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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Caterina Calsamiglia; Francisco Martinez-Mora; Antonio Miralles |
| Abstract: | We show that the widely used Boston Mechanism (BM) fosters ability and socioeconomic segregation across otherwise identical public schools, even when schools do not have priorities over local students. Our model includes an endogenous component of school quality - determined by the peer group - and an exogenous one. If there is an exogenously worse public school, BM generates sorting of types between a priori equally good public schools: an elitist public school emerges. A richer model with some preference for closer schools and flexible residential choice does not eliminate this effect. It rather worsens the peer quality of the nonelitist school. The existence of private schools makes the best public school more elitist, while reducing the peer quality of the worst school. The main alternative assignment mechanism, Deferred Acceptance, is resilient to such sorting effects. |
| Keywords: | School choice, mechanism design, peer effects, local public goods |
| JEL: | I21 H4 D78 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lec:leecon:17/10&r=ure |
| By: | Danilo Liberati (Bank of Italy); Michele Loberto (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | Housing taxation is an important policy instrument that shapes households’ choices about homeownership and renting as well as the evolution of the housing market. We study the effects of housing taxation in a model with search and matching frictions in the property market and a competitive rental market. We show a new transmission channel for a housing tax reform that works through a ‘shifting’ effect from landlords to tenants. We calibrate the model in order to estimate the long-run effects of the recent Italian housing market taxation reforms and the extent of property tax capitalization on house prices. We show that property taxation on owner-occupied dwellings has a negative effect on property and rental prices, whereas taxes on second homes have opposite qualitative effects. The simultaneous increase in both these instruments may mitigate the dynamics of prices and rents as well as the change in the ratio between the share of owners and renters, leading to a partial capitalization taxation on prices. |
| Keywords: | housing market, matching, property taxation |
| JEL: | R21 R31 E62 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_1105_17&r=ure |
| By: | Bao, Helen X. H. (Asian Development Bank Institute); Meng, Charlotte Chunming (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | Loss aversion is a core concept in prospect theory that refers to people’s asymmetric attitudes with respect to gains and losses. More specifically, losses loom larger than gains. With the capability of loss aversion to explain economic phenomena, some of which are puzzling under expected utility theory, this concept has received significant attention. We develop a behavioral model of loss aversion to explain the development decisions by residential property developers in the People’s Republic of China. Under the leasehold property right system, real estate development has two stages—first to lease land from the government, and then to develop the property according to the lease terms. This presents a unique opportunity to test the presence and effect of loss aversion in real estate development decisions. More specifically, we determine when the land premium paid by a developer is substantially higher than the market value, whether and how this “paper loss” will affect the pricing of the housing products and development time of the project in future development. We use a sample of land and house transaction records from Beijing to test the hypothesis. This is the first study to use a semi-parametric model in estimating developers’ loss aversion. Results show that developers are most prone to loss aversion bias around the reference point or when facing large losses. The results also suggest that loss aversion contributes to the cyclical trading pattern in housing markets. |
| Keywords: | loss aversion; real estate; residential property; housing; housing prices; housing market; semi-parametric estimation |
| JEL: | C14 D81 R31 |
| Date: | 2017–01–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0640&r=ure |
| By: | Alexander N. Bogin (Federal Housing Finance Agency); William M. Doerner (Federal Housing Finance Agency) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides the first wide-scale analysis of property renovation bias in repeat-sales house price indices across a multitude of U.S. geographies. Property improvements frequently lead to positive quality drift. In local markets, omitting information on property improvements can bias index estimates upwards. Bias often varies in a predictable manner and can distort valuations by as much as 15 percent in the central districts of large cities. This systematic variation in bias is partially a function of the disparate concentration of renovation activity with property improvements occurring more frequently in denser areas. The distortionary effect of not accounting for property renovations tends to decline outside of downtown areas and is generally negligible in smaller cities (populations below 500,000). |
| Keywords: | property renovations, house price indices, repeat-sales approach |
| JEL: | C43 C55 C58 R30 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hfa:wpaper:17-02&r=ure |
| By: | Paola Mengoli; Margherita Russo |
| Abstract: | Since the 1970s, in many European industrialized areas, cities have undergone radical transformations to cope with de-industrialization but also with the new needs of the post Fordistic organization of the factories and their ecosystems: logistics and transport requirements were demanding new functional areas, business services - from individual units up to big service companies - needed different configurations of working spaces, urban sprawling increased to satisfy residential needs. A huge amount of manufacturing buildings has become no longer appropriate for many production processes and the future of the old industrial premises has punctuated the public debate of the past forty years: from their restoring (to keep traces of local socio-technical identity), to their demolition (to provide new appropriate production or living spaces), to their re-use (for hosting new activities). In the somewhat drastic passage from the past industrial era to the future digital economy, medium size cities in industrialized areas present some specific challenges when they have to support the new manufacturing age: not only with new spaces, but also with new skills. In recent years, many public (and also private) initiatives have proposed and implemented the transformation of old manufacturing building in new settings to foster creativity-andinnovation, a condition considered essential, among others, to create new opportunities for growth. Are the re-uses of buildings effective for that goal? Is contamination in hybrid spaces the crucial ingredient for their success in supporting creativity? These questions appear even more critical when we are confronted with the creation of new skills for re-industrialization in areas that are still pillars of manufacturing activities but that are progressively lost the social fabric that reproduced skills. Although their general character is to enable information and communication flows, cities in industrialized areas have lost some important pieces of knowledge on material processes. In this contribution we address some of those issues by nvestigating the action-research called "Officina Emilia" that was initiated in Italy exactly with the goal of regenerating competence networks in a manufacturing area. Officina Emilia developed some distinctive features: the creation of an original space, Museolaboratorio, designed as a hybrid space; the action-research program to introduce changes through the context-based technology education; the intent to build on a large and qualified network, supporting the innovation in the education system at regional level. These features will be discussed below. The rationale for this analysis is to single out which are the agents, the processes and some conditions that may hamper similar initiatives. In this chapter we first introduce, in section 2, the interdependencies between economic system and education system. We discuss a new approach to technology education in context, and the specific characters of what is needed to improve such context-based education. In section 3 we present the education activities produced by Officina Emilia. In section 4 we comment on the lessons learned from the action-research that created a hybrid space. Our focus is on the relevant agents, artefacts and interaction processes that can support social innovation in education to enhance significant learning, to meet the changes of the world of production and to address the complexity of concrete situations. Section 5 concludes with some remarks on the lost and missing links hampering the actionresearch to become a driver of change. |
| Keywords: | : technology education in context; SMEs; mechanical industry; industrial districts; innovation in education; innovation loci; innovative agents; local development policies, Officina Emilia |
| JEL: | L6 R58 Z13 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mod:cappmo:0150&r=ure |
| By: | Whelan, Stephen |
| Abstract: | Around 70 per cent of Australians reside in owner occupied housing. Recently however, ownership rates have begun to fall, especially for younger cohorts, driven in part by higher house prices. Given the important role of housing in the context of the tax and transfer system, if younger Australian are less likely to enter into homeownership over time this is likely to be of concern to policy makers. There is some anecdotal evidence that transfers from parents are an increasingly important mechanism to facilitate entry into homeownership. In this paper we consider the relationship between transfers in the form of bequests and inter vivos gifts from parents, and, entry into first-time homeownership. The empirical analysis indicates that bequests and inter vivos transfers hasten entry into homeownership, potentially alleviating some important liquidity constraints faced by households. There is also some evidence that transfers are used to reduce the amount borrowed by first-time buyers and increase the value of housing purchased. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational transfers; bequests; first-time homeownership |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:syd:wpaper:2017-07&r=ure |
| By: | Fuess, Roland; Koller, Jan A. |
| Abstract: | When land regulations are binding, then the land price per m2 is determined by the attractiveness of the location and the restrictiveness of the regulation. In the case of a maximum oor area ratio (FARmax) restriction, the best use land price can be directly expressed as a function of the FARmax and local amenities. We show theoretically and empirically how this approach can be used to determine land values from residential rents. From our empirical results, we derive two main sources for a monocentric structure of land prices. First, the location attractiveness of centrally located dwellings makes land prices more expensive. Second, on a regulatory basis, the FARmax works as a multiplier for land prices. Because the FARmax is high in central areas, land prices are inated accordingly. Our model gives insight into determinants of urban land prices. In addition, it is a useful approach for land appraisal in urban regions. |
| Keywords: | Apartment rent, land use regulation, floor area ratio (FAR), land prices, monocentric structure |
| JEL: | C1 R3 R5 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usg:sfwpfi:2017:05&r=ure |
| By: | Geeta Gandhi Kingdon (UCL Institute of Education) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the size, growth, salaries, per-pupil-costs, pupil achievement levels and cost-effectiveness of private schools, and compares these with the government school sector. Official data show a steep growth of private schooling and a corresponding rapid shrinkage in the size of the government school sector in India, suggesting parental abandonment of government schools. Data show that a very large majority of private schools in most states are 'low-fee' when judged in relation to: state per capita income, per-pupil expenditure in the government schools, and the officially-stipulated rural minimum wage rate for daily-wage-labour. This suggests that affordability is an important factor behind the migration towards and growth of private schools. The main reason for the very low fee levels in private schools is their lower teacher salaries, which the data show to be a small fraction of the salaries paid in government schools; this is possible because private schools pay the market-clearing wage, which is depressed by a large supply of unemployed graduates in the country, whereas government schools pay bureaucratically determined minimum-wages. Private schools' substantially lower per-student-cost combined with their students' modestly higher learning achievement levels, means that they are significantly more cost-effective than government schools. The paper shows how education policies relating to private schools are harmful when formulated without seeking the evidence. |
| Keywords: | Private schooling; learning achievement; value for money; India |
| Date: | 2017–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qss:dqsswp:1706&r=ure |
| By: | Moisés Obaco (AQR Research Group-IREA. University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 690, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.); Vicente Royuela (AQR Research Group-IREA. University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 690, 08034 Barcelona, Spain); Xavier Vítores (Independent Statistical Researcher.) |
| Abstract: | Identifying integrated urban areas is an important issue for urban analysis and policy evaluation. In this paper, we extend the OECD’s methodology to identify Functional Urban Areas to countries where there is not commuting data. We do so substituting such socioeconomic flows by available information on road structure, which allow us to work with accessibility based on travel time. The main advantage of our procedure is its applicability to most countries in the world, as it only uses GIS data. In this paper we apply the procedure two border countries: Colombia, which has a recent census with commuting data, to calibrate our approach, and Ecuador, where there is not commuting census. We perform several sensitivity analysis and robustness checks to Ecuador with alternative sources of socioeconomic flows. |
| Keywords: | Functional Urban Areas. GIS data. Ecuador. Colombia. Travel time. JEL classification: R12, R14, R52. |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ira:wpaper:201705&r=ure |
| By: | Ann Hartell |
| Abstract: | Transportation planning in the United States is moving to widespread use of performance-based planning methods as new federal requirements for Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are implemented. In addition to requirements for measures of safety and infrastructure, many MPOs are adopting performance measures for other issues. This study explores current planning practice in using a performance-based approach to tackle a complex planning issue: location affordability, defined as the combined household cost burdens of housing and transportation. A review of long-range transportation plans at 20 large MPOs provides information on how location affordability is represented in regional transportation plans, how it is defined and measured, and how it is integrated into the planning process. Using Christensen’s (1985) matrix of planning and policy problems as a theoretical framework, appropriate application of performance measures in connection with location affordability is identified. For challenging planning issues where solutions are uncertain or infeasible, performance measures are more appropriate if used in project or program evaluation, supporting a search for more effective solutions rather than holding MPOs accountable for outcomes. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwsre:sre-disc-2017_03&r=ure |
| By: | Jenny Schuetz; Arturo Gonzalez; Jeff Larrimore; Ellen A. Merry; Barbara J. Robles |
| Abstract: | For much of the 20th century, America's central cities were viewed as synonymous with economic and social hardship, often used as proxy for low-income communities of color. Since the 1990s, however, many metropolitan areas have seen a resurgence of interest in central city neighborhoods. Theoretical models of income sorting lead to ambiguous predictions about where households of different income levels will live within metropolitan areas. In this paper, we explore intra-city spatial patterns of income and race for U.S. metropolitan areas, focusing particularly on the locations of low-income and minority neighborhoods. Results indicate that, on average, income and white population shares increase with distance to city centers. However, many centrally located neighborhoods are neither low-income nor majority non-white, while low-income and minority neighborhoods are spatially dispersed across most metropolitan areas. |
| Keywords: | Community development ; Demographic economics ; Housing policy ; Income sorting ; Neighborhood choice ; Racial segregation ; Urban spatial structure ; Urban, rural and regional economics |
| JEL: | I3 J1 R1 R2 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2017-31&r=ure |
| By: | Dario Diodato; Frank Neffke (Center for International Development at Harvard University); Neave O'Clery (Center for International Development at Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | We document the heterogeneity across sectors in the impact labor and input-output links have on industry agglomeration. Exploiting the available degrees of freedom in coagglomeration patterns, we estimate the industry-speci c bene fits of sharing labor needs and supply links with local firms. On aggregate, coagglomeration patterns of services are at least as strongly driven by input-output linkages as those of manufacturing, whereas labor linkages are much more potent drivers of coagglomeration in services than in manufacturing. Moreover, the degree to which labor and input-output linkages are reflected in an industry's coagglomeration patterns is relevant for predicting patterns of city-industry employment growth. |
| Keywords: | Coagglomeration, Marshallian externalities, labor pooling, value chains, manufacturing, services, regional diversi cation |
| JEL: | J24 O14 R11 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cid:wpfacu:76&r=ure |
| By: | Andres Gomez-Lievano (Center for International Development at Harvard University); Juan Tellez; Eduardo Lora (Center for International Development at Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a descriptive analysis of wage inequality in Colombia by cities and industries and attempts to evaluate the impact of the inequality of industries on inequality of cities. Using the 2010-2014 Colombian Social Security data, we calculate the gini coefficient for cities and industries and draw comparisons between their distributions. Our results show that while cities are unequal in similar ways, industries differ widely on how unequal they can be with ginis. Moreover, industrial structure plays a significant role to determine city inequality. Industrial framework proves to be a key element in this area for researches and policymakers. |
| Keywords: | Colombia, Inequality |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cid:wpfacu:66&r=ure |
| By: | Hartell, Ann |
| Abstract: | Transportation planning in the United States is moving to widespread use of performance-based planning methods as new federal requirements for Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are implemented. In addition to requirements for measures of safety and infrastructure, many MPOs are adopting performance measures for other issues. This study explores current planning practice in using a performance-based approach to tackle a complex planning issue: location affordability, defined as the combined household cost burdens of housing and transportation. A review of long-range transportation plans at 20 large MPOs provides information on how location affordability is represented in regional transportation plans, how it is defined and measured, and how it is integrated into the planning process. Using Christensen's (1985) matrix of planning and policy problems as a theoretical framework, appropriate application of performance measures in connection with location affordability is identified. For challenging planning issues where solutions are uncertain or infeasible, performance measures are more appropriate if used in project or program evaluation, supporting a search for more effective solutions rather than holding MPOs accountable for outcomes. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wus009:5505&r=ure |
| By: | Kosec, Katrina; Ghebru, Hosaena; Holtemeyer, Brian; Mueller, Valerie; Schmidt, Emily |
| Abstract: | In Ethiopia, there are two binding forces (push and pull) that deserve attention when it comes to youth occupational and spatial mobility choices and the national land use and transfer policy. On the one hand, the fact that the land rental market in Ethiopia is supply constrained due to market and policy distortions marginalizes youth and serves as a push factor leading them to look elsewhere for a livelihood strategy. On the other hand, the regulatory conditions and restrictions attached to land use and inheritance rights may serve as a pull factor and force youth to be tied to the rural and/or farming sector. Our study thus aims to explore how youth land access (both inheritance and market-based) affects their migration and employment decisions. We explore this question in the context of rural Ethiopia using panel data from 2010 and 2014. We find that larger expected land inheritances significantly lower the likelihood of long-distance permanent migration and of permanent migration to urban areas during this time. Inheriting more land is also associated with a significantly higher likelihood of employment in agriculture and a lower likelihood of employment in the nonagricultural sector. Conversely, the decision to attend school is unaffected. These results appear to be most heavily driven by males and by the older half of our youth sample. We also find several mediating factors matter. Land inheritance plays a much more pronounced role in predicting rural-to-urban permanent migration and nonagricultural-sector employment in areas with less vibrant land markets and in relatively remote areas (those far from major urban centers). Overall, the results reaffirm the notion that push factors dominate pull factors in dictating occupational and migration decisions in Ethiopia and highlight youth preferences to use migration or non-agricultural employment as a last resort after exhausting other means of accessing land, such as temporary land rental. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA, agriculture; employment; migration; youth, land inheritance, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:104&r=ure |
| By: | Francisco Gallego; Juan-Pablo Montero; Hernán Barahona |
| Abstract: | Driving restrictions —limits on car use based on the last digit of a car’s license plate— are increasingly popular forms of pollution and congestion control, notwithstanding the literature has shown they typically result in more pollution by moving the fleet composition toward higher-emitting vehicles. We study a design feature present in some restriction programs but much overlooked in the literature: that cleaner cars be exempted from the restriction. Based on evidence from Santiago- Chile’s 1992 program, we find this exemption feature to have a large impact on fleet composition toward cleaner vehicles. We also develop and calibrate for Santiago a vertical-differentiation model of the car market to show that driving restrictions that make optimal use of these exemptions can be way more effective in the fight against local air pollution than alternative instruments such as scrappage subsidies and gasoline taxes. |
| JEL: | J14 O12 L26 M53 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ioe:doctra:469&r=ure |
| By: | Edwin Leuven; Sturla A. Løkken (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | How does class size in compulsory school affect peoples’ long run education and earnings? We use maximum class size rules and Norwegian administrative registries allowing us to observe outcomes up to age 48. We do not find any indication of beneficial effects of class size reduction in compulsory school. For a 1 person reduction in class size we can rule out effects on income as small as 0.087 percent in primary school and 0.12 percent in middle school. Population differences in parental background, school size or competitive pressure do not appear to reconcile our findings with previous studies. |
| Keywords: | Class size; Schooling; Earnings; Regression Discontinuity |
| JEL: | I21 I28 J24 C30 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:858&r=ure |
| By: | Fischer, Manfred M. |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a theoretical growth model that accounts for technological interdependence among regions in a Mankiw-Romer-Weil world. The reasoning behind the theoretical work is that technological ideas cannot be fully appropriated by investors and these ideas may diffuse and increase the productivity of other firms. We link the diffusion of ideas to spatial proximity and allow for ideas to flow to nearby regional economies. Through the magic of solving for the reduced form of the theoretical model and the magic of spatial autoregressive processes, the simple dependence on a small number of neighbouring regions leads to a reduced form theoretical model and an associated empirical model where changes in a single region can potentially impact all other regions. This implies that conventional regression interpretations of the parameter estimates would be wrong. The proper way to interpret the model has to rely on matrices of partial derivatives of the dependent variable with respect to changes in the Mankiw-Romer-Weil variables, using scalar summary measures for reporting the estimates of the marginal impacts from the model. The summary impact measure estimates indicate that technological interdependence among European regions works through physical rather than human capital externalities. |
| Keywords: | Spatial economics, spatial econometrics, growth empirics, human capital externalities, physical capital externalities, technological interdependence, European regions |
| JEL: | C31 O18 O47 R11 R15 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:77547&r=ure |
| By: | Frank Neffke (Center for International Development at Harvard University); Anne Otto; Cesar A. Hidalgo |
| Abstract: | Establishment closures leave many workers unemployed. Based on employment histories of 20 million German workers, we find that workers often cope with their displacement by moving to different regions and industries. However, which of these coping strategies is chosen depends on the local industry mix. A large local presence of predisplacement or related industries strongly reduces the rate at which workers leave the region. Moreover, our findings suggest that a large local presence of the predisplacement industry induces workers to shift search efforts toward this industry, reducing the spatial scope of search for jobs in alternative industries and vice versa. |
| Keywords: | Germany, Economic Growth, Immigration, Labor Economics |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cid:wpfacu:71&r=ure |
| By: | Vandercasteelen, Joachim; Tamru, Seneshaw; Minten, Bart; Swinnen, Johan |
| Abstract: | Urbanization is happening fast in the developing world and especially so in sub-Saharan Africa where growth rates of cities are among the highest in the world. While cities and, in particular, secondary towns, where most of the urban population in sub-Saharan Africa resides, affect agricultural practices in their rural hinterlands, this relationship is not well understood. To fill this gap, we develop a conceptual model to analyze how farmers’ proximity to cities of different sizes affects agricultural prices and intensification of farming. We then test these predictions using large-scale survey data from producers of teff, a major staple crop in Ethiopia, relying on unique data on transport costs and road networks and implementing an array of econometric models. We find that agricultural price behavior and intensification is determined by proximity to a city and the type of city. While proximity to cities has a strong positive effect on agricultural output prices and on uptake of modern inputs and yields on farms, the effects on prices and intensification measures are lower for farmers in the rural hinterlands of secondary towns compared to primate cities. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA, urbanization; towns; agricultural prices; intensive farming; intensification; developing countries; urban population; Eragrostis tef; inputs; yields, cities; secondary towns, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:102&r=ure |
| By: | Julie Beugnot (UBFC - Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, CRESE - Centre de REcherches sur les Stratégies Economiques - UFC - UFC - Université de Franche-Comté); Bernard Fortin (CIRANO - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche en analyse des organisations - UQAM - Université du Québec à Montréal); Guy Lacroix (CIRANO - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche en analyse des organisations - UQAM - Université du Québec à Montréal); Marie-Claire Villeval (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - ENS Lyon - École normale supérieure - Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - UJM - Université Jean Monnet [Saint-Etienne] - Université de Lyon - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | We investigate whether peer effects at work differ by gender and whether the gender difference in peer effects –if any- depends on work organization, precisely the structure of social networks. We develop a social network model with gender heterogeneity that we test by means of a realeffort laboratory experiment. We compare sequential networks in which information on peers flows exclusively downward (from peers to the worker) and simultaneous networks where it disseminates bi-directionally along an undirected line (from peers to the worker and from the worker to peers). We identify strong gender differences in peer effects, as males’ effort increases with peers’ performance in both types of network, whereas females behave conditionally. While they are influenced by peers in sequential networks, females disregard their peers’ performance when information flows in both directions. We reject that the difference between networks is driven by having one’s performance observed by others or by the presence of peers in the same session in simultaneous networks. We interpret the gender difference in terms of perception of a higher competitiveness of the environment in simultaneous than in sequential networks because of the bi-directional flow of information. |
| Keywords: | Gender, peer effects, social networks, work effort, experiment |
| Date: | 2017–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01481999&r=ure |
| By: | Isono, Ikumo; Kumagai, Satoru |
| Abstract: | We use a geographical simulation model to assess the economic impacts of special economic zones (SEZs) and other policy measures in Myanmar. We compare cases wherein SEZ development is concentrated in Thilawa/Yangon with those wherein it is dispersed among 15 districts. We find that concentrated development has a much larger economic impact on Myanmar. Moreover, this impact is larger when we assume the development of a domestic economic corridor and regulatory reform in addition to the development of Thilawa and may reduce the excessive inflow of households into the Yangon area. We also discuss how delaying the dispersion of development affects the economic impacts on Yangon and other regions as well as on Myanmar. |
| Keywords: | Special economic zone, Economic development, Economic geography, Simulation, New economic geography, Myanmar, Special economic zone |
| JEL: | O53 R12 R13 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper639&r=ure |
| By: | Giulio Bottazzi (Institute of Economics, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa); Ugo Gragnolati (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Fabio Vanni (Institute of Economics, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a model of firm localization in which the intrinsic advantages of regions are disentangled from localized externalities, while this latter force is allowed to have a quadratic shape. We verify through inferential analysis whether the quadratic component of localized externalities is statistically different from zero. Such term can reflect more-than-linear positive feedbacks as well as congestion effects, so that the sign of the interdependencies stemming from localization is not assumed a priori to be positive. Our main result is that the quadratic term is virtually never statistically different from zero across Italian sectors observed at the scale of commuting zones, so that localized externalities seem to be well approximated by a linear specification. JEL codes: C12, C16, C51, R30. |
| Keywords: | Firm localization,Externalities,Non-linearities |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-01405780&r=ure |
| By: | Jessica Shui (Federal Housing Finance Agency); Shriya Murthy (Federal Housing Finance Agency) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study whether first-time homebuyers overpay for their homes and whether the magnitude of overpayment varies with the diligence of appraisers involved. We present a robust result that: 1) First-time homebuyers sort into cheaper houses. 2) Once observed and unobserved house characteristics are controlled for, they pay a premium compared to their more experienced counter parts. Our analysis additionally suggests that certain appraisals and appraisers might be able to mitigate this overpayment, though the underlying channel remains unclear. This research is among the first to contribute both theoretically and empirically to the existing literature on first-time homebuyers. |
| Keywords: | first-time homebuyer, overpayment, appraisal, appraiser, renegotiation, repeat-sales approach |
| JEL: | C33 D83 G21 G23 L85 R3 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hfa:wpaper:17-03&r=ure |
| By: | Tyrefors Hinnerich, Björn (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)); Palme, Mårten (Department of Economics); Priks, Mikael (Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | According to Swedish penal code, there is a “rebate” on all prison sentences before the 21st birthday. We exploit this age discontinuity to investigate how individuals respond to harsher punishments. We use a large Swedish dataset, including dates for all crimes which led to convictions for cohorts born during the period 1973–1993. We find evidence of “bunching” in the sense that more crimes were committed during the week prior to a 21st birthday, followed by a reduction in crime during the week after this birthday. We do not, however, find that harsher punishment reduces the crime rate permanently. |
| Keywords: | General deterrence; Prison; Sorting; Age thresholds |
| JEL: | D90 K40 |
| Date: | 2017–04–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1163&r=ure |
| By: | Marcén, Miriam; Morales, Marina |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the role of culture in determining the decision to live together (as married or unmarried couples). To examine this issue, we utilize data on first-generation immigrants who arrived to the United States at or before the age of 5. We follow the epidemiological approach, indicating that the dissimilarities in the behavior of young-arrival immigrants originating from different countries, who grew up and live in the same country, can be interpreted as evidence of the existence of a cultural effect. Results show a positive and statistically significant relationship between the cultural proxy, that is, the proportion of individuals living together by country of origin, and the immigrant choice of living with a partner. We extend this analysis to the examination of both married and unmarried cohabitation, separately, and to an exploration of the formation of same- or different-origin couples. In all cases, our findings suggest an important role of culture. The results are robust after controlling for several home-country observable and unobservable characteristics, and to the use of different subsamples. With respect to the transmission of culture, we show empirical evidence of horizontal transmission of culture. |
| Keywords: | Culture, Immigrants, Live together, Marriage, Cohabitation |
| JEL: | J12 J15 Z13 |
| Date: | 2017–03–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:77623&r=ure |
| By: | Christopher Baum; Hans Lööf,; Pardis Nabavi |
| Abstract: | This paper examines variation in productivity growth within a given location and between different locations. Implementing a dynamic panel data approach on Swedish micro data, we test the separate and complementary effect of internal innovation efforts and spillovers from the local milieu. Measuring the potential knowledge spillover by access to knowledgeintensive services, the estimation results produce strong evidence of differences in the capacity to benefit from external knowledge among persistent innovators, temporary innovators and non-innovators. The results are consistent regardless of whether innovation efforts are measured in terms of the frequency of patent applications or R&D investments see above see above |
| Keywords: | Sweden, Growth, Sectoral issues |
| Date: | 2015–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ekd:008007:8970&r=ure |
| By: | TAKAKI SATO; YASUMASA MATSUDA |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes spatial autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (S-ARCH) models to estimate spatial volatility in spatial data. S-ARCH model is a spatial extension of time series ARCH model. S-ARCH models specify conditional variances as the variances given the values of surrounding observations in spatial data, which is regarded as a spatial extension of time series ARCH models that specify conditional variances as the variances given the values of past observations. We consider parameter estimation for S-ARCH models by maximum likelihood method and propose test statistics for ARCH effects in spatial data. We demonstrate the empirical properties by simulation studies and real data analysis of land price data in Tokyo. |
| Date: | 2016–04–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:toh:dssraa:59&r=ure |
| By: | Jackson, Osborne (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston); Zhao, Bo (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how changes in employers’ access to job applicants’ criminal histories affect ex-offender recidivism. We use extensive state administrative data on individual criminal histories spanning the 2010–2012 Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) Reform, widely regarded as landmark legislation governing access to individuals’ criminal information. The CORI Reform: i) banned inquiring about criminal history on initial job applications, and ii) broadened the list of groups eligible to use the state’s criminal records repository while simultaneously restricting the scope of record access. Using survival analysis and panel regressions, we generally find small reductions in recidivism resulting from each component of the CORI Reform. |
| Keywords: | recidivism; ex-offenders; Massachusetts; CORI |
| JEL: | K14 K40 K42 |
| Date: | 2017–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedbwp:16-31&r=ure |
| By: | Jack, Molly; Coles, Anne-Marie; Piterou, Athena |
| Keywords: | Sustainable development; Emerging economies; Urban regeneration; Project management |
| JEL: | R0 |
| Date: | 2017–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gpe:wpaper:16594&r=ure |
| By: | Antonelli, Cristiano (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the full range of effects of knowledge properties and explains how knowledge properties such as transient appropriability, nonexhaustibility and indivisibility do not only have negative effects, but also positive ones. Knowledge externalities help reduce the cost of knowledge and imitation externalities reduce the revenue and profitability of innovations. Their effects need to be considered jointly in a single analytical framework. An analysis of their combined effects questions the scope of application of the “Arrovian postulate” according to which the limited appropriability of knowledge due to its uncontrolled dissemination reduces invention. This ignores spillovers of outside knowledge, which increase invention. These are the two opposing faces of the limited appropriability of knowledge. Policy implications suggest that along with public interventions designed to support the supply of knowledge and to compensate for missing incentives, much attention should be paid to all interventions that favour the dissemination of knowledge and the knowledge connectivity of the system. |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:201715&r=ure |
| By: | Aiello, Francesco; Albanese, Giuseppe; Piselli, Paolo |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the impact of R&D public support on the innovation activities of a sample of Italian SMEs. Unlike most of the literature, the analysis focuses more deeply on the innovation output than on the innovation input. The innovation output is measured through patent data. By using a new data set obtained by combining information from EPO records and the Capitalia data set on Italian corporations, we find that publicly supported firms have similar patenting activity to other R&D performers, regardless of the type of policy tool used to foster innovation. However, as far as patenting is concerned, supported SMEs face higher R&D spending than others. |
| Keywords: | Patents; R&D policy support; SMEs |
| JEL: | C21 L1 O31 O38 |
| Date: | 2017–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:77955&r=ure |
| By: | Marco Bellandi (Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa); Annalisa Caloffi |
| Abstract: | Drawing on the two models of the University centric industrial district (Patton and Kenney, 2009) and the Civic University (Goddard and Vallance, 2013), the paper develops a framework on the role of universities in local development processes. Such framework develops around three concepts: first, the degree of synergy between the different activities that are promoted by the university in relation to its third mission, from the implementation of single technology transfer activities to the organization of system-based actions; secondly, the degree of alignment between the goal of the university third mission and projects of local development, from a complete misalignment to a complete alignment that can lead to a sustainable local growth; third, the degree of disciplinary specialisation of university research and third mission activities, from a complete specialisation to a multi-disciplinary attitude. The paper includes some exemplification and a tentative application of the framework on the problems of industrial recovery in Italy. |
| Keywords: | University third mission, Civic University, University centric industrial district |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2017_03.rdf&r=ure |
| By: | Mike Smet |
| Abstract: | Mainstream secondary education in Flanders (i.e. the Dutch speaking part of Belgium) is divided into four major education forms : general education, technical education, vocational education and arts education. The focus of this paper is on pupils graduation from technical and vocational education. Although technical education is more oriented towards higher education and vocational education is more labor market oriented, both degrees allow access to higher education and should also prepare students to start working. Despite the distinction between technical and vocational education, a number of similar study fields coexist both in the technical and the vocational form. A first aim of this paper is to investigate whether students from similar study fields in technical and vocational education do have different transition probabilities from secondary to higher education. In addition we will quantify the impact of individual, school and local (labor market) characteristics on the probability of continuing their educational career after having obtained a degree in secondary education. International literature has been examining the impact of determinants of the transition from secondary to higher education. Four main categories of determinants have been distinguished. First, individual characteristics e.g. gender, age, ability and nationality are found to significantly influence the choice of field of study (Ayalon and Yogev, 2005, Benito and Alegre, 2012). Second, the transition choice is found to be highly influenced by family background characteristics such as type of family, number of siblings, education of the parents and family income (Van de Werfhorst et al., 2001, Van de Werfhorst et al., 2003, Ayalon and Yogev, 2005, Nguyen and Taylor, 2003). Third, Nguyen and Taylor (2003) and Benito and Alegre (2012) found the impact of certain secondary school characteristics (e.g. percentage of students from families with a low educational level and school type) to have a significant impact on the transition choices after secondary education. Finally, regional characteristics such as geographic location have been found to play a part in educational achievement and the transition from secondary to tertiary education. For example, higher unemployment levels in the region you live can make you choose for programmes that lead to higher job security (Ayalon and Yogev, 2005, Nguyen and Taylor, 2003, Kauppinen, 2008). Methodologically, the most frequently used techniques to investigate the impact of student, family and school characteristics on transition probabilities are the estimation of (multinomial) probit or logit models (Breen and Jonsson 2000; Lucas 2001; Ayalon and Yogev 2005; Benito and Alegre 2012). Since pupils are nested in schools, the multilevel structure of the data should be accounted for. Therefore a multilevel logistic regression will be used in the empirical part of this paper. The results of various multilevel logistic regressions clearly indicate differences in transition probabilities between students graduating from vocational secondary education versus students graduating from technical secondary education. In addition, a number of individual characteristics (e.g. grade retention an problematic non-attendances) also have a significant impact on transition probabilities. Evidence of the impact of school characteristics and regional characteristics (e.g. local unemployment rate or an index of urbanization) is mixed. |
| Keywords: | Belgium, Labor market issues, Labor market issues |
| Date: | 2016–07–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ekd:009007:9256&r=ure |
| By: | Christine Fauvelle-Aymar; Abel François |
| Abstract: | Few studies have tried to assess the empirical impact of transport cost on electoral turnout. Unfortunately, these researches suffer from different limits, especially limites related to the endogeneity of the voting station localization. Our study, based on French data, overcomes the main usual empirical difficulties. In particular, the French case provides a very valuable opportunity for testing the impact of transport cost on individual decision of turnout, because voters can be registered in another municipality than their residential municipality. As such, some of them have to travel important distance in order to cast their ballot. And this distance is totally exogenous to the electoral manipulation of places of voting location potentially made by local administration. So, we show that distance, and in fine cost of voting, have a highly significant impact on electoral turnout: at average distance (122 km) a 1% increase of distance induces a 0.05% decrease at the first round of 2012 presidential election and 0.04% at the second round. This result is robust to many tests: if we change the empirical method carried out or the election studied or if we control for the weight of the largest distance, the results remain the same. |
| Keywords: | Electoral turnout; cost of voting; transport cost; transport cost; electoral registration; voting paradox |
| JEL: | D72 |
| Date: | 2017–03–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/249250&r=ure |
| By: | E. Hooper; S. Peters; P. Pintus |
| Abstract: | By reviewing US state-level panel data on infrastructure spending and on per capita income inequality from 1950 to 2010, this paper sets out to test whether there is an empirical link between infrastructure and inequality. Our main result, obtained from panel regressions with both state and time fixed effects, shows that highways and higher education spending growth in a given decade correlates negatively with Gini indices at the end of the decade. Such a finding suggests a causal effect from growth in infrastructure spending to a reduction in inequality, through better access to job and education opportunities. More significantly, this relationship is stronger with inequality at the bottom 40 per cent of the income distribution. In addition, infrastructure expenditures on highways are shown to be more effective at reducing inequality. A counterfactual experiment reveals which US states ended up with a significantly higher bottom Gini coefficient in 2010 that is attributed to underinvestment in infrastructure over the first decade of the 21st century. From a policy making perspective, this paper aims to present innovations in finance for infrastructure investments, for the US, other industrially advanced countries and also for developing economies. |
| Keywords: | Public Infrastructure, Education, Highways, Income Inequality, US State Panel Data, Fixed Effects Models. |
| JEL: | C23 D31 H72 I24 O51 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bfr:banfra:624&r=ure |
| By: | Laha, A. K.; Putatunda, Sayan |
| Abstract: | The prediction of the destination location at the time of pickup is an important problem with potential for substantial impact on the efficiency of a GPS enabled taxi service. While this problem has been explored earlier in the batch data set-up, we propose in this paper new solutions in the streaming data set-up. We examine four incremental learning methods using a Damped window model namely, Multivariate multiple regression, spherical-spherical regression, Randomized spherical K-NN regression and an Ensemble of these methods for their effectiveness in solving the destination prediction problem. The performance of these methods on several large datasets are evaluated using suitably chosen metrics and they were also compared with some other existing methods. The Multivariate multiple regression method and the Ensemble of the three methods are found to be the two best performers. The next pickup location problem is also considered and the aforementioned methods are examined for their suitability using real world datasets. As in the case of destination prediction problem, here also we find that the Multivariate multiple regression method and the Ensemble of the three methods gives better performance than the rest. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iim:iimawp:14563&r=ure |
| By: | Michael Chirico; Robert Inman; Charles Loeffler; John MacDonald; Holger Sieg |
| Abstract: | Municipal governments commonly confront problems with property tax collection. We model tardy taxpayers as procrastinators that have a present bias. Late payments arise due to lack of salience, lack of deterrence or lack of tax morale. To test the importance of the different theoretical explanations, we developed and implemented a randomized controlled experiment conducted with the City of Philadelphia. The structure of the experiment allows us to identify the relative importance of the three key sets of parameters of our model. We find that lack of salience and lack of deterrence are key components of non-compliance behavior. |
| JEL: | H2 H3 H7 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23243&r=ure |
| By: | Friebel, Guido; Lalanne, Marie; Richter, Bernard; Schwardmann, Peter; Seabright, Paul |
| Abstract: | We test two hypotheses, based on sexual selection theory, about gender differences in costly social interactions. Differential selectivity states that women invest less than men in interactions with new individuals. Differential opportunism states that women's investment in social interactions is less responsive to information about the interaction's payoffs. The hypotheses imply that women's social networks are more stable and path dependent and composed of a greater proportion of strong relative to weak links. During their introductory week, we let new university students play an experimental trust game, first with one anonymous partner, then with the same and a new partner. Consistent with our hypotheses, we find that women invest less than men in new partners and that their investments are only half as responsive to information about the likely returns to the investment. Moreover, subsequent formation of students' real social networks is consistent with the experimental results: being randomly assigned to the same introductory group has a much larger positive effect on women's likelihood of reporting a subsequent friendship. |
| Keywords: | social networks,gender differences,trust game |
| JEL: | C91 D81 J16 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:safewp:168&r=ure |
| By: | Jackson, Osborne (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston); Sullivan, Riley (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston); Zhao, Bo (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston) |
| Abstract: | Policymakers have proposed and enacted policies that seek to limit the negative consequences that a criminal record imposes on ex-offenders, their families, and society at large. Some states have changed how criminal records are accessed and governed in the interest of removing unduly burdensome barriers to employment for some ex-offenders. Between 2010 and 2012, Massachusetts enacted the Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) Reform, changing access guidelines for criminal records and preventing employers from inquiring about criminal history on an initial application for employment. This report empirically analyzes the impact of the two components of Massachusetts CORI Reform and finds that, contrary to expectations, the CORI Reform caused a small reduction in average employment for ex-offenders. Another finding of the report is that the reform also caused a small reduction in ex-offender recidivism, seemingly indicating a modest increase in ex-offender reintegration. The report concludes by noting that further policy measures and programs are needed to better support the reintegration of ex-offenders into civil society. |
| Date: | 2017–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedbcr:17-1&r=ure |
| By: | Heski Bar-Isaac; Alessandro Gavazza |
| Abstract: | We bring new evidence to bear on the role of intermediaries in frictional matching markets and on how parties design contracts with them. Specifically, we examine two features of contracts between landlords and agents in the Manhattan residential rental market. In our data, 72 percent of listings involve exclusive relationships between landlords and agents (the remaining 28 percent are non-exclusive); and in 21 percent of listings, the landlord commits to pay the agent’s fee (in the other 79 percent, the tenant pays the agent’s the fee). Our analysis highlights that these contractual features reflect landlords’ concerns about providing agents with incentives to exert effort specific to their rental units and to screen among heterogeneous tenants. |
| Keywords: | brokers; rental markets; Manhattan |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2015–12–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:60731&r=ure |
| By: | Rosengren, Eric S. (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston) |
| Abstract: | Because many financial intermediaries lend to households and businesses with real estate as the collateral, recessions that are accompanied by significant declines in real estate valuations can lead to broader problems. |
| Date: | 2017–03–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedbsp:115&r=ure |
| By: | Marta De Philippis (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on students at the very top of the ability distribution and explores whether strengthening high school science curricula affects their choice of enrolling in and completing a Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) degree at university. The paper solves the standard endogeneity problems by exploiting the different timing in the implementation of a reform that encouraged secondary schools in the UK to offer more science to high ability 14- year-olds. Taking five more hours per week of science in secondary school increases the probability of enrolling in a STEM degree by 1.2 percentage points and the probability of graduating in these degrees by 3 percentage points. The results mask substantial gender heterogeneity: while girls are as willing as boys to take advanced science in secondary school - when offered -, the results on pure STEM degrees at university are entirely driven by boys. Girls are encouraged to choose more challenging subjects, but still opt for the most female-dominated ones. |
| Keywords: | STEM, high school curriculum, field of study, gender bias |
| JEL: | I23 J24 H52 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_1107_17&r=ure |
| By: | Revilla Hernández, Mercedes; Santana Talavera, Agustín; Parra López, Eduardo |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of co-creation of a tourist brand image projected in Twitter by using NVIVO 11. It takes the case study of the Smart Fuerteventura brand, an ecotourism association made up of a group of local firms. The brand concept is linked to the enhancement of heritage of the island of Fuerteventura, that is included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. The results show that there is no brand awareness and co-creation is negative. This analysis can contribute to methodologies on marketing strategies within the framework of co-creation in similar destinations. |
| Keywords: | Co-creation of brand image, user generated content, social networking, projected image, branding online |
| JEL: | L83 M1 M31 O1 |
| Date: | 2016–06–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:77595&r=ure |
| By: | Chengete Chakamera; Paul Alagidede |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the growth effects of infrastructure stock and quality in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). While previous studies established that the poor state of infrastructure in SSA slows economic growth, there is little evidence on infrastructure quality and a robust analysis on the causal links between infrastructure and economic growth. Using principal components analysis to cluster different infrastructure measures and examining the infrastructure-growth nexus in a Generalized Method of Moments while accounting for heterogeneity in a panel setting, our results reveal strong evidence of a positive effect of infrastructure development on economic growth with most contribution coming from infrastructure stock. The quality-growth effect is weak, thus giving credence to the combined effects of infrastructure stock and quality on growth, especially in regions with moderately high quality, and smaller in those with poorer quality. Among the disaggregated infrastructure components, electricity supply exerted the greatest downward pressure on growth in SSA. Lastly, we find evidence for a unidirectional causality from aggregate infrastructure to growth. A number of policy implications are discussed. |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure stock, Infrastructure quality, economic growth, Nexus, causality |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:673&r=ure |
| By: | Beatriz Muriel (Institute for Advanced Development Studies) |
| Abstract: | This article analyzes the importance of firm characteristics to explain earnings in urban Bolivia. Initially I propose a new simple theoretical model of segmented labor market where, in equilibrium, individual and firm variables jointly determine earnings at the worker level. The key for achieving this equilibrium is that workers have both specific preferences and heterogonous skills provided by years of schooling, which are in turn associated to certain firms. Given the household surveys information, I estimate two alternative earnings functions from this model, one for unsalaried workers, for which there is detailed firm data and one for salaried workers, in which sector, size and formality are used as firm proxies. I find not only that firm characteristics are fundamental determinants of earnings but that regressions that include only individual characteristics present highly overestimated coefficients. |
| Keywords: | earnings functions, labor market segmentation, firm characteristics, Bolivia |
| JEL: | C26 J20 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:adv:wpaper:201604&r=ure |
| By: | Umakrishnan Kollamparambil |
| Abstract: | Despite the lack of clarity in literature with regards to the question of whether internal in-migration is a desirable phenomenon for the labor market outcomes, in-migration is often resisted under the premise that it leads to tighter job markets for the locals. This study therefore attempts an empirical verification of the impact of in-migration on labour market outcomes in South Africa. The results of dynamic system GMM regression analysis indicate that in-migration decreases the labour market participation rate of the migrant receiving districts, highlighting migration for non-economic purposes as well as discouraged migrants not seeking work post-migration. While In-migration is not found to alter significantly the employment rate of the receiving areas, indications are that the employment rate is maintained through an expansion of the informal wage employment. There is evidence of non-linear relationship between in-migration and the labour markets of the receiving areas. While initial migration results in the expansion of the formal sector employment, sustained increase in in-migration leads to informalisation of the labour markets. There is hence little evidence of positive self-selection among internal migrants in South Africa. Our results corroborate the Harris-Todaro model’s prediction that in-migration leads to increased informal sector share of the labour markets. |
| Keywords: | internal migration, labour markets, unemployment, informal sector, Self-employment |
| JEL: | J61 O17 R23 |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:667&r=ure |