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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Eshaghnia, Sadegh S. M. (University of Chicago); Heckman, James J. (University of Chicago); Razavi, Goya (University of Chicago) |
| Abstract: | Education in Denmark is freely available. Despite near equal teacher salaries and per-pupil school expenditure across districts, there is substantial spatial heterogeneity in school quality as measured by teacher quality and student test scores. We argue that this is due to sorting of teachers and students across neighborhoods. We develop and apply multiple methods for identifying parental evaluations of measured school quality in the presence of strong neighborhood sorting. There is strong concordance in the estimates across diverse methodologies. We estimate a willingness to pay of about 3% more for a house with average characteristics when test scores are one standard deviation above the mean. Controlling for selection into neighborhoods only slightly reduces our estimates. Given that school quality, as measured by monetary resources, is equalized across all neighborhoods, payments for school quality embodied in housing prices are in fact payments for peer, teacher, and neighborhood quality. This evidence challenges the appropriateness of the current emphasis in the literature on Tiebout-based models of neighborhood choice that stress sorting on parental income in order to finance the local public good of school quality. Rather, a model of neighborhood choice to select neighbor and peer quality is more appropriate. Our evidence is consistent with evidence that cash expenditures on classrooms have weak effects on child achievement. |
| Keywords: | hedonic valuation, amenities, residential sorting, peer effects |
| JEL: | H0 H4 H7 I2 R0 R2 R3 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16234&r=ure |
| By: | Michael Gilraine; James Graham; Angela Zheng |
| Abstract: | While rising house prices benefit existing homeowners, we document a new channel through which price shocks have intergenerational wealth effects. Using panel data from school zones within a large U.S. school district, we find that higher local house prices lead to improvements in local school quality, thereby increasing child human capital and future incomes. We quantify this housing wealth channel using an overlapping generations model with neighborhood choice, spatial equilibrium, and endogenous school quality. Housing market shocks in the model generate large intra- and intergenerational wealth effects, with the latter accounting for over half of total wealth effects. |
| JEL: | E21 E24 I24 J62 R21 R23 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31345&r=ure |
| By: | Tianlei Huang (Peterson Institute for International Economics) |
| Abstract: | This working paper reviews the current housing crisis in China and explores the roles of supply-demand imbalances and local governments in the real estate sector. To prevent the housing downturn from further dragging down economic growth, Beijing suspended the financing restrictions on developers imposed in August 2020. These restrictions, known as the "three red lines" that limited new borrowing by developers, led Chinese property developers to default on a record number of debt obligations and triggered the most serious housing slump China has seen since 1998. The property sector saw its value added decline by more than 5 percent in 2022, even as the overall economy grew at 3 percent. But the current dynamics in the housing market reflect a repeated pattern: Loosening financing restrictions on developers and using housing as a macroeconomic stabilization tool risk reinforcing the boom-bust housing cycle. China's real estate sector is a systemic problem. Without serious reforms to address concerns such as supply-demand imbalances and local governments' deep connections with real estate, housing slumps like the one in 2022 may recur |
| Keywords: | China, Real Estate, Land Policy, Local Governments, Property Tax |
| JEL: | H27 H72 N25 R31 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iie:wpaper:wp23-5&r=ure |
| By: | Di Cataldo, Marco; Romani, Giulia |
| Abstract: | The availability of public education services can influence residential choices. Hence, policies aiming to ‘rationalise’ service provision by reducing the number of undersized nodes in the public school network can lead to population decline. This paper examines the demographic and income effects of primary school closures by exploiting an Italian education reform that resulted in a significant contraction of the school network. We assess whether school closures impact households’ residential choices, on top and beyond preexisting negative population trends that motivate school closures. To address endogeneity, we combine a Two-Way Fixed Effects model with an instrumental variable approach, constructing the IVs based on institutional thresholds for school sizing adopted by some Italian regions. Our findings suggest that municipalities affected by school closures experience significant reductions in population and income. The effect is driven by peripheral municipalities located far from economic centres and distant from the next available primary school. This evidence indicates that school ‘rationalisation policies’, by fostering depopulation of peripheral areas, have an influence on the spatial distribution of households and income, thus affecting territorial disparities. |
| Keywords: | school closures; residential choices; education policy; core-periphery patterns; Italy |
| JEL: | H40 H52 R23 |
| Date: | 2023–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:119359&r=ure |
| By: | Poorthuis, Ate; Zook, Matthew |
| Abstract: | The 15-minute city – providing every resident’s daily needs within a 15-minute walk, cycle or public transportation ride – has recently gained popularity among policy makers as a means for a more sustainable and just future. While the goal of a more equitable and sustainable city is laudable, we note that half of the world’s population (still) lives in non-urban areas and thus seek to explore how the concept of the 15-minute city might extend into suburbs, exurbs and even the countryside. We do this via an empirical analysis of 16 years of travel survey data in the Netherlands and evaluate the relevance of the 15-minute city concept in non-urban areas. We frame our analysis via three specific aspects of the 15-minute concept: (i) differences in reliance on cars in urban and non-urban areas; (ii) differences in extra travel time across the urban-rural continuum if all car-based trips were replaced by public transport; and (iii) the effect of accessibility of goods and services on extra travel time if all car-based trips were replaced by public transport. Based on our findings, we argue that practical implementations of the 15-minute city (focused on the urban core) risk missing the particular challenges facing non-urban neighborhoods, especially in terms of car reliance. As planners rush to address the affordable housing crisis in the Netherlands and elsewhere, these short-comings highlight the importance of expanding research and policy practice in terms of scope (i.e. including non-urban areas) and focus (i.e. considering other reasons for individual travel beyond goods and services) to better reflect the lived experience of people across all geographies. |
| Date: | 2023–06–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:4adfq&r=ure |
| By: | Amelie F. Constant; Simone Schüller; Klaus F. Zimmermann |
| Abstract: | The role of ethnic clustering in ethnic identity formation has remained unexplored, mainly due to missing detailed data. This study closes the knowledge gap for Germany by employing a unique combination of datasets, the survey data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and disaggregated information at low geographical levels from the last two but still unexploited full German censuses, 1970 and 1987. Utilizing the exogenous placement of immigrants during the recruitment era in the 1960s and 1970s we find that local co-ethnic concentration affects immigrants’ ethnic identity. While residential ethnic clustering strengthens immigrants’ retention of an affiliation with their origin (minority identity), it weakens identification with the host society (majority identity). The effects are nonlinear and become significant only at relatively high levels of co-ethnic concentration for the minority identity and at very low levels of local concentration for the majority identity. The findings are robust to an instrumental variable approach. |
| Keywords: | ethnic minorities, residential segregation, ethnic identity, spatial dispersion, ethnic clustering, ethnic enclaves |
| JEL: | J15 R23 Z10 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10467&r=ure |
| By: | Simon Franklin (Queen Mary University London); Clement Imbert (University of Warwick, BREAD, CEPR, EUDN and JPAL); Girum Abebe (World Bank); Carolina Mejia-Mantilla (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates a large urban public works program randomly rolled out across neighborhoods of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We find that the program increased public employment and reduced private labor sup-ply among beneficiaries and improved local amenities in treated locations. We then combine a spatial equilibrium model and unique commuting data to estimate the spillover effects of the program on private sector wages across neighborhoods: under full program roll-out, wages increased by 18.6%. Using our model, we show that welfare gains to the poor are six times larger when we include the indirect effects on private wages and local amenities. |
| JEL: | I38 J61 O18 R23 |
| Date: | 2023–06–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qmw:qmwecw:957&r=ure |
| By: | Woo Suk Lee (Dong-A University); Eunseong Ma (Yonsei University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether the degree of interconnectivity among local housing markets affects the effectiveness of the monetary transmission mechanism in the U.S. economy. We construct measures of housing market connectedness and use a state-dependent local projection method to estimate nonlinear empirical impulse responses of macroeconomic variables to a monetary policy shock. The primary finding is that monetary policy has a greater impact when regional housing markets are more synchronized. This implies that a spillover effect among local housing markets may magnify the effectiveness of monetary policy. Moreover, analyses reveal two additional findings: monetary policy is more effective i) during high-connectedness periods with expansions, and ii) when house price fluctuations are predominantly driven by a national factor rather than regional factors. |
| Keywords: | Housing market, connectedness; monetary policy |
| JEL: | R31 E52 E32 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yon:wpaper:2023rwp-219&r=ure |
| By: | Roberto Brunetti (Univ Rennes, CNRS, CREM-UMR6211, F-35000 Rennes, France); Carl Gaigné (INRAE, SMART, Rennes, France and Laval University, CREATE, Quebec, Canada); Fabien Moizeau (Univ Rennes, CNRS, CREM-UMR6211, F-35000 Rennes, France) |
| Abstract: | We examine the role of land in wealth dynamics and taxation policy by focusing on the interplay among agents’ bidding for location, mortgage market imperfections, and inheritance. We develop a model in which altruistic agents leave to their heir a financial bequest and their housing wealth. The borrowing constraint generates a housing return premium and spatial wealth sorting, which translate into persistent inequality. We derive an optimal tax schedule that combines a tax on the land share in the value of inherited housing assets and on lifetime wealth, allowing a more efficient allocation of resources and lower inequality. |
| Keywords: | Mortgage market imperfections; Spatial sorting; Wealth distribution; Wealth Taxation; Efficiency. |
| JEL: | D31 E21 H21 R14 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:2023-06&r=ure |
| By: | Cóndor Richard; Oviedo Moguel Rodolfo |
| Abstract: | This paper employs a calibrated model of the US economy to analyze the boom and bust in house prices as well as the shifts in the distribution of wealth during the years around the Great Recession. We replicate the dynamics of the housing market using shocks to aggregate income, the distribution of income, credit conditions, and expectations of future housing demand driven by irrational exuberance. We find that irrational exuberance was the primary driver behind the dynamics of house prices and that the relaxation and subsequent tightening of credit conditions are crucial to explain the behavior of mortgage debt, default rates, and housing holdings by households at the bottom of the wealth distribution. The boom in house prices led to a temporary decrease in wealth concentration, which was subsequently reversed during the bust. |
| Keywords: | Credit Conditions;Expectations;Irrational Exuberance;Great Recession;House Prices |
| JEL: | E21 E32 G01 R31 D31 D84 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdm:wpaper:2023-04&r=ure |
| By: | Daniel Borbely (University of Dundee); Ross Mckenzie (Department of Economics, University of Strathclyde) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the persistent effects of forced migration on sending economies using the postWW2 expulsion of German minorities from Hungary as a natural experiment. We combine historical and contemporary data sources to show that, while towns heavily affected by the expulsions were quite similar to other areas in terms of economic activity and labour market composition before the war, the forced migrations led to lasting reductions in economic activity, and an increasing reliance on agricultural labour. We further show long-term negative correlations between forced migration and local trust levels, suggesting that the expulsion of Germans also affected the local social fabric. Our analysis reveals that forced migration can cause lasting regional inequalities in sending economies. |
| Keywords: | forced migration, economic development, minorities, trust, persistence, regional inequality |
| JEL: | N34 N94 R11 O12 O15 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:str:wpaper:2107&r=ure |
| By: | Ismail Haque (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)); Malay Kotal (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)); Meera ML (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)) |
| Abstract: | Increased urbanisation poses serious challenges to adequate housing in the cities of the Global South. Many have focused on the issues of access to serviced land, housing finance, and public subsidy in augmenting the supply of low-income affordable housing while ignoring the criticality of timely allotment and delivery of possession of houses to intended beneficiaries. Drawing on the data from a mixed method study, this article examined the intricacies of low-income housing delivery in Delhi. The results show that access to completed low-income public housing is primarily constrained due to a prolonged time gap between approval of the allotment letter and delivery of possession to eligible residents, marked by beneficiaries’ decades-long struggle, agony, and unending waiting. Pendency in the allotment process has been the greatest impediment to the delivery of possession, contributing to a higher incidence of vacancy in public housing stock across Delhi. |
| Keywords: | Housing crisis, Vacant public housing, Rehabilitation, Delivery of possession |
| Date: | 2022–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdc:wpaper:412&r=ure |
| By: | Kadie Clark (Cambridge Associates, LLC); J. Isaac Miller (Department of Economics, University of Missouri) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the historical effects of climate change on real estate prices in Southwestern Colorado, an area strongly influenced by outdoor recreation-based tourism, and we use these estimates to make projections for future house prices in the region based on a business-as-usual carbon dioxide emissions scenario. We find that maximum and minimum local summer temperatures and minimum local winter temperatures have significant positive long-run relationships with global carbon dioxide concentrations. Moreover, once we control for non-climate factors that affect the housing market, we find that house prices have significant negative long-run relationships with maximum and minimum local summer temperatures and a significant positive long-run relationship with local winter precipitation. Projections suggest that the effects of climate change on house prices would continue through the end of the century as they have over the past few decades under the business-as-usual scenario, albeit with the addition of a small but insignificantly estimated dampening of the growth rate. Our case study focuses on the San Juan Mountain region of Southwestern Colorado, but we expect that our results generalize to other outdoor tourism destinations in the Rocky Mountains and the Intermountain West. |
| Keywords: | climate change, housing market, house price index, outdoor tourism |
| JEL: | C32 Q54 R31 Z32 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:umc:wpaper:2309&r=ure |
| By: | Kono, Tatsuhito; Tsutaki, Keisuke |
| Abstract: | Demographic dynamics and spatial distribution of urban amenities bring about spatially different benefits to young, middle-aged, and elderly people, thereby affecting residential location patterns. Using an overlapping generations model in a closed city with two zones with different amenity levels, we demonstrate how young, middle-aged, and elderly generations with lifespan perspectives reside in the two zones with their interplay across periods and locations and analyze the residents’ welfare levels. We find that, unlike a static situation, there is no steady residential pattern in which middle-aged or elderly households live in both of the two zones when they optimize their residential locations throughout their life. Our numerical simulation reveals two findings useful for policy making: first, urban amenities should be unevenly distributed across the city from a perspective of lifetime utility; second, different demographic changes lead to different desirable residential patterns in terms of utility. Finally, we check the robustness of these findings for the case of the expansion of remote work. |
| Keywords: | Urban land use, Overlapping generations model, Urban amenities, Demographic dynamics |
| JEL: | H4 R0 R28 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:117595&r=ure |
| By: | Mario I. Valenzuela-Silva (Economic and Business Sciences, Universitario de la Cartuja, Spain); Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (International Center for Public Policy, Georgia State University); Jose L. Saez-Lozano (Economic and Business Sciences, Universitario de la Cartuja, Spain) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the existence and persistence of residential price bubbles where housing and financial markets have asymmetric price indexation mechanisms, with an application to the case of Chile. Such a design of market institutions presents a unique dichotomy: while real estate asset prices and mortgages are usually expressed in real terms (i.e., indexed to the inflation rate), close substitutes such as house rents are expressed in nominal terms or under imperfect indexation mechanisms. This asymmetry can induce an additional risk of investing in residential assets, which in turn would put upward pressure on risk premiums in real estate investments, through higher requirements and expectations of overpricing and capital appreciation. In this paper we hypothesize that such asymmetry in the price trajectory, in a highly integrated market, favors the formation and persistence of rational speculative price bubbles. In the face of changing expectations or possible elimination of financial indexation, residential bubbles may fade away, triggering high social costs. Our empirical work uses Bayesian analysis to estimate a general equilibrium SVARX model for the new housing market using data for Chile between January 2003 and June 2022. The results validate the proposed hypothesis on the formation and persistence of rational speculative price bubbles in the presence of asymmetric price indexation mechanisms. The policy implication is that partial financial indexation, not extended to the rest of the economy, is not always desirable given the risk of significant price imbalances it may cause, especially in highly integrated markets such as finance and real estate. |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ays:ispwps:paper2312&r=ure |
| By: | Iqbal, Syedah Aroob; Patrinos, Harry Anthony |
| Abstract: | School closures induced by the COVID-19 pandemic led to concerns about student learning. This paper evaluates the effect of school closures on student learning in Uzbekistan, using a unique dataset that allows assessing change in learning over time. The findings show that test scores in math for grade 5 students improved over time by 0.29 standard deviation despite school closures. The outcomes among students who were assessed in 2019 improved by an average of 0.72 standard deviation over the next two years, slightly lower than the expected growth of 0.80 standard deviation. The paper explores the reasons for no learning loss. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, learning loss, school closures, social inequality, digital divide |
| JEL: | I21 I24 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1292&r=ure |
| By: | Shahabi, Cyrus; Kim, Seon Ho |
| Abstract: | This project is to investigate how accessibility of city blocks is quantified through the transport systems and real traffic flow datafrom the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. The authors investigate the reachability problem and provide a solution with a functional system that is capable of visualizing the reachability map (isochrone). Unlike other studies, this approach is data-driven and does not depend on mathematical graph-theory to compute the isochrone which requires intensive computation. Instead, it focuses on directly processing the large amount of traffic flow data that the Integrated Media Systems Center at USC has collected from the Regional Integration of Intelligent Transportation Systems (RIITS) for more than 10 years under the Center’s existing Archived Traffic Data Management System (ADMS) project. The reachability map construction is based on vehicle trajectories so the researchers devised the Data-Driven Trajectory Generator (DDTG), a data-driven, model-free, and parameter-less algorithm for generating realistic vehicle trajectory datasets from ADMS data. Since real world traffic is incomplete with lots of temporal and spatial missing data, the researchers studied imputation and interpolation methods to complete the dataset. Their experiments with real-world trajectory and traffic data show that the datasets generated by DDTG follow distributions that are very close to the distributions of a real trajectory dataset. Furthermore, to demonstrate the resultsfrom the proposed research, a web application was developed in which users can select a location, travel time, and the time of year to see the evaluated accessibility info in the form of an isochrone map. The outcomes of this project—synthetic vehicle trajectory dataset and reachability map construction—will be helpful in evaluating accessibility of city blocks for transport systems over a large area, essential for policymakers for effective city planning as well as to improve the well-being of citizens. View the NCST Project Webpage |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Traffic index, synthetic trajectory, reachability |
| Date: | 2023–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt7pm429tk&r=ure |
| By: | Gendron-Carrier, Nicolas; Gonzalez-Navarro, Marco; Polloni, Stefano; Turner, Matthew A |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effect of subway system openings on urban air pollution. On average, particulate concentrations are unchanged by subway openings. For cities with higher initial pollution levels, subway openings reduce particulates by 4 percent in the area surrounding a city center. The effect decays with distance to city center and persists over the longest time horizon that we can measure with our data, about four years. For highly polluted cities, we estimate that a new subway system provides an external mortality benefit of about $1 billion per year. For less polluted cities, the effect is indistinguishable from zero. Back of the envelope cost estimates suggest that reduced mortality due to lower air pollution offsets a substantial share of the construction costs of subways. |
| Keywords: | Climate-Related Exposures and Conditions, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Applied Economics |
| Date: | 2022–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:agrebk:qt8xc9j5sm&r=ure |
| By: | Michael Gilraine; Uros Petronijevic; John D. Singleton |
| Abstract: | This paper develops and estimates an empirical framework that evaluates the impact of charter school choice on education quality in the aggregate. We estimate the model using student-level data from North Carolina. We find that North Carolina’s lifting of its statewide charter school cap raised the average public school's value-added by around 0.01 standard deviations (on the student test score distribution). We calculate the total human capital returns of the expansion at above $100, 000 per charter school enrollee. We further show that competition drives the aggregate gains; test score impacts on students induced into charter schools by the policy are negative. |
| JEL: | H75 I21 I28 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31328&r=ure |
| By: | Samuel Bazzi; Andreas Ferrara; Martin Fiszbein; Thomas P. Pearson; Patrick A. Testa |
| Abstract: | This paper shows how white migration out of the postbellum South diffused and entrenched Confederate culture across the United States at a critical juncture of westward expansion and postwar reconciliation. These migrants laid the groundwork for Confederate symbols and racial norms to become pervasive nationally in the early 20th century. Occupying positions of authority, former slaveholders played an outsized role in this process. Beyond memorializing the Confederacy, migrants exacerbated racial violence, boosted novel forms of exclusion, and compounded Black disadvantage outside the South. Moving West, former Confederates had larger effects in frontier communities lacking established culture and institutions. Over time, they continued to transmit norms to their children and non-Southern neighbors. The diaspora legacy persists over the long run, shaping racial inequities in labor, housing, and policing. Together, our findings offer a new perspective on migration, elite influence, and the interplay between culture and institutions in the nation-building process. |
| JEL: | D72 J15 J18 N31 N32 P16 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31331&r=ure |
| By: | Hassan F. Gholipour; Mohammad Reza Farzanegan |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between individuals’ satisfaction with amenities and environmental quality and taste for revolt in the Middle East. Using recent World Value Survey data (WVS7, 2017-2021) from Egypt and Iraq (which have been experiencing severe environmental degradation and inadequate and mismanagement of public infrastructure) and applying Probit regressions, our results show that satisfaction with amenities and environmental quality indicators are negatively and statistically related to individuals’ inclination towards revolt in both countries. This finding is more pronounced in urban areas, particularly in large cities. We also find that individuals’ satisfaction with amenities and environmental quality affect the taste of revolt through the individual’s life satisfaction and satisfaction with the government’s provision of utilities. The analysis for Egypt suggests that satisfaction with public transportation systems, roads and highways, air quality, and housing quality are significantly and negatively associated with support for revolutionary action. For the Iraq sample, we find that dissatisfaction with roads and highways, water quality, school quality, and the physical settings of cities lead to a higher probability of support for uprising. |
| Keywords: | amenities, air quality, Middle East, environment, pollution, revolution, satisfaction |
| JEL: | D74 H54 Q53 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10503&r=ure |
| By: | John Muellbauer |
| Abstract: | A green land value tax can resolve conflicts between meeting climate goals, and equity and housing affordability, reducing intergenerational injustice. Land prices, reflected in house prices, relative to incomes are near all-time records, pricing younger citizens out of home-ownership and affordable rents. The OECD confirms that annual property taxes linked to recent market values improve macroeconomic stability and long run rates of growth. The green LVT – effectively a split-rate property tax- would consist of a charge on the land plus a charge on the building minus a discount depending on its energy usage. Regular revaluations discourage speculation and avoid cliff-edge changes. To protect cash-poor but land-rich households, everyone would have the right to defer the tax. To avoid complex interest charges, the tax authority would register a proportionate claim at the Land Registry equal to the unpaid tax for each year deferred, settled on the property’s transfer or sale. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:1010&r=ure |
| By: | Malik, Khyati; Kim, Sowon; Cultice, Brian J. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/Statistical Methods, Institutional and Behavioral Economics |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335486&r=ure |
| By: | Andrea Bernini; Giovanni Facchini; Marco Tabellini; Cecilia Testa |
| Abstract: | The 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA) paved the road to Black empowerment. How did southern whites respond? Leveraging newly digitized data on county-level voter registration rates by race between 1956 and 1980, and exploiting pre-determined variation in exposure to the federal intervention, we document that the VRA increases both Black and white political participation. Consistent with the VRA triggering countermobilization, the surge in white registrations is concentrated where Black political empowerment is more tangible and salient due to the election of African Americans in county commissions. Additional analysis suggests that the VRA has long-lasting negative effects on whites’ racial attitudes. |
| Date: | 2023–06–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:1011&r=ure |
| By: | Bernini, Andrea (University of Oxford); Facchini, Giovanni (University of Nottingham); Tabellini, Marco (Harvard Business School); Testa, Cecilia (University of Nottingham) |
| Abstract: | The 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA) paved the road to Black empowerment. How did southern whites respond? Leveraging newly digitized data on county-level voter registration rates by race between 1956 and 1980, and exploiting pre-determined variation in exposure to the federal intervention, we document that the VRA increases both Black and white political participation. Consistent with the VRA triggering countermobilization, the surge in white registrations is concentrated where Black political empowerment is more tangible and salient due to the election of African Americans in county commissions. Additional analysis suggests that the VRA has long-lasting negative effects on whites' racial attitudes. |
| Keywords: | civil rights, race, voting behavior, enfranchisement |
| JEL: | D72 J15 H70 N92 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16220&r=ure |
| By: | Maucorps, Ambre; Römisch, Roman; Schwab, Thomas; Vujanovic, Nina |
| Abstract: | Closing the prosperity gap between regions has always been a key political aspiration of the European Union – and cohesion policy is the primary means to achieve that goal. Europe is currently undergoing a digital and green transition that is drastically changing the way its economy works. How well prepared are regions to capitalise on the twin transition? And what impact will it have on regional cohesion in Europe? Our study finds that greening and digitalising the economy will likely widen the gap between rich and poor regions in Europe. |
| Keywords: | Europe; European Union; Cohesion; Regional Development |
| JEL: | H54 O18 R11 |
| Date: | 2022–10–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:117489&r=ure |
| By: | Dustmann, Christian (University College London); Mertz, Mikkel (Queen Mary, University of London); Okatenko, Anna (University College London) |
| Abstract: | Using an identification strategy based on random assignment of refugees to different municipalities in Denmark between 1986 and 1998, we find strong evidence that gang crime rates in the neighbourhood at assignment increase the probability of boys to commit crimes before the age of 19, and that gang crime (but not other crime) increases the likelihood of teenage motherhood for girls. Higher levels of gang crime also have detrimental and long-lasting effects, with men experiencing significantly higher levels of inactivity and women experiencing lower earnings and higher levels of welfare benefit claims at ages 19 to 28. |
| Keywords: | crime spillovers, gang crime, teenage motherhood |
| JEL: | J1 K4 I3 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16158&r=ure |
| By: | Shi, Song (School of Built Environment, University of Technology Sydney. Australia); Wu, Shuping (School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing. China.); Yang, Zan (Department of Real Estate and Construction Management, Royal Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this study is to examine the investment behaviour of Hong Kong-based real estate firms in Mainland China. In particular, this research examines how the competitiveness of Hong Kong developers evolved from initial success to subsequent decline in an emerging and potentially lucrative real estate market in China following the economic reforms of the early 2000s. This study uses a dataset of 305 firm-year observations from 2005 to 2015 and applies ordinary least square regression analysis. The study sample is based on real estate firms headquartered in Hong Kong and publicly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It is found that there is a significant positive association between the competitive advantage of Hong Kong-based real estate firms and their out-of-town investment activities in Mainland China. Furthermore, there was a notable decline in land purchase activities among HK-based developers after the initial period of growth, with a shift from super cities to other lower-tiered cities. |
| Keywords: | growth options; investment activities; investment distance; real estate developments; location choices; Hong Kong developers |
| JEL: | D22 F21 G11 |
| Date: | 2023–06–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:kthrec:2023_008&r=ure |
| By: | Valeria Merlo; Andreas Schanbacher; Georg U. Thunecke; Georg Wamser |
| Abstract: | This paper studies tax policy interaction among local governments for both mobile and immobile tax bases. We exploit exogenous changes in the local tax setting of German municipalities due to participation in state debt reduction programs to learn about the size, scope and nature of strategic interaction among local governments. Our results suggest strong and significant tax policy responses both in corporate as well as in property tax rates. Our estimates imply response function gradients in the range of 0.3 to 0.7, depending on the type of tax and state. Policy spillovers from property tax rates remain very local, which is consistent with yardstick competition behavior. |
| Keywords: | local public finance, tax competition, yardstick competition, spatial interaction, tax setting, marginal cost of public funds |
| JEL: | C21 H71 H73 R59 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10473&r=ure |
| By: | Bachtrögler-Unger, Julia; Balland, Pierre-Alexandre; Boschma, Ron; Schwab, Thomas |
| Abstract: | Technological capabilities vary substantially across European regions. Combining these diverse sets of capabilities is crucial to develop the technologies necessary to master the green and digital transition. However, collaboration between regions is sparse today. To increase inter-regional cooperation, linkages that spur the development of green and digital technologies must be identified. In this study, we provide an overview of inter-regional collaborations already in place and map new opportunities for these between regions. A special emphasis is placed on potential collaborations between economically leading and lagging regions. Our results provide new impetus for policy designs that strengthen regional innovation capabilities and cohesion across Europe’s regions. |
| Keywords: | Regional diversification; Relatedness; Technological capabilities; European Union; Europe; Cohesion |
| JEL: | B52 H54 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2023–04–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:117485&r=ure |
| By: | Oliver, Daniel; Millhauser, Glenn; Roland, Randa; Fairlie, Robert |
| Abstract: | Graduate student teaching assistants from underrepresented groups may provide salient role models and enhanced instruction to minority students in STEM fields. We explore minority student-TA interactions in an important course in the sciences and STEM - introductory chemistry labs - at a large public university. The uncommon assignment method of students to TA instructors in these chemistry labs overcomes selection problems, and the small and active learning classroom setting with required attendance provides frequent interactions with the TA. We find evidence that underrepresented minority students are less likely to drop courses and are more likely to pass courses when assigned to minority TAs, but we do not find evidence of effects for grades and medium-term outcomes. The effects for the first-order outcomes are large with a decrease in the drop rate by 5.5 percentage points on a base of 6 percent, and an increase in the pass rate of 4.8 percentage points on a base of 93.6 percent. The findings are similar when we focus on Latinx student - Latinx TA interactions. The findings are robust to first-time vs. multiple enrollments in labs, specifications with different levels of fixed effects, limited choice of TA race, limited information of TAs, and low registration priority students. The findings have implications for debates over increasing diversity among PhD students in STEM fields because of spillovers to minority undergraduates. |
| Keywords: | Achievement gap, Diversity, I23, I24, J15, Latinx students, Minority students, Role models, STEM |
| Date: | 2021–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:ucscec:qt46g2x44r&r=ure |
| By: | Boarnet, Marlon G; Lee, Seula; Gross, James; Thigpen, Calvin |
| Abstract: | In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, cities across the globe converted street space to non-automobile uses. This project studies four of these slow street programs in the U.S.: in Los Angeles, Portland, Oakland, and San Francisco. In each city, the slow streets (implemented in late spring to early fall 2020) are used as a treatment and compared to non-implemented control groups. The dependent variable is counts of dockless scooter trips passing a mid-block screenline for time periods both before and after slow street implementation. Those dockless scooter counts were obtained from historical data provided by Lime, a dockless scooter provider in each of the study cities. Two methodological approaches were used: differences-in differences (DID) and panel regression analysis with block fixed effects. For the DID analysis, the researchers used networks of candidate slow streets that were not implemented as the control group. Such control networks were available in Los Angeles, Oakland, and SanFrancisco. For the panel analysis, they used slow street segments implemented later in the study period as control segments for earlier implemented slow street segments, including fixed effects for blocks and for time periods in the panel regressions. The findings show statistically significant associations between increased dockless scooter trips and slow street implementation in each study city, using both DID and panel analyses. The associations are robust to different specifications. The authors calculate the magnitude of the slow street treatment effect by dividing the estimated treatment effect by a 2019 baseline of dockless trip counts. In the DID analysis, they find that slow street implementation increased dockless scooter trip counts from 22.16% to 74.5%, relative to a 2019 (before slow streets) baseline. In the panel analysis, the increase in dockless trip counts on slow streets ranged from 10.77% to 16.75%, relative to a 2019 baseline. View the NCST Project Webpage |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences, Dockless Travel, Slow Streets, COVID-19, Micromobility, Bike Infrastructure, Active Transport |
| Date: | 2023–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt244529qz&r=ure |
| By: | Liu, Lu |
| Abstract: | Long-term fixed-rate mortgage contracts protect households against interest rate risk, yet most countries have relatively short interest rate fixation lengths. Using administrative data from the UK, the paper finds that the choice of fixation length tracks the life-cycle decline of credit risk in the mortgage market: the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio decreases and collateral coverage improves over the life of the loan due to principal repayment and house price apprecia-tion. High-LTV borrowers, who pay large initial credit spreads, trade off their insurance motive against reducing credit spreads over time using shorter-term contracts. To quantify demand for long-term contracts, I develop a life-cycle model of optimal mortgage fixation choice. With baseline house price growth and interest rate risk, households prefer shorter-term contracts at high LTV levels, and longer-term contracts once LTV is sufficiently low, in line with the data. The mechanism helps explain reduced and heterogeneous demand for long-term mortgage contracts. JEL Classification: D15, E43, G21, G22, G5, G52 |
| Keywords: | credit risk, household finance, household risk management, house prices, interest rate risk, mortgage choice |
| Date: | 2023–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:srk:srkwps:2023142&r=ure |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | Governments at all levels are looking for new and innovative ways to include individuals in vulnerable situations such as youth, migrants, persons with disabilities and families facing multiple challenges, in the labour market and in society more generally. This paper explores integration of employment services with other services (e.g. social, health and housing) at the local level as one promising way for governments to provide more effective support that is holistic and person-centred and be more efficient in public spending. The paper analyses different forms of local service integration, the possible benefits, and the particular roles subnational governments can play in service integration reforms – ranging from national public employment service-led reforms to more locally driven reforms. The paper also analyses the barriers to service integration and proposes future work to strengthen local service integration. |
| Keywords: | integrated services, local governments, local labour markets, Public employment services, public spending, social services, vulnerable groups, youth |
| JEL: | I30 I38 J68 R59 |
| Date: | 2023–06–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:cfeaaa:2023/08-en&r=ure |
| By: | Hill, Seth J (University of California San Diego) |
| Abstract: | America's cities continue to struggle with homelessness. Here I offer a factor, the minimum wage, that adds to existing individual and structural explanations. If there are negative distributional consequences of minimum wages, they most likely harm the lowest-skill workers many of whom already face housing insecurity. To evaluate this argument, I study minimum wage changes in American cities and states 2006 to 2019. Using difference-in-differences methods for staggered treatments I find that minimum wage increases lead to increased point-in-time homeless population counts. Further analysis suggests disemployment and rental housing prices, but not migration, as mechanisms. Scholars and policymakers who aim to understand and combat homelessness should consider labor market opportunities. Distributional consequences of minimum wage laws also merit further inquiry. |
| Date: | 2023–06–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:z2fqj&r=ure |
| By: | Korpi, Martin (The Ratio Institute); Halvarsson, Daniel (The Ratio Institute) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we build upon a monopsony framework, suggested by Card et. al. 2016, which links firm level productivity and rent-sharing to wage inequality. Specifically, our research questions address i) to which extent labor market concentration across firms (within different types of locally situated industries) affects variation in wages among workers within these firms and industries, and ii) how this variation in turn spills over into economy-wide inequality (measured at the level of local labor markets). Using linked employer-employee full population data for Sweden, and an AKM modelling framework to separate between worker and firm-level heterogeneity, our results suggest that higher firm-level fixed effects (a measure of rent-sharing) is associated with lower labor market employer concentration, something which affects average wage income among firms accordingly. Addressing wage income inequality by applying our model to different segments of the local labor market income distribution, we find that reduced average employer concentration in larger cities accounts for almost all variation in the (positive) link between city size-and wage inequality, except for the largest metropolises where it captures around 30-50 percent of variation depending on the income segment that we focus on. |
| Keywords: | Wage distribution; rent sharing; monopsony; linked employer-employee data; local labor markets |
| JEL: | D22 J31 J42 R12 |
| Date: | 2023–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0363&r=ure |
| By: | Elert, Niklas (Institute of Retail Economics (HFI)); Henrekson, Magnus (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | Can competition and the existence of profit-seeking actors in the school market improve educational quality? To see cost-efficient, long-term improvements, we identify the school system’s capacity for knowledge-enhancing innovation as crucial and explore this question by examining Swedish tax-financed schooling. The Swedish school system was marketized in the early 1990s to an unparalleled degree but has only seen modest (if any) educational gains. This lack of progress is puzzling considering evidence from regular markets that competition and the presence of for-profit actors should spur innovation. Our analysis suggests that these factors are necessary but not sufficient conditions for innovation, tracing the obstacles to innovation in the Swedish school quasi-market to three sub-par institutional conditions. Together, they result in a significant epistemic problem, which impedes the beneficial effects of competition and the profit-motive. First, the view of knowledge (institutionalized in national curricula) does not entrust teachers with a real, knowledge-promoting mission. Second, the design of the grading system makes grades unreliable measures of knowledge, making it difficult for schools to compete and for users to choose along this dimension. Third, the information provided to users is insufficient and overly complicated, meaning user choice is less informed than it should be. Institutional reforms that improve actors’ epistemic positions along these margins could improve the situation, paving the way for innovation and long-term improvements. |
| Keywords: | For-profit schools; Innovation; Marketized education; Quasi-markets; School choice; View of knowledge |
| JEL: | H42 H44 H75 I22 I28 L88 O31 |
| Date: | 2023–06–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1468&r=ure |
| By: | Prithwiraj Choudhury; Ina Ganguli; Patrick Gaulé |
| Abstract: | We study migration in the right tail of the talent distribution using a novel dataset of Indian high school students taking the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE), a college entrance exam used for admission to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). We find a high incidence of migration after students complete college: among the top 1, 000 scorers on the exam, 36% have migrated abroad, rising to 62% for the top 100 scorers. We next document that students who attended the original “Top 5” Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) were 5 percentage points more likely to migrate for graduate school compared to equally talented students who studied in other institutions. We explore two mechanisms for these patterns: signaling, for which we study migration after one university suddenly gained the IIT designation; and alumni networks, using information on the location of IIT alumni in U.S. computer science departments. |
| JEL: | F22 J61 O33 O38 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31308&r=ure |
| By: | Bostwick, Valerie (Kansas State University); Severen, Christopher (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia) |
| Abstract: | We provide evidence that graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws, originally intended to improve public safety, impact human capital accumulation. Many teens use automobiles to access both school and employment. Because school and work decisions are interrelated, the effects of automobile-specific mobility restrictions are ambiguous. Using a novel triple-difference research design, we find that restricting mobility significantly reduces high school dropout rates and teen employment. We develop a multiple discrete choice model that rationalizes unintended consequences and reveals that school and work are weak complements. Thus, improved educational outcomes reflect decreased access to leisure activities rather than reduced labor market access. |
| Keywords: | mobility restrictions, human capital, teen employment, graduated driver licensing, multiple discreteness |
| JEL: | I20 J24 J22 C35 R48 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16183&r=ure |
| By: | Felix Chopra; Christopher Roth; Johannes Wohlfart |
| Abstract: | How do households adjust their spending behavior in response to changes in home price expectations? We conduct a field experiment with a sample of Americans that links survey data on home price expectations to actual spending behaviour as measured in a rich home-scanner dataset. In the experiment we exogenously vary households’ home price expectations by providing them with different expert forecasts. Homeowners do not adjust their spending in response to exogenously higher home price expectations, consistent with wealth effects and higher expected housing costs offsetting each other. However, renters reduce their spending in response to an increase in home price expectations. We provide evidence that the effects on renters operate through an increase in expected rental costs and higher expected costs of a future home that many renters intend to buy. Our evidence has implications for the role of asset price expectations in business cycle dynamics and consumption inequality. |
| Keywords: | consumption, expectations, home prices, homeowner, information, renter |
| JEL: | D14 D83 D84 E03 E21 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10450&r=ure |
| By: | Hyunseok Jung; Xiaodong Liu |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes an Anderson-Rubin (AR) test for the presence of peer effects in panel data without the need to specify the network structure. The unrestricted model of our test is a linear panel data model of social interactions with dyad-specific peer effects. The proposed AR test evaluates if the peer effect coefficients are all zero. As the number of peer effect coefficients increases with the sample size, so does the number of instrumental variables (IVs) employed to estimate the unrestricted model, rendering Bekker's many-IV environment. By extending existing many-IV asymptotic results to panel data, we show that the proposed AR test is asymptotically valid under the presence of both individual and time fixed effects. We conduct Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the finite sample performance of the AR test and provide two applications to demonstrate its empirical relevance. |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2306.09806&r=ure |
| By: | ARVANITOPOULOS Theodoros; LAZAROU Nicholas (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | In this study, we employ the pairwise stochastic convergence approach to identify the pairs of NUTS2 regions for all 28 EU Member States that exhibit co-movement in their growth dynamics, over the period 1980-2018. We then use the observed convergence trajectories to assess the role of first nature geography and second nature geography, in causing economic growth convergence patterns. We find that western and northern parts of Europe have higher pairwise convergence (and lower intra-country convergence) rates than regions in East and Southeast Europe. We find strong evidence that first and second nature geography drive cluster-like convergence dynamics. Regions with common locational characteristics (metropolitan, coastal, islands, and mountainous) tend to converge to each other, while they diverge from dissimilar regions. Regardless of national borders, contiguity and accessibility are significant drivers of convergence. Congruence in sectoral specialisation results in divergence, that could be driven by competing economic interests within the common market. The opposite holds for dissimilarities in specialisation, which could be explained by complementarity in the production process. Overall, we find strong evidence for club convergence at the top of the EU. Bottom regions with low market dynamism and poor economic development, do not converge to each other. |
| Keywords: | Stochastic convergence, economic geography, pairwise approach, EU Member States, NUTS2 regions, EU Cohesion Fund |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:termod:202306&r=ure |
| By: | Kowalik, Zuzanna (Institute for Structural Research (IBS)); Lewandowski, Piotr (Institute for Structural Research (IBS)); Kaczmarczyk, Pawel (Warsaw University) |
| Abstract: | The gig economy has grown worldwide, opening labour markets but raising concerns about precariousness. Using a tailored, quantitative survey in Poland, we study taxi and delivery platform drivers' working conditions and job quality. We focus on the gaps between natives and migrants, who constitute about a third of gig workers. Migrants take up gig jobs due to a lack of income or other job opportunities much more often than natives, who mostly do it for autonomy. Migrants' job quality is noticeably lower regarding contractual terms of employment, working hours, work-life balance, multidimensional deprivation, and job satisfaction. Migrants who started a gig job immediately after arriving in Poland are particularly deprived. They also cluster on taxi platforms which offer inferior working conditions. Poland is a New Immigration Destination where ethnic economy is poorly developed, institutions to support migrants are weak and access to migrant networks is limited to several nationalities only. The gig economy can be an arrival infrastructure, but its poor working conditions may exacerbate the labour market vulnerabilities of migrants and hinder mobility to better jobs. |
| Keywords: | gig jobs, platform economy, job quality, immigrant workers |
| JEL: | J28 J61 J21 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16216&r=ure |
| By: | Daniel Borbely (Department of Economics, University of Strathclyde); Markus Gehrsitz (Department of Economics, University of Strathclyde); Stuart McIntyre (Department of Economics, University of Strathclyde); Gennaro Rossi (Department of Economics, University of Strathclyde) |
| Abstract: | The importance of universal free school meals (UFSM) provision has been the subject of significant debate over the past decade. In this study we examine the effect of UFSM policies on school attendance, health-related absence and students’ misbehaviour. We leverage UFSM implementation in Scotland where all pupils in the first three grades of primary schools became automatically entitled to claim free meals, regardless of their households’ financial circumstances. We estimate a difference-in-differences model with variation in treatment intensity and find, in spite of a large increase in uptakes, that attendance and school discipline have not improved significantly. These estimates are close to zero and precisely estimated. We also show that effect heterogeneity does not explain the null effect. |
| Keywords: | Attendance, Behaviour, School Meals, Welfare |
| JEL: | J13 I18 I28 H51 H52 |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:str:wpaper:22-5&r=ure |
| By: | Newburn, David; Johnston, Robert J.; Wang, Haoluan; Polsky, Colin; Ndebele, Tom |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335438&r=ure |
| By: | Neumann, Uwe |
| Abstract: | The study explores to what extent adaptation to digital change has affected regional employment growth and regional disparities in Germany over the past decade. Using data from administrative sources the analysis finds no evidence for a net decline in employment in connection with technological progress during this period. On the contrary, labour market regions where many employees perform occupational tasks susceptible to automation have fared comparatively well so far. After all, these regions often comprise strong manufacturing industries, e.g. in rural southern Germany. In regions dominated by less prosperous industries, however, implementation of job creation potentials may turn out to be a much greater challenge. |
| Keywords: | Digital change, productivity growth, occupational tasks, regional convergence |
| JEL: | E24 J21 J23 J24 R11 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:1004&r=ure |
| By: | Peter Christensen; Adam Osman |
| Abstract: | Optimal transportation policies depend on demand elasticities that interact across modes and vary across the population, but understanding how and why these elasticities vary has been an empirical challenge. Using an experiment with Uber in Egypt, we randomly assign large price discounts for transport services over a 3 month period to examine: (1) the demand for ride-hailing services, (2) the demand for total mobility (km/week), and (3) its contributions to external costs (e.g. congestion). A 50% discount more than quadruples Uber usage and induces an increase of nearly 49% in total mobility. These effects are stronger for women, who are less mobile at baseline and perceive public transit as unsafe. Technology-induced reductions in the price of ride-hailing services could generate substantial benefits to users (4.3% of GDP) that would be accompanied by considerable increases in external costs (1% of GDP), with benefits accruing to the most affluent and costs being borne by the entire population. |
| JEL: | Q5 R4 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31330&r=ure |
| By: | Kucklick (Paderborn University); Priefer (Paderborn University); Beverungen (Paderborn University); Müller (Paderborn University) |
| Abstract: | Information systems have proven their value in facilitating pricing decisions. Still, predicting prices for complex goods remains challenging due to information asymmetries. Beyond Search qualities that sellers can identify ex-ante of a purchase, these goods possess Experience qualities only identifiable ex-post. While research has discussed how information asymmetries cause market failure, it remains unclear what benefits Search and Experience qualities offer for information systems that enable pricing on online markets. In a Machine Learning-based study, we quantify their predictive power for online real estate pricing. We use Geographic Information Systems and Computer Vision to incorporate spatial and image data into a Machine Learning algorithm for price prediction. We find that these secondary use data can transform Experience qualities to Search qualities, increasing the predictive power by up to 15.4%. Our results suggest that secondary use data can provide valuable resources for improving the predictive power of pricing complex goods. |
| Keywords: | information asymmetries, real estate appraisal; SEC theory; Machine Learning; Geographic Information Systems, Computer Vision |
| JEL: | C45 R32 R00 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdn:dispap:112&r=ure |
| By: | Gao, Yujuan; Ma, Yue; Mullally, Conner C. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Research Methods/Statistical Methods, Institutional and Behavioral Economics |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335517&r=ure |
| By: | Weng, Weizhe; Ji, Xinde; Boyle, Kevin J.; Rudstam, Lars G.; Cobourn, Kelly M. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Research Methods/Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335561&r=ure |
| By: | Xuan Liang; Tao Zou |
| Abstract: | With the rapid advancements in technology for data collection, the application of the spatial autoregressive (SAR) model has become increasingly prevalent in real-world analysis, particularly when dealing with large datasets. However, the commonly used quasi-maximum likelihood estimation (QMLE) for the SAR model is not computationally scalable to handle the data with a large size. In addition, when establishing the asymptotic properties of the parameter estimators of the SAR model, both weights matrix and regressors are assumed to be nonstochastic in classical spatial econometrics, which is perhaps not realistic in real applications. Motivated by the machine learning literature, this paper proposes quasi-score matching estimation for the SAR model. This new estimation approach is still likelihood-based, but significantly reduces the computational complexity of the QMLE. The asymptotic properties of parameter estimators under the random weights matrix and regressors are established, which provides a new theoretical framework for the asymptotic inference of the SAR-type models. The usefulness of the quasi-score matching estimation and its asymptotic inference is illustrated via extensive simulation studies and a case study of an anti-conflict social network experiment for middle school students. |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2305.19721&r=ure |
| By: | Yangtian Jiang (Institute of New Structural Economics, Peking University, Beijing, China.); Yu Zheng (School of Economics and Finance, Queen Mary University of Lon-don. Mile End Road, E1 4NS London, UK.); Lijun Zhu (Institute of New Structural Economics, Peking University, Beijing, China.) |
| Abstract: | We propose a quantitative theory of wealth creation and distribution during China’s transitional growth from the early 1990s, when barriers to setting up private businesses, trading housing, and migrating from rural to urban areas are struck down. In response to the changing economic environment, a small entrepreneurial class emerges and accumulates substantial wealth, whereas the majority working class, partly due to limited investment available from an underdeveloped financial sector, uses housing as the main vehicle of wealth accumulation over the course of a long-time housing boom. Our heterogeneous-agent dynamic equilibrium framework determines growth and equity jointly. We show a reasonably calibrated version of the model matches the rise in urban China’s wealth inequality since 1995 almost exactly. We further quantify the relative contribution of different reform measures to the rising inequality and discuss the welfare implications taking into account possible growth-equity trade-offs. |
| Keywords: | Wealth inequality, Capital accumulation, Entrepreneurship, Housing, Migration |
| JEL: | E21 O11 O16 O18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qmw:qmwecw:955&r=ure |
| By: | Albanese, Andrea; Cockx, B.; Dejemeppe, Muriel |
| Abstract: | We use a regression discontinuity design and difference-in-differences estimators to estimate the impact of a one-shot hiring subsidy for low-educated unemployed youths during the Great Recession recovery in Belgium. The subsidy increases job-finding in the private sector by 10 percentage points within one year of unemployment. Six years later, high school graduates accumulated 2.8 quarters more private employment. However, they substitute private for public and self-employment; thus, overall employment does not increase but is still better paid. For high school dropouts, no persistent gains emerge. Moreover, the neighboring employment hub of Luxembourg induces a complete deadweight loss near the border. |
| JEL: | C21 J08 J23 J24 J64 J68 J61 |
| Date: | 2023–06–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:umaror:2023002&r=ure |
| By: | Rana, Sohel; Qaim, Matin |
| Abstract: | Migration from rural to urban areas is common in many low- and middle-income countries. However, temporary migration from rural to other rural areas also occurs and is not well understood. We explore what drives rural people in Bangladesh to migrate temporarily to other rural areas, rather than to urban areas where wages are higher. Temporary migration is influenced by income shortfalls during agricultural lean periods and various other sociodemographic factors. The decision for rural destinations is influenced by a lack of skills diversity, social networks, comparative income-cost ratios, and urban negativity. The notion that migration is primarily a rural-urban move needs re-evaluation. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2023–06–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:335388&r=ure |
| By: | Alessio Tomelleri; Anna Gloria Billé |
| Abstract: | Government subsidies have been one of the main policy instruments used to deal with the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated the impact of spatial dependence on the take-up rate of local government subsidies in 2020. It focused on a specific sub-population of firms hit particularly hard by the pandemic: micro-enterprises. Since microdata on this type of firm is rare, we focused on a representative survey of local firms in Trentino, a province in the north of Italy. The sample is linked with administrative balance sheet data up to 2019, providing a wide range of covariates to control for the characteristics of eligible enterprises that did and did not apply for COVID-19 aid. The methodology focused on using a spatial probit model that properly provides local direct, indirect and total marginal effects to investigate the spatial heterogeneity of revenues with respect to the probability of receiving a provincial subsidy. |
| Keywords: | Public Subsidies, Take-up, Micro-enterprise, Spatial probit, Spatial dependence, COVID-19 |
| JEL: | H25 H71 L25 D22 D25 L20 |
| Date: | 2023–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fbk:wpaper:2023-04&r=ure |
| By: | Dajana Barbić (Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb); Irena Palić (Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb) |
| Abstract: | This research paper delves into a comprehensive analysis of the financial and life satisfaction levels among the youth in Croatia, with a keen focus on understanding the intricate relationship between these two constructs. The primary objective of this study is to assess the significance of individual financial satisfaction as a key predictor of overall happiness and satisfaction levels. By leveraging a robust dataset collected from both university and high-school students in Croatia, and employing rigorous regression analysis techniques, we have uncovered compelling evidence that underscores the substantial influence of financial satisfaction on bolstering one's life satisfaction. Our findings underscore the critical role of improving financial satisfaction and exercising effective control over personal finances in augmenting overall happiness levels. Through a nuanced exploration of these dimensions, this study paves the way for actionable insights and strategies to enhance well-being among the youth in Croatia. |
| Keywords: | financial satisfaction, happiness, life satisfaction, students |
| JEL: | I31 D14 P46 C01 |
| Date: | 2023–06–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zag:wpaper:2305&r=ure |
| By: | James P. Choy (Bureau of Economic Analysis) |
| Abstract: | I report on a project to improve estimates of Regional Price Parities (RPPs) by making use of a large commercial dataset on health care prices, the Health Marketscan dataset. Using the new data, I obtain estimates of regional price levels for health related goods and services that are stable across years and that vary less across regions than existing estimates obtained using CPI data. |
| JEL: | E31 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bea:wpaper:0187&r=ure |
| By: | Xian Jiang |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how information and communication technology (ICT) affects the firm geographic organization and its implications on aggregate efficiency. ICT can widen firms’ geographic span of control by reducing their internal communication costs. Empirical evidence from confidential US Census data shows that firms with more advanced technology have both higher within-firm communication and larger geographic coverage. I then develop a quantitative spatial equilibrium model in which firms endogenously adopt ICT, choose multiple production locations, and trade domestically. I estimate the model by exploiting natural experimental variation from the Internet privatization of the early 1990s. The model quantifies that privatization led to an overall efficiency gain of 1.3%, two-fifths of which came from firm geographic expansion. The distribution of these gains across locations is shaped by multi-unit firms’ location choices. Policy simulations show that, in reducing the digital gap, a coordinated national policy leads to larger efficiency gains than local policies. |
| Keywords: | information and communication technology, firm organization, geography |
| JEL: | D24 F12 O33 R30 L23 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10452&r=ure |
| By: | Katz, Lindsay; Chong, Michael; Alexander, Monica |
| Abstract: | Patterns and trends in short-term mobility are important to understand, but data required to measure such movements are often not available from traditional sources. We collected daily data from Facebook’s Advertising Platform to measure short-term mobility across all states and provinces in the United States and Canada. We show that rates of short-term travel vary substantially over geographic area, but also by age and sex, with the highest rates of travel generally for males. Strong seasonal patterns are apparent in travel to many areas, with different regions experiencing either increased travel or decreased travel over winter, depending on climate. Further, some areas appear to show marked changes in mobility patterns since the onset of the pandemic. We used the traveler rates constructed from Facebook to adjust Covid-19 mortality rates over the period July 2020 to July 2021, and showed that accounting for travelers leads to on average a 3 per cent difference in implied mortality rates, with substantial variation across demographic groups and regions. |
| Date: | 2023–06–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:bev4p&r=ure |
| By: | Di Iasio, Valentina (University of Southampton); Wahba, Jackline (University of Southampton) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of the 2016 UK referendum and expecting Brexit on migration flows and net migration in the UK. We employ a Difference-in-Differences strategy and compare EU migration to non-EU migration before and immediately after the UK referendum of June 2016. We also investigate the potential secondary effects of the referendum on non-EU migrants by using different methodologies and various robustness checks. Our results show that after the referendum (i) migration inflows from the EU declined, (ii) emigration of EU migrants increased and (iii) net migration flows from EU countries to the UK fell. Our results are not driven by the potential spillover impacts on non-EU migrant workers. Overall, the findings show that migration in the UK declined after the Brexit referendum, even before any policy change. |
| Keywords: | UK migration, EU migration, Brexit |
| JEL: | F22 J61 J48 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16156&r=ure |
| By: | Bhattarai, Keshav; Adhikari, Ambika P. (Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS)) |
| Abstract: | This paper responds to the research question, “can urban farming in Nepal help create sustainable cities?” Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, urban residents have begun to realize that food transported from long distances is not always reliable. Urban farming can help produce fresh food locally and help urban residents become self-reliant by engaging in healthy eating habits and practicing sustainable agricultural techniques in food-desert areas, while creating a positive impact on the environment through regenerative agricultural methods. In doing so, urban farms can help the growers save on food expenditures and even earn some additional income, while also improving air quality and minimizing the effects of urban heat islands. This practice also helps reduce greenhouse gases through plant carbon use efficiency (CUE), as vegetation carbon dynamics (VCD) can be adjusted while supporting the circular economy. As urban lands command higher prices than agricultural land, urban farming usually happens on residential yards, roofs, balconies, community gardens, and dedicated areas in public parks. Rainwater harvesting and redirecting can help irrigate urban farms, which can be part of rain gardens. The national census of 2021 identified that 66% of Nepal’s population lives in urban areas. However, the World Bank (2018) showed that only 21 of Nepal’s population was projected to live in urban areas in 2021. It is not debatable that the urbanization process in Nepal is on the rise. Thus, urban agriculture can play an important role in supplementing residents’ food needs. Many cities in Nepal have already successfully adapted to urban farming wherein residents grow food on their building sites, balconies, and rooftop, often growing plants in pots, vases, and other types of containers. The UN-Habitat, with the support of the European Union and local agencies, published a rooftop farming training manual (2014), showing the feasibility of urban farming in Nepal. This paper discusses how public-private partnership (PPP) can promote urban agriculture and make the process more effective and attractive to urban-farming households. It also analyzes how a PPP approach also facilitates the use of better technology, advisory support, and use of research extension activities. This paper draws on a literature review, uses remote-sensing imagery data and data from National Census Nepal 2021, and the authors’ professional experiences related to best practices in the areas to analyze the benefits and challenges related to urban farming both in Nepal and Arizona, USA. The paper provides recommendations for Nepali cities to maximize the benefit provided by urban farming. |
| Date: | 2023–05–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:xz4t7&r=ure |
| By: | Fang, Tony (Memorial University of Newfoundland); Zhang, Tingting (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); Hartley, John (Memorial University of Newfoundland) |
| Abstract: | Using a representative survey of 801 employers across Atlantic Canada, we empirically test various factors associated with employer hiring attitudes towards international migrants. Our results indicate that employers who hired international immigrants in the past 12 months exhibited more positive attitudes towards them, consistent with the contact theory. We also find provincial variations in hiring attitudes in that employers in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and PEI had more positive attitudes than those in New Brunswick. In addition, employers in the public sector organizations held more positive perceptions than those in the private sector. Although the coefficients for rural-urban divide and organizational sizes have the expected signs but most of them are statistically insignificant. There are no clear patterns cross industries. Interpretations for our main findings are offered, along with policy and practice implications |
| Keywords: | international immigrants, labour and skill shortages, employer hiring attitudes, employer survey, Atlantic Canada |
| JEL: | J23 J61 J63 J68 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16219&r=ure |
| By: | Jonathan Gruber (MIT); Kristiina Huttunen (Aalto University, Helsinki GSE, VATT and IZA); Tuomas Kosonen (VATT Institute for Economic Research and Finnish Centre of Excellence in Tax Systems Research) |
| Abstract: | We study the impacts of a policy designed to reward mothers who stay at home rather than join the labor force when their children are under age three. We use regional and over time variation in child home care allowance to show that home care allowance decreases maternal employment in both the short and long term, with almost three-quarters of the supplement amount offset by lost labor income. The effects are large enough for the existence of home care benefit system to explain the higher child penalty in Finland than comparable nations. Home care benefits also negatively affect the early childhood cognitive test results of children at the age of five, increase the likelihood of choosing vocational rather than academic secondary education track, and increase youth crimes. We confirm that the mechanism of action is changing work/home care arrangements by studying a a day care fee (DCF) reform had the opposite effect of raising incentives to work. We find that this policy increased the labor force participation of mothers and participation of children to day care, and improved child early test and schooling outcomes. This parallel set of findings suggests that on average in Finland, shifting child care from the home to the market increases labor force participation and improves child outcomes. |
| Keywords: | home care allowance, employment, child development, schooling |
| JEL: | J13 J21 J38 |
| Date: | 2022–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fit:wpaper:4&r=ure |
| By: | Kumar, Chetan; K.B., Rangappa |
| Abstract: | Education is seen as the best mechanism to achieve upward economic and social mobility by vulnerable masses. Even by the government, education is regarded as a proactive initiative through which it can hope to address the problem of regional imbalance in a sustainable manner. Many prior studies have identified various factors which have played significant role in depriving education for masses. However, studies which have identified magnitude of the factors impact in depriving of education are scarce. The present study identifies the causal factors which have deprived school attendance of students among households across Indian districts along with the magnitude of their impact. Through present study we were able to infer that nutrition of children, maternal health, years of schooling and financial inclusion of household played a significant role in affecting their school attendance. Through predictive probability, we were able to assess the magnitude of the impact of the following factors and their implications on public expenditure. |
| Keywords: | Socio-Economic Factors, Horizontal spread, School attendance, Indian Districts, Binomial Logistic Regression, Predictive Probability |
| JEL: | I24 I25 I28 |
| Date: | 2022–06–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:117599&r=ure |
| By: | Inam, Munib; Nemati, Mehdi; Buck, Steven C. |
| Keywords: | Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335571&r=ure |
| By: | Liu, Pengfei; Li, Yanggu; Zhang, Wei |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335843&r=ure |
| By: | Matteo Benetton; Giovanni Compiani; Adair Morse |
| Abstract: | Cryptomining, the clearing of cryptocurrency transactions, uses large quantities of electricity. We document that cryptominers' use of local electricity implies higher electricity prices for existing small businesses and households. Studying the electricity market in Upstate NY and using the Bitcoin price as an exogenous shifter of the part of the supply curve faced by the community, we estimate the electricity demand functions for small businesses and households. Based on our estimates, we calculate counterfactual electricity bills, finding that small businesses and households paid an extra $92 million and $204 million annually in Upstate NY because of increased electricity consumption from cryptominers. Local governments in Upstate NY realize more business taxes, but this only offsets a small portion of the costs from higher community electricity bills. Using data on China, where electricity prices are fixed, we find that rationing of electricity in cities with cryptomining entrants deteriorates wages and investments, consistent with crowding-out effects on the local economy. Our results point to a yet-unstudied negative spillover from technology processing to local communities, which would need to be considered against welfare benefits. |
| JEL: | G10 G23 G5 Q4 Q52 R1 R23 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31312&r=ure |
| By: | Silvia Anna Maria Camussi (Bank of Italy); Davide Dottori (Bank of Italy); Marco Mancinelli (Bank of Italy); Anna Laura Mancini (Bank of Italy); Francesca Modena (Bank of Italy); Pasquale Recchia (Bank of Italy); Emanuele Russo (Bank of Italy); Giulia Martina Tanzi (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | This work estimates the regional employment generated by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) in the construction sector, based on the resources already assigned to new projects. These resources are associated with the creation of regional value added, estimated using a standard Leontief model applied to 2019 Input-Output tables. Then, the number of employees needed to reach the expected increase in production is derived. In the second part of the analysis, possible channels to satisfy the estimated labour demand are discussed, taking into account the regional heterogeneity in labour supply and workers' mobility. |
| Keywords: | employment, National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Labor mobility, regional economies, construction |
| JEL: | D57 J2 H50 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_775_23&r=ure |
| By: | De Weerdt, Joachim; Pienaar, Louw; Hami, Emmanuel; Durand, Wiltrud |
| Abstract: | Agricultural development in Malawi faces an important conundrum. While agriculture is the backbone of the economy, many smallholders will not be able to farm their way out of poverty. Shrinking farmland size severely limits the total income that can be earned from farming, even at much higher levels of productivity per area farmed than are now achieved. Urbanization embedded in the modernization of locally relevant value chains provides a promising pathway to inclusive development as it serves to simultaneously raise farm incomes, create income-earning opportunities off the farm, and create specialized urban hubs that can boost urban economic growth through agglomeration economies. After laying out these concepts conceptually, we apply them to a specific example of a modernizing mango value chain in Salima/Chipoka. Salima and Chipoka form an urban cluster about 100 km from the capital Lilongwe, located on the lakeshore of Lake Malawi. The Malawi Secondary Cities Plan has identified this cluster as one of eight that are to form an interconnected network of secondary cities, geographically spread across the country, with productive activities in each anchored in the economy of their rural hinterlands |
| Keywords: | MALAWI; SOUTHERN AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; agricultural development; poverty; smallholders; farm area; urbanization; value chains; development; income; economic growth; mangoes |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:masspp:42&r=ure |
| By: | Pierre Courtioux (PSB - Paris School of Business - HESAM - HESAM Université - Communauté d'universités et d'établissements Hautes écoles Sorbonne Arts et métiers université, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Tristan-Pierre Maury (EDHEC - EDHEC Business School - UCL - Université catholique de Lille); Johan Seux (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Since the French university system is non-selective, the question of segregation has long remained unaddressed. However, the recent increase in enrolment, as well as the implementation of clusterbuilding policies, have brought the issue of university segregation and its geography to the forefront. This article proposes the first exhaustive geographical decomposition of segregation in French universities. Using a mutual information index, we identify the different local components and layers of social segregation and measure their contribution to the national level of segregation between 2006 and 2016. Our results show that in the French university system, segregation is quite low and tended to decrease over the period. However, we also show that only about 18% of the total segregation is due to macro-scale factors: i.e., social differences across regional areas: social segregation is mainly a local phenomenon that could be reduced with reforms of higher education enrolment policy, implemented at the regional level. |
| Keywords: | Segregation, Higher Education, Diversity, France, Ségrégation, Enseignement supérieur, Mixité sociale |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-04118941&r=ure |
| By: | Martin, Chris; Lawson, Julie; Milligan, Vivienne; Hartley, Chris; Pawson, Hal; Dodson, Jago |
| Abstract: | This research investigates the rationale for an Australian Housing and Homelessness Strategy. Applying contemporary thinking about the role of governments in complex problem-solving, and lessons from other ‘national approaches’ here and internationally, it sets out options for achieving cohesive, co-ordinated action on housing and homelessness in the Australian federation. The landmark UN project Housing2030 conceives of good housing policy governance deriving from clear strategic frameworks, mission-focused institutions, capable stakeholders, long-term leadership and commitment. It typically requires multi-level governance, based on long-term agreements. It is also open to monitoring and critique, strengthens the voice of marginalised groups, learns from mistakes and adapts when necessary. In this way a national housing strategy can be market-shaping and transformative, addressing causes of well understood challenges, designing relevant policies and programs to ensure adequate housing for all. Australia’s primary housing and homelessness mission should be that everyone in Australia has adequate housing. Australian legislation should place an obligation on the Housing Minister to make an Australian Housing and Homelessness Strategy, as well as obligations to regularly report on progress and periodically evaluate and review the strategy. International experience shows the vital role played by dedicated housing agencies co-ordinating the development and implementation of strategies, and, with development, Housing Australia is well placed to be Australia’s lead housing agency and to present the public face of the Strategy as it progresses. |
| Date: | 2023–06–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:h5tja&r=ure |
| By: | K. Peren Arin; Umair Khalil; Deni Mazrekaj; Marcel Thum |
| Abstract: | How does exposure to Islamist terrorism change perceptions of the share of Muslims and immigrants? We conduct a large-scale survey that measures misperceptions towards minority groups in four European countries. Our results show that terror attacks in the past increased misperceptions of the share of Muslims and immigrants. We also contend that this increase in misperceptions is particularly large and significant for lower-educated respondents and people from regions with a low share of the foreign population. Given that misperceptions are higher on average in regions with a large share of foreigners, terror attacks make misperceptions across different groups converge. |
| Keywords: | terror attacks, misconceptions, public opinion, cognitive biases, prejudice, attitude formation |
| JEL: | D70 H11 H12 H41 I18 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10476&r=ure |
| By: | Josten, Cecily; Lordan, Grace; Robinson, Karina |
| Abstract: | Workplaces are changing rapidly, with an increasingly diverse workforce and a lack of talent to fill all the roles, which is why companies across all industries are tackling Diversity & Inclusion within their organisations. |
| JEL: | L81 J50 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:119302&r=ure |
| By: | Eva Conway; Barbara Schuster; Siavash Radpour; Teresa Ghilarducci (Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA)) |
| Abstract: | Outside of Social Security, housing equity is the primary mechanism for accumulating wealth in the United States, and indeed, 73 percent of households over 65 own their home.1 It may therefore come as a surprise that more than a quarter of households with a member between the ages of 55 and 64 in the bottom half of the income distribution face housing-related financial fragility. Middle- and high-income households are not exempt from the risk of financial fragility due to housing costs and debt, though many of these households own their own homes. Among these groups, 10.3 and 6.4 percent, respectively, face high housing costs and debt burdens (see Figure 1). What’s more, the share of older low-income households facing housing-related financial fragility has increased steadily; between 2013 and 2020, the share of low-income older households who had to pay rent exceeding 30 percent of their income increased from 18.2 percent to 23.7 percent (See Figure A1 in the Appendix for details). |
| Keywords: | Financial fragility, low-income, Workers, Jobs, Renting, Risk, Older workers, debt, retirement, retirement savings, emergency savings |
| JEL: | E24 I14 J62 J38 E21 J83 J32 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:epa:cepapn:2023-02&r=ure |
| By: | Haddad, Joanne; Kattan, Lamis; Wochner, Timo |
| Abstract: | Williams (2022) ties the political participation of Blacks to historical lynchings that occurred in the United States. Her findings document lower Black voter registration rates in southern counties with greater number of historical lynchings. We show that this effect is driven by four outlier counties with relatively high Black lynching rates. Excluding these counties and correcting the errors in voter registration rates rule out the effect size reported by Williams (2022), which now becomes close to zero and statistically insignificant. We also show that the main results are highly sensitive to the way lynching and voter registration rates are measured. |
| JEL: | D72 J15 N31 N32 N41 N42 Z13 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:32&r=ure |
| By: | Sean Dougherty; Andoni Montes Nebreda |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the role of fiscal federalism in driving ecological transition, a key challenge in the United Nations’Sustainable Development Goals agenda. The ecological transition seeks a sustainable society that prioritises naturalresource preservation and reduces environmental impacts. The study investigates the link between fiscal federalism institutionsand ecological transition policies, focusing on regional and local governments’ role in implementing environmental goals. Despitesubnational governments’ commitment to green objectives, comprehensive plan implementation has been limited due tolocal governments’ incentive schemes and capacity constraints. The paper examines the potential of fiscal federalism institutions, such as fiscal rules, transfers and capacity-building programs, to support ecological transition policies. The research emphasises engaging regional and local governments in the green agenda and highlights the need for tailored approaches in multi-level fiscal governance to effectively achieve environmental goals. By investigating fiscal federalism’s potential contribution to ecological transition, the paper offers valuable insights for policymakers addressing environmental challenges through a multi-level governance approach. |
| Keywords: | ecological transition, environmental goals, fiscal federal institutions, fiscal federalism, green agendas |
| JEL: | H23 H77 Q57 |
| Date: | 2023–06–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ctpaab:44-en&r=ure |
| By: | Loretta J. Mester |
| Abstract: | The discussions over the last two days have focused on many of the challenges that face our communities, both long-standing ones and new ones that reflect our changing economy. There are still significant impediments limiting those in low- and moderate-income households and communities from fully benefiting from a strong economy. Not everyone has access to affordable education, transportation, broadband, housing, credit, and other financial services, which are the foundational elements that allow people to achieve the American dream and secure a better living standard for their children. I applaud each and every one of you for persevering in your efforts to improve our economy for all. At times it must be quite discouraging given what still needs to be done. But I have decided to end the summit on a positive note by providing some examples of the progress that has been achieved in supporting communities through partnership and perseverance. My examples of progress come from two areas in which the Federal Reserve System has been particularly interested: housing and workforce development. |
| Keywords: | housing development; neighborhoods; workforce development; education |
| Date: | 2023–06–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedcsp:96389&r=ure |
| By: | Lu, Jiaxuan |
| Abstract: | This article examines how China’s subnational leadership rotations have affected local governments’ policy choices. Utilizing the annual government work reports that outline provincial policy priorities, I find that shuffled leaders choose similar economic policies across different provinces, and this translates into similarities in several policy outcomes. I then show that such policy isomorphism has been driven mainly by convergence in which topics these reports cover, rather than by convergence in how the provincial leaders discuss a given policy issue. However, according to the event study estimates, this economic policy similarity may disappear soon after the shuffled leader leaves office, thus implying that the policy convergence might be transitory. One plausible explanation for these findings is that leadership rotations often indicate that the central government favors the policies implemented by these shuffled leaders, so they tend to replicate some of these policies after moving to the destination province. |
| Keywords: | Leadership Rotation, Policy Diffusion, Regional Integration, Government Work Report, Chinese Political Economy |
| JEL: | H11 H70 |
| Date: | 2023–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:117602&r=ure |
| By: | Holbein, John B.; Hassell, Hans (Florida State University) |
| Abstract: | George Floyd's 2020 murder at the hands of police officers from the Minneapolis Police Department catalyzed thousands of citizens to take to the streets---protesting, rallying, and marching in communities across the United States (and beyond). But did Floyd's murder also affect citizens' broader political actions? In this paper, we employ a unique combination of large-scale validated nationwide voting records that cover all 50 states and the approximately 200 million citizens registered to vote therein and Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest location and timing data from the Crowd Counting Consortium (CCC). We pair these unique datasets with a regression discontinuity in time (RDiT) approach that leverages the precise timing of the police killing of George Floyd and the precise day of protests and voter registrations. We show that in addition to mobilizing citizens to protest in the streets, George Floyd's death caused thousands of citizens to register to vote. Many of these additional registrants were minorities, youth, Democrats, and low income individuals---groups that are historically less likely to register to vote. However, George Floyd's death also mobilized a substantial number of white, older, Republicans, and higher income to register to vote. The effects we observe vary substantially across the U.S.; being larger in areas where BLM protests occurred and being considerably larger in some states than others. Simultaneously, however, increases in registration are present in both in historically red and blue states. When put into the context of other highly-salient tragedies---which often have small to null effects on citizens' rates of voter registration---the untimely death of George Floyd stands out as one that had the indirect consequence of mobilizing many citizens who come from marginalized, demobilized, and political disenfranchised backgrounds. |
| Date: | 2023–06–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:xv4je&r=ure |
| By: | Watson, Philip S.; Winfree, Jason; McCluskey, Jill J.; Mittelhammer, Ron C. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Marketing, Agribusiness |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335935&r=ure |
| By: | David Gomtsyan (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne) |
| Abstract: | Ramadan has attracted negative publicity and criticism in Western countries with large Muslim immigrant populations. Are these attitudes justified? Does the behavior of Muslim immigrants negatively affect host populations during this period? We investigate one important dimension of immigrant behavior that is a source of concern: criminal activity. Using Swiss data, we document that during Ramadan, crimes committed by Muslim migrants decline by 11%. We provide evidence that changes in the beliefs and values of immigrants play an essential role in explaining the overall result. |
| Abstract: | Le Ramadan a suscité de nombreuses critiques et fait l'objet d'une publicité négative dans les pays occidentaux comptant d'importantes populations d'immigrés musulmans. Ces attitudes sont-elles justifiées ? Le comportement des immigrants musulmans a-t-il un effet négatif sur les populations d'accueil pendant cette période ? Nous étudions une dimension essentielle du comportement des immigrés, source de préoccupations : l'activité criminelle. D'après des données recueillies en Suisse, il apparaît que, pendant le Ramadan, les crimes commis par les migrants musulmans diminuent de 11%. Notre étude apporte la preuve que ce sont les changements dans les croyances et valeurs des immigrants qui expliquent ce résultat global. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Crime, Islam, Ramadan, Religious practice, Criminalité, Pratique religieuse |
| Date: | 2023–01–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04101309&r=ure |
| By: | Enghin Atalay; Ali Hortaçsu; Mustafa Runyun; Chad Syverson; Mehmet Fatih Ulu |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of a set of place-based subsidies introduced in Turkey in 2012. Using firm-level balance-sheet data along with data on the domestic production network, we first assess the policy’s direct and indirect impacts. We find an increase in economic activity in industry-province pairs that were the focus of the subsidy program, and positive spillovers to the suppliers and customers of subsidized firms. With the aid of a dynamic multi-region, multi-industry general equilibrium model, we then assess the program’s impacts. Based on the calibrated model we find that, in the long run, the subsidy program is modestly successful in reducing inequality between the relatively under-developed and more prosperous portions of the country. These modest longer-term effects are due to the ability of households to migrate in response to the subsidy program and to input-output linkages that traverse subsidy regions within Turkey. |
| JEL: | D20 E2 E6 H5 L5 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31293&r=ure |
| By: | Tran, Lan T.; Su, Ye; McCann, Laura M. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Institutional and Behavioral Economics |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335979&r=ure |
| By: | Debalke, Negash Mulatu |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the existence or otherwise of gender and spatial heterogeneity in the impacts of the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic on households’ total incomes in Ethiopia. Using the first round of the World Bank’s high frequency phone survey on 3224 households, the logit model regression analysis finds that households in different regions of the country are affected disproportionately and heterogeneously. In order to examine the existence of heterogeneity, a logit model containing interaction terms between gender, and region dummies six Covid-19 containment measures have been fitted on binary outcome of change in total income of households. Linktest of specification, Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test, VIF and tolerance index of multicollinearity tests and various influential observations tests are conducted in order to fit models that can handle the heterogeneity analysis of the impacts of the pandemic on households’ total income in Ethiopia. The results suggest the existence of statistically significant regional heterogeneity in the impacts of within country travel restriction, limit on social gatherings and closure of schools and universities on the total income of households. Restriction on international travel, curfew/lockdown and closure of non-essential businesses do not bring heterogeneous impacts across gender and region of households. Gender of the household head is insignificant determinant of change in households’ income and also does not cause heterogeneous impacts. Overall, in Ethiopia there exists region-based heterogeneity in the impacts of Covid-19 on households’ total income. The results imply the relevance of income policy measures that can lessen shocks to household’s income, and livelihood after a pandemic such as Covid-19. |
| Keywords: | Covid-19; Impacts; Household Income; Heterogeneity; Ethiopia. |
| JEL: | O55 |
| Date: | 2022–08–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:117529&r=ure |
| By: | Sejas Portillo, Rodolfo |
| Abstract: | I study the effects of weather conditions on the economic valuation of energy-efficiency (EE) in the UK housing market. The benefits of EE features depend directly on the expected weather over the ownership time frame (e.g. insulation for maintaining heat during cold periods). However, due to its notorious unpredictability, current weather conditions provide little to no additional information about future weather conditions (beyond common knowledge such as seasonal temperatures). Using transaction-level data of over 5 million residential property sales in England and Wales, I find that weather conditions on the month the buying decision is made can disproportionately influence the EE valuation of properties: During rough weather (i.e. cold and rainy) the EE rating of a property has a stronger influence on its sale price than during favourable weather (i.e. warm and dry). I show that these results are unlikely to be driven by energy-cost optimisation or self-selection behaviour. The consistency of the results with intuitive predictions (in the UK the benefits of EE are much higher during rough weather) highlights their importance: People understand the benefits of EE yet make biased intertemporal valuations. I model and discuss psychological biases as the most likely mechanisms and find that salience appears to have the stronger effect. I also present a novel extension to the regression-kink design (RDK) for identifying and estimating the treatment effect when the running variable also moderates the effect of another variable (via interaction). I conclude with policy recommendation. |
| JEL: | D91 R31 Q41 |
| Date: | 2023–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:119358&r=ure |
| By: | Kono, Tatsuhito; Nakajima, Kentaro; Ozane, Kanta |
| Abstract: | When a firm makes a location decision, it considers only its own transportation costs and ignores the transportation costs of its trading partners, resulting in inefficient sparce locations of firms. Since Beckmann (1976), it has been known that such inefficient sparse locations occur in the canonical land use models with interactions between agents, and this externality is referred to as locational externality by Kanamoto (1990). We quantitatively analyze the scale of locational externalities using micro data of the listed firms located in the Tokyo metropolitan area and firm-to-firm trade network data. We show (1) which trade patterns involve locational externalities, (2) the ratio of trade generating locational externalities as a percentage of total trade is about 24%, (3) the transfer of a randomly-chosen 5% of firms to two business centers, Marunouchi and Shibuya, generates median external benefits of 1.9% and 1.3% in the total industry in terms of value-added, respectively, (4) benefits vary according to industry and location (e.g., about 10% in the case of firms located far from the centers, and about 5% in the case of firms in the information and communications industry). |
| Keywords: | locational externalities; productivity; trade network |
| JEL: | L1 L14 R30 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:117594&r=ure |
| By: | Cupak, Andrej (National Bank of Slovakia); Ciaian, Pavel (University of Bonn); Kancs, d'Artis (European Commission) |
| Abstract: | The literature has robustly documented a negative migrant-native wage gap in developed economies. Yet empirical evidence of pay differences has been elusive for developing countries. We approach this question by leveraging internationally harmonised microdata with 1.5 million individuals from 6 transition and developing countries and 15 OECD economies spanning from 1995 to 2016 and employ counterfactual decomposition techniques which allow us to control for individual-productivity and job-specific characteristics, and explain up to 72% of the observed immigrant-native wage gap. The Blinder-Oaxaca baseline results indicate that, vis-a-vis comparable workers born in developed economies, the pay for workers born in transition and developing economies is discounted both in their home country labour markets and – if migrating – also in developed host country labour markets. However, the unexplained native-to-migrant wage gap remains sizeable in most countries even after controlling for productivity differentials (28% and more). Cross-country correlation analyses contribute a direct empirical support to the link between variation in unobserved job characteristics and skills among foreign-born and native-born workers and wage gap, while the labour market discrimination environment is of a second-order importance. |
| Keywords: | Labour market, wage gaps, immigrants, decomposition |
| JEL: | D31 J15 J7 |
| Date: | 2023–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrs:wpaper:202303&r=ure |
| By: | Nguyen, Hien Thi |
| Abstract: | This study was conducted to analyze the direct and indirect relationship between education, perception and behaviors towards the plastic waste of high school students in Vietnam. The study uses data from a survey of 573 high school students in Vietnam. A cross-sectional study design and questionnaire survey method were used to collect data. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), descriptive statistics, reliability test Cronbach's Alpha and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used for statistical analysis. Research results show that: Attitude factors play an mediating role in the relationship between education, perception and behavior towards plastic waste. The findings of this study provide the basis for proposing measures to improve behaviors towards plastic waste for Vietnamese high school students. |
| Date: | 2023–06–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:zn2k7&r=ure |
| By: | Mohammad Reza Farzanegan; Sven Fischer |
| Abstract: | This study provides new causal evidence for the impact of a large-scale natural disaster on local economic activity in Iran using nighttime light intensity. We apply the synthetic control method (SCM) and nighttime light (NTL) data from 1992 to 2020 for 31 provinces and 429 counties to study the impact of the 2003 Bam earthquake in the Iranian Kerman Province. According to the results and statistical inference tests for the SCM, Bam County and four neighboring counties experienced a statistically significant boost in economic activity in the years following the earthquake. This increase in local economic activity can be explained by the combination of several factors, such as an unprecedented inflow of national and international disaster relief during the reformist government of President Khatami, the political trust and mobilization of civil society in this period, the cultural importance of Bam, the severity of the earthquake, and the media attention. Additionally, economic activity in Bam County returns to its pre-disaster development path after seven years. |
| Keywords: | natural disaster, natural hazard, synthetic control, earthquake, economic development, nighttime light, Iran, Bam |
| JEL: | E01 H84 O11 O44 O53 Q51 Q54 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10502&r=ure |
| By: | Lordan, Grace (London School of Economics); Lekfuangfu, Warn N. (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) |
| Abstract: | Occupational segregation is one of the major causes of the gender pay gap. We probe the possibility that individual beliefs regarding gender stereotypes established in childhood contribute to gendered sorting. Using an experiment with two vignette designs, which was carried out in schools in the UK, we consider whether students aged 15-16 years recommend that a fictitious peer pursue different college majors and career paths simply because of their gender. We find strong evidence that this is the case. The within-majors treatment design shows that our respondents are 11 percentage points more likely to recommend corporate law to a male peer. The across-majors design reveals that students presented with a male fictitious peer tend to recommend degrees that have lower shares of females to males. |
| Keywords: | sorting, gender stereotype, gender, vignette design, occupational choice, college major choice |
| JEL: | J24 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16161&r=ure |
| By: | Jesús Fernández-Villaverde; Dario Laudati; Lee E. Ohanian; Vincenzo Quadrini |
| Abstract: | After 162 years of political unification, Italy still displays large regional economic differences. In 2019, the per capita GDP of Lombardia was 39, 700 euros, but Calabria's per capita GDP was only 17, 300 euros. We build a two-region, two-sector model of the Italian economy to measure the wedges that could account for the differences in aggregate variables between the North and the South. We find that the largest driver of the regional disparity in per capita output is the difference in total factor productivity, followed by fiscal redistribution. These two factors, together, account for more than 70 percent of the output disparity between the North and the South. |
| JEL: | E10 E6 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31299&r=ure |
| By: | Arteaga, Julian; De Roux, Nicolás; Gafaro, Margarita; Ibanez, Ana Maria; Pellegrina, Heitor |
| Keywords: | International Development, International Development, Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335955&r=ure |
| By: | Oya Celasun; Galen Sher; Petia Topalova; Jing Zhou |
| Abstract: | Reducing transport sector emissions is an important pillar of the green transition. However, the transition to electric vehicles (EV) portends major changes in vehicle manufacturing activity, on which many livelihoods in Europe depend. Using the heterogeneity across European countries in the speed of transition to EV production and variation in sectoral and regional exposure to the automotive sector, this paper offers early evidence of the labor market implications of the EV transition. Our results suggest that the transformation of the auto sector is already having an adverse impact on employment in the affected sectors and regions, which can be expected to grow at least in the near term. Many of the affected workers will be able to retire and our analysis suggests that those who will have to transition to new “greener” jobs have a fair chance to do so when compared to other workers in the manufacturing sector. Furthermore, we find evidence that active labor market policies, specifically training, can help to reduce the adjustment costs for the affected workers. |
| Keywords: | Electric vehicle; employment; green transition; labor market policy |
| Date: | 2023–06–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2023/116&r=ure |
| By: | Achard, Pascal; Suetens, Sigrid (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management) |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tiu:tiutis:a5e6e0cd-5e07-4a24-a15c-a7bc2b31a7ab&r=ure |
| By: | Panyi, Amadeo F.; Young, Alicia M.; Whitacre, Brian E. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Research Methods/Statistical Methods, Consumer/Household Economics |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335871&r=ure |
| By: | Mathias Dolls; Paul Schüle; Lisa Windsteiger |
| Abstract: | We conduct a survey experiment among 18, 000 respondents in Germany to examine the determinants of support for rent control policies. Highlighting undesirable price and supply effects lowers respondents’ agreement with rent control, while pointing out that it can prevent displacement of low-income tenants increases agreement. However, while our treatments shift support for the policy into the hypothesized direction, the effect size decreases in misperceptions. Our results suggest that responsiveness to new information depends largely on prior beliefs, which affect perceived credibility and political neutrality of the received information. Mere information provision is therefore not sufficient to effectively alter policy views. |
| Keywords: | rent control, efficiency, redistribution, survey experiment |
| JEL: | D72 D83 D91 R21 R31 R38 P43 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10493&r=ure |
| By: | Natasha V. Pilkauskas; Katherine Michelmore; Nicole Kovski |
| Abstract: | Access to safe and stable housing is important for child and adult wellbeing. Yet many low-income households face severe challenges in maintaining stable housing. In this paper we examine the impact of the 2021 temporary expansion to the Child Tax Credit (CTC) on the living arrangements and housing affordability of families with low incomes. We employ a parameterized difference-in-differences method and use national data from a sample of parents who are receiving, or recently received, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (N~20, 500). We find that the monthly CTC is associated with a higher likelihood that parents reported a change in their living arrangements as well as reduced household size, an effect largely driven by fewer mothers living with a partner (and not a reduction in doubling up). We also find that the credit reduced parents’ likelihood of reporting potential moves due to difficulties affording rent/mortgages as well as the amount and incidence of back-owed rent/mortgages. We find some differences in effects by race and ethnicity and income. Our findings illustrate how the monthly credit allowed parents to gain residential independence from partners, reduce the number of people residing in their household, and reduce their past-due rent/mortgage. |
| JEL: | H20 J10 J12 J18 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31339&r=ure |
| By: | Gallegos, Sebastian |
| Abstract: | The politically motivated replacement in local governments is a pervasive fact in our modern democracies. Whether it has causal effects on the quality of public services, such as education, is a critical question and yet understudied. This paper uses a regression discontinuity design (RDD) for close elections to replicate Akthari, Moreira and Trucco (2022) who find negative effects on the quality of public education in Brazil (.05-.08 standard deviations of lower test scores). I first reproduce these main results, finding minor computational differences that have no effect on the conclusions. I also show that the estimates for Brazil are in general robust to different specifications following Brodeur, Cook and Heyes (2020). Finally, I implement the same RDD framework now applied to Chilean administrative records to find null effects on test scores. Taken together, these results suggest that political turnover has weakly negative effects on service quality. |
| Keywords: | Replication, Robustness, Political Turnover, Regression Discontinuity, Quality of Public Services |
| JEL: | D72 D73 H75 H76 J45 O17 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:39&r=ure |
| By: | Iván Barreda-Tarrazona (LEE and Department of Economics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain); Agnès Festré (Ecole Universitaire de Recherche Economie et Management, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France); Stein Ostbye (School of Business and Economics, UIT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromso, Norway) |
| Abstract: | The social fabric, generally recognized as essential for economic and social transactions, is often referred to as Social Capital (SC). In this paper, we explore to what extent inexpensive survey data can be a substitute for more expensive experimental data as a metric of SC, using a cross-country design. We use data from two standard subject pools (located in Spain and France) and a mixed-method approach in the sense of presenting validated survey questions from the SC section of the latest wave of World Values Survey (WVS) to our participants, in addition to games for eliciting SC through actions and beliefs. Our data can be compared to publicly available WVS data at the relevant regional level as well as the national level. The main takeaway from our study is that SC measured by survey items consistently is higher in Spain than in France regardless of item and spatial resolution (nation, region, lab), whereas SC measured by choices and beliefs in incentivised games consistently is higher in France. This may confirm that there is reason for scepticism concerning the validity of survey measures in the context of social capital, not least since we, as opposed to in earlier studies, have data on group specific items used in the latest wave of WVS pertaining to trust in personal relations as well as more distant relations, all consistently pointing in the same direction regardless of spatial resolution. In this version of the paper we are concentrating on aggregates. Work remain to be done on the individual level. |
| Keywords: | social capital; mixed-method; cross-cultural; lab experiments |
| JEL: | Q12 C22 D81 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jau:wpaper:2023/03&r=ure |
| By: | Maria Alessandra Antonelli; Giorgia Marini (Università Sapienza di Roma - Dipartimento di Studi Giuridici ed Economici) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate the role of institutional quality in explaining cross-regional variation of population health status. To this purpose, the analysis follows two steps. First, we introduce a composite regional health status indicator (RHSI) summarizing life expectancy, mortality and morbidity data. Then, we study the empirical relationship between RHSI and a set of socio-economic, health system and institutional controls over a panel of 21 territorial units (19 regions and 2 autonomous provinces) over the period 2011-2019. As a first result the analysis shows that institutional quality is a fundamental driver for population health. Furthermore, we find that well-functioning institutions and LEAs implementation make the socio-economic context no longer relevant for population health, and this can lead to a reduction in inequalities. |
| Keywords: | life expectancy; mortality; morbidity; health status; institutional quality; Italian regions. |
| JEL: | H75 I18 O17 P48 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gfe:pfrp00:00061&r=ure |
| By: | Ana I. Moro Egido (Department of Economic Theory and Economic History, University of Granada.); Maria Navarro (Departament of Applied Economics, University of Granada.) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we evaluate the role of parental financial difficulties in the intergenerational transmission of material deprivation. To this end, we use data from the specific module ’Intergenerational transmission of disadvantages’ included in the EU-SILC survey for the years 2005, 2011 and 2019. Our contribution relies on the distinction between the direct effect of parental difficulties on adults’ material deprivation (intergenerational transmission) and the indirect effect through educational achievement (particularly high school dropouts). Our findings suggest that, as expected, parental financial difficulties increase the probability of dropping out (indirect effect), which in turn increases their children’s intensity of household material deprivation in adulthood. The intergenerational link exists and is stronger for early leavers (direct effect). The mechanisms behind these results are lone parenthood, non-highly educated mothers and non-working fathers. We also find that intergenerational transmission differs by country characteristics. More specifically, the poorer and less equal the country, the stronger the intergenerational link. Our results highlight the importance of childhood interventions as an additional channel to correct for material deprivation in adulthood and, in general, to tackle the inequality of opportunity and intergenerational poverty. |
| Keywords: | Intergenerational transmission, material deprivation, parental economic strain, high school dropouts. |
| JEL: | C31 I24 I32 |
| Date: | 2023–06–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gra:wpaper:23/07&r=ure |
| By: | Eugenio Levi (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Piazza dell’Universita 1, 00139 Bolzano, Italy; Masaryk University, Czechia); Michael Bayerlein (German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Ludwigkirchplatz 3-4, 10719 Berlin, Germany); Gianluca Grimalda (Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Kiellinie 66, 24105 Kiel, Germany); Tommaso Reggiani (Cardiff University, Colum Road CF103EU, Cardiff, UK; Masaryk University, Czechia; IZA, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Nowadays, immigration is a polarizing topic in politics. In this paper, we investigate how much this political polarization is driven by the depiction narratives made of immigrants vis-a-vis the natives. Furthermore, we look at whether polarization is rooted in private preferences over narratives or in how they are endorsed in public settings and social media. Our empirical strategy consists of a survey experiment in the 2021 German elections and a field experiment on Twitter in which we manipulate the “pinned tweets” of experimental users. To build our narratives, we manipulate either the policy position — hostile toward or accepting migration — or an emphasis on the out-group, on the in-group, or on economic reciprocity. We find that political polarization is driven both by the policy position and emphasis in narratives. On Twitter, the out-group emphasis drives supporters of different parties apart, and the corresponding hostile narrative becomes the only one going viral. In the survey, right-wing participants prefer the reciprocity emphasis more, but we still find evidence of more polarization when allowing the participants to go public. |
| Keywords: | immigration, narratives, political polarization, economic reciprocity, experiments, Twitter |
| JEL: | D72 D91 C93 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mub:wpaper:2023-07&r=ure |
| By: | Chakraborty, Debapriya; Jenn, Alan |
| Abstract: | Even though plug-in electric vehicles can reduce the problem of greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, externalities like congestion and road damage will exist. Therefore, state transportation agencies will need pricing mechanisms like a per-mile road user charge (RUC) to deal with these externalities while accounting for the transition to an EV-dominated fleet. Focusing on electronic toll collection (ETC) methods, this project aimed to conduct a thorough review of lessons learned from established tolling systems across U.S. states and the tolling system in Singapore and London. Post literature review and expert interviews, a multi-criteria performance framework of different tolling mechanisms was formulated based on criteria such as accuracy of data collection, complexity for regulators and users, compatibility across policy objectives (primarily RUC), and equity. |
| Keywords: | Business, Law, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tolling, Road User Charge, Expert Interview, Multi-criteria Analysis |
| Date: | 2023–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt5x5974vk&r=ure |
| By: | Roche Rodriguez, Jaime Alfonso (World Bank); Robertson, Raymond (Texas A&M University); Lopez-Acevedo, Gladys (World Bank); Zárate, Daniela Ruiz (Bank of Mexico) |
| Abstract: | Morocco's trade liberalization policies have promoted economic progress over the past two decades. However, effects on Morocco's local labor market outcomes vary. By combining three complementary approaches and modeling techniques, this paper estimates: (i) how trade agreements have increased trade flows, (ii) the relationship between trade exposure and mixed local labor market outcomes, and (iii) the relationship between firm employment and exports. Our results show that trade policy has increased trade flows, but this has led to mixed results for workers: increased trade has decreased informality but has failed to improve female labor force participation (FLFP). This appears to be due to a shift from female labor-intensive industries, such as apparel and textile sectors, to capital-intensive sectors that are predominantly male-intensive. Our firm level analysis confirms these results by showing that increase in employment from exports has occurred mainly in male, labor-intensive sectors. |
| Keywords: | trade policy, trade flows, labor market outcomes, firm dynamics |
| JEL: | F13 F16 O14 O19 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16213&r=ure |
| By: | Archana Dang; Mausumi Das; Indrani Gupta (Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates poverty transitions and household predictors associated with different states of poverty transitions in India during the pandemic’s first year (2020). Following the unexpected shock brought on by COVID, economic activity slowed down, presumably pushing many households into poverty. For poverty alleviation programmes, it is important to identify households that fell into poverty during COVID and remained in poverty subsequently. Our findings indicate that urban households were more severely affected, and about 19% individuals in urban areas who were not poor in the pre-COVID period (2019) qualified as poor in the COVID period. Estimating a multinomial logit model for urban households our analysis finds that vulnerable castes relative to upper castes had a higher probability of falling into poverty and remaining there. Moreover, households at the lower end of the expenditure distribution and those with household members with lower levels of education were more prone to falling back into poverty and more likely to remain in poverty. These findings suggest that those who were most vulnerable sustainably suffered the most; as a result, the pandemic worsened socio-economic gaps that already existed across households. |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:awe:wpaper:458&r=ure |
| By: | Marica Valente; Timm Gries; Lorenzo Trapani |
| Abstract: | We propose a new approach to detect and quantify informal employment resulting from irregular migration shocks. Focusing on a largely informal sector, agriculture, and on the exogenous variation from the Arab Spring wave on southern Italian coasts, we use machine-learning techniques to document abnormal increases in reported (vs. predicted) labor productivity on vineyards hit by the shock. Misreporting is largely heterogeneous across farms depending e.g. on size and grape quality. The shock resulted in a 6% increase in informal employment, equivalent to one undeclared worker for every three farms on average and 23, 000 workers in total over 2011-2012. Misreporting causes significant increases in farm profits through lower labor costs, while having no impact on grape sales, prices, or wages of formal workers. |
| Keywords: | Informal employment, Migration shocks, Farm labor, Machine learning |
| JEL: | F22 J61 J43 J46 C53 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inn:wpaper:2023-09&r=ure |
| By: | Kim, Yong J.; Jung, Jinho; Yu, Kihwan; Kim, Sanghyo; Widmar, Nicole Olynk |
| Keywords: | Marketing, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Research Methods/Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335542&r=ure |