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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Gershenson, Seth (American University); Lindsay, Constance A. (American University); Papageorge, Nicholas W. (Johns Hopkins University); Campbell, Romaine (Harvard University); Rendon, Jessica H. (American University) |
| Abstract: | The US teaching force remains disproportionately white while the student body grows more diverse. It is therefore important to understand how and under what conditions white teachers learn racial competency. This study applies a mixed-methods approach to investigate the hypothesis that Black peers improve white teachers' effectiveness when teaching Black students. The quantitative portion of this study relies on longitudinal data from North Carolina to show that having a Black same-grade peer significantly improves the achievement and reduces the suspension rates of white teachers' Black students. These effects are persistent over time and largest for novice teachers. Qualitative evidence from open-ended interviews of North Carolina public school teachers reaffirms these findings. Broadly, our findings suggest that the positive impact of Black teachers' ability to successfully teach Black students is not limited to their direct interaction with Black students but is augmented by spillover effects on early-career white teachers, likely through peer learning. |
| Keywords: | peer effects, knowledge spillovers, teacher effectiveness, teacher diversity, achievement gaps, education production function |
| JEL: | I2 J24 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16258&r=ure |
| By: | Rafiq Friperson (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); Hessel Oosterbeek (University of Amsterdam); Bas van der Klaauw (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | We use Dutch register data to document the understudied phenomenon of teacher segregation. We show that teachers in primary and secondary schools in the four largest cities of the country – Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht – are segregated in terms of their migration and social backgrounds. While segregation by social background is not much higher than what would be expected under random teacher-school assignment, segregation by migration background is substantial even after accounting for randomness. Relating schools’ teacher composition to their student composition, we find in most cases that schools with a high proportion of teachers from a particular background tend to have a high proportion of students from that same background. |
| Date: | 2023–06–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20230034&r=ure |
| By: | Braun, Matías (Universidad de los Andes); Gallego, Francisco (Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile); Soares, Rodrigo R. (Insper, São Paulo) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effects of renovating deteriorated public spaces on local socioeconomic outcomes. We analyze the impacts of a randomized experiment implemented in 28 fragile neighborhoods of Santiago, Chile. Our findings indicate that the renovation of local squares led to increased use and maintenance of the public space, enhanced neighborhood engagement, and a stronger sense of ownership among residents, along with a reduction in leisure activities outside the neighborhood. Moreover, treated neighborhoods experienced improvements in public security perceptions both within the square and in the broader neighborhood area. We also observe positive effects on trust (among acquaintances) and participation in community organizations. By exploring heterogeneous treatment effects across neighborhoods, we do not find evidence supporting theories emphasizing the joint determination of public security and social capital. Instead, our results suggest that the effects are better explained by increased neighborhood use, particularly in areas that are densely populated and have a higher proportion of social housing. |
| Keywords: | public space recovery, crime, social capital, urban infrastructure |
| JEL: | K42 O18 R53 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16269&r=ure |
| By: | Hannah Hennighausen (Department of Economics, University of Alaska Anchorage); Alexander James (Department of Economics, University of Alaska Anchorage) |
| Abstract: | Millions of people are displaced by natural disasters each year, yet little is known about how evacuees affect host communities. We analyze the migratory effects of the most destructive fire in California history, the 2018 Camp Fire, which destroyed over 18, 000 structures and displaced roughly 50, 000 people. By merging geospatial information on the fire's footprint with Zillow's housing transaction data, we estimate both the spatial and temporal effects of the fire on real estate prices at a granular level. A number of important insights emerge. First, within the fire's footprint, home prices increased by 35 percent in the six-week aftermath of the fire. Effects decay with distance and are statistically insignificant beyond 50 miles. Second, effects are detected within two weeks of the fire, fully materialized within six weeks, and are persistent up to ten months (which exhausts our period of consideration). Third, these effects are specific to low-fire-risk properties. Results are robust to a variety of specifications and modeling assumptions and are corroborated by the observed pattern of displacement. |
| Keywords: | Catastrophic Fires, Housing Prices, Hedonic Model, Demand Shocks, Climate Change |
| JEL: | Q54 Q56 R3 R21 R23 |
| Date: | 2023–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ala:wpaper:2023-01&r=ure |
| By: | Panayotis Christidis (European Commission - JRC); Maria Vega Gonzalo (European Commission - JRC); Giulia Ulpiani (European Commission - JRC); Nadja Vetters (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | The Covid-19 pandemic triggered significant changes in lifestyles and mobility patterns which are still evident at the end of 2022 and may still raise challenges for transport policy in the short to medium term. While changes in lifestyles - mainly as regards work patterns - have decreased total urban transport activity, the gradual return to pre-pandemic levels suggests that traffic and congestion levels may soon exceed their 2019 levels. Apart from the question of total transport activity, the trends identified in this report can influence modal choice and trip distances, with possible negative repercussions in terms of transport costs, congestion and emissions. The analysis combines a range of data sources and methodologies. Changes in mobility patterns are identified using the JRC Travel Survey 2021. The evolution of traffic congestion levels is monitored through daily TomTom data from 178 cities in the EU. The evolution of public transport activity is measured with up-to-date statistics from national and local sources. The role of active mobility is discussed using a model to estimate the potential uptake and benefits in terms of external costs. Information provided by the candidates for the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities allows an extensive review of transport policy measures adopted at city level. Finally, a case study for 40 European cities using multiple data sources provides an empirical confirmation of the main findings. |
| Keywords: | mobility, congestion, public transport, emerging technologies, Covid-19 |
| JEL: | R41 L90 L91 O18 R14 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc133322&r=ure |
| By: | Kishor, N. Kundan; Konkel, Rebecca; Yoon, Jangsu; Zhao, Tian |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the persistent racial disparities in homeownership and wealth creation in Milwaukee. Despite past efforts, homeownership rates for Black and Hispanic households remain significantly lower compared to White households, contributing to wealth inequalities. We develop a Wealth Creation Index that highlights pronounced racial/ethnic disparities in wealth accumulation. The study identifies additional factors such as crime rates, proximity to quality schools, and lot size, which impact these disparities. Findings also reveal lower home value appreciation for minority and female homeowners, and the disproportionate negative effects of foreclosures on their properties. The research provides insights for informing public policy, guiding investments, and benchmarking interventions to address disparities and promote equitable homeownership. |
| Keywords: | Housing return disparity, Machine Learning Models, Housing Market |
| JEL: | C5 C50 R21 R28 R30 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:117686&r=ure |
| By: | Ayush Khare (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)); Debarpita Roy (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)); Triveni Prasad Nanda |
| Abstract: | Urban India suffers from a massive shortage of adequate housing. The demand for adequate and affordable housing is expected to grow further in the decades to come as India urbanises rapidly. Mass housing projects will gain importance to supply housing to the lower- and middleincome segments in Indian cities. This paper discusses the scope for alternate construction technologies to build mass housing. |
| Keywords: | Construction technology, affordable housing, mass housing, GHTC, PMAY, modular construction |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdc:wpaper:408&r=ure |
| By: | Zoltán Elekes (Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Umeå University); Rikard Eriksson (Umeå University); Anna Baranowska-Rataj (Umeå University) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates how the evolution of local labour market structure enables or constrains workers as regards escaping low-wage jobs. Drawing on the network-based approach of evolutionary economic geography, we employ a detailed individual-level panel dataset to construct skill-relatedness networks for 72 functional labour market regions in Sweden. Subsequent fixed-effect panel regressions indicate that increasing density of skill-related high-income jobs within a region is conducive to low-wage workers moving to better-paid jobs, hence facilitating labour market upgrading through diversification. While metropolitan regions offer a premium for this relationship, it also holds for smaller regions, and across various worker characteristics. |
| Keywords: | skill-relatedness network; local labour market; low-wage workers; diversification and structural change; relatedness density |
| JEL: | J21 J31 R11 R23 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:has:discpr:2315&r=ure |
| By: | Calum Robertson; Raphael Suire; Sylvain Dejean |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we argue that a complexity-driven systemic perspective of urban life can be characterized through the consumption practices of people that interact within urban spaces, and that such a characterization can uncover relevant information for planners. We propose a granular analysis of commercial amenity networks within cities and adapt a measure of economic complexity to aptly reduce these networks. This yields the Amenity Complexity Index (ACI), which is the focus of this work. The ACI is interpretable in terms of consumption practices and of place characteristics, both from a macro city perspective and from a place-based granular perspective. The dynamic illustration of our complexity measure in Paris helps demonstrate ways in which the ACI can enrich our understanding of cities and of the transformative systemic challenges they face. Ultimately, this work proposes a measure and an accompanying interpretation of urban complexity based on commercial amenities that paves the way for novel analyses of the causes and effects of urban transformations, of urban policies, and of the wellbeing of dwellers. |
| Keywords: | complexity, amenities, cities, consumer, transformations |
| JEL: | R11 C81 |
| Date: | 2023–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2315&r=ure |
| By: | Henderson, J. Vernon; Liu, Vivian |
| Abstract: | Rapidly growing cities in sub-Saharan Africa face immense population pressures. Weak institutions and outdated regulations inherited from the colonial era threaten to stifle their progress. This paper examines the institutions underlying the operation of urban land markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on property rights, the evolution of cities and their spatial layout, planning, and property taxes. Countries typically have a dual system of property rights, with in theory formal rights in cities, communal tenure in rural areas, and a transition between the two systems at growing city boundaries. However, large portions of cities operate outside these systems under informal rights. Using case studies and within city variation, we review the historical evolution of these systems in a number of African cities. We argue that cities lacking formal property rights tend to build lower and less intensively, often with slums persisting near the city center, where there is much higher value alternative use. We further explore the relationship between lack of owner occupancy and wealth inequality, as partially affected by the transition to private property rights. Next, we discuss the critical role of planning. Francophone countries for instance historically imposed comprehensive planning on urban land markets compared to Anglophone counterparts. This resulted in greater contiguity and density of land use, gridded urban layouts, and less leapfrogging in new developments. Where planning is weak, special initiatives such as sites and services may impose planning on certain greenfield neighbourhoods, with benefits accruing in the future. The paper then examines problems in property tax enforcement and collection, discussing reforms to improve collections. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy considerations and a research agenda. |
| Keywords: | land markets; urban planning; sub-Saharan Africa; urban development; colonialism |
| JEL: | H00 H26 O17 O18 P48 R10 R30 |
| Date: | 2023–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:119388&r=ure |
| By: | KUFFER Monika |
| Abstract: | The extent of slums and informal settlements in Europe and their population numbers are smaller than in Africa, Asia, or Latin America. However, such areas exist in different forms across Europe. This report reviews common forms, summarized as a European typology of slums and informal settlements. Furthermore, the report provides an overview of Earth Observation (EO) techniques for the development of monitoring systems to track the progress of the ‘Leave No One Behind’ principle. Understanding common forms of slums and informal settlements is essential for developing national and local SDG 11 monitoring systems, because techniques need to respond to the specific morphologies of settlement types. A systematic literature review concluded that there are six common forms of slums and informal settlements in Europe: 1) Refugee camps, 2) Roma camps and other traveller settlements, 3) Non (permanent) residential buildings, 4) Substandard housing, 5) Low-density informal sprawl, and 6) High-density informal settlements. Overall, EO data (e.g., satellite images) allow for almost real-time updated spatial information with high spatial resolution. Combining EO data and municipal databases permits mapping the locations, dynamics, and characteristics of slums and informal settlements. However, developing spatial information systems need to be part of an engagement process to protect vulnerable groups and co-develop strategies for improving living conditions. |
| Keywords: | informal settlements, slums, housing, deprivation, earth observation, SDGs, Europe |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc130204&r=ure |
| By: | Gabriel Kreindler; Arya Gaduh; Tilman Graff; Rema Hanna; Benjamin A. Olken |
| Abstract: | Designing public transport networks involves tradeoffs between extensive geographic coverage, frequent service on each route, and relying on interconnections as opposed to direct service. These choices, in turn, depend on individual preferences for waiting times, travel times, and transfers. We study these tradeoffs by examining the world's largest bus rapid transit system, in Jakarta, Indonesia, leveraging a large network expansion between 2016-2020. Using detailed ridership data and aggregate travel flows from smartphone data, we analyze how new direct connections, changes in bus travel time, and wait time reductions increase ridership and overall trips. We set up and estimate a transit network demand model with multi-dimensional travel costs, idiosyncratic heterogeneity induced by random wait times, and inattention, matching event-study moments from the route launches. Commuters in Jakarta are 2-4 times more sensitive to wait time compared to time on the bus, and inattentive to long routes. To study the implications for network design, we introduce a new framework to describe the set of optimal networks. Our results suggest that a less concentrated network would increase ridership and commuter welfare. |
| JEL: | L91 O18 R48 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31369&r=ure |
| By: | Figlio, David N. (University of Rochester); Karbownik, Krzysztof (Emory University); Özek, Umut (RAND Corporation) |
| Abstract: | Public policies often target individuals but within-family externalities of such interventions are understudied. Using a regression discontinuity design, we document how a third grade retention policy affects both the target children and their younger siblings. The policy improves test scores of both children while the spillover is up to 30% of the target child effect size. The effects are particularly pronounced in families where one of the children is disabled, for boys, and in immigrant families. Candidate mechanisms include improved classroom inputs and parental school choice. |
| Keywords: | grade retention, sibling spillovers, policy externalities, test scores |
| JEL: | D13 I20 J13 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16250&r=ure |
| By: | Brian Jacob; Damon Jones; Benjamin J. Keys |
| Abstract: | We explore how much borrowers value student debt relief, in the setting of the federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) program, and further document whether information and eligibility for this program affect teacher employment decisions. The program cancels between $5, 000 and $17, 500 in debt for teachers who remain employed in a high-need school for five consecutive years. Using both quasi-experimental evidence and a randomized control trial, we find that neither eligibility nor a targeted information intervention result in changes in teacher employment decisions, despite the presence of sizable student loan balances in our sample. Information was found, however, to increase application and receipt rates for teachers who had already accrued the five years of eligibility. Additional evidence from contingent valuation surveys suggests that teachers do in general value possible debt relief. Incorporating qualitative evidence from focus groups, we conclude that take-up may be constrained by program complexity and administrative barriers that involve knowing which schools qualify, tracking employment records, having employers sign off, and coordinating with loan servicers. |
| JEL: | D14 G51 I22 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31359&r=ure |
| By: | Calum Robertson (NUDD - Usages du Numérique pour le Développement Durable - ULR - La Rochelle Université, ULR - La Rochelle Université); Sylvain Dejean (ULR - La Rochelle Université, NUDD - Usages du Numérique pour le Développement Durable - ULR - La Rochelle Université); Raphaël Suire (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - ONIRIS - École nationale vétérinaire, agroalimentaire et de l'alimentation Nantes-Atlantique - IMT Atlantique - IMT Atlantique - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - Nantes Univ - IAE Nantes - Nantes Université - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - Nantes Université - pôle Sociétés - Nantes Univ - Nantes Université - IUML - FR 3473 Institut universitaire Mer et Littoral - UM - Le Mans Université - UA - Université d'Angers - UBS - Université de Bretagne Sud - IFREMER - Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Nantes Université - pôle Sciences et technologie - Nantes Univ - Nantes Université - Nantes Univ - ECN - École Centrale de Nantes - Nantes Univ - Nantes Université, Nantes Univ - Nantes Université) |
| Abstract: | Short-term rental platforms, led by Airbnb, have disrupted the tourism accommodation industry over the last decade. This disruption has encouraged policy-makers to intervene. However, little is known about how effective such interventions are. This paper empirically evaluates the impact Bordeaux's regulation has had on short-term rental (STR) activity through both a differences-in-differences and a triple-difference design. We find that regulation has had a reductive effect of over 322 rented days per month per district on average. This equates to 43% of mean reservation days and over 28 thousand less nights spent per month in STRs across the city. This effect is persistent in peripheral areas of the city, with an average effect of 35% of monthly reservation days. However, the city's attempts to limit activity stemming from targeted (commercial) listings yields mixed results as non-targeted (home-sharing) listings also seem to have modified their behavior. Additionally, analysis in the periphery points paves the way for discussion about the effectiveness of one-size-fits-all STR policy design. |
| Keywords: | Short-term rentals, Regulation, Tourism, Diff-in-diff methodology, Short-term rental Airbnb Regulation Tourism Housing Triple Difference Differences-indifferences, Short-term rental, Airbnb, Housing, Triple Difference, Differences-indifferences |
| Date: | 2023–03–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04123595&r=ure |
| By: | Zachary Szlendak; Richard K. Mansfield |
| Abstract: | Most U.S. high school courses separate classrooms into standard and honors tracks. This paper characterizes the efficiency and distributional impact of changing the share of students enrolling in honors classrooms. Using a sorting model where students choose tracks by course but schools influence the share choosing honors, we show that administrators’ optimal choices of honors track size require knowledge of treatment effect functions capturing the impact of alternative honors enrollment shares on different parts of the student predicted performance distribution. Using administrative data from North Carolina public high schools, we estimate these treatment effect functions by predicted performance quintile. Across various specifications, we find that smaller honors tracks (20%-30% of students) yield moderate performance gains for the top quintile (~.05-.07 test score SDs relative to no tracking) that decline monotonically across quintiles toward zero for the bottom quintile. However, expanding the honors share beyond 30-35% generates further (small) achievement increases only for the middle quintile, while reducing top quintile gains and causing substantial bottom quintile losses. Since many courses feature honors shares above 35% or do not track, we predict that enrolling ~25% of students in honors in each high school course would improve all quintiles’ statewide performance. |
| JEL: | I20 I21 I24 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31375&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:117681&r=ure |
| By: | Jingting Fan; Lei Li |
| Abstract: | Imported capital goods, which embody skill-complementary technologies, can increase the supply of skills in developing countries. Focusing on China and using a shift-share design, we show that city-level capital goods import growth increases the local skill share and that both skill acquisition and migration play a role. We develop and quantify a spatial equilibrium model with these two mechanisms to examine the aggregate effects of capital goods imports, accounting for trade and migration linkages between cities. Counterfactual experiments suggest that the growth in capital goods imports in China between 2000 and 2010 led to a 3.7-8.9 million increase in the stock of college graduates, representing 5.7-13% of the total increase over this period. However, this growth disproportionately favored coastal regions, exacerbating existing spatial disparities. |
| Keywords: | imported capital goods, capital-skill complementarity, skill acquisition, migration |
| JEL: | F14 F16 F66 J24 J61 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10512&r=ure |
| By: | Lauriane BELLOY (TREE - Transitions Energétiques et Environnementales - UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of short-term rentals on displacement and gentrication in six urban areas of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in France by analyzing the probability of moving as well as arrivals ows in the neighborhoods. The results show that the density of short-term rentals increases the probability of moving to a neighborhood that is poorer than the neighborhood of origin with a higher probability in areas far the Atlantic Ocean for the lowest incomes. These rentals also promote the arrival of new residents who are wealthier than their previous short-term occupants. These last results are observed with the help of net inows of residents from wealthier neighborhoods versus inows from poorer neighborhoods after the expansion of short-term rentals in each neighborhood. |
| Keywords: | Short-term rentals, Airbnb, Displacement, Gentrication |
| Date: | 2023–06–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wptree:hal-04135401&r=ure |
| By: | Lauriane BELLOY (TREE - Transitions Energétiques et Environnementales - UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of short-term rentals on displacement and gentrication in six urban areas of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in France by analyzing the probability of moving as well as arrivals ows in the neighborhoods. The results show that the density of short-term rentals increases the probability of moving to a neighborhood that is poorer than the neighborhood of origin with a higher probability in areas far the Atlantic Ocean for the lowest incomes. These rentals also promote the arrival of new residents who are wealthier than their previous short-term occupants. These last results are observed with the help of net inows of residents from wealthier neighborhoods versus inows from poorer neighborhoods after the expansion of short-term rentals in each neighborhood. |
| Keywords: | Short-term rentals, Airbnb, Displacement, Gentrication |
| Date: | 2023–06–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-04135401&r=ure |
| By: | Fan, Jingting (Pennsylvania State University); Li, Lei (University of Mannheim) |
| Abstract: | Imported capital goods, which embody skill-complementary technologies, can increase the supply of skills in developing countries. Focusing on China and using a shift-share design, we show that city-level capital goods import growth increases the local skill share and that both skill acquisition and migration play a role. We develop and quantify a spatial equilibrium model with these two mechanisms to examine the aggregate effects of capital goods imports, accounting for trade and migration linkages between cities. Counterfactual experiments suggest that the growth in capital goods imports in China between 2000 and 2010 led to a 3.7-8.9 million increase in the stock of college graduates, representing 5.7-13% of the total increase over this period. However, this growth disproportionately favored coastal regions, exacerbating existing spatial disparities. |
| Keywords: | imported capital goods, capital-skill complementarity, skill acquisition, migration |
| JEL: | F14 F16 F66 J24 J61 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16231&r=ure |
| By: | Campo, Francesco (University of Milan Bicocca); Giunti, Sara (University of Milan Bicocca); Mendola, Mariapia (University of Milan Bicocca); Tura, Giulia (University of Milan Bicocca) |
| Abstract: | The 2015 refugee crisis in Europe fueled anti-immigration sentiment in receiving areas, with potential unintended consequences for refugee integration. We investigate the heterogeneity of political backlash across Italian municipalities in the aftermath of the crisis and assess the role played by local conditions at the time of refugees' settlement, distinguishing between baseline economic and cultural factors. By leveraging the quasi- random dispersal policy and using causal forests, we find that the impact of refugee exposure on anti-immigration backlash is significantly higher in more affluent areas, with more bonding social capital. The opposite holds in contexts where there is meaningful intergroup contact with former immigrants (e.g mixed marriages). We exploit this pattern of heterogeneity to evaluate a matching model to optimally assign refugees to locations and deliver policy implications for novel refugee resettlement schemes that minimize anti-immigration backlash. |
| Keywords: | refugee social integration, dispersal policy, political preferences |
| JEL: | J15 H53 I38 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16245&r=ure |
| By: | Yasmine Bekkouche (ECARES - European Center for Advanced Research in Economics and Statistics - ULB - Université libre de Bruxelles); Yannick Dupraz (AMSE - Aix-Marseille Sciences Economiques - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - ECM - École Centrale de Marseille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | We revisit the question of colonial legacies in education by focusing on quality rather than quantity. We study Cameroon, a country where a Francophone education system with French colonial origins coexists with an Anglophone system with British colonial origins. This allows us to investigate the impact of different teaching practices on students' test scores. We find that pupils schooled in the Francophone system perform better in mathematics in Grade 5, with test scores higher by two thirds of a standard deviation. Thanks to detailed school survey data, we are able to account for a wide array of inputs of the education production function, such as the economic and social conditions of students, the material conditions of the schools and classrooms, as well as some information on the teachers' practices and pedagogical culture. We find that Francophone schools have better classroom equipment and that Francophone teachers use more vertical teaching methods, but that these differences cannot explain why Francophone students perform better in mathematics. In the end, we cannot pin down the exact mechanism behind our result. |
| Keywords: | Education, School quality, Colonial legacies, Africa |
| Date: | 2023–06–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-04135636&r=ure |
| By: | Joshua D. Gottlieb; David Hémous; Jeffrey Hicks; Morten G. Olsen |
| Abstract: | Top income inequality in the United States has increased considerably within occupations. This phenomenon has led to a search for a common explanation. We instead develop a theory where increases in income inequality originating within a few occupations can "spill over" through consumption into others. We show theoretically that such spillovers occur when an occupation provides non-divisible services to consumers, with physicians our prime example. Examining local income inequality across U.S. regions, the data suggest that such spillovers exist for physicians, dentists, and real estate agents. Estimated spillovers for other occupations are consistent with the predictions of our theory. |
| JEL: | D31 J24 J31 O15 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31366&r=ure |
| By: | Hanemaaijer, Kyra (Erasmus University Rotterdam); Marie, Olivier (Erasmus University Rotterdam); Musumeci, Marco (Erasmus University Rotterdam) |
| Abstract: | What are the consequences of religious obligations conflicting with civic duties? We investigate this question by evaluating changes in the performance of practicing Muslim students when end-of-secondary-school exams and Ramadan overlapped in the Netherlands. Using administrative data on exam takers and a machine learning model to individually predict fasting probability, we estimate that the grades and pass rate of compliers dropped significantly. This negative impact was especially strong for low achievers and those from religiously segregated schools. Investigating mechanisms, we find evidence that not being able to sleep in the morning before an afternoon exam was particularly detrimental to performance. |
| Keywords: | religion, productivity, Ramadan, education, The Netherlands |
| JEL: | I2 I24 Z12 J15 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16249&r=ure |
| By: | Léa Marchal (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, IC Migrations - Institut Convergences Migrations [Aubervilliers], UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne); Guzmán Ourens (Tilburg University [Tilburg] - Netspar); Giulia Sabbadini (DICE - Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics - Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf = Heinrich Heine University [Düsseldorf]) |
| Abstract: | This article shows that wage inequalities between native and immigrant workers depends on the export activity of the employing firm. We build a model with heterogeneous firms and workers showing that white-collar immigrants capture an informational rent in exporting firms that help them close the wage gap with natives. We use French employer-employee data for the manufacturing sector from 2005 to 2015 to support this mechanism. We show that wages react to changes in export intensity when the export destination coincides with the region of origin of immigrant workers. |
| Keywords: | Export, Firm, Immigrants, Wage inequality |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-04118839&r=ure |
| By: | Clay, Karen (Carnegie Mellon University); Lewis, Joshua (University of Montreal); Severnini, Edson R. (Carnegie Mellon University) |
| Abstract: | Historically coal has offered both benefits and costs to urban areas. Benefits include coal's role in fueling industry and thus employment. The primary costs are air pollution and its impact on human health. This paper starts by using a Rosen-Roback style model to examine how differences in local coal availability affect equilibrium city employment. Drawing on the model, the paper surveys papers that examine the net effects of coal on the growth in city population and air pollution on health. The paper then turns to papers that explicitly consider the trade-offs between production benefits and pollution disamenities across space and over time. The paper ends with a discussion of opportunities for future work on coal and cities in historical settings. |
| Keywords: | coal availability, local development, air pollution, trade-offs of coal consumption |
| JEL: | N52 N72 O13 Q53 Q56 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16229&r=ure |
| By: | Sharma, Somnath (Asian Development Bank Institute); Kant, Shashi (Asian Development Bank Institute); Mishra, Ranjeeta (Asian Development Bank Institute); Azhgaliyeva, Dina (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | We investigate whether better access to markets through an improved road network plays a role in improving firm profitability in India. We construct a district-level market access index using shapefiles of India's road network, district boundaries, and nightlight raster images and estimate the shortest driving distances for districts using the road network. Using the annual survey of industries data for India during 2001–2015, we show that market access through improved road connectivity resulted in a lower dispersion of ROA between 2001 and 2015 in India. |
| Keywords: | India; road infrastructure; firm productivity; market access index; electricity deficit; road length |
| JEL: | D22 D24 H54 |
| Date: | 2022–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:1351&r=ure |
| By: | Benjamin Lahey; Andrew F. Haughwout; Benjamin Hyman; Devon Lall; Jason Somerville |
| Abstract: | The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s 2023 SCE Housing Survey, released in April, reported some novel data about expectations for home prices, interest rates, and mortgage refinancing. While the data showed a sharp drop in home price expectations, some of the most notable findings concern renters. In this post, we take a deeper dive into how renters’ expectations and financial situations have evolved over the past year. We find that both owners and renters expect rents to rise rapidly over the next year, albeit at a slower pace than last year. Furthermore, we also show that eviction expectations rose sharply over the past twelve months, and that this increase was most pronounced for those in the lowest quartile of the income distribution. |
| Keywords: | rent; eviction expectations |
| JEL: | R31 |
| Date: | 2023–06–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fednls:96374&r=ure |
| By: | Zhao, Zhong; Zheng, Liang |
| Abstract: | The impact of the incumbent state-owned enterprises (SOEs) on the births of new private-owned enterprises (POEs) in China is a central concern for the government and society. In this paper, we apply agglomeration theories to distinguish the linkages between SOEs and POEs. Using China's 2008 economic census, the 2007 Input-Output Table, and the 2005 population mini census, we measure the formation of new POEs at the city-industry level, and the agglomeration forces of distance proximity to inputs, outputs, labor, and technology. More explicitly, we measure the extent to which local SOEs provide relevant inputs, consume outputs, employ similar workers, and use similar technology. Our findings indicate that overall, incumbent SOEs hinder the formation of new POEs. For manufacturing, the entry of new POEs is significantly lower in places where more upstream SOEs are concentrated. For services, the entry of new POEs is significantly lower in places where more upstream and downstream SOEs are concentrated. However, the agglomeration effects from the incumbent POEs are either insignificant or significantly positive. |
| Keywords: | New Firm Formation, State-owned Enterprise, Firm Ownership, Agglomeration |
| JEL: | L26 L60 L80 R10 R12 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1296&r=ure |
| By: | Gustafsson, Björn Anders (University of Gothenburg); Sai, Ding (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) |
| Abstract: | Using data from the China Household Income Project in 2013 and 2018, this paper studies relative poverty among rural hukou holders living in urban China and urban hukou holders. People living in households with an income below a fixed percent of the median per-capita income and wealth below the same fixed percent of the median per-capita wealth among urban residents are deemed as relative poor. Although migrants with rural hukou living in urban China were more prone to twice poverty than urban residents in 2013, this was not generally the case in 2018. A multivariate analysis shows several factors to be related to the probability of being twice relative poor. Even considering these factors, a rural hukou status increased the probability of being twice relative poor in 2013. In contrast, such an excess risk of being twice relative poor was much lesser outspoken in middle and low-ranking cities in 2018. However, rural to urban migrants living in high-ranking cities had a somewhat higher risk of being relative poor than urban residents with the same characteristics in 2018. |
| Keywords: | China, poverty, migrants, China Household Income Project |
| JEL: | I32 P36 R23 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16255&r=ure |
| By: | Allister Loder; Fabienne Cantner; Lennart Adenaw; Nico Nachtigall; David Ziegler; Felix Gotzler; Markus B. Siewert; Stefan Wurster; Sebastian Goerg; Markus Lienkamp; Klaus Bogenberger |
| Abstract: | In spring 2022, the German federal government agreed on a set of policy measures that aimed at reducing households' financial burden resulting from a recent price increase, especially in energy and mobility. These included among others, a nationwide public transport ticket for 9~Euro per month for three months in June, July, and August 2022. In transport policy research this is an almost unprecedented behavioral experiment. It allows us to study not only behavioral responses in mode choice and induced demand but also to assess the effectiveness of these instruments. We observe this natural experiment with a three-wave survey and a smartphone-based travel diary with passive tracking on an initial sample of 2, 261 participants with a focus on the Munich metropolitan region. This area is chosen as it offers a variety of mode options with a dense and far-reaching public transport network that even provides good access to many leisure destinations. The app has been providing data from 756 participants until the end of September, the three-wave survey by 1, 402, and the app and the three waves by 637 participants. In this paper, we report on the study design, the recruitment and study participation as well as the impacts of the policy measures on the self-reported and app-observed travel behavior; we present results on consumer choices for a successor ticket to the 9-Euro-Ticket that started in May 2023. We find a substantial shift in the modal share towards public transport from the car in our sample during the 9-Euro-Ticket period in travel distance (around 5 %) and in trip frequency (around 7 %). The mobility outcomes of the 9-Euro-Ticket however provide evidence that cheap public transport as a policy instrument does not suffice to incentive sustainable travel behavior choices and that other policy instruments are required in addition. |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2306.08297&r=ure |
| By: | Luthra, Renee Reichl; Platt, Lucinda |
| Abstract: | Recent scholarship suggests that immigrant selectivity – the degree to which immigrants differ from non-migrants in their sending countries – can help us understand their labour market outcomes in the receiving country. The selectivity hypothesis rests on three assumptions: first, that immigrants differ from non-migrants in their observed characteristics, such as education; second, that there is an association between such observed selection and (usually) unobserved characteristics, and third that this association drives positive relationships between observed selection and immigrant outcomes. While there is some evidence for a relationship between the degree of immigrants’ selectivity and their children’s outcomes, a comprehensive assessment of these assumptions for immigrants’ own labour market outcomes remains lacking. We use high-quality, nationally representative data for the UK, with large numbers of immigrants from a wide range of different origins and with a rich set of measures of networks, traits and characteristics, as well as economic outcomes, not typically found in surveys of immigrants. This enables us to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the selectivity hypothesis and its assumptions. We find that immigrants to the UK are on average positively selected on educational attainment. However, counter to theoretical assumptions, educational selection has little association with labour market outcomes: it is not or negatively associated with employment; and it is only associated with pay for those with tertiary qualifications and with occupational position for women. We show that the general lack of economic benefits from selection is consistent with an absence of association between educational selectivity and (typically unobserved) mechanisms assumed to link selection and labour market outcomes: social networks, cognitive and non-cognitive skills, and mental and physical health. We contextualise our findings with heterogeneity analysis by migration regime, sending country characteristics, level of absolute education and location of credential. |
| Keywords: | immigration; education; selection; labour market; inequality; Grant held at Essex University |
| JEL: | J1 R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2023–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:118629&r=ure |
| By: | Denti, Daria; Iammarino, Simona |
| Abstract: | Sexual crimes against women are severely underreported to the police, allowing for impunity of perpetrators. Observers suggest that a stimulus towards reporting the crime comes from nearby support services for victims of sexual offences - like refuges and advisors. Still, the evidence about the effects of nearby support on the reporting of sexual crimes remains scattered and mainly qualitative. This paper provides quantitative evidence on this effect, by exploiting the uneven geography of local support services which resulted in the UK after the introduction of the austerity program. Findings highlight a positive net effect of the provision of local support services on the victims’ propensity to report. The positive effect holds also in the aftermath of a space-neutral high-impact media campaign empowering women to report sexual violence. This evidence relates to relevant policy implications, given that in some countries the austerity-driven cuts to public budgets have reduced and dispersed the local availability of support services, making digital support and/or helpline the only available options in many places. |
| Keywords: | women; gender violence; austerity; policy evaluation; devolution; synthetic control; territorial injustice |
| JEL: | H75 I12 I18 J16 J78 |
| Date: | 2022–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:112710&r=ure |
| By: | Horne, Ralph; Dorignon, Louise; Lawson, Julie; Easthope, Hazel; Dühr, Stefanie; Moore, Trivess; Baker, Emma; Dalton, Tony; Pawson, Hal; Fairbrother, Peter |
| Abstract: | This final Inquiry report informs a strategy to facilitate circular economy housing: from construction, through operation to demolition. It draws on four coordinated research projects. The gravity and urgency of the climate emergency and the housing affordability crisis together warrant a significant, coordinated national effort to recalibrate the housing industry and ensure its sustainable future. A comprehensive CE strategy will: - lift sustainability as a priority - shift market processes - tilt incentives to attract the appropriate investment - build capacities towards circular and sustainable outcomes. An effective CE strategy must include a politically astute vision; robust legal footing; industry-relevant application; and be capable enforcement. Specialist in-depth investigation of Australian institutional settings, market processes and stakeholder capacities are now required to reflect and propose suitable instruments adapted to local conditions. The research makes five high-level recommendations to inform a CE housing strategy, including providing a picture of what needs to change and four recommendations showing how change might occur. Effective change requires measures that actively shift perceptions of value and priority-framing in decision-making to those that favour CE housing outcomes. Housing industry organisations cannot meet this challenge without purposeful public intervention and stakeholder cooperation. Regulation is essential to shape housing markets to reinforce CE approaches, from the micro level of building materials to construction and ongoing maintenance, to the macro level involving precinct-level spatial planning. Alongside legislative reform, clear targets and performance standards need to be enforced by monitoring, as well as being made accountable using reporting systems that sustain improving practice. These include energy efficiency and zero-waste policies; better regulations on material flows; upscaling technological improvements; and CE conditions in contractual arrangements. |
| Date: | 2023–06–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:trhvs&r=ure |
| By: | Markussen, Simen (Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research); Røed, Knut (Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | We use administrative data from Norway to examine recent trends in the association between parents' prime age earnings rank and offspring's educational performance rank by age 15/16. We show that the intergenerational correlation between these two ranks has increased over the past decades, and that offspring from economically disadvantaged families have fallen behind. This has happened despite public policies contributing to leveling the playing field. In particular, we show that the expansion of universal childcare and, more recently, the increased teacher-pupil ratio in compulsory school, have disproportionally benefited lower class offspring. The rising influence of parents' earnings rank can partly be explained by a strengthened intragenerational association between earnings rank and education among parents, as educational achievement has an inheritable component. Yet a considerable unexplained rise in the influence of family background remains, pointing towards an impending decline in intergenerational economic mobility. |
| Keywords: | Intergenerational mobility, achievement gaps, parental influence, meritocracy, GPA |
| JEL: | I24 J62 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16223&r=ure |
| By: | Alessandro Balestrino; Lisa Grazzini; Annalisa Luporini |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to analyse the role that quantity and quality of education may play in the design of public policies. In our model, education does not generate externalities nor is considered as a merit good, but educated people enjoy a premium on their incomes. Households live in two areas with different socio-economic characteristics. Altruistic parents choose both the amount and the quality of schooling they want for their children. The government is assumed to provide a composite education service which has a quantity as well as a quality dimension, and is financed mainly via taxes on the income of the parents. We investigate the effects on altruistic parents' social welfare of balanced-budget policy reforms aimed at introducing or raising i) school fees, and ii) vouchers meant to compensate the costs of attending high-quality schools. We show that in general school fees improve parents' welfare while vouchers do not. Parents' altruism is not enough to support high levels of quantity and quality of education: it is not necessarily sufficient to induce them to choose full-time education for their children, and is never sufficient for them to support the introduction of the voucher for quality. |
| Keywords: | Education Policy, Redistributive taxation |
| JEL: | H42 H52 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2023_02.rdf&r=ure |
| By: | Connor, Dylan Shane; Berg, Aleksander K; Kemeny, Tom; Kedron, Peter (Arizona State University) |
| Abstract: | We document that children growing up in places left behind by today’s economy experience lower levels of social mobility as adults. Using a longitudinal database that tracks over 20, 000 places in the United States from 1980 to 2018, we identify two kinds of left behind places: the ‘long-term left behind’ that have struggled over long periods of history; and ‘recently left-behind’ places where conditions have deteriorated. Compared to children of similar baseline household income levels, we find that exposure to left behind places is associated with a 4-percentile reduction in adult income rank. Children fare considerably better when exposed to places where conditions are improving. These outcomes vary across prominent social and spatial categories, and are compounded when nearby places are also experiencing hardship. Based on these findings, we argue that left behind places are having “scarring effects” on children that could manifest long into the future, exacerbating the intergenerational challenges faced by low-income households and communities. Improvements in local economic conditions and outmigration to more prosperous places are, therefore, unlikely to be full remedies for the problems created by left behind places. |
| Date: | 2023–06–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:nkydt&r=ure |
| By: | Rafiq Friperson (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); Hessel Oosterbeek (University of Amsterdam); Bas van der Klaauw (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | Sellers in real-estate markets, on internet platforms, in auction houses, and so forth, routinely pose non-binding price requests. Using a laboratory experiment, we examine how competition moderates the way such cheap-talk communication affects trade between buyers and sellers. For bilateral trade, the literature has identified efficiency, anchoring, and granularity effects of cheap-talk communication on negotiation outcomes. Our results show that most of these effects survive with competition, although some of them become weaker. Our main findings are the following: (i) The ability of sellers to make non-binding price requests has a positive effect on efficiency in that it helps trading partners close marginal deals both in bilateral bargaining and in competition; (ii) Competition reduces the informativeness of the price requests and weakens the anchoring effect of the level of the price request; (iii) Sellers communicating more granular price requests attract more granular buyer bids; (iv) The granularity of the seller’s price request does not impact the selling price. |
| Keywords: | Cheap-talk communication, efficiency, anchoring, price granulatiry, laboratory experiment |
| JEL: | C72 C92 D91 |
| Date: | 2023–06–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20230035&r=ure |
| By: | Lundin, Erik (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | Local resistance towards wind power is a central challenge for the energy transition, implying that legally imposed compensation schemes for nearby residents may become more prevalent in the near future. In this study, I use GIS-coded data on detached residential buildings in Sweden to simulate a variety of revenue sharing schemes applied to every present and planned commercial scale wind power project, with a focus on documenting the impact on investor costs. I compare models that entitle compensation for distance between six and ten times the tip height of the closest turbine, imposing schemes that are both constant within the eligible distance, as well as declining with distance from the turbine. An important conclusion is that costs vary considerably depending on the model chosen. When compensations are awarded for residents as far away as ten times the turbine height, foregone revenues exceed two percent for a large share of the projects, potentially necessitating the inclusion of a regulated cap on compensation costs. |
| Keywords: | Wind power; Negative externalities; Local acceptance; Energy transition; NIMBYism |
| JEL: | D40 D62 H23 P18 P48 |
| Date: | 2023–06–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1467&r=ure |
| By: | Jesús Fernández-Villaverde; Dario Laudati; Lee 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. |
| Keywords: | Italian economy, macroeconomic wedges, regional fiscal redistribution, regional convergence |
| JEL: | E10 E60 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10470&r=ure |
| By: | Mikula, Stepan (Masaryk University); Montag, Josef (Charles University, Prague) |
| Abstract: | This paper tests for discriminatory treatment of the Roma minority by public officials in the Czech Republic at the stage of initial contact preceding a potential application for unemployment benefit. Our correspondence experiment facilitates testing for the presence of each of two intertwined drivers of discrimination: ethnic animus and socioeconomic status prejudice. We find substantial evidence for the presence of discrimination based on both of these sources. Since Roma tend to have lower socioeconomic status, the two sources of discrimination compound for them. |
| Keywords: | discrimination, Roma, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, public services, social security, field experiment |
| JEL: | J15 D73 H55 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16218&r=ure |
| By: | Elisa Borghi; Donato Masciandaro |
| Abstract: | We explore the long run socio-economic impact of a medieval urban governance setting , the king-owned towns (KOTs). For a town the KOT status implies special fiscal, commercial and administrative prerogatives between the community and the Crown, where such as status could be renovated, modified or suspended. Researchers have tested the persistence effect of urban governance by comparing free city-states (communes) and feudal towns in Italy, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. This paper explores the KOTs as a third and novel category. The KOTs case is analysed using the southern Italy case, where the Kingdom of Naples delegated jurisdictional and fiscal powers to towns’ ruling classes – nobles and commoners - thereby creating a self-governance setting in which community representatives took collective decisions, including the systematic implementation of rights negotiations with the Crown, that shaped the evolution of their towns’ municipal statutes. This peculiar collective action can strengthen the persistence effect. Empirically, we find that a town’s past king owned experience is correlated with five centuries later outcomes, in terms of both economic performance and civil capital. Our results suggest that KOT status is more similar to commune experience than to fief experience, being a device to develop collective decision skills; at the same time, the unstable nature of the KOT status inhibited the strengthening of these capacities in the local communities. |
| Keywords: | urban governance, political elites, long-run persistence, economic history, culture, economic geography, Italy |
| JEL: | D72 H10 N44 O43 O52 K00 R10 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:baf:cbafwp:cbafwp23193&r=ure |
| By: | Animashaun, Jubril O.; Emediegwu, Lotanna E. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335503&r=ure |
| By: | Colmer, Jonathan (University of Virginia); Doleac, Jennifer (Texas A&M University) |
| Abstract: | Gun violence is a major problem in the United States, and extensive prior work has shown that higher temperatures increase violent behavior. In this paper, we consider whether restricting the concealed carry of firearms mitigates or exacerbates the effect of temperature on violence. We use two identification strategies that exploit daily variation in temperature and variation in gun control policies between and within states. Our findings suggest that more prohibitive concealed carry laws attenuate the temperature–homicide relationship. Additional results suggest that restrictions primarily decrease the lethality of temperature–driven violent crimes, rather than their overall occurrence, but may be less effective at reducing access to guns in more urban areas. |
| Keywords: | right-to-carry, temperature, crime, homicide |
| JEL: | K42 Q51 I18 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16247&r=ure |
| By: | Abel, Martin (Bowdoin College); Burger, Rulof (Stellenbosch University) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the extent and underlying mechanisms of how race beliefs associated with applicants' names affect hiring decisions. Using nationally representative data, we find widespread beliefs that people with names perceived to be Black possess lower levels of education, productivity and noncognitive skills. Notably, this race penalty persists when considering only variation in race perception for the same name and when omitting distinctly Black names. Conducting an incentivized hiring experiment with real worker data, we find that participants are 30 percentage points (pp) more likely to hire workers perceived to be white compared to Black. Controlling for productivity and noncognitive skills beliefs reduces this racial gap to 21 pp and 20 pp, respectively. Results indicate that race serves as a decision heuristic as employers make faster decisions and display more certainty when perceived race differences between candidates are large. Moreover, the race gap in hiring increases by 25% when employers are forced to make quick decisions. Estimates from a structural drift-diffusion model quantify the effect of beliefs and show that employers differ both in their usage of racial heuristics and inclination to override these heuristics when given sufficient decision time. |
| Keywords: | race discrimination, hiring discrimination, name associations |
| JEL: | J50 J70 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16254&r=ure |
| By: | Suarsana, Laura; Schneider, Tina; Warsewa, Günter |
| Abstract: | In addition to traditional, cluster-oriented approaches, both cross-sectional technologies ("key enabling technologies") and societal challenges ("grand challenges") are becoming increasingly important for regional innovation strategies. A more complex, multi-dimensional approach of regional innovation strategies requires but a number of adaptations, which need to adjust to various, different regional preconditions. The article raises the research question how societal demands are considered and implemented by regional innovation strategies in four case study regions: Pirkanmaa/Tampere region in Finland, Groningen region in the Netherlands, West Flanders in Belgium, and the Federal State of Bremen in Germany. The four regional case studies are comparable European regions in terms of their innovation capacity and their level of innovation (all are classified "highly innovative" or "strong innovator" by the European Union). In order to address global societal goals and challenges - in particular climate change and its consequences as well as demographic change - a multidimensional innovation policy spanning sectors and technologies and a close interlinking of technological and societal innovation objectives and strategies, seems inevitable. The analyses revealed that governance structures and the innovation infrastructures in the regions indeed start to adapt to societal needs and to the increasing complexity of regional innovation strategies, though the speed as well as the intensity of transition and adjustment varies greatly across the regions. Interregional learning as is intended by the European Interreg programme could offer meaningful support for the progress of regional measures towards multi-dimensional innovation policies. |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iawsch:402023&r=ure |
| By: | Albrecht, Sabina; Collins, Jason; Gauriot, Romain; Wu, Fannie |
| Abstract: | Alesina et al. (2023) examine how people perceive the number and characteristics of migrants and how those perceptions affect their support for redistribution. They find that respondents from the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy, Germany and France markedly overestimate the share of immigrants in each country, with the average respondent in all countries except Sweden overestimating by more than a factor of two. We reproduce these results using the original code and data and test the robustness by (i) including participants excluded for time to complete the survey, (ii) extending the analysis of misperceptions to all survey respondents, and (iii) using alternative authoritative estimates of the proportion of immigrants. We find that these checks marginally change the estimates of the size of the misperception but do not change the conclusions to be drawn from the analysis. Alesina et al. (2023) also test the effect on support for redistribution of showing videos on immigrant characteristics. We computationally reproduced the treatment effects on support for redistribution. |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:40&r=ure |
| By: | Esther Duflo; Daniel Keniston; Tavneet Suri; Céline Zipfel |
| Abstract: | Agricultural extension programs often train a few farmers and count on diffusion through social networks for the innovation to spread. However, if markets are imperfectly integrated, this may also inflict negative externalities. In a two-step experiment of an agronomy training program among Rwandan coffee farmers, we first randomize the concentration of trainees at the village level and then randomly select within each village. Knowledge increased, and yields were 6.7% higher for trained farmers. We find no evidence of social diffusion; instead, control households experienced negative spillovers in high treatment concentration areas, likely because of competition for a scarce input, fertilizer. |
| JEL: | O12 Q13 Q16 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31368&r=ure |
| By: | Venkateswaran, Gowthami; Baylis, Kathy; Pullabhotla, Hemant K. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Agribusiness, International Development |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335894&r=ure |
| By: | Anand, Gautam (Global School Leaders); Atluri, Aishwarya (J-PAL); Crawfurd, Lee (Center for Global Development); Pugatch, Todd (Oregon State University); Sheth, Ketki (University of Tennessee) |
| Abstract: | Improving school quality in low and middle income countries (LMICs) is a global priority. One way to improve quality may be to improve the management skills of school leaders. In this systematic review, we analyze the impact of interventions targeting school leaders' management practices on student learning. We begin by describing the characteristics and responsibilities of school leaders using data from large, multi-country surveys. Second, we review the literature and conduct a meta-analysis of the causal effect of school management interventions on student learning, using 39 estimates from 20 evaluations. We estimate a statistically significant improvement in student learning of 0.04 standard deviations. We show that effect sizes are not related to program scale or intensity. We complement the meta-analysis by identifying common limitations to program effectiveness through a qualitative assessment of the studies included in our review. We find three main factors which mitigate program effectiveness: 1) low take-up; 2) lack of incentives or structure for implementation of recommendations; and 3) the lengthy causal chain linking management practices to student learning. Finally, to assess external validity of our review, we survey practitioners to compare characteristics between evaluated and commonly implemented programs. Our findings suggest that future work should focus on generating evidence on the marginal effect of common design elements in these interventions, including factors that promote school leader engagement and accountability. |
| Keywords: | school management, school principals, head teachers, systematic review, meta-analysis |
| JEL: | I21 I25 I28 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16252&r=ure |
| By: | Bedoya, Juan; de Hoyos, Rafael; Estrada, Ricardo |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the effect of a civil service reform on the skills profile of new teachers in Mexico. The reform mandated the use of rule-based recruitment over discretionary hiring. Our results show that the reform led to hiring teachers with higher cognitive skills. We also show that an improvement in the bottom of the skills distribution of new hires drove this change. Two channels explain these effects. First, the reform decreased the prevalence of discretionary hires, who tended to be drawn from the bot tom of the skills distribution. Second, the reform improved the screening efficiency of rule-based hiring, making cognitive skills more important determinants of hiring outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Docentes, Educación, |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dbl:dblwop:2055&r=ure |
| By: | Bhattacharya, Nilanjan; Pakrashi, Debayan; Saha, Sarani; Wang, Liang C. |
| Abstract: | In regions affected by conflicts, partition, and violence, how does past exposure to such incidences affect attitudes towards members of different social groups? Drawing on the theory of inequity aversion model, we infer that past exposure to conflict and violence can increase an individual's ability to empathize with the ingroup(s) and discriminate against the outgroup(s). We test this hypothesis by conducting a money-giving dictator game and a money-taking dictator game among 794 Hindu Bengali individuals from an Indian-native-born background and an East-Pakistan-refugee background residing in the state of West Bengal in India. Our objective is to study the dominant social identity and identity assimilation of individuals with multiple social affiliations. We find that participants from both native and refugee backgrounds show favoritism towards other Hindus in India by giving them money taken away from Muslims in India, Hindus in Bangladesh, and Muslims in Bangladesh. The favoritism towards other Hindus in India indicates that they are treated as the social ingroup, while the discrimination against the other groups indicates that they are treated as the social outgroups. Participants from refugee families discriminate against Muslims in India more than Hindus in Bangladesh, while participants from native families discriminate against Hindus in Bangladesh more than Muslims in India. The differential treatments across social groups suggest that the Hindu religious affiliation plays a more dominant role than the Indian nationality affiliation in the identity of refugees. Further, we find suggestive evidence of identity assimilation among individuals with a refugee background. |
| Keywords: | social identity, partition refugees, charitable giving |
| JEL: | F22 J15 Z12 N3 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1297&r=ure |
| By: | Armesto Gómez, Alejandra |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics |
| Date: | 2023–05–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ncrcrd:335384&r=ure |
| By: | Patrice Ballester (Euridis - Euridis Business School, M.E.N.E.S.R. - Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche) |
| Abstract: | Interview with Patrice Ballester for Le VIF about overtourism in Barcelona. Trampling the cobblestones of Europe by the thousands, the tourists ended up causing a fed up on their way. Congestion, incivility, noise, saturation of spaces, loss of living comfort for residents. From Barcelona to Venice, via Amsterdam, here is why the fight is necessary but delicate. It is necessary to have a geographical, historical and marketing analysis to understand the consequences of globalization - mass tourism. |
| Abstract: | Interview de Patrice Ballester pour Le VIF au sujet du surtourisme à Barcelone. Foulant les pavés d'Europe par milliers, les touristes ont fini par provoquer un ras-le-bol sur leur passage. Congestion, incivilité, bruit, saturation des espaces, perte du confort de vie des habitants. De Barcelone à Venise, en passant par Amsterdam, voici pourquoi le combat est nécessaire mais délicat. Il est nécessaire d'avoir une analyse géographique, historique et marketing pour comprendre les conséquences de la mondialisation - tourisme de masse. |
| Keywords: | overtourism, leisure, waterfront, globalization, city, migration, Barcelona, surtourisme, loisir, front de mer, mondialisation, ville, Barcelone |
| Date: | 2022–06–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04105579&r=ure |
| By: | Violeta Moskalu (Institut d'Administration des Entreprises (IAE) - Metz) |
| Abstract: | Our research proposes a conceptual framework for understanding diaspora entrepreneurship and outlines a future research agenda to advance the field. The diaspora entrepreneurship is a unique phenomenon that involves the creation and development of new ventures by members of a diaspora community, who draw on their cultural, social, and economic ties to their homelands to create economic opportunities in their host countries, or vice versa (Moskalu, 2018). We propose a conceptual framework that includes three dimensions of the diaspora entrepreneurial orientation: diaspora networks, diaspora mindset and more specifically its psychological ownership and institutional context (rules, regulations, policies, cultural factors), to bridge the gap between theory, practice, and policy (Elo & al., 2022) by using an international business and entrepreneurship lens to analyze the diaspora entrepreneurship phenomena. The two main scientific contributions of our research are 1) we have proposed a research design on diaspora entrepreneurship for the creation of public value, with an unprecedented intersection articulating different dimensions of the phenomenon of entrepreneurship; and 2) we have designed the future research agenda on diaspora entrepreneurship. |
| Keywords: | diaspora entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial situation, entrepreneurial orientation, trust, entrepreneurial support, social capital |
| Date: | 2023–06–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04108836&r=ure |
| By: | Giulia Malevolti; Donato Romano |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses poverty dynamics and checks for the existence of poverty traps among refugee and host communities living close to each other in Uganda. Although some non-linearities emerge in asset dynamics, there is convergence towards one stable equilibrium for the whole sample that suggests the existence of a structural poverty trap. However, households are quite heterogeneous: when analysing refugees and hosts separately, refugees converge to a lower own-group equilibrium than hosts. The household size, its location, the displacement reason as well as the household’s head gender are correlates of lower equilibria. Panel attrition correction and robustness checks confirm these results. Interestingly, social cohesion positively impacts refugees’ asset accumulation while it generally has a negative impact for hosts. From a policy perspective, structural poverty traps are bad news, because ‘standard’ asset transfers would not unlock the trap. More structural approaches aiming at promoting economic growth in the whole area where refugee and host communities live and targeting both communities are needed. |
| Keywords: | refugees; hosts; asset accumulation; poverty traps; Uganda |
| JEL: | D31 I32 O12 R23 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2023_04.rdf&r=ure |
| By: | Deivis Angeli; Matt Lowe; The Village Team; Matthew Lowe |
| Abstract: | We study whether tweets about racial justice predict the offline behaviors of nearly 20, 000 US academics. In an audit study, academics that tweet about racial justice discriminate more in favor of minority students than academics that do not tweet about racial justice. Racial justice tweets are more predictive of race-related political tweets than political contributions, suggesting that visibility increases informativeness. In contrast, the informativeness of tweets is lower during periods of high social pressure to tweet about racial justice. Finally, most graduate students mispredict informativeness, more often underestimating than overestimating, reducing the welfare benefits of social media. |
| Keywords: | virtue signals, social signalling , discrimination, audit experiment, political behavior |
| JEL: | C93 D91 I23 J15 J71 D83 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10475&r=ure |
| By: | David L. Sjoquist (Center for State and Local Finance, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University) |
| Abstract: | In this report, we explore the mileage tax (i.e., a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax) to provide a basic understanding of what a milage tax is, to describe the options for how it might be implemented, and to explore many of the issues associated with switching from a motor fuel tax to a mileage tax. Such a switch would likely be implemented over time, with some vehicles continuing to pay the motor fuel tax for a protracted period and with an increasing number of other vehicles paying a tax based on miles driven. A tax based on miles driven is alternatively referred to as a vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) tax or fee, a mileage-based user fee (MBUF), or a road user charge (RUC). |
| Date: | 2023–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ays:cslfwp:cslf2301&r=ure |
| By: | Stefan Leiderer; Helge Roxin |
| Abstract: | Bridging the gap between humanitarian assistance and development cooperation has been a contentious issue in academia and development practice for decades. Drawing on an evaluation of Germany's 'Partnership for Prospects' initiative, this paper argues that, whilst the supplement of 'peacebuilding' to the nexus (humanitarian-development-peacebuilding [HDP] nexus) brought an important context factor into the discussion in an environment of conflict, it is only of marginal help in a context of forced migration to neighbouring countries of a given conflict. |
| Keywords: | Forced migration, Conflict, Politics, Humanitarian assistance, Peacebuilding, Refugees, Development |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2023-69&r=ure |
| By: | Bhalotra, Sonia (University of Warwick); Clots-Figueras, Irma (University of Kent); Iyer, Lakshmi (University of Notre Dame) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of the political representation of minority groups on the incidence of ethnic conflict in India. We code data on Hindu-Muslim violence and Muslim political representation in India and leverage quasi-random variation in legislator religion generated by the results of close elections. We find that the presence of Muslim legislators results in a large and significant decline in Hindu-Muslim conflict. The average result is driven by richer states and those with greater police strength. Our results suggest that the political empowerment of minority communities can contribute to curbing civil conflict. |
| Keywords: | conflict ; violence ; religion ; political representation ; police ; close elections JEL codes: D72 ; D74 ; J15 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1463&r=ure |
| By: | Luca Bellodi; Massimo Morelli |
| Abstract: | Once in office, politicians propose policies and programmes aimed at winning the support of their constituencies. While this form of political activism increases with the number of politicians in government, it can also clash with capacity constraints, leading to a congestion effect whereby politicians’ plans are not enacted in practice. With novel data on Italian municipalities, we estimate the effect of the number of politicians on a battery of planned and actual budget outcomes. We leverage a reform that introduced a new temporary population threshold where the size of government bodies changed discontinuously and estimate treatment effects with a difference-in-discontinuities design. We find that more politicians plan to spend more but they do not do so in practice. The degree of this congestion decreases when bureaucratic capacity is high (i.e., larger share of bureaucrats with a university degree), suggesting administrative capacity deficits prevent politicians from implementing their proposed agenda. |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:baf:cbafwp:cbafwp23194&r=ure |