|
on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Christian A.L. Hilber; Olivier Schöni |
| Abstract: | We provide an analysis of the housing market and current housing policies in three developed countries: the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the United States. We focus on these three countries mainly because of the marked differences in their institutional settings. The United Kingdom is characterized by fiscal centralization and an extraordinarily rigid planning system. The consequences of this setting, which make housing supply extremely unresponsive to changes in house prices, are a high degree of urban containment, a severe housing affordability crisis, and a housing shortage, particularly for the young. The key UK policy, Help-to-Buy, which focuses on stimulating housing demand, fails to address the affordability crisis, because increasing demand only pushes up house prices further without expanding housing supply. Fiscal decentralization and a lax zoning system—both are encouraging residential development—and an extraordinarily low homeownership rate explain why Switzerland’s main political concerns are sprawl and rent stabilization. The country’s key policies aim to tackle these two concerns, but those same policies have some important unintended consequences. The United States is characterized by fiscal federalism and an enormous variation in the tightness of land use restrictiveness across metropolitan areas. The key policy concern across the country is homeownership attainment and the key policy to tackle this issue is the mortgage interest deduction (MID). This policy backfires in metropolitan areas that are prosperous and where land use is tightly regulated— “superstar cities”—because, in these places, the policy-induced demand increase mainly pushes up house prices. The MID increases homeownership attainment of only higher-income households in metropolitan areas with lax land use regulation. The net effect of the policy on homeownership attainment across the country is essentially zero. We conclude that the assessment of housing policies crucially depends on the fiscal and regulatory environment in local housing markets. Policies that stimulate housing demand, such as the MID or Help-to-Buy, are doomed to fail in markets with tight regulation or otherwise tight supply. |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:72818&r=ure |
| By: | Pyddoke , Roger (VTI); Norheim, Bård (Urbanet Analyse); Betanzo , Mari Fossheim (Urbanet Analyse) |
| Abstract: | Growing populations and car traffic in cities pose challenges to city planners in the form of increased congestion on roads and demand for parking, crowding in public transport and more car traffic and may also affect safety and comfort in infrastructure for cycling. Current Scandinavian transport planning models do not handle these factors and solutions currently appear distant as good data is largely lacking. This paper reports tests with the HUT-model using simplified representations of these dimensions, intended for use in strategic transport planning with focus on cities applied to the city of Uppsala. The model also estimates costs for investment and operation of infrastructure, public transport and social costs for environmental effects and public funds. The tests suggest that these dimensions may have significant effects on transport demand and hence on transport planning. The results indicate that higher parking fees and more central location of new housing may be effective in reducing car traffic and increasing the mode shares of walking, cycling and public transport in Uppsala. Even stronger effects are reported for a package of instruments. Consequently, public costs for these policies are estimated to be about 25 percent lower than for the reference scenario. In contrast increases in supply, lower charges, or concentration of the capacity to bus trunk lines with increased speeds have smaller effects on mode shares. Increased supply and lower charges are costly to the public purse, whereas the trunk line policy has somewhat lower costs. The central conclusion is that results appear to be plausible and the model useful to planners. |
| Keywords: | Demand model; Transport; Policy instrument; Cost; Sustainable; Urban; Land use; Parking; Public transport fare; Frequency; Trunk bus; Cycling |
| JEL: | R14 R41 R48 R52 |
| Date: | 2017–04–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2017_007&r=ure |
| By: | Brad R. Humphreys (West Virginia University, Department of Economics); Hyunwoong Pyun (West Virginia University, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Sporting events concentrate people at specific locations on game day. No empirical evidence currently exists linking sporting events to local traffic conditions. We analyze urban mobility data from 25 US etropolitan areas with MLB teams over the period 1990 to 2014 to assess the relationship between local traffic and Major League Baseball (MLB) games. Instrumental variable regression results indicate MLB attendance causes increases in local vehicle-miles traveled. At the sample average attendance of 2.8 million, average daily vehicle-miles traveled increases by about 6.9% in cities with MLB teams. Traffic congestion increases by 2%, suggesting that MLB games generate congestion externalities. |
| Keywords: | transportation, traffic congestion, vehicle-miles traveled, Major League Baseball |
| JEL: | Z20 R41 R23 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wvu:wpaper:17-05&r=ure |
| By: | Gershenson, Seth (American University); Hart, Cassandra M. D. (University of California, Davis); Lindsay, Constance A. (American University); Papageorge, Nicholas W. (Johns Hopkins University) |
| Abstract: | Black primary-school students matched to a same-race teacher perform better on standardized tests and face more favorable teacher perceptions, yet little is known about the long-run, sustained impacts of student-teacher demographic match. We show that assigning a black male to a black teacher in the third, fourth, or fifth grades significantly reduces the probability that he drops out of high school, particularly among the most economically disadvantaged black males. Exposure to at least one black teacher in grades 3-5 also increases the likelihood that persistently low-income students of both sexes aspire to attend a four-year college. These findings are robust across administrative data from two states and multiple identification strategies, including an instrumental variables strategy that exploits within-school, intertemporal variation in the proportion of black teachers, family fixed-effects models that compare siblings who attended the same school, and the random assignment of students and teachers to classrooms created by the Project STAR class-size reduction experiment. |
| Keywords: | teachers, long-run effects, educational attainment, racial gaps |
| JEL: | I2 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10630&r=ure |
| By: | INOUE Hiroyasu; NAKAJIMA Kentaro; SAITO Yukiko |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates how the reduction of the travel costs through improvement in transportation infrastructure lead to knowledge diffusion. Using the case of the opening of the Nagano-Hokuriku shinkansen, and applying the difference-in-differences approach, we estimate the impact of the high-speed rail on innovative activities along the line. We find that after the opening of the high-speed rail, innovative activities by establishments along the line significantly increased. Furthermore, collaborative patents across establishments along the line and citations of patents published by the establishments in Tokyo increased. These imply that the innovative activities along the line are increased through knowledge diffusion from nearby establishments and those in Tokyo. |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:17034&r=ure |
| By: | Cunningham, Chris (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta); Gerardi, Kristopher S. (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta); Shen, Yannan (Clemson University) |
| Abstract: | This paper finds that increased hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," along the Marcellus Formation in Pennsylvania had a significant, negative effect on mortgage credit risk. Controlling for potential endogeneity bias by utilizing the underlying geologic properties of the land as instrumental variables for fracking activity, we find that mortgages originated before the 2007 boom in shale gas, were, post-boom, significantly less likely to default in areas with greater drilling activity. The weight of evidence suggests that the greatest benefit from fracking came from strengthening the labor market, consistent with the double trigger hypothesis of mortgage default. The results also suggest that increased fracking activity raised house prices at the county level. |
| Keywords: | mortgage default; hydraulic fracking; house prices; shale gas |
| JEL: | G21 Q51 R11 |
| Date: | 2017–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedawp:2017-04&r=ure |
| By: | Lasse de la Porte Simosen; Professor Stephen Wright |
| Abstract: | We use a new dataset of around 1 / 4 million survey points that allows us both to derive estimates of residential land on a per capita basis for 27 EU countries, and to model its spatial distribution. There is a fairly strong negative correlation between residential land per capita and population density, despite the fact that residential shares are typically very low. There is also a striking lack of correlation between residential land and per capita consumption, but with no indication that this reflects any true economic scarcity value. We model the spatial distribution of reseidential land allowing both for spatial correlation and the impact of a consump- tion externality from nearby housing. We assume that planning policy restricts land supply to match its price to marginal social cost. Our econometric results provide qualitative support for the model; but it is very hard to match our reduced form results to plausible structural parameters unless we assume a social planner who gives a far greater weight to the impact of the externality than to the welfare gains from new housing. In this paper we have analysed a new dataset of around 1 / 4 million survey points, taken from the European Land Use and Cover Area-Frame Statistical Survey (LUCAS), cov- ering 27 EU countries. This allows us both to derive national and regional estimates of residential land on a per capita basis, and model its spatial distribution and economic determinants, in light of a theoretical model in which restrictions on land supply attempt to mimic a Pigovian optimum. Our econometric results show that supply of residential land per capita is affected rather weakly by higher consumption per capita, but somewhat more strongly (and neg- atively) by population density. While this is qualitatively in line with what would be predicted by a truly Pigovian land supply, we show that it is very hard to rationalise the magnitude of these effects with plausible structural parameters. |
| Keywords: | European Union, Regional modeling, Macroeconometric modeling |
| Date: | 2016–07–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ekd:009007:9670&r=ure |
| By: | Byrne, David (Central Bank of Ireland); Kelly, Robert (Central Bank of Ireland); O'Toole, Conor (Central Bank of Ireland) |
| Abstract: | One channel through which monetary policy can affect loan default in the mortgage market is by altering the affordability of borrower repayments. Quantifying the exact impact of this relationship is complex as it depends on both the structure and passthrough of a given mortgage market. This paper uses a quasi-natural experiment to identify the impact of changes in interest rates on mortgage default. Using a panel of loan level administrative data for Ireland, we deal with selection bias that is inherent in identifying the impact of interest rates by exploiting the variation between two types of adjustable rate mortgage that were offered to Irish borrowers for a particular period in the mid-2000s. We map changes in interest rates to default by quantifying the direct effect through changes in borrower installments. Using a pass-through approach, we find a strong and highly statistically significant impact of interest rates on mortgage default, with a 1 per cent reduction in installment associated with a 5.8 per cent decrease in the likelihood of default over the following year. We also find evidence that negative equity offsets the some of the gains arising from lower policy rates indicating an interaction between monetary policy and asset price shocks in the mortgage market. |
| Keywords: | Monetary Policy, Mortgage Default |
| JEL: | E52 E58 G01 G21 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cbi:wpaper:04/rt/17&r=ure |
| By: | Lydon, Reamonn (Central Bank of Ireland); McCann, Fergal (Central Bank of Ireland) |
| Abstract: | In this Letter we study the evolution of the prevalence of groups of households from across the population income distribution in the Irish mortgage market. We document a period of financial liberalization between 1994 and 2007, where the share of new mortgages issued going to those in the top income quintile fell from 57 to 27 per cent, while those in the middle quintile increased their share from 13 to 29 per cent. The impact of the recent crisis is shown to have had a pronounced impact in the Previous-Owner mortgage market, where negative equity has impeded many households from purchasing property with a second or subsequent mortgage: the share of the top income quintile in this market segment has risen from 27 to 65 per cent in the period 2007 to 2014, marking a significant reversal relative to the pre-2007 period. The Buy to Let segment is shown to be composed predominantly of those at the top of the income distribution, with little variation across the 1994-2014 period. Finally, higher-income households are shown to borrow with higher Loan to Value but lower Loan to Income mortgages in all periods. |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cbi:ecolet:05/el/17&r=ure |
| By: | No, Su Yeon (Korea Institute for International Economic Policy); Jung, Jihyun (Korea Institute for International Economic Policy); Kang , Jungu (Korea Institute for International Economic Policy); Oh, Jonghyuk (Korea Institute for International Economic Policy); Kim , Hongwon (Korea Institute for International Economic Policy); Lee, Hanna (Korea Institute for International Economic Policy) |
| Abstract: | On the basis of a comparative analysis, the 31 provinces/municipal cities in China can be divided into four groups, namely, first-, second-, third-, and fourth-tier groups. The first-tier group (i.e. Beijing and Shanghai) has cultural sectors with excellent infrastructure and competitive sub-sectors, such as broadcasting, film, online games and animation. The second-tier group (i.e. Fujian and Sichuan) has a small number of competitive sub-sectors; at the same time, the local governments are actively fostering cultural industries. The third-tier group (i.e. Henan and Tianjin) requires a medium-term approach compared with the previous two groups. Finally, the fourth-tier group (i.e., Jilin and Neimenggu) requires a long-term monitoring and evaluation. In addition, the characteristics of each sub-sector should be carefully taken into account for local-level cooperation in the cultural sectors. In the film and online games sectors, a small number of major players are dominating the market or industry of the country. In such circumstances, regional grouping is not very useful. Strengthening cooperation with major regions, such as Beijing and Shanghai, seems to be a better approach for Korea. In contrast, the level of development of broadcasting or animation industries and markets relies heavily on the support from local governments or relevant companies. Therefore, facilitating cooperation with a number of regions is rec-ommended for these sectors. |
| Keywords: | China; Cultural Sectors |
| Date: | 2015–11–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:kiepwe:2015_023&r=ure |
| By: | Joshua C. Hall (West Virginia University, Department of Economics); Josh Matti (West Virginia University, Department of Economics); Yang Zhou (West Virginia University, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Although more rapid development is a primary motivation behind city-county consolidations, relatively few empirical papers explore the actual impact of consolidation on development. This study uses the synthetic control method (SCM) to examine the long-term impact of city-county consolidations on per capita income, population, and employment. The results from the three cases explored indicate that consolidation does not guarantee development and can actually have negative effects. Additionally, the effects vary based upon the county, time horizon, and development measure. |
| Keywords: | local governments, city-county consolidation, development, synthetic control method |
| JEL: | H11 H70 R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wvu:wpaper:17-08&r=ure |
| By: | Moschion, Julie; van Ours, Jan C. |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effect of parental separation on homelessness. Previous studies are limited in their ability to isolate this effect and can only provide descriptive evidence that parental separations relate to reductions in housing quality and stability. Using a unique dataset of disadvantaged Australians who provide retrospective information on parental separation and homelessness, we estimate bivariate duration models to examine transitions into homelessness resulting from parental separation. Controlling for observed as well as unobserved family and individual characteristics and exploiting the timing of events we investigate whether a causal relationship exists. Our results indicate that parental separation significantly increases the likelihood of experiencing homelessness in subsequent years for boys and girls if the separation occurred before the respondent was 12 years old. Parental separation occurring from the age of 12 only increases boys' likelihood of becoming homeless, but not girls'. |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11946&r=ure |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | Schools are not only places where students acquire academic skills; they are also social environments where children can develop the social and emotional competencies that they need to thrive. Yet despite the global interest in students’ well-being, there is no consensus on which policies or curriculum changes are needed to improve adolescents’ quality of life at school. The data from PISA 2015 show that students differ greatly, both between and within countries, in how satisfied they are with their life, in their motivation to achieve, in how anxious they feel about their schoolwork, in their participation in physical activities, in their expectations for the future, in their experiences of being bullied by their peers, and in their perceptions of being treated unfairly by their teachers. Many of these differences are related to students’ feelings about the disciplinary climate in the classroom and about the support their teachers give them. PISA 2015 data show that schoolwork-related anxiety is common among adolescents. Often, this anxiety is students’ reaction to, and interpretation of, the mistakes they make – or are afraid to make. Students whose motivation to do well at school mostly originates from fear of disappointing others or the desire to do better than their peers are more likely to report anxiety at school. It is important that schools identify those students who suffer from severe anxiety and teach these students methods to learn from mistakes and manage their stress. |
| Date: | 2017–04–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduddd:71-en&r=ure |
| By: | André De Palma (ENS Cachan - École normale supérieure - Cachan); Carlos Criado (Department of Economics, Université Laval - Université Laval); L Randrianarisoa (Sauder - Sauder School of Business [British Columbia] - UBC - University of British Columbia) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes rivalry between transport facilities in a model that includes two sources of horizontal differentiation: geographical space and departure time. We explore how both sources influence facility fees and the price of the service offered by downstream carriers. Travellers' costs include a fare, a transportation cost to the facility and a schedule delay cost, which captures the monetary cost of departing earlier or later than desired. One carrier operates at each facility and schedules a single departure time. The interactions in the facility-carrier model are represented as a sequential three-stage game in fees, times and fares with simultaneous choices at each stage. We find that duopolis-tic competition leads to an identical departure time across carriers when their operational cost does not vary with the time of day, but generally leads to distinct service times when this cost is time dependent. When a facility possesses a location advantage, it can set a higher fee and its downstream carrier can charge a higher fare. Departure time differentiation allows the facilities and their carrier to compete along an additional differentiation dimension that can reduce or strengthen the advantage in location. By incorporating the downstream carriers into the analysis, we also find that a higher per passenger commercial revenue at one facility induces a lower fee charged by both facilities to their carrier and a lower fare charged by both carriers at their departure facility, while a lower marginal operational cost for one carrier implies a higher fee at its departure facility, a lower fee at the other facility served by the rival carrier and a lower fare at both facilities. JEL Classification: D43, L13, L22, L93, R4 |
| Keywords: | Spatial asymmetry,Horizontal differentiation,Location model,Airline and facility competition,Service timing |
| Date: | 2017–01–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01448391&r=ure |
| By: | Pedro S. Martins |
| Abstract: | Non-cognitive skills programs may be an important policy option to improve the academic outcomes of adolescents. In this paper, we evaluate experimentally the EPIS program, which is based on relatively short bi-weekly individual or small-group non-cognitive mediation meetings with students selected based on their low school achievement. Our RCT estimates, covering nearly 3,000 7th- and 8th-grade students across over 50 schools and two years, indicate that the program increases the probability of progression by 11\% to 22\%. The effects are stronger amongst older students, girls, and in language subjects, and when the program mediator is of the same gender as the student. |
| Keywords: | Exports of services, unemployment, labour reforms |
| JEL: | I20 I24 J08 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgs:wpaper:81&r=ure |
| By: | Bracco, Emanuele (Lancaster University); De Paola, Maria (University of Calabria); Green, Colin P. (Lancaster University); Scoppa, Vincenzo (University of Calabria) |
| Abstract: | Immigration has increasingly taken centre-stage in the political landscape. Part of this has been rise in far-right, anti-immigration parties in a range of countries. Existing evidence suggests that the presence of immigrants has a substantial effect on the political views of the electorate, generating an advantage to these parties with anti-immigration or nationalist platforms. This paper explores a closely related but overlooked issue: how immigrant behavior is influenced by these parties. We focus on immigrant location decisions in Northern Italy which has seen the rise of the anti-immigration party Lega Nord. We construct a dataset of mayoral elections in Italy for the years 2002-2014, and calculate the effect of electing a mayor belonging to, or supported by Lega Nord. To identify this relationship we focus on mayors who have been elected with narrow margins of victory in a Regression Discontinuity framework. The election of Lega Nord mayor discourages immigrants from moving into the municipality. |
| Keywords: | immigration, geographical mobility, voting behavior, political economy, regression discontinuity design |
| JEL: | J15 J61 D72 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10604&r=ure |
| By: | Gaentzsch, Anja |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically investigates the impacts of Peru's Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme JUNTOS upon educational outcomes of beneficiary children. The findings associate Juntos participation with higher overall enrolment rates and grades of schooling for children aged 12 to 18 years. This effect translates into a higher probability of finishing primary school and entering secondary school for the same age group. Evidence suggests that this is linked to a faster progression through grades rather than final years of schooling. We find no impact on enrolment or school progression for younger children aged 6 to 11 years. Further, Juntos participation does not have a positive impact upon scores of receptive vocabulary and mathematics tests. Rather, children aged 7-9 years seem to make less progress over time compared to children from non-beneficiary families, while there is no impact upon older children. Evidence on the underlying reasons for this is inconclusive and merits further analysis. |
| Keywords: | conditional cash transfer,human capital investment,social assistance,educational attainment |
| JEL: | I24 I25 I38 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fubsbe:20179&r=ure |
| By: | Paula Jaramillo; Ça?atay Kay?; Flip Klijn |
| Abstract: | We consider school choice problems (Abdulkadiro?lu and Sönmez, 2003) where students are assigned to public schools through a centralized assignment mechanism. We study the family of so-called rank-priority mechanisms, each of which is induced by an order of rank-priority pairs. Following the corresponding order of pairs, at each step a rank-priority mechanism considers a rank-priority pair and matches an available student to an unfilled school if the student and the school rank and prioritize each other in accordance with the rank-priority pair. The Boston or immediate acceptance mechanism is a particular rank-priority mechanism. Our first main result is a characterization of the subfamily of rank-priority mechanisms that Nash implement the set of stable (i.e., fair) matchings (Theorem 1). We show that our characterization also holds for “sub-implementation” and “sup-implementation” (Corollaries 3 and 4). Our second main result is a strong impossibility result: under incomplete information, no rank-priority mechanism implements the set of stable matchings (Theorem 2). |
| Keywords: | School choice; rank-priority mechanisms; stability; Nash implementation |
| JEL: | C78 D61 D78 I20 |
| Date: | 2017–03–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000092:015501&r=ure |
| By: | Castagna, Alina; Chentouf, Leila; Ernst, Ekkehard |
| Abstract: | This article presents an original spatial methodology based on a network analysis approach in order to identify and to track spatial similarities among economic activities as well as to analyse their interdependence. Traditionally, such interdependence is analysed using input-output matrices (IO) that track economic flows across sectors. However, models based on IO do not allow to analyse spatial interdependence. In our approach, instead, we make use of local employment patterns. In particular, using sectoral employment of 8091 Italian municipalities across 18 economic activities, our approach allows to identify spatial inter-linkages in terms of employment patterns. By comparing such local employment patterns, our methodology shows inter-linkages among activities, which are important for understanding the transmission of exogenous shocks. Our analysis highlights similarities among economic activities, and allows to identify central activities (hubs) and their relationship with each other. Moreover, simulating the spread of an exogenous shock through the economic structure allows us to identify important activities not only in economic terms but also in terms of centrality and connectivity. |
| Keywords: | Network analysis,local employment patterns,business cycles,financial sector,spatial economic analysis |
| JEL: | C19 C67 E32 R12 R15 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:50&r=ure |
| By: | Huber, Martin (University of Fribourg); Steinmayr, Andreas (University of Munich) |
| Abstract: | This paper suggests a causal framework for disentangling individual level treatment effects and interference effects, i.e., general equilibrium, spillover, or interaction effects related to treatment distribution. Thus, the framework allows for a relaxation of the Stable Unit Treatment Value Assumption (SUTVA), which assumes away any form of treatment-dependent interference between study participants. Instead, we permit interference effects within aggregate units, for example, regions or local labor markets, but need to rule out interference effects between these aggregate units. Borrowing notation from the causal mediation literature, we define a range of policy-relevant effects and formally discuss identification based on randomization, selection on observables, and difference-in-differences. We also present an application to a policy intervention extending unemployment benefit durations in selected regions of Austria that arguably affected ineligibles in treated regions through general equilibrium effects in local labor markets. |
| Keywords: | treatment effect, general equilibrium effects, spillover effects, interaction effects, interference effects, inverse probability weighting, propensity score, mediation analysis, difference-in-differences |
| JEL: | C21 C31 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10648&r=ure |
| By: | Dustmann, Christian (University College London); Fasani, Francesco (Queen Mary, University of London); Meng, Xin (Australian National University); Minale, Luigi (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the relation between individual migrations and the risk attitudes of other household members when migration is a household decision. We develop a simple model that implies that which member migrates depends on the distribution of risk attitudes among all household members, and that the risk diversification gain to other household members may induce migrations that would not take place in an individual framework. Using unique data for China on risk attitudes of internal (rural-urban) migrants and the families left behind, we empirically test three key implications of the model: (i) that conditional on migration gains, less risk averse individuals are more likely to migrate; (ii) that within households, the least risk averse individual is more likely to emigrate; and (iii) that across households, the most risk averse households are more likely to send migrants as long as they have at least one family member with sufficiently low risk aversion. Our results not only provide evidence that migration decisions are taken on a household level but also that the distribution of risk attitudes within the household affects whether a migration takes place and who will emigrate. |
| Keywords: | risk aversion, internal migration, household decisions |
| JEL: | J61 R23 D81 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10603&r=ure |
| By: | Daniele Crotti (University of Genoa); Elena Maggi (University of Insubria) |
| Abstract: | In recent years several European municipalities have paired market-based measures with urban distribution centres (UDC) in order to reduce CO2 emissions and make more sustainable urban freight ‡ows. However, UDCs may add reloading costs and extra delivery times which have relevant impact on both urban supply chains and the competition among traditional and UDC-based logistics service providers in terms of service quality and freight rates. By using a duopolistic Hotelling framework, we show that market-based measures and subsidies might be substitutes to enhance the demand for UDC-based providers but public funding can be reduced by improving the quality of UDC services. These results can enlarge the scope for investments in UDC value-adding services in order to decrease private crowding-out effects in the long run. |
| Keywords: | Urban Distribution Centre, City logistics, Sustainable Urban Transport Policy, Hotelling Spatial Competition Model, Market-Based Measures, Public Subsidy |
| JEL: | D43 H23 L13 Q58 R41 R48 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2017.17&r=ure |
| By: | Julie Beugnot (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 , CRREP - Centre de recherche sur les risques, les enjeux économiques, et les politiques publiques - Université Laval); Guy Lacroix (CIRANO - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche en analyse des organisations - UQAM - Université du Québec à Montréal , CRREP - Centre de recherche sur les risques, les enjeux économiques, et les politiques publiques - Université Laval); Marie 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 real-effort 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 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01481450&r=ure |
| By: | Andrew Coleman (Department of Economics, University of Otago, New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an analysis of how the New Zealand tax system may be affecting residential property markets. Like most OECD countries, New Zealand does not tax the imputed rent or capital gains from owner-occupied housing. Unlike most OECD countries, since 1989 New Zealand has taxed income placed in retirement savings funds on an income basis, rather than an expenditure basis. The result is likely to be the most distortionary tax policy towards housing in the OECD. Since 1989, these tax distortions have provided incentives that should have lead to significant increases in house prices and the average size of new dwellings, should have reduced owner-occupier rates, and should have led to a worsening of the overseas net asset position. The tax settings are likely to be regressive, and are not intergenerationally neutral, as they impose significant costs on current and future generations of young New Zealanders (and new migrants). Since it does not appear to be politically palatable to tax capital gains or imputed rent, to reduce the distortionary consequences of the tax system on housing markets New Zealand may wish to reconsider how it taxes retirement savings accounts by adopting the standard OECD approach. |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:otg:wpaper:1709&r=ure |
| By: | Alberto Batinti (School of Public Economics and Administration, Shanghai University of Finance); Andrea Filippetti (National Research Council (CNR), Rome, Italy); Luca Andriani (Department of Management, Birkbeck, University of London) |
| Abstract: | There is wide consensus that social capital increases government performance. However, the very mechanism underlying the relationship between social capital and well-performing governments remains unclear. In this paper we focus on the budgetary composition of local governments and find that the joint effect of larger social capital and higher quality in government’s spending improves the re-election chances of incumbent policy makers. By looking at 8,000 Italian municipalities over the period 2003-2012, we show that incumbent mayors who carry out a forward-looking and transparent fiscal agenda are more likely to be reelected where the level of local social capital is larger. In contextswith larger social capital, we obtain a non-trivial average effect of a 54% larger probability to be reelected when a more forward-looking agenda is in place. Thus, the good conduct of incumbent mayors is rewarded, but only in contexts with more social capital. Twin estimates considering a more transparent fiscal agenda are not significantbut show the predicted sign and the comparable size of a 31% larger probability. Our evidence is robust when controlling for the political budget cycle, and provides ground for further exploration of the electoral mechanism as an important channel to explain the connection between social capital and good government performance. |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:img:manwps:13&r=ure |
| By: | Giannelli, Gianna Claudia (University of Florence); Rapallini, Chiara (University of Florence) |
| Abstract: | In this study, we provide evidence that parents' beliefs about the value of math, in terms of successful employment, have a positive impact on children's math scores. This result is robust to the reverse causality issue that characterizes the relationship between parental attitude and children's performance. We adopt an identification strategy that relies on two pillars. First, using PISA 2012, we estimate this relationship on a sample of immigrants that includes second-generation students and first-generation students who migrated before starting primary education. Second, we instrument the parental attitude with the country of origin math performance, under the assumption that country of origin math performance affects children's performance only through parents. We find that one additional score point in the origin country performance in math increases student performance by 21 percent of one standard deviation of the student math score. For an indirect transmission mechanism through parents math culture, this can be considered a quite substantial effect. Disentangling the effect of one of the factors that shape the family background, we contribute to the empirical literature on the explanations of individual educational achievements. |
| Keywords: | parental beliefs, math performance, immigrant students |
| JEL: | I21 J13 O15 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10622&r=ure |
| By: | Adam Nowak (West Virginia University, Department of Economics); Juan Sayago-Gomez (West Virginia University, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The existence of homeowner preferences - specifically homeowners' preferences for neighbors - is fundamental to economic models of sorting. This paper investigates whether or not the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (9/11) impacted on local preferences for Arab neighbors. We test for changes in preferences using a differences-in-differences framework in a hedonic pricing model. Relative to sales before 9/11, we find properties within 0.1 miles of an Arab homeowner sold at a 1.5% discount in the 180 days after 9/11. The results are robust to a number of specifications including time horizon, event date, distance, alternative ethnic groups, and the presence of nearby mosques. Previous research has shown price effects at neighborhood levels but has not identified effects at the micro or individual property level, and for good reason: most transaction level data sets do not include ethnic identifiers. Applying methods from the machine learning and biostatistics literature, we develop a binomial classifier using a supervised learning algorithm and identify Arab homeowners based on the name of the buyer. We train the binomial classifier using names from Summer Olympic Rosters for 221 countries during the years 1948-2012. We demonstrate the exibility of our methodology and perform an interesting counterfactual by identifying Hispanic and Asian homeowners in the data; unlike the statistically significant results for Arab homeowners, we find no meaningful results for Hispanic and Asian homeowners following 9/11. |
| Keywords: | house prices, ethnicity, homeowner preferences, terrorism, September 11th |
| JEL: | R21 R23 R31 J15 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wvu:wpaper:17-03&r=ure |
| By: | Ikeda, Kiyohrio; Onda, Mikihisa; Takayama, Yuki |
| Abstract: | Bifurcation theory for an economic agglomeration in a square lattice economy is presented in comparison with that in a racetrack economy. The existence of a series of equilibria with characteristic agglomeration patterns is elucidated. A spatial period doubling bifurcation cascade between these equilibria is advanced as a common mechanism to engender fewer and larger agglomerations in both economies. Analytical formulas for a break point, at which the uniformity is broken under reduced transport costs, are proposed for an economic geography model by synthetically encompassing both economies. |
| Keywords: | Bifurcation, Economic geography model, Group theory, Replicator dynamics, Spatial period doubling |
| JEL: | C19 |
| Date: | 2017–02–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:78120&r=ure |
| By: | R.S. Patel |
| Abstract: | The present study attempts to examine the effect of emotional intelligence on teacher effectiveness at higher secondary level of education. The study was conducted on Higher Secondary School (HSS) teachers. From the analysis of the result, it was found that there is a positive effect of Emotional Intelligence (E.I.) on Teacher Effectiveness (T.E.) (as overall and in all the dimensions) at the HSS level. The T.E of various dimensions on differential between high and low E.I. teachers are also found positively different. Thus it can be said that EI is an essential ingredient in enhancing the T.E. so, EI should be improved for the effectiveness of teaching. So it is advisable to use EI instead of IQ for TE. Key words: Teacher Effectiveness, Emotional Intelligence Policy |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vor:issues:2017-03-01&r=ure |
| By: | Sekou Keita (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le développement international - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I - Centre national de la recherche scientifique); Jérome Valette (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - UdA - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Which factors determine the performance of immigrants in the destination country labor market? Evidence in the literature suggests that discrimination may be a barrier to the economic assimilation of immigrants. However, depending on their country of origin, immigrants are heterogeneous with respect to the discrimination they face. This paper investigates how the attitude of natives affects immigrants’ unemployment duration in Germany. Using individual level panel data from the German Socio Economic Panel from 1984 to 2012, we employ survival analysis methods to model immigrants’ unemployment duration. We find that lower trust levels of natives towards the citizens of a given country, measured using Eurobarometer surveys, positively influence the unemployment duration of immigrants originating from this country. We show that this result is not driven by origin-specific unobserved heterogeneity, and that it is robust to different definitions of unemployment and different specifications. The results of our paper highlight the fact that immigrants face different obstacles depending on their origin when it comes to integrating destination country labor markets. |
| Keywords: | Immigrant workers,Unemployment duration,Discrimination. |
| Date: | 2017–01–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01425453&r=ure |
| By: | Salustri, Andrea; Viganò, Federica |
| Abstract: | The paper introduces a theoretical model to show how in a territorial framework characterized by spatial inequalities, the availability of goods and services decreases moving from central to peripheral areas. Specifically, private firms and public administrations might supply an insufficient level of goods and services in socially and/or physically remote areas due to lack of market size and higher distance costs. Peripheralization, therefore, often implies economic marginalization and political exclusion. Against this backdrop, non-profit organizations can foster local development rebalancing, or at least narrowing, economic and social inequalities, but a territorial dualism between a core linked to global patterns of development and marginalized peripheries left to autarchic forms of subsistence might emerge. To avoid territorial polarization and revive equitable and sustainable development, it is important to empower cooperative and social enterprises, as the latter exert a productive and distributive function that at the same time improves workers’ employability, facilitates market access for local initiatives, and raises the factor productivity of market activities. |
| Keywords: | marginalized places, distance costs, non-profit institutions, spatial inequalities |
| JEL: | J54 L33 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2017–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:78113&r=ure |
| By: | Anjanette M. Chan Tack (University of Chicago); Mario Small (Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | While many studies have examined friendship formation among children in conventional contexts, comparatively fewer have examined how the process is shaped by neighborhood violence. The literature on violence and gangs has identified coping strategies that likely affect friendships, but most children in violent neighborhoods are not gang members and not all friendship relations involve gangs. We examine the friendship formation process based on in-depth interviews with 72 students, parents, and teachers in two elementary schools in violent Chicago neighborhoods. All students were African American boys and girls ages 11 to 15. We find that while conventional studies depict friendship formation among children as largely affective in nature, the process among the students we observed was, instead, primarily strategic. The children’s strategies were not singular but heterogeneous and malleable in nature. We identify and document five distinct strategies: protection-seeking, avoidance, testing, cultivating questioners, and kin-reliance. Girls were as affected as boys were, while they also reported additional preoccupations associated with sexual violence. We discuss implications for theories of friendship formation, violence, and neighborhood effects. |
| Keywords: | friendship formation, networks, violence, neighborhood effects, Child Development |
| JEL: | R23 J15 J16 K14 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2017-026&r=ure |
| By: | Jung-In Yeon; Andreas Pyka; Tai-Yoo Kim |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we examine the experiences of Korean economy to verify the theoretical knowledge of economic development and structural change. To demonstrate the generalized hypotheses in structural changes, input-output tables of Korea, from 1960 to 2010, are analyzed. Our interest in taking a time series form of Input-output tables originates from the following two questions. Firstly, we inquire whether the change of Korean industrial structure has been followed a certain pattern of structural shift as well as increasing variety. Secondly, if so, it is questioned how the meso-level conditions for the economic development could be explained out of such a pattern. To complete the set of answers, we start from adopting a model of the economic development by the creation of new sectors, TEVECON model, as our theoretical framework. Using this growth model, it is preliminarily experimented how the structural change could impact on the economic development, and then, we figured out how the empirical analysis of Korean economy verifies and more deepens our understandings of the structural change and development. Therefore, this paper contributes to empirically identify the theoretical knowledge of economic development by the emerging of key sectors as well as the creation of new sectors. To complete the set of answers, we start from choosing the model of the economic development by the creation of new sectors, TEVECON, as our theoretical framework. Using this simulation model, it is preliminarily experimented how the different scenarios upon meso-level conditions could impact on the economic development. In the other hand, as analyzing the classification of industries over time and each set of sectoral outcomes and demand-induced outputs, we figured out how the empirical analysis of Korean economy supported and more deepened theoretical understandings of structural change and development. Accordingly, the presented empirical results provide a starting point to expand the model, TEVECON, into a history-friendly model, bridging the gap between the artificial world of formal theories and the real world of historical experiences. In this regard, this paper is the first to identify and enhance empirically the theoretical model of economic development by the creation of new sectors. |
| Keywords: | South Korea, Growth, Sectoral issues |
| Date: | 2016–07–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ekd:009007:9411&r=ure |
| By: | HAYKEL HADJ SALEM; HAYKEL HADJ SALEM; HUBERT JAYET; MOEZ KILANI; QUENTIN DAVID; HAKIM HAMMADOU; Aboulkacem El-Mehdi |
| Abstract: | new Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model aiming at measuring the long term global impact of the so called Grand Paris Express project on the French region Ile-de-France. The impacts of this new transport infrastructure will be broader than urban transportation, and it is expected to have wider impacts on employment, real estate market and regional attractiveness of Paris. To evaluate the magnitude of these impacts, we develop a CGE model of the Region Ile-de-France with several innovative features. The paper will make a detailed presentation of the general features of the model and of a first version which is mainly focusing on the representation of the public transport sector. In a first section, we present the Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) we have been developing for the model, which some specific features linked to the representation of the transportation system and the inclusion of the land markets. Then, we will present the base structure of the model: the production and the link between supply and demand of each product, flows of trade between the Ile-de-France region and the rest of the word, the incomes and expenditure of the various economic agents and the price determination, the market for public transport. In the next section we perform simulation analysis where we introduce a shock in transportation sector and evaluate its impact on transportation trend and how it spreads in the other sectors of the economy. The objective of this analysis is to identify public policies that can improve the implementation of the Grand Paris Express. These policies will be related to transportation reforms itself, but also to real estate market and possibility to labor market. The last section concludes with the main findings. |
| Keywords: | pile de France region, France, General equilibrium modeling, Regional modeling |
| Date: | 2016–07–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ekd:009007:9023&r=ure |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | Teacher professional development is deemed to be high quality when it includes opportunities for active learning methods, an extended time period, a group of colleagues, and collective learning activities or research with other teachers. The higher the exposure of teachers to high-quality professional development, the more likely they are to use a wide variety of teaching practices in the classroom. Professional development activities that focus on curriculum knowledge (rather than subject knowledge or pedagogy) and that involve collaborating with other teachers seem particularly well suited to enhancing teachers’ classroom practices. However, these types of professional development are not those that are most widely used around the world. Not all teachers have equal access to high-quality professional development. In some countries and economies, different participation rates in high-quality professional development are observed between male and female teachers, as well as between teachers who have and have not completed initial teacher education. |
| Date: | 2017–04–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaah:16-en&r=ure |
| By: | Pierre-Philippe Combes (ECON - Département d'économie - Sciences Po, 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); Sylvie Démurger (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); Shi Li (Beijing Normal University) |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the evolution of productivity gains from Chinese cities over time, from 2002 to 2013. In 2002, rural migrants were exerting a strong positive externality on natives' earnings, which were also higher when access to foreign markets through access to sea was higher. In 2007 and then further in 2013, city size (employment density but also land area) has become the crucial determinant of productivity whereas market access, internal or external, plays no direct role. Rural migrants still enhance natives' earnings, though the effect is more than hal f lower than in 2002. Urban gains, and their evolution over time, are very similar on total and per hour earnings. Skilled workers and females seem to gain slightly more from cities than unskilled workers and males. |
| Keywords: | urban development,agglomeration economies,wage disparities,migration |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01468602&r=ure |
| By: | Cohen, James |
| Abstract: | Cohen argues that the rise of neo-liberalism in the U.S. framed the failure of attempts to implement high speed rail in Florida between 1981 and 2011. In the 1980's rail promoters attempted, but were unable to apply neo-liberal precepts of financing new lines solely from sources of private capital, such as real estate development. Subsequently, financing plans based on both public and private funds were defeated by neo-liberal governors and their allies in Congress. As a result, the only new passenger line that appears likely to begin operations in Florida in the near future, is Florida East Coast Railway's Brightliner, which will operate at between 79 and 125 miles per hour, on existing freight rights of way between Miami and Orlando, with a possible future extension to Tampa. Cohen explains why this moderate speed line is likely to succeed, where prior attempts at high speed failed. |
| Keywords: | High speed rail; railways; political economy; capital finance; financial history; neo-liberalism; Florida |
| JEL: | N2 |
| Date: | 2016–01–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:76765&r=ure |
| By: | Buchheim, Lukas; Watzinger, Martin |
| Abstract: | We estimate the causal impact of a sizable German infrastructure investment program on employment at the county level. The program focused on improving the energy efficiency of school buildings, making it possible to use the number of schools as an instrument for investments. We find that the program was effective, creating one job for one year for each €25’000 of investments. The employment gains reached their peak after nine months and dropped to zero quickly after the program’s completion. The reductions in unemployment amounted to two-thirds of the job creation, and employment grew predominately in the construction and non-tradable industries |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure Investments; Job Creation; Employment Dynamics; Countercyclical Fiscal Policy |
| JEL: | E24 E62 H72 J23 |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lmu:muenec:34877&r=ure |
| By: | Aedin Doris (Department of Economics, Finance and Accounting, Maynooth University.); Donal O'Neill (Department of Economics, Finance and Accounting, Maynooth University.); Olive Sweetman (Department of Economics, Finance and Accounting, Maynooth University.) |
| Abstract: | We use administrative data to examine the effect of a 50% benefit cut for young unemployed workers in Ireland during the Great Recession. Because the cut applied only to new benefit claims, claimants whose unemployment start dates differed by a matter of days received very different benefits; we exploit this fact in our Regression Discontinuity and Difference-in-Difference analyses. While we find no impact on unemployment duration for those aged 20-21, the benefit cut significantly reduced duration for 18 year olds, with an estimated elasticity close to one. We consider possible explanations for our findings and also examine long-run effects. |
| Keywords: | unemployment assistance, labour supply, regression discontinuity |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:may:mayecw:n279-17.pdf&r=ure |
| By: | Nollenberger, Natalia (IE University); Rodríguez-Planas, Núria (Queens College, CUNY) |
| Abstract: | Using PISA test scores from 11,527 second-generation immigrants coming from 35 different countries of ancestry and living in 9 host countries, we find that the positive effects of country-of-ancestry gender social norms on girls' math test scores relative to those of boys: (1) expand to other subjects (namely reading and science); (2) are shaped by beliefs on women's political empowerment and economic opportunity; and (3) are driven by parents' influencing their children's (especially their girls') preferences. Our evidence further suggest that these findings are driven by cognitive skills, suggesting that social gender norms affect parent's expectations on girls' academic knowledge relative to that of boys, but not on other attributes for success--such as non-cognitive skills. Taken together, our results highlight the relevance of general (as opposed to math-specific) gender stereotypes on the math gender gap, and suggest that parents' gender social norms shape youth's test scores by transmitting preferences for cognitive skills. |
| Keywords: | gender gap in math, reading and science, immigrants, beliefs and preferences, cognitive and non-cognitive skills, culture and institutions |
| JEL: | I21 I24 J16 Z13 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10625&r=ure |
| By: | Carlos Usabiaga; E. Macarena Hernández-Salmerón |
| Abstract: | This work is rooted on the analysis of growth and convergence at the regional level in Spain. Our contribution to that field is concentrated on the period 1980-2014, period characterized by a weak narrowing of the income per capita gap within regions. Several factors could explain that result. We focus our attention on the role of the political decentralization process in Spain, which actually began in the early eighties, on regional economic growth, a controversial and yet not enough studied issue. In Spain there are different models of decentralization, and even for each model, the different regions involved could follow different speeds gaining new administrative roles. Our econometric methodology is based on the system Generalized Method of Moments estimator. After using a general Mankiw-Romer-Weil approach, which fits well the Spanish data, our empirical work will implement other augmented growth regressions, which allow including a large set of explanatory variables. For such purpose, we try specifications with different proxies for the decentralization variable, as well as interactions with other variables that we think are linked to it, to capture the whole effect of decentralization. To sum up, our results, reinforced by several robustness exercises, are not conclusive on the relevance and sign of the effect of the decentralization path followed by the Spanish regions on growth and convergence, and points out to the importance of alternative factors. This result can contribute to the current debate in Spain on these topics. Several panel data analyses implemented with Stata. This work is rooted on the analysis of growth and convergence at the regional level in Spain. Our contribution to that field is concentrated on the period 1980-2014, period characterized by a weak narrowing of the income per capita gap within the territory. Several factors could explain that result. We focus our attention on the role of the political decentralization process in Spain, which actually began in the early eighties, on regional economic growth, a controversial and yet not enough studied issue. In Spain there are different models of decentralization, and even for each model, the different regions (Comunidades Autónomas) involved could follow different speeds gaining new administrative roles. Our econometric methodology is based on several panel data techniques implemented with Stata. Using a general Mankiw-Romer-Weil (MRW, 1992) approach, which fits well the Spanish data, our empirical work includes the decentralization variable as an additional regressor in the growth equation. For such purpose, we try specifications with different proxies for the decentralization variable, as well as interactions with other variables that we think are linked to it, to capture the whole effect of descentralization. To sum up, our results, reinforced by several robustness exercises, are not conclusive on the relevance and sign of the effect of the decentralization path followed by the Spanish regions on growth and convergence, and points out to the importance of other factors. This result can contribute to the current strong debate in Spain on these topics. |
| Keywords: | Spain, Growth, Regional modeling |
| Date: | 2016–07–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ekd:009007:9358&r=ure |
| By: | Jesper de Groote (VU Amsterdam, The Netherlands); Jos van Ommeren (VU Amsterdam, The Netherlands); Hans R.A. Koster (VU Amsterdam, The Netherlands) |
| Abstract: | Paid parking is the recommended policy tool by economists to deal with excess demand for street parking. However, we know very little about the effects of this policy on residents. This is particularly important in the context that residents have political power and usually vote against paid parking when it is detrimental to residents. Hence, in our analysis, we take into account that residents receive residential parking permits which provides political support for paid parking. We estimate the combined effect of a paid-parking parking policy – i.e. the introduction of paid parking and residential parking permits on residents – by examining its effect on house prices. We focus on Amsterdam and Utrecht using data over a period of 30 years. We do not find any effect of this paid-parking policy on house prices. This finding is consistent with the idea that residents only vote in favor of a local policy when it has no negative impact on their house prices. |
| Keywords: | parking; parking policy; hedonic price analysis |
| JEL: | R20 R40 |
| Date: | 2017–04–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20170037&r=ure |
| By: | Siedschlag, Iulia; Di Ubaldo, Mattia |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of investment in knowledge-based capital on firm productivity. The analysis is based on a dynamic econometric model estimated with micro-data from Ireland over the period 2006-2012. We use broad measures of investment in knowledge-based capital which include expenditures on R&D, and on non-R&D intangible assets such as computer software, copyrights, patents and licences, royalties and organisational capital. The results indicate that on average, over and above other factors, an increase in investment in knowledge-based capital of 10 per cent increases firm productivity by 2 per cent. The research results indicate that productivity gains linked to investment in KBC are larger for Irish-owned firms in comparison to foreign-owned firms. Further, the estimates indicate that firms’ productivity is more responsive to investment in R&D than to investment in non-R&D intangible assets. |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp556&r=ure |
| By: | Paul, Saumik; Fukao, Kyoji |
| Abstract: | Japan’s regional convergence of productivity levels throughout the 20th century can be best described as a cumulative process of “catching up, forging ahead, and falling behind”. Using a novel dataset spanning 135 years (1874 – 2008), this study finds support for a crucial role played by structural transformation in convergence. The pace of productivity catch-up and convergence accelerated in the mid-1950s with the help of structural transformation, particularly in the period from 1955–1965. Structural transformation explains, on average, about 30% of the aggregate productivity growth, and its effect intensified in prefectures with faster movements of labor across sectors and larger sectoral productivity gaps. However, since the early 1970s, its contribution to the convergence was frequently offset by within-sector productivity growth, in turn thwarting the pace of convergence. These counter-balancing effects contributed to the diverse pathways of productivity catch-up at the prefecture level. |
| Keywords: | Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity, Japan |
| JEL: | O40 O10 |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:hitcei:2016-12&r=ure |
| By: | R.S. Patel |
| Abstract: | Three of the 13 themes discussed in the MHRD document have a close bearing on issues with regard to reform in the sector of teacher education. These are concern about learning outcomes; reforming the school examination system and revamping teacher education. Low learning outcomes are evidently the single most important concern for policy makers. The paper elaborates on these issues alongwith sure recommendation for teacher education. Key words: Recommendation, Suggestion, Teacher Education, Education, Teacher Policy |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vor:issues:2017-03-02&r=ure |
| By: | Esteban Aucejo (Department of Economics, Arizona State University); Jonathan James (Department of Economics, California Polytechnic State University) |
| Abstract: | Black females are 17 percentage points more likely to attend college than black males, making the gender gap among black youth larger than the black-white racial gap in college enrollment (14.7 pp). We estimate a sequential model of schooling and arrests to assess the major contributing factors to the gender imbalance in educational attainment within racial groups. First, we find that di erences between males and females in measures of early behavior account for the majority of the gender gap for each racial group. Second, despite the fact that 50% of black males were arrested at least once before age 25, we find little evidence that arrest outcomes in uence educational attainment, and that the negative correlation of educational attainment and arrests is entirely attributable to the same behavioral factors that explain the gender gap in education. Finally, we find that black males have the largest response to improvements in family background characteristics, such that equalizing the distribution of family background characteristics for black and white youths reduces the gender gap in college enrollment among black youth by 50% and completely eliminates the black-white racial gap in college enrollment. |
| Keywords: | Gender Gap, Educational Attainment, Behavior, Factors, Race |
| JEL: | I2 J15 J16 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpl:wpaper:1701&r=ure |