|
on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Joseph Gyourko; Sean McCulloch |
| Abstract: | We estimate the impact of more stringent minimum lot size restrictions across small border areas of neighboring communities using data from the Wharton Residential Land Use Regulatory Index (WRLURI) surveys. Economically meaningful effects are found on the built environment, not just house prices. Within 100 meters of the borders, housing density as reflected in the number of single family homes per acre is about 11% lower on average in the most restricted communities compared to the least restricted communities in terms of minimum lot sizes. Individual homes are bigger by about 80 square feet, an amount equal to about 4% of typical unit square footage. Lots are over 3, 000 square feet larger in the most restricted compared to the least restricted communities’ border areas, an increase equal to 28% of the sample mean lot size. Hence, among the smaller number of homes that exist in the most regulated places, their physical structures are modestly bigger and they sit on appreciably larger lots. Finally, house prices are nearly $30, 000 higher in the more regulated border areas compared to the least regulated border areas. This price impact can be accounted for by differences in house quality, structure and lot size specifically, on the two sides of a border. |
| JEL: | H73 K25 R31 R38 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31710&r=ure |
| By: | Jurre Thiel (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis); Henrik Zaunbrecher (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis) |
| Abstract: | Since the financial crisis, home ownership rates have decreased across the world. Also in the Netherlands, the size of the rental sector has increased. Decreased access to mortgage debt explains part of this development. We show that tightened mortgage debt limits explain a fifth of the increase in rentals between 2013 and 2019. Mortgage debt limits constrain the amount a household can borrow to purchase a home. When a household cannot buy a house, it might rent instead. As a result, investors purchase homes to let and houses shift into the rental sector. Based on a new model of the interaction between the owner-occupied and rental sectors of the housing market, we show that this distortion can be sizable. Taxing rents or imposing a cap on the number of rentals can partially counteract the effects of mortgage debt limits on the number of rentals. However, such measures tend to also push households that prefer to rent into owner-occupation. Hence, they are counterproductive when taken too far. |
| JEL: | C5 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:449&r=ure |
| By: | Yifan GONG; Charles Ka Yui LEUNG |
| Abstract: | In our evaluation of the housing expenditure share cap, a macroprudential policy, we discover the importance of modeling space. The spatial considerations allow households to sort into segmented housing markets based on income. Our model generates the observed negative relationship between housing expenditure share and income. More importantly, the cap policy causes a more considerable reduction in housing costs for low-income families than for high-income families in a spatial model. Depending on the assumption of households' preference, this mechanism leads to a minor increase or even a modest decrease in welfare inequality in a spatial model than in a spaceless model. |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dpr:wpaper:1214&r=ure |
| By: | Arranz, Ana Muñoz |
| Abstract: | It has been stated that housing plays a major role in the process of integration of migrants and refugees into a society, as housing location, accessibility, affordability and habitability among other factors, have direct impact on the ability of inhabitants to seek employment and access education and healthcare. However, there seems to be little literature about the integration outcomes and the improvement of wellbeing after different housing policies and housing solutions have been implemented. This research aims at reviewing the existing literature regarding housing interventions of any kind for migrants, including refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented or irregular migrants and internationally displaced population, in European Mediterranean countries, with a focus on inclusion related outcomes. As specific objectives, the research will focus on: - Reviewing best practices and recommendations regarding housing interventions for migrants - Identifying indicators in housing interventions to assess the inclusion of migrants and thus their improved life conditions and, if possible, categorizing them - Mapping available evidence on the effectiveness of housing interventions to foster inclusion of migrants |
| Date: | 2023–09–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:46ckt&r=ure |
| By: | Lee Crawfurd (Center for Global Development); Abdullah Alam (Institute for Social and Policy Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan) |
| Abstract: | Can governments contract out school management at scale? In 2016 the Government of Punjab transferred management of over 4, 000 failing primary schools to private operators. Schools remained free to students. Private operators received a government subsidy per enrolled student of less than half per-student spending in government schools. This paper evaluates the effects on performance of converted schools. Comparing early converters to later converters, we estimate that enrolment in treated schools increased by over 60 percent, and test scores declined sharply. |
| Keywords: | Charter schools, difference-in-difference, Pakistan, PPPs, public-private partnerships |
| JEL: | I25 O15 |
| Date: | 2022–09–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:622&r=ure |
| By: | Laure Casanova Enault (ESPACE - Études des Structures, des Processus d’Adaptation et des Changements de l’Espace - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - AU - Avignon Université - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Côte d'Azur); Martin Bocquet (Cerema - Centre d'Etudes et d'Expertise sur les Risques, l'Environnement, la Mobilité et l'Aménagement); Guilhem Boulay (ESPACE - Études des Structures, des Processus d’Adaptation et des Changements de l’Espace - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - AU - Avignon Université - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Côte d'Azur) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the structure of French property ownership and shows how it is crucial input to understand the socio-spatial distribution of wealth and inequalities in cities. To date only partial information exists on this given that we are in a period of financial opacity. In this paper, we provide a theoretical framework to analyze the structure of property ownership. It is defined by four dimensions: the distribution of properties among different categories of owners, the spatial patterns of the properties held by these categories, their estimated financial value, and their concentration within the categories—the latter not studied here, for legal and confidentiality reasons. Drawing on unpublished cadastral data on property owners and property transaction prices, we carry out an empirical analysis which reveals the dominance of household and public ownership, contrasting with the marginal position of private investors. Despite the fact that the structure of ownership is fairly uniform throughout the urban hierarchy, some groups of owners do however hold strategically located properties. Our results show the embeddedness of the property ownership in different accumulation regimes, and relativize any consideration of financialization or neoliberalism as a global all-encompassing framework when analyzing real estate property. |
| Keywords: | Land, housing, inequality |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04187490&r=ure |
| By: | Olivier Habimana (African Population and Health Research Center); Francis Kiroro (African Population and Health Research Center); John Muchira (African Population and Health Research Center); Aisha Ali (Center for Global Development); Catherine Asego (African Population and Health Research Center); Rita Perakis (Center for Global Development); Moses Ngware (African Population and Health Research Center; Center for Global Development) |
| Abstract: | To contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools in Kenya, as in many other countries, had to temporarily close. This study investigates the extent to which lockdowns and school closures affected households and low-cost private schools (LCPS) in four urban informal settlements in Nairobi: Kibera, Korogocho, Mathare, and Viwandani. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from household heads, school heads, and key informants from August to October 2021. Our findings indicate that measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 significantly reduced household incomes, and among the coping strategies adopted by some households was to transfer learners from private schools to public schools, especially for learners in primary schools, because public primary schools do not charge tuition and enjoy government-paid teachers. The loss of income from school fees during school closure and from rent for premises, coupled with increased defaults on school fees and a significant reduction in enrollment when schools reopened, led to the permanent closure of some LCPS, and learners had to transfer to other schools. Furthermore, LCPS could not afford to pay teachers during school closures and therefore lost some when the schools reopened. A proportion of private schools opted to fill the gap with cheaper, unqualified teachers. Two main recommendations emerge from our findings. Considering increasing urbanization, especially growth of informal settlements whose residents are mainly low-income households, the government of Kenya should increase the spaces in the public schools available within and around these settlements. The majority of families in these settlements send their children to private schools because there are no government schools available near them, not necessarily because they prefer private schools to government schools. We recommend that the government provide capitation grants to children from low-income households attending LCPS. In the short run, there is a need for a recovery fund for LCPS, especially those that are at-risk of closure. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, education, informal settlements, low-cost private school, Nairobi |
| Date: | 2022–10–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:623&r=ure |
| By: | N. Meltem Daysal; Michael F. Lovenheim; David N. Wasser |
| Abstract: | Rising wealth inequality has spurred an increased interest in understanding how and why wealth is correlated across generations. We exploit plausibly exogenous variation in housing wealth driven by home price changes in different areas to isolate the causal impact of parental housing wealth during different childhood periods on children’s long-run wealth accumulation. Using population-level Danish administrative data, we find that 27% and 25% of each Krone of parental housing wealth change during early-childhood is transmitted to children’s overall and housing wealth in adulthood, respectively. The corresponding transmission rates for parental housing wealth changes during middle-childhood are 25% and 15%, with a transmission to non-housing wealth of 10%. There is little evidence of transmission of parental housing wealth changes that occur during the teenage years. Examining mechanisms, we find that parental housing wealth changes in early and middle-childhood lead to modest increases in adult children’s home ownership, educational attainment, and earnings. However, earnings and education can explain only 20-30% of the intergenerational transmission of parental wealth gains during these periods. We argue that the transmission of parental housing wealth changes in childhood are driven in large part by changes to unobserved household environment and parental behaviors that are passed on to children and shape their savings behavior in adulthood. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational wealth transmission, housing wealth |
| JEL: | J62 D31 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10647&r=ure |
| By: | Lee Crawfurd (Center for Global Development); David K. Evans (Center for Global Development); Susannah Hares (Center for Global Development); Justin Sandefur (Center for Global Development) |
| Abstract: | Education systems regularly face unexpected school closures, whether due to disease outbreaks, natural disasters, or other adverse shocks. In low-income countries where internet access is scarce, distance learning—the most common educational solution—is often passive, via TV or radio, with little opportunity for teacher-student interaction. In this paper we evaluate the effectiveness of live tutoring calls from teachers, designed to supplement radio instruction during the 2020 school closures prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We do this with a randomised controlled trial with 4, 399 primary school students in Sierra Leone. Tutoring calls led to some limited increase in educational activity, but had no effect on mathematics or language test scores, whether for girls or boys, and whether provided by public or private school teachers. Even having received tutoring calls, one in three children reported not listening to educational radio at all, so limited take-up may partly explain our results. |
| Keywords: | Education, COVID, distance learning, teachers |
| JEL: | I10 I20 I25 O15 |
| Date: | 2021–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:591&r=ure |
| By: | Bauer, Thomas K.; Schulze, Kathrin |
| Abstract: | Migration has always been an omnipresent topic in Germany. However, unlike today, in the 19th century the German territory was a country of emigration, not immigration. Using county-level data for the period from 1861 to 1871, this paper examines the determinants of emigration from and immigration to Prussia. The empirical results indicate that emigration from Prussia was positively associated with increasing land ownership inequality, urbanization, available transport infrastructure and previous emigration experience, and negatively related to the distance to the nearest port. Average land ownership had an inverted U-shaped effect on emigration. Immigration was concentrated in counties with a high degree of urbanization and a high proportion of industrial workers.) |
| Keywords: | Age of mass migration, historical migration, determinants of migration, Prussia |
| JEL: | J15 K37 N33 N9 R23 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:1022&r=ure |
| By: | Lisa Barrow; Sarah Komisarow; Lauren Sartain |
| Abstract: | School districts across the U.S. have adopted funding policies designed to distribute resources more equitably across schools. However, schools are also increasing external fundraising efforts to supplement district budget allocations. We document the interaction between funding policies and fundraising efforts in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). We find that adoption of a weighted-student funding policy successfully reallocated more dollars to schools with high shares of students eligible for free/reduced-price (FRL) lunch, creating a policy-induced per-pupil expenditure gap. Further, almost all schools raised external funds over the study period with most dollars raised concentrated in schools serving relatively affluent populations. We estimate that external fundraising offset the policy-induced per-pupil expenditure gap between schools enrolling the lowest and highest shares of FRL-eligible students by 26-39 percent. Other districts have attempted to reallocate fundraised dollars to all schools; such a policy in CPS would have little impact on most schools’ budgets. |
| Keywords: | Education Finance; public schools; school funding; nonprofit; fundraising; Equity |
| JEL: | I22 I28 H75 |
| Date: | 2023–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedhwp:96671&r=ure |
| By: | Esteban Callejas Perez |
| Abstract: | This doctoral dissertation explores three main questions related to household behaviour. The first question is: what is the effect of remittances on households’ demand for credit? This question is addressed using a representative Colombian survey, revealing a double role of remittances in the demand for credit. On one hand, remittances seem to relax the household’s budget constrain leading to a reduction in its demand for all types of credit; both formal and informal. However, on the other hand, for more expensive loans requiring mortgages as collateral, remittances seem to serve as endorsement for the future repayment of the loan instalments thus augmenting the household’s demand for credit. The effect of informality is also discussed in the analysis, showing that it restricts the access to formal credit. The second question explored is: how remittances affect the housing market in an emerging economy? This answered at the aggregate level using Colombia as a case study, showing evidence that remittances seem to increase the supply of housing, which leads to a decrease in prices both for sale as well as for rent. This effect seems to affect particularly housing in low-income areas. Finally, the third question explored in this work is: How real estate transfer taxes affect the housing market? This question is addressed using the Belgian housing market for the analysis. The analysis shows an increase in housing prices as a consequence of reductions in the transfer tax. Moreover, a substitution effect from apartments to houses is evidenced, favouring the more expensive houses in detriment of the more expensive apartments. However, this substitution effect is reversed after the establishment of a price limit under which the tax discount is dispensed, with the more expensive apartments and the cheaper houses appropriating the reduction in the tax. Inequality and population distribution is also analysed, concluding that the tax reduction reduced the mean age of the treated municipalities, favouring particularly individuals aged between 36 to 55 years, in detriment of younger (26-25) and older (more than 55 years old) individuals, as well as favouring married households with children at the expense of all other types of households. Moreover, evidence is shown that Brussels’ 2015 transfer tax modification increased both income and wealth inequality, whereas Flanders’ 2014 tax reform decreased both types of inequality. |
| Keywords: | Housing; Remittances; Housing supply; Housing demand; Credit; Households; Household credit demand; Migration; Taxes; Real estate; Transfer taxes; Credit demand; Development |
| Date: | 2023–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulb:ulbeco:2013/362449&r=ure |
| By: | William R. Kerr |
| Abstract: | We study the relationship between firm centralization and organizational reproduction in satellite locations. For decentralized firms, the ethnic compositions of inventors in satellite locations mostly resemble their host cities, with little link to the inventor composition of their parent firms' R&D headquarters. For highly centralized firms, by contrast, organizational reproduction has an explanatory power equal to half or more of the host city effect. Reproduction is strongest when a firm exhibits a hands-on approach to the satellite facility, such as cross-facility team collaboration or internal talent mobility. |
| JEL: | F22 F23 J61 L22 L25 M51 O31 O32 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31724&r=ure |
| By: | Whelan, Stephen; Pawson, Hal; Troy, Laurence; Ong, Rachel; Lawson, Julie |
| Abstract: | This final Inquiry examines the challenges of financing to buy a first home. It incorporates four supporting Research Projects and focuses on socio-economic developments and policy settings that impact access to home ownership. While high house prices are often cited as the biggest challenge faced by first homebuyers, this Inquiry highlights that the problem is significantly more complex. Critically, existing policy settings are likely to have exacerbated rather than alleviated the challenge faced by first homebuyers to finance home ownership. Politically seductive measures such as first homeowner grants and tax concessions have failed to arrest declining rates of home ownership. Those first homebuyers who have been able to buy a home have made a variety of strategy and behavioural changes, including buying more affordable attached dwellings (e.g. units and apartments) that are further away from their household’s social and economic networks, and finding other sources of financing such as from parents. The Inquiry makes six key recommendations: 1. Policy to assist entry to home ownership in Australia needs bigger focus on supply side measures 2. Tax-transfer reforms are required as current policy settings disadvantage aspiring first homebuyers and benefit existing home owners 3. Policy must take into account distributional consequences (that is, they may benefit or disadvantage people from certain income groups or geographical regions) and be targeted to benefit those who may not otherwise achieve owner-occupation 4. Policy measures that assist first homebuyers need to facilitate both accessibility—the down payment constraint, and affordability—the repayment constraint 5. Policy makers need to be aware of the consequences of policy settings and avoid unintended consequences when implementing measures that are ostensibly designed to assist first homebuyers 6. Housing policy ambitions need to include other tenures, such as renting and shared equity, as legitimate long-term housing outcomes. |
| Date: | 2023–09–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:kjf7m&r=ure |
| By: | Johan Brannlund; Helen Lao; Maureen MacIsaac; Jing Yang |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether machine learning (ML) algorithms can outperform a linear model in predicting monthly growth in Canada of both house prices and existing home sales. The aim is to apply two widely used ML techniques (support vector regression and multilayer perceptron) in economic forecasting to understand their scopes and limitations. We find that the two ML algorithms can perform better than a linear model in forecasting house prices and resales. However, the improvement in forecast accuracy is not always statistically significant. Therefore, we cannot systematically conclude using traditional time-series data that the ML models outperform the linear model in a significant way. Future research should explore non-traditional data sets to fully take advantage of ML methods. |
| Keywords: | Econometric and statistical methods; Financial markets; Housing |
| JEL: | A C45 C53 R2 R3 D2 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bca:bocadp:23-21&r=ure |
| By: | Eric A. Hanushek (Hoover Institution, Stanford University); Lavinia Kinne (ifo Institute); Sancassani Pietro (ifo Institute); Ludger Woessmann (LMU Munich) |
| Abstract: | Decisions to invest in human capital depend on people’s time preferences. We show that differences in patience are closely related to substantial subnational differences in educational achievement, leading to new perspectives on longstanding within-country disparities. We use social-media data – Facebook interests – to construct novel regional measures of patience within Italy and the United States. Patience is strongly positively associated with student achievement in both countries, accounting for two-thirds of the achievement variation across Italian regions and one-third across U.S. states. Results also hold for six other countries with more limited regional achievement data. |
| Keywords: | patience; student achievement; regions; social media; |
| JEL: | I21 Z10 |
| Date: | 2023–09–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rco:dpaper:429&r=ure |
| By: | Brian Duncan; Stephen J. Trejo |
| Abstract: | The authors explore unique complete-count data from the 1930 Census in which a respondent’s race was assigned by enumerators and “Mexican” was one of the possible responses. Census enumerators frequently and selectively assigned a non-Mexican race—predominantly “white”—to U.S.-born individuals of Mexican ancestry. As a result, using enumerator-assigned race to identify Mexican Americans misses a sizeable fraction of the relevant population and significantly understates this group’s socioeconomic attainment. The propensity for Census enumerators to identify Mexican Americans as white varied enormously across U.S. counties, and this variation is strongly associated with both the educational attainment of U.S.-born Mexican Americans observed in the 1940 Census and the amount of return migration by Mexican immigrants during the 1930s. As such, this variation may help to identify local environments that were more favorable for the integration of Mexican Americans. |
| JEL: | J15 |
| Date: | 2023–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31623&r=ure |
| By: | Omar Benida (Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II (CEDoc- IAV); MAROC); Khalil Allali; Hassan Ramou; Aziz Fadelaoui |
| Abstract: | This article will diagnose the extent to which the latest regional division in Morocco can allow for better convergence along with economic of regions. To do this, we used econometric modeling based on the σ-convergence test and β-convergence estimation. The study period considered is between 2004 and 2019 partitioned over 3 sub-periods of 5 years each. This allowed for 36 observations for absolute beta-convergence and for conditional betaconvergence. The test used is the Hausman test which grants us to test the presence or absence of a correlation between the specific effects and the explanatory variables of the model. The main results of this modeling are (i) the unconditional σ-convergence and beta- convergence do not prove the existence of convergence but rather divergence between regions, (ii) the conditional β-convergence was able to demonstrate convergence between regions. This can be explained by the fact that conditional β-convergence is only a necessary but not a sufficient condition to achieve the decrease in dispersion between regions in the sense of σ-convergence, (iii) the analysis shows that the regional division does not favor a convergence between regions and thus delays a sustainable economic takeoff of regions. |
| Keywords: | regional wealth regional economic convergence territorial disparities economic models β-convergence Ϭ-convergence, regional wealth, regional economic, economic models, convergence, territorial disparities, β-convergence, Ϭ-convergence, territoriales disparities |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04188656&r=ure |
| By: | Koppa, Vijetha; West, Jeremy |
| Abstract: | Using a panel of United States counties, this study compares outcomes before and during the 2020-2021 school year between locations that started K-12 instruction on campus, remotely, or through a hybrid approach. Corroborating recent studies, we find comparatively larger increases of COVID-19 cases and deaths in locations using any in-person instruction. Within the same empirical framework, we present robust new evidence that employment was unaffected by this choice, even in counties with more vulnerable populations. We posit that opening schools did not improve employment due to policy uncertainty, supported by the fact that one-quarter of schools changed teaching methods mid-year. |
| Keywords: | Education policy, Public health, Labor supply, education policy, public health, labor supply, Economics |
| Date: | 2022–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:ucscec:qt5r67b4rc&r=ure |
| By: | Hiroki Tanaka (Doshisha University); Masaya Yasuoka (School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University) |
| Abstract: | Our paper sets a human capital accumulation model with endogenous fertility to examine how demand for school education and private tutoring and fertility are determined. Generally, high-income households choose private school education. However, if the relation between public school education and private tutoring is complementary, then low-income households are unable to choose public school education because of the necessary payments for private tutoring. Instead, they choose private school education to reduce education costs. Given a certain condition, the fertility of households that choose private school education is less than the fertility of households that choose public school education. |
| Keywords: | Fertility, Human capital accumulation, Private tutoring, School education |
| JEL: | I22 H52 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kgu:wpaper:260&r=ure |
| By: | Stienen, Valentijn (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research); den Hertog, Dick (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research); Wagenaar, Joris (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research); Zegher, J.F. |
| Keywords: | trafic speed; Road attribute prediction; (Convolutional) neural network; Satellite imagery; Weather information |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tiu:tiucen:de5c3c6d-44ee-45cf-b207-c748ae918bd5&r=ure |
| By: | Fahmida Khatun; Syed Yusuf Saadat; Kashfia Ashraf |
| Abstract: | Bangladesh, particularly its capital city Dhaka, has been on the top of the mantle for having the worst air quality in the world. Economic development induced by rapid industrialisation, urbanisation and energy consumption is responsible for the degradation of air quality in major cities of Bangladesh. |
| Keywords: | Air Pollution, Dhaka, energy consumption, urbanisation, rapid industrialisation, carbon emission, green cities initiative, Bangladesh |
| Date: | 2023–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdb:report:30&r=ure |
| By: | Giulio Cainelli (University of Padova); Roberto Ganau (University of Padova and London School of Economics and Political Science); Nadiia Matsiuk (University of Padova) |
| Abstract: | We study the long-term, persistent effects of the Enlightenment-inspired administrative reform introduced by the Habsburg Monarchy in 1755 to analyze current administrative efficiency differentials in Northern Italy. We exploit exogeneity in the frontier established in 1748 by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle between the Habsburg-ruled Duchy of Milan and the neighboring territories ruled by the Savoy House. The Habsburgs extended to all land taxpayers—through the Convocato institute—the right of nominating local civil servants and deciding on taxation and public spending, while maintaining the external control through a state representative. By contrast, the municipalities ruled by the Savoy House were subject to a highly centralized system in which local civil servants were nominated by—and were under the control of—the Intendente, who was appointed directly by the King. Using spatial regression discontinuity and employing an original dataset combining current and historical municipality-level data, we find a persistent positive effect of the Habsburg reform on current administrative efficiency. Our evidence shows that Habsburg- ruled municipalities provide more public goods and services while spending as much as Savoy House-ruled ones. We interpret our results through a model of persistence of an administrative tradition driven by a within-institution “bureaucracy enculturation†mechanism. We model the transmission over time of administrative values, norms, and practices within an institution without the need of differences in cultural values within the underlying population. |
| Keywords: | D73, N43, N44, P00. |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pad:wpaper:0307&r=ure |
| By: | Afridi, Farzana (Indian Statistical Institute (Delhi) and IZA); Dhillon, Amrita (King’s College London and CAGE); Roy, Sanchari (King’s College London and CAGE); Sangwan, Nikita (Indian Statistical Institute) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the role of job search frictions and peer effects in shaping female employment outcomes in developing countries. Motivated by a collective model of household decision-making, we conduct a randomized field experiment in Delhi, India where we randomly offer a hyper-local digital job search and matching service to married couples on their own (non-network treatment), together with the wife's peer network (network treatment), or not at all. Approximately one year later, we find no significant impact on wives' overall likelihood of working in either treatment group, but wives in the non-network treatment group reduce their work intensity and casual work, while those in the network treatment group increase their home-based self-employment. Strikingly, husbands' labor market outcomes also improved significantly in the network treatment group. We show theoretically and empirically that our findings can be explained by the home-bound structure of women’s social networks that reinforce (conservative) social norms about women's outside-of-home work. |
| Keywords: | social networks, social norms, gender, job-matching platforms, employment JEL Classification: J16, J21, J24, O33 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:677&r=ure |
| By: | Dougan, William (Clemson University); García, Jorge Luis (Clemson University); Polovnikov, Illia (Boston College) |
| Abstract: | We offer a new analysis of a large-scale trial of an early-childhood education program that targeted premature, low-birthweight children. This targeting heavily oversampled twins, whose outcomes differed significantly from singletons'. Singletons' gains in short-term cognition and age-18 non-cognitive skills were comparable to those of the Perry Preschool and Carolina Abecedarian Projects, supporting those programs' scalability. For twins, however, the program generated smaller positive short-term gains and negative age-18 impacts. These outcome differences arise from differences in parents' response to the program. A household production model suggests that the possibility of jointly supplying parenting to twins helps explain those differences. |
| Keywords: | childcare, early childhood education, large-scale randomized trial, parental investment, parenting |
| JEL: | J13 I28 C93 H43 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16442&r=ure |
| By: | Zachary Liscow; Will Nober; Cailin Slattery |
| Abstract: | Infrastructure costs in the United States are high and rising. The procurement process is one potential cost driver. In this paper we conduct a survey of procurement practices across the 50 states. We survey both employees at each state department of transportation (DOT) and the road builders that win contracts to build and maintain roads. With this survey we are able to create a new dataset of procurement rules and practices across the U.S. and understand what actors on the ground think drive costs. We then assemble a new dataset of project-level infrastructure costs. We correlate the survey practices with our new, detailed data on costs. We find that two important inputs in the procurement process appear to particularly drive costs: (1) the capacity of the DOT procuring the project and (2) the lack of competition in the market for government construction contracts. |
| JEL: | D44 H54 H57 H83 K40 L38 L91 O18 R42 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31705&r=ure |
| By: | Paul Berbée; Jan Stuhler |
| Abstract: | Germany has become the second-most important destination for migrants worldwide. Using all waves from the microcensus, we study their labor market integration over the last 50 years and highlight differences to the US case. Although the employment gaps between immigrant and native men decline after arrival, they remain large for most cohorts; the average gap after one decade is 10 pp. Conversely, income gaps tend to widen post-arrival. Compositional differences explain how those gaps vary across groups, and why they worsened over time; after accounting for composition, integration outcomes show no systematic trend. Still, economic conditions do matter, and employment collapsed in some cohorts after structural shocks hit the German labor market in the early 1990s. Lastly, we examine the integration of recent arrivals during the European refugee “crisis” and the Russo-Ukrainian war. |
| Keywords: | immigration, labor market integration, long-run trends |
| JEL: | J11 J61 J68 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10651&r=ure |
| By: | Chakraborty, Debapriya; Bunch , David S.; Brownstone, David |
| Abstract: | The increasing diversity of vehicle type holdings and growing demand for BEVs and PHEVs have serious policy implications for travel demand and air pollution. Consequently, it is important to accurately predict or estimate the preference for vehicle holdings of households as well as the vehicle miles traveled by vehicle body- and fuel-type to project future VMT changes and mobile source emission levels. Leveraging the 2019 California Vehicle Survey data, this report presents the application of a utility-based model for multiple discreteness that combines multiple vehicle types with usage in an integrated model, specifically the MDCEV model. The model results suggest the important effects of household demographics, residence location, and built environment factors on vehicle body type and powertrain choice and usage. Further the predictions associated with changes inbuilt environment factors like population density can inform the design of land-use and transportation policies to influence household vehicle holdings and usage that can in turn impact travel demand and air quality issues in California. View the NCST Project Webpage |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vehicle Choice, Vehicle Miles Traveled, Joint Discrete Choice Model |
| Date: | 2023–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt3jj3v7pw&r=ure |
| By: | Deborah Gefang; Stephen G. Hall; George S. Tavlas |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a simple two-stage variational Bayesian algorithm to estimate panel spatial autoregressive models, where N, the number of cross-sectional units, is much larger than T, the number of time periods without restricting the spatial effects using a predetermined weighting matrix. We use Dirichlet-Laplace priors for variable selection and parameter shrinkage. Without imposing any a priori structures on the spatial linkages between variables, we let the data speak for themselves. Extensive Monte Carlo studies show that our method is super-fast and our estimated spatial weights matrices strongly resemble the true spatial weights matrices. As an illustration, we investigate the spatial interdependence of European Union regional gross value added growth rates. In addition to a clear pattern of predominant country clusters, we have uncovered a number of important between-country spatial linkages which are yet to be documented in the literature. This new procedure for estimating spatial effects is of particular relevance for researchers and policy makers alike. |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2309.03740&r=ure |
| By: | Berbée, Paul (ZEW); Stuhler, Jan (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) |
| Abstract: | Germany has become the second-most important destination for migrants worldwide. Using all waves from the microcensus, we study their labor market integration over the last 50 years and highlight differences to the US case. Although the employment gaps between immigrant and native men decline after arrival, they remain large for most cohorts; the average gap after one decade is 10 pp. Conversely, income gaps tend to widen post-arrival. Compositional differences explain how those gaps vary across groups, and why they worsened over time; after accounting for composition, integration outcomes show no systematic trend. Still, economic conditions do matter, and employment collapsed in some cohorts after structural shocks hit the German labor market in the early 1990s. Lastly, we examine the integration of recent arrivals during the European refugee "crisis" and the Russo-Ukrainian war. |
| Keywords: | immigration, labor market integration, long-run trends |
| JEL: | J11 J61 J68 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16439&r=ure |
| By: | Pavlov, Pavel (Павлов, Павел) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration) |
| Abstract: | The aim of the work is to test approaches to the analysis of the characteristics of local labor markets in Russia using big micro-level data. The first chapter deals with modern theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of local labor markets, the concept of market power and concentration of the labor market. The second chapter presents a model of the connection between the market power of employers and the wages of employees, and formulates the theoretical hypotheses of the study. The third chapter reveals approaches to the development of a database on local labor markets, highlights patterns that are characteristic of the Russian labor market. The fourth chapter provides an empirical analysis of the influence of the characteristics of Russian local labor markets on the level of wages of workers. The fifth chapter summarizes the results and formulates recommendations based on the results of the study. |
| Keywords: | local labor markets, labor demand, labor supply, concentration indicators, market power, wages, microlevel big data |
| Date: | 2022–11–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:wpaper:w20220167&r=ure |
| By: | Davide Antonioli; Marco Quatrosi |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we present a comparative review of five countries: France, Italy, Poland, Romania, and Spain, focusing on the interplay between smart-working and smart cities. This aims to derive insights relevant for industrial relations. We spotlight the differences and similarities these nations share in the evolution of smart-working and smart cities. Our analysis dives deep into the territorial aspect, such as urban vs. rural areas, leveraging a comprehensive data set we've gathered. We conclude by addressing upcoming challenges in industrial relations. |
| Keywords: | Industrial relations; sustainability; labour organisation |
| JEL: | J08 J81 K31 |
| Date: | 2023–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:udf:wpaper:20230712&r=ure |
| By: | Ujjayant Chakravorty; Xiangzheng Deng; Yazhen Gong; Martino Pelli; Qian Zhang |
| Abstract: | There is a large literature on the role infrastructure plays in economic development, but few papers document the causal effect of infrastructure on the sustainability of natural resources. We examine the effect of the arrival of two new national highways on ground water levels in a small agricultural county in the North China Plain - a region that produces most of the nation’s food grains. We first develop a conceptual framework to show that farmers located closer to the highways devote more acreage to crops that are water intensive. We then use a unique GIS-referenced dataset of all the 12, 160 tube wells in this county to show that highway construction accelerates the drilling of new wells in farms closer to the highway. In addition, there is greater depletion of the groundwater in wells near the two highways relative to wells located farther away. Our estimated depletion rates near the two roads are at least 5 times higher relative to mean depletion rates in the North China Plain. We show suggestive evidence that depletion is caused by a switch from subsistence to commercial cropping, and intensification of farming practices adjacent to the highway. These results suggest that the environmental cost of new infrastructure building may be significant and needs to be incorporated in benefit-cost analysis. |
| Keywords: | infrastructure, roads, North China Plain, water resources, sustainability |
| JEL: | O13 O18 Q25 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10639&r=ure |
| By: | Robert W. Hahn; Robert D. Metcalfe; Eddy Tam |
| Abstract: | We develop novel estimates of peak and off-peak price elasticities for urban mass transit demand in San Francisco using a large natural experiment with 3.6 million trip sessions and a natural field experiment that both have exogenous price subsidies. We then estimate the welfare impacts for these price subsidies using a sufficient statistics approach. Our analysis suggests that off-peak subsidies can increase welfare, but the positive effects are reduced when consumers take the decisions of others into account compared to when they do not. We also find a large variation in the welfare impacts of shifting travel to different periods, which is explained by differences in demand and congestion characteristics. Finally, we show that the targeting of subsidies can increase welfare, but need not do so if the regulator does not have accurate information on demand. |
| JEL: | H20 R41 |
| Date: | 2023–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31629&r=ure |
| By: | Grevenbrock, Nils; Ludwig, Alexander; Siassi, Nawid |
| Abstract: | Homeownership rates differ widely across European countries. We document that part of this variation is driven by differences in the fraction of adults co-residing with their parents. Comparing Germany and Italy, we show that in contrast to homeownership rates per household, homeownership rates per individual are very similar during the first part of the life cycle. To understand these patterns, we build an overlapping-generations model where individuals face uninsurable income risk and make consumption-saving and housing tenure decisions. We embed an explicit intergenerational link between children and parents to capture the three-way trade-off between owning, renting, and co-residing. Calibrating the model to Germany we explore the role of income profiles, housing policies, and the taste for independence and show that a combination of these factors goes a long way in explaining the differential life-cycle patterns of living arrangements between the two countries. |
| Keywords: | Homeownership, Co-residence, Overlapping generations |
| JEL: | D15 E21 H31 R21 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:23034&r=ure |
| By: | Monica Deza (Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University, 426 Eggers Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244) |
| Abstract: | We study the effect of community access to mental health and substance use treatment on police officer safety, which we proxy with on-duty assaults on officers. Police officers often serve as first-responders to people experiencing mental health and substance use crises, which can place police officers at risk. Combining agency-level data on police officer on-duty assaults and county-level data on the number of treatment centers that offer mental health and substance use care, we estimate two-way fixed-effects regressions and find that an additional four centers per county (the average annual increase observed in our data) leads to a 1.3% reduction per police agency in on-duty assaults against police officers. Established benefits of access to treatment for mental health and substance use appear to extend to the work environment of police officers. |
| Keywords: | law enforcement, healthcare, on-duty assaults, mental health disorders, substance use disorders |
| JEL: | I1 I11 I18 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:max:cprwps:261&r=ure |
| By: | Dilaka Lathapipat |
| Abstract: | This paper builds on Chen and Dahlman (2006)’s Knowledge Economy concept by introducing the Knowledge Economy Ecosystem model consisting of five pillars: ICT infrastructure, innovation infrastructure, financial infrastructure, quality of institutions, and educated and skilled workers. The subindices for the first four pillars contribute to the Knowledge Economy Infrastructure (KEI) Index, while the human capital pillar is represented by the learning-adjusted years of schooling (LAYS), a measure introduced by the World Bank in 2018. The utilization of LAYS in our model is important, because it recognizes that mean years of schooling is a poor measure of human capital simply because the quality of education can differ greatly across countries. Employing a dynamic panel data framework, we empirically examine the influence of the KEI Index and LAYS on total factor productivity (TFP) and GDP per capita growth. Our findings affirm the substantial positive impact of both LAYS and the KEI Index on TFP and economic growth. This empirical evidence underscores the essential role of sustained investments in these five pillars for fostering long-term economic growth, offering vital insights for policymakers. Drawing on Thailand as a case study, the analysis illuminates the nation's specific challenges within the Knowledge Economy Ecosystem framework, especially in the realms of human capital development, innovation, and institutional quality. The study underscores the considerable obstacles Thailand encounters in these domains, impeding its transition toward a knowledge-based economy. |
| Keywords: | Human capital; Education; Knowledge economy; Productivity |
| JEL: | I25 O40 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pui:dpaper:207&r=ure |
| By: | - |
| Abstract: | Rural areas have experienced major economic, social, demographic and cultural transformations in recent decades. Rurality is no longer synonymous with agriculture, and heightened interactions between rural and urban areas have had a significant impact on the identities of their populations and the characteristics that define those territories. In Latin America and the Caribbean, however, these transformations have remained relatively invisible to statistics and public policy because of the prevalence of dichotomous and static approaches to the measurement and characterization of rural areas. This study presents new methods for defining and categorizing rurality and analyses their public policy implications. A redefinition that recognizes the diversity and wealth of rural areas offers opportunities for the design of innovative rural development public policies that could accelerate the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. |
| Date: | 2023–08–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecr:col022:67978&r=ure |
| By: | De Weerdt, Joachim; Van Cappellen, Hanne |
| Keywords: | MALAWI; SOUTHERN AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; urbanization; rural development; labour; poverty; income; rural population; economic aspects; value chains; agrifood systems |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:masspn:50&r=ure |
| By: | Katharina Hartinger (Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Individualist societies are more innovative, but little is known about the underlying individual behaviors. I use international labor-market and patent data to show that individualism—the cultural dimension that emphasizes individual achievements over collective action—positively affects individual innovation. Comparing migrants from different cultural origins within the same destination country and using variation in individualism at the country, region, and person level, I find that more individualist migrants select into more innovative occupations—including research, creative jobs, and ambitious entrepreneurship. Individualists also engage more readily in knowledge diffusion on the job—even when accounting for occupational selection—by investing more time in active learning. Taken together, those innovation choices account for 44 percent of the individualism productivity premium. Individualism also positively affects patenting behavior as a direct innovation output measure. |
| JEL: | O31 D91 J24 Z13 |
| Date: | 2023–09–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jgu:wpaper:2313&r=ure |
| By: | Roupakias, Stelios |
| Abstract: | This study first provides evidence compatible with the idea of employment polarization in the Greek labour market since the early 1990s. Then, using an instrumental variables approach, it uncovers the potential role of routine biased technological change in explaining these developments in the employment structure. The empirical results consistently suggest that employment has polarized more into regions with a higher initial routine share. Overall, the impact of technology on the employment rate is negligible, implying that the expansion of non-routine manual employment fully compensates for the destruction of jobs in middling, routine occupations. |
| Keywords: | Polarization, Labour Market, Employment |
| JEL: | J0 J2 |
| Date: | 2023–09–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:118696&r=ure |
| By: | Valentine Fays |
| Abstract: | Labour market integration of migrant workers is key to show the integration of migrants in developed countries. Consequently, the literature regarding this topic has expanded during the last decades to better understand their situation. In this context, the main objective of this Ph.D. thesis is to fulfil gaps in the literature by investigating several aspects of the labour market integration of migrants on the Belgian labour market, namely i) the determinants of the origin-based wage gaps, and ii) the impact of migrants on natives’ employment.Chapter 1, based on a paper co-authored with Benoît Mahy, François Rycx and Mélanie Volral, estimates wage discrimination against non-EU15 workers depending on their region of origin, their tenure and the product market competition faced by the firms they work in. Using a merged employer-employee panel dataset of more than 13, 000 firms relative to the Belgian private sector for the 1999–2010 period, results highlight large disparities in wage discrimination against foreign-born migrants depending on their countries of birth (especially against workers born in Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa) and hence confirm the adequacy of dividing non-EU15 workers into subgroups, as they appear to be treated very differently in the Belgian labour market depending on their regions of birth. They also suggest that wage discrimination against migrants vanishes as their firm-specific labour market experience (i.e. tenure) increases and tends to disappear in highly competitive product market situations, these results being in line with statistical and monopsonistic discrimination theories.Next, Chapter 2, based on a paper co-authored with Benoît Mahy and François Rycx, examines the influence of firm’s upstreamness (i.e. the average distance from final use, to be understood as the average number of steps/transactions before firms’ production of goods and/or services meets either domestic or foreign final demand) on wages according to workers’ origin. Based on a unique linked employer-employee cross-sectional dataset regarding the Belgian manufacturing industry covering the 2002-2010 timespan, our estimates show that firms that are further up in the value chain pay higher wages, even after controlling for a large set of worker and firm characteristics, and time fixed effects. However, the wage premium associated with upstreamness is also found to vary substantially depending on workers’ origin along the wage distribution. Unconditional quantile estimates further suggest that those who benefit the most from being employed in more upstream firms are (high-wage) workers born in developed countries, whereas workers born in developing countries, irrespective of their earnings, appear to be unfairly rewarded. Quantile decompositions further show that, while differences in average values of upstreamness according to workers’ origin play a limited role, differences in wage premia associated with upstreamness account for a substantial part of the origin-based wage gap, especially at the top of the wage distribution.Finally, Chapter 3, using detailed Belgian matched employer-employee panel data covering the 1999-2016 period, investigates whether 1st- and 2nd-generation migrants and natives are complements or substitutes in the production function at quite disaggregated micro levels of the labour market, i.e. at the firm and firm-occupation levels. Our estimates show that 2nd-generation migrants have a significant and positive impact on the employment of natives, regardless of the level of aggregation under analysis. Next, our findings suggest a smaller complementarity in the hiring and lay-off of 1st-generation migrants and natives. Moreover, our findings suggest that the complementarity between 1st- and 2nd-generation migrants and native workers is only observed when they have the same level of education, and that their positive relationship is even greater when workers have a higher level of education. For workers with different levels of education, results rather suggest a segmentation of the labour market. Next, the complementarity is stronger when 1st- and 2nd-generation migrants originate from developed countries and when a higher level of skills is required for a particular occupation. |
| Keywords: | Migration; Salaires; Substituabilité |
| Date: | 2023–08–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulb:ulbeco:2013/362124&r=ure |
| By: | Mustafizur Rahman; Muhammad Nafis Shahriar Farabi |
| Abstract: | Economic and social infrastructure is one of the key foundations that drive the development of any country. Broadly speaking, infrastructure is defined as the basic systems and structures and facilities and services which are required for smooth operation of an economy, at various levels. It will not be an exaggeration to state that an economy’s growth and sustainability of growth hinge critically on the state of its infrastructure |
| Keywords: | Good Governance, Public Infrastructure Projects, PIPs, Social infrastructure, Economic infrastructure, Bangladesh |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdb:report:24&r=ure |
| By: | Stephen T. Onifade (KTO Karatay University, Konya, Turkey); Bright A. Gyamfi (Ä°stanbul Ticaret University, Turkey); Ilham Haouas (Abu Dhabi, UAE); Simplice A. Asongu (Johannesburg, South Africa) |
| Abstract: | Resource abundance characterizes economies within the MENA region from North Africa to the Middle East. As such, to improve financial development (FD) for regional economic sustainability, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the roles of natural resources abundance and institutional quality indicators on the region’s FD while underscoring the inflationary levels and general economic growth trends amidst rising globalization. The adopted empirical strategy (CS-ARDL and AMG) is employed for potential cross-sectional dependency (CD) and slope homogeneity in the regional data spanning over two decades (2000-2020). Unlike the extant literature, two separate regional FD indicators were considered for an insightful analysis namely, banking financial services via domestic credit to private sector, and financial stability via the Z-score values showing the tendencies of default in a country's banking structure. Regardless of the FD indicator, the results reveal that natural resources, growth trends, and inflationary levels significantly spur long-run regional FD thereby invalidating the financial resource curse hypothesis in the region. Furthermore, both institutional quality levels and globalization produced detrimental impacts on FD levels. However, the interaction between institutional quality levels and natural resources shows a desirable FD-stimulating effect in the region, noticeably when FD is proxied by the Z-score. Thus, implying that stronger institutions are crucial for MENA’s overall financial stability vis-Ã -vis reduction in the risk of default in the banking system. Hence, policy recommendations including the strengthening of institutional capacities among others, were suggested to regional authorities towards harnessing resources for sustainable regional FD. |
| Keywords: | Natural resources, Financial development, Institutions, MENA region, Sustainable growth |
| JEL: | Q33 P48 E44 O53 O55 |
| Date: | 2023–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:23/055&r=ure |
| By: | Donn L. Feir; Rob Gillezeau; Maggie E.C. Jones |
| Abstract: | For nearly three centuries, Indigenous peoples within the borders of present-day Canada engaged in treaty-making with the British Crown and other European powers. These treaties regularly formed the colonial legal basis for access to Indigenous lands. However, treaties were not negotiated everywhere, including in regions subsequently settled by Europeans. Consequentially, there is substantial regional variation in the legal status of occupied lands, jurisdiction over natural resources, and state commitments to Indigenous nations. We study how these legal institutions have shaped the path of economic development in Indigenous communities. Using restricted-access census data, we show that historical treaties substantially lower income in Indigenous communities today. We argue that this results from the constitutional and legal recognition of Aboriginal rights and title, which have dramatically increased bargaining power and, consequently, income growth in non-treaty Indigenous communities. |
| JEL: | J15 N31 N32 P14 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31713&r=ure |
| By: | Barrero, José María (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México Business School); Bloom, Nicholas (Stanford University); Davis, Steven J. (Hoover Institution) |
| Abstract: | Full days worked at home account for 28 percent of paid workdays among Americans 20-64 years old, as of mid 2023, according to the Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes. That's about four times the 2019 rate and ten times the rate in the mid-1990s that we estimate in time-use data. We first explain why the big shift to work from home has endured rather than reverting to pre-pandemic levels. We then consider how work-from-home rates vary by worker age, sex, education, parental status, industry and local population density, and why it is higher in the United States than other countries. We also discuss some implications of the big shift for pay, productivity, and the pace of innovation. Over the next five years, U.S. business executives anticipate modest increases in the share of fully remote jobs at their own companies and in the share of jobs with hybrid arrangements, whereby the employee splits the workweek between home and employer premises. Other factors that portend an enduring shift to work from home include the ongoing adaptation of managerial practices and further advances in technologies, products, and tools that support remote work. |
| Keywords: | work from home, productivity, labor costs, job amenities, COVID-19 |
| JEL: | D13 D23 E24 J22 J31 M54 R3 |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16436&r=ure |
| By: | Mauro, Luciano; Pigliaru, Francesco |
| Abstract: | We develop an endogenous growth model to simulate the long-term impact of Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) on the persistent North-South productivity gap. Our model underscores public investment as a catalyst for sustained economic growth and highlights the reliance of local government quality on the surrounding social capital. In regions with low social capital, local investment management diminishes efficiency due to prevalent misappropriation. In contrast, centralized management enhances the effectiveness of public action in these situations. The NRRP’s overall effect therefore relies on the government level to which investment management is assigned. Our quantitative exercises show that compared to centralization, decentralization weakens the NRRP’s impact on the relative position of the South. However, even under our best scenario — centralized management — the NRRP only slightly reduces the North-South productivity gap from 75% to 76.4%. Finally, our research highlights the pivotal role of a reform aimed at maintaining central control over Southern public investments well beyond 2026, when the NRRP’s actions and governance are due to stop. This type of reform can potentially yield more substantial, positive, and lasting impacts on the region. |
| Keywords: | Political Economy, Public Economics |
| Date: | 2023–09–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemwp:338592&r=ure |