nep-ltv New Economics Papers
on Unemployment, Inequality and Poverty
Issue of 2026–05–25
five papers chosen by
Maximo Rossi, Universidad de la RepÃúºblica


  1. Labour market inequality By Giupponi, Giulia; Machin, Stephen
  2. Cadastral Reform and Social Conflict By Valsecchi, Michele; Olsson, Ola; Kopylova, Aleksandra
  3. The effects of social pensions on monetary and time transfers among the poor By Javier Olivera; Yadiraah Iparraguirre
  4. Sources of Inequality at Birth: The Interplay Between Genes and Parental Socioeconomic Status By Biroli, Pietro; Martin-Bassols, Nicolau; Marees, Andries T.; van Kippersluis, Hans; A. Rietveld, Cornelius; Arce, Pia; Thom, Kevin; von Hinke, Stephanie; Vollen, Jeremy; Galama, Titus
  5. Taking the Easy Way Out: AI, Self-Control, and Human Capital Formation By Drew Fudenberg; David K Levine

  1. By: Giupponi, Giulia; Machin, Stephen
    Abstract: Wage and earnings inequality has been on the rise in the United Kingdom (UK) since the late 1970s/early 1980s, and with faster increases than comparator countries, it is now one of the countries with the highest levels of wage and earnings inequality in the developed world. Labour market inequality arises in various forms: inequalities in employment opportunities, wages, and hours worked, but also in other dimensions of employment, such as job security. This article considers key factors that have shaped labour market inequality in the UK over the last four decades, with a focus on technological changes and skill demand, labour market institutions, and contract regulation.
    Keywords: employment; inequality; labour market policy; wages
    JEL: J31 J21 J38 J24
    Date: 2024–07–17
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:137958
  2. By: Valsecchi, Michele (New Economic School (NES)); Olsson, Ola (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Kopylova, Aleksandra (New Economic School (NES))
    Abstract: Cadasters are country-wide mapped land registries that increase transparency and strengthen private property rights but are often also associated with land redistribution and higher taxation. A large micro literature has studied how land reforms affect economic development within countries. We use recently developed cross-country data on cadastral institutions to investigate the empirical relationship between major reforms and social conflict. We exploit 22 major cadastral reform events during 1814-2014 that we match with countries that experienced no reform. We find a clear tendency for conflict levels and political instability to decrease one or two decades after cadastral reforms. Our findings could have relevance for policy debates among countries that have still not pursued the introduction of land registries.
    Keywords: cadasters; social conflict; land registry; civil war; leader changes
    JEL: K11 N20 O20
    Date: 2026–05–15
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0863
  3. By: Javier Olivera (Departamento de Economía de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú); Yadiraah Iparraguirre (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)
    Abstract: We study the effects of Peru’s social pension program, Pension 65, on family transfers of money and time. The program provides pensions to individuals aged 65 and over who are officially classified as extremely poor and who do not receive other pensions. We use survey data matched to the program’s administrative registers and exploit the discontinuity around the welfare index that determines eligibility to estimate the intention-to-treat effects of the program on family transfers. We find that Pension 65 reduces monetary family transfers by 70% (the effect is 97% for men). There is a substantial increase in childcare hours among men, from 1 to 7 hours per week. This result is consistent with an increase in the number of young children in the household and with a reduction in time spent on leisure activities among men. Palabras claves: Pensiones sociales, transferencias familiares, uso del tiempo, pobreza JEL Classification-JE: H55, I38, J14, J26
    Keywords: Social pensions, family transfers, time use, poverty, ageing
    Date: 2026
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pcp:pucwps:wp00553
  4. By: Biroli, Pietro (University of Bologna); Martin-Bassols, Nicolau (University of Bologna); Marees, Andries T. (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); van Kippersluis, Hans (Tinbergen Institute; Erasmus University Rotterdam); A. Rietveld, Cornelius (Tinbergen Institute; Erasmus University Rotterdam); Arce, Pia (University of Zurich); Thom, Kevin (University of Iowa); von Hinke, Stephanie (University of Bristol); Vollen, Jeremy (Northwestern University); Galama, Titus (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Tinbergen Institute; University of Southern California)
    Abstract: The start of a human's life can be characterized by two lotteries: that of your genes (nature) and the family you were born into (nurture). These set in motion a trajectory, from birth onward, in health and human capital. Leveraging three longitudinal social-science data sets, we systematically analyze the relationship between an individual's genotype, the socioeconomic status (SES) of the families they grew up in, and their realized traits in adulthood. We proxy an individual's genetic predisposition by polygenic indexes (PGIs) and family SES by a latent factor of parental education and father's (former) occupational status. We then investigate how PGIs, parental SES, and their interaction contribute to later-life outcomes across a range of forty-five socioeconomic, anthropometric, health, behavioral, and personality traits. We find strong genetic and socioeconomic associations with these phenotypes, but no evidence of sizable gene-environment interactions.
    Keywords: gene-by-environment interplay, genoeconomics, polygenic indices, social science genetics, ESSGN
    JEL: I14 I24 J24 D31 C38
    Date: 2026–04
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18607
  5. By: Drew Fudenberg; David K Levine
    Date: 2026–05–17
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cla:levarc:735347000000000055

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