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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Iwata, Kazuyuki; Managi, Shunsuke |
| Abstract: | This study advocates a multi-dimensional urban planning strategy to help combat climate change under local—and not national—policies. However, the literature does not provide adequate guidance to local governments seeking to enhance urbanization and in turn reduce vehicular carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Therefore, this study sheds light on the effects of the following four urban planning instruments on vehicular CO2 emissions: urbanization promoting areas, urbanization control areas, urban planning taxes and property taxes. Using Japanese city-level data from 1990 to 2010, we find that the two urbanization area planning instruments and the urban planning taxes help lower emissions by increasing population density in low-density cities and that property taxes help reduce emissions in high-density cities. However, the increased population density associated with these instruments can lead to other negative outcomes, including increased traffic accidents, increased crime and a decrease in the facility condition index. City governments should consider complementary policies to mitigate such negative outcomes when employing planning instruments aiming to increase population density. |
| Keywords: | urbanization, population density, land use taxes, land use regulations, carbon dioxide emissions, multiple outcome |
| JEL: | Q58 R52 R58 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:66435&r=all |
| By: | Bracke, Philippe (Bank of England) |
| Abstract: | In 2013 buy-to-rent investors — referred to as buy-to-let (BTL) in the United Kingdom — accounted for 13% of all UK mortgage-funded housing transactions and for an even greater fraction of non-mortgage sales. This paper studies the behaviour of BTL investors using 2009–14 micro data. Combining the universe of transactions from the England and Wales Land Registry with online listings from WhenFresh/Zoopla, I identify a BTL purchase as a transaction where a rental listing on the same property appears on the web in the six subsequent months. The micro data reproduce the increase in BTL transactions over 2009–14 and show that BTL investors are more likely to invest in regions with large rental markets. I find that, on average, BTL investors pay 0.9%–1.1% less than other buyers for equivalent properties. Discounts are larger (around 2%) in regions with less liquid housing markets. Results are robust to including detailed geographical fixed effect and advertised sale prices in the regressions. I also show that properties purchased by investors spend on average five days less on the market. |
| Keywords: | House prices; rents; real estate investors |
| JEL: | R21 R31 |
| Date: | 2015–09–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boe:boeewp:0549&r=all |
| By: | Florian Oswald (UCL) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates a lifecycle model of consumption, housing choice and migration in the presence of aggregate and regional shocks, using the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). Using the model I estimate the value of the migration option and the welfare impact of policies that may restrict mobility. The option to move is equivalent to 4.4% of lifetime consumption. I also find that, were the mortgage interest-rate deduction to be eliminated, the aggregate migration rate would increase only marginally by 0.1%. Following a general equilibrium correction, house prices are reduced by 5%, which results in a 1% increase in home ownership. In a new steady state the elimination of the deduction is equivalent to an increase of 2.4% of lifecycle consumption. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed015:759&r=all |
| By: | Vincent Yao (Fannie Mae); Tomasz Piskorski (Columbia University); Amit Seru (University of Chicago); Benjamin Keys (University of Chicago) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of lower mortgage rates on household balance sheets and other economic outcomes during the housing crisis. We use proprietary loan-level panel data matched to consumer credit records using borrowers' Social Security numbers, which allows for accurate measurement of the effects. Our main focus is on borrowers with agency loans, which constitute the vast majority of U.S. mortgage borrowers. Using a difference-in-differences framework that exploits variation in the timing of rate resets of adjustable rate mortgages with different fixed-rate periods, we find that a sizable decline in mortgage payments ($150 per month on average) induces a significant drop in mortgage defaults, an increase in new financing of durable consumption (auto purchases) of more than 10% in relative terms, and an overall improvement in household credit standing. We identify important heterogeneity in the ability of monetary policy to stimulate households' consumption: Low-wealth borrowers are especially responsive to reductions in mortgage payments, while credit-constrained households use more than 70% of their increased liquidity to deleverage, dampening their consumption response. These findings also qualitatively hold in a sample of less-prevalent borrowers with private non-agency loans. We then use regional variation in mortgage contract types to explore the impact of lower mortgage rates on broader economic outcomes. Regions more exposed to mortgage rate declines saw a relatively faster recovery in house prices, increased durable (auto) consumption, and increased employment growth, with responses concentrated in the non-tradable sector. Our findings have implications for the pass-through of monetary policy to the real economy through mortgage contracts and household balance sheets. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed015:705&r=all |
| By: | Miquel-Ángel Garcia-López (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona & IEB); Camille Hémet (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB); Elisabet Viladecans-Marsal (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the influence of transportation infrastructure, and in particular of the Regional Express Rail (RER), on employment and population growth in the Paris metropolitan area between 1968 and 2010. In order to make proper causal inference, we rely on historical instruments and control for all other transportation modes that could be complement or substitute to the RER. A dynamic analysis accounting for spatial heterogeneity reveals that for municipalities located less than 13 kilometers from an RER station, each kilometer closer to the station increases employment and population growth by 12% and 8% respectively. Regarding the time pattern of these effects, we find no impact of the RER expansion on employment growth during the first part of the period, while the effect on population growth appears earlier but declines over time. |
| Keywords: | Urban growth, urban spatial structure, transportation |
| JEL: | R11 R12 R42 L91 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:doc2015-20&r=all |
| By: | Antonescu, Daniela |
| Abstract: | Housing is a fundamental aspect of modern society, an indicator of standard of living and prosperity, which is influenced by a multitude of economic, social, environmental factors. Also, housing is the core-element of many regional and urban policies, national, regional or communitarian funded. This article aims to analyze the factors that may contribute to a certain standard of living and the situation in the European Union and Romania. |
| Keywords: | housing, income, property |
| JEL: | R2 R20 R3 R38 |
| Date: | 2014–01–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:56541&r=all |
| By: | Glaeser, Edward L; Ponzetto, Giacomo AM; Zou, Yimei |
| Abstract: | Should China build mega-cities or a network of linked middle-sized metropolises? Can Europe's mid-sized cities compete with global agglomeration by forging stronger inter-urban links? This paper examines these questions within a model of recombinant growth and endogenous local amenities. Three primary factors determine the trade-off between networks and big cities: local returns to scale in innovation, the elasticity of housing supply, and the importance of local amenities. Even if there are global increasing returns, the returns to local scale in innovation may be decreasing, and that makes networks more appealing than mega-cities. Inelastic housing supply makes it harder to supply more space in dense confines, which perhaps explains why networks are more popular in regulated Europe than in the American Sunbelt. Larger cities can dominate networks because of amenities, as long as the benefits of scale overwhelm the downsides of density. In our framework, the skilled are more likely to prefer mega-cities than the less skilled, and the long-run benefits of either mega-cities or networks may be quite different from the short-run benefits. |
| Keywords: | cities; growth; migration; networks |
| JEL: | F15 O18 R10 R58 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10816&r=all |
| By: | Arnab Bhattacharjee (Spatial Economics & Econometrics Centre (SEEC), Heriot-Watt University, UK); Robert L. Hicks (College of William and Mary, Williamsburg VA, USA); Kurt E. Schnier (University of California Merced CA, USA) |
| Abstract: | Agents may consider information and other signals from their peers (especially close peers) when making their spatial site choices. However, the presence of other agents in a spatial location may generate congestion or agglomeration effects. Disentangling the potential peer effects with issues of congestion is difficult since it is hard to ascertain whether the observed congestion effects are a result of observing others behavior or the influence of peer effects within the same network encouraging a fisherman to visit a site even in the presence of congestion. The research develops an empirical framework to decompose both motivations in a spatial discrete choice model in an effort to synthesize the congestion/agglomeration literature with the peer effects literature. Using Monte Carlo analysis we investigate the robustness of our proposed estimation routine to the conventional random utility model (RUM) that ignores both peer and congestion/agglomeration effects as well as the spatial sorting equilibrium model that ignore peer effects. Our results indicate that both the RUM and sorting equilibrium models can be used to successfully investigate the presence of a peer effects. However, the estimates of congestion effects are poor because of ignored correlated random effects. Recent literature has largely used Bayesian methods for this hard problem. We also explore the use of Fixed Effects Multinomial Logit estimates to first estimate the base model, and then extract generalized residuals to estimate the peer effects. |
| Date: | 2015–09–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boc:usug15:19&r=all |
| By: | Tsang Lang Liang (Hsiuping University of Science & Technology); Tsung-min Liu (Hsiuping University of Science & Technology); Rong-feng Wu (Hsiuping University of Science & Technology); Yu Gi Chao (National Changhua University of Education) |
| Abstract: | This study determines the relationship affect between senior and vocational high school principals’ leadership behaviors and teachers’ performance of professional development and investigates the mediating effect of teacher self-directed learning. The population of this study was the 75,520 teachers in vocational high school. And the sampling technique was stratified sampling. The participants were teachers in public and private senior and vocational high schools, including 304 teachers in public school and 335 teachers in private school. The sample included 10 senior high schools (including five public and five private schools) and 10 vocational high schools (including five public and five private schools). The results showed that public school principals’ transformational leadership behaviors and private school principals’ transactional leadership behaviors were positive with teachers’ performance of professional development, and particularly, teachers’ self-directed learning had complete mediating effects. Transformational or transactional leadership behaviors enhance teachers’ self-directed learning willingness and promote their performance of professional development in public and private high schools. |
| Keywords: | Transformational leadership; Transactional leadership; Self-directed learning; Professional development. |
| JEL: | I29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:2704741&r=all |
| By: | Tamas Keller (TARKI Social Research Institute and Research Centre for Educational and Network Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences) |
| Abstract: | This paper argues that school grades cannot be interpreted solely as a reward for a given school performance, since they also reflect teachers’ ratings of pupils. Grades therefore contain valuable information about pupils’ own – usually unknown – ability. The incorporated assessment in grade might be translated into self-assessment, which could influence the effort that pupils invest in education. Getting discounted grades in year 6 for a given level of math performance assessed using a PISA-like test has a positive effect on math test scores in year 8 of elementary education and also influences later outcomes in secondary education. The empirical analysis tries to minimize the possible bias caused by the measurement error in year 6 test scores (unmeasured ability) and employs classroom fixed-effect instrumental variable (IV) regression and difference-in-difference models. The main analysis is based on a unique Hungarian individual-level panel dataset with two observations about the same individual – one in year 6 (12/13 years old) and again two years later, in year 8 (14/15 years old) of elementary education. The data for three entire school cohorts is analyzed – approximately 140,000 individuals. Highlights • Examines the impact of teachers’ grading standards on pupils’ school performance • Takes advantage of having two different measures of pupils’ math knowledge: teacher-given grades and centralized test scores • Assumes that grades are more than test scores, since they incorporate teachers’ ratings • Tries to estimate teachers’ grading standards and minimizes unmeasured ability bias by employing IV regression and diff-in-diff approaches • Finds that year 6 grades positively influence year 8 test scores and year 10 outcomes • Argues that teachers’ assessments translate to self-assessment, which influences pupils’ effort • Concludes that grading standards in elementary school accompany pupils to secondary school |
| Keywords: | School performance; Inflated school grades; Feedback, Good teacher; Educational panel data; Hungarian National Assessment of Basic Competencies |
| JEL: | I20 I21 J24 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:has:bworkp:1505&r=all |
| By: | Berliant, Marcus; Watanabe, Hiroki |
| Abstract: | Zipf’s law is one of the best-known empirical regularities in urban economics. There is extensive research on the subject, where each city is treated symmetrically in terms of the cost of transactions with other cities. Recent developments in network theory facilitate the examination of an asymmetric transport network. In a scale-free network, the chance of observing extremes in network connections becomes higher than the Gaussian distribution predicts and therefore it explains the emergence of large clusters. The city-size distribution shares the same pattern. This paper decodes how accessibility of a city to other cities on the transportation network can boost its local economy and explains the city-size distribution as a result of its underlying transportation network structure. Finally, we discuss the endogenous evolution of transport networks. |
| Keywords: | Zipf’s law; city-size distribution; scale-free network |
| JEL: | L14 R12 R40 |
| Date: | 2015–09–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:66802&r=all |
| By: | Mehmet Balcilar (Department of Economics, Eastern Mediterranean University); Rangan Gupta (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria); Stephen M. Miller (Department of Economics, University of Nevada and University of Connecticut) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides out-of-sample forecasts of linear and non-linear models of US and Census regions housing prices. The forecasts include the traditional point forecasts, but also include interval and density forecasts of the housing price distributions. The non-linear smooth-transition autoregressive model outperforms the linear autoregressive model in point forecasts at longer horizons, but the linear autoregressive model dominates the non-linear smooth-transition autoregressive model at short horizons. In addition, we generally do not find major differences in performance for the interval and density forecasts between the linear and non-linear models. Finally, in a dynamic 25-step ex-ante and interval forecasting design, we, once again, do not find major differences between the linear and nonlinear models. |
| Keywords: | Forecasting, Linear and non-linear models, US and Census housing price indexes |
| JEL: | C32 R31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:emu:wpaper:15-27.pdf&r=all |
| By: | Simon Søbstad Bensnes (Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology) |
| Abstract: | Pollen is known to cause allergic reactions in approximately 20% of the population. These reactions have significant detrimental effects on sleep, concentration, and cognitive performance. Coincidentally, in many countries the local proliferation of pollen is concentrated in the spring when students take high-stakes exams. Despite these observations, the effect of pollen allergies on school performance has so far received nearly no attention from economists. Using administrative data on Norwegian high school students merged with daily pollen counts, this paper examines the effect of exposure to pollen spores on exam outcomes. I take advantage of the fact that students take several exams in a variety of subjects on different dates, but at the same location, to implement a student fixed effects model. In all specifications increased pollen proliferation on the exam date is found to significantly reduce cognitive performance measured by examination grade. On average, a one standard deviation increase in the ambient pollen level at the mean leads to a 2.5% of a standard deviation decrease in test scores for the average student, with potentially larger effects for allergic students. Supporting the reduced form estimates, the effect is somewhat more pronounced in subsamples with higher prevalence rates of hay fever. Additionally, I find that an increase in the ambient pollen level across exams reduces the probability that a given student graduates on time, and enrolls in higher education. An implication of these findings is that random increases in pollen counts can temporarily reduce cognitive abilities for allergic students who will score worse relative to their peers on high stake exams, and consequently be at a disadvantage when competing for jobs or higher education. |
| Keywords: | High school, test score, graduation, pollen, allergic rhinitis, hay fever |
| JEL: | I10 I20 I21 |
| Date: | 2015–09–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nst:samfok:16615&r=all |
| By: | Tsavdaridou, Maria; Metaxas, Theodore |
| Abstract: | The role of enterprises in society is without doubt controversial nowadays due to the economic crisis. Although enterprises offer infrastructures, jobs, innovative solutions to local communities their primary goal is profit in order to be competitive and sustainable. This article examines the implementation of urban development projects under the CSR strategy and provides case studies of European enterprises that offered successful urban development projects in their local communities. There are certain elements that influence how an enterprise sets their CSR strategy and when it comes to urban development projects the characteristics of the city they operate play an important role along with the core CSR strategy of the company. In order to elaborate on the link between CSR and urban development and enhance the limited bibliography on this issue a theoretical framework is set with the elements needed for the enterprise to develop a successful project of urban development and a successful CSR activity and how finally the city absorbs this kind of CSR practices. There are many limitations also that enterprises face when try to develop such challenging projects. This article aims to designate on the importance of partnership and ethics and how CSR is a multi dimensional tool for cities to use for their benefit. |
| Keywords: | urban development, enterprises, local communities, case studies |
| JEL: | M10 M14 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:66844&r=all |
| By: | Elias Walsh; Eric Isenberg |
| Abstract: | We compare teacher evaluation scores from a typical value-added model to results from the Colorado Growth Model (CGM), which 16 states currently use or plan to use as a component of their teacher performance evaluations. |
| Keywords: | Teacher effectiveness , Teacher evaluation , Teacher quality |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2015–04–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:a7e93a7041c24e83bc6cdde57f6eeff6&r=all |
| By: | François Bonnet (Politiques publiques, ACtion politique, TErritoires); Etienne Lalé (Department of Economics (University of Bristol)); Mirna Safi (Observatoire sociologique du changement); Etienne Wasmer (Département d'économie) |
| Abstract: | Access to housing is difficult for minorities in France. An audit study we run in the Paris area showed that minority applicants do not face a strong disadvantage in the first step of the application; however, the fact that applicants come from a deprived area leads to more frequent unfavorable outcome (we call this residential discrimination as opposed to ethnic discrimination). The puzzle and paradox come from the fact that face-to-face interviews with real-estate agents in the city of Paris and the Parisian region DO NOT confirm this result. If anything, all discrimi-nation arise from ethnicity and agents dis-miss residential discrimination. Our paper, forthcoming in Urban Studies, documents this contrast between quantitative and qualitative methods and proposes interpretations. |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/1hdh0a07a59a0r8mc7h1fpjkg6&r=all |
| By: | Chiara Agnoletti (Istituto Regionale per la Programmazionae Economica della Toscana); Sabrina Iommi (t Regionale per la Programmazionae Economica della Toscana); Patrizia Lattarulo (Istiuto Regionale per la Programmazionae Economica della Toscana) |
| Abstract: | The report is divided into two sections: the first is devoted to a re-reading of development geography in metropolitan and medium-sized cities as well as in inland areas, in view of the new European planning phase; the second is aimed at considering public policies – on planning as well as on taxes and local public expenditure – in terms of their direct and, especially, indirect effects on territorial dynamics. |
| Keywords: | territory, metropolitan cities, governance, fiscal policies |
| JEL: | R58 R14 H71 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irp:report:578&r=all |
| By: | Andersson, Tommy; Ehlers, Lars; Svensson, Lars-Gunnar |
| Abstract: | This paper explores situations where tenants in public houses, in a specific neighborhood, are given the legislated right to buy the houses they live in or can choose to remain in their houses and pay the regulated rent. This type of legislation has been passed in many European countries in the last 30-35 years (the U.K. Housing Act 1980 is a leading example). The main objective with this type of legislation is to transfer the ownership of the houses from the public authority to the tenants. To achieve this goal, selling prices of the public houses are typically heavily subsidized. The legislating body then faces a tradeoff between achieving the goals of the legislation and allocating the houses efficiently. This paper investigates this specific tradeoff and identifies an allocation rule that is individually rational, equilibrium selecting, and group non-manipulable in a restricted preference domain that contains "almost all" preference profiles. In this restricted domain, the identified rule is the equilibrium selecting rule that transfers the maximum number of ownerships from the public authority to the tenants. This rule is preferred to the current U.K. system by both the existing tenants and the public authority. Finally, a dynamic process for finding the outcome of the identified rule, in a finite number of steps, is provided. |
| Keywords: | public housing,existing tenants,equilibrium,minimum equilibrium prices,maximum trade,group non-manipulability,dynamic price process |
| JEL: | C71 C78 D71 D78 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wzbmbh:spii2015207&r=all |
| By: | Estrada, Ricardo |
| Abstract: | Because of data limitations, there is little empirical research on how firms conduct hiring and the merits of different recruitment strategies. In this paper, I take advantage of a unique setting that allows me to compare the quality (value-added to student achievement) of the teachers hired in a discretionary proce3ss led by the teachers' union in Mexico with those hired on the basis of a screening rule. My results show that the teachers' union selects applicants of a considerably lower quality than those selected using a standardized test, despite the fact that the test has no power to predict teacher quality. I find evidence that the results are not explained by the self-selection of high-quality teachers to follow the test-based process. The combination of these results indicates that the teachers selected through the discretionary process are from the bottom of the distribution of applicant quality. My analysis also reveals that joint committees of state officials and union representatives allocate teachers hired in this way to schools in more "desirable" localities, but with similar pre-treatment trends in outcomes. Findings are consistent with standard models of rent extraction. |
| Keywords: | Hiring methods; Teachers' unions; School quality; Teacher hiring; Rent extraction |
| JEL: | I21 J51 M51 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eui:euiwps:mwp2015/14&r=all |
| By: | Moreno Monroy, Ana I.; Yu, Shu; Euse, Victoria |
| Abstract: | Based on a panel of Chinese cities over the period 2004-2009, we analyze the relationship between the level of economic development and the share of urban employment in small businesses. We find that this relationship can be described by an inverted U-shape. In cities with lower levels of economic development, the restructure of the state sector along with a booming service industry is associated with a higher share of employment in small businesses. On the other hand, in cities with higher levels of economic development, a more vibrant manufacturing sector is related to a lower share of employment in small businesses. |
| Keywords: | Mercat de treball, Empreses petites i mitjanes, Xina, 331 - Treball. Relacions laborals. Ocupació. Organització del treball, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urv:wpaper:2072/254304&r=all |
| By: | Guilherme Kenji Chihaya (Department of Geography and Economic History, Umea University) |
| Abstract: | The literature on sociability stresses that contact with siblings may endow children with the competences needed for interacting with peers. In this paper I examine the effect of the number of siblings at home on friendship nominations at school. I use data for three countries (Germany, Netherlands, and Sweden) from the first wave of the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries, which targeted 18,716 pupils aged 15 years old in 480 secondary schools over England, Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands. I employ the exponential random graph model to explore the effect of having siblings on being nominated as a friend, aggregating the estimates from individual classroom networks using meta-analysis. The estimated average effect of being the only child on forming a network tie is negative, albeit small, suggesting that some children benefit from having siblings when it comes to sociability. However, our models show that there is significant variability in the effect size across classrooms, an indication that this effect may be context dependent and that the average effect size is not a good representation the effect for all networks studied. Moreover, this effect is only marginally significant once other covariates are controlled for. I conclude that there is only weak support for social learning theory, and that there is a need to study the contextual factors mediating the effect of having siblings on sociability. |
| Keywords: | friendship, social networks, siblings, social learning |
| JEL: | D85 Z13 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isd:wpaper:77&r=all |
| By: | Steven N. Durlauf; Salvador Navarro; David A. Rivers |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the role of model uncertainty in explaining the different findings in the literature regarding the effect of shall-issue right-to-carry concealed weapons laws on crime. In particular, we systematically examine how different modeling assumptions affect the results. We find little support for some widely used assumptions in the literature (e.g., population weights), but find that allowing for the effect of the law to be heterogeneous across both counties and over time is important for explaining the observed patterns of crime. In terms of model uncertainty, we find that there is substantial variation in the estimated effects for each model across all dimensions of the model space. This suggests that one should be cautious in using the results from any particular model to inform policy decisions. |
| JEL: | H0 K0 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21566&r=all |
| By: | Dauth, Wolfgang (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Fuchs, Michaela (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Otto, Anne (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "This paper analyzes the evolution of geographical concentration in the West German manufacturing, service, and knowledge-intensive sectors over a time period of 30 years. Drawing on detailed plant data of 187 industries from 1980 to 2010, we observe substantial concentration that is highest in manufacturing. Over time, there is a trend of deconcentration encompassing all economic activity. These patterns remain stable when accounting for both various sectoral and regional levels of aggregation and spatial dependencies between neighbouring regions. Investigating the role of plant births, expansions, contractions, and closures for the decline of concentration, we show that the underlying mechanisms differ across sectors. The dispersion of manufacturing industries is driven by contracting and closing plants within industrial agglomerations, whereas the dispersion of the service sector is fostered by the creation of new plants outside industrial agglomerations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Date: | 2015–09–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201527&r=all |
| By: | Christina Clark Tuttle; Philip Gleason; Virginia Knechtel; Ira Nichols-Barrer; Kevin Booker; Gregory Chojnacki; Thomas Coen; Lisbeth Goble |
| Abstract: | As the KIPP network of public charter schools continues to expand, KIPP is largely maintaining positive impacts on student achievement, according to Mathematica Policy Research. The report from Mathematica’s five-year study—the first to rigorously examine impacts at all grade levels of elementary and secondary education—found that KIPP schools have positive, statistically significant, and educationally meaningful impacts on student achievement, particularly at the elementary and middle school levels. |
| Keywords: | KIPP, charters, school choice, i3, investing in innovation, charter schools |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2015–09–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:6fca2a7e450d47149253f34909cd12e1&r=all |
| By: | L. Rachel Ngai; Silvana Tenreyro |
| Abstract: | Every year housing markets in the United Kingdom and the United States experience systematic above-trend increases in prices and transactions during the spring and summer ("hot season") and below-trend falls during the autumn and winter ("cold season"). House price seasonality poses a challenge to existing housing models. We propose a search-and-matching model with thick-market effects. In thick markets, the quality of matches increases, rising buyers' willingness to pay and sellers' desire to transact. A small, deterministic driver of seasonality can be amplified and revealed as deterministic seasonality in transactions and prices, quantitatively mimicking seasonal fluctuations in UK and US markets. |
| JEL: | C78 R21 R31 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:63659&r=all |
| By: | Richard G. Newell; Daniel Raimi |
| Abstract: | Oil and gas development associated with shale resources has increased substantially in the United States, with important implications for local governments. These governments tend to experience increased revenue from a variety of sources, such as severance taxes distributed by the state government, local property taxes and sales taxes, direct payments from oil and gas companies, and in-kind contributions from those companies. Local governments also tend to face increased demand for services such as road repairs due to heavy truck traffic and from population growth associated with the oil and gas sector. This paper describes the major oil- and gas related revenues and service demands (i.e., costs) that county and municipal governments have experienced in Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wyoming. Based on extensive interviews with officials in the most heavily affected parts of these states, along with analysis of financial data, it appears that most county and municipal governments have experienced net financial benefits, though some in western North Dakota and eastern Montana appear to have experienced net negative fiscal impacts. Some municipalities in rural Colorado and Wyoming also struggled to manage fiscal impacts during recent oil and gas booms, though these challenges faded as drilling activity slowed. |
| JEL: | H25 H71 H72 H76 Q32 Q33 Q41 Q43 Q48 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21542&r=all |
| By: | Porfirio Guevara (University of Graz); Robert J. Hill (University of Graz); Michael Scholz (University of Graz) |
| Abstract: | Abstract: We present the first hedonic house price indexes for Costa Rica at the national and provincial level, and for both the public and private sectors. Our indexes, which focus on building costs, show that the real quality-adjusted price of new residential structures rose by 10 percent over the period 2000-2013. Important differences emerge when we compare the public and private sectors. The average quality of private housing rose strongly during our sample period, while the average quality of public housing fell. Recipients of public housing therefore became worse off. The fall in quality was matched by a fall in price in the public sector, and hence generated cost savings for the government. Also, by estimating separate hedonic models for the public and private sectors, we show that public sector housing would not be produced more cheaply in the private sector. In this sense the public sector seems quite efficient. |
| Keywords: | Housing market; Hedonic index; Quality change; Public housing |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grz:wpaper:2015-05&r=all |
| By: | HAMAGUCHI Nobuaki; KONDO Keisuke |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes whether freshness of knowledge increases the quality of innovation by using the Japanese patent database. Agglomeration is generally believed to foster the creation of new knowledge through knowledge spillover, such as active face-to-face communication; however, expansion of common knowledge within research communities may discourage high-quality innovation. Taking this into consideration, we attempt to examine the turnover effects of knowledge workers across cities by looking at the interregional migration of university graduates. We find that the quality of innovation as measured by the number of patent citations tends to be higher in cities with bigger migration flows of university graduates. More importantly, we find that metabolizing agglomeration plays an important role for high-quality innovative activities. |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:15108&r=all |
| By: | Jordi Jofre-Monseny (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB); Maria Sánchez-Vidal (London School of Economics); Elisabet Viladecans-Marsal (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the effects of large manufacturing plant closures on local employment. Specifically, we estimate the net employment effects of the closure of 45 large manufacturing plants in Spain, which relocated abroad between 2001 and 2006. We run differences-in-differences specifications in which locations that experience a closure are matched to locations with similar pre-treatment employment levels and trends. The results show that when a plant closes, for each job directly lost in the plant closure, between 0.3 and 0.6 jobs are actually lost in the local economy. The adjustment is concentrated in incumbent firms in the industry that suffered the closure, providing indirect evidence of labor market pooling effects. We find no employment effects in the rest of manufacturing industries or in the services sectors. These findings suggest that traditional input-output analyses tend to overstate the net employment losses of large plant closures. |
| Keywords: | Local employment, plant closures, input-output, agglomeration economies |
| JEL: | R12 R23 R58 J23 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:doc2015-19&r=all |
| By: | Filipe Campante; Quoc-Anh Do |
| Abstract: | We show that isolated capital cities are robustly associated with greater levels of corruption across US states, in line with the view that this isolation reduces accountability. We then provide direct evidence that the spatial distribution of population relative to the capital affects different accountability mechanisms: newspapers cover state politics more when readers are closer to the capital, voters who live far from the capital are less knowledgeable and interested in state politics, and they turn out less in state elections. We also find that isolated capitals are associated with more money in state-level campaigns, and worse public good provision |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qsh:wpaper:248171&r=all |
| By: | Conroy, Tessa; Deller, Steven; Tsvetkova, Alexandra |
| Abstract: | Using a panel (2000-2011) of cross-state relocation patterns of manufacturing firms from the National Establishment Time Series (NETS) database we estimate a state-to-state relocation model for all manufacturers and separately for three groups of industries defined by knowledge intensity. The analysis of the data suggests that very few manufacturing firms relocate across state lines in any given year and the vast majority of those that do are small in size and move to adjoining states. Econometric results reveal that regional determinants of relocation decisions vary by type of manufacturing firm. Whereas a number of factors considered in this study are significant in the models, estimated marginal effects at the mean are infinitesimal. This implies that states attempting to encourage manufacturing firms to relocate from other states via traditional perspectives on business climate are unlikely to be successful. |
| Keywords: | business climate, manufacturing, firm relocation |
| JEL: | L6 O25 R3 |
| Date: | 2015–09–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:66748&r=all |
| By: | Prakash Loungani (International Monetary Fund (IMF)); Davide Furceri (International Monetary Fund & University); Mai Dao (International Monetary Fund) |
| Abstract: | We examine patterns of regional adjustments to shocks in the US during the past four decades. We find that the response of interstate migration to relative labor market conditions has decreased, while the role of the unemployment rate as absorber of regional shocks has increased. However, the response of net migration to regional shocks is stronger during aggregate downturns and increased particularly during the Great Recession. We offer a potential explanation for the cyclical pattern of migration response based on the variation in consumption risk sharing. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed015:733&r=all |
| By: | Dmitriy Sergeyev (Bocconi University); Neil Mehrotra (Brown University) |
| Abstract: | The labor market recovery since the end of the Great Recession has been characterized by a marked decline in labor market turnover. In this paper, we provide evidence that the housing crisis and financial nature of the Great Recession account for this decline in job flows. We exploit MSA-level variation in job flows and housing prices to show that a decline in housing prices diminishes job creation and lagged job destruction. Moreover, we document differences across firm size and age categories, with middle-sized firms (20-99 employees) and new and young firms (firms less than 5 years of age) most sensitive to a decline in house prices. We propose a quantitative model of firm dynamics with collateral constraints, calibrating the model to match the distribution of employment by firm size and age. Financial shocks in our firm dynamics model depresses job creation and job destruction and replicates the empirical pattern of the sensitivity of job flows across firm age and size categories. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed015:520&r=all |
| By: | Adda, Jérôme (Bocconi University) |
| Abstract: | Viruses are a major threat to human health, and - given that they spread through social interactions - represent a costly externality. This paper addresses three main issues: i) what are the unintended consequences of economic activity on the spread of infections? ii) how efficient are measures that limit interpersonal contacts? iii) how do we allocate our scarce resources to limit their spread? To answer these questions, we use novel high frequency data from France on the incidence of a number of viral diseases across space, for different age groups, over a period of a quarter of a century. We use quasi-experimental variation to evaluate the importance of policies reducing inter-personal contacts such as school closures or the closure of public transportation networks. While these policies significantly reduce disease prevalence, we find that they are not cost-effective. We find that expansions of transportation networks have significant health costs in increasing the spread of viruses and that propagation rates are pro-cyclically sensitive to economic conditions and increase with inter-regional trade. |
| Keywords: | health, epidemics, spatial diffusion, transportation networks, public policy |
| JEL: | I12 I15 I18 H51 C23 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9326&r=all |
| By: | Dupor, William D. (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the impact of within-state military spending and national military spending on a state's employment. I estimate that, while within-state spending increases that state's employment (i.e., a positive local effect), an increase in national military spending ceteris paribus decreases employment in the state (i.e., a negative spillover effect). The combined local and spillover effects imply an aggregate employment effect that is close to zero. The estimates are consistent with a resource reallocation explanation: Persons take jobs in or move to a state with increased military spending, but they leave when increased out-of-state military spending creates opportunities elsewhere. I find support for this interpretation based on estimates of population changes by demographic groups in response to spending shocks. |
| Keywords: | Fiscal policy; local fiscal multipliers; spillovers |
| JEL: | E62 |
| Date: | 2015–09–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2015-026&r=all |
| By: | Annette Alstadsæter (University of Oslo); Salvador Barrios (European Commission JRC-IPTS); Gaetan Nicodeme (European Commission DG TAXUD); Agnieszka Maria Skonieczna (European Commission DG TAXUD); Antonio Vezzani (European Commission JRC-IPTS) |
| Abstract: | Patent boxes have been heavily debated for their role in corporate tax competition. This paper uses firm-level data for the period 2000-2011 for the top 2,000 corporate research and development (R&D) investors worldwide to consider the determinants of patent registration across a large sample of countries. Importantly, we disentangle the effects of corporate income taxation from the tax advantage of patent boxes. We also exploit a new and original dataset on patent box features such as the conditionality on performing research in the country, and their scope. We find that patent boxes have a considerable effect on attracting patents, mostly because of their favourable tax treatment, especially for high-quality patents. Patent boxes with a large scope in terms of tax base definition also have stronger effects on the location of patents. The size of the tax advantage offered through patent box regimes is found to deter local innovative activities, whereas R&D development conditions tend to attenuate this adverse effect. Our simulations show that, on average, countries imposing such development conditions tend to grant a tax advantage that is slightly greater than optimal from a local R&D impact perspective. |
| Keywords: | Corporate taxation; patent boxes; location; patents; R&D; nexus approach |
| JEL: | F21 F23 H25 H73 O31 O34 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:wpaper:201506&r=all |
| By: | Verdier, Thierry (Paris School of Economics); Zenou, Yves (Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | We develop a model where, in the first stage, minority individuals have to decide whether or not they want to assimilate to the majority culture while, in the second stage, all individuals (both from the majority and the minority group) embedded in a network have to decide how much effort they exert in some activity (say education). We show that the more central minority agents are in the social network, the more they assimilate to the majority culture. We also show that denser networks tend to favor assimilation so that, for example, it is easier to assimilate in a complete network than in a star-shaped network. Finally, we show that the subgame-perfect equilibrium is not optimal because there is not enough activity and assimilation. We then endogeneize the network and show under which condition a complete or a star network is an equilibrium with assimilation. |
| Keywords: | assimilation, majority individuals, ethnic minorities, network centrality, network formation |
| JEL: | D85 J15 Z13 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9341&r=all |
| By: | Yao Amber Li (Department of Economics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Institute for Emerging Market Studies, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology); Keith Head (Sander School of Business, University of British Columbia); Asier Minondo |
| Abstract: | Using data on academic citations, career and educational histories of mathematicians, and disaggregated distance data for the world's top 1000 math departments, we study how geography and ties affect knowledge flows among scholars. The ties we consider are coauthorship, past colocation, advisor-mediated relationships, and alma mater relationships (holding a Ph.D. from the institution where another scholar is affiliated). Logit regressions using fixed effects that control for subject similarity, article quality, and temporal lags, show linkages are strongly associated with citation. Controlling for ties generally halves the negative impact of geographic barriers on citations; the distance effect became insignificant after 2004. |
| Keywords: | network, distance, border, geography, knowledge flows, academic citations, genealogy, matching |
| JEL: | O3 F1 R1 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hku:wpaper:201530&r=all |
| By: | Duffy, David; Morley, Ciara |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:resnot:rn2015/2/3&r=all |
| By: | Önder, Ali Sina (Uppsala Center for Fiscal Studies); Portmann, Marco (University of Fribourg.); Stadelmann, David (University of Bayreuth and CREMA) |
| Abstract: | We demonstrate a simple model of opinion diffusion where a local opinion leader acts as the initiator of public discussion. We show the possibility of driving a significant wedge between opinions of two groups that exhibit homophily even though individuals are highly conformist. In particular, we show that there exists an opinion gap between the group which the opinion leader belongs to (referred to as the residence community) and the other group; and this opinion gap is increasing in the relative size of the residence community. Using a unique dataset of national referenda in Switzerland from 2008 to 2012, we show that members of parliament (MPs) match referenda outcomes in their residence communities closer than they do in neighboring communities, and this wedge interacts signi cantly with the relative size of the residence community, thus aligning with our theoretical conjectures. We conclude that observed opinion gaps can actually be overrated to the extent that they are driven by structures that underlie the social web of different groups within the society. |
| Keywords: | Opinion Leadership; Diffusion; Homophily; Communication in Networks; Voter Preferences; Representation |
| JEL: | D72 D85 H79 |
| Date: | 2015–09–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:uufswp:2015_004&r=all |
| By: | Andrew Foote; Michel Grosz; Ann Stevens |
| Abstract: | Large shocks to local labor markets cause lasting changes to communities and their residents. We examine four main channels through which the local labor force adjusts following mass layoffs: in- and out-migration, retirement, and disability insurance enrollment. We show that these channels account for over half of the labor force reductions following a mass layoff event. By measuring the residual difference between these channels and labor force change, we also show that labor force non-participation grew in the period during and after the Great Recession. This result highlights the growing importance of non-participation as a response to labor demand shocks. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:15-25&r=all |
| By: | Shaun Larcom; Ferdinand Rauch; Tim Willems |
| Abstract: | We estimate that a significant fraction of commuters on the London underground do not travel their optimal route. Consequently, a tube strike (which forced many commuters to experiment with new routes) taught commuters about the existence of superior journeys, bringing about lasting changes in behaviour. This effect is stronger for commuters who live in areas where the tube map is more distorted, thereby pointing towards the importance of informational imperfections. We argue that the information produced by the strike improved network-efficiency. Search costs are unlikely to explain the suboptimal behaviour. Instead, individuals seem to under-experiment in normal times, as a result of which constraints can be welfare-improving. |
| Keywords: | Experimentation, learning, optimization, rationality, search |
| JEL: | D83 L91 R41 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1372&r=all |
| By: | Pierre M. Picard (CREA, Université de Luxembourg); Alessandro Tampieri (CREA, Université de Luxembourg); Xi Wan (CREA, Université de Luxembourg) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes optimal slot allocation in the presence of airport congestion. We model peak and offpeak slots as vertically differentiated products, and congestion limits the number of peak slots that the airport can allocate. Inefficiency emerges when the airport does not exploit all its slots. We show that for a private airport, inefficiency may arise if the airport is not too congested and the per-passenger fee is small enough, while with a public airport it does not emerge. Furthermore the airport, irrespective of its ownership, tends to give different slots to flights with same destination if the underlying market is a duopoly, and a single slot if the underlying market is served by a monopoly. |
| Keywords: | Slot allocation, Airport congestion, Vertical differentiation |
| JEL: | R41 H23 H21 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:luc:wpaper:15-10&r=all |
| By: | Bilotkach, Volodymyr; Hüschelrath, Kai |
| Abstract: | In the last two decades, airline alliances were not only successful in extending the size of their networks, but also received approvals by public authorities to intensify their cooperation through to merger-like revenue-sharing joint ventures (JVs). We empirically investigate the impact of the implementation of such joint ventures on both the respective airlines' competitive strategies as well as productive efficiency. Using U.S. DOT T100 International Segment data and applying airline-market fixed effects models, we find that joint ventures - compared to services with a lower degree of cooperation - lead to a 3-5 percent increase in capacity between the respective partner airlines' hub airports; however, this is done at the expense of services elsewhere in the network. Productive efficiency, as measured by load factors, is found to be 0.5-5 percent lower for joint venture routes compared to routes operated under antitrust immunity only. We use our empirical results to discuss implications for the balancing of competition and cooperation in transatlantic airline markets. |
| Keywords: | air transportation,alliances,antitrust immunity,efficiencies,GMM estimator |
| JEL: | L41 L93 K21 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:15059&r=all |
| By: | Daniela, Antonescu |
| Abstract: | Locuirea reprezintă un aspect fundamental al societăţii moderne, un indicator al nivelului de trai şi al prosperităţii, care este influenţat de o multitudine de factori economici, sociali, de mediu etc. De asemenea, locuirea reprezintă elementul central al multor politici regionale sau urbane, finanţate din fonduri publice, naţionale sau comunitare. Prezentul articol îşi propune să analizeze factorii care pot contribui la atingerea unui anumit standard al locuirii, precum şi situaţia acesteia în Uniunea Europeană şi în România. |
| Keywords: | locuirea, veniturile, proprietatea |
| JEL: | R2 R20 R21 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:57859&r=all |
| By: | Giorgio Primiceri (Northwestern University); Andrea Tambalotti (Federal Reserve Bank of New York); Alejandro Justiniano (Federal Reerve Chicago) |
| Abstract: | Average mortgage rates fell substantially in the first half of the 2000s, suggesting the availability of generally cheaper mortgage financing. These declines might reflect several factors, including changes in (i) the conduct of monetary policy and other developments in the market for Treasuries; (ii) the pool of borrowers' characteristics; (iii) the mix of mortgage products offered by originators; and (iv) the supply of funds channeled into mortgage markets that affected rates across the board. We decompose the variation in mortgage rates between 2000 and 2007 into these four components. To this end, we analyze a large micro dataset of 3.7 million observations on mortgage loans that became part of private label securitized pools. Using a rich set of controls for loan and borrower characteristics, the term structure of yields, zip-code level variables and a flexible specification with multiple interactions, we construct the counterfactual interest rates predicted by each of the aforementioned components in isolation. Our results suggest that changes in the pool of borrowers alone should have resulted in a slight upward trend in mortgage rates, reflecting an increase in the riskiness of the average borrower. In contrast, variations in the mix of mortgage products pushed average interest rates down considerably, particularly through the growing popularity of adjustable rate mortgages, which often commanded relatively low 'teaser' rates. However, even after controlling for these developments, as well as the term structure of Treasury yields, average mortgage rates experienced a significant and rather abrupt fall in mid-2003. This decline is larger for Subprime mortgages (130 basis points) but still substantial for Alt-A and Prime products (80-90 basis points). Conversely, this component of average mortgage rates adjusts upwards suddenly in late 2006, beginning with Subprime products. Interestingly, this component co-varies closely with Gilchrist and Zakrajnek's (AER 2011) excess bond premium. This suggests that the same factors highlighted by their work in the corporate bond market, particularly the risk-bearing capacity of the financial sector, also played an important role in shifting the supply of mortgage financing. Preliminary results using over 4 million loans from an alternative database indicates a similar, albeit more modest, development amongst mortgages that were either agency securitized or retained in banks' portfolios. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed015:707&r=all |
| By: | Colussi, Tommaso (IZA) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates how immigrants' job search outcomes are affected by the labor market outcomes of workers from the same country of origin they are connected to. Connections are identified based on having worked for the same firm in the past. Using matched employer-employee micro data from Italy and an instrumental variables approach, I show that an increase in the employment prospects of socially connected workers improves immigrants’ job search outcomes. The analysis of post-displacement outcomes sheds light on the different mechanisms generating the social effect. |
| Keywords: | migration, job displacements, networks |
| JEL: | J61 J63 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9339&r=all |
| By: | Béla Molnár (University of Western Hungary – Berzsenyi Dániel Faculty for Teacher Training) |
| Abstract: | Besides recognizing the facts mentioned in former publications (according to which training time was reduced to four years from 1949 and there was a withdrawal in training teachers of primary schools instead of developing it), it is necessary to point out that training teachers of primary schools could also show results between 1945 and 1959. It is the subject of the thesis to explore the changes in the structure of the training of primary school teachers in Hungary in the last 15 years of the training at secondary level. Among the objectives it was formulated where the training of primary school teachers was situated in the system of teachers’ training and what intentions presented themselves in connection with the modernization of the training.The changes occurring in the system of education entailed the change of training primary school teachers. The formation of training primary school teachers was in connection with extending public education. When re-organizing schools at secondary level, the training cycle of training primary school teachers was reduced.In 1944/45 the dual structure of five years created in 1941 survived, in this system the students of the third year of a lycée could go on for higher education at the 4th then the 5th year of a training institute of primary school teachers.In November 1947, two pedagogical colleges began to function in Budapest and Szeged where class teachers were trained for primary schools and so were trained specialized teachers for teaching certain groups of subjects at the senior section of primary school. Training time comprised 6 semesters at the college. In 1948 ecclesiastical schools were nationalized then the Minister stopped the training of primary school teachers at secondary level. Pedagogical colleges functioned on the grounds of their original objectives until 1949 then the training of priimary school teachers was made a task of colleges.In 1949 a system of general and specialized secondary grammar schools was built up. Pedagogical secondary grammar school became a formation that lasted four years adapting itself to the system of secondary schools. Pedagogical secondary grammar school prepared for studies at higher level, on the other hand, it offered a specialized qualification of primary school and kindergarten teacher.In 1950 a decree with legal force created institutes of training primary school teachers. |
| Keywords: | History of education, training primary school teachers, Hungary, teacher training college, pedagogical secondary grammar school |
| JEL: | I29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:itepro:2905222&r=all |
| By: | Baskaran, Thushyanthan |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the revenue and base effects of local property and business tax hikes using a natural experiment in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Due to a reform of the local equalization scheme in 2003, a set of municipalities in NRW increased their local tax rates by one to two percentage points while the remaining municipalities kept their rates constant. Using this variation across municipalities and over time to implement a difference-in-differences design covering the period 1995-2010, I find that property tax hikes have a revenue elasticity of unity and no adverse base effects. Business tax hikes have no discernible base effects but also no statistically significant effect on revenues. Furthermore, the results suggest that the tax hikes have no effect on broader economic outcomes such as local employment, firms´ wage bill, and property prices. Overall, increasing local tax rates by one to two percentage points does not seem to affect the local economy adversely. |
| Keywords: | tax hikes,tax base effects,local business taxes,local property taxes |
| JEL: | H20 H71 H77 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cegedp:257&r=all |
| By: | Mauro Massaro (Istiuto Regionale per la Programmazionae Economica della Toscana); Leonardo Piccini (Istiuto Regionale per la Programmazionae Economica della Toscana) |
| Abstract: | Local public transport has long been the object of a complex reform process directed at reducing the costs and improving the supply of services. The strategy proposed at European level is competition on the market, similarly to other local public services. Tuscany has been one of the first regions to actually implement the process. The experiment of a unique bidding system is currently under way, so it might represent a relevant case study on the possible effects of reform. Although not over yet, the competitive bid has already entailed some important transformations in the system of local public transport, starting processes of business integration, consolidation of operators by way of shareholding, and cost efficiency. |
| Keywords: | public transport, road transport |
| JEL: | R42 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irp:report:569&r=all |
| By: | Charles T. Clotfelter; Helen F. Ladd; Jacob L. Vigdor |
| Abstract: | College attendance and completion in the U.S. are strongly correlated with race and socioeconomic background. Do public postsecondary institutions themselves exacerbate pre-college disparities, or reduce them? We address this question using longitudinal data linking the records of students at North Carolina’s public four-year universities to their public K-12 records. As a result of an institutional structure forged during the period of Jim Crow segregation, black students who attend the state’s public university system are likely to experience markedly more racial isolation in college than they did in middle school. Another, more positive consequence of this structure is to boost in-state public four-year college enrollment and graduation by African-American students relative to white students with similar backgrounds. Conditional on enrolling in one of the state’s public universities, however, black students lag behind whites in grades and graduation rates. Regarding socioeconomic background, we find that lower-status youth are less likely to enter the system and less likely to succeed once they enter than those with higher status. The socioeconomic gap in graduation rates among matriculants has, however, declined in recent years. |
| JEL: | I2 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21577&r=all |
| By: | Peschl, Markus F.; Fundneider, Thomas |
| Abstract: | As opposed to managing or controlling innovation processes, this paper proposes the notion of enabling as a more suitable approach to innovation. As a consequence, the concept of Enabling Spaces is introduced as a space that is designed in such a way that it enables and facilitates processes of collaborative knowledge creation and innovation. In that context a rather broad notion of space is applied: It goes far beyond architectural/physical space by integrating social, cognitive, emotional, organizational, and epistemological dimensions in an interdisciplinary manner. Both the theoretical background and the methodological approach and design process will be presented. Furthermore, we will discuss a case for an Enabling Space which functions as a collaborative innovation network. It will turn out that Enabling Spaces and Collaborative Innovation Networks (COINs) share a lot of characteristics, attitudes, and values. |
| Keywords: | cognition, collaboration, design, Enabling Space, extended cognition, innovation, knowledge creation, space |
| JEL: | Z0 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:66541&r=all |
| By: | Alla Sorokina (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy) |
| Abstract: | This paper features synopsis of main approaches to the coordination of sectoral and spatial development overseas. Analysis of the documents related to the strategic planning demonstrates that recently in the majority of countries cluster initiatives are aimed at the resolution of multiple tasks of economic development: fostering of the innovative activity, creation of new employment, starting small businesses, attraction of investment, creation of positive image and promotion of the territory's brand. All this allows to implement cluster approach for the coordinating resolution of the issues of sectoral and spatial development. |
| Keywords: | Russian economy, sectoral development, spatial development, clusters, |
| JEL: | A1 R1 R12 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gai:wpaper:0116&r=all |
| By: | Moreno Monroy, Ana I.; García Cruz, Gustavo Adolfo |
| Keywords: | Colòmbia -- Condicions econòmiques, 338 - Situació econòmica. Política econòmica. Gestió, control i planificació de l'economia. Producció. Serveis. Turisme. Preus, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urv:wpaper:2072/254373&r=all |
| By: | Suzaini Zaid (University of Malaya) |
| Abstract: | Affordability in housing is often defined by the ratio of purchase price or rent, to total household income. At present, public low-cost housing units in Malaysia are sold or rented at below market price value being subsidized by the government. This housing affordability definition overlooks other important issues such as long-term operational costs, where a typical low-income household spends a substantial share of monthly income on energy and utility services such as electricity and water. Consequently, the apportionment or percentage of average household income spent on operational household expenditure such as rent, electricity and other utilities are investigated in this paper, by using a survey questionnaire and interview techniques. This paper presents a brief overview to how low-cost housing can contribute to sustainable development in terms of long-term operational affordability for social and economical sustainability |
| Keywords: | Public housing. Low-cost housing. Sustainable urban housing. Triple-bottom-line. Housing Policy |
| JEL: | O00 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:2703638&r=all |
| By: | Aurélie LALANNE; Martin ZUMPE |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the methods to detect the nature of the urban growth processes. It seems that cointegration testing enables to disentangle two versions of Gibrat’s law: a first one with growth shocks that are iid across time and cities (implying convergence of the city-size distribution towards Zipf’s law), and an alternative one with growth shocks that are only iid over time (implying conservation of the initial structure of the city size distribution). |
| Keywords: | Zipf’s law, Gibrat’s law, Cointegration tests, unit root tests, urban growth, urban system |
| JEL: | R00 R11 C41 O40 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grt:wpegrt:2015-27&r=all |
| By: | Stefano Barbieri (Department of Economics, Tulane University); John H. Y. Edwards (Department of Economics, Tulane University) |
| Abstract: | This paper stylizes the most salient characteristics of New Orleans' people and the Katrina evacuation and constructs a formal, theoretical model of their decision to return. We use the model to examine the post-Katrina population composition of the city, the evolution in its income distribution and in the welfare of its citizens, and changes in the level of education privately and publicly provided. Our results are, overall, positive for the new New Orleans. While smaller, the new New Orleans is more skill-intensive and education levels improve; these changes are broadly consistent with observed effects of Katrina on New Orleans. Moreover, while the possibility remains that Katrina-like events cause "middle-class flight," inequality is reduced under standard distributional assumptions, such as log-concavity. Nonetheless, the fact that many among the unskilled are unable to return remains problematic from an ethical point of view. Our analysis of a disaster's long term impact on a city through its effects on demographic composition, income and human capital distribution, and fiscal structure elucidates major determinants of urban resilience after a natural disaster. |
| Keywords: | local public goods, inequality, disasters, income distribution, education, resilience |
| JEL: | H3 H4 I2 I3 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tul:wpaper:1519&r=all |
| By: | W. D. Gregori; L. Marattin |
| Abstract: | Fiscal distress of local governments and municipalities is a non-negligible component of the public finance turmoil after the Great Recession. In this paper we consider a dataset of Italian municipalities over the period 2000-2012 and look for the main budget determinants of local default. According to our results the default probability is positively affected by the share of loan repayment over total spending. This result is robust to alternative model specifications as well as inclusion of fixed effects, time dummies and macroeconomic control variables. |
| JEL: | H72 H74 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:wp1024&r=all |
| By: | Lincoln Groves (Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University, 426 Eggers Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244) |
| Abstract: | Precipitated by the legislative decision to decouple child Medicaid benefits from welfare receipt, the number of young children qualifying for public health insurance grew markedly throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. From a baseline of roughly 15% in the average state at the beginning of the decade, the rate increased to more than 40% of all young children in the United States by the time all federal mandates were fully enacted in 1992. This paper extends the academic literature examining early childhood investments and longer-term human capital measures by exploring whether public health insurance expansions to low-income children led to a greater number of high school completers in the 2000s. Building on the literature that uses the generosity of a state’s Medicaid program as a time-varying, exogenous source of variation in a quasi-experimental design, I find a positive and statistically significant relationship between Medicaid eligibility during early childhood – defined as conception through age 5 – and longer-term high school completion rates. Completion is examined in two forms: the dropout rate and the traditional four-year high school graduation rate. Intent-to-treat estimates range from a 1.9 to 2.5 percentage point (pp) decrease in the dropout rate for each 10 pp increase in early childhood years covered by the state-level Medicaid program. The same 10 pp increase in child Medicaid program generosity reveals increases of 1.0 to 1.3 pp when applied to graduation rates, indicating that completion gains are propelled by increases in traditional diplomas. Furthermore, results appear to be driven by Hispanics and white students, the two groups which experienced the greatest within-group eligibility increases due to the decoupling of child Medicaid from the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program. |
| Keywords: | Child Medicaid Expansions; High School Completion; Early Childhood Investments |
| JEL: | C23 H51 H52 H75 I21 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:max:cprwps:181&r=all |
| By: | Darko Loncaric (University of Rijeka, Faculty of Teacher Education); Sanja Tatalovi (University of Rijeka, Faculty of Teacher Education) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates personality-coping relationship through pattern approach to coping with school failure. Students using different patterns of coping when confronted with an academic stressor were described with respect to their scores on extraversion, neuroticism, test anxiety and self-esteem scales.The sample consisted of 436 Croatian elementary school students (214 girls and 222 boys, mean age 12.72). Data regarding the students’ sex and age were collected in addition to coping scales, and measures of extroversion, neuroticism, test anxiety and self-esteem. Six groups with different pattern of coping were compared. Two of the groups consist of students who have very high or very low score on all coping strategies. The remaining students were classified into four groups: a) students focused strictly on problem-focused coping, b) those focused on both problem solving and social support, c) those focused on avoidant coping, and d) emotionally reactive students.Current results show that these students differ with respect to all variables included in the study: self-esteem, neuroticism, extraversion, and test anxiety. Advantages of the pattern analysis approach in explaining some contradictory findings from previous correlational research are emphasized together with the teacher’s role in facilitating adaptive coping strategies for pupils better learning outcomes. |
| Keywords: | stress, personality, coping patterns, teachers |
| JEL: | I00 I21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:2704899&r=all |
| By: | Verdier, Thierry; Zenou, Yves |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the population dynamics of preference traits in a model of intergenerational cultural transmission with cultural leaders who compete for oblique socialization. We show that by adding this new channel in the transmission of preferences, i.e. cultural leaders, in steady-state, there cannot be an equilibrium with total assimilation or total integration of the population. |
| Keywords: | assimilation; cultural leaders; integration; Socialization |
| JEL: | J13 J15 Z10 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10832&r=all |
| By: | Schmidheiny, Kurt; Slotwinski, Michaela |
| Abstract: | We study behavioral responses to local income taxes exploiting a special tax regime which applies to foreign employees residing in Switzerland. The used institutional setting generates two thresholds through which locally heterogeneous taxation is assigned: An income threshold at 120,000 Swiss francs and a duration threshold at 5 years of stay in Switzerland. We exploit these thresholds by applying a discontinuity in density design and a fuzzy RDD to administrative income data. We find causal evidence for strategic income bunching for wage earners and tax induced intra-national mobility. Several pieces of evidence suggest that individuals have to "learn the tax code" and that knowledge and information transmission through local networks plays a major role in the behavioral response to tax incentives. |
| Keywords: | income bunching; income taxes; regression discontinuity design; tax induced mobility |
| JEL: | H24 H31 J61 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10833&r=all |
| By: | Robin Burgess; Remi Jedwab; Edward Miguel; Ameet Morjaria; Gerard Padró i Miquel |
| Abstract: | Ethnic favoritism is seen as antithetical to development. This paper provides credible quantification of the extent of ethnic favoritism using data on road building in Kenyan districts across the 1963–2011 period. Guided by a model it then examines whether the transition in and out of democracy under the same president constrains or exacerbates ethnic favoritism. Across the post-independence period, we find strong evidence of ethnic favoritism: districts that share the ethnicity of the president receive twice as much expenditure on roads and have five times the length of paved roads built. This favoritism disappears during periods of democracy. |
| JEL: | D72 H54 J15 O15 O17 O22 R42 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:61947&r=all |
| By: | Alejandro Esteller-Moré (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB); Umberto Galmarini (Università dell’ Insubria & IEB); Leonzio Rizzo (University of Ferrara & IEB) |
| Abstract: | We examine the design of fiscal equalization transfers aimed at inter-regional redistribution in a setting in which special interest groups distort the fiscal policies of local governments. Equity always calls for tax-base equalization while efficiency calls for tax-base equalization of fiscal capacities backed by strong lobby groups and for tax-revenue equalization of those backed by weak lobby groups. Hence, it is optimal to rely only on tax-base equalization if the special interest groups are similar in terms of lobbying power, whereas a mixed system is optimal if they are highly heterogeneous. Tax competition reinforces the role of tax-base, while tax exporting that of tax-revenue, fiscal equalization. |
| Keywords: | Fiscal-capacity equalization-grants, inter-regional redistribution, tax competition, equity-efficiency tradeoff, special interest groups, lobbying |
| JEL: | H77 D72 H21 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:doc2015-21&r=all |
| By: | Yannis Ioannides (Tufts University) |
| Abstract: | In a world where individuals interact in myriads of ways, one wonders how the benefits of one’s connections with others compare with those conferred by individual characteristics when it comes to acquisition of human capital. It is particularly interesting to be able to distinguish between connections that are the outcome of deliberate decisions by individuals and connections being given exogenously and beyond an individual’s control. The paper explores the consequences of the joint evolution of social connections and human capital investments. It thus allows one to study a broad range of possibilities in which social connections may influence inequality in consumption, human capital investment and welfare across the members of the economy, cross-sectionally and intertemporally. It embeds inequality analysis in models of endogenous social network formation. The novelty of the model lies in its joint treatment of human capital investment and social network formation in intergenerational settings, while distinguishing between the case of impact on human capital from endogenous as opposed to exogenous social networking. Among several results in the case of exogenous connections, we demonstrate conditions under which the limit distribution of human capital has a Pareto upper tail. One of the dynamic models we develop allow for intergenerational transfers in a dynastic version of the infinite horizon Ramsey-Cass-Koopmans model. The models share the property that human capital accumulation, transfers and social connections, when all are optimized, are, along steady states, proportional to cognitive skills. Thus, intergenerational transfers of both human capital endowments and social networking endowments are jointly determined. Interestingly, the consequences for inequality of the endogeneity of social connections are underscored by examining the models when they are assumed to be exogenous. When social connections are not optimized, individuals’ human capital reflects a much more general dependence on social connections. The dependence does not reduce to aggregate statistics of social connections. We show that the dynamics of demographically increasingly complex models, as expressed by a sequence of models with increasing number of overlapping generations, depend on the product of the adjacency matrices associated with each of the overlapping generations. |
| Keywords: | social networks, network formation, social interactions, intergenerational transfers, income distribution, social connections, inheritability |
| JEL: | J24 J62 C51 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2015-012&r=all |
| By: | Roberto Gabriele,; Enrico Tundis,; Enrico Zaninotto |
| Abstract: | This paper undertakes an ex-post evaluation of the impact of public subsidies on the performance of micro and small hotel businesses in a regional context. Several performance indicators, that cover relevant dimensions of hotel performance, were considered: the occupancy rate, the revenues per room, the degree of seasonality and the labour productivity. The empirical domain of analysis is the hotel industry in the Province of Trento (Italy) and the subsidies granted within the Provincial Law 6/99. The time window under scrutiny is 2002-2006. We use a matching approach to quantitatively assess the impacts of subsidies controlling for observable hotel characteristics, localization and intraregional touristic destination factors. In addition, we employ a Conditional Difference-in- Differences estimator to control for time invariant unobserved heterogeneity, e.g. managerial ability. Our results show that subsidized hotels compared to non subsidized ones received substantial benefit from public subsidies. |
| Keywords: | public subsidies, regional policy, hotel industry, counterfactual models |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trn:utwpem:2015/10&r=all |
| By: | George J. Mailath; Andrew Postlewaite; Larry Samuelson |
| Abstract: | “Buy local” arrangements encourage members of a community or group to patronize one another rather than the external economy. They range from formal mechanisms such as local currencies to informal “I’ll buy from you if you buy from me” arrangements, and are often championed on social or environmental grounds. We show that in a monopolistically competitive economy, buy local arrangements can have salutary effects even for selfish agents immune to social or environmental considerations. Buy local arrangements effectively allow firms to exploit the equilibrium price-cost gap to profitably expand their sales at the going price. |
| Keywords: | Buy local, local currency, trading favors, reciprocity, monopolistic competition |
| JEL: | D43 D85 L14 R12 |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:acb:cbeeco:2015-624&r=all |