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on Microeconomic European Issues |
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Issue of 2015‒02‒22
25 papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Schmitz, Sebastian; Kluve, Jochen |
| Abstract: | Increasing mothers labor supply is a key policy challenge in many OECD countries. Germany recently introduced a generous parental benefit that allows for strong consumption smooth- ing after childbirth and, by taking into account opportunity costs of childbearing, incentivizes working women to become mothers and return to the labor force rapidly. Using a sharp regression discontinuity design, we estimate policy impacts for the short-run (first two years after childbirth) as well as for the medium-run (i.e. 3-5 years after childbirth) and find significant and striking patterns: First, medium-run effects on mothers employment probability are positive, significant and large, for some subgroups ranging up to 10 per cent. The effects are driven by gains in part-time but not full-time employment. We also find significant increases in working hours. Second, the probability of job continuity rises significantly, i.e. mothers return to their pre-childbirth employer at higher rates. Third, employers reward this return to work by raising job quality significantly and substantially. We argue that these findings are related to an anchor effect: the new parental benefit defines a societally preferred point in time at which mothers return to work after childbirth. |
| JEL: | I31 J13 J18 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100567&r=eur |
| By: | Jahn, Vera; Berlemann, Michael |
| Abstract: | Successful innovation is a precondition for economic prosperity. While various potential determinants of innovative activity have been considered, little empirical evidence is yet available for the influence of firm governance issues. This paper aims at filling this gap in the literature by studying whether the relative importance of owner-managed small and medium sized enterprises has an effect on regional innovative capacity. We therefore combine patent data with data from the firm database of Creditreform, containing information on the governance structure of regional operating enterprises. Using a cross section of German NUTS-3-regions, we identify a significantly positive relation between the relative importance of owner-managed SMEs and innovative capacity. This finding is highly robust when controlling for various sorts of spatial correlation. |
| JEL: | O31 C21 D23 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100412&r=eur |
| By: | Andreas Beerli; Ronald Indergand |
| Abstract: | A pervasive, yet little acknowledged feature of international migration to developed countries is that newly arriving immigrants are increasingly highly skilled since the 1980s. This paper analyses the determinants of changes in the skill composition of immigrants using a framework suggested by Grogger & Hanson (2011). We focus on Switzerland, which continuously showed very high immigration rates and dramatic changes in the skill composition of immigrants. In addition, the recent integration of Switzerland into the European labour market in 2002 serves as a policy experiment which allows analysing the influence of a reduction on immigration restrictions on immigrants from European countries in comparison to those from other countries. Our findings suggest that changes of education supply in origin countries and shifts to the relative demand for education groups stand out as the two most important drivers. Yet, while supply alone predicts only a modest increase in the case of highly educated workers and a large increase of middle educated workers, one particular demand channel, the polarisation of labour demand induced by the adoption of computer capital, is crucial to explain the sharp increase in highly educated workers and the mere stabilisation of the share of middle educated immigrant workers. The abolition of quotas for EU residents played a smaller role, yet may have slightly reduced the high skill share among immigrants relative to immigrants from other countries. |
| Keywords: | International migration; self selection; migration policy; job polarisation |
| JEL: | F22 J61 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ube:dpvwib:dp1501&r=eur |
| By: | Lang, Julia; Kruppe, Thomas |
| Abstract: | We analyse the impact of retraining for the unemployed on future labour market success, and estimate effects separately for different target occupations. We use German registry data and apply statistical matching methods. The results show that on average, after a period with strong lock-in effects, retraining increases the employment probability of women by more than 20 percentage points. Effects for male participants are somewhat weaker. Although we find differences in the effectiveness of retraining by target occupations, these differences cannot completely explain the observed gender differences. Healthcare occupations, which are the most frequent target occupations especially of female participants, are among those with the strongest effects. Despite differences between occupational fields, retraining in most of the considered occupations positively affects employment prospects of participants. |
| JEL: | J24 J68 C14 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100420&r=eur |
| By: | Bossler, Mario; Oberfichtner, Michael |
| Abstract: | We provide difference-in-differences evidence from Germany on the effect of deregulating weekday shop opening hours on employment in food retailing. Using data on the universe of German shops, we find that relaxing restrictions on business hours increased employment by 0.4 workers per shop corresponding to an aggregate employment effect of 3 to 4 per cent. The effect was driven by an increase in part-time employment while full-time employment was not affected. The statistical significance of these results hinges on assumptions on error correlation, and we hence report inference robust to clustering at different levels. A back-of-the-envelope calculation gives an employment increase by 0.1 workers per additional actual weekly opening hour. |
| JEL: | J23 L51 L81 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100506&r=eur |
| By: | Boockmann, Bernhard (Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (IAW)); Brändle, Tobias (Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (IAW)) |
| Abstract: | Job search assistance and intensified counseling have been found to be effective for labor market integration by a large number of studies, but the evidence for older and hard-to-place unemployed individuals more specifically is mixed. In this paper we present key results from the evaluation of "Perspektive 50plus", a large-scale active labor market program directed at the older unemployed in Germany. To identify the treatment effects, we exploit regional variation in program participation. Based on survey evidence, we argue that participation of regions is not endogenous in the vast majority of cases. We use a combination of different evaluation estimators to check the sensitivity of the results to selection, substitution and local labor market effects. We find large positive effects of the program in the range of five to ten percentage points on integration into unsubsidized employment. However, there are also substantial lock-in effects, such that program participants have a higher probability of remaining on public welfare benefit receipt for up to one year after commencing the program. |
| Keywords: | evaluation, active labor market programs, long-term unemployment, older unemployed |
| JEL: | J68 J14 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8811&r=eur |
| By: | Löschel, Andreas; Pothen, Frank; Schymura, Michael |
| Abstract: | One of the most promising ways of meeting climate policy targets is improving energy efficiency, i.e. reducing the amount of scarce and polluting resources needed to produce a given quantity of output. This study undertakes an empirical exercise using the World Input-Output Database (WIOD), a harmonized dataset comprising time-series of input-output tables along with environmental satellite accounts and socioeconomic information. The paper consists of two parts. In the first part we begin with an aggregated picture of EU27 energy intensity and its evolution between 1995 and 2009. Then we dig deeper and introduce sectoral detail to identify the economic changes that occurred during the same period. Finally, we disaggregate the EU27 into countries for regional analysis and perform a sectoral disaggregation for a fine-grained picture of energy intensity in Europe. In the second part of the study we take our findings from index decomposition analysis and subject them to panel estimations. The objective is to control for factors that may have shaped the evolution of energy intensity in the European Union. In particular, we investigate the impact of technological change, structural change, trade, environmental regulation and country-specific characteristics. |
| Keywords: | Environmental and Climate Economics,Energy Intensity,Index Decomposition |
| JEL: | Q0 Q50 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cawmdp:79&r=eur |
| By: | Weche Gelübcke, John P.; Wagner, Joachim |
| Abstract: | With this paper we present the fi rst microeconometric analysis of the impact of a foreign acquisition on the target fi rms' access to fi nance. By using a large database of German firms we furthermore investigate for the first time the link between foreign ownership and access to finance in Germany, one of the world's leading target countries for foreign direct investment. We use newly available comprehensive panel data that we constructed from information collected by the German statistical offi ces and from credit rating scores supplied by the leading German credit rating agency. We find foreign owned firms in German manufacturing on average to show slightly more nancing restrictions than domestically owned enterprises, but this very small di fference diminishes once unobserved heterogeneity is taken into account. We further demonstrate that one reason for this finding is the preference of foreign investors for targets with relatively low credit-worthiness. Although the likelihood of a foreign acquisition appears to be correlated with credit rating, there is no impact of foreign takeovers on the credit constraints of the target fi rms ex post and therefore no support for the hypothesis that foreign takeovers ease financial frictions. |
| JEL: | F21 F23 G34 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100295&r=eur |
| By: | Stüber, Heiko; Snell, Andy |
| Abstract: | Theoretical models of downward real wage rigidity generate asymmetric wage cyclicality with real wages being rigid in "bad" times but upwardly flexible during "good". In this paper we use an administrative panel dataset from Germany to establish that such asymmetries are very salient in Germany. We find that the semi elasticity of real wages with respect to unemployment is very close to zero when unemployment is above its long term average but large and highly significant when below. We also find that equal treatment - where new hires are exposed to the same cyclicality as incumbents - is supported in our data. Equal treatment is a central driver of downwardly rigid wages in many contracting models (e.g., Hall, 2005; Gertler and Trigari, 2009; Snell and Thomas, 2010). We find that an equal treatment model in which wages are smoothed by firms can generate the asymmetric wage cyclicality found in the panel data. The model also can match most of the properties of wages and unemployment. It cannot however match the persistence of the German unemployment rate. We conjecture that extending the model to allow for search frictions and/or adjustment costs may rectify this deficiency. |
| JEL: | E24 E32 C23 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100601&r=eur |
| By: | Daniel Possenriede; Wolter Hassink; Janneke Plantenga |
| Abstract: | In recent years many employees have gained more control over temporal and locational aspects of their work via a variety of flexible work arrangements, such as flexi-time and telehomework. This temporal and locational flexibility of work (TLF) is often seen as a means to combine work and private life and as such has been recommended as a policy to increase the labour supply part-time workers. To the best of our knowledge it has not been tested empirically yet, however, whether the presumed link between this type of worker-oriented flexibility and increasing working hours actually holds. We therefore analyse whether flexi-time and telehomework arrangements increase the number of actual, contracted and preferred working hours. Based on Dutch household panel data, our results indicate that the impact of TLF on working hours is quite limited. Telehomework is associated with moderate increases in actual hours, but not in contracted or preferred hours. Flexi-time generally seems to have an ambiguous effect on working hours. Despite positive effects of TLF on job satisfaction and working time fit, it does not seem to lead to an increase in labour supply. |
| Keywords: | flexi-time, labour supply, location flexibility, part-time work, telehomework, temporal flexibility |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:use:tkiwps:1411&r=eur |
| By: | Florian Baumann; Tobias Brändle |
| Abstract: | This paper establishes a link between the extent of collective bargaining and the degree of productivity dispersion within an industry. In a unionised oligopoly model we show that for only small dierences in productivity levels. a sector-union can design a collective wage contract that covers a wide range of heterogeneous firms. In sectors with higher productivity dispersion, an industry union has an incentive to demand firm-level wage contracts with the most productive firms, so that they can prevent low-productivity firms from leaving collective coverage. However, such firm-level contracts may not prevent firms at the lower end of the productivity distribution from avoiding collective coverage in sectors with high productivity dispersion. We test the predictions of the model using German linked employer-employee data between 1996 and 2010 and find support for our theoretical results. |
| Keywords: | Collective bargaining; trade unions; heterogeneous rms; unionised oligopoly; linked employer-employee data |
| JEL: | D22 D43 J51 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iaw:iawdip:114&r=eur |
| By: | Maxime Comeau; Denis Latulippe |
| Abstract: | Methodology to estimate effective retirement age from the labor market has been developed over the last 15 years and is now commonly used for experience review and policy development. However, both transition from work to retirement (including gradual retirement) and the socio-economic environment have evolved over this period which includes the 2008 economic crisis. This paper presents innovative ways to estimate retirement age, in order to better assess effective retirement from employment and not only focus on labor force participation rates. It also makes possible the distinction between retirement from full-time employment vs part-time employment. Results are presented for four countries (Austria and Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom) with rather diverging experience. |
| Keywords: | Retirement age, Work-retirement transition, Gradual retirement, Retirement experience, Older workers’employment, Retirement age estimation |
| JEL: | J26 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:criacr:1504&r=eur |
| By: | Grillitsch, Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University); Martin, Roman (CIRCLE, Lund University); Srholec, Martin (CIRCLE, Lund University & CERGE-EI, Charles University and Economics Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic) |
| Abstract: | The literature on geography of innovation suggests that innovation outcomes depend on the type of knowledge base employed by firms. While knowledge bases are distinct categories with regards to the nature and the rational of knowledge creation, existing studies also stress that innovation usually involves more than one knowledge base. In fact, new ideas often occur when analytical, synthetic and symbolic knowledge intertwines. It remains unclear, though, which combinations of knowledge bases are most conducive to innovation at the level of the firm, and how this is influenced by the knowledge bases available in the regional milieu. Therefore the contribution of this paper is threefold: i) to measure knowledge bases of firms and their regional heterogeneity in a more comprehensive way than the existing empirical literature has been able to do so far, ii) to quantitatively assess the impact of combinations of knowledge bases on innovation output, iii) to analyze the interplay between firm- and region-level knowledge bases (and combinations thereof) in generating innovations. Empirically, the paper applies econometric analysis on firm- and region-level data from Sweden. The knowledge base of firms is captured using detailed occupational data derived from linked employer-employee datasets that is merged at the firm-level with information from Community Innovation Surveys. The empirical analysis reveals in a quantitative way the extent to which the knowledge base combinations affect innovativeness of firms. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge bases; knowledge combination; regions; innovation performance; microdata; cross-level interaction; Sweden |
| JEL: | O30 O31 R10 |
| Date: | 2015–02–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2015_006&r=eur |
| By: | Brenzel, Hanna (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Müller, Anne (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "Labour shortages are a field of research that has been investigated quite thoroughly. The reactions of firms facing problems during the hiring process are, however, largely neglected in empirical literature. Our research will fill this empirical gap and shed light on the question of whether reactions according to the neoclassical theory or to the Reder Hypothesis are more common in reality. We make use of a unique dataset, the German Job Vacancy Survey, which allows us to observe the entire operational recruitment process including potential problems, concessions made by firms as well as characteristics of the hired candidate, the vacancy and the firm itself. Whether concessions are made mainly depends on the labour market situation and on the specific hiring problems of a firm. We also find that firms are rather flexible in their reactions in accordance with the specific hiring problem. Therefore, both theories seem to apply in reality." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | Personalbeschaffung, Stellenbesetzung, IAB-Stellenerhebung, Konzessionsbereitschaft, Lohnhöhe, Qualifikationsanforderungen, ökonomische Theorie |
| JEL: | J33 J01 D22 |
| Date: | 2015–02–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201506&r=eur |
| By: | David, Alexandra; Terstriep, Judith; Welschhoff, Jessica |
| Abstract: | The improvement and sustainability of urban transport systems is a necessity for quality of life, wellbeing and safety of citizens. Germany, France, Norway, the UK, the Netherlands and Sweden are anticipated to be the top six European countries for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) on the road in 2020. In total 4 regional and 24 national electromobility-related RTDI policy measures have been identified for Austria, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Germany and Switzerland, comprising top-down and bottom-up initiatives. Research-driven clusters (RDCs) entail a high potential to stimulate electromobility-related RTDI activities at the regional level and increase the competitiveness of regional economies. Electromobility is expected to become a central topic in several regions. Hence, it is even more important for regions engaging in this field to specialise. "Smart Specialisation Strategies" (S3) can be viewed as promising approach for "specialised diversification" that exploits the economies derived from related variety. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iatfor:22015&r=eur |
| By: | Wuppermann, Amelie; Bauhoff, Sebastian; Grabka, Markus |
| Abstract: | We investigate two determinants of the price sensitivity of health plan demand among retirees in the German social health insurance (SHI): the size of the choice set and the salience of premium differences. We use variation in the choice set over time and between regions, and an increase in the salience of premium differences introduced by a recent reform that changed how premiums are framed. Using information on health plan switches in the German Socio Economic Panel, augmented with information on individuals choice sets we find that retirees are less likely to react to potential savings from switching when they have more plans to choose from and when differences between premiums are less salient. The results imply that simplifying choices could save retirees money and also improve the functioning of the health insurance market. |
| JEL: | I11 D12 C23 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100352&r=eur |
| By: | Gallego Granados, Patricia; Geyer, Johannes |
| Abstract: | Numerous studies analyze gender wage differences focusing on gross hourly wages. The analysis of differences in gross wages allows statements on productivity differences between men and women and to quantify the unexplainable wage gap which is often attributed to discrimination. While there is plenty evidence that the gender (gross) wage gap is a persistent labor market phenomenon, less is known about its effects on the income distribution. In this paper, we therefore go a step further and ask how differences in gross wages in particular the unexplained gap show up in disposable income and its distribution. This is particularly relevant from a policy perspective because of its implications for income inequality and working incentives. The empirical analysis is carried out for West Germany with data from the GSOEP pooled for the years 2006 to 2011. Germany is an interesting case because it is one of the few countries with a system of joint taxation for married couples. This leads to high marginal tax rates for second earners and affects after-tax income differences between men and women. |
| JEL: | D31 J16 H23 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100492&r=eur |
| By: | Sajons, Christoph; Clots-Figueras, Irma |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the effect of becoming citizen of the host-country at birth on educational outcomes of immigrant children in Germany. We exploit the introduction of birthright citizenship for newborn children in Germany starting on the 1st of January, 2000, to obtain difference-in-differences estimates for the effect of citizenship on the children s educational performance, in particular, their transition to different tracks of secondary school. Using data from the newly established National Education Panel Study (NEPS), the empirical results indicate an increase in the probability of migrant children to enter the middle school track rather than the lower one. This suggests that growing up with the citizenship of the host country has a beneficial impact on the later integration of migrant children. |
| JEL: | I21 J24 J15 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100470&r=eur |
| By: | Guzi, Martin (Masaryk University); Kahanec, Martin (Central European University); Kureková, Lucia Mýtna (Slovak Governance Institute) |
| Abstract: | The role of institutions in immigrant integration remains underexplored in spite of its essential significance for integration policies. This paper adopts the Varieties of Capitalism framework to study the institutional determinants of Immigrant-Native gaps in host labor markets. Using the EU LFS we first measure immigrant-native gaps in labor force participation, unemployment, low-skilled employment and temporary employment. We distinguish the gaps that can be explained by immigrant-native differences in characteristics from those that cannot be explained by such differences, as these require different integration policy approaches. In the second stage we measure the effects of institutional and contextual variables on explained and unexplained immigrant-native gaps. Our findings confirm that institutional contexts play a significant role in immigrant integration, and highlight the importance of tailoring policy approaches with regard to the causes of immigrant-native gaps. |
| Keywords: | labor market, discrimination, integration policy, immigrant integration, Varieties of Capitalism |
| JEL: | J15 J18 J61 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8847&r=eur |
| By: | Giorgio Calacagnini (Department of Economics, Society & Politics, Università di Urbino "Carlo Bo"); Ilario Favaretto (Department of Economics, Society & Politics, Università di Urbino "Carlo Bo"); Germana Giombini (Department of Economics, Society & Politics, Università di Urbino "Carlo Bo"); Francesco Perugini (Department of Economics, Society & Politics, Università di Urbino "Carlo Bo"); Rosalba Rombaldoni (Department of Economics, Society & Politics, Università di Urbino "Carlo Bo") |
| Abstract: | Start-ups increasingly find the prospect of university-industry collaborations to be a powerful driver of innovation and entrepreneurship activity. Moreover, at the geographical level, they are attracted by teaching and research institutions, either public or private. This paper focuses on the role played by universities. Our hypothesis is that geographical proximity favors the transfer of knowledge and technology from universities to industries and, consequently, represents a positive factor for regional economic development. Results show that university spillovers are positively correlated with the creation of innovative start-ups. Furthermore, the presence of human capital (graduates) exerts a significant influence on the location decisions of start-ups, being a source for competitiveness for firms close to universities. Research quality, especially in the social sciences area, attracts innovative start-ups, while third-mission activities have a weak impact on locational choice. |
| Keywords: | CKnowledge transfer, Innovative start-up, University spillovers |
| JEL: | M13 L20 R30 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urb:wpaper:14_09&r=eur |
| By: | Caliendo, Marco (University of Potsdam); Hogenacker, Jens (ConVista Consulting AG); Künn, Steffen (IZA); Wießner, Frank (Catholic University of Eichstätt) |
| Abstract: | Offering unemployed individuals a subsidy to become self-employed is a widespread active labor market policy strategy. Previous studies have illustrated its high effectiveness to help participants escaping unemployment and improving their labor market prospects compared to other unemployed individuals. However, the examination of start-up subsidies from a business perspective has only received little attention to date. Using a new dataset based on a survey allows us to compare subsidized start-ups out of unemployment with regular business founders, with respect to not only personal characteristics but also business outcomes. The results indicate that previously unemployed entrepreneurs face disadvantages in variables correlated with entrepreneurial ability and access to capital. 19 months after start-up, the subsidized businesses experience higher survival, but lag behind regular business founders in terms of income, business growth and innovation. Moreover, we show that expected deadweight losses related to start-up subsidies occur on a (much) lower scale than usually assumed. |
| Keywords: | innovation, deadweight effects, entrepreneurship, start-up subsidies, evaluation |
| JEL: | C14 L26 J68 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8817&r=eur |
| By: | Christofzik, Désirée I.; Kessing, Sebastian G. |
| Abstract: | We study the effectiveness of local borrowing regulations in maintaining fiscal sustainability and the effect of supervision over municipal budgeting on local debt using a panel on municipalities in Germany's most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2003 to 2011. The identification strategy relies on a differences-in-differences approach and exploits the fact that a reform making it temporarily more likely to prevent financial supervision was implemented gradually across municipalities. We find that relaxing supervision temporarily leads to higher dept per capita. |
| JEL: | H72 H74 R10 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100315&r=eur |
| By: | Zuzana FUNGACOVA (Bank of Finland); Christophe J. GODLEWSKI (LaRGE Research Center, Université de Strasbourg); Laurent WEILL (LaRGE Research Center, Université de Strasbourg) |
| Abstract: | We study the effect of bank loan and bond announcements on borrower’s stock price. We apply an event study methodology on a sample of companies from 17 European countries. We find that debt announcement generates a positive stock market reaction. However our main conclusion is that the issuance of a loan exerts a significantly higher reaction than the issuance of a bond. This finding supports the hypothesis that loan issuance conveys a positive certification effect. The analysis of the determinants of abnormal returns following debt announcements shows a positive impact of financial development and a negative effect of the Eurozone crisis. |
| Keywords: | corporate bonds, syndicated loans, event study, stock returns, Europe. |
| JEL: | G14 G20 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lar:wpaper:2015-03&r=eur |
| By: | Laingo M. Randrianarisoa; Denis Bolduc; Yap Yin Choo; Tae H.Oum; Jia Yan |
| Abstract: | The effect of corruption on airport productive efficiency is analyzed using an unbalanced panel data of major European airports from 2003 to 2009. We first compute the residual (or net) variable factor productivity using the multilateral index number method and then apply robust cluster random effects model in order to evaluate the importance of corruption. We find strong evidence that corruption has negative impacts on airport operating efficiency; and the effects depend on the ownership form of the airport. The results suggest that airports under mixed public-private ownership with private majority achieve lower levels of efficiency when located in more corrupt countries. They even operate less efficiently than fully and/or majority government owned airports in high corruption environment. We control for economic regulation, competition level and other airports’ characteristics. Our empirical results survive several robustness checks including different control variables, three alternative corruption measures: International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) corruption index, Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and Control of Corruption Index (CCI). The empirical findings have important policy implications for management and ownership structuring of airports operating in countries that suffer from higher levels of corruption. |
| Keywords: | Corruption effect, European airport operating efficiency, Residual (or net) variable factor productivity, Ownership form, Random effects model |
| JEL: | L93 R40 H00 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:creacr:2015-1&r=eur |
| By: | Niesse-Ruenzi, Alexandra; Weber, Martin; Becker, David Michael |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of monetary incentives on whole blood donations. The analysis is based on a uniquely large database containing virtually all voluntary whole blood donations in South-West Germany from 2005 through 2009. The sample comprises several donation sites that offer (do not offer) monetary compensation. We take advantage of a natural experiment caused by the abolishment of monetary compensation at one of the donation sites. We find a sharp decrease in blood donations after the pay drop with several donors switching to a geographically close donation site that still offers monetary compensation. Our results cast doubt on the notion that monetary incentives crowd out intrinsic motivations to donate blood. Rather, they suggest that monetary incentives increase blood supply which can help to meet increasing transfusion demand due to demographic change. |
| JEL: | D01 D64 I18 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100605&r=eur |