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on Microeconomic European Issues |
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Issue of 2019‒06‒24
25 papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Marotzke, Petra |
| Abstract: | I study possible determinants of part-time employment among women in France and Germany using microdata of the Labour Force Survey. Voluntary part-time work is substantially more widespread among women in Germany than it is in France. Estimation results show that while the presence of children and marital status are related to the choice to work part time in both countries, their impact is substantially greater in Germany. Controlling for several factors, the probability of working part time in Germany exceeds that in France among married women and among women with children, while there is hardly any difference among single women and women without children living in the same household. Further results suggest that, besides financial incentives, social norms and cultural legacy play a role in choosing to work part time. |
| Keywords: | Part Time,Female Labour Supply |
| JEL: | J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:bubdps:202019&r=all |
| By: | Annika B. Bergbauer; Annika Barbara Bergbauer |
| Abstract: | The accession of Eastern European countries to the European Union increased family wealth and the returns to schooling. I analyze the change in student achievement due to the EU accession of Eastern Europe building on a panel of six PISA waves covering more than 1 million students in 32 countries. Using a difference-in-differences approach I find a positive and statistically significant link of EU membership to reading scores by one decile of a standard deviation. Mediation analysis suggests school efficiency, family wealth, and family structure as key transmitters of EU membership to student achievement. |
| Keywords: | European Union, student achievement, PISA |
| JEL: | I28 H52 L15 D82 P50 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ifowps:_299&r=all |
| By: | Richiardi, Matteo G.; Valenzuela, Luis |
| Abstract: | Using a static model of firm behaviour with imperfect competition on the product and labour markets, we quantify the effect of firm heterogeneity in total factor productivity, market power, capital, wages and prices on the aggregate labour share. In particular, we suggest a new decomposition of the aggregate labour share in terms of the first moments of the joint distribution of these variables across firms, providing a bridge between the micro and the macro approach to functional distribution. We provide an application of our method to the UK manufacturing sector, using firm-level data for the period 1998-2014. The analysis confirms that heterogeneity matters: in an economy populated only by representative firms, the labour share would be 10 percentage points lower. Among all the dimensions studied, heterogeneity in total factor productivity and labour market power are the most relevant ones, whereas heterogeneity in product market power matters the least, with wages and prices in between. However, the observed fall in the aggregate labour share over the period is mostly explained by a widening of the disconnect between average productivity and real wages, with a smaller role for an increase in the average product and labour market power of firms after the Great Recession, while changes in the dispersion of these variables mostly offset each other. |
| Keywords: | labour share, firm heterogeneity, market power, firm level data |
| JEL: | D20 D33 D42 D43 E25 L10 |
| Date: | 2019–06–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:94561&r=all |
| By: | Rossella Bardazzi; Maria Grazia Pazienza |
| Abstract: | Generational values inspire behaviour in numerous areas such as politics, labour markets, social cohesion, consumption and energy use. Stephenson et al. (2015) highlight the role of so-called energy culture in shaping the behaviour of different population cohorts regarding energy consumption and environmental protection, and empirical studies have confirmed the relevance of cohort effects in residential and transport-related energy use (Bardazzi and Pazienza, 2017; Chancel, 2014). This paper aims to assess how ageing and evolving generational energy cultures in Italy affect the future path of energy consumption, considering the expected changes in the Italian population size, composition and location. We use a pseudo-panel of Italian households to estimate cohort and age effects by macro-area and then we combine these effects with official demographic projections to forecast the potential consequences for energy consumption up to 2050. Our findings show that age and generation are key determinants of household behaviour regarding residential energy consumption and these effects interplay with future population dynamics, which are also area-specific due to internal migration. |
| Keywords: | Household energy demand, Pseudo-panel, Population age structure, Cohort effects |
| JEL: | D12 Q4 J11 Q56 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2019_20.rdf&r=all |
| By: | Bill Cochrane (University of Waikato); Jacques Poot (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a survey of the international evidence regarding the impact of immigration on local housing markets. A theoretical framework highlights the complexity of the housing market and the importance of distinguishing between the ownership and use of the stock of dwellings vis-à-vis the residential real estate market. Evidence from eight countries (Canada, France, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States) and from meta-analysis shows that immigration will lead to higher house prices and rents, and lower housing affordability. On average, a one percent increase in immigration in a city may be expected to raise rents by one-half to one percent and the effect on prices is about double that. However, there is a large variance around this average which is related inter alia to the time frame and spatial scale of the analysis, as well as to local economic conditions. Additionally, the housing impact of immigration will depend on the demographic and economic composition of the immigrant flow, on macroeconomic conditions and expectations, on the institutional factors that influence the price elasticity of the supply of new dwellings, and on how the native born react to immigration. The tendency of the native born to move out of city wards where migrants settle can lead to relative house price declines in these areas. Overall, immigration has been only a minor contributor to the sharply rising house prices in many fast-growing agglomerations in recent decades. |
| Keywords: | immigration; housing; real estate; homeownership |
| JEL: | F22 J61 L85 R21 R23 |
| Date: | 2019–06–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wai:econwp:19/07&r=all |
| By: | Prümer, Stephanie (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg); Schnabel, Claus (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg) |
| Abstract: | Public sector employees are often said to have excessive rates of absence from work. Using representative survey data for Germany, we indeed find absenteeism of employees to be higher in the public than the private sector. The differences in the incidence and days of absence showing up in descriptive statistics are substantially reduced and partly disappear in our estimates of hurdle regression models controlling for individuals' socio-demographic characteristics, health status, professional activities, and for many workplace-related factors. Nevertheless, the probability of staying home sick at least once a year is still 5.6 percentage points higher in the public sector, ceteris paribus. This finding refutes popular assertions that differences in absence rates between the sectors are mainly due to structural factors like different compositions of the workforce. We show that the same observable factors play a role for absenteeism in the public and private sector, but we cannot rule out that shirking may play a more important role in the public sector. Nevertheless, we conclude that the stereotype of the "malingering bureaucrat" seems to be an exaggeration, at least for Germany. |
| Keywords: | absenteeism, public sector, sick leave, Germany |
| JEL: | I19 J22 H8 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12392&r=all |
| By: | Andrea Berardi (Ca Foscari University of Venice - Dipartimento di Economia); Claudio Tebaldi (Bocconi University - CAREFIN - Centre for Applied Research in Finance; Bocconi University - Department of Finance; Bocconi University - IGIER - Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research); Fabio Trojani (Swiss Finance Institute; University of Geneva) |
| Abstract: | We address potential strengths and weaknesses of alternative protection schemes, which can be adopted as a ‘default option’ in a private, third pillar, pension product. In light of the observed behavior of savers adopting the ‘default option’ at international level, we perform a comparative analysis aimed at quantifying the costs and the benefits of two different risk mitigation techniques and market-standard investment products available to European consumers. We make the case for eligibility of life-cycle target-date funds as default option for the pan-European pension products. |
| Keywords: | Life-Cycle Saving, Household Finance, Guaranteed Strategies |
| JEL: | G11 D14 D91 |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp1919&r=all |
| By: | Lucia Gorjon; Sara De La Rica; Antonio Villar |
| Abstract: | The socialcost of unemploymentis an evaluationprotocol proposed by Gorjón, de la Rica and Villar (2018) that integrates into a single indicator three differentdimensions of this phenomenon: incidence (the conventional unemployment rate), severity (depending on the unemployment duration and the lost income) and hysteresis (the probability of remaining unemployed). This indicator corresponds to the aggregate disutility of unemployed workersand can thus be regarded as a measure of the social welfare loss due to unemployment. We apply here this evaluation protocol to the Spanish labour market, using the official register of unemployed workers compiled by the Public Employment Service, focusing on the differences among the types of unemployed workers that can be defined according to gender, age, level of studies, unemployment duration,and type of compensation received.Then we identify the population subgroups that suffer most the impact of unemployment. |
| Keywords: | social cost of unemployment, unemployment duration, incidence, severity and hysteresis of unemployment, Spanish labour market, types of workers |
| JEL: | J64 J65 I31 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2019_14.rdf&r=all |
| By: | Barbiellini Amidei, Federico; Gomellini, Matteo; Piselli, Paolo |
| Abstract: | A few studies lately explored the relationship between changes in the demographic structure and inflation using mainly cross-country analyses. In this paper we investigate how the evolution in the age structure of the population affected price dynamics in Italy, using annual data for a panel of provinces in the period 1982-2016. The within-country approach allows us to wipe out the effects of supranational shocks, as well as to better take into account the effects of monetary policy, main common driver of price dynamics over the medium-term. We use a set of indicators, namely young age, old age and overall dependency ratios, and the share of working age population. Our results suggest that the ongoing ageing process likely contributed to dampening price dynamics. |
| Keywords: | Demographic change, price dynamics, panel cointegration |
| JEL: | E31 J11 |
| Date: | 2019–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:94435&r=all |
| By: | Barasinska, Nataliya; Haenle, Philipp; Koban, Anne; Schmidt, Alexander |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a framework for estimating losses in the residential real estate mortgage portfolios of German banks. We develop an EL model where LGD estimates are based on current collateral values and PD dynamics are estimated using a structural PVAR approach. We confirm empirically that foreclosure rates are rising with the unemployment rate and are inversely related to house price inflation. Being consistent with our expectation that strategic defaults do not play a central role given the full personal liability of German households, the results give broad support for the double-trigger hypothesis of mortgage defaults. In order to analyse the possible credit losses stemming from residential mortgage lending we then use the model to run a top-down stress test and simulate losses on the individual bank level for the years from 2018 to 2020 for the whole German banking sector. Our results show that loss rates in the residential mortgage portfolios of German banks do increase significantly in an adverse economic environment. The estimated expected losses are widely distributed in the banking system leading, on average, to a 0.4 percentage points reduction in the CET1 ratio over the simulation period. |
| Keywords: | residential real estate,mortgages,credit risk,stress testing,German banks |
| JEL: | G01 G17 G21 G28 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:bubdps:172019&r=all |
| By: | Ingwersen, Kai (Leibniz University of Hannover); Thomsen, Stephan L. (Leibniz University of Hannover) |
| Abstract: | This study provides new evidence on the levels of economic integration experienced by foreigners and naturalised immigrants relative to native Germans from 1994 to 2015. We decompose the wage gap using the method for unconditional quantile regression models by employing a regression of the (recentered) influence function (RIF) of the gross hourly wage on a rich set of explanatory variables. This approach enables us to estimate contributions made across the whole wage distribution. To allow for a detailed characterization of labour market conditions, we consider a comprehensive set of socio-economic and labour-related aspects capturing influences of, e.g., human capital quality, cultural background, and the personalities of immigrants. The decomposition results clearly indicate a significant growing gap with higher wages for both foreigners (13.6 to 17.6 %) and naturalised immigrants (10.0 to 16.4 %). The findings further display a low explanation for the wage gap in low wage deciles that is even more pronounced within immigrant subgroups. Cultural and economic distances each have a significant influence on wages. A different appreciation of foreign educational qualifications, however, widens the wage gap substantially by 4.5 ppts on average. Moreover, we observe an indication of deterioration of immigrants’ human capital endowments over time relative to those of native Germans. |
| Keywords: | immigration, wage gap, unconditional quantile regression, Germany |
| JEL: | J61 J31 J15 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12358&r=all |
| By: | Olga Diukanova (European Commission - JRC); Andrea Conte (European Commission - JRC); Simone Salotti (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) is supporting an Innovation Agenda for the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Republic of North Macedonia and Serbia). Smart Specialisation is the European Union (EU) place-based policy aiming at more thematic concentration in research and innovation (R&I) investments via the evidence-based identification of the strengths and potential of a given economy. Access to data and economic analysis are key to a better identification of both current and future socio-economic policy challenges. The EU Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) supports reforms in the enlargement countries with financial and technical help. Out of the almost €650 million destined to Albania over the programming period 2014-2022, €44 are supporting competitiveness and innovation. Policy simulations using CGE modelling techniques show positive macro-economic effects of the IPA funds for competitiveness and innovation both in the short run and in the long run thanks to productivity improvements. |
| Keywords: | rhomolo, region, growth, impact assessment, modelling, R&D, R&I, Western Balkans, Albania, investment |
| JEL: | C68 E62 R13 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc115438&r=all |
| By: | Isaure Delaporte |
| Abstract: | A growing concern in Western countries is the fact that immigrants might adopt oppositional identities. Although identity is expected to affect the economic outcomes of immigrants, little is known about the factors that influence the identity choice of the migrants and thus, their employment outcomes. This study investigates the effect of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the process of identity formation and the employment outcomes of Turkish immigrants in Germany. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, this study relies on a difference-in-differences strategy to compare the outcomes of Turks with non-Turks before and after the attacks. The results show that Turks have adopted more extreme identities after 9/11 compared to non-Turks: they are more likely to feel completely German; they are less likely to feel in some respects Turkish whereas they are more likely to feel mostly Turkish. There is no significant impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Turks’ employment outcomes relative to non-Turks. |
| Keywords: | Immigrant; Integration; Ethnic Identity; Employment; Terrorism; Difference-in-Differences Estimation |
| JEL: | J15 J71 Z13 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ukc:ukcedp:1906&r=all |
| By: | Barigozzi, Francesca; Cremer, Helmuth; Monfardini, Chiara |
| Abstract: | Our model studies couples' time allocation and career choices, which are affected by a social norm on gender roles in the family. Parents can provide two types of informal child care: basic care (feeding, changing children, baby-sitting) and quality care (activities that stimulate children's social and cognitive skills). We obtain the following main results. Traditional mothers provide some informal basic care, whereas career mothers purchase full time formal basic care in the market. Informal basic care is too large and the group of career mothers is too small because of the social norm. Informal quality care is increasing in the couple's income and is provided in larger amount by mothers. We test the model's predictions for Italy using the most recent ISTAT 'Use of Time' survey. In line with the model, mothers devote more time than fathers to both basic and quality informal care; more educated parents devote more time to quality informal care than less educated parents; more educated mothers spend more time in the labor market than less educated mothers. |
| Keywords: | Social norms; basic and quality child care; women's career choices; gender gaps |
| JEL: | D13 H23 J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:123085&r=all |
| By: | Anghel, Brindusa (FEDEA, Madrid); Rodríguez-Planas, Núria (Queens College, CUNY); Sanz-de-Galdeano, Anna (Universidad de Alicante) |
| Abstract: | Using five waves of PISA data spanning the period 2003-2015 and exploiting variation both across- and within-countries, we find that the positive association between the female-male gender gap in math test scores (which on average favors boys) and alternative measures of gender equality vanishes in OECD countries once we account for country fixed effects. Our findings highlight the relevance of country-level confounding factors when relying on cross-country analyses to study the relationship between the gender gap in math and female empowerment. Interestingly, our analysis for non-OECD countries uncovers a positive and statistically significant relationship between the math gender gap and female labor force participation. Similar results hold for the female-male gap in reading scores, which generally favors girls. This suggests that, in non-OECD countries, females' human capital accumulation (relative to that of males) is affected by their labor market prospects. |
| Keywords: | gender gap in math and reading scores, OECD and non-OECD, female employment and opportunities |
| JEL: | I1 Z1 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12371&r=all |
| By: | Huysmans, Martijn |
| Abstract: | A key objective of EU trade policy is to obtain wider protection for its specialty foods, known as Geographical Indications (GIs). While the WTO provides some protection for GIs under Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS), the EU has successfully considered additional protection for its GIs a red line in recent Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). FTAs are negotiated by the Commission but require member state approval. Given that both Greece and Italy have threatened not to ratify CETA over insufficient GI protection, GIs clearly matter. This article provides and analyzes new data on GI protection in 11 recent EU trade agreements. It finds that EU FTAs are more likely to protect GIs with higher sales values and from countries in the South of Europe, where GIs are highly salient because of gastronationalism. These findings illustrate how economic and political considerations shape and enable EU policy exports. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2019–03–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc19:289668&r=all |
| By: | Hart, Robert A. (University of Stirling) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides estimates of labor productivity for one-third of UK manufacturing during the Great Depression. It covers engineering and allied industries, and metal working industries. A unique data set of actual hours of work is combined with comparable real output and employment statistics. It establishes that output per worker-hour was countercyclical in the 1929-1932 peak-to-trough years of the Depression. This result has also been found for US manufacturing over the same period. Working time is found to play a crucial role the UK productivity response. Countercyclical productivity is discussed in terms of (i) the strong final output and consumer price deflations of 1929 to 1934, (ii) an absence of significant labor hoarding, and (c) diminishing returns to long weekly hours of work. |
| Keywords: | labor productivity, Great Depression, diminishing returns to hours |
| JEL: | O47 E32 N64 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12379&r=all |
| By: | Agustin Velasquez; Svetlana Vtyurina |
| Abstract: | Hours worked vary widely across countries and over time. In this paper, we investigate the role played by taxation in explaining these differences for EU New Member States. By extending a standard growth model with novel data on consumption and labor taxes, we assess the evolution of trends in hours worked over the 1995-2017 period. We find that the inclusion of tax rates in the model significantly improves the tracking of hours. We also estimate the elasticity of hours (and its different margins) to quantify the deadweight loss introduced by consumption and labor taxes. We find that these taxes explain a large share of labor supply differences across EU New Member States and that the potential gains from policy actions are noteworthy. |
| Date: | 2019–06–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:19/130&r=all |
| By: | Yuksel, Mutlu (Dalhousie University); Akbulut-Yuksel, Mevlude (Dalhousie University); Guven, Cahit (Deakin University) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the returns to English-speaking fluency on the socioeconomic outcomes of childhood immigrants. We further investigate whether Muslim childhood immigrants face additional hurdles in economic and social integration into the host country. Motivated by the critical age hypothesis, we identify the causal effects of English skills on socioeconomic outcomes by exploring the differences in the country of origin and age at arrival across childhood immigrants. We first document that all childhood immigrants who migrate from non-English-speaking countries at a younger age attain higher levels of English skills. We also find that acquiring better English-language skills improves the educational attainment and labor and marriage market prospects of non-Muslim childhood immigrants significantly and increases their participation in volunteer work. However, our results show that while a good command of English enhances the educational attainments of Muslim childhood immigrants, it shows no positive return in either the labor or marriage markets. Our results also show that progress in English fails to improve Muslim childhood immigrants' engagement in voluntary work, meaning that the opportunity for social cohesion is missed. |
| Keywords: | immigration, english proficiency, socioeconomic outcomes, Muslims |
| JEL: | J12 J13 J24 J31 J61 J62 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12381&r=all |
| By: | Silvia H. Barcellos; Leandro S. Carvalho; Patrick Turley |
| Abstract: | This paper studies distributional effects of education on health. In 1972, England, Scotland, and Wales raised their minimum school-leaving age from 15 to 16 for students born after 9/1/1957. Using a regression discontinuity design and objective health measures for 0.27 million individuals, we find that education reduced body size and increased blood pressure in middle age. The reduction in body size was concentrated at the upper tail of the distribution with a 7.5 percentage point reduction in obesity. The increase in blood pressure was concentrated at the lower tail of the distribution with no effect on stage 2 hypertension. |
| JEL: | I10 I20 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25898&r=all |
| By: | Jan-Emmanuel De Neve; Clement Imbert; Maarten Luts; Johannes Spinnewijn; Teodora Tsankova |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of deterrence, tax morale, and simplifying information on tax compliance. We ran _ve experiments spanning the tax process which varied the communication of the tax administration with all income taxpayers in Belgium. A consistent picture emerges across experiments: (i) simplifying communication increases compliance, (ii) deterrence messages have an additional positive effect, (iii) invoking tax morale is not effective. Even tax morale messages that improve knowledge and appreciation of public services do not raise compliance. In fact, heterogeneity analysis with causal forests shows that tax morale treatments backfire for most taxpayers. In contrast, simplification has large positive effects on compliance, which diminish over time due to follow-up enforcement. A discontinuity in enforcement intensity, combined with the experimental variation, allows us to compare simplification with standard enforcement measures. Simplification is far more cost-effective, allowing for substantial savings on enforcement costs, and also improves compliance in the next tax cycle. |
| Keywords: | tax compliance, field experiments, simplification, enforcement |
| JEL: | C93 D91 H20 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1621&r=all |
| By: | Berggren, Niclas (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)); Ljunge, Martin (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)); Nilsson, Therese (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | Tolerance – respecting individual choice and differences among people – is a prominent feature of modern European culture. That immigrants embrace this kind of liberal value is arguably important for integration, a central policy goal. We provide a rigorous study of what factors in the ancestral countries of second-generation immigrants – including formal and informal institutions – that predict their level of tolerance towards gay people. Using the epidemiological method allows us to rule out reverse causality. Out of the 46 factors examined, one emerges as very robust: a Muslim background. Tolerance is lower the larger the share of Muslims in the country from which the parents emigrated. An instrumental-variable analysis shows that the main mechanism is not through the individual being a Muslim but through the individual being highly religious. Two additional attitudes among people in the ancestral country (valuing children being tolerant and respectful, and valuing children taking responsibility), as well as impartial institutions in the ancestral country, predict higher individual tolerance. Our findings thus point to an important role for both formal- and informal-institutional background factors in shaping tolerance. |
| Keywords: | Tolerance; Integration; Liberal; Culture; Institutions; Religion |
| JEL: | F02 F22 Z13 Z18 |
| Date: | 2019–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1282&r=all |
| By: | Per-Anders Edin; Tiernan Evans; Georg Graetz; Sofia Hernnäs; Guy Michaels |
| Abstract: | What are the earnings and employment losses that workers suffer when demand for their occupations declines? To answer this question we combine forecasts on occupational employment changes, which allow us to identify unanticipated declines; administrative data on the population of Swedish workers, spanning several decades; and a highly detailed occupational classification. We find that, compared to similar workers, those facing occupational decline lost about 2-5 percent of mean cumulative earnings from 1986-2013. But workers at the bottom of their occupations' initial earnings distributions suffered considerably larger losses. These earnings losses are partly accounted for by reduced employment, and increased unemployment and retraining. |
| Keywords: | technological change, occupations, inequality |
| JEL: | O33 J24 J62 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1629&r=all |
| By: | Niklas Potrafke; Felix Rösel |
| Abstract: | Spatial inequalities in publicly provided goods such as health care facilities have substantial socioeconomic effects. Little is known, however, as to why publicly provided goods diverge among urban and rural regions. We exploit narrow parliamentary majorities in German states between 1950 and 2014 in an RD framework to show that government ideology influences the urban-rural gap in public infrastructure. Leftwing governments relocate hospital beds from rural regions. We propose that leftwing governments do so to gratify their more urban constituencies. In turn, spatial inequalities in hospital infrastructure increase, which seems to influence general and infant mortality. |
| Keywords: | Publicly provided goods, spatial inequalities, political business cycles, partisan politics, government ideology, health care, hospitals |
| JEL: | D72 H42 I18 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ifowps:_300&r=all |
| By: | Manuela Krause; Niklas Potrafke |
| Abstract: | Since 2007 the German state governments have been allowed by a constitutional reform to set real estate transfer tax rates. We exploit this reform and investigate whether government ideology predicts the levels and increases in the real estate transfer tax rates. The results show that leftwing and center governments were more active in increasing the real estate transfer tax rates than rightwing governments. Many voters were disenchanted with the policies and platforms of the established German parties. Disenchantment notwithstanding, real estate transfer tax policies show that the established political parties are still prepared to offer polarized policies. |
| Keywords: | Real estate transfer tax, partisan politics, reform, government ideology, fiscal federalism |
| JEL: | D72 H20 H71 P16 R38 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ifowps:_302&r=all |