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on Microeconomic European Issues |
| By: | Andrew E. Clark; Conchita D´Ambrosio; Simone Ghislandi |
| Abstract: | We consider the link between poverty and subjective well-being, and focus in particular on potential adaptation to poverty. We use panel data on almost 45,800 individuals living in Germany from 1992 to 2011 to show first that life satisfaction falls with both the incidence and intensity of contemporaneous poverty. We then reveal that there is little evidence of adaptation within a poverty spell: poverty starts bad and stays bad in terms of subjective well-being. We cannot identify any causes of poverty entry which are unambiguously associated with adaptation to poverty. |
| Keywords: | Income, poverty, subjective well-being, adaptation, SOEP |
| JEL: | I31 D60 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp634&r=eur |
| By: | Anna Baranowska-Rataj (Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics); Anna Matysiak (Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the discussion on the effects of the number of children on female employment in Europe. Previous research has usually either (1) compared these effects across countries assuming exogeneity of family size or (2) used methods which deal with endogeneity of family size but focused on single countries. We combine these two approaches by taking a cross-country comparative perspective and applying quasi-experimental methods. We use instrumental variable models, with multiple births as instruments, and the harmonized data from the European Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC). We first examine the cross-country variation in the effects of family size on maternal employment across the groups of European countries with similar welfare state regimes. Next, to measure the impact of welfare state regimes in a more precise way, we implement the Index for the Conditions of Work and Family Reconciliation, i.e. a synthetic indicator that captures the impact of family policies, social norms and labour market conditions. This step gives us an opportunity to investigate whether the revealed cross-country differences in the magnitude of the effect of the family size on maternal employment can be attributed to the diversity of European institutional arrangements as well as cultural and structural conditions for combining employment and family duties. |
| Keywords: | family size effects, reconciliation of work and parenthood, female labour supply |
| JEL: | J13 J18 J21 J22 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isd:wpaper:64&r=eur |
| By: | Unteutsch, Michaela (Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universitaet zu Koeln) |
| Abstract: | This paper numerically analyzes redistribution effects resulting from cooperation among European countries in achieving the 2020 targets for electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES-E). The quantification of redistribution effects builds on the theoretical analysis by Unteutsch (2014), who shows that cooperation in RES-E support increases overall welfare but is not beneficial for all groups. In this paper, we use a dynamic investment and dispatch optimization model of the European electricity system to investigate which groups potentially benefit from cooperation and which groups would be worse off compared to a situation in which national RES-E targets are reached solely by domestic RES-E production. In the analysis, cooperation in RES-E support is implemented as a European-wide green certificate trading scheme. Main findings of the analysis include that in the European electricity system, effects of the change in the certificate price in most countries would overcompensate for the effects of the change in the wholesale electricity price. Thus, in most countries with comparatively high (low) generation costs for renewable energies, consumer rents increase (decrease) due to cooperation and producers yield lower (higher) profits. In addition, it is found that the magnitude of redistribution effects between the individual groups is quite large: In some countries, the change in consumer rents or producer profits resulting from cooperation is nearly twice as high as the overall welfare effect of cooperation in the whole European electricity system. Moreover, we find that the sign, but not always the magnitude, of redistribution effects is quite robust to different developments of interconnector extensions, the CO2 price and RES-E investment costs. |
| Keywords: | Cooperation Mechanisms; Tradable Green Certi ficates; Welfare; Consumer Rent; Producer Profi t; Power System Optimization |
| JEL: | C61 F19 Q28 Q40 Q48 |
| Date: | 2014–01–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:ewikln:2014_002&r=eur |
| By: | Gehringer, Agnieszka; Krenz, Astrid |
| Abstract: | The paper analyses empirically the determinants of firms´ localization in Poland. We use regional data of the sixteen Polish administrative regions over the period 2003 to 2010 to examine which role agglomeration forces and other factors played in explaining the choice to operate in a certain location. Our results suggest that agglomeration economies stemming in particular from the R&D sector, as well as human capital and the infrastructure positively influence the regional localization of firms. Poland´s accession to the European Union had a positive impact for the location decision of new firms in the Polish economy. -- |
| Keywords: | localization,agglomeration economies,knowledge externalities,Polish regions,European integration |
| JEL: | F14 F15 F23 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cegedp:190&r=eur |
| By: | Huergo, Elena; Moreno, Lourdes |
| Abstract: | The objective of this study is to compare the effect of different types of public support for R&D projects on firms’ technological capabilities. We distinguish be-tween low-interest loans and subsidies and between national and European sup-port. Using data on 2,319 Spanish firms during the period 2002-2005, we estimate a multivariate probit to analyse the determinants of firms’ participation in public R&D programmes and, later, the impact of this participation on firms’ technologi-cal capabilities using different indicators. The results provide evidence of the ef-fectiveness of all treatments for improving firms’ innovative performance. Specif-ically, although the three kinds of public aid stimulate the intensity of R&D in-vestment, the highest impact corresponds to soft credits. In addition, national sub-sidies have a higher impact on internal R&D intensity than EU grants, but the op-posite relation is found as regards total R&D intensity. With respect to innovation outputs, apart from the indirect effect of public support by stimulating R&D in-tensity, we also find evidence of a direct effect of participation in the CDTI credit system and in the European subsidy programme on the probability of obtaining product innovations and applying for patents. |
| Keywords: | Soft loans, R&D subsidies, impact assessment |
| JEL: | H81 L2 L52 O3 |
| Date: | 2014–03–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:54218&r=eur |
| By: | Dubois, Ute (ISG Business School); Meier, Helena (Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universitaet zu Koeln) |
| Abstract: | The present paper discusses the concept of fuel poverty taking into account the arbitrages made by households when they are facing economic constraints. Fuel poverty is still lacking a common definition throughout Europe: while the UK and France have (different) official definitions, there is still no definition in a country like Germany, or at the European level. Where definitions exist, they often consider that fuel poor households have high energy needs. The possibility of being fuel poor even without having high energy needs and the various arbitrage possibilities of households – i.e. to under-spend and use too little energy – are not systematically discussed. Our paper tries to fill that gap by putting fuel poverty into the larger context of constraints faced by households. Based on a graphical analysis , it shows that different situations of fuel poverty might occur. It results in the identification of two distinct fuel poverty problems: an “energy inequality” problem, reflected by the fact that some households pay disproportionately high energy bills, and an “energy affordability” problem that can affect a larger share of the population. It finally explores the two types of fuel poverty for European countries and discusses policy implications. |
| Keywords: | Fuel poverty; |
| Date: | 2014–02–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:ewikln:2014_007&r=eur |
| By: | Shahrouz Abolhosseini (College of Engineering, Seoul National University); Almas Heshmati (Department of Economics, Sogang University); Jorn Altmann (College of Engineering, Seoul National University) |
| Abstract: | The increased concerns about climate change have made renewable energy sources an important topic of research. Several scholars have applied different methodologies to examine the relationships between energy consumption and economic growth of individual and groups of countries and to analyze the environmental effects of energy policies. Previous studies have analyzed carbon emission savings, using renewable energy usage as an individual source or in combination with traditional sources of energy (e.g., hybrid plants) in connection with life-cycle analysis methods. It is shown that after a certain period, economic growth leads to the promotion of environmental quality. However, econometric modeling critiques have opposed the results of these studies. One reason is that the effectiveness of governance-related parameters has previously been neglected. In this research, we analyze the impact of renewable energy development on carbon emission reduction. We estimate a model to evaluate the effectiveness of renewable energy development, technological innovation, and market regulations in carbon emission reduction. The empirical results are based on a panel data estimation using the EU-15 countries data observed from 1995 to 2010. The elasticities of CO2 emissions are estimated, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of each parameter. The finding show that the effects of a negative climate change could be mitigated by governance-related parameters instead of economic development.. |
| Keywords: | Renewable Energy, Technological Innovation, Environmental Tax, Carbon Emission, Economic Growth. |
| JEL: | D62 H23 N50 O13 O14 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:snv:dp2009:2014109&r=eur |
| By: | Kroll, Henning; Schubert, Torben |
| Abstract: | It is widely believed that universities exert notable effects on their regional socio-economic environment. So far, much of the empirical evidence supporting this claim is based on case studies. While such studies often give a detailed picture of the contributions of individual universities for their specific environments, almost no figures are available for effects of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) on the macroeconomic or economy-wide level. This paper seeks to fill this gap by using spatial panel-data models in order to identify the impact that HEIs have on value creation and unemployment in Germany. Other than prior studies, we do not seek to identify only direct effects (e.g. demand side effects caused by HEI investment) but we seek to identify the effects in terms of wider knowledge generation. Corresponding with this broad view we find evidence of strong effects on regions' GDP. HEIs contribute to Germany's GDP with 600bn per annum, i.e. about one fourth of the total value creation. 92% of this effect, however, is due to spillovers between regions. Thus the spatial distribution of the effects is rather flat. We also find that while in the short-run HEIs increase the unem-ployment rate, they lower it by on average 3.5% in the medium to long-run. -- |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fisifr:r12014&r=eur |
| By: | Bisello, Martina |
| Abstract: | In this paper we empirically test the predictions of Peri and Sparber (2009) model of comparative advantage in tasks performance to evaluate whether in the United Kingdom immigration affected the way natives specialise in the task they perform on the job. Using Labour Force Survey and UK Skills Survey data from 1997 through 2006, we find that less-educated natives responded to immigration inflows of similarly educated workers by increasing their supply of communication tasks, relative to manual tasks. We also show that this effect varies across demographic groups, being higher among men, young people and workers with primary education (or less). |
| Date: | 2014–03–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:iserwp:2014-12&r=eur |
| By: | Iciar Dominguez Lacasa; Alexander Giebler |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to analyze the technological activities of Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies and to compare them with the technological activities of other world regions. Using data from the EPO World Wide Statistical Database for the period 1980-2009 the analysis is based on counts of priority patent applications over time. In terms of priority patent applications, CEE reduced its technological activities drastically in absolute and per capita terms after 1990. The level of priority patent applications in this world region maintained more recently a stable level below the performance of EU15, South EU and the former USSR. In what concerns technological specialization, the results suggest a division of labor in technological activities among world regions where Europe, Latin America and the former USSR are mainly specializing in sectors losing technological dynamism in the global patent activities (Chemicals and/or Mechanical Engineering) while North America, the Middle East (especially Israel) and Asia Pacific are increasingly specializing in Electrical Engineering, a sector with strong technological opportunities. |
| Keywords: | CEE, patent indicators, priority counts, patstat, trends, specialization |
| JEL: | O30 O57 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwh:dispap:2-14&r=eur |
| By: | Kopf, Eva (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Zabel, Cordula (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "A major unemployment and welfare benefit reform took place in Germany in 2005. One objective of this reform was to more strongly encourage an adult worker model of the family, with an emphasis on activating the formerly inactive. Our hypothesis is, however, that assignments to activation programmes, such as training or workfare, will in practice still tend to replicate patterns for the division of labour in the household that couples have become accustomed to. The views of case workers in employment offices and those of benefit recipients themselves about the division of labour in the household may influence the allocation process to labour market programmes. We classify couples based on each partner's cumulative income across the ten years prior to benefit receipt. We compare women's programme entries between former male breadwinner households, dual earner households, no-earner households, and female breadwinner households. We analyse large-scale administrative data, applying eventhistory analysis. Our findings are that in western Germany, assignments to activation programmes do indeed replicate couples' prior division of labour in the household. In eastern Germany, by contrast, women in former male breadwinner households are actually allocated to several programmes at higher rates than women in households without a clear former division of labour." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | Ehefrauen, Geschlechterrolle, Rollenverständnis, arbeitsmarktpolitische Maßnahme, Familienpolitik, regionaler Vergleich, Arbeitslosengeld II-Empfänger, Arbeitsteilung, geschlechtsspezifische Faktoren, Trainingsmaßnahme, Arbeitsgelegenheit, Teilnehmer - Quote, arbeitslose Frauen, Case Management, Hartz-Reform, Aktivierung, Integrierte Erwerbsbiografien, IAB-Leistungsempfängerhistorik, allein Stehende, Ostdeutschland, Westdeutschland, Bundesrepublik Deutschland |
| JEL: | C41 D13 I38 J12 J64 J65 J68 Z18 |
| Date: | 2014–03–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201406&r=eur |
| By: | Claudia Diehl; Elisabeth Liebau |
| Abstract: | By applying event-history analysis to all available waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel, we analyze how remigration intentions and actual remigration of Turkish migrants to Germany have evolved over time. The study draws from a broad set of theoretical approaches to remigration and it takes a different focus than previous studies by concentrating on long-term change in these rates. Our findings reveal an increase in remigration intentions and rates for first generation migrants after the turn of the millennium. Those who plan to return have a stronger emotional attachment to Turkey than those who plan to stay. Nevertheless, the two groups differ neither with respect to their educational levels nor in terms of their identification with Germany and perceptions of discrimination. Similarly, the small though slightly increasing group of immigrants that actually returns does not have a clear profile in terms of educational level, national identification, and perceptions of being disadvantaged in Germany. We thus argue that for first-generation migrants from Turkey after 2001, rising remigration intentions and actual remigration are unrelated to their integration into German society. Rather, the increase seems to be triggered by macro-structural changes in the country of origin. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp637&r=eur |
| By: | Tano, Sofia (Department of Economics, Umeå School of Business and Economics); Westerlund, Olle (Department of Economics, Umeå School of Business and Economics); Nakosteen, Robert (University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA); Zimmer, Michael (University of Evansville, USA) |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to a recent and growing literature addressing the phenomenon of high-credentialed power couples. It seeks to determine the extent to which precursors of power couple formation and location choice of couples at midlife are evident in young people during their formative school years. Its second objective is to extend the analysis of location choice by modeling location choice among different sizes of labor market areas, given different power status of the couples. Based on analysis of Swedish register data, we produce evidence that power spouses evolve from the population of high achieving school age individuals, the latter identified by high academic performance during the years of compulsory schooling. Other factors such as parental education and family income also play a role. In addition, there appear to be regional disparities in the evolution of power couples. The evidence also points to the presence self-selection arising from unmeasured heterogeneity, both in spouse matching and to a lesser extent in location choice. Regarding location choice, the results indicate that power couples display a disproportionate tendency to migrate from their regions of origin to large cities. |
| Keywords: | Early markers; education; location choice; marital matching |
| JEL: | I21 J12 J24 |
| Date: | 2014–02–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:umnees:0881&r=eur |
| By: | Alexander C. Lembcke |
| Abstract: | I evaluate the impact of the UK Working Time Regulations 1998, which introduced mandatory paid holiday entitlement. The regulation gave (nearly) all workers the right to a minimum of 4 weeks of paid holiday per a year. With constant weekly pay this change amounts effectively to an increase in the real hourly wage of about 8.5% for someone going from 0 to 4 weeks paid holiday per year, which should lead to adjustments in employment. For employees I use complementary log-log regression to account for right-censoring of employment spells. I find no increase in the hazard to exit employment within a year after treatment. Adjustments in wages cannot explain this result as they are increasing for the treated groups relative to the control. I also evaluate the long run trend in aggregate employment, using the predicted treatment probabilities in a difference-in-difference framework. Here I find a small and statistically significant decrease in employment. This effect is driven by a trend reversal in employment, coinciding with the treatment. |
| Keywords: | UK Working Time Regulation, Employment and labour regulation, UK LFS |
| JEL: | J08 J23 J45 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1262&r=eur |
| By: | Bergemann, Annette (Department of Economics, Mannheim University); van den Berg, Gerard J. (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy) |
| Abstract: | Women without work after childbirth are at risk of losing their connection to the labor market. However, they may participate in adult education programs. We analyze the effect of this on the duration to work and on the wage rate, by applying conditional difference-in-differences approaches. We use Swedish matched longitudinal register data sets covering the full population. The Swedish adult education program is unprecedented in its size, and enrollment is universally available at virtually no cost. We focus on low-skilled women who have recently given birth. We take account of program accessibility, selection issues, course heterogeneity, the income received during adult education, parental leave, and child care fees. Adult education shows positive effects for the unemployed with respect to both the employment probability and wages. To explain the actual program participation rate, we model the enrollment decision from the mothers´ point of view, using the estimates to calibrate a job search model. We conclude that non-pecuniary factors cause mothers non to enter adult education. |
| Keywords: | Evaluation of adult education; job search model; female labor supply; wages; participation; unemployment; schooling; conditional difference-in-differences |
| JEL: | C14 H43 J24 J64 J68 |
| Date: | 2014–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2014_005&r=eur |
| By: | Boye, Katarina (Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | This is one of only a few studies on the division of care leave for sick children between parents in Sweden and the first to attempt to examine the importance of differences in parents’ work characteristics. The study uses register data for parents with children born in 1999-2002 to analyse two aspects of working life that may influence how parents divide care leave between them: The parents’ relative wages and differences in their occupations. First, the results show that a father’s share of care leave increases as the mother’s economic dependence decreases. This suggests that decisions about care leave are influenced by bargaining power gained through relative economic resources. Second, the resources of couples where both partners work in the same occupation are more equal than the resources of other couples. Their wages are more similar, and they also divide care leave more equally than couples where the partners work in different occupations. However, the fact that couples who work in the same occupation tend to share more equally does not seem to be explained by similarities in the partners’ work characteristics or by relatively low economic dependence of women, but instead may be explained by unmeasured, stable characteristics. Gender egalitarianism and greater possibilities for women in terms of career and wages are put forward as possible characteristics for couples working in the same occupation that may influence the way they divide care leave. |
| Keywords: | Care leave for sick children; temporary parental leave; gender division of work; relative Resources; economic dependence; occupations |
| JEL: | D13 J13 J16 |
| Date: | 2014–02–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2014_004&r=eur |
| By: | Elenka Brenna (Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore); Federico Spandonaro (Università degli Studi di Roma "Tor Vergata") |
| Abstract: | In recent years, the accreditation of private hospitals followed by the decentralisation of the Italian NHS into 21 regional health systems, has furnished a good empirical ground for investigating the "voting with their feet" Tiebout principle. We consider the competition between public and private hospitals - and the rules supervising the financial agreements between regional authorities and providers of hospital care - as a potential determinant factor for cross border mobility in the Italian NHS. The model we propose considers an institutional variable set at a regional level that, ceteris paribus, succeeds in driving CBM flows towards accredited private hospitals. We assume that some northern and central regions accredited private providers not only to meet the internal need of hospital care, but also with the aim of attracting patients' inflows from other regions, particularly from the South of Italy, where the services supplied do not cover such a broad range of hospital specialization and/or do not guarantee the same perceived quality of care. The geographical gradient in this context is considerable: in 2011 the southern regions show a negative balance of - 1.046 billion euro for patients' migration, while the northern ones report a surplus of 863 million euro. Evidence, both from the normative inspection and the statistical analysis, suggests the presence of strategic incentives provided by some regions with the twofold objective of accrediting a good quality health system and contextually overcoming the risk of production excess by driving financial resources from patients' inflows. |
| Keywords: | patient choice, hospital accreditation, competition, cross border mobility, federal NHS. |
| JEL: | I11 I18 H3 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctc:serie1:def9&r=eur |
| By: | Diaz-Serrano, Luis; Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés |
| Abstract: | Trust in public institutions and public policies are generally perceived as a precondition for economic recovery in times of recession. Recent empirical evidence tends to find a positive link between decentralization and trust. But our knowledge about whether decentralization – through increased trust – improves the perception of the delivery and effectiveness of public policies is still limited. In this paper we estimate the impact of fiscal and political decentralization on the perception of the state of the education system and of health services, by using the 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 waves of the European social survey. The analysis of the views of 160,000 individuals in 31 European countries indicates that while the effect of fiscal decentralization on the perception of the state of the health and education system is unambiguously positive, political decentralization affects citizen’s satisfaction with education and health delivery in different ways. The influence of political decentralization, however, is highly contingent on whether we consider the capacity of the local or regional government to exercise authority over its citizens (self-rule) or to influence policy at the national level (shared-rule). |
| Keywords: | Education, health, satisfaction, fiscal and political decentralization, Europe |
| JEL: | H11 H77 |
| Date: | 2014–03–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:54123&r=eur |
| By: | Erixson, Oscar (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | This essay contributes in two ways to the literature on the effects of economic circumstances on health. First, it deals with reverse causality and omitted variable bias by exploiting exogenous variation in inherited wealth generated by the unexpected repeal of the Swedish inheritance tax. Second, it analyzes responses in health outcomes from administrative registers. The results show that increased wealth has limited impacts on objective adult health over a period of six years. This is in line with what has been documented previously regarding subjective health outcomes. If anything, it appears as if the wealth shock resulting from the tax reform leads people to seek care for symptoms of disease, which result in that cancer is detected and possibly treated earlier. One possible explanation for this preventive response is that good health is needed for enjoying the improved consumption prospects generated by the wealth shock. |
| Keywords: | Inheritances; Tax reform; Wealth shock; Objective health |
| JEL: | D10 H30 I10 I12 I14 |
| Date: | 2014–02–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1011&r=eur |
| By: | Samson, Anne-Laure; Dormont, Brigitte |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether general practitionersí(GPsí) earnings are high enough to keep this profession attractive. We set up two samples, with longitudinal data relative to GPs and executives. Those two professions have similar abilities but GPs have chosen a longer education. To measure if they get returns that compensate for their higher investment, we study their career proÖles and construct a measure of wealth for each individual that takes into account all earnings accumulated from the age of 24 (including zero income years when they start their career after 24). The stochastic dominance analysis shows that wealth distributions do not differ significantly between male GPs and executives but that GP wealth distribution dominates executive wealth distribution at the first order for women. Hence, while there is no monetary advantage or disadvantage to be a GP for men, it is more profitable for women to be a self-employed GP than a salaried executive. |
| Keywords: | GPs; executive; self-employed; earning profile; longitudinal data; stochastic dominance; |
| JEL: | D31 J31 I11 C23 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dau:papers:123456789/12810&r=eur |