|
on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Koen van Ruijven (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis); Joep Tijm (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis) |
| Abstract: | The railroad tunnelling in Delft (the Netherlands) has led to substantial, additional, increases in residential property prices. Our results show that the price elasticity with respect to the distance to the (tunnelled) railroad would have been about 5 percentage points lower in case Delft would not have tunneled its railroad. In a Dutch document ‘De leefbaarheidseffecten van Spoorzone Delft’ we explain that the increased liveability can be valued at 400 million euros. Read the Dutch document ‘De leefbaarheidseffecten van Spoorzone Delft’. Inhabitants of Delft have experienced significant nuisance from railroad traffic. Since 1965, trains entered the city via an elevated track that ran right through the city. In our analyses we show that noise and other forms of nuisance made living close to the train tracks less attractive, which was reflected in residential property prices. For this research we have used a dataset provided by the NVM (the largest association of real estate agents and appraisers in the Netherlands) containing residential property characteristics and transaction prices starting in 1995. Besides the effect on residential property prices, we show that the railroad tunneling has led to sorting effects. Our results indicate that the socioeconomic status of inhabitants of neighbourhoods around the tunnel has changed substantially due to the railroad tunnelling. |
| JEL: | R38 R58 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:423.rdf&r= |
| By: | Dai, Tianran; Schiff, Nathan |
| Abstract: | We introduce a new statistical definition of an immigrant ethnic neighborhood based on a choice model and using the location distribution of natives as a benchmark. We then examine the characteristics of ethnic neighborhoods in the United States using decadal census tract data from 1970-2010. We find that ethnic neighborhoods are pervasive, often capturing more than 50% of the ethnic population in a city, and differ significantly in housing and demographic characteristics from other locations in the city where a group lives. Most neighborhoods disappear within one or two decades. However, larger neighborhoods persist longer and have a well-defined spatial structure with negative population gradients. Neighborhoods grow primarily through spatial expansion into adjacent locations and lagged measures of the housing stock from previous decades can predict into which specific locations a neighborhood grows. Maps of ethnic neighborhoods: https://nathanschiff.shinyapps.io/ee_map s_deployed/ |
| Keywords: | neighborhoods; ethnic enclave; concentration metrics; housing |
| JEL: | J15 R23 R30 |
| Date: | 2021–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:108073&r= |
| By: | Kösem, Sevim (Bank of England) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies housing and credit market implications of increasing income inequality and discusses how a low interest rate environment can alter its consequences. I develop an analytical general equilibrium model with a novel borrower risk composition channel of income inequality. Following a rise in income inequality house prices and mortgage debt decline, and aggregate default risk increases. I then show that low real rates mitigate the depressing effect of inequality on house prices at the cost of amplifying the aggregate default risk. Using a panel of US states and instrumental variables approach, I verify the model’s predictions. |
| Keywords: | Income inequality; mortgage lending; mortgage default; house prices; real interest rates; risk taking; shift-share instruments |
| JEL: | D31 E44 E58 G21 R21 |
| Date: | 2021–05–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boe:boeewp:0921&r= |
| By: | Benjamin Arold; Danish Shakeel |
| Abstract: | From 2010 onwards, most US states have aligned their education standards by adopting the Common Core State standards (CCSS) for math and English Language Arts. The CCSS did not target other subjects such as science and social studies. We estimate spillovers of the CCSS on student achievement in non-targeted subjects in models with state and year fixed effects. Using student achievement data from the NAEP, we show that the CCSS had a negative effect on student achievement in non-targeted subjects. This negative effect is largest for underprivileged students, exacerbating racial and socioeconomic student achievement gaps. Using teacher surveys, we show that the CCSS caused a reduction in instructional focus on nontargeted subjects. |
| Keywords: | Common core, education standards, student achievement, education policy |
| JEL: | H75 I21 I24 I28 J24 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ifowps:_354&r= |
| By: | Elisabeth Grewenig |
| Abstract: | I study the effects of selective admission policies in the context of school tracking. Depending on the federal state in Germany, either teachers or parents have the discretion to decide which secondary school track a child may attend after primary school. Applying a differences-in-differences approach, I exploit variation in the implementation and abolition of binding teacher recommendations across states and over time. Using data from large-scale assessments, I find that binding teacher recommendations significantly improve student achievement in fourth grade, i.e., prior to track assignment. Effects persist into ninth grade, several years after track assignment. Further analyses show that these effects are driven by increased time investments in students’ skill development. Overall, my results suggest that selective admission policies can lead to permanent improvements in students’ educational performances. |
| Keywords: | school tracking, admission policies, student performance |
| JEL: | I21 I28 J24 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ifowps:_353&r= |
| By: | Bertrand Achou (HEC Montréal - HEC Montréal); Hippolyte d'Albis (PSE - Paris School of Economics - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - 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); Eleni Iliopulos (EPEE - Centre d'Etudes des Politiques Economiques - UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne - Université Paris-Saclay) |
| Abstract: | In this work we introduce a general equilibrium model with landlords, indebted owner-occupiers and renters to study housing markets' dynamics. We estimate it by using standard Bayesian methods and match the US data of the last decades. This framework is particularly suited to explain current trends on housing markets. We highlight the crucial relationship between interest rates, house prices and rents, and argue that it helps understanding the main driving forces. Our analysis suggests that current developments on housing markets can play a role for a recovery from the Covid pandemic as they have an expansionary effect on aggregate output. Moreover, we account for the heterogeneous impact of crisis-induced policies depending on agents' status on the housing market. We show how, despite an increase in housing prices, the welfare of landlords has been negatively hit. This is associated to the joint decrease in returns on housing and financial assets that reduces their financial incomes. |
| Keywords: | Housing,Rental Markets,Collateral Constraints,Financial Frictions,HANK Models |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-03231807&r= |
| By: | Guldåker, Nicklas; Hallin, Per-Olof; Klubien, Mona Tykesson; Nilsson, Jerry |
| Abstract: | This chapter addresses the benefits of geo-statistical approaches in fire prevention processes, and especially in the prevention of residential fires in urban areas. The aim is to demonstrate how residential fire incidents can be theorized and placed in a context where geo-statistical techniques and an area-based approach can support the emergency services fire prevention work. The chapter introduces theoretical concepts such as Fire Risk Environment, Fire Protection Capability, as well as de-termining factors, types of residential fires and various hypotheses for further analysis of residential fires in urban contexts. Key themes are the development of residential fire incidents in different metropolitan areas over time, how different types of residential fires can be connected to living conditions, and finally how the emergency services and other actors can work with area-based fire prevention. Examples from Sweden's major cities and especially the city of Gothenburg are used. The results show that variations in spatial residential fire patterns can be ex-plained by a variation of living conditions. The conditions may also look different depending on the residential area and housing conditions and therefore, preven-tive strategies and proactive measures should differ between and within cities and be adapted to specific different areas. |
| Date: | 2021–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:bghpx&r= |
| By: | Cen, Ling; Chang, Yuk Ying; Dasgupta, Sudipto |
| Abstract: | Consistent with the idea that some of the noise in analysts' earnings forecasts originates in their geographic locations, we find that when analysts' locations are geographically more dispersed, the consensus forecast is more accurate, suggesting a diversification effect. Importantly, analysts' individual forecasts are also more accurate, implying that analysts incorporate idiosyncratic (private) information in their peer's forecasts when generating their own forecasts. Moreover, in line with efficient weighted average forecasting behavior, the weights assigned to peer forecasts vary with measures of the precision of the analyst's signal and those of the peers. Overall, we find strong evidence of analyst learning. |
| Keywords: | Analyst Forecasts; Herding; Information Diversity; learning |
| JEL: | D83 G24 |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:15057&r= |
| By: | Miroslav Gabrovski (University of Hawaii Manoa); Victor Ortego-Marti (Department of Economics, University of California Riverside) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies efficiency in the housing market in the presence of search frictions and endogenous entry of buyers and sellers. These two features are essential to explain the housing market stylized facts, in particular to generate an upward-sloping Beveridge Curve in the housing market. Search frictions and endogenous entry create two externalities in the market. First, there is a congestion externality common to markets with search frictions. Sellers do not internalize the effect of listing a house for sale on other sellers' probability of finding a buyer, and on buyers' home finding rate. Second, the endogenous entry of buyers leads to a composition externality, as new entrants in the markets value housing less and worsen the distribution of buyers' valuations and surplus. The equilibrium is inefficient even when the Hosios-Pissarides-Mortensen condition holds. We quantify the size of these externalities and how far the observed housing market is from the optimal allocation. The optimal vacancy rate, time-to-sell, and vacancies are about half their equilibrium counterparts, whereas the optimal number of buyers and homeowners are slightly above their decentralized equilibrium values. Finally, we investigate the effect of housing market policies on the equilibrium and how they can restore efficiency in the housing market. |
| Keywords: | Housing market; Search and matching; Beveridge Curve; Housing liquidity; Efficiency; housing policy |
| JEL: | E2 E32 R21 R31 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucr:wpaper:202108&r= |
| By: | Javier Donna (University of Florida) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a structural model of urban travel to estimate long-run price elasticities. A dynamic discrete choice demand model with switching costs is estimated, using a panel dataset with public market-level data on automobile and public transit use for Chicago. The estimated model shows that long-run own- (automobile) and cross (transit) price elasticities are more elastic than short-run elasticities, and that elasticity estimates from static and myopic models are downward biased. The estimated model isused to evaluate the response to a gasoline tax. Static and myopic models mismeasure long-run substitution patterns, and could lead to incorrect policy decisions. |
| Keywords: | Long-run price elasticities, Dynamic demand travel, Hysteresis |
| JEL: | L71 L91 L98 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aoz:wpaper:74&r= |
| By: | Yossi Yakhin (Bank of Israel); Inon Gamrasni (Bank of Israel) |
| Abstract: | The housing market is characterized by persistent deviations from the long-run equilibrium, and these deviations affect market dynamics in the short run. Therefore, any empirical analysis of the housing market must identify these long-run relations. This paper estimates an econometric model for the housing market in Israel for the years 1980â2019, where the long-run relations are estimated based on the theoretical model of DiPasquale and Wheaton (1992). We utilize the model to learn about the characteristics of the Israeli housing market and about the factors driving home prices, rents, and construction activity during the sample period. The model sheds light on the interaction between home prices and rents: A rise in rents pushes prices higher as it increases the return from home ownership. In contrast, an increase in home prices reduces rents because it stimulates housing supply. We also find that both demand and supply are inelastic in the long run; as a result, external shocks to the market are mainly manifested as changes in prices rather than quantities. As for the factors behind the surge in home prices that started in 2008, the estimation of the model suggests that about half of the rise in prices during 2008â11 was driven by undervaluation of homes in the preceding period. Monetary policy also supported prices during that period, though our estimates suggest that it played a minor role. Supply-side shortage had a moderate but persistent effect on house prices, and starting in 2012 supply shortage alongside rising household income are the main factors supporting prices. The acceleration in construction activity in recent years closed much of the supply shortage toward the end of the sample period. |
| Keywords: | Housing Market, Home Prices, Cointegration, Error Correction Model |
| JEL: | C22 R21 R31 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boi:wpaper:2021.08&r= |
| By: | Juan Carlos Cuestas (Department of Economics and Finance, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia; IEI and Department of Economics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain); Merike Kukk (Department of Economics and Finance, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia); Natalia Levenko (Department of Economics and Finance, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we investigate house price misalignments and how they affect the real economy. We estimate the long-term relationship between house prices and the fundamentals that determine long-term house prices for a panel of European countries with dynamic OLS, using data from 2005-2018. We find that income has been the main driver of fundamental house prices in all countries, while the supply of dwellings has calmed the rise in house prices in some of them. We calculate house price misalignments, which are deviations of house prices from the fundamental value, and we employ them in the growth model. The results of the growth regression indicate that house price imbalances amplify business cycles in the short term, but in the long term house price overvaluations slow economic growth down. The findings imply that it is crucial to take measures to stabilise housing cycles. |
| Keywords: | housing markets, fundamental house price, misalignments, imbalances, overvaluation, economic growth |
| JEL: | E21 E44 R21 R31 G01 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jau:wpaper:2021/07&r= |
| By: | Insler, Michael (U.S. Naval Academy); Rahman, Ahmed S. (Lehigh University); Smith, Katherine (U.S. Naval Academy) |
| Abstract: | How do peers influence people's choices? We explore this fundamental question by exploiting unique data produced by, and a natural experiment conducted on, students from the United States Naval Academy (USNA). We develop a conceptual framework to highlight that individuals can emulate others for both information (social learning) and for socializing (network externalities). We then analyze data on the preliminary preferences and ultimate major selections of USNA freshmen, exploiting a rich set of covariates and the random assignment of students to peer groups. We find that students can be influenced by peers into selecting different academic paths relative to what they would have chosen on their own. Through random reassignments of certain student groups into new peer groups, we also explore the reasons why herding occurs. The preponderance of evidence suggests that social learning, as opposed to network externalities, is the key driver for herding behavior. |
| Keywords: | major selection, peer effects, higher education, herding, social networks |
| JEL: | D85 I21 I23 J24 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14412&r= |
| By: | Lotfata, Aynaz; Gemci, Aysegul; ferah, Bahar |
| Abstract: | Recent theoretical and empirical urban planning studies suggest that the availability of daily amenities, such as shopping stores, health care units, education services, pharmacies, within a 15-20-minute walking distance can keep daily life flux and also bring physical activities to individuals coping with the movement limitations of lockdowns during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This paper focuses on the relationship between neighborhood walkability and the changing walking behavior of 514 individuals during these lockdowns. The spatial context of this relationship highlights three main urban design aspects of the novel and innovative urban neighborhood planning: walkable access, spatial proximity, and social cohesion. This study demonstrates how restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 Pandemic affect the walking behaviors of the individuals, within 15-20 minute walkable and non-walkable neighborhoods located in different socio-economic geographies from American, European, Asian, Western Pacific, African, and Eastern Mediterranean cities. The discussion section of the methodology is supported by a survey questionnaire conducted in 24 disparate neighborhoods. Our data obtained from survey questionnaires is indicating that lockdown restrictions during the Pandemic influenced the walking purpose. Research findings also reflect limitations during the Pandemic complicate individuals’ requiring access to amenities in urban neighborhoods. With a nod to future studies on this topic, this paper proposes a basic framework as well as a thematic analysis with superimposed polar matrix charts. |
| Date: | 2021–05–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:69n4m&r= |
| By: | Wataru Takahashi (Economist, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance) |
| Abstract: | This article proposes a population forecasting using endogenous population model, which incorporates a spatial model considering the spatially heterogeneous feature of agents and the economy by employing quantitative spatial models. In this endogenous population model, agents migrate to maximize their utility. This model is estimated using the twostage estimation approach, which is extensively used in quantitative spatial literature. Estimated parameters are significant and almost consistent with the economic and demographic stylized facts. Using the parameters concerning migration and local utilities, we conduct projection analyses for 2015-2125 across all prefectures in Japan, which is now experiencing regionally asymmetric population decline. In the baseline projections, the population in less populated prefectures is mitigated slightly by introducing the young generation's migration behavior. Counterfactual analyses are then conducted to break down the factors of population decline in Japan. Among several factors, birth abandonments due to some constraints and slow productivity growth after 1995 turned out to have severely impacted demographics. The development of networks resulted in having negative impacts on demographics though they had positive impacts on the welfare of economic agents in many aspects. |
| Keywords: | endogenous population model, spatial economics, quantitative spatial economics, population mobility. |
| JEL: | C21 J61 R10 R12 R23 P25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mof:wpaper:ron339&r= |
| By: | Andreas Fuster; Aurel Hizmo; Lauren Lambie-Hanson; James Vickery; Paul S. Willen |
| Abstract: | We study the evolution of US mortgage credit supply during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the mortgage market experienced a historic boom in 2020, we show there was also a large and sustained increase in intermediation markups that limited the pass-through of low rates to borrowers. Markups typically rise during periods of peak demand, but this historical relationship explains only part of the large increase during the pandemic. We present evidence that pandemic-related labor market frictions and operational bottlenecks contributed to unusually inelastic credit supply, and that technology-based lenders, likely less constrained by these frictions, gained market share. Rising forbearance and default risk did not significantly affect rates on “plainvanilla” conforming mortgages, but it did lead to higher spreads on mortgages without government guarantees and loans to the riskiest borrowers. Mortgage backed securities purchases by the Federal Reserve also supported the flow of credit in the conforming segment. |
| Keywords: | mortgage; credit; financial intermediation; fintech; COVID-19 |
| JEL: | G21 G23 G28 |
| Date: | 2021–05–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedpwp:92115&r= |
| By: | Irène SALENSON; Myriam Ababsa (IFPO); Olga Koukoui (AFD) |
| Abstract: | > Jordan is in the throes of a property crisis: following a construction boom, sales have now collapsed and housing is ill-adapted to demand,> 18% of the housing stock is kept vacant in anticipation of speculative sales,> Jordan hosts 750,000 refugees registered with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Syrians, Iraqis, Yemenites), who find it difficult to access housing, as do low-income Jordanian households. Moreover, 2.2 million citizens are Palestinian refugees. |
| Keywords: | Jordanie |
| JEL: | Q |
| Date: | 2021–05–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:avg:wpaper:en12384&r= |
| By: | Ron Boschma; Ernest Miguelez; Rosina Moreno; Diego B. Ocampo-Corrales |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes if the emergence and occurrence of breakthrough technologies in 277 European regions in the period 1981 to 2010 is related to the existing technological portfolio of regions. The study shows that, by far, most combinations breakthrough inventions make are between related technologies: almost no breakthrough patent makes combinations between unrelated combinations only. We also find that breakthrough inventions primarily combine and cite technological classes that are present in the region. Regressions show that the occurrence of breakthrough patents in a technology in a region is positively affected by the local stock of technologies that is related to such technology, but we do not find such an effect for the local stock of unrelated technologies, in contrast to studies that suggest otherwise. However, the region’s ability to enter new breakthrough inventions in a technology relies on the combination of knowledge that is both related and unrelated to such technology. |
| Keywords: | relatedness, unrelatedness, technological breakthroughs, regional diversification, European regions |
| JEL: | O18 O31 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2118&r= |
| By: | Campo, Francesco; Mendola, Mariapia; Morrison, Andrea; Ottaviano, Gianmarco |
| Abstract: | A possible unintended but damaging consequence of anti-immigrant rhetoric, and the policies it inspires, is that they may put high-skilled immigrants off more than low-skilled ones at times when countries and businesses intensify their competition for global talent. We investigate this argument following the location choices of thousands of immigrant inventors across US counties during the Age of Mass Migration. To do so we combine a unique USPTO historical patent dataset with Census data and exploit exogenous variation in both immigration flows and diversity induced by former settlements, WWI and the 1920s Immigration Acts. We find that co-ethnic networks play an important role in attracting immigrant inventors. However, we also find that immigrant diversity acts as an additional significant pull factor. This is mainly due to externalities that foster immigrant inventors' innovativeness. These findings are relevant for today's advanced economies that have become major receivers of migrant flows and, in a long-term perspective, have started thinking about immigration in terms of not only level but also composition. |
| Keywords: | Cultural diversity; Innovation; International Migration |
| JEL: | F22 J61 O31 |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:14916&r= |
| By: | Clémence Tricaud (UCLA - University of California [Los Angeles] - University of California, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research - CEPR, CESifo - CESifo - Munich) |
| Abstract: | While central governments encourage intermunicipal cooperation to achieve economies of scale, municipalities are often reluctant to integrate. This policy brief analyses the local consequences of integration and assesses whether they help explain municipalities' resistance. I focus on the 2010 reform in France that made intermunicipal cooperation mandatory, forcing around 1,800 municipalities to enter an intermunicipal community (IC). Results first show that municipalities forced to enter an IC experienced a large increase in construction following their integration. This impact is driven by urban municipalities where the demand for housing is high and where residents are likely to oppose new construction to preserve their quality of life. Second, the study finds that rural municipalities ended up with fewer local public services, increasing the distance to public services for their residents. Only municipalities forced to integrate faced such consequences of integration. In particular, I find no evidence that municipalities that had voluntarily joined a community before the 2010 law experienced the same adverse effects of integration. Yet, both types of municipality enjoyed similar benefits of integration, in terms of better access to public transport and higher fiscal revenues. These results suggest that resisting municipalities did not oppose integration due to lower benefits, but to avoid the costs associated with increased construction for urban municipalities and with the loss of public services for rural municipalities. |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:ipppap:halshs-03243307&r= |
| By: | Brown, Anne |
| Abstract: | Ride-hailing is a source of opportunity and consternation for cities, presenting both opportunities to expand mobility and added challenges such as increased congestion. In an effort to curb congestion—and to tap a new source of revenue—cities and states across the US have imposed fees on ride-hail trips. Fees are far from uniform; the fee bases, amounts levied, and use of these funds once collected range considerably between cities and states. Despite previous research that toll and transit fare structures affect equity, no research to date has examined the equity implications of ride-hail fee structures. This paper addresses that gap in understanding and asks: what are the equity implications of different ride-hail fee structures? I answer this question using trip-level data from over 97 million ride-hail trips taken in 2018 and 2019 in the City of Chicago. Examining trips serving low-, middle-, and high-income neighborhoods, I examine equity implications under four different fee scenarios: 1) flat rate, 2) percentage of fare, 3) varied rate for pooled trips, and 4) per mile fees. Fees that charge a percentage of total fare deliver a more progressive fee compared to flat, per-mile, or pool-differentiated fees. Yet stark income differences between neighborhoods means that even varied fees remain regressive with respect to income. Cities or states considering ride-hail fees should start by identifying concrete equity-first goals and design fee structures to achieve these goals. Cities should identify and require data needed to assess progress on identified goals and adjust fees as needed to better align with these goals. Far from being a silver bullet for issues like increasing congestion or bolstering transit funding, ride-hail fees should be seen as just one among a broader suite of policies needed to realize broader city goals. |
| Date: | 2021–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:cpsqu&r= |
| By: | Ager, Philipp; Feigenbaum, James J; Hansen, Casper Worm; Tan, Huiren |
| Abstract: | Fears of immigrants as a threat to public health have a long and sordid history. At the turn of the 20th century, when millions of immigrants crowded into dense American cities, contemporaries blamed the high urban mortality penalty on the newest arrivals. Nativist sentiments eventually led to the implementation of restrictive quota acts in the 1920s, substantially curtailing immigration. We capture the "missing immigrants" induced by the quotas to estimate the effect of immigration on mortality. We find that cities with more missing immigrants experienced sharp declines in deaths from infectious diseases from the mid-1920s until the late 1930s. The blame for these negative mortality effects lies not with the immigrants, but on the living conditions they endured. We show that mortality declines were largest in cities where immigrants resided in the most crowded and squalid conditions and where public health resources were stretched the thinnest. Though immigrants did die from infectious diseases at higher rates than the US-born, the mortality decline we find is primarily driven by crowding not changes in population composition or contagion, as we show mortality improvements for both US- and foreign-born populations in more quota-affected cities. |
| Keywords: | density; Immigration; Nativism; Urban Mortality |
| JEL: | I14 J15 N32 N92 |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:14949&r= |
| By: | Louis Lippens; Stijn Baert; Eva Derous (-) |
| Abstract: | Using a choice experiment, we test whether taste-based employee discrimination against ethnic minorities is susceptible to loss aversion. In line with empirical evidence from previous research, our results indicate that introducing a hypothetical wage penalty for discriminatory choice behaviour lowers discrimination and that higher penalties have a greater effect. Most notably, we find that the propensity to discriminate is significantly lower when this penalty is loss-framed rather than gain-framed. From a policy perspective, it could therefore be more effective to financially penalise taste-based discriminators than to incentivise them not to discriminate. |
| Keywords: | taste-based discrimination, employee discrimination, loss aversion, ethnicity |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:21/1016&r= |
| By: | Plechero, Monica (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice); Grillitsch, Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | Industry 4.0 requires from manufacturing firms to become more innovative in order to remain relevant and competitive. To step-up firm innovation, several studies in Innovation and Economic Geography foreground that firms need to combine knowledge in novel ways either within local industrial structures or over distance. The contribution of this paper is to investigate in-depth how manufacturing firms with traditional roots combine new generative knowledge in and beyond a local production system (LPS), what enables them to access and integrate such knowledge from external sources, and how this relates to the firms’ innovation performance, with a focus on radical and varied forms of innovation. The contribution of this paper lies also in a mixed-methods research approach, which combines a population-based survey of mechatronics firms in an Italian LPS, with in-depth interviews. This allows for a qualitative interpretation of the causes of the identified distributions and correlations. The main finding of the paper is that firms generating radical innovations and varied forms of innovation combine unrelated types of knowledge in-house and through external sources. The pattern is that the traditional manufacturing knowledge of mechatronics firms still prevails but that firms increasingly complement this with new knowledge, in particular science-based analytical knowledge. Firms that have acquired complementary knowledge in-house are able to access new knowledge nationally or internationally. Even though firms source knowledge relatively frequently within the local production system, the firms who access new knowledge nationally and internationally stand out in terms of their innovation performance. |
| Keywords: | Industry 4.0; knowledge bases; local productive system; innovation; manufacturing firms |
| JEL: | O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2021–06–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2021_005&r= |
| By: | Ahlfeldt, Gabriel; Barr, Jason |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a synthesis of the state of knowledge on the economics of skyscrapers. First, we document how vertical urban growth has gained pace over the course of the 20th century. Second, we lay out a simple theoretical model of optimal building heights in a competitive market to rationalize this trend. Third, we provide estimates of a range of parameters that shape the urban height profile along with a summary of the related theoretical and empirical literature. Fourth, we discuss factors outside the competitive market framework that explain the rich variation in building height over short distances, such as durability of the structures, height competition, and building regulations. Fifth, we suggest priority areas for future research into the vertical dimension of cities. |
| Keywords: | density; economics; History; skyscraper; urban |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:14987&r= |
| By: | Westlund, Hans (Department of Urban Planning and Environment); Wilhelmsson, Mats (Department of Real Estate and Construction Management, Royal Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | The expansion of wind turbines plays a significant role in developing the ability of a country like Sweden to achieve climate-neutral energy production without relying on nuclear power plants. Wind-turbine energy production is expected to grow in coming decades. Conflicts may arise between, on the one hand, the government and the energy authority, and, on the other hand, between municipalities and property owners, especially if this expansion affects other economic activities, such as tourism and reindeer husbandry, or affects property values. This report aims to analyse the negative capitalisation of wind turbines on property values in Sweden over the last ten years. Our conclusions clearly show a relatively significant capitalisation, and that this capitalisation is relatively local, within ten kilometres of the wind power plant. Large wind turbines, or larger clusters of wind turbines in wind farms, impose a greater socio-economic cost in lower property values. |
| Keywords: | sustainability; wind turbines; capitalisation; housing values; hedonic analysis |
| JEL: | Q01 Q53 R51 R53 |
| Date: | 2021–05–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:kthrec:2021_003&r= |
| By: | Nathan Ausubel; Brigitte Roth Tran |
| Abstract: | After plunging in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, residential investment had a strong recovery in the second half of 2020. The initial decline resulted from both a disruption in activity due to social distancing, a broad-based drop in demand from economic uncertainty, and reduced access to credit (DeSanctis 2020). |
| Date: | 2021–05–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfn:2021-05-24-2&r= |
| By: | Sule Alan; Elif Bodur; Elif Kubilay; Ipek Mumcu |
| Abstract: | We investigate how adolescents’ social status in their peers’ eyes shapes the way they view their social climate in secondary schools. Utilizing novel data on over 10,000 students, we construct comprehensive measures of social status and perceived social climate for each student, including a sense of belonging, perceived behavioral norms, and bullying experience. We show that while central and well-connected students are positive about their social environment, less central and socially isolated students view it as hostile. Our results highlight the importance of improving the relational dynamics of adolescents in disadvantaged schools to create better learning environments for all. |
| Keywords: | social status, student networks, classroom climate |
| JEL: | A14 I20 I24 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9095&r= |
| By: | Darvas, Zsolt; Mazza, Jan; Midões, Catarina |
| Abstract: | We employ a novel methodology for the study of the characteristics of successful European Union cohesion projects. We first estimated ‘unexplained economic growth’ by controlling for the influence of various region-specific factors, and then analysed its relationship with about two dozen cohesion project characteristics. We found that the best-performing regions have on average projects with longer durations, more inter-regional focus, lower national co-financing, more national (as opposed to regional and local) management, higher proportions of private or non-profit participants among the beneficiaries and higher levels of funding from the Cohesion Fund. No clear patterns emerged concerning the sector of intervention. |
| Keywords: | EU cohesion policy, growth determinants, regional convergence, project characteristics |
| JEL: | C21 O47 R11 |
| Date: | 2021–04–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cvh:coecwp:2021/03&r= |
| By: | Chakraborty, Tanika (Indian Institute of Management); Mukherjee, Anirban (University of Calcutta) |
| Abstract: | We propose a regional inequality-based mechanism to explain the heterogeneity in the spread of Covid-19 and test it using data from India. We argue that a core-periphery economic structure is likely to increase the spread of infection because it involves movement of goods and people across the core and peripheral districts. Using nightlights data to measure regional inequality in the degree of economic activity, we find evidence in support of our hypothesis. Further, we find that regions with higher nightlight inequality also experience higher spread of Covid-19 only when lockdown measures have been relaxed and movement of goods and services are near normal. Our findings imply that policy responses to contain Covid-19 contagion needs to be heterogeneous across India, depending on the ex-ante economic structure of a region. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, contagion, core-periphery, nightlight, industrial-heterogeneity |
| JEL: | I15 I18 R1 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14400&r= |
| By: | McQuinn, Kieran |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:resnot:rn20210101&r= |
| By: | Richard K. Green (University of Southern California) |
| Abstract: | In 1998, I published a paper that showed that under a wide range of specifications, residential investment led GDP, while non-residential investment did not. That papers was followed by a number of others, including Coulson and Kim (2000), Davis and Heathcoate (2005) and Leamer (2007) that used more sophisticated techniques than my paper, but found the same outcome— that residential investment led GDP. Leamer famously announced that housing was the business cycle. But in light of the Great Financial Crisis, the subsequent crash in residential investment, and the fundamental changes in the mortgage market, I thought it worth revisiting housing as a leading indicator. I have found that it is a much weaker leading indicator than before, and that it is much less sensitive to Federal Reserve Policy—especially changes in the Federal Funds Rate—than before. It is possible that the increasing stringency of local land use policy had interfered with the ability of the Federal Reserve to use housing as an instrument on monetary policy. |
| Date: | 2021–05–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cth:wpaper:gru_2021_024&r= |
| By: | Brandt, Loren; Kambourov, Gueorgui; Storesletten, Kjetil |
| Abstract: | Labor productivity in manufacturing differs starkly across regions in China. We document that productivity, wages, and start-up rates of non-state firms have nevertheless experienced rapid regional convergence after 1995. To analyze these patterns, we construct a Hopenhayn (1992) model that incorporates location-specific capital wedges, output wedges, and entry barriers. Using Chinese Industry Census data we estimate these wedges and examine their role in explaining differences in performance and growth across prefectures. Entry barriers explain most of the differences. We investigate the empirical covariates of these entry barriers and find that barriers are causally related to the size of the state sector. |
| Keywords: | capital distortions; China; convergence; Entry Barriers; Firm entry; growth; output distortions; SOE reform; transition |
| JEL: | D22 D24 E24 O11 O14 O16 O40 O53 P25 R13 |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:14965&r= |
| By: | McCann, Fergal; O’Malley, Terry |
| Abstract: | Abstract We analyse micro data on Irish mortgages and distressed households’ balance sheets in the last decade to assess the debt resolution process in the Irish mortgage market in the lead up to the COVID-19 shock. We highlight the widespread engagement of Irish borrowers with debt resolution mechanisms during a decade in which one sixth of mortgage accounts were restructured by 2016. Lenders favoured short-term mortgage modifications at the beginning of the decade and three-quarters of performing mortgages with short-term modifications in 2011-2012 remained performing at end-2017. However, close to half of these cases involved a subsequent longer-term restructure, consistent with concerns that short-term modification alone is not sufficient to ensure mortgage sustainability. In other cases, an over-reliance on unsustainable short-term arrangements translated into longer-term arrears accumulation. Turning to the financial distress of households seeking a resolution to their arrears, we find an average income fall of roughly one third since mortgage origination and that one third had already reduced their non-housing expenditures to below the recommended minimum level used in the personal insolvency system. Finally, we show that larger cuts in repayment burdens and lower ex-post payment-to-income ratios are both highly predictive of successful long-term restructures. JEL Classification: F21, F28, G51 |
| Keywords: | COVID-19 crisis, loan moratoria, mortgage default, mortgage modification |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:srk:srkwps:2021121&r= |
| By: | Edmond Berisha (Feliciano School of Business, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ 07043); John Meszaros (U.S. Postal Service, USA); Rangan Gupta (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, 0028, South Africa) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the secular increase in US income inequality and its relation to growing house prices over the past three decades. We explore income inequality's effect on house prices based on a high-frequency (quarterly) data-set for all US states, including the District of Columbia. The analysis show that higher income inequality decreases the growth rate of house prices. However, the relationship differs for the Northeast region. We find higher income inequality corresponds with higher house prices across the states within the Northeast region. |
| Keywords: | Inequality, House Prices, Regional Studies |
| JEL: | D60 O40 O50 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pre:wpaper:202134&r= |
| By: | James D. Shilling (DePaul University); Piyush Tiwari (University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on understanding the observed differences in interest rates on single-family residential mortgages during September 2008 to December 2017. Exploiting the conceptual difference in risks associated with fixed rate and variable rate mortgages for lenders, we construct a synthetic variable rate. Synthetic variables are obtained from 3-year fixed rates by adjusting them for interest rate risks premium and call options that are embedded in fixed rates. Estimated error correction model for the difference between actual and synthetic mortgage rate reveals that the unbiasedness hypothesis is rejected and that the lenders in pricing actual variable rates have attached a risk premia of 90 to 150 basis points over synthetic rates. This requires further investigation into institutional arrangements, market structures, underwriting and lending practices of banks as these remain unexplained. |
| Keywords: | mortgage rate differences, swaps, swaptions, errors-in-variables |
| JEL: | G21 |
| Date: | 2021–05–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cth:wpaper:gru_2021_023&r= |
| By: | Peter H. Egger, Maximilian v. Ehrlich, Douglas R. Nelson |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we assess the role of skilled versus unskilled migration for bilateral trade in a flexible econometric model. Using a large data-set on bilateral skill-specific migration and a flexible novel identification strategy, the functionally flexible impact of different levels of skilled and unskilled immigration on the volume and structure of bilateral imports is identified in a quasi-experimental design. We find evidence of a polarized impact of skillspecific immigration on imports: highly concentrated skilled or unskilled immigrants induce higher import volumes than a balanced composition of the immigrant base. This effect turns out particularly important when institutions are weak. Regarding the structure of imports, we observe that skilled immigrants specifically add to imports in differentiated goods. Both bits of evidence are consistent with a segregation of skill-specific immigrant networks and corresponding trade patterns. |
| Keywords: | Skilled vs. unskilled immigration, Migrant networks, Bilateral trade, Quasirandomized experiments, Generalized propensity score estimation |
| JEL: | C14 C21 F14 F22 |
| Date: | 2020–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rdv:wpaper:credresearchpaper31&r= |
| By: | Amanda Agan (Rutgers University); Jennifer Doleac (Texas A&M University); Anna Harvey (New York University) |
| Abstract: | Communities across the United States are reconsidering the public safety benefits of prosecuting nonviolent misdemeanor offenses. So far there has been little empirical evidence to inform policy in this area. In this paper we report the first estimates of the causal effects of misdemeanor prosecution on defendants' subsequent criminal justice involvement. We leverage the as-if random assignment of nonviolent misdemeanor cases to Assistant District Attorneys (ADAs) who decide whether a case should move forward with prosecution in the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office in Massachusetts. These ADAs vary in the average leniency of their prosecution decisions. We find that, for the marginal defendant, nonprosecution of a nonviolent misdemeanor offense leads to large reductions in the likelihood of a new criminal complaint over the next two years. These local average treatment effects are largest for first-time defendants, suggesting that averting initial entry into the criminal justice system has the greatest benefits. We also present evidence that a recent policy change in Suffolk County imposing a presumption of nonprosecution for a set of nonviolent misdemeanor offenses had similar beneficial effects: the likelihood of future criminal justice involvement fell, with no apparent increase in local crime rates. |
| Keywords: | nonviolent misdemeanors, local average treatment effect, crime rates |
| JEL: | K14 K42 J24 |
| Date: | 2021–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2021-014&r= |
| By: | Garance Genicot (Department of Economics, Georgetown University) |
| Abstract: | Individuals typically differ in their identities---the behaviors that they deem ideal for themselves and for the members of their network---and in their tolerance for behaviors that deviate from their own ideals.This paper studies the possibility of compromise, i.e., departures from one's ideal points in order to be accepted by others. I show that an individual's compromise in equilibrium is bounded by the difference between her tolerance level and the lowest tolerance level in society. Heterogeneity in tolerance is necessary for compromise. Relatively intolerant individuals, who can serve as ``bridges'', are critical for the reciprocated compromise of more tolerant individuals. The joint distribution of tolerance levels and identities matters for the equilibrium patterns of compromise. When individuals with extreme identities are systematically less tolerant, societies become more polarized. In contrast, intolerance among moderates encourages cohesion. Classification-D85, L14, O12, Z13 |
| Keywords: | Compromise, Social Networks, Social Capital, Tolerance, Homophily, Identity |
| Date: | 2021–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:geo:guwopa:gueconwpa~21-21-14&r= |
| By: | Payne, Jason Leslie (Australian National University); Langfield, Cameron Thomas (Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | In many parts of the world, the social mobility restrictions and stay-at-home orders introduced during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic have been associated with significant reductions in crime. However, contrary to this general finding, illicit drug offence detections increased significantly. In this study, we explore the geographical distribution of the increase in Queensland, Australia, using spatiotemporal generalised additive model (GAM) to identify locations in the Local Government Area (LGA) of Brisbane where drug offence detection rates were unusually high during the three months of the COVID-19 lockdown (April-June 2020). Contrary to expectation, we find that the increase in drug offence detection rates appears to have been modest in most places, but widespread and diffuse throughout the city. We conclude that drug offence detections are most likely to have increased incidentally, probably as a consequence of general street policing initiatives which saw an increase in the visibility and vulnerability of drug user communities. We do, however, identify five locations in Brisbane where the drug offence detection rate exceeded the prediction by a considerable margin (in one case, more than double the worst case prediction). We argue that in these locations the increase was likely the result of some spatial displacement of inner-city drug markets coupled with a series of targeted policing activities. Further research is needed to clarify the true mechanism of change in these locations. |
| Date: | 2021–05–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:2bxyw&r= |
| By: | Thais Laerkholm Jensen (Danmarks Nationalbank); Søren Leth-Petersen (CEBI, Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen, CEPR); Ramana Nanda (Harvard Business School, NBER) |
| Abstract: | We exploit a mortgage reform that differentially unlocked home equity across the Danish population and study how this impacted selection into entrepreneurship. We find that increased entry was concentrated among entrepreneurs whose firms were founded in industries where they had no prior work experience. In addition, we find that marginal entrants benefiting from the reform had higher pre-entry earnings and that a significant share of entrants started longer-lasting firms. Our results are most consistent with the view that housing collateral enabled high ability individuals with less-well-established track records to overcome credit rationing and start new firms, rather than just leading to `frivolous entry' by those without prior industry experience. |
| Keywords: | credit constraints, entrepreneurship, household wealth, mortgage finance |
| JEL: | D14 D31 G21 L25 L26 |
| Date: | 2021–06–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kud:kucebi:2110&r= |
| By: | Jan Marcus; Thomas Siedler; Nicolas R. Ziebarth |
| Abstract: | Starting in 2009, the German state of Saxony distributed sports club membership vouchers among all 33,000 third graders in the state. The policy’s objective was to encourage them to develop a long-term habit of exercising. In 2018, we carried out a large register-based survey among several cohorts in Saxony and two neighboring states. Our difference-in-differences estimations show that, even after a decade, awareness of the voucher program was significantly higher in the treatment group. We also find that youth received and redeemed the vouchers. However, we do not find significant short- or long-term effects on sports club membership, physical activity, overweightness, or motor skills. |
| Keywords: | physical activity, voucher, primary school, obesity, habit formation, objective health measures, school health examinations, windfall gains, crowd-out, taxpayer subsidies |
| JEL: | I12 I14 I18 I28 I38 Z28 H71 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1133&r= |
| By: | Kim, Mee Jung (Sejong University); Lee, Kyung Min (George Mason University); Brown, J. David (U.S. Census Bureau); Earle, John S. (George Mason University) |
| Abstract: | Black-owned businesses tend to operate with less finance and employ fewer workers than those owned by Whites. Motivated by a simple conceptual framework, we document these facts and show they are causally connected using large firm-level surveys linked to universal employer data from the Census Bureau. We find that the racial financing gap is most pronounced at start-up and tends to narrow with firm age. At any age, Black-owned firms are less likely to receive bank loans, more likely to refrain from applying because they expect denial, and more likely to report that lack of finance reduces their profitability. Yet the observable characteristics of Black entrepreneurs are similar in most respects to Whites, and in some ways - higher education, growth-oriented motivations, and involvement in the business - would seem to imply higher, not lower, demand for finance. Concerning employment, we find that Black-owned firms have on average about 12 percent fewer employees than those owned by Whites, but the difference drops when controlling for firm age and other characteristics. However, when the analysis holds financial variables constant, the results imply that equally well-financed Black-owned firms would be larger than White-owned by about seven percent. Exploiting the credit supply shock of changing assignment to Community Reinvestment Act treatment through a Regression Discontinuity Design in a firm-level panel regression framework, we find that expanded credit access raises employment 5-7 percentage points more at Black-owned businesses than White-owned firms in treated neighborhoods. |
| Keywords: | business ownership, racial inequality, firm employment, Community Reinvestment Act |
| JEL: | J15 G20 H81 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14403&r= |
| By: | Gazze, Ludovica (University of Warwick); Heissel, Jennifer (Naval Postgraduate School) |
| Abstract: | Concerns about drinking water contamination through lead service lines, which connect street water mains to homes in many cities in the United States, might hinder resource-constrained municipalities from performing important infrastructure upgrades. Construction on water mains might disturb the service lines and increase lead levels in drinking water. We estimate the effects of water main maintenance on drinking water and children's blood levels by exploiting unique geocoded data and over 2,200 water main replacements in Chicago, a city with almost 400,000 known lead service lines. By comparing water and blood samples in homes at different distances from replaced mains before and after replacement, we find no evidence that water main replacement affects water or children's lead levels. |
| Keywords: | Lead ; Children ; Health ; Infrastructure JEL Classification: I100 ; H41 ; H72 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1359&r= |
| By: | Stephen Jarvis |
| Abstract: | Large infrastructure projects can create widespread societal bene ts, but also fre- quently prompt strong local opposition. This is sometimes pejoratively labeled NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) behavior. In this paper I estimate the economic costs of NIMBYism and its role in local planning decisions. To do this I use de- tailed data on all major renewable energy projects proposed in the United Kingdom spanning three decades. First, I use hedonic methods to show that wind projects impose signi cant negative local costs, while solar projects do not. I then show that planning ocials are particularly responsive to the local costs imposed within their jurisdictions, but fail to account for variation in these costs across jurisdic- tions. The result has been a systematic misallocation of investment, which may have increased the cost of deploying wind power by 10-29%. Much of this can be attributed to the fragmented and localized nature of the planning process. |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure, Electricity, Renewables, NIMBY, Local, Planning |
| JEL: | Q42 Q51 Q53 R30 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2021_300&r= |
| By: | Bertocchi, Graziella; Dimico, Arcangelo |
| Abstract: | We empirically assess the effect of historical slavery on the African American family structure. Our hypothesis is that female single headship among blacks is more likely to emerge in association not with slavery per se, but with slavery in sugar plantations, since the extreme demographic and social conditions prevailing in the latter have persistently affected family formation patterns. By exploiting the exogenous variation in sugar suitability, we establish the following. In 1850, sugar suitability is indeed associated with extreme demographic outcomes within the slave population. Over the period 1880-1940, higher sugar suitability determines a higher likelihood of single female headship. The effect is driven by blacks and starts fading in 1920 in connection with the Great Migration. OLS estimates are complemented with a matching estimator and a fuzzy RDD. Over a linked sample between 1880 and 1930, we identify an even stronger intergenerational legacy of sugar planting for migrants. By 1990, the effect of sugar is replaced by that of slavery and the black share, consistent with the spread of its influence through migration and intermarriage, and black incarceration emerges as a powerful mediator. By matching slaves' ethnic origins with ethnographic data we rule out any influence of African cultural traditions. |
| Keywords: | Black family; Culture; migration; Slavery; Sugar |
| JEL: | J12 J47 N30 O13 Z10 |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:14837&r= |
| By: | Christensen, Love (Department of Political Science, University of Gothenburg); Enlund, Jakob (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University) |
| Abstract: | Do social identity ties facilitate the spread of violent conflict? We assess whether the Israeli-Palestinian conflict causes hate crime towards Jews and Muslims in the U.S using daily data between 2000-2016. We measure the timing, intensity and instigator in the conflict using the number of conflict fatalities and U.S. mass media coverage of the conflict. Analyses using both conflict measures find that conflict events trigger hate crimes in the following days following a retaliatory pattern: Anti-Jewish hate crimes increase after Israeli attacks and anti-Islamic hate crimes increase after Palestinian attacks. There is little evidence that the ethno-religiousgroup not associated with the attacker is subjected to hate crimes. Moreover, the lack of an effect of non-violent conflict reporting suggests that hate crimes are not triggered by the salience of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in itself. Our findings suggest that victimization transcends the locality of the conflict, implying that violent conflict may be more costly than existing research suggests. |
| Keywords: | Conflict; Hate crime; Violence; Israel; Palestine; Media |
| JEL: | D74 J15 K42 L82 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0805&r= |
| By: | Panu Poutvaara |
| Abstract: | International migration flows largely reflect demographic patterns and economic opportunities. Migration flows increase in expected income and other pull factors in potential destinations, and in push factors in the origin, like high unemployment, low wages, and high population growth. Migration flows decrease in the geographic and cultural distance between the potential origin and destination, and in other migration costs. To the extent that migrants are employed, immigration can alleviate challenges arising from population aging. For origin countries, the effects of migration may go either way, depending on whether increased incentives to invest in education are sufficient to compensate the loss of skilled workers. Throughout the 20th century, Northern America and Australia and New Zealand attracted highest immigration flows. Latin America was consistently a continent of emigration. Europe went through a major reversal from a continent of emigration until 1950s to a continent of immigration. In the 21st century, crucial questions for demographic and migration research are how fertility rate and emigration rate are going to develop in Africa. Even modest increases in emigration from Africa would generate major increases in immigration pressure in the rest of the world, mostly in Europe. Other major questions on the future research agenda are the effects of the climate change and rapid improvements in information technology. |
| Keywords: | international migration, population aging, demographic trends, fertility, immigrant workers |
| JEL: | F22 O15 J11 J13 J61 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9105&r= |
| By: | Bhutta, Neil; Fuster, Andreas; Hizmo, Aurel |
| Abstract: | We document wide dispersion in the mortgage rates that households pay on identical loans, and show that borrowers' financial sophistication is an important determinant of the rates obtained. We estimate a gap between the 10th and 90th percentile mortgage rate that borrowers with the same characteristics obtain for identical loans, in the same market, on the same day, of 54 basis points--equivalent to about $6,500 in upfront costs (points) for the average loan. Time-invariant lender attributes explain little of this rate dispersion, and considerable dispersion remains even within loan officer. Comparing the rates borrowers obtain to the real-time distribution of rates that lenders could offer for the same loan and borrower type, we find that borrowers who are likely to be the least financially savvy tend to substantially overpay relative to the rates available in the market. In the time series, the average overpayment decreases when overall market interest rates rise, suggesting that a rising level of borrowing costs encourages more search and negotiation. Furthermore, new survey data provide direct evidence that fiancial knowledge and shopping both affect the mortgage rates borrowers get, and that shopping activity increases with the level of market rates. |
| Keywords: | financial literacy; household finance; mortgage market; price dispersion |
| JEL: | E43 G21 G51 G53 |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:14924&r= |
| By: | Timothy J. Moore; Kevin T. Schnepel |
| Abstract: | In 2001, a large and sustained supply shock halted a heroin epidemic in Australia. We use outpatient drug treatment records to identify individuals who accounted for nearly half of opioid overdoses prior to the shock, and examine how the reduced supply of heroin affected their health and criminal activity over the next eight years. Initially, the gains from fewer overdose deaths are offset by individuals substituting to other drugs and committing more violent crime, including homicides. Most adverse effects dissipate after one year, and are followed by further decreases in deaths and a large reduction in property crime. Our results demonstrate that reducing the supply of illicit opioids can lead to meaningful longer-term improvements, even when the short-term effects are ambiguous. |
| JEL: | I12 K42 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28848&r= |
| By: | Paul, Saumik (Newcastle University); Raju, Dhushyanth (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | The movement of workers from the farm sector to a more productive nonfarm sector has failed to generate significant gains in labor productivity in recent decades in many developing countries. This paper offers a new perspective into the barriers to growth-enhancing structural transformation, combining structural modeling with enterprise census data from Ghana. We argue that subnational differences in the intersectoral productivity gap between the nonfarm informal and formal sectors constrain the productivity gain from structural transformation. In Ghana, intersectoral productivity gaps among the richer regions are on average three times larger than among the poorer regions. We model the disparity in regional intersectoral productivity gaps as reflecting the disparity in the regional misallocation of labor between the informal and formal sectors and identify misallocation as the output wedge between the informal and formal sectors. Simulations suggest that a more productive nonfarm informal sector reduces the disparity in regional intersectoral productivity gaps and, in turn, increases national productivity and the contribution of structural transformation to national productivity. For example, a 90-percent reduction in the disparity in regional intersectoral productivity gaps raises Ghana's national aggregate productivity by 11.9 percent and the contribution of structural transformation to productivity by 19.7 percent. |
| Keywords: | structural transformation, misallocation of resources, labor productivity, nonfarm enterprises, subnational regions, informal and formal sectors, Ghana |
| JEL: | D24 F15 F43 N10 O11 O14 O47 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14407&r= |
| By: | Emmanuel P. de Albuquerque |
| Abstract: | In this paper I propose a novel abstract mechanism for the creation and diffusion of knowledge and use an agent based modelling approach to explore it. The mechanism takes into account the relation between the phenomena that agents attempt to explain and the stocks of knowledge available in a society, be it individually or collectively. I find that the aggregate number of knowledge units in a society increases more slowly, the more naive its inhabitants are. I also find that the proximity between phenomena plays an important role in how often the same knowledge unit can be used. A discussion on agent based models as a means of insight into society is offered. |
| Keywords: | Agent-based modelling; Cognitive distance; Exploitation; Exploration; Innovation; Knowledge creation; Knowledge diffusion; Learning |
| JEL: | B52 C63 D83 O33 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucn:wpaper:202113&r= |
| By: | Alipour, Jean-Victor; Fadinger, Harald; Schymik, Jan |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the relation between work and public health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Combining administrative data on SARS-CoV-2 infections and short-time work registrations, firm- and worker-level surveys and cell phone tracking data on mobility patterns, we find that working from home (WFH) is very effective in economic and public health terms. WFH effectively shields workers from short-time work, firms from COVID-19 distress and substantially reduces infection risks. Counties whose occupation structure allows for a larger fraction of work to be done from home experienced (i) much fewer short-time work registrations and (ii) less SARS-CoV-2 cases. Health benefits of WFH appeared mostly in the early stage of the pandemic and became smaller once tight confinement rules were implemented. Before confinement, mobility levels were lower in counties with more WFH jobs and counties experienced a convergence in traffic levels once confinement was in place. |
| Keywords: | BIBB-BAuA; COVID-19; infections; labor supply shock; mitigation; SARS-CoV-2; Working from Home |
| JEL: | H12 I18 J22 J68 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:14871&r= |
| By: | Tallås Ahlzén, Malin (Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores peer effects in parental leave uptake between male coworkers in Sweden. More specifically, I use the first parental leave quota, introduced in 1995, to estimate the peer effects in a fuzzy Regression discontinuity design. The results are allowed to differ with plant characteristics related to monetary and normative costs facing the employee, as well as monetary costs facing the employer. Further, the quality of response of both peers and fathers is evaluated. The empirical analysis indicates that there is no peer effect in Sweden on average and the heterogeneity analysis of costs reveal no robust differences. While the first stage is strong throughout, there is no robust reduced form. This implies that peers (and fathers) responded to the reform, but there was no additional effect on fathers from their peers. I suggest two features of the Swedish setting which in combination are especially unfavorable for peer effects. Firstly, the extensive margin among Swedish fathers was relatively high before the reform. Secondly, the Swedish system allows for continuous applications of parental leave and a flexible outtake. I provide suggestive evidence of a tradeoff between the scope for peer effects and the quality of the information transmitted. |
| Keywords: | Peer effects; Parental leave; Quota |
| JEL: | J13 J16 J18 Z13 |
| Date: | 2021–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sofiwp:2021_001&r= |
| By: | Eduardo Engel; Ronald Fischer; Alexander Galetivoc |
| Abstract: | In the last 30 years public-private partnerships (PPPs) have emerged as a new organizational form to provide public infrastructure. Governments find them attractive because PPPs can be used to avoid fiscal check-and-balances and increase spending. At the same time, PPPs can lead to important efficiency gains, especially for transportation infrastructure. These gains include better maintenance, reduced bureaucratic costs, and filtering white elephants. For these gains to materialize, it is necessary to set up a governance structure, that is more sophisticated than the governance of traditional infrastructure provision. The governance structure can be complemented by variable-term contracts that allocate demand risk efficiently, and by avoiding opportunistic renegotiations, which have been pervasive. The good news is that, based on the experience with PPPs over the last three decades, we have learnt how to cope with these challenges. Por aparecer en: Poterba, J. and Glaezer, E. (eds) "The Economics of Infrastructure Investment", MIT Press. Key words: |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:edj:ceauch:349&r= |
| By: | Gauger, Felix; Pfnür, Andreas; Strych, Jan-Oliver |
| Date: | 2021–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dar:wpaper:126939&r= |
| By: | Manuel Gardt; Tom Brokel; Rosina Moreno |
| Abstract: | This study analyzes the formation and spatial structure of anti-wind-farm citizens’ initiatives (CIs) as a result of the development of wind turbine generators (WT) in Germany over the last three decades. It offers a novel, spatiotemporal view of the intensely discussed tension between WT and citizens’ perceptions of them. Using a new dataset and employing survival models, the study explores for the first time the co-development of WT and anti-wind initiatives, considering a wide range of regional socio-economic factors and multiple periods. The results confirm a rapidly growing dynamic of the establishment of local opposition, which the magnitude of locally existing WT and proximity to established anti-wind farm initiatives strongly drives. |
| Keywords: | Local opposition, wind energy development, Germany, citizens’ initiatives, acceptance, survival analysis |
| JEL: | C54 O18 O33 R11 R15 R59 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2119&r= |
| By: | Fei Guo (Xian Jiaotong University); Isabel Kit-Ming Yan (City University of Hong Kong) |
| Abstract: | A fundamental aspect of China's transition to a market economy is the change of fiscal decentralization marked by the tax reform in 1993. This paper examines the effect of revenue and expenditure decentralization and their divergences on fiscal spending multipliers in China using nationally aggregate and provincial-level data from 1978 to 2017. Our investigations show that expenditure decentralization weakens the efficacy of spending policies, while revenue decentralization enhances the efficacy. Moreover, the divergence of revenue and expenditure decentralization has decreased the aggregate and provincial spending multipliers. The results are robust to the inclusion of off-budgetary expenditure and revenue, using different estimates of multipliers and different measures of fiscal decentralization, considering from a long-run perspective, and addressing the endogeneity issue. |
| Keywords: | Fiscal decentralization, Government spending, Fiscal multiplier, Tax reform, China |
| JEL: | E62 H5 H72 R5 |
| Date: | 2021–05–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cth:wpaper:gru_2021_026&r= |
| By: | Josef Bajzik (Charles University & Czech National Bank, Prague, Czech Republic); Dominika Ehrenbergerova (Charles University & Czech National Bank, Prague, Czech Republic); Tomas Havranek (Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic & CEPR) |
| Abstract: | Several central banks have leaned against the wind in the housing market by increasing the policy rate preemptively to prevent a bubble. Yet the empirical literature provides mixed results on the impact of short-term interest rates on house prices: the estimated semi-elasticities range from -12 to positive values. To assign a pattern to these differences, we collect 1,447 estimates from 31 individual studies that cover 45 countries and 69 years. We then relate the estimates to 39 characteristics of the financial system, business cycle, and estimation approach. Our main results are threefold. First, the mean reported estimate is exaggerated by publication bias, because insignificant results are underreported. Second, omission of important variables (liquidity and long-term rates) likewise exaggerates the effects of short-term rates on house prices. Third, the effects are stronger in countries with more developed mortgage markets and generally later in the cycle when the yield curve is flat and house prices enter an upward spiral. |
| Keywords: | Interest rates, house prices, monetary policy transmission, meta-analysis, publication bias, Bayesian model averaging |
| JEL: | C83 E52 R21 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fau:wpaper:wp2021_17&r= |
| By: | Anna Baranowska-Rataj (Department of Sociology, UmeA University and Centre for Demographic and Ageing Research, UmeA University); Zoltán Elekes (Agglomeration and Social Networks Research Group, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies and Department of Geography, UmeA University); Rikard Eriksson (Department of Geography, Umea University and Centre for Regional Science, Umea University) |
| Abstract: | Low-wage jobs are often regarded as dead-ends in the labour market careers of young people. Previous research focused on disentangling to what degree the association between a low-wage job at the start of working life and limited chances of transitioning to better-paid employment is causal or spurious. Less attention has been paid to the channels that may facilitate the upward wage mobility of low-wage workers. We focus on such mechanisms, and we scrutinize the impact of social ties to higher-educated co-workers. Due to knowledge spillovers, job referrals, as well as firm-level productivity gains, having higher-educated co-workers may improve an individual’s chances of transitioning to a better-paid job. We use linked employer-employee data from longitudinal Swedish registers and panel data models that incorporate measures of low-wage workers’ social ties to higher-educated co-workers. Our results confirm that having social ties to higher-educated co-workers increases individual chances of transitioning to better-paid employment. |
| Keywords: | co-worker networks, employer-employee data, low-wage, wage mobility |
| JEL: | C23 D85 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:has:discpr:2123&r= |
| By: | Daniel Auer (University of Mannheim and WZB); Johannes S. Kunz (Monash University) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the intergenerational effect of communication barriers on child health at birth using a natural experiment in Switzerland. We leverage the fact that refugees arriving in Switzerland originate from places that have large shares of French (or Italian) speakers for historical reasons and upon arrival are by law randomly allocated across states that are dominated by different languages but subject to the same jurisdiction. Our findings based on administrative records of all refugee arrivals and birth events between 2010 and 2017 show that children born to mothers who were exogenously allocated to an environment that matched their linguistic heritage are on average 72 gram heavier (or 2.2%) than those that were allocated to an unfamiliar language environment. The differences are driven by growth rather than gestation and manifest in a 2.9 percentage point difference in low birth weight incidence. We find substantial dose-response relationships in terms of language exposure in both, the origin country and the destination region. Moreover, French (Italian) exposed refugees only benefit from French- (Italian-) speaking destinations, but not vice versa. Contrasting the language match with co-ethnic networks, we find that high-quality networks are acting as a substitute rather than a complement. |
| Keywords: | Infant health, Language Proficiency, Refugee allocation, Networks |
| JEL: | F22 I12 J13 J24 J61 J62 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ajr:sodwps:2021-07&r= |
| By: | Vanessa Angst (Infras AG); Chiara Colesanti Senni (Council on Economic Policies); Markus Maibach (Infras AG); Martin Peter (Infras AG); Noe Reidt (CER–ETH – Center of Economic Research at ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Renger van Nieuwkoop (Modelworks) |
| Abstract: | Switzerland committed to achieving net-zero emissions in 2050. This goal is particularly ambitious for the Swiss passenger transport system, which emits more than one third of Swiss CO2 emissions, and is not yet on a clear emission reduction path. We investigate the economic impact and the emission-saving potential of a decarbonization pathway for the Swiss transport sector based on three edge case scenarios and on a combination of them: (1) improved fuel/engine technology and fostered diffusion of battery electric vehicle, (2) increased capacity use of passenger cars, and (3) enhanced modal shift towards public transport. Our analysis is conducted using a multi-model framework, which interlinks a computational general equilibrium model with two external transportation models. This approach allows us to incorporate a highly disaggregated passenger transport system into the economic analysis. The framework is calibrated to Swiss data to assess the optimal scenario mix in terms of emissions and economic impact. The optimal decarbonization pathway mix slightly increases welfare and lowers CO2 emissions of passenger transport in 2050 from 6 to 1.7 million tons CO2 compared to the reference scenario. Despite the sharp reduction in emissions, a decarbonization pathway based on the considered scenarios is insufficient to reach the net-zero emission target. |
| Keywords: | Passenger transport, Decarbonization, Switzerland, Computable general equilibrium model |
| JEL: | C68 R40 R42 R48 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eth:wpswif:21-352&r= |
| By: | Nicolas Grau; Gonzalo Marivil; Jorge Rivera |
| Abstract: | We combine Chilean individual administrative data for criminal cases and labor market outcomes to estimate the effect of pretrial detention on labor outcomes using the Difference-in-differences (DiD) method and an instrumental variables (IV) approach. The IV approach takes advantage of the quasi-random assignment of judges. The IV results show that pretrial detention reduces the probability of having formal employment and the average monthly wage by 39% and 56% during the six months following the final trial verdict. DiD estimation delivers estimates that are between one-third and one-half smaller. The magnitudes of the effects shown continue to be relevant as much as 24 months after the final trial verdict. The results of our analysis suggest that the negative effect of pretrial detention is (at least) driven by the lasting effect of being excluded from the labor market during the trial, the accompanying social stigma, and the impact of pretrial detention on the probability of post-verdict incarceration. |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:udc:wpaper:wp518&r= |
| By: | Andersson Järnberg, Linda (Örebro University School of Business); Andrén, Daniela (Örebro University School of Business); Hultkrantz, Lars (Örebro University School of Business); Rutström, E.Elisabet (Örebro University School of Business); Vimefall, Elin (Örebro University School of Business) |
| Abstract: | A frequent finding in the empirical literature on cost-benefit analysis of traffic safety measures is that valuations of public goods are lower than valuations of private goods, contrary to theory predictions. This study elicits the willingness to pay for publicly and privately provided safety improvement benefiting cyclists and pedestrians, a relatively neglected group in this literature. Our results suggest that there is no significant difference between valuations of a private good and three versions of a public good as long as the good itself is the same, in our case a mobile phone app. The public good versions differ in attributes such as mandatory or voluntary use and private or public provision institutions. . This finding is consistent with the simultaneous presence of both financial altruism and safety altruism, or neither. Public institutions are preferred to private ones in the provision of the public goods, and voluntary participation is preferred to mandated regulation. We also find evidence that attitudes that favor using taxes to fund traffic safety projects, and public responsibility for traffic safety are associated with a higher willingness to pay. |
| Keywords: | willingness to pay; public goods; infrastructure; cyclists and pedestrians; interval regression |
| JEL: | D60 O18 R41 |
| Date: | 2021–05–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:oruesi:2021_011&r= |
| By: | Angerer, Silvia (IHS Carinthia); Bolvashenkova, Jana (University of Munich); Glätzle-Rützler, Daniela (University of Innsbruck); Lergetporer, Philipp (Ifo Institute for Economic Research); Sutter, Matthias (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods) |
| Abstract: | We present direct evidence on the link between children's patience and educational-track choices years later. Combining an incentivized patience measure of 493 primary-school children with their high-school track choices taken at least three years later at the end of middle school, we find that patience significantly predicts choosing an academic track. This relationship remains robust after controlling for a rich set of covariates, such as family background, school-class fixed effects, risk preferences, and cognitive abilities, and is not driven by sample attrition. Accounting for middle-school GPA as a potential mediating factor suggests a direct link between patience and educational-track choice. |
| Keywords: | patience, education, school track choice, children, lab-in-the-field experiment |
| JEL: | C91 D90 I21 J2 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14401&r= |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | This report provides an in-depth analysis of the policy ecosystem in place for social entrepreneurship and social enterprises in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It identifies the state’s key strengths and challenges and provides policy recommendations to support the development of a stronger policy ecosystem.It includes a conceptual framework for social entrepreneurship and social innovation (Chapter 2); with recommendations and analyses to build institutional and legal frameworks for social enterprises (Chapter 3), improve access to finance for social entrepreneurship development (Chapter 4), promote access to private and public markets for social entrepreneurship development (Chapter 5), and strengthen social impact measurement and reporting for social enterprise development (Chapter 6). |
| Keywords: | local development, policy ecosystem, social economy, social enterprises, social entrepreneurship, social impact, social innovation |
| JEL: | L31 L33 |
| Date: | 2021–06–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:cfeaaa:2021/03-en&r= |
| By: | Dröes, Martijn; Koster, Hans R.A. |
| Abstract: | To cope with the increasing demand for renewable energy, wind turbines have become taller over time. In addition, with advances in solar cell technology the commercial exploitation of solar farms has increased considerably in recent years. This paper adds to the existing literature by examining the effect of wind turbines - with a particular focus on turbine height - and solar farms on house prices. Using detailed data from the Netherlands between 1985-2019, the results show that tall wind turbines have considerably stronger effects on house prices, as compared to small turbines. For example, a tall turbine (>150m) decreases house prices within 2km by 5.4%, while a small turbine ( |
| Keywords: | House Prices; solar farms; wind turbines |
| JEL: | L95 Q15 Q42 R31 |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:15023&r= |
| By: | Bansak, Cynthia (St. Lawrence University); Grossbard, Shoshana (San Diego State University); Wong, Crystal (Ho Po) (National Tsing Hua University) |
| Abstract: | We investigate women's likelihood of withdrawing from paid labor to care for children and help them with schoolwork as a result of COVID and school closures. Were women more likely to shift out of paid labor in states where property-division rules would better protect the financial interests of stay-at-home parents? Such higher protection is offered in states with community property regimes or with homemaking provisions, the alternative being equitable-division and no homemaking provisions. We use monthly data from the U.S. Current Population Survey and compare the labor force participation of women with children in grades K-6 between 2019 and 2020, before and after COVID started. We find an association between marital property laws offering women more financial protection and women's labor supply response to COVID-19, especially among non-immigrants. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, labor force, schools, community property, divorce |
| JEL: | J13 J16 J2 I18 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14408&r= |
| By: | Martin Besfamille (Universidad Católica de Chile); Diego Jorrat (Universidad Loyola); Osmel Manzano (Inter-American Development Bank / Georgetown University); Pablo Sanguinetti (CAR-Development Bank of Latin America) |
| Abstract: | Using the exogenous variability in intergovernmental transfers and hydrocarbon royalties, based on the fiscal regime that prevailed in Argentina from 1988 to 2003, we jointly estimate the effects that changes in these public revenues had on provincial public consumption and debt. When receiving a one-peso increase in intergovernmental transfers, provinces spent 32 centavos of each peso on public consumption and 43 on debt repayment. But when hydrocarbonproducing provinces received a one-peso increase in royalties, they used 75 centavos for debt repayment. These dissimilar reactions to revenue increases are robust to different specifications of the basic regressions. Finally, we provide two alternative explanations for them: the higher volatility of hydrocarbon royalties (relative to intergovernmental transfers) and the exhaustible nature of these revenues. |
| Keywords: | tax sharing regime, intergovernmental transfers, hydrocarbon royalties, provincial public consumption and debt, Argentina |
| JEL: | C30 H72 H77 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aoz:wpaper:73&r= |
| By: | Montalvo, Jose G; Reynal-Querol, Marta |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we document the long-run impact of the geographical heterogeneity in skills among the first settlers to Latin America. To this end, we compile administrative data on the early settlers in the Americas between 1492 and 1540 including, among others, name, city of origin, destination, and occupation. From a methodological perspective, a focus on the initial period of colonization in Latin America offers several advantages. First, differences in the geographical distribution of occupations among the first settlers are likely to be accidental. Second, a set-up that analyzes an area with a single colonizer (Spain) allows to hold constant formal institutions and legal origin. Our results show a relevant effect of the skills of first colonizers on long-run levels of development of the areas located around the original settlements. We find evidence of persistence in the form of market orientation and entrepreneurial spirit. |
| Keywords: | Development; Early Settlers; entrepreneurship; Persistence; skills |
| JEL: | O10 |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:15020&r= |
| By: | Micael Castanheira De Moura; Laurent Bouton; Garance Génicot |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the political determinants of inequalities in government interventions under majoritarian (MAJ) and proportional representation (PR) systems. We propose a probabilistic voting model of electoral competition with highly targetable government interventions and heterogeneous localities. We uncover a novel relative electoral sensitivity effect that affects government interventions only under MAJ systems. This effect tends to reduce inequality in government interventions under MAJ systems when districts are composed of sufficiently homogeneous localities. This effect goes against the conventional wisdom that MAJ systems are necessarily more conducive to inequality than PR systems. We illustrate the empirical relevance of our results with numerical simulations on possible reforms of the U.S. Electoral College. |
| Keywords: | Distributive Politics, Electoral Systems, Electoral College, PublicGood, Inequality |
| JEL: | D70 H00 |
| Date: | 2021–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulb:ulbeco:2013/324653&r= |
| By: | Nicola Da Schio; Claire Pelgrims; Sebastiano Cincinnato; Anneloes Vandenbroucke |
| Date: | 2021–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulb:ulbeco:2013/324733&r= |