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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Chao Li (University of Waikato); John Gibson (University of Waikato) |
| Abstract: | Studies of inequality in China typically ignore cost-of-living differences between areas. Under the Balassa-Samuelson effect, non-tradeables cost more in richer areas, so nominal inequality exceeds real inequality. This especially matters in China, where spatial cost-of-living differences should have increased with recent development of urban housing markets. We use new data on apartment prices in 104 major cities in China to develop housing-related spatial deflators. The level of spatial inequality in 2016 is overstated 27 percent if cost-of-living differences are ignored. A hedonic analysis of 41,000 individual apartment sales shows most price variation is between areas, rather than from features of individual apartments. The dominant trend in the reform era is for regional inequality in China to decline, contrary to common perceptions. In nominal terms, the Theil Index for inter-provincial inequality in 2016 is just 46 percent of its 1978 level, and in real terms the fall in inequality would be even greater. |
| Keywords: | China; housing; population; regional inequality; spatial deflators |
| JEL: | O47 Q56 R11 |
| Date: | 2018–08–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wai:econwp:18/12&r=ure |
| By: | Carpenter, Ann (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta); White, Douglas (University of Florida); Hirt, Mary (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta) |
| Abstract: | Housing data are available for most large metropolitan regions in the Atlanta Fed's Southeast region. However, many midsized metropolitan, micropolitan, and nonmetro areas lack detailed data on rental housing affordability and housing supply needs by income level. These data are important for state and local governments, affordable housing developers, and housing advocates to inform housing policy. Therefore, the Atlanta Fed partnered with the Shimberg Center at the University of Florida to analyze census data using a methodology developed for Shimberg's periodic Rental Market Study for the state of Florida (Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, 2013, 2016). This paper covers the six states that are fully or partially in the Atlanta Fed's District: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. {{p}} In this paper, the authors provide a regional snapshot of housing affordability and the availability of affordable rental housing units at several scales for the Atlanta Fed's District, using data from the 2015 American Community Survey (ACS). They include figures for city, metropolitan, and state areas as well as regional figures for nonmetro areas. The authors segment the data by household income using the area median income (AMI) of each respective region. They provide estimates for renter households within five major income brackets: extremely low income (0 to 30 percent AMI), very low income (30.01 to 50 percent AMI), low income (50.01 to 80 percent AMI), moderate income (80.01 to 120 percent AMI), and upper income (more than 120 percent AMI). {{p}} The authors use two measures of housing affordability: 1) the share of cost-burdened households and 2) affordable and available rental housing supply. Metrics include the percent of cost-burdened renter households (people who pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing) and extremely cost-burdened renter households (people who pay more than 50 percent of their income on housing). Metrics also include the deficit or surplus in rental units that are both available and affordable to households at each of the above area median-income brackets. These measures tend to correlate, with high percentages of cost-burdened households associated with significant deficits in affordable and available units for low- and moderate-income households. |
| Keywords: | rental housing; affordable housing; low-income housing; housing cost burden |
| JEL: | H53 R21 R31 R38 |
| Date: | 2018–08–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedacd:2018-02&r=ure |
| By: | Jieying Li (Stockholm School of Economics); Xin Zhang (Sveriges Riksbank) |
| Abstract: | Using a monthly panel dataset of individuals' debt composition including mortgage and non-mortgage consumer credit, we show that house price changes can explain a significant fraction of personal debt composition dynamics. We exploit the variation in local house price growth as shocks to homeowners' housing wealth to study the consequential adjustment of personal debt composition. To account for local demand shocks and disentangle the housing collateral channel from the wealth effect, we use renters and non-equity-withdrawal homeowners in the same region as control groups. We present direct evidence that homeowners reoptimize their debt structure by using withdrawn home equity to pay down comparatively expensive short-term non-mortgage debt during a housing boom, unsecured consumer loans in particular. We also find that homeowners withdraw home equity to finance their entrepreneurial activities. Our study sheds new light on the dynamics of personal debt composition in response to changes in house prices. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:661&r=ure |
| By: | Hyytinen, Ari; Määttänen, Niku; Vihriälä, Vesa |
| Abstract: | Motor fuel tax revenue is likely to decrease in the coming years because of the shift to electric cars. At the same time, self-driving cars and so-called smart mobility -services require new type of investments into road infrastructure. The concentration of population in urban centres also adds to the investment needs. In other words, investment needs for transport infrastructure are increasing while the tax revenue generated by road traffic is decreasing. To tackle this challenge, Finland should start preparing a road fee system based on a modern positioning technology. A well-designed road fee system would allow for congestion charges thereby also helping urban planning. We should also increase property taxes to tax a higher share of land and house value increases due to transport infrastructure investments. Public-private-partnerships may also be useful in transport infrastructure investments. The fact that the government can usually borrow at a lower rate than private businesses does not imply that private financing is more expensive. This is because in a public-private-partnership, the private sector is expected to bear some of the risks. |
| Keywords: | Transport, infrastructure, user charges, property tax, ppp |
| JEL: | R41 R42 R53 |
| Date: | 2018–08–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:briefs:70&r=ure |
| By: | Power, Anne |
| Abstract: | Across Europe, cities are struggling to cope with the loss of industrial jobs; decay of urban infrastructure; in-migration (most often from poorer regions); outward sprawl pressures; traffic congestion and transport bottlenecks. The environmental consequences of continuing urban development are deeply threatening to the survival of both city and countryside. Growing anti-immigrant sentiments, sluggish growth and intense inequality provoke a level of disaffection and marginalisation that threaten social cohesion, with highly divisive consequences. This article, based on a ten year study of seven European cities, argues that recovery is under way in ex-industrial cities with major reinvestment from national and European funds. Transformative deals and innovations have created new jobs and led to population regrowth after years of decline. There are hopeful signs that in different parts of Europe–North, South, East and West–a new phase of growth in core cities is emerging, based on university-civic business partnerships; reuse and remodelling of existing, devalued infrastructure; reinvestment and expansion of rail and water networks; the growth in advanced manufacturing; reduced energy use and the spread of renewable energy; innovative research and technology; city centre and neighbourhood restoration and integration. Europe’s former industrial cities are part of much bigger metropolitan areas or city regions and some benefits are spreading out from core cities to more peripheral areas, although this is often swamped by poverty and unemployment, skills mismatch and inadequate reinvestment. A complex patchwork of changes is driven by a new kind of city leadership; growing collaboration between the core and periphery of cities; central government and Europe-wide concern both to devolve more powers and reduce dependence on central funds; regional devolution and metropolitan level programmes–particularly in areas of skills, research and development, infrastructure, and umbrella services backed with cash and political enthusiasm. Cities are recovering across the world’s most urban continent by combining reuse and new inventions, which deliver more sustainable economies. |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2018–08–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:89858&r=ure |
| By: | Conrad Miller |
| Abstract: | This paper presents evidence that job suburbanization caused significant declines in black employment from 1970 to 2000. I document that, conditional on detailed job characteristics, blacks are less likely than whites to work in suburban establishments, and this spatial segregation is stable over time despite widespread decentralization of population and jobs. This stable segregation suggests job suburbanization may have increased black-white labor market inequality. Exploiting variation across metropolitan areas, I find that job suburbanization is associated with substantial declines in black employment rates relative to white employment rates. Evidence from nationally planned highway infrastructure corroborates a causal interpretation. |
| JEL: | J60 R12 |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24728&r=ure |
| By: | Peters, Jan Cornelius |
| Abstract: | We show for Germany that labor productivity as reflected in wage is, ceteris paribus, higher for workers who previously acquired work experience in rather urban labor markets with a large local workforce than in rather rural labor markets which are small in terms of regional employment. Our empirical analysis provides new evidence on the magnitude of these dynamic agglomeration gains by estimating the elasticity of wages with regard to the (cumulated) size of the local labor markets in which workers acquired experience. It shows that this elasticity increases with the level of individual experience to more than 0.06 implying that today’s wage of a worker with 20 years of experience or more would be about four to five percent higher if the worker would have gained all his or her experience in local labor markets double the size of the labor markets in which he or she actually was working in the past. These identified dynamic agglomeration gains are supposed to be related to learning externalities. The analysis uses information on individual employment biographies and regional employment from 1975 onwards. The wage information refers to more than 300,000 entry wages of new employment relationships in Germany in the period 2005 to 2011. The depreciation of human capital is taken into account and that high-skilled workers presumably are the ones other workers learn the most from |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2017–08–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:jhimwp:262304&r=ure |
| By: | Simon Gilchrist (New York University) |
| Abstract: | We use a comprehensive data set of home hortgage loan originations from HMDA matched with the banks’ income and balance sheet statements to analyze how fluctuations in the supply of mortgage credit affect county-level economic outcomes. To isolate fluctuations in the supply of mortgage credit, we use a variant of the shift-share identification approach of Greenstone et al. (2015), which exploits the fact that banks originate home mortgage loans across multiple coun- ties. Our results indicate that in “booms,” changes in the supply of home mortgage credit have no effect on a range of county-level economic outcomes, including house prices, employment, wages, and income. During “busts,” by contrast, a supply-induced contraction in mortgage lending has significant—in both economic and statistical terms—adverse effects on county-level economic performance: During the 2007–2010 period, counties that experienced a reduction in the supply of mortgage credit also saw large declines in house prices and building permits, a decline in the employment-population ratio, an increase in the unemployment rate, and a drop in average wages and income per capita. Consistent with the presence of financial frictions, the pullback in the supply of mortgage credit led to a particularly severe job losses at small and young firms. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:99&r=ure |
| By: | Weilong Zhang (University of Pennsylvania) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops and estimates a spatial general equilibrium job search model to study the effects of local and universal (federal) minimum wage policies. In the model, firms post vacancies in multiple locations. Workers, who are heterogeneous in terms of location and education types, engage in random search and can migrate or commute in response to job offers. I estimate the model by combining multiple databases including the American Community Survey (ACS) and Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI). The estimated model is used to analyze how minimum wage policies affect employment, wages, job postings, vacancies, migration/commuting, and welfare. Empirical results show that minimum wage increases in local county lead to an exit of low type (education 12 years), which generates negative externalities for workers in neighboring areas. I use the model to simulate the effects of a range of minimum wages. Minimum wage increases up to $14/hour increase the welfare of high type workers but lower welfare of low type workers, expanding inequality. Increases in excess of $14/hour decrease welfare for all workers. I further evaluate two counterfactual policies: restricting labor mobility and preempting local minimum wage laws. For a certain range of minimum wages, both policies have negative impacts on the welfare of high type workers, but beneficial effects for low type workers. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:12&r=ure |
| By: | Jason Allen (Bank of Canada); Daniel Greenwald (MIT) |
| Abstract: | We investigate how macroprudential policies intended to dampen rises in debt and house prices are influenced by segmentation in the housing and mortgage market. We develop a modeling framework with two mortgage submarkets: a government-insured sector with loose LTV limits and tight PTI limits, and an uninsured sector displaying the reverse pattern. This form of heterogeneity is modeled after the Canadian mortgage system, but is common in countries around the world. We find that this segmentation has important consequences for the effectiveness of macroprudential policy. While tightening payment-to-income (PTI) limits is highly effective at dampening a housing boom in a one-sector system, tightening these limits in the insured sector only is much weaker, due to substitutions into the uninsured sector. In contrast, the effect of tightening loan-to-value (LTV) limits in the uninsured sector is strengthened by market segmentation, causing price-rent ratios to fall, while the same tightening in the insured sector would counterproductively cause price-rent ratios to rise. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:1310&r=ure |
| By: | Rebecca Lessem (Carnegie Mellon University); Brian Cadena (University of Colorado at Boulder); Brian Kovak (Carnegie Mellon University); Shan Li (Carnegie Mellon University) |
| Abstract: | Mexican low-skilled migrants are found to be highly mobile when they face labor demand shocks. This paper examines the role of migration networks in Mexican-born immigrants’ location choices. We rely on the sizable variation in labor demand declines across states during the Great Recession to identify migration responses to demand shocks and use a novel set of data, the Matrícula Consular de Alta Seguridad (MCAS) data, to construct migration network measures. We find that migration networks indeed play an important part in Mexican migrants’ responsiveness to local demand shocks.In particular, migrants respond to local economic conditions and conditions in network-connected locations when making location decisions. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:196&r=ure |
| By: | Celbis, Mehmet Guney (UNU-MERIT, and Piri Reis University); Wong, Pui-hang (UNU-MERIT); Guznajeva, Tatjana (Technopolis Group) |
| Abstract: | This study presents novel research on the economic geography of Belarus. The 118 regions of Belarus are examined in relation to the Eurasian Customs Union (EACU) through the period 2005-2014. Spatial clusters and outliers are identified and compared across the periods prior and after the establishment of the EACU. We observe that EACU membership corresponds to a slowdown in the process of regional economic convergence in Belarus, and intensified economic competition with a geographical dimension among regions. We also observe that urban regions have benefited more from the EACU than less urbanised areas. |
| Keywords: | Eurasian Customs Union, Belarus, convergence, spatial analysis, economic integration |
| JEL: | F15 F55 O47 R11 R12 R58 |
| Date: | 2018–07–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2018029&r=ure |
| By: | Diether W. Beuermann; C. Kirabo Jackson |
| Abstract: | Recent studies document that, in many cases, sought after schools do not improve student test scores. Three explanations are that (i) existing studies identify local average treatment effects that do not generalize to the average student, (ii) parents cannot discern schools’ causal impacts, and (iii) parents value schools that improve outcomes not well measured by test scores. To shed light on this, we employ administrative and survey data from Barbados. Using discrete choice models, we document that most parents have strong preferences for the same schools. Using a regression-discontinuity design, we estimate the causal impact of attending a preferred school on a broad array of outcomes. As found in other settings, preferred schools have better peers, but do not improve short-run test scores. We implement a new statistical test and find that this null effect is not due to school impacts being different for marginal students than for the average student. Looking at longer-run outcomes, for girls, preferred schools reduce teen motherhood, increase educational attainment, increase earnings, and improve health. In contrast, for boys, the results are mixed. The pattern for girls is consistent with parents valuing school impacts on outcomes not well measured by test scores, while the pattern for boys is consistent with parents being unable to identify schools’ causal impacts. Our results indicate that impacts on test scores may be an incomplete measure of school quality. |
| JEL: | H0 I20 J0 |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24920&r=ure |
| By: | Daniel O. Gilligan; Naureen Karachiwalla; Ibrahim Kasiirye; Adrienne M. Lucas; Derek Neal |
| Abstract: | In low-income countries, educators often encourage weak primary students to drop out before reaching the end of primary school in order to avoid the negative attention they receive when their students perform poorly on primary leaving exams. We conducted an experiment in rural Uganda that sought to reduce dropout rates in grade six and seven by rewarding teachers for the performance of each of their students. Teachers responded to this Pay for Percentile (PFP) incentive system in ways that raised attendance rates two school years later from .56 to .60. These attendance gains were driven primarily by outcomes in treatment schools that provide textbooks for grade six math students, where two-year attendance rates rose from .57 to .64. In these same schools, students whose initial skills levels prepared them to use grade six math texts enjoyed significant gains in math achievement. We find little evidence that PFP improved attendance or achievement in schools without books even though PFP had the same impact on reported teacher effort in schools with and without books. We document several results that are consistent with the hypothesis that teacher effort and books are complements in education production. |
| JEL: | I0 J3 O1 |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24911&r=ure |
| By: | Frame, W. Scott (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta); Steiner, Eva (Cornell University) |
| Abstract: | We study how the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing (QE) influenced the behavior of Agency mortgage real estate investment trusts (REITs)—a set of institutions identified by the Financial Stability Oversight Council as posing systemic risk. We document that Agency mortgage REITs: [i] equity prices reacted to QE announcements and in a manner consistent with their business prospects; [ii] grew markedly during QE2 and receded during QE3 in relation to the Federal Reserve's Agency MBS purchase activity; and [iii] increased their leverage during QE3. Our findings are consistent with unconventional monetary policy actions crowding out private investment and "reaching for yield" behavior by financial institutions. |
| Keywords: | quantitative easing; risk-taking; REITs; GSEs; mortgages; securitization |
| JEL: | E58 G21 G23 G28 |
| Date: | 2018–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedawp:2018-08&r=ure |
| By: | Enid Slack (University of Toronto) |
| Abstract: | Local fiscal autonomy is the extent to which local governments rely on locally raised revenues for funding (rather than receiving transfers from federal or provincial governments) and on their ability to set their own tax rates. A comparison of Toronto, London, Paris, Berlin, Frankfurt, Madrid, Tokyo, and New York reveals that municipal expenditure responsibilities differ among the eight cities; municipal taxes (including local taxes and shared taxes) per capita differ; and, not surprisingly, the extent of local fiscal autonomy also differs. Benefits of tax autonomy include greater efficiency and accountability in the public sector. Tax autonomy gives voters some ability to decide on tax levels and, in that way, taxpayers are more aware of public-service outcomes. Moreover, for these eight cities, there appears to be a relationship between dependence on own-source revenues and the size of the metropolitan economy, with a couple of exceptions. Toronto is less dependent on intergovernmental transfers than many other major cities but, with the exception of London, it has fewer tax options than the other cities. New York is less reliant on state transfers and can levy many different taxes, although the City still needs state permission to implement some new taxes. Tokyo and Paris rely heavily on own–source revenues, but may not have much control over their tax sources. Frankfurt and Berlin have access to more tax sources than many of the other cities, but a portion of these are shared taxes over which they have no tax rate–setting ability. Madrid relies relatively heavily on property taxes but also shares in revenues from the personal income tax, value-added tax, and selected excise taxes. Canadian cities rely largely on the property tax and, although it is a good tax for local governments, it does not grow as the economy grows; it is also highly visible and politically contentious. Moreover, it is not the most appropriate tax to pay for social services or social housing. A mix of taxes would give large Canadian cities more fiscal autonomy, the flexibility to be internationally competitive, and the ability to respond to changing economic and political conditions. |
| Keywords: | fiscal autonomy; local taxes; municipal finance |
| Date: | 2017–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mfg:perspe:19&r=ure |
| By: | Annika Barbara Bergbauer; Eric A. Hanushek; Ludger Wößmann |
| Abstract: | School systems regularly use student assessments for accountability purposes. But, as highlighted by our conceptual model, different configurations of assessment usage generate performance-conducive incentives of different strengths for different stakeholders in different school environments. We build a dataset of over 2 million students in 59 countries observed over 6 waves in the international PISA student achievement test 2000-2015. Our empirical model exploits the country panel dimension to investigate reforms in assessment systems over time, where identification comes from taking out country and year fixed effects along with a rich set of student, school, and country measures. We find that the expansion of standardized external comparisons, both school-based and student-based, is associated with improvements in student achievement. The effect of school-based comparison is stronger in countries with initially low performance. Similarly, standardized monitoring without external comparison has a positive effect in initially poorly performing countries. By contrast, the introduction of solely internal testing and internal teacher monitoring including inspectorates does not affect student achievement. Our findings point out the pitfalls of overly broad generalizations from specific country testing systems. |
| Keywords: | student assessment, testing, accountability, student achievement, international, PISA |
| JEL: | I28 H52 L15 D82 P51 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7168&r=ure |
| By: | Pablo Fajgelbaum; Cecile Gaubert (UC Berkeley) |
| Abstract: | We study optimal spatial policies in quantitative trade and geography frameworks with spillovers and sorting of heterogeneous workers. We rst characterize ecient spatial transfers and the labor subsidies that would implement them. Then, we quantify the aggregate and distributional eects of implementing these policies in the U.S. economy. Under homogeneous workers and constant-elasticity spillovers, a constant labor subsidy over space restores efficiency regardless of micro heterogeneity in fundamentals and trade costs. In that case, the quantification suggests that the observed spatial transfers in the U.S. are close to ecient. Spillovers across heterogeneous workers create an additional rationale for place-specific subsidies to attain optimal sorting. Under heterogeneous workers, the quantication suggests that optimal spatial policies may require stronger redistribution towards low-wage cities than in the data, reduce wage inequality in larger cities, weaken spatial sorting by skill, and lead to signicant welfare gains. Spillovers across dierent types of workers are a key driving force behind these results. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:1319&r=ure |
| By: | Ruediger Bachmann (University of Notre Dame); Sebastian Rueth (Ghent University) |
| Abstract: | What are the macroeconomic consequences of changing aggregate lending standards in residential mortgage markets, as measured by loan-to-value (LTV) ratios? Using a structural VAR, we find that GDP and business investment increase following an expansionary LTV shock. Residential investment, by contrast, falls, a result that depends on the systematic reaction of monetary policy. We show that, in our sample, the Fed tended to respond directly to expansionary LTV shocks by raising the monetary policy instrument, and, as a result, mortgage rates increase and residential investment declines. The monetary policy reaction function in the US appears to include lending standards in residential markets, a finding we confirm in Taylor rule estimations. Without the endogenous monetary policy reaction residential investment increases. House prices and household (mortgage) debt behave in a similar way. This suggests that an exogenous loosening of LTV ratios is unlikely to explain booms in residential investment and house prices, or run ups in household leverage, at least in times of conventional monetary policy. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:212&r=ure |
| By: | Camille Regnier (Université de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper is to address the question of open space preservation in an urbanization context. We study the possibility of preserving two different types of open spaces, large open spaces at cities' outskirt and small intra-urban open spaces. Thus we contribute to the debate of land sharing versus land sparing in a urban context. We analyze these questions by way of a theoretical microeconomics framework taking into account both households' preferences for open space and regulator's interest for the preservation of ecosystem services. We compare land use patterns at private equilibrium and when the social planner maximizes social welfare. |
| Keywords: | open space, land sharing, land sparing |
| JEL: | R14 Q24 |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:wpaper:2018.08&r=ure |
| By: | Holtermann, Linus; Hundt, Christian |
| Abstract: | Our paper seeks to provide empirical evidence for a spatial-temporal system of (short-term) regional resilience determinants. Based on groundwork from Martin (2012) and Martin and Sunley (2015), we employ a nested hierarchy of regional and national determinants to constitute the spatial dimension, while we model the temporal dimension through a resistance and a recovery phase. Utilising hierarchical panel data models for a sample of 22 European countries, we can confirm the presence of a spatial-temporal system as we find significant determinants at both spatial levels that are connected via cross-level interactions and reveal varying, if not opposing directions of influences across the sensitivity and recovery phase. |
| Keywords: | resilience, shocks, resistance and recovery, regional development, regional and national determinants, economic crisis, Europe |
| JEL: | C33 R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2018–08–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:88359&r=ure |
| By: | Katherine Eriksson; Zachary A. Ward |
| Abstract: | We provide the first estimates of ethnic segregation between 1850 and 1940 that cover the entire United States and are consistent across time and space. To do so, we adapt the Logan-Parman method to immigrants by measuring segregation based on the nativity of the next-door neighbor. In addition to providing a consistent measure of segregation, we also document new patterns such as the high levels of segregation in rural areas, in small factory towns and for non-European sources. Early 20th century immigrants spatially assimilated at a slow rate, leaving immigrants’ lived experience distinct from natives for decades after arrival. |
| JEL: | F22 J61 N31 |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24764&r=ure |
| By: | Alan Xiaochen Feng |
| Abstract: | Bank competition can induce excessive risk taking due to risk shifting. This paper tests this hypothesis using micro-level U.S. mortgage data by exploiting the exogenous variation in local house price volatility. The paper finds that, in response to high expected house price volatility, banks in U.S. counties with a competitive mortgage market lowered lending standards by twice as much as those with concentrated markets between 2000 and 2005. Such risk taking pattern was associated with real economic outcomes during the financial crisis, including higher unemployment rates in local real sectors. |
| Date: | 2018–07–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:18/157&r=ure |
| By: | Hugh Macartney; Robert McMillan; Uros Petronijevic |
| Abstract: | This paper documents a new empirical regularity: teacher value-added increases within-teacher when accountability incentives are strengthened. That finding motivates a strategy to separate value-added into incentive-varying teacher effort and incentive-invariant teacher ability, combining rich longitudinal data with exogenous incentive-policy variation. Our estimates indicate that teacher effort and ability both raise current and future test scores, with ability having stronger effects. These estimates feed into a framework for comparing the cost-effectiveness of alternative education policies. For illustration, we show incentive-oriented reforms can outperform policies targeting teacher ability, given their potential to influence all teachers rather than a subset. |
| JEL: | I21 J24 M52 |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24747&r=ure |
| By: | Chia-Lin Chen |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the role of modern trams in Chinese cities and identifies issues and challenges of integrating modern trams with other public transport modes. The Suzhou National High-tech District (SND) Tram is chosen as a representative case for study. The findings show that, due to the strict national policy and approval procedures, trams are often planned and constructed as a good alternative to metro systems. Instead of practically addressing transport congestion, with a “development-driven” and “control and management” ideology, the current approach emphasises new development and avoids potential confrontation and social unrest in dense urban areas. As a result, despite massive investment in tram and other public transport modes, public transport mobility is not competititve against car mobility. Lessons learnt from the Suzhou tram case include prioritising public transport, well articulating public transport systems at multiple levels, combining strategic planning and supportive policies, enabling open competition for tram operation, and exercising leadership for collective goverance. |
| Date: | 2017–07–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:itfaab:2017/21-en&r=ure |
| By: | Nan Geng |
| Abstract: | House prices in many advanced economies have risen substantially in recent decades. But experience indicates that housing prices can diverge from their long-run equilibrium or sustainable levels, potentially followed by adjustments that impact macroeconomic and financial stability. Therefore there is a need to monitor house prices and assess whether they are sustainable. This paper focuses on fundamentals expected to drive long run trends in house prices, including institutional and structural factors. The scale of potential valuation gaps is gauged on the basis of a cross-country panel analysis of house prices in 20 OECD countries. |
| Date: | 2018–07–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:18/164&r=ure |
| By: | Guo, Si (International Monetary Fund); Pei, Yun (University at Buffalo); Xie, Zoe (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta) |
| Abstract: | We build an infinite horizon equilibrium model of fiscal federation, where anticipation of transfers from the central government creates incentives for local governments to overborrow. Absent commitment, the central government over-transfers, which distorts the central-local distribution of resources. Applying the model to fiscal decentralization, we find when decentralization widens local governments’ fiscal gap, borrowings by both local and central governments rise. Quantitatively, fiscal decentralization accounts for from 19 percent to 40 percent of changes in general government debt in Spain during 1988–2006. A macroprudential tax on local borrowing that implements Pareto optimal allocation would reduce debt by 27 percent and raise welfare by 3.75 percent. |
| Keywords: | fiscal federalism; time-consistent policy; decentralization; public debt |
| JEL: | E61 E62 H74 |
| Date: | 2018–08–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedawp:2018-09&r=ure |
| By: | Leland Crane (Federal Reserve Board); Henry Hyatt (US Census Bureau); Seth Murray (University of Maryland) |
| Abstract: | We consider sorting in the labor market, that is, whether high or low productivity workers and firms tend to match with each other, and how this varies cyclically using U.S. matched employer-employee data for recent decades. Although there is considerable disagreement in the nature and extent of assortative matching among different methods for ranking workers and firms, we consistently find that the productivity composition of workers and firms moves in opposite directions over the business cycle. During and after recessions, low-productivity workers leave the labor market, while low-productivity firms gain as a share of employment, so positive assortative matching is greatest in magnitude in the early stages of economic contractions. These results are consistent with differences between workers, rather than firms, driving the value of output, which we demonstrate using a model of labor market search. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:939&r=ure |
| By: | Anna Gerke (Audencia Recherche - Audencia Business School); Yan Dalla Pria (CeRSM - Centre de Recherche sur le Sport et le Mouvement - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre) |
| Abstract: | Sport clusters can be defined as geographical concentrations of private, public, and non-profitorganizations in a denominated area with a shared interest in one or similar sports. This paper addresses the following question: how does socioeconomic proximity – linkages between organizations or individuals which go beyond spatial proximity – influence the development and properties of sport clusters? This qualitative study investigates four sport clusters in surfing and sailing. The findings indicate that there are two types of sport clusters based on different forms of socioeconomic proximity. The surfing clusters are characterized by cognitive proximity based on convergent perceptions and managerial practices. The sailing clusters are characterzed by organizational proximity based on complementarity. This article (1) discusses the resilience properties of these two types of clusters and (2) proposes a two-step model of cluster development. This research has implications for policy makers and cluster members by showing that clusters should be considered to be social constructions that go through different stages. |
| Keywords: | sport cluster,socioeconomic proximity,resilience |
| Date: | 2017–06–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01852222&r=ure |
| By: | Bridoux, Flore; Coeurderoy, Regis; Durand, Rodolphe |
| Abstract: | Limited attention has been paid to the crucial role of individuals’ motivation and social interactions in capability development. Building on literature in social psychology and behavioral economics that links heterogeneity in individual social motives to social interactions, we explain how the variation, selection, and retention processes underlying a group’s deliberate capability development are affected by the composition of the group in terms of individuals’ social motives in interplay with the organizational-level motivational levers designed by managers. Our multilevel theoretical model suggests that individual-level heterogeneity leads to the development of capabilities along different paths. For practice, this implies that, according to the composition of the group in terms of social motives, capabilities are more or less technically and evolutionary adequate and source of business process performance. |
| Keywords: | Deliberate Capability Development; Motivational Microfoundations; Social Interactions; Business Process Performance; Multilevel |
| JEL: | L10 |
| Date: | 2016–10–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ebg:heccah:1176&r=ure |
| By: | Enrico Berkes (Northwestern University); Marti Mestieri (Northwestern University); Ricardo Dahis (Northwestern University) |
| Abstract: | Abstract We analyze the universe of U.S. patents over the period 1830-2015. We document how innovation patterns have evolved over time and space, paying special attention to the evolution of leading technological sectors and the location of innovation hubs. We infer the leading technologies at different points in time from the evolution of the patent citation network. We document the rise and fall in prominence of different technologies and show that the technology frontier has moved towards more income elastic and skill-intensive sectors. We document innovation patterns at the city level using geocoded information for all patents in our sample. We find that innovation has become more clustered in space over time and, at the same time, the average distance between inventors of a patent has also increased over time. We then analyze whether the technological mix of a city has predictive power for future city growth. We also explore whether recombinant growth has become more prominent over time. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:1129&r=ure |
| By: | Cortes, Kalena E. (Texas A&M University); Fricke, Hans (Stanford University); Loeb, Susanna (Stanford University); Song, David S. (Stanford University) |
| Abstract: | Text-message based parenting programs have proven successful in improving parental engagement and preschoolers' literacy development. The tested programs have provided a combination of (a) general information about important literacy skills, (b) actionable advice (i.e., specific examples of such activities), and (c) encouragement. The regularity of the texts – each week throughout the school year – also provided nudges to focus parents' attention on their children. This study seeks to identify mechanisms of the overall effect of such programs. It investigates whether the actionable advice alone drives previous study's results and whether additional texts of actionable advice improve program effectiveness. The findings provide evidence that text messaging programs can supply too little or too much information. A single text per week is not as effective at improving parenting practices as a set of three texts that also include information and encouragement, but a set of five texts with additional actionable advice is also not as effective as the three-text approach. The results on children's literacy development depend strongly on the child's pre-intervention literacy skills. For children in the lowest quarter of the pretreatment literacy assessments, only providing one example of an activity decreases literacy scores by 0.15 standard deviations relative to the original intervention. Literacy scores of children in higher quarters are marginally higher with only one tip per week. We find no positive effects of increasing to five texts per week. |
| Keywords: | text messaging, parental engagement, literacy and reading skills, and parent-child activities |
| JEL: | I21 I24 J18 |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11669&r=ure |
| By: | Rickman, Dan S.; Wang, Hongbo |
| Abstract: | Early reviews of the academic literature on the economic effects of state and local taxes and expenditures suggested that not enough was known upon which to base policy. The reviews called for better data and improvements in empirical methodology. This paper reviews studies conducted since the early literature reviews to assess our current state of knowledge. The conclusion of the study is that we know more now. But our knowledge is unlikely to ever be sufficient to provide universal policy guidance. Rather, we suggest that more research is needed on specific state and local policies for specific circumstances, consistent with the general principles that guide place-based policy. |
| Keywords: | State and local taxes; regional economic growth |
| JEL: | H2 H72 R12 R38 |
| Date: | 2018–08–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:88422&r=ure |
| By: | Giacomo De Giorgi (GSEM University of Geneva) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we study consumption network e¤ects. Does the consumption of our peers a¤ect our own consumption? How large is such e¤ect? What are the economic mechanisms behind it? We use long panel data on the entire Danish population to construct a measure of consumption based on administrative tax records on income and assets. We combine tax record data with matched employer-employee data so that we can construct peer groups based on workplace, which gives us a much tighter, precise, and credible de nition of networks than used in previous literature. We use the available data to construct peer groups that do not perfectly overlap, and as such provide valid instruments derived from the network structure of ones peers group. The longitudinal nature of our data also allow us to estimate xed e¤ects models, which help us tackle reection, self-selection, and common-shocks issues all at once. We estimate non-negligible and statistically signi cant endogenous and exogenous peer e¤ects. Estimated e¤ects are quite relevant for policies as they generate non-negligible multiplier e¤ect. We also investigate what mechanisms generate such e¤ects, distinguishing between "keeping up with the Joneses", a status model, and a more traditional risk sharing view. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:692&r=ure |
| By: | Peyman Khezr (School of Economics, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia); Shabbir Ahmad (UQ Business School, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the behavior of ‘buyers’ in the Sydney housing market when they purchase homes. The literature suggests that when individuals evaluate their utilities in an uncertain situation, they may use a reference point as an anchor. We suggest that asking prices in the housing market could act as reference points or anchors and affect the utility buyers receive from buying properties. We note that the other role of the asking price is to signal unobserved characteristics of properties to buyers. In this study, we separate these two effects and empirically investigate the implications on the final price of properties with data on the Sydney housing market. We found strong evidence of anchoring behavior by buyers in this market. |
| Keywords: | Reference dependence; anchoring; asking price; housing market. |
| JEL: | D80 R30 D12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qld:uq2004:596&r=ure |
| By: | Fabian Eckert (Yale University); Conor Walsh (Yale University); Mads Hejlesen (Aarhus University) |
| Abstract: | Using a random settlement policy for refugees in Denmark between 1986-1998, we provide evidence for steeper returns to experience in big cities. Exploiting exogenous variation in initial placement, we show that the slope of an individual’s lifetime wage path depends strongly on placement in the country’s capital, Copenhagen. Conditional on observables, settled refugees initially earn similar hourly wages across regions, but those placed in Copenhagen see their wages grow 0.63% faster than others with each year of experience they accumulate. We further show that this premium is driven by greater acquisition of experience at high-wage establishments, and differential sorting across occupations. Finally, to account for dynamic selection within the city, we develop and estimate a structural model of earnings dynamics. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:1214&r=ure |
| By: | valter di Giacinto (Bank of Italy); Giacinto Micucci (Bank of Italy); Alessandro Tosoni (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | We analyse the geographic localization and the productivity of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) in Italy, using both census data and balance-sheet data at the firm level. We find that KIBS are generally agglomerated in urban areas where they attain significantly higher labour productivity levels. Urban productivity advantages are found to be strongly associated with the local availability of human capital and to standard proxies of Marshall-Arrow-Romer and Jacobs agglomeration economies. Forward demand linkages and some factors impacting on the thickness of the local labour market also appear to be relevant. On the whole, the set of explanatory factors considered could explain the entire urban productivity premium estimated for Italian KIBS firms. |
| Keywords: | knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS); urban areas; agglomeration economies. |
| JEL: | J24 L84 R30 |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_443_18&r=ure |
| By: | Marianne Bertrand; Emir Kamenica |
| Abstract: | We analyze temporal trends in cultural distance between groups in the US defined by income, education, gender, race, and political ideology. We measure cultural distance between two groups as the ability to infer an individual's group based on his or her (i) media consumption, (ii) consumer behavior, (iii) time use, or (iv) social attitudes. Gender difference in time use decreased between 1965 and 1995 and has remained constant since. Differences in social attitudes by political ideology and income have increased over the last four decades. Whites and non-whites have converged somewhat on attitudes but have diverged in consumer behavior. For all other demographic divisions and cultural dimensions, cultural distance has been broadly constant over time. |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24771&r=ure |
| By: | Ana Figueiredo (Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Barcelona GSE) |
| Abstract: | Why does the place where children grow up shape their opportunities in life? This paper explores the role of imperfect information and local information transmission as a novel explanation. First, I uncover a new empirical fact: when the college premium is low, a higher share of college graduates living in a school-district is associated with lower college enrollment of students graduating from that district. While this pattern is hard to reconcile through models with local spillovers in the production of human capital, I show that it is consistent with a model featuring imperfect information and local learning. The key elements are uncertainty about the skill premium and learning through signals of wages earned by nearby college graduates. In this environment, more exposure to highly educated neighbors brings more information about the skill premium. However, this only translates into more education if the observed wages generate the perception of a higher skill premium. Calibrating the model to match micro data from Detroit, I find that this novel mechanism explains more than half of the college enrollment gap between children of parents with a college degree and children from parents with a lower education level. Implementing a disclosure policy that corrects inaccurate perceptions about the skill premium closes this gap substantially. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:804&r=ure |
| By: | Alberto Martin (CREI, UPF and Barcelona GSE); Enrique Moral Benito (Banco de Espana); Tom Schmitz (Bocconi University) |
| Abstract: | What are the effects of a housing bubble on the rest of the economy? We show that if firms and banks face collateral constraints, a housing bubble initially raises credit demand by housing firms while leaving credit supply unaffected, and therefore crowds out credit to non-housing fims. If time passes and the bubble lasts, however, housing fims pay back their higher loans. This leads to an increase in banks' net worth and thus to an expansion in their supply of credit to all firms, so that crowding-out gives way to crowding-in. These predictions are confirmed by empirical evidence from the Spanish housing bubble of 1995-2008. In the early years of the bubble, non-housing firms reduced their credit from banks that were more exposed to the bubble, and firms that were more exposed to these banks exhibited lower credit and output growth. In its last years, however, these effects were reversed. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:299&r=ure |
| By: | Gentina, Elodie (SKEMA Business School – Université de Lille); Shrum, L. J. (HEC Paris); Lowrey, Tina M. (HEC Paris - Marketing); Vitell, Scott J. (University of Mississippi - School of Business Administration); Rose, Gregory (Washington State University - Department of Information Systems) |
| Abstract: | What causes adolescents to develop consumer' ethical beliefs? Prior research has largely focused on the negative influence of peers and negative patterns of parent-child interactions to explain risky and unethical consumer behaviors. We take a different perspective by focusing on the positive support of parents and peers in adolescent social development. An integrative model is developed that links parental and peer support with adolescents' self-worth motives, their materialistic tendencies, and their consumer ethical beliefs. In a study of 984 adolescents, we demonstrate support for a sequential mediation model in which peer and parental support is positively related to adolescents' self-esteem and feelings of power, which are each associated with decreased materialism as a means of compensating for low self-worth. This reduced materialism is, in turn, associated with more ethical consumer beliefs. |
| Keywords: | Ethics; Adolescent consumers; Materialism; Self-esteem; Power; Peer support; Parental support |
| JEL: | M31 |
| Date: | 2018–08–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ebg:heccah:1291&r=ure |
| By: | Manudeep Bhuller; Gordon B. Dahl; Katrine V. Løken; Magne Mogstad |
| Abstract: | Using quasi-random assignment of criminal cases to judges, we estimate large incarceration spillovers in criminal and brother networks. When a defendant is sent to prison, there are 51 and 32 percentage point reductions in the probability his criminal network members and younger brothers will be charged with a crime, respectively, over the ensuing four years. Correlational evidence misleadingly finds small positive effects. These spillovers are of first order importance for policy, as the network reductions in future crimes committed are larger than the direct effect on the incarcerated defendant. |
| JEL: | K42 |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24878&r=ure |
| By: | Jing Chen (Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University); Randall Jackson (Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University) |
| Abstract: | This part of the project identifies existing industrial clusters for the Potomac Highlands region in West Virginia and seeks potential industries or clusters for economic development. We also evaluate strengths and gaps of existing industry clusters. Our cluster analysis comprises three parts, including (1) location quotient (LQ) analysis, (2) shift-share analysis, and (3) input-output (I-O) analysis. Results of both location quotient and shift-share analyses are used for industry targeting, whereas input-output analysis measures existing cluster strengths and bottlenecks for potential cluster diversification strategies based on Jackson’s(2015) cluster and diversification strategy (CADS). |
| Keywords: | industry clusters, shift-share, input-output analysis |
| JEL: | R15 L52 O10 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rri:wpaper:2018rd03&r=ure |
| By: | Ferlito, Carmelo |
| Abstract: | Economic reality shows us that business fluctuations are everywhere and the crisis that emerged in the Western world in 2007 is just the latest and most evident manifestation of such dynamics. As mentioned in Ferlito (2016a, pp. 202-203), which develops the vision brought out in Ferlito (2014a), capitalism without fluctuations does not exist. I expressed the idea that business cycles are unavoidable by developing the doctrine of the natural cycle (see in particular Ferlito 2016b, Chapter 3). I will now summarize that framework in order to describe the evolution of the property market in the last decade. Section 2 presents the theory of the natural cycle, which will be used in section 3 for the analysis of the Malaysian property market over the past decade. According to such framework, business cycles are originated from positive profit expectations and each expansionary wave is followed by a secondary wave, which can be called imitative-speculative, usually supported by credit expansion. Such an evolution can be observed in the Malaysian property market from 1997, while today the declining movement is already initiated. In section 4, I focus on certain disproportionalities in the housing industry, arguing that the investor focus on the high-end segment was not unjustified and that government action is crowding out private constructors from the affordable housing segment. In section 5, I present some free market-oriented policy suggestions, aiming to create the conditions to limit the insurgence of future crises, to face the coming property crisis, and to revive the affordable housing market. Section 6 concludes. |
| Keywords: | Property market,Malaysia |
| JEL: | E32 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esrepo:181457&r=ure |
| By: | Kyle Herkenhoff (University of Minnesota); Gordon Phillips (Dartmouth College); Jeremy Lise (University of Minnesota); guido menzio (University of Pennsylvania) |
| Abstract: | We develop a theory of teams to measure the way knowledge diffuses across workers. We extend the sequential auctions framework to allow for workers to influence each other's knowledge. Workers can search on-the-job and leave their team to start a new team, carrying some of their knowledge with them. In contrast to standard sorting models, a firm's type is no longer exogenous; it is coworker human capital. Using a new methodology, we estimate the knowledge diffusion process and the degree of worker complementarities in production with micro wage data and job mobility patterns from the LEHD. Our estimated parameters imply both positive peer effects and strong production complementarities. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:457&r=ure |
| By: | Hodur, Nancy M. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2017–01–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nddaae:261211&r=ure |
| By: | Loren Brandt (University of Toronto); Gueorgui Kambourov (University of Toronto); Kjetil Storesletten (University of Oslo) |
| Abstract: | The non-state manufacturing sector has been the engine of China's economic transformation. Up through the mid-1990s, the sector exhibited large regional differences; subsequently we observe rapid convergence in terms of new firm start-up rates, productivity, and wages. To analyze the drivers of this behavior, we construct a Melitz (2003) model that incorporates location-specific capital wedges, output wedges, and a novel entry barrier. Using Chinese Industry Census data for 1995, 2004, and 2008, we estimate these wedges and examine their role in explaining differences in performance across prefectures and over time. Entry barriers turn out to be the salient friction for explaining performance differences. We investigate the empirical covariates of these entry barriers and find that barriers are causally related to the size of the state sector. Thus, the downsizing of the state sector after 1997 may be important in explaining the rapid manufacturing growth over the 1995-2008 period. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:954&r=ure |
| By: | Goodman, Joshua (Harvard U); Hurwitz, Michael (College Board); Park, Jisung (UCLA); Smith, Jonathan (GA State U) |
| Abstract: | We provide the first evidence that cumulative heat exposure inhibits cognitive skill development and that school air conditioning can mitigate this effect. Student fixed effects models using 10 million PSAT-takers show that hotter school days in the year prior to the test reduce learning, with extreme heat being particularly damaging and larger effects for low income and minority students. Weekend and summer heat has little impact and the effect is not explained by pollution or local economic shocks, suggesting heat directly reduces the productivity of learning inputs. New data providing the first measures of school level air conditioning penetration across the US suggest such infrastructure almost entirely offsets these effects. Without air conditioning, each 1*F increase in school year temperature reduces the amount learned that year by one percent. Our estimates imply that the benefits of school air conditioning likely outweigh the costs in most of the US, particularly given future predicted climate change. |
| Date: | 2018–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp18-014&r=ure |
| By: | Petre Caraiani (Institute for Economic Forecasting, Romanian Academy); Adrian Cantemir Călin (Institute for Economic Forecasting, Romanian Academy); Rangan Gupta (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyze the effects of monetary policy on the bubbles in the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) sector of the United States. We use a time-varying vector autoregressive (VAR) model over the quarterly period of 1972:1 to 2018:1. We find protracted periods, starting from the onset of the recent financial crisis to the end of the sample period, where contractionary monetary policy is associated with increases in the bubble component in the REITs of the US economy. This result, which is robust to alternative REITs indexes, is contrary to the “conventional" view, as well as to the predictions of standard models of bubbles. |
| Keywords: | REITs, Bubbles, VAR, Monetary Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pre:wpaper:201845&r=ure |
| By: | Iacovos Ioannou |
| Abstract: | Lithuania’s current credit cycle highlights the strong link between housing prices and credit. We explore this relationship in more detail by analyzing the main features of credit, housing price, and output cycles in Baltic and Nordic countries during1995-2017. We find a high degree of synchronization between Lithuania’s credit and housing price cycles. Panel regressions show a strong correlation between a credit upturn and housing price upturn. Moreover, panel VAR suggests that shocks in housing prices, credit, and output within and outside Lithuania strongly impact Lithuania’s credit. |
| Date: | 2018–07–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:18/160&r=ure |
| By: | Andrabi, Tahir (Pomona College); Das, Jishnu (World Bank); Khwaja, Asim Ijaz (Harvard U); Ozyurt, Selcuk (Sabanci U); Singh, Niharika (Harvard U) |
| Abstract: | We test for financial constraints as a market failure in education in a low-income country by experimentally allocating unconditional cash grants to either one (L) or to all (H) private schools in a village. Enrollment increases in both treatments, accompanied by infrastructure investments. However, test scores and fees only increase in H along with higher teacher wages. This differential impact follows from a canonical oligopoly model with capacity constraints and endogenous quality: greater financial saturation crowds-in quality investments. Higher social surplus in H, but greater private returns in L underscores the importance of leveraging market structure in designing educational subsidies. |
| JEL: | I25 I28 L22 L26 O16 |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp18-019&r=ure |
| By: | Dario Madeo; Chiara Mocenni |
| Abstract: | Cooperative behavior in real social dilemmas is often perceived as a phenomenon emerging from norms and punishment. To overcome this paradigm, we highlight the interplay between the influence of social networks on individuals, and the activation of spontaneous self-regulating mechanisms, which may lead them to behave cooperatively, while interacting with others and taking conflicting decisions over time. By extending Evolutionary game theory over networks, we prove that cooperation partially or fully emerges whether self-regulating mechanisms are sufficiently stronger than social pressure. Interestingly, even few cooperative individuals act as catalyzing agents for the cooperation of others, thus activating a recruiting mechanism, eventually driving the whole population to cooperate. |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1807.07848&r=ure |
| By: | Marcelo Arbex (University of Windsor); David Wiczer (Stony Brook University); Dennis O'Dea (University of Washington) |
| Abstract: | We introduce an irregular network structure into a model of frictional, on-the-job search in which workers find jobs through their network connections or directly from firms. We show that jobs found through network search have wages that stochastically dominate those found through direct contact. In irregular networks, heterogeneity in the worker's position within the network leads to heterogeneity in wage and employment dynamics: better-connected workers climb the job ladder faster. Despite this rich heterogeneity from the network structure, the mean-field approach allows the problem of our workers to be formulated tractably and recursively. We then calibrate a quantitative version of our mechanism, showing it is consistent with several empirical findings regarding networks and labor markets: jobs found through networks have higher wages and last longer. Finally, we present new evidence consistent with our model that job-to-job switches at higher rungs of the ladder are more likely to use networks. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:1195&r=ure |
| By: | Elliot Anenberg; Andrew C. Chang; Serafin J. Grundl; Kevin B. Moore; Richard Windle |
| Abstract: | We provide evidence that the persistence of the large number of local bank branches across the country may be due to the fact that both depositors and small businesses continue to value local bank branches. |
| Date: | 2018–08–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfn:2018-08-20&r=ure |
| By: | Shadrin Artem (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy) |
| Abstract: | According to the 2017 year-end data, the regional consolidated budgets and local government off-budget funds’ budgets ran a deficit of RUB 61.5 billion or 0.07 percent of GDP. |
| Keywords: | Russian economy, regional and municipal finances, loan market |
| JEL: | H71 H74 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gai:ppaper:ppaper-2018-324&r=ure |
| By: | Kartik Athreya (Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond); Felicia Ionescu (Federal Reserve Board); Ivan Vidangos (Federal Reserve Board); Urvi Neelakantan (Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond) |
| Abstract: | In an infinite horizon dynamic equilibrium model we show how fiscal decentralization in a fiscal federation can affect aggregate government debt. We model borrowing-spending decisions by central and local governmenhose whose preparedness and ability poise them for success. For some others, access to college affects well-being and mobility negligibly. This suggests that investments whose returns do not depend on individual characteristics may be more effective in improving the well-being of some individuals. The stock market, which offers comparably high returns, is a natural alternative. We find that a non-trivial fraction of high-school graduates would prefer a stock-index retirement fund to the subsidy currently flowing to college. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:975&r=ure |
| By: | Simon Alder (University of North Carolina at Chapel H); Illenin Kondo (Notre Dame) |
| Abstract: | Using the timing of China's highway network construction and political leadership cycles, we document systematic political distortions in the road infrastructure network: the birthplaces of the top officials who were in power during the network's design and implementation are more likely to be closer to the actual network compared to the optimal network arising from a quantitative spatial general equilibrium model. We then use the model to quantify the aggregate effects of distortions in the highway network. Altogether, aggregate income is 0.75 percent higher with the optimal highway network compared to the actual highway network. Counterfactual networks with political distortions simply modeled using standard iceberg transportation costs are shown to account for a portion of these welfare losses. Finally, we use light data regressions to show that political distortions to the optimal network are also associated with slower growth. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:1269&r=ure |
| By: | Rasmus Lentz (University of Wisconsin Madison); Jean Marc Robin (Sciences Po); Suphanit Piyapromdee (University College London) |
| Abstract: | Abstract In this paper, we propose an estimation method that allows for unrestricted interactions between worker and firm unobserved characteristics in both wages and the mobility patterns. Related to Bonhomme et al. (2017) (BLM), our method identifies double sided unobserved heterogeneity through an application of the EM-algorithm where the firm classification is repeatedly updated so as to improve on the likelihood function. In Monte Carlo simulations we demonstrate that the cyclic updating of the firm classification provides a significant performance improvement. Firm classification is a result of both wage and mobility patterns in the data. We estimate the model on Danish matched employer-employee data for the period 1985-2013. The estimation includes gender, education, age and time controls. We find an increased sorting pattern over time, although overall sorting is modest. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:469&r=ure |
| By: | Bangsund, Dean A.; Hodur, Nancy M. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Financial Economics |
| Date: | 2017–07–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nddaae:261887&r=ure |
| By: | Stephens, Heather; Deskins, John |
| Abstract: | Many of the most deeply and persistently distressed regions of the U.S., such as parts of West Virginia, suffer from extremely low levels of labor force participation. These are regions where economic despair seems to have taken hold for generations and which face numerous other impediments to economic prosperity, such as opioid abuse. Better understanding these linkages can lead to policy solutions to help the most disadvantaged places break the cycle of economic despair. Using county-level data, we begin by estimating a series of models that allow us to understand the drivers of local labor force participation. We also consider how these drivers may differ between rural and urban areas. We then analyze how levels of participation in the labor force are related to other measures of economic distress. We find that there is significant variation in the drivers of rural and urban labor force participation; however, much of the variation can be explained by known factors. Yet, our results also suggest that there remains some portion of the lower levels of labor force participation in West Virginia and Appalachia that cannot be explained by other factors. Since it appears that labor force participation is important to explaining higher levels of employment growth in rural areas, for persistently distressed regions, finding ways to increase labor force participation may be a critical step toward increasing economic prosperity. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2017–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa18:266306&r=ure |
| By: | Silvia Giacomelli (Bank of Italy); Tommaso Orlando (Bank of Italy); Giacomo Rodano (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | Lengthy in-court debt recovery procedures may adversely affect the economic and financial system, for example in the management of non-performing loans. This paper analyses the characteristics of real estate foreclosures in Italy and the determinants of their length. A decomposition of procedures into phases shows that the phases preceding and following the actual sale also contribute significantly to the total length of the procedure. The length also turns out to be influenced by both observable and unobservable court characteristics. We also find a reduction in the length of the procedures following recent reforms: new regulations are helping to reduce the length of the ‘pre-sale’ phase and, above all, of the sale phase. |
| Keywords: | real estate foreclosures, debt recovery, civil justice |
| JEL: | G21 K10 K40 |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_448_18&r=ure |
| By: | Doleac, Jennifer (Texas A&M University) |
| Abstract: | Two-thirds of those released from prison in the United States will be re-arrested within three years, creating an incarceration cycle that is detrimental to individuals, families, and communities. There is tremendous public interest in ending this cycle, and public policies can help or hinder the reintegration of those released from jail and prison. This review summarizes the rigorous evidence on the effectiveness of programs that aim to improve the reintegration and rehabilitation of the formerly-incarcerated. While there is a need for much more research on this topic, the existing evidence provides some useful guidance for decision-makers. The importance of evaluating existing and new strategies is also discussed. |
| Keywords: | prisoner reentry, employment, recidivism |
| JEL: | K42 J24 H76 I0 |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11646&r=ure |
| By: | Joan Monras (CEMFI) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the causes and effects of the spatial distribution of immigrants across US cities. We document that: a) immigrants concentrate in large, high-wage, and expensive cities, b) the earnings gap between immigrants and natives is higher in larger and more expensive cities, and c) immigrants consume less locally than natives. In order to explain these findings, we develop a simple quantitative spatial equilibrium model in which immigrants consume (either directly, via remittances, or future consumption) a fraction of their income in their countries of origin. Thus, immigrants not only care about local prices, but also about price levels in their home country. Hence, if foreign goods are cheaper than local goods, immigrants prefer to live in high-wage, high-price, and high-productivity cities, where they also accept lower wages than natives. Using the estimated model we show that current levels of immigration have reduced economic activity in smaller, less productive cities by around 3 percent, while they have expanded the activity in large and productive cities by around 4 percent. This has increased total aggregate output per worker by around .15 percent. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:127&r=ure |
| By: | Wojan, Tim; Parker, Timothy |
| Abstract: | Innovation—introducing new goods, services, or ways of doing business that are valued by consumers—is widely regarded as essential to dynamic and resilient local economies with long-term growth potential. However, innovation in the nonfarm rural economy has received relatively little attention. This report uses the first nationally representative sample of self-reported innovation at the U.S. establishment level to: (1) assess the level of innovation in rural establishments relative to their urban peers; (2) identify rural industries that are the most innovation-intensive; and (3) estimate how innovation at the local level may have affected the rate of recovery after the Great Recession. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2017–09–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:264596&r=ure |
| By: | Malginov Georgiy (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy); Sternik Sergey (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy) |
| Abstract: | The actual development pattern displayed by the Russian economy in 2017 only in part answered the expectations voiced by the expert community in late 2016. First of all, last year there was no sustainable recovery at the macroeconomic level. Although the year-end GDP growth rate amounted to 1.5 percent, it still demonstrated rather strong volatility of its index over the course of the year. However, the professional participants of the real estate market, as well as Russian businesses in general, usually look not at GDP or industrial output indices, but at the exchange rate of the national currency, the movement of wages and salaries, and consumer demand, because the latter better describe the existing risks, while the movement pattern of GDP serves only as a background indicator. |
| Keywords: | Russian economy, residential property prices, housing market, housing construction |
| JEL: | K11 H82 L32 L33 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gai:ppaper:ppaper-2018-320&r=ure |
| By: | Partridge, Mark; Tsvetkova, Alexandra |
| Abstract: | President Trump’s election highlights US economic disparities, especially in rural America. This study assesses 21st century economic conditions to identify broad forces underlying the uneven economic performance of US counties, stressing factors that may be important for lagging regions. We examine the effects of three groups of variables (economic, social/demographic, and geography) on job growth, poverty, and median income. To this end, we split the time period before and after the Great Recession and use standard regression analysis augmented by quantile regressions to assess the heterogeneity in economic performance. The results suggest an increasing role played by economic factors including the benefits of having a fast-growing industry structure. Perhaps more importantly, measures of economic dynamics—the ability of a local economy to “rewire” by reallocating resources in response to economic shocks—emerge as important predictors of performance. |
| Keywords: | Political Economy, Public Economics |
| Date: | 2017–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa18:266303&r=ure |
| By: | Marcel Ausloos; Francesca Bartolacci; Nicola G. Castellano; Roy Cerqueti |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the connection between innovation activities of companies -- implemented before crisis -- and their performance -- measured at time of crisis. The companies listed in the STAR Market Segment of the Italian Stock Exchange are analyzed. Innovation is measured through the level of investments in total tangible and intangible fixed assets in 2006-2007, while performance is captured through growth -- expressed by variations of sales, total assets and employees -- profitability -- through ROI or ROS -- and productivity -- through asset turnover or sales per employee in the period 2008-2010. The variables of interest are analyzed and compared through statistical techniques and by adopting cluster analysis. In particular, a Voronoi tessellation is also implemented in a varying centroids framework. In accord with a large part of the literature, we find that the behavior of the performance of the companies is not univocal when they innovate. |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1808.05893&r=ure |
| By: | Fabian Eckert (Yale University); Michael Peters (Yale University) |
| Abstract: | Abstract This paper studies the spatial implications of structural change. By shifting demand towards non-agricultural goods, the structural transformation benefits workers in urban centers and hurts rural locations. At the aggregate level, the economy can respond either through a reallocation of labor from rural to urban areas or through a reduction in agricultural employment within a given location. Using detailed spatial data for the U.S. between 1880 and 2000, we show that spatial reallocation accounts for almost none of the aggregate decline in agricultural employment. We interpret this fact through the lens of a novel quantitative theory of spatial structural change, and show that the absence of the spatial reallocation channel is primarily due to regional productivity shocks, which almost entirely offset the urban bias of the structural transformation. Frictions to labor mobility meanwhile are quantitatively unimportant. The model implies that spatial welfare differences declined substantially during the United States' structural transformation and that the spatial reallocation of factors can account for about 15% of aggregate growth since 1880. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:98&r=ure |
| By: | Theresa Kuchler (NYU Stern School of Business); Arlene Wong (Princeton University); Johannes Stroebel (New York University) |
| Abstract: | To what extend do friendship links affect the adoption of new products? We first combine social network data with individual choices on the adoption of the newly introduced Google Pixel phone to estimate the effects of friends’ adoption of a new product on individual purchasing decisions. We use the exclusive introduction of the Pixel by Verizon combined with differences in Verizon market share across the US to instrument for friends’ initial adoption of the phone. Next, we analyze the role of county level connections on the adoption of a wide variety of products in stores across US counties. Counties that are more connected socially adopt new products at similar times. We explore whether consumers in more socially connected counties have access to a more new products and a wider variety of products and the implications of such consumption externalities on consumer welfare. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:1001&r=ure |
| By: | Athukorala, Prema-chandra (Australian National University); Narayanan, Suresh (Universiti Sains Malaysia) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines prerequisites for a successful interstate economic corridor development program in a country with a federal system of government through an in-depth study of the design, implementation, and the developmental impact of the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) in Malaysia that encompasses the states of Penang, Kedah, Perak, and Perlis. The analysis suggests that the NCER has the potential to leverage on the core strengths of the state of Penang—global connectivity, mature business ecosystem with a strong presence of multinational enterprises, and sizable talent pool—in order to redress the widening interregional and urban–rural development divide. While it is too early to assess the full outcome of NCER initiative, a potential problem looms in the future. The Northern Corridor Implementing Authority (NCIA), charged with implementing projects in the NCER, is structured with no formal positions allotted to planning officials from the member states. This will not pose problems in implementing projects that are in broad alignment with the interest of the states. Conflicts will arise, however, when state and NCIA views on projects differ. This potential problem can be overcome by restructuring the NCIA to allow for the formal inclusion of planning representatives from member states. |
| Keywords: | economic corridor; Malaysia; regional development |
| JEL: | O18 O21 O53 |
| Date: | 2017–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:0520&r=ure |
| By: | Kazenin Konstantin (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy) |
| Abstract: | In 2017, the social and economic development of the North Caucasian regions was proceeding amid introduction by the federal center of some new forms of regional economic support. A change in economic policy priorities in the North Caucasus was taking place amid sluggishness of the health resort sector, growing debt accruals for gas- and power supply and prevailing land-related conflicts. |
| Keywords: | Russian economy, North Caucasus |
| JEL: | H11 H70 H77 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gai:ppaper:ppaper-2018-315&r=ure |
| By: | Woodhead, Alice |
| Abstract: | Across Asia, rapid growth of mega cities is driving change in retail outlets and consumer purchasing. Mega city economies are increasing the purchasing power of millions of people, creating the middle class of Asia. Many Asian consumers are internationally educated and are adopting the food habits of western consumers. Increasingly, shelf-ready packaged meats, cheese and imported fruit and vegetables are now purchased from supermarkets rather than local wet markets. In the past, most of Asian food wastage occurred post-harvest, during distribution to wet markets. Congested mega cities have limited cold storage systems and most food continues to be transported in nonrefrigerated trucks. Travel times have increased along congested roads and much imported and local food has lost its freshness long before it reaches the consumer. This results in very short shelf life and increased waste. The systemic failures across food distribution and waste management systems are resulting in mega waste. Unsorted waste, from the ‘last mile’ (distribution centre to consumption), ends up in open landfills on the edges of cities. The challenge is immense. This and the next four presentations explore some of the technology and policy drivers that can help us to understand the problem, including creating energy from waste, and helping consumers make informed choices. |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2016–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp16:257229&r=ure |
| By: | Mask, Joshua |
| Abstract: | I examine long-term employment and wage consequences for refugees who immigrate to the United States under different business cycle conditions. It is difficult to causally identify the relationship between initial economic conditions and subsequent outcomes for most immigrants because they can choose when and where they immigrate. However, refugees offer a unique opportunity to empirically measure these outcomes because their dates of arrival and states of placement are exogenously chosen through the US Refugee Resettlement Program. For every one percentage point increase in the national unemployment rate at arrival, refugees on average experience a 2.99% reduction in wages five years later and a 1.8 percentage point reduction in employment four years later. Estimates using state unemployment rate at arrival show less persistence suggesting mobility or differential economic improvement across states may be important in mitigating these effects. I also divide the sample across gender and educational attainment. I find no evidence of wage scarring for uneducated males but observe a 4.85% reduction in wages five years later for high school-educated males and a 5.29% reduction in wages four years later for college-educated. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Labor Market Outcomes, Settlement Policies, Recession |
| JEL: | J15 J24 J31 J41 J61 |
| Date: | 2018–08–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:88492&r=ure |
| By: | Akcomak, Semih (UNU-MERIT, and Middle East Technical University); Erdil, Erkan (Middle East Technical University); Cetinkaya, Umut Yılmaz (Middle East Technical University) |
| Abstract: | In a knowledge economy, it is interesting to see that the concept of knowledge cohesion is a fertile soil for research. Despite the ongoing interest in investigating whether economic cohesion has been achieved in Europe there is no research that looks at knowledge cohesion. Though it is difficult to investigate such an abstract concept one can look at a more concrete concept such as convergence. Using the European Union Framework Programme data from 1984 to 2016 and simple network analysis and regressions we show that there are signs of knowledge convergence within the NUTS2 regions of Europe. Despite the fact that the top performers persist over the years convergence is much stronger among the less developed regions. |
| Keywords: | knowledge, convergence, cohesion, diffusion, Europe |
| JEL: | D83 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2018–06–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2018027&r=ure |
| By: | Goetz, Stephan J.; Davlasheridze, Meri |
| Abstract: | We estimate a fixed effects county level panel data model to relate socioeconomic variables to opioid-related drug overdoses, which cost the nation in excess of $430bn in 2015. In addition to demographic and labor market variables we include lagged employment shares by major industry and self-employment shares, as well as cumulative counts of presidentially declared disasters. We find that rurality, as measured by lower population density, is associated with higher overdose rates. Also, for each $10,000 reduction in net income per farm, opioids overdoses rose by 10% from a national average of 10.2 deaths per 100,000 people. |
| Keywords: | Health Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa18:266296&r=ure |
| By: | Audretsch, David (Indiana University); Link, Albert (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | A compelling body of research has found that investments in knowledge from other firms and universities spill over to enhance the performance of entrepreneurial firms. This literature has shown that firm performance is positively related to investments in new knowledge by other firms and research universities. This paper addresses a gap in the literature by positing that public sector knowledge is also conducive to enhancing performance by knowledge intensive entrepreneurial (KIE) firms. Our findings suggest that the public sector provides a fertile source of knowledge for enhancing KIE firm performance. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship; performance; knowledge spillovers; public sector |
| JEL: | H41 L26 |
| Date: | 2018–08–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:uncgec:2018_005&r=ure |
| By: | Bigelow, Daniel; Borchers, Allison |
| Abstract: | The United States has a total land area of about 2.3 billion acres. In 2012, the major land uses were grassland pasture and rangeland at 655 million acres (29 percent of U.S. total); forest-use land at 632 million (28 percent); cropland at 392 million acres (17 percent); special uses (primarily parks and wildlife areas) at 316 million acres (14 percent); miscellaneous uses (such as wetlands, tundra, and unproductive woodlands) at 196 million acres (9 percent); and urban land at 70 million acres (3 percent). This study presents findings from the most recent (2012) inventory of U.S. major land uses, drawing on data from USDA, the U.S. Census Bureau, public land management and conservation agencies, and other sources. The data are collected for each State to estimate the use of several broad classes and subclasses of agricultural and nonagricultural land over time. National and regional trends in land use are compared with earlier major land-use estimates. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Livestock Production/Industries, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–08–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:263079&r=ure |
| By: | Cui, Shana; Pittman, Russell; Zhao, Jian |
| Abstract: | Twenty years of debate regarding the restructuring of the Chinese freight railway have failed to yield a consensus. Early policy statements favoring the creation of above-the-rail competition over a monopoly infrastructure – the “European” model of rail restructuring – have broadened into a lively policy and scholarly debate that includes as an alternative the division of the system into competing vertically integrated railways – the “Americas” model of restructuring. To date, however, there have been no tangible reform steps beyond organizational restructuring, the construction of new coal railroads, some with private-sector participation, and the introduction of scheduled service, especially for containers, between China and Europe. In this paper we argue in favor of the Americas model as a basis for restructuring and offer two alternative scenarios for the creation of multiple vertically integrated freight railways. Both plans enable competition between independent firms and routes for import/export traffic, one a southern, One Belt/One Road path, the other a northern path via the Trans-Siberian Railway. |
| Keywords: | Freight railway, restructuring, competition, vertical separation, horizontal separation, China |
| JEL: | L14 L33 L43 L92 O18 R42 |
| Date: | 2018–06–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:88407&r=ure |
| By: | Marbach, Moritz; Hainmueller, Jens; Hangartner, Dominik |
| Abstract: | Many European countries impose employment bans that prevent asylum seekers from entering the local labor market for a certain waiting period upon arrival. We provide evidence on the long-term effects of such employment bans on the subsequent economic integration of refugees. We leverage a natural experiment in Germany, where a court ruling prompted a reduction in the length of the employment ban. We find that five years after the waiting period was reduced, employment rates were about 20 percentage points lower for refugees who, upon arrival, had to wait an additional seven months before they were allowed to enter the labor market. It took up to ten years for this employment gap to disappear. Our findings suggest that longer employment bans considerably slowed down the economic integration of refugees and reduced their motivation to integrate early on after arrival. A marginal social cost analysis for the study sample suggests that this employment ban cost German taxpayers about 40 million Euro per year on average in terms of welfare expenditures and forgone tax revenues from unemployed refugees. |
| Keywords: | asylum policy; refugee migration; economic integration; employment ban labor market |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2018–08–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:89809&r=ure |
| By: | Bell, Brian; Bindler, Anna; Machin, Stephen |
| Abstract: | Recessions lead to short-term job loss, lower happiness, and decreasing income levels. There is growing evidence that workers who first join the labor market during economic downturns suffer from poor job matches that can have sustained detrimental effects on wages and career progressions. This paper uses U.S. and U.K. data to document a more disturbing long-run effect of recessions: young people who leave school during recessions are significantly more likely to lead a life of crime than those entering a buoyant labor market. Thus, crime scars resulting from higher entry-level unemployment rates prove to be long lasting and substantial. |
| Keywords: | Crime; Recessions; Unemployment |
| JEL: | J64 K42 |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:89715&r=ure |
| By: | Katherine Eriksson |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effect of ethnic enclaves on economic outcomes of Norwegian immigrants in 1910 and 1920, the later part of the Age of Mass Migration. Using different identification strategies, including county fixed effects and an instrumental variables strategy based on chain migration, I consistently find that Norwegians living in larger enclaves in the United States had lower occupational earnings, were more likely to be in farming occupations, and were less likely to be in white-collar occupations. Results are robust to matching method and choice of occupational score. This earnings disadvantage is partly passed on to the second generation. |
| JEL: | J61 N31 |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24763&r=ure |
| By: | Stefano Manestra (Bank of Italy); Giovanna Messina (Bank of Italy); Anna Peta (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on municipal unions, the most structured form of inter-municipal cooperation in Italy. Using information from multiple sources, we have built up an administrative database covering more than 500 municipal unions over the period 1998-2015. By cross-checking the information on the municipalities participating in each union with the figures from their financial statements, we have been able to follow the trend in their expenditure both before and after joining the union, acknowledging that time is needed for the effects of the cooperation to manifest themselves. We have replicated this analysis for single municipal functions in order to detect potential heterogeneity in the resulting economies of scale. The results show that belonging to a union has led to a reduction in expenditure only for some municipal functions (such as general administration, local police, roads and traffic) and over a certain time period. The main contribution of our work is that we have studied the effects of inter-municipal cooperation from a temporal perspective largely unexplored in previous studies of the Italian case. |
| Keywords: | Municipal Unions, public expenditure, economies of scale |
| JEL: | H50 H70 H72 |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_452_18&r=ure |
| By: | Ting Liu (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University); Tomoki Sekiguchi (Graduate School of Management, Kyoto University); Wirawan Dony Dahana (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | In this study, we explore the role of functional and linguistic bridging in multinational corporations (MNCs) using a sample of 200 Japanese employees working in Japanese overseas subsidiaries. We draw on the social network theory and Job Demands- Resources (JD-R) model to advocate the idea that bridging roles (functional and linguistic bridging) influence team-member exchange (TMX) and emotional exhaustion positively via the mediating role of occupational social capital and role conflict. We found that employees who possess low cultural identity integration were more versatile in moderating between a bridging role, team member relationships, and emotional outcomes. Our findings make a theoretical contribution in exploring bridging roles from both the positive and negative sides of international business. We suggest that although bridge individuals can lead to positive team member relationships, they can also signal emotional burnout stemming from role conflict. We also offer suggestions on how to recognize cultural identity integration as a resource in elaborating on bridging roles and mitigating negative emotional outcomes. |
| Keywords: | functional bridging; linguistic bridging; cultural identity integration; team-member exchange (TMX); emotional exhaustion |
| JEL: | M10 M14 M16 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:1826&r=ure |
| By: | Christopher House (University of Michigan); Christian Proebsting (EPFL); Linda Tesar (University of Michigan) |
| Abstract: | Cyclical unemployment rates differ substantially more between countries in the euro area than between states in the United States. We find that net migration is responsive to unemployment differentials, but the response is smaller in Europe relative to the U.S. This paper explores to what extent the lack of labor mobility in Europe makes it more difficult for the euro area to adjust to shocks. We develop a multi-country DSGE model of a currency union with cross-border migration and search frictions in the labor market. The model is calibrated to the 50-state U.S. economy and to the 31-country European economy and replicates, for each region, the relationship between net migration and unemployment differentials. The model allows us to quantify the benefits if Europe had enjoyed levels of labor mobility as high as those in the U.S. during the most recent crisis. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:876&r=ure |
| By: | Sky, Per Kåre (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | The Land Consolidation Act has recently been revised. The changes came into force on 1 July 2006 and 1 January 2007. The main changes in the Act are that the land consolidation court now has formal jurisdiction to handle land consolidation cases for all types of properties independent of location, unless particular cases are specifically removed from the court's jurisdiction in the Act. The Act provides for two new types of land consolidation cases in Section 2. The paper analyzes these different revisions. |
| Keywords: | Land consolidation; Land consolidation court; Urban areas |
| JEL: | P48 Q15 |
| Date: | 2018–08–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2018_007&r=ure |