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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Luke Samy (Winton Institute for Monetary History, University of History, University of Oxford) |
| Abstract: | Data from two different primary sources were used to construct indices of house prices (HPI) and rents (RRPI) of residential property located in London and the Home Counties between 1895 and 1939. The indices were derived using the hedonics method of price index measurement, which extracts the variation in prices due to differences in the quality of dwellings that form the sample across different time periods. Both nominal and real HPIs and RRPIs are reported in the paper, as well as simple summary statistics on the levels of house prices and rental values, years purchase and returns on housing for a selected number of boroughs in London over time. |
| Keywords: | housing, rents, inflation, building societies. |
| Date: | 2015–04–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nuf:esohwp:_134&r=ure |
| By: | Picard, Pierre M. (University of Luxembourg); Zenou, Yves (Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | We develop a model where workers both choose their residential location (geographical space) and their social interactions (social space). In equilibrium, we show under which condition some individuals reside close to the job center while others live far away from it. Even though the two populations have the same characteristics and no group experiences any discrimination, we show that the majority group always has a lower unemployment rate than the minority group both when ethnic minorities reside close and far away from the city-center where jobs are located. This is because they have a larger and better-quality social network. This result is quite unique as it can explain the high unemployment rates of ethnic minorities both in European and American cities. |
| Keywords: | social interactions, segregation, labor market, spatial mismatch, network size |
| JEL: | A14 J15 R14 Z13 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9166&r=ure |
| By: | Ungerer, Christoph T. (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)) |
| Abstract: | Expansionary monetary policy can increase household leverage by stimulating housing liquidity. Low mortgage rates encourage buyers to enter the housing market, raising the speed at which properties can be sold. Because lenders can resell seized foreclosure inventory at lower cost in such a hot housing market, ex-ante they are comfortable financing a larger fraction of the house purchase. Consistent with this mechanism, this study documents empirically that both the housing sales rate and loan-to-value ratios increase after expansionary monetary policy. Calibrating a New Keynesian macroeconomic model to fit the response of housing liquidity to monetary policy, the interaction between credit frictions and housing market search frictions generates endogenous movements in the loan-to-value ratio which amplify the economy's response to monetary policy. |
| Keywords: | Credit frictions; housing market; monetary policy; search frictions |
| JEL: | E32 E44 E52 R21 |
| Date: | 2015–05–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2015-48&r=ure |
| By: | Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy (University of Auckland); Peter C. B. Phillips (Cowles Foundation, Yale University) |
| Abstract: | Using recently developed statistical methods for testing and dating exhuberant behavior in asset prices we document evidence of episodic bubbles in the New Zealand property market over the past two decades. The results show clear evidence of a broad-based New Zealand housing bubble that began in 2003 and collapsed over mid 2007 to early 2008 with the onset of the worldwide recession and the financial crisis. New methods of analyzing market contagion are also developed and are used to examine spillovers from the Auckland property market to the other metropolitan centres. Evidence from the latest data reveals that the greater Auckland metropolitan area is currently experiencing a new property bubble that began in 2013. But there is no evidence yet of any contagion effect of this bubble on the other centres, in contrast to the earlier bubble over 2003-2008 for which there is evidence of transmission of the housing bubble from Auckland to the other centres. One of our primary conclusions is that the expensive nature of New Zealand real estate relative to potential earnings in rents is partly due to the sustained market exuberance that produced the broad based bubble in house prices during the last decade and that has continued through the most recent bubble experienced in the Auckland region since 2013. |
| Keywords: | Bubble, Exuberance, Collapse, Contagion, Dating methods, House prices, Property market, Sup test |
| JEL: | J61 R23 R30 C33 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:2004&r=ure |
| By: | Riccardo Crescenzi; Carlo Pietrobelli; Roberta Rabellotti |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the geography of multinational corporations’ investments in the EU regions. The ‘traditional’ sources of location advantages (i.e. agglomeration economies, market access and labour market conditions) are considered together with innovation and socio-institutional drivers of investments, captured by means of regional ‘social filter’ conditions. This makes it possible to empirically assess the different role played by such advantages in the location decision of investments at different stages of the value chain and disentangle the differential role of national vs. regional factors. The empirical analysis covers the EU-25 regions and suggests that regional socio-economic conditions are crucially important for the location decisions of investments in the most sophisticated knowledge-intensive stages of the value chain. |
| Keywords: | Innovation; multinationals; systems of innovation; value chains; regions; European Union |
| JEL: | F21 F23 O33 R12 R58 |
| Date: | 2014–08–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:51482&r=ure |
| By: | Jing Wu; Joseph Gyourko; Yongheng Deng |
| Abstract: | Real estate is an important driver of the Chinese economy, which itself is vital for global growth. However, data limitations make it challenging to evaluate competing claims about the state of Chinese housing markets. This paper brings new data and analysis to the study of supply and demand conditions in nearly three dozen major cities. We first document the most accurate measures of land values, construction costs, and overall house prices. We then create and investigate a number of supply and demand metrics to see if price growth reasonably can be interpreted as reflecting local market fundamentals. Key results include the following: (1) Real house price growth has been high, averaging 10% per annum since 2004. However, there is substantial heterogeneity across markets, ranging from 3% (Jinan) to 20% (Beijing). House price growth is driven by rising land values, not by construction costs. Real land values have risen by over 15% per annum on average. In Beijing, the increase has been by a remarkable 27.5% per year (or by 1,036%) since 2004. (2) There is variation about the strong positive trend in house price and land value growth. Land values fell by nearly one-third at the beginning of the global financial crisis, but more than fully recovered amidst the 2009-2010 Chinese stimulus. More recent growth has been much more modest, with some markets beginning to decline. Quantities of land sales by local governments to private residential developers have dropped sharply over the past two years. The most recent data show transactions volumes down by half or more. This should lead to a reduced supply of new housing units in coming years. (3) Market-level analysis of short- and longer-run changes in supply-demand balances finds important variation across markets. In the major East region markets of Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen which have experienced very high rates of real price growth, we estimate that the growth in households demanding housing units has outpaced new construction since the turn of the century. However, there are a dozen large markets, primarily in the interior of the country, in which new housing production has outpaced household growth by at least 30% and another eight in which it did so by at least 10%. Regression results show that a one standard deviation increase in local market housing inventory is associated with a 0.45 standard deviation lower rate of real house price growth the following year. (4) There are no official data on residential vacancy rates in China, but some researchers have reported very high figures (17%+). We develop a new series at the provincial level which yields a much lower vacancy rate on average, but it has been rising—from 5% in 2009 to 7% in 2013. (5) The risk of housing even in markets such as Beijing which show no evidence of oversupply, is best evidenced by price-to-rent ratios. They are well above 50 in the capital city. Poterba’s (1984) user cost model suggests these levels can be justified only if owners have sufficiently high expectations of future capital gains. Even a modest one percentage point drop in expected appreciation (or increase in interest rates) would result in a drop in prices of about one-third, absent an offsetting increase in rents. |
| JEL: | R11 R3 R31 R52 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21346&r=ure |
| By: | Marcos Valdivia López |
| Abstract: | This study proposes a spatial interaction model to analyze the level of creativity across Metro Areas (MAs) in a country. The model postulates that increasing creativity depends on the proportions of common knowledge and differential knowledge that MAs face when they interact with each other. We rely on an agent-based approach that allows incorporating GIS and spatial interaction between MAs under local and global network conditions. We chose the cases of Mexico and Spain to get a first glance of how the model works with real data. We find that the MAs of Spain (2001) and Mexico (2003) share the same level of common and differential knowledge in the creative industries and, that knowledge spillovers spread better under inter metropolitan conditions of interaction instead of intra ones. The simulations suggest that Spain is better suited to produce higher knowledge externalities under conditions that are not restricted by physical distance, which make policy intervention in Spain more effective to diffuse creative ideas. |
| Keywords: | Externalities, knowledge spillovers, creative industries, urban spatial models, computational modeling. |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uae:wpaper:0815&r=ure |
| By: | Piotr Lis (Department of Economic and Local Government Policy, Poznan University of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This study identifies the channels of impulse transmission from housing markets to the economy. Particular attention is paid to house prices, housing investments, the wealth effect and the financial accelerator. Furthermore, the author proves that the interior changes on the housing market occur earlier than the changes in the transactional prices of dwellings. This phenomenon results among all from the downward rigidity of prices. That is why, housing cycles should be identified as quantitative cycles rather than price cycles. In this approach, the author highlights the extended ascending phases of housing markets as particularly hazardous for the economy. Such extended ascending phases lead to abrupt and deep descending phases which, in turn, cause an economic slowdown and serious problems of the financial sector. Furthermore, the author of the study proves that financial markets cause the ascending phases of a housing cycle to extend. For that reason, this work offers an analysis of the development of the financial system in Europe conducted in comparison with global conditions, indication of the key determinants of this development, identification of housing investment finance mechanisms together with the assessment of the impact of these mechanisms on housing cycles. The sources of refinancing housing loans (mortgages) have been considered to be the main criterion differentiating the influence of the financial system on the housing sphere. |
| Keywords: | housing, housing finance, housing policy, housing cycles, housing boom |
| JEL: | R21 R28 R31 R38 G12 G21 |
| Date: | 2015–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fes:wpaper:wpaper99&r=ure |
| By: | Ana C. Santos (Centro de Estudos Sociais, University of Coimbra, Portugal); Nuno Serra (Centro de Estudos Sociais, University of Coimbra, Portugal); Nuno Teles (Centro de Estudos Sociais, University of Coimbra, Portugal) |
| Abstract: | In the last forty years, Portugal has experienced an extraordinary quantitative and qualitative transformation in housing provision, reflecting the rapid urbanisation of the country. These transformations were guided by a construction boom fuelled by rising mortgage debt resulting in a significant rise of homeownership. The paper analyses these changes through a Systems of Provision (SoP) approach, examining the interests, actions and interactions between different agents and how these have determined the dynamics and outcomes of the Portuguese housing SoP. It is argued that the financialisation of the Portuguese economy is central to account for the dynamics and specificities of the housing sector. Finance is an integral part of the boom in the second half of the 1990s and of the slow burn crisis since the turn of the millennium. The financialisation of the Portuguese housing SoP has had very mixed impacts both on production and consumption. In the construction sector, asymmetry is visible between small contracting companies and big companies, with the latter taking advantage of the possibilities opened up by eased access to external finance, expanding their activities to new national and international markets. It has also contributed to the amplification of inequalities between those included and excluded from the mortgage markets, as housing loans have been heavily concentrated on the better-off segments of the Portuguese population, which has not experienced a housing bubble like some of their European counterparts, accessing to new homes at affordable prices while at the same time accumulating wealth. |
| Keywords: | systems of provision, housing, financialisation, Portugal Correlation Index |
| JEL: | H4 L74 R21 R31 R38 P16 P10 |
| Date: | 2015–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fes:wpaper:wpaper79&r=ure |
| By: | Manuel Adelino; Antoinette Schoar; Felipe Severino |
| Abstract: | This paper addresses two critiques by Mian and Sufi (2015a, 2015b) that were released in response to the results documented in Adelino, Schoar and Severino (2015). We confirm that none of the results in our previous paper are affected by the issues put forward in these critiques; in particular income overstatement does not drive any of our results. Our analysis shows that the origination of purchase mortgages increased across the whole income distribution during the 2002-2006 housing boom, and did not flow disproportionately to low-income borrowers. In addition, middle- and high-income, as well as middle- and high-credit-score borrowers (not the poor), represent a larger fraction of delinquencies in the crisis relative to earlier periods. The results are inconsistent with the idea that distortions in the origination of credit caused the housing boom and the crisis and are more consistent with an expectations-based view where both home buyers and lenders were buying into increasing housing values and defaulted once prices dropped. |
| JEL: | D30 G21 R30 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21320&r=ure |
| By: | David Bartolini |
| Abstract: | The present work investigates the relationship between municipal fragmentation and regional per capita GDP growth rate, using a panel of OECD TL2 regions in the period 1996-2011. According to the fiscal decentralisation literature, fragmentation should enhance growth as local government closer to citizens can implement policies that better match their needs, thus providing services and public goods in a more efficient way. The presence of many local governments, however, may create problems in terms of overlapping functions, (dis)economies of scale, and policy fragmentation. The results of the empirical analysis show that municipal fragmentation has a negative impact on per capita GDP growth, thus supporting the view that costs prevail on benefits. The introduction of regional territorial characteristic – namely, the share of population living in rural areas – provides a different picture, however. The negative impact of fragmentation decreases with the share of population living in rural areas. Indeed, in extremely “rural” regions the effect turns mildly positive. This is because the costs and benefits of fragmentation have a different weight in urban and rural regions. The key insight is the different distribution of the population over the territory: more concentrated in urban than in rural regions. This implies that, for a given level of municipal fragmentation overlapping of function is more severe in urban regions (where people are likely to commute over municipal boundaries) than in rural area. In the same vein, for the same level of municipal fragmentation access to the local government is more difficult in rural areas (where people is sparsely located within municipal boundaries) than in urban areas. The policy implications of the analysis are twofold. Firstly, reducing municipal fragmentation may have a heterogeneous impact within the country, thus raising concern for one-size-fits-all policies of municipal agglomeration in favour of a place-based approach to institutional reform. For instance, the principle guiding municipal amalgamation should not be the average municipal size at the country level, but it should be weighted for the rural/urban characteristics of each region. Secondly, the analysis suggests that processes of agglomeration of people should be accompanied by a consistent amalgamation of the local administration, otherwise representing an obstacle to the full realisation of agglomeration economies. |
| Keywords: | institutions, local governments, regional growth |
| JEL: | R11 R50 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:govaab:2015/14-en&r=ure |
| By: | Cohen, Jeffrey P. (University of Hartford); Coughlin, Cletus C. (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis); Clapp, John M. (University of Connecticut) |
| Abstract: | As an alternative to ordinary least squares (OLS), we estimate location values for single family houses using a standard housing price and characteristics dataset by local polynomial regressions (LPR), a semi-parametric procedure. We also compare the LPR and OLS models in the Denver metropolitan area in the years 2003, 2006 and 2010 with out-of-sample forecasting. We determine that the LPR model is more efficient than OLS at predicting location values in counties with greater densities of sales. Also, LPR outperforms OLS in 2010 for all 5 counties in our dataset. Our findings suggest that LPR is a preferable approach in areas with greater concentrations of sales and in periods of recovery following a financial crisis. |
| Keywords: | Land Values; Location Values; Semi-Parametric Estimation; Local Polynomial Regressions |
| JEL: | C14 H41 H54 R51 R53 |
| Date: | 2015–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2015-014&r=ure |
| By: | Piotr Lis (Department of Economic and Local Government Policy, Poznan University of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The liberalisation of the housing sector, given the macroeconomic stabilisation in the country, influenced the development of a housing loan as a form of financing the purchase of dwellings in Poland, with large growth dynamics of the household debt since the beginning of this century. A growth in financialisation resulted partly from the fact that newly established households preferred in particular the ownership right, especially due to its limited scope in the period of the centrally planned economy. Furthermore, this growth came as a result of the fact that the segment of dwellings for rent – both private and social – did not work well. Significant commodification of dwellings, with a residual character of social housing and marginal private rental, as well as higher social stratification are the features of the contemporary system of provision for housing in Poland. The financialisation of the housing sphere in Poland took place as a result of disparity in interests rates, favourable foreign exchange rate, using housing loans raised in Swiss francs, with growing importance of property developers housing investment mechanism. This process could take place due to the fact that there was no alternative (in relation to commercial banking) finance mechanism which households could use to fund their housing investments, there were delayed regulations and actions introduced by the state as well as an ineffective information policy targeted at the citizens. Consequently, the availability of money and its low, current cost caused a relatively dynamic growth in dwelling prices, despite unfavourable long-term conditions for borrowers (foreign exchange risk, interest rate risk). Reversing the price trend on the housing market resulted in limitations in the availability of housing finance, a growth in the cost of such finance, and consequently a long-lasting limitation to the possibility of satisfying housing needs by a vast group of the society. |
| Keywords: | housing, housing policy in Poland, system of provision for housing, financialisation of the housing. |
| JEL: | R21 R28 R31 R38 G12 G21 |
| Date: | 2015–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fes:wpaper:wpaper100&r=ure |
| By: | Mark Dincecco (University of Michigan); Massimiliano Gaetano Onorato (IMT Lucca Institute for Advanced Studies) |
| Abstract: | We show new evidence that the economic legacy of historical warfare persists to the present. Warfare was a key feature of European history. We argue that cities were safe harbors from war threats. War-related urbanization, in turn, had positive consequences for long-run development. We geocode the locations of more than 600 conflicts fought in Europe between 1300 and 1799. To measure urban economic activity, we gather satellite image data on light intensity at night for more than 500 cities between 2000 and 2010. We find a positive, significant, and robust relationship between historical conflict exposure and urban economic activity today. We find that human capital formation and local political representation are two channels through which the consequences of historical warfare are transmitted through time. Our results highlight the military origins of Europe’s prosperous urban belt. |
| Keywords: | Warfare, Cities, Political and Economic Development, Europe |
| JEL: | C20 O10 N40 N90 P48 R11 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ial:wpaper:6/2015&r=ure |
| By: | Stephanie Barnebeck; Yannick Kalff |
| Abstract: | Socio-ecological transitions are a main project, current EU policies, national environmental poli-tics, and regional as well as local action address. Manifold approaches exist and the European Union is anxious to coordinate and facilitate the process of a consolidated transition. Therefore, a policy paper is being developed, the European Urban Agenda, which operates on all govern-mental levels to allow cities more capability in realising said socio-ecological transition accord-ing to their own structural, spatial, social, economic, and environmental predispositions. In a broad study of 40 cities in Europe, we gathered a vast amount of empirical data that indi-cates the individual approaches towards a transition as well as their relations to European and national policies. This paper presents an extension of this research results. We depart from the results of the ROCSET study that is centred on the possibilities of self-organisation and ask about local sustainability strategies with concrete aims and goals. Further, the results of a con-sultation process on this European Urban Agenda are interpreted as an indicator on how the general perception of EU urban policies differs from actor to actor. Such an Agenda can con-tribute to unify individual approaches towards sustainability and consolidate strategies while maintaining the individuality of the local approaches. This paper starts with an outline of the research of the ROCSET study. In the second chapter, the actual urban sustainability strategies are reconstructed to take stock of the current situation in our forty researched cities. The third chapter analyses the consultation process on the Euro-pean Urban Agenda that then can be taken as an indicator on what the expectations for such an agenda are, and how they might reflect currently existing urban strategies. |
| Keywords: | Academic research, Beyond GDP, Demographic change, Ecological innovation, European economic policy, European governance, Good governance, Holistic and interdisciplinary approach, Research, Social innovation, Socio-ecological transition, Sustainable growth |
| JEL: | C01 O18 Q01 Q28 Q42 Q48 Q53 Q57 Q58 R1 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feu:wfewop:y:2015:m:6:d:0:i:103&r=ure |
| By: | Åslund, Olof (Institute for Evaluation of Labor Market and Education Policy (IFAU)); Grönqvist, Hans (Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI), Stockholm University); Hall, Caroline (IFAU and Uppsala Center for Labor Studies (UCLS)); Vlachos, Jonas (Department of Economics, Stockholm University and the Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | We study the impact on criminal activity from a large scale Swedish reform of vocational upper secondary education, extending programs from two to three years and adding more general theoretical content. The reform directly concerns age groups where criminal activity is high and students who are highly overrepresented among criminal offenders. The nature of the reform and the rich administrative data allow us to shed light on several behavioral mechanisms. Our results show that the prolonged and more general education lead to a reduction in property crime, but no significant decrease in violent crime. The effect is mainly concentrated to the third year after enrollment, which suggests that being in school reduces the opportunities and/or inclinations to commit crime. |
| Keywords: | Education; Delinquency |
| JEL: | K42 |
| Date: | 2015–07–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sunrpe:2015_0006&r=ure |
| By: | Andrea Bellucci; Alexander Borisov; Germana Giombini; Alberto Zazzaro |
| Abstract: | In this paper we empirically test the recent lender-based theory for the use of collateral in bank lending. Based on a proprietary dataset of loan contracts written by a local bank in competitive credit markets, we use the physical proximity between borrowers and the lending branch of the bank to capture its information advantage and the magnitude of collateral-related transaction costs. Overall, our results seem more consistent with several classic borrower-based explanations rather than with the lender-based view. We show that, conditional on obtaining credit from the local bank, more distant borrowers experience higher collateral requirements and lower interest rates. Moreover, competitive pressure from transaction lenders does not magnify the importance of lender-to-borrower distance. Our findings are also obtained with estimation techniques that allow for endogenous loan contract terms and joint determination of collateral and interest rates. |
| Keywords: | Distance, Collateral, Interest Rate, Bank lending |
| JEL: | G21 G32 L11 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iaw:iawdip:119&r=ure |
| By: | Stephen Popick; Anthony M. Yezer |
| Abstract: | Some sources of heterogeneity among cities, i.e. age, gender, race, income, and education, have been the object of substantial inquiry. The reasons are obvious. These differences are easily observed and may have important implications for economic activity. This study considers another potentially important population characteristic, obesity. Descriptive statistics reveal that the intercity variance in obesity rates is substantial. Empirical results demonstrate that demographic and regional amenity variables all have a relation to intercity differences in obesity. Because obesity is important for preferences, performance, and productivity, its omission from previous studies and its correlation with amenity and demographic characteristics, could create problems for empirical research. |
| JEL: | I12 J10 R23 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gwi:wpaper:2015-12&r=ure |
| By: | Hull, Marie C. (University of North Carolina, Greensboro) |
| Abstract: | Disruptions in family life can take many forms, but all have the potential to impact student learning. With school administrative data matched to birth records, I estimate the effect of unexpected changes in the home environment, or family shocks, on achievement. Identification comes from siblings observed in the same year. I find that family shocks are at least as important as teacher assignment for student learning. Furthermore, they have a relatively larger impact on students from affluent families; time use evidence indicates that this is likely because affluent parents are more involved in their children's learning. |
| Keywords: | education, human capital, family dynamics, educational inequality, time inputs |
| JEL: | J24 I21 I24 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9197&r=ure |
| By: | Devlin-Foltz, Sebastian (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)); Sabelhaus, John (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)) |
| Abstract: | Large swings in aggregate household-sector spending, especially for big ticket items such as cars and housing, have been a dominant feature of the macroeconomic landscape in the past two decades. Income and wealth inequality increased over the same period, leading some to suggest the two phenomena are interconnected. Indeed, there is supporting evidence for the idea that heterogeneity in economic shocks and spending are connected, most notably in studies using local-area geography as the unit of analysis. The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) provides a household-level perspective on changes in wealth, income, and spending across different types of families. The SCF confirms that inequality is indeed increasing in recent decades, and the data provide support for the proposition that shocks to income and wealth are indeed related to large swings in spending across and within birth cohorts. However, the economic shocks associated with the Great Recession and changes in spending and debt to income ratios are widespread, and inconsistent with a narrow focus on the experiences and changes in behavior of particular (especially low- and modest-income) households. |
| Keywords: | Consumption; lifecycle; synthetic cohort |
| JEL: | C80 D10 E20 |
| Date: | 2015–06–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2015-49&r=ure |
| By: | Hyun Bang Shin; Soo-Hyun Kim |
| Abstract: | What does gentrification mean under speculative urbanisation led by a strong developmental state? This paper analyses the contemporary history of Seoul’s urban redevelopment, arguing that new-build gentrification is an endogenous process embedded in Korea’s highly speculative urban development processes from the 1980s. Property owners, construction firms and local/central governments coalesce, facilitating the extraction of exchange value by closing the rent gap. Displacement of poorer owner-occupiers and tenants was requisite for the success of speculative accumulation. Furthermore, the paper also contends that Korea’s speculative urbanisation under the strong developmental (and later (neo-)liberalising) state has rendered popular resistance to displacement ineffective despite its initial success in securing state concessions. Examining the experience of Seoul in times of condensed industrialisation and speculative urbanisation helps inform the existing literature on gentrification by resorting to non-Western empirics. |
| Keywords: | developmental state; gentrification; Korea; Seoul; speculative urbanisation |
| JEL: | O14 |
| Date: | 2015–01–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:60439&r=ure |
| By: | Ramos, Arturo |
| Abstract: | We study the decennial log-growth population rate distributions of the US incorporated places (resp., all places) for the period 1990-2000 (resp. 2000-2010) and the recently constructed US City Clustering Algorithm (CCA) population data in the period 1991-2000. It is obtained an excellent parametric description of these log-growth rates by means of a newly introduced distribution called “double mixture exponential Generalized Beta 2”. The normal distribution is not the one empirically observed for the same datasets. |
| Keywords: | urban log-growth rates distribution, exponential distribution, exponential Generalized Beta 2 distribution, US population log-growth rates |
| JEL: | C46 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2015–07–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:65584&r=ure |
| By: | Elizabeth U. Cascio; Ayushi Narayan |
| Abstract: | Over the past decade, a technological breakthrough – hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” – has fueled a boom in oil and natural gas extraction by reaching shale reserves inaccessible through conventional technologies. We explore the educational response to fracking, taking advantage of the timing of its widespread introduction and the spatial variation in shale oil and gas reserves. We show that local labor demand shocks from fracking have been biased toward low-skilled labor and males, reducing the return to high school completion among men. We also show that fracking has increased high school dropout rates of male teens, both overall and relative to females. Our estimates imply that, absent fracking, the male-female gap in high school dropout rates among 17- to 18-year-olds would have narrowed by about 11% between 2000 and 2013 instead of remaining unchanged. Our estimates also imply an elasticity of high school completion with respect to the return to high school of 0.47, a figure below historical estimates. Explanations for our findings aside from fracking’s low-skill bias – changes in school inputs, population demographics, and resource prices – receive less empirical support. |
| JEL: | I20 J2 J3 O33 Q33 R23 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21359&r=ure |
| By: | Stefan Jestl; Michael Landesmann (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw); Sandra M. Leitner (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw) |
| Abstract: | Summary This paper presents a descriptive account of labour mobility across the EU economies. The focus of the paper is on different patterns between migrants (‘foreign born’) and natives with regard to mobility, exploring in particular the potential of migrants to ‘grease the wheels’ (Borjas, 2001) of labour markets by either themselves showing higher mobility rates or impacting on the mobility patterns of natives or existing migrants themselves. The main indicators examined are the gross mobility and net employment creation rates (GERR and NECR respectively) taken over from Davis and Haltiwanger (1992, 1999). This paper contains a descriptive assessment while a companion paper (Landesmann and Leitner, 2015) undertakes an econometric analysis of the determinants of mobility patterns. We differentiate between the EU-15 and the NMS-8 and further between sub-regions (OMS-North, OMS-South, NMS-Central, Baltics). We analyse differences in mobility patterns in OMS and NMS as regards age groups, skill groups, gender, length of job tenure, etc. Apart from overall labour market mobility we also examine inter-regional and inter-sectoral mobility. A second part of the analysis covers measures of ‘job-skill (mis) matches’, again with a focus of analysing differences between migrants and natives in this respect. |
| Keywords: | labour mobility, European Union, worker flow analysis, employment reallocation, international migration, regional migration, labour turnover, job-skill mismatch |
| JEL: | F22 J61 J62 J63 R23 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wii:rpaper:rr:403&r=ure |
| By: | Csató, László |
| Abstract: | The paper attempts to develop a suitable accessibility index for networks where each link has a value such that a smaller number is preferred like distance, cost, or travel time. A measure called distance sum is characterized by three independent properties: anonymity, an appropriately chosen independence axiom, and dominance preservation, which requires that a node not far to any other is at least as accessible. We argue for the need of eliminating the independence property in certain applications. Therefore generalized distance sum, a family of accessibility indices, will be suggested. It is linear, considers the accessibility of vertices besides their distances and depends on a parameter in order to control its deviation from distance sum. Generalized distance sum is anonymous and satisfies dominance preservation if its parameter meets a sufficient condition. Two detailed examples demonstrate its ability to reflect the vulnerability of accessibility to link disruptions. |
| Keywords: | networks, geography, accessibility, distance sum, axiomatic approach |
| JEL: | D85 Z13 |
| Date: | 2015–06–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cvh:coecwp:2015/12&r=ure |
| By: | Tony Champion; Ian Shuttleworth |
| Abstract: | This paper is prompted by the widespread acceptance that the rates of inter-county and inter-state migration have been falling in the USA and sets itself the task of examining whether this decline in migration intensities is also the case in the UK. It uses the inter-area migration matrices available for England and Wales from the National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR) which provides continuous monitoring since the 1970s by broad age group. The main methodological challenge, arising from changes in the geography of health areas for which the inter-area flows are given, is addressed by adopting the lowest common denominator of 80 areas. Care is also taken to allow for the effect of business cycles in producing short-term fluctuations on migration rates and to isolate the effect of a sharp rise in rates for 16-24 year olds in the 1990s, which is presumed to be related to the expansion of the university sector. The findings suggest that, unlike for the USA, there has not been a substantial decline in the intensity of internal migration between the first two decades of the study period and the second two. While there was a 3 per cent reduction in the overall rate of migration between the regions of England and Wales between 1975-1990 and 1996-2011 (omitting the 16-24s), the rate for within-region moves between areas was some 10 per cent higher in the latter period. The main evidence for decline relates to particular age groups of between-region migration, where the rate for those aged 65 and over shrank by a quarter and that for 0-15 year olds was down by a tenth. In general, however, if there has been any major decline in the intensity of address changing in England and Wales, it can only be for the shortest-distance (within area) moves that the NHSCR does not record. |
| Keywords: | Internal migration, Migration intensity, Between-area moves, Long-term trend, England and Wales |
| JEL: | J11 J61 O15 R23 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:sercdp:0176&r=ure |
| By: | Daron Acemoglu; Ufuk Akcigit; William Kerr |
| Abstract: | The propagation of macroeconomic shocks through input-output and geographic networks can be a powerful driver of macroeconomic fluctuations. We first exposit that in the presence of Cobb-Douglas production functions and consumer preferences, there is a specific pattern of economic transmission whereby demand-side shocks propagate upstream (to input-supplying industries) and supply-side shocks propagate downstream (to customer industries) and that there is a tight relationship between the direct impact of a shock and the magnitudes of the downstream and the upstream indirect effects. We then investigate the short-run propagation of four different types of industry-level shocks: two demand-side ones (the exogenous component of the variation in industry imports from China and changes in federal spending) and two supply-side ones (TFP shocks and variation in knowledge/ideas coming from foreign patenting). In each case, we find substantial propagation of these shocks through the input-output network, with a pattern broadly consistent with theory. Quantitatively, the network-based propagation is larger than the direct effects of the shocks. We also show quantitatively large effects from the geographic network, capturing the fact that the local propagation of a shock to an industry will fall more heavily on other industries that tend to collocate with it across local markets. Our results suggest that the transmission of various different types of shocks through economic networks and industry interlinkages could have first-order implications for the macroeconomy. |
| JEL: | E32 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21344&r=ure |
| By: | Black, Sandra E. (University of Texas at Austin); Cortes, Kalena E. (Texas A&M University); Lincove, Jane Arnold (Tulane University) |
| Abstract: | Access to higher education begins with a student's decision whether and where to apply to college. This paper examines racial and ethnic differences in college application behavior of high school graduates, using two recent graduation cohorts from Texas. We estimate racial and ethnic differences in the probability of applying to college, controlling for a student's college readiness, high school quality, certainty of college admissions, and high school fixed effects. We then investigate racial and ethnic differences in the choice of where to apply. We enhance the typical model of college matching by considering the social setting and high school feeder patterns of state universities. We find that racial and ethnic gaps in application rates, particularly for Hispanic students, are not explained by differential levels of college readiness, high school quality, or information regarding college admission processes. When applying to college, minorities are influenced by more than just matching their academic ability to the institution, and prefer institutions with a large proportion of same race students and campuses where same race students from their high school have been successful in the past. |
| Keywords: | college application, college readiness, high school quality, undermatching, race and ethnicity, low-income students, Texas Top 10% Plan, automatic admissions |
| JEL: | I21 I23 I24 J15 J18 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9169&r=ure |
| By: | Aviv Nevo; John L. Turner; Jonathan W. Williams |
| Abstract: | We estimate demand for residential broadband using high-frequency data from subscribers facing a three-part tariff. The three-part tariff makes data usage during the billing cycle a dynamic problem; thus, generating variation in the (shadow) price of usage. We provide evidence that subscribers respond to this variation, and use their dynamic decisions to estimate a flexible distribution of willingness to pay for different plan characteristics. Using the estimates, we simulate demand under alternative pricing and find that usage-based pricing eliminates low-value traffic. Furthermore, we show that the costs associated with investment in fiber-optic networks are likely recoverable in some markets, but that there is a large gap between social and private incentives to invest. |
| JEL: | L1 L13 L96 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21321&r=ure |
| By: | Caliendo, Marco (University of Potsdam); Künn, Steffen (IZA); Mahlstedt, Robert (University of Potsdam) |
| Abstract: | In many European countries, labor markets are characterized by high regional disparities in terms of unemployment rates on the one hand and low geographical mobility among the unemployed on the other hand. This is somewhat surprising and raises the question of why only minor shares of unemployed job seekers relocate in order to find employment. The German active labor market policy offers a subsidy covering moving costs to incentivize unemployed job seekers to search/accept jobs in distant regions. Based on administrative data, this study provides the first empirical evidence on the impact of this subsidy on participants' prospective labor market outcomes. We use an instrumental variable approach to take endogenous selection based on observed and unobserved characteristics into account when estimating causal treatment effects. We find that unemployed job seekers who participate in the subsidy program and move to a distant region receive higher wages and find more stable jobs compared to non-participants. We show that the positive effects are (to a large extent) the consequence of a better job match due to the increased search radius of participants. |
| Keywords: | evaluation, active labor market policy, labor market mobility, Instrumental variable approach |
| JEL: | J61 J64 J68 D04 C26 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9183&r=ure |
| By: | Corinne Luu |
| Abstract: | The NZ economy has performed well over the past few years, having achieved relatively strong GDP and employment growth. However, some constraints to sustaining this momentum beyond the short term are emerging in the fields of skills, housing and urban infrastructure. Skills shortages have risen most in construction trades and management occupations. Housing shortages are most severe in Auckland, reflecting supply constraints in the face of population increases. As a result, prices are rising, reducing affordability. Urban infrastructure, particularly for road transportation, is also strained. In this respect, policy has a role to play in expanding economic capacity by reducing supply-side constraints and fostering productivity growth. At times New Zealand’s fiscal policy has been expansionary during upturns. Ensuring that permanent spending or tax cuts are implemented in a sustainable manner would encourage the strong fiscal position that New Zealand needs to meet potentially large macroeconomic shocks and long-run ageing-related costs. This Working Paper relates to the 2015 OECD Economic Review of New Zealand (www.oecd.org/newzealand/economic-survey-new-zealand.htm)<P>Pérenniser la croissance en Nouvelle-Zélande<BR>L’économie néo-zélandaise a enregistré de bons résultats durant ces dernières années, et le PIB tout comme l’emploi ont bénéficié de taux de croissance relativement élevés. Toutefois, cette dynamique pourrait être contrariée à moyen terme par plusieurs difficultés émergentes en matière de compétences, de logement et d’infrastructures urbaines. Les pénuries de compétences affectent principalement les métiers de la construction et les fonctions d’encadrement. Le déficit de logements est avant tout marqué à Auckland, en raison des contraintes pesant sur l’offre de logements et de l’accroissement démographique. Les prix sont donc tirés à la hausse tandis que les possibilités d’accéder au logement diminuent. Les infrastructures, notamment les réseaux routiers, présentent également des insuffisances. À cet égard, les politiques publiques peuvent contribuer à accroître les capacités économiques, en réduisant les contraintes sur le versant de l’offre, et en favorisant les gains de productivité. Par le passé, la Nouvelle-Zélande a suivi une politique budgétaire expansionniste durant certaines phases de reprise économique. Il convient de s’assurer de la viabilité financière à long terme de toute mesure entraînant des dépenses budgétaires ou fiscales permanentes, afin que la Nouvelle-Zélande se trouve dans une situation budgétaire solide lui permettant de faire face à d’éventuels chocs macroéconomiques d’importance et d’assumer, à plus long terme, les coûts liés au vieillissement de sa population. Ce Document de travail se rapporte à l’Étude économique de l’OCDE de la Nouvelle-Zélande 2015 (www.oecd.org/fr/nouvellezelande/etude-e conomique-nouvelle-zelande.htm). |
| Keywords: | fiscal policy, infrastructure, immigration, housing prices, saving, urban planning, labour market, fiscal councils |
| JEL: | E21 G28 H54 H6 J2 J61 R31 R4 R52 |
| Date: | 2015–07–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1247-en&r=ure |
| By: | Massimo Filippini (Institute of Economics (IdEP), University of Lugano; Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland); Martin Koller (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland); Giuliano Masiero (Department of Management, Information and Production Engineering (DIGIP), University of Bergamo, Italy; Institute of Economics (IdEP), University of Lugano, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to assess differences in the levels of cost efficiency of bus lines operated under competitively tendered contracts and performance-based negotiated contracts. Following the revision of the Swiss railways act in 1996, regional public authorities were given the choice between two different contractual regimes to procure public passenger transport services. We directly compare the impact of competitive tendering and performance-based negotiation by applying a stochastic frontier analysis to the complete dataset of bus lines (n=630) operated by the main Swiss company (Swiss Post) at the same time (in 2009) throughout the country. The overall results show that the differences in the levels of cost efficiency between the two contractual regimes are not signi?cant. Our findings are in line with recent evidence of cost convergence between competitive tendering and performance-based negotiation, and suggest that the practice of using both contractual regimes is challenging for the operators in terms of competitive pressure. The threat of competitive tendering may have a disciplining effect on negotiation since it prevents bus companies from bargaining inadequate rents and inducing asymmetric information advantages. |
| Keywords: | public bus contracts, competitive tendering, performance-based negotiation, cost efficiency |
| JEL: | C21 D24 H57 L92 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lug:wpidep:1504&r=ure |
| By: | Solga, Heike |
| Abstract: | This review focusses on the transition of low-achieving school leavers - that is, those who left regular schools or special schools for students with learning disabilities without or with only a lower secondary school degree - into the vocational education and training (VET) system. Most of them do not enter regular VET programs after finishing school but participate in prevocational measures. Some of them are able to eventually enter regular VET programs while others are never able to do so. The review summarizes what we know about how participation in prevocational measures influences the probability of subsequently entering regular VET programs and if so, why. The review shows the little knowledge we have about for whom these measures generate new opportunities, and for whom they reinforce disadvantages. The review includes research on access to regular VET programs because selection processes at this stage result in a selective - not random - group of participants in prevocational measures and research on prevocational programs. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wzbslm:spi2015501&r=ure |
| By: | John M. Abowd; Kevin McKinney; Ian M. Schmutte |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the bias from endogenous job mobility in fixed-effects estimates of worker- and firm-specific earnings heterogeneity using longitudinally linked employer-employee data from the LEHD infrastructure file system of the U.S. Census Bureau. First, we propose two new residual diagnostic tests of the assumption that mobility is exogenous to unmodeled determinants of earnings. Both tests reject exogenous mobility. We relax the exogenous mobility assumptions by modeling the evolution of the matched data as an evolving bipartite graph using a Bayesian latent class framework. Our results suggest that endogenous mobility biases estimated firm effects toward zero. To assess validity, we match our estimates of the wage components to out-of-sample estimates of revenue per worker. The corrected estimates attribute much more of the variation in revenue per worker to variation in match quality and worker quality than the uncorrected estimates. |
| Keywords: | Earnings heterogeneity, Mobility Bias, Latent Class Model, Markov Chain Monte Carlo |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:15-18&r=ure |
| By: | Massimo Anelli; Giovanni Peri |
| Abstract: | In this paper we use a newly constructed dataset following 30,000 Italian individuals from high school to labor market and we analyze whether the gender composition of peers in high school affected their choice of college major, their academic performance and their labor market income. We leverage the fact that the composition of high school classmates (peers), within school-cohort and teacher-group, was not chosen by the students and it was as good as random. We find that male students graduating from classes with at least 80% of male peers were more likely to choose Òprevalently maleÓ (PM) college majors (Economics, Business and Engineering). However, this higher propensity to enroll in PM majors faded away during college (through transfers and attrition) so that men from classes with at least 80% of male peers in high school did not have higher probability of graduating in PM majors. They had instead worse college performance and did not exhibit any difference in income or labor market outcomes after college. We do not find significant effects on women. |
| Keywords: | Peer effects, high school, gender, choice of college major, academic performance, wages |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:don:donwpa:078&r=ure |
| By: | Tony Champion; Ian Shuttleworth |
| Abstract: | Expectations of migration and mobility steadily increasing in the longer term, which have a long currency in migration theory and related social science, are at odds with the latest US research showing a marked decline in internal migration rates. Given the similarity in demographic, economic and social trends between the USA and the UK, this paper reports the results of research that investigates whether the latter has been experienced any similar change in more recent decades. Using the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study (ONS-LS) of linked census records, it examines the evidence provided by its 10-year migration indicator, with particular attention to a comparison of the first and latest decades available, 1971-1981 and 2001-2011. This suggests that, as in the USA, there has been a marked reduction in the level of shorter-distance (less than 10km) moving that has involved almost all types of people. In contrast to this and to US experience, however, the propensity of people to make longer-distance address changes between decennial censuses has declined much less, though the 2.6% fall between the 1970s and the 2000s may be an underestimate owing to the inclusion of moves to and from university in the latest decade. This finding is consistent with the results of a companion study which analysed data on migration between the health areas of England and Wales (Champion and Shuttleworth, 2015). There is therefore a strong case for now probing the causes of the sharp reduction in shorter-distance moving in Britain as well as the USA, as well as for investigating why the two countries differ in terms of their experience of longer-distance migration trends. |
| Keywords: | Internal migration, Migration intensity, Long-term trend, Longitudinal Study, England and Wales, Microdata |
| JEL: | J11 J61 O15 R23 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:sercdp:0177&r=ure |
| By: | Hiroaki Sandoh (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University); Risa Suzuki (Yuki, Co., Ltd.) |
| Abstract: | In some local areas, we can occasionally observe a competition between a large-scaled chain store and a small-scaled local independent store. A large-scaled chain store usually attracts consumers by appealing its width and depth of products variety. A local independent store with limited assortments of products competes with the chain store by concentrating upon some specic kinds of products and by offering lower prices for them than the chain store. This is possible for the local store partly because of lower labor costs and for various other reasons. The present study deals with the pricing competition in a duopoly between a chain store and a local store. For the purpose of expressing the difference in product assortments between the two stores, a chain store is assumed to deal in two kinds of products, P 1 and P 2 , while a local store is assumed to sell only P 1 . Moreover, we assume all the consumers purchase P 1 at a chain store or a local store by referring to their prices, and P 2 at A . A Nash and a Stackelberg equilibrium are examined to show that the local store can possibly survive the competition with the chain store. The socially optimal welfare is also investigated to reveal it can be realized in a monopoly. |
| Keywords: | Chain store, Local independent store, Duopoly, Hotelling, Price competition |
| JEL: | D43 M21 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:1516r&r=ure |
| By: | Bennett, Patrick (Department of Economics, Copenhagen Business School); La Cour, Lisbeth (Department of Economics, Copenhagen Business School); Larsen, Birthe (Department of Economics, Copenhagen Business School); Waisman, Gisela (Regeringskansliet, Stockholm) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores potential explanations behind the educational gap between young natives and immigrants using two measures, negative attitudes towards immigrants and networking, which may influence natives and immigrants differently. The paper considers, both theoretically and empirically, the impact of negative attitudes and networking taking into account that these parameters may influence high and uneducated workers as well as immigrants and natives differently, creating different incentives to acquire education for the two ethnic groups. Using rich Danish administrative data, this paper finds evidence that greater negative attitudes increase incentives for males to acquire education and that networking also increases immigrant education. |
| Keywords: | incentives; immigrants; education; attitudes |
| JEL: | I20 I24 J15 |
| Date: | 2015–07–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cbsnow:2015_001&r=ure |
| By: | Aydoğuş, Osman; Deger, Cagacan; Tunalı Çalışkan, Elif; Gürel Günal, Gülçin |
| Abstract: | Izmir has lost the bid for EXPO 2020. Izmir’s expectations were high, but to the best information of the authors, these expectations were never systematically quantified. This article quantifies the expected expenditures related to a mega event in Izmir due to i) additional hotel constructions, and, ii) arrival of foreign visitors. Then, the effects of these additional expenditures on regional economy are examined through a closed regional I-O model, where closure is due to endogenized consumption expenditures. The calculations are based on a regional I-O table of İzmir, available from İzmir Regional Development Agency IZKA. It is observed that constructions related to a mega event require considerable recycling imports, due to scrap metal dependency of metal production. |
| Keywords: | EXPO; Mega-Events; Regional Economic Analysis; Input-Output Tables; Impact Analysis |
| JEL: | C63 L83 R12 R15 |
| Date: | 2015–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:65547&r=ure |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | The share of students with an immigrant background increased between 2003 and 2012, both in traditional and new destination countries. The performance difference in mathematics between immigrant and non-immigrant students decreased, on average, between 2003 and 2012. Differences in socio-economic background explain less than half of the performance difference in mathematics between immigrant and non-immigrant students. |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduddd:53-en&r=ure |
| By: | Rickman, Dan S.; Winters, John V |
| Abstract: | In this paper, authors and institutions are ranked based on the number of publications in ten core regional science journals during the period 2010-2014. Alternative rankings are constructed by considering only publications in the top four of the ten journals and also by adjusting for journal impact factors. Two impact factors are calculated for each journal based first on citations by the other nine core regional science journals and then by all journals in the database Scopus. Discussion is included regarding the patterns and consistency of the rankings across alternative criteria. Comparisons also are made to previous regional science publication rankings of authors and institutions. |
| Keywords: | Regional Science; Author rankings; Journal rankings |
| JEL: | A12 B31 R00 |
| Date: | 2015–07–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:65593&r=ure |
| By: | Eiji Yamamura |
| Abstract: | Based on prefecture-level panel data from Japan for the period 2010-2014, this study investigates the influence of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident on the body mass index (BMI) and obesity rates of children and any changes over time. A differences-in-differences approach was used to show that: (1) BMI and obesity rates in disaster-damaged areas are higher than those in other areas; (2) The difference in the BMI (and obesity rate) of children between damaged and other areas increased after the accident, suggesting that the accident led to increases in both BMI and obesity rates; (3) For cohorts aged between 5 and 7 years old in 2010, the influence of the accident is persistent even after 3 years. Furthermore, the effect of the accident increased as time passed; (4) Cohorts aged between 8 and 10 years in 2010 were no longer influenced by the accident 2 years afterwards. These findings suggest that restrictions placed on outdoor exercise as a result of the nuclear accident in Fukushima prevented younger primary school children from burning calories. Consequently, younger children developed a habit of inactivity, leading a persistent increase in BMI. In contrast, such a habit was not formed by older children and therefore the effect of the accident was temporary. |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dpr:wpaper:0941&r=ure |
| By: | Hou, Feng; Myles, John; Schimmele, Christoph; Wu, Zheng |
| Abstract: | While black-white intermarriage is uncommon in the United States, blacks in Canada are just as likely to marry whites as to marry blacks. Asians, in contrast, are more likely to marry whites in the US than in Canada. We test the claim that high rates of interracial marriage are indicative of high levels of social integration against Peter Blau’s ‘macrostructural’ thesis that relative group size is the key to explaining differences in intermarriage rates across marriage markets. Using micro-data drawn from the American Community Survey and the Canadian Census, we demonstrate that the relative size of racial groups accounts for over two-thirds of the US-Canada difference in black-white unions and largely explains the cross-country difference in Asian-white unions. Under broadly similar social and economic conditions, a large enough difference in relative group size can become the predominant determinant of group differences in the prevalence of interracial unions. |
| Keywords: | intermarriage; macrostructural theory; social integration; group size |
| JEL: | J12 Z13 |
| Date: | 2015–07–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2015-10&r=ure |
| By: | Fernandez-Zubieta, Ana; Geuna, Aldo; Lawson, Cornelia (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | In this chapter we review the literature on the analysis of researcher mobility and productivity highlighting recent changes in the research system - internationalization, inter-sector mobility and collaboration and career diversification which make researcher mobility more relevant for the dynamics of knowledge creation and dissemination. Our review reveals that to date we still know little about the consequences and motivations of increased mobility for individual researchers. We contribute by presenting a typology of researcher mobility, and considering the relevance of multiple mobility events throughout a researcher career. Finally, we review the modeling problems related to analyzing the effect of mobility on academic performance at the individual level, and suggest various solutions. |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:201522&r=ure |
| By: | Helmut CREMER (Toulouse School of Economics, GREMAQ, IDEI and Insitut Universitaire de France); Catarina GOULÃO (Toulouse School of Economics, GREMAQ, INRA) |
| Abstract: | Mobility across countries is often suspected to affect the coexistence of different social insurance systems. A wide variety of social protection systems exist within the EU. Some are of Beveridgean inspiration (with universal and more or less flat benefits), while others are mainly Bismarckian (with benefits related to past contributions). Concerns about the sustainability of the most generous and redistributive (Beveridgean) insurance systems are often based on the assumption of (near) perfect and costless mobility. In reality, labor mobility remains limited. Such low levels of migration rates could, mistakenly, lead to the conclusion that migration would currently not be affecting the redistributive social insurance systems. We address this issue in a two-country setting, where mobility is costly and where individuals differ in mobility cost (attachment to their native country). A Bismarckian insurance system is not affected by migration while a Beveridgean one is. Our results suggest that the race-to-the-bottom affecting tax rates may be more important under Beveridge-Beveridge competition than under Beveridge-Bismarck competition. Finally, we study the strategic choice of the type of social protection. We show that Bismarckian governments may find it beneficial to adopt a Beveridgean insurance system. |
| Keywords: | Social Insucrance, Tax Competition, Mobility, Economic integration |
| JEL: | H23 H70 |
| Date: | 2014–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctl:louvre:2014011&r=ure |
| By: | Colin Davis (The Institute for the Liberal Arts, Doshisha University); Ken-ichi Hashimoto (Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University) |
| Abstract: | This papers considers how national corporate tax policy affects productivity growth through adjustments in geographic patterns of industry in a two-country model of trade. With trade costs and imperfect knowledge spillovers between countries, production concentrates partially and innovation concentrates fully in the country with the lowest tax rate. When firms have weak (strong) monopoly power, a decrease in the tax rate of the low-tax-rate country depresses (accelerates) productivity growth. The paper also investigates the relationship between relative tax rates and the level of product variety, and analytically characterizes the effects of changes in tax policy on national welfare. |
| Keywords: | National Corporate Tax Policy, Fully Endogenous Productivity Growth, Monopoly Power, Industry Concentration |
| JEL: | F43 O30 O40 R12 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:koe:wpaper:1527&r=ure |
| By: | Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (International Center for Public Policy. Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University); Santiago Lago-Peñas (GEN, IEB, and University of Vigo); Agnese Sacchis (Universitas Mercatorum (Italy) and GEN) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we offer a comprehensive and updated review of the impact of fiscal decentralization on the economy, society and politics. We start with the examination of two crucial and yet unsolved issues in the literature on decentralization: its proper measurement and the potential endogeneity of fiscal decentralization with many of the variables of interest we are trying to investigate. Then we discuss the main findings in the existing literature on the effects of decentralization on a relevant list of socio-economic variables. The impact of fiscal decentralization reforms on political institutions is also considered. Complete answers to the many questions on the impact of fiscal decentralization are not likely to be certain but overall there are reasons to be optimistic about the overall positive impact of the decentralized systems that have been introduced all over the world in the past several decades. The survey offered in this paper by necessity has to be selective but it presents a balanced view of what is known and what is not yet known opening room for further research and practice on fiscal decentralization. |
| Date: | 2015–06–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ays:ispwps:paper1502&r=ure |