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on Unemployment, Inequality and Poverty |
| By: | Costa-Font, Joan (London School of Economics); Nicinska, Anna (University of Warsaw); Rossello Roig, Melcior (NHS England) |
| Abstract: | We compare inequality and social mobility trends in European countries We compare inequality and social mobility trends in European countries exposed to Soviet Communist (SC) regimes with those not exposed, using similar welfare measures. We draw upon a rich retrospective dataset that collects relevant welfare measures across regimes, including information on living space and self-reported health, and relevant inequality and mobility indices for ordinal and categorical data. Our results suggest evidence of comparable welfare inequality trends in countries exposed to SC and those unexposed. Although individuals exposed to SC enjoyed higher levels of social mobility, differences in inequality across countries exposed to different regimes were negligible. A plausible explanation lies in the countervailing role of the welfare state in countries not exposed to SC and the inefficiency of the bureaucratic allocation of private goods aimed at reducing inequality in countries exposed to SC. |
| Keywords: | education; social mobility; Soviet Communism, health inequality, self-reported health, living space, welfare, inequality, bureaucracies, European Communist Regimes |
| JEL: | I14 H53 I13 I38 N34 P20 P29 P36 P46 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17934 |
| By: | Orazio Attanasio; Gabriella Conti; Pamela Jervis; Costas Meghir; Aysu Okbay |
| Abstract: | We evaluate impacts heterogeneity of an Early Childhood Intervention, with respect to the Educational Attainment Polygenic Score (EA4 PGS) constructed from DNA data based on GWAS weights from a European population. We find that the EA4 PGS is predictive of several measures of child development, mother’s IQ and, to some extent, educational attainment. We also show that the impacts of the intervention are significantly greater in children with low PGS, to the point that the intervention eliminates the initial genetic disadvantage. Lastly, we find that children with high PGS attract more parental stimulation; however, the latter increases more strongly in children with low PGS. |
| JEL: | I24 I26 I3 I38 O15 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33781 |
| By: | Kristen Cooper; Ori Heffetz; John Ifcher; Ekaterina Oparina; Stephen Wu |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses ideas for incorporating the study of happiness and other measures of self-reported or subjective well-being (SWB) into undergraduate economics courses. We begin by motivating why students of economics would benefit from learning about SWB, and then proceed to provide examples of ways to introduce this topic into different parts of the curriculum: macroeconomics, microeconomics, and upper division electives. |
| Keywords: | subjective wellbeing, self-reported wellbeing, economics of happiness, teaching economics |
| Date: | 2025–04–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2090 |
| By: | Krekel, Christian (London School of Economics); Goebel, Jan (DIW Berlin); Rehdanz, Katrin (Kiel University) |
| Abstract: | Most people consider parks important for their quality of life, yet systematic causal evidence is missing. We exploit exogenous variations in their use values to estimate causal effects. Using a representative household panel with precise geographical coordinates of households linked to satellite images of green spaces with a nationwide coverage, we employ a spatial difference-in-differences design, comparing within-individual changes between residents living close to a green space and those living further away. We exploit Covid-19 as exogenous shock. We find that green spaces raised overall life satisfaction while reducing symptoms of anxiety (feelings of nervousness and worry) and depression. There is also suggestive evidence for reduced loneliness. Given the number of people in their surroundings, a compensating-surplus calculation suggests that parks added substantial benefits during the period studied. |
| Keywords: | quasi-natural experiment, wellbeing, mental health, green spaces, parks, compensating surplus |
| JEL: | I10 I31 R23 H41 Q51 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17942 |
| By: | Joan Costa-Font; Cristina Vilaplana-Prieto; Joan Costa-i-Font |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of the Brexit referendum on the quality of employment and working conditions of workers in the National Health Service (NHS). Using a difference-in-differences (DiD) design and propensity score matching to compare NHS employees with a control group referring to occupations less exposed to employees from the European Union (EU) before Brexit. We document that Brexit led to the average reduction of job satisfaction by 1.39% - largest for physicians (2.6%) and nurses (2.4%) - and an increase of both paid (1.75 hours/week) and unpaid working hours (8.3 hours/week). Nonetheless, the effect was heterogeneous despite the general rise in working time. Indeed, job satisfaction fell by 2.6% among British workers but increased by 3% among overseas workers. These changes were accompanied by a comparable reduction in leisure time and a higher likelihood of workers intending to leave their jobs, suggesting broader behavioural effects that may undermine NHS productivity. |
| Keywords: | job satisfaction, workforce motivation, Brexit, health care workforce, workforce composition, leisure satisfaction, NHS |
| JEL: | I12 J22 J45 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11876 |
| By: | Vasiliki Fouka; Marco Tabellini |
| Abstract: | This chapter reviews the literature on the relationship between culture and political preferences. We distinguish conceptually between the direct cultural transmission of political ideology and the transmission of more primitive preferences and beliefs that influence preferences over policies, parties, and forms of government. While there is substantial evidence that political preferences persist across generations and within communities, the literature often does not specify which primitive values and beliefs drive this persistence. A growing body of work points to a multifaceted mapping from underlying preferences and beliefs over the material world and social relations to political ideology. In this chapter, we summarize these studies, organize their findings in a coherent framework, and suggest possible directions for future research. |
| JEL: | D72 N30 P0 Z1 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33786 |