|
on Investment |
| By: | Kharazi, Aicha (University of Warwick); Lu, Saite (University of Cambridge); Mustafa, Ghulam (University of Derby & London School of Economics and Political Science) |
| Abstract: | Public support for raising minimum wages as a policy response to economic inequality is increasing; however, empirical evidence from highly informal and weakly regulated labour markets remains limited. This study estimates the impact of minimum wage increases on earnings and hours worked in Pakistan, drawing on 21 waves of nationally representative Labour Force Survey data between 1992 and 2021. By leveraging national time variation in statutory minimum wages and pre-policy district exposure, proxied by the proportion of workers earning below the minimum wage prior to policy changes, we find that increases in the minimum wage are associated with statistically significant but modest gains in real hourly earnings, with stronger wage pass-through observed in local labour markets with higher initial exposure. The benefits are disproportionately greater for male workers; however, the policy has achieved only limited and uneven progress in reducing gender pay disparities. On the intensive margin, minimum wage increases are associated with reductions in hours worked, particularly among women. This pattern is consistent with adjustment through hours in segments characterised by part-time work and weaker compliance. Overall, the findings indicate that minimum wage policy can increase earnings in low-wage areas under conditions of partial compliance, yet has limited capacity to address persistent structural gender inequality in highly informal contexts. These results underscore the need for stronger enforcement and complementary, gender-sensitive labour market interventions |
| Keywords: | minimum wage ; hourly earnings ; hours worked JEL codes: J22 ; J31 ; J38 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1597 |
| By: | Monica Lambon-Quayefio; Nkechi Owoo; Moses Muriithi; Linda Zanfini (AFD - Agence française de développement); Reuben Mutegi; Germano Mwabu |
| Abstract: | Les inégalités de chances constituent l'aspect des inégalités le plus difficile à traiter (Lambon-Quayefio et al., 2020). En termes de santé, les inégalités de chances se manifestent par des disparités dans l'accès aux soins de santé, dans les résultats des soins de santé et dans les connaissances en matière de santé. De même, les inégalités de chances en matière d'éducation peuvent être des disparités dans l'accès à une éducation de qualité, dans les résultats scolaires et dans la maîtrise des ressources éducatives. Ces disparités n'affectent pas seulement le bien-être des individus, mais contribuent également à perpétuer les inégalités de manière générale et limitent la mobilité ascendante, raison pour laquelle elles sont traitées ensemble dans ce chapitre. |
| Keywords: | Burkina, Afrique subsaharienne, Mobilité sociale, Genre, Santé, Pauvreté, Inégalités, Ghana, Education, Burkina Faso, Zambie, Afrique du Sud, Malawi, Kenya |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05447224 |
| By: | Tomas, Therese Jules P.; Sigua, Jemar Anne V.; Siy Van, Vanessa T.; Ulep, Valerie Gilbert T. |
| Abstract: | In this study, the readiness of PhilHealth’s health information system (HIS) to support the transition to Diagnosis-Related Groups with Global Budgets (DRG-GB) as envisioned in the Universal Health Care Act of 2019 was assessed. Using a framework that examines data generation, fiduciary management, and performance analysis, systemic weaknesses across all three domains were identified. The claims system produces incomplete coded data, with ungroupable claims and inadequate feedback mechanisms undermining case-mix measurement; fiduciary oversight is affected by fragmented and manual fraud detection, non-integrated clinical and financial records, and limited technical capacity; and performance monitoring is hindered by siloed systems, the absence of standardized indicators, and weak hospital benchmarking. These challenges could potentially limit PhilHealth's ability to generate reliable DRG tariffs, enforce accountability, and monitor provider behavior with this new payment system. Strengthening coding standards, integrating clinical and financial data, modernizing digital infrastructure, and institutionalizing real-time performance monitoring are critical to ensuring effective DRG-GB implementation and achieving UHC goals. Comments to this paper are welcome within 60 days from the date of posting. Email publications@pids.gov.ph. |
| Keywords: | Diagnosis-related groups, global budget, PhilHealth, health information system, information technology, HEFP |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2025-59 |
| By: | Forsmann, Daniel; Haenecke, Henrik; Zerres, Christopher; Zerres, Michael P. |
| Abstract: | Die Erfolgsfaktorenforschung will die Determinanten ermitteln, die den Erfolg oder den Misserfolg eines Unternehmens langfristig beeinflussen. Sie geht dabei von der Grundannahme aus, dass nur einige wenige Variablen über den Erfolg und Misserfolg eines Unternehmens entscheiden. Ausgangspunkt einer Untersuchung der Erfolgsfaktoren ist stets, die Variablen zu bestimmen, mit denen der Erfolg quantifiziert werden kann. Diese Größen werden dann als Erfolgsindikatoren bezeichnet. Häufig sind dies Gewinn, Rentabilität oder Umsatz. In der Folge wird dann untersucht, welche Variablen einen Erfolgsindikator beeinflussen. Diese Variablen werden als Erfolgsfaktoren bezeichnet. |
| Keywords: | Erfolgsfaktorenforschung, Erfolgsfaktorenforschung |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ouwpmm:336762 |
| By: | Joyce, Joseph |
| Abstract: | The current accounts of most emerging economies include primary income deficits, which in turn largely consist of investment income payments on foreign direct investment earnings. For these countries, the persistent deficits have become a structural component of the current account. In addition, for some countries secondary income, which includes personal transfers from workers who are abroad, is also crucial. These surpluses partly offset the deficits in trade and primary income. We examine the response of the trade balance, primary income and secondary income balances to macroeconomic factors in a sample of 24 emerging markets economics over the period of 1990 – 2022. We use seemingly unrelated regressions models with random effects to account for correlated errors across the three equations and compare these results with the results of an estimate of the current account. The responses of the three sub-balances to policy and control variables varies widely, which can complicate efforts to lower a current account deficit. We examine the response of the three sub-balances to financial crises, which increase the current and trade accounts. We also discuss the use of retained earnings to finance new FDI. |
| Keywords: | trade account, primary account, investment income, secondary income, remittances |
| JEL: | F21 F23 F24 F32 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127327 |
| By: | Rejoice, Frimpong |
| Abstract: | Purpose and scope: This analysis assesses the cumulative impact of the Autumn Budget Statement 2025 on UK residents over the period 2026-2030. The Budget has been passed by Parliament and will be implemented beginning in April 2026. This report models policy impact on the UK population using UKMOD (a UK microsimulation model), which captures effects on all households and individuals, including both those with market income (employment earnings, self-employment income, private pensions, investment income) and those without market income (such as households reliant solely on state benefits and pensions). The analysis covers the UK population weighted to represent the national demographic and economic composition. What this analysis compares: The analysis compares baseline scenarios for each year from 2026 to 2030 under pre-Budget legislation with reform scenarios in which the Autumn Budget Statement 2025 policies are implemented. Each year represents a separate comparison between baseline and reform scenarios, with identical market incomes and economic conditions, to isolate pure policy effects. Market income is identical between scenarios in each year because both use the same Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) November 2025 uprating forecasts applied to 2023 input data. This ensures that all measured differences reflect policy changes only, and not differences in economic assumptions or forecast. The poverty line and decile groups are held fixed at baseline levels for each year. This ensures that measured poverty reduction reflects individuals crossing a consistent income threshold because of policy changes, rather than shifts in the overall income distribution. All monetary values are expressed in nominal terms for each respective year. This is a comprehensive policy package combining immediate benefit increases (two-child limit removal effective from April 2026) with phased tax changes (dividend tax increases from April 2026; property and savings tax changes from April 2027; and threshold freezes through to April 2031). Market income composition: Market income represents pre-government income (employment earnings, self-employment income, private pensions, and investment income) before any tax or benefit policies are applied. The policy changes affect how the government interacts with this market income through taxes and benefits. By doing so, they change work incentives, which in turn might lead to changes in labour supply behaviour. These behavioural changes are not considered here. Market income grows from £1, 474 billion in 2026 to £1, 626 billion in 2030 due to OBR uprating forecasts but remains identical between baseline and reform scenarios within each year. UKMOD Implementation: Benefit Reforms: • Remove of the Universal Credit two-child limit (from April 2026) Tax Reforms: • Maintain income tax and National Insurance (NI) thresholds at current levels until April 2031 (fiscal drag) • Maintain employer NI secondary threshold at current level until April 2031 • Increase dividend tax rates by 2 percentage points (from April 2026) • Introduce separate property income tax rates: 22%, 42%, 47% (from April 2027) • Increase savings tax rates by 2 percentage points (from April 2027) Fuel Duty: • Cancel uprating for 2026-27; extend 5p cut to August 2026, followed by gradual increases Headline Findings for the United Kingdom: Net Poverty Impact: Overall poverty decreases by 21, 738 people in 2026 (after housing costs), with the poverty rate declining from 18.40% to 18.37%. Approximately 13, 193 children are lifted out of poverty, as child poverty falls from 23.8% to 23.7% (-0.09 percentage points). Working-age adult poverty decreases by 13, 784 people, with the poverty rate declining from 19.4% to 19.3% (-0.1 percentage points). However, approximately 5, 239 elderly residents fall into poverty as pensioner poverty increases by 0.04 percentage points from 19.3%. The removal of the two-child limit benefits families with three or more children, with 21, 770 people in households with children lifted from poverty. This gain is partially offset by the increase in poverty among the elderly driven by dividend tax increases and Pension Credit dynamics. Fiscal Position: The policy package generates a net fiscal improvement of £1.0 billion in 2026, growing to £1.4 billion by 2030. Tax revenue increases by approximately £1.4 billion in 2026 (+0.3%) primarily from personal income tax changes (+£1.2 billion, +0.4%) driven by income tax threshold freezes creating fiscal drag effects. Benefit expenditure increases by approximately £364 million in 2026 (+0.1%) from Universal Credit two-child limit removal (+£714 million), partially offset by Winter Fuel Allowance restrictions (-£269 million) and Pension Credit reductions (-£127 million). Personal income tax increases comprise non-devolved taxes (+£1.2 billion), Scottish devolved taxes (+£43 million), and Welsh devolved taxes (+£132 million) in 2026. Council Tax shows no change, while Employee and Employer National Insurance contributions show minimal increases (+£7 million and +£27 million respectively). Universal Credit spending increases by £714 million following the removal of the two-child limit, with additional increases in Council Tax Benefit/Reduction (+£59 million) and non-means-tested benefits (+£179 million). Winter Fuel Allowance savings (-£269 million, -64.7%) and Pension Credit reductions (-£127 million, -2.1%) partially offset Universal Credit costs. Distribution of Impacts: Only 1.78% of UK households are estimated to gain more than 1% of equivalised disposable income in 2026, while 6.49% experience losses exceeding 1%, indicating more households lose than gain overall. The majority of households (91.73%) see minimal income change (<1% either way). Families with children show net positive outcomes from two-child limit removal (1.42% gaining versus 0.20% losing). Among lone parents 2.76% gain and 0.46% lose, while for families with three or more children 2.17% gain and 0.25% lose, with all gainers experiencing income increases exceeding 5%. By contrast, elderly households experience adverse impacts (27.3% losing versus 1.58% gaining), primarily from dividend tax increases and Pension Credit dynamics affecting elderly investors. No-earner households show 22.2% losing and 4.07% gaining reflecting similar dynamics. Changes in the Income Distribution: Mean disposable income remain largely stable across deciles despite the policy changes. After housing costs, income in the lowest decile (1) - increases marginally from £158.75 per week to £159.19 per week (+£0.44 per week, or +£23 annually). While income in the highest decile (10) is £1, 973 per week in both scenarios (-£0.26 per week, or -£14 annually). Income shares barely shift, with all changes under 0.1 percentage points across deciles and household types. Income inequality falls slightly, with the Gini coefficient declining from 0.339 by -0.000085 after housing costs. While targeted benefit increases for families with three or more children produce gains for specific households, the overall income structure remains largely unchanged. However, the concentration of losses among elderly households creates adverse distributional effects for this vulnerable group, with 27.3% of elderly households experiencing income losses and pensioner poverty increasing by 5, 239 people in 2026. |
| Date: | 2026–02–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:cempwp:cempa3-26 |
| By: | Müller, Sebastian; Pugachyov, Nikolay; Weigert, Florian |
| Abstract: | We introduce a simple yet powerful method for enhancing mutual fund performance prediction by combining individual predictors into a composite predictor. This composite approach integrates information from 19 well-established return-based and portfolio holdings-based predictors from the literature. It effectively identifies top decile funds that outperform bottom decile funds by a risk-adjusted 4.56% per annum. Furthermore, it achieves statistically significant outperformance for long-only fund investments against the average active and passive fund. Both return-based predictors (e.g., fund alpha and the t-statistic of alpha) and holdings-based predictors (e.g., skill index and active weight) contribute equally to the composite predictor's success. |
| Keywords: | Mutual funds, performance prediction, composite predictor |
| JEL: | G11 G12 G20 G23 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cfrwps:336774 |
| By: | Kentaro KAWASAKI; Junko SHIMIZU |
| Abstract: | AMU (Asian Monetary Unit) is a database constructed by Ogawa and Shimizu (2005) and made available on the RIETI website. The AMU basket weights are based on intraregional trade shares and GDP. However, 20 years have passed since its introduction, and the economies of Asian countries, and particularly China's, have developed significantly. Consequently, it has become necessary to review the weights of the AMU basket. The purpose of this paper is to examine which combinations of current Asian currencies form an optimal currency area by using the G-PPP Model, and to explore other possibilities to construct a new basket weight for the AMU. Based on prior research, we confirmed that incorporating factors such as each country's financial openness, exchange rate policy, the share of invoice currencies in intra-regional trade, the share of intra-regional FDI, and the degree of production networks and value chains within the region yielded more balanced weights for the basket. This approach better reflects the current economic conditions in the region. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:26015 |
| By: | Leahy, John Vincent; Ranošová, Tereza |
| Abstract: | We exploit cross-sectional variation in the response of US states to a monetary policy shock to study how the impact of monetary policy varies with the share of married women who work. We find that the economy's response is more muted the lower the share of married women employed before the shock. We argue that a plausible explanation is a shielded demand response by households, insured by the "added worker effect". When women are only weakly attached to the labor market, they can flexibly enter and exit to supplement household income in times of need, providing a powerful insurance mechanism against aggregate shocks. We provide three additional pieces of evidence. First, monetary policy shocks have a stronger effect in states where married women are more firmly attached to the labor market (making fewer transitions in and out). Second, following an increase in the federal funds rate, married women themselves are comparatively more likely to be employed (and to enter employment) in states where the share of married women working pre- shock is low. Third, in contrast to employment, wages of married women fall more in states where married women have worked less, consistent with a differential labor supply response to the shock. |
| Keywords: | Added-worker effect, intrahousehold insurance, monetary policy |
| JEL: | J21 J11 E24 E52 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:bubdps:336748 |
| By: | Oberst, Christian; Voigtländer, Michael |
| Abstract: | Der Anteil möblierter und temporär vermieteter Wohnungsangebote in den Großstädten ist deutlich gestiegen, wie eine aktuelle Studie zeigt (Krapp et. al., 2026). Die Politik fürchtet, dass dies vor allem zur Umgehung der Mietpreisbremse genutzt wird. Doch die Zahlen bedürfen einer sorgfältigen Einordnung: Sowohl die wesentlichen Gründe für die zunehmende Bedeutung dieses Segments als auch statistische Effekte in angespannten Wohnungsmärkten sind zu berücksichtigen. |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwkkur:336910 |
| By: | Glathoud, Romain |
| Abstract: | This study aims to identify strategies for the development of agritourism in the Gauja bioregion (surrounding the national park of the same name, in Latvia), in order to better valorize both economically and socially the local productions, particularly through short supply chains, in the face of the decline of typical agriculture threatened by land pressure, lack of generational renewal, dependence on imported inputs, and market difficulties. This study is an exploratory study during which 27 stakeholders of the bioregional agritourism system were interviewed through hybrid interviews. These interviews made it possible to identify an assortment of barriers and drivers that manifest at several levels: at the level of the agritourism system in general, at the level of intra-bioregional dynamics, and at the level of the local product itself. These barriers and drivers, combined with the expectations of the interviewed stakeholders, led to the proposal of 3 strategies to develop this agritourism: clearly defining the agritourism system to make it an attractive and coherent tourist destination, establishing governance to structure this system and encourage the development of initiatives, and taking into account sustainability constraints to ensure the long-term continuation of this agritourism system. |
| Date: | 2025–09–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:nf3re_v1 |
| By: | Pau Roldan-Blanco; Tom Schmitz; Christian Fons-Rosen |
| Abstract: | Innovative startups are frequently acquired by large incumbents. Such acquisitions have recently come under scrutiny, as policymakers suspect that incumbents might acquire startups just to "kill" their ideas. However, acquisitions also provide an incentive for startup creation, and have ambiguous effects on incumbents' own innovation. This paper assesses the net effect of these forces. To do so, we build an endogenous growth model with heterogeneous multi-product firms and startup acquisitions, and calibrate its parameters to match micro-level evidence from the United States. Our calibrated model implies that taxes on startup acquisitions lower the startup rate, but increase incumbent innovation as well as the implementation rate of startup ideas. Banning killer acquisitions, a policy that appears desirable in partial equilibrium, yields virtually no welfare gains in general equilibrium. The optimal policy instead imposes high taxes on startup acquisitions (reducing their frequency by more than half) and raises consumption-equivalent welfare by 0.48%. |
| Keywords: | acquisitions, firm dynamics, innovation, Productivity Growth |
| JEL: | O30 O41 E22 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:1560 |
| By: | Shaukat, Mahvish Ifrah; Stegmann, Andreas; Toma, Mattie |
| Abstract: | This paper studies information diffusion in a large organization through a field experiment at the World Bank. The paper focuses on transmission of scientific evidence on the impacts of generative artificial intelligence by experimentally varying whether research findings are shared with senior or junior staff, and varying beliefs about peer adoption and evidence credibility. Providing evidence to senior staff significantly increases transmission and diffusion as measured by engagement with study materials and colleagues’ recall of study details. In contrast, changing beliefs about peer adoption or credibility has no detectable effects. The results highlight the importance of organizational hierarchy in shaping informal information flows. |
| Date: | 2026–02–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11305 |
| By: | Weikl, Jan |
| Abstract: | Performance-contingent pay raises productivity, yet in the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) only about 16% of workers report receiving performance pay, with the incidence being roughly seven percentage points higher among university graduates than among non-graduates. This coexistence of low aggregate take-up and a strong skill gradient is puzzling. This paper accounts for these twin facts with a principal-agent model in which the entire preference vector-risk aversion, probability weighting, time discounting, and effort cost-varies systematically with schooling. Endogenizing preferences yields two predictions: (i) optimal incentive slopes and induced effort increase with education-linked preferences; (ii) the productivity threshold for accepting performance pay falls with schooling, while heterogeneity in tastes keeps worker participation incomplete. A light calibration guided by documented schooling gradients reproduces modest overall incidence alongside a pronounced skill gradient. The key novelty is to treat the preference vector as an endogenous state variable that enters both sides of the principal-agent problem, shaping the optimisation problems of both the firm and the worker rather than being taken as a fixed primitive. |
| Abstract: | Leistungsabhängige Vergütung steigert die Produktivität. Im Sozio-Ökonomischen Panel (SOEP) berichten jedoch nur rund 16 % der Beschäftigten, leistungsbezogene Entlohnung zu erhalten. Zugleich liegt die Inzidenz unter Hochschulabsolventen um etwa sieben Prozentpunkte höher als unter Nicht-Absolventen. Dieses Nebeneinander aus geringer Gesamtverbreitung und ausgeprägtem Bildungsgradienten ist erklärungsbedürftig. Diese Arbeit erklärt beide Befunde in einem Prinzipal-Agenten-Modell, in dem der gesamte Präferenzvektor systematisch mit dem Bildungsniveau variiert. Die Endogenisierung von Präferenzen liefert zwei Implikationen: (i) optimale Anreizintensitäten und die induzierte Anstrengung steigen mit bildungsbezogenen Präferenzparametern; (ii) die Produktivitätsschwelle für die Akzeptanz leistungsabhängiger Vergütung sinkt mit dem Bildungsniveau, während Präferenzheterogenität die Teilnahme insgesamt unvollständig hält. Eine einfache Kalibrierung, welche sich an dokumentierten Bildungsgradienten orientiert, repliziert eine moderate Gesamtinzidenz bei gleichzeitig starkem Qualifikationsgradienten. Der Beitrag dieser Arbeit besteht darin, den Präferenzvektor als endogene Zustandsvariable zu modellieren, die die Optimierungsprobleme von Unternehmen und Beschäftigten gleichermaßen bestimmt, statt exogen vorgegeben zu sein. |
| Keywords: | performance pay, incentives, risk preferences, time discounting, contract theory |
| JEL: | D81 D82 D86 J24 J33 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:faulre:336772 |
| By: | Hansen, Olle |
| Abstract: | The European Union (EU) emerged as a product and beneficiary of the Liberal International Order (LIO). Yet, as this order disintegrates, marked by multipolarity, thin multilateralism, and the return of power politics, the EU has taken unprecedented integrative steps, including joint debt issuance and development of industrial policy. Therefore, this paper asks how the shifting world order changes the logic of EU integration. Using a comparative discourse analysis of the EU's 2003 European Security Strategy, 2016 Global Strategy, and 2022 Strategic Compass, it traces how the logic of integration has shifted from being market-driven to being sovereignty-centred. The findings show that the order structure present during the EU's market-driven integration is no longer stable, prompting it to turn towards sovereignty-centred integration to respond to the disintegrating LIO. In doing so, this paper bridges mainstream integration theory with order theory, showing that not just internal dynamics but also order structure need to be accounted for to understand the logic of integration. |
| Keywords: | European integration, Liberal International Order, Sovereignty, Geopoliticization, Bellicism |
| JEL: | F5 O52 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ipewps:336779 |
| By: | Fuchs, Philipp (Institut für Sozialforschung und Gesellschaftspolitik); Feldens, Stefan (Institut für Sozialforschung und Gesellschaftspolitik); Wellmer, Sabine (Institut für Sozialforschung und Gesellschaftspolitik); Globisch, Claudia (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | "Following the Hartz IV reforms, the employment service's efforts focused primarily on people with comparatively good chances of rapid reintegration into the labour market. However, this approach meant that people facing greater obstacles in finding work received less support, a phenomenon also known as 'creaming'. The INGA programme ('Interne ganzheitliche Integrationsberatung') was created under the Third Book of the Social Code (SGB III) to counterbalance this development. With a significantly lower staff-to-client ratio than regular services, INGA provided support to individuals with more complex problems and greater difficulty integrating into the labour market. Additionally, INGA counsellors undergo further training to strengthen their counselling skills. Over ten years after its establishment, INGA's counselling practice was examined in detail for the first time as part of the research project ('BafAlo'). This involved conducting exploratory interviews and group discussions, as well as qualitative surveys among counsellors, counselees and team leaders in three employment agencies. The research also involved observing counselling sessions and group events. This empirical study examines the organisational embedding and implementation of counselling within the INGA framework. Although INGA is an established service within employment agencies, local senior management sometimes regards INGA as a 'capacity reserve' due to the significantly lower staff-to-client ratio. This can result in additional tasks being delegated to INGA teams. Additionally, there is tension with regular job placement services, due to the more favourable INGA staff-to-client ratio and the process of referring counselling cases from regular job placement services to INGA. The workload of INGA specialists and the composition of the group they counsel are largely determined by the allocation practices of regular employment services. This is reflected primarily in the controlling of their advisory work, particularly the advisors' workload and the integration rate achieved. This can be regarded as a crucial task for INGA team leaders. They are responsible for mediating between the various teams and their managers, as well as representing the position of the INGA team within the agency vis-à-vis senior management. This is a task that the interviewed team leaders carry out with varying approaches and focus. Regarding actual counselling practice, four variants of labour market remoteness are identified among INGA clients, alongside the different approaches of the counsellors. The first manifestation of labour market remoteness involves clients who have experienced a prolonged period of professional stability and specialisation, followed by sudden unemployment. In a second group, the employment history of clients has been characterised by professional instability and volatility for many years, resulting in repeated unemployment. A third group comprises younger clients with no training who, after doing odd jobs and unskilled work, are unemployed, possibly for the second or third time. The fourth group comprises younger people who are facing considerable difficulties in re-entering the labour market after taking time out to raise a family. Regardless of their employment history, INGA clients often experience acute life crises, family issues or mental health problems. This means that each case tends to be rather complex. The understanding of counselling held by INGA's specialists strongly reflects the conceptual requirements of INGA. All of the specialists strongly identify with the holistic, individual and intensive nature of counselling work. Specifically, they see INGA's core values as being reflected in a lower staff-to-client ratio, greater time resources, an expanded scope for action and discretion, more pronounced cooperation with other agencies and networks, open-ended case processing and a perspective focused on the individual case and the sustainability of the placement. However, counsellors adopt different approaches to counselling, particularly regarding how directive, integrative and activating they are. These approaches vary significantly depending on the clients and their personal situation and needs. The results of our study can be summarised as follows: INGA is an important service within SGB III, in both conception and practice. In times of rising unemployment, dynamic structural change and pronounced labour market mismatch, many people dependent on SGB III benefits require more intensive support to find employment than can currently be provided by regular employment services. Counselling that devotes more time to individual cases and has a stronger methodological basis is well-suited to providing such support and preventing long-term unemployment. Our study identified areas for improvement, particularly regarding the professional support and guidance provided to counsellors. The INGA team leaders' professional supervision is sometimes too formal, partly due to their dual structural responsibilities, and does not always provide counselling staff with the necessary counselling-related guidance. Similarly, the practice of supervision as a systematic reflection on challenging counselling work is not well established. These findings suggest that team leaders require further training in the professional aspects of counselling, and that additional resources should be made available to provide supervision as needed. At an institutional level, the issue of how to deal with people who are extremely distant from the labour market remains unresolved, especially since INGA must also meet sometimes ambitious integration targets." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Date: | 2026–02–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabfob:202603 |
| By: | Baloch, Muhammad Ammar; Ali, Amjad; Audi, Marc |
| Abstract: | This study examines the connection between behavioral and digital financial literacy and investing choices, using social impact and financial position to explain these choices, within the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The results from a survey of 400 diverse professionals were analyzed with PLS-SEM. Both types of financial literacy appear to have a good effect on how people invest. The impact of behavioral literacy on investing is affected by financial circumstances and is partly reduced by peer impact. Improving behavioral knowledge allows you to manage your finances and plan for the future and being digitally literate encourages you to use online platforms to help with decision-making. How much impact your friends have can show subjective norms, while your economic situation reveals your perceived control over behavior, both of which support the theory. It improves our understanding of financial literacy by splitting the topic into behavioral and digital features. It supports the need for special strategies to raise digital and behavioral skills in individuals from disadvantaged groups. The next phase of research ought to look at lengthy studies and include more social-psychological variables. |
| Keywords: | Behavioral Financial Literacy, Digital Financial Literacy, Investment Decisions, Peer Influence, Financial Position |
| JEL: | G2 O3 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127313 |
| By: | Bouzahzah, Mohamed |
| Abstract: | Digitalization boosts economic performance, but its returns vary widely across countries. This paper shows that culture - measured via a World Values Survey index of effort, success, and technological openness - acts as a threshold moderator: internet usage raises log GDP per capita by 0.021 below the cultural threshold (-0.37) vs. 0.033 above it, using 55-country averages (2017-2024). Threshold regressions and quantiles reveal stronger effects in high-culture regimes and upper income quantiles, extending Haller (2024) globally with non-linearities. Results are robust across digitalization proxies (internet, fixed broadband, mobile cellular), implying infrastructure alone fails without cultural readiness for innovation. |
| Keywords: | Digitalization, Culture, Threshold Effects, Economic Growth |
| JEL: | O33 O47 Z10 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127839 |
| By: | Hernan Bajerano (Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE) and Economic Science Institute, Chapman University); Matias Busso (Inter-American Development Bank); Juan Francisco Santos (Inter-American Development Bank) |
| Abstract: | We study how individuals in six Latin American countries value public versus private provision of education and healthcare using a survey experiment. Respondents were randomly assigned to vignettes that vary income, service quality, and provider type. Reported service quality is the main driver of choices: the probability of selecting a private provider roughly doubles when reported quality of the public option falls from 80 to 20 percent, while income has a smaller effect. Higher institutional trust lowers the likelihood of switching to private providers but does not affect willingness to pay once individuals choose private provision. |
| Keywords: | Stated preferences; Willingness to pay; Public versus private provision; Service quality; Latin America |
| JEL: | D12 H42 I21 I18 O54 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chu:wpaper:26-01 |
| By: | Quimba, Francis Mark A.; Caboverde, Christopher Ed C.; Salazar, Alliah Mae C. |
| Abstract: | Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to make substantial contributions to Philippine growth and productivity in the coming years. Local government units (LGUs) may leverage this new technology to provide enhanced public service delivery to their respective constituencies. The question now is how ready these units are to adopt AI. This study assesses the preparedness of Philippine LGUs for AI adoption, identifies key barriers to implementation, and derives policy-relevant insights to support inclusive and sustainable AI adoption. Using an AI Readiness Index complemented by qualitative interviews with LGU officials, the study finds that, among other things, LGUs exhibit generally low to moderate readiness for AI adoption, with critical bottlenecks including shortages of ICT and AI-related skills, limited last-mile internet connectivity, and minimal budget allocations for digital initiatives. LGUs also face the challenge of balancing the provision of essential public services that yield immediate political dividends with the longer-term process of implementing and adopting AI for local governance. Policy implications highlight the need for coordinated, multi-level interventions that align infrastructure investment, skills development, governance reforms, and resource allocation. Comments to this paper are welcome within 60 days from the date of posting. Email publications@pids.gov.ph. |
| Keywords: | Artificial Intelligence, AI adoption, AI readiness, local government units, Philippine LGUs, local governance modernization |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2025-48 |