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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Scott A. Imberman; Michael F. Lovenheim |
| Abstract: | Value-added data are an increasingly common evaluation tool for schools and teachers. Many school districts have adopted these methods and released the results publicly. In this paper, we study the release of value-added data in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Times newspaper to identify how measured value-added is capitalized into housing prices. This analysis is the first in the school valuation literature to examine property value responses to a value-added information shock, which is of interest as this measure is less correlated with demographics than typical school quality measures. Unique to this setting as well is the release of both school and teacher-level value-added data, which allows us to examine how property values respond to both types of information. Using a difference-in-differences methodology surrounding the release, we find that neither school nor teacher value-added scores are capitalized into home prices. Our results suggest that, despite the contentiousness following these data releases, homeowners do not consider value-added models as currently constructed to be a relevant school quality measure on the margin. |
| JEL: | H75 I21 R21 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19157&r=ure |
| By: | David S. Scharfstein; Adi Sunderam |
| Abstract: | We present evidence that high concentration in local mortgage lending reduces the sensitivity of mortgage rates and refinancing activity to mortgage-backed security (MBS) yields. A decrease in MBS yields is typically associated with greater refinancing activity and lower rates on new mortgages. However, this effect is dampened in counties with concentrated mortgage markets. We isolate the direct effect of mortgage market concentration and rule out alternative explanations based on borrower, loan, and collateral characteristics in two ways. First, we use a matching procedure to compare high- and low-concentration counties that are very similar on observable characteristics and find similar results. Second, we examine counties where concentration in mortgage lending is increased by bank mergers. We show that within a given county, sensitivities to MBS yields decrease after a concentration-increasing merger. Our results suggest that the strength of the housing channel of monetary policy transmission varies in both the time series and the cross section. In the cross section, increasing concentration by one standard deviation reduces the overall impact of a decline in MBS yields by approximately 50%. In the time series, a decrease in MBS yields today has a 40% smaller effect on the average county than it would have had in the 1990s because of higher concentration today. |
| JEL: | E44 E52 G21 G23 L85 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19156&r=ure |
| By: | Hasan, Syed; Klaiber, H.Allen; Sheldon, Ian |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of agglomeration and selection on firms' total factor productivity (TFP) distributions depending on their spatial location, specifically in science parks and large cities in Taiwan. The TFP distributions indicate a mean-shift and greater dispersion whenever firms benefit from agglomeration economies. However, selection due to competition may cause left truncation of the distribution. The empirical analysis shows that firms located in science parks have productivity that lags compared to those located in large cities and they benefit mainly from localization externalities. |
| Keywords: | Agglomeration, Selection, Total Factor Productivity, Science Park, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Productivity Analysis, D24, R58, R12, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:149743&r=ure |
| By: | Michelle Norris (Geary Institute, University College Dublin, School of Applied Social Science, University College Dublin); Menelaos Gkartzios (Centre for Rural Economy, School of Agriculture, Food & Rural Development, Newcastle upon Tyne); Dermot Coates (Housing Agency, Cumberland House, Dublin 2) |
| Abstract: | In the mid-1980s fiscal incentives were introduced to encourage the construction and refurbishment of residential developments in declining inner city districts in Ireland. These were abolished in 2006 but, during the intervening period, their focus was extended to include: large towns; small towns and a large rural region. Concurrently the context for their implementation changed as economic boom replaced prolonged economic stagnation. This paper examines the changing design of these incentives, their outputs and their intended and unintended impacts. It argues that, initially they were successful in drawing development into declining neighbourhoods but the extension of their lifespan and spatial focus created negative perverse impacts and deadweight costs for the exchequer. Thus it concludes that this regeneration strategy is useful for animating development in brownfield sites, where there is demand for housing but also barriers to its development. If applied to rural areas where housing demand is weaker they can generate excess supply and limited benefits for public investment. |
| Keywords: | tax expenditures, property development, regeneration, urban decline, rural decline |
| JEL: | R5 |
| Date: | 2013–06–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucd:wpaper:201311&r=ure |
| By: | Basile, Roberto; Donati, Cristiana; Pittiglio, Rosanna |
| Abstract: | Using Local Labor Systems (LLSs) data, we assess the effect of the local productive structure on the employment growth in Italy during the period 1981-2008. Italy represents an interesting case study because of the high degree of spatial heterogeneity in local labor market performances and of the presence of strongly specialized LLSs (industrial districts). Building on a semiparametric geoadditive model, our empirical investigation allows us to identify important nonlinearities in the relationship between local industry structure and local employment growth, to assess the relative performance of industrial districts (the places where Marshallian externalities occur)and to control for unobserved spatial heterogeneity. |
| Keywords: | Industry structure, Industrial districts, Employment dynamics, Semiparametric geoadditive models. |
| JEL: | C14 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:47621&r=ure |
| By: | Henri Busson (CREM CNRS, UMR 6211, University of Rennes 1, France) |
| Abstract: | Heterogeneity has often changed the results of multiplicity and stability of equilibriums. In this article, we extend a paper written by Krugman by introducing two different types of workers with different productivity. This framework enables us to understand the weight of history in spatial inequalities, which are becoming more and more apparent in the united states and in europe. Krugman results don't holds and we find that even with high interest rates, history could be reversed and expectations could lead to a different equilibriums. |
| Keywords: | economic geography, location choice, equilibrium paths, linear differential systems |
| JEL: | J61 C62 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:201317&r=ure |
| By: | Nicholas Apergis (Department of Banking and Financial Management, University of Piraeus, Greece); Beatrice D. Simo-Kengne (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria); Rangan Gupta (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria) |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically examines the long-run impact and short-term dynamics of housing wealth and financial wealth on household consumption in South Africa using annual provincial-level panel data for the period 1995 to 2011. Based on available data, recently developed econometric techniques for heterogeneous panel cointegration analysis are applied which allows us to circumvent the data restrictions, given that observations are pooled across provinces. The empirical results provide strong evidence of a stable long-run relationship between household consumption, income and (housing and stock market) wealth in South Africa. We then estimate the long-run elasticities of income and wealth with respect to consumption. The results indicate that income elasticity is not significantly different from unity, hence corroborating the permanent income hypothesis. As expected, the marginal propensity to consume out of housing wealth and stock market wealth is positive and significant, implying that consumption spending adjusts to both house price and stock price fluctuations. Interestingly, the marginal propensity to consume out of housing wealth is found to be smaller than that of the stock market wealth. Based on the panel ECM, the causality between consumption and both forms of wealth is bi-directional in the long-run, which contrasts the unidirectional causality running from wealth to consumption in the short run. |
| Keywords: | Housing and stock market wealth effects, consumption, panel cointegration; South African provinces |
| JEL: | C23 E21 G12 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pre:wpaper:201326&r=ure |
| By: | João Miguel Ejarque (DREAM, Amaliegade 44, 1256 København K); Joachim Borg Kristensen (jbkr@nykredit.dk) |
| Abstract: | Using Danish register data we observe that households living in rental housing subject to rent regulations pay lower rents and have a lower expenditure share than households living in unregulated housing. We set up a model with rent control on a fraction of the housing stock, an explicit treatment of housing quality, and preferences including minimum housing and allowing for a non-constant share of housing in expenditure. The model broadly ?ts the data, and we ?nd evidence of signi?cant complementarity between housing and non durable consumption. Furthermore, the policy implications of our model are surprising in that a complete liberalization of the market achieves a modest welfare gain of under 1%. |
| Keywords: | Rent Control, Expenditure Shares, Preferences |
| Date: | 2013–05–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kud:kuieca:2013_01&r=ure |
| By: | Ana Paula Faria (Universidade do Minho - NIPE); Natália Barbosa (Universidade do Minho - NIPE); Vasco Eiriz (Universidade do Minho - Departamento de Gestão) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the geographical distribution and concentration of firms’ innovation persistence and innovation type - product and process - based upon three waves of the Community Innovation Survey data covering the period 1998-2006. The main findings are: (i) both innovation persistence and innovation type are asymmetrically distributed across Portuguese regions; (ii) the degree of correlation between geographical location and innovative output varies with the innovation type; and (iii); the correlation between geographical unit and innovation increases when the spatial unit of analysis is narrower. Overall, results indicate that firm’s choice of geographical location have a long-lasting effect, engendering no equal probabilities of being persistently innovator. |
| Keywords: | product innovation, process innovation, persistence, location |
| JEL: | O31 L25 R11 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nip:nipewp:12/2013&r=ure |
| By: | Miller, Mark V. |
| Abstract: | It is hard to find situations with localized public goods which lend themselves well to empirical study in economics. Business improvement districts (BIDs), for this reason, make for an interesting case study. BIDs are regions which use tax revenue to increase local amenity provision, in hopes of stimulating extra economic activity in the area. This paper examines how these amenities are capitalized into residential properties which overlap with, or reside near, these BIDs. Several findings emerge. First, homes within BIDs appear to appreciate more than homes within the rest of the DC area, following a BID’s anticipation or launch; this finding, however, is not robust to consideration of local price trends. Second, comparing homes within defined distances of BID borders suggests that homes within BIDs, following their anticipation or launch, do not appreciate more than their outside neighbors. Third, there is evidence of spillover effects. Homes closer to BIDs appreciate more than those further from such. Results suggest that positive externalities might not be solely confined to agents within a BID, but rather extend to its surrounding community. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2013–06–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:150635&r=ure |
| By: | Sofia N. Andreou; Panos Pashardes |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the willingness of households to pay for academic and equality-inducing (deprivation-compensating) components of the Contextual Value Added (CVA) indicator of school quality used in England. Semi-parametric and parametric analysis shows that consumers are willing to pay for houses in the catchment area of primary and secondary schools with high academic achievement, as measured by the mean score; whereas, the component of the CVA indicating equality-inducing aspects of school performance is found to have a positive effect only on the price of houses in the catchment area of primary schools in London; its impact on the price of houses elsewhere is mostly negative. The role played by the CVA as a guide to choosing a school and the implications which our results can have for school funding are considered. |
| Keywords: | Consumer Valuation, Education Equality, School Performance, Hedonic Analysis, Contextual Value Added |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucy:cypeua:09-2013&r=ure |
| By: | Erlingsson, Einar Jon; Cincotti, Silvano; Stefansson, Hlynur; Sturlusson, Jon Thor; Teglio, Andrea; Raberto, Marco |
| Abstract: | In this paper the authors present an agent-based model of a credit network economy. The artificial economy includes different economic agents that interact using simple behavioral rules through various markets, i.e., the consumption goods market, the labor market, the credit market and the housing market. A set of computational experiments, based on numerical simulations of the model, have been carried out in order to explore the effects of different households' creditworthiness conditions required by the banking system to grant a mortgage. The authors find that easier access to credit inflates housing prices, triggering a short run output expansion, mainly due to the wealth effect. Also, with a more permissive policy towards household mortgages, and thus higher levels of credit, the artificial economy becomes more unstable and prone to recessions usually caused by falling housing prices. Often the authors find that an initial crisis can leave firms in a fragile state. If the situation is not cured, a subsequent crisis can lead to mass bankruptcies of firms with catastrophic effects on the credit sector and on the real economy. With stricter conditions on household mortgages the economy is more stable and does not fall into serious recessions, although a too severe regulation can slow down economic growth. -- |
| Keywords: | Credit cycles,housing market,agent-based model,subprime lending |
| JEL: | E20 E25 G21 R31 R38 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwedp:201332&r=ure |
| By: | Fernando López Vicente (Banco de España) |
| Abstract: | Do laws to protect borrowers curb foreclosures? This question is addressed by analysing the impact of foreclosure laws on default rates at state level in the US mortgage market. Using panel data techniques, we find a statistically significant effect of regulation on the different stages of the foreclosure process. More precisely, we analyse the effect of regulation on 60- day delinquencies and foreclosure starts, with a focus on three protective elements commonly found in state foreclosure laws, namely requiring a judicial process, granting a redemption period and banning a deficiency judgment. We find that, whereas protective states exhibit, on average, lower 60-day delinquency rates, more protection does not ultimately bring about lower foreclosure rates. Lenders seem to ration credit to mitigate costly protective laws, thereby reducing delinquency rates; but this effect is overshadowed by a moral hazard problem since, once borrowers are delinquent, they have incentives to take advantage of the protection due to the lower costs of foreclosure. We also find that the recent housing market crisis has exacerbated that behaviour. Finally, we show that lengthening the foreclosure process is no cure for the foreclosure crisis |
| Keywords: | foreclosure laws, borrower protection, credit rationing, moral hazard |
| JEL: | E44 G21 G28 K11 R20 R30 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bde:wpaper:1306&r=ure |
| By: | Battistin, Erich (University of Padova); Meroni, Elena Claudia (University of Padova) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the short term effects of a large scale intervention, funded by the European Social Fund, that provides additional instruction time to students in low achieving lower secondary schools of Southern Italy. We control for sorting across classes using the fact that freshman are divided into groups distinguished by letters, they remain in the same group across grades and the composition of teachers in the school assigned to each group is substantially stable over time. We implement a difference-in-differences strategy, and compare contiguous cohorts of freshman enrolled in the same group. We contrast groups with and without additional instruction time in participating schools, to groups in non-participating schools that we select to be similar with respect to a long list of pre-programme indicators. We find that the programme raised test scores in mathematics in schools characterised by students from less advantaged backgrounds. We also find that targeting the best students with extra activities in Italian language comes at the cost of lowering their performance in mathematics. We go beyond average effects, finding that the positive effect documented for mathematics is driven by larger effects for the best students in the group. |
| Keywords: | education policies, instruction time, policy evaluation, quantile treatment effects |
| JEL: | C31 I28 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7437&r=ure |
| By: | Livy, Mitchell; Klaiber, H. Allen |
| Abstract: | This study re-examines household valuation of local parks to assess the value afforded to specific amenities contained within parks and how those amenities change over time. A large body existing literature studying local parks has found single family residential homeowners are surprisingly willing to pay very little to live in close proximity to these parks. Building on this research, we hypothesize that these results are driven by bundling both positive and negative features of local parks into a single amenity and that these amenities are likely to degrade over time reducing their value. We implement property fixed effects models to investigate if unbundling park attributes leads to significantly different willingness to pay insights relative to much of the existing literature using a unique dataset on park renovations. Using renovation data and a rich set of housing transactions, we further explore whether the values placed on specific park attributes change over time, consistent with a depreciating public asset. |
| Keywords: | Hedonic, Open space, Local parks, Renovation, Repeat sales, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Public Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:150634&r=ure |
| By: | Tobias Scholl (House of Logistics and Mobility (HOLM), Frankfurt and Economic Geography and Location Research, Philipps-University, Marburg); Thomas Brenner (Philipps-Universität Marburg) |
| Abstract: | Distance-based methods for measuring spatial concentration such as the Duranton-Overman index undergo an increasing popularity in the spatial econometrics community. However, a limiting factor for their usage is their computational complexity since both their memory requirements and running-time are in O(n2). In this paper, we present an algorithm with constant memory requirements and an improved running time, enabling the Duranton-Overman index and related distance-based methods to run big data analysis. Furthermore, we discuss the index by Scholl and Brenner (2012) whose mathematical concept allows an even faster computation for large datasets than the improved algorithm does. |
| Keywords: | Spatial concentration, Duranton-Overman index, big-data analysis, MAUP, distance-based measures. |
| JEL: | C40 M13 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–10–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pum:wpaper:2013-09&r=ure |
| By: | Feng, Juan; Lichtenberg, Erik; Ding, Chengri |
| Abstract: | We examine how the system of “federalism, Chinese style” functions in the context of land allocation. China’s land laws give provision of land a central role in local officials’ growth promotion strategies. Requisitions of farmland by local authorities have engendered significant rural unrest. In response, the central government has attempted to re-establish control over the pace of urban land expansion by enacting regulations limiting conversion of rural land to urban uses. We derive theoretically the conditions under which non-compliance with such regulations is optimal. An econometric investigation shows that legal restrictions on farmland conversion had no effect on rates of farmland loss but did limit urban spatial growth rates in some regions. Our econometric evidence suggests very limited enforcement of those legal limits on farmland conversion. |
| Keywords: | China, urbanization, land development, farmland conversion, land use, decentralization, fiscal federalism, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Development, Land Economics/Use, Public Economics, R52, R14, Q15, H77, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:149669&r=ure |
| By: | Asirvatham, Jebaraj; Nayga, Rodolfo M. Jr.; Thomsen, Michael R. |
| Abstract: | This study investigates whether peers are a contributing factor in the increase in childhood obesity rates, and whether peer effects vary by race, gender and residential neighborhood. We control for the commercial food environment around schools and residence when estimating peer effects given that the food environment constitutes an important set of factors that have not been adequately measured and accounted for in previous studies. We find that the weight of peers within the same grade in a school significantly impacts body mass index (BMI) z-score of an individual student. A typical student’s BMI z-score increases when facing heavier peers and it decreases when facing lighter peers. The results show differential peer-effects across race and gender, but more so by gender than by race. |
| Keywords: | peer-effects, obesity, overweight, childhood obesity, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, D10, D71, I10, Z13, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:150417&r=ure |
| By: | Angrist, Joshua (MIT); Rokkanen, Miikka (MIT) |
| Abstract: | In the canonical regression discontinuity (RD) design for applicants who face an award or admissions cutoff, causal effects are nonparametrically identified for those near the cutoff. The effect of treatment on inframarginal applicants is also of interest, but identification of such effects requires stronger assumptions than those required for identification at the cutoff. This paper discusses RD identification away from the cutoff. Our identification strategy exploits the availability of dependent variable predictors other than the running variable. Conditional on these predictors, the running variable is assumed to be ignorable. This identification strategy is illustrated with data on applicants to Boston exam schools. Functional-form-based extrapolation generates unsatisfying results in this context, either noisy or not very robust. By contrast, identification based on RD-specific conditional independence assumptions produces reasonably precise and surprisingly robust estimates of the effects of exam school attendance on inframarginal applicants. These estimates suggest that the causal effects of exam school attendance for 9th grade applicants with running variable values well away from admissions cutoffs differ little from those for applicants with values that put them on the margin of acceptance. An extension to fuzzy designs is shown to identify causal effects for compliers away from the cutoff. |
| Keywords: | regression discontinuity, human capital, school quality |
| JEL: | I21 I28 C21 C31 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7429&r=ure |
| By: | Tiwari, Ashutosh; Richards, Timothy J. |
| Abstract: | We compare the effect of anonymous social network ratings (Yelp.com) and peer group recommendations on restaurant demand. We conduct a two stage choice experiment and combine it with online social network reviews from Yelp.com and find that peers have a stronger impact on restaurant demand than anonymous reviewers. |
| Keywords: | Peer Networks, Anonymous Networks, Economic Experiment, Social Dining, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, |
| Date: | 2013–05–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:150467&r=ure |
| By: | Zhang, Wendong; Nickerson, Cynthia, J. |
| Abstract: | Selected Poster prepared for presentation at the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association’s 2013 AAEA & CAES Joint Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, August 4-6, 2013. Copyright 2013 by Wendong Zhang and Cynthia J. Nickerson. All rights reserved. Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies. The views are the authors’ and not attributable to USDA. |
| Keywords: | Housing market bust, farmland values, hedonic regressions, urban premium, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Land Economics/Use, Q13, Q15, R31, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:149870&r=ure |
| By: | Artz, Georgeanne M.; Kim, Younjun; Orazem, Peter F. |
| Keywords: | firm entry, specialization, local monopoly, industrial diversity, upstream and downstream firms, education, stand-alone versus expansion start-ups, Community/Rural/Urban Development, M13, R11, L26, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:149675&r=ure |
| By: | S. Usai; E. Marrocu; R. Paci |
| Abstract: | Building on previous literature providing extensive evidence on flows of knowledge generated by inter-firm agreements, in this paper we aim to analyse how the occurrence of such collaborations is driven by the multi-dimensional proximity among participants and by their position within firms’ network. More specifically, we assess how the likelihood that two firms set up a partnership is influenced by their bilateral geographical, technological, organizational, institutional and social proximity and by their position within networks in terms of centrality and closeness. Our analysis is based on agreements in the form of joint ventures or strategic alliances, announced over the period 2005-2012, in which at least one partner is localised in Italy. We consider the full range of economic activities and this allow us to offer a general scenario and to specifically investigate the role of technological relatedness across different sectors. The econometric analysis, based on the logistic framework for rare events, yielded three noteworthy results. First, all the five dimensions of proximity jointly exert a positive and relevant effect in determining the probability of inter-firm knowledge exchanges, signalling that they are complementary rather than substitute channels. Second, the higher impact on probability is due to the technological proximity, followed by the geographical one, while the other proximities (social, institutional and organizational) have a limited effect. Third, we find evidence on the positive role played by networks, through preferential attachment and transitivity effects, in enhancing the probability of inter-firm agreements. |
| Keywords: | joint ventures, knowledge flows, networks, proximities, strategic alliances |
| JEL: | R12 O33 O31 L14 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:201311&r=ure |
| By: | Itismita Mohanty (NATSEM, University of Canberra); Anu Rammohan (Economics, The University of Western Australia) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to analyse factors that influence schooling outcomes among children in India, specifically focusing on the role of gender. Using the nationally representative Indian National Family Health Survey 2005-06,our analysis finds statistically significant evidence of male advantage both in schooling attendance as well as years of schooling. However, using a cluster fixed-effects model, our analysis finds that within a cluster, contingent on being enrolled, girls spend more years in school relative to boys. Other results show that parental schooling has a positive and statistically significant impact on child schooling. There is also statistically significant wealth effect, community effect and regional disparities between states in India. |
| Keywords: | child schooling; cluster fixed effects; household fixed effects; gender bias |
| JEL: | J16 J24 O15 I20 D13 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cba:wpaper:wp1121&r=ure |
| By: | Kenneth Small (Department of Economics, University of California-Irvine); Chen Feng Ng (Department of Economics, California State University at Long Beach) |
| Abstract: | We extend the traditional road investment model, with its focus on capacity and congestion as measures of capital and its utilization, to include free-flow speed as another dimension of capital. This has practical importance because one can view free-flow speed as a continuous proxy for road type (e.g. freeway, arterial, urban street). We derive conditions for optimal investment in capacity and free-flow speed, and analyze the optimal balance between the two. We then estimate cost functions for capital and user costs and apply the resulting model using parameters representing large US urban areas. We show that providing high free-flow speed may be quite expensive, and there is sometimes a tradeoff between it and capacity. We find suggestive evidence that representative freeways in most large urban areas provide too high a free-flow speed relative to capacity, thus making the case for reexamination of typical design practice. |
| Keywords: | Capacity; Free-flow speed; Highway design; Optimal highway investment; Congestion |
| JEL: | L91 R42 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irv:wpaper:121309&r=ure |
| By: | Deniz Gevrek (Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412 and IZA, Bonn, Germany); Z. Eylem Gevrek (Department of Economics, University of Konstanz, Germany); Cahit Guven (Deakin University, Victoria 125, Australia) |
| Abstract: | Using the Children of the Immigrants Longitudinal Study from the United States, this paper examines the association between schooling at the intensive margin and adult outcomes among first- and second-generation American immigrants. Schooling at the intensive margin is measured by reading and math scores in middle school and by GPA scores in both middle and high school. We find that measures of academic performance predict pecuniary and nonpecuniary adult outcomes. We also find that academic performance in high school relative to middle school is important in explaining adult socioeconomic outcomes. Immigrants with higher GPAs in high school compared to middle school have more schooling, are in better health, are less likely to commit crime, and have higher expectations regarding future job prestige and schooling. On the other hand, a decline in GPAs is associated with lower satisfaction with income and occupation. Moreover, our results indicate that infant mortality rate, which is used as a proxy for unfavorable health conditions in the country of birth, has a negative impact on academic performance during childhood and on personal earnings and income satisfaction during adulthood. |
| Keywords: | Economics of Education, Human Capital, School Performance, Immigrants |
| JEL: | I21 I25 J15 J24 |
| Date: | 2013–06–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:knz:dpteco:1311&r=ure |
| By: | Andersson, Henrik |
| JEL: | D61 J17 R41 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:toulou:http://neeo.univ-tlse1.fr/3478/&r=ure |
| By: | Argyn Kuketayev |
| Abstract: | I studied the convergence of regional house prices to national prices in USA by analyzing time-series of house price indices of 9 Census Divisions. I found the evidence of the convergence in some parts of the country using asymmetric unit root tests. The fact that the evidence of the convergence is not present in large parts of the country raises an issue of execution and interpretation of results of Federal Reserve Bank's annual stress testing of the US banking system. |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1306.3531&r=ure |
| By: | Lee, Jing Fong Jennifer; Williams, Jeffrey |
| Abstract: | Road users have heterogeneous preferences regarding travel choices, such as time-of-day to travel, routes, and willingness to carpool. Understanding the variation in preferences would allow better modeling of the temporal distribution of travel demand and the development of pricing policies. This study examines the demographic and socioeconomic profiles of motorists at different times of day at six locations in southern California by using on-road remote-sensing measurements and license plates images obtained in 2007 and 2008 by the California South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). The remote sensing data provide license plate images in addition to speed, time to the second, and emissions. By matching the license plate images to California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) registration records, anonymized individual vehicle ownership records can be obtained. The missing demographic and socioeconomic profiles of vehicle owners are supplemented with census data at the spatially fine level of census block group. In contrast to person-based methods like traditional travel surveys, remote sensing methods do not track individuals’ behavior over a day (or longer), but provide several advantages: 1) the precise time log of the trips; 2) fewer missing data since correct license numbers are registered for most of the vehicles passing a monitoring site; and 3) data acquired for any desired length of monitoring time at minimal cost. From 98 remote-sensing emissions monitoring sites, located for the SCAQMD at highway entrances and interchanges with the hope of identifying gross emitters, six sites were chosen for this study for a detailed analysis. Three of these six sites were in Los Angeles County and three in Orange County. The selected sites experienced some of the worst congestion in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The neighborhoods around the study sites represent different land use characteristics, such as residential, shopping, commercial and industrial. By examining the speed patterns of the highway ramps at the monitoring sites, peak hours at four of the six study locations have been identified. Not all the study locations share the same peak-hours pattern, however. Among the four locations with varying speed patterns over a day, three of them were compared with the highway mainline speed data in close proximity to the study sites. The two sets of speed data show close correlations. The peak hours used in this study were based on the actual speed patterns at ramps. This study focuses on the differences of the profiles of motorists during peak and non-peak hours. This study uses a continuous-time survival model to analyze the varying demographic and socioeconomic profiles of motorists in the weekdays in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The availability of the precise time of passing vehicles makes it appropriate for using a continuous time approach. The extended Cox model with a non-parametric baseline hazard is used to accommodate both the time-invariant and time-varying effects of the covariates. The empirical results indicate that those who travel in the peak hours are more likely to be younger, to have lower education attainment, to have lower median household income, more likely to be non-English speakers and to be non-white, and less likely to be in management and professional occupations. This study demonstrates an application of the remote sensing data to the analysis of the costs of traffic congestion at a spatially and temporally disaggregated level. The results show that the burden of congestion is not evenly distributed among income groups. The congestion cost borne by the bottom income group is comparatively small even though they represent the highest share of the total observations at some study locations. |
| Keywords: | Traffic congestion, survival analysis, value of time delay, remote sensing, census proxy, southern California, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:150017&r=ure |
| By: | Hassink, Wolter (Utrecht University); van Leeuwen, Bas (Utrecht University) |
| Abstract: | Many studies indicate that human height is determined largely by childhood circumstances, which in turn influences an adult's labor market opportunities. The aim of this note is to test this thesis by examining the correlation between childhood circumstances and labor market outcomes on the one hand, and heights on the other, when networks are included as proxied by surnames. The fact that, after the inclusion of this surname proxy, we find a correlation only between height and labor market outcomes suggests that, while childhood circumstances affect height largely via social status and networks as captured by surnames, the same does not apply for labor market outcomes. |
| Keywords: | stature, networks, Indonesia |
| JEL: | J01 N35 Z13 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7433&r=ure |
| By: | Teresa C. Fort; John Haltiwanger; Ron S. Jarmin; Javier Miranda |
| Abstract: | There remains considerable debate in the theoretical and empirical literature about the differences in the cyclical dynamics of firms by firm size. This paper contributes to the debate in two ways. First, the key distinction between firm size and firm age is introduced. The evidence presented in this paper shows that young businesses (that are typically small) exhibit very different cyclical dynamics than small/older businesses. The second contribution is to present evidence and explore explanations for the finding that young/small businesses were hit especially hard in the Great Recession. The collapse in housing prices accounts for a significant part of the large decline of young/small businesses in the Great Recession. |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:13-30&r=ure |
| By: | Timothy J. Bartik (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a regression discontinuity model to examine the effects on kindergarten entrance assessments of the Kalamazoo County Ready 4s (KC Ready 4s) program, a half-day pre-K program for four-year-olds in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. The results are based on test scores and other characteristics of up to 220 children participating in KC Ready 4s, with data coming from both 2011–2012 and 2012–2013 participants in the program. The estimates find consistently statistically significant effects of this pre-K program on improving entering kindergartners’ math test scores. Some estimates also suggest marginally statistically significant effects of KC Ready 4s on vocabulary test scores. No statistically significant effects are found on letter-word identification test scores, due in part to the small available sample size, but some of the point estimates are large. The program does not appear to have large or statistically significant effects in improving children’s behavioral assessments. The overall average effects of KC Ready 4s on the three academic test scores are large, at an effect size of at least 0.52. This is toward the high end of effects found in previous studies of short-term effects of pre-K programs. These estimates also are consistent with program benefits exceeding program costs. |
| Keywords: | Pre-K, Preschool, Regression discontinuity, Evaluation of education programs |
| JEL: | I21 I28 H75 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upj:weupjo:13-198&r=ure |
| By: | Clemente, Jesús; Larramona, Gemma; Olmos, Lorena |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to analyze the effects of labor market conditions in the origin and the destination on interregional migration in Spain, over the period 1988-2010. A basic theoretical framework is developed and the implications of the model suggest that the effect of labor market conditions on migration can vary, depending on a certain threshold. In a second step, the implications of the model are tested with Spanish data, using a new approach based on the presence of thresholds. We show that interregional migration can be explained by labor market fundamentals if the expected wage gap between the origin and the destination is below an endogenously determinate value. |
| Keywords: | Interregional migration, Thresholds, Spain. |
| JEL: | C20 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:47631&r=ure |
| By: | Hightower, Lisa S.; Brennan, Mark A. |
| Abstract: | African immigrants in the United States (U.S.) experience immense challenges in the form of poverty, unemployment, and underemployment. Limited English language proficiency often restricts African immigrants to low-paying, unskilled positions. Ethnic entrepreneurship in the form of small-scale farming provides some African immigrants with an alternative to mainstream employment. Key to the success of many African immigrants is participation in beginning farmer programs. These programs operate as social networks, connecting immigrant farmers to training, farming resources, and members of the local community who provide access to additional resources and markets. Drawing from social capital theory, this mixed methods study investigates economic outcomes and social capital development within immigrant farmer programs. Immigrant farmer programs are analyzed as social networks that connect immigrants to technical training, farming resources, and community members who can provide access to markets. Data were collected through a survey of 112 agricultural educators working with immigrant farming programs across the United States. Data were also collected through case studies of programs in Ohio and Virginia. Bivariate correlation tests found the following agricultural training topics were significantly associated with economic outcomes, specifically training on farm equipment use, organic certification, and pest management. Ten marketing training topics were associated with economic outcomes, including business management, identifying markets, and introduction to direct markets. Social network ties were also associated with economic outcomes. These relationships were with the following organizations: farmers markets, community-supported organizations, the Extension Service, local farm supply stores, restaurants, and the Farm Bureau. Multiple regression tests found that 24.8% of the variance in economic outcomes could be accounted for by social network development, market training, and agricultural training. |
| Keywords: | Ethnic entrepreneurship, social capital, social networks, immigrant farmers, African immigrants, local food systems, Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:149696&r=ure |
| By: | KUEPIE Mathias; NOUETAGNI Samuel |
| Abstract: | Previous studies suggest that in addition to human capital, other factors not directly related to individual productivity play an important role in labor market integration. Our aim is to assess the impact of these factors, especially those concerning family background. To this end, we use a biographical database on individual trajectories. Analyses show that young people with privileged backgrounds are more likely to swiftly enter the wage sector than their peers from disadvantaged backgrounds. This result is found even when young people have the same level of education, suggesting considerable inequalities in the labor market, which need to be corrected |
| Keywords: | Labor market; Family background; Inequality of opportunity; Education efficiency |
| JEL: | J24 J62 J63 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irs:cepswp:2013-09&r=ure |
| By: | Fabrice Murtin |
| Abstract: | South Africa has achieved remarkable progress in educational attainment relative to other emerging countries, but the quality of basic education for a large fraction of the Black African population is still very low. This study identifies several hurdles to the upgrading of basic education quality, such as the lack of investment in school infrastructure and learning materials in disadvantaged areas, uneven administrative capacity at the local level, low teacher quality and poor teaching of English among Black Africans. Bold action is recommended to empower schools with more physical resources, more competent school leadership and an accountable teacher workforce. Skill mismatches of supply and demand on the labour market may be further addressed by vocational education reforms and an alleviation of credit constraints at the tertiary level.<P>Améliorer la qualité de l'éducation en Afrique du Sud<BR>L’Afrique du Sud a accompli des progrès remarquables en matière d’éducation par rapport à d’autres pays émergents, mais la qualité de l’éducation de base reste très faible pour une large partie de la population africaine noire. Cette étude met en évidence plusieurs obstacles à l’amélioration de la qualité de l’éducation de base, notamment le manque d’investissement dans les infrastructures scolaires et les matériels pédagogiques dans les zones défavorisées, des capacités administratives inégales au niveau local, une mauvaise qualité des enseignants et un enseignement médiocre de l’anglais aux élèves africains noirs. Il est recommandé de prendre des mesures audacieuses pour doter les écoles de davantage de ressources matérielles, d’une équipe de direction plus compétente et d’un corps enseignant responsable. L’inadéquation des compétences entre l’offre et la demande sur le marché du travail peut en outre être traitée par des réformes concernant l’enseignement professionnel et par l’allègement des contraintes de crédit dans l’éducation supérieure. |
| Keywords: | education, school leadership, skills mismatch, education quality, teacher, teacher accountability, test score, return to schooling, éducation, Rendements de l’éducation, qualité de l'éducation, inadéquation des compétences, enseignant, responsabilité des enseignants, test scolaire, direction d’école |
| JEL: | I20 I24 I25 I28 J24 |
| Date: | 2013–06–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1056-en&r=ure |
| By: | Massimo Florio (DEAS, Universita' di Milano); Silvia Vignetti (CSIL Centre for Industrial Studies) |
| Abstract: | This paper draws and expands from a recent ex-post evaluation carried out for the European Commission aimed at assessing the long term effects produced by a sample of ten major infrastructures in the Transport and Environment sectors and interpreting the key determinants of the observed performance. This evaluation study offered a unique opportunity to draw conclusions on the value of performing ex-post evaluations and to test an innovative evaluation design combining cost-benefit analysis (CBA) with qualitative assessment and adopting a long-run perspective (30 years), which extends into both the past and the future, and requires a mix of retrospective and prospective analysis. This paper presents the potential of ex-post CBA to assess long term impacts of major infrastructure projects and discusses some methodological and institutional implications related to its use. |
| Keywords: | Cost-benefit analysis, Ex-post evaluation, Infrastructures |
| JEL: | D61 H54 R58 |
| Date: | 2013–05–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mst:wpaper:201302&r=ure |
| By: | Muge Adalet McGowan |
| Abstract: | Extensive structural reforms since the early 1990s have strengthened the resilience of the Swedish economy to shocks. However, more needs to be done to better manage near-term risks and ensure that growth remains sustainable in the longer run. Reforming the housing market would reduce the risks associated with high house prices, ensure adequate residential investment and improve labour mobility and well-being. Clarifying the division of responsibilities in financial regulation and improving the macroprudential toolkit would reduce the risks to stability and the contingent fiscal liabilities arising from a large, concentrated banking system. Better aligning the taxation of different types of assets would make taxation more neutral.<P>Marché du logement, secteur financier et fiscalité du capital : conduire des politiques propres à garantir une croissance vigoureuse en Suède<BR>Les réformes structurelles de grande envergure conduites depuis le début des années 90 ont renforcé la résistance de l’économie suédoise aux crises. Cependant, il faut aller plus loin encore pour mieux gérer les risques à court terme et faire en sorte que la croissance persiste dans la durée. Une réforme du marché de l’immobilier faciliterait un atterrissage en douceur des prix des logements, une hausse de l’investissement résidentiel et une amélioration de la mobilité de la main-d’oeuvre et du bien-être. Préciser la répartition des responsabilités dans la réglementation financière et améliorer la panoplie d’instruments macroprudentiels permettraient d’apaiser les menaces qui pèsent sur la stabilité et de réduire les engagements budgétaires éventuels liés à l’existence d’un système bancaire vaste et concentré. Une harmonisation plus poussée de l’imposition des différentes catégories d’actifs rendrait la fiscalité plus neutre. |
| Keywords: | growth, Sweden, capital taxation, rent regulation, household, financial stability, housing markets, macroprudential regulation, bank resolution, Suède, croissance, endettement des ménages, stabilité financière, marché du logement, réglementation macroprudentielle, imposition du capital, contrôle des loyers |
| JEL: | D13 E21 G18 G21 G28 H2 R21 R31 R38 |
| Date: | 2013–02–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1024-en&r=ure |
| By: | Chuang, Yating |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea13:150156&r=ure |