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on Microeconomic European Issues |
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Issue of 2023‒09‒04
ten papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Sondergeld, Virginia (DIW Berlin); Wrohlich, Katharina (DIW Berlin) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the impact of women's managerial representation on the gender pay gap among employees on the establishment level using German Linked-Employer-Employee- Data from the years 2004 to 2018. For identification of a causal effect we employ a panel model with establishment fixed effects and industry-specific time dummies. Our results show that a higher share of women in management significantly reduces the gender pay gap within the firm. An increase in the share of women in first-level management e.g. from zero to above 33 percent decreases the adjusted gender pay gap from a baseline of 15 percent by 1.2 percentage points, i.e. to roughly 14 percent. The effect is stronger for women in second-level than first-level management, indicating that women managers with closer interactions with their subordinates have a higher impact on the gender pay gap than women on higher management levels. The results are similar for East and West Germany, despite the lower gender pay gap and more gender egalitarian social norms in East Germany. From a policy perspective, we conclude that increasing the number of women in management positions has the potential to reduce the gender pay gap to a limited extent. However, further policy measures will be needed in order to fully close the gender gap in pay. |
| Keywords: | gender pay gap, women in management, board diversity, two-way fixed effects, linked employer-employee data |
| JEL: | J16 J31 J71 |
| Date: | 2023–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16323&r=eur |
| By: | Bernhard Boockmann; Martin Kroczek; Natalie Laub |
| Abstract: | We study heterogeneity in the effects of two pension reforms in Germany that closed pathways into early retirement: the abolition of an old-age pension scheme for women and the abolition of a pension after unemployment or part-time work. We focus on heterogeneity with respect to several occupational characteristics. Both reforms had significant effects on individual employment states, and in both cases the effects differ significantly by occupation. The positive effect on employment is smaller in occupations with higher job strain and, in case of the old-age pension for women, the effect on unemployment is larger. The effects also differ by occupational tasks, PC use and the introduction of new technologies. |
| Keywords: | Pension reforms, effect heterogeneity, occupational demands, occupational tasks |
| JEL: | J18 J22 J26 |
| Date: | 2023–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iaw:iawdip:142&r=eur |
| By: | Hörnig, Lukas |
| Abstract: | Between 2003 and 2005, the German government passed an unprecedented package of labor market reforms, commonly known as the Hartz-reforms. This led to a "labor market miracle" with sharply declining unemployment rates. This paper examines these reforms at the regional level and provides a comprehensive picture of whether the reforms have exacerbated or reduced regional disparities. I apply a regional difference-in-differences framework commonly used in the minimum wage evaluation literature to analyze the effect of the reforms on employment at the county level. The empirical results show that while all counties benefited from the Hartz-reforms, more prosperous counties derived a stronger benefit than those with high unemployment rates. The evidence is stronger for West Germany than for East Germany. Overall, the reforms have not improved economic performance homogeneously, but have actually increased regional disparities. |
| Keywords: | Regional growth, policy evaluation, regional convergence, Hartz-reforms |
| JEL: | R11 J48 O47 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:1033&r=eur |
| By: | Stefan Apostol; Eduardo Hernández-Rodríguez |
| Abstract: | Digitalisation has become a clear policy objective. Regions want to digitalise their economies to benefit from the digital world. This paper provides empirical evidence on how the adoption of new digital web technologies is shaped by previous regional digital capabilities. The analysis is based upon an economic complexity and relatedness framework using novel data on digital web technologies’ adoption for 278 European NUTS-2 regions between years 2000-2022. Results show that regions tend to adopt new digital web technologies when they already master related digital capabilities. This paper also shows how digital complexity is associated with labour productivity gains at the regional level. Conclusions shed light on how regions are adopting digital web technologies and serve as a tool for policymakers. |
| Keywords: | Digitalisation; digital web technologies; relatedness; economic complexity; productivity; European regions |
| JEL: | L86 O14 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2023–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2317&r=eur |
| By: | Vogtenhuber, Stefan; Steiber, Nadia; Mühlböck, Monika |
| Abstract: | This study is the first to investigate the impact of short-time work (STW) schemes on earnings during the COVID-19 pandemic. STW schemes have been implemented to preserve employee-employer matches, support workers' incomes and uphold consumption. By construction, affected workers suffer temporary earnings losses, yet an important question is whether negative earnings effects of STW persist beyond the STW period or are limited to the STW spell. Using a dynamic difference-in-difference (DiD) identification strategy on administrative data, this study aims to identify any lasting causal STW effects on earnings, accounting for the factors that influence the selection of workers into STW and testing for heterogeneous effects across subgroups of workers. We find lasting earnings losses that persist beyond the actual STW participation. First and foremost, these earnings losses depend on the duration of STW exposure, with greater negative effects especially in the case of long-term or recurring STW spells. In general, lasting earnings losses post STW tend to be more pronounced in white-collar jobs, where women incur larger losses than men. The largest losses, however, are observed among men in blue-collar jobs with long STW spells of more than one year. |
| Date: | 2023–07–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:p2qvh&r=eur |
| By: | Hertweck, Friederike; Lehner, Judith |
| Abstract: | Skills shortage in the fields of Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) poses a significant challenge for industries globally. This study examines the interrelationship between high school students' gender, their proficiency in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and their career preferences in the STEM domain. Based on representative data for German teenagers, our study shows that female adolescents are less likely to choose a career in STEM unless they have strong ICT skills in secondary school. The relationship does not hold for male students. Our findings can be explained with evidence that teenagers sort into occupations they believe to be good at and that female teenagers rather underestimate their true potential. Using different empirical approaches, we also show that ICT skills act as a moderator and not as a mediator in the gender-specific choice of training upon graduating from secondary school. |
| Keywords: | Career choice, ICT skills, digital literacy, gender gap, STEM |
| JEL: | I20 J24 J08 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:1028&r=eur |
| By: | Tinelli, Michela; Roddy, Áine; Knapp, Martin; Arango, Celso; Mendez, Maria Andreina; Cusack, James; Canitano, Roberto; Oakley, Bethany; Quoidbach, Vinciane |
| Abstract: | Background: Many autistic children experience difficulties in their communication and language skills development, with consequences for ’social development into adulthood, often resulting in challenges over the life-course and high economic impacts for individuals, families and society. The PACT (Preschool-Autism-Communication-Trial) intervention is effective in terms of improved social communication and some secondary outcomes. A previously published within-trial economic analysis found that results at 13 months did not support its cost-effectiveness. We modelled cost-effectiveness over 6 years and across four European countries. Methods: Using simulation modelling, we built on economic analyses in the original trial, exploring longer-term cost-effectiveness at 6 years (in England). We adapted our model to undertake an economic analysis of PACT in Ireland, Italy and Spain. Data on resource use were taken from the original trial and a more recent Irish observational study. Results: PACT is cost-saving over time from a societal perspective, even though we confirmed that, at 13 months post-delivery, PACT is more expensive than usual treatment (across all countries) when given to preschool autistic children. After 6 years, we found that PACT has lower costs than usual treatment in terms of unpaid care provided by parents (in all countries). Also, if we consider only out-of-pocket expenses from an Irish study, PACT costs less than usual treatment. Discussion: PACT may be recommended as a cost-saving early intervention for families with an autistic child. |
| Keywords: | autism; early intervention; children; cost-effectiveness; public policy; family impacts |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2023–08–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:119943&r=eur |
| By: | Horbach, Jens |
| Abstract: | The success of climate change measures is highly dependent on household behaviour as one of the most important emission sources of carbon dioxide. Private heating, electricity consumption or private transport are important key levers to reduce households' impacts on climate change. The paper analyses the determinants of climate change related attitudes and activities based on econometric estimations of European survey data. The results show that personal factors such as female gender, qualification and a high income are positively correlated to green behaviour. Persons having difficulties to pay their bills show a lower probability of buying local, climatefriendly products, but a bad economic situation is not a barrier for green attitudes. The results for the political orientation show that politically left and middle oriented persons are more likely for supporting climate change related actions. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, green household behaviour, European data, multivariate probit model |
| JEL: | C25 D12 D91 Q01 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:1034&r=eur |
| By: | Corinna Ghirelli (Banco de España); Enkelejda Havari (IESEG School of Management); Elena Meroni (European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)); Stefano Verzillo (European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the long-term causal effects of receiving an ERC grant on researcher productivity, excellence and the ability to obtain additional research funding up to nine years after grant assignment. We use data on the universe of ERC applicants between 2007 and 2013 and information on their complete publication histories from the Scopus database. For identification, we first exploit the assignment rule based on rankings, comparing the outcomes of the winning and non-winning applicants in a regression discontinuity design (RDD). We fail to find any statistically significant effect on research productivity and quality, which suggests that receiving an ERC grant does not make a difference in terms of scientific impact for researchers with a ranking position close to the threshold. Since RDDs help identify a local effect, we also conduct a difference-in-differences (DID) analysis using the time series of bibliometric indicators available, which allows us to estimate the effect on a wider population of winning and non-winning applicants. By contrast with the RDD results, DID estimates show that obtaining an ERC grant leads to positive long-term effects on scientific productivity, impact and the capacity to attract other EU funds in the fields of Chemistry, Universe and Earth Sciences, Institutions and Behaviours, Human Mind Studies and Medicine. Further analysis of heterogeneous effects leads us conclude that the positive results obtained with DID seem to be driven by the top-ranked applicants in these fields. |
| Keywords: | research grants, ERC, regression discontinuity design, difference-in-differences, EU funds, policy evaluation |
| JEL: | I23 D04 O31 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bde:wpaper:2313&r=eur |
| By: | Moscelli, G.;; Sayli, M.;; Blanden, J.;; Mello, M.;; Castro-Pires, H.;; Bojke, C.; |
| Abstract: | Excessive turnover can significantly impair an organization’s performance. Using high-quality administrative data and staggered difference-in-differences strategies, we evaluate the impact of a programme that encouraged public hospitals to increase staff retention by providing data and guidelines on how to improve the non-pecuniary aspects of nursing jobs. We find that the programme has decreased the nurse turnover rate by 4.49%, decreased exits from the public hospital sector by 5.38%, and reduced mortality within 30 days from hospital admission by 3.45%, preventing 11, 400 deaths. Our results are consistent with a theoretical model in which information is provided to managers of multi-unit organizations, who trade off coordinating decisions across units and adapting them to local conditions. |
| Keywords: | labor supply; workforce retention; non-monetary incentives; hospital care; staggered difference-in-differences; |
| JEL: | J32 J38 J45 J63 I11 C22 |
| Date: | 2023–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:hectdg:23/13&r=eur |