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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Friesen, Jane; Harris, Benjamin Cerf; Woodcock, Simon |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effects of public school open enrolment, which allows students to enroll in any public school with available space, on fourth grade test scores. We find a small, positive effect on the average student; this benefit appears to stem from increased competition among schools, rather than directly through expanded choice opportunities. Among students whose catchment school is locally top-ranked according to test scores, greater choice is of no direct benefit; however, students whose catchment school is locally lowest-ranked earn higher scores when they have access to better local schools. Students in both groups benefit from increased school competition. |
| Keywords: | open enrolment, school choice, school competition |
| JEL: | I21 I28 |
| Date: | 2013–10–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2013-46&r=ure |
| By: | S. BAERT; F. HEYLEN; D. ISEBAERT |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of housing tenure choice on unemployment duration in Belgium using EU-SILC micro data. We contribute to the literature in distinguishing homeowners with mortgage payments and outright homeowners. We simultaneously estimate unemployment duration by a mixed proportional hazard model, and the probability of being an outright homeowner, a homeowner with mortgage payments or a tenant by a mixed multinomial logit model. To be able to correctly identify the causal influence of different types of housing tenure on unemployment duration, we use instrumental variables. Our results show that homeowners with a mortgage exit unemployment first. Outright owners stay unemployed the longest. Tenants take an intermediate position. Moreover, our results reveal the different share of mortgage holders within the group of homeowners as a possible explanation for the discrepancy between former contributions to this literature. |
| Keywords: | unemployment, housing tenure, duration analysis |
| JEL: | C41 J64 R2 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:13/858&r=ure |
| By: | Jose Claudio Pires (Office of Evaluation and Oversight, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, USA); Tulio Cravo (Office of Evaluation and Oversight, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, USA); Simon Lodato (Office of Evaluation and Oversight, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, USA); Caio Piza (Development Impact Evaluation Unit, The World Bank) |
| Abstract: | Industrial clusters are commonly targeted to receive financial support allocated to local-based development projects. Cluster promotion is seen as an effective industrial policy tool aimed at improving productivity and employment generation. Nevertheless, despite its popularity as a regional development policy, identifying and assessing the economic performance of clusters is still a challenge for policy makers. The objective of this paper is twofold: identify the location of clusters in Brazil; and provide some insights of its effect on employment generation. This paper uses three measures of identification to test whether the correlation between clusters and economic performance depends on the way clusters are identified. Noticeably, the existing literature on clusters’ identification in Brazil ignores possible spatial dependence. To address this gap in the literature, this paper draws on Carroll et al. (2008) and uses Location Quotient (LQ) and Local Indicator of Spatial Association (LISA) simultaneously to identify potential clusters in Brazil in 27 industrial sectors and using a comprehensive census data of the formal sector covering 5564 Brazilian municipalities. In addition, the paper uses an annual municipal panel data for the period 2006-2009 to assess whether the presence of clusters is correlated to superior economic performance, particularly employment generation. The results show that potential clusters are correlated with better economic performance, however, different types of agglomerations present different association with economic performance. Firstly, municipalities in specialized clusters (SR) perform poorly in terms of employment generation. Secondly, the results suggest that clusters of municipalities with neighbors with similar industrial structure (Periphery Regions and Potential Cluster Region) perform much better than those that only present industry specialization (SR) and are not close to similar municipalities. |
| Keywords: | Industrial cluster, regional economic development, spatial dependence |
| JEL: | C0 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:ovewps:0213&r=ure |
| By: | Baker, Michael |
| Abstract: | Many jurisdictions ban teacher strikes on the assumption that they negatively affect student achievement, but there is surprisingly little research on this question. The majority of existing studies make cross section comparisons of the achievement of students who do or do not experience a strike. They conclude that strikes do not have an impact. I present new estimates of this impact of strikes using an empirical strategy that controls for fixed student characteristics at the school cohort level, and a sample of industrial actions by teachers in the province of Ontario. The results indicate that teacher strikes in grades 5 or 6 have negative, statistically significant impact on test score growth between grade 3 and grade 6. The largest impact is on math scores: 29 percent of the standard deviation of test scores across school/grade cohorts. |
| Keywords: | Child development, human capital, universal access |
| JEL: | I28 J13 |
| Date: | 2013–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2013-8&r=ure |
| By: | D. ISEBAERT |
| Abstract: | Housing tenure is a key determinant of geographical mobility. We estimate several probit models to explain the probability that households move, using Belgian longitudinal PSBH and EU-SILC datasets which together cover the period 1994-2009. We confirm the general conclusion in previous literature, that homeowners are, ceteris paribus, less mobile than tenants. Within the first category, having a mortgage further hampers mobility. Earlier results for Belgium did not find a significant difference between outright owners and mortgagees. Furthermore, we make progress on the existing literature by paying particular attention to (and dealing with) methodological issues such as unobserved heterogeneity and state dependence. However, we also obtain some indications that the strict exogeneity assumption may be violated, implying that we cannot exclude the possibility of some bias in our estimated coefficients. |
| Keywords: | Housing tenure, geographical mobility, Belgian households, panel data |
| JEL: | R21 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:13/855&r=ure |
| By: | Bratti, Massimiliano (University of Milan); Checchi, Daniele (University of Milan) |
| Abstract: | Thanks to the effort of two local educational authorities, in two regions of North Italy (Valle d'Aosta and the autonomous province of Trento) the PISA 2009 test was re-administered to the same students one year later. This paper is the first to analyse in the OECD-PISA context the potential advantages of re-testing the same students in order to provide better measures of schools' contributions to student achievement. We show that while cross-sectional measures of school value added based on PISA student literacy, which measures "knowledge for life", tend to be very volatile over time whenever there is a high year-to-year attrition in the student population, longitudinal measures of school value added are very robust to student attrition (even without controlling for sample selection). Moreover, persistence in individual test scores tends to be higher in highly "selective" (i.e. high drop-out) school environments. |
| Keywords: | Italy, OECD-PISA, school value added, student attrition |
| JEL: | I21 J24 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7722&r=ure |
| By: | Pugatch, Todd (Oregon State University); Schroeder, Elizabeth (Oregon State University) |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the impact of the Gambian hardship allowance, which provides a salary premium of 30-40% to primary school teachers in remote locations, on the distribution and characteristics of teachers across schools. A geographic discontinuity in the policy's implementation and the presence of common pre-treatment trends between hardship and non-hardship schools provide sources of identifying variation. We find that the hardship allowance increased the share of qualified (certified) teachers by 10 percentage points. The policy also reduced the pupil-qualified teacher ratio by 27, or 61% of the mean, in recipient schools close to the distance threshold. Further analysis suggests that these gains were not merely the result of teachers switching from non-hardship to hardship schools. With similar policies in place in more than two dozen other developing countries, our study provides an important piece of evidence on their effectiveness. |
| Keywords: | teacher labor markets, rural schools, Gambia, program evaluation, regression discontinuity |
| JEL: | I25 I28 J38 J45 J61 O12 O15 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7723&r=ure |
| By: | Buyst, Erik; Helgers, Roel |
| Abstract: | A large literature has emerged, especially in the UK, that investigates regional convergence of house prices. Many authors have found regional house prices to be converging in the long-run and exhibit a distinct spatial pattern over time, which has become known as the ripple eect hypothesis. In this paper we examine the validity of the ripple eect hypothesis for Belgium and are particularly interested in the role of the linguistic border in the spatial and temporal propagation of shocks in a dynamic system. We extend the model that was recently proposed by Holly et al. (2011) to cope with the unique federal structure of Belgium and use data at the level of the judicial districts (N = 20) for an extensive time period (1973Q1-2011Q3, T = 155). We show that the linguistic border plays an ambiguous role. The results indicate that almost all regional house prices are converging in the long-run, which implies that regional markets in Belgium are integrated. We furthermore show that house prices in regions which are located along the north-south axis in Belgium, which constitutes the economic spine of Belgium, converge more quickly with respect to house prices in the dominant region, Antwerp. This result suggests that the linguistic border plays no signicant role in the house price diusion process. After this initial error correction mechanism, however, the convergence process follows a distinct linguistic pattern (east-west axis) where regions converge only with respect to neighboring regions that are located within the same linguistic region. Moreover, short-run spatial spill-overs are signicant for nearly all neighboring regions that lie within the same linguistic area, but nearly nonexistent for neighboring regions across the linguistic border. Finally, we provide evidence for the ripple eect hypothesis in Belgium. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:leuven:urn:hdl:123456789/403608&r=ure |
| By: | De Palma, André; Proost, Stef; Van der Loo, Saskia |
| Abstract: | We use a simple economy with two interconnected geographical zones. Individuals can live and work in one of the two zones or can commute between them. This model is used to explore the dynamics of housing and work decisions after a permanent shock in labour demand occurred in one of the two zones. We illustrate the role of the different levels of expectation of developers and government transport agencies for the equilibrium on the housing and the labour markets. The model is used to identify better Cost-Benefit rules for transport investments and the role of coordination between housing and transport decisions. |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:leuven:urn:hdl:123456789/410262&r=ure |
| By: | Kilani, Moez; Proost, Stef; van der Loo, Saskia |
| Abstract: | This paper explores reforms of pricing of private and public transport in Paris. Paris has used a policy of very low public transport prices and no road pricing. The Paris transport network is represented as a stylized concentric city with the choice between car, rapid rail, metro and busses as well as two income classes and different transport motives. The model is used to test what are the efficiency gains of introducing road pricing and of increasing public transit prices in the peak. Are both reforms re-enforcing each other or are they largely substitutes? We find that a zonal pricing scheme for the center of Paris combined with higher public transport fares in the peak perform best. The benefits of an overall capacity extension of public transport supply are much lower than the benefits of pricing reforms and could very well not pass the cost benefit test. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:leuven:urn:hdl:123456789/418969&r=ure |
| By: | Eric Isenberg; Jeffrey Max; Philip Gleason; Liz Potamites; Robert Santillano; Heinrich Hock; Michael Hansen |
| Keywords: | Effective Teaching, Teacher Effectiveness, Teacher Distribution, Value Added, Elementary Secondary Education, Economically Disadvantaged, Minority Group Children, Achievement Gap |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2013–11–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:7943&r=ure |
| By: | Matthew Johnson; Stephen Lipscomb; Brian Gill |
| Keywords: | Value Added, Estimates, Peer Control Variables, Education |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2013–11–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:7941&r=ure |
| By: | Dustmann, Christian (University College London); Fasani, Francesco (Queen Mary, University of London) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the effect of local crime rates on the mental well-being of residents. Our identification strategy addresses the problem of sorting, and endogenous moving behaviour. We find that crime causes considerable mental distress of residents, and that these effects are mainly driven by property crime. However, individuals react also to violent crime, in particular in areas individuals may be exposed to when following their daily routines, such as travel to work. Local crime creates more distress for females, and is mainly related to depression and anxiety. The impact on mental well-being is large: We find that the increase in mental distress following a one standard deviation increase in local crime is about 2-4 times as large as that caused by a one standard deviation decrease in local employment, and about one seventh of the effect experienced by in the direct aftermath of the London Bombings of Jul 7th, 2005. |
| Keywords: | neighbourhood effects, mental wellbeing, fear of crime |
| JEL: | I18 K42 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7711&r=ure |
| By: | Irina Telyukova (UC San Diego); Leena Rudanko (Boston University) |
| Abstract: | House prices fall as the time on the market passes. We document this negative duration dependence for the US housing market using house-level data on listed prices. We interpret the pattern as a result of sellers' imperfect information about the "appeal" of houses to potential buyers. When listing a house sellers have beliefs about this appeal, but these beliefs get downgraded as the house remains on the market. We formalize these ideas in an equilibrium model of search and learning in the housing market, which builds on the work of Gonzalez and Shi (2009). We use the model to derive further testable predictions relating the degree of duration dependence in prices to cross-sectional variation in the activity-level of different housing markets. In the model learning takes place faster in more active markets, implying stronger duration dependence in prices. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed013:490&r=ure |
| By: | Damen, Sven; Buyst, Erik |
| Abstract: | Many households have only one major asset, a house, which is usually financed through a mortgage contract. One of the most important financial decisions a household has to make is therefore the choice of mortgage type. These can be broadly described as falling into one of two categories: the fixed rate mortgage (FRM) and the adjustable rate mortgage (ARM). We use data from Flanders (Belgium) to study the choice between FRMs and ARMs. Belgium is of special interest as the structure of the Belgian mortgage market varied significantly during the last decade. From 2003 to 2012, the Belgian share of mortgages with an initial rate fixation period up to one year fell from 62% in 2004 to 8% in 2006, recovered to 58% in 2010, and fell again to 5% in 2012. This is a remarkably large variation in comparison to other countries. The results indicate that the FRM-ARM interest rate spread explains almost all the variation of the ARM share from 2003:01 to 2012:12. However, households do not distinguish between changes in the premium that lenders demand for holding the riskier long-term FRM or expected changes in the ARM rate. Mortgage choices can thus be described as short-sighted decisions, based on initial mortgage payments. We furthermore find evidence that high and low income households in Flanders choose an ARM for different reasons. Whereas the high income segment chooses an ARM if they can afford changes in interest payments, the low income households prefer an ARM if they are financially constrained. |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:leuven:urn:hdl:123456789/415144&r=ure |
| By: | Miguel Elosua (CECMC-CCJ - Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine - CNRS : UMR8173 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales [EHESS]); François Gipouloux (CCJ - Chine, Corée, Japon - CNRS : UMR8173 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales [EHESS] - Université Paris VII - Paris Diderot); Sébastien Goulard (CECMC-CCJ - Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine - CNRS : UMR8173 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales [EHESS]); Shantong Li (DRC - Development Research Center of the State Council - State Council, China); Pengfei Ni (CASS-IFTE - Institute of Finance and Trade Economics - Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) |
| Abstract: | This working paper examines the evolution of Chinese cities and the challenges they are currently facing. It aims to identify possible patterns of urbanisation in the next forty years. The first part analyses the transformation of Chinese cities as a consequence of the economic policies implemented within the country. The authors argue that the economic reform has accelerated China's urbanisation. Other factors of this massive urbanisation include the improvement of transport infrastructures and the transformation of China's industries. The reform of the tax system between central and local authorities in 1994 is also examined, and its consequences on urbanisation, and its limitations. Based on this analysis, the second part introduces the possible strategies China may adopt for the development of its cities. The objective of these policies will be mainly to control the path of urbanisation to prevent the emergence of super large city and encourage the creation of city networks. Future urban policies will also need to tackle such issues as rural flight and environment protection. |
| Keywords: | urbanisation; China; tax-sharing system; super large cities |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00903218&r=ure |
| By: | Stephan Brunow (Institute for Employment Research (IAB); Bastian Stockinger (Otto-Friedrich University of Bamberg) |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nor:wpaper:2013022&r=ure |
| By: | Crabbé, Karen |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:leuven:urn:hdl:123456789/398229&r=ure |
| By: | Ferdinand Rauch; Guy Michaels |
| Abstract: | Do locational fundamentals such as coastlines and rivers determine town locations, or can historical events trap towns in unfavorable locations for centuries?� We examine the effects on town locations of the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, which temporarily ended urbanization in Britain, but not in France.� As urbanization recovered, medieval towns were more often found in Roman-era town locations in France than�in Britain, and this difference still persists today.� The resetting of Britain's urban network gave it better access to naturally navigable waterways when this was important, while many French towns remained without such access. |
| Keywords: | Economic Geography, Economic History, Path Dependence, Transportation |
| JEL: | R11 N93 O18 |
| Date: | 2013–11–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:684&r=ure |
| By: | Steven Glazerman; Al Protik; Bing-ru Teh; Julie Bruch; Jeffrey Max |
| Keywords: | transfer incentives, randomized controlled trial, teacher effectiveness, value added |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2013–11–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:7938&r=ure |
| By: | Stephan Brunow (Institute for Employment Research (IAB)); Valentina Nafts (Institute for Employment Research (IAB)) |
| Abstract: | Innovation is a key driver of technological progress and growth in a knowledge-based economy. There are various motives for individual firms to innovate: improving quality secures market leadership, introducing new products leads the firm into new markets, adopting new technologies could be seen as a catch-up strategy within an industry or an improvement of the firm’s own products when the technology adopted is based on ideas from other industries. Firms can perform innovation activities in one or more of these areas or in none of them. We therefore raise the question of what types of firms tend to be more innovative, i.e. which firms innovate in more of these areas. For this purpose we employ firm-level survey data and combine it with administrative data from Germany’s social security system. An ordered logit model is estimated using a variety of characteristics which describe the workforce employed and other firm-related variables, the regional environment where the firm is located, as well as industry and region fixed effects. |
| Keywords: | firm innovation, labor diversity, ordered logit |
| JEL: | J44 O31 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nor:wpaper:2013021&r=ure |
| By: | De Borger, Bruno; Proost, Stef |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the political economy of pricing and investment for excludable and congestible public goods in a federal state. Currently, we observe a wide variety of practices, ranging from federal gasoline taxes and road investment to the local supply of -- and sometimes free access to -- libraries, parking spaces and public swimming pools. The two-region model we develop allows for spill-overs between regions, it takes into account congestion, and it captures both heterogeneity between and within regions. Regional decisions are taken by majority voting; decisions at the federal level are taken either according to the principle of a minimum winning coalition or through cooperative bargaining. We have the following results. First, when users form the majority in at least one region, decentralized decision making performs certainly better than centralized decision making if spill-overs are not too large. Centralized decisions may yield higher welfare than decentralization only if users have a large majority and the infrastructure in a given region is intensively used by both local and outside users. Second, if non-users form a majority in both regions, centralized and decentralized decision making yield the same socially undesirable outcome, with prices that are much too high. Third, both bargaining and imposing uniform price restrictions across regions improve the performance of centralized decisions. Fourth, the performance of decentralized supply is strongly enhanced by local self-financing rules; it prevents potential exploitation of users within regions. Self-financing rules at the central level are not necessarily welfare-improving. Finally, the results of this paper contribute to a better understanding of actual policy-making. |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:leuven:urn:hdl:123456789/416349&r=ure |
| By: | Ohinata, Asako (University of Leicester); van Ours, Jan C. (Tilburg University) |
| Abstract: | We analyze how the share of immigrant children in the classroom affects the educational attainment of native Dutch children in terms of their language and math performance at the end of primary school. Our paper studies the spill-over effects at different parts of the test score distribution of native Dutch students using a quantile regression approach. We find no evidence of negative spillover effects of the classroom presence of immigrant children at the median of the test score distribution. In addition, there is no indication that these spill-over effects are present at other parts of the distribution. |
| Keywords: | immigrant children, peer effects, educational attainment |
| JEL: | I21 J15 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7720&r=ure |
| By: | Samarjit Das (Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi); Chetan Ghate (Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi); Peter E. Robertson (University of Western Australia) |
| Abstract: | The existing literature on Indian growth finds no evidence of B convergence across states. This represents a puzzle given the relatively free flows of capital, labour and commodities across state borders. We use a new data set to estimate convergence rates across 575 Indian districts and find that the pattern of absolute B- divergence remains. To explain this we develop a model of conditional convergence that includes a gravity indicator of trade and migration costs - specifically the distance from a major metropolitan center - as a conditioning variable. We find strong evidence of conditional convergence with an elasticity close to Barro's "iron law". We also find that geography and public infrastructure variables are important conditioning variables. |
| Keywords: | Convergence, Divergence, Indian Economic Growth, Gravity Models |
| JEL: | O4 O5 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:isipdp:13-06&r=ure |
| By: | Khan, Adnan Q.; Lehrer, Steven F. |
| Abstract: | Debates centered on the role of social networks as a determinant of labour market outcomes have a long history in economics and sociology; however, determining causality remains a challenge. In this study we use information on random assignment to a unique intervention to identify the impact of changes in the size of alternative social network measures on subsequent employment at both the individual and community level. Our results indicate that being assigned to the treatment protocol significantly increased the size of social networks, particularly weak ties. Nevertheless, these increases did not translate into improved employment outcomes 18 months following study completion. We do not find any evidence of treatment effect heterogeneity based on the initial size of one’s social network; but those whose strong ties increased at a higher rate during the experiment were significantly less likely to hold a job following the experiment. We find that many of these results also hold at the community level among those who did not directly participate in the intervention. In summary, our results suggest that policies can successfully influence the size of an individual’s social network, but these increases have limited impacts on long run labour market outcomes with the notable exception of changes in the composition of individuals who hold jobs. |
| Keywords: | employment; social networks; experiment; non-compliance; Maritimes; strong and weak ties |
| JEL: | J48 C93 D85 |
| Date: | 2013–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2013-7&r=ure |
| By: | Vu, Tam Bang; Noy, Ilan |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the consequences of natural disasters on firms in Vietnam over the period 2000 to 2008. We examine the impacts of natural disasters on firm investment and retail sales. We find evidence of adverse effects of disasters on retail sales accompanied by an increase in firm investment of very similar magnitude. There are important differences across geographical units, with the positive impact on investment unique to large cities and provinces with large urban concentrations. We find that more remote rural areas, especially in the North, experience declines in sales without the mitigating boost to investment in disasters’ aftermath. We also show that the decline in sales is not apparently associated with declines in household incomes. |
| Keywords: | Vietnam, Natural disasters, Investment, Recovery, Retail sales, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vuw:vuwecf:3063&r=ure |
| By: | Mathieu Bunel (University of Caen Basse-Normandie, CREM CNRS UMR 6211 and TEPP (FR CNRS n°3435)); Emilia Ene (University of Paris-Est Marne la Vallée, ERUDITE and TEPP (FR CNRS n°3435)); Yannick L’horty (University of Paris-Est Marne la Vallée, ERUDITE and TEPP (FR CNRS n°3435)); Pascale Petit (Université d’Evry Val d’Essonne, EPEE and TEPP (FR CNRS n°3435)) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to assess the degree of employment discrimination against young people in the Ile-de-France region according to their place of residence by considering several spatial scales in order to measure the effect of the reputation of the administrative department or county (specifically Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis), the town or municipality, and of the local neighborhood. The evaluation is carried outusing experimental testing-type data that we developed following a protocol that allows us toexamine the specific effects associated with each of these three spatial scales on access to employment, as well as their combined effects. We are interested in discrimination regarding two specific occupations within the restaurant/catering industry, namely waiters and cooks, and we consider the impact of two levels of qualification. For each of these profiles, we constructed six fictional candidacies consisting of young men who were similar with the exception of the testing feature which differentiates them, namely their place of residence. Between October 2011 and February 2012, we studied 2,988 candidacies that were submitted in response to 498 job offers posted in the Ile-de-France region. This study consists of a statistical and econometric analysis of the responses that we obtained to these applications. |
| Keywords: | access to employment, discrimination, testing, neighbourhood effects, experiments |
| JEL: | C81 C93 J15 J71 |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:201337&r=ure |
| By: | Andrea Bonaccorsi (Department of Energy and Systems Engineering, University of Pisa, Italy); Cinzia Daraio (Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Universita' degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza") |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate a new approach for the measurement of spillovers. The concept of spillovers is central in many theories of geography, innovation and growth, particularly at the regional level. We evaluate the impact of size and intensity of knowledge production, as observed in publications and patents at the sub-regional level, on the efficiency of manufacturing activity. We employ nonparametric and robust conditional measures in efficiency analysis to a unique dataset at the subregional level (province) for Italy. We find that most Italian provinces are located in a region of absence or extremely low impact of knowledge spillovers. Nevertheless, a few provinces with maximum volume in both patents and publications and some medium-sized provinces with high knowledge intensity show knowledge spillovers. |
| Keywords: | knowledge spillovers, manufacturing industry, growth, efficiency analysis, conditional efficiency, robust nonparametric estimation |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aeg:report:2013-13&r=ure |
| By: | Manfred M. Fischer (Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business); Philipp Piribauer (Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business) |
| Abstract: | This paper considers the problem of model uncertainty associated with variable selection and specification of the spatial weight matrix in spatial growth regression models in general and growth regression models based on the matrix exponential spatial specification in particular. A natural solution, supported by formal probabilistic reasoning, is the use of Bayesian model averaging which assigns probabilities on the model space and deals with model uncertainty by mixing over models, using the posterior model probabilities as weights. This paper proposes to adopt Bayesian information criterion model weights since they have computational advantages over fully Bayesian model weights. The approach is illustrated for both identifying model covariates and unveiling spatial structures present in pan-European growth data. |
| Keywords: | model comparison, model uncertainty, spatial Durbin matrix exponential growth models, spatial weight structures, European regions |
| JEL: | C11 C21 C52 O47 O52 R11 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwwuw:wuwp158&r=ure |
| By: | Cabus, S.; De Witte, Kristof |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the growing literature on school dropout by proposing and empirically testing a theoretical framework on the enrollment decision of youngsters in secondary education. The model relates school dropout to time preferences, motivation, opportunity costs, and policy measures, and is empirically tested on longitudinal data of about 5,000 Dutch vocational students. We evaluate the enrollment decision of students for (1) di¤erent intensity levels of dropout prevention policy, and for (2) di¤erent levels of economic development. The results indicate that the model can accurately predict actual enrollment rates over the period 2000-2011. Using the model to forecast the level of school dropout in the Netherlands by the year 2020, it is observed that a very strict dropout prevention policy could yield nearly maximum enrollment rates (i.e., 97%) in schools. However, the annual budget for a similar dropout prevention policy is estimated at e574 million or 0.10% of the Dutch GDP. |
| Keywords: | Dropout prevention; Economic modeling; Secondary education; |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:leuven:urn:hdl:123456789/388981&r=ure |
| By: | Evers, Ruth; Proost, Stef |
| Abstract: | In this paper we optimize the regulation of an intersection of two routes connecting one origin-destination pair and study the effects of priority rules, traffic lights and tolls. We show that when the intersection is regulated by a priority rule the optimal policy is generally to block one of the two routes. When the intersection is regulated by traffic lights, it can only be optimal to leave both routes open when both routes are subject to congestion or if a toll is levied. |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:leuven:urn:hdl:123456789/418183&r=ure |
| By: | Yasumasa Matsuda |
| Abstract: | This paper considers analysis of nonstationary irregularly spaced data that may have multivariate observations. The nonstationarity we focus on here means a local dependency of parameters that describe covariance structures. Nonparametric and parametric ways to estimate the local dependency of the parameters are proposed by an extension of traditional periodogram for stationary time series to that for nonstationary spatial data We introduce locally stationary processes for which consistency of the estimators are proved as well as demonstrate empirical efficiency of the methods by simulated and real examples. |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:toh:tergaa:305&r=ure |
| By: | James Heckman (University of Chicago); Tim Kautz (University of Chicago) |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the recent literature on measuring and boosting cognitive and noncognitive skills. The literature establishes that achievement tests do not adequately capture character skills--personality traits, goals, motivations, and preferences--that are valued in the labor market, in school, and in many other domains. Their predictive power rivals that of cognitive skills. Reliable measures of character have been developed. All measures of character and cognition are measures of performance on some task. In order to reliably estimate skills from tasks, it is necessary to standardize for incentives, effort, and other skills when measuring any particular skill. Character is a skill, not a trait. At any age, character skills are stable across different tasks, but skills can change over the life cycle. Character is shaped by families, schools, and social environments. Skill development is a dynamic process, in which the early years lay the foundation for successful investment in later years. High-quality early childhood and elementary school programs improve character skills in a lasting and cost-effective way. Many of them beneficially affect later-life outcomes without improving cognition. There are fewer long-term evaluations of adolescent interventions, but workplace-based programs that teach character skills are promising. The common feature of successful interventions across all stages of the life cycle through adulthood is that they promote attachment and provide a secure base for exploration and learning for the child. Successful interventions emulate the mentoring environments offered by successful families. |
| Keywords: | Character, achievement tests, skill development, interventions |
| JEL: | D01 I20 J24 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2013-019&r=ure |
| By: | Albrecht Glitz |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the role coworker-based networks play for individual labour market outcomes. I analyse how the provision of labour market relevant information by former coworkers affects the employment probabilities and, if hired, the wages of male workers who have previously become unemployed as the result of an establishment closure. To identify the causal effect of an individual worker's network on labour market outcomes, I exploit exogenous variation in the strength of these networks that is due to the occurrence of mass-layoffs in the establishments of former coworkers. The empirical analysis is based on administrative data that comprise the universe of workers employed in Germany between 1980 and 2001. The results suggest a strong positive effect of a higher employment rate in a worker's network of former coworkers on his re-employment probability after displacement: a 10 percentage point increase in the prevailing employment rate in the network increases the re-employment probability by 7.5 percentage points. In contrast, there is no evidence of a statistically significant effect on wages. |
| Keywords: | Networks, Labour Markets, Employment, Wages |
| JEL: | J63 J64 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1400&r=ure |
| By: | Fernandes, Guilherme Barreto; Artes , Rinaldo |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ibm:ibmecp:wpe_321&r=ure |
| By: | de Palma, André; Kilani, Moez; Proost, Stef |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:leuven:urn:hdl:123456789/379576&r=ure |
| By: | Schmitt, Alexander; Van Biesebroeck, Jo |
| Abstract: | Trends towards international fragmentation of production and modular process technologies have increased the importance of proximity in the supply chain of sophisticated manufactured goods. Using a rich and novel data set for the European automotive industry, we simultaneously evaluate the relative importance of geographical, cultural and relational proximity in sourcing strategies. The estimates indicate that each dimension provides an independent benefit and also which measures have the largest relative importance. We also find that the positive effects attributed to some measures reflect past relationships rather than predict new ones. In particular, co-location and a low cultural distance should be interpreted as outcomes of a sourcing strategy, not as predictors for sourcing success. We investigate to what extent firms from different countries follow different strategies and which choices suppliers can make to boost their attractiveness as outsourcing partner. |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:leuven:urn:hdl:123456789/390851&r=ure |
| By: | Konings, Joep; Marcolin, Luca |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:leuven:urn:hdl:123456789/403750&r=ure |
| By: | John Eakins (School of Economics, University College Cork and Surrey Energy Economics Centre (SEEC), School of Economics, University of Surrey.) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the factors which influence the level of possession of cars in Irish households using four rounds of the Household Budget Survey, a large micro cross sectional data set of Irish households. Two qualitative choice models, the multinomial logit model and the ordered logit model are applied and their results compared. Based on various measures of fit, the multinomial logit model appears to be the preferred model. The main factors found to influence car possession include location, age, education and marital status of the head of household, use of public transport, the number of workers, number of non-workers and number of children in the household and total household expenditure. These factors are also consistently observed to influence car ownership over time although the effect of socioeconomic factors such as education and marital status appears to be diminishing. The number of workers in the household and total household expenditure are key determinants and mirror changes experienced at the macro level. The estimated income elasticities for these variables show that the number of workers in the household determines the decision to purchase more than one car to a greater extent than total household expenditure and total household expenditure determines the decision to purchase one car to a greater extent than the number of workers in the household. |
| Keywords: | OECD-Europe Motor Vehicle ownership; Household Survey Data; Multinomial Logit Model; Ordered Logit Model; Income Elasticities. |
| JEL: | R41 C35 D12 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sur:seedps:144&r=ure |
| By: | Andre DE PALMA; Fay DUNKERLEY; Stefan PROOST |
| Abstract: | Many transport and other service problems come down to simple network choices: what mode and/ or route to take, if some of the routes and modes are congested and their use can be priced or not priced by different operators. The operators can have different objective functions: public or private monopoly, private duopoly, etc.. This standard problem has been studied in many variants, mostly using the assumption of perfect substitutability between alternatives, so that in the deterministic Wardrop equilibrium, all routes that are used have the same generalized cost. This paper examines in more detail the role of the perfect substitutability assumption. Users of a network consume transport services, which are differentiated in two ways. There are objective differences in quality (length of route, congestion level) perceived by all users and there are individual idiosyncratic preferences for transport services. The resulting stochastic equilibrium is analysed on a simple parallel network for four types of ownership regimes: private ownership, coordinated public ownership, mixed public-private and public Stackelberg leadership. We find that, firstly, when total demand is fixed and there is congestion, then by controlling one route a government can achieve the First Best allocation, although the second route is privately operated or unpriced. This result holds whatever the level of substitutability and whatever the levels of congestion. Secondly, whenever imperfect substitutability is present, private supply of one of the two routes becomes relatively less efficient because the private supplier has an additional source of market power to exploit. If the better of the two routes is privately supplied it is always insufficiently used. However, if only one route can be privately operated, then this should always be the intrinsically better route. |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ete:ceswps:ces13.21&r=ure |