|
on Microeconomic European Issues |
|
Issue of 2017‒09‒03
thirty papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Damien Bricard (LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - Université Paris-Dauphine); Florence Jusot (LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - Université Paris-Dauphine); Alain Trannoy (EHESS - L'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - School of Economics - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Sandy Tubeuf (Autres - AUTRE) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to quantify and compare inequalities of opportunity in health across European countries considering two alternative normative ways of treating the correlation between effort, as measured by lifestyles, and circumstances, as measured by parental and childhood characteristics, championed by Brian Barry and John Roemer. This study relies on regression analysis and proposed several measures of inequality of opportunities. Data from the Retrospective Survey of SHARELIFE, which focuses on life histories of European people aged 50 and over, are used. In Europe at the whole, inequalities in opportunities stand for almost 50% of the health inequality due to circumstances and efforts in Barry scenario and 57.5% in Roemer scenario. The comparison of the magnitude of inequalities of opportunity in health across European countries shows considerable inequalities in Austria, France, Spain, Germany, whereas Sweden, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland present the lowest inequalities of opportunities. The normative principle on the way to treat the correlation between circumstances and effort makes little difference in Spain, Austria, Greece, France, Czech Republic, Sweden and Switzerland whereas it would matter the most in Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Poland and Denmark. In most countries, inequalities of opportunity in health are mainly driven by social background affecting adult health directly, and so would require policies compensating for poorer initial conditions. On the other hand, our results suggest a strong social and family determinism of lifestyles in Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Poland and Denmark, which emphasises the importance of inequalities of opportunities in health within those countries and calls for targeted prevention policies. |
| Keywords: | Equality of opportunity,Principle of reward,Europe,health,inequality decomposition,efforts,circumstances |
| Date: | 2017–05–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01523949&r=eur |
| By: | Michel Beine (CREA, Université du Luxembourg); Marco Delogu (Université du Luxembourg, Université catholique de Louvain); Lionel Ragot (Université Paris Nanterre, EconomiX and CEPII) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the determinants of international students’ mobility at the university- level, focusing specifically on the role of tuition fees. We first develop an original Random Utility Maximization model of location choice for international students in the presence of capacity constraints of the hosting institutions. The last layer of the model gives rise to a gravity equation. This equation is estimated using new data on student migration flows at the university level for the U.K. We control for the endogeneity of tuition fees by taking benefit of the institutional constraints in terms of tuition caps applied in the UK to European students at the bachelor level. The estimations support a negative impact of tuition fees and stress the need to account for the endogenous nature of the fees in the empirical identification of their impact. The estimations also support an important role of additional destination-specific variables such as host capacity, the expected return of education and the cost of living in the vicinity of the university. |
| Keywords: | Foreign students; Tuition fees; Location choice; University Quality. |
| JEL: | F22 H52 I23 O15 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:luc:wpaper:17-15&r=eur |
| By: | Kleinepier, Tom (Delft University of Technology); van Ham, Maarten (Delft University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines ethnic differences in childhood neighborhood disadvantage among children living in the Netherlands. In contrast to more conventional approaches for assessing children's exposure to neighborhood poverty and affluence (e.g., point-in-time and cumulative measures of exposure), we apply sequence analysis to simultaneously capture the timing and duration of exposure to poor and nonpoor neighborhoods during childhood. Rich administrative microdata offered a unique opportunity to follow the entire 1999 birth cohort of the Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese, and Antillean second generation and a native Dutch comparison group from birth up until age 15 (N=24,212). Results indicate that especially Turkish and Moroccan children were more likely than native Dutch children to live in a poor neighborhood at any specific stage within childhood, but particularly throughout childhood. Although differences became substantially smaller after adjusting for parental and household characteristics, ethnic differences remained large and statistically significant. In addition, the impact of household income on children's neighborhood income trajectories was found to be weaker for ethnic minority children than for native Dutch children. Our findings are discussed in relation to theories on spatial assimilation, place stratification, and residential preferences. |
| Keywords: | childhood, ethnicity, life course, neighborhood, sequence analysis |
| JEL: | I30 J60 P46 R23 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10944&r=eur |
| By: | Daniela Heilert; Ashok Kaul |
| Abstract: | As in most OECD countries, smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption have been decreasing in Germany since the early 2000s. This paper analyses whether smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption, as well as their development over time, differ between socio-economic subgroups. Identifying these differences provides insights into the effect of policy interventions on German smoking behaviour. Based on data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), a large longitudinal study of the German population, we find that both the decline in smoking prevalence and the decline in average cigarette consumption were probably driven by a behavioural change of younger people, as well as of those with a high educational level and those with a high income. People who quit smoking were on average more highly educated, had a higher income and had most likely a lower cigarette consumption (before quitting). In contrast, smoking prevalence increased among people who were older than 45 and had a low educational level and among those who were unemployed. Smoking prevalence among women was relatively constant over time. Indeed, the smoking prevalence of women and men converged over time, especially in older age groups. Daily cigarette consumption of smokers increased among 66-to-75-year-olds, although it decreased in all other age groups. One explanation might be that the tobacco control measures were successful only in certain socio-economic subgroups. Not only smoking prevalence, but also smoking intensity was higher among men, among those with a lower educational level and among those with a lower income. Especially for younger birth cohorts, smoking prevalence among those with a lower educational level was particularly high. Thus, based on data from 1998 through 2014, the so-called social gradient in smoking was only a distinct feature of younger birth cohorts, and not of older ones. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp920&r=eur |
| By: | Alexandre Georgieff (PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics); Anthony Lepinteur (PSE - Paris School of Economics, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the causal effect of partial employment protection on workers' subjective job security via the perceived probability of layoff. We consider the rise in the French Delalande tax, which is paid by private firms if they lay off older workers. This reform was restricted to large firms and therefore allows us to use a difference-indifference strategy. In ECHP data, we find that the change in the perceived probability of layoffs induced by the higher Delalande tax improved the subjective job security of older (protected) workers, but at the cost of a negative externality on younger (unprotected) workers. While the fall in perceived job security of younger workers is mirrored by actual increase in their layoff rate, the rise in perceived job security of older workers is more puzzling because we do not observe a reduction in their layoff rate. |
| Keywords: | Employment Protection,Perceived Job Security,Difference-in- Difference |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-01519772&r=eur |
| By: | Adrian Chadi; Clemens Hetschko |
| Abstract: | We study the usually assumed trade-off between income and leisure in labor supply decisions using comprehensive German panel data. We compare non-employed individuals after plant closures with employed people regarding both income and time use as well as their subjective perceptions of these two factors. We find that the gain of non-working time translates into higher satisfaction with free time, while time spent on hobbies increases to a lesser extent than home production. Additionally, satisfaction with family life increases, which may be a hidden benefit of being unemployed. In contrast, satisfaction with income strongly declines when becoming jobless. Identity utility from earning a living may play the role of a hidden benefit of employment. Finally, we examine subjective assessments of income and leisure as potential predictors for job take-up. Non-employed people are particularly likely to take up a job soon when they are dissatisfied withtheir income. |
| Keywords: | labor supply, plant closure, leisure, work-family conflict, life satisfaction, income satisfaction, free time satisfaction, family satisfaction |
| JEL: | D01 D13 I31 J22 J64 J65 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp925&r=eur |
| By: | Zouheir El-Sahli (GREQAM - Groupement de Recherche en Économie Quantitative d'Aix-Marseille - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - ECM - Ecole Centrale de Marseille) |
| Abstract: | While it is established that tourism benefits growth through increased employment and investments, it is not well understood whether tourism has an effect on exports. This paper explores exports as an additional channel through which tourism affects domestic economic activity. Using bilateral tourist and trade flows, I explore the causal effect of tourist flows on exports. To deal with endogeneity, I construct two instruments that I use on two different sets of exporters. The evidence points in the same direction. I find that tourism affects mainly the exports of differentiated products. Specifically, I find that tourism benefits the exports from non-OECD exporters of processed food products and this effect is only estimated for South-North trade with an elasticity close to 1. For European countries, the findings point in the same direction; tourism affects differentiated consumer products and processed food with elasticity close to 1, which adds plausibility to the earlier results. I also find a lagged effect for tourism mainly on the export of consumer goods (for the two samples) and processed food products (for European countries). The results suggest that exports is an additional channel through which tourism can stimulate domestic economic activity in the tourist destination. |
| Keywords: | tourism,globalization,trade,gravity,terrorism |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01524530&r=eur |
| By: | Brigitte Dormont (LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - Université Paris-Dauphine); Anne-Laure Samson (LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - Université Paris-Dauphine) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether general practitionersí(GPsí) earnings are high enough to keep this profession attractive. We set up two samples, with longitudinaldata 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,longitudinal data,earning profile,self-employed,executive,stochastic dominance |
| Date: | 2017–05–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01518428&r=eur |
| By: | Kaiser, Micha (University of Hohenheim); Reutter, Mirjam (University of Hohenheim); Sousa-Poza, Alfonso (University of Hohenheim); Strohmaier, Kristina (Ruhr University Bochum) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel to investigate the effect on cigarette consumption of macro-economic conditions in the form of regional unemployment rates. The results from our panel data models, several of which control for selection bias, indicate that the propensity to become a smoker increases significantly during an economic downturn, with an approximately 0.7 percentage point increase for each one percentage point rise in the unemployment rate. Conversely, conditional on the individual being a smoker, cigarette consumption decreases during recessions, with a one percentage point increase in the regional unemployment rate leading to an up to 0.8 percent decrease in consumption. |
| Keywords: | business cycle, smoking, unemployment |
| JEL: | E32 I12 J22 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10953&r=eur |
| By: | Drydakis, Nick (Anglia Ruskin University); MacDonald, Peter (Anglia Ruskin University); Bozani, Vasiliki (University of Crete); Chiotis, Vangelis (Anglia Ruskin University) |
| Abstract: | Addressing population ageing requires a rise in the activity rates of older workers. In this study, a field experiment for the period 2013-2015 in the UK, suggests that age discrimination persists at alarming levels. It shows that when two applicants engage in an identical job search, the older applicant would gain fewer invitations for interviews regardless of her/his experience or superiority for the appointment. The results also suggest that older applicants face higher occupational access constraints for blue-collar jobs than white-collar/pink-collar jobs, and that women face greater age discrimination than men. Worryingly, the outcomes suggest that older applicants gain poorer access to vacancies than younger applicants irrespective of written commitments to equal opportunities. The design of the study suggests that discrimination results from distaste for older applicants, which has not been eliminated by the introduction of anti-discrimination legislation. Eliminating ageism in recruitment requires organizations to adopt more inclusive HR policies at the earliest stages of the recruitment process. Social dialogue has a crucial role to play in shaping inclusive and discrimination free recruitment policies such that shared values and beliefs are not age-discriminatory but rather recognize the strengths and potential of workers from different age groups. |
| Keywords: | access to occupations, wages, ageism, women, discrimination |
| JEL: | C93 C9 J14 J1 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10957&r=eur |
| By: | Luis Araujo (Michigan State University); Qingqing Cao (Michigan State University); Raoul Minetti (Michigan State University); Pierluigi Murro (LUMSA University) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effects of a credit crunch in an economy where firms can retain a mature technology or adopt a new technology. We show that firms' collateral eases firms' access to credit and investment but can also inhibit firms' innovation. When this occurs, a contraction in the price of collateral assets squeezes collateral-poor firms out of the credit market but fosters the innovation of collateral-rich firms. The analysis reveals that the credit and asset market policies adopted during recent credit market crises can boost investment but slow down innovation. We find that the predictions of the model are consistent with the innovation patterns of a large sample of European firms during the 2008-2010 credit crisis. |
| Keywords: | Credit Crunch, Technological Change, Collateral |
| JEL: | E44 G21 G01 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsa:wpaper:wpc22&r=eur |
| By: | Mathilde Godard (Université Paris-Dauphine, LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - Université Paris-Dauphine) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the causal impact of retirement among the 50-69 year-old on Body Mass Index (BMI), the probability of being either overweight or obese and the probability of being obese. Based on the 2004, 2006 and 2010-11 waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), our identification strategy exploits the European variation in Early Retirement Ages (ERAs) and the stepwise increase in ERAs in Austria and Italy between 2004 and 2011 to produce an exogeneous shock in retirement behaviour. Our results show that retirement induced by discontinuous incentives in early retirement schemes causes a 13 percentage point increase in the probability of being obese among men within a two to four-year period. Additional results show that this effect is driven by men having retired from strenuous jobs and who were already at risk of obesity. No effects are found among women. |
| Keywords: | Body Mass Index, Obesity, Retirement, Instrumental Variables |
| Date: | 2017–05–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01525000&r=eur |
| By: | Tammaru, Tiit (University of Tartu); Marcińczak, Szymon (University of Tartu); Aunap, Raivo (University of Tartu); van Ham, Maarten (Delft University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to get new insight into the complex relationship between social inequalities and socioeconomic segregation by undertaking a comparative study North and South European cities. Our main finding shows that during the last global economic cycle from the 1980s through the 2000s, both levels of social inequalities and socio-economic segregation have grown. However, the effects of rising levels of inequality affect levels of segregation with a strong time lag. This reminds us that the effect of the most recent economic crisis will most likely be long-term, especially in the South of Europe. |
| Keywords: | social inequalities, residential segregation, comparative urban studies, South Europe, North Europe |
| JEL: | N94 O18 P25 R21 R23 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10980&r=eur |
| By: | Billari, Francesco C. (Bocconi University); Giuntella, Osea (University of Pittsburgh); Stella, Luca (Bocconi University) |
| Abstract: | The spread of high-speed Internet epitomizes the digital revolution, affecting several aspects of our life. Using German panel data, we test whether the availability of broadband Internet influences fertility choices in a low-fertility setting, which is well-known for the difficulty to combine work and family life. We exploit a strategy devised by Falck et al. (2014) to obtain causal estimates of the impact of broadband on fertility. We find positive effects of high-speed Internet availability on the fertility of high-educated women aged 25 and above. Effects are not statistically significant both for men, low-educated women, and under 25. We also show that broadband access significantly increases the share of women reporting teleworking or part-time working. Furthermore, we find positive effects on time spent with children and overall life satisfaction. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that high-speed Internet allows high-educated women to conciliate career and motherhood, which may promote fertility with a "digital divide". At the same time, higher access to information on the risks and costs of early pregnancy and childbearing may explain the negative effects on younger adults. |
| Keywords: | Internet, low fertility, work and family, teleworking |
| JEL: | J11 J22 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10935&r=eur |
| By: | Broszeit, Sandra; Laible, Marie-Christine (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "We examine the relationship between establishment-level health measures, Anglo-Saxon management practices and labor productivity, as well as median wages. Based on the observation that management practices are positively associated with establishment outcomes, we test whether health measures have a distinct effect on their own, or if they are already comprised in management practices. Using representative survey data from the German Management and Organizational Practices Survey, we find a strong increase in the use of health measures from 2008 to 2013, predominantly in large establishments. Fixed effects regressions confirm that management practices significantly increase labor productivity, however, health measures do not. The reverse is true for median wages, such that health measures are positively associated with median wages, but management practices are not." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | betriebliches Gesundheitsmanagement, Lohnhöhe, Arbeitsproduktivität, Unternehmensführung, IAB-Datensatz Management Practices |
| JEL: | D22 I15 J24 L2 M2 |
| Date: | 2017–08–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201726&r=eur |
| By: | Benjamin Montmartin (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis - UCA - Université Côte d'Azur - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Marcos Herrera (Universidad Nacional de Salta, CONICET - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas); Nadine Massard (UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes, GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes) |
| Abstract: | Using a unique database containing information on the amount of R&D tax credits and regional, national and European subsidies received by firms in French NUTS3 regions over the period 2001-2011, we provide new evidence on the efficiency of R&D policies taking into account spatial dependency across regions. By estimating a spatial Durbin model with regimes and fixed effects, we show that in a context of yardstick competition between regions, national subsidies are the only instrument that displays total leverage effect. For other instruments internal and external effects balance each other resulting in insignificant total effects. Structural breaks corresponding to tax credit reforms are also revealed. |
| Keywords: | structural breaks,R&D investment,spatial panel,Additionality,French policy mix |
| Date: | 2017–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01559041&r=eur |
| By: | Paul Baginski; Christoph Weber (Chair for Management Sciences and Energy Economics, University of Duisburg-Essen (Campus Essen)) |
| Abstract: | The German housing stock needs substantial energetic retrofit to meet carbon reduction targets. Various instruments are available to motivate building owners to improve the energy efficiency of their dwellings. These instruments mainly focus on the economic issue of funding and financing energy efficient refurbishments as the decision is interpreted as a rational choice of an investment. Their success is rather low as the refurbishment rate stagnates around 1% per year for more than a decade. The objective of this study is to gain deeper insights into the decision-making of owner-occupiers regarding energy efficient refurbishments and to offer an adjusted framework to analyse the decision. A qualitative-explorative research approach is chosen, whereby in-depth interviews with independent energy advisers have been conducted. Results point out that the decision of owner-occupiers towards energy efficient refurbishment measures qualifies as an extensive consumer decision rather than a pure investment decision. The refurbishment measure implies high cognitive as well as emotional involvement. Owner-occupiers use several criteria to evaluate refurbishments, which alleviate monetary determinants. The standard process model of consumer decision-making, reaching from need recognition to post-purchase evaluation, qualifies for structuring the decision. It allows analysing drivers and barriers stepwise and deriving implications for activating homeowners and for promoting energy efficiency in each step. Current policies partly choose unrewarding argumentations to stimulate energy efficient refurbishments since they do not take all relevant factors of this consumer decision into account. |
| Keywords: | Energy efficient refurbishments; decision-making process; consumer purchase decision; energy efficiency policy |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dui:wpaper:1708&r=eur |
| By: | Redmond, Paul (ESRI, Dublin); McGuinness, Seamus (Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin) |
| Abstract: | The gender wage gap has declined in magnitude over time; however, the gap that remains is largely unexplained due to gender convergence in key wage determining characteristics. In this paper we show that the degree of gender convergence differs across countries in Europe. Most, if not all, of the wage gap is unexplained in some countries, predominantly in Eastern Europe, while in some central and peripheral countries, differences between the characteristics of males and females can still explain a relatively large proportion of the wage gap. We investigate whether gender differences relating to job preferences play a role in explaining the gender wage gap. We find that females are more motivated than males to find a job that is closer to home and offers job security, whereas males are motivated by financial gain. The average gender wage differential in Europe is 12.2 percent and gender differences in job preferences are associated with a 1.3 percentage point increase in the wage gap. We find that preferences explain more of the gender wage gap than the individual components relating to age, tenure and previous employment status. A quantile decomposition reveals that job preferences play a greater role in explaining the wage gap at the top of the wage distribution. |
| Keywords: | gender wage gap, job motives, Oaxaca, quantile decomposition |
| JEL: | J16 J24 J31 J71 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10933&r=eur |
| By: | Marko Virkebau; Aaro Hazak; Kadri Männasoo |
| Abstract: | Providing flexible working time has become increasingly popular among employers with the purpose of improving efficiency or making jobs more attractive for employees. It is still quite unclear, however, what the motivating factors are in different types of employees in terms of using flexitime. Based on our survey among 153 Estonian creative R&D employees, we find two distinct groups of reasons for the use of flexible work – some aim to improve the work results while some wish to achieve a better work-life balance. Younger and better educated employees, as well as those who sleep less hours at night appeared to be more aimed at better work outcomes through the use of flexitime. Those with larger families, however, appear to value options for improving the work-life balance more when using flexitime. It is important that employers understand that flexible working time is attractive for different types of employees, and for different purposes. This, in turn, may have an impact on what kinds of employees the employer is able to recruit or maintain. |
| Date: | 2017–08–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ttu:tuteco:27&r=eur |
| By: | Mahler, Daniel Gerszon (University of Copenhagen); Ramos, Xavier (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | A growing literature has tried to measure the extent to which individuals have equal opportunities to acquire income. At the same time, policy makers have doubled down on efforts to go beyond income when measuring well- being. We attempt to bridge these two areas by measuring the extent to which individuals have equal opportunities to achieve a high level of well-being. We use the German Socio-Economic Panel to measure well-being in four different ways including incomes. This makes it possible to determine if the way well-being is measured matters for identifying who the opportunity-deprived are and for tracking inequality of opportunity over time. We find that, regardless of how wellbeing is measured, the same people are opportunity-deprived and equality of opportunity has improved over the past 20 years. This suggests that going beyond income has little relevance if the objective is to provide equal opportunities. |
| Keywords: | equality of opportunity, measurement, responsibility, effort, well-being |
| JEL: | D3 D63 I31 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10940&r=eur |
| By: | Xavier Hollandts (CRCGM et IFGE - Kedge Business School - Kedge Business School); Nicolas Aubert (CERGAM - Centre d'Études et de Recherche en Gestion d'Aix-Marseille - AMU - Aix Marseille Université, INSEEC Business School - Institut des hautes études économiques et commerciales Business School (INSEEC)); Abdelmehdi Abdelhamid (CRCGM - Centre de Recherche Clermontois en Gestion et Management - Clermont Auvergne - École Supérieure de Commerce (ESC) - Clermont-Ferrand - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne); Victor Prieur (DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management - Université Paris-Dauphine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Employee stock ownership gives employees a voice and therefore may have a major impact on corporate governance. Thus, employee stock ownership may be a powerful mean to protect CEOs from both market for corporate control and dismissal threat. In this paper, we examine the relationship between employee stock ownership and CEO entrenchment. Following the recent French legislative changes, we use a comprehensive panel dataset of the major French listed companies over the 2009-2012 period. We document inverted U shaped relationships between employee stock ownership and CEO entrenchment. Board employee ownership representation also plays a role and increases the inflexion points of these curvilinear relationship. |
| Keywords: | employee stock ownership,corporate governance,CEO entrenchment |
| Date: | 2017–06–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01495427&r=eur |
| By: | Xin, Guangyi |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the effect of social interaction on employment status and employment quality by using longitudinal data from BHPS (British Household Panel Survey). Active community membership is employed as the measurement of social Interaction. Various identification strategies provide robust evidence that a higher level of social interaction results in increased probability of being full-time employed. The effect of social interaction on employment status is also investigated among different gender groups and at different age stages. Moreover, three indices of social interaction have been constructed to capture the different dimension effect of social interaction on labour market outcome. As a result, active group memberships in professional organisations and sport clubs have the largest effect. Regarding employment quality, social interaction leads to a positive and significant effect on wages. This social interaction effect is also studied among different gender and occupation groups. |
| Keywords: | Social Capital; Social Interaction; Labour Market Outcome |
| JEL: | C1 J21 J31 J64 L14 |
| Date: | 2017–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:80976&r=eur |
| By: | Böckerman, Petri (Labour Institute for Economic Research); Ilmakunnas, Pekka (Aalto University) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the potential role of adverse working conditions and management practices in the determination of employees' retirement behavior. Our data contain both comprehensive information regarding perceived job disamenities, job satisfaction, and intentions to retire from nationally representative cross-sectional surveys and information on employees' actual retirement decisions from longitudinal register data that can be linked to the surveys. Using a trivariate ordered probit model, we observe that job dissatisfaction arising from adverse working conditions is significantly related to intentions to retire, and this in turn is related to actual retirement during the follow-up period. |
| Keywords: | working conditions, job satisfaction, retirement, new management practices |
| JEL: | J26 J28 J53 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10964&r=eur |
| By: | Boschini, Anne (SOFI, Stockholm University); Gunnarsson, Kristin (Uppsala University); Roine, Jesper (Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics) |
| Abstract: | Using a large, register-based panel data set we study gender differences in top incomes in Sweden over the period 1974–2013. We find that, while women are still a minority of the top decile group, and make up a smaller share the higher up in the distribution we move, their presence has steadily increased in all top groups over the past four decades. Top income women are wealthier and rely more on capital incomes, but the difference, relative to men, has decreased since the 1970s. Over this period capital incomes have in general become more important in the top, but the share of working-rich women has gone up, while the opposite is true for men. Realized capital gains are more important for top income women but turn out to be of a more transitory nature than for men. Mobility is generally higher for top income women compared to top income men but the trend since the 1990s is toward increased gender equality in this respect too. Finally, we find important differences between top income women and men in terms of marital status and family composition. Overall, our results suggest that many of the findings in the top income literature have a clear gender component and that understanding gender equality in the top of the distribution requires studying not only earnings and labour market outcomes but also incomes from other sources. |
| Keywords: | income inequality, income distribution, gender inequality, top incomes, capital incomes, realized capital gains |
| JEL: | D13 D31 H20 J16 J31 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10979&r=eur |
| By: | Rishi Ahuja (Department of Economics, Trinity College Dublin); Ronan C. Lyons (Department of Economics, Trinity College Dublin) |
| Abstract: | Online marketplaces were built with the implicit promise of reducing discrimination. Over time, though, online marketplaces have increasingly been designed to reduce anonymity as an exercise in trust building. While the reduction of anonymity can build trust, such design choices can also facilitate discrimination. This study is the first to examine whether there is discrimination against those in same-sex relationships (SSRs) in the sharing economy. Specifically, we examine whether SSRs face discrimination on the Airbnb platform in Dublin, Ireland, through a field experiment. We find that guests in implied male SSRs are approximately 20-30 percent less likely to be accepted than identical guests in implied opposite-sex relationships (OSRs) and in female SSRs. This difference is driven by non-responses from hosts, not outright rejection, and persists regardless of a variety of host and location characteristics, although male hosts and those with many listings are less likely to discriminate. Discrimination against male SSRs was observed least in the most desirable locations. The findings are not consistent with taste-based discrimination but, with little evidence for statistical discrimination, they raise something of a puzzle about the underlying source of discrimination against those in SSRs. |
| Keywords: | discrimination; sharing economy; field experiment; Airbnb |
| JEL: | J16 R3 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tcd:tcduee:tep1917&r=eur |
| By: | Diane Aubert (PSE - Paris School of Economics, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline (ECO-PUB - Economie Publique - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - AgroParisTech, PSE - Paris School of Economics, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the distributional and efficiency consequences of an environmental tax reform, when the revenue from the green tax is recycled by varying labor tax rates. We build a general equilibrium model with imperfect heterogeneous labor markets, pollution consumption externalities, and non-homothetic preferences (Stone-Geary utility). We show that in the case where the reform appears to be regressive, the gains from the double dividend can be made Pareto improving by using a redistributive non-linear income tax if redistribution is initially not too large. Moreover, the increase of progressivity acts on unemployment and can moderate the trade-off between equity and efficiency. We finally provide numerical illustrations for three European countries featuring different labor market behaviors. We show that a double dividend may be obtained without worsening the initial inequalities if the green tax revenues are redistributed with a progressivity index lower for France than for Germany and UK. |
| Keywords: | Welfare analysis,Tax progressivity,Environmental tax reform,Heterogeneity,Unemployment |
| Date: | 2017–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-01550000&r=eur |
| By: | Kim Leonie Kellermann (University of Münster, Center for Interdisciplinary Economics, Münster, Germany) |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of sector-specific minimum wages in Germany on the willingness of youths to undergo vocational training. The theoretical intuition on the impact of wage floors on education is ambiguous. On the one hand, they raise the opportunity cost of education and prevent further skill accumulation. On the other hand, they lower the employment probability of unskilled workers, promoting additional training. Employing a mixed logit model, we estimate the probability of opting for an apprenticeship for a GSOEP-based sample of youths aged 17 to 24. Unlike the evidence from other countries, we find that increasing sectoral wage floors have a positive effect on training probabilities. Due to binding minimum wages, the demand for unskilled workers declines which lowers the opportunity cost of education. High requirements with regard to professional skills reinforce the effect. |
| Keywords: | Minimum wages, education, vocational training, occupational choice, discrete choice |
| JEL: | C33 I21 I28 J24 |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iaa:dpaper:201708&r=eur |
| By: | Marit Rebane; Aaro Hazak; Kadri Männasoo |
| Abstract: | Flexible working time is often advocated as a means of providing better employment opportunities for women by considering the time constraints related to their family obligations. Based on our survey among Estonian creative R&D employees in 2015 and 2016, we find that there is a selection mechanism in filling positions that provide a flexible working time option. In other words, there is a higher probability that certain types of employees get jobs with flexitime than others. It appears that men have much better chances of getting flexible working time despite the understanding that it is women who need flexitime more. |
| Date: | 2017–08–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ttu:tuteco:30&r=eur |
| By: | Tobias Regner (Friedrich Schiller University of Jena); Paolo Crosetto (GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes) |
| Abstract: | Crowdfunding recently emerged as an alternative funding channel for start-ups, creative artists and social endeavors. On specialized web platforms, project creators ask the crowd for support and provide in return a set of rewards, modulated according to the amount of support pledged. Our study investigates the role of self- and social-image enhancing rewards in determining project success. Using data from 346 projects hosted by Startnext, the biggest crowdfunding platform in Germany, we show that providing higher shares of reward levels that let pledgers participate in and experience the project is correlated with project success. |
| Keywords: | social-image,self-image,reward levels,identity,crowdfunding,entrepreneurial finance,donations |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01527150&r=eur |
| By: | Sarah Flèche (Centre for Economic Performance - LSE - London School of Economics and Political Science); Warn Lekfuangfu (LSE - London School of Economics and Political Science, Chulalongkorn University (THAILAND) - Chulalongkorn University (THAILAND)); Andrew E. Clark (Centre for Economic Performance - LSE - London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE - London School of Economics and Political Science, PSE - Paris School of Economics, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | To what extent do childhood experiences continue to affect adult wellbeing over the life course? Previous work on this link has been carried out either at one particular adult age or for some average of adulthood. We here use two British birth-cohort datasets (the 1958 NCDS and the 1970 BCS) to map out the time profile of the effect of childhood on adult outcomes, including life satisfaction. We find that the effect of many aspects of childhood do not fade away over time, but are rather remarkably stable. In both birth cohorts child non-cognitive skills are the strongest predictors of adult life satisfaction at all ages. Of these, emotional health is the strongest. Childhood cognitive performance is more important than good conduct in explaining adult life satisfaction in the earlier cohort, whereas this ranking is inverted in the more recent BCS. |
| Keywords: | life satisfaction,cohort data,childhood,adult outcomes |
| Date: | 2017–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-01570057&r=eur |