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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Jason Nassios; James Giesecke |
| Abstract: | Australia has high housing prices by world standards. Australian state and local governments also have a high reliance on a variety of property taxes. This has generated calls for state tax reform. However, with property prices high, a concern of policy makers is that property tax reform might push house prices higher still. We investigate the effects of seventeen property tax reform options, with a particular focus on potential trade-offs between efficiency benefits and house price impacts. |
| Keywords: | CGE modelling, Immovable property tax, Recurrent property tax, Housing prices, Excess burden |
| JEL: | C68 E62 H2 H71 R38 |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cop:wpaper:g-330&r= |
| By: | Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt; Stephan Heblich; Tobias Seidel |
| Abstract: | We develop a programming algorithm that predicts a balanced-panel mix-adjusted house price index for arbitrary spatial units from repeated cross-sections of geocoded micro data. The algorithm combines parametric and non-parametric estimation techniques to provide a tight local fit where the underlying micro data are abundant and reliable extrapolations where data are sparse. To illustrate the functionality, we generate a panel of German property prices and rents that is unprecedented in its spatial coverage and detail. This novel data set uncovers a battery of stylized facts that motivate further research, e.g. on the density bias of price-to-rent ratios in levels and trends, within and between cities. Our method lends itself to the creation of comparable neighborhood-level qualified price and rent indices for residential and commercial property. |
| Keywords: | index, real estate, price, property, rent |
| Date: | 2021–07–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1782&r= |
| By: | Nicolai T. Borgen; Lars J. Kirkebøen (Statistics Norway); Andreas Kotsadam; Oddbjørn Raaum |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effects of a large-scale Norwegian reform that provided extra teachers to 166 lower secondary schools with relatively high student-teacher ratios and low average grades. We exploit these two margins using a regression discontinuity setup and find that the reform reduced the student-teacher ratio by around 10% (from a base level of 22 students per teacher), with no crowding out of other school resources or parental support. However, the reform did not improve test scores and longer-term academic outcomes, and we can reject even small positive effects. We do find that the reform improved the school environment from the students’ perspective, but with the largest impact on aspects most weakly associated with better academic outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Student-teacher-ratio; class size; test scores; non-cognitive skills; RDD |
| JEL: | J24 I2 |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:982&r= |
| By: | Sebastian Will; Timon Renz |
| Abstract: | We investigate the relationship between homeownership and life as well as housing satisfaction. Using panel data from Germany, we find that compared to renting, owning a home positively impacts housing satisfaction. Contrarily, we find no significant effects on life satisfaction in the long-term. Analysing short-term effects in an event-study design, we show that both life and housing satisfaction anticipate the event and adapt shortly after. Debt-free buyers, however, do not experience anticipation or adaptation effects at all. Comparing outright homebuyers to debt-financing owners, we show that having a real estate loan impacts homeowners’ life satisfaction negatively. Paying off a loan does not differently affect the housing satisfaction of both types of buyers. We conclude that the negative effect of loan payments on life satisfaction offsets the positive impact of homeownership. |
| Keywords: | subjective well-being, homeownership, household finances, financial burden, adaptation, housing satisfaction |
| JEL: | D15 I31 R20 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1164&r= |
| By: | Andrea Civelli; Arya Gaduh; Alexander D. Rothenberg; Yao Wang |
| Abstract: | We use detailed data from Indonesian cities to study how variation in density within urban areas affects social capital. For identification, we instrument density with soil characteristics, and control for community averages of observed characteristics. Under plausible assumptions, these controls address sorting on observables and unobservables. We find that lower density increases trust in neighbors and community participation. We also find that lower density is associated with lower interethnic tolerance, but this relationship is explained by sorting. Heterogeneity analysis suggests that crime in dense areas undermines community trust and participation, intensifying the negative impact of density. |
| JEL: | D71 H41 R11 |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:30068&r= |
| By: | Benny Kleinman; Ernest Liu; Stephen J. Redding |
| Abstract: | We develop a dynamic spatial general equilibrium model with forward-looking investment and migration decisions. We characterize analytically the transition path of the spatial distribution of economic activity in response to shocks. We apply our framework to the re-allocation of US economic activity from the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt from 1965-2015. We find slow convergence to steady-state, with US states closer to steady-state at the end of our sample period than at its beginning. We find substantial heterogeneity in the effects of local shocks, which depend on capital and labor dynamics, and the spatial and sectoral incidence of these shocks. |
| Keywords: | spatial dynamics, economic geography, trade, migration |
| Date: | 2021–07–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1785&r= |
| By: | Daniel A. Dias; Joao B. Duarte |
| Abstract: | We show that monetary policy affects homeownership decisions and argue that this effect is an important and overlooked channel of monetary policy transmission. We first document that monetary policy shocks are a substantial driver of fluctuations in the U.S. homeownership rate and that monetary policy affects households' housing tenure choices. We then develop and calibrate a two-agent New Keynesian model that can replicate the estimated transmission of monetary policy shocks to homeownership rates and housing rents. We find that the calibrated model provides an explanation to the "price puzzle" and delivers two important results with policy implications. First, the homeownership decision channel amplifies the redistributive effects of monetary policy, with contractionary shocks benefiting more outright homeowners and disadvantaging more renters and homeowners with a mortgage. Second, a monetary authority that reacts to a price index that includes housing rents generates excess house price, rents, and output volatility and larger real effects. |
| Keywords: | Monetary policy; Homeownership; Housing rents and housing prices; Inflation dynamics; Housing tenure choice; “Price puzzle |
| JEL: | E31 E43 R21 |
| Date: | 2022–05–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgif:1344&r= |
| By: | Alessandrini, Diana (St. Francis Xavier University); Milla, Joniada (Saint Mary’s University) |
| Abstract: | We analyze how school vouchers affect post-secondary attainment by exploiting the universal voucher program implemented in Chile in 1981. The program allowed students to choose which primary and secondary schools to attend. The government covered tuition independently of whether the chosen school was private or public. We find that vouchers increased the probability of attending PSE by 2-4 percentage points and the probability of PSE graduation by 1-3 percentage points. Students from low socio economic backgrounds benefited the most. Further, we study whether the impacts of vouchers depend on when school choice becomes available in a student’s educational path. We find that the impacts of vouchers on PSE outcomes are maximized if vouchers are introduced before students start middle school. |
| Keywords: | vouchers, school choice, higher education attendance |
| JEL: | H43 I21 J31 |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15330&r= |
| By: | Luca, Davide; Proietti, Paola |
| Abstract: | The paper investigates the link between organized crime and Italy’s publicly funded asylum seekers’ reception facilities. We gather detailed municipal-level data on the location of mafia activities and Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees (SPRAR)-type reception centres, and provide evidence of how the local presence of mafia increases the likelihood of hosting reception facilities. Statistical evidence and in-depth expert interviews suggest that organized crime correlates with less transparent tendering procedures in the set-up of such centres, while hosting activities increase after local governments are infiltrated by mafias. Overall, results underscore the importance of measures aimed at contrasting organized crime, especially at times of ‘crises’ when public policy is subject to ‘states of exception’. |
| Keywords: | asylum seekers; mafia infiltration; organized crime; public procurement; reception centres |
| JEL: | D73 H57 K42 R23 |
| Date: | 2022–04–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:115174&r= |
| By: | Pétronille Reme-Harnay (AME-SPLOTT - Systèmes Productifs, Logistique, Organisation des Transports et Travail - Université Gustave Eiffel) |
| Abstract: | Because of the development of e-commerce and the reduction of the shipments'size, the parcel delivery sector is growing rapidly. However, faced with their clients demands and constraints of urban cities (parking, congestion, delivery density), the parcel delivery groups have chosen to outsource their urban deliveries. This enables them to reduce payroll costs but also implies consequences for urban subcontractors such as economic dependence. However, outside the city, when urban constraints no longer apply, subcontractors who work in long-distance inter-urban freight transport seem less affected. The article questions the pertinence of the scale of subcontracting regulation. Should it be strictly urban as suggested by the difference of consequences for urban and inter-urban subcontractors? The paper highlights the large number of variables that could affect subcontractors' dependence and the complexity of public decision making in the urban transport sector. |
| Keywords: | TRANSPORT INTERURBAIN,DEPENDANCE ECONOMIQUE,TRANSPORT URBAIN,SOUS-TRAITANCE |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03672575&r= |
| By: | Prenzel, Paula; Iammarino, Simona |
| Abstract: | Human capital investments are frequently suggested as a policy measure to cope with smaller and older labor forces caused by demographic change across Europe. However, the availability and composition of human capital is fundamentally intertwined with demographic structures, especially at a regional level. This article analyzes how aging is related to the regional composition of human capital for German regions between 2000 and 2010. The findings show that labor force aging is associated with lower educational attainment and that older labor forces have higher shares of traditional vocational degrees. On a national level, education expansion still sufficiently compensates for the effects of population aging, but regional human capital composition shows distinct trends. |
| Keywords: | demographic change; human capital; regional development; ES/M008436/1; 1378766 |
| JEL: | R10 R12 R23 J21 J24 |
| Date: | 2021–03–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:108600&r= |
| By: | Michael Gilraine; Angela Zheng |
| Abstract: | We combine satellite-based pollution data and test scores from over 10,000 U.S. school districts to estimate the relationship between air pollution and test scores. To deal with potential endogeneity we instrument for air quality using (i) year-to-year coal production variation and (ii) a shift-share instrument that interacts fuel shares used for nearby power production with national growth rates. We find that each one-unit increase in particulate pollution reduces test scores by 0.02 standard deviations. Our findings indicate that declines in particulate pollution exposure raised test scores and reduced the black-white test score gap by 0.06 and 0.01 standard deviations, respectively. |
| JEL: | I14 I24 Q53 |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:30061&r= |
| By: | Ballard, Richard; Jones, Gareth A.; Ngwenya, Makale |
| Abstract: | In 2015, the billionaire Douw Steyn launched a mixed-use megaproject 27 km north of downtown Johannesburg. Plans for Steyn City include 10,000 high-end residential units along with private hospitals, schools, a golf course, an equestrian centre and 2000 acres of parkland behind a 3-m-high perimeter wall. The launch attracted some critique in the media for the exclusive environment that the development sought to create, an ambition that seemed particularly incongruous given its close proximity to the poor settlement of Diepsloot. In response, the developers argued that the project had created more than 11,000 jobs and that wealthy people should invest close to places that need work and livelihood opportunities. This paper is based on interviews with workers who live in Diepsloot and travel each day into Steyn City to work for subcontractors building infrastructure, housing and social facilities. The empirical material shows that although these workers acknowledge the opportunity of employment, they are aware these jobs are uncertain, mostly low-skilled and insufficient to cover the basic costs of everyday life in Diepsloot. |
| Keywords: | South Africa; segregation; gated communities; precarious labour |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2021–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:110855&r= |
| By: | Antonio Ciccone; Jan Nimczik |
| Abstract: | After the end of World War II in 1945, millions of refugees arrived in what in 1949 became the Federal Republic of Germany. We examine their effect on today’s productivity, wages, income, rents, education, and population density at the municipality level. Our identification strategy is based on a spatial discontinuity in refugee settlement at the border between the French and US occupation zones in the South-West of post-war Germany. These occupation zones were established in 1945 and dissolved in 1949. The spatial discontinuity arose because the US zone admitted refugees during the 1945-1949 occupation period whereas the French zone restricted access. By 1950, refugee settlement had raised population density on the former US side of the 1945-1949 border significantly above density on the former French side. Before the war, there never had been significant differences in population density. The higher density on the former US side persists entirely in 2020 and coincides with higher rents as well as higher productivity, wages, and education levels. We examine whether today’s economic differences across the former border are the result of the difference in refugee admission; the legacy of other policy differences between the 1945-1949 occupation zones; or the consequence of socio-economic differences predating WWII. Taken together, our results indicate that today’s economic differences are the result of agglomeration effects triggered by the arrival of refugees in the former US zone. We estimate that exposure to the arrival of refugees raised income per capita by around 13% and hourly wages by around 10%. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, productivity, wages, refugees, long-run effects |
| JEL: | O4 O11 R11 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1165&r= |
| By: | Julia Bredtmann |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effects of local exposure to refugees on electoral outcomes in the 2016 state election in Germany. Based on quasi-random variation in the allocation of refugees across municipalities and unique data on refugee populations and their type of accommodation, I find that an increase in the population share of refugees increases the vote share of right-wing parties and decreases the vote share of the incumbent federal government parties. The electoral effects, however, are solely driven by refugees living in centralized accommodation, while no such effects are found for refugees living in decentralized accommodation. These findings have important implications for the design of public policies in handling future receptions of refugees, as they reveal that an earlier transfer of refugees from centralized to decentralized accommodation could attenuate a growing support for right-wing parties. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, refugees, political economy, voting |
| JEL: | D72 F22 J15 R23 |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:2213&r= |
| By: | Braschke, Franziska; Puhani, Patrick |
| Abstract: | This paper uses Indian EUS-NSSO data on 32 states/union territories and 570 districts for a bi-annual panel with 5 waves to estimate how regional population reacts to asymmetric shocks. These shocks are measured by non-employment rates, unemployment rates, and wages in fixed-effects regressions which effectively use changes in these indicators over time within regions as identifying information. Because we include region and time effects, we interpret regression-adjusted population changes as proxies for regional migration. Comparing the results with those for the United States and the European Union, the most striking difference is that, in India, we do not find any significant reactions to asymmetric non-employment shocks at the state level, only at the district level, whereas the estimates are statistically significant and of similar size for the state/NUTS-1 and district level in both the United States and Europe. We find that Indian workers react to asymmetric regional shocks by adjusting up to a third of a regional non-employment shock through migration within two years. This is somewhat higher than the response to non-employment shocks in the United States and the European Union but somewhat lower than the response to unemployment shocks in these economies. In India, the unemployment rate does not seem to be a reliable measure of regional shocks, at least we find no significant effects for it. However, we find a significant population response to regional wage differentials in India at both the state and district level. |
| Keywords: | Migration, Population, Regional Convergence, Non-Employment, Unemployment, Wages |
| JEL: | J61 |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usg:econwp:2022:03&r= |
| By: | Akbulut-Yuksel, Mevlude (Dalhousie University); Mocan, Naci (Louisiana State University); Tumen, Semih (TED University); Turan, Belgi (TOBB University of Economy and Technology) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the impact on crime of 3.7 million refugees who entered and stayed in Turkey as a result of the civil war in Syria. Using a novel administrative data source on the flow of offense records to prosecutors' offices in 81 provinces of the country each year, and utilizing the staggered movement of refugees across provinces over time, we estimate instrumental variables models that address potential endogeneity of the number of refugees and their location, and find that an increase in the number of refugees leads to more crime. We estimate that the influx of refugees between 2012 and 2016 generated additional 75,000 to 150,000 crimes per year, although it is not possible to identify the distribution of these crimes between refugees and natives. Additional analyses reveal that low-educated native population has a separate, but smaller, effect on crime. We also highlight the pitfalls of employing incorrect empirical procedures and using poor proxies of criminal activity which produce the wrong inference about the refugee-crime relationship. Our results underline the need to quickly strengthen the social safety systems, to take actions to dampen the impact on the labor market, and to provide support to the criminal justice system in order to mitigate the repercussions of massive influx of individuals into a country, and to counter the social and political backlash that typically emerges in the wake of such large-scale population movements. |
| Keywords: | refugees, crime, instrumental variables, measurement of crime |
| JEL: | J08 J2 J3 J38 J61 J68 K14 K37 K42 |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15335&r= |
| By: | Niklas Gohl; Peter Haan; Claus Michelsen; Felix Weinhardt |
| Abstract: | This study examines short-, medium-, and long-run price expectations in hous ing markets. We derive and test six hypothesis about the incidence, formation, and relevance of price expectations. To do so, we use data from a tailored household sur vey, past sale offerings, satellites, and from an information RCT. As novel findings, we show that price expectations exhibit mean reversion in the long-run. Moreover, we do not find evidence for biases related to individual housing tenure decisions or regret aversion. Confirming existing findings, we show that local market character istics matter for expectations throughout, as well as aggregate price information. Lastly, we corroborate existing evidence that expectations are relevant for portfolio choice. |
| Keywords: | housing, house price expectations |
| JEL: | R21 R31 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1162&r= |
| By: | Pia Schilling; Steven Stillman |
| Abstract: | Exploiting the random allocation of asylum seekers to different locations in Germany, we study the impact of right-wing voting on refugees’ integration. We find that in municipalities with more voting for the right-wing AfD, refugees have worse economic and social integration. These impacts are largest for groups targeted by AfD campaigns and refugees are also more likely to suffer from harassment and right-wing attacks in areas with greater AfD support. Positive interactions with locals are also less likely and negative opinions about immigration spillover to supporters of other parties in these areas. On the other hand, stronger support for pro-immigrant parties enhances social integration. |
| Keywords: | Immigrants’ integration, refugees, hostile attitudes, voting behavior |
| JEL: | J15 J61 Z13 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1166&r= |
| By: | Mevlude Akbulut-Yuksel; Naci H. Mocan; Semih Tumen; Belgi Turan |
| Abstract: | We analyze the impact on crime of 3.7 million refugees who entered and stayed in Turkey as a result of the civil war in Syria. Using a novel administrative data source on the flow of offense records to prosecutors’ offices in 81 provinces of the country each year, and utilizing the staggered movement of refugees across provinces over time, we estimate instrumental variables models that address potential endogeneity of the number of refugees and their location, and find that an increase in the number of refugees leads to more crime. We estimate that the influx of refugees between 2012 and 2016 generated additional 75,000 to 150,000 crimes per year, although it is not possible to identify the distribution of these crimes between refugees and natives. Additional analyses reveal that low-educated native population has a separate, but smaller, effect on crime. We also highlight the pitfalls of employing incorrect empirical procedures and using poor proxies of criminal activity which produce the wrong inference about the refugee-crime relationship. Our results underline the need to quickly strengthen the social safety systems, to take actions to dampen the impact on the labor market, and to provide support to the criminal justice system in order to mitigate the repercussions of massive influx of individuals into a country, and to counter the social and political backlash that typically emerges in the wake of such large-scale population movements. |
| JEL: | J08 J2 J3 J38 J61 J68 K14 K37 K42 |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:30070&r= |
| By: | Rodier, Caroline; Harold, Brian; Zhang, Yunwan |
| Abstract: | People who live in rural areas in California face unique transportation challenges due to long travel distances, infrequent transit service, the cost of car ownership, and limited access to app-based rideshare services that are common in more populated urban centers. Over the past eight years, UC Davis has partnered with the eight San Joaquin Valley Metropolitan Planning Organizations to identify and support development of three innovative mobility pilot concepts for the region. Researchers at the University of California, Davis evaluated these three pilot programs using survey and service usage data collected from their launch dates in 2019 and 2020 through November 2021 to understand the participant characteristics and outcomes of each pilot. This policy brief summarizes the key findings from that research. View the NCST Project Webpage |
| Keywords: | Business, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Demand responsive transportation, Mode choice, Ridesharing, Rural areas, Shared mobility, Transportation disadvantaged persons, Travel behavior, Vehicle sharing |
| Date: | 2022–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt7t63z1sc&r= |
| By: | Su, Yichen |
| Abstract: | Existing studies show that the rising spatial segregation between skill groups in the U.S. led to increasing inequality of amenity access. Access to consumption amenities, in particular, is often highlighted as an important driver of local amenity profile. However, quantifying the inequality of access to consumption amenities is often faced with two challenges. First, because consumption amenities, such as restaurants, often benefit residents living beyond the immediate vicinity of the amenities, researchers must account for how the amenity benefits diffuse through space. Second, to evaluate how much the access to consumption amenities contributes to the overall value of local amenity profiles, researchers must identify the proper aggregation weights. I present a model of amenity choice that provides the micro-foundation for accounting for spatial diffusion and aggregation weights. The model can be disciplined by the empirical patterns of people's time use interacting with the amenities. I demonstrate that correctly accounting for spatial diffusion and aggregation weights is important for accurately measuring the inequality of access to consumption amenities. |
| Keywords: | amenities; spatial; time-use; travel; consumption; urban; CES; preference |
| JEL: | L80 R13 R41 |
| Date: | 2022–03–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:113158&r= |
| By: | Christopher Prömel |
| Abstract: | This study deals with the impact of the 2015 European Refugee Crisis on the ethnic identity of resident migrants in Germany. To derive plausibly causal estimates, I exploit the quasi experimental setting in Germany, by which refugees are allocated to different counties by state authorities without being able to choose their locations themselves. This study finds that higher shares of refugees in a county increased migrants’ attachment to their home countries, while not affecting their perceived belonging to Germany. Further analyses uncover strong heterogeneities with respect to country of origin and immigrant characteristics and suggest that the observed effects may be primarily driven by experiences of discrimination and the consumption of foreign media. Lastly, I find that changes in ethnic identity coincide with the political polarization of migrants. These results have various policy implications in terms of the dispersal of asylum seekers, the modes of communication with different migrant groups and the importance of anti discrimination measures. |
| Keywords: | Refugees, migrants, ethnic identity, European refugee crisis |
| JEL: | F22 J15 P16 Z13 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1160&r= |
| By: | Zoz, Konrad; Zuloaga, Gonzalo; Kulenkampff, Gabriele; Plückebaum, Thomas; Ockenfels, Martin |
| Abstract: | In this study, we analyse regional cost differences of fibre-based access networks. Our data base comprises a complete sample of Very High Capacity Network (VHCN) investment figures. By matching this data with the internationally standardised EUROSTAT and BBSR urban/rural typology classification, we show that such classification criteria do not sufficiently account for a large share of geographical differences in fibre-based access network costs. In order to better explain and/or identify regional differences in VHCN investment, we turn to spatial regression models to identify alternative influencing factors solely on the basis of publicly available data. We show that a handful of geographical factors are capable of explaining 95% of the differences in fibre investment requirements; the most relevant being (1) the size of demand (as number of access lines), (2) the street-based household density (defined as the number of households per kilometre of road in built-up areas), (3) a dispersion measure (approximated by the main road length per built-up area) and (4) the degree of urbanisation (measured by the share of built-up area in relation to the overall area). These results are consistent at different levels of spatial aggregation (e.g. from access areas to NUTS-3 level) and even after controlling for neighbouring effects. Thus, it is capable of predicting costs more precisely and at the level of the territorial unit, at which funds are bounded to be allocated. From a public policy perspective, the proper identification of areas, where the commercial roll-out is unlikely to occur, is key in preventing the widening of a digital gap without having a wasteful use of public funds. |
| Keywords: | Very high capacity networks (VHCN),bottom-up cost models,statistical estimations,spatial analysis,NUTS-3,state aid |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wikwps:4&r= |
| By: | Jose Maria Barrero; Nicholas Bloom; Steven J. Davis |
| Abstract: | COVID-19 drove a mass social experiment in working from home (WFH). We survey more than 30,000 Americans over multiple waves to investigate whether WFH will stick, and why. Our data say that 20 percent of full workdays will be supplied from home after the pandemic ends, compared with just 5 percent before. We develop evidence on five reasons for this large shift: better-than-expected WFH experiences, new investments in physical and human capital that enable WFH, greatly diminished stigma associated with WFH, lingering concerns about crowds and contagion risks, and a pandemic-driven surge in technological innovations that support WFH. We also use our survey data to project three consequences: First, employees will enjoy large benefits from greater remote work, especially those with higher earnings. Second, the shift to WFH will directly reduce spending in major city centers by at least 5-10 percent relative to the pre-pandemic situation. Third, our data on employer plans and the relative productivity of WFH imply a 5 percent productivity boost in the post-pandemic economy due to re-optimized working arrangements. Only one-fifth of this productivity gain will show up in conventional productivity measures, because they do not capture the time savings from less commuting. |
| Keywords: | Covid-19, USA, productivity, technological innovations |
| Date: | 2021–08–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1790&r= |
| By: | Jan Bietenbeck; Natalie Irmert; Mohammad Sepahvand |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of two dimensions of teacher quality, subject knowledge and didactic skills, on student learning in francophone Sub-Saharan Africa. We use data from an international large-scale assessment in 14 countries that include individual-level information on student achievement and country-level measures of teacher subject knowledge and didactic skills in reading and math. Exploiting variation between subjects in a student fixed-effects model, we find that teacher subject knowledge has a large positive effect on student achievement, whereas the effect of didactic skills is comparatively small and not statistically signifiant at conventional levels. Together, the two dimensions of teacher quality account for 36 percent of the variation in average student achievement across countries. |
| Keywords: | international learning gaps, teacher quality, Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/344129&r= |
| By: | Elsa Leromain; Gonzague Vannoorenberghe |
| Abstract: | We study how Covid-related risk affected participation across the French territory in the March 2020 local elections. We document that participation went down disproportionately in towns exposed to higher Covid-19 risk. Towns that lean towards the far-right saw a stronger drop in turnout, in particular in the vicinity of clusters. We argue that these patterns are partly a result of risk perceptions, and not only of political considerations. We use data on the drop in cinema admissions in early March 2020 and show that these went down more around infection clusters, especially in areas with substantial vote for the far-right. Taken together, our findings suggest that the fear of Covid-19 may have been on average more prevalent among far-right voters, contributing to a drop in their electoral participation. |
| Keywords: | electoral turnout, local elections, Covid-19, far-right |
| Date: | 2021–07–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1786&r= |
| By: | Mustafa Oguz Afacan; Umut Dur; A. Arda Gitmez; \"Ozg\"ur Y{\i}lmaz |
| Abstract: | In school choice problems, the motivation for students' welfare (efficiency) is restrained by concerns to respect schools' priorities (fairness). Even the best matching in terms of welfare among all fair matchings (SOSM) is in general inefficient. Moreover, any mechanism that improves welfare over the SOSM is manipulable by the students. First, we characterize the "least manipulable" mechanisms in this class: upper-manipulation-proofness ensures that no student is better off through strategic manipulation over the objects that are better than their assigned school. Second, we use the notion that a matching is less unfair if it yields a smaller set of students whose priorities are violated, and define minimal unfairness accordingly. We then show that the Efficiency Adjusted Deferred Acceptance (EADA) mechanism is minimally unfair in the class of efficient and upper-manipulation-proof mechanisms. When the objective is to improve students' welfare over the SOSM, this characterization implies an important insight on the frontier of the main axioms in school choice. |
| Date: | 2022–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2205.00032&r= |
| By: | Hassan, Hashibul; Islam, Asad; Siddique, Abu; Wang, Liang Choon |
| Abstract: | Using a randomized experiment in 200 Bangladeshi villages, we evaluate the impact of an over-the-phone learning support intervention (telementoring) among primary school children and their mothers during Covid-19 school closures. Following the intervention, treated children scored 0.75 SD (35%) higher on a standardized test, and the homeschooling involvement of treated mothers increased by 22 minutes per day (26%). We returned to the participants one year later, after schools briefly reopened, and find that impacts on learning gains and homeschooling had persisted. Academically weaker children benefitted the most from the intervention that only cost $20 per child. |
| Date: | 2021–08–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:mhyq5&r= |
| By: | Berlingieri, Francesco; Diegmann, André; Sprietsma, Maresa |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of studying the first-choice university subject on dropout and switching field of study for a cohort of students in Germany. Using detailed survey data, and employing an instrumental variable strategy based on variation in the local field of study availability, we provide evidence that students who are not enrolled in their preferred field of study are more likely to change their field, delay graduation and drop out of university. The estimated impact on dropout is particularly strong among students of low socio-economic status and is driven by lower academic performance and motivation. |
| Keywords: | academic performance,field of study,preferences,university dropout |
| JEL: | I21 I23 J24 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwhdps:162022&r= |
| By: | Ahsan, Md Nazmul; Shilpi, Forhad; Emran, Shahe |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of 61,000 public primary schools on intergenerational educational mobility in Indonesia using full-count census data, a credible identification strategy, and theory-based nonlinearity in the mobility equation. We find that the mobility curve is concave in most of the cases, and school expansion reduced the degree of concavity. Evidence from a DiD strategy (Duflo (2001)) on primary completion suggests substantial improvements in relative mobility of the children of low educated fathers irrespective of gender. But relative mobility in the college educated households worsened, strengthening the advantages of the better educated households across generations. This highlights the pitfalls of a linear model which incorrectly suggests a weakening of the advantages of the children of educated fathers. For completed years of schooling, there are striking gender differences: the strong effects on sons remain largely unchanged, but there are no significant effects on girls. The surprising absence of an effect on girls is due to an unintended bottleneck at the secondary schooling level creating fierce competition among the Inpres primary graduates. The girls lost ground, experiencing an 8.5 percentage points decline in the probability of completing senior secondary schooling, while the boys reaped a 7.7 percentage points gain. The girls suffered crowding out irrespective of the family background, suggesting that social norms rather than parental economic conditions are the mechanisms at work. |
| Keywords: | Public Schools, Intergenerational Mobility, Education, Theory-based Nonlinearity, Indonesia, Pitfalls of Linearity, Gender Bias, Social Norms, Big Data |
| JEL: | I24 J16 J62 O20 |
| Date: | 2022–05–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:113047&r= |
| By: | Hande Inanc |
| Abstract: | Drawing on a timely and detailed data series, this report describes the trends in youth unemployment rates in 2021, as the COVID 19 pandemic entered its second year. |
| Keywords: | youth unemployment, COVID-19, pandemic, economic recovery, racial and geographic disparities |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:ab6448d08be04ebc8b7570ee7ae0386b&r= |
| By: | Robert Kornfeld; Barbara M. Fraumeni |
| Abstract: | The recent debates on infrastructure spending have led to renewed interest in the measurement of infrastructure and its effects on growth and well-being. This paper updates estimates of one important type of infrastructure capital—highways and streets. We compare BEA’s capital measures with more readily understood physical measures of road and lane miles, road quality and usage, and other measures from Highway Statistics (HS) data from FHWA. We also use the HS data and related research to disaggregate investment in highways and streets into more detailed types, such as new construction, repair and resurfacing, and bridge work, and apply separate depreciation rates to each type to produce updated estimates of net wealth stocks and depreciation. Relative to published BEA estimates, constant-price depreciation is revised up by about $9–$12 billion annually in recent years, and constant-price net stocks are revised down by about 22 percent. For the period from 2007 forward, net stocks per capita are flat in the published BEA estimates but decline slightly in the revised estimates. In addition, we update Fraumeni’s (2007) estimates of productive stocks that are converted to wealth stocks to facilitate a comparison. These updated wealth estimates also show lower net stocks and higher depreciation than in the published BEA estimates. We hope this paper encourages discussion about how to measure infrastructure capital, particularly highways and streets, and its effects. |
| JEL: | E01 |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:30045&r= |
| By: | Byeongchan An; Robert M. Bushman; Anya V. Kleymenova; Rimmy E. Tomy |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the role banking supervision plays in improving access to credit for minorities by investigating how enforcement decisions and orders (EDOs) affect the bank borrower base. We find that, after an EDO's termination, banks significantly increase residential mortgage lending to minorities, even when the enforcement order is not issued for violations of fair lending laws. Our findings suggest that improvements in banks' internal credit assessment and compliance due to the enforcement process are associated with the expansion in lending to minority borrowers. Our findings highlight the indirect social benefits of bank enforcement and supervision. |
| Keywords: | Banking; Competition; Disclosure; Discrimination; Enforcement actions; Mortgage lending |
| JEL: | G21 G28 G38 |
| Date: | 2022–06–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2022-36&r= |
| By: | Hugues Champeaux; Lucia Mangiavacchi; Francesca Marchetta (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne); Luca Piccoli |
| Abstract: | School closures, forcibly brought about by the COVID-19 crisis in many countries, have impacted children's lives and their learning processes. The heterogeneous implementation of distance learning solutions is likely to bring a substantial increase in education inequality, with long term consequences. The present study uses data from a survey collected during Spring 2020 lockdown in France and Italy to analyze parents' evaluations of their children's home schooling process and emotional well-being at time of school closure, and the role played by different distance learning methods in shaping these perceptions. While Italian parents have a generally worse judgment of the effects of the lockdown on their children, the use of interactive distance learning methods appears to significantly attenuate their negative perception. This is particularly true for older pupils. French parents rather perceive that interactive methods are effective in mitigating learning losses and psychological distress only for their secondary school children. In both countries, further heterogeneity analysis reveal that parents perceive younger children and boys to suffer more during this period. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19,emotional wellbeing,distance learning,education inequality,children's education |
| Date: | 2022–03–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03656711&r= |
| By: | Sharada Nia Davidson; James Black; Kevin Connolly; Mairi Spowage |
| Abstract: | With increased devolution of powers, the UK's departure from the EU and Covid-19 having different impacts on different areas of the UK, timely regional economic statistics are needed to support regional and national policymaking. This paper develops a strategic framework for the production of supply and use tables (SUTs) and input output tables (IOTs) for the four nations of the UK. Our proposed framework is supported by three pieces of analysis. First, we undertake a comprehensive review of different methods for constructing regional SUTs and IOTs and current international practise. Second, we discuss how the Scottish, Northern Irish and UK SUTs and IOTs are produced and the challenges faced in their construction. Third, we compare the existing Scottish IOT, produced using hybrid methods, with the Scottish IOT we obtain through top-down regionalisation of the UK IOT using location quotients. We conclude our paper by outlining nine key recommendations. |
| Keywords: | hybrid method, input-output, location quotient, non-survey method, regionalisation |
| JEL: | C67 C83 O18 R15 |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nsr:escoed:escoe-dp-2022-14&r= |
| By: | Julia Fonseca; Adrien Matray |
| Abstract: | We study how financial development affects economic development and wage inequality. We use a large expansion of government-owned banks into Brazilian cities with low bank branch coverage and combine it with data on the universe of employees from 2000-2014. We find that higher financial development fosters firm growth, higher labor demand, and higher average wages, especially for cities initially in banking deserts. However, these gains are not shared equally. Instead, they increase with workers’ productivity, implying a substantial increase in wage inequality. The changes to inequality are concentrated in cities where the initial supply of skilled workers is low, indicating that talent scarcity can drive how financial development affects inequality. Our results are inconsistent with alternative explanations such as differential exposure to Brazil's economic boom, an overall increase in government lending, and other government or social welfare programs. These results motivate embedding skill heterogeneity into macro-finance development models in order to capture these distributional consequences. |
| JEL: | G2 H8 J2 J3 O1 O43 |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:30057&r= |
| By: | Beetsma, Roel; Cimadomo, Jacopo; van Spronsen, Josha |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a central fiscal capacity for the euro area that generates transfers in response to eurozone, country, and region-specific shocks. The main novelty of this fiscal capacity is that it allows a joint response to these three types of shocks within a single scheme. Based on NUTS3 regional data over the last two decades and regional fiscal multiplier estimates, our analysis shows that - with a limited risk of moral hazard - substantial stabilisation could have been achieved in response to the eurozone and regional shocks, while country-specific shocks were on average less severe and therefore needed less stabilisation. JEL Classification: C38, E32, E62, E63 |
| Keywords: | Bayesian inference, Central fiscal capacity, macroeconomic stabilisation, multilevel factor model |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20222666&r= |
| By: | Akkoyunlu, Şule; Epstein, Gil S.; Gang, Ira N. |
| Abstract: | Distinguishing between short-run and long-run outcomes we provide new insight into the relationship between education and migration. We examine the specific link between the acquisition of high levels of human capital in the form of university education in Turkey and migration to Germany. We implement bounds testing procedures to ascertain the long-run relationships with the variables of interest in a migration model. Although the bounds testing procedure has advantages compared to other methods, it has not been widely implemented in the migration literature. We find a negative and decreasing non-linear long-run and short-run relationship between home country university education and Turkish migration to Germany over 1970-2015. Over the long run, increased higher education reduces emigration flows. |
| Keywords: | Education,Migration,Turkey,Germany |
| JEL: | C22 F22 F63 I25 I26 O15 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1096&r= |
| By: | Mattia Filomena (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University); Isabella Giorgetti (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University,- GLO Global Labor Organization, Essen); Matteo Picchio (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University -Ghent University, Ghent - GLO Global Labor Organization, Essen) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effect of nonemployment experienced by Italian youth after leaving secondary school on subsequent labor market outcomes. We focus on the impact on earnings and labor market participation both in the short- and in the long-term, up to 25 years since school completion. By estimating a factor analytic model which controls for time-varying unobserved heterogeneity, we find that the negative effect of nonemployment on earnings is especially persistent, being sizeable and statistically significant up to 25 years after school completion, for both men and women. Penalties in terms of participation last instead shorter; they disappear by the 10th year after school completion. Hence, early nonemployment operates by persistently locking the youth who get off to a bad start into low-wage jobs. |
| Keywords: | Youth nonemployment; scarring effects; earnings; labor market participation; factor analytic model. |
| JEL: | J01 J08 J31 J64 |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:466&r= |
| By: | Stienen, Valentijn (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research); den Hertog, Dick (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research); Wagenaar, Joris (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research); de Zegher, J.F. |
| Keywords: | Map construction/extension; Digital road networks; Optimization; data scarcity; GPS trajectories; algorithm; SDGs |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tiu:tiucen:745d1d0c-7af2-4759-add4-03e4ee20b8bb&r= |
| By: | Oreffice, Sonia (University of Exeter); Sansone, Dario (University of Exeter) |
| Abstract: | We assess the role of gender-conforming social norms in household decision-making and gender inequalities in the labor market with a parsimonious household model that endogenizes commuting time. Using the American Community Survey 2008-2019, we test the model predictions and find that women in same-sex couples have a longer commute to work than working women in different-sex couples, whereas the commute to work of men in same-sex couples is shorter than the one of working men in different-sex couples, even after controlling for demographic characteristics, partner’s characteristics, location, fertility, and marital status. These differences among men and women amount to 50%, and 100%, respectively, of the gender commuting gap estimated in the literature, and are particularly stark among married couples with children. Within-couple gaps in commuting time are also significantly smaller in same-sex couples, and labor supply disparities mimic the commuting ones. According to our model, these differences are interpreted as gender-conforming social norms leading women in different-sex couples into jobs with a shorter commute and fewer hours worked while their male partners/spouses hold jobs with a longer commute and more hours worked, thus reinforcing gender inequalities. |
| Keywords: | commute, household decisions, labor supply, LGBTQ+, specialization, travel time |
| JEL: | D10 J15 J16 J22 R20 R41 |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15332&r= |
| By: | Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt; Duncan Roth; Tobias Seidel |
| Abstract: | We develop a quantitative spatial model with heterogeneous firms and a monopsonistic labour market to derive minimum wages that maximize employment or welfare. Quantifying the model for German micro regions, we find that the German minimum wage, set at 48% of the national mean wage, has increased aggregate worker welfare by about 2.1% at the cost or reducing employment by about 0.3%. The welfare-maximizing federal minimum wage, at 60% of the national mean wage, would increase aggregate worker welfare by 4%, but reduce employment by 5.6%. An employment-maximizing regional wage, set at 50% of the regional mean wage, would achieve a similar aggregate welfare effect and increase employment by 1.1%. |
| Keywords: | general equilibrium, minimum wage, monopsony, employment, Germany, inequality |
| Date: | 2022–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1823&r= |
| By: | Wolf, Levi John (University of Bristol) |
| Abstract: | Comber et al. (2022) provides an important contribution to the future of quantitative geography and geographic analysis. The contribution is chiefly in their development of a "GWR Route Map," a diagram showing the sequence of analytical steps that "successful" specification searches in local modelling tend to follow. Geographically-weighted techniques have been rapidly expanding, both in terms of complexity, users, and disciplinary reach. With geographically-weighted methods now in so many more analysts' hands, any new rule of thumb will have a major imprint. But, by what right does the thumb rule the analysts? That is, what "counts" as valid knowledge about local models in general? In the following comment, I argue that we probably should use theory, not route maps to decide specifications. But, if we're pressed to build route maps, we sorely need better epistemological foundations for them. I discuss a few previous examples of strongly-grounded route maps and offer a few paths to these better grounds as well as two ways to the exit. |
| Date: | 2022–05–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:qzjwb&r= |
| By: | Gunadi, Christian |
| Abstract: | As of 2021, 16 U.S. States and the District of Columbia have implemented laws allowing undocumented migrants to acquire a driver's license. In this paper, I hypothesize that lower barriers to work caused by the ability to obtain driving licenses can affect undocumented migrants' fertility decisions. Using a differencein- differences strategy based on temporal and geographical variation in the implementation of laws granting undocumented migrants access to driving licenses across U.S. states, I find that these laws were associated with about 9% decline in childbirth among likely undocumented married women. Exploring the mechanism, the results of the analysis indicate that granting undocumented migrants access to driving licenses increased the propensity to work along the intensive margin. Among those at work, their usual weekly hours rose by approximately 1.5%. |
| Keywords: | driving licenses,undocumented immigrants,fertility,labor market impacts |
| JEL: | J13 I38 J15 K37 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1094&r= |
| By: | METAXAS, IOANNIS; Metaxas, Theodore |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to analyze in first basis, how the International Community, reached the adoption of the SDG’s goals, and to discuss the assets and the problems, the omissions of these goals. Then, this text will give emphasis to the inclusiveness, resilience, safety and sustainability of the cities, and will indicate the extent that those goals were well – promoted and protected under the Millennium Sustainable Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, this assignment, will trace the upgrade and integration of these goals into an entrenched and united goal (Goal 11 of Sustainable Development) and the current developments and problems that seem to emerge, mostly regarding the sustainability of the cities. Furthermore, this paper will try to prove the strong linkage between SDG 3 (Good Health – Well Being) and SDG 11 |
| Keywords: | United Nations;, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); Sustainable Cities, SDG 3. |
| JEL: | I3 I38 O2 O20 R5 |
| Date: | 2022–05–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:113082&r= |
| By: | Patrick C. Higgins |
| Abstract: | The Phillips curve appears to have held up well at the regional level during the COVID-19 era. Areas of the country that took relatively large hits to their unemployment rate and employment-population ratio during the pandemic have had lower inflation, on average, than areas that took relatively small hits. And, just as prior to the pandemic, the inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment continues to be statistically stronger for the prices of services than of goods. The Phillips curve appears to have held up well at the regional level during the COVID-19 era. Areas of the country that took relatively large hits to their unemployment rate and employment-population ratio during the pandemic have had lower inflation, on average, than areas that took relatively small hits. And, just as prior to the pandemic, the inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment continues to be statistically stronger for the prices of services than of goods. |
| Keywords: | inflation; unemployment; labor markets; Phillips curve; regional data; panel data |
| JEL: | C23 E31 E32 |
| Date: | 2021–09–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:a00001:94156&r= |
| By: | Christopher Blattman; Sebastian Chaskel; Julian C. Jamison; Margaret Sheridan |
| Abstract: | In most societies, a small number of people commit the most serious violence. Short-term studies have shown that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can reduce such antisocial behaviors. These behavior changes may be temporary, however, especially from therapy on its own. This is unsettled, however, for there has been little randomized, long-term research. We follow 999 high-risk men in Liberia 10 years after randomization into either: 8 weeks of a therapy; a $200 grant; both; or a control group. A decade later, both therapy alone and therapy with economic assistance produce dramatic reductions in antisocial behaviors. Drug-selling and participation in thefts and robberies, for example, fall by about half. These impacts are greatest among the highest-risk men. The effects of therapy alone, however, are smaller and more fragile. The effects of therapy plus economic assistance are more sustained and precise. Since the cash did not increase earnings for more than a few months, we hypothesize that the grant, and the brief legitimate business activity, reinforced the habit formation embodied in CBT. Overall, results suggest that targeted CBT plus economic assistance is an inexpensive and effective way to prevent violence, especially when policymakers are searching for alternatives to aggressive policing and incarceration. |
| JEL: | D83 K42 O15 O17 |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:30049&r= |
| By: | Francisco J. André (Dpt. Economic Analysis and ICE, Universidad Complutense de Madrid); Carmen Arguedas (Dpt. Economic Analysis, Autonomous University of Madrid); Sandra Rousseau (Faculty of Economics and Business, KU Leuven) |
| Abstract: | Peer-to-peer sharing has become increasingly popular in recent years. Many digital platforms exist that allow individuals to use others’ belongings part-time. These platforms explicitly mention their green credentials, as the environmental benefits of such sharing initiatives are often taken for granted. However, several recent empirical studies show evidence of the contrary. For the first time in the literature, we provide a theoretical framework to analyze the economic and environmental implications of peer-to-peer sharing. We present a stylized model where a monopolist supplies a product that is suitable for rent on a sharing platform. Counterintuitively, we find that the existence of such a platform is typically beneficial for the monopolist, especially if it can strategically choose the price and lifespan of the product to affect the use price in the sharing market. Such a scenario is not at all beneficial for consumers, especially for those who rent the good rather than buy it. Moreover, the existence of the sharing platform induces higher use and (under some likely conditions) larger production levels and shorter lifespans of the products. The combination of these three aspects contributes to a worse environmental impact with sharing, which provides a theoretical rationale for the aforementioned empirical studies. |
| Keywords: | peer-to-peer sharing; environmental externalities; strategic pricing; strategic lifespan. |
| JEL: | D16 D21 D62 L12 Q56 |
| Date: | 2022–05–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uea:ueaeco:2022-03&r= |
| By: | Lunetto, Maria Elizabeth (University College London); Castro, Oscar; Gericke, Chiara; Hale, Joanna (UCL) |
| Abstract: | During COVID-19, UK local authorities increased emergency active travel interventions. This study aimed to understand what aspects of temporary Streetspace for London schemes representbarriers or enablers to walking and cycling for short local journeys.Focusing on two London boroughs, we sampled 885 publiccomments about Streetspace schemes and conducted 21 semi-structured interviews. We triangulated the data in a thematic analysis to identify barriers and enablers, which were categorised usingthe Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behaviour(COM-B)model.Opportunity and motivation were reflected in the barriers (accessibility and integration; controversy, dissatisfaction,and doubt), enablers (new routes and spaces; sustainability and health beliefs) and mixed themes (changes to traffic and environs; feeling safe). Although aspects of Streetspace schemeswere seen to enableactive travel,our findingssuggest that additional processes to address the acceptability, equity, and unintended consequences ofemergency interventions will be important to their long-term success for health and sustainability. |
| Date: | 2022–04–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:6mxvy&r= |
| By: | Alina Garnham; Derek G. Stacey (Queen's University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study how the emergence of Uber in a large North American city affects the financial value of taxicab licenses. A taxicab license provides a claim to a stream of dividends in the form of rents generated by operating the taxicab or leasing the license. The introduction of Uber undoubtedly affects the anticipated stream of dividends because Uber drivers capture part of the farebox revenue that might otherwise go to the owners/drivers of licensed taxicabs. At the same time, the launch of Uber's innovative technology-driven approach to the provision of ride-hailing services can be viewed as a partial obsolescence of the traditional taxicab approach. The economic incentives facing market participants may therefore change as Uber gains momentum in the ride-hailing market, which could further affect the market value of licensed taxicabs. Using transaction-level data, we apply a theory of asset pricing to the secondary market for Toronto taxicab licenses to explore these potential price effects. We learn that both the farebox and innovation effects contribute to the overall decline in market value, with the farebox effect accounting for just over half of the $170K price decline from 2011 to 2017. We explore the welfare implications for taxicab license owners with counterfactual simulations. We find that, consistent with the anti-Uber protests organized by Toronto taxi drivers, there was a high willingness to pay among license holders to prevent or postpone the launch of Uber's ridesharing services. |
| Keywords: | Uber , Taxicabs , Asset Pricing , Search and Bargaining |
| JEL: | G12 |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qed:wpaper:1487&r= |
| By: | Suzanne Fitzpatrick; Glen Bramley |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a comparative analysis of homelessness policy goals, expenditure and outcomes across Great Britain in the post-2015 period, setting these developments in their longer-term perspective. In England, a relatively positive legacy on homelessness bequeathed by interventionist Labour administrations was undermined by social security cuts and a hand-off 'Localism' policy on the part of post-2010 Coalition and Conservative Governments. Overall spending on homelessness services fell, even though the numbers affected climbed sharply, and local authorities were forced to channel more of their dwindling resources towards supporting temporary accommodation costs as placements spiralled upwards. Wales has taken a more progressive recent policy approach, protecting the main source of revenue funding for single homelessness services, and strengthening its homelessness legislation. The key tenets of this Welsh legislation were then adopted in England via the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. Meantime Scotland has long forged its own path on homelessness policy, most notably by radically extending entitlements for single homeless people. A key message of the paper is that homelessness is fundamentally driven by poverty across Great Britain, but also that targeted homelessness and rough sleeping policies can have dramatic positive effects, even in a challenging structural context. |
| Keywords: | Homelessness, rough sleeping, complex needs, England, Scotland, Wales |
| Date: | 2021–03–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:spdorp:09&r= |
| By: | Abbas Moosvi (Pakistan Institute of Development Economics) |
| Abstract: | The widespread phenomenon of street vending, particularly in the developing world, is a fascinating one. With gradual industrialisation, countries in the Global South have experienced significant levels of urban migration—people moving out of their rural settings in the search for better economic opportunities in closer proximity to commercial hubs (Recchi, 2020). |
| Keywords: | Street Vending |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pid:kbrief:2021:39&r= |