|
on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Melanie Morten; Jaqueline Oliveira |
| Abstract: | How integrated are labor markets within a country? Labor mobility is key to the integration of local labor markets and therefore to understanding the efficacy of policies to reduce regional inequality. We present a comprehensive framework for understanding migration decisions, focusing on the costs of migrating. We construct and then estimate a spatial equilibrium model where mobility is determined not only by idiosyncratic tastes, but also by moving costs that are origin-destination dependent. We use rich data on the inter-municipality moves of 18 million people together with exogenous variation in the road network caused by the construction of a capital city to identify the bilateral costs of moving between two regions. The mean observed migration cost is between 0.8-1.2 times the mean wage. 84% of the migration cost is a fixed cost, 3.5% depends on the distance between locations, and 9.6% is dependent on the travel time on the road. This imperfect integration of labor markets has two key implications. First, costly migration generates heterogeneity in regional responses to economic shocks. A region 10% more connected will have a 5.6 percentage point higher population elasticity to wage shocks. Second, costly migration changes the incidence of regional shocks. We estimate that 37% of the total incidence of a shock falls on residents, compared to 1% in a model where migration is costless. Our results have important implications for understanding the impact of economic development as well as the impact of place-based development policies. |
| JEL: | J61 O18 O54 |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22158&r=ure |
| By: | Emre Akgunduz; Suzanne Heijnen |
| Abstract: | We analyze the effectiveness of the early childhood programme (ECP) in the Netherlands. The programme is designed for 2.5 to 4 year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds. 37 municipalities received an additional subsidy to expand ECP programmes, which allows us to analyze the effects of the programme within a difference-in-difference-in-differences framework. Most children first enroll in primary schools at age 4 in the Netherlands, but pupils begin to learn reading and mathematics in grade 3 at age 6. We use grade repetition constructed from school registry data from 2008 to 2015 in the first two grades as an indicator of school readiness. Our results show significantly lower grade repetition rates for targeted boys who are in regions that receive the subsidy. Grade repetition drops by 1 to 3 percentage points from a mean of 10.5 percent for the disadvantaged group targeted by the programme. |
| JEL: | C21 I28 I21 J13 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:328&r=ure |
| By: | Steven D. Levitt; John A. List; Sally Sadoff |
| Abstract: | We test the effect of performance-based incentives on educational achievement in a low-performing school district using a randomized field experiment. High school freshmen were provided monthly financial incentives for meeting an achievement standard based on multiple measures of performance including attendance, behavior, grades and standardized test scores. Within the design, we compare the effectiveness of varying the recipient of the reward (students or parents) and the incentive structure (fixed rate or lottery). While the overall effects of the incentives are modest, the program has a large and significant impact among students on the threshold of meeting the achievement standard. These students continue to outperform their control group peers a year after the financial incentives end. However, the program effects fade in longer term follow up, highlighting the importance of longer term tracking of incentive programs. |
| JEL: | C93 I24 I25 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22107&r=ure |
| By: | Ehrl, Philipp; Monteiro Monasterio, Leonardo |
| Abstract: | We exploit differences in the spatial distribution of industrial and liberal occupations in the years 1872 and 1920 to instrument for today's concentration of interpersonal and analytical skills in Brazil. The data suggest that the local supply of knowledge and manufacturing provided by these historical trades favored a growth path that has shaped the occupational structure until the present day, whereby the existence of a large local consumer market was a necessary condition for this development. By means of these instruments, we present causal evidence that the regional concentration of interpersonal and analytical skills generates positive wage externalities. Particularly university graduates and workers without formal education benefit most from these agglomeration economies. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration economies, skills, long-run industrial development, Brazil |
| JEL: | C26 J31 N16 R12 |
| Date: | 2016–04–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69829&r=ure |
| By: | Hellerstein, Judith K. (University of Maryland); Kutzbach, Mark J. (U.S. Census Bureau); Neumark, David (University of California, Irvine) |
| Abstract: | We measure the impact of labor market referral networks defined by residential neighborhoods on re-employment following mass layoffs. Because networks can only be effective when hiring is occurring, we focus on a measure of the strength of the labor market network that includes not only the number of employed neighbors of a laid off worker, but also the gross hiring rate at that person's neighbors' workplaces. We provide additional evidence from two alternative measures of network strength that try to disentangle the mechanism by which networks operate – either by conveying information to job seekers about vacancies or conveying information to hiring employers about potential hires. Our evidence indicates that stronger local labor market networks are linked not just to more rapid re-employment following mass layoffs but to re-employment specifically at neighbors' employers. We also find evidence suggesting that this effect is stronger via network connections that convey information to job seekers about vacancies. Finally, we find evidence that the effects of networks for displaced workers declined during the Great Recession relative to prior or subsequent years. |
| Keywords: | networks, displacement, re-employment |
| JEL: | J63 J64 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9852&r=ure |
| By: | Rappaport, Jordan (Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City) |
| Abstract: | The monocentric city model is generalized to a fully structural form with leisure in utility, congested commuting, and the equalizing of utility and perimeter land price across metros. Exogenous and agglomerative differences in total factor productivity (TFP) drive differences in metro population, radius, land use, commute time, and home prices. Quantitative results approximate observed correspondences among these outcomes across U.S. metros. Traffic congestion proves the critical force constraining population. Self-driving cars significantly increase the sensitivity of metro population to productivity. Population becomes less responsive to increases in productivity as metros become larger. Correspondingly, the productivity “cost” of metro population—the TFP required to support a given population—increases convexly with size. Benchmark estimates suggest that agglomerative productivity suffices to support increases in population from low levels, allowing chance to play a significant role in determining which locations with sufficient exogenous TFP develop into small metros. But agglomerative productivity falls considerably short of supporting increases in population from high levels, suggesting that large metros arise from strong “fundamentals” such as high exogenous TFP. |
| Keywords: | City size; Commuting; Congestion; Land use; Metropolitan size; Self-driving cards; Time use |
| JEL: | J22 R12 R41 |
| Date: | 2016–01–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedkrw:rwp16-03&r=ure |
| By: | Sawada, Yasuyuki; Aida, Takeshi; Griffen, Andrew S; Kozuka, Eiji; Noguchi, Haruko; Todo, Yasuyuki |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate the role of School Management Committees (COGES) in Burkina Faso. These committees include elected members of each community, and are tasked with setting and implementing annual school plans. The study adopted a hybrid evaluation method incorporating a randomized controlled trial and a large-scale artefactual field experiment a la Levitt and List (2007) on public goods with monetary rewards, to closely examine unexplored issues impacting on the sustainability of community-driven projects, and to identify at least partially the mechanisms of this sustainability. We found that the COGES project significantly increased social capital in the form of voluntary contributions to public goods, especially by linking those that people can be connected to vertically. On average, the direct increase in voluntary contributions to public goods from the implementation of the COGES project was between 8.0 and 10.2%. For groups composed of school principals, teachers, and parents, the average contribution increased by between 12.7 and 24.1% through the democratic election of school management committee members, and by between 11.0 and 17.2% through the implementation of the COGES project. These results suggest that community management projects can improve local cost recovery by increasing local contributions of public goods, potentially leading to better fiscal sustainability in community-driven projects. Moreover, the results based on our hybrid experiments are largely in line with real-world decisions observed in the schools under our investigation. As a byproduct, our findings are supportive of models of other-regarding preferences. |
| Keywords: | school-based management , randomized controlled trials , artefactual field experiments , public goods game , social capital , sustainability of development project |
| Date: | 2016–03–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jic:wpaper:120&r=ure |
| By: | Ofer Malamud; Cristian Pop-Eleches; Miguel Urquiola |
| Abstract: | This paper explores whether conditions during early childhood affect the productivity of later human capital investments. We use Romanian administrative data to ask if the benefit of access to better schools is larger for children who experienced better family environments because their parents had access to abortion. We combine regression discontinuity and differences-in-differences designs to estimate impacts on a high-stakes school-leaving exam. Although we find that access to abortion and access to better schools each have positive impacts, we do not find evidence of significant interactions between these shocks. While these results suggest the absence of dynamic complementarities in human capital formation, survey data suggest that they may also reflect behavioral responses by students and parents. |
| JEL: | I00 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22112&r=ure |
| By: | Mendolia, Silvia; Paloyo, Alfredo R.; Walker, Ian |
| Abstract: | We investigate the relationship between peers' abilities and educational outcomes at the end of high school using data from the rich Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) matched to the National Pupil Database of children in state schools in England. In particular, we focus on the effect of peers' abilities, measured through achievements in Key Stage 3 (Age 14), on high powered test scores at Ages 16 and 18, and on the probability of attending university. Our identification strategy is based on a measure of the peers of peers' ability. In particular, for each individual, we look at her high school peers and select their primary school peers who do not attend the same high school and who did not attend the same primary school as the individual. We then use peers-of-peers ability, measured using Age 11 test scores as an instrument for high school average peer ability, measured using Age 14 test scores. We also use quantile regression to explore the effect of peers' ability on different parts of the distributions of the outcomes. Our results show that average of peers' abilities has a moderate positive effect on test scores at Ages 16 and 18, and that being in a school with a large proportion of low-quality peers can have a significantly detrimental effect on individual achievements. Furthermore, peers' ability seems to have a stronger effect on students at the bottom of the grade distribution, especially at Age 16. |
| Abstract: | Durch die Zusammenführung des "Longitudinal Study of Young People in England" (LSYPE) Datensatzes und des "National Pupil Database" Datensatzes soll der Zusammenhang von Begabung im Umfeld des Schülers und dessen schulischen Leistungen untersucht werden. Insbesondere konzentriert sich die Untersuchung auf den Effekt von der Begabung des Umfeldes - messbar durch Testergebnisse der (Mit-)Schüler im Alter von 14 Jahren - auf die Wahrscheinlichkeit des Besuchs einer Universität, bzw. auf Testergebnisse im Alter von 16 und 18 Jahren. Die Identifikationsstrategie basiert auf der Messung der Begabung des Umfeldes des Umfeldes der Schüler. Im Speziellen wird das Umfeld derjenigen Schüler, die zusammen mit einem Individuum die High School besucht haben, beleuchtet, indem Schüler ausgewählt werden, die mit diesen - jedoch nicht mit dem Individuum - die Grundschule, jedoch nicht die High School besucht haben. Diese "peers-of-peers" Begabung wird genutzt, indem Testergebnisse im Alter von 14 Jahren mit Testergebnissen im Alter von elf Jahren instrumentiert werden. Weiterhin werden Quantilsregressionen genutzt, um die Höhe des Einflusses von Mitschülern an verschiedenen Punkten der Ergebnisverteilung herauszuarbeiten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Begabung der Mitschüler einen leichten Einfluss auf die Testergebnisse mit 16 bzw. 18 Jahren hat. Besonders groß ist der negative Einfluss auf die Ergebnisse eines Individuums an einer High School mit einem hohen Anteil vergleichsweise "schlechter" Mitschüler. Weiterhin konnte ein stärkerer Effekt auf Schüler am unteren Ende der Notenverteilung festgestellt werden, insbesondere im Alter von 16 Jahren. |
| Keywords: | peer effects,instrumental variables,test scores |
| JEL: | I20 J24 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:612&r=ure |
| By: | William Gbohoui (Sans nom); François Vaillancourt |
| Abstract: | To understand the role of subnational tax policies in explaining regional growth, we present stylized facts on U.S. state income and state-level tax policies. We use real Gross State Products (GSP) as the indicator of economic performance in contrast to the existing literature, which relies on Personal Income. The results reveal an increase in per capita income disparities, and time - persistent differences in human capital and physical capital between U.S. states. In addition, we find that subnational tax policies vary widely between states. Using augmented Barro regressions, we show that educational attainment, and state-level tax policies are the key determinants in explaining the differences between state-level economic growth. More precisely, higher corporate income or general sales taxes significantly retard economic growth, while human capital positively impacts state-level growth. |
| Keywords: | Regional growth, state and local taxation, |
| JEL: | H71 R11 |
| Date: | 2016–03–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirwor:2016s-13&r=ure |
| By: | Haibing Jiang; David Levinson (Nexus (Networks, Economics, and Urban Systems) Research Group, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota) |
| Abstract: | This study measures the job and population accessibility via transit for Beijing using the cumulative opportunity metric. It is shown that transit accessibility varies widely across Beijing, but is highly focused on subway stations. Early lines added far more accessibility than more recently planned lines. |
| Keywords: | Transportation Ð Economics, Transportation - Evaluation, Public Transport |
| JEL: | R14 R41 R42 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nex:wpaper:accessibilitybeijing&r=ure |
| By: | Zhong, Sheng (UNU-MERIT) |
| Abstract: | Using a rich quarterly panel dataset containing about 3.9 million vehicles in Massachusetts over the period 2008q1 - 2011q4, this paper is attempts to improve the micro level empirical basis of the study of population-level vehicle energy efficiency, and to provide some evidence that supports policy making related to sustainable development with regard to road vehicles. It (1) presents an aggregate vehicle energy efficiency indicator (state and municipality level) by taking into account vehicle heterogeneity, (2) investigates the contribution of changes in the structure of the vehicle population that affect aggregate vehicle energy efficiency and its growth, paying particular attention to vehicles’ entry and exit, (3) explores the convergence and the Ergodic distribution of aggregate vehicle energy efficiency between municipalities, and (4) checks the socio-economic factors affecting the distribution of vehicles over locations, and vehicle exit event. The results confirm the importance of structural chance in the vehicle population, convergence of aggregate vehicle energy efficiency between municipalities and the crucial role of socio-economic factors in shaping vehicles distribution. |
| Keywords: | vehicle level micro data, vehicle energy efficiency dynamics, decomposition, reallocation, convergence, socio-economic factors |
| JEL: | O13 |
| Date: | 2016–03–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2016014&r=ure |
| By: | Sergio Currarini; Jesse Matheson; Fernando Vega Redondo |
| Abstract: | Biases in meeting opportunities have been recently shown to play a key role for the emergence of homophily in social networks (see Currarini, Jackson and Pin 2009). The aim of this paper is to provide a simple microfoundation of these biases in a model where the size and typecomposition of the meeting pools are shaped by agents' socialization decisions. In particular, agents either inbreed (direct search only to similar types) or outbreed (direct search to population at large). When outbreeding is costly, this is shown to induce stark equilibrium behavior of a threshold type: agents \inbreed" (i.e. mostly meet their own type) if, and only if, their group is above certain size. We show that this threshold equilibrium generates patterns of in-group and cross-group ties that are consistent with empirical evidence of homophily in two paradigmatic instances: high school friendships and interethnic marriages. |
| Keywords: | Homophily, social networks, segregation. |
| JEL: | D7 D71 D85 Z13 |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lec:leecon:16/05&r=ure |
| By: | Raúl A. Ponce-Rodríguez; Charles R. Hankla; Jorge Martinez-Vazquez; Eunice Heredia-Ortiz |
| Abstract: | In this article, we investigate how differences in the political institutions necessary for implementing decentralization reform may affect the efficiency and welfare properties of decentralization itself. We incorporate insights from political science and economics into a rigorous and formal extension of the influential “decentralization theorem” first developed by Oates in 1972. In our analysis, we go beyond Oates by producing a strong decentralization theorem that identifies the political conditions under which democratic decentralization dominates centralization even in the presence of interjurisdictional spillovers. More specifically, we find that beneficial outcomes for public service delivery will obtain when democratic decentralization (i.e. the creation of popularly elected sub-national governments) is combined with party centralization (i.e. the power of national party leaders to nominate candidates for sub-national office). We also find that the participation rules of primaries, whether closed or open, have important implications for the expected gains from decentralization. Most notably, we find that, when primaries are closed, even Oates’ conventional decentralization theorem does not hold. In summary, our theory shows that political institutions matter considerably in determining the welfare gains of decentralization outcomes. |
| Keywords: | federalism, institutions, decentralization. |
| JEL: | D61 D72 D78 H73 H75 |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gov:wpaper:1604&r=ure |
| By: | Matthias Firgo (WIFO); Peter Mayerhofer (WIFO) |
| Abstract: | Empirical results on the link between growth and diversity in (un-)related industries proved to be highly dependent on the specific regional and temporal context. Making use of highly disaggregated employment data at the sub-regional level, we find that higher employment growth in Austria is mainly linked to unrelated variety. However, in-depth analyses by sectors and regional regimes illustrate substantial heterogeneity in the results, mainly driven by the service sector and by a large number of relatively small regions. Thus, our results argue against structural policy conclusions based on assessments across all economic sectors or different types of regions. |
| Keywords: | related variety, specialisation, knowledge spillovers, employment growth, structural policy |
| Date: | 2016–02–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wfo:wpaper:y:2016:i:511&r=ure |
| By: | Matthew Roskruge (University of Waikato); Jacques Poot (University of Waikato); Laura King (University of Waikato) |
| Abstract: | Both migrant entrepreneurship and social capital are topics which have attracted a great deal of attention. However, relatively little econometric analysis has been done on their interrelationship. In this paper we first consider the relationship between social capital and the prevalence of entrepreneurship. We also investigate the relationship between social capital and the living standards of entrepreneurs. In both cases we ask whether these interrelationships differ between migrants and comparable native-born people. We utilize unit record data from the pooled 2008, 2010 and 2012 New Zealand General Social Surveys (NZGSS). The combined sample consists of 15,541 individuals who are in the labour force. Entrepreneurs are defined as those in the sample who obtained income from self-employment or from owning a business. Social capital is proxied by responses to questions on social networks, volunteering and sense of community. The economic standard of living is measured by either personal income or by an Economic Living Standards Index (ELSI) score developed by the New Zealand Ministry of Social Development. We find significant differences between migrants and the native born in terms of the attributes of social capital that are correlated with entrepreneurship, but volunteering matters equally for both groups. The positive association between social capital attributes and ELSI scores is similar between migrant and natives. Social capital contributes little to explaining incomes of either group. |
| Keywords: | migration, social capital, entrepreneurship, income, standard of living |
| JEL: | F22 J15 L26 Z13 |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:1607&r=ure |
| By: | Faizah Idrus (The International Islamic University Malaysia) |
| Abstract: | Heterogeneity in the Malaysian school system has divided students of various cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The chances of getting a group of multicultural students in a classroom are far slimmer in the rural areas than in schools situated in the urban areas. The classroom composition in the urban areas displays a different pattern depending on the location of the schools. With this imbalance, Malaysia’s existence as a multicultural nation lies more in name than in reality. With the call for greater enhancement of unity and integration among ethnic community in schools (Preliminary Report Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, this study intends to examine the significance of the Third Space theory by looking through the lens of Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT). Gay (2000) defines culturally responsive teaching as using the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, and performance styles of diverse students to make learning more appropriate and effective for them; it teaches to and through the strengths of these students. While the Third Space theory (Bhabha, 1994) accentuates the importance of using students home/community experiences to that of schools, which is thus far being sidelined in the Malaysian setting. The Third space is an interstice or a place in-between which is imperative for students who come from diverse cultures. This investigation therefore aims to 1. draw out the elements of CRT for teachers. 2. model these elements to be used in the secondary school English language classrooms and 3. determine teachers/students responses towards CRT. Two short stories (Malaysian-based stories) are chosen. A mixed method approach will be used employing primarily qualitative inquiry through phenomenological approach (interviews with teachers and students and classroom observations will be conducted) and a set of questionnaire to elicit pertinent information on teachers common practices in the English classrooms.20 schools from 4 regions in Malaysia will be identified and Form 4 students (and their teachers) will be selected as respondents. The findings from teachers/students responses will point to the direction of how teachers have afforded the spaces for CRT through infusing CRT skills in language classrooms. Through this investigation, teachers and students responses of the use of CRT elements/materials in the English language classrooms are recorded and analysed to determine their willingness/reluctance to adopt this approach in the classroom. |
| Keywords: | Culturally Responsive Teaching; Third Space Theory; ESL Classrooms |
| JEL: | C93 I29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:3505624&r=ure |
| By: | Keola, Souknilanh; Kumagai, Satoru |
| Abstract: | Ad-hoc population dynamics in Krugman’s type core and periphery models adjust population share of a region, based on its real wage rate deviation from national average, at pre-specified speed of population mobility. Whereas speed of population mobility is expected to be different across countries, for geographical, cultural, technological, etc. reasons, one common speed is often applied in theoretical and simulation analysis, due to spatially patchy, and temporally infrequent, availability of sub-national regional data. This article demonstrates how, increasingly available, high definition spatio-temporal remote-sensing data, and their by-products, can be used to measure speed of population mobility in national and sub-national level. |
| Keywords: | Southeast Asia, Population, Migration, Population movement, Regional data, Regional migration |
| JEL: | R10 R23 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper574&r=ure |
| By: | Inoue, Hiroyasu; Nakajima, Kentaro; Saito, Yukiko Umeno |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the localization of collaboration in knowledge creation by using the data on Japanese patent applications. Applying distance-based methods, we obtained the following results. First, collaborations are significantly localized at the 5% level with a localization range of approximately 100 km. Second, the localization of collaboration is observed in most technologies. Third, the extent of localization was stable from 1986–2005 despite extensive developments in information and communications technology that facilitate communication between remote organizations. Fourth, the extent of localization is substantially greater in inter-firm collaborations than in intra-firm collaborations. Furthermore, in inter-firm collaborations, the extent of localization is greater in collaborations with small firms. This result suggests that geographic proximity mitigates the firm-border effects in collaborations, especially for small firms. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge creation, Collaboration, Geographic frictions, Firm-border effects |
| JEL: | R12 O31 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:remfce:58&r=ure |
| By: | McCoy, Selina; Quail, Amanda; Smyth, Emer |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:rb2014/3/4&r=ure |
| By: | Cardoso-Vargas, Carlos-Enrique |
| Abstract: | This document examines whether the agglomeration of foreign processing firms (PCS) assembling imported inputs to make export products favors the incorporation to the export activity or market expansion of domestic companies. Similarly this situation is evaluated by considering ordinary foreign firms (ORD) or not manufactured processed products and non-local hybrid companies (HBR) that act in both regimes of commerce. The theoretical framework guiding the empirical evaluation is based on a simple model inspired by Melitz (2003), which is evaluated by means of a conditional logit model with panel data. The findings show evidence that the concentration of these types of foreign companies increases the probability that domestic companies show a presence in certain markets. Notwithstanding, these export spillovers widely heterogeneous in virtue of the fact that their existence and sphere of influence are associated with their specificity in terms of country or product, as well as with the regime of commerce and the technological capacity used by domestic companies vis-à-vis neighboring foreign companies. |
| Keywords: | international trade, agglomeration externalities, heterogeneity firms |
| JEL: | F13 F14 F21 |
| Date: | 2016–02–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:70212&r=ure |
| By: | Holmlund, Helena (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy) |
| Abstract: | Equality of opportunity has been one of the central ideas governing education policy in the Nordic welfare state. This paper takes its starting point in the shared history of educational reform in the Nordic countries, and presents evidence that the comprehensive school reforms that implied a shift from selective two-tier schooling systems to unified compulsory schools were beneficial for equality of opportunity. This evidence is compared to a choice and voucher reform that in the 1990's introduced pedagogical as well as organizational variety in the education system in Sweden. The Swedish choice reform is unique in an international perspective, and has reshaped the education sector dramatically as a growing number of pupils attend non-public independent schools. The current education debate shows a widespread concern that the introduction of choice has led to a backlash for equality of opportunity. Parental background remains a strong determinant of pupil performance. However, recent research finds no indication that family background has become more important over time in explaining pupil outcomes. The Swedish education system nevertheless faces a number of challenges if it is to level the playing field and create equal opportunities for all pupils: schools are becoming increasingly more segregated, much as a consequence of immigration, and disadvantaged pupils are less likely to exercise school choice compared to their more advantaged peers. |
| Keywords: | educational reform; equality of opportunity |
| JEL: | I20 I24 |
| Date: | 2016–03–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2016_005&r=ure |
| By: | Jason Long; Henry E. Siu |
| Abstract: | We construct longitudinal data from the U.S. Census records to study migration patterns of those affected by the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Our focus is on the famous "Okie" migration of the Southern Great Plains. We find that migration rates were much higher in the Dust Bowl than elsewhere in the U.S. This difference is due to the fact that individuals who were typically unlikely to move (e.g., those with young children, those living in their birth state) were equally likely to move in the Dust Bowl. While this result of elevated mobility conforms to long-standing perceptions of the Dust Bowl, our other principal findings contradict conventional wisdom. First, relative to other occupations, farmers in the Dust Bowl were the least likely to move; this relationship between mobility and occupation was unique to that region. Second, out-migration rates from the Dust Bowl region were only slightly higher than they were in the 1920s. Hence, the depopulation of the Dust Bowl was due largely to a sharp drop in migration inflows. Dust Bowl migrants were no more likely to move to California than migrants from other parts of the U.S., or those from the same region ten years prior. In this sense, the westward push from the Dust Bowl to California was unexceptional. Finally, migration from the Dust Bowl was not associated with long-lasting negative labor market effects, and for farmers, the effects were positive. |
| JEL: | J61 J62 N12 N32 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22108&r=ure |
| By: | Daniel H. Weinberg |
| Abstract: | Recent work has suggested that higher income inequality may be a desirable attribute of a neighborhood in that it represents diversity, even though high (and rising) inequality appears to be detrimental to the nation as a whole. The research reported here has determined the key characteristics of a census tract that are associated with the level of inequality in 2000 or 2010, and those associated with changes in income inequality between 2000 and 2010. For the change, the strongest influence is a negative effect for the level of income inequality in 2000; that is, higher income inequality in 2000 leads to a decline over the decade, ceteris paribus. Neighborhoods with higher proportions or levels of the following population and housing characteristics tend to have both higher income inequality and a larger increase in income inequality between 2000 and 2010: individuals in poverty, those with a bachelor's degree, older individuals, householders living alone, and median rent, and lower median housing value and household income. Among these, perhaps the most important determinant is the percent in poverty in 2000. Furthermore, as the baseline level of demographic and economic diversity increases, the better the baseline and change characteristics explain the change in the Gini index from 2000 to 2010. |
| Keywords: | Neighborhood, neighborhood succession, neighborhood dynamics, income inequality, Gini index |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:16-18&r=ure |
| By: | Sunil Kumar; Melissa Fernández |
| JEL: | N0 R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:65861&r=ure |
| By: | Sachiko Kazekami (Chukyo University) |
| Abstract: | First, this paper empirically evaluates the incidence of the Japanese place-based job creation program, which has been rarely studied in Japan. The program increases employment, especially in the agricultural, retail trade and service sectors that most treated cities promote. Second, this paper explores the cities that the program most affects. Those with large aging populations and those with small working age population decrease the effects of the program. Third, this paper assesses the rationale of this program and does not observe a strong reduction in sales, workers or establishments in the neighboring cities of the treated city. |
| Keywords: | Place-based policy, job creation, unemployment, rationale, externality effect |
| JEL: | J23 J68 R23 H22 H23 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bai:series:series_wp_02-2016&r=ure |
| By: | Lozinskaia Agata; Ozhegov Evgeniy |
| Abstract: | This research analyses the process of lending from Russian state-owned mortgage provider. Two-level lending and insurance of mortgage system lead to substantially higher default rates for insured loans. This means that underwriting incentives for regional operators of government mortgage loans perform poorly. We use loan-level data of issued mortgage by one regional government mortgage provided in order to understand the interdependence between underwriting, choice of contract terms including loan insurance by borrower and loan performance. We found an evidence of a difference in credit risk measures for insured and uninsured loans and interest income. |
| JEL: | C36 D12 R20 |
| Date: | 2016–03–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eer:wpalle:16/03e&r=ure |
| By: | Edward L. Glaeser; Andrew Hillis; Scott Duke Kominers; Michael Luca |
| Abstract: | Can open tournaments improve the quality of city services? The proliferation of big data makes it possible to use predictive analytics to better target services like hygiene inspections, but city governments rarely have the in-house talent needed for developing prediction algorithms. Cities could hire consultants, but a cheaper alternative is to crowdsource competence by making data public and offering a reward for the best algorithm. This paper provides a simple model suggesting that open tournaments dominate consulting contracts when cities have a reasonable tolerance for risk and when there is enough labor with low opportunity costs of time. We also illustrate how tournaments can be successful, by reporting on a Boston-based restaurant hygiene prediction tournament that we helped coordinate. The Boston tournament yielded algorithms—at low cost—that proved reasonably accurate when tested “out-of-sample” on hygiene inspections occurring after the algorithms were submitted. We draw upon our experience in working with Boston to provide practical suggestions for governments and other organizations seeking to run prediction tournaments in the future. |
| JEL: | C53 D04 D8 L88 M50 R5 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22124&r=ure |
| By: | Yoshida, Jiro |
| Abstract: | This study simultaneously analyzes the real estate production function and economic depreciation of structures by using data from Japan and the U.S. The estimated share of structure value is used to infer returns to scale, the land-structure substitution, and the structure depreciation rate. Real estate exhibits approximately constant returns in Japan, but decreasing returns in the U.S. Land and structures are substitutes in both countries. The land value ratio is 10% in Centre County, PA, but 60%-70% in Japan, reflecting the scarcity of land. The property depreciation rate is larger for newer and denser properties located further away from the downtown area in a smaller city. The property depreciation rate is smaller than the structure depreciation rate due to the effect of land and a survivorship bias. The bias-corrected structure depreciation rates significantly vary by property type and country: approximately 7% for residential properties and 10% for commercial properties in Japan in contrast with 1% for residential structures in the U.S. The median life-span of structures is 30-35 years for residential and 20-30 years for commercial properties in Japan. |
| Keywords: | capital consumption, returns to scale, elasticity of substitution, housing, commercial real estate, hedonic analysis, survivorship bias, demolition, Japan, USA |
| JEL: | R32 D24 E23 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:remfce:44&r=ure |
| By: | Leopoldo Catania (DEF, University of Rome "Tor Vergata"); Anna Gloria Billé (DEF, University of Rome "Tor Vergata") |
| Abstract: | We propose a new class of models specifically tailored for spatio{temporal data analysis. To this end, we generalize the spatial autoregressive model with autoregressive and heteroskedastic disturbances, i.e. SARAR(1,1), by exploiting the recent advancements in Score Driven (SD) models typically used in time series econometrics. In particular, we allow for time{varying spatial autoregressive coefficients as well as time{varying regressor coefficients and cross{sectional standard deviations. We report an extensive Monte Carlo simulation study in order to investigate the finite sample properties of the Maximum Likelihood estimator for the new class of models as well as its exibility in explaining several dynamic spatial dependence processes. The new proposed class of models are found to be economically preferred by rational investors through an application in portfolio optimization. |
| Keywords: | SARAR, time varying parameters, spatio{temporal data, score driven models |
| Date: | 2016–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtv:ceisrp:375&r=ure |
| By: | J. Döpke; A. Knabe; Cornelia Lang; Philip Maschke |
| Abstract: | Using data from the OECD Regional Well-Being Index – a set of quality-of-life indicators measured at the sub-national level, we construct a set of composite well-being indices. We analyse the extent to which the choice of five alternative aggregation methods affects the well-being ranking of regions. We find that regional inequality in these composite measures is lower than regional inequality in gross-domestic product (GDP) per capita. |
| Keywords: | well-being, regional economic policy, EU structural funds, composite index |
| JEL: | C31 I31 R10 |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwh:dispap:13-16&r=ure |
| By: | De Paola, Maria (University of Calabria); Brunello, Giorgio (University of Padova) |
| Abstract: | We examine the role of education in fostering the economic integration of immigrants. Although immigrants in Europe are – on average – slightly less educated than native individuals, there is a large heterogeneity across countries. We discuss evidence on student performance in international tests showing that children with an immigrant background display worse results than natives. While in some countries, such as Denmark and France, this gap is almost entirely explained by differences in socio-economic background, in others (Finland, Austria, Belgium and Portugal) the factors driving the gap are more complex and have roots also outside socio-economic conditions. We investigate how educational policies in the host count can affect the educational outcomes of immigrants. We focus our attention on pre-school attendance, school tracking, the combination of students and teacher characteristics, and class composition. |
| Keywords: | education, immigration, European migration policies, school tracking, class composition |
| JEL: | I20 I21 I28 J24 J61 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9836&r=ure |
| By: | Matthew Calver; Fanny McKellips |
| Abstract: | In recent decades, the overall growth in productivity of many subsectors of the Canadian transportation and warehousing sector has been above average. In particular, while labour productivity (real GDP per worker) grew an average of 0.64 per cent per year between 2000 and 2014 in the transportation and warehousing sector, labour productivity grew an average of 1.83 per cent per year in the truck transportation subsector, 3.25 per cent per year in the air transportation subsector and 2.09 per cent in the train transportation subsector for the same period. Conversely, in the urban transit subsector, labour productivity decreased an average of 0.76 per cent per year between 2000 and 2014. This report provides a detailed analysis of output, input and productivity trends in four subsectors of the Canadian transportation and warehousing sector. It also examines drivers of the productivity growth for each subsector as well as policies that could enable faster growth. Given the impact that the transportation sector has on many Canadian industries as well as the Canadian economy, maintaining productivity growth is important. |
| Keywords: | Transportation, Canada, Productivity, Rail Transportation, Air Transportation, Trucking Transportation, Urban Transit, Public Policy, Technological Change |
| JEL: | O33 R41 L90 L91 L92 L93 L98 |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sls:resrep:1604&r=ure |
| By: | Oksana Zaporozhets (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The paper introduces a metaphor "digital porosity" aiming to grasp the non-uniformity, limitations and gaps of digital connectivity (technological, material, spatial, social, etc.) in urban spaces. Being used as a research guidance, the metaphor raises the questions what digital porosity is? how is it produced? how is it changing? Based on the research of internet connectedness and practices of Internet use in the subways of Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, the paper states that the extension of the Internet zone and the inclusion of new urban spaces do not automatically increase the connectivity of the city, since the latter depends not only on the availability or the quality of internet communication, but also on the intentions and skills of the internet users and their ideas about the comfort and the possibility of internet connection, the role of the subway ride in the broader planning horizons. |
| Keywords: | City, porosity, digital porosity, subway, subway user, digitalization, digital connectivity, Wi-Fi, Saint-Petersburg, Moscow |
| JEL: | Z |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:128hum2016&r=ure |
| By: | Hyun-Jung Lee; Carol Reade |
| Abstract: | Ethnic conflict is a defining characteristic of the post-Cold War era and is prevalent particularly in emerging economies, areas of increasing interest to multinational enterprises. Yet little is known about the international human resource management challenges arising from such societal context. Utilizing social identity theory, we propose that ethnic homophily perceptions in the workplace – an employee's assessment that colleagues prefer working with ethnically similar others – is a reflection of the societal context and can be detrimental to the organization if not managed appropriately. We investigate whether contact theory offers insights to manage such perceptions. Drawing on a sample of 550 managers in Sri Lanka during a period of protracted ethnic conflict, we found that employee sensitivity to ethnic conflict in the societal context is positively related to ethnic homophily perceptions in the workplace, and that both ethnic diversity in workgroups and quality of work relationships serve to reduce perceptions of ethnic homophily. |
| Keywords: | contact theory; emerging economies; ethnic conflict; homophily perceptions; social identity theory; Sri Lanka |
| JEL: | J50 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:59971&r=ure |
| By: | O Mora (INRA); F Lançon (SP2M - UMR 9002 - Service de Physique des Matériaux et Microstructures - UJF - Université Joseph Fourier - CEA - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Francis Aubert (UMR 1041 Centre d'Economie et de Sociologie Rurales Appliquées à l'Agriculture et aux Espaces Ruraux - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA) - CESAER - Centre d'Economie et de Sociologie Rurales Appliquées à l'Agriculture et aux Espaces Ruraux - ENESAD - Ecole Nationale d'Enseignement Supérieur Agronomique de Dijon, Département d'Economie et Sociologie - ENESAD - Etablissement Nationale d'Enseignement Supérieur Agronomique de Dijon) |
| Abstract: | Recent debates on food and agricultural issues emphasize the significance of the spatialization of food systems and location of agriculture. In this emerging food system geography, urban-rural relationships play a significant role in food value chains, food security and nutrition, which is still poorly understood. This presentation explores these issues based on rural-urban scenarios at 2050. This research combines two approaches: a comprehensive scientific review of urban and rural changes, and a foresight method based on an expert group. Our results focus on four main future figures: megacities and rural-urban blurring; role of intermediate urban centres in agri-food networks; household mobilities and multi-activities between urban and rural areas; counter-urbanization and re-agrarianization. These four scenarios help to understand how distinct issues might be articulated, and to better differentiate what is at stake for agriculture and food security in those specific forms of urban-rural relationships. |
| Keywords: | urban-rural scenarios,spatiality of food systems,urbanization,mobilities,rural nonfarm activities,re-agrarianisation,agriculture and food security |
| Date: | 2015–09–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01292342&r=ure |
| By: | Gong, Huiwen (Dept. of Geography, Kiel University); Hassink, Robert (Dept. of Geography, Kiel University) |
| Abstract: | The objective of this review paper is twofold: First, to review and synthesize the literature on the geographies of creative industries embedded in modern paradigms of economic geography; secondly, to reflect upon and identify a promising research agenda on the drivers of the geographical patterns of creative industries. Several deficiencies of current research are identified in this paper, and based on these deficiencies, we suggest some promising avenues for future research. In particular, we develop a comprehensive framework that goes beyond the analysis of individual drivers of the geographies of creative industries. |
| Keywords: | creative industries; geographical patterns; agglomeration economies; routine replication; institutional environment |
| JEL: | B52 L82 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2016–03–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2016_009&r=ure |
| By: | Jed Armstrong; Chris McDonald (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | Net immigration increases both labour demand and labour supply. Historical data suggests that the demand impact is larger than the supply impact, but in the current migration cycle the boost to net demand appears to be smaller than expected. This paper explores why the unemployment rate has been higher than expected, given the high level of net immigration. |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nzb:nzbans:2016/02&r=ure |
| By: | Ilse Lindenlaub; Anja Prummer; ; |
| Abstract: | This paper documents gender differences in social ties and develops a theory that links them to disparities in men’s and women’s labor market performance. Men’s networks lead to better access to information, women’s to higher peer pressure. Both affect effort in a model of teams, each beneficial in different environments. We find that information is particularly valuable under high uncertainty, whereas peer pressure is more valuable in the opposite case. We therefore expect men to outperform women in jobs that are characterized by high earnings uncertainty, such as the financial sector or film industry – in line with the evidence rationale. |
| Keywords: | Networks, Peer Pressure, Gender, Labor Market Outcomes |
| JEL: | D85 Z13 J16 |
| Date: | 2014–07–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1461&r=ure |
| By: | Anja Prummer; Jan-Peter Siedlarek; ; |
| Abstract: | We offer a novel explanation for why some immigrant groups and minorities have persistent, distinctive cultural traits – the presence of a rigid institution. Such an institution is necessary for communities to not fully assimilate to the mainstream society. We distinguish between different types of institutions, such as churches, foreign-language media or ethnic business associations and ask what level of cultural distinction these institutions prefer. Any type of institution can have incentives to be extreme and select maximal cultural distinction from the mainstream society. If institutions choose positive cultural distinction, without being extremist, then a decrease in discrimination leads to reduced assimilation. |
| Date: | 2014–10–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1465&r=ure |