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on Transition Economics |
| By: | Blum, Matthias; Krauss, Karl-Peter; Myeshkov, Dmytro |
| Abstract: | Prior to the Age of Mass Migration, Germans left central Europe to settle primarily in modernday Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Ukraine and Russia. Despite the harsh conditions that the first generation of settlers had to endure, their descendants often fared better, not worse, compared to native population groups. This study offers a possible explanation for this surprising outcome. We use data on approximately 11,500 individuals to estimate and compare basic numeracy scores of German settlers and other populations groups in target regions. We find that German settlers generally had superior basic numeracy levels, suggesting that these settlers must have contributed positively to the human capital endowment in their target regions. The numeracy of Germans was somewhat higher than the numeracy of Hungarians and substantially higher than the numeracy of Russians, Ukrainians and Serbs. We do not find noteworthy differences in terms of numeracy between German emigrants and the population they left behind, suggesting the absence of substantial migrant selection. |
| Keywords: | Migration,Economic History,Germany,Hungary,Russian Empire,Ukraine,Eastern Europe |
| JEL: | N13 N23 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:qucehw:201203&r= |
| By: | Stephen Broadberry; Elena Korchmina |
| Abstract: | We provide estimates of economic growth at decadal frequency for Russia during the eighteenth century. Although GDP per head increased between the 1690s and 1760s, this was followed by a period of negative growth between the 1760s and 1800s, leaving GDP per capita just 17 per cent higher at the end of the century than at its beginning. Although Russia’s strong growth in large-scale industry during the eighteenth century has received much attention, this was starting from a very low base. Peter the Great’s modernisation drive thus had only a small effect on the economy as a whole, which remained dominated by agriculture and small-scale industry. |
| Date: | 2021–05–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:esohwp:_192&r= |
| By: | Ali Enami (University of Akron); Ugo Gentilini (World Bank); Patricio Larroulet (Tulane University); Nora Lustig (Tulane University); Emma Monsalve (World Bank); Siyu Quan (Tulane University); Jamele Rigolini (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | Using microsimulations this paper analyzes the poverty and tax implications of replacing current transfers and subsidies by a budget-neutral (no change in the fiscal deficit) universal basic income program (UBI) in Brazil, Chile, India, Russia, and South Africa. We consider three UBI transfers with increasing levels of generosity and identify scenarios in which the poor are no worse off than in the baseline scenario of existing social transfers. We find that for poverty levels not to increase under a UBI reform, the level of spending must increase substantially with respect to the baseline. Accordingly, the required increase in tax burdens is high throughout. In our five countries and scenarios, the least increase in taxes required to avoid poverty to be higher than in the baseline is around 25% (Brazil and Chile). Even at this lower rate, political resistance and efficiency costscould limit the feasibility of a UBI reform. |
| Keywords: | Universal basic income, microsimulation, inequality, poverty, tax incidence |
| JEL: | H22 H31 H55 I32 D63 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2021-582&r= |
| By: | Gałecka-Burdziak, Ewa; Góra, Marek; Jessen, Jonas; Jessen, Robin; Kluve, Jochen |
| Abstract: | We quantify labour market effects of changes in the potential benefit duration (PBD) in Poland. Individual workers' PBD depends on the county unemployment rate relative to the national average - 12 months of PBD above a cut-off of 125 per cent and 6 months below. This cut-off shifted from 125 to 150 per cent in a 2009 reform. We utilize i) the natural experiment of the reform and ii) the sharp discontinuity generated by the cut-offs to estimate effects of shortening the PBD. Our administrative data cover unemployment spells for prime age workers during the years 2006-2018. A one-month shorter PBD decreases average benefit duration by 0.5 months and average unemployment duration by 0.4 months. The PBD reduction by six months increased the job finding rate within the first 9 months by 6 percentage points. Using the stock of unemployed per county, we find evidence for positive aggregate employment effects. |
| Keywords: | Unemployment benefits,extended benefits,spell duration |
| JEL: | H55 J20 J65 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:911&r= |
| By: | Zaburanna, Lesia V.; Lutska, Tetiana V.; Tkachuk, Vadym A. |
| Abstract: | The article summarizes the practice of creation and functioning of small business forms in agriculture of Ukraine, assesses their role and capabilities at the present stage and in the future, identifies priority, desirable directions for further development of society and mechanisms for their provision. The necessity of implementing a consistent policy of entrepreneurial activity expansion in the rural area is substantiated, in the first place by family farming, which is capable to ensure the maximum employment rate of rural population. Due to the above-mentioned processes, agroholdings have narrowed down the ability of the rural population to conduct agricultural entrepreneurial activity. It has also been proved that in order to increase the efficiency of agricultural production, the profitability of rural households from the agricultural products production and sale, employment of rural population and the development of the agrarian market’s infrastructure, it is necessary to intensify the creation of agricultural servicing cooperatives, especially in sectors where the production of small business forms prevails. It was found that it is extremely important to introduce a permanent state of financial and other support for the development of agricultural servicing cooperatives and small forms of farming in the rural area, focusing on supporting the latter through cooperatives in which they participate |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iafepa:311219&r= |
| By: | Błąd, Marta |
| Abstract: | The purpose of the article is to present the state and changes in the pluriactivity of farming families in Poland in the years 2013-2016. The analysis was based on data from the representative farm structure survey (FSS) to which every EU country is required. Its results are as follows: 1) in 2016, only 1.3% of people were pluriactive, while in 2013 this percentage amounted to 31.5%; 2) the diversification of activities other than agriculture, but directly related to an agricultural holding is still carried out by a relatively small percentage of holdings: in 2016 it amounted to 2.9%; 3) over half of households with a farm user obtained income from wage labour (the most popular form of work outside a farm, as in the years 2005-2010) in addition to income from agricultural activity. The most surprising change was an increase of more than half a million persons engaged only in agriculture and a decrease of more than a million of pluriactive persons, and thus an interruption of the multiannual ratio of pluriactive persons in relation to persons engaged only in agriculture, which was 1:3. Possible reasons for this may be the following aspects: a decrease in the number of farms, including farms up to 1 ha, with the largest number of pluriactive persons, return to specialisation, phenomenon of repeasantisation, possible impact of the 500+ programme on abandoning non-agricultural works and finally the possibility of a statistical error in 2016 studies (another study, BAEL, does not show a decrease in the importance of pluriactivity). The matter is important, because the FSS is a source of official national data for EU statistics. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iafepa:311229&r= |
| By: | Pechrová, Marie Šimpachová; Šimpach, Ondřej |
| Abstract: | Young farmers must overcome certain barriers when entering the sector. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the main obstacles in starting a farming business and to assess whether the entry barriers faced by young farmers depend on the size of a farm. We used data from electronic survey conducted among 510 young farmers in the Czech Republic. The average size of a farm was between 0 to 1000 ha (on average 42.4 ha). The farmers were divided into the following categories: those with a holding from 0 to 5 ha – small, those with a holding of over 5 ha to 50 ha – medium, and those with a holding of over 50 ha – large. Young farmers assessed the difficulties, which they had to overcome when starting up a farm on a scale from 1 (this was certainly a barrier) to 4 (it was not a huge barrier) and 0 (it is not my case). The average score for each category and barrier was calculated. The highest barrier was administrative burden and the purchase of agricultural land. Young farmers did not perceive strategic planning and the purchase of livestock as a serious problem. The test in contingency table revealed that almost all types of barriers statistically significantly depended on the size of the farm. Starting a business is the most difficult problem for small and middle farms, but the purchase of an agricultural land and obtaining knowledge and experience is difficult for all farms to a similar axtent. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iafepa:311218&r= |
| By: | Benedikt Janzen; Doina Maria Radulescu |
| Abstract: | In this paper we employ survey information on more than 10,000 Southern and Eastern European firms and panel data methods to assess the effects of the COVID-19-related lockdown and government support policies on the business operations of enterprises. Our findings reveal considerable size- and sector-related effect heterogeneity, with small firms, exporting firms and firms operating in the facility sector experiencing the largest losses in terms of sales. A complete lockdown leads to an average decrease in sales by approximately 64%. We also document a disproportionate impact on female self-employed. Furthermore, state aid in the form of deferral of payments or wage subsidies were the most effective government support instruments. For instance, wage subsidies saved up to 2.7 employees per firm in the surveyed enterprises. |
| Keywords: | Covid-19, firms, government support policies, panel data methods |
| JEL: | D22 H12 H32 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9116&r= |
| By: | Aridi, Anwar (World Bank, Europe and Central Asia Division); Querejazu, Daniel (World Bank, Europe and Central Asia Division); Zuniga, Pluvia (UNU-MERIT) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the state of progress in knowledge and technology transfer activities in Bulgarian public research organisations. It explores the nature and development of research competences, engagement in research collaboration, and technology transfer activities at public research institutions and aims to identify the factors that enable or constrain these activities. The results are based on a survey of public researchers, public research organisations (PROs), and university technology transfer offices (TTOs) in Bulgaria. Our findings show important gaps in institutional governance (linking research with industry demand), misalignments in academic incentives, and constraints related to lack of funding and capacity. Our findings also highlight the vital importance of mobility of researchers as catalyser of collaborative research and technology transfer linkages in both types of institutions and provides proposals for action in terms of policy and institutional reform to improve the performance and impact of public research. |
| Keywords: | knowledge transfer, technology transfer, industry-science linkages, public research organisations, Bulgaria |
| JEL: | O31 O33 O38 I23 |
| Date: | 2021–05–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2021026&r= |
| By: | Pawłowska, Aleksandra; Jaroszewska, Joanna |
| Abstract: | In the case of all farms, the issue of profitability achieved is crucial. The effectiveness of production factors involved, including labour, shapes income in agriculture to a large extent. Thus, the increase in the productivity of the labour factor determines the increase in the labour profitability. On the grounds of classical microeconomic relationships, it can be pointed out that the increase in farm income, which is the remuneration of the labour factor, can take place, ceteris paribus, with the increase in production. Assuming the permanence of labour factor inputs in the long term, the source of production growth should, in turn, be the increase in the labour productivity. The objective of the paper is to identify differences in the impact of labour productivity on farm income, with the dominance of family labour force and on farms with a dominance of paid labour force in Poland. The results presented may serve as a basis for concluding on the income situation of farms depending on the type of labour factor involved. The study will use the FADN data from 2009-2015 for Polish farms. The impact of labour productivity on farm income will be analysed using the propensity score matching method |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iafepa:311220&r= |
| By: | Nurmet, Maire; Omel, Raul |
| Abstract: | Small farms are subject to a wide range of influences on their viability including economic, policy and regulatory drivers as well as internal farm household drivers of change. Small farms have experienced a decline in numbers compared to large farms. The main task of the paper is to determine the share of viable farms of different size groups in Estonia, exploring the factors that are associated with economically viable farms. For determination of the share of viable farms of different size groups the opportunity-cost-based approach is used. Farm viability is estimated by using the data from the Estonian Farm Accounting Data Network. The results indicate that the economic viability of Estonian farms has slightly increased, but the share of viable farms has decreased. Smaller farms’ economic viability is declining, many of them are economically vulnerable. Smaller farms’ capability to survive and develop by using the available resources is lower compared to larger farms. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iafepa:311217&r= |