|
on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Stephan D. Whitaker |
| Abstract: | This Data Brief updates the figures that appeared in "Urban and Regional Migration Estimates: Will Your City Recover from the Pandemic?" with data for 2023 Q3 for all series. Migration estimates enable us to track which urban neighborhoods and metro areas are returning to their old migration patterns and where the pandemic has permanently shifted migration trends. |
| Keywords: | urban migration; Regional migration; COVID-19 pandemic |
| Date: | 2023–12–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:c00003:97474&r=ure |
| By: | Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt; Nathaniel Baum-Snow; Remi Jedwab; Gabriel Ahlfeldt |
| Abstract: | Tall buildings are central to facilitating sustainable urbanization and growth in cities worldwide. We estimate average elasticities of city population and built area to aggregate city building heights of 0.12 and -0.17, respectively, indicating that the largest global cities in developing economies would be at least one-third smaller on average without their tall buildings. Land saved from urban development by post-1975 tall building construction is over 80% covered in vegetation. To isolate the effects of technology-induced reductions in the cost of height from correlated demand shocks, we use interactions between static demand factors and the geography of bedrock as instruments for observed 1975-2015 tall building construction in 12, 877 cities worldwide, a triple difference identification strategy. Quantification using a canonical urban model suggests that the technology to build tall generates a potential global welfare gain of 4.8%, of which only about one-quarter has been realized. Estimated welfare gains from relaxing existing height constraints are 5.9% in the developed world and 3.1% in developing economies. |
| Keywords: | urban density, international buildings heights, skyscrapers, tall buildings, sustainable urbanization, city growth, commercial real estate, housing supply, urban sprawl, land savings, housing affordability, geographical constraints, environment |
| JEL: | R11 R12 R14 R31 R33 O18 O13 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10784&r=ure |
| By: | Shutong Zhang; Jun Nagayasu |
| Abstract: | Special economic zones (SEZs) have played an important role in developing China’s economy. However, few researchers examine its importance in shaping China’s urban population. This study empirically examines the impacts of SEZs on permanent urban migration in China, where the registered residential location determines a large portion of social welfare. Using the difference-in-differences approach and a specific set of urban region data, we obtain results undiscovered in previous research on regional economic policies’ impacts on migration. In particular, establishing SEZs has positive but time-lagged impacts on permanent migration to urban regions. |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:toh:tupdaa:45&r=ure |
| By: | Stephen B. Billings; Adam Soliman |
| Abstract: | Since the Great Recession, the traditional path to wealth creation through home ownership has stalled and worsened for many minority households. One potential and largely unexplored driver of this trend is the growing presence of institutional investors that purchase single-family homes and convert them to permanent rentals. We find that large institutional investors alone have decreased homeownership rates in Black neighborhoods in high growth southern cities like Charlotte, North Carolina by 4 percentage points. Using a granular spatial difference-in-differences estimator, we show that an institutional investor purchase leads to a 2% decline in neighboring property values. This effect is almost exclusively limited to majority Black suburban neighborhoods. These property value declines are also associated with commonly hypothesized social spillovers from the loss of homeownership, namely increases in crime and decreases in property maintenance and political participation. |
| Keywords: | homeownership, racial wealth gap, institutional investors |
| Date: | 2023–12–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1967&r=ure |
| By: | Florian Englmaier (LMU Munich); Andreas Roider (Universität Regensburg); Lars Schlereth (Universität Regensburg); Steffen Sebastian (Universität Regensburg) |
| Abstract: | Round numbers affect behavior in various domains, e.g., as prominent thresholds or focal points in bargaining. In line with earlier findings, residential real estate transactions in Germany cluster at round-number prices, but there are also interesting (presumably cultural) differences. We extend our analysis to the commercial real estate market, where stakes are even higher and market participants arguably more experienced. For the same type of object, professionals cluster significantly less on round-number prices compared to non-professionals. We employ machine learning and show that transactions of family homes and condominiums at round-number prices are 2–7% above their hedonic values. |
| Keywords: | round-number effects; focal points; residential real estate; commercial real estate; housing prices; machine learning; |
| JEL: | D01 D91 C78 R31 |
| Date: | 2023–11–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rco:dpaper:446&r=ure |
| By: | Ahmet Alkan; Sinan Sarpça; Sinan Sarpca |
| Abstract: | Recent studies of US elite exam schools have yielded the startling conclusion that such schools improve neither educational achievement nor longer-term educational outcomes. Is the same true for exam schools elsewhere? The system in Turkey is ideal for investigating this question. There, students are placed in exam schools based on a high-stakes national examination. Utilizing an exceptional database for Turkey not heretofore available, we conduct regression discontinuity analysis exploiting score discontinuities between more than 200 exam schools. We find that attending more selective exam schools yields large achievement gains and improved university placements for high achieving students. |
| Keywords: | peer effects, value added, test scores, selective schools, student outcomes |
| JEL: | I21 O15 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10794&r=ure |
| By: | Luisa Alamá-Sabater (Department of Economics and IIDL, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain); Yolanda de Llanos (Department of Economics, Universidad de Extremadura, Spain); Miguel Ángel Márquez (Department of Economics, Universidad de Extremadura, Spain); Emili Tortosa-Ausina (IVIE, Valencia and IIDL and Department of Economics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain) |
| Abstract: | Considerable research has been conducted on the trade-off between reducing regional inequality and promoting regional growth. However, no empirical research has explored the relationship between this trade-off and the spatial mismatch between the distribution of the regional population and the spatial distribution of regional factor endowments, such as labour and capital. The location of labour and capital is crucial in determining regional economic growth and inequalities. Therefore, we aim to assess the impact of spatial mismatches between factors of production (employment and physical capital stock) and population on regional growth and regional inequality. The study first calculates the Spatial Mismatch Indices for capital stock and employment with respect to the distribution of population across regions. Then, we use a VAR approach to detect the dynamic interactions in the short run among the location of the European regional population with respect to regional labour and physical capital, economic growth, and inequality growth. The research does not find a direct trade-off between regional European economic growth and inequality growth. Instead, the results support the view that the best strategy to mitigate economic inequality is to generate spatial mismatches between the spatial distribution of population and employment and between population and physical capital. When addressing regional disparities, the distribution of employment and physical capital should not be based solely on population criteria. Instead, spatial mismatches should be increased. However, the typical approach to implementing regional policies to allocate resources based on population-related criteria does not reduce economic inequality. |
| Keywords: | European regions, population, regional economic growth, regional inequality, regional factors production |
| JEL: | O18 O21 R1 R23 R3 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jau:wpaper:2023/06&r=ure |
| By: | Yugang Tang; Zhihao Su; Yilin Hou; Zhendong Yin |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the fiscal motives behind municipal governments' decisions to allocate commercial and residential land when two categories of land use are subject to different fiscal revenue alternatives: business-related tax and/or land rent. We use urban parcel-level land transfers during China’s peak period of urbanization, match commercial parcels with residential parcels, and find significant price discounts on commercial parcels relative to adjacent residential parcels. The observed discounts arise from the future tax flows from commercial use, i.e., expected taxes from developed commercial land reduce its transfer price. We conduct a structural estimation to examine the implications on land use structure of future taxes lowering land transfer prices. Results show that while prospective taxes increase commercial land supply, a significant portion of the favorable treatment impact is mitigated by market price responses, suggesting that the land market counters commercial land favoritism when local revenues include both business-related taxes and land value-based charges. The results have implications for the design of urban public revenue systems. |
| Keywords: | fiscal incentives, land transfer, spatial matching, land use |
| JEL: | O18 P48 R12 R31 R38 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10812&r=ure |
| By: | Evdokimov, Dmitry (Евдокимов, Дмитрий) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration); Pleskachev, Yuriy (Плескачев, Юрий) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration); Ponomarev, Yuriy (Пономарев, Юрий) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration); Salimova, Dina (Салимова, Дина) (The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration) |
| Abstract: | The processes of population concentration in Russian cities lead to a decrease in the population in certain territories, the depopulation of rural settlements and in some cases conflicts with national interests. In this regard, the development of an approach to assessing the socio-economic effects of the containment of labor resources in small settlements and hardto-reach areas seems to be an urgent research task. The purpose of the study is to develop an approach to assessing the socio-economic effects of the containment of labor resources in small settlements and hard-to-reach areas. Among the main tasks to be solved in the course of this study, one can single out: a review of the retrospective and forecast dynamics of the population of Russia in a spatial context; review of theoretical and practical research approaches to the analysis and evaluation of the effects of urbanization processes; development of an approach to assessing the socio-economic effects of the containment of labor resources in small settlements and hard-to-reach areas; empirical assessment of socio-economic effects from documents implemented in Russia on the development of individual territories; development of evidence-based recommendations on economic policy. Research method or methodology -systematization and analysis of international literature, economic modeling, econometric analysis. The main results of the study: developed a scientifically based approach to assessing the socio-economic effects of the regulation of migration processes based on the econometric model and the model of spatial equilibrium; an empirical assessment of the socio-economic effects of measures affecting migration flows was carried out, including the following scenarios: expansion of preferential mortgage programs, cash transfers, development of transport infrastructure, changes in the cross elasticity of urban amenities, a scenario of increasing or decreasing the elasticity of substitution for workers of different qualifications. The results obtained allow us to draw a number of conclusions. According to the estimates obtained, a positive effect on migration is exerted by: the size of the population in the region, consumer spending per capita and the availability of transport infrastructure; negative effect - prices in the primary housing market, unemployment rate, crime rate. The greatest magnitude effect (in modulus) falls on consumer spending. Due to the introduction of an optimizing transfer, about 15.7% of the economically active population (11.8 million people) are resettled. This type of migration provides an increase in general welfare by 10.06%. At the same time, the most mobile category of workers, on average, is highly qualified personnel who move from large industrial zones. the population of regions in medium and sparsely populated areas. Low-skilled personnel have limited mobility. The main direction of resettlement for highly skilled workers is from the South-West to the North and East, for low-skilled workers - from the East to the South-West. Preferential mortgage increases the migration inflow in the target regions by 11.6-4.3 thousand people per year, which ensures an increase in GVA by 1.6-4.2 billion rubles, an increase in output by 3.1-8.2 billion rubles. and 1.5-3.8 thousand jobs. An increase in consumer spending may increase the migration inflow in the target regions up to 50 thousand people per year (depending on the conditions of the policy), which ensures an increase in GVA to 18.2 billion rubles, an issue of 35.1 billion rubles. and employment by 16.3 thousand people. The development of road infrastructure reduces the migration outflow in the target regions by 2-7 thousand people per year, which saves the regions 0.7-2.5 billion rubles. GVA, RUB 1.4-5 billion output and 0.7- 2.3 thousand jobs. Further work can be aimed at decomposing the obtained regional results at the municipal level, as well as developing the complexity of the factors taken into account by the proposed models. |
| Date: | 2022–11–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:wpaper:w20220296&r=ure |
| By: | Esme Kadzamira (Centre for Educational Research and Training, University of Malawi); Symon Winiko (University of Malawi); Tsirizani M. Kaombe (Department of Mathematical Sciences, School of Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Malawi); Jack Rossiter (Center for Global Development) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effectiveness of Malawi's selective secondary schools in influencing student learning outcomes. Using data from Malawi’s National Examination Board, we employ value-added and regression discontinuity methods to gauge the impact of school types on high-stakes exam results. Findings reveal that National schools enhance student learning progress by an average of 0.57 standard deviations more than day schools, within two years. Regression discontinuity results corroborate National schools’ positive impact, with National school attendance yielding a 0.40 standard deviation increase in student exam outcomes. Importantly, students from districts with relatively low-performing primary schools benefit substantially from attending National schools, especially those with low-quality secondary education alternatives. Compared to global evidence, our study highlights the importance of evaluating the broader educational context when analysing school tracking effects on student outcomes. Our findings are relevant to policy discussions around secondary school expansion, performance reporting, and student selection in Malawi. |
| Date: | 2023–12–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:673&r=ure |
| By: | Santiago Franco |
| Abstract: | Most product industries are local. In the U.S., firms selling goods and services to local consumers account for half of total sales and generate more than sixty percent of the nation’s jobs. Competition in these industries occurs in local product markets: cities. I propose a theory of such competition in which firms have output market power. Spatial differences in local competition arise endogenously due to the spatial sorting of heterogeneous firms. The ability to charge higher markups induces more productive firms to overvalue locating in larger cities, leading to a misallocation of firms across space. The optimal policy incen tivizes productive firms to relocate to smaller cities, providing a rationale for commonly used place-based policies. I use U.S. Census establishment-level data to estimate markups and to structurally estimate the model. I document a significant heterogeneity in markups for local industries across U.S. cities. Cities in the top decile of the city-size distribution have a fifty percent lower markup than cities in the bottom decile. I use the estimated model to quantify the general equilibrium effects of place-based policies. Policies that remove markups and relocate firms to smaller cities yield sizable aggregate welfare gains. |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:23-57&r=ure |
| By: | Anne Beck; Sebastian Doerr |
| Abstract: | An increasing number of policies addresses spatial inequality, which is believed to lie at the heart of economic and social cleavages, including entrenched poverty, deaths of despair, and political polarization. Yet little is known about the origins of the gap between prospering urban and "left-behind" rural areas that has emerged since the 1980s. We provide new evidence on the role of banking deregulation in explaining this rural-urban divergence in incomes. In particular, we show that the income gap widened following the removal of geographic restrictions on banking. While deregulation promoted an overall increase in incomes, the increase was significantly larger in urban counties. We show that this is due to increased competition in the banking industry in cities post deregulation. Competition benefited financially constrained small and young firms, thereby boosting employment and incomes in urban areas. Our findings inform the debate on regional inequality and the design of place-based policies. |
| Keywords: | banking deregulation, credit supply, income inequality, regional inequality |
| JEL: | G21 R10 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bis:biswps:1151&r=ure |
| By: | Yuta Kuroda |
| Abstract: | In this study, the effects of high-achieving graduates in nonacademic track high schools with low university enrollment rates are investigated. Japanese high schools are stratified, with each high school having nearly fixed tiers of universities to which their graduates advance. Because it is so rare for students from nonacademic track schools to be accepted into top universities, students who are accepted can serve as accidental role models, positively affecting the motivation, aspiration, and knowledge of academic procedures of their lower schoolmates. I have created and used various definitions of nonacademic track schools and high-achieving graduates by using the university acceptance data of almost all high schools in Japan from 2001 to 2021. The results showed that the quasirandom appearance of high-achieving graduates improved the university acceptance outcomes of nonacademic track high schools for subsequent years. Additionally, the appearance of high-achieving graduates is not related to factors such as teacher‒student ratios, regional socioeconomic characteristics, or changes in the school district system. Therefore, the observed performance improvement may result from changes in student beliefs and motivations or from the accumulation of school expertise rather than from peer effects or systemic changes. |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:toh:dssraa:138&r=ure |
| By: | Kanninen, Ohto; Kortelainen, Mika; Tervonen, Lassi |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effects of selective schools on students’ educational and labor market outcomes. We utilize regression discontinuity design based on the centralized admission system of upper secondary schools in Finland to obtain quasi-random variation for selective high school offers and attendance. By using nationwide administrative data, we first show that the selective schools do not improve high school exit exam scores, even though there is a large jump in peer quality for students attending selective schools. Despite lacking short-term effects, we find that selective schools increase university enrollment and graduation in the long run. Yet, we do not observe positive effects on income. Importantly, our results suggest that selective high schools or better peer groups do not improve students’ human capital or skills, but affect their preferences on educational choices after the secondary school. |
| Keywords: | Labour markets and education, I24, I26, J24, fi=Koulutus|sv=Utbildning|en=Education|, fi=Työmarkkinat|sv=Arbetsmarknad|en=Labour markets|, |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fer:wpaper:161&r=ure |
| By: | Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt; Felipe Carozzi; Lukas Makovsky |
| Abstract: | We generate a mix-adjusted house price index for England and Wales from 2010 to 2020 at the level of lower-layer super output areas. To this end, we blend parametric and non-parametric estimation techniques and leverage on a matched Land Registry-Energy Performance Certificate data set. The key advantage of our index is that it combines full spatial coverage with high spatial detail. Explore how property value has evolved in the past decade using our interactive dashboard. See Related (right-hand side) for the link. |
| Keywords: | index, real estate, price, property |
| Date: | 2023–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepops:61&r=ure |
| By: | Nina Biljanovska; Chenxu Fu; Deniz Igan |
| Abstract: | The rapid increase in house prices in the past few years, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, raises concerns about housing affordability. The price-to-income ratio is a widely-used indicator of affordability, but does not take into account important factors such as the cost of financing. The aim of this paper is to construct a measure of housing affordability that takes these factors into account for a large set of countries and long period of time. The resulting dataset covers an unbalanced panel of 40 countries over the period from 1970Q1 to 2021Q4. For each country, the index measures the extent to which a median-income household can qualify for a mortgage loan to purchase an average-priced home. To gauge the performance of the constructed indices, we compare them to other readily-available measures of affordability and examine the evolution of the indices over time to understand the relevant drivers, including in a regression analysis to assess the extent to which government housing programs could contribute to improving affordability. |
| Keywords: | housing affordability, real estate markets |
| JEL: | R3 G51 I31 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bis:biswps:1149&r=ure |
| By: | Johan Klaesson; Özge Öner; Dieter Pennerstorfer |
| Abstract: | This article provides causal evidence of the significant role ethnic networks play in facilitating labor market integration by reducing information frictions. Using full population geocoded employer-employee matched Swedish register data, we investigate how co-ethnic commuters can influence the work location of immigrants for their initial employment. We argue that these ethnic peers transmit job specific information from their places of work to fellow ethnic peers within the same residential neighborhood who seek jobs. We find that a new immigrant’s likelihood of securing their first job at a certain location increases with the presence of co-ethnic commuters from their residential neighborhood: Each additional commuter of the same ethnic network increases the probability of finding employment in a specific neighborhood by 2.3%. This effect is more pronounced for women, co-ethnic commuters with similar education levels, and immigrants who land their first jobs in larger firms. |
| Keywords: | Co-ethnic commuters, information frictions, ethnic networks, labor market integration, ethnic enclaves |
| JEL: | F22 J61 J64 O18 R23 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jku:econwp:2023-16&r=ure |
| By: | Gust, Sarah |
| JEL: | H75 I21 Q54 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc23:277653&r=ure |
| By: | Charles Ka Yui Leung |
| Abstract: | This short article provides a quick summary of the studies of real estate markets. Some new developments are also discussed. |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dpr:wpaper:1225&r=ure |
| By: | Meltem Chadwick; Aynaz Nahavandi (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | Housing matters- the big picture: House prices in New Zealand are driven by a wide range of factors – interest rates are just one part of the big picture. A global decline in interest rates and strong population growth in New Zealand has had an outsized impact on house prices because the supply of new homes has been slow to respond. This includes both opening up new land and building new homes. Tax rules in NZ favour housing against other investments. House prices are influenced by employment and incomes, as well as bank lending rules and the availability of mortgages. House prices were boosted by falling interest rates around the world in the past decade (post GFC). The Reserve Bank of NZ moves short-term interest rates to keep inflation low and stable and support employment at its maximum sustainable level. We consider the impact of our interest rate changes on house prices and how they affect the Government policy for sustainable house prices. We do not aim to drive house prices up or to stop them falling. The factors affecting house prices have changed. Building consents are now high, population growth has slowed dramatically, interest rates are rising and we are seeing house prices cool down in 2022, after a rapid rise last year. We are carrying out a wide range of research to understand the key drivers of house prices. We need to be clear about what the Reserve Bank can and cannot do and what others could do to fix this problem, which has been many decades in the making. Key findings of Analytical Note: - We analyse the effect of a monetary policy shock on household credit and real house prices in New Zealand through one of the channels of transmission, the credit channel. - We confirm that monetary policy stimulus triggers moderate house price movements in New Zealand. - We find out that an unanticipated increase in policy rate reduces real house prices by up to -1.6% and the growth rate of residential loans by -0.6% after 2.5 years. |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nzb:nzbans:2022/09&r=ure |
| By: | Murrani, Sana |
| Abstract: | Post-invasion Iraq has been grappling with high rates of internal displacement and severe housing shortages for the past 20 years, largely fuelled by violence, genocide and political instability. The intricacy of these interrelated challenges necessitates contextually informed, innovative and participatory approaches to effect change. This paper proposes the use of participatory mapping as a creative tool to tap into the indigenous knowledge and wayfinding skills of Iraqis, fostering a deeper understanding of the lived realities that can contribute to the design of effective policies for managing displacement and housing issues. The rising trend of internal displacement and the subsequent housing shortages, compounded by the emergence of new cities across the country, necessitate a comprehensive housing policy, underpinned by strategic planning and coordination. |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2023–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:120983&r=ure |
| By: | Ross Batzer (Federal Housing Finance Agency) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how mortgage debt shapes the consumption response to fiscal transfers using an incomplete markets model with housing and defaultable longterm debt. The model is estimated to match the share of households in the data whose spending is constrained by low liquidity. Among homeowners, the model predicts those with mortgage debt have an average response to transfers six times larger than those without debt. Spending responses are found to be poorly correlated with earnings. Unlike a standard model without mortgage debt, the model with mortgages predicts restricting transfers based on income may substantially reduce their efficacy in increasing aggregate spending. |
| Keywords: | mortgages, macro-policy, stimulus, marginal propensity to consume |
| JEL: | E21 H31 G21 G51 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hfa:wpaper:23-07&r=ure |
| By: | Meltem Chadwick; Karan Dasgupta; Punnoose Jacob (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | Housing matters- the big picture: House prices in New Zealand are driven by a wide range of factors – interest rates are just one part of the big picture. A global decline in interest rates and strong population growth in New Zealand has had an outsized impact on house prices because the supply of new homes has been slow to respond. This includes both opening up new land and building new homes. Tax rules in NZ favour housing against other investments. House prices are influenced by employment and incomes, as well as bank lending rules and the availability of mortgages. House prices were boosted by falling interest rates around the world in the past decade (post GFC). The Reserve Bank of NZ moves short-term interest rates to keep inflation low and stable and support employment at its maximum sustainable level. We consider the impact of our interest rate changes on house prices and how they affect the Government policy for sustainable house prices. We do not aim to drive house prices up or to stop them falling. The factors affecting house prices have changed. Building consents are now high, population growth has slowed dramatically, interest rates are rising and we are seeing house prices cool down in 2022, after a rapid rise last year. We are carrying out a wide range of research to understand the key drivers of house prices. We need to be clear about what the Reserve Bank can and cannot do and what others could do to fix this problem, which has been many decades in the making. Key findings of Analytical Note: - House prices are expected to respond more to monetary stimulus when housing supply is less responsive to prices. We test this theory using data for New Zealand’s territorial authorities. - We confirm that monetary policy stimulus triggers stronger house price movements in those New Zealand territories where the supply of housing is relatively less responsive. - We consider an unanticipated increase of 40 basis points in the Official Cash Rate (OCR). The real median house price in the least supply responsive areas declined by over six times that of the most responsive areas, 12 months after the OCR increase (17.2% compared with 2.8%). |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nzb:nzbans:2022/08&r=ure |
| By: | Charlie Joyez (Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, GREDEG, France); Raja Kali (University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, USA); Catherine Laffineur (Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, GREDEG, France) |
| Abstract: | Why do labor markets in some regions recover faster from an adverse economic shock than others? We conjecture that regions with occupations offering greater redeployment opportunities to other occupations are less at risk of long-term unemployment. We examine this by creating a network of inter-occupation relatedness from worker mobility data that provides occupational transitions for a representative sample of French workers. Superimposing local occupational composition on to this "occupation space" yields a measure of occupational coherence for 304 commuting zones in France. We find that regions with stronger occupational coherence are more sensitive to a shock but recover faster. |
| Keywords: | occupational mobility, regional occupational composition, occupational coherence, economic shocks, unemployment dynamics |
| JEL: | E24 E32 J21 J24 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gre:wpaper:2023-20&r=ure |
| By: | Julien Pascal |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces new empirical findings concerning the rental housing market in the Paris metropolitan area. Combining a new dataset gathered from online advertisements for Parisian rentals with a hedonic model that incorporates both apartment features and property-specific photographs, two main stylized facts are established. First, with comparable property features, landlords who ask for lower rent attract a greater number of applicants, consistent with predictions from standard directed search models. Second, many landlords employ a two-stage pricing approach, initially advertising a high rent and then reducing it after a "wait-and-see" period. This previously unreported feature is consistent with the slow Dutch auction mechanism studied in the auction literature and observed in the property sales market. |
| Keywords: | Rental Housing Market; Hedonic Model; Directed Search Models; Landlords’Pricing Strategies; Machine Learning |
| JEL: | R31 R21 C21 D83 C45 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcl:bclwop:bclwp179&r=ure |
| By: | Gabriela Smarrelli (Center for Global Development) |
| Abstract: | Exposure to school violence has been proven to be detrimental to human capital formation, but there is limited rigorous evidence about how to tackle this pervasive issue. This paper examines the impacts of a large-scale government intervention that aimed to improve school leaders’ skills to manage school violence in Peru. I exploit the eligibility rules used to select beneficiary schools and use a fuzzy regression discontinuity design to estimate the short-term impacts of the intervention on violence and education-related outcomes. The findings show that the likelihood of reporting violence increased by 15 percentage points and that the number of reports of violence rose among eligible schools. Combining unique administrative and primary data, I provide suggestive evidence that the documented rise in reports of violence is primarily due to shifts in reporting rather than a greater incidence of school violence. Upon exploring the short-term impacts on education-related outcomes, I find the intervention reduced students’ likelihood of switching schools by two percentage points. These findings add to our understanding of the benefits of investing in school staff skills for safer learning environments. |
| Keywords: | economics of education, school management of violence, school mobility, school dropout, test scores |
| JEL: | I20 I29 H75 |
| Date: | 2023–11–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:667&r=ure |
| By: | István boza (HUN-REN Centre for Economic and Regional Studies); Dániel Horn (HUN-REN Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Corvinus University of Budapest) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to quantify how much of the initial wage differentials of young workers is explained by the secondary school they attended, and to disentangle the (descriptive) channels contributing to these differences. The analysis is based on the HUN-REN CERS Admin3 database, taking advantage of the fact that for some cohorts, young people’s secondary schooling (and students’ school standardized mathematics test scores) and wage outcomes at their early career can be observed simultaneously. Using wage decomposition methods, we separate the channels of firm and occupational selection from the direct returns to further education. Our analysis suggests that about 10 percent of the total wage dispersion of young people aged 18-25 (and already working) is generated at the school level. This also implies that the correlation between the wages of any two students of the same school is 0.1. Another novelty of the paper is that we show that a substantial part of these correlations are due to occupational and workplace selection (e.g. students from a given school type are systematically more likely to go on to well-paid jobs). If we remove these selection effects, the effect of schools on wage dispersion, the correlation between the latent skills of students, shrinks to 4 percent. Finally, we also compare schools of different quality based on different school characteristics (e.g. average test scores), which allows us to further stress the importance of the selection channels. |
| Keywords: | Keywords: secondary schools; wage prospects; school quality; wage variation |
| JEL: | I24 I26 J31 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:has:discpr:2330&r=ure |
| By: | Hamish Fitchett; Punnoose Jacob (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | Housing matters - the big picture: House prices in New Zealand are driven by a wide range of factors – interest rates are just one part of the big picture. A global decline in interest rates and strong population growth in New Zealand has had an outsized impact on house prices because the supply of new homes has been slow to respond. This includes both opening up new land and building new homes. Tax rules in NZ favour housing against other investments. House prices are influenced by employment and incomes, as well as bank lending rules and the availability of mortgages. House prices were boosted by falling interest rates around the world in the past decade (post GFC). The Reserve Bank of NZ moves short-term interest rates to keep inflation low and stable and support employment at its maximum sustainable level. We consider the impact of our interest rate changes on house prices and how they affect the Government policy for sustainable house prices. We do not aim to drive house prices up or to stop them falling. The factors affecting house prices have changed. Building consents are now high, population growth has slowed dramatically, interest rates are rising and we are seeing house prices cool down in 2022, after a rapid rise last year. We are carrying out a wide range of research to understand the key drivers of house prices. We need to be clear about what the Reserve Bank can and cannot do and what others could do to fix this problem, which has been many decades in the making. Key findings of Analytical Note: - This Note compares and contrasts various facets of the housing market in New Zealand with those in 12 other developed economies over 1991-2021. - While several other economies have experienced increasing house prices in recent years, the rate of increase is the highest in New Zealand. - Among the economies we consider, New Zealand has seen the steepest decline in mortgage rates since the Global Financial Crisis, and almost the strongest increase in population. - Despite the rapid pace of residential construction in New Zealand over the last decade, the number of dwellings per inhabitant remains low and below the average for the OECD. |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nzb:nzbans:2022/6&r=ure |
| By: | Matthew Brunton; Punnoose Jacob (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | Housing matters- the big picture: House prices in New Zealand are driven by a wide range of factors – interest rates are just one part of the big picture. A global decline in interest rates and strong population growth in New Zealand has had an outsized impact on house prices because the supply of new homes has been slow to respond. This includes both opening up new land and building new homes. Tax rules in NZ favour housing against other investments. House prices are influenced by employment and incomes, as well as bank lending rules and the availability of mortgages. House prices were boosted by falling interest rates around the world in the past decade (post GFC). The Reserve Bank of NZ moves short-term interest rates to keep inflation low and stable and support employment at its maximum sustainable level. We consider the impact of our interest rate changes on house prices and how they affect the Government policy for sustainable house prices. We do not aim to drive house prices up or to stop them falling. The factors affecting house prices have changed. Building consents are now high, population growth has slowed dramatically, interest rates are rising and we are seeing house prices cool down in 2022, after a rapid rise last year. We are carrying out a wide range of research to understand the key drivers of house prices. We need to be clear about what the Reserve Bank can and cannot do and what others could do to fix this problem, which has been many decades in the making. Key findings of Analytical Note: - The financing costs associated with home-ownership are affected by both the interest rates expected in the long term and cyclical drivers of shorter-term rates today. The empirical literature suggests that longer-term rates are more influenced by global factors while short-term rates are more heavily influenced by domestic factors such as monetary policy. - We employ a user cost model to disentangle the contributions of long-term and short-term financing costs, as well as rents, to the growth in New Zealand house prices over 2001-2022. - We find that a decline in expected longer term financing costs has dominated other drivers of the increase in house prices. - We also demonstrate that the response of house prices to permanent declines in interest rates, that feeds more into longer-term financing costs, is amplified when housing supply is less responsive to prices. |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nzb:nzbans:2022/10&r=ure |
| By: | LE BOENNEC, Rémy; SALLADARRE, Frédéric |
| Abstract: | Micromobility modes such as scooters, e-scooters, skateboards, or hoverboards has recently emerged as part of the urban landscape. In this paper, we analyze the use of modes of micromobility for commuting. We distinguish between monomodality (commuters using one mode of micromobility only) and multimodality (commuters using micromobility as a complement or substitute to other modes of transport). We apply non-parametric ordered methods to a survey that was conducted in 2018 on mobility users in four European countries. The survey gathered 4, 873 observations from commuters in France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom (UK). Micromobility commuting is marginal in all four European countries. The sociodemographic characteristics of micromobility commuters are homogeneous and concern mainly male, young, and urban commuters. We find that travel habits account for a large share of the variability explained by the model. Germany has a low level of multimodality, whereas the UK practices complementarity-oriented multimodal commuting. Overall, our results bring new insights showing that micromobility is used as a (partial) substitute to urban transit systems for short distances and as a complement for longer commuting trips made by train. These emerging patterns of commuting require better modal integration between micromobility and public transport, and a more sophisticated design of transport infrastructures. |
| Keywords: | micromobility; commuting; multimodality; privately-owned; mode choice; travel habit. |
| JEL: | C14 C21 R41 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:119202&r=ure |
| By: | Pamela Jakiela (Williams College; BREAD; CGD; IZA; J-PAL); Owen Ozier (Williams College, BREAD, IZA, and J-PAL); Lia C. H. Fernald (University of California at Berkeley); Heather A. Knauer (University of Michigan) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the impact of preprimary education on early childhood development in a sample of Kenyan three-year-olds. Our identification strategy exploits the fact that children in our sample are more likely to start school at age three rather than at age four if they live within a few hundred meters of the nearest primary school, though other household characteristics do not vary across such small distances. Instrumental variables estimation suggests that enrolling in preschool at age three has large positive impacts on vocabulary in children’s mother tongue, which is the primary language of instruction in preprimary. However, we do not find evidence that these short-term gains translate into persistent advantages in vocabulary or other measures of child development one to three years later. |
| Keywords: | preschool, early childhood, preprimary education, human capital, school readiness, early literacy, mother tongue instruction, instrumental variables |
| JEL: | O12 I25 J24 H52 |
| Date: | 2023–10–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:661&r=ure |
| By: | David C. Maré (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Richard Fabling (New Zealand Productivity Commission); Dean R. Hyslop (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research) |
| Abstract: | Past research finds evidence that workers’ labour market outcomes are enhanced if they live in areas with greater job opportunities and employment density. Using two alternative measures of the employment density and job opportunities faced by workers in the local labour market in which they were displaced, this paper analyses their effects on the subsequent migration decisions and labour market outcomes of workers who involuntarily lose their jobs as part of a firm closure or mass layoff event. Our analysis finds only limited support for the spatial mismatch hypothesis. The results imply that workers displaced from jobs in areas with greater employment density or job opportunities are more likely to emigrate, are less likely to be re-employed following layoff and have lower subsequent earnings, although earnings are higher conditional on being employed. However, if employed, workers displaced in areas with more opportunities are less likely to have moved area, but more likely to have changed industry, and have a more similar job to that from which they were displaced. |
| Keywords: | Displaced workers; unemployment duration; local labour markets |
| JEL: | J62 J64 R23 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtu:wpaper:23_12&r=ure |
| By: | Guo, Wei; Liao, Yanjun (Penny) (Resources for the Future); Miao, Qing |
| Abstract: | Numerous coastal communities are grappling with the challenge of adapting to escalating disaster risks while maintaining a robust local economy. We study a major buyout and acquisition program in New York State following Hurricane Sandy and evaluate its impacts on a variety of property- and neighborhood-level outcomes. We find that a buyout or acquisition increases nearby property values and also improves business performance and urban amenities in the broader neighborhood. These neighborhoods also attract higher-income property buyers. Compared to buyouts, home acquisitions—which facilitate resilient redevelopment of government-acquired properties— have a more pronounced economic effect. Our research design accounts for the confounding effects of Hurricane Sandy’s destruction. By providing some of the first estimates on the general equilibrium effects of buyout and acquisition programs, our findings offer a more holistic perspective on their role in shaping the socioeconomic landscape of communities. |
| Date: | 2023–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-23-44&r=ure |
| By: | Detemple, Jonas; Wicht, Alexandra |
| Abstract: | The ongoing global digital transformation has significant implications for economies and societies, with potential benefits and challenges. This study addresses the critical need for a comprehensive measure of regional digitalization in Germany to better understand its impact on various aspects of life, including education, employment, and working conditions. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), it introduces a multifaceted regional digitalization indicator at the administrative district level (NUTS-3) that incorporates digital infrastructure, culture, technology capacity, high-tech human capital, and digitalization-related innovativeness. The study reveals that digitalization varies significantly across regions. Urban regions tend to have higher digitalization levels, which are positively associated with economic productivity and high-skilled labor demand. Moreover, regional digitalization complements the established measure of regional automation potential, as the two are only slightly correlated, highlighting the complexity of regional disparities in the digital age. |
| Date: | 2023–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:e439g&r=ure |
| By: | Andrew Coleman (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the literature that examines the circumstances when house prices are likely to become unsustainable. It argues that there are 2 types of unsustainability: - The first type happens when there is a widespread increase in demand for better quality housing, or a rapid increase in population, which leads to a construction boom. Since the number of new houses typically built by the construction sector is much smaller than the stock of houses, the boom may run up against capacity constraints for several years during which time prices rise and then fall back to normal levels. This type of boom could be managed by a central bank but there would be other trade-offs to consider. - The second type of price unsustainability happens when there are technical or regulatory changes that reduce the usual cost of producing new houses. This type of unsustainability reflects supply factors and is typically outside the domain of the central bank. - The paper argues that the demand for better quality housing (which cannot be quickly met from new supply) is a major reason for unsustainable house prices, and a reason why house price cycles are often so different from price cycles in other industries. |
| Date: | 2023–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nzb:nzbdps:2023/1&r=ure |
| By: | Porter, Libby; Davies, Liam; Ruming, Kristian; Kelly, David; Rogers, Dallas; Flanagan, Kathleen |
| Abstract: | For public housing tenants, having to relocate from their home is a significant and sustained stress. Even if the final housing outcome may be improved, the relocation can be a negative emotional experience which deeply affects tenants’ wellbeing. This research, ‘Understanding the drivers and outcomes of public housing tenant relocation’, examined the drivers and experiences of tenant relocation from public housing in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. High maintenance costs, stock redundancy and poor quality public housing are often cited as the reasons for demolishing public housing and relocating tenants. An assumption used to justify renewal is ‘poverty deconcentration’, which argues that continued proximity to poverty further entrenches poverty and social dysfunction. Despite being repeatedly challenged for ignoring the structural conditions that perpetuate poverty, this idea remains highly influential in Australian housing policy. Even when the final housing outcome may be improved, relocation can be a negative experience with tenants experiencing it as an intense emotional stress that affects their wellbeing before, during and after moving. Relocation can destroy the networks that exist between vulnerable residents and the wider community, leading to people experiencing intense ‘placelessness’ and grief at the loss of home. For tenants living in public housing estates that are to be renewed, learning about their future relocation is a particularly stressful moment. As a consequence, clear, honest, early and ongoing information is critical to a successful renewal and relocation process. To make sure tenants and the community know exactly what is happening, media outlets require up-to-date and accurate data from governments about renewal programs, relocations processes, the numbers of tenants affected, the numbers of public housing units being demolished and where the capital generated from renewal will be invested. |
| Date: | 2023–11–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:k6ht3&r=ure |
| By: | Patrick Aguiar Carvalho; Ben Baker; Ashley Farquharson (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | Housing matters- the big picture: House prices in New Zealand are driven by a wide range of factors – interest rates are just one part of the big picture. A global decline in interest rates and strong population growth in New Zealand has had an outsized impact on house prices because the supply of new homes has been slow to respond. This includes both opening up new land and building new homes. Tax rules in NZ favour housing against other investments. House prices are influenced by employment and incomes, as well as bank lending rules and the availability of mortgages. House prices were boosted by falling interest rates around the world in the past decade (post GFC). The Reserve Bank of NZ moves short-term interest rates to keep inflation low and stable and support employment at its maximum sustainable level. We consider the impact of our interest rate changes on house prices and how they affect the Government policy for sustainable house prices. We do not aim to drive house prices up or to stop them falling. The factors affecting house prices have changed. Building consents are now high, population growth has slowed dramatically, interest rates are rising and we are seeing house prices cool down in 2022, after a rapid rise last year. We are carrying out a wide range of research to understand the key drivers of house prices. We need to be clear about what the Reserve Bank can and cannot do and what others could do to fix this problem, which has been many decades in the making. Key findings of Analytical Note: - With more than half of all household wealth in land and houses, New Zealanders have one very large egg in their wealth kete (basket). We investigate if this housing egg is oversized from a risk-return portfolio perspective. In other words, whether the current share of investment in housing can be explained by past investment performance. While investors do not have the benefit of hindsight, by looking at past data and various sensitivities, this exercise gives insights into why housing has been a popular investment asset from an individual investor perspective. - Our results suggest that, based on historic performance, the current level of investment in housing can be explained given its relatively robust financial returns over the past two decades. These results are underpinned by the ability to leverage investments through mortgages and favourable tax treatments, which both significantly increase the estimated portfolio share on housing. - Housing is not without risks and past performance is no guarantee of future results. International and domestic experiences show that long upswings can be followed by persistent downturns. In particular, there is an increasing body of evidence currently pointing to unsustainable house prices in New Zealand, and therefore, vulnerable to a potential correction and/or sluggish future growth. |
| Date: | 2022–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nzb:nzbans:2022/07&r=ure |
| By: | Yuri Passuelo; Veneziano C. Araujo; Eloiza R. F. de Almeida; Solange Goncalves |
| Abstract: | The full-time school programs have been one of the main public policies used by the different Brazilian administrative spheres in an attempt to improve educational outcome. This work evaluates the effect of the full-time school program PEI in the public schools of the state of São Paulo, for the Portuguese and mathematics exams of the Prova Brazil exam between the years 2013 and 2017, for students of the last year of elementary and junior high school, through Average Treatment Effect on Treated and Propensity Score Matching. The main results indicate that the program obtain, on average, higher levels of proficiency both in Portuguese and in Mathematics both in the 5th and 9th years of elementary school. In addition, greater proficiency levels are observed in Mathematics than in Portuguese. |
| Keywords: | Full-time school, ; public policy; Prova Brasil exam; propensity score matching |
| JEL: | I28 H52 C21 |
| Date: | 2023–12–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2023wpecon15&r=ure |
| By: | Maria Fernanda Guajardo Ortega; Heike Link |
| Abstract: | This study analyses the behavioural response of travellers on a temporal reduction of public transport prices in Germany through the so-called 9 Euro Ticket during summer 2022. The focus is on the inertia effect, e.g. the resistance to change behaviour, on people's travel mode decisions for commuter trips. We estimate mixed logit models for nearly 7, 000 commuter trips, based on GPS-tracking data collected as a panel dataset before and after the price intervention. We find significant inertia effects for all travel modes except walking, with negative effects for car and positive effects for public transport and cycling, indicating that car users are less willing to change travel mode while cyclists and public transport users tend to be less resistant. Cross-elasticities of car with respect to public transport attributes are higher than the cross-elasticities of public transport with respect to car attributes such as in-vehicle time and cost. This effect is even higher in the inertia model. Our modelling results suggest that car travel is inelastic and characterised by negative inertia, with a relationship between both effects. Future policy interventions such as the 49-Euro ticket should therefore not focus on price reductions alone, but need additionally to improve other attributes of public transport such as frequency, reliability, safety and comfort in order to incentivise motorists to shift from car to public transport. |
| Keywords: | Inertia, price elasticities, revealed preference, GPS panel data, mode choice |
| JEL: | C23 C25 R41 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp2052&r=ure |
| By: | Natalie Chen; Dennis Novy; Carlo Perroni; Horng Chern Wong |
| Abstract: | Using firm-level data from France, we document that the shift of economic activity from manufacturing to services over the last few decades has been urban-biased: structural change has been more pronounced in areas with higher population density. This bias can be accounted for by the location choices of large services firms that sort into big cities and large manufacturing firms that increasingly locate in suburban and rural areas. Motivated by these findings, we estimate a structural model of city formation with heterogeneous firms and international trade. We find that agglomeration economies have strengthened for services but weakened for manufacturing. This divergence is a key driver of the urban bias but it dampens aggregate structural change. Rising manufacturing productivity and falling international trade costs further contribute to the growth of large services firms in the densest urban areas, boosting services productivity and services exports, but also land prices. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration, cities, export, firm sorting, manufacturing, productivity, services, trade costs |
| JEL: | F15 F61 R12 R14 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10804&r=ure |
| By: | kilani, bochra hadj |
| Abstract: | In years there has been an increase, in the interest surrounding the utilization of unsupervised machine learning methods, particularly the application of K means clustering algorithms within urban studies. These techniques have demonstrated their usefulness, in examining and comprehending facets of planning including land usage patterns, transportation systems and population distribution. The objective of this article is to offer an overview of how K means clustering algorithm are employed in urban studies. The review examines the different methodologies and approaches employed in utilizing K-means clustering for urban analysis, highlighting its advantages and limitations. Additionally, the article discusses the specific challenges and considerations that arise when applying K-means clustering in urban studies, including data preprocessing, feature selection, and interpretation of the cluster results. The findings of this review demonstrate the wide range of applications of K-means clustering in urban studies, from identifying distinct land use categories to understanding the spatial distribution of social amenities. Furthermore, it is revealed that the use of K-means clustering in urban studies allows for the identification and characterization of hidden patterns and similarities among urban areas that might not be immediately apparent through traditional analysis methods. Overall, the use of K-means clustering algorithms provides a valuable tool for urban planners and researchers in gaining insights and making informed decisions in urban design. |
| Date: | 2023–11–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:bs6wy&r=ure |
| By: | Cotofan, Maria |
| Abstract: | Financial incentive programs for teachers are increasingly common, but little is known about the effectiveness of non-monetary incentives in improving educational outcomes. This field experiment measures how repeated public praise for the best teachers impacts student performance. In treated schools, the students of praised teachers perform better on standardized exams undertaken six months after the intervention. Praised teachers also assign higher marks to their students two months after the intervention. The students of teachers who are not praised in treated schools are assigned lower marks two months after the intervention, but they do not perform any worse on final exams. Compared to costly interventions where teachers receive financial incentives, the effects of public praise for praised teachers are remarkably large. |
| Keywords: | field experiment; non-monetary incentives; public praise; teacher performance |
| JEL: | C39 I21 J30 J45 J53 M52 |
| Date: | 2021–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:112772&r=ure |
| By: | David Autor; Christina Patterson; John Van Reenen |
| Abstract: | National U.S. industrial concentration rose between 1992-2017. Simultaneously, the Herfindhahl Index of local (six-digit-NAICS by county) employment concentration fell. This divergence between national and local employment concentration is due to structural transformation. Both sales and employment concentration rose within industry-by-county cells. But activity shifted from concentrated Manufacturing towards relatively un-concentrated Services. A stronger between-sector shift in employment relative to sales explains the fall in local employment concentration. Had sectoral employment shares remained at their 1992 levels, average local employment concentration would have risen by 9% by 2017 rather than falling by 7%. |
| Keywords: | Employment concentration, sales concentration, local labor markets, structural transformation |
| JEL: | L11 L60 O31 O34 P33 R3 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:23-59&r=ure |
| By: | Rohmani, Cholil |
| Abstract: | This comprehensive review explores the intricate interplay between marketing strategies, smart city development, and information systems in contemporary urban contexts. The study addresses the evolving landscape of urbanization, where traditional marketing approaches integrate with cutting-edge technologies within smart city initiatives. The primary aim is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the relationships among these three dimensions and their impact on sustainable urban development. A systematic literature review methodology is employed, encompassing databases such as PubMed, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, and JSTOR. The results highlight the dynamic evolution of marketing strategies within smart cities, the role of information systems as catalysts for innovation, and the challenges and opportunities associated with this interplay. The review contributes novel insights by identifying gaps in current knowledge, emphasizing the importance of stakeholder collaboration, ethical considerations, and the need for inclusive and culturally sensitive marketing strategies in the realm of smart city development. |
| Date: | 2023–12–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:8enru&r=ure |
| By: | Natalie Chen; Dennis Novy; Carlo Perroni; Horng Chern Wong |
| Abstract: | Using firm-level data from France, we document that the shift of economic activity from manufacturing to services over the last few decades has been urban-biased: structural change has been more pronounced in areas with higher population density. This bias can be accounted for by the location choices of large services firms that sort into big cities and large manufacturing firms that increasingly locate in suburban and rural areas. Motivated by these findings, we estimate a structural model of city formation with heterogeneous firms and international trade. We find that agglomeration economies have strengthened for services but weakened for manufacturing. This divergence is a key driver of the urban bias, but it dampens aggregate structural change. Rising manufacturing productivity and falling international trade costs further contribute to the growth of large services firms in the densest urban areas, boosting services productivity and services exports, but also land prices. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration, cities, firm sorting, manufacturing, productivity, services, trade costs |
| Date: | 2023–11–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1963&r=ure |
| By: | Estrada, Ricardo; Lombardi, María |
| Abstract: | This paper documents a novel stylized fact: many teachers in Latin America have low levels of cognitive skills. This fact is the result of both low levels of skills among the population and—in the case of numeracy—a gap between the average skill level of teachers and the rest of the tertiary-educated population (i.e., a teacher skills gap). To characterize the selection patterns behind this gap, we show that individuals with a teaching degree have lower average skills than individuals with other tertiary degrees, and that this gap is larger than the teacher skills gap. This difference is mainly explained by the selection into teaching of graduates from non-teaching degrees. Finally, we show evidence on one important determinant of the teacher skills gap: teacher relative wages are decreasing in skills. |
| Keywords: | teacher quality; teacher salaries; teacher labor markets; Latin America |
| JEL: | I21 J24 J45 |
| Date: | 2023–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:120906&r=ure |
| By: | David Molitor (University of Illinois and NBER); Corey White (Monash University and IZA) |
| Abstract: | Do environmental conditions pose greater health risks to individuals living in urban or rural areas? The answer is theoretically ambiguous: while urban areas have traditionally been associated with heightened exposure to environmental pollutants, the economies of scale and density inherent to urban environments offer unique opportunities for mitigating or adapting to these harmful exposures. To make progress on this question, we focus on the United States and consider how exposures—to air pollution, drinking water pollution, and extreme temperatures—and the response to those exposures differ across urban and rural settings. While prior studies have addressed some aspects of these issues, substantial gaps in knowledge remain, in large part due to historical deficiencies in monitoring and reporting, especially in rural areas. As a step toward closing these gaps, we present new evidence on urban-rural differences in air quality and population sensitivity to air pollution, leveraging recent advances in remote sensing measurement and machine learning. We find that the urban-rural gap in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has converged over the last two decades and the remaining gap is small relative to the overall declines. Furthermore, we find that residents of urban counties are, on average, less vulnerable to the mortality effects of PM2.5 exposure. We also discuss promising areas for future research. |
| Keywords: | environment, urban, rural, pollution, health |
| JEL: | I10 Q53 Q54 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2023-25&r=ure |
| By: | Luisa Gagliardi; Enrico Moretti; Michel Serafinelli |
| Abstract: | We investigate the employment consequences of deindustrialization for 1, 993 cities in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and the United States. In all six countries we find a strong negative relationship between a city’s share of manufacturing employment in the year of its country’s manufacturing peak and the subsequent change in total employment, reflecting the fact that cities where manufacturing was initially more important experienced larger negative labor demand shocks. But in a significant number of cases, total employment fully recovered and even exceeded initial levels, despite the loss of manufacturing jobs. Overall, 34% of former manufacturing hubs–defined as cities with an initial manufacturing employment share in the top tercile–experienced employment growth faster than their country’s mean, suggesting that a surprisingly large number of cities was able to adapt to the negative shock caused by deindustrialization. The U.S. has the lowest share, indicating that the U.S. Rust Belt communities have fared relatively worse compared to their peers in the other countries. We then seek to understand why some former manufacturing hubs recovered while others didn’t. We find that deindustrialization had different effects on local employment depending on the initial share of college-educated workers in the labor force. While in the two decades before the manufacturing peak, cities with a high college share experienced a rate of employment growth similar to those with a low college share, in the decades after the manufacturing peak, the employment trends diverged: cities with a high college share experienced significantly faster employment growth. The divergence grows over time at an accelerating rate. Using an instrumental variable based on the driving distance to historical colleges and universities, we estimate that a one standard deviation increase in local college share results in a rate of employment growth per decade that is 9.1 percentage points higher. This effect is in part explained by faster growth in human capital-intensive services, which more than offsets the loss of manufacturing jobs. |
| Keywords: | local labor markets, cities, manufacturing, human capital |
| JEL: | J21 R12 J24 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10826&r=ure |
| By: | Ann-Marie Sommerfeld |
| Abstract: | Exploiting the age-at-enrollment policies in 16 German states as exogenous source of variation, I examine whether the schooling of the oldest child in a migrant household affects parents’ integration. My analysis links administrative records on primary school enrollment cutoff dates with micro data from the German Socioeconomic Panel (GSOEP). Using a regression discontinuity design around the school enrollment cutoff and an instrumental variable approach I show that children’s schooling improves the integration of parents along several dimensions, such as labor market outcomes, financial worries, and German language skills. Labor market outcomes are most positively affected for mothers. Additional analysis of underlying mechanisms suggests that results are driven by gains in disposable time and exposure to the German language and culture. |
| Keywords: | international migration, assimilation, integration, education, schooling, family, regression discontinuity, instrumental variables |
| JEL: | F22 I24 I26 J16 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1198&r=ure |
| By: | Martin Henning; Rikard Eriksson; Petrus Garefelt; Hanna Martin; Zoltán Elekes |
| Abstract: | The local presence and composition of skills is commonly thought to have enormous implications for economic development. Yet, skills and the relations between them are notoriously difficult to pinpoint and measure. We develop a method that uses information available in Swedish job postings to measure the skill-relatedness of jobs and the skill- coherence of local economies. Our skill-relatedness measure can be assumed to be exogenous to local economic outcomes such as wages, productivity and labour mobility. We corroborate some previous research findings and show that workers tend to switch between related jobs and that local economies are on average skill-coherent. However, less coherent local economies are associated with higher average wages and productivity. Local economies where workers switch between related jobs though enjoy higher average wages. In all, this points to the benefit of local labour market clusters within more diverse regions. We conclude that job postings provide a wealth of information on the skill-foundations of local development. A job-level skill- relatedness matrix accompanies the paper. |
| Keywords: | job postings; skill-relatedness; local skill coherence; regional agglomeration; labour flows |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2324&r=ure |
| By: | Ekaterina Alekhanova (Department of Economics, Carleton University); Kate Foreman (NERA Economic Consulting); Maya Papineau (Department of Economics, Carleton University); Reid Stevens (Independent Consultant) |
| Abstract: | On July 1, 2010, congestion pricing during peak traffic times was implemented on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. In response to the toll, automobile traffic on the bridge declined. Exploiting a quasi-experimental approach, the study finds that although public transit ridership increased after the new road toll policy went into effect, congestion pricing did not cause a change in traffic-related air pollution and respiratory illness incidence in the bridge vicinity, in contrast with the past work on the topic in other settings. This points to the importance of considering the heterogenous place-based factors that drive the welfare effects of environmental policy. |
| Keywords: | Air Pollution, Respiratory Health, Congestion Pricing, Public Transit |
| Date: | 2023–11–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:car:carecp:23-07&r=ure |
| By: | Sara Amoroso; Benedikt Herrmann; Alexander S. Kritikos |
| Abstract: | High growth firms (HGFs) are important for job creation and considered to be precursors of economic growth. We investigate how product- and labor-market regulations, as well as the quality of regional governments that implement these regulations, affect HGF development across European regions. Using data from Eurostat, OECD, WEF, and Gothenburg University, we show that both regulatory stringency and the quality of the regional government influence the regional shares of HGFs. Additionally, we find that the effect of labor- and product-market regulations ultimately depends on the quality of regional governments. The institutional quality has a moderating role in defining the effect of regulations on the regional shares of HGFs. Our findings contribute to the debate on the effects of regulations by showing that regulations are not, per se, “good, bad, and ugly", rather their impact depends on the efficiency of regional governments. Our paper offers important building blocks to develop tailored policy measures that may influence the development of HGFs in a region. |
| Keywords: | Business dynamics, Regulation, Institutions, Regional data |
| JEL: | L50 L25 H11 O43 R11 R50 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp2053&r=ure |
| By: | Schüler, Ruth Maria |
| JEL: | N33 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc23:277652&r=ure |
| By: | Zhang , Huafeng (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Holden, Stein T. (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | To achieve the overarching goal of "education for all, " there is a growing interest in understanding school learning outcomes and disparities among school children from disadvantaged backgrounds in Africa. This study employs data from standardized reading skill tests conducted in 11 low-income and lower-middle-income African countries through the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) to evaluate children's learning outcomes. Drawing from recent nationally representative data, this multi-country study investigates the impact of various factors, including a country's socio-economic development, rural-urban disparities, family background, and disability status, on children's reading skills acquisition. Our study reveals that reading proficiency among children is generally low and exhibits significant variation across the 11 African countries under examination. Notably, reading skills proficiency rates are lower in countries with lower GDP per capita, smaller government education expenditure relative to GDP per capita, lower school enrolment, and higher pupil-teacher ratios. The study identifies notable learning gaps among children from disadvantaged backgrounds, including disabled children, those residing in rural areas, and those from poorer and less educated families. We specifically investigate the reading skills disparities between disabled and non-disabled children across various social categories and countries. These reading skills disparities remain fairly constant across the different social backgrounds, indicating that disabled children benefit equally from improved conditions as other children do. These results underscore the critical role of macroeconomic development and social equity in enhancing reading skills for all. To effectively reduce this gap, further targeted research is essential to understand the dynamics and identify tailored interventions. |
| Keywords: | Socio-economic development; reading skills; urban-rural disparity; children with disabilities; poverty; educational inequality; Africa |
| JEL: | I24 |
| Date: | 2023–12–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2023_008&r=ure |
| By: | Nicola Daniele Coniglio (University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy. School of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu, Estonia); Rezart Hoxhaj (University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy.); Huber Jayet (University of Lille, France.) |
| Abstract: | This study offers a comprehensive examination of the time-use patterns of immigrants versus native-born populations in the U.S., drawing from the American Time-Use Survey (ATUS) spanning 2003-2019. We analyse differences in the concentration and diversity of time allocation, looking both at participation likelihood and at the time spent in a highly disaggregated set of activities. Our findings underscore pronounced differences between immigrants and native-born, with distinct patterns emerging across genders and influenced by socio-economic attributes. The data reveals a nuanced assimilation trajectory based on the duration of immigrants' residency. Particularly, men immigrants show assimilation in time-use after approximately 20 years, while women immigrants display a staggered alignment, converging notably after two decades. Immigrants also exhibit heightened gender specialization in time-use, which narrows over time but remains pronounced relative to native-born. Second-generation immigrants display time-use patterns similar to long-term first-generation immigrants, aligning closely with the trend of nativeborn. This study provides valuable insights into the dynamics of time-use, assimilation processes, and gendered divisions, informing socio-economic and integration policies. |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bai:egeiwp:egei_wp-2_2023&r=ure |
| By: | Victoria Gierok |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the impact of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) on urban economies in the Holy Roman Empire. It presents further evidence for Germany’s economic decline in the early modern period. Based on two novel datasets comprising data on civic wealth, public revenues, public expenditure and debt levels for 17 cities it shows that civic wealth declined by 34 percent on average. Urban communities con tributed substantially to the financing of the Thirty Years’ War: Local contributions exceeded Imperial war-financing by at least a factor of five. Over 50 percent of this expenditure came from direct wealth taxation and debt issue. This means extraction plays a substantial role in explaining the urban wealth decline during this period. |
| Date: | 2023–12–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:esohwp:_210&r=ure |
| By: | Yulia Evsyukova; Felix Rusche; Wladislaw Mill |
| Abstract: | We assess the impact of discrimination on Black individuals’ job networks in the U.S. using a two-stage field experiment with 400+ fictitious LinkedIn profiles. Varying race via A.I.-generated images only, we find that Black profiles’ connection requests are accepted at significantly lower rates (Stage I) and their networks provide less information (Stage II). Leveraging our experimental design to eliminate first-stage endogeneity, we identify gatekeeping as the key driver of Black-White disparities. Examining users’ CVs reveals widespread discrimination across different social groups and – contrary to expert predictions – less discrimination among men and older users. |
| Keywords: | Discrimination, Job Networks, Labor Markets, Field Experiment |
| JEL: | J71 J15 C93 J46 D85 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2023_482&r=ure |
| By: | Bühler, Mathias |
| JEL: | O24 N77 F14 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc23:277609&r=ure |
| By: | Ruenzi, Stefan; Maeckle, Kai |
| JEL: | I12 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc23:277574&r=ure |
| By: | Patire, Anthony D. PhD; Dion, Francois PhD; Bayen, Alexandre M. PhD |
| Abstract: | Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) willrevolutionize the way we travel; however, what impact this revolution will have on advancing broader societal goals is uncertain. To date, the private sector technology rollout has emphasized the automation side of CAVs and neglected the potentially transformative possibilities brought by a more collaborative notion of connectivity. This may have significant downsides from a broader societal perspective. For example, CAVs (including those on the road today) collect a vast amount of data gathered through onboard systems (e.g., radar, lidar, camera), however, this data is not typically shared with other vehicles, roadside infrastructure, or public transportation agencies. This lack of collaboration will likely make traffic worse and forfeit the opportunity to manage traffic at the systems-level, which is where significant gains can be made in terms of improving traffic flow and safety, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle energy use, and more. |
| Keywords: | Engineering |
| Date: | 2023–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsrrp:qt7vm0d838&r=ure |
| By: | Zahra, Tahreen; Beland, Louis-Philippe |
| Abstract: | Baron (2022) explores the independent effects of operational expenditure and capital expenditure on student outcomes in school districts across Wisconsin from the outcomes of close referendum approvals. By utilizing a dynamic regression discontinuity framework and cubic specification, the author finds that narrowly passing an operational referendum, increases operational expenditure per pupil by $298 each year on average, following the referendum over a ten year period. From this $198 are spent on instructional expenses. These point estimates are statistically significant at the 10% and 5% level, respectively. We first reproduce the main results from the paper without any issues arising. Secondly, we conduct a robustness replicability to (1) dropping school districts from the top and bottom 5% of the revenue limits distribution, categorically, and (2) dividing the time frame of the study into two periods: 1996-2005 and 2005-2014. We find that dropping the top 5% of the school districts by revenue limits reduces the additional operational expenditure by $140 per pupil (lower by 50 percent) and the effects of passing an operational referendum were nearly double in the former period compared to the latter period. Lastly, we find that the estimated effects on student outcomes rely heavily on recent observations. |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:88&r=ure |
| By: | Daniel Albalate (Universitat de Barcelona & GiM-IREA, Spain.); Germà Bel (Universitat de Barcelona & GiM-IREA, Spain.); Francisco González-Gómez (University of Granada & Water Institute.); José C. Hernández-Gutiérrez (University of Granada & Water Institute.); Andrés J. Picazo-Tadeo (University of Valencia & INTECO.) |
| Abstract: | Remunicipalization is triggered primarily by disappointment with the outcomes of private management of local public services, but an ideological preference for public management might also play a role. Even though urban water delivery is the service most affected by remunicipalization in developed countries, little empirical evidence is available on its effects. Using a sample of Spanish municipalities, this paper assesses the change in the price of urban water following remunicipalization as compared to privatization. The main finding is that remunicipalization leads to smaller increases in price; this outcome is, however, due to a few atypical municipalities with abnormally low prices for water before the policy reform. Once these influential observations are controlled for, the question of whether the reform consists of remunicipalization or privatization makes no difference regarding the change in prices. It is also found that remunicipalization is much more likely in local councils governed by extreme left-wing parties. |
| Keywords: | Local public services; Prices; Remunicipalization; Urban water. JEL classification: D49; G18; L33; L95. |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ira:wpaper:202319&r=ure |
| By: | Kyung Min Lee; Mee Jung Kim; J. David Brown; John S. Earle; Zhen Liu |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs to innovation in the U.S. using linked survey-administrative data on 199, 000 firms with a rich set of innovation measures and other firm and owner characteristics. We find that not only are immigrants more likely than natives to own businesses, but on average their firms display more innovation activities and outcomes. Immigrant owned firms are particularly more likely to create completely new products, improve previous products, use new processes, and engage in both basic and applied R&D, and their efforts are reflected in substantially higher levels of patents and productivity. Immigrant owners are slightly less likely than natives to imitate products of others and to hire more employees. Delving into potential explanations of the immigrant-native differences, we study other characteristics of entrepreneurs, access to finance, choice of industry, immigrant self-selection, and effects of diversity. We find that the immigrant innovation advantage is robust to controlling for detailed characteristics of firms and owners, it holds in both high-tech and non-high-tech industries and, with the exception of productivity, it tends to be even stronger in firms owned by diverse immigrant-native teams and by diverse immigrants from different countries. The evidence from nearly all measures that immigrants tend to operate more innovative and productive firms, together with the higher share of business ownership by immigrants, implies large contributions to U.S. innovation and growth. |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:23-56&r=ure |
| By: | Müller, Ulrich; Watson, Mark |
| JEL: | C12 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc23:277567&r=ure |
| By: | Balázs Égert; Christine de la Maisonneuve; David Turner |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the link between educational policies and i) student performance and ii) macroeconomic measures of productivity. The analysis has two stages. First, using the 2015 and 2018 PISA databases, it quantifies the relationship between student test scores and the characteristics of students taking the tests, their school environment and national educational systems. Second, assuming that these relationships reflect the effect of different characteristics/policies on student test performance, the second stage converts the latter into an estimated effect on macroeconomic measures of productivity using a new measure of human capital as an intermediary variable. This new measure of human capital, devised in previous OECD work, combines student test scores and mean years of schooling with estimated elasticities that suggest the former is more important. The analysis shows a positive association between spending on education and student test scores, but only for levels of student expenditure below the OECD median, suggesting scope for currently low-spending countries to raise student performance with potential gains to long-run productivity. Boosting participation in early childhood education as well as improving teacher quality is found to generate large aggregate productivity gains. There are significant, but smaller, macroeconomic gains for many countries from limiting grade repetition and ability grouping across all subjects as well as increasing the accountability of schools. Finally, the results provide evidence for income inequality having a major influence on productivity through a human capital channel. |
| Keywords: | education policies, human capital, OECD, PISA, productivity, student test scores |
| JEL: | E24 I20 I25 I26 I28 |
| Date: | 2023–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1781-en&r=ure |
| By: | Samuel Bentolila (CEMFI, Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros); Antonio Cabrales (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid); Marcel Jansen (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the causal impact of dual vocational education and training (VET) on the labor market insertion of youth. Using matched education and social security records, we estimate the causal impact of a major reform that introduced a new dual track, which combines firm- and school-based training, on the labor market outcomes of the first three dual VET cohorts in the Spanish rregion of Madrid. The control group is composed of individuals who graduated in the same fields and years in school-based VET. Selection into dual VET is dealt with using a distance-based instrumental variable. Dual VET is found to generate sizable improvements in employment and earnings, but no significant impact on job quality. The results are not driven by pre-reform differences in the quality of the schools that adopted dual VET and the higher retention rate of dual VET graduates only partly explains the dual premium. |
| Keywords: | Dual vocational education and training, school-to-work transition, Spain. |
| JEL: | D92 G33 J23 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cmf:wpaper:wp2023_2307&r=ure |
| By: | Zuchowski, David |
| Abstract: | Does pro-immigrant legislation improve financial inclusion? This paper examines how granting safe havens for immigrants impacts Hispanics' financial behavior and discrimination against them in the U.S. mortgage market. To identify the effect, I take advantage of the staggered implementation of sanctuary policies across counties between 2010 and 2021. Using an event study approach, I find that sanctuary policies increase the demand for mortgages among Hispanics. I also find evidence of a decrease in the rejection rates of mortgage loans requested by Hispanics in counties that implemented sanctuary policies. Politically volatile and Republican-leaning states are the main drivers of the reduction in this potential discriminatory behavior. Taken together, the findings underscore the importance of inclusive public policies in promoting financial inclusion of immigrants. |
| Abstract: | Fördern immigrantenfreundliche Gesetze die finanzielle Inklusion? Diese Studie untersucht, wie die Gewährung von sicheren Zufluchtsorten für Immigranten das Finanzverhalten von Hispanics und die Diskriminierung gegen sie auf dem US-amerikanischen Hypothekenmarkt beeinflusst. Um den Effekt zu identifizieren, mache ich Gebrauch von der zeitlich gestaffelten Einführung sogenannter Sanctuary Policies in den Kreisen in den USA zwischen 2010 und 2021. Mit Hilfe eines Ereignisstudienansatzes komme ich zu dem Ergebnis, dass Sanctuary Policies die Nachfrage nach Hypotheken unter Hispanics erhöhen. Es gibt auch Hinweise auf eine Verringerung der Ablehnungsquoten von Hypothekenanträgen von Hispanics in Kreisen, die Sanctuary Policies umgesetzt haben. Kreise in politisch instabilen und republikanisch geprägten Bundesstaaten sind die Haupttreiber der Reduzierung dieses potenziell diskriminierenden Verhaltens. Insgesamt unterstreichen die Ergebnisse die Bedeutung von inklusiven Gesetzen zur Förderung der finanziellen Integration von Einwanderern. |
| Keywords: | Sanctuary policies, immigration policy, mortgages, financial inclusion |
| JEL: | G21 J15 J68 K37 R21 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:280425&r=ure |
| By: | Tanner Regan (George Washington University); Giorgio Chiovelli (Universidad de Montevideo); Stelios Michalopoulos (Brown University); Elias Papaioannou (London Business School) |
| Abstract: | Satellite images of nighttime lights are commonly used to proxy local economic conditions. Despite their popularity, there are concerns about how accurately they capture local development in low-income settings and different scales. We compile a yearly series of comparable nighttime lights for Africa from 1992 to 2020, considering key factors that affect accuracy and comparability over time: sensor quality, top coding, blooming, and, importantly, variations in satellite systems (DMPS and VIIRS) using an ensemble, machine learning, approach. The harmonized luminosity series outperforms the unadjusted series as a stronger predictor of local development, particularly over time and at higher spatial resolutions. |
| Keywords: | Night Lights, Economic Development, Measurement, Africa |
| JEL: | O1 R1 E01 I32 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gwi:wpaper:2023-11&r=ure |
| By: | Giacomo Lo Conte; Andrea Mina; Silvia Rocchetta |
| Abstract: | In this paper we explore the impact of place-based innovation policy in Europe. We focus on the effects of Smart Specialisation strategies on the labour productivity of regional economies. We design an analytical framework that takes into account the entrepreneurial discovery process through which the policy is implemented, and connect the technological relatedness of regions with their specialisation choices. We use an IV estimation approach capable of handling endogeneity problems, and apply it to an extensive dataset of 102 NUTS2 regions extracted from the European Commission Smart Specialisation Portal. The results show that Smart Specialisation strategies increase labour productivity as long as the priorities are set in sectors related to pre-existing technological capabilities, indicating the fundamental importance of path-dependency in diversification choices. The findings deepen our understanding of regional development and innovation strategies, and have relevant implications for the implementation of appropriate policy instruments. |
| Keywords: | Related diversification; Specialization; Regional policy; Innovation policy; Place-based Policies |
| JEL: | O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2323&r=ure |
| By: | Baum, Christopher F. (Boston College, DIW Berlin and CESIS); Lööf, Hans (Royal Institute of Technology and CESIS); Stephan, Andreas (Linnaeus University and DIW Berlin); Zimmermann, Klaus F. (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University, CEPR and GLO) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the wage earnings of fully-employed refugee immigrants in Sweden. Using administrative employer-employee data from 1990 and onwards, about 100, 000 refugee immigrants who arrived between 1980 and 1996 and were granted asylum are compared to a matched sample of native-born workers. Employing recentered influence function (RIF) quantile regressions for the period 2011–2015 to wage earnings, the occupational task-based Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition approach shows that refugees perform better than natives at the median wage, controlling for individual and firm characteristics. This overperformance is due to female refugee immigrants, who have higher wages than comparable native-born female peers up to the 8th decile of the wage distribution. Refugee immigrant females perform better than native females across all occupational tasks studied, including non-routine cognitive tasks. A remarkable similarity exists in the relative wage distributions among various refugee groups, suggesting that cultural differences and the length of time spent in the host country do not significantly affect their labor market performance. |
| Keywords: | refugees; wage earnings gap; occupational sorting; employer-employee data; correlated random effects model; Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition |
| JEL: | C23 F22 J24 J60 O15 |
| Date: | 2023–12–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0496&r=ure |
| By: | Pascal Troxler, Marcus Roller, Monika Bandi Tanner |
| Abstract: | In recent years, ski area operators in Switzerland have faced a decreasing demand due to climate change, exchange rate pressure and demographical changes among other factors. At the same time, ski lift and snowmaking capabilities have increased – partly with financial aid from public funds. It is therefore crucial to find out how much ski area investments retain demand and affect the competition for the remaining guests. We link firm-level data from ski areas to natural snowpack data and use Two-Way Fixed Effect (TWFE) estimators to study (i) how ski areas lower their dependency on natural snow by investing in snowmaking facilities, (ii) the effect of ski lift investments on skiing demand and revenue and (iii) the impact of lift investments on the spatial competition between neighboring ski areas. We find that ski areas with above-median snowmaking capabilities lower their dependency on natural snow by two-thirds. Ski lift investments induce a one-time positive average effect of 4.1% on demand and 1.9% on revenue in the winter following the construction. Finally, we document negative effects of ski lift expansions of neighboring areas within a road distance of up to 50 kilometers on demand. |
| Keywords: | : Ski area operators, investment competition, ski area expansion, ski lift replacement, snowmaking, spatial competition, tourism |
| JEL: | L83 L88 R41 Z32 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rdv:wpaper:credresearchpaper45&r=ure |
| By: | Alasalmi, Juho |
| JEL: | J61 R23 D83 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc23:277633&r=ure |