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on Unemployment, Inequality and Poverty |
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Issue of 2017‒12‒11
five papers chosen by |
| By: | Andrew E. Clark; Orla Doyle; Elena Stancanelli |
| Abstract: | A growing literature concludes that terrorism impacts the economy, yet less is known about its impact on utility. This paper estimates the impact of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing on well-being, by exploiting representative U.S. daily data. Using both a regression discontinuity and an event study design, whereby the 2012 Boston marathon serves as a counterfactual, we find a sharp reduction in well-being, equivalent to a two percentage point rise in annual unemployment. The effect is stronger for women and those living in nearby States, but does not persist beyond one week, thus demonstrating the resilience of well-being to terrorism. |
| Keywords: | Well-being; Terrorism; Regression discontinuity design; Differences-in-differences |
| JEL: | I31 J21 J22 F52 |
| Date: | 2017–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucn:wpaper:201717&r=ltv |
| By: | Rita Ginja (Uppsala Universitet); Jenny Jans (Uppsala University); Arizo Karimi (Uppsala University) |
| Abstract: | We study how parental resources early in life affect children’s health and education exploiting the so-called speed premium (SP) in the Swedish parental leave system. The SP grants mothers higher parental leave benefits for the subsequent child without re-establishing eligibility through pre-birth market work if the two births occur within a pre-specified interval. This allow us to use a Regression Discontinuity framework. We find that the SP improves the educational outcomes of the first-born child, but not of the second-born. Impacts are driven by a combination of a positive income shock, and substitution from informal care to maternal time. |
| Keywords: | parental leave, Earnings, time investments, child outcomes |
| JEL: | J13 J22 J18 |
| Date: | 2017–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2017-085&r=ltv |
| By: | Frank Cowell; Dirk Van de gaer |
| Abstract: | Using a simple model of family decision making we examine the processes by which the wealth distribution changes over the generations, focusing in particular on the division of fortunes through inheritance and the union of fortunes through marriage. We show that the equilibrium wealth distribution can be characterized in a simple way for a variety of inheritance rules and marriage patterns. The shape of the distribution is principally determined by the size distribution of families. We show how changes in fertility, inheritance rules and inheritance taxation a ect long-run inequality. |
| Keywords: | wealth distribution, inheritance, inheritance taxation |
| JEL: | D31 D63 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:stippp:34&r=ltv |
| By: | Williamson, Jeffrey G |
| Abstract: | In spite of persistent debates about income inequality and pro-poor policy in the Philippines, its history over the past century has been ignored, at least by economists. This is surprising given that the Philippines already had its first Census in 1903, long before its neighbors, augmented by other relevant evidence embedded in official documents generated by the American insular government. It is also surprising given that we know that income distributions change only very slowly and must be examined over the long run to identify its drivers. This essay reviews the (thin) historical evidence and proposes explanations. There is no Kuznets Curve, and no Marxian, Pikettian or other grand endogenous inequality theory at work, but there are dramatic episodes of change. It appears that there was an inequality rise up to World War 1, a fall between the World Wars, a rise to high levels by the 1950s, and an almost certain rise up to the end of the century which, due to mismeasurement, looks instead like stasis . We need to collect better evidence to confirm these narratives and to assess competing hypotheses. |
| Keywords: | inequality; the Philippines; twentieth century |
| JEL: | D30 N15 N35 O15 O53 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12481&r=ltv |
| By: | Fabio Sabatini (University of Rome - La Sapienza); Marco Ventura (ISTAT, Italian National Institute of Statistics, Methodological and Data Quality Division); Eiji Yamamura (Seinan Gakuin University); Luca Zamparelli (Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Economics and Law) |
| Abstract: | We illustrate how the desire to live in a fair society that rewards individual effort and hard work triggers an unselfish though rational demand for redistribution. This leads the well off to prefer higher taxes and the poor to reject extreme progressivity. We then provide evidence of these behaviors using a nationally representative survey from Italy. Our empirical analysis confirms that a stronger aversion to unfair distributive outcomes is associated with a higher support for redistribution by individuals with high income and to a lower demand for redistribution by those with low income. |
| Keywords: | fairness, income distribution, inequalities, taxation, welfare, redistribution, free-riding, civic capital, social capital |
| JEL: | H10 H53 D63 D69 Z1 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ent:wpaper:wp64&r=ltv |