper, we study the impact of these two enforcement settings (public vs. private) in the presence of an illegal non-monitored outside option for users. Taking account of market outcomes, we show that in both cases, the optimal strategies of the legal seller and the monitoring authority leads to rejection of the outside option out while accommodating to the presence of illegal monitored channels. Compared to private enforcement, public enforcement generates higher monitoring levels and lower price levels. Public enforcement also generates greater (legal) welfare. However, we identify potential con ict of interests between the legal seller and the social planner when the eciency of non monitored networks is low. We provide some insights into the role of supply side anti-piracy policies. |
| Keywords: | copyright infringement, law enforcement, digital piracy, illegal file-sharing, illegal behavior deterrence |
| JEL: | D23 D78 K42 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:201403&r=ger |
| By: | Éric Darmon (CREM UMR CNRS 6211, University of Rennes 1, France); Dominique TORRE (GREDEG CNRS, Universite Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France) |
| Abstract: | To distribute software, commercial vendors of proprietary software have the opportunity to use some dual licensing (DL) strategy i.e. to provide their software under two different licensing terms (proprietary and open source). We investigate the relevance and impacts of this distribution strategy in the presence of an incumbent open source software competitor. We determine the conditions for this strategy to be protable for the commercial rm and its impact on price, market shares and welfare. We show that dual licensing may be used as a complement for proprietary software when development spillovers are large. We examine how, in this case, a dual licensing strategy can be used to exclude the open source software from the market and how this is compatible with higher price and lower market share for the proprietary distribution. This situation can also generate conflicts of interests between proprietary software and users resulting in sub-optimal outcomes. Finally, our analysis reveals the key role played by development spillovers and software compatibility for the DL decision. |
| Keywords: | dual licensing, hybrid business model, software distribution strategy, open source spillover |
| JEL: | D23 D42 L86 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:201405&r=ger |
| By: | Waage Skjeflo, Sofie (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Bruvik Westberg, Nina (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | We use recent panel data on Tanzanian farm households to investigate how previous exposure to weather shocks affects the impact of a current shock. Specifically, we investigate the impact of droughts on agricultural outcomes and investments in children's health, measured by their short- and long-term nutritional status. As expected, we find that droughts negatively impact yields, and more so the more severe the drought is. We also find suggestive evidence that the more shocks a household has experienced in the past, the less crop yields are affected by a current shock. This suggests that households are able to learn from their past shock experience, and could imply that households are able to adapt to climate risk. Our results also suggest that the impact of a shock depends on when the household last experienced a shock. In terms of child health, our preliminary results are unable to uncover any clear shock impact on the short-term nutritional status of children, however long-term nutritional outcomes are negatively affected by past shocks. Further analyses using more recent weather data is necessary in order to conclude. |
| Keywords: | Climate risk; income shocks; adaptation; child health; Tanzania |
| JEL: | I12 I13 Q12 Q54 |
| Date: | 2014–04–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2014_004&r=ger |
| By: | Mototsugu Fukushige (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University); Yingxin Shi (Department of Economics & Management, Dalian Nationalities University) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effects of urban and rural populations and area sizes on the expenditures of the prefecture-level local government. We found the following three results. The first relates to the expenditure for urban populations. At around 220,000 people, per capita local government expenditure is minimized in our simulation. The second is that the expenditure for rural populations is proportional to the population size. The third finding is that the expenditure in accordance with the areas is also proportional to the area size. This cost structure is the reason why Chinafs recent rapid urbanization increases prefectural governmentfs fiscal distress. |
| Keywords: | Efficient scale, Local government, Quantile regression, China |
| JEL: | H40 H72 R51 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:1415&r=ger |
| By: | Gregori Baetschmann; Rainer Winkelmann |
| Abstract: | Excess zeros are encountered in many empirical count data applications. We provide a new explanation of extra zeros, related to the underlying stochastic process that generates events. The process has two rates, a lower rate until the first event, and a higher one thereafter. We derive the corresponding distribution of the number of events during a fixed period and extend it to account for observed and unobserved heterogeneity. An application to the socio-economic determinants of the individual number of doctor visits in Germany illustrates the usefulness of the new approach. |
| Keywords: | Excess zeros, Poisson process, exposure, hurdle model |
| JEL: | C25 I10 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zur:econwp:151&r=ger |
| By: | Andreas Benedictow; Pål Boug (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | According to the present guidelines for fiscal policy, the use of oil revenues in the Norwegian economy should over time equal the expected real return on the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG). An important question is therefore how to measure the real return, taking into account that the aim of the investment strategy of the GPFG is to maximise the purchasing power with respect to future Norwegian imports. In this paper, we present estimates of average annual real return of the GPFG over the sample period running from 1998 to 2012 based on alternative measures of the deflator. We find that the choices of international price measure, weighting scheme and method of aggregation generally are of major importance for the measure of the deflator, and thereby for the estimate of the real return. Two major factors providing low estimates of inflation and, thus, high real return, are GPFG weights dominated by western, low inflation countries, and export prices growing relatively slow, possibly due to strong international competition. Applying a method of aggregation tailored to also capture the deflationary effects of Norwegian imports increasingly originating from low cost countries (known as the China effect), reduces the estimate of inflation by close to one percentage point. We present estimates of average annual real return of the GPFG ranging from 2.3 to 3.3 per cent, and up to 4.5 per cent including the China effect. The present practice of calculating the deflator, based on CPI inflation in the countries the GPFG invests in, delivers an estimate of average annual real return of 3.1 per cent, which is close to the middle of this range. |
| Keywords: | Government Pension Fund Global; Real return; Deflators; Index numbers |
| JEL: | C43 E31 F14 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:775&r=ger |
| By: | Ignacio Inoa (THEMA - Théorie économique, modélisation et applications - CNRS : UMR8184 - Université de Cergy Pontoise); Nathalie Picard (THEMA - Théorie économique, modélisation et applications - CNRS : UMR8184 - Université de Cergy Pontoise, Department of Economics, Ecole Polytechnique - CNRS : UMR7176 - Polytechnique - X); André De Palma (Department of Economics, Ecole Polytechnique - CNRS : UMR7176 - Polytechnique - X, ENS Cachan - École Normale Supérieure de Cachan - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Cachan) |
| Abstract: | A three-level nested logit model for the choice of residential location, workplace, and type of employment is used to assess the effect of an individual-specific measure of accessibility to employments that takes into account the attractiveness of different occupations when the choice of workplace is anticipated in the decision of residential location. The model allows for variation in the preferences for types of employment across individuals and accounts for individual heterogeneity of preferences at each choice level in education, age, gender, and children. Using data from the Île-de-France region, it shows that the individual specific accessibility measure is an important determinant of the choice of residential location and its effect differs along the life cycle. The attractiveness of the types of employment is a better predictor of the workplace location than the usual total number of employments. |
| Keywords: | residential location, employment location, accessibility, nested logit, Île-de-France. |
| Date: | 2014–03–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00964212&r=ger |
| By: | Katja Drechsel; S. Giesen; Axel Lindner |
| Abstract: | This study analyzes the performance of the IMF World Economic Outlook forecasts for world output and the aggregates of both the advanced economies and the emerging and developing economies. With a focus on the forecast for the current and the next year, we examine whether IMF forecasts can be improved by using leading indicators with monthly updates. Using a real-time dataset for GDP and for the indicators we find that some simple single-indicator forecasts on the basis of data that are available at higher frequency can significantly outperform the IMF forecasts if the publication of the Outlook is only a few months old. |
| Keywords: | IMF WEO forecasts, leading indicators, real-time data |
| JEL: | C52 C53 E02 E32 E37 O19 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwh:dispap:4-14&r=ger |
| By: | Sandrine Jacob Leal; Mauro Napoletano (OFCE); Andrea Roventini (Department of economics); Giorgio Fagiolo (Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM)) |
| Abstract: | We build an agent-based model to study how the interplay between low- and high frequency trading affects asset price dynamics. Our main goal is to investigate whether high-frequency trading exacerbates market volatility and generates flash crashes. In the model, low-frequency agents adopt trading rules based on chronological time and can switch between fundamentalist and chartist strategies. On the contrary, high-frequency traders activation is event-driven and depends on price the contrary, high-frequency traders activation is event-driven and depends on price formation produced by low-frequency traders. Monte-Carlo simulations reveal that the model replicates the main stylized facts of financial markets. Furthermore, we found that the presence of high-frequency trading increases market volatility and plays a fundamental role in the generation of flash crashes. The emergence of flash crashes is explained by two salient characteristics of high-frequency traders, i.e., their ability to i) generate high bid-ask spreads and ii) synchronize on the sell side of the limit order book. Finally, we found that higher rates of order cancellation by high-frequency traders increase the incidence of flash crashes but reduce their duration. |
| Keywords: | Agent-based models; Limit order book; High-frequency trading; low-frequency trading; Flash crashes; Market volatility |
| JEL: | G12 C63 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p4oq9ig8k&r=ger |
| By: | Wagner, Joachim (Leuphana University Lueneburg and CESIS, Stockholm) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a tailor-made newly available data set for enterprises from manufacturing industries in Germany to investigate for the first time the links between export diversification over destination countries and goods on the one hand and the profitability of the exporting firms on the other hand. We find that profits tend to be larger in firms with less diversified export sales over goods and in firms with more diversified export sales over destination countries. |
| Keywords: | Exports; diversification; profitability; Germany |
| JEL: | F14 |
| Date: | 2014–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0353&r=ger |
| By: | Nicolas Berman (Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne); José de Sousa (Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - Paris I); Thierry Mayer (Département d'économie); Philippe Martin (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | We show that the negative impact of financial crises on trade is magnified for destinations with longer time-to-ship. A simple model where exporters react to an increase in the probability of default of importers by increasing their export price and decreasing their export volumes to destinations in crisis is consistent with this empirical finding. For longer shipping time, those effects are indeed magnified as the probability of default increases as time passes. Some exporters also decide to stop exporting to the crisis destination, the more so the longer time-to-ship. Using aggregate data from 1950 to 2009, we found that this magnification effect is robust to alternative specifications, samples and inclusion of additional controls, including distance. The form level predictions are also broadly consistent with French exporter data from 1995 to 2005. |
| Keywords: | Time-to-ship, Financial crises, international trade |
| JEL: | F10 G32 |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oc1hne632&r=ger |
| By: | Burça Kýzýlýrmak (Ankara University); Emel Memiþ (Ankara University); Þirin Saracoðlu (Middle East Technical University); Ebru Voyvoda (Middle East Technical University) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to explore the employment effects of changes in manufacturing output resulting from changes in trade patterns over the period 1995-2006. For 30 countries (21 OECD and 9 non-OECD countries) we estimate the changes in embodied labor content due to trade using the factor-content analysis by breaking up the sources of these changes between the trade with the North, the South and China. We also decompose changes in employment into its components as changes within and across sectors. Our results present a net negative impact of trade on total employment in 30 countries over the period of analysis (despite employment gains in 17 countries). In all countries (except for Philippines and Republic of Korea) trade with China has a negative impact on total employment with a stronger negative effect on women’s employment. Employment losses in the South due to surge in imports from China are coupled with declining exports to the North as many countries in the North shift their imports to emerging economies in Asia. Decomposition results indicate that decline in the share of women’s employment is mainly due to shifts between sectors rather than within sector changes. Changes in women’s employment are stil highly dependent on the movements in ‘traditional’ manufacturing sectors including food, textiles and wearing apparel. |
| Keywords: | North-South trade; decomposition analysis; factor content analysis; gender bias. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tek:wpaper:2014/1&r=ger |
| By: | Geert Dhaene; Koen Jochmans (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | Maximum-likelihood estimation of nonlinear models with fixed effects is subject to the incidental-parameter problem. This typically implies that point estimates suffer from large bias and confidence intervals have poor coverage. This paper presents a jackknife method to reduce this bias and to obtain confidence intervals that are correctly centered under rectangular-array asymptotics. The method is explicitly designed to handle dynamics in the data and yields estimators that are straightforward to implement and that can be readily applied to a range of models and estimands. We provide distribution theory for estimators of index coefficients and average effects, present validity tests for the jackknife, and consider extensions to higher-order bias correction and to two-step estimation problems. An empirical illustration on female labor-force participation is also provided. |
| Keywords: | bias reduction, dependent data, incidental-parameter problem, jackknife, nonlinear model |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p2m9mgp8l&r=ger |
| By: | Andrew E. Clark (EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS : UMR8545 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Paris - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA)); Conchita D'ambrosio (Université du Luxembourg - Université du Luxembourg) |
| Abstract: | We review the findings in surveys and experiments from the literature on attitudes to income inequality. We interpret the latter as any disparity in incomes between individuals. We classify these contributions into two broad groups of individual attitudes to income distribution in a society: the normative and the comparative view. The first can be thought of as the individual's disinterested evaluation of income inequality; on the contrary, the second view reflects self-interest, as individual's inequality attitudes depend not only on how much income they receive but also on how much they receive compared to others. We conclude with a number of extensions, outstanding issues and suggestions for future research. |
| Keywords: | Attitudes ; Distribution ; Experiments ; Income inequality ; Life satisfaction ; Reference groups |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-00967938&r=ger |
| By: | Laurent Gobillon (CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research - CEPR, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS : UMR8545 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Paris - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA), EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris, INED - Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques Paris - INED); Carine Milcent (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS : UMR8545 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Paris - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA), EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris, CEPREMAP - Centre pour la recherche économique et ses applications) |
| Abstract: | Using a French exhaustive dataset, this article studies the determinants of regional disparities in mortality for patients admitted to hospitals for a heart attack. These disparities are large, with an 80% difference in the propensity to die within 15 days between extreme regions. They may reflect spatial differences in patient characteristics, treatments, hospital characteristics and local healthcare market structure. To distinguish between these factors, we estimate a flexible duration model. The estimated model is aggregated at the regional level and a spatial variance analysis is conducted. We find that spatial differences in the use of innovative treatments play a major role whereas the local composition of hospitals by ownership does not have any noticeable effect. Moreover, the higher the local concentration of patients in a few large hospitals rather than many small ones, the lower the mortality. Regional unobserved effects account for around 20% of spatial disparities. |
| Keywords: | Spatial health disparities ; Economic geography ; Stratified duration model |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00879787&r=ger |
| By: | Tim Tiefenbach (Business & Economics Section, German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ)); Florian Kohlbacher (Business & Economics Section, German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ)) |
| Abstract: | Natural disasters arguably have negative effects on happiness. There are however also positive effects via an increase in donation and volunteering activities, which have been shown to lead to higher happiness as well. So far, no research has analyzed the interaction of the positive and negative effects together. In order to fill this gap in the literature, we analyze the effects of a recent, impactful disaster, while controlling for the mediating effects of volunteer activities and donation behavior. To test our hypotheses of this mediating effect of prosocial behavior on happiness after a major disaster, we use data from a large scale national survey in Japan from the years 2010-2012 to analyze the effects of ‘3-11’ (the triple disaster that occurred on March 11 2011 in Japan). We find that 3-11 (1) had a negative effect on the happiness level of the Japanese, (2) positively influenced donation behavior and volunteer activities and that by this (3) the negative direct effects are partially mitigated by the effects on prosocial behavior. The contribution of our paper is twofold. First, the paper is the first to analyze the mediating effects of prosocial behavior when evaluating the impact of natural disasters on subjective well-being. Second, while the existing studies on 3-11 –focusing on its direct main effects– report rather inconclusive findings, our analysis offers a new perspective on the debate by disentangling the direct and indirect effects of the disaster. |
| Keywords: | Happiness, March 11, Disaster, Japan, Prosocial Behavior, Donations, Volunteering |
| JEL: | Q54 I10 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ijp:wpaper:1305&r=ger |
| By: | Pierre Degond (Department of Mathematics - Imperial College London - Imperial College London); Jian-Guo Liu (Duke Physics - Duke University); Christian Ringhofer (Department of Mathematics - Arizona State University) |
| Abstract: | We develop a model for the evolution of wealth in a non-conservative economic environment, extending a theory developed earlier by the authors. The model considers a system of rational agents interacting in a game theoretical framework. This evolution drives the dynamic of the agents in both wealth and economic configuration variables. The cost function is chosen to represent a risk averse strategy of each agent. That is, the agent is more likely to interact with the market, the more predictable the market, and therefore the smaller its individual risk. This yields a kinetic equation for an effective single particle agent density with a Nash equilibrium serving as the local thermodynamic equilibrium. We consider a regime of scale separation where the large scale dynamics is given by a hydrodynamic closure with this local equilibrium. A class of generalized collision invariants (GCIs) is developed to overcome the difficulty of the non-conservative property in the hydrodynamic closure derivation of the large scale dynamics for the evolution of wealth distribution. The result is a system of gas dynamics-type equations for the density and average wealth of the agents on large scales. We recover the inverse Gamma distribution, which has been previously considered in the literature, as a local equilibrium for particular choices of the cost function. |
| Date: | 2014–03–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00967662&r=ger |
| By: | A. Affuso; V. Bravi |
| Abstract: | In response to the recession, many European Countries, Italy included, are undertaking large spending cuts and tax hikes. This paper investigates whether the changes in the composition of public spending would hurt the long-run economic growth. If the composition of spending is strongly tilted towards nondiscretionary items, the resulting expenditure policies are adversely constrained. Flexibility is needed in reducing inefficient expenditure rather than restraining flexible components of the budget, such as public investment in research and development, and education. In this paper, the initial investigation analyzed the composition of Italian public spending, and then assessed the variation effects of the components of public expenditure on the European countries GDP growth using Panel Data Analysis. The results suggested that expenditure on social protection, pension and general services negatively affected the GDP growth rate, while education and public order expenditure had positive effects. |
| Keywords: | fiscal consolidation, public expenditure, panel, economic crisis |
| JEL: | E62 H50 C33 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:par:dipeco:2014-ep01&r=ger |
| By: | Nathalie Picard (THEMA - Théorie économique, modélisation et applications - CNRS : UMR8184 - Université de Cergy Pontoise, Department of Economics, Ecole Polytechnique - CNRS : UMR7176 - Polytechnique - X); André De Palma (Department of Economics, Ecole Polytechnique - CNRS : UMR7176 - Polytechnique - X, ENS Cachan - École Normale Supérieure de Cachan - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Cachan); Ignacio Inoa (THEMA - Théorie économique, modélisation et applications - CNRS : UMR8184 - Université de Cergy Pontoise) |
| Abstract: | Residential location decision is often a household joint decision involving several decision-makers. These different decision-makers usually have diverging preferences, especially in dual-earner households, when spouses work at different locations. Since about half a century, literature on residential location has studied in great detail the influence of socio-demographic characteristics (and in particular the differences between females and males or between multiple-worker and single-worker households). However, there is no research devoted to the within-family joint decision process leading to residential location decision (and work-place decisions). In the context of Paris Area, we analyze differences between spouses' values of commuting times and show that spouses' disparities in commuting decisions is a key element in the intra-household decision process. The single-worker household approach leaves aside by construction important intra-household considerations that influence commuting time and accessibility to jobs. We review different models useful to study intra-household decisions in dual-earner households. To do that, we base our analysis on the framework introduced by Chiappori, de Palma, Picard, and Inoa (2013), which applies the collective approach of household behavior(Chiappori, 1988; Chiappori, 1992) to describe residential location choice of dual-earner households. This collective approach has been used in several economic fields, but not in urban and transport economics so far. Furthermore, we argue that the framework developed by Inoa, Picard, and de Palma (2013), can also be adapted to analyze the joint residential and job location decisions in a two-worker household. The analysis is based on two accessibility variables (one for each spouse) embedded in a three-level nested Logit model which is used to study the interdependence of residential and workplace locations, while accounting for variation of preferences for job types across individuals. |
| Keywords: | intra-household interaction, residential location, Paris region |
| Date: | 2014–03–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00964351&r=ger |
| By: | Giorgio Fagiolo; Gianluca Santoni |
| Abstract: | This paper asks whether the level of integration of world countries in the international network of temporary human mobility can explain differences in their per-capita income and labor productivity. We disentangle the role played by global country centrality in the network from traditional openness measures, which only account for local, nearest- neighbor linkages through which ideas and knowledge can flow. Using 1995-2010 data, we show that global country centrality in the temporary human-mobility network enhances both per-capita income and labor productivity. Our results hold cross-sectionally, as well as in a dynamic-panel estimation, and take into account potential endogeneity issues. Our findings imply that how close a country is to the theoretical technological frontier, depends not only on how much she is open to temporary human mobility, but mostly on whether she is embedded in a web of relationships connecting her with other influential partners in the network. Our exercises also suggest that most of the gain in income and productivity can be attained if country centrality in the network comes mostly from influential partners that lie not too far away from, but neither too close to them in the network. |
| Keywords: | temporary human-mobility network; International technological diffusion; Per-capita income; Productivity; Openness to mobility and trade; Centrality. |
| Date: | 2014–03–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2014/08&r=ger |
| By: | Delwar Hossain |
| Abstract: | The study examines the role of foreign capital and remittance inflows in the domestic savings of 63 developing countries for 1971-2010, paying attention to likely differential effects of FDI, portfolio investment, foreign aid and remittance. The conventional homogeneous panel estimates suggest that foreign aid and remittance flows have a significant negative impact on domestic savings. However, these techniques ignore cross section dependence and parameter heterogeneity properties and thus yield biased and inconsistent estimates. When we allow for parameter heterogeneity and cross sectional dependence by employing the Pesaran’s (2006) Common Correlated Effects Mean Group estimator technique, only remittances crowd-out savings. |
| Keywords: | Domestic savings, Foreign capital inflows, Foreign Aid. Models with panel data |
| JEL: | C23 E21 E22 F21 F35 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:papers:2014-07&r=ger |
| By: | Anson, José (Asian Development Bank Institute); Boffa, Mauro (Asian Development Bank Institute); Helble, Matthias (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | The information and communication technology (ICT) revolution of the past 3 decades has transformed the world into an integrated marketplace. Today, producers and consumers alike are able to compare the prices of local businesses and worldwide sellers. For an increasing number of tradable goods, they can take advantage of arbitrage opportunities between online and offline transactions. One of the key exogenous elements behind this arbitrage is exchange rate movements. The existing literature on exchange rates has concluded that nominal prices can be assumed to be rigid, which thus opens the door to short-term international arbitrage. However, empirical evidence of international short-term arbitrage has so far been lacking due to data constraints. In this paper, we first present a new dataset that holds records on daily international exchanges of goods, namely those sent through the international postal logistics network. We then combine this data set with daily data on international exchange rate movements to test the hypothesis of international arbitrage. Applying different econometric techniques, we show that in an environment of floating exchange rates, almost instantaneous short-term international arbitrage is indeed occurring and that it has a persistent effect. The effect seems to be particularly pronounced in the developed countries of Asia and the Pacific. |
| Keywords: | price stickiness; international arbitrage; international trade; exchange rates |
| JEL: | F14 F31 |
| Date: | 2014–04–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0471&r=ger |
| By: | Sébastien Houde |
| Abstract: | The ENERGY STAR certification is a voluntary labeling that favors the adoption of energy efficient products. In the US appliance market, the label is a coarse summary of otherwise readily accessible information. Using micro-data of the US refrigerator market, I develop a structural demand model and find that consumers respond to certification in different ways. Some consumers have a large willingness to pay for the label, well beyond the energy savings associated with certified products; others appear to pay attention to electricity costs, but not to the certification, and still others appear to be insensitive to both electricity costs and ENERGY STAR. The findings suggest that the certification acts as a substitute for more accurate, but complex energy information. Using the structural model, I find that the opportunity cost of having imperfectly informed consumers in the refrigerator market ranges from $12 to $17 per refrigerator sold. |
| JEL: | D12 D83 L15 Q41 Q50 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20019&r=ger |
| By: | Carlos Giovanni González Espitia (Departamento de Economía. Universidad ICESI.); Natalia Serna Borrero (Banco de la República, sucursal Cali.) |
| Abstract: | The consumer’s choice over a bundle of products depends on the observable and unobservable characteristics of the product and the consumer. The choice is made over the basis of maximizing utility subject to their income restrictions and, at the same time, firms make product differentiation decisions over the basis of maximizing profit. Quality is one way to differentiate products. An example of this type of differentiation happens in the TV market where several displays are developed. Our objective is to determine the probability for a consumer of choosing a type of display among five kinds: standard tube, LCD, plasma, projection and LED. Using a multinomial logit, we find that electronic appliances such as DVDs and audio systems, as well as socioeconomic status, increase the probability of choosing a high-tech display television. Our empirical approximation contributes to the further understanding of consumer rational behavior through the theory utility maximization and highlights the importance of studying the market structure and analyzing changes in welfare and efficiency. |
| Keywords: | Observable product characteristics, product differentiation, quality, television display |
| JEL: | D12 L15 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:alc:alcamo:1402&r=ger |
| By: | Marta Castilho (Universidade Federal Fluminense - Universidade Federal Fluminense); Marta Menéndez (DIAL - Développement, institutions et analyses de long terme - Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD], UP9 - Université Paris 9, Dauphine - Université Paris IX - Paris Dauphine, EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS : UMR8545 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Paris - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA)); Aude Sztulman (LEDa - DIAL - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - Equipe Economie de la mondialisation et du développement - Université Paris IX - Paris Dauphine) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of globalization on household income inequality end poverty using detailed microdata across Brazilian states from 1987 to 2005. Results suggest that the Brazilian states more exposed to tariff cuts experienced smaller reductions in household poverty and inequality. Contrasting results emerge when we disaggregate into rural and uraban areas within states: trade liberalization contributes to growth in poverty and inequality in urban areas and may be linked to evidence indicating that state poverty and inequality in Brazil decrease with rising export exposure and increase with import penetration. |
| Keywords: | Trade Liberalization ; Poverty and inequality ; Latin America ; Brazilian states |
| Date: | 2014–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-00967356&r=ger |
| By: | Backman, Mikaela (Jönköping International Business School, & Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS)); Gabe, Todd (University of Maine); Mellander, Charlotta (Jönköping International Business School, & Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS)) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effects of human capital on the growth and survival of a large sample of Swedish businesses. Human capital is represented by conventional measures of the educational attainment and experience of an establishment’s workers, and skills-based measures of the types of occupations present in the company. Controlling for an establishment’s size and age, as well as its industry and region of location, we find that the human capital embodied in a company’s workers significantly affects its performance. The specific effects, however, depend on how human capital is measured and whether the analysis focuses on growth or survival. |
| Keywords: | Firm growth; firm survival; human capital; education; skills |
| JEL: | J21 J24 L25 |
| Date: | 2014–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0354&r=ger |
| By: | Stéphane Bonhomme (CEMFI); Koen Jochmans (Département d'économie); Jean-Marc Robin (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to provide simple nonparametric methods to estimate finitemixture models from data with repeated measurements. Three measurements suffice for the mixture to be fully identified and so our approach can be used even with very short panel data. We provide distribution theory for estimators of the mixing proportions and the mixture distributions, and various functionals thereof. We also discuss inference on the number of components. These estimators are found to perform well in a series of Monte Carlo exercises. We apply our techniques to document heterogeneity in log annual earnings using PSID data spanning the period 1969–1998. |
| Keywords: | finite-mixture model, nonparametric estimation, series expansion, simultaneousdiagonalization system. |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n8t4k21sm&r=ger |
| By: | Tasso Adamopoulos; Diego Restuccia |
| Abstract: | We assess the effects of a major land-policy change on farm size and agricultural productivity using a quantitative model and micro-level data. We study the 1988 land reform in the Philippines that imposed a ceiling on land holdings and severely restricted the transferability of the redistributed farm lands. We study this reform in the context of an industry model of agriculture with a non-degenerate distribution of farm sizes featuring an occupation decision and a technology choice of farm operators. In this model, a land reform reduces agricultural productivity not only by reallocating resources from large/high productivity farms to existing small/low productivity farms (misallocation effect), but also by distorting farmers' occupation and technology adoption decisions (selection effect). The model, calibrated to pre-reform farm-level data in the Philippines, implies that on impact the land reform reduces average farm size by 34 percent and agricultural productivity by 17 percent. The government assignment of land and the ban on its transfer are key for the magnitude of the results since a market allocation of the above-ceiling land produces only 1/3 of the size and productivity effects. These results emphasize the potential role of land market efficiency for misallocation and productivity in the agricultural sector. |
| Keywords: | agriculture, misallocation, within-farm productivity, land reform. |
| JEL: | O11 O14 O4 |
| Date: | 2014–04–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-509&r=ger |
| By: | Nyangena, Wilfred; Juma, Ogada Maurice |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the impact of package adoption of inorganic fertilizers and improved maize seed varieties on yield among smallholder households in Kenya. We used a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences approach combined with propensity score matching to control for both time-invariant and unobservable household heterogeneity. Our findings show that inorganic fertilizers and improved maize varieties significantly increase maize yields when adopted as a package, rather than as individual elements. The impact is greater at the lower end of the yield distribution than at the upper end. A positive effect of partial adoption is experienced only in the lower quartile of yield distribution. The policy implication is that complementary agricultural technologies should be promoted as a package, and should target households and areas experiencing low yields. |
| Keywords: | technology adoption, yield, difference-in-differences, Kenya |
| Date: | 2014–02–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-14-02-efd&r=ger |
| By: | Mikio Ito; Kiyotaka Maeda; Akihiko Noda |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how the rice futures market in prewar Japan evolved in view of market efficiency changing with time. Using a non-Bayesian time-varying VAR model, we compute the time-varying degree of market efficiency of the rice futures exchanges in Tokyo and Osaka. Then we demonstrated that the markets experienced three periods of significantly low market efficiency every time the government intervened: first in 1890 in Osaka, second in the early 1900s in Tokyo and third in the early 1920s in both Tokyo and Osaka. |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1404.1164&r=ger |
| By: | Catalina Bolance (Department of Econometrics, Riskcenter-IREA, Universitat de Barcelona); Montserrat Guillen (Department of Econometrics, Riskcenter-IREA, Universitat de Barcelona); David Pitt (Department of Applied Finance and Actuarial Studies, Macquarie University) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents an analysis of motor vehicle insurance claims relating to vehicle damage and to associated medical expenses. We use univariate severity distributions esti- mated with non-parametric methods. The methods are implemented using the statistical package R. The nonparametric analysis presented involves kernel density estimation. We illustrate the benefits of applying transformations to data prior to employing kernel based methods. We use a log-transformation and an optimal transformation amongst a class of transformations that produces symmetry in the data. The central aim of this paper is to provide educators with material that can be used in the classroom to teach statis- tical estimation methods, goodness of fit analysis and importantly statistical computing in the context of insurance and risk management. To this end, we have included in the Appendix of this paper all the R code that has been used in the analysis so that readers, both students and educators, can fully explore the techniques described. |
| Keywords: | Loss modeling, insurance, finance |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bak:wpaper:201401&r=ger |
| By: | Li, Yushu (Dept. of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics); Andersson, Fredrik N. G. (Dept. of Economics, School of Economics and Management, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | Hong and Kao (2004) proposed a panel data test for serial correlation of unknown form. However, their test is computationally difficult to implement, and simulation studies show the test to have bad small-sample properties. We extend Gencay’s (2011) time series test for serial correlation to the panel data case in the framework proposed by Hong and Kao (2004). Our new test maintains the advantages of the Hong and Kao (2004) test, and it is simpler and easier to implement. Furthermore, simulation results show that our test has quicker convergence and hence better small-sample properties. |
| Keywords: | Energy Distribution; MODWT; Serial correlation; Static and dynamic panel models |
| JEL: | C11 C12 C15 |
| Date: | 2014–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhhfms:2014_011&r=ger |
| By: | Roberto Rigobon (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); Brent Neiman (University of Chicago); Alberto Cavallo (MIT) |
| Abstract: | We use a novel dataset of online prices of identical goods sold by four large global retailers in dozens of countries to study good-level real exchange rates and their aggregated behavior. First, in contrast to the prior literature, we demonstrate that the law of one price holds perfectly within currency unions for thousands of goods sold by each of the retailers, implying good-level real exchange rates equal to one. Prices of these same goods exhibit large deviations from the law of one price outside of currency unions, even when the nominal exchange rate is pegged. This clarifies that it is the common currency per se, rather than the lack of nominal volatility, that results in the lack of cross-country differences in the prices of these goods. Second, we use a novel decomposition to show that most of the cross-sectional variation in good-level real exchange rates reflects differences in prices at the time products are first introduced, as opposed to the component emerging from heterogeneous passthrough or from nominal rigidities during the life of the good. In fact, international relative prices measured at the time of introduction move together with the nominal exchange rate. This stands in sharp contrast to pricing behavior in models where all price rigidity for any given good is due simply to costly price adjustment for that good. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed013:1357&r=ger |
| By: | Ahrang Lee (The Bank of Korea) |
| Abstract: | Are fixed costs to using financial intermediation quantitatively important in explaining income differences across-countries? I introduce fixed costs into an entrepreneurship model with financial frictions where agents are heterogeneous in their financial assets, entrepreneurial ability and labor productivity. I find that the fraction of agents using financial intermediation substantially decreases as fixed costs increase. Fixed costs as low as 11 per cent of typical year's income lower the intermediated population from almost one to one fifth. Fixed costs also reduce accumulation of capital by 20 per cent as they restrict the intermediated population. Lastly, barriers to financial intermediation play an important role in increasing wealth inequality within an economy and across economies. Aforementioned fixed costs raise the wealth Gini index from 0.78 to 0.92 and reduce income by 10 per cent. That is, the fixed costs alone can explain 10% of income difference between Belgium and Guyana. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed013:1359&r=ger |
| By: | Jérôme Creel (OFCE); Mathilde Viennot; Paul Hubert |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the transmission of ECB monetary policies, conventional and unconventional, to both interest rates and lending volumes for the money market, sovereign bonds at 6-month, 5-year and 10-year horizons, loans inferior and superior to 1M€ to non-financial corporations, cash and housing loans to households, and deposits, during the financial crisis and in the four largest economies of the Euro Area. We first identify two series of ECB policy shocks at the euro area aggregated level and then include them in country-specific structural VAR. The main result is that only the pass-through from the ECB rate to interest rates has been really effective, consistently with the existing literature, while the transmission mechanism of the ECB rate to volumes and of quantitative easing (QE) operations to interest rates and volumes has been null or uneven over this sample. One argument to explain the differentiated pass-through of ECB monetary policies is that the successful pass-through from the ECB rate to interest rates, which materialized as a huge decrease in interest rates during the sample period, had a negative effect on the supply side of loans, and offset itself its potential positive effects on lending volumes. |
| Keywords: | transmission channels; unconventional monetary policy; pass-through |
| JEL: | E51 E58 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p4sg18u8h&r=ger |
| By: | Mauro Napoletano (OFCE); Mario V Tomasello; Antonios Garas; Frank Schweitzer (Chair of Systems Design) |
| Abstract: | Drawing on a large database of publicly announced R&D alliances, we track the evolutionof R&D networks in a large number of economic sectors over a long time period (1986-2009). Our main goal is to evaluate temporal and sectoral robustness of the main statisticalproperties of empirical R&D networks. By studying a large set of indicators, we providea more complete description of these networks with respect to the existing literature. Wefind that most network properties are invariant across sectors. In addition, they do notchange when alliances are considered independently of the sectorsto which partners belong.Moreover, we find that many properties of R&D networks are characterized by a rise-and-fall dynamics with a peak in the mid-nineties. Finally, we show that suchproperties of empirical R&D networks support predictions of the recent theoretical literature on R&D network formation. |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p5487a6cm&r=ger |
| By: | Visser, Martine (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | We examine behavioural models involved in the provision of public goods when income inequality exists within groups. Our sample consists of individuals from urban and rural South African fishing communities. We find that behaviour observed in unequal groups does not accord with models of inequality aversion or egocentric altruism which require an equal distribution of final payoffs. On the other hand it is also not the case that individuals completely discount differences in initial allocations of wealth, as proposed by our absolute reciprocity model. Instead our empirical results lends support to a reciprocal model which requires that individuals contribute a proportional share of their initial endowments. Accordingly individuals are only partly held responsible for exogenous differences in initial wealth. |
| Keywords: | Social Norms; Inequality Aversion; Altruism; Reciprocity; Public goods; National Income Dynamics Study |
| JEL: | C9 C72 D63 D64 H41 Z13 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:116&r=ger |
| By: | Lubica Hikkerova |
| Abstract: | The widespread use of loyalty programs in the tourism sector raises questions about their differentiating capacity and more broadly about the real advantages they offer firms. We have chosen to focus on the hotel sector and propose a conceptual model on the determinants of loyalty to a hotel or a hotel chain. The subjacent hypothesis is to determine if a loyalty program and its associated advantages manage to take precedence over other factors which influence choice and thus modify the probability of the hotel being chosen. More precisely, we seek to better understand the antecedents of commitment and trust and look at how these factors influence customer loyalty and thus determine the impact of loyalty schemes. Our empirical study, carried out on a sample group of consumers, enabled us to identify the four antecedents of loyalty (economic value of the exchange, reputation in terms of quality of the firm, communication, and shared values) so as to make managerial recommendations concerning the effectiveness of loyalty programs. |
| Keywords: | Loyalty; Price; Behaviour; Commitment; Trust; Hotel |
| JEL: | M1 M3 |
| Date: | 2014–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-194&r=ger |
| By: | Bruno Amable (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne & Institut Universitaire de France); Ivan Ledezma (Université Paris-Dauphine, LEDa & IRD); Stéphane Robin (PRISM Sorbonne - Université Paris 1) |
| Abstract: | Several recent policy and academic contributions consider that liberalising product markets would foster innovation and growth. This paper analyses the innovation-productivity relationship at the industry-level for a sample of OECD manufacturing industries. We pay particular attention to the vertically-induced influence of product market regulation (PMR) of key input sectors of the economy on the innovative process of manufacturing and its consequences on productivity. We test for a differentiated effect of this type of PMR depending on whether countries are technological leaders or laggards in a given industry and for a given time period. Contrary to the most widespread policy claims, the innovation-boosting effects of liberalisation policies at the leading edge are systematically not supported by the data. These findings question the relevance of a research and innovation policy based on liberalisation. |
| Keywords: | Product market regulation, innovation, productivity, growth. |
| JEL: | D24 O43 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:14025&r=ger |
| By: | Kaitila, Ville; Virkola, Tuomo |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyse to what extent the Nordic economies are vulnerable to external shocks. Specifi cally, we assess the conventional wisdom that the Nordic countries are small open economies that are sig nificantly engaged in international trade, specialised in only few specific industries and, as a consequence, extremely dependent on the competiveness of their tradable sector and exposed to external shocks. To study this conventional wisdom, we employ a comprehensive set of indicators about trade openness, specialisation and vulnerability. While we do find that the Nordic countries are open economies, though not to an exceptional degree, we also find significant heterogeneity across these countries with respect to their vulnerability. |
| Keywords: | international trade, small open economy, Nordic countries, specialisation, vulnerability |
| JEL: | F14 L00 |
| Date: | 2014–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:report:21&r=ger |
| By: | Silvia Terzi; Luca Moroni |
| Abstract: | In the present paper we will introduce a coecient of multivariate association i.e. association in a d-variate vector of observations x = (x1; : : : ; xd), where d 2 and where each xj is itself a vector of n observations. We order the observations, divide them in slices and count how many times one observation in the r-th slice of any of the d distributions also belongs to the r-th slice of any of the others. The greater the number of overlaps between the units belonging to corresponding slices, the greater the concordance between the d distributions. This is the simple and intuitive idea our multivariate association coecient stems from. It is in fact a multidimensional concordance coecient since it assumes comonotonicity for all variables. |
| Keywords: | Copula, Concordance, Local concordance, Measures of multivariate association |
| JEL: | C14 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtr:wpaper:0189&r=ger |
| By: | Khayyat, Nabaz T. (Seoul National University); Lee, Jongsu (Seoul National University); Heshmati, Almas (Sogang University) |
| Abstract: | This empirical study examines changes in industrial productivity in Korea between 1980 and 2009, focusing on how investment in information and communication technology (ICT) and energy use, influence productivity levels. A dynamic factor demand model is applied in order to link inter-temporal production decisions by explicitly recognizing that the level of certain factors of production cannot be changed without incurring so-called adjustment costs, defined in terms of forgone output from current production. In particular, we investigate how the ICT–energy relationship affects total factor productivity growth in 30 industrial sectors. Describing industry-specific productivity levels is important for policymakers when the allocation of public investment and support is limited. The results presented herein show that ICT/non-ICT capital investment are substitutes for labor and energy use. We also find a high output growth rate in the sampled sectors, and increasing returns to scale, whose effects on the TFP component are higher than those of technological progress. |
| Keywords: | dynamic factor demand, panel data, ICT investment, energy use, productivity |
| JEL: | C32 C33 Q41 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8080&r=ger |
| By: | Carlos F. Alves (Faculdade de Economia do Porto); João Vaz Nunes (Faculdade de Economia do Porto); Ana Paula Serra (Faculdade de Economia do Porto) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the equity portfolio composition of investment funds of 15 European countries. We find that these institutions tend to prefer larger, more liquid, high dividend, low volatility stocks that belong to the main stock market indices. These results are consistent with previous studies that analyze institutional preferences for stock characteristics. These results are also consistent with theories of “prudent” behavior by institutions and are robust to factors such as funds holding a small number of stocks and funds with unusually large holdings relative to the number of outstanding shares of a single company. When we compare institutional preferences across sub-groups of funds, we find no relevant differences between the stock preferences of funds from Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain and those of funds from other countries; also, there seem to be no significant differences between funds with different investment styles and preferences before and during the recent financial crisis in Europe. We also find similar preferences for funds located in countries that adopted the Euro and funds from other countries. Additionally, we find that funds with long-term strategies are more conforming with “prudent” behavior than funds more focused on the short-term. |
| Keywords: | mutual fund; institutional investors behaviour |
| JEL: | G11 G23 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:por:fepwps:533&r=ger |
| By: | Barbara Pistoresi |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the sustainability of Italy’s current accounts from 1861 to 2000. Whether or not we find empirical support to sustainability depends on the statistical condition of stationarity of the current account series. Non stationarity of the current accounts implies the economy has violated its intertemporal budget constraint. Unit root tests to study the stationarity of Italy’s current accounts suggest that in the long run (1861 to 2000) Italy’s external position was sustainable: the Italian economy seems to have used the external deficits (surpluses) to smooth its aggregate consumption. The persistent current account deficits in the shorter 1861-1913 period were generated by foreign capital inflows that allowed investment to rise and, in turn, to prompt the nation’s productivity and economic efficiency. Therefore, they do not seem to have curbed economic growth. Classification-JEL: C22,F32,O1 Keywords: Current account sustainability, economic development, Italy, unit root tests, Granger causality; |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mod:recent:092&r=ger |
| By: | Eliasson, Jonas (KTH); Börjesson, Maria (KTH); Odeck, James (NTNU, Trondheim); Welde, Morten (NTNU, Trondheim) |
| Abstract: | We explore how benefit-cost efficiency and electoral support affect road investment decisions in Sweden and Norway. In Norway, neither benefits nor costs seem to affect project selection. In Sweden, civil servants’ decisions are strongly affected by projects’ benefit-cost ratios, with a stronger effect for more expensive projects, while politicians’ decisions are only weakly affected, and only for small projects. In both countries, governments tend to favour investments in regions where they enjoy strong local electoral support. Using cost efficiency as a final selection criterion seems to filter out many inefficient projects already at an early stage of the planning process. We argue that even if political decisionmakers are apparently mostly governed by other concerns than cost efficiency, civil servants at the administrations should not shy away from preparing efficient project suggestions for decisionmakers to choose from. |
| Keywords: | Cost benefit analysis; Project appraisal; Public decision making; Transport investments |
| JEL: | H43 R42 R48 |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2014_006&r=ger |
| By: | Alexey Kushnir; Alexandru Nichifor |
| Abstract: | We introduce a simple two-stage game of endogenous network formation and information sharing for reasoning about the optimal design of social networks like Facebook or Google+. We distinguish between unilateral and bilateral connections and between targeted and collective information sharing. Agents value being connected to other agents and sharing and receiving information. We consider multiple utility specifications. We show that the game always has an equilibrium in pure strategies and then we study how the network design and the utility specifications affect welfare. Surprisingly, we find that in general, targeted information sharing is not necessarily better than collective information sharing. However, if all agents are either "babblers" or "friends", irrespective of whether the network is unilateral or bilateral, in equilibrium, targeted information sharing yields higher welfare than collective information sharing. |
| Keywords: | Networks, network formation, unilateral connections, bilateral connections, targeted information sharing, collective information sharing, Google, Facebook, babblers, friends |
| JEL: | D85 C72 C62 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zur:econwp:152&r=ger |
| By: | Laetitia Lepetit (LAPE - Laboratoire d'Analyse et de Prospective Economique - Université de Limoges : EA1088 - Institut Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société); Amine Tarazi (LAPE - Laboratoire d'Analyse et de Prospective Economique - Université de Limoges : EA1088 - Institut Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société); Nadia Zedek (LAPE - Laboratoire d'Analyse et de Prospective Economique - Université de Limoges : EA1088 - Institut Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société) |
| Abstract: | We investigate whether excess control rights of ultimate owners in pyramids affect banks' adjustment to their target capital ratio. When ultimate control rights and cash-flow rights are identical, banks increase their capital ratio by issuing equity and by reshuffling their assets without slowing their lending. However, when control rights exceed cash-flow rights, banks are reluctant to issue equity to increase their capital ratio and, instead, shrink their assets by mainly cutting their lending. A deeper investigation shows that this behavior is only apparent in family-controlled banks and in countries with relatively weak shareholder protection rights. Our findings provide new insights in the capital structure adjustment process and have critical policy implications for the implementation of Basel III. |
| Keywords: | Dynamic capital structure; bank lending; pyramids; excess control rights; European banking |
| Date: | 2013–12–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00967892&r=ger |
| By: | Lehmijoki, Ulla (University of Helsinki); Palokangas, Tapio K. (University of Helsinki) |
| Abstract: | In this document, we consider the effects of a land reform on economic and demographic growth by a family-optimization model with sharecropping, endogenous fertility and status seeking. We show that tenant farming is the major obstacle to escaping the Malthusian trap with high fertility and low productivity. A land reform provides peasant families higher returns for their investments in land, encouraging them to increase their productivity of land rather than their family size. This decreases fertility and increases productivity in agriculture in the short and long runs. The European demographic history provides supporting evidence for this. |
| Keywords: | land reforms, population growth, status seeking, sharecropping |
| JEL: | O41 J13 N33 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8054&r=ger |
| By: | Hwang, In Chang |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a stochastic Kaya model. The elasticity of carbon dioxide emissions with respect to population, per capita GDP, energy efficiency, and fossil fuel dependence is estimated using the panel data of 132 countries from 1960 to 2010. As an application of the stochastic Kaya model, we investigate the achievement of each nation to the stabilization of carbon emissions with economic development, using a method of index decomposition analysis. In addition, carbon emissions are projected by 2050 using the model. One of the main findings is that assuming the unit elasticity for each driving force underestimates the scale effect (population change and economic growth) and overestimates the counteracting technology effect. This results in significant differences in quantifying driving forces of the changes in carbon emissions and in future emissions projections. |
| Keywords: | Climate change policy; CO2 emissions; emissions scenarios; decomposition analysis |
| JEL: | Q54 Q56 Q57 |
| Date: | 2013–12–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:55099&r=ger |
| By: | Olivier Bargain (AMSE - Aix-Marseille School of Economics - Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole Centrale Marseille (ECM), IZA - Institute for the Study of Labor); Prudence Kwenda (University of Witwatersrand - University of Witwatersrand) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the informal-formal sector pay gap throughout the conditional wage distribution using panel data from Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. We control for time-invariant unobservables and identification is stemming from inter-sector movers. We control for observables in a non-linear way using propensity score reweighting and carefully check for potential measurement errors. Using similar definitions of informality, we obtain consistent results for all three countries: Informally employed workers earn much less than formal workers primarily because of lower observable and unobservable skills. Estimates of the conditional wage gap show that they are also underpaid compared to their formal sector counterparts. In all three countries, the informal wage penalty is larger in the lower part of the conditional distribution and tends to disappear at the top, i.e., the informal sector increases wage dispersion. The magnitudes of these effects vary across countries, with the largest penalties in lower conditional quantiles of South Africa and more modest wage gaps in Latin America. We suggest explanations in line with different legal and labor market conditions. |
| Keywords: | wage gap; informal sector; quantile regression; fixed effects; propensity score; conditional random effects |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00967324&r=ger |
| By: | Huang, Yongfu; Quibria, M. G. |
| Abstract: | What are the major determinants of green growth? What role can the government play to promote green growth? To address these questions, this paper develops a simple Green Solow model that sheds light on the role of finance and technology in the process of |
| Keywords: | green growth, convergence, neighbouring effects, political and economic structural reforms, political and economic shocks |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-056&r=ger |
| By: | Kosfeld, Michael (Goethe University Frankfurt); Neckermann, Susanne (Erasmus University Rotterdam); Yang, Xiaolan (Zhejiang University) |
| Abstract: | We manipulate workers' perceived meaning of a job in a field experiment. Half of the workers are informed that their job is important, the other half are told that their job is of no relevance. Results show that workers exert more effort when meaning is high, corroborating previous findings on the relationship between meaning and work effort. We then compare the effect of meaning to the effect of monetary incentives and of worker recognition via symbolic awards. We also look at interaction effects. While meaning outperforms monetary incentives, the latter have a robust positive effect on performance that is independent of meaning. In contrast, meaning and recognition have largely similar effects but interact negatively. Our results are in line with image-reward theory (Bénabou and Tirole 2006) and suggest that meaning and worker recognition operate via the same channel, namely image seeking. |
| Keywords: | meaning, monetary incentives, worker recognition, field experiment |
| JEL: | C93 J33 M12 M52 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8055&r=ger |
| By: | David N. Laband; Richard Alan Seals, Jr. |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we attempt to provide an economic explanation for the adoption of bill co-sponsorship by the U.S. House of Representatives in 1967. We demonstrate empirically that key features of legislative production prior to 1967 (when House members’ support for a bill was indicated by introduction of duplicate bills) and post-1967 (when political support for a bill is indicated by co-sponsorship) are strikingly similar. Specifically, the raw number of supporters of a bill, whether indicated by duplicate bills or by co-sponsorship, is not nearly as critical to advancement of that bill through the House of Representatives as is the political power of the individual who introduces it and those who support it. The relative sizes of these effects are highly consistent over time. In effect, this finding means that the underlying factors of importance in the House’s legislative production function did not change significantly when bill co-sponsorship was adopted. This suggests that the change in operating procedure may have been driven by an intra-chamber struggle to control the legislative outcomes. We present empirical evidence that is highly consistent with this hypothesis - - adoption of bill co-sponsorship in 1967 coincides exactly with the post-World War II peak in a concentration ratio of legislation passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. Prior to the 90th Congress, there was a more-or-less steady increase in concentration of legislation passed by the five busiest committees that peaked at over 0.4 in the 90th Congress and then declined precipitously to under 0.15 by the 93rd Congress. |
| Keywords: | Bill Co-Sponsorship; Bill Sponsorship; Bills Reported out of Committee; U.S. House of Representatives; Identical Bill Introduction; Credit Claiming |
| JEL: | H11 H30 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:abn:wpaper:auwp2014-05&r=ger |
| By: | Quoc-Anh Do (Département d'économie); Kieu-Trang Nguyen (London School of Economics); Anh N. Tran (Indiana University Bloomington) |
| Abstract: | Although patronage politics in democracies has been studied extensively, it is less understood in undemocratic regimes, where a large proportion of the world's population resides. To fill this gap, our paper studies how government officials in authoritarian Vietnam direct public resources toward their hometowns. We manually collect an exhaustive panel dataset of political promotions of officials from 2000 to 2010 and estimate their impact on public infrastructure in their rural hometowns. We obtain three main results. First, promotions of officials improve a wide range of infrastructure in their hometowns, including roads, markets, schools, radio stations, clean water and irrigation. This favoritism is pervasive among officials across different ranks, even among those without budget authority, suggesting informal channels of influence. Second, in contrast to pork-barrel politics in democratic parliaments, elected legislators have no power to exercise favoritism. Third, only home communes receive favors, while larger and more politically important home districts do not. This suggests that favoritism is likely motivated by officials’ social preferences for their hometowns rather than by political considerations. |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9ocpp7f52o&r=ger |
| By: | Ho, Chun-Yu (BOFIT) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops and estimates a dynamic model of consumer demand for deposits in which banks provide differentiated products and product characteristics that evolve over time. Existing consumers are forward-looking and incur a fixed cost for switching banks, whereas incoming consumers are forward-looking but do not incur any cost for joining a bank. The main finding is that consumers prefer banks with more employees and branches. The switching cost is approximately 0.8% of the deposit’s value, which leads the static model to bias the demand estimates. The dynamic model shows that the price elasticity over a long time horizon is substantially larger than the same elasticity over a short time horizon. Counterfactual experiments with a dynamic monopoly show that reducing the switching cost has a comparable competitive effect on bank pricing as a result of reducing the dominant position of the monopoly. |
| Keywords: | banks in China; demand estimation; switching cost |
| JEL: | G21 L10 |
| Date: | 2014–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofitp:2014_009&r=ger |
| By: | Nicholas Lawson (AMSE - Aix-Marseille School of Economics - Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole Centrale Marseille (ECM)) |
| Abstract: | A large body of theoretical and empirical research focusses on two rationales for government subsidies to college students: positive fiscal externalities when subsidies lead to greater human capital accumulation and a larger income tax base, and liquidity constraints among students. In this paper, I calculate the optimal subsidy in a simple model that incorporates both fiscal externalities and liquidity constraints. I use two approaches in which outcomes of the model are matched to US data: calibration of a simple structural model, and a "sufficient statistics" approach in which I derive an equation for the welfare impact of tuition subsidies as a function of a few empirical statistics. Both approaches lead to the striking result that optimal subsidies should be increased to the point of completely offsetting average tuition at public universities. This finding is driven by fiscal externalities, and is not sensitive to the extent of liquidity constraints, indicating that we do not need to know their magnitude to make welfare statements about tuition subsidy policy. |
| Keywords: | college tuition subsidies; fiscal externality; liquidity constraints; sufficient statistics; free tuition |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00964527&r=ger |
| By: | Abbiati, Lorenzo; Antinyan, Armenak; Corazzini, Luca |
| Abstract: | We report results from a survey experiment aimed at testing whether providing information on the national public expenditure to the taxpayers and whether involving them in the process of allocating tax revenues over public goods influence the level of the adequate tax rate - the fraction of income that individuals consider adequate to pay as taxes. We find that providing information on public expenditure does not influence the level of the adequate tax rate. On the contrary, the level of the adequate tax rate substantially increases when taxpayers can get to choose the public goods to finance through their taxation. -- |
| Keywords: | Tax Choice,Adequate Tax Rate,Survey Experiment |
| JEL: | H24 H50 D31 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwqwdp:022014&r=ger |
| By: | Eric Bahel |
| Abstract: | The notion of veto player was originally introduced in simple games [see Nakamura (1979)], for which every coalition has a value of 0 or 1. In this paper we extend it to monotonic cooperative games with transferable utility: a player has veto power if all coalitions not containing her are worthless. We examine and characterize the core for each one of these "veto games". Moreover, we show the equivalence of the core and the bargaining set. Our work extends the clan games and big-boss games introduced respectively by Potters et al. (1989) and Muto et al. (1988). |
| Keywords: | TU game, veto power, core, objection, bargaining set. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vpi:wpaper:e07-47&r=ger |
| By: | Nicolas Herault (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne); Francisco Azpitarte (Brotherhood of St Laurence; and Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | We examine trends in the redistributive impact of the tax-transfer system in Australia between 1994 and 2009 using a framework that allows us to separate the contributions of taxes and benefits to overall income redistribution. Furthermore, we identify the effect of tax-transfer policy reforms on changes in income redistribution over the period by controlling for changes in the distribution of market incomes. We find that after reaching a peak value in the late 1990s, the redistributive impact of taxes and transfers steadily declined. Although reforms to the tax-transfer system contributed to the decline in redistribution, their contribution was limited. |
| Keywords: | Taxes and transfers, income inequality, progressivity, redistributive effect |
| JEL: | H23 J22 D31 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2014n02&r=ger |
| By: | Jeremy Lise; Costas Meghir (UCL Department of Economics); Jean-Marc Robin (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | We develop an empirical search-matching model with productivity shocks so as to analyze policy interventions in a labor market with heterogeneous agents. To achieve this we develop an equilibrium model of wage determination and employment, which is consistent with key empirical facts. As such our model extends the current literature on equilibrium wage determination with matching and provides a bridge between some of the most prominent macro models and microeconometric research. The model incorporates long-term contracts, on-the-job search and counter-offers, and a vacancy creation and destruction process linked to productivity shocks. Importantly, the model allows for the possibility of assortative matching between workers and jobs, a feature that had been ruled out by assumption in the empirical equilibrium search literature to date. We use the model to estimate the potential gain from an optimal unemployment insurance scheme, as well as the redistributive effects of such a policy |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9od0s108ro&r=ger |
| By: | Jie Li (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University); Tomoki Sekiguchi (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University); Jipeng Qi (School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University) |
| Abstract: | We extend the theory of job crafting by proposing that job characteristics, individual differences, and group-level contexts interactively promote employee job crafting. Specifically, drawing on the theories of job characteristics, regulatory focus, and social exchange, we develop a multilevel model involving skill variety, an employeefs promotion focus, and procedural justice climate in predicting job crafting. To test our model, we conducted a survey of 265 employees working in 44 work groups at a state-owned enterprise in China. In support of our hypotheses, skill variety has a direct effect on job crafting, which is moderated by promotion focus. Further, our finding on the cross-level three-way interaction suggests that procedural justice climate is an important group-level context that influences employee job crafting. Implications for job crafting theory and future research directions are discussed. |
| Keywords: | job crafting, skill variety, promotion focus, procedural justice climate |
| JEL: | M10 M12 M54 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:1412&r=ger |
| By: | Paolo Pellizzari (Dept. of Economics, Università Ca' Foscari Venice); Elena Sartori (Dept. of economics, Università Ca' Foscari Venice); Marco Tolotti (Dept. of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venice) |
| Abstract: | We study optimal pricing strategies and consequent market sharesÕ dynamics in a transition from an old and established technology to a new one. We simulate an agentbased model, in which a large population of possible buyers decide whether to adopt or not depending on prices, private signals and herding behavior. The firm, on its part, sets prices to maximize revenues. We show that trade-in programs, in practice comparable to very aggressive discounts, are supported by a rational attitude. |
| Keywords: | agent-based models, mobile phone market, random utilities, technology competition, threshold models |
| JEL: | C63 C73 O33 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vnm:wpdman:75&r=ger |
| By: | Kärt Rõigas; Marge Seppo; Urmas Varblane; Pierre Mohnen |
| Abstract: | This paper presents an econometric analysis of the characteristics of firm’s cooperating with universities using Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data for 14 European countries. Our model incorporates three groups of variables which could be related to the probability to cooperate with universities. The first group of variables is related to the size of a firm, the second group measures different innovation activities and the third group describes the internationalisation of firms. In addition, we test for the number of linkages, public financing and the sector of the firm. In order to provide a comparative view across the European countries we use the CIS for the period 2006–2008, where we have data for 14 countries. We use a standard logit model for firm level data, with a dependent variable indicating whether a firm used a university as a cooperation partner or not. We estimate two separate models for cooperating with home and with foreign universities. Our main findings reveal that despite the origin of the university, firms must have a certain level of capabilities to have universities as cooperation partners – conducting internal or external R&D is a significant factor characterising the cooperation with universities. Investments into machinery and equipment as one of the innovative activities are hindering the cooperation with universities. Significant differences between firms that cooperate with home universities, compared to those cooperating with foreign universities exist. Firms cooperating with foreign universities are characterised by a higher level of internationalisation, measured by an export and foreign ownership dummy. |
| Keywords: | university- industry cooperation, Europe, comparative view, national innovation system, competitiveness, technological change |
| JEL: | O32 O33 O57 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtk:febawb:93&r=ger |
| By: | John Whitehead; Melissa S. Weddell; Pete Groothuis |
| Abstract: | One of the major criticisms of stated preference data is hypothetical bias. Using a unique data set of both stated and actual behavior we test for hypothetical bias of stated preference survey responses. We consider whether respondents tend to overstate their participatory sporting event behavior ex ante when compared to their actual behavior at different registration fees. We find that behavioral intentions accurately predicts actual behavior at a middle level of respondent certainty, over predicts actual behavior at a lower level of certainty and under predicts behavior at a higher level of certainty. This suggests that respondent uncertainty corrections can be used to mitigate hypothetical bias. Stated preference data can be used better understand actual behavior in situations where no data exist. Key Words: Hypothetical bias, stated preference data |
| JEL: | L83 Q26 Q51 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:apl:wpaper:14-06&r=ger |
| By: | Finn, Arden (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Leibbrandt, Murray (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | How much income mobility was there in South Africa between 2008 and 2012? Did this mobility serve to equalise or disequalise longer-term measures of income? In this paper we address the first question by assessing the extent of absolute and relative economic mobility. We then turn our attention to the second question of the joint relationship between mobility and inequality, and implement a new measure that is designed to reveal just how equalising or disequalising mobility has been. We find that there was a lot of absolute and relative mobility in the period covered by the first three waves of NIDS, and that this mobility served to equalise longer-term incomes slightly. |
| Keywords: | mobility; inequality; National Income Dynamics Study; NIDS |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:120&r=ger |
| By: | Christoph Bergmeir; Rob J Hyndman; Jose M Benitez |
| Abstract: | Exponential smoothing is one of the most popular forecasting methods. We present a method for bootstrap aggregation (bagging) of exponential smoothing methods. The bagging uses a Box-Cox transformation followed by an STL decomposition to separate the time series into trend, seasonal part, and remainder. The remainder is then bootstrapped using a moving block bootstrap, and a new series is assembled using this bootstrapped remainder. On the bootstrapped series, an ensemble of exponential smoothing models is estimated. The resulting point forecasts are averaged using the mean. We evaluate this new method on the M3 data set, showing that it consistently outperforms the original exponential smoothing models. On the monthly data, we achieve better results than any of the original M3 participants. We also perform statistical testing to explore significance of the results. Using the MASE, our method is significantly better than all the M3 participants on the monthly data. |
| Keywords: | bagging, bootstrapping, exponential smoothing, STL decomposition. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msh:ebswps:2014-11&r=ger |
| By: | Cindy Truong, Yan Wendy Wu (LCERPA) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of female executives on the performance and risk taking of US banks. With a sample of US banks from 2002 to 2010, we find that the inclusion of female executives increases bank performance after addressing endogeneity and reverse causality issues. We also provide evidence that female executives decrease the risk taking of banks. These results suggest that there is added value to having female executives on the executive team. We also find that a more balanced gender ratio results in a greater impact on bank performance and risk taking. This supports the argument to increase gender diversity in executive level positions for females. |
| Keywords: | Gender, Bank Executive, Diversity |
| JEL: | G21 G28 J16 J48 |
| Date: | 2014–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wlu:lcerpa:wm0067&r=ger |
| By: | Li, Yushu (Dept. of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics); Andersson, Jonas (Dept. of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we propose a likelihood ratio and Markov chain based method to evaluate density forecasting. This method can jointly evaluate the unconditional forecasted distribution and dependence of the outcomes. This method is an extension of the widely applied evaluation method for interval forecasting proposed by Christoffersen (1998). It is also a more refined approach than the pure contingency table based density forecasting method in Wallis (2003). We show that our method has very high power against incorrect forecasting distributions and dependence. Moreover, the straightforwardness and ease of application of this joint test provide a high potentiality for further applications in both financial and economical areas. |
| Keywords: | Likelihood ratio test; Markov Chain; Density forecasting |
| JEL: | C14 C53 C61 |
| Date: | 2014–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhhfms:2014_012&r=ger |
| By: | Jesus Crespo Cuaresma (Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business); Doris A. Oberdabernig (Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business) |
| Abstract: | We study empirically the role of education, age structure and other socioeconomic factors as a determinant of the transition to stable democratic regimes. Our findings suggest that educational improvements (in particular in primary education) and policies towards reducing inequalities in educational attainment play a particularly important role as a catalyst of sustainable democratization processes. |
| Keywords: | Democracy, Education, Age Structure, Economic Development |
| JEL: | I20 J10 O11 P26 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwwuw:wuwp170&r=ger |
| By: | Giuseppe De Arcangelis (Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali ed Economiche, Sapienza University of Rome); Edoardo Di Porto (DISES, University of Naples Federico II); Gianluca Santoni (Institute of Economics, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy) |
| Abstract: | This tests the effect of an increase in the migration presence (over population) on manufacturing firms' performance at the local level. The model is estimated for the Ital- ian economy during the recent years of rapid and varied migration (a threefold increase in the 1995-2006 and the presence of 189 nationalities). Firm's performance is mea- sured with common indexes (sales per worker, production per worker and value added per worker) by aggregating individual firm data at different levels. In particular, we construct measures for both a representative (average) province-sector firm and a representative (average) province firm. By means of the sector data we are able to estimate the impact of migrants on high- and low-skill sectors, both in the level and in relative terms. We also consider two dimensions of migrants heterogeneity (in terms of characteristics of nationalities) in order to approximate the effect of high- and low-skill migrants. Our results show that migrants' presence in the province positively affects firm's performance: a doubling of the migration ratio to provincial population raises by about 10 per cent sales per worker and production per worker on average. However, this increase is unevenly distributed and favors low-skill versus high-skill sectors: sectors like Food and Beverages and Furniture show an increase between 13% and 15% when the migration rate doubles. Moreover, on the labor supply side, an increase in proxied relatively low-skill migrants favors low-skill sectors. |
| Keywords: | Sector Analysis, Rybczynski Effect, International Migration. |
| JEL: | F22 C25 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:saq:wpaper:1/14&r=ger |
| By: | Oleg Poldin (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Diliara Valeeva (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Maria Yudkevich (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the characteristics of the social networks of students studying in the economics department in one Russian university. We focus on student friendship and study assistance ties and demonstrate how these networks are connected with the individual characteristics of students and their peers. We find that the probability of a tie existing is explained by the gender homophily, and initial student assignment to the same exogenously defined study group. Students ask for help and form friendships with students who have similar academic achievements. Academically successful students are more popular in study assistance networks while there is no gender difference in student popularity in both networks. Our findings enhance the understanding of the role of friendship and study assistance ties in the formation of peer group effects |
| Keywords: | student achievement, social networks, peer group effects, higher education |
| JEL: | D85 I21 I23 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:37/soc/2014&r=ger |
| By: | Andrea Tesei; Paolo Pinotti (Università Bocconi); Ruben Durante (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the long-term impact of early exposure to Berlusconi’s commercial TV network, Mediaset, on voting behavior and civic engagement in Italy. To do so, we exploit differences in Mediaset signal reception across Italian municipalities due to the network’s staggered introduction over the national territory and to idiosyncratic geomorphological factors. We find that municipalities exposed to Mediaset prior to 1985 exhibit greater electoral support for Berlusconi’s party in 1994, when he first ran for office, relative to municipalities that were exposed only later on. This difference, estimated between 1 and 2 percentage points, is extremely robust and tends to persist in the following four elections. This effect can hardly be attributed to differential exposure to partisan news bias since, prior to 1985, content on Mediaset channels was dominated by light-entertainment programs and no news programs were broadcast until 1991, by which time the network was accessible to the entire population. Instead, we present evidence that early exposure to commercial TV was associated with a substantial decline in social capital consistent with the diffusion of a culture of individualism and civic disengagement that favored the political success of Berlusconi. |
| Keywords: | mass media, voting, civic engagement |
| JEL: | L82 D72 Z13 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n8t4pad92&r=ger |
| By: | Alem, Yonas; Beyene, Abebe D.; Kohlin, Gunnar; Mekonnen, Alemu |
| Abstract: | We use three rounds of a rich panel data set to investigate the determinants of household fuel choice and energy transition in urban Ethiopia. We observe that energy transition did not occur following economic growth in Ethiopia during the past decade. Regression results from a random effects multinomial logit model, which controls for unobserved household heterogeneity, show that households’ economic status, price of alternative energy sources, and education are important determinants of fuel choice in urban Ethiopia. The results also suggest the use of multiple fuels, or “fuel stacking behavior.” We argue that policy makers could target these variables to encourage transition to cleaner energy sources. |
| Keywords: | urban Ethiopia, energy choice, random effects multinomial logit |
| JEL: | C25 Q23 Q42 O13 |
| Date: | 2013–10–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-13-12-efd&r=ger |
| By: | De Paoli, Anna (University of Milan Bicocca); Mendola, Mariapia (University of Milan Bicocca) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the labor market effect of international migration on child work in countries of origin. We use an original cross-country survey dataset, which combines information on international migration with detailed individual-level data on child labor at age 5-14 in a wide range of developing countries. By exploiting both within- and cross-country variation and controlling for country fixed effects, we find a strong empirical regularity about the role of international mobility of workers in reducing child labor in disadvantaged households through changes in the local labor market. |
| Keywords: | international migration, child labor, factor mobility, cross-country survey data |
| JEL: | F22 F1 J61 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8066&r=ger |
| By: | Avdic, Daniel (Department of Ecconomics, Uppsala University); Lundborg, Petter (Department of Economics, Lund University); Vikström, Johan (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy) |
| Abstract: | Although learning-by-doing is believed to be an important source of productivity growth, there is limited evidence that production volume affects productivity in a causal sense. We document evidence of learning-by-doing in a highly skilled profession where stakes are high; advanced cancer surgery. For this purpose, we introduce a novel instrument that exploits the closure and opening of entire cancer clinics which have given rise to sharp and exogenous changes in the cancer surgical volumes at Swedish public sector hospitals. Using detailed register data on more than 100,000 episodes of advanced cancer surgery, our results suggest positive effects of surgery volumes on survival. In addition, we provide evidence on the mechanisms through which these improvements occur. We also show that the results are not driven by changes in patient composition or by other changes at the hospital level. |
| Keywords: | hospital volume; learning-by-doing; cancer surgery; survival; causal effect |
| JEL: | I11 I12 I18 L11 |
| Date: | 2014–03–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2014_007&r=ger |
| By: | Sidartha Gordon (Département d'économie); Ying Chen (Key Laboratory of Inorganic Functional Materials and Devices) |
| Abstract: | We introduce a “nestedness” relation for a general class of sender-receiver games and compare equilibrium properties, in particular the amount of information transmitted, across games that are nested. Roughly, game is nested in game if the players’s optimal actions are closer in game. We show that under some conditions, more information is transmitted in the nested game in the sense that the receiver’s expected equilibrium payoff is higher. The results generalize the comparative statics and welfare comparisons with respect to preferences in the seminal paper of Crawford and Sobel (1982). We also derive new results with respect to changes in priors in addition to changes in preferences. We illustrate the usefulness of the results in three applications: (i) delegation to an intermediary with a different prior, the choice between centralization and delegation, and two-way communication with an informed principal. |
| Keywords: | sender-receiver games, information transmission, nestedness, inter- mediary, delegation, informed principal. |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/5adcidkke9omt0s9p6m01j1rh&r=ger |
| By: | Marine Agogué (CGS - Centre de Gestion Scientifique - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris, LaPsyDÉ - Laboratoire de Psychologie du Développement et de l'Éducation de l'enfant - Université Paris V - Paris Descartes); Nicolas Poirel (LaPsyDÉ - Laboratoire de Psychologie du Développement et de l'Éducation de l'enfant - Université Paris V - Paris Descartes); Olivier Houde (LaPsyDE - Laboratoire de Psychologie du Développement et de l'Education de l'enfant - Université Paris V - Paris Descartes); Arlette Pineau (LaPsyDÉ - Laboratoire de Psychologie du Développement et de l'Éducation de l'enfant - Université Paris V - Paris Descartes); Mathieu Cassotti (LaPsyDÉ - Laboratoire de Psychologie du Développement et de l'Éducation de l'enfant - Université Paris V - Paris Descartes) |
| Abstract: | Despite the existence of many studies about the different aspects of fixation in creativity and design reasoning, the underlying mechanisms of fixation, i.e., the processes that interfere during creative reasoning and lead one to become fixated on a small number of unvaried solutions, remain unclear. In this paper, we propose a theoretical framework to model fixation based on C-K design theory, which states that fixation is characterised as a set of restrictive heuristics activated in creative reasoning. We applied our framework in a set of experiments. We demonstrated how this framework makes sense of the varieties of fixation in design processes. We conclude by proposing three capabilities to understand fixation and overcome it: restrictive heuristics development, inhibitory control and expansion. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00825289&r=ger |
| By: | Francesco Vona (OFCE); Francesco Nicolli (Facoltà di Economia (Faculty of Economics)) |
| Abstract: | We analyse the impact of market liberalisation on renewable energy policies in OECD countries. To this end, we first develop an aggregated indicator of renewable energy policies using principal components analysis and then examine its determinants through panel datatechniques. Our resultsare consistent with the predictions of political-economy models of environmental policies, as brown lobbying, proxied by entry barriers in the energy sector, and citizens’ preferenceshave the expected effectson policy. Brown lobbying has a negative effect on the policy indicator, evenwhen accounting for endogeneity in its effects in a dynamic panel specification and using different policy indicators. Reducing income inequality, the ratification of the Kyoto protocol and stronger green parties all positively affect the approval of more ambitious policies but with less robust results. |
| Keywords: | Renewable Energy Policy; Energy Market Liberalisation; Political Economy |
| JEL: | Q42 Q48 O38 D72 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p544jc8op&r=ger |
| By: | Nava Ashraf; Diego Aycinena; Claudia Martínez A.; Dean Yang |
| Abstract: | We implemented a randomized field experiment that tested ways to stimulate savings by international migrants in their origin country. We find that migrants value and take advantage of opportunities to exert greater control over financial activities in their home countries. In partnership with a Salvadoran bank, we offered U.S.-based migrants bank accounts in El Salvador. We randomly varied migrant control over El Salvador-based savings by offering different types of accounts across treatment groups. Migrants offered the greatest degree of control accumulated the most savings at the partner bank, compared to others offered less or no control over savings. Impacts are likely to represent increases in total savings: there is no evidence that savings increases were simply reallocated from other savings mechanisms. Enhanced control over home-country savings does not affect remittances sent home by migrants. |
| JEL: | F22 O16 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20024&r=ger |
| By: | Rania Jammazi |
| Abstract: | In recent years our understanding of the nature of crude oil price shocks and their effects on the stock market returns has evolved noticeably. Evidence on spillover effects between several kinds of markets has widely been discussed around the globe whereas the transmission of shocks between crude oil market and stock market returns has received little attention. Extending earlier work in the literature, we use data on monthly crude oil returns and stock market returns of five developed countries (USA, UK, Japan, Germany and Canada) to investigate two issues that have been at the center of recent debates on the effect of crude oil shocks on the stock market returns. First, we analyze whether shocks and or volatility emanating from two major crude oil markets are transmitted to the equity markets. We do this by decomposing monthly real crude oil prices and analyzing the effect of the smooth part on the degree of the stock market instability. The motivation behind the use of the former method is that noises can affect the quality of the shock and thus increase erroneous results of the shock transmission to the stock market. Second, under the hypothesis of common increased volatility, we investigate whether these states happen around the identified international crises. In doing so, flexible model involving the dynamic properties of the Trivariate Markov switching GARCH model and the recent Harr A trous wavelet decomposition, is implemented to achieve prominent prediction of the mentioned issues. The proposed model is able to circumvent the path dependency problem that can affect the prediction's robustness and can provide useful information for investors and government agencies that have largely based their views on the notion that crude oil markets affect negatively stock market returns. Indeed, the results show that the A Haar Trous Wavelet decomposition method appears to be an important step toward improving accuracy of the smooth signal in detecting key real crude oil volatility features. Additionally, apart from UK and Japanese cases, the responses of the stock market to an oil shock depend on the geographic area for the main source of supply whether from the North Sea or from the North America (as we take two oil benchmarks WTI and Brent respectively). |
| Keywords: | Trivariate BEKK-Markov Switching, wavelet decomposition, oil shocks, stock markets. |
| Date: | 2014–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-197&r=ger |
| By: | Felix Kubler (University of Zurich and SFI); Johannes Brumm (University of Zurich) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we develop a Negishi approach to characterize recursive equilibria in stochastic models with overlapping generations. When competitive equilibria are Pareto-optimal, using Negishi-weights as a co-state variable has three major computational advantages over the standard approach of using the natural state: First, the endogenous state space is a unit simplex and thus easy to handle. Second, the number of unknown functions characterizing equilibrium dynamics is orders of magnitude smaller. Third, approximation errors have a compelling economic interpretation. Our main contribution is to show that the Negishi approach extends naturally to models with borrowing-constraints and incomplete financial markets where the welfare theorems fail. Many of the computational advantages carry over to this setting. We derive sufficient conditions for the existence of Markov equilibria in the complete markets model as well as for models with incomplete markets and borrowing constraints. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed013:1352&r=ger |
| By: | Odile CHANUT; Nadjoua GHARBI; Dominique BONET FERNANDEZ |
| Abstract: | Franchising has become a dominant model of retailing in the Western world and is also developing in emerging countries, with the internationalization of franchisors. The paper is an attempt at explaining the significant differences in the development of franchise between Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Explanations can be found in the general institutional environment in these countries (country risk, capital export control) as well as in the governments' willingness to modernize the distribution structures and the specific institutional environment of franchising: franchising law, the development of federations that serve to legitimize franchise partners with resource providers, banks and prospective franchisees. The analytical framework is that of institutional theory (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983) that provides new insight on approaches based on economic efficiency (agency theory and the resource scarcity perspective). From an analysis of the documents in the major public databases in the three countries, supplemented with field research, we propose an analysis grid of the institutional environment specific to franchising. Our analysis grid is used to explain the contrasting development of franchises in the North African countries. This development is also explained through the institutional theories renewing the approaches based on economic efficiency (agency theory and the resource scarcity perspective). |
| Keywords: | Institutional environment, institutional theory, analysis grid, international expansion, Maghreb. |
| Date: | 2014–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-200&r=ger |
| By: | Climent Quintana-Domeque; Pierre-Andre Chiappori; Sonia Oreffice |
| Abstract: | We develop a bidimensional matching model under transferable utility, where individuals are characterized by a continuous trait (e.g., socioeconomic status) and a binary attribute (e.g., smoking status).� The model is "truly multidimensional", in the sense that the impact of the traits cannot be summarized by a one-dimensional index.� We present a general resolution strategy based on optimal control theory, and characterize the stable matching.� We derive testable predictions about equilibrium matching patterns.� Using US data, we find that the observed marital sorting of smokers and non-smokers by education is consistent with our model. |
| Keywords: | Marriage market, multidimensional matching, continuous and discrete characteristics, heterogeneous preferences |
| JEL: | D1 J1 |
| Date: | 2014–01–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:696&r=ger |
| By: | Emek Basker (Department of Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia); Javier Miranda |
| Abstract: | We use Hurricane Katrina's damage to the Mississippi coast in 2005 as a natural experiment to study business survival in the aftermath of a cost shock. We find that damaged establishments that returned to operation were more resilient than those that had never been damaged. This effect is particularly strong for establishments belonging to younger and smaller firms. The effect of damage on establishments in older and larger chains was more limited, and they were subsequently less resilient having survived the damage. These selection effects persist up to five years after the initial shock. We interpret these findings as evidence that the effect of the shock is tied to the presence of financial and other constraints. |
| Keywords: | Retail, chain, credit constraints, hurricane, Katrina, natural disaster, exit |
| JEL: | D22 L11 L81 L83 Q54 |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:umc:wpaper:1406&r=ger |
| By: | Gathmann, Christina (Heidelberg University); Keller, Nicolas (Alfred-Weber-Institut für Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Universität Heidelberg) |
| Abstract: | Immigrants in many countries have lower employment rates and lower earnings than natives. In this paper, we ask whether a more liberal access to citizenship can improve the economic integration of immigrants. Our analysis relies on two major immigration reforms in Germany, a country with a relatively weak record of immigrant assimilation. For identification, we exploit discontinuities in the reforms' eligibility rules. Between 1991 and 1999, adolescents could obtain citizenship after eight years of residency in Germany, while adults faced a 15-year residency requirement. Since 2000, all immigrants face an 8-year residency requirement. OLS estimates show a positive correlation between naturalization and labor market performance. Based on the eligibility rules, we find few returns of citizenship for men, but substantial returns for women. Returns are also larger for more recent immigrants, but essentially zero for traditional guest workers. Overall, liberalization of citizenship provides some benefits in the labor market but is unlikely to result in full economic and social integration of immigrants in the host country. |
| Keywords: | citizenship, assimilation, language, welfare, Germany |
| JEL: | J24 J31 J61 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8064&r=ger |
| By: | Aase, Knut K. (Dept. of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | We analyze optimal consumption in the life cycle model by introducing life and pension insurance contracts. The model contains a credit market with biometric risk, and market risk via risky securities. This idealized framework enables us to clarify important aspects life insurance and pension contracts. We find optimal pension plans and life insurance contracts where the benefits are state dependent. We compare these solutions both to the ones of standard actuarial theory, and to policies offered in practice. Implications of this include what role the insurance industry may play to improve welfare. The relationship between substitution of consumption and risk aversion is highlighted in the presence of a consumption puzzle. One problem related portfolio choice is discussed - the horizon problem. Finally, we present some comments on longevity risk and cohort risk. |
| Keywords: | The life cycle model; pension insurance; optimal life insurance; longevity risk; the horizon problem; consumption puzzle |
| JEL: | D91 |
| Date: | 2014–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhhfms:2014_013&r=ger |
| By: | Guillen, Pablo; Hakimov, Rustamdjan |
| Abstract: | We test the effect of the amount of information on the strategies played by others in the theoretically strategy-proof Top Trading Cycles (TTC) mechanism. We find that providing limited information on the strategies played by others has a negative and significant effect in truth-telling rates relative to full or no information about others' strategies. Subjects report truthfully more often when either full information or no information on the strategies played by others is available. Our results have potentially important implications for the design of markets based on strategy-proof matching algorithms. -- |
| Keywords: | school choice,top trading cycles,strategy-proofness |
| JEL: | C78 D79 D80 I20 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wzbmbh:spii2014202&r=ger |
| By: | Emmanuel Duguet (ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l'Utilisation des Données Individuelles Temporelles en Economie - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne (UPEC) : EA437 - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV), TEPP - Travail, Emploi et Politiques Publiques - CNRS : FR3435 - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV)); Christine Le Clainche (LAMETA - Laboratoire Montpelliérain d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - Université Montpellier I - CNRS : UMR5474 - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA) : UR1135 - Centre international de hautes études agronomiques méditerranéennes [CIHEAM], ENS Cachan - École Normale Supérieure de Cachan - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Cachan) |
| Abstract: | We studied the effect of health events (accidents and chronic diseases) on the occupation probabilities at the individual level, while accounting for both correlated individual and time effects. Using difference-in-differences with exact matching estimators, we found that health events have a strong impact on individual labor market histories. The workers affected by a health event have a stronger probability of entering inactivity and a lower probability of keeping their jobs. We also found that the less qualified workers, women, and workers with short term jobs are the most negatively affected by health events. |
| Keywords: | chronic illness; injury; career paths; difference in differences method with exact matching |
| Date: | 2014–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00966963&r=ger |
| By: | Daniel Harenberg; Alexander Ludwig |
| Abstract: | We ask whether a PAYG-financed social security system is welfare improving in an economy with idiosyncratic and aggregate risk. We argue that interactions between the two risks are important for this question. One is a direct interaction in the form of a countercyclical variance of idiosyncratic income risk. The other indirectly emerges over a household's life-cycle because retirement savings contain the history of idiosyncratic and aggregate shocks. We show that this leads to risk interactions, even when risks are statistically independent. In our quantitative analysis, we find that introducing social security with a contribution rate of two percent leads to welfare gains of 2.2% of lifetime consumption in expectation, despite substantial crowding out of capital. This welfare gain stands in contrast to the welfare losses documented in the previous literature, which studies one risk in isolation. We show that jointly modeling both risks is crucial: 60% of the welfare benefits from insurance result from the interactions of risks. |
| Keywords: | social security, idiosyncratic risk, aggregate risk, welfare |
| JEL: | C68 E27 E62 G12 H55 |
| Date: | 2014–03–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kls:series:0071&r=ger |
| By: | Singh, Rajesh; Weninger, Quinn |
| Abstract: | We study equilibrium production and emission in a model where firms jointly produce a valued good and an environmental bad, pollution. Firms are ex ante identical but receive random productivity shocks. A regulator imposes a cap-and-trade policy to control pollution emissions. Trade in emission permits entails transactions costs which follow two specifications: constant per unit trading costs or fixed trading costs. Under proportional costs, the equilibrium outcome is independent of buyers' and sellers' costs and depends only on the total, buyers' plus sellers, per unit trading cost. Under fixed costs, both buyers' and sellers' costs matter. Under proportional costs trade always occurs, either fully or partially, as long as the total trading costs are below the market surplus obtained from the traded permit. With fixed costs, trade is either partial or non-existent. The implication is that production is efficient for a range of proportional trading costs, but always inefficient under fixed costs. In either case, trade is impeded most, even with small costs, when the emission permit market is thin, i.e., when the mass of buyers and sellers is small. We derive a non-monotonic relationship between the aggregate emissions cap and an upper bound for trading costs that obstruct or preclude trade. Further, we find that output loss due to emissions-permit-constrained unutilized capacity increases with productivity variance under ad valorem costs, the result is the opposite under fixed costs. |
| Keywords: | Cap-and-trade regulation; emissions permit trading; ad valorum and fixed transactions costs; capacity utilization. |
| JEL: | L5 Q5 |
| Date: | 2014–03–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:37453&r=ger |
| By: | Masahiko Shibamoto (Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration (RIEB), Kobe University, Japan) |
| Abstract: | This paper re-examines the empirical evidence on the potency of Japanese monetary policy in the 1990s by comparing the estimated impacts of various proxies of monetary policy shocks on the macro economy. My empirical results demonstrate that the surprise target changes as a proxy of monetary policy shocks had impacts on real output and financial variables over the period 1990–2001. I also show that the estimated effects of identified monetary policy shocks depend on whether the shocks are anticipated or not; The monetary policy effects on the economy are underestimated when the empirical models fail to control for the market expectation for monetary policy stance. |
| Keywords: | Monetary policy, Surprise target changes, Vector autoregression model, Japan |
| JEL: | E52 E58 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kob:dpaper:dp2014-10&r=ger |
| By: | Maliranta, Mika; Määttänen, Niku |
| Abstract: | Radical innovations require risk-taking. However, it is hard to find an objective measure for innovation investments that would take riskiness into account. In this paper, we investigate how a simple measure of firms’ innovation investments, namely the employee share of managers and professionals, is associated with profit risk at the firm level. Using data that cover essentially all firms in the Finnish business sector, we first document that labor productivity dispersion is very high among firms with a high employment share of managers and professionals. We also find that the dispersion in the return to firms’ total capital is particularly high among young firms with a high employment share of managers and professionals. We then build a simple model where firms’ innovation activities and firm risk are interrelated. We use the model to analyze how the asymmetric tax treatment of profits and losses in corporate taxation influences firms’ innovation decision in market equilibrium and whether innovation subsidies can improve industry productivity by mitigating such a tax distortion. |
| Keywords: | productivity, R&D, innovation, corporate taxation |
| JEL: | E23 L16 O47 |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:report:22&r=ger |
| By: | Piraino, Patrizio (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Muller, Sean (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Cilliers, Jeanne (Stellenbosch University); Fourie, Johan (Stellenbosch University) |
| Abstract: | Evidence on long-term multigenerational dynamics is often inadequate as large datasets with multiple generations remain very uncommon. We posit that genealogical records can offer a valuable alternative. Rather than exploring the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic status, we rely on birth and death dates of eighteenth and nineteenth century settlers in South Africa's Cape Colony to estimate the intergenerational transmission of longevity. We find that there is a positive and significant association between parents' and offspring's life duration, as well as between siblings. Although these correlations persist over time, the coefficients are relatively small. While the effect of grandparents' longevity on that of grandchildren is insignificant, the cousin correlations suggest that inequality in longevity might persist across more than two generations. We suggest that family and environmental factors shared by cousins, beyond grandparental longevity, can explain these results. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational mobility; longevity |
| JEL: | J62 N37 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:113&r=ger |
| By: | Severnini, Edson R. (Carnegie Mellon University) |
| Abstract: | How much of the geographic clustering of economic activity is attributable to agglomeration spillovers as opposed to natural advantages? I present evidence on this question using data on the long-run effects of large scale hydroelectric dams built in the U.S. over the 20th century, obtained through a unique comparison between counties with or without dams but with similar hydropower potential. Until mid-century, the availability of cheap local power from hydroelectric dams conveyed an important advantage that attracted industry and population. By the 1950s, however, these advantages were attenuated by improvements in the efficiency of thermal power generation and the advent of high tension transmission lines. Using a novel combination of synthetic control methods and event-study techniques, I show that, on average, dams built before 1950 had substantial short run effects on local population and employment growth, whereas those built after 1950 had no such effects. Moreover, the impact of pre-1950 dams persisted and continued to grow after the advantages of cheap local hydroelectricity were attenuated, suggesting the presence of important agglomeration spillovers. Over a 50 year horizon, I estimate that at least one half of the long run effect of pre-1950 dams is due to spillovers. The estimated short and long run effects are highly robust to alternative procedures for selecting synthetic controls, to controls for confounding factors such as proximity to transportation networks, and to alternative sample restrictions, such as dropping dams built by the Tennessee Valley Authority or removing control counties with environmental regulations. I also find small local agglomeration effects from smaller dam projects, and small spillovers to nearby locations from large dams. |
| Keywords: | hydroelectric dams, agglomeration spillovers, employment growth, event-study analysis with synthetic control methods |
| JEL: | N92 R11 R12 Q42 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8082&r=ger |
| By: | Jesper Bagger (Royal Holloway, University of London); Rasmus Lentz (University of Wisconsin-Maddison) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies wage dispersion in an equilibrium on-the-job-search model with endogenous search intensity. Workers differ in their permanent skill level and firms differ with respect to productivity. Positive (negative) sorting results if the match production function is supermodular (submodular). The model is estimated on Danish matched employer-employee data. We find evidence of positive assortative matching. In the estimated equilibrium match distribution, the correlation between worker skill and firm productivity is 0.12. The assortative matching has a substantial impact on wage dispersion. We decompose wage variation into four sources: Worker heterogeneity, firm heterogeneity, frictions, and sorting. Worker heterogeneity contributes 51% of the variation, firm heterogeneity contributes 11%, frictions 23%, and finally sorting contributes 15%. We measure the output loss due to mismatch by asking how much greater output would be if the estimated population of matches were perfectly positively assorted. In this case, output would increase by 7.7%. |
| Keywords: | Sorting, Worker heterogeneity, Firm heterogeneity, On-the-job search, Wage dispersion, Matched employer-employee data |
| JEL: | J24 J33 J62 J63 J64 |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aah:aarhec:2014-11&r=ger |
| By: | Julian di Giovanni; Andrei A. Levchenko; Francesc Ortega |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the global welfare impact of observed levels of migration using a quantitative multi-sector model of the world economy calibrated to aggregate and firm-level data. Our framework features cross-country labor productivity differences, international trade, remittances, and a heterogeneous workforce. We compare welfare under the observed levels of migration to a no-migration counterfactual. In the long run, natives in countries that received a lot of migration -such as Canada or Australia- are better o due to greater product variety available in consumption and as intermediate inputs. In the short run the impact of migration on average welfare in these countries is close to zero, while the skilled and unskilled natives tend to experience welfare changes of opposite signs. The remaining natives in countries with large emigration flows -such as Jamaica or El Salvador- are also better off due to migration, but for a different reason: remittances. The welfare impact of observed levels of migration is substantial, at about 5 to 10% for the main receiving countries and about 10% in countries with large incoming remittances. Our results are robust to accounting for imperfect transferability of skills, selection into migration, and imperfect substitution between natives and immigrants. |
| Keywords: | Migration, Remittances, International Trade, Welfare |
| JEL: | F12 F15 F22 F24 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1414&r=ger |
| By: | William Brock; Anastasios Xepapadeas; Athanasios Yannacopoulos |
| Abstract: | We study rational expectations equilibrium problems and social optimum problems in innite horizon spatial economies in the context of a Ramsey type capital accumulation problem with geographical spillovers. We identify sufficient local and global conditions for the emergence (or not) of optimal agglomeration, using techniques from monotone operator theory and spectral theory in innite dimensional Hilbert spaces. We show that agglomerations may emerge, with any type of returns to scale (increasing or decreasing) and with the marginal productivity of private capital increasing or decreasing with respect to the spatial externality. This is a fairly general result indicating the importance of the network structure of the spatial externality relative to the properties of the aggregate production function. Our analytical methods can be used to systematically study optimal potential agglomeration and clustering in dynamic economics. |
| Keywords: | Agglomeration, spatial spillovers, spillover induced instability, rational expectations equilibrium, social optimum, monotone operators. |
| Date: | 2014–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aue:wpaper:1403&r=ger |
| By: | Robert Böhm (RWTH Aachen University, Germany); Gary Bornstein (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel); Hannes Koppel (Heidelberg University, Germany) |
| Abstract: | We investigate experimentally the underlying motivations and individual dierences with regard to the participation in between-group conflict in nested social dilemmas. In our nested social dilemmas, the collective is divided into two groups, and individuals allocate tokens between a private, a group-specific, and a collective good. We vary the marginal per capita return of the group-specific and collective good in order to manipulate the motivational within- and between group conflicts. A first experiment shows that a between-group conflict leads to within-group cooperation and particularly individuals with positive other-regarding preferences (prosocials) react to a between-group conflict by contributing to the group-specific good. Hence, paradoxically, individuals with positive other-regarding preferences may foster between-group conflicts. A second experiment reveals that prosocials' contributions to the group-specific or collective good vary as a function of the personal costs of within-group versus collective cooperation, supporting the weighted average social preference theory by Charness and Rabin (2002). |
| Keywords: | between-group conflict, nested social dilemma, other-regarding preferences, local and global public goods |
| JEL: | C72 C92 H41 |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2014-011&r=ger |
| By: | Oriana Bandiera; Valentino Larcinese; Imran Rasul |
| Abstract: | We provide evidence on whether providing university students with feedback on their past exam performance affects their future exam performance. Our identification strategy exploits a natural experiment in a leading UK university where different departments have historically different rules on the provision of feedback to their students. We find the provision of feedback has a positive effect on students’ subsequent test scores: the mean impact corresponds to 13% of a standard deviation in test scores. The impact of feedback is stronger for more able students and for students who have less information to start with about the academic environment, while no subset of individuals is found to be discouraged by feedback. Our findings suggest that students have imperfect information on how their effort translates into test scores and that the provision of feedback might be a cost?effective means to increase students' exam performance. Keywords: feedback, incentives, students' performance, university education. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:igi:igierp:511&r=ger |
| By: | Marc Henry (Départment de sciences économiques); Koen Jochmans (Département d'économie); Bernard Salanié (University of Columbia) |
| Abstract: | Two-component mixtures are nonparametrically identified under tail-dominance conditions on the component distributions if a source of variation is available that affects the mixing proportions but not the component distributions. We motivate these restrictions through several examples. One interesting example is a location model where the location parameter is subject to classical measurement error. The identification analysis suggests very simple closed-form estimators of the component distributions and mixing proportions based on ratios of intermediate quantiles. We derive their asymptotic properties using results on tail empirical processes, and we provide simulation evidence on their finite-sample performance. |
| Keywords: | mixture model, nonparametric identification and estimation, tail empirical process |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p2m96cphi&r=ger |
| By: | Diego Restuccia; Guillaume Vandenbroucke |
| Abstract: | Consider the following facts. In 1950, the richest countries attained an average of 8 years of schooling whereas the poorest countries 1.3 years, a large 6-fold difference. By 2005, the difference in schooling declined to 2-fold because schooling increased faster in poor than in rich countries. What explains educational attainment differences across countries and their evolution over time? We consider an otherwise standard model of schooling featuring non-homothetic preferences and a labor supply margin to assess the quantitative contribution of productivity and life expectancy in explaining educational attainment. A calibrated version of the model accounts for 90 percent of the difference in schooling levels in 1950 between rich and poor countries and 71 percent of the faster increase in schooling over time in poor relative to rich countries. These results suggest an alternative view of the determinants of low education in developing countries that is based on low productivity. |
| Keywords: | schooling, productivity, life expectancy, labor supply. |
| JEL: | O1 O4 E24 J22 J24 |
| Date: | 2014–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-507&r=ger |
| By: | Alem, Yonas; Colmer, Jonathan |
| Abstract: | Uncertainty about the future is an important determinant of well-being, especially in developing countries where financial markets and other market failures result in ineffective insurance mechanisms. However, separating the effects of future uncertainty from realised events, and then measuring the impact of uncertainty on utility, presents a number of empirical challenges. This paper aims to address these issues and provides supporting evidence to show that increased climate variability (a proxy for future income uncertainty) reduces farmers' subjective well-being, consistent with the theory of optimal expectations (Brunnermeier & Parker, 2005 AER), using panel data from rural Ethiopia and a new data set containing daily atmospheric parameters. The magnitude of our result indicates that a one standard deviation (7%) increase in climate variability has an equivalent effect on life satisfaction to a two standard deviation (1-2%) decrease in consumption. This effect is one of the largest determinants of life satisfaction in rural Ethiopia. |
| Keywords: | separated by commas |
| JEL: | C25 D60 I31 |
| Date: | 2014–03–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-14-03-efd&r=ger |
| By: | Jinhu Li (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne); Nattavudh Powdthavee (Department of Economics and CentER, Tilburg University; Department of Economics, The University of Melbourne; CESifo (Munich); Centre for Economic Policy Research (London); and Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)) |
| Abstract: | This study estimates the causal effect of schooling on health behaviors. Using changes in the minimum school leaving age laws that varied by birth year and states in Australia from age 14 to 15 as a source of exogenous variation in schooling, the instrumental variables (IV) regression estimates imply that there is a positive, sizeable, and statistically significant effect of staying an extra year in school on later healthy lifestyle choices, including diet, exercise, and the decision to engage in risky health behaviors. We also demonstrate that the magnitudes of the schooling effect were effectively moderated by a selection of pre-determined characteristics of the individuals. Finally, this paper provides some evidence on the potential underlying mechanisms linking education and health behaviors by showing that increasing schooling also raised individuals’ conscientiousness levels and the perceived sense of control over one’s life. |
| Keywords: | Health behaviors, schooling, instrumental variables, education, HILDA, Australia |
| JEL: | I12 I21 C26 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2014n01&r=ger |
| By: | Jennifer Castle; David Hendry; Michael P. Clements |
| Abstract: | We investigate alternative robust approaches to forecasting, using a new class of robust devices, contrasted with equilibrium correction models.� Their forecasting properties are derived facing a range of likely empirical problems at the forecast origin, including measurement errors, implulses, omitted variables, unanticipated location shifts and incorrectly included variables that experience a shift.� We derive the resulting forecast biases and error variances, and indicate when the methods are likely to perform well.� The robust methods are applied to forecasting US GDP using autoregressive models, and also to autoregressive models with factors extracted from a large dataset of macroeconomic variables.� We consider forecasting performance over the Great Recession, and over an earlier more quiescent period. |
| Keywords: | Robust forecasts, Smoothed Forecasting devices, Factor models, GDP forecasts, Location shifts |
| JEL: | C51 C53 |
| Date: | 2014–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:697&r=ger |
| By: | Masahiko Shibamoto (Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration (RIEB), Kobe University, Japan); Masato Shizume (Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan) |
| Abstract: | A veteran finance minister, Takahashi Korekiyo, brought an early recovery for Japan from the Great Depression of the 1930s by prescribing a combination of expansionary fiscal, exchange rate, and monetary policies. To explore the comprehensive transmission mechanism of Takahashi's macroeconomic policy package, including the expectation channel, we construct a structural vector auto-regression (S-VAR) model with three state variables (output, price, and the inflation expectations) and three policy variables (fiscal balance, exchange rate, and money stock). Our analysis reveals that the exchange rate adjustment undertaken as an independent policy tool had the strongest effect, and that changes in people's expectations played a significant role for escaping from the Great Depression. During the second half of 1931, in particular, speculation on Japan's departure from the gold standard and the inflation that was likely to follow reversed the existing expectations: instead of expecting deflation, people began to expect inflation, months ahead of the actual departure from the gold standard. As a whole, the choice of the level of the exchange rate was crucial for changing people's expectations as well as promoting exports. |
| Keywords: | Great depression, Japanese economy, Macroeconomic policy, Expectation, Vector auto-regressive model, Commodity futures |
| JEL: | E52 E63 N15 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kob:dpaper:dp2014-12&r=ger |
| By: | Finn, Arden (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Ranchhod, Vimal (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | We document how we diagnosed data fabrication in the National Income Dynamics Study. Since the fabrication was detected while fieldwork was still on-going, the relevant interviews were re-conducted and the fabricated data were replaced with authentic data. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that this has been done. We thus have an observed counterfactual that allows us to measure how problematic such fabrication would have been, had it remained undetected. We implement a number of estimators using the data that include the fabricated interviews, and compare these with the corresponding estimates that include the corrected data instead. For the outcomes that we consider, we find that the fabrication would not have substantially affected our univariate estimates. However, the fabricated data do impact substantially on some key covariates when panel estimators are used. |
| Keywords: | fieldworkers; data fabrication; South Africa; National Income Dynamics Study; NIDS |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:115&r=ger |
| By: | Olivier N. Godart; Holger Görg; Aoife Hanley |
| Abstract: | We explore whether the introduction of trust based working hours is related to the subsequent innovation performance of firms. Employing a panel data set of over 5,000 German establishments, we implement a propensity score matching approach where we only consider firms that did not use trust based work contracts initially. Our results show that firms which adopt such contracts tend to be between 11 to 14 percent more likely to improve products. These results hold when we control for another form of flexible time work arrangements, namely working time accounts. Thus, the positive relationship between the adoption of trust based working hours and innovation seems to be driven by the degree of control and self-management over working days, rather than by merely allowing time flexibility |
| Keywords: | Trust based work time, innovation, firm performance |
| JEL: | M1 M5 L2 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1913&r=ger |
| By: | Hans Dewachter (National Bank of Belgium, Research Department; Center for Economic Studies, University of Leuven; CESifo); Leonardo Iania (National Bank of Belgium, Research Department; Louvain School of Management (UCL)); Marco Lyrio (Insper Institute of Education and Research) |
| Abstract: | We use a macro-finance model, incorporating macroeconomic and financial factors, to study the term premium in the U.S. bond market. Estimating the model using Bayesian techniques, we find that a single factor explains most of the variation in bond risk premiums. Furthermore, the model-implied risk premiums account for up to 40% of the variability of one- and two-year excess returns. Using the model to decompose yield spreads into an expectations and a term premium component, we find that, although this decomposition does not seem important to forecast economic activity, it is crucial to forecast inflation for most forecasting horizons. |
| Keywords: | Macro-finance model, Yield curve, Expectations hypothesis |
| JEL: | E43 E44 E47 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbb:reswpp:201403-254&r=ger |
| By: | Hamermesh, Daniel S. (University of Texas at Austin, Royal Holloway); Kawaguchi, Daiji (Hitotsubashi University); Lee, Jungmin (Sogang University) |
| Abstract: | Are workers in modern economies working "too hard" – would they be better off if an equilibrium with fewer work hours were achieved? We examine changes in life satisfaction of Japanese and Koreans over a period when hours of work were cut exogenously because employers suddenly faced an overtime penalty that had become effective with fewer weekly hours per worker. Using repeated cross sections we show that life satisfaction in both countries may have increased relatively among those workers most likely to have been affected by the legislation. The same finding is produced using Korean longitudinal data. In a household model estimated over the Korean cross-section data we find some weak evidence that a reduction in the husband's work hours increased his wife's well-being. Overall these results are consistent with the claim that legislated reductions in work hours can increase workers' happiness. |
| Keywords: | happiness, overtime work, rat-race |
| JEL: | J22 J23 J28 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8077&r=ger |
| By: | Justin van de Ven (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne; National Institute of Economic and Social Research); Nicolas Herault (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne); Francisco Azpitarte (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne; Brotherhood of St Laurence) |
| Abstract: | This paper describes a simple and tractable method for identifying equivalence scales that reflect the value judgements implicit in a tax and benefits system. The approach depends upon two assumptions that are standard in the literature concerned with inequality and tax progressivity, in addition to a functional description for transfer payments that can be estimated using common micro-data sources. We use this approach to evaluate tax implicit equivalence scales for the UK transfer system that applied in April 2009. The tax implicit scales that we identify for the UK vary positively with tax unit size and are decreasing in gross earnings, reflecting recent econometric estimates based on consumption data. We conclude by discussing a range of potential applications for the proposed tax implicit scales. |
| Keywords: | Equivalence scale, taxation, base dependence |
| JEL: | D31 H23 I38 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2014n03&r=ger |
| By: | Babu, Suresh Chandra |
| Abstract: | During the recent food crisis, developing countries responded with a wide variety of policy responses to protect their population. Understanding the policy-making process in developing countries is important to know why such policy responses are made and |
| Keywords: | policy process, food crisis, analytical framework, case studies, lessons |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2013-070&r=ger |
| By: | Ennio Bilancini; Leonardo Boncinelli |
| Abstract: | In this paper we apply the instrumental approach to social preferences in order to distinguish among various shapes of preferences for social status. In particular, we consider the shape of reduced preferences that emerge in the equilibrium of a two-sided matching model with non-transferable utility. Cole et al. (1992, 1995) show that, under full observability of potential mates’ attributes, instrumental concerns for social status are ordinal, i.e., only one’s own rank in the distribution of attributes matters. We show that when we depart from full observability, instrumental concerns for social status become cardinal, i.e., also other features of the distribution of attributes matter. We also show that the actual shape of cardinal concerns depends on how individuals can deal with the informational asymmetry, alternatively leading to upward concerns – i.e., making comparisons with higher rank people – downward concerns – i.e., making comparisons with lower rank people – or bidirectional concerns – i.e, being both upward and downward. |
| JEL: | B40 C78 D10 D82 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mod:recent:095&r=ger |
| By: | Jérôme Creel (OFCE); Paul Hubert; Fabien Labondance |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at establishing the link between economic performance, financial depth and financial stability in the European Union from 1998 to 2011. We use the standard framework – both in terms of variables and econometric method – of Beck and Levine (2004) to estimate these relationships. Our results suggest that the traditional result that financial depth positively influences economic performance (or components of aggregate dynamics like consumption, investment or disposable income) is not confirmed for European countries. Furthermore, we use different measures of financial instability (institutional index, microeconomic indicators, and our own statistical index derived from a Principal Component Analysis) and find that financial instability has a negative effect on economic growth. |
| Keywords: | Financial deppth; Aggregate dynamics; financial stability; banks; non perrforming loans; CISS; Z score ; principal component analysis |
| JEL: | G10 G21 O40 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p5296ie95&r=ger |
| By: | Augusto Cerqua (Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali ed Economiche, Sapienza University of Rome); Guido Pellegrini (Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali ed Economiche, Sapienza University of Rome) |
| Abstract: | The shortage of studies on spatial spillovers of industrial policies is rather surprising considering that such policies are usually designed for generating spatial externalities. In this paper we propose a new framework that partially relaxes the SUTVA and allows contrasting the positive agglomeration effects with the negative cross-sectional substitution and the crowding-out effect. The global evaluation of the ATT and the spillover parameters shifts the spotlight from the policy effect on subsidised firms to the global effect of the industrial policy on the targeted territory. Analysing a capital subsidy policy in Italy we find a positive and large effect of the policy on subsidised firms in terms of investment, turnover, and employment; however, the employment growth is in part determined to the detriment of affected untreated firms located in the very proximity of one or more treated firms that belong to the same sector of activity. |
| Keywords: | SUTVA; spillovers; policy evaluation; public subsidies; business support policy. |
| JEL: | C14 H23 R58 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:saq:wpaper:2/14&r=ger |
| By: | Nicola Gennaioli; Rafael LaPorta; Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes; Andrei Shleifer |
| Abstract: | We investigate the determinants of regional development using a newly constructed database of 1569 sub-national regions from 110 countries covering 74 percent of the world’s surface and 96 percent of its GDP. We combine the cross-regional analysis of geographic, institutional, cultural, and human capital determinants of regional development with an examination of productivity in several thousand establishments located in these regions. To organize the discussion, we present a new model of regional development that introduces into a standard migration framework elements of both the Lucas (1978) model of the allocation of talent between entrepreneurship and work, and the Lucas (1988) model of human capital externalities. The evidence points to the paramount importance of human capital in accounting for regional differences in development, but also suggests from model estimation and calibration that entrepreneurial inputs and human capital externalities are essential for understanding the data. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qsh:wpaper:19522&r=ger |
| By: | Xiangling Liu (School of Economics, Australian School of Business, the University of New South Wales); Glenn Otto (School of Economics, Australian School of Business, the University of New South Wales) |
| Abstract: | We report supply elasticity estimates of residential property (houses and apartments) for Local Government Areas (LGAs) in metropolitan Sydney. Using annual data for 1991-2012, the average supply elasticity estimate across all LGAs is 0.2 for houses and 0.8 for apartments. The supply ofhouses is inelastic in all 43 LGAs; in contrast apartment supply is elastic – greater than unity – in about one-third of LGAs. We develop a model to explain the cross-section variation in supply elasticity across LGAs. For houses, supply elasticity is negatively related to an LGA’s population density, the time taken by a Local Council to process a development application and to various measures of the amount of land in an LGA that is unavailable for new housing development. Variation in supply elasticity for apartments across LGAs is unrelated to any of the available regressors. |
| Keywords: | housing supply, supply elasticity, development application, undevelopable land |
| JEL: | R31 R52 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:swe:wpaper:2014-13&r=ger |
| By: | Lin Shao (Washington University of St. Louis); Fabrizio Zilibotti (University of Zurich); Simon Alder (University of Zurich) |
| Abstract: | We use the establishment of Special Economic Zones in China to estimate the effect of economic reforms on GDP. A panel of 270 Chinese cities from 1988 to 2010 allows us to exploit the variation in the establishment of zones across time and space. The results from our baseline fixed effects specification suggest that the establishment of a major zone led to an increase in the level of GDP between 6% and 10%, depending on the type of zone. This result is similar in a sub-sample of inland provinces, where the selection of cities in which zones were established was more transparent. Decomposing GDP into physical capital, efficient labor, and TFP shows that the effect of the zones went mainly through the accumulation of physical capital. Using electricity consumption and light intensity as two alternative measures for economic activity partly confirms these results. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed013:1309&r=ger |
| By: | Christophe Blot (OFCE); Jérôme Creel (OFCE); Fabien Labondance (Atelier de recherche sur la politique économique et la gestion des entreprises (ARPEGE)); Francesco Saraceno (OFCE); Paul Hubert |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at investigating first the (possibly time-varying) empirical relationship between the level and conditional variances of price and financial stability, and second, the effects of macro and policy variables on this relationship in the United States and the Eurozone. Three empirical methods are used to examine the relevance of A.J. Schwartz’s “conventional wisdom” that price stability would yield financial stability. Using simple correlations, VAR and Dynamic Conditional Correlations, we reject the hypothesis that price stability is positively correlated to financial stability. We then discuss the empirical appropriateness of the “leaning against the wind” monetary policy approach. |
| Keywords: | Price stability; Financial stability; DCC-GARCH; VAR |
| JEL: | C32 E31 E44 E52 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p4oqi4ibn&r=ger |
| By: | Bolin, Kristian (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Lindgren, Björn (Centre for Health Economics, University of Gothenburg, Gotenburg, Sweden; Dept of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge MA, US) |
| Abstract: | A number of behaviours influence health in a non-monotonic way. Physical activity and alcohol consumption, for instance, may be beneficial to one’s health in moderate but detrimental in large quantities. We develop a demand-for-health framework that incorporates the feature of a physiologically optimal level. An individual may still choose a physiologically non-optimal level, because of the trade-off in his or her preferences for health versus other utility-affecting commodities. However, any deviation from the physiologically optimal level will be punished with respect to health. A set of steady-state comparative statics is derived regarding the effects on the demand for health and health-related behaviour, indicating that individuals will react differently to exogenous changes, depending on the amount of the health-related behaviour they demand. We also show (a) that a steady-state equilibrium is a saddle-point and (b) that the physiologically optimal level may be a steady-state equilibrium for the individual. Our analysis suggests that general public-health policies may, to some extent, be counterproductive due to the responses induced in parts of the population. |
| Keywords: | human capital; Grossman model; non-monotonic health investments; health; steadystate and stable equilibria |
| JEL: | I12 |
| Date: | 2014–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0588&r=ger |
| By: | Messan Agbaglah (Département d'économique, Université de Sherbrooke) |
| Abstract: | We introduce the game in cover function form, which is a bargaining game of sequential offers for endogenous overlapping coalitions. This extension of games in partition function form removes the restriction to disjoint coalitions. We discuss the existence of equilibria, and we develop an algorithm to compute equilibrium outcomes, under some conditions. We define the key properties that overlapping coalition structures must verify to uniquely identify networks. We show that each network is defined as an equilibrium outcome of a game in cover function form. Our results bridge the two strands of literature devoted to the formation networks and coalitions. |
| Keywords: | Overlapping coalitions, Bargaining, Network formation, Coalition formation, Game in cover function form, Symmetric game |
| JEL: | C72 C78 D62 D85 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:shr:wpaper:14-02&r=ger |
| By: | Stockhammer, Engelbert (Kingston University London) |
| Abstract: | Neoliberalism has not given rise to a sustained profit-led growth process, but to a finance-dominated accumulation regime in which growth relies either on financial bubbles and rising household debt (‘debt-driven growth’) or on net exports (‘export-driven growth’). The financial crisis that began in the market for derivatives on the US subprime mortgage market has translated into the worst recession since the 1930s. In Europe the crisis has been amplified by an economic policy architecture (the Stability and Growth Pact) that aimed at restricting the role of fiscal policy and insulating monetary policy and central banks from national governments. The crisis has thus led to a sharp economic divergence between core and peripheral countries. Contrary to the situation in the (export-driven) Germanic core of Europe, the crisis is escalating in the (debt-driven) southern countries of Europe. The paper interprets the policy regime as the outcome of national elites’ attempt to use European integration as a means to constrain nation states. The result is a policy regime that has fatally weakened nation states as regards their fiscal and monetary capacities without creating a European state. |
| Keywords: | Euro crisis; Neoliberalism; European economic policy; European integration; financial crisis; sovereign debt crisis. |
| JEL: | B50 E60 |
| Date: | 2013–12–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:kngedp:2013_002&r=ger |
| By: | Karine Constant (AMSE - Aix-Marseille School of Economics - Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole Centrale Marseille (ECM)); Marion Davin (AMSE - Aix-Marseille School of Economics - Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole Centrale Marseille (ECM)) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the relationship between environmental policy and growth when green preferences are endogenously determined by education and pollution. The government can implement a tax on pollution and recycle the revenue in public pollution abatement and/or education subsidy (influencing green behaviors). When agent's preferences for the environment are highly sensitive to environmental damages, the economy can converge to a balanced growth path equilibrium with damped oscillations. Therefore, we identify two objectives that environmental policy seeks to address: remove oscillations, source of intergenerational inequalities, and enhance the long-term growth rate. We show that a tighter tax allows to achieve both objectives when the tax revenue is well allocated between education and direct environmental protection. |
| Keywords: | environmental policy; endogenous growth; environmental awareness; education |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00964540&r=ger |
| By: | Jean Fouré (CEPII - Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales - Centre d'analyse stratégique); Agnès Bénassy-Quéré (CEPII - Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales - Centre d'analyse stratégique, EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris); Lionel Fontagné (CEPII - Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales - Centre d'analyse stratégique, EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris, Department of Economics - European University Institute) |
| Abstract: | We present growth scenarios for 147 countries to 2050, based on MaGE (Macroeconometrics of the Global Economy), a three-factor production function that includes capital, labour and energy. We improve on the literature by accounting for the energy constraint through dynamic modelling of energy productivity, and departing from the assumptions of either a closed economy or full capital mobility by applying a Feldstein-Horioka-type relationship between savings and investment rates. Our results suggest that, accounting for relative price variations, China could account for 33% of the world economy in 2050, which would be much more than the United States (9%), India (8%), the European Union (12%) and Japan (5%). They suggest also that China would overtake the United States around 2020 (2040 at constant relative prices). However, in terms of standards of living, measured through GDP per capita in purchasing power parity, China would still lag 10 percent behind the United States at the 2050 horizon. |
| Keywords: | GDP projections ; Llong run ; Global economy |
| Date: | 2014–03–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00962464&r=ger |
| By: | Daniel Montolio (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB); Francesc Trillas (Autonomous University of Barcelona, PPSRC-Iese & IEB); Elisa Trujillo-Baute (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB) |
| Abstract: | We empirically estimate the effects of regulated access prices and firms’ multinational status on firm performance by using firm, corporate group, and country level information for the European broadband market between 2002 and 2010. Three measures of firm performance are used, namely: market share, turnover and productivity. Special attention is paid to differences in the impact on the performance measures depending on a firm’s position as either a market incumbent or entrant. We find that while access prices have a negative effect on entrants’ market share and turnover, the effect on incumbents’ market share, turnover and productivity is positive. Further, we find that multinational entrants perform better than national entrants in terms of their market share but worse in terms of their turnover and productivity. The opposite is true of incumbent multinationals which perform better than nationals in terms of their turnover and productivity but worse in terms of their market share. This confirms that a firm’s multinational status has a significant impact on its performance, and that this impact differs for incumbents and entrants. Finally, when evaluating the impact of access prices on firm performance at the mean performance of national and multinational firms, we find that the impact of access prices is lower for multinational than for national firms. |
| Keywords: | Regulation, firm performance, telecommunications, multinational firms |
| JEL: | L51 L25 L96 F23 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2013/6/doc2014-15&r=ger |
| By: | Martha G. Alatriste Contreras; Giorgio Fagiolo |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates how economic shocks propagate and amplify through the input-output network connecting industrial sectors in developed economies. We study alternative models of diffusion on networks and we calibrate them using input-output data on real-world inter-sectoral dependencies for several European countries before the Great Depression. We show that the impact of economic shocks strongly depends on the nature of the shock and country size. Shocks that impact on final demand without changing production and the technological relationships between sectors have on average a large but very homogeneous impact on the economy. Conversely, when shocks change also the magnitudes of input-output across-sector interdependencies (and possibly sector production), the economy is subject to predominantly large but more heterogeneous avalanche sizes. In this case, we also find that: (i) the more a sector is globally central in the country network, the largest its impact; (ii) the largest European countries, such as those constituting the core of the European Union's economy, typically experience the largest avalanches, signaling their intrinsic higher vulnerability to economic shocks. |
| Keywords: | Complex networks, input-output networks, shock diusion, spreading mechanisms, avalances, economic crises |
| Date: | 2014–02–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2014/09&r=ger |
| By: | Pol Antrà s; Teresa C. Fort; Felix Tintelnot |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the extensive and intensive margins of firms' global sourcing decisions. First, it presents three new facts on U.S. firms' import behavior that highlight the importance of the extensive margin in explaining cross-sectional variation in U.S. import volumes. These facts motivate the development of a quantifiable multi-country global sourcing model with heterogeneous firms, in which firms self-select into importing based on their productivity and country-specific variables (wages, trade costs, and technology). The model delivers a simple closed-form solution for firm profits as a function of the number and characteristics of the set of countries from which a firm has invested in being able to import. A key feature of this derived profit function is that the marginal increase in profits from adding a country to the firm's set of potential sourcing locations depends on the number and characteristics of other countries in the set. This makes the analysis of the extensive margin of sourcing more complicated than in models of exporting, where entry is typically assumed to be independent across markets. Under plausible parametric restrictions, however, selection into importing features complementarity across markets. In this case, we can use standard monotone comparative statics techniques to show that the sourcing strategies of firms follow a strict hierarchical structure, as in exporting models. In our empirical implementation of the model, we also exploit these complementarities to develop an algorithm, similar to Jia (2008), to feasibly estimate the fixed costs of sourcing from different countries. |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qsh:wpaper:154856&r=ger |
| By: | Maurizio Iacopetta (OFCE); Alessandro Giovannini; Raoul Minetti (Michigan State University) |
| Abstract: | The paper reviews the state of the economic literature on the link between financial development and growth. We first examine the issue of measurement of financial development and the debate on the direction of causality between finance and growth. Next, we extensively discuss the various channels through which the financial sector can affect growth, including the increase in the efficiency of capital allocation, the reduction in information costs, the improvement of risk management, and the support of innovation. The analysis is conducted referring both to the theoretical literature and to the most recent empirical findings. We conclude by drawing lessons for the current debate on the reform of the financial sector in the aftermath of the Great Recession. |
| Keywords: | financial development; growth; banks; stock markets; crisis |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6o65lgig8d0qcro9p14jk1001&r=ger |
| By: | Nie, Peng; Sousa-Poza, Alfonso |
| Abstract: | Using five waves from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), we investigate the association between maternal employment and obesity in children aged 3 - 17 in both rural and urban China. Using BMI and waist circumference as measures for pediatric adiposity, we provide scant evidence for its relation to maternal employment. We also find no strong association between maternal employment and our measures for children's diet and physical activity. Our study also suggests that grandparenting could have beneficial effects on childhood obesity. -- |
| Keywords: | Maternal employment,Childhood obesity,China |
| JEL: | I12 J13 J22 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fziddp:872014&r=ger |
| By: | Matousek, Roman (Sussex University, UK); Nguyen, Thao Ngoc (Nottingham Trent University, UK); Stewart, Chris (Kingston University London) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the market structure of Vietnam’s banking system from 1999 to 2009 using the non-structural (Panzar-Rosse) model. We consider a more comprehensive range of specifications, in terms of a greater number of environmental covariates and different dependent variables, than in previous applications of this model. Further, this is the first study that uses lagged input prices (to avoid endogeneity) and excludes assets (to avoid specification bias) in such a study of the Vietnamese banking system. We find that the Vietnamese banking system operates in monopolistic competition with non-state owned commercial banks behaving more competitively than state owned commercial banks. |
| Keywords: | Banking; performance; Non-structural model; Vietnam |
| JEL: | G21 |
| Date: | 2013–05–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:kngedp:2013_001&r=ger |
| By: | Mitaritonna, Cristina (CEPII, Paris); Orefice, Gianluca (CEPII, Paris); Peri, Giovanni (University of California, Davis) |
| Abstract: | Immigrants may complement native workers, increase productivity, allow specialization by skill in the firm and lower costs. These effects could be beneficial for the firm and increase its productivity and profits. However not all firms use immigrants. Allowing firms to have differential fixed cost in hiring immigrants we analyze the impact of an increase in local supply of immigrants on firms' immigrant employment and firm's productivity. Using micro-level data on French firms, we show that a supply-driven increase in foreign born workers in a department (location) increases the productivity of firms in that department. We also find that this effect is significantly stronger for firms with initially zero level of foreign employment. Those are also the firms whose share of immigrants increases the most. We also find that the positive productivity effect of immigrants is associated with faster growth of capital and improved export performances of the firms. Finally we find a positive effect of immigration on wages of natives and on specialization of natives in complex occupations, that is common to all firms in the department. |
| Keywords: | immigrants, firms, productivity, heterogeneity, fixed costs of hiring |
| JEL: | F22 E25 J61 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8063&r=ger |
| By: | Francesco Zanetti; Konstantinos Theodoridis |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a VAR model estimated with Bayesian methods to identify the effect of productivity news shocks on labor market variables by imposing that they are orthogonal to current technology but they explain future observed technology.� In the aftermath of a positive news shock, unemployment falls, whereas wages and the job finding rate increase.� The analysis establishes that news shocks are important in explaining the historical developments in labor market variables, whereas they play a minor role for movements in real activity.� We show that the empirical responses to news shocks are in line with those of a baseline search and matching model of the labor market and that the job destruction rate and real wage rigidities are critical for the variables' responses to the news shock. |
| Keywords: | Anticipated productivity shocks, Bayesian SVAR methods, labor market search frictions |
| JEL: | E32 C32 C52 |
| Date: | 2014–02–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:699&r=ger |
| By: | Sarah Guillou (OFCE); Michel Bernini; Flora Bellone (Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion) |
| Abstract: | Is corporate financial structure a determinant of non-price competitiveness in export markets? In this paper we provide a positive answer to this question by finding that among illiquid exporters leverage is negatively correlated with the quality of their exported goods. This result is obtained on a sample including over 120,000 export flows of 6,229 French firms exporting within six HS6 products categories. The main methodological contribution of our study is the use of a flow-level measure of export quality obtained from the estimation of a structural model of demand (Berry, 1994); this estimator enhance the validity of our approach by avoiding the drawbacks of proxying for quality using export prices, as it is common practice in the trade literature. We argue that the negative impact of leverage on quality is consistent with theoretical contributions in the financial literature predicting a negative impact of debt financing on firms’ incentive to undertake quality upgrading investments. |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f6h8764enu2lskk9p4sr364g4&r=ger |
| By: | Alin Halimatussadiah; Budy P. Resosudarmo; Diah Widyawati |
| Abstract: | Social capital is considered to be an important factor in economic development. It is argued that it generates a flow of (economic) benefits through collective action, by reducing free riding and increasing individual contribution. This study examines whether social capital increases individual contribution in a collective action situation. Using a classroom experiment, two games are played in a sequential manner: a trust game to measure level of trust–as a proxy for social capital–and a public goods game to measure individual contribution to collective action. In the public goods game, we apply some treatments to look at the impact of partial disclosure of a group member’s behaviour in the trust game on contributions in the public goods game. In general, the result shows that the level of social capital positively impacts individual contribution to collective action. However, we found no significant evidence to support the impact of partial disclosure of a group member's behaviour in the trust game on contributions in the public goods game. |
| Keywords: | Social Capital, Collective Action, Trust Game, Public Goods Game |
| JEL: | A14 C91 C92 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:papers:2014-03&r=ger |
| By: | George J. Borjas; Kirk B. Doran |
| Abstract: | Many economists believe knowledge production generates positive spillovers among knowledge producers. The available evidence, however, is mixed. We argue that spillovers can exist along three dimensions (idea, geographic, and collaboration space). To isolate the key channel through which knowledge spills over, we use a unique data set to examine the impact of a large post-1992 exodus of Soviet mathematicians on the output of the non-émigrés. Although the data reveal strong competitive effects in idea space, there is evidence of knowledge spillovers in collaboration space, when high-quality researchers directly engage with other researchers in the joint production of new knowledge. |
| JEL: | D83 J24 O31 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20026&r=ger |
| By: | Berthelon, Matias (Universidad Adolfo Ibañez); Kruger, Diana (Universidad Adolfo Ibañez) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the effect of having a child in adolescence on high school completion, educational attainment, and college enrollment in a developing country setting using nine repeated rounds of Chilean household surveys that span the 1990–2009 period. We control for selection bias and household unobservables of teen motherhood with two approaches: different estimation methods – propensity score matching and family fixed effects for a large sub-sample of sisters – and three different samples. Results reveal that adolescent motherhood reduces the probability of high school completion by between 18 to 37 percent. Furthermore, effects are heterogeneous across education groups: teen motherhood has larger negative effects on high school completion and years of schooling among poor and low-education households. Our results imply that policies aimed at reducing early childbearing will have important short-term effects on young women's education outcomes. |
| Keywords: | education, teen pregnancy, adolescent motherhood, youth, high school, Chile |
| JEL: | O15 J13 I25 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8072&r=ger |
| By: | Yi-Ting Chen (Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan); Yu-Chin Hsu (Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan); Hung-Jen Wang (Department of Economics, National Taiwan University; Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan) |
| Abstract: | Government policies are frequently used throughout the world to promote productivity. While some of the policies are designed to work through technology enhancement, others are meant to exert the influence through effciency improvement. It is therefore important to have a program evaluation method that can distinguish the channels of effects. We propose a treatment eect stochastic frontier model for this purpose. One of the important feature of the model is that the participation in the treatment is endogenous. We illustrate the empirical application of the model using the data of large dams in India to study the eects on the agricultural production. |
| Keywords: | stochastic frontier models, treatment effect |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sin:wpaper:14-a006&r=ger |
| By: | Bartos, Vojtech (CERGE-EI); Bauer, Michal (Charles University, Prague); Chytilová, Julie (Charles University, Prague); Matejka, Filip (CERGE-EI) |
| Abstract: | We link two important ideas: attention is scarce and lack of information about an individual drives discrimination in selection decisions. Our model of allocation of costly attention implies that applicants from negatively stereotyped groups face "attention discrimination": less attention in highly selective cherry-picking markets, where more attention helps applicants, and more attention in lemon-dropping markets, where it harms them. To test the prediction, we integrate tools to monitor information acquisition into correspondence field experiments. In both countries we study we find that unfavorable signals, minority names, or unemployment, systematically reduce employers' efforts to inspect resumes. Also consistent with the model, in the rental housing market, which is much less selective than labor markets, we find landlords acquire more information about minority relative to majority applicants. We discuss implications of endogenous attention for magnitude and persistence of discrimination in selection decisions, returns to human capital and, potentially, for policy. |
| Keywords: | discrimination, attention, field experiment, monitoring information acquisition |
| JEL: | C93 D83 J15 J71 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8058&r=ger |
| By: | Emmanuel Duguet (ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l'Utilisation des Données Individuelles Temporelles en Economie - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne (UPEC) : EA437 - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV), TEPP - Travail, Emploi et Politiques Publiques - CNRS : FR3435 - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEMLV)); Christine Le Clainche (LAMETA - Laboratoire Montpelliérain d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - Université Montpellier I - CNRS : UMR5474 - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA) : UR1135 - Centre international de hautes études agronomiques méditerranéennes [CIHEAM], ENS Cachan - École Normale Supérieure de Cachan - École normale supérieure [ENS] - Cachan) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether chronic illnesses and injuries have a significant impact on the individual's performance in the labor market. We use the "Santé et Itinéraires Professionnels" (SIP, "Health and Labor Market Histories") survey, conducted in France in 2006-2007. We use the propensity score method in order to evaluate the impact of chronic illnesses and accidents on labor market participation and earnings. We find that both health events, chronic illness and accidents have a negative effect on professional careers and earnings, and that accidents have a greater impact on women's earnings. |
| Keywords: | chronic illness; injury; career paths; difference in differences method with exact matching |
| Date: | 2014–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00966970&r=ger |
| By: | Jean-Louis Combes (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I); Rasmané OUEDRAOGO (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we empirically discuss whether or not external debt affects country's governance. Indeed, indebted countries need some political governance reforms in order to send out a positive signal to international financial community and investors; and so improving business climate. However, external debt reduces their flexibility and ability to address associated costs to political governance. Our study focuses on the period 1985-2011 and spans 103 developing countries. To deal with endogeneity issue, we first lag external debt by one year and second propose two-step tobit estimator by instrumenting external debt-to-GDP ratio with real effective exchange rate. Even controlling for various conventional determinants of democratic transitions, we find that external debt constraints indebted countries to move up democracy scale but incite governments to improve investment profile and therefore improving business climate. Furthermore, Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs dampen the negative effect of debt on democratic transitions. |
| Keywords: | external debt;governance;democracy;democratic transitions;crisis;investment |
| Date: | 2014–04–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00969172&r=ger |
| By: | Alpaslan Akay (University of Gothenburg - University of Göteborg, IZA - Institute for the Study of Labor); Olivier Bargain (IZA - Institute for the Study of Labor, AMSE - Aix-Marseille School of Economics - Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole Centrale Marseille (ECM)); Klaus F. Zimmermann (IZA - Institute for the Study of Labor, University of Bonn - University of Bonn) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether the subjective well-being of migrants is responsive to fluctuations in macroeconomic conditions in their country of origin. Using the German Socio-Economic Panel for the years 1984 to 2009 and macroeconomic variables for 24 countries of origin, we exploit country-year variation for identification of the effect and panel data to control for migrants' observed and unobserved characteristics. We find strong (mild) evidence that migrants' well-being responds negatively (positively) to an increase in the GDP (unemployment rate) of their home country. That is, we originally demonstrate that migrants regard home countries as natural comparators and, thereby, suggest an original assessment of the migration's relative deprivation motive. We also show that migrants are positively affected by the performances of the German regions in which they live (a 'signal effect'). We demonstrate that both effects decline with years-since-migration and with the degree of assimilation in Germany, which is consistent with a switch of migrants' reference point from home countries to migration destinations. Results are robust to the inclusion of country-time trends, to control for remittances sent to relatives in home countries and to a correction for selection into return migration. We derive important implications for labor market and migration policies. |
| Keywords: | migrants; well-being; GDP; unemployment; relative concerns/deprivation |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00967337&r=ger |
| By: | Sang-Wook (Stanley) Cho (School of Economics, Australian School of Business, the University of New South Wales); Juliàn P. Dìaz (Department of Economics, Quinlan School of Business, Loyola University) |
| Abstract: | In this article, we disentangle the relationship between the skill premium, trade liberalization and productivity changes in accounting for the skill premium patterns of transition economies that joined the European Union (EU) in 2004. To conduct our analysis, we construct an applied general equilibrium model with skilled and unskilled labor, and combining Social Accounting Matrices, Household Budget Surveys and the EU KLEMS Growth and Productivity Accounts database, we calibrate it to match Hungarian data, a transition economy wherethe skill premium consistently increased between 1995 and 2005. We then assess the role of the multiple factors that affected the patterns of the skill premium: trade liberalization reforms, factor and sector bias of technical change and capital deepening, and find that all the factors can jointly account for approximately 87% of the actual change in skill premium between 1995 and 2005. Individually, capital deepening accounts for the largest share of the rise in the skill premium, whereas trade liberalization accounts for a small portion of that increase. While productivity changes account for only a small fraction of the skill premium increases during 1995 and 2000, they significantly offset the impact of the capital deepening on the skill premium in the period between 2000 and 2005. |
| Keywords: | Transition Economies, Skill Premium, Trade Liberalization, Skill-biased Technical Change, Capital-skill complementarity |
| JEL: | D58 F16 O33 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:swe:wpaper:2014-14&r=ger |
| By: | Ian Jewitt; Clare Leaver; Heski Bar-Isaac |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a framework for the analysis of how asymmetric information impacts on adverse selection and market efficiency.� We adopt Akerlof's (1970) unit-demand model extended to a setting with multidimensional public and private information.� Adverse selection and efficiency are defined quantitatively as real valued random variables.� We characterize how public information disclosure and private information acquisition affect the relationship between adverse selection and efficiency.� These results are applied to inform welfare and empirical analysis and, in an employer learning setting, to study the endogenous choice of information structures.� Equilibrium information structures impose adverse selection efficiently.� We show that this makes adverse selection hard to detect using standard positive correlation tests. |
| Keywords: | asymmetric information, adverse selection, information structures, information acquisition, information disclosure, employer learning |
| JEL: | D82 J30 |
| Date: | 2014–01–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:695&r=ger |
| By: | Ennio Bilancini; Leonardo Boncinelli |
| Abstract: | We present a model of two-sided matching where utility is non-transferable and information about individuals’skills is private, utilities are strictly increasing in the partner’s skill and satisfy increasing differences. Skills can be either revealed or kept hidden, but while agents on one side have verifiable skills, agents on the other side have skills that are unverifiable unless certified, and certification is costly. Agents who have revealed their skill enter a standard matching market, while others are matched randomly. We find that in equilibrium only agents with skills above a cutoff reveal, and then they match assortatively. We show that an equilibrium always exists, and we discuss multiplicity. Increasing differences play an important role to shape equilibria, and we remark that this is unusual in matching models with non-transferable utility. We close the paper with some comparative statics exercises where we show the existence of non-trivial externalities and welfare implications. |
| Keywords: | costly disclosure of information; matching markets; non-transferable utility; partial unraveling; positive assortative matching; increasing differences |
| JEL: | C78 D82 L15 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mod:recent:094&r=ger |
| By: | Alem, Yonas |
| Abstract: | Unlike most studies of subjective well-being in developing countries, we use a fixed effects regression on three rounds of rich panel data to investigate the impact of relative standing on life satisfaction of respondents in urban Ethiopia. We find a consistently large negative impactof relative standing -- both relative to others and to oneself over time -- on subjective well-being. However, controlling for unobserved heterogeneity through a fixed effects model reduces the impact of the relative standing variables on subjective well-being by up to 24 percent and reduces the impact of economic status by about 40 percent. Our findings highlight the need to be cautious in interpreting parameter estimates from subjective well-being regressions based on cross-sectional data, as the impact of variables may not be disentangled from that of unobserved heterogeneity. |
| Keywords: | life satisfaction, urban Ethiopia, relative standing, fixed effects |
| JEL: | O12 I30 I31 |
| Date: | 2014–03–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-14-04-efd&r=ger |
| By: | Berno Buechel; Lydia Mechtenberg; Julia Petersen; |
| Abstract: | We conducted a multi-wave field experiment to study the interaction of peer effects and selfcontrol among undergraduate students. We use a behavioral measure of self-control based on whether students achieve study related goals they have set for themselves. We find that both self-control and the number of talented friends increase students’ performance. We then set out to test the theoretical prediction of Battaglini, Bénabou and Tirole (2005) that (only) sufficiently self-controlled individuals profit from interactions with peers. We find that peers with high self-control are more likely to connect to others, have a higher overall number of friends and have a higher number of talented friends. Moreover, positive news about self-controlled behavior of their peers increases students’ own perseverance. Hence, our findings are consistent with the model of Battaglini, Bénabou and Tirole. In addition, we find that female students are more likely to have high self-control, but do not outperform male students. One reason for this is that female students have a lower number of talented friends than their male counterparts, thereby profiting less from positive peer effects. |
| Keywords: | Self-control, Peer Influence, Social Networks, Goals, Time preferences, Procrastination, Willpower, School Performance, Experiment |
| JEL: | C93 D85 I21 J24 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2014-024&r=ger |
| By: | Sumru Altug (Department of Economics, Koc University, CEPR); Cem Cakmakli (Department of Economics, Koc University, Department of Quantitative Economics, University of Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study the evolution of inflation expectations for two key emerging economies, Brazil and Turkey, using a reduced form model in a state-space framework, where the level of inflation is modeled explicitly. We match the survey-based inflation expectations and inflation targets set by the central banks of Brazil and Turkey with the predictions implied by the model in a statistically coherent way. Confronting these expectations with inflation targets leads to a statistical measure of the discrepancy between inflation expectations and the target inflation. The results indicate that inflation expectations are anchored more closely the inflation target set by the Central Bank for Brazil. By contrast, there is more evidence that inflation expectations deviate significantly from the target inflation set by the Central Bank for Turkey. |
| Keywords: | Inflation targeting, survey-based inflation expectations, forecasting, state space model. |
| JEL: | E31 E37 C32 C51 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:koc:wpaper:1413&r=ger |
| By: | Vasco Carvalho; Nico Voigtländer |
| Abstract: | What determines which inputs are initially considered and eventually adopted in the production of new or improved goods? Why are some inputs much more prominent than others? We model the evolution of input linkages as a process where new producers first search for potentially useful inputs and then decide which ones to adopt. A new product initially draws a set of ‘essential suppliers’. The search stage is then confined to the network neighborhood of the latter, i.e., to the inputs used by the essential suppliers. The adoption decision is driven by a tradeoff between the benefits accruing from input variety and the costs of input adoption. This has important implications for the number of forward linkages that a product (input variety) develops over time. Input diffusion is fostered by network centrality – an input that is initially represented in many network neighborhoods is subsequently more likely to be adopted. This mechanism also delivers a power law distribution of forward linkages. Our predictions continue to hold when varieties are aggregated into sectors. We can thus test them, using detailed sectoral US input-output tables. We show that initial network proximity of a sector in 1967 significantly increases the likelihood of adoption throughout the subsequent four decades. The same is true for rapid productivity growth in an input-producing sector. Our empirical results highlight two conditions for new products to become central nodes: initial network proximity to prospective adopters, and technological progress that reduces their relative price. Semiconductors met both conditions. |
| JEL: | C67 D57 E10 L23 O33 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20025&r=ger |
| By: | Delaney, Liam (University of Stirling); Fink, Günther (Harvard School of Public Health); Harmon, Colm P. (University of Sydney) |
| Abstract: | The ways in which preferences respond to the varying stress of economic environments is a key question for behavioral economics and public policy. We conducted a laboratory experiment to investigate the effects of stress on financial decision making among individuals aged 50 and older. Using the cold pressor task as a physiological stressor, and a series of intelligence tests as cognitive stressors, we find that stress increases subjective discounting rates, has no effect on the degree of risk-aversion, and substantially lowers the effort individuals make to learn about financial decisions. |
| Keywords: | stress, financial decisions, discounting, risk aversion, learning |
| JEL: | D91 I31 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8060&r=ger |
| By: | Armas, Adrián (Banco Central de Reserva del Perú); Castillo, Paul (Banco Central de Reserva del Perú); Vega, Marco (Banco Central de Reserva del Perú) |
| Abstract: | This paper extends the model of Aoki et al. (2009) considering a two sector small open economy. We study the interaction of borrowing, asset prices, and spillovers between tradable and non-tradable sectors. Our results suggest that when it is difficult to enforce debtors to repay their debt unless it is secured by collateral, a productivity shock in the tradable sector generates an increase in asset prices and leverage that spills over to the non-tradable sector, generating an appreciation of the real exchange and an increase in domestic lending. Macro-prudential instruments are introduced under the form of cyclical loan-to-value ratios that limit the amount of capital that entrepreneurs can pledge as collateral. Cyclical taxes that respond to the movements in the price of non-tradable goods are analyzed. Simulation results show that this type of instruments significantly lessen the amplifying effects of borrowing constraints on small open economies and consequently reduce output and asset price volatility. |
| Keywords: | Collateral, productivity, small open economy. |
| JEL: | E21 E23 E32 E44 G01 O11 O16 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rbp:wpaper:2014-006&r=ger |
| By: | Simone BERTOLI (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I); Francesca Marchetta (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I) |
| Abstract: | We analyse the influence of the recent wave of migration on the incidence of poverty among stayers in Ecuador. We draw our data from a survey that provides detailed information on migrants. The analysis reveals a significant negative effect of migration on poverty among migrant households. This effect is substantially smaller than the one that we find focusing on recipient households. We explore the factors that account for this divergence. Our analysis entails that the existing empirical evidence on the relationship between remittances and poverty needs not to be informative about the size of the direct poverty-reduction potential of migration. |
| Keywords: | remittances; household-level data; poverty; propensity score matching |
| Date: | 2014–03–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00964332&r=ger |
| By: | Lakshmi Iyer (Harvard Business School; Business, Government and the International Economy Unit); Petia Topalova (International Monetary Fund (IMF)) |
| Abstract: | Does poverty lead to crime? We shed light on this question using two independent and exogenous shocks to household income in rural India: the dramatic reduction in import tariffs in the early 1990s and rainfall variations. We find that trade shocks, previously shown to raise relative poverty, also increased the incidence of violent crimes and property crimes. The relationship between trade shocks and crime is similar to the observed relationship between rainfall shocks and crime. Our results thus identify a causal effect of poverty on crime. They also lend credence to a large literature on the effects of weather shocks on crime and conflict, which has usually assumed that the income channel is the most relevant one. |
| Keywords: | Rainfall, Weather, Crime, Trade Liberalization, India |
| JEL: | D74 I38 Q34 Q56 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hbs:wpaper:14-067&r=ger |
| By: | Laura Di Giorgio (Institute of Economics (IdEP), University of Lugano, Switzerland; Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington, Seattle, USA); Massimo Filippini (Institute of Economics (IdEP), University of Lugano; ETH, Zurich, Switzerland); Giuliano Masiero (Department of Engineering, University of Bergamo, Italy; Institute of Economics (IdEP), University of Lugano, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the relationship between costs and quality in nonprofit nursing homes, a key issue in the present context of cost containment measures. In accordance with the economic theory of production, we estimate a three-inputs total cost function for nursing home services using data from 45 nursing homes in Switzerland between 2006 and 2010. Quality is measured by means of clinical indicators regarding process and outcome derived from the Minimum Data Set. We consider both composite and single quality indicators. Contrary to previous studies, we use panel data and control for unobserved heterogeneity. This allows to capture nursing homes specific features that may explain differences in structural quality or costs levels. We find evidence that poor levels of quality regarding outcome, as measured by the prevalence of severe pain and weight loss, lead to higher costs. Our results are robust to quality endogeneity concerns. |
| Keywords: | nursing home costs, nonprofit, quality indicators, cost-quality tradeoff |
| JEL: | I10 L3 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lug:wpidep:1402&r=ger |
| By: | Navarra, Cecilia; Vallino, Elena (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we deal with the relationship between the intervention of a development NGO or an external donor and the performance of village organizations (local NGOs) in Developing Countries. We utilize a large dataset of village organizations in rural areas of Senegal and Burkina Faso. We argue that the kind of relationship established with northern NGOs may have effects on the governance mechanisms of the local village organizations and that differences in the foundation of the VO and/or of the partnership can partially explain outcomes and membership structures of the VO itself. Our results go in the direction of possible diverging effects of an NGO intervention in the village (or partnership) according to the degree of proactivity and initiative that the VO displays. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:201407&r=ger |
| By: | Anna Conte (Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena, and WBS, University of Westminster, EQM Department); M. Vittoria Levati (Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena, and University of Verona, Department of Economics); Natalia Montinari (Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena, and Lund University, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | We use information on students' past participation in economic experiments, as stored in our database, to analyze whether behavior in public goods games is affected by experience (i.e., previous participation in social dilemma-type experiments) and history (i.e., participation in experiments of a different class than the social dilemma). We have three main results. First, at the aggregate level, the amount subjects contribute and expect others to contribute decrease with experience. Second, a mixture model reveals that the proportion of unconditional cooperators decreases with experience, while that of selfish individuals increases. Finally, history also influences behavior, although to a lesser extent than experience. Our findings have important methodological implications for researchers, who are urged to control for subjects' experience and history in their experiments if they want to improve the external validity and replicability of their results. |
| Keywords: | Public goods experiments, Social preferences, Mixture models, Experience, History |
| JEL: | C35 C51 C72 H41 |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2014-010&r=ger |
| By: | Leandro D’Aurizio; Tommaso Oliviero (CSEF, University of Naples Federico II.; CSEF, University of Naples); Livio Romano (Confindustria) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how access to bank lending differed between family and non-family firms in the 2007-2009 financial crisis. The theoretical prediction is that family block-holders’ incentive structure results in lower agency conflict in the borrower-lender relationship. Using highly detailed data on bank-firm relations, we exploit the reduction in bank lending in Italy following the crisis in October 2008. We find statistically and economically significant evidence that the contraction in credit for family firms was smaller than that for non-family firms. Results are robust to ex-ante observable differences between the two types of firms and to time-varying bank fixed effects. We further show that the difference in the amount of credit granted to family and non-family firms is related to an increased role for soft information in Italian banks’ operations, following the Lehman Brothers’ failure. Finally, by identifying a match between those banks and family firms, we can control for time-varying unobserved heterogeneity among the firms and validate the hypothesis that our results are supply driven. |
| Keywords: | Family firms, Financial crisis, Soft information, Bank lending |
| JEL: | C81 D22 E44 G21 G32 L26 |
| Date: | 2014–03–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sef:csefwp:357&r=ger |
| By: | Pavel Sevcik (Ecole des Sciences de Gestion, Universite du Quebec a Montreal (ESG UQAM)); Rui Castro (University of Montreal) |
| Abstract: | We develop a framework which allows us to study the effect of financing constraints for both firm-level investment decisions, and household-level schooling decisions. We characterize the joint determination of occupational choices, educational outcomes, and production decisions. We first evaluate the role of financial frictions in distorting resource allocation. We find significant departures from efficiency, from adverse selection effects into entrepreneurship, to distortions in both investment/schooling and production decisions. We then (i) ask whether our model helps understand observed cross-country variation in outcomes, and (ii) quantify the full effect of financing frictions for economic development, and in particular whether our framework produces an amplification of the output and productivity effects of financing frictions compared to standard models without schooling investments. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed013:1321&r=ger |
| By: | Mauro Caselli (School of Economics, Australian School of Business, the University of New South Wales); Arpita Chatterjee (School of Economics, Australian School of Business, the University of New South Wales); Alan Woodland (School of Economics, Australian School of Business, the University of New South Wales) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we investigate how firms adjust markups across products in response to fluctuations in the real exchange rate. In a theoretical framework, we show that firms increase their markup and producer prices following a real depreciation and that this increase is greater for products with higher productivity, a consequence of local distribution costs. We estimate markups at the market-product-plant level using detailed panel production and cost data from Mexican manufacturing between 1994 and 2007. Exploiting variation in the real exchange rate in the aftermath of the peso crisis in December 1994, we provide robust empirical evidence that plants increase their markups and producer prices in response to a real depreciation and that within-firm heterogeneity is a key determinant of plants' response to exchange rate shocks. We also provide some evidence in favour of a local distribution cost channel of incomplete exchange rate pass-through. |
| Keywords: | multi-product, variable markup, exchange rate pass-through, local distribution cost, Mexico |
| JEL: | D22 D24 F12 F14 F41 L11 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:swe:wpaper:2014-15&r=ger |
| By: | Ran Abramitzky; Isabelle Sin |
| Abstract: | We use book translations as a new measure of international idea flows and study the effects of Communism’s collapse in Eastern Europe on these flows. Using novel data on 800,000 translations and difference-in-differences approaches, we show that while translations between Communist languages decreased by two thirds with the collapse, Western-to-Communist translations increased by a factor of four and quickly converged to Western levels. Convergence was more pronounced in the fields of applied and social sciences, and was more complete in Satellite and Baltic than in Soviet countries. We discuss how these patterns help us understand how repressive institutions and preferences towards Western European ideas shaped the international diffusion of knowledge. |
| JEL: | F02 F15 N0 N70 N74 P20 P30 P51 P52 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20023&r=ger |
| By: | Gilles Dufrénot (Aix-Marseille University (Aix-Marseille School of Economics), CNRS & EHESS, CEPII, Banque de France, Aix-Marseille School of Economics); Anwar Khayat (Aix-Marseille University (Aix-Marseille School of Economics), CNRS & EHESS) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides evidence that the European Central Bank (ECB) has adjusted its interest rate since 1999 nonlinearly according to the macroeconomic and financial environment in the euro zone. Its policy function is described by a Taylor rule with regime shifts implying that the stance of reaction to the inflation-gap and output-gap has varied according to the credit risk in the private and sovereign bond markets, the monetary base and past levels of inflation, output and the shocks affecting the European economies. We provide evidence of regimes corresponding to low to high levels of inflation with the possibility of a situation near a zero low bound (ZLB) for the interest rate. We study the implications of such a rule for the economy in a simple new-Keynesian framework and show that it is consistent with several stable long-run steady states equilibria among which one that is consistent with the recent situation of a near liquidity trap in the euro area. We also find that around this liquidity trap steady state the equilibrium is locally determinate for most plausible parameter values. We discuss the issue of moving from a situation of low nominal interest rate to a policy that have been more typically implemented in the past by relying on an analysis of the impact of shocks (supply and demand) to the economy. |
| Keywords: | Nonlinear Taylor rules; multiple steady state equilibria; Euro area. |
| JEL: | C54 E52 E58 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aim:wpaimx:1408&r=ger |