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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Camille Blaudin de Thé (PSE - Paris School of Economics); Benjamin Carantino (PSE - Paris School of Economics); Miren Lafourcade (PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PSE - Paris School of Economics, RITM - Réseaux Innovation Territoires et Mondialisation - UP11 - Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of urban form on household fuel consumption and car emissions in France. We in particular analyze three features of cities commonly referred to as the "3 D's" (Cervero & Kockelman 1997): Density, Design and Diversity. Individual data allow us to identify the effects of urban form and the spatial sorting of households on emissions. We also use instrumental variables to control for other endogeneity issues. Our results suggest that, by choosing to live at the fringe of a metropolitan area instead of the city center, a representative household would consume approximately six extra tanks of fuel per year. More generally, doubling residential Density would result in an annual saving of approximately two tanks per household. However, larger gains would result from better urban Design (job-housing central-ization, improved rail/bus routes to central business districts, reduced pressure for road construction and a less fragmented built environment in urban areas) while improved Diversity (the concentration of various local amenities such as shops and public facilities) can also help lower fuel consumption. Another important finding is that the relationship between the metropolitan population and car emissions in France is bell-shaped, contrary to that in the US, suggesting that small cities do compensate for their lack of Density/Diversity by environmentally-friendly Design. |
| Keywords: | Sprawl,car emissions,CO 2 footprint,driving,public transport,smart cities |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-02572893&r=all |
| By: | Anna Piil Damm (Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University); Helena Skyt Nielsen (Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University); Elena Mattana (Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University); Benedicte Rouland (University of Nantes) |
| Abstract: | We exploit exogenous variation from a school desegregation policy to evaluate the impact of forced busing on bilingual school starters. The policy moved pupils from schools with many Danish as additional language (DAL) pupils and high per-pupil spending to schools with fewer DAL pupils but lower per-pupil spending. Assignment to busing may be regarded as exogenous conditional on three observed individual characteristics. In contrast to the literature on voluntary busing to promote racial school integration, we find that assignment to forced busing has a negative effect on the academic performance and wellbeing of DAL pupils. Our investigation of potential mechanisms shows that bused pupils attend schools with a lower budget per pupil and a lower overall budget for DAL pupils, have a lower enrollment rate in the after-school program in the assigned school, and are more likely to transfer to another public school (after regaining free school choice). Our results suggest that school resources can more than compensate for potential negative peer effects in schools with moderate levels of segregation. |
| Keywords: | School segregation, Integration, Immigration, Education, Peer effects, School resources |
| JEL: | I21 I24 I28 J15 R23 R28 |
| Date: | 2020–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aah:aarhec:2020-03&r=all |
| By: | Nicholas Buchholz; Laura Doval; Jakub Kastl; Filip Matějka; Tobias Salz |
| Abstract: | We estimate valuations of time using detailed consumer choice data from a large European ride hail platform, where drivers bid on trips and consumers choose between a set of potential rides with different prices and waiting times. We estimate consumer demand as a function of prices and waiting times. While demand is responsive to both, price elasticities are on average four times higher than waiting-time elasticities. We show how these estimates can be mapped into values of time that vary by place, person, and time of day. Regarding variation within a day, the value of time during non-work hours is 16% lower than during work hours. Regarding the spatial dimension, our value of time measures are highly correlated both with real estate prices and urban GPS travel flows. A variance decomposition reveals that most of the substantial heterogeneity in the value of time is explained by individual differences as opposed to place or time of day. In contrast with other studies that focus on long run choices we do not find evidence of spatial sorting. We apply our measures to quantify the opportunity cost of traffic congestion in Prague, which we estimate at $483,000 per day. |
| JEL: | L0 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27087&r=all |
| By: | Park, Souneil; Oshan, Taylor M.; Finamore, Alessandro; Ali, Abdallah El |
| Abstract: | Segregation often dismantles common activity spaces and isolates people of different backgrounds, leading to irreconcilable inequalities that disfavour the poor and minorities and intensifies societal fragmentation. Therefore, segregation has become an increasing concern and topic of research with studies typically concentrating on the residential communities of a particular racial or socioeconomic group. In contrast, this paper provides a comprehensive view of segregation in the context of how it interacts with urban mobility. Specifically, it expands upon prior research by employing large-scale, seamless telecommunication logs of London, UK to provide a holistic view of mobility across the entire socioeconomic spectrum. A method is developed to transform the data to flows between geographic areas with different socioeconomic statuses. Spatial interaction models are then calibrated to examine the impact of both geographical distance and socioeconomic distance on the deterrence of flows and the analysis is extended to analyze the interaction of the two factors. Overall, socioeconomic distance is found to have a marginal effect compared to geographical distance. However, different effects are observed depending on the socioeconomic distance between flows and the deterrence of mobility tends to be the greatest when both physical and socioeconomic distance are high, suggesting that both factors may play a role creating and maintaining segregation. |
| Date: | 2020–05–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:2ubzn&r=all |
| By: | Hikaru Kawarazaki (Graduate School of Economics, The University of Tokyo); Minhaj Mahmud (Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies and JICA Research Institute); Yasuyuki Sawada (Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo); Mai Seki (Graduate School of Economics, Ritsumeikan University) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the peer effects of a speed competition on educational outcomes in self-learning at the right level program for primary school students in Bangladesh. Specifically, we examine the peer effects of speed of problem-solving (time) on math scores (score) using students' daily progress record over eight months. The unique setting of the program allows to address the identification challenges such as the direction of causality and the reflection problem. The results show a significant peer effect of classmates' speed on improving one's own time. Furthermore, we find that the faster the classmates of similar abilities, the higher one's own math scores. This suggests that the speed competition among students with similar abilities leads to improving their learning quality without negatively affecting others. These findings will contribute to shaping an effective learning environment by incorporating positive peer pressure on learning quality. |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2020cf1151&r=all |
| By: | Yoshida, Jun; Kono, Tatsuhito |
| Abstract: | Biologically important but dangerous wildlife creatures encroach into cities, which causes human-wildlife conflicts. To explore the effect of the encroachment of wildlife into cities on equilibrium land use and its efficiency, we develop an equilibrium theory of land used for humans and wildlife by combining an ecosystem model with urban economics model. Humans choose their housing location and size in response to the risk of encountering wildlife in cities, and animals optimize their food intake by spreading out in response to heterogeneous feeding grounds in both urban areas and natural habitats, which determines the spatial heterogeneous distribution of both agents. We first prove the existence and uniqueness of the spatial equilibrium in a linear city adjacent to natural habitats. Next, our theory provides new insights for the wildlife conservation: (i) this spatial heterogeneity generates inefficient predator-prey interactions, leading to an inefficient steady state population equilibrium of animals; (ii) With the spatial inefficiency, the equilibrium city size is not always too big. We numerically demonstrate how both the equilibrium and the optimal solution are affected by the scale of conflicts and the value of wildlife. |
| Keywords: | Land use, location-dependent externality, human-wildlife conflicts, biodiversity |
| JEL: | Q28 R11 R14 |
| Date: | 2020–05–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:100447&r=all |
| By: | Arthur Lewbel (Boston College); Xi Qu (Shanghai Jiao Tong University); Xun Tang (Rice University) |
| Abstract: | We identify and estimate social network models when network links are either misclassified or unobserved in the data. First, we derive conditions under which some misclassification of links does not interfere with the consistency or asymptotic properties of standard instrumental variable estimators of social effects. Second, we construct a consistent estimator of social effects in a model where network links are not observed in the data at all. Our method does not require repeated observations of individual network members. We apply our estimator to data from Tennessee's Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) Project. Without observing the latent network in each classroom, we identify and estimate peer and contextual effects on students' performance in mathematics. We found that peer effects tend to be larger in bigger classes, and that increasing peer effects would significantly improve students' average test scores. |
| Keywords: | Social networks, Peer effects, Misclassified links, Missing links, Mismeasured network, Unobserved network, Classroom performance |
| Date: | 2019–07–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boc:bocoec:1004&r=all |
| By: | Okan Yilmaz (Swansea University); Oleksandr Talavera (University of Birmingham); Joy Jia (Swansea University) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores how liquidity in UK rental markets reacts to variations in demand across time and space. We employ a survival analysis approach with a non-parametric hazard rate to investigate whether the probability of renting changes across calendar months. Our unique dataset comes from Zoopla.com and contains 300,198 rental listings in 13 major UK university cities over the 2015-17 period. Our results suggest that the probability of renting is lower during the winter season compared to summer. This could be explained by students' higher housing demand at the start of the academic term. The results become more pronounced when the distance between marketed houses and university campuses is taken into account. |
| Keywords: | Big data; student housing; seasonality; survival analysis |
| JEL: | R21 R31 R32 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bir:birmec:20-11&r=all |
| By: | Marco De NADAI |
| Abstract: | Containing crime without affecting the livability of the urban environment is a major challenge in our society. Traditionally, researchers relate crime to socio-economic disorganization and people’s routine activity, as it influences effective control and suitable targets. An important open question is what the role the urban fabric plays. Although empirical research has shown that the physical urban environment is an essential factor for urban vitality and health, we lack evidence of any clear relationship between the structural characteristics (e.g. roads and land use mix) of neighborhoods and crime. Here, by using open data and mobile phone records, we explore this link with a spatial regression model that analyzes the environmental and the social conditions to which each part of the city is exposed. We found that physical characteristics of the city connected to higher urban diversity better explain the emergence of crime than traditional socio-economic conditions and, together, physical characteristics and socio-economic conditions improve the performance of previous approaches. This result suggests that urban diversity and natural surveillance theories play an important role in the proliferation of crime, and the knowledge of this role can be exploited in urban planning to reduce crime. |
| Keywords: | Bolivie |
| JEL: | Q |
| Date: | 2018–07–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:avg:wpaper:en8712&r=all |
| By: | Anderson, John Lyle |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between urban green space and academic achievement (standardized test scores) for public elementary schools in New York City. In 2010 and 2017, I find evidence of a neighborhood-level positive association of tree canopy with test scores. However, there is little evidence of any association when only tree canopy close to schools is considered. Results are robust to hierarchical mixed-effects model specifications. I also conduct one of the first longitudinal analyses of the green space-educational outcomes relationship. I find initial evidence that increases in tree canopy around elementary schools between 2010 and 2017 were associated with decreased grade-average test performance for high-poverty schools and were not significantly associated with changes in test performance of non-high poverty schools, a result that somewhat contradicts the positive comparative static results. To reconcile my findings, I construct an extended econometric model detailing potential bias in the green space-educational outcomes relationship that might arise from unobserved changing dimensions of inequality, with the adoption of Common Core curricula starting in 2013 serving as a pertinent example. Standard econometric approaches do not capture time-varying unobserved characteristics associated with observational data, so omitted factors that covary both with changes in green space and changes in test scores may bias the estimated green space-educational outcomes relationship. Future researchers should intentionally consider the co-development of urban green space with salient unobserved factors when estimating and interpreting the effect of changes in green space on educational outcomes over time. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:umapmt:303670&r=all |
| By: | Jacomien van der Merwe; Stephan Krygsman |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this research is to investigate whether transport accessibility influences the employment duration of individuals in South Africa. The South African Revenue Service's IRP5 administration datasets, which indicate employment duration and spatial location data (where workers reside and work) for all income earners in South Africa, were used to determine individuals' employment duration, as well as the travel distances between their residence and place of employment. Airline distance was used as a proxy for transport accessibility. |
| Keywords: | Employment, employment duration, Equality, job–housing mismatch, Transportation, transport accessibility |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2020-56&r=all |
| By: | Michael Gilraine; Jiaying Gu; Robert McMillan |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a new methodology for estimating teacher value-added. Rather than imposing a normality assumption on unobserved teacher quality (as in the standard empirical Bayes approach), our nonparametric estimator permits the underlying distribution to be estimated directly and in a computationally feasible way. The resulting estimates fit the unobserved distribution very well regardless of the form it takes, as we show in Monte Carlo simulations. Implementing the nonparametric approach in practice using two separate large-scale administrative data sets, we find the estimated teacher value-added distributions depart from normality and differ from each other. To draw out the policy implications of our method, we first consider a widely-discussed policy to release teachers at the bottom of the value-added distribution, comparing predicted test score gains under our nonparametric approach with those using parametric empirical Bayes. Here the parametric method predicts similar policy gains in one data set while overestimating those in the other by a substantial margin. We also show the predicted gains from teacher retention policies can be underestimated significantly based on the parametric method. In general, the results highlight the benefit of our nonparametric empirical Bayes approach, given that the unobserved distribution of value-added is likely to be context-specific. |
| JEL: | C14 H75 I21 J24 J45 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27094&r=all |
| By: | Konstantin Buechel; Martina Jakob; Daniel Steffen; Christoph Kuehnhanss; Aymo Brunetti |
| Abstract: | This study provides novel evidence on the relative effectiveness of computer-assisted learning (CAL) software and traditional teaching. Based on a randomized controlled trial in Salvadoran primary schools, we evaluate three interventions that aim to improve learning outcomes in mathematics: (i) teacher-led classes, (ii) CAL classes monitored by a technical supervisor, and (iii) CAL classes instructed by a teacher. As all three interventions involve the same amount of additional mathematics lessons, we can directly compare the productivity of the three teaching methods. CAL lessons lead to larger improvements in students' mathematics skills than traditional teacher-centered classes. In addition, teachers add little to the e ectiveness of learning software. Overall, our results highlight the value of CAL approaches in an environment with poorly quali ed teachers. |
| Keywords: | computer-assisted learning, productivity in education, primary education, teacher content knowledge |
| JEL: | C93 I21 J24 O15 |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ube:dpvwib:dp2006&r=all |
| By: | Rozo, Sandra V.; Anders, Therese; Raphael, Steven |
| Abstract: | We study whether the forced removal of undocumented immigrants from the United States increases violent crime in Mexican municipalities. Using municipal panel data on homicide rates matched with annual deportation flows from the United States to Mexico, we assess whether municipalities with repatriation points experience higher violent crime with surges in deportation flows. We consistently find that municipalities with greater geographic exposure to deportation flows have higher violent crime. The effects are mostly driven by increments in homicide rates of young males and minors. |
| Keywords: | Crime,Migration,Latin America |
| JEL: | O15 R2 K37 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:545&r=all |
| By: | Sebastian Doerr; Leonardo Gambacorta |
| Abstract: | We construct employment risk indices for European regions that reflect the share of jobs under threat from Covid-19. The risk index is based on local employment in sectors that are more exposed to the pandemic and on the regional incidence of small firms. Employment in regions in southern Europe and France is shown to have high risk indices, while regions in northern Europe have lower risk indices. Eastern and central European regions have intermediate risk indices. Regions with a higher risk index have a bigger jump in Google searches for unemployment-related terms. |
| Date: | 2020–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bis:bisblt:16&r=all |
| By: | Gelli, Aulo; Aurino, Elisabetta |
| Abstract: | An analysis of learning outcomes from the evaluation of a national school feeding program in Ghana reveals that disadvantaged students benefited most from free school meals. Overall, students with access to school meals had higher academic and cognitive test scores on average compared with students without access to the program, but the program led to much greater gains for certain disadvantaged groups including girls, students from poor households, and students from the Northern regions of Ghana. This evidence suggests that providing free school meals is an effective way to increase opportunities for disadvantaged youth by leveling the playing field through improved educational achievement. However, key structural changes could maximize potential learning impacts resulting from the program. Improvements in program implementation through monitoring the quality and quantity of food served are needed to overcome program implementation challenges identified by the evaluation. Beyond the feeding program itself, investments to improve the quality of education are expected to further improve learning outcomes, especially when school meals incentivize increased school attendance. |
| Keywords: | GHANA; WEST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; schools; child nutrition; nutrition; school children; children; school feeding; school meals; Ghana School Feeding Program (GSFP) |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:othbrf:december2019&r=all |
| By: | Victor Aguirregabiria; Jiaying Gu; Yao Luo; Pedro Mira |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a dynamic structural model to evaluate economic and public health effects of the diffusion of COVID-19, as well as the impact of factual and counterfactual public policies. Our framework combines a SIR epidemiological model of virus diffusion with a structural game of network production and social interactions. The economy comprises three types of geographic locations: homes, workplaces, and consumption places. Each individual has her own set of locations where she develops her life. The combination of these sets for all the individuals determines the economy's production and social network. Every day, individuals choose to work and consume either outside (with physical interaction with other people) or remotely (from home, without physical interactions). Working (and consuming) outside is more productive and generates stronger complementarities (positive externality). However, in the presence of a virus, working outside facilitates infection and the diffusion of the virus (negative externality). Individuals are forward-looking. We characterize an equilibrium of the dynamic network game and present an algorithm for its computation. We describe the estimation of the parameters of the model combining several sources of data on COVID-19 in Ontario, Canada: daily epidemiological data; hourly electricity consumption data; and daily cell phone data on individuals' mobility. We use the model to evaluate the health and economic impact of several counterfactual public policies: subsidies for working at home; testing policies; herd immunity; and changes in the network structure. These policies generate substantial differences in the propagation of the virus and its economic impact. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19; Virus diffusion; Dynamics; Production and social networks; Production externalities; Public health |
| JEL: | C57 C73 L14 L23 I18 |
| Date: | 2020–05–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-665&r=all |
| By: | Seshan,Ganesh Kumar |
| Abstract: | This study examines the asset gains to households in Kerala, India, from two types of labor migration: moving overseas versus moving within India for employment. It draws on panel data from waves of a representative household survey conducted in 1998 and 2003. Migrant households as a whole experienced higher asset gains than non-migrant families over this five-year period. Contrary to theoretical expectations, asset gains were similar for households with an overseas migrant and those with a domestic migrant. Although less educated individuals tend to venture overseas, a wage premium over non-migrants enables them to earn as much in low-skill jobs abroad as more educated workers relocating within India can. |
| Keywords: | Urban Governance and Management,Urban Housing and Land Settlements,Municipal Management and Reform,Urban Housing,Educational Sciences,Labor Markets,Remittances,Financial Structures,Energy Policies&Economics |
| Date: | 2020–05–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:9237&r=all |
| By: | Pauline Gandré |
| Abstract: | In the US, the linkages between the housing market, the credit market and the real sector have been striking in the past decades. To explain these linkages, I develop a small-scale DSGE model in which agents update non-rational beliefs about future house price growth, in accord with recent survey data evidence. Conditional on subjective house price beliefs, expectations are model-consistent. In the model with non-rational expectations, both standard productivity shocks and shocks in the credit sector generate endogenously persistent booms in house prices. Long-lasting excess volatility in house prices, in turn, affects the financial sector (because housing assets serve as collateral for household and entrepreneurial debt), and propagates to the real sector. This amplification and propagation mechanism improves the ability of the model to explain empirical puzzles in the US housing market and to explain the macro-financial linkages during 1985-2019. The learning model can also replicate the predictability of forecast errors evidenced in survey data. |
| Keywords: | Housing booms, Financial Accelerator, Business Cycles, Non-rational Expectations, Learning. |
| JEL: | D83 D84 E32 E44 G12 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:drm:wpaper:2020-10&r=all |
| By: | Yerkin Kitapbayev; Scott Robertson |
| Abstract: | We analyze recently proposed mortgage contracts which aim to eliminate selective borrower default when the loan balance exceeds the house price (the "underwater" effect). We show that contracts which automatically reduce the outstanding balance in the event of local house price decline remove the default incentive, but may induce prepayment in low price states. However, low state prepayments vanish if borrower utility from home ownership, or outside options such as rental costs, are too high. We also show that capital gain sharing features, through prepayment penalties in high house price states, are ineffective, as they virtually eliminate prepayment in such states. For typical foreclosure costs, we find that contracts with automatic balance adjustments become preferable to the traditional fixed rate mortgage at contract rate spreads of approximately 50-100 basis points, depending on how far prices must fall before adjustments are made. Furthermore, these spreads rapidly decrease with the borrower utility from home ownership. Our results are obtained using American options pricing methods, in a model with diffusive home prices, and either diffusive or constant interest rates. We determine the contract, default and prepayment option values with optimal decision rules. We provide explicit solutions in the perpetual case with constant interest rates; and numerically compute the prepayment and default boundaries in the general case. |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2005.03554&r=all |
| By: | Lagakos, David (UCSD and NBER); Marshall, Samuel (University of Warwick); Mobarak, Ahmed Mushfiq (Yale University, NBER, Deakin University and CEPR); Vernot, Corey (Yale University); Waugh, Michael E. (New York University and NBER) |
| Abstract: | Recent studies find that observational returns to rural-urban migration are near zero in three developing countries. We revisit this result using panel tracking surveys from six countries, finding higher returns on average. We then interpret these returns in a multi-region Roy model with heterogeneity in migration costs. In the model, the observational return to migration confounds the urban premium and the individual benefits of migrants, and is not directly informative about the welfare gain from lowering migration costs. Patterns of regional heterogeneity in returns, and a comparison of experimental to observational returns, are consistent with the model’s predictions. |
| Keywords: | rural-urban migration ; observational returns to migration ; migration costs ; rural-urban gaps ; gains from lowering migration costs JEL codes: O11 ; O18 ; R23 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1265&r=all |
| By: | Konrad B. Burchardi; Thomas Chaney; Tarek Alexander Hassan; Lisa Tarquinio; Stephen J. Terry |
| Abstract: | We show a causal impact of immigration on innovation and dynamism in US counties. To identify the causal impact of immigration, we use 130 years of detailed data on migrations from foreign countries to US counties to isolate quasi-random variation in the ancestry composition of US counties that results purely from the interaction of two historical forces: (i) changes over time in the relative attractiveness of different destinations within the US to the average migrant arriving at the time and (ii) the staggered timing of the arrival of migrants from different origin countries. We then use this plausibly exogenous variation in ancestry composition to predict the total number of migrants flowing into each US county in recent decades. We show four main results. First, immigration has a positive impact on innovation, measured by the patenting of local firms. Second, immigration has a positive impact on measures of local economic dynamism. Third, the positive impact of immigration on innovation percolates over space, but spatial spillovers quickly die out with distance. Fourth, the impact of immigration on innovation is stronger for more educated migrants. |
| JEL: | J61 O31 O40 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27075&r=all |
| By: | Thonipara, Anita; Sternberg, Rolf G.; Proeger, Till; Haefner, Lukas |
| Abstract: | Following the 'death of distance' postulate, digitization may reduce or even eliminate the penalty of firms being located in rural areas compared with those in urban agglomerations. Despite many recent attempts to measure digitization effects across space, there remains a lack of empirical evidence regarding the adoption of digital technologies from an explicit spatial perspective, i.e. comparing urban with rural areas. Using web-scraping data for a representative sample of 345,000 German firms, we analyze the determinants of homepage usage. Accordingly, we show that homepage usage - as a proxy for the degree of digitization of the respective firm - is highly dependent on location, whereby firms in urban areas are more than twice as likely to use webpages than those located in rural areas. Our county-level analysis shows that a high population density, young population, net gains in internal migration, high educational level and high firm-specific revenues have a positive and significant effect on the probability that firms conduct digital marketing using webpages. Access to broadband internet has a positive effect in rural areas. There are no differences between urban, suburban and rural areas in terms of webpage up-todateness as well as social media usage. We conclude that there is a substantial digital divide in online marketing and discuss policy implications. |
| Keywords: | digital divide,digitization,Germany,rural,Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises,urban,web-scraping |
| JEL: | D22 L22 L26 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifhwps:252020&r=all |
| By: | Benoit Dostie; Jiang Li; David Card; Daniel Parent |
| Abstract: | We use longitudinal data from the income tax system to study the impacts of firms’ employment and wage-setting policies on the level and change in immigrant-native wage differences in Canada. We focus on immigrants who arrived in the early 2000s, distinguishing between those with and without a college degree from two broad groups of countries – the U.S., the U.K. and Northern Europe, and the rest of the world. Consistent with a growing literature based on the two-way fixed effects model of Abowd, Kramarz, and Margolis (1999), we find that firm-specific wage premiums explain a significant share of earnings inequality in Canada and contribute to the average earnings gap between immigrants and natives. In the decade after receiving permanent status, earnings of immigrants rise relative to those of natives. Compositional effects due to selective outmigration and changing participation play no role in this gain. About one-sixth is attributable to movements up the job ladder to employers that offer higher pay premiums for all groups, with particularly large gains for immigrants from the “rest of the world” countries. |
| JEL: | J15 J31 J62 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27096&r=all |
| By: | Julien Grenet (PSE - Paris School of Economics, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, IPP - Institut des politiques publiques); Youssef Souidi (PSE - Paris School of Economics, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, IPP - Institut des politiques publiques) |
| Abstract: | Collèges (middle schools) in Paris have some of the highest levels of social segregation in France due to wide social contrasts between geographically close neighbourhoods and to a large number of pupils from the most privileged backgrounds attending private schools. Because of this, the Council of Paris voted in January 2017 to create three two-collège catchment areas in the 18th and 19th arrondissements. The scheme consisted of defining joint catchment areas (secteurs) for several middle schools in order to make their intakes socially more diverse. The provisional results for the first year of the experiment (2017-2018) are encouraging. Two of the three catchment areas achieved their objective of greater social diversity and also reduced the number of pupils enrolling in private schools. Although in the short term the social composition of the schools in the third catchment area was not rebalanced by the scheme, from the results of the assessment we can identify several ways to improve this. |
| Date: | 2018–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-02520801&r=all |
| By: | Fourberg, Niklas; Korff, Alex |
| Abstract: | The upgrade of legacy infrastructure is a challenging undertaking in general. The underlying issues are especially prominent for telecommunications networks outside of urban areas. Using German micro-level data, we identify the structural determinants for fiber optics deployment and its extent. We also measure the role of technology competition from the existing infrastructures, VDSL-Vectoring and TV-Cable. In this setting and exploiting a natural experiment, a technologically restrictive policy as proposed by the European Commission is found to be ineffective in promoting fiber deployment. Policy interventions in the form of subsidies targeted at specific local infrastructure projects, however, raise the likelihood of fiber deployment by a substantial margin. A targeted, proactive policy approach is therefore needed to overcome structural and geographical disadvantages. |
| Keywords: | Fiber expansion,Technology competition,Technology regulation,Subsidies,Regional Infrastructure |
| JEL: | D22 L52 L86 L96 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:334&r=all |
| By: | Hao Wang; Jan Fidrmuc; Qi Luo |
| Abstract: | When investigating the relationship between inward FDI and rural-urban inequality, previous studies overlook the inter-regional interactions. Building on the literature that highlights the significant role of rural-urban migration in inequality, this article investigates spatial spillover effect of inward FDI on the rural-urban wage inequality by utilizing the Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) both in the short run and long run. In particular, we carefully consider the heterogeneity of inward FDI and categorize it with respect to entry modes and sectoral distribution. On the basis of a panel dataset covering 30 provinces in China from 2000 to 2016, our results show that overall the inward FDI should not be blamed for the exacerbation of rural-urban wage inequality. We do not find significant relationship between inward FDI in secondary and tertiary sector while the FDI in primary sector has a slight negative effect. When we separate the FDI according to entry modes, we find that WFE is shown to have a negative effect on the rural-urban wage inequality and this effect is more pronounced in the long run when we conduct a period average estimation. This change also similarly applies to the equity joint ventures. |
| Keywords: | spatial spillovers, foreign direct investment, rural-urban wage inequality, SDM |
| JEL: | C21 F21 O19 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8258&r=all |
| By: | Philip DeCicca; Harry Krashinsky |
| Abstract: | Estimating the returns to education remains an active area of research amongst applied economists. Most studies that estimate the causal return to education exploit changes in schooling and/or labor laws to generate exogenous differences in education. An implicit assumption is that more time in school may translate into greater earnings potential. None of these studies, however, explicitly consider the quality of schooling to which impacted students are exposed. To extend this literature, we examine the interaction between school quality and policy-induced returns to schooling, using temporally-available school quality measures from Card and Krueger (1992). We find that additional compulsory schooling, via either schooling or labor laws, increases earnings only if educational inputs are of sufficiently high quality. In particular, we find a consistent role for teacher quality, as measured by relative teacher pay across states, in generating consistently positive returns to compulsory schooling. |
| JEL: | I26 J24 J38 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27089&r=all |
| By: | World Bank |
| Keywords: | Communities and Human Settlements - Land Administration Communities and Human Settlements - Land Information Systems Communities and Human Settlements - Urban Housing and Land Settlements Science and Technology Development - Earth Sciences & GIS Urban Development - Hazard Risk Management Urban Development - Urban Governance and Management |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:33706&r=all |
| By: | Feng, Andy; Valero, Anna |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the link between management practices and workforce skills in manufacturing firms, exploiting geographical variation in the supply of human capital. Skills measures are constructed using newly compiled data on universities and regional labour markets across 19 countries. Consistent with management practices being complementary with skills, we show that firms further away from universities employ fewer skilled workers and are worse managed, even after controlling for a rich set of observables and fixed effects. Analysis using regional skill premia suggests that variation in the price of skill drives these relationships. |
| Keywords: | management practices; human capital; universities; complementaries; ES/M010341/1 |
| JEL: | I23 J24 L20 L60 M20 |
| Date: | 2020–01–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:103094&r=all |
| By: | Nguyen, V.C. |
| Abstract: | Investing on human capital via enhancement of educational quality as one of the important factors to promote economic development all over the world. Basically, it is important to enhance pre-service teachers of primary education with necessary professional competences to implement teaching activities at primary schools. Based on relevant research on experiential activities, professional competence development for pre-service teachers of primary education and the general education curriculum in the case of Vietnam, the article develops a competency framework for organizing experiential learning activities for pre-service teachers of primary education in the context of education curriculum innovation; and simultaneously suggested fundamental solutions to improve pre-service teachers’ competence in organizing experiential activities. To achieve these above-mentioned goals, some research methods are used by the researchers including document analysis, pedagogical observation, and educational experience summarizing method. |
| Date: | 2020–04–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:3hfsu&r=all |
| By: | Eugen Dimant |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a novel experimental design to study the contagion of pro- and anti-social behavior and the role of social proximity among peers. Across systematic variations thereof, we find that anti-social behavior is generally more contagious than pro-social behavior. Surprisingly, we also find that social proximity amplifies the contagion of anti-social behavior more strongly than the contagion of pro-social behavior. Anti-social individuals are also most susceptible to the behavioral contagion of other anti-social peers. These findings paired with the methodological contribution inform the design of effective norm-based policy interventions directed at facilitating pro-social behavior and reducing anti-social behavior in social and economic environments. |
| Keywords: | behavioral contagion, peer effects, anti-social & pro-social behavior |
| JEL: | C91 D64 D90 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8263&r=all |
| By: | Karen Clay; Ethan J. Schmick; Werner Troesken |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effect of a large negative agricultural shock, the boll weevil, on black-white inequality in the first half of the twentieth century. To do this we use complete count census data to generate a linked sample of fathers and their sons. We find that the boll weevil induced enormous labor market and social disruption as more than half of black and white fathers moved to other counties following the arrival of the weevil. The shock impacted black and white sons differently. We compare sons whose fathers initially resided in the same county and find that white sons born after the boll weevil had similar wages and schooling outcomes to white sons born prior to its arrival. In contrast, black sons born after the boll weevil had significantly higher wages and years of schooling, narrowing the black-white wage and schooling gaps. This decrease appears to have been driven by relative improvements in early life conditions and access to schooling both for sons of black fathers that migrated out of the South and sons of black fathers that stayed in the South. |
| JEL: | I24 J10 J62 N32 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27101&r=all |
| By: | Pabilonia, Sabrina Wulff; Vernon, Victoria |
| Abstract: | Remote work is rapidly increasing in the United States. Using data on full-time wage and salary workers from the 2017–2018 American Time Use Survey Leave and Job Flexibilities Module, this paper examines the characteristics of teleworkers, the effects of teleworking on wages, and differences in time-use patterns between office and work-at-home workdays. We find that some teleworkers earn a wage premium, but it varies by occupation, gender, parental status, and teleworking intensity. Teleworkers also spend less time on commuting and grooming activities but more time on leisure and household production activities and more time with family on work-at-home days. |
| Keywords: | working from home,telework,telecommuting,commuting,home-based work,alternative work arrangements,work-life balance,time use,wages |
| JEL: | J22 J31 D13 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:546&r=all |
| By: | Lonsky, Jakub |
| Abstract: | Across Europe, far-right parties have made significant electoral gains in recent years. Their anti-immigration stance is considered one of the main factors behind their success. Using data from Finland, this paper studies the effect of immigration on voting for the far-right Finns Party on a local level. Exploiting a convenient setup for a shift-share instrument, I find that one percentage point increase in the share of foreign citizens in municipality decreases Finns Party's vote share by 3.4 percentage points. Placebo tests using pre-period data confirm this effect is not driven by persistent trends at the municipality level. The far-right votes lost to immigration are captured by the two pro-immigration parties. Turning to potential mechanisms, immigration is found to increase voter turnout, potentially activating local pro-immigration voters. Moreover, the negative effect is only present in municipalities with high initial exposure to immigrants, consistent with the intergroup contact theory. Finally, I also provide some evidence for welfarestate channel as a plausible mechanism behind the main result. |
| Keywords: | Immigration,far-right,political economy,voting |
| JEL: | H71 J15 J61 P16 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:540&r=all |
| By: | Przybyla, Katarzyna; Kachniarz, Marian; Ramsey, David |
| Abstract: | The article attempts to identify and assess the investment activity of major Polish cities, taking into account the division into voivodship cities, remaining the regional capitals, and also the ones which, as a result of public administration system reform, carried out in Poland in the 1990s, lost this function. Based on the group of diagnostic features (city investment expenditure per capita, capital expenditure of cities in relation to their total expenditure, capital expenditure of cities in relation to their own revenues), taxonomic synthetic measures for the studied cities were constructed. The research covered the years 2004 – 2015 – the period of particular investment intensity caused by the inflow of EU funds. It was concluded that even though the city status and revenue potential is, to some extent, determined by its investment activity, there are, however, clear examples showing that the appropriate local policy can modify these determinants. |
| Keywords: | voivodship cities, investment local government, administrative reform |
| JEL: | R11 |
| Date: | 2020–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:100230&r=all |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the linkages between regional strategies for the social economy and regional development in four EU countries: France, Spain, Sweden and Poland. It provides a comparative perspective of regional strategies for the social economy (Section 1), based on i) the level of recognition of the social economy itself, ii) multi-level governance arrangements, iii) the regional strategic priority given to the social economy and iv) financial resources available for regional strategies. It gives examples of strategies for the social economy in selected regions in the four countries to document the diversity of practice (Section 2). It outlines conclusions and policy orientations (Section 3) to help reinforce the positive impact of regional strategies for the social economy on regional development. |
| Keywords: | regional development, regional strategies, social economy, social enterprises, social entrepreneurship |
| JEL: | L3 L31 L38 O18 O35 P13 |
| Date: | 2020–05–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:cfeaaa:2020/03-en&r=all |
| By: | Jesús Fernández-Villaverde; Charles I. Jones |
| Abstract: | We use data on deaths in New York City, various U.S. states, and various countries around the world to estimate a standard epidemiological model of COVID-19. We allow for a time-varying contact rate in order to capture behavioral and policy-induced changes associated with social distancing. We simulate the model forward to consider possible futures for various countries, states, and cities, including the potential impact of herd immunity on re-opening. Our current baseline mortality rate (IFR) is assumed to be 0.8% but we recognize there is substantial uncertainty about this number. Our model fits the death data equally well with alternative mortality rates of 0.3% or 1.0%, so this parameter is unidentified in our data. However, its value matters enormously for the extent to which various places can relax social distancing without spurring a resurgence of deaths. |
| JEL: | E0 I0 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27128&r=all |
| By: | Nick Jacob; Giordano Mion |
| Abstract: | Ever since Marshall (1890) agglomeration externalities have been viewed as the key factor explaining the existence of cities and their size. However, while the various micro foundations of agglomeration externalities stress the importance of Total Factor Productivity (TFP), the empirical evidence on agglomeration externalities rests on measures obtained using firm revenue or value-added as a measure of firm output: revenue-based TFP (TFP-R). This paper uses data on French manufacturing firms’ revenue, quantity and prices to estimate TFP and TFP-R and decompose the latter into various elements. Our analysis suggests that the revenue productivity advantage of denser areas is mainly driven by higher prices charged rather than differences in TFP. At the same time, firms in denser areas are able to sell higher quantities, and generate higher revenues, despite higher prices. These and other results we document suggest that firms in denser areas are able to charge higher prices because they sell higher demand/quality products. Finally, while the correlation between firm revenue TFP and firm size is positive in each location, it is also systematically related to density: firms with higher (lower) TFP-R account for a larger (smaller) share of total revenue in denser areas. These patterns thus amplify in aggregate regional-level figures any firm-level differences in productivity across space. |
| Keywords: | total factor productivity (TFP), density, agglomeration externalities, revenue-based TFP, prices, demand, quality |
| JEL: | R12 R15 D24 L11 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8261&r=all |
| By: | Simone Bertoli (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - Clermont Auvergne - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Paolo Cintia; Fosca Giannotti (Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologie dell'Informazione "A. Faedo"); Etienne Madinier; Caglar Ozden (The World Bank - The World Bank); Michael Packard; Dino Pedreschi (IBF - Istituto di Biofisica [Pisa] - CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche [Roma]); Hillel Rapoport (PSE - Paris School of Economics); Alina Sîrbu; Biagio Speciale (PSE - Paris School of Economics) |
| Date: | 2019–09–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:pseptp:hal-02285418&r=all |
| By: | Domènech Feliu, Jordi; Roses Vendoiro, Juan Ramon; Basco Mascaro, Sergi |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of a pandemic in a developing economy. Measured by excess deaths relative to the historical trend, the 1918 influenza in Spain was one of the most intense in Western Europe. However, aggregate output and consumption were only mildly affected. In this paper we assess the impact of the flu by exploiting within-country variationin "excess deaths" and we focus on the returns to factors of production. Our main result is that the effect of flu-related "excess deaths" on real wages is large, negative, and shortlived.The effects are heterogeneous across occupations, from none to a 15 per cent decline, concentrated in 1918. The negative effects are exacerbated in more urbanized provinces. In addition, we do not find effects of the flu on the returns to capital. Indeed, neither dividends nor real estate prices (houses and land) were negatively affected by flu-related increases inmortality. Our interpretation is that the Spanish Flu represented a negative demand shock that was mostly absorbed by workers, especially in more urbanized regions. |
| Keywords: | Returns to capital; Real wages; Spanish flu; Pandemics |
| JEL: | N30 N10 I00 E32 |
| Date: | 2020–05–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cte:whrepe:30465&r=all |
| By: | Devi Brands (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); Joris Klingen (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); Francis Ostermeijer (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | We provide novel evidence on the effect of smart phone use on road accidents. We exploit variation in phone usage fees in the Netherlands following a change in European Union (EU) roaming regulations implemented in 2017. The growth rate of mobile data roaming increased substantially after the change, which allows us to estimate a difference-in-differences model where non-Dutch drivers from the EU are treated, while Dutch drivers serve as control group. Our results suggest that around 10% of vehicles involved in accidents can be explained by the use of smart phones, and that these accidents mainly happen on urban roads. |
| Keywords: | road safety, accident risk, smart phones, urban roads |
| JEL: | K42 R41 I12 |
| Date: | 2020–05–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20200024&r=all |
| By: | Schmidt, Florian Alexander |
| Abstract: | Since 2017 the automotive industry has developed a high demand for ground truth data. Without this data, the ambitious goal of producing fully autonomous vehicles will remain out of reach. The self-driving car depends on self-learning algorithms, which in turn have to undergo a lot of supervised training. This requires vast amounts of manual labour, performed by crowdworkers across the globe. As a consequence, the demand in training data is transforming the crowdsourcing industry. This study is an investigation into the dynamics of this shift and its impacts on the working conditions of the crowdworkers. |
| Keywords: | crowdworking,artificial Intelligence,self-driving cars,automotive industry,global labour markets,AI |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hbsfof:155&r=all |
| By: | Oğuzhan Okumuş, Mehmet |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of economic and socio-cultural pull factors on migration decisions of graduate students and highly skilled professionals with a specific focus on recent highly skilled Turkish immigration in Berlin. The main hypotheses of this study are that economic factors play a significantly more important role in the migration decisions of highly skilled professionals whereas socio-cultural factors have a significantly more impact on graduate student migration. The data are collected through an online survey and analyzed in the light of previous literature on highly skilled immigration. Compatible with the results of earlier studies, the findings reveal significant differentiation in the effect of economic pull factors on highly skilled professionals compared to graduate students, especially in the domains career opportunities, employment opportunities and expectations for a higher quality of life. Sociocultural pull factors appear to have insignificant difference despite being favored more by immigrants who moved to Berlin through an educational channel. Altogether, these results indicate the importance of diversified migration policies for the distinct needs of different highly skilled groups. |
| Keywords: | Highly skilled immigration,Brain drain,Germany,Turkey |
| JEL: | J61 J15 K37 O15 F66 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ipewps:1422020&r=all |
| By: | Samuel Bazzi; Masyhur Hilmy; Benjamin Marx |
| Abstract: | Public schooling systems are an essential feature of modern states. These systems often developed at the expense of religious schools, which undertook the bulk of education historically and still cater to large student populations worldwide. This paper examines how Indonesia’s long-standing Islamic school system responded to the construction of 61,000 public elementary schools in the mid-1970s. The policy was designed in part to foster nation building and to curb religious influence in society. We are the first to study the market response to these ideological objectives. Using novel data on Islamic school construction and curriculum, we identify both short-run effects on exposed cohorts as well as dynamic, long-run effects on education markets. While primary enrollment shifted towards state schools, religious education increased on net as Islamic secondary schools absorbed the increased demand for continued education. The Islamic sector not only entered new markets to compete with the state but also increased religious curriculum at newly created schools. Our results suggest that the Islamic sector response increased religiosity at the expense of a secular national identity. Overall, this ideological competition in education undermined the nation-building impacts of mass schooling. |
| JEL: | H52 I25 N45 P16 Z12 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27073&r=all |
| By: | McCarthy, Barra (Central Bank of Ireland) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the impact that the 2016 Finance Act on investment into Irish real estate investment funds (IREFs). The Act introduced a 20% tax rate on the distributions and capital gains from IREF equity for most foreign investors. To understand the impact of this change, a novel investor-level dataset is analysed using difference-in-difference and triple difference models. I find that the average investor whose tax status changed did not alter their investment behaviour, relative to investors whose tax status did not change. Investors who were the only investor in a fund (single investors) responded by reducing net subscriptions by 16.6-18.5 percentage points more than other investors who saw their tax status change. This corresponds to an elasticity of around -1. Estimating the regressions in an event study format, it becomes clear that single investors’ reaction to the tax change was concentrated in Q4 2016, the period during which the tax was announced but before it came into effect. Consulting the financial statements of these funds, an explanation emerges - a substantial minority of single investor funds responded to the tax change by providing loans to fund dividends and redemptions. Constructing a series for shareholder lending from the financial statements, I am able to confirm this empirically. Therefore, the primary, but unintended, consequence of the 2016 IREF tax was the swapping of equity for shareholder loans by single investor funds, in an effort to reduce their tax liability resulting from the policy change. |
| Keywords: | Real Estate Investment Funds, Taxation, Financial Economics |
| JEL: | H2 G18 R3 |
| Date: | 2020–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cbi:wpaper:02/rt/20&r=all |
| By: | Jeffrey Clemens; Lisa B. Kahn; Jonathan Meer |
| Abstract: | We explore whether minimum wage increases result in substitution from lower-skilled to slightly higher-skilled labor. Using 2011-2016 American Community Survey data (ACS), we show that workers employed in low-wage occupations are older and more likely to have a high school diploma following recent statutory minimum wage increases. To better understand the role of firms, we examine the Burning Glass vacancy data. We find increases in a high school diploma requirement following minimum wage hikes, consistent with our ACS evidence on stocks of employed workers. We see substantial adjustments to requirements both within and across firms. |
| JEL: | J23 J24 J3 J42 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27090&r=all |
| By: | Jean-Alain Héraud; Phu Nguyen-Van; Thi Kim Cuong Pham |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to analyze the determinants of individual well-being using a survey database from the Strasbourg metropolitan development council. We focus on the effects of externalities generated by public services (transport, culture and sport) as well as environmental quality and feelings of security in the Strasbourg metropolitan area (Eurométropole de Strasbourg, EMS). Results show that specificities of EMS (in terms of public services, environmental quality perceived as convenient for individual health, safety and security), as well as more individual features like opportunities to laugh or living with children influence significantly individual well-being. These findings are robust when using three subjective measures: feeling of well-being, environmental satisfaction and social life satisfaction. We also show that income may affect perceived well-being for individuals belonging to a low income group, while individuals belonging to a high income group tend to be unsatisfied with environmental quality, but satisfied with their social life. Besides, social comparison in terms of income does not really matter for individual well-being in the Strasbourg metropolitan area. |
| Keywords: | environmental satisfaction, externalities, feeling of well-being, public services, social life satisfaction, utility. |
| JEL: | H72 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2020-21&r=all |