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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Denis Fernandes Alves (Federal University of Pernambuco, Caruaru, Pernambuco, Brazil); André Luis Squarize Chagas (Departmento of Economics, University of S˜ao Paulo, S˜ao Paulo, S˜ao Paulo, Brazil) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates how spatial inequalities in urban infrastructure shape the risk of COVID-19 infection. We develop a stylized urban sorting model with regulated housing markets to formally link residential density, healthcare accessibility, and residence in low-income areas under special planning regulations to heterogeneous contagion risks. The model yields testable propositions, which we evaluate using georeferenced individual-level data from Recife, Brazil. To address endogeneity, we estimate an instrumental variable Probit model, using novel instruments based on 19th-century railway lines, early-2000s building density, and the share of designated low-income areas within each census tract. Results show that greater distance to health services, higher residential density, and residence in low-income neighborhoods each increase infection risk. The effects of distance and density are strongest among individuals aged 20–30, while the low-income area effect is more pronounced among those under 20; combined vulnerabilities amplify risks for older adults. Additional analyses reveal that risk varies systematically across land-use contexts. Our findings demonstrate that urban form and the spatial distribution of public services play a causal role in epidemic exposure, offering lessons for public health strategies in rapidly urbanizing and unequal cities worldwide. |
| Keywords: | Urban sorting; COVID-19 contagion; Spatial Inequality; Healthcare access; Built environment. |
| JEL: | R10 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:nereus:021488 |
| By: | Francis, Abigail (Boston University); Goodman, Joshua (Boston University) |
| Abstract: | The pandemic induced a substantial enrollment shift away from public schools in fall 2020 and a partial return of students in fall 2021, leaving longer-term impacts unclear. We use Massachusetts state- and district-level data to explore enrollment patterns five years after the pandemic's onset. Relative to pre-pandemic trends, fall 2024 enrollment is down 2% in local public schools, up 14% in private schools, and up 45% in home schools. The highest income 20% of districts have lost more public school students than the other 80% combined, with these lower income districts having largely recovered. White and Asian public school enrollments have stabilized at levels 3% and 8% below pre-pandemic trends, while Black and Hispanic enrollments have more than fully recovered. Public school losses are almost entirely concentrated in middle grades (5-8), where enrollment is down 8%, suggesting families place particular weight on those ages when making post-pandemic schooling choices. Five years in, the pandemic has had sustained effects on the size and demographic composition of public schools. Many of the changes observed in Massachusetts appear in national data, suggesting these patterns are widespread. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, home school, private school, public school, pandemic |
| JEL: | I20 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18016 |
| By: | Henrika Langen; Michael Doersam |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how improved public transportation affordability, resulting from the introduction of the so-called Deutschlandticket, affected the commuting choices of newly commencing apprentices in Germany. Introduced in May 2023, the Deutschlandticket offers nationwide access to local and regional public transport at a flat monthly rate, replacing a previously fragmented fare system and substantially reducing commuting costs, particularly for commutes across transport association boundaries. Using administrative register data on apprenticeship contracts and detailed pre-Deutschlandticket fare information, we assess changes in commuting patterns among new apprentices between 2022 and 2023. Our difference-in-differences analyses show that the Deutschlandticket led to a significant increase of around 21% in commutes on inter-transport-association routes, especially among older apprentices, those with lower school-leaving certificates, and those in certain training occupations. In contrast, we find no significant effect of region-specific Deutschlandticket-related cost savings on commuting distances within single transport associations. Our findings suggest that by reducing financial and informational barriers, the Deutschlandticket expanded access to apprenticeship opportunities and may have helped alleviate regional mismatches, without increasing commuting distances or requiring relocation. |
| Keywords: | commuting behavior, vocational education and training (VET), D-Ticket, public transportation, Difference-in-Differences |
| JEL: | I21 J61 J24 R23 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iso:educat:0246 |
| By: | McLean, Andrew; McVicar, Duncan |
| Abstract: | This paper presents sibling fixed effects estimates of the relationship between school exclusion and subsequent academic achievement from population-wide administrative data on English secondary school students. It complements a growing base of quasi-experimental and individual fixed effects evidence on exclusion effects in predominantly US settings. We find that being excluded is negatively associated with subsequent achievement at school. We assess the extent to which this might reflect a negative causal impact of exclusion. |
| Keywords: | school exclusion, educational achievement, sibling fixed effects, administrative data |
| JEL: | I24 I28 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:qmsrps:202506 |
| By: | Bluhm, Richard; Dreher, Axel; Fuchs, Andreas; Parks, Bradley C.; Strange, Austin M.; Tierney, Michael J. |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the causal effect of transport infrastructure on the spatial distribution of economic activity within subnational regions across a large number of developing countries. To do so, we introduce a new global dataset of geolocated Chinese grant- and loan-financed development projects from 2000 to 2014 and combine it with measures of spatial concentration based on remotely sensed data. We find that Chinese financed transportation projects decentralize economic activity within regions, as measured by a spatial Gini coefficient, by 2.2 percentage points. The treatment effects are particularly strong in regions that are less developed, more urbanized, and located closer to cities. |
| Keywords: | Development finance, Transport costs, Infrastructure, Foreign aid, Spatial concentration, China |
| JEL: | F35 R11 R12 P33 O18 O19 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkie:323671 |
| By: | Hanushek, Eric A. (Stanford University); Kang, Le (Nanjing University); Li, Xueying (Nanjing University of Finance and Economics); Zhang, Lei (Zhejiang University) |
| Abstract: | The changing pattern of quality in China’s rural schools across time and province is extracted from the differential labor market earnings of rural migrant workers. Variations in rates of return to years of schooling across migrant workers working in the same urban labor market but having different sites of basic education provide for direct estimation of provincial school quality. Corroborating this approach, these school quality estimates prove to be highly correlated with provincial cognitive skill test scores for the same demographic group. Returns to quality increase with economic development level of destination cities. Importantly, quality appears higher and provincial variation appears lower for younger cohorts, indicating at least partial effectiveness of more recent policies aimed at improving rural school quality across provinces. Surprisingly, however, provincial variations in quality are uncorrelated with teacher-student ratio or per student spending. |
| Keywords: | migration, school quality, China |
| JEL: | I25 J6 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18030 |
| By: | Simone Daniotti; Matte Hartog; Frank Neffke |
| Abstract: | Diversified economies are critical for cities to sustain their growth and development, but they are also costly because diversification often requires expanding a city’s capability base. We analyze how cities manage this trade-off by measuring the coherence of the economic activities they support, defined as the technological distance between randomly sampled productive units in a city. We use this framework to study how the US urban system developed over almost two centuries, from 1850 to today. To do so, we rely on historical census data, covering over 600M individual records to describe the economic activities of cities between 1850 and 1940, as well as 8 million patent records and detailed occupational and industrial profiles of cities for more recent decades. Despite massive shifts in the economic geography of the U.S. over this 170-year period, average coherence in its urban system remains unchanged. Moreover, across different time periods, datasets and relatedness measures, coherence falls with city size at the exact same rate, pointing to constraints to diversification that are governed by a city’s size in universal ways. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2522 |
| By: | Keisuke KONDO; Toshihiro OKUBO |
| Abstract: | This study focuses on “Location Rationalization Plans, †which is one of the place-based policies initiated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan. In accordance with the “Amended Act on Special Measures concerning Urban Reconstruction, †which took effect in August 2014, each local government is diligently engaged in formulating “Location Normalization Plans†to propel compact community development in preparation for a future society grappling with a declining population. As of March 31, 2024, 568 local governments had successfully formulated and published their plans. However, the formulation of plans remains in progress in some local governments. Reasons for the inability of some municipalities to formulate their plans early, while others are still in the process of doing so, have not yet been fully clarified. This study aims to elucidate which local governments have successfully completed their urban planning in a timely manner. Creating an original municipal dataset, this study finds that learning and spillovers are factors that contribute to the policy-making process. Specifically, learning exerts a substantial influence on the decision-making process regarding initiation and the swift development of analogous ongoing policies. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:25078 |
| By: | Briole, Simon; Gurgand, Marc; Maurin, Eric; McNally, Sandra; Ruiz-Valenzuela, Jenifer; Santín, Daniel |
| Abstract: | This paper shows that schools can foster the transmission of civic virtues by helping students to develop concrete, democratically chosen, collective projects. We draw on a RCT implemented in 200 middle schools in three countries. The program leads students to conduct citizenship projects in their communities under the supervision of teachers trained in the intervention. The intervention caused a decline in absenteeism and disciplinary sanctions at school, alongside improved academic achievement. It also led students to diversify their friendship network. The program has stronger effects when implemented by teachers who are initially more involved in the life of the school. |
| Keywords: | citizenship; education; teaching practices; project-based learning; RCT; youth |
| JEL: | I20 J24 |
| Date: | 2025–08–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:124054 |
| By: | André Luiz Ferreira (Universidade Federal do Pará); André Luis Squarize Chagas (Departmento de Economia, FEA-USP); Carlos Roberto Azzoni (Departmento de Economia, FEA-USP) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a spatial stochastic frontier framework for panel data that jointly accounts for spatial dependence and heteroskedastic technical inefficiency. Inefficiency and noise components are parameterized using scaling functions, while spatial dependence is modeled through both a spatial lag (SF-SLM) and a spatial Durbin specification (SF-SDM). Maximum likelihood estimation is implemented by explicitly incorporating the spatial autoregressive process into the log-likelihood function. A key innovation of this study is the use of the spatial multiplier to decompose estimated technical inefficiency into three components: (i) own inefficiency, (ii) spill-in effects (feedback of a unit’s inefficiency on itself through spatial interactions), and (iii) spillover effects (inefficiency transmitted from neighboring regions). This approach extends the stochastic frontier literature by showing that inefficiency is not purely local but can propagate across space. The method is applied to the Brazilian food manufacturing industry (2007–2018). Likelihood ratio tests confirm that spatial models outperform the nonspatial specification, with SF-SDM providing the best fit and more stable inefficiency estimates. Results reveal that, for an average region, approximately 9% of inefficiency is due to spillovers from neighbors, while 0.2% is explained by spill-in effects. Ignoring spatial structure would therefore overestimate region-specific inefficiency and underestimate the role of interregional linkages. The proposed framework offers a flexible tool for analyzing productive efficiency in spatially interconnected settings and provides new insights for regional policy and future research. |
| Keywords: | Spatial stochastic frontier; Maximum likelihood estimator; Technical inefficiency; spatial spillover |
| JEL: | C23 C51 R12 R15 L66 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:nereus:021487 |
| By: | Rowland, Neil; Jahanshahi, Babak; McVicar, Duncan; Miller, Corina |
| Abstract: | Exclusion is a disciplinary practice used by headteachers which removes misbehaving pupils from the classroom or from the school, either temporarily or permanently. Its growing use has led to increased concern about potential negative effects on excluded pupils, including on their educational achievement. This paper estimates the effect of being excluded on subject test scores and teacher assessment outcomes using detailed administrative data on an entire cohort of pupils in the English state school system. To mitigate selection bias, we use a novel empirical approach for this literature which compares excluded pupils with pupils who experienced exclusion after outcomes were measured but not before. We find that excluded pupils perform worse in subsequent tests and teacher assessments, with 0.03-0.07 standard deviation lower standardised test scores and 2.5-3.6 percentage point higher probability of not reaching the expected level in teacher assessments. We assess the extent to which these estimated associations might reflect a negative causal impact of exclusion. |
| Keywords: | school exclusion, educational achievement, administrative data |
| JEL: | I24 I28 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:qmsrps:202507 |
| By: | Natalia Montinari; Matteo Ploner; Veronica Rattini |
| Abstract: | Immigration has shaped many nations, posing the challenge of integrating immigrants into society. While economists often focus on immigrants' economic outcomes compared to natives (such as education, labor market success, and health) social interactions between immigrants and natives are equally crucial. These interactions, from everyday exchanges to teamwork, often lack enforceable contracts and require cooperation to avoid conflicts and achieve efficient outcomes. However, socioeconomic, ethnic, and cultural differences can hinder cooperation. Thus, evaluating integration should also consider its impact on fostering cooperation across diverse groups. This paper studies how priming different identity dimensions affects cooperation between immigrant and native youth. Immigrant identity includes both ethnic ties to their country of origin and connections to the host country. We test whether cooperation improves by making salient a specific identity: Common identity (shared society), Multicultural identity (ethnic group within society), or Neutral identity. In a lab in the field experiment with over 390 adolescents, participants were randomly assigned to one of these priming conditions and played a Public Good Game. Results show that immigrants are 13 percent more cooperative than natives at baseline. Natives increase cooperation by about 3 percentage points when their multicultural identity is primed, closing the initial gap with immigrant peers. |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2507.02511 |
| By: | Atsushi INOUE; Ryuichi TANAKA |
| Abstract: | This study investigated the effects of bullying victimization on cognitive, noncognitive, and friendship outcomes using panel data collected from elementary school students in a Japanese city. Employing a value-added model that controls for prior outcomes, our findings revealed that bullying victimization significantly impairs both cognitive and noncognitive development and weakens friendship formation. Furthermore, a high prevalence of bullying victimization within the classroom was found to negatively impact cognitive outcomes in subsequent years. These findings underscore the importance of effective school bullying prevention in fostering human and social capital among school-aged children. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:25077 |
| By: | Langendorff, Nina; van der Velden, Rolf (ROA / Labour market and training, RS: GSBE other - not theme-related research) |
| Abstract: | In an ever more diversifying society, an odd development is taking place: people seem to be living increasingly in their own bubble with like-minded people. This is reflected in the Dutch primary school system, where school segregation remains one of the highest of all European countries (EENEE, et al., 2021). This study explores desegregation policy interventions in the Dutch context. It systematically analyzes these policies, and the mechanisms that impact their successfulness. The corresponding research question is “What are the main policy interventions in the Dutch municipal context to counter primary school segregation, and what mechanisms and processes shape their effectiveness?”. The investigated policies are cooperating in central admission policy, organizing central information provision, increasing educational quality, merging schools, and tactically placing new schools. Literature research has been conducted through three policy evaluation frameworks, namely Schneider and Ingram’s Policy Design Framework (1997), Hemerijck’s framework on the Core Questions on Policy (2003), and Shiffman and Smith’s Political Priority Framework (2007). This research adds to the body of research on policy approaches to counteract primary school segregation in the Netherlands. It can provide tools to consider for municipalities when implementing or executing one of the researched policy interventions to decrease school segregation. |
| JEL: | I21 I24 I28 J62 J68 |
| Date: | 2025–08–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:umaror:2025001e |
| By: | Tanaka, Ryuichi (University of Tokyo); Wang, Tong (Ritsumeikan University) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effect of class-size reduction on students’ academic outcomes, with a particular emphasis on its heterogeneity based on classmates’ characteristics. We estimate the causal effects of class-size reduction on students’ mathematics and language test scores by controlling for student and teacher fixed effects. To address potential endogeneity, we employ the predicted class size with a cap as an instrumental variable for the actual class size. Utilizing rich panel data on Japanese primary school students, our findings indicate a positive and robust average effect of class-size reduction on mathematics test scores. Furthermore, we find that classes with high-ability classmates benefit even more from class-size reduction in terms of language test scores. The effect of class-size reduction on mathematics test scores is found to depend positively on the ability of the lowest-achieving student in a class. Additionally, classes with a higher proportion of female students tend to benefit more from class-size reduction. Our results lend support to the theoretical framework proposed by Lazear (2001). |
| Keywords: | class-size reduction, test scores, education, ability, heterogeneity |
| JEL: | J13 J18 N35 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18025 |
| By: | Japneer Kaur (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research; Institute of Economic Growth) |
| Abstract: | Using a unique longitudinal dataset tracking 116, 026 students from Grade 1 to Grade 10, we examine the emergence, evolution, and drivers of gender gaps in academic achievement. We document large and widening female advantages: in English, the gap grows from 0.2 to 0.65 standard deviations (SD), and in math, from 0.1 to 0.4 SD. These patterns are consistent across cohorts, grades, and performance quartiles, and remain robust to the inclusion of classroom fixed effects. Adjusting for family background and teacher characteristics further enlarges the estimated gaps, particularly in higher grades. Importantly, the gaps persist even among opposite gender siblings raised in the same household. Leveraging the random assignment of students to classrooms, we assess the causal effects of teacher gender and peer composition, but find these factors account for little of the observed gaps. In contrast, controlling for prior achievement-a proxy for baseline ability and unobserved individual heterogeneity-substantially attenuates the gaps. To further probe individual-level variation, we analyze traits such as diligence, hard work, and attentiveness among opposite-gender sibling pairs. We find that sisters consistently outperform their brothers on these dimensions, with disparities widening as students progress through grades. Taken together, our findings suggest that individual traits may play a central role in driving the widening gender gap over time. |
| Keywords: | Gender achievement gap, peer effects, teacher gender, teacher bias, parental characteristics, individual traits, student behavior, mobility matrices, quantile regression |
| JEL: | I20 J11 J16 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2025-016 |
| By: | Glenn Ellison; Parag A. Pathak |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a model of education production and uses it to study optimal school system and curriculum design. Curriculum design is modeled as a time-allocation problem. A school teaches students many skills and allocates time to different skills based on student characteristics. Our framework provides a novel interpretation of studies that find zero achievement effects at selective school admission cutoffs. We show that such findings may be consistent with highly effective schools implementing optimal curricula, rather than necessarily indicating ineffective schools. The interpretation depends on the alignment between measured outcome skills and skills emphasized in the curriculum. We test several model predictions using data from a prominent exam school and find supporting evidence that would be difficult to rationalize if selective schools were ineffective. |
| JEL: | I20 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34091 |
| By: | Vanessa Schmidt; Hannah Seidl |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of movements in aggregate lending standards on macroeconomic aggregates and inequality. We show in a New Keynesian model with heterogeneous households and housing that a looser loan-to-value (LTV) ratio stimulates housing demand, nondurable consumption, and output. Our model implies that the LTV shock transmits to macroeconomic aggregates through higher household liquidity and a general-equilibrium increase in house prices and labor income. We also show that a looser LTV ratio redistributes housing wealth from the top 10% of the housing wealth distribution to the bottom 50%, indicating an overall decrease in inequality. |
| Keywords: | Heterogeneous Agents, Incomplete Markets, Housing, Macroprudential Policies |
| JEL: | E12 E21 E44 E52 |
| Date: | 2025–08–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdp:dpaper:0071 |
| By: | DeMalach, Elad (Bank of Israel); Schlosser, Analia (Tel Aviv University) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the causal impacts of universal preschool by leveraging a quasi-experimental design based on Israel’s implementation of free public preschool for children ages 3 and 4 beginning in September 1999. We focus on the Arab population, who were the main beneficiaries of the first phase of the Law’s implementation. Using a difference-in-differences research design, we find that universal preschool enhanced individuals’ academic performance from elementary school through high school, improved the learning environment, and increased postsecondary enrollment. Additional benefits include reduced juvenile delinquency among males and decreased early marriage among females. |
| Keywords: | education, early childhood, preschool, minorities |
| JEL: | I24 I25 J20 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18037 |
| By: | Nurlan Turdaliev (Department of Economics, University of Windsor); Yahong Zhang (Department of Economics, University of Windsor) |
| Abstract: | There was a significant increase in housing prices and household debt during the Covid-19 pandemic in Canada, even though both output and consumption experienced severe contractions. While a shift in household preferences toward housing---largely driven by increased demand for work-from-home arrangements---appears to be the primary driver of rising housing demand, various pandemic-related policy interventions may also have contributed to these trends. In this paper, we employ a medium-scale DSGE model calibrated to Canadian data to assess the contribution of pandemic-related support policies, including fiscal, monetary, and credit measures. Our findings indicate that these policies played a key role in driving the housing market boom during the pandemic, accounting for approximately 45 percent of the observed increase in household debt. In the case of housing prices, the model explains about 40 percent of the observed rise, although it fails to replicate the gradual increase observed in the data, instead predicting a more immediate rise. |
| Keywords: | pandemic, household debt, housing prices, fiscal policy, monetary policy |
| JEL: | E32 E44 E52 E62 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wis:wpaper:2503 |
| By: | Shun-ichiro BESSHO; Ryuichi TANAKA; Haruko NOGUCHI; Akira KAWAMURA; Masato OIKAWA |
| Abstract: | This study investigated the impact of academic and physical fitness rankings in the sixth grade on the academic and physical fitness outcomes of ninth-grade students. While existing literature extensively explores the effects of academic rank on various outcomes, this study uniquely examines the concurrent influence of both academic and physical fitness ranks. We analyzed the relationship between sixth-grade rankings and ninth-grade performance using administrative data from a large municipality in the Tokyo metropolitan area of Japan. Additionally, we explored the mechanisms driving these effects using student questionnaire data on behaviors and opinions. We found a positive effect of sixth-grade ordinal ranks on both academic and physical fitness, as measured by the corresponding ninth-grade scores. These rank effects were largely linear and were more pronounced for males in terms of academic achievement. No significant heterogeneity in the effects was observed by socioeconomic status or the teacher’s gender. While no spillover effects exist between academic and physical fitness, a higher mathematics rank is correlated with better performance in Japanese language arts. Finally, higher ordinal ranks were associated with increased motivation among female students, whereas male students exhibited evidence of the effects of misinformation on their abilities. No external influences from teachers or parents were observed. This study highlights the importance of considering both academic and physical fitness rankings when analyzing student outcomes, thereby contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of peer effects in education. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:25075 |
| By: | Legewie, Nicolas; Shiffer-Sebba, Doron; Jacobsen, Jannes; Goldstein, Yoav; Dollmann, Jörg |
| Abstract: | Dietrich and Sands (2023) used New York City traffic camera footage to experimentally examine the effect of a pair of racialized confederate bystanders on the distance pedestrians maintained from those bystanders as they passed them on the sidewalk. Across their block-randomized experimental conditions, the authors found that pedestrians deviated by around 4 inches on average, maintaining larger distances from Black individuals as opposed to White individuals. Their point estimate was significant at the 5% level. In this conceptual replication we use data from a new context and new data collection technique, using 3D videos and computer vision models to estimate the effect of minoritized bystanders on pedestrian distance in Berlin, Germany. Despite these differences to the original study, we directionally reproduce Dietrich and Sands' main claim. Writ large, pedestrians maintain a larger distance from Muslim bystanders of Middle Eastern descent wearing jalabiyas (a religious Muslim garment), as opposed to White bystanders wearing jeans and t-shirts, in the German context. Using bootstrapped sub-samples from our data, our point estimates range from 0.39 inches (1 cm) to 9.84 inches (25 cm), with an average difference in distance of about 5.9 inches (15 cm). This roughly mirrors Dietrich and Sands' finding of a 4-inch difference. However, our replication finds greater heterogeneity across locations, where different types of areas and different streets show opposite patterns. Our pooled results are only statistically significant at the 5% level when using a wild block bootstrap but are not significant when using clustered standard errors. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:250 |
| By: | Charlotte Bartels; Johannes König; Carsten Schröder |
| Abstract: | How does economic growth affect individual wealth accumulation and, thereby, wealth inequality? Combining individual wealth from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and local GDP growth across 401 German counties, this paper documents a sizable Hometown-Growth-Wealth Nexus. We find that past variation in hometown growth across cohorts and regions contributes to high wealth inequality today. Individuals exposed to high growth during childhood save more and are more likely to be invested in housing. While this savings channel operates for heirs and non-heirs alike, heirs from the same hometown are richer. We validate the Hometown-Growth-Wealth Nexus and the savings channel for the UK. |
| Keywords: | wealth distribution, regional inequality, intergenerational transmission |
| JEL: | D31 D64 O47 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12024 |
| By: | Choudhury, Prithwiraj; Doran, Kirk; Marinoni, Astrid; Yoon, Chungeun |
| Abstract: | We study how restrictive immigration policies that result in the unexpected loss of coworkers affect the performance of skilled migrants employed in organizations. Specifically, we examine the impact of the loss of team members on their coworkers’ performance in response to the unexpectedly increased denials of extensions of H-1B work visas in the United States beginning in 2017. Losing a team member generally has a positive, albeit economically insignificant, effect on the performance of workers left behind. However, we find that individuals who lost peers of the same ethnic background experience a substantial decrease in their performance. To confirm that our results are not plagued by the presence of unobservable team or individual features that might impact visa denial decisions, we build an instrumental variable that exploits the fixed duration of the H-1B visa. Heterogeneity analyses suggest that our result is driven by workers in small teams, teams working on atypical tasks, and ethnically homogeneous teams. These analyses hint at the fact that ethnic ties may boost individual performance through preferential channels of knowledge and information spillovers. |
| Keywords: | firm performance; geographic labor mobility; human capital; immigrant workers; occupational choice |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2024–04–23 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128742 |
| By: | Karen Clay; Danae Hernandez-Cortes; Akshaya Jha; Joshua A. Lewis; Noah S. Miller; Edson R. Severnini |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the relative contributions of siting decisions and post-siting demo-graphic shifts to current disparities in exposure to polluting fossil-fuel plants in the United States. Our analysis leverages newly digitized data on power plant siting and operations from 1900-2020, combined with spatially resolved demographics and population data from the U.S Census from 1870-2020. We find little evidence that fossil-fuel plants were disproportionately sited in counties with higher Black population shares on average. However, event study estimates indicate that Black population share grows in the decades after the first fossil-fuel plant is built in a county, with average increases in Black population share of 4 percentage points in the 50-70 years after first siting. These long-run demographic shifts are driven by counties that first hosted a fossil-fuel plant between 1900-1949. We close by exploring how these long-run demographic shifts were shaped by the Great Migration, differential sorting in response to pollution, and other factors. Our findings highlight that the equity implications of siting long-lived infrastructure can differ dramatically depending on the time span considered. |
| JEL: | D63 J18 N72 Q53 Q58 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34109 |
| By: | Ke Wang; Dongmin Yao; Xin Ye; Mingyang Pei |
| Abstract: | While ride-hailing services offer increased travel flexibility and convenience, persistent nighttime safety concerns significantly reduce women's willingness to use them. Existing research often treats women as a homogeneous group, neglecting the heterogeneity in their decision-making processes. To address this gap, this study develops the Latent Class Integrated Choice and Latent Variable (LC-ICLV) model with a mixed Logit kernel, combined with an ordered Probit model for attitudinal indicators, to capture unobserved heterogeneity in women's nighttime ride-hailing decisions. Based on panel data from 543 respondents across 29 provinces in China, the analysis identifies two distinct female subgroups. The first, labeled the "Attribute-Sensitive Group", consists mainly of young women and students from first- and second-tier cities. Their choices are primarily influenced by observable service attributes such as price and waiting time, but they exhibit reduced usage intention when matched with female drivers, possibly reflecting deeper safety heuristics. The second, the "Perception-Sensitive Group", includes older working women and residents of less urbanized areas. Their decisions are shaped by perceived risk and safety concerns; notably, high-frequency use or essential nighttime commuting needs may reinforce rather than alleviate avoidance behaviors. The findings underscore the need for differentiated strategies: platforms should tailor safety features and user interfaces by subgroup, policymakers must develop targeted interventions, and female users can benefit from more personalized risk mitigation strategies. This study offers empirical evidence to advance gender-responsive mobility policy and improve the inclusivity of ride-hailing services in urban nighttime contexts. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2508.10951 |
| By: | Gianluca Cafiso; Marco Ferdinando Martorana |
| Abstract: | We investigate the extent to which crime, and the inability to effectively suppress it, affect the performance of local banks in terms of credit extension, asset quality, and profitability. The analysis focuses on cooperative banks in Italy, typically small institutions with strong ties to their local communities, over the period 2013–2023. The findings suggest that both crime and judicial inefficiency, even when considered separately and after controlling for banks’ operational efficiency, significantly influence credit extension and the incidence of non-performing loans. While their impact on overall profitability appears limited, non-interest income is significantly reduced. |
| Keywords: | cooperative banks, crime, judicial inefficiency, loans, profitability |
| JEL: | G21 E51 K42 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12025 |
| By: | Chowdhury, Shyamal (Australian National University); Puente-Beccar, Manuela (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods); Schildberg-Hörisch, Hannah (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf); Schneider, Sebastian O. (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods); Sutter, Matthias (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods) |
| Abstract: | We investigate how strongly the local environment beyond the family can contribute to understanding the formation of children's economic preferences. Building on precise geolocation data for around 6.000 children, we use fixed effects, spatial autoregressive models and Kriging to capture the relation between the local environment and children's preferences. The spatial models explain a considerable part of so far unexplained variation in preferences. Moreover, the "spatial stability" of preferences exceeds the village level. Our results highlight the importance of the local environment for the formation of children's preferences, which we quantify to be as large as that of parental preferences. |
| Keywords: | prosociality, risk attitudes, patience, local environment, Kriging, spatial models, skill formation, experiments with children, Bangladesh |
| JEL: | D01 C21 C99 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18015 |
| By: | Etienne Bacher; Michel Beine; Hillel Rapoport |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effect of anti-immigration attitudes on immigration plans to Europe. We propose a new instrument for attitudes toward immigration, namely, the number of country nationals killed in terrorist attacks taking place outside of Europe. Our first-stage results confirm that such terrorist attacks increase negative attitudes to immigration in the origin country of the victims. Our second-stage results then show that this higher hostility toward migrants decreases the attractiveness of the country for prospective immigrants at all skill levels. |
| Keywords: | immigration, terrorism, anti-immigration attitudes |
| JEL: | C1 F2 J1 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12003 |
| By: | Lauro Nogueira (Postgraduate Program in Economics PPE/UERN - CCSAH/UFERSA); Fábio Lúcio Rodrigues (Postgraduate Program in Economics PPE/UERN); Wallace Patrick Santos de Farias Souza (Postgraduate Program in Economics PPGE-UFPB); Jevuks Matheus de Araújo (Postgraduate Program in Economics PPGE-UFPB) |
| Abstract: | This study aimed to investigate how water scarcity and periods of drought can affect firearm homicide rates in the Brazilian semi-arid region between 2002 and 2020. To this end, the methodology of inference in counterfactual distributions proposed by Chernozhukov, Fernández-Val and Melly (2013) was employed. The main findings indicate that periods of severe drought have a significant impact on homicide rates in the semi-arid region. These effects are more pronounced when associated with factors such as the presence of rural municipalities and the migration process. In other words, there is strong evidence that drought in the hinterlands/countryside contributes to the increase in crime rates in both urban and rural municipalities. Additionally, the decomposition of the results revealed that periods of extreme drought, coupled with other unfavorable factors, act as triggers for the increase in homicide rates in the Brazilian semi-arid region, significantly exacerbating conditions of vulnerability during these adverse climatic shocks. |
| Keywords: | Water Scarcity; Drought; Homicide Rate; Brazilian Semiarid. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:nereus:021486 |
| By: | Leonardo Perotti; Lech A. Grzelak; Cornelis W. Oosterlee |
| Abstract: | Prepayment risk embedded in fixed-rate mortgages forms a significant fraction of a financial institution's exposure. The embedded prepayment option bears the same interest rate risk as an exotic interest rate swap with a suitable stochastic notional. Focusing on penalty-free prepayment because of the contract owner's relocation to a new house, we model the prepayment option value as an European-type interest rate receiver swaption with stochastic maturity matching the stochastic time of relocation. This is a convenient representation since it allows us to compute the prepayment option value in terms of well-known pricing formulas for European-type swaptions. We investigate the effect of a stochastic housing market activity as the explanatory variable for the distribution of the relocation time, as opposed to the conventional assumption of a deterministic housing market activity. We prove that the housing market covariance drives the prepayment option price difference between the stochastic setting and its deterministic counterpart. The prepayment option exposure is hedged using market instruments based on Delta-Gamma replication. Furthermore, since the housing market activity is a non-tradable risk factor, we perform non-standard actuarial hedging focusing on controlling the prepayment option exposure yield by risky housing market scenarios. |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2507.08641 |
| By: | Dave Donaldson |
| Abstract: | How beneficial are transport infrastructure investments and other transport policies? This chapter develops a framework whose goal is to survey and synthesize the answers that regional and urban economists have given to this question. Emphasis is placed on theoretical results about sufficient statistics that capture approximate impacts in both distorted and undistorted economies, as well as how new advances in data collection and causal inference are poised to leverage these theoretical results and thereby modernize and extend standard templates for infrastructure and policy evaluation. The chapter concludes with discussions of optimal policy, political economy, and practical matters of infrastructure provision. |
| JEL: | R0 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34096 |
| By: | Pesola, Hanna Onerva (VATT Institute for Economic Reserach, Helsinki); Sarvimäki, Matti (Aalto University); Virkola, Tuomo (VATT, Helsinki) |
| Abstract: | We document substantial heterogeneity in labor market integration, skill investments, and outmigration across immigrant admission categories. Using newly available data on residence permits in Finland, we establish four facts. First, there are large initial differences in employment and earnings across labor, family, refugee, student, and EU migrants. Second, these differences diminish substantially over time. Third, the groups make distinct investments in country-specific and general skills. Fourth, both the prevalence of and selection into outmigration vary widely across admission categories. These findings align with models where investments in skills depend on the expected length of stay in the host country. |
| Keywords: | integration, immigration |
| JEL: | J61 J31 F22 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18012 |
| By: | Ben Jann (University of Bern) |
| Abstract: | geoplot geoplot geoplot is a new Stata command for drawing maps from shape files and other datasets. Multiple layers of elements such as regions, borders, lakes, roads, labels, and symbols can be freely combined, and the look of elements (for example, their color) can be varied depending on the values of variables. Compared with previous solutions in Stata, geoplot geoplot geoplot geoplot provides more user convenience, more functionality, and more flexibility. In this talk, I will give an overview of the command and illustrate its use with examples. |
| Date: | 2025–08–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boc:usug25:12 |
| By: | Raj Kharel; Andres Rodriguez-Pose; |
| Abstract: | This article examines the impact of three key components of devolution — government expenditure, internal revenue, and both conditional and unconditional transfers— on the economic resilience of Nepal’s local governments during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Bridging the gap between the devolution and resilience literature, it focuses on Nepal, a country that embarked on an ambitious devolution journey, transitioning to a Federal Democratic Republic following the monarchy's overthrow in 2008. This transition was institutionalised through the 2015 constitution, which established a three-tier system of government. The analysis reveals that, following fiscal devolution in 2017/18, local government expenditures and intergovernmental transfers significantly enhanced the resilience of rural and semi-urban municipalities. However, internal revenue collection has played a limited role in this process. In a country with low local-level capacity, conditional transfers — primarily allocated for infrastructure and services— have been crucial for local economic resilience, whereas unconditional transfers have not demonstrated the same impact. The findings suggest that greater investment, rather than autonomy, has been the primary driver of subnational economic resilience in Nepal. |
| Keywords: | Devolution, Fiscal Revenues, Fiscal Transfers, Resilience, Subnational Governments, Nepal |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2523 |
| By: | Bartscher, Alina K.; Kuhn, Moritz; Schularick, Moritz; Steins, Ulrike I. |
| Abstract: | Using new household-level data, we study the secular increase in U.S. household debt and its distribution since 1950. Most of the debt were mortgages, which initially grew because more households borrowed. Yet after 1980, debt mostly grew because households borrowed more. We uncover home equity extraction, concentrated in the white middle class, as the largest cause, strongly affecting intergenerational inequality and life-cycle debt profiles. Remarkably, the additional debt did not lower households' net worth because of rising house prices. We conclude that asset-price-based borrowing became an integral part of households' consumption-saving decisions, yet at the cost of higher financial fragility. |
| Keywords: | Household debt, Home equity extraction, Inequality, Household portfolios, Financial fragility |
| JEL: | G51 E21 E44 D14 D31 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkie:323602 |
| By: | William W. Wang; Ali Jadbabaie |
| Abstract: | It is commonly accepted that some phenomena are social: for example, individuals' smoking habits often correlate with those of their peers. Such correlations can have a variety of explanations, such as direct contagion or shared socioeconomic circumstances. The network linear-in-means model is a workhorse statistical model which incorporates these peer effects by including average neighborhood characteristics as regressors. Although the model's parameters are identifiable under mild structural conditions on the network, it remains unclear whether identification ensures reliable estimation in the "infill" asymptotic setting, where a single network grows in size. We show that when covariates are i.i.d. and the average network degree of nodes increases with the population size, standard estimators suffer from bias or slow convergence rates due to asymptotic collinearity induced by network averaging. As an alternative, we demonstrate that linear-in-sums models, which are based on aggregate rather than average neighborhood characteristics, do not exhibit such issues as long as the network degrees have some nontrivial variation, a condition satisfied by most network models. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2508.04897 |
| By: | Sarah Fritz; Catherine van der List |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of place-based policies on aggregate productivity using administrative data on projects co-financed by the EU in Italy linked to balance sheet data. We exploit quasi-experimental variation in funding for a large place-based policy stemming from measurement error in regional GDP estimates. Results show that the policy likely decreases productivity. Decompositions reveal that aggregate declines are driven by reallocation of labor to low-productivity firms. Mechanism analysis using firm-level event studies reveals that negative reallocation effects are caused by high-productivity firms taking up the funds and subsequently becoming more liquidity constrained, leading to slowdowns in employment growth. |
| Keywords: | place-based policy, productivity, EU cohesion policy |
| JEL: | R11 R58 J23 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12031 |
| By: | Pinjaman, Saizal |
| Abstract: | This paper synthesizes a review of the Malaysian housing market to identify its primary drivers, evaluate the effectiveness of its policy toolkit, and propose avenues for future research. Analysis of demand-side factors shows that real activity, income growth, and monetary conditions are key short-run drivers, while the exchange rate emerges as a particularly strong long-run influence due to imported input costs and its signaling of global financial conditions. The effectiveness of borrower-based macroprudential tools in mitigating credit-driven risks is also highlighted. On the supply side, localized overhang and limited developable land in urban nodes are identified as key challenges. The paper argues that effective policy requires strong coordination between demand-side management and structural supply reforms, with an emphasis on a risk-based approach to financial surveillance. It concludes by proposing high-value research, including state-level panel analysis, the use of satellite imagery to measure supply elasticity, microdata analysis of borrower behavior, and the development of a "house prices at risk" model to enhance policy calibration and communication. |
| Keywords: | Macroeconomic Determinants, House Prices, Article Review |
| JEL: | R31 E44 G21 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:324001 |
| By: | Sem Duijndam (VU - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam [Amsterdam]); W. Botzen (VU - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam [Amsterdam]); Liselotte Hagedoorn (VU - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam [Amsterdam]); Marijn Ton (VU - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam [Amsterdam]); Jens de Bruijn (VU - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam [Amsterdam]); Silvina Carretero (CONICET - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas [Buenos Aires]); Jeanne Dachary-Bernard (UR ETTIS - Environnement, territoires en transition, infrastructures, sociétés - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Bénédicte Rulleau (UR ETTIS - Environnement, territoires en transition, infrastructures, sociétés - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Jeroen Aerts (VU - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam [Amsterdam]) |
| Abstract: | Climate change-induced sea-level rise and associated flood riskwill havemajor impacts on coastal regions worldwide, likely prompting millions of people to migrate elsewhere. Migration behavior is expected to be context-specific, but comparative empirical research on coastal migration under climate change is lacking. We address this gap by utilizing original survey data from coastal Argentina, France, Mozambique and the United States to research determinants of migration under different flood risk scenarios. Here we show that migration is more likely in higher-than in lower-income contexts, and that flood risk is an important driver of migration. Consistent determinants of migration across contexts include response efficacy, self-efficacy, place attachment and age, with variations between scenarios. Other factors such as climate change perceptions, migration costs, social networks, household income, and rurality are also important but context-specific. Furthermore, important trade-offs exist between migration and in-situ adaptation. These findings support policymakers in forging equitable migration pathways under climate change. |
| Date: | 2025–07–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05189058 |
| By: | Premyanov, Nikolay; Roma-Athanasiadou, Elli; Metta, Julie (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management); Tsoniotis, Nikolaos; Angelidou, Margarita; Tsolakis, Apostolos |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tiu:tiutis:6d28810e-f503-4e9e-9737-79549dbcfe92 |
| By: | Leonid V. Azarnert |
| Abstract: | I investigate how taxing immigrants and redistributing the collected funds as educational subsidies influence human capital accumulation and growth in the source economy. The analysis is performed in a two-country growth model with endogenous fertility, in which public knowledge spillovers from the more advanced destination economy amplify the productivity of investment in children’s education in the sending country. I demonstrate that, while in the short run, the source economy accumulates more human capital if the subsidies are provided domestically, if the spillover effect is strong enough, in the long run, it can accumulate more human capital if education is subsidized in the destination country. |
| Keywords: | migration, child education, fertility, human capital, growth, brain drain, brain dilution tax |
| JEL: | D30 F22 J10 J13 J24 O15 O40 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12053 |
| By: | Matthew Curtis (University of Southern Denmark); David de la Croix (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)); Filippo Manfredini (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)); Mara Vitale (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)) |
| Abstract: | We present new annual time-series data on academic human capital across Europe from 1200 to 1793, constructed by aggregating individual-level measures at three geographic scales: cities, present-day countries (as of 2025), and historically informed macro-regions. Individual human capital is derived from a composite index of publication outcomes, based on data from the Repertorium Eruditorum Totius Europae (RETE) database. The macro-regional classifications are designed to reflect historically coherent entities, offering a more relevant perspective than modern national boundaries. This framework allows us to document key patterns, including the Little Divergence in academic human capital between Northern and Southern Europe, the effect of the Black Death and the Thirty Years' War on academic human capital, the respective contributions of academies and universities, regional inequality within the Holy Roman Empire, and the distinctiveness of the Scottish Enlightenment. |
| Keywords: | human capital, universities, academies, pre-industrial Europe, long-run growth, Little Divergence |
| JEL: | N33 O47 I23 |
| Date: | 2025–08–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctl:louvir:2025012 |
| By: | Yuta Kuroda; Takeru Sugasawa |
| Abstract: | This study uses two-stage hedonic estimation to examine household preferences for scattered greenery (e.g., roadside trees and yard bushes) in highly developed urban areas. We use proprietary survey data to obtain a wealth of property and resident characteristics and link these to scattered greenery based on high-resolution satellite images and surrounding amenity characteristics for analysis. The results showed that the preferences for scattered greenery were highly heterogeneous and that a few households were willing to pay a hefty amount. The average household pays about 1, 540 yen per month for scattered greenery if they live on their owned property and about 300 yen per month if they live on rented property. Also, regardless of the type of residence, wealthy people prefer scattered greenery, while those who plan to move within a few years tend to like it less. Additionally, even if they live on an owned property, single households have little willingness to pay for greenery, and even if they live on a rented property, people with a high level of health awareness or people living with children have a high willingness to pay. The results of this study shed light on the causes of heterogeneity in preferences for greenery by decomposing the property and resident characteristics that have been confused in previous studies. |
| Date: | 2025–08–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:toh:dssraa:148 |
| By: | Bonilla-Mejía, Leonardo (Banco de la República de Colombia); Bracco, Jessica (CEDLAS-UNLP); Ham Gonzalez, Andres (Department of Economics, Universidad de los Andes); Peñaloza-Pacheco, Leonardo (Cornell University) |
| Abstract: | We study how drug-related violence affects emigration from Central America, a region with rapidly rising migration to the United States. Using multiple data sources, we apply an instrumental variables strategy based on proximity to drug-trafficking routes and coca production in Colombia. We find that violence significantly increases intentions, plans, and preparations to emigrate—especially to the U.S.—with stronger effects among young and high-skilled individuals. Mediation analysis suggests this response is driven by declining economic activity and, more importantly, deteriorating labor market conditions caused by escalating violence. |
| Keywords: | drug trafficking, violence, economic activity, labor markets, migration |
| JEL: | J61 O15 N96 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18028 |
| By: | Acocella, Angela (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management); Cruijssen, Frans (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management); Fransoo, Jan C. (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management) |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tiu:tiutis:713aa20a-9e80-46e2-95df-dc6c281aa846 |
| By: | Luebber, Finn |
| Abstract: | Yeo et al. (2023) examined the relationship between early university classes, and sleep and academic performance in a large-scale observational study. They hypothesized lower attendance, shorter sleep, and poorer academic achievements coming with earlier classes. To test their hypotheses, the authors tracked students' Wi-Fi connections, Learning Management System logins, and grades and collected actigraphy data. In line with their hypotheses, they found that earlier classes predicted lower attendance, grades and shorter sleep. Due to inaccessibility of other data, this reproduction project focuses solely on the actigraphy data. Here, the authors found that students attend earlier classes to a lower degree since they tend to oversleep, that the frequency of naps is associated with earlier class start times, and that students sleep shorter on nights preceding earlier classes. In this recreate reproducibility project, which uses partly cleaned data, all these claims are successfully reproduced. However, there are some numerical inconsistencies of unclear origin in some results. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:251 |
| By: | Mark Hoekstra; Suhyeon Oh; Meradee Tangvatcharapong |
| Abstract: | We implement five different tests of whether grand juries, which are drawn from a representative cross-section of the public, discriminate against Black defendants when deciding to prosecute felony cases. Three tests exploit that while jurors do not directly observe defendant race, jurors do observe the “Blackness” of defendants’ names. All three tests—an audit-study-style test, a traditional outcome-based test, and a test that estimates racial bias using blinded/unblinded comparisons after purging omitted variable bias—indicate juries do not discriminate based on race. Two additional tests indicate racial bias explains at most 0.3 percent of the Black-White felony conviction gap. |
| JEL: | J15 J71 K42 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34106 |
| By: | Catherine Dilnot (Department of Accounting, Oxford Brookes University); Lindsey Macmillan (UCL Centre for Education Policy & Equalising Opportunities); Claire Tyler (UCL Centre for Education Policy & Equalising Opportunities) |
| Abstract: | Research on intergenerational income mobility has shown that the UK has relatively low mobility compared to other countries and that this is, in part, driven by inequalities in access to elite occupations in the labour market by socio-economic background. Many employers are actively trying to reduce these gaps in access by socio-economic background, as well as by ethnicity and gender, forreasons of efficiency as well as equity. But they lack access to detailed information about the relevant pools of talent from which they are hiring to set informed hiring targets. This study provides such information by describing the talent pool of English domiciled university graduates and school leavers in terms of socio-economic background, ethnicity and gender by university type, subject and outcomes and school prior attainment. Importantly, given the diversity in ethnicity by place in England, it also provides details of talent pools by Travel to Work Area. Large differences in demographic make-up by attainment, institution type, subject and place are found. |
| Keywords: | social mobility; inequalities; occupations; applications; job offers; gender; ethnicity |
| JEL: | J62 J15 J16 I24 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucl:cepeow:25-09 |
| By: | Japneet Kaur (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research) |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces a new composite indicator of student achievement, grounded in an axiomatic framework. Unlike conventional measures that assign equal weight to all subjects, our index applies student and subject specific weights, placing greater emphasis on areas where a student performs well. This allows for a more individualized assessment, recognizing strengths in non-core subjects like music, sports, or social sciences. Using test score data from 44, 173 students studying in 117 private English medium schools in rural North India, we compare our indices with the traditional average score index. The results show that a substantial proportion of students initially ranked in the bottom quartile move up significantly under our metric, highlighting overlooked talent. The proposed indices CS1 and CS2 markedly increase mean scores from 0.696 (under the original index CS0) to 0.838 and nearly 1.0, respectively, while sharply reducing standard deviations from 1.88 to 0.129 and 0.017. |
| Keywords: | Composite indicators, Academic achievement, Multiple intelligences |
| JEL: | D31 I31 P36 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2025-008 |
| By: | Daniel Czarnowske; Florian Heiss; Theresa M. A. Schmitz; Amrei Stammann |
| Abstract: | This study uses double/debiased machine learning to evaluate the impact of transitioning from lecture-based blended teaching to a flipped classroom concept in a cohort comparison of a large compulsory introductory statistics course at a German tuition-free university. Our findings indicate positive changes in students' self-conception and a reduction in procrastination behaviors. However, we also observe a decline in the enjoyment of classroom sessions. Contrary to theoretical expectations, we do not find significant positive effects on exam scores, passing rates, or knowledge retention. Unlike most studies, however, we can leverage detailed usage data from the flipped cohort, including the timeliness and completeness of pre-class video watching, as well as quiz participation patterns, to check how well students implemented each part of the curriculum. Our findings suggest that, on average, students in the flipped cohort implemented the instructional approach insufficiently, explaining the mechanism of our null results in exam performance and knowledge retention. This highlights the need for additional strategies to ensure that students actually benefit from a flipped curriculum. |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2507.10140 |
| By: | Jose Cobian Alvarez; Budy Resosudarmo |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the effects of devastating flooding on household welfare in northern Peru. Remote sensing data are used to construct a novel damage index as a proxy for the local economic impact caused by the 2017 coastal El Niño floods. Using 5-year panel data from the Peruvian National Household Survey (ENAHO), we observe that affected households experience a decrease in income and expenditure compared to those in unaffected areas during the period 2015–2019. Additionally, poverty increases as a result of this natural hazard, especially among households in urban areas. Although there is a recovery in income and expenditure in the aftermath of the floods, households mitigate their consumption through donations of food and clothing. We suggest that, in a context where the occurrence of flooding affects the most vulnerable groups, the development of formal risk-coping strategies such as insurance is crucial for boosting their ability to reduce, mitigate, or adapt to future disaster risk. |
| JEL: | C23 O12 Q54 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:papers:2025-07 |
| By: | , Le Nguyen Hoang (Ho Chi Minh University of Banking) |
| Abstract: | This study aims to explore the intricate associations between engagement in extracurricular activities (ECAs), a sense of school belonging, and their joint effects on academic and non-academic outcomes. The findings, from the analysis of 892 students, suggested that being actively engaged in ECAs does not contribute directly to students’ academic outcomes. Rather, it reflects the non-academic achievement of ECAs, particularly that of promoting wellbeing. Moreover, ECAs are only beneficial to both academic and non-academic outcomes under conditions of a low sense of school belonging. However, under conditions of a high sense of school belonging, engagement in ECAs becomes less advantageous, and it might even be detrimental to academic performance. This study offers an alternative perspective aimed at unpacking the intricacies of ECAs, which are then used for developing practical implications for higher education institutions. |
| Date: | 2024–03–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:bx63g_v1 |
| By: | Axel Eizmendi Larrinaga; Germ\'an Reyes |
| Abstract: | This paper shows that the timing of monetary transfers to low-income families affects students' cognitive performance on high-stakes standardized tests. We combine administrative records from the world's largest conditional cash transfer program with college admission exam results of 185, 000 high school students from beneficiary families. Exploiting random variation in payment dates, we find that receiving the transfer in the days preceding the exam increases test scores by 0.01 standard deviations relative to receiving it the subsequent week. Question-level analysis reveals that effects are concentrated in final questions and easier questions, suggesting improved cognitive endurance and effort allocation. The impacts are largest for recipients of larger transfers, who experience persistent gains in human capital accumulation: their college enrollment increases by 0.6 percentage points, with higher graduation and formal employment rates seven years later. Our findings show that short-term liquidity constraints during high-stakes events can have long-lasting implications, and suggest opportunities to improve social programs through improved payment scheduling. |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2507.21393 |
| By: | Fang, Tony (Memorial University of Newfoundland); Gunderson, Morley (University of Toronto); Hartley, John (Memorial University of Newfoundland); King, Graham (Memorial University of Newfoundland); Ming, Hui (Sichuan University) |
| Abstract: | Remote work arrangements are compelling examples of an organization’s ability to utilize digital technology. This study analyzes data from a representative survey of Atlantic Canadian employers to evaluate three phenomena: how remote work evolved during the recent COVID-19 pandemic; the factors influencing these changes; and the impact of these changes on business outcomes. Our findings suggest that urban firms, technologically advanced companies in certain highly skilled industries, and firms offering greater flexibility for remote work were most likely to enhance remote work practices during the pandemic. For the average firm, an increase in the share of remote work correlated with higher organizational productivity, improved employee performance, and greater new product/service innovation. The primary downside was heightened management complexity. Variations were observed along industry and provincial lines. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, Atlantic provinces, Canada, remote work, digital technology usage, technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework |
| JEL: | J22 J24 J28 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18020 |
| By: | Tobias Korn (Leibniz Universität Hannover & Heidelberg University); Jean Lacroix (RITM, Université Paris-Saclay & CESifo Münich) |
| Abstract: | Abstract This paper documents a new consequence of market integration: local reallocation, i.e., the exit of some workers from production even though employment increases in the same area and industry. Thanks to new data on over 150, 000 personal bankruptcies com- bined with detailed microcensus data from 19th-century Britain, we estimate the causal impact of railway access on employment growth and personal bankruptcies. Market integration increased both employment and bankruptcy probability solely in the man- ufacturing sector. Studying the mechanisms of local reallocation, we show that market integration increased the number and size of manufacturing firms that employed cheap, task-differentiated labour. Our results extend existing research focused primarily on reallocation either across sectors or across locations. |
| Keywords: | Bankruptcies, Market Integration, Reallocation, Structural Transformation |
| JEL: | N63 L16 O33 R40 K35 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ost:wpaper:408 |