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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Andersson, Martin (Department of Economics, Blekinge Institute of Technology); Lavesson, Niclas (CIRCLE, Lund University); Partridge, Mark D. (Ohio State University) |
| Abstract: | We assess the empirical literature on the determinants of spatial variations in new-firm formation rates by undertaking a systematic empirical analysis of the relative roles of different demand- and supply-side factors. Using instrumental variables to address endogeneity, we find that local growth drives local entrepreneurship exclusively in services industries. Average establishment size has a robust negative influence on local new-firm formation rates, but its effect varies across industries. Local industry diversity is only positive for new-firm formation in high-tech and knowledge-intensive activities. There is also some evidence of that longer distances to urban centers is associated with higher new-firm formation rates. The only local factor with a consistent positive effect on new-firm formation across industries is local density of skilled workers. We conclude that industry structure, geography and agglomeration matter, but in the end, new firms are started by people, so it is unsurprising that the main factor driving local entrepreneurship is the characteristics of the local residents. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; New firm formation; Geography; Human capital; Agglomeration; Local growth; Startups |
| JEL: | L26 M13 R11 R30 |
| Date: | 2019–06–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1290&r=all |
| By: | ALBERTI Valentina (European Commission - JRC); ALONSO RAPOSO Maria (European Commission - JRC); ATTARDO Carmelo (European Commission - JRC); AUTERI Davide (European Commission - JRC); RIBEIRO BARRANCO Ricardo (European Commission - JRC); BATISTA E SILVA Filipe (European Commission - JRC); BENCZUR Peter (European Commission - JRC); BERTOLDI Paolo (European Commission - JRC); BONO Flavio (European Commission - JRC); BUSSOLARI Ioris (European Commission - JRC); LOURO CALDEIRA Sandra (European Commission - JRC); CARLSSON Johan (European Commission - JRC); CHRISTIDIS Panayotis (European Commission - JRC); CHRISTODOULOU Aris (European Commission - JRC); CIUFFO Biagio (European Commission - JRC); CORRADO Sara (European Commission - JRC); FIORETTI Carlotta (European Commission - JRC); GALASSI Maria Cristina (European Commission - JRC); GALBUSERA Luca (European Commission - JRC); GAWLIK Bernd (European Commission - JRC); GIUSTI Francesco (European Commission - JRC); GOMEZ PRIETO Javier (European Commission - JRC); GROSSO Monica (European Commission - JRC); MARTINHO GUIMARAES PIRES PEREIRA Angela (European Commission - JRC); JACOBS Christiaan (European Commission - JRC); KAVALOV Boyan (European Commission - JRC); KOMPIL Mert (European Commission - JRC); KUCAS Andrius (European Commission - JRC); KONA Albana (European Commission - JRC); LAVALLE Carlo (European Commission - JRC); LEIP Adrian (European Commission - JRC); LYONS Lorcan (European Commission - JRC); MANCA Anna Rita (European Commission - JRC); MELCHIORRI Michele (European Commission - JRC); MONFORTI-FERRARIO Fabio (European Commission - JRC); MONTALTO Valentina (European Commission - JRC); MORTARA Barbara (European Commission - JRC); NATALE Fabrizio (European Commission - JRC); PANELLA Francesco (European Commission - JRC); PASI Giulio (European Commission - JRC); PERPINA CASTILLO Carolina (European Commission - JRC); PERTOLDI Martina (European Commission - JRC); PISONI Enrico (European Commission - JRC); ROQUE MENDES POLVORA Alexandre (European Commission - JRC); RAINOLDI Alessandro (European Commission - JRC); REMBGES Diana (European Commission - JRC); RISSOLA Gabriel Julio (European Commission - JRC); SALA Serenella (European Commission - JRC); SCHADE Sven (European Commission - JRC); SERRA Natalia (European Commission - JRC); SPIRITO Laura (European Commission - JRC); TSAKALIDIS Anastasios (European Commission - JRC); SCHIAVINA Marcello (European Commission - JRC); TINTORI Guido (European Commission - JRC); VACCARI Lorenzino (European Commission - JRC); VANDYCK Toon (European Commission - JRC); VANHAM Davy (European Commission - JRC); VAN HEERDEN Sjoerdje (European Commission - JRC); VAN NOORDT Colin (European Commission - JRC); VESPE Michele (European Commission - JRC); VETTERS Nadja (European Commission - JRC); VILAHUR CHIARAVIGLIO Nadia (European Commission - JRC); VIZCAINO Maria Pilar (European Commission - JRC); VON ESTORFF Ulrik (European Commission - JRC); ZULIAN Grazia (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | This report is an initiative of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the science and knowledge service of the European Commission (EC), and supported by the Commission's Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO). It highlights drivers shaping the urban future, identifying both the key challenges cities will have to address and the strengths they can capitalise on to proactively build their desired futures. The main aim of this report is to raise open questions and steer discussions on what the future of cities can, and should be, both within the science and policymaker communities. While addressing mainly European cities, examples from other world regions are also given since many challenges and solutions have a global relevance. The report is particularly novel in two ways. First, it was developed in an inclusive manner – close collaboration with the EC’s Community of Practice on Cities (CoP-CITIES) provided insights from the broader research community and city networks, including individual municipalities, as well as Commission services and international organisations. It was also extensively reviewed by an Editorial Board. Secondly, the report is supported by an online ‘living’ platform which will host future updates, including additional analyses, discussions, case studies, comments and interactive maps that go beyond the scope of the current version of the report. Steered by the JRC, the platform will offer a permanent virtual space to the research, practice and policymaking community for sharing and accumulating knowledge on the future of cities. This report is produced in the framework of the EC Knowledge Centre for Territorial Policies and is part of a wider series of flagship Science for Policy reports by the JRC, investigating future perspectives concerning Artificial Intelligence, the Future of Road Transport, Resilience, Cybersecurity and Fairness Interactive online platform: https://urban.jrc.ec.europa.eu/thefuture ofcities |
| Keywords: | cities, urban development, demographic trends, housing, accessibility, innovation, spatial planning, smart city |
| JEL: | R00 R12 R14 R2 R3 R4 R5 C31 J1 P25 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc116711&r=all |
| By: | Charles Ka Yui Leung (City University of Hong Kong); Joe Cho Yiu Ng (City University of Hong Kong); Edward Chi Ho TANG (Hong Kong Shue Yan University) |
| Abstract: | The house price in Hong Kong is well-known to be "unaffordable." This paper relates the macroeconomy and the housing market of Hong Kong and argues that the housing supply plays a vital role in explaining the phenomenon. This paper also shows that there are some practical challenges in understanding the housing supply of Hong Kong, including the potentially complicated ownership structure of real estate development. While the discussion centers on the situation of Hong Kong, its lesson may also apply to the housing markets in other small open economies. |
| Keywords: | new housing supply, oligopolistic market structure, ownership structure of real estate development, real estate developers |
| JEL: | L10 R30 R31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cth:wpaper:gru_2019_012&r=all |
| By: | Takaaki Ohnishi (Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, University of Tokyo); Takayuki Mizuno (National Institute of Informatics); Tsutomu Watanabe (Graduate School of Economics, University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the cross-sectional distribution of house prices in the Greater Tokyo Area for the period 1986 to 2009. We find that size-adjusted house prices follow a lognormal distribution except for the period of the housing bubble and its collapse in Tokyo, for which the price distribution has a substantially heavier upper tail than that of a lognormal distribution. We also find that, during the bubble era, sharp price movements were concentrated in particular areas, and this spatial heterogeneity is the source of the fat upper tail. These findings suggest that, during a bubble, prices increase markedly for certain properties but to a much lesser extent for other properties, leading to an increase in price inequality across properties. In other words, the defining property of real estate bubbles is not the rapid price hike itself but an increase in price dispersion. We argue that the shape of cross-sectional house price distributions may contain information useful for the detection of housing bubbles. |
| Date: | 2019–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cfi:fseres:cf461&r=all |
| By: | Yashar Blouri, Simon Büchler, Olivier Schöni |
| Abstract: | We investigate the spatially heterogeneous impact of the US federal mortgage interest deduction (MID) on the location and tenure decisions of households. We develop a general-equilibrium model at the county level featuring an endogenous itemization of housing subsidies. Despite being an important tax expenditure, repealing the MID would only slightly lower homeownership rates while leaving welfare mostly unchanged. The policy is ineffective because it targets locations with congested housing markets, creating a spatial shift of the housing demand toward areas that capitalize the subsidy into higher prices. We provide evidence that a repeal of the MID is to be preferred to an increase of standard tax deductions as recently implemented under President Trump's administration. |
| Keywords: | housing subsidies, residential location, tenure choice, housing supply |
| JEL: | R1 R3 H2 H3 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rdv:wpaper:credresearchpaper25&r=all |
| By: | Gibbons, Stephen; McNally, Sandra; Viarengo, Martina |
| Abstract: | This study exploits spatial anomalies in school funding policy in England to provide new evidence on the impact of resources on student achievement in urban areas. Anomalies arise because the funding allocated to Local Education Authorities (LEA) depends, through a funding formula, on the ‘additional educational needs’ of its population and prices in the district. However, the money each school receives from its LEA is not necessarily related to the school’s own specific local conditions and constraints. This implies that neighbouring schools with similar intakes, operating in the same labour market, facing similar prices, but in different LEAs, can receive very different incomes. We find that these funding disparities give rise to sizeable differences in pupil attainment in national tests at the end of primary school, showing that school resources have an important role to play in improving educational attainment, especially for lower socio-economic groups. The design is geographical boundary discontinuity design which compares neighbouring schools, matched on a proxy for additional educational needs of its students (free school meal entitlement – FSM), in adjacent districts. The key identification requirement is one of conditional ignorability of the level of LEA grant, where conditioning is on geographical location of schools and their proportion of FSM children. Acknowledgements: |
| Keywords: | urban schools; education; resources |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2018–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:84213&r=all |
| By: | Colas, Mark (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis); Morehouse, John M. (University of Oregon) |
| Abstract: | Cities with cleaner power plants and lower energy demand have stricter land use restrictions; these restrictions increase housing prices and disincentivize living in these lower polluting cities. We use a spatial equilibrium model to quantify the effect of land use restrictions on household carbon emissions. Our model features heterogeneous households, cities that vary by power plant technology and the benefits of energy usage, as well as endogenous wages and rents. Relaxing restrictions in California to the national median leads to a 2.3% drop in national carbon emissions. The burden of a carbon tax differs substantially across locations. |
| Keywords: | Greenhouse gasses; Local labor markets; Spatial equilibrium |
| JEL: | Q4 R13 R31 |
| Date: | 2019–06–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedmoi:0020&r=all |
| By: | Wei Meng |
| Abstract: | Smart City is the use of information and communication technology to sense, analyze and integrate key information of the core system of urban operation, thus meeting various needs including people's livelihood, environmental protection, public safety, urban services, industrial and commercial activities. Make a smart response. Its essence is to use advanced information technology to realize the intelligent management and operation of the city, thereby creating a better life for the people in the city and promoting the harmonious and sustainable growth of the city. Smart cities are the ultimate development of modern cities. In the historical context of increased pressure on land use in modern cities and traffic congestion, developing smart cities is the best choice for solving these problems. However, the construction of smart cities itself is also facing many problems. This paper explores these issues and proposes corresponding solution. Key Words:paradigm shift, higher education, challenges in education Policy |
| Date: | 2018–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vor:issues:2018-27-09&r=all |
| By: | Owen Thompson |
| Abstract: | Prior to the racial integration of schools in the southern United States, predominantly African American schools were staffed almost exclusively by African American teachers as well, and teaching constituted an extraordinarily large share of professional employment among southern blacks. The large-scale desegregation of southern schools occurring after passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act represented a potential threat to this employment base, and this paper estimates how student integration affected black teacher employment. Using newly assembled archival data from 781 southern school districts observed between 1964 and 1972, I estimate that a school district transitioning from fully segregated to fully integrated education, which approximates the experience of the modal southern district in this period, led to a 31.8% reduction in black teacher employment. A series of tests indicate that these employment reductions were not due to school district self-selection into desegregation or unobserved district characteristics associated with desegregation. Additional analyses estimate changes in the occupational distribution by race in the 1960 and 1970 Decennial Censuses and indicate that displaced southern black teachers either entered lower skill occupations within the South or migrated out of the region to continue teaching, and that southern school districts compensated for reduced black teacher employment by employing fewer total teachers and by increasing their recruitment of white teachers, especially less experienced white teachers and white male teachers. |
| JEL: | I24 J23 J7 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25990&r=all |
| By: | Victor Lavy; Rigissa Megalokonomou |
| Abstract: | Recent research has focused on what shapes gender differences in academic achievement and students’ choice of university field of study. In this paper we examine how teachers’ gender role attitudes and stereotypes influence the gender gap by affecting the school environment. We explore the extent to which teachers’ gender bias in high school influences students’ school attendance and academic performance in high-stakes university admission exams and students’ choice of university field of study. We use data from a large number of high schools in Greece, where the performance in these high-stakes exams determines university admission. We measure teachers’ bias as the difference between a high school student’s school exam score and national exam score. We then define a teacher bias measure at the class level by the difference between boys’ and girls’ average gap between the school score and the national score. We link teachers over time to obtain a persistent teacher bias measure based on multiple classes, and to estimate the effect for later cohorts’ performance. We find a very high correlation of within-teacher gender biases measured in different classes, which reveals high persistency in teachers’ gender favoritism behavior. We then find substantial effects of these teacher biases on students’ school attendance and performance in university admission exams, quality of enrolled degree and the given field of study at the university. We also find that gender biases are more prevalent among low value added teachers, while the more effective teachers have an approximately neutral gender attitude. This suggests that less effective teachers can harm their students twice, by being a bad teacher and by discriminating against one of the genders. |
| JEL: | I24 J16 J24 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26021&r=all |
| By: | Simon Büchler, Maximilian v. Ehrlich, Olivier Schöni |
| Abstract: | We provide empirical evidence that increases in the periodic costs of housing lead to a larger supply response than price increases of the same magnitude. We rationalize this differential in supply responsiveness with an amplification mechanism arising from adjustments of capitalization rates to changes in the periodic costs. Buyers expect further periodic cost increases at places that have experienced a positive demand shock. We document that the amplification of the housing supply price elasticity is less pronounced in geographically constrained and tightly regulated neighborhoods and in areas having more sophisticated buyers. Our findings hold important lessons for public policies affecting the periodic cost of housing, such as rent control and housing subsidies. |
| Keywords: | housing supply, capitalization rate, land use regulation, geographic constraints |
| JEL: | R1 R3 H7 R5 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rdv:wpaper:credresearchpaper24&r=all |
| By: | Konstantin Büchel, Maximilian v. Ehrlich, Diego Puga, Elisabet Viladecans-Marsal |
| Abstract: | Using anonymised cellphone data, we study the role of social networks in residential mobility decisions. Individuals with few local contacts are more likely to change residence. Movers strongly prefer places with more of their contacts close-by. Contacts matter because proximity to them is itself valuable and increases the enjoyment of attractive locations. They also provide hard-to-find local information and reduce frictions, especially in home-search. Local contacts who left recently or are more central are particularly influential. As people age, proximity to family gains importance relative to friends. |
| Keywords: | social networks, residential mobility |
| JEL: | R23 L14 |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rdv:wpaper:credresearchpaper23&r=all |
| By: | Jia Barwick, Panle; Liu, Yanyan; Patacchini, Eleonora; Wu, Qi |
| Abstract: | Information is a crucial ingredient in economic decision making. Yet measuring the extent of information exchange among individuals and its effect on economic outcomes is a difficult task. We use the universe of de-identified cellphone usage records from more than one million users in a Chinese city over twelve months to quantify information exchange among individuals and examine the role of referrals -- human carriers of information -- in urban labor markets. We present the first evidence that information flow (measured by call volume) correlates strongly with worker flows, a pattern that persists at different levels of geographic aggregation. Condition on information flow, socioeconomic diversity in information sources (social contacts), especially that associated with the working population, is crucial and helps to predict worker flows. We supplement our phone records with auxiliary data sets on residential housing prices, job postings, and firm attributes from administrative data. Information passed on through referrals is valuable: referred jobs are associated with higher monetary gains, a higher likelihood to transition from part-time to full-time, reduced commuting time, and a higher probability of entering desirable jobs. Referral information is more valuable for young workers, people switching jobs from suburbs to the inner city, and those changing their industrial sector. Firms receiving referrals are more likely to have successful recruits and experience faster growth. |
| Keywords: | Entrop; Information; Mobile Communication; Social Networks; Urban Labor Market |
| JEL: | J60 L15 R23 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:13786&r=all |
| By: | Kazutoshi Miyazawa (Faculty of Economics, Doshisha University); Hikaru Ogawa (Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo); Toshiki Tamai (Department of Socio-Economic System) |
| Abstract: | We develop a model in which ethnic minorities can either assimilate to the majority's norm or reject it by trading o higher productivity and wages with a greater social distance to their culture of origin. We show that "oppositional" minorities reside in more segregated areas, have worse outcomes (in terms of income) but are not necessary worse off in terms of welfare than assimilated minorities who live in less segregated areas. We nd that a policy that reduces transportation cost decreases rather than increases assimilation in cities. We also nd that when there are more productivity spillovers between the two groups, ethnic minorities are more likely not to assimilate and to reject the majority's norm. Finally, we show that ethnic minorities tend to assimilate more in bigger and more expensive cities. |
| Date: | 2018–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2018cf1104&r=all |
| By: | Holger Sieg; Chamna Yoon |
| Abstract: | We develop a new dynamic equilibrium model with heterogeneous households that captures the most important frictions that arise in housing rental markets and explains the political popularity of affordable housing policies. We estimate the model using data collected by the New York Housing Vacancy Survey in 2011. We find that there are significant adjustment costs in all markets as well as serious search frictions in the market for affordable housing. Moreover, there are large queuing frictions in the market for public housing. Having access to rent-stabilized housing increases household welfare by up to $65,000. Increasing the supply of affordable housing by ten percent significantly improves the welfare of all renters in the city. Progressive taxation of higher-income households that live in public housing can also be welfare improving. |
| JEL: | D45 D58 H7 R31 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26015&r=all |
| By: | Costa, Helia; Veiga, Linda |
| Abstract: | Investment in wind power has grown remarkably in the past decades in Portugal. Although economic development is an argument for investment incentive policies, little evidence exists as to their net impact on local-level unemployment. Using a panel of all 278 Portuguese mainland municipalities for the years 1997-2017, we assess the existence, distribution and duration of local level labor impacts of wind power investment. Our results show there are short term effects during the construction phase. We estimate a decrease of 0.05 percentage points in the total unemployment rate for each KW per capita installed. These effects are confined to unskilled labor and male workers. Further analysis of spatial interaction finds positive spatial spillovers for municipalities that are 30km or less away but not farther, implying workers are willing to commute but not migrate. We find no evidence of sustained effects or impact during the operations and maintenance phase, despite both short and long term impacts in municipalities' revenues. |
| Keywords: | Wind power; labor effectsf panel data |
| Date: | 2019–07–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:123160&r=all |
| By: | Alan T. K. Wan (City University of Hong Kong); Shangyu Xie (University of International Business and Economics); Yong Zhou (Shanghai University of Finance and Economics) |
| Abstract: | The varying coefficient (VC) model introduced by Hastie and Tibshirani (1993) is arguably one of the most remarkable recent developments in nonparametric regression theory. The VC model is an extension of the ordinary regression model where the coef- ficients are allowed to vary as smooth functions of an effect modifier possibly different than the regressors. The VC model reduces the modeling bias with its unique structure while also avoiding the “curse of dimensionality” problem. While the VC model has been applied widely in a variety of disciplines, its application in economics has been minimal. The central goal of this paper is to apply VC modeling to the estimation of a hedonic house price function using data from Hong Kong, one of the world’s most buoyant real estate markets. We demonstrate the advantages of the VC approach over traditional parametric and semi-parametric regressions in the face of a large number of regressors. We further combine VC modeling with quantile regression to examine the heterogeneity of the marginal effects of attributes across the distribution of housing prices. |
| Keywords: | hedonic price function, heterogeneity, housing, kernel estimation, quantile regression, varying-coefficient |
| JEL: | C14 C21 R21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cth:wpaper:gru_2016_003&r=all |
| By: | Philip ME Garboden (Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa); Lenny Fan (Department of Applied Math and Statistics, Johns Hopkins University); Tamas Budavari (Department of Applied Math and Statistics, Johns Hopkins University); Amitabh Basu (Department of Applied Math and Statistics, Johns Hopkins University); John David Evans (Department of Housing and Community Development, Baltimore City) |
| Abstract: | In 2017, Baltimore City was awarded $75 million dollars earmarked for the targeted demolition of a portion of its 16,000 vacant and aban- doned buildings. Selecting an optimal set of demolition targets is difficult given that the cost per demolition is not independent of the overall demolition pattern; like many older cities, Baltimore’s aban- doned housing includes a large number of attached rowhouses, which require the construction of retaining walls when a demolished home abuts a non-demolished home. In this paper, we present a method by which planners can use integer linear programming to identify optimal demolition targets for a number of potential objectives. The simplest objective, demolishing the maximum number of houses for a specific budget, is compared to more complex functions that attempt to proxy improved quality of life resulting from the demolitions. The results of different objective functions are then assessed in terms of equity and efficiency using the spatial distribution of proposed targets as a point of comparison. |
| Date: | 2019–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hae:wpaper:2019-5&r=all |
| By: | Canaan, Serena (American University of Beirut) |
| Abstract: | Grouping students by ability is a controversial issue, and its impacts are likely to depend on the type of tracking students are exposed to. This paper studies a reform that moved French schools from a rigorous tracking system, which assigned students to tracks with significantly different learning environments and career options, to a milder form of ability-tracking that only grouped students into different classrooms. Using a regression discontinuity design, I find that the reform raised individuals’ level of education and increased their wages by 4.7 percent at ages 40 to 45, with the strongest effects occurring among individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds. |
| Keywords: | tracking, returns to education, school quality |
| JEL: | I21 I28 J24 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12419&r=all |
| By: | Hines, Annie Laurie (University of California, Davis); Peri, Giovanni (University of California, Davis) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the impact of immigrant deportations on local crime and police efficiency. Our identification relies on increases in the deportation rate driven by the introduction of the Secure Communities (SC) program, an immigration enforcement program based on local-federal cooperation which was rolled out across counties between 2008 and 2013. We instrument for the deportation rate by interacting the introduction of SC with the local presence of likely undocumented in 2005, prior to the introduction of SC. We document a surge in local deportation rates under SC, and we show that deportations increased the most in counties with a large undocumented population. We find that SC-driven increases in deportation rates did not reduce crime rates for violent offenses or property offenses. Our estimates are small and precise, so we can rule out meaningful effects. We do not find evidence that SC increased either police effectiveness in solving crimes or local police resources. Finally, we do not find effects of deportations on the local employment of unskilled citizens or on local firm creation. |
| Keywords: | immigrants, deportation, crime, police effectiveness, secure communities |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12413&r=all |
| By: | Mohammad Reza Farzanegan (Philipps-Universitaet Marburg); Mehdi Feizi (Ferdowsi University of Mashhad); Hassan F. Gholipour (Swinburne University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | This study demonstrates an economic consequence of climate change and water crises in Iran. It examines the effect of drought on housing prices, residential land prices, and housing rents in Iran. Using data from provinces of Iran from 1993 to 2015 and applying static and dynamic panel fixed effects estimators, we find evidence that an increase in the balance of water (reducing the severity of drought) within provinces has a positive effect on property prices. Our results have important implications for Iranian policymakers and property investors. |
| Keywords: | Drought; Water Crisis; Property Prices; Housing; Iran |
| JEL: | R21 R31 Q54 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201916&r=all |
| By: | Nicholas Ingwersen; Harounan Kazianga; Leigh L. Linden; Arif Mamun; Ali Protik; Matthew Sloan |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the long-term effects of a “girl-friendly” primary school program in Burkina Faso, using a regression discontinuity design. Ten years later, primary school-age children in villages selected for the program attend school more often and score significantly higher on standardized tests. We also find long-term effects on academic and social outcomes for children exposed earlier in the program. Secondary-school–age youths and young adults (those old enough to have finished secondary school) complete primary and secondary school at higher rates and perform significantly better on standardized tests. Women old enough to have completed secondary school delay both marriage and childbearing. |
| JEL: | I24 I25 I28 O15 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25994&r=all |
| By: | List, John A. (Department of Economics); Momeni, Fatemeh (Department of Economics); Zenou, Yves (Monach University) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the direct and spillover effects of a large-scale early childhood intervention on the educational attainment of over 2,000 disadvantaged children in the United States. We show that failing to account for spillover effects results in a severe underestimation of the impact. The intervention induced positive direct effects on test scores of children assigned to the treatment groups. We document large spillover effects on both treatment and control children who live near treated children. On average, spillover effects increase a child's non-cognitive (cognitive) scores by about 1.2 (0.6 to 0.7) standard deviations. The spillover effects are localized, decreasing with the spatial distance to treated neighbors. Our evidence suggests the spillover effect on non-cognitive scores are likely to operate through the child's social network. Alternatively, parental investment is an important channel through which cognitive spillover effects operate. We view our results as speaking to several literatures, perhaps most importantly the role of public programs and neighborhoods on human capital formation at an early age. |
| Keywords: | Early education; Neighborhood; Field experiment; Spillover effects; Non-cognitive skills |
| JEL: | C93 I21 R10 |
| Date: | 2019–07–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1293&r=all |
| By: | Li Haoliang |
| Abstract: | With the rapid development of economy and digitech, the form and structure of the urban keep changing and developing. Problems, like resource wastage, pollution, public security, follow with the fast continuous development. As the age of data comes, data also plays an irreplaceable role in urban development. In fact, data has led the road of urban development. And also the concept of sharing economy gives a new path of developing. This paper focuses on problems of urban development, how the data impact on it and how to make the best use of sharing economy. Key Words: smart city: information, sharing Policy |
| Date: | 2018–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vor:issues:2018-27-10&r=all |
| By: | Rafael De Hoyos; Orazio Attanasio; Costas Meghir |
| Abstract: | This paper uses an RCT to estimate the impact of PROBEMS, a scholarship program in Mexico aimed at improving graduation rates and test scores among upper secondary school students from poor backgrounds. We find that, on average, the program has no impact either on graduation rates or on Math and Spanish test scores. We identify two possible reasons for this failure: a. the program was badly targeted, with many of the recipients being from less disadvantaged families than intended; b) many eligible students did not have a sufficiently strong academic achievement that would allow them to productively attend and complete successfully the academic requirements of upper secondary school. This points to accumulated achievement deficits that could be addressed by interventions targeting learning at an earlier stage. |
| JEL: | I24 I25 I28 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26023&r=all |
| By: | Chigusa Okamoto (Graduate School of Economics, The University of Tokyo); Yasuhiro Sato (Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | High-speed rail integrates regions and cities, and thus can possibly have significant impacts on the distribution of economic activities. Using the opening an d extensions of a high-speed rail, Shinkansen, in Kyushu, Japan, we examine its effect s on the distribution of economic activities across urban agglomerations. We focus on chan ges in land prices and estimate hedonic price equations to conduct a difference-in-differe nce analysis. We find that the large metropolitan areas gained from the high-speed rail by exp eriencing increases in land prices, whereas small metropolitan areas located between the m lost by experiencing decreased land prices. However, such positive effects are shown t o be limited to areas close to Shinkansen stations. |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2018cf1097&r=all |
| By: | Divies, Benjamin; Mare, David C. |
| Abstract: | We derive a measure of the relatedness between economic activities based on weighted correlations of local employment shares, and use this measure to estimate city and activity complexity. Our approach extends discrete measures used in previous studies by recognising the extent of activities' local over-representation and by adjusting for differences in signal quality between geographic areas with different sizes. We examine the contribution of relatedness and complexity to urban employment growth, using 1981–2013 census data from New Zealand. Complex activities experienced faster employment growth during our period of study, especially in complex cities. However, this growth was not significantly stronger in cities more dense with related activities. Relatedness and complexity appear to be most relevant for analysing how large, complex cities grow, and are less informative for understanding employment dynamics in small, less complex cities. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:motuwp:290391&r=all |
| By: | Stephan Heblich; Marlon Seror; Hao Xu; Yanos Zylberberg |
| Abstract: | This paper exploits a short-lived cooperation program between the U.S.S.R. and China, which led to the construction of 156 “Million-Rouble plants” in the 1950s. We isolate exogenous variation in location decisions due to the relative position of allied and enemy airbases and study the long-run impact of these factories on local economic activity. While the “156” program accelerated industrialization in treated counties until the end of the command-economy era, this significant productivity advantage fully eroded in the subsequent period. We explore the nature of local spillovers responsible for this pattern, and provide evidence that treated counties are overspecialized and far less innovative. There is a large concentration of establishments along the production chain of the Million-Rouble plants, which limits technological spillovers across industries. |
| Keywords: | industrial clusters, agglomeration economies, specialization |
| JEL: | R11 R53 J24 N95 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7682&r=all |
| By: | Abha D. Jain |
| Abstract: | This study aimed to identify the attitudes of trainee teachers towards students with specific learning disabilities and differentiation of the curriculum. Significant differences were found between the attitudes of primary and secondary school trainee teachers, and the influence of training. There were no differences in attitudes according to experience with students with specific learning disabilities. The findings have implications for teacher training programs. The different Policies on the inclusion of students with special educational needs in mainstream classrooms have focused attention on how general education teachers perceive these students. Furthermore with specific learning disabilities forming a large group of diverse students, and teachers’ attitudes often not changing over the career span, preparing teachers for inclusive education is vitally important. Key Words:attitude, trainee teacher, primary teacher, teaching-learning Policy |
| Date: | 2018–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vor:issues:2018-25-01&r=all |
| By: | Kristina Barauskaite (Bank of Lithuania & ISM University of Management and Economics); Anh D.M. Nguyen (Bank of Lithuania & Vilnius University) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the role of intersectoral networks in the transmission of aggregate technology shocks to sectors’ growth. First, we develop a theoretical model to obtain insights into the propagation of shocks through input-output linkages, which suggests that the network effect arises via sectoral downstream linkages. We then quantitatively assess this theoretical implication with US manufacturing industries, where the aggregate technology shocks are derived from a dynamic factor model. We find that aggregate technology shocks lead to an increase in the output growth of the sector, both directly and indirectly via its intersectoral linkages. More interestingly, we document a crucial role of the intersectoral network channel, which contributes about 50 percent of the total effect. In addition, the network-based effect comes mostly from downstream linkages of sectors, which is broadly consistent with theory. |
| Keywords: | Input-Output Linkages, Intersectoral Network, Business Cycle, Aggregate Technology Shocks, TFP, Manufacturing Industries, Productivity |
| JEL: | E32 C67 C33 L16 D24 |
| Date: | 2019–06–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lie:wpaper:63&r=all |
| By: | Herz, Benedikt (European Commission); van Rens, Thijs (University of Warwick and Centre for Macroeconomics) |
| Abstract: | We investigate unemployment due to mismatch in the United States over the past three and a half decades. We propose an accounting framework that allows us to estimate the contribution of each of the frictions that generated labor market mismatch. Barriers to job mobility account for the largest part of mismatch unemployment, with a smaller role for barriers to worker mobility. We nd little contribution of wage-setting frictions to mismatch. |
| Keywords: | mismatch ; structural unemployment ; worker mobility ; job mobility |
| JEL: | E24 J61 J62 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1205&r=all |
| By: | Gibbons, Stephen; Sánchez-Vidal, Maria; Silva, Olmo |
| Abstract: | Housing subsidies for low income households are a central pillar of many welfare systems, but an expensive one. This paper investigates the consequences of an unusual policy aimed at reducing the cost of these subsidies by rationing tenants’ use of space. Specifically, we study a policy introduced by the UK Government in 2013, which substantially cut housing benefits for tenants deemed to have a ‘spare’ bedroom – based on specific criteria related to household composition. Our study is the first to evaluate the impacts of the policy on its target group using a strategy that compares the observed changes in behaviour of the treated households to those of a control group. The treatment and control groups are defined by the detail of the policy rules. We find that – as expected – the treated group loses housing benefits and overall income. Although the policy was not successful in encouraging residential moves (despite efforts to make mobility within the social sector easier), it did incentivise people who moved to downsize – suggesting some success in terms of one of the policy goals, namely reducing under-occupancy. The policy did not incentivise people to work more and we find no statistically significant effects on households’ food consumption or saving behaviour. The implication of our findings is that this type of policy has limited power to change housing consumption or employment in the short run. While it might reduce the costs of housing subsidies to the taxpayer, it does so by imposing a direct financial cost to social tenants unable or unwilling to downsize. |
| Keywords: | social housing; social rents; bedroom tax; housing benefits; ES/M010341/1 |
| JEL: | H2 H55 R2 R21 |
| Date: | 2018–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:91543&r=all |
| By: | Khorunzhina, Natalia (Department of Economics, Copenhagen Business School); Miller, Robert A. (Tepper School of Business) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops and estimates a dynamic model of discrete choice for labor supply, fertility and transition from tenant to home-owner,to investigate the secular decline in home ownership over the past several decades,wholly attributable to households postponing the purchase of their first home. House prices only partly explain the decline; higher base level wages led to lower fertility also contributing to the decline,because households with children are more likely to own a home than those without.Somewhat surprisingly we find higher levels of female education ameliorated this trend,highly educated women placing greater value on homeownership. |
| Keywords: | Housing Demand; Fertility; Labor Supply |
| JEL: | D14 D91 J13 J22 R21 |
| Date: | 2019–07–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cbsnow:2019_007&r=all |
| By: | Charles Ka Yui Leung (City University of Hong Kong); Joe Cho Yiu Ng (City University of Hong Kong) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to achieve two objectives. First, we demonstrate that with respect to business cycle frequency (Burns and Mitchell, 1946), there was a general decrease in the association between macroeconomic variables (MV) and housing market variables (HMV) following the global financial crisis (GFC). However, there are macro-finance variables that exhibited a strong association with the HMV following the GFC. For the medium-term business cycle frequency (Comin and Gertler, 2006), we find that while some correlations exhibit the same change as the business cycle counterparts, others do not. These “new stylized facts” suggest that a reconsideration and refinement of existing “macro-housing” theories would be appropriate. We also provide a review of the recent literature, which may enhance our understanding of the evolving macro-housing-finance linkage. |
| Keywords: | stylized facts, macro-housing-finance linkage, Global Financial Crisis, business cycle frequency, housing market variables |
| JEL: | E30 G10 R30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cth:wpaper:gru_2018_016&r=all |
| By: | Niek Mouter (Delft University of Technology); Paul Koster (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); Thijs Dekker (University of Leeds) |
| Abstract: | Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) is a widely applied economic appraisal tool to support the planning and decision-making process for transport projects. However, in the planning literature CBA has been criticized for at least three reasons: 1) CBA focuses on traditional transport system related planning goals and poorly considers the broader goals of urban transport planning such as social equity; 2) CBA corrodes and degrades the forward looking nature of the planning proficiency. The instrument can be conceived as a backward looking methodology as it assumes that people’s past decisions in a (private) market setting reflect their normative ideas regarding their preferred future urban mobility system; 3) CBA fails to recognize the specific (local) features of the problem which a transport project aspires to solve as practical CBA studies use generic price tags to value impacts of a transport project. Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE) is a novel evaluation approach specifically designed to overcome these criticisms while preserving the positive aspects that CBA brings to planning. This paper illustrates the PVE method with a case study on the evaluation of a transport investment scheme of the Transport Authority Amsterdam. In total 2,498 citizens participated in the PVE. We find that projects with the highest social value focus on safety and improvements for cyclists and pedestrians, whereas projects that focus on reducing travel times for car users have lower value. Moreover, we establish that PVE captures citizens’ preferences towards broader goals of transport planning such as improving health and the environment, fostering city cycling as well as the inclusion of ethical considerations such as spatial equality. PVE also allows for the inclusion of citizens’ normative ideas regarding their preferred future urban mobility system and local characteristics of the transport problem/solution. |
| JEL: | O21 D61 D63 R42 R58 |
| Date: | 2019–07–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20190046&r=all |
| By: | Charles Ka Yui Leung (City University of Hong Kong); Chung-Yi Tse (University of Hong Kong) |
| Abstract: | We add arbitraging middlemen -- investors who attempt to profit from buying low and selling high -- to a canonical housing market search model. Flipping tends to take place in sluggish and tight, but not in moderate, markets. To follow is the possibility of multiple equilibria. In one equilibrium, most, if not all, transactions are intermediated, resulting in rapid turnover, a high vacancy rate, and high housing prices. In another equilibrium, few houses are bought and sold by middlemen. Turnover is slow, few houses are vacant, and prices are moderate. Moreover, flippers can enter and exit en masse in response to the smallest interest rate shock. The housing market can then be intrinsically unstable even when all flippers are akin to the arbitraging middlemen in classical finance theory. In speeding up turnover, the flipping that takes place in a sluggish and illiquid market tends to be socially beneficial. The flipping that takes place in a tight and liquid market can be wasteful as the efficiency gain from any faster turnover is unlikely to be large enough to offset the loss from more houses being left vacant in the hands of flippers. Based on our calibrated model, which matches several stylized facts of the U.S. housing market, we show that the housing price response to interest rate change is very non-linear, suggesting cautions to policy attempt to “stabilize” the housing market through monetary policy. |
| Keywords: | Search and matching, housing market, liquidity, flippers and speculators, financing and bargaining advantage |
| JEL: | D83 R30 G12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cth:wpaper:gru_2017_001&r=all |
| By: | Giuseppe Berlingieri; Sara Calligaris; Chiara Criscuolo |
| Abstract: | The evidence that bigger firms pay higher wages and have higher productivity is based mainly on manufacturing, which is only a small share of today's economy. Giuseppe Berlingieri, Sara Calligaris and Chiara Criscuolo reveal that while the size premia for both wages and productivity are significantly weaker in market services than in manufacturing, the link between wages and productivity is stronger. |
| Keywords: | productivity, size-premium, wages |
| JEL: | E2 D2 J3 |
| Date: | 2019–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepcnp:555&r=all |
| By: | Mario Alloza (Banco de España); Carlos Sanz (Banco de España) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the employment effect of a large fiscal stimulus in Spain (PlanE), in which the national government transferred funds to municipalities to carry out local investment projects. Using a difference-in-difference approach by exploiting variation in the timing of the execution of projects across municipalities, we find that 100,000 euros of stimulus reduced unemployment by 0.62 jobs per year. We allow for possible spatial effects, i.e. the propagation of the stimulus to neighboring municipalities, and find that these are sizable, representing 8.4% of the “local” effect. We also present evidence on the transmission mechanism, finding that the effect was: (i) initially concentrated in the construction and industrial sectors, but later spilled over to the broader economy, (ii) larger for males than females, (iii) larger when the shock represented a higher share of the budget, and (iv) not larger for municipalities headed by more educated mayors. Our estimate of the multiplier falls in the lower range of previous work. |
| Keywords: | fiscal policy, local fiscal multipliers, spillovers |
| JEL: | E24 E62 H30 H72 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bde:wpaper:1922&r=all |
| By: | Crescenzi, Riccardo; de Blasio, Guido; Giua, Mara |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates a programme of subsidies for Collaborative Industrial Research (co-)funded by the EU Cohesion Policy in Italy mobilising over 1 billion euros. This programme in the 2007-2013 funding cycle was a precursor to some of the key features of Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) programmes, offering evidence-based insights on potential challenges to the practical application of the S3 approach. The programme was not successful in boosting investments, value added or employment of beneficiary firms. The collaborative dimension of the projects added limited value and a more generous funding level would not have improved effectiveness. However, positive impacts emerged in low-tech sectors. |
| Keywords: | Cohesion Policy; Smart Specialisation; Policy Evaluation; Innovation; European Union |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2018–08–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:89249&r=all |
| By: | Julio Cáceres-Delpiano (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid); Eugenio P. Giolito (ILADES/ Universidad Alberto Hurtado and IZA) |
| Abstract: | Using several data sources from Chile, we study the impact of the size of the school choice set at the time of starting primary school. With that purpose, we exploit multiple cutoffs defining the minimum age at entry, which not only define when a student can start elementary school, but also the set of schools from which she/he can choose. Moreover, differences across municipalities in the composition of the schools according to these utoffs, allow us not only to account for municipality fixed factors (educational markets) but also for differences in the characteristics between schools choosing different deadlines. That is, we compare across municipalities the difference in outcomes for children living in the same municipality around the different cutoffs with those for children in other municipalities that experience a different change in the available set of schools across cutoffs (double difference in RD). We show that a larger set of schools increases the probability of starting in a better school, measured by non high-stakes examination. Moreover, this quasi-experimental variation reveals an important reduction in the likelihood of dropping out, and a reduction in the probability that a child would switch schools during her/his school life. Secondly, for a subsample of students who have completed high school, we observe that a larger school choice set at the start of primary school increases students’ chances of taking the national examination required for higher education and the likelihood of being enrolled in a selective college. |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ila:ilades:inv323&r=all |
| By: | Alfonso Echazarra |
| Abstract: | Parents often establish fruitful relationships with teachers, students and other parents at their child’s school. By doing so, they might gain new friends and help their child’s academic career; but more crucially, they may contribute indirectly to the common good of the school – by reinforcing the norms of behaviour at school, spreading important information, generating trust and/or connecting the school with the wider community.PISA asked parents from the 18 countries and economies that chose to distribute the parent questionnaire how many of their child’s school friends they know by name and how many of their parents they know.In schools where parents know their children’s friends and their families, students are more likely to develop their skills, improve their attitudes towards collaboration, and feel happier and safer at school. |
| Date: | 2019–07–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduddd:98-en&r=all |
| By: | Jason B. Cook |
| Abstract: | Governments around the world have privatized public services in the name of efficiency andcitizen empowerment, but some argue that privatization could also affect citizen participation indemocratic governance. We explore this possibility by estimating the impact of charter schools(which are publicly funded but privately operated) on school district elections. The analysisindicates that the enrollment of district students in charter schools reduced the number of votescast in district school board contests and, correspondingly, reduced turnout in the odd-yearelections in which those contests are held. This impact is concentrated in districts that servelow-achieving, impoverished, and minority students, leading to a modest decline in the share ofvoters in those districts who are black and who have children. There is little evidence that charterschool expansion affected the outcomes of school board elections or turnout in other elections |
| Date: | 2019–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pit:wpaper:6651&r=all |
| By: | Abhiman Das (Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad); Ejaz Ghani (World Bank); Arti Grover (World Bank); William Kerr (Harvard Business School, Entrepreneurial Management Unit); Ramana Nanda (Harvard Business School, Entrepreneurial Managament Unit) |
| Abstract: | We use the construction of India's Golden Quadrangle (GQ) central highway network, together with comprehensive loan data drawn from the Reserve Bank of India, to investigate the interaction between infrastructure development and financial sector depth. We identify a disproportionate increase in loan count and average loan size in districts along the GQ highway network using stringent specifications with industry and district fixed effects. Our results hold in straight-line IV frameworks and are not present in 'placebo tests' with another highway that was planned to be upgraded at the same time as GQ but subsequently delayed. Importantly, however, results are concentrated in districts with stronger initial financial development, suggesting that while financing does respond to large infrastructure investments and help spur real economic outcomes, initial financial sector development might play an important role in determining where real activity will grow. |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hbs:wpaper:19-121&r=all |
| By: | Yuan Yuan |
| Abstract: | Nowadays, with the increasing problem of population expansion and resource shortage, a series of urban diseases have caused many problems to citizens. Smart city is a new urban management mode put forward and carried out by people to solve the current environmental problems and the waste of resources. This project is not only related to government, but also related to enterprises and individuals. However, not all cities can meet the requirements of the construction of smart city because it requires a comparatively complete infrastructure. However, smart cities monitor and manage cities in real time through the Internet, because of this, protecting the network security of digital management system has also become an urgent problem. Key Words:Smart City, Pros and Cons, Experiential Feeling Policy |
| Date: | 2018–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vor:issues:2018-27-12&r=all |
| By: | Eyles, Andrew; Machin, Stephen |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the origins of what has become one of the most radical and encompassing programmes of school reform seen in the recent past in advanced countries – the introduction of academy schools to English education. Academies are independent state funded schools that are allowed to run in an autonomous manner outside of local authority control. Almost all academies are conversions from already existent state schools and so are school takeovers that enable more autonomy in operation than was permitted in their predecessor state. Studying the first round of conversions that took place in the 2000s, where poorly performing schools were converted to academies, a focus is placed on legacy enrolled pupils who were already attending the school prior to conversion. The impact on end of secondary school pupil performance is shown to be positive and significant. Performance improvements are stronger for pupils in urban academies and for those converting from schools that gained relatively more autonomy as a result of conversion. |
| Keywords: | Academies; Legacy Enrolment; Pupil Performance; ES/M010341/1 |
| JEL: | I20 I21 I28 |
| Date: | 2018–07–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:88581&r=all |
| By: | Federico Droller; Martin Fiszbein |
| Abstract: | We investigate how historical patterns of primary production influenced development across local economies in Argentina. Our identification strategy exploits exogenous variation in the composition of primary production induced by climatic features. We find that locations specializing in ranching had weaker linkages with other activities, higher concentration in land ownership, lower population density, and less immigration than cereal-producing areas. Over time, ranching localities continued to exhibit lower population density and they experienced relatively sluggish industrialization. Ultimately, ranching specialization had large negative effects on long-run levels of income per capita and human capital. Our findings show that early patterns of production can have a crucial influence on development patterns, providing suggestive support to the staple theory of economic growth. |
| JEL: | N16 N56 N96 O13 O14 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25992&r=all |
| By: | Ria Ivandic; Tom Kirchmaier; Stephen Machin |
| Abstract: | Do international jihadi terror attacks lead to an increase in local anti-Muslim hate crimes? Analysing data from the Greater Manchester Police, Ria Ivandic, Tom Kirchmaier and Stephen Machin find that the Muslim population faces a media-magnified likelihood of victimisation in the days following such attacks. |
| Keywords: | Islamophobic hate crime, jihadi terror attacks, media |
| JEL: | K42 |
| Date: | 2019–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepcnp:559&r=all |
| By: | Tang, Chi Ho |
| Abstract: | While the residential and commercial property markets in Hong Kong are extensively discussed, little attention is paid to the carpark market. This work contributes to fill the research gap in three ways. First, it provides a simple empirical model to explain carpark ratios in residential buildings. Second, it hand-collects transaction-level data and constructs a price index for the carpark market in Hong Kong. Third, it shows that changes in stamp duties increase the volatility in the carpark market. This research may shed light to the current debate on the effectiveness of the stamp duty in stabilizing the real estate market. |
| Keywords: | Carpark ratio, carpark price index, GARCH model, stamp duty, volatility |
| JEL: | G18 R14 R30 |
| Date: | 2019–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:94747&r=all |
| By: | Michael B. Devereux (Vancouver school of economics, University of British Columbia, NBER and CEPR); Karine Gente (Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, EHESS, Centrale Marseille, AMSE, Marseille, France); Changhua Yu (China Center for Economic Research, National School of Development, Peking University, Beijing, China,) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the impact of fiscal spending shocks in a multi-country model with international production networks. In contrast to standard results suggesting that production network linkages are unimportant for the aggregate response to macro shocks in a closed economy, we show that network structures may place a central role in the international propagation of fiscal shocks, particularly when wages are slow to adjust. The paper first develops a simple general equilibrium multi-country model and derives some analytical results on the response to fiscal spending shocks. We then apply the model to an analysis of fiscal spillovers in the Eurozone, using the calibrated sectoral network structure from the World Input Output Database (WIOD). In a version of the model with sticky wages, we find that fiscal spillovers from Germany and other some other large Eurozone countries may be large, and within the range of empirical estimates. More importantly, we find that the Eurozone production network very important for the international spillovers. In the absence of international production network linkages, spillovers would be only a third as large as predicted by the baseline model. Finally, we explore the diffusion of identified German government spending at the sectoral level, both within and across countries. We find that government expenditures have both significant upstream and downstream effects when these links are measured by the direction of sectoral production linkages. |
| Keywords: | production network, fiscal policy, spillovers, Eurozone, terms of trade, nominal rigidities |
| JEL: | E23 E62 F20 F42 H50 |
| Date: | 2019–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aim:wpaimx:1919&r=all |
| By: | Yasuyuki Sawada (The University of Tokyo and Asian Development Bank); Keiko Iwasaki (NLI Research Institute); Toyo Ashida (Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | Disasters affect livelihoods and preferences. We investigate the relationship between damage caused by a disaster and individual hyperbolic discounting, adopting sui generis data from two communities hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011: Iwanuma and Futaba, where exposure to a disaster aggravates an individual's present bias captured in elementary or junior high school. This causal relationship is a key mechanism behind the disaster and depression nexus. Our results suggest the need to provide commitment devices to mitigate harmful outcomes induced by aggravated hyperbolic discounting resulting from disaster exposure, thus shedding new light on disaster rehabilitation policies. |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2018cf1100&r=all |
| By: | Florian Fizaine (Université de Savoie Mont Blanc, IREGE) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we address the issue relative to the determinants of metal recycling rate. The literature on recycling flows is scarce and does not directly address the issue of achieving high recycling rate. In addition, the existing literature has not quantified the recycling rate response to metal price. This is why we explore factors of the recycling rate of different metals embodied in computer. We examine the effect of metal price, metal concentration in product, and relative concentration ratio (competition between primary and secondary supply) on recycling rate. Although we find a significant effect of metal price on recycling rate, the marginal response is very low across different type of models (OLS, GLM, FRMER, left censored Tobit). This effect is not surprising and in line with the existing literature relative to recycling flows. Conversely, it seems that recycling rate is more elastic to other technical factors like the metal concentration in products or the relative concentration ratio. We discuss public policies deriving from our results. We need more data and interdisciplinary studies to support these preliminary results. |
| Keywords: | Recycling rate, Metal, Price, Circular economy |
| JEL: | C25 C26 Q53 Q57 |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:ppaper:2019.01&r=all |
| By: | Mauro Caselli; Andrea Fracasso; Silvio Traverso |
| Abstract: | The wrapped stable distribution is a model for non-symmetric circular data. Maximum likelihood estimation is feasible, but computationally expensive and not exact, because the density does not exist in closed form. In light of these difficulties, we develop a constrained indirect inference approach based on a skewed-t auxiliary model. To improve the finite-sample properties of the estimators, we devise a bootstrap-based estimate of the weighting matrix employed in the indirect inference program. The simulation study suggests that the indirect inference estimators are definitely preferable to the maximum likelihood estimators as concerns computing time, and approximately equivalent in terms of root-mean-squared-error. |
| Keywords: | Indirect inference; directional statistics; stable distribution; weighting matrix |
| JEL: | D72 F14 O33 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trn:utwprg:2019/05&r=all |
| By: | Trevon D. Logan |
| Abstract: | This paper provides the first evidence of the effect of tax policy on the likelihood of violent attacks against black politicians. I find a strong positive effect of local tax revenue on subsequent violence against black politicians. A dollar increase in per capita county taxes increases the likelihood of a violent attack by more than 25%. The result is robust to numerous economic, social, historical, and political factors. I also find that counties where black officeholders were attacked had the largest negative tax revenue changes between 1870 and 1880 and that violence against black politicians is unrelated to other forms of post-Reconstruction racial violence. This provides the first quantitative evidence that political violence at Reconstruction's end was related to black political efficacy. |
| JEL: | H2 H7 J10 N3 N90 R1 R51 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26014&r=all |
| By: | Haus-Reve, Silje; Fitjar, Rune Dahl; Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés |
| Abstract: | Product innovation is widely thought to benefit from collaboration with both scientific and supply-chain partners. The combination of exploration and exploitation capacity, and of scientific and experience-based knowledge, are expected to yield multiplicative effects. However, the assumption that scientific and supply-chain collaboration are complementary and reinforce firm-level innovation has not been examined empirically. This paper tests this assumption on an unbalanced panel sample of 8337 firm observations in Norway, covering the period 2006–2010. The results of the econometric analysis go against the orthodoxy. They show that Norwegian firms do not benefit from doing “more of all” on their road to innovation. While individually both scientific and supply-chain collaboration improve the chances of firm-level innovation, there is a significant negative interaction between them. This implies that scientific and supply-chain collaboration, in contrast to what has been often highlighted, are substitutes rather than complements. The results are robust to the introduction of different controls and hold for all tested innovation outcomes: product innovation, new-to-market product innovation, and share of turnover from new products. |
| Keywords: | innovation; firms; scientific and supply-chain collaboration; interaction; Norway |
| JEL: | O31 O32 O33 |
| Date: | 2019–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:100330&r=all |
| By: | Davide Viviano |
| Abstract: | The empirical analysis of experiments and quasi-experiments often seeks to determine the optimal allocation of treatments that maximizes social welfare. In the presence of interference, spillover effects lead to a new formulation of the statistical treatment choice problem. This paper develops a novel method to construct individual-specific optimal treatment allocation rules under network interference. Several features make the proposed methodology particularly appealing for applications: we construct targeting rules that depend on an arbitrary set of individual, neighbors' and network characteristics, and we allow for general constraints on the policy function; we consider heterogeneous direct and spillover effects, arbitrary, possibly non-linear, regression models, and we propose estimators that are robust to model misspecification; the method flexibly accommodates for cases where researchers only observe local information of the network. From a theoretical perspective, we establish the first set of guarantees on the utilitarian regret under interference, and we show that it achieves the min-max optimal rate in scenarios of practical and theoretical interest. We discuss the empirical performance in simulations and we illustrate our method by investigating the role of social networks in micro-finance decisions. |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1906.10258&r=all |
| By: | Ruixue Jia; Torsten Persson |
| Abstract: | The same government policy that incentivizes individuals to make a certain choice can have different effects across groups due to the existence of social norms. In this paper, we study how Chinese ethnic policies that give material benefits to minorities affect ethnicity choices for children in ethnically mixed marriages. We document that, on average, such policies increase the propensity of choosing minority status for the children. Meanwhile, responses to the same policies differ widely across localities, suggesting that social norms may be important. We formalize the ethnic identity choice in a simple framework, which highlights the interaction of material benefits stemming from the ethnic policies, identity costs associated with breaking the norms of following the father's ethnicity, and social reputations altering the importance of identity costs. This framework predicts that ethnic policies should increase the propensity of breaking the norm (i.e., following the mother's ethnicity) in localities where more families follow the norm. We find support for this prediction in microdata from multiple census waves, and show that a number of alternative explanations can be ruled out. More broadly, our study serves as evidence about the interplay of individual and social motivates in shaping policy consequences, as well as evidence on the determinants of identity choice. |
| JEL: | D01 D02 H1 J1 J13 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26008&r=all |
| By: | Yang Zhengping |
| Abstract: | We live in the 21st century, we are happy and joyful, and at the same time we may face danger from time to time. With the rapid development of economy, it has brought many benefits to our lives. However, these benefits are not pure, but have a price. As the age grows up, some things around us are undergoing subtle changes. It brings us many wonderful things, but also brings us many problems, the first of which is environmental issues. Key Words: environment, environmental concerns, smart city Policy |
| Date: | 2018–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vor:issues:2018-27-11&r=all |
| By: | Arduini, Tiziano; Patacchini, Eleonora; Rainone, Edoardo |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a new method for estimating heterogeneous externalities in policy analysis when social interactions take the linear-in-means form. We establish that the parameters of interest can be identified and consistently estimated using specific functions of the share of the eligible population. We also study the finite sample performance of the proposed estimators using Monte Carlo simulations. The method is illustrated using data on the PROGRESA program. We find that more than 50 percent of the effects of the program on schooling attendance are due to externalities, which are heterogeneous within and between poor and nonpoor households. |
| Keywords: | Indirect Treatment E�ec; Program evaluation; Two-Stage Least Squares |
| JEL: | C13 C21 D62 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:13781&r=all |
| By: | Amy Finkelstein; Matthew Gentzkow; Heidi L. Williams |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effect of current location on elderly mortality by analyzing outcomes of movers in the Medicare population. We control for movers' origin locations as well as a rich vector of pre-move health measures. We also develop a novel strategy to adjust for remaining unobservables, based on the assumption that the relative importance of observables and unobservables correlated with movers' destinations is the same as the relative importance of those correlated with movers' origins. We estimate substantial effects of current location. Moving from a 10th to a 90th percentile location would increase life expectancy at age 65 by 1.1 years, and equalizing location effects would reduce cross-sectional variation in life expectancy by 15 percent. Places with favorable life expectancy effects tend to have higher quality and quantity of health care, less extreme climates, lower crime rates, and higher socioeconomic status |
| JEL: | H51 I1 I11 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25975&r=all |
| By: | Vipul Bhatt; Mouhua Liao; Min Qiang Zhao |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the role played by government policy regarding factors of pro- duction in shaping the dynamics of a growing economy. Using land as an example of an important productive factor, we develop a quantitative model with endogenous land price policy regimes to rationalize the following three economic reforms in China: introduction of non-SOEs (state-owned enterprises); reform of SOEs characterized by their retreat from the competitive manufacturing sector and the establishment of state monopolies in factor markets around 2000; and a regime switch from dual-track land pricing to land price discrimination by use. We calibrate our model to key economic indicators for China and quantify the e ects of these reforms. Our calibrated mo- del can match several stylized facts for China after 2000 such as widening disparity in land prices by use, rapid growth in housing price, land revenue, and government expenditures on public goods, and the steep decline in labor share for income. |
| Keywords: | Dual-track Pricing, Land Price Discrimination, State Monopoly, Land Market Reforms. |
| JEL: | Q15 R38 H71 E25 O18 |
| Date: | 2019–07–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wyi:wpaper:002433&r=all |
| By: | Randi Hjalmarsson; Andreea Mitrut; Cristian Pop-Eleches |
| Abstract: | The 1966 abolition and 1989 legalization of abortion in Romania immediately doubled and decreased by about a third the number of births per month, respectively. To isolate the link between abortion access and crime while abstracting from cohort and general equilibrium effects, we compare birth month cohorts on either side of the abortion regime. For both the abolition and legalization of abortion, we find large and significant effects on the level of crime and risky-behavior related hospitalization, but an insignificant effect on crime and hospitalization rates (i.e. when normalizing by the size of the birth month cohort). In other words, the Romanian abortion reforms did affect crime, but all of the effect appears to be driven by cohort size effects rather than selection or unwantedness effects. |
| JEL: | J13 K42 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26024&r=all |
| By: | Yuki Higuchi (Graduate School of Economics, Nagoya City University); Nobuhiko Fuwa (Graduate School of Public Policy, The University of Tokyo); Kei Kajisa (School of International Politics, Economics and Communication, Aoyama Gakuin University); Takahiro Sato (Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University); Yasuyuki Sawada (Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | Aid from local governments can play a critical role as a risk-coping device in a postdisaster situation if the recipients have been properly targeted. Combining (i) satellite images (objective information on flood damage), (ii) administrative records (objective information on aid receipt), and (iii) sui generis survey data (self-reported information on damage assessment and aid receipt) on a large-scale flooding in the Philippines, we analyze the accuracy of disaster aid targeting and self-reporting bias in flood damage and aid receipt. We find that damage is over-reported while aid receipt is under-reported, and as a result, the estimated targeting accuracy based on self-reported information is substantially downward-biased. |
| Date: | 2018–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2018cf1107&r=all |
| By: | Mi Lin (University of Lincoln); Yum K. Kwan (City University of Hong Kong) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the geographic extent of FDI technology spillovers and associated spatial diffusion. By adopting a spatiotemporal autoregressive panel model as the platform of our study, the complex impact resulting from FDI penetration is separated into spatial direct and indirect effects while accounting for feedback loops among regions. A set of spatially partitioned summary measures is produced to identify and to quantify FDI spillovers from different channels with distinct geographic scopes. Empirical results based on data from China document that the direct impacts of FDI presence to a specific location itself are likely to be negative. Domestic firms mainly benefit from FDI presence in their neighboring regions through knowledge spillovers that have wider geographic scope. Negative market stealing effect nevertheless has no spatial boundary. Policy implications of these findings are discussed. |
| Keywords: | FDI spillovers, spatial diffusion, geography, spatial dynamic panel, Chinese economy |
| JEL: | R12 F21 O33 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cth:wpaper:gru_2016_002&r=all |
| By: | Ramiro de Elejalde (Departamento de Economía, Universidad Alberto Hurtado); Carlos J. Ponce (Departamento de Economía, Universidad Alberto Hurtado); Flavia Roldán (Universidad ORT Uruguay) |
| Abstract: | Using a sample of manufacturing firms in Uruguay, this paper studies the eect of product market competition on innovative activities, labor practices and the provision of incentives within firms. Our estimates show that a higher level of product market competition: (i) decreases innovative expenditures, (ii) increases the number of innovations per dollar spent on innovative activities, and: (iii) leads firms to implement incentive payment schemes based on employee performance. These results suggest that, in developing economies, firms react to a higher level of product market competition by providing internal incentives that ultimately lead to significant increases in the productivity of their innovative outlays. |
| Keywords: | Competition, Innovation, Innovative Productivity, Incentives. |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ila:ilades:inv328&r=all |
| By: | Dolores de la Mata (CAF-Development Bank of Latin America); Carlos Felipe Gaviria Garces (Universidad de Antioquia) |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of air pollution exposure (CO, O3 and Pm10) during pregnancy and early years of life on infant health for a sample of children attending public kinder- gartens in Bogota, Colombia. The study uses a unique database that gathers information on children health which allows to combine information of residential location of the mother with information from the city air quality monitors. To overcome endogeneity problems due to residential sorting we identify pairs of siblings in the dataset and imple- ment panel data models with mother xed e ects. Results show evidence that mothers, who are exposed to higher levels of CO and O3 during pregnancy, have a higher proba- bility of their babies being born with a low birth weight. Furthermore, a child exposed in-utero to higher levels of O3 has a higher probability of being diagnosed with a lung- related disease. Our ndings advocate for more strict environmental regulations as a way to improve human capital in developing countries. |
| Keywords: | Air Pollution, Infant Health, Mother-Family Fixed Effects, Panel Data |
| JEL: | C33 J13 Q53 |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:duh:wpaper:1902&r=all |
| By: | Thomas Grjebine; Jérôme Héricourt; Fabien Tripier |
| Abstract: | The creation of the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1999 was expected to become a catalyst for real convergence in Europe. Far from being the case, real divergence increased from the early 1990s as evidenced by low productivity growth in the “periphery” of the Euro area relative to “core” countries. This report investigates the role of sectoral reallocation in this divergence, focusing on three archetypal countries: France, Germany, and Spain. Using the EU-KLEMS database of sectoral Total Factor Productivity (TFP), we first show that sector reallocations have been at the origin of productivity losses in the considered countries and contributed significantly to this divergence. Second, we investigate how the substantially diverging real estate prices between these countries could explain those sectoral reallocations. More specifically, when access to external finance is restricted due to financial frictions, real estate assets may be used as collateral by borrowers to relax these constraints and increase investments. Real estate shocks turn out to be a strong driver of productivity divergence, causing the lag of Spain behind Germany before the Great Recession and that of France afterwards. For comparison purpose, we also shed light on the role of sectoral reallocation in the UK productivity puzzle. |
| Keywords: | Total Factor Productivity;European Integration;Financial Frictions;Real Estate |
| JEL: | G3 O4 R3 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cii:cepipb:2019-27&r=all |
| By: | Bi, Huixin (Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City); Traum, Nora |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how newspaper reporting affects government bond prices during the U.S. state default of the 1840s. Using unsupervised machine learning algorithms, the paper first constructs novel ``fiscal information indices'' for state governments based on U.S. newspapers at the time. The impact of the indices on government bond prices varied over time. Before the crisis, the entry of new western states into the bond market spurred competition: more state-specific fiscal news imposed downward pressure on bond prices for established states in the market. During the crisis, more state-specific fiscal information increased (lowered) bond prices for states with sound (unsound) fiscal policy. |
| Keywords: | Sovereign Default; Information; Fiscal Policy |
| JEL: | E62 H30 N41 |
| Date: | 2019–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedkrw:rwp19-04&r=all |