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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Spyros Konstantopoulos (Northwestern University and IZA Bonn) |
| Abstract: | The impact of schools on student achievement has been of great interest for the last four decades. This study examines trends of school effects on student achievement employing three national probability samples of high school seniors: NLS:72, HSB:82, and NELS:92. Hierarchical linear models are used to investigate school effects. The findings reveal that the substantial proportion of the variation in student achievement lies within schools not between schools. There is also considerable between school variation in achievement, which becomes larger over time. Schools are more diverse and more segregated in the 1990s than in the 1970s. In addition, school characteristics such as school region, school SES, and certain characteristics of the student body of the school, such as students’ daily attendance, students in college preparatory classes, and high school graduates enrolled in colleges are important predictors of average student achievement. The school predictors explained consistently more than 50% of the variation in average student achievement across surveys. We also find considerable teacher heterogeneity in achievement within schools, which suggests important teacher effects on student achievement. Teacher heterogeneity in student achievement was larger than school heterogeneity, which may indicate that teacher effects have a relatively larger impact on mathematics and science student achievement than school effects. |
| Keywords: | school effects, trends, student achievement |
| JEL: | I2 |
| Date: | 2005–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1749&r=ure |
| By: | Geenhuizen, Marina van (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen en Econometrie (Free University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics Sciences, Business Administration and Economitrics); Nijkamp, Peter |
| Abstract: | In the development of modern urban systems we are facing a shift from central cities as the major location of coordination functions, high-order services and innovative activities, to interconnected nodes at some distance in a larger metropolitan area. However, which cities in the emerging new spatial constellation qualify to become such a node is not yet clear, and depends also on the organizing capacity of the municipalities involved. In the present paper we address spread over a larger metropolitan area from the point of view of place-bound versus footloose behaviour of young, innovative firms as the drivers of economic renewal in this area. A theoretical review of location needs and footlooseness is followed by an empirical contribution to identify whether an increased footlooseness of such companies is emerging in the Netherlands. The results prompt the need for a more thorough reflection on related policy issues. The policy part of the paper addresses in particular some evolutionary views to understand why urban policymaking is subject to various systemic constraints, while next some empirical results on weaknesses in the urban organizing capacity to benefit from a shift towards a global metropolitan area are highlighted. In this context we focus the attention specifically on policies dealing with information and communication technology. |
| Keywords: | World cities; agglomeration theory; resource-based theory; footlooseness; urban organizing capacity; ICT |
| JEL: | R30 R50 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:vuarem:2005-11&r=ure |
| By: | Eren, Ozkan (SMU); Millimet, Daniel (SMU) |
| Abstract: | Utilizing parametric and nonparametric techniques, we asses the impact of a heretofore relatively unexplored ‘input ’in the educational process, time allocation, on the distribution of academic acheivement. Our results indicate that school year length and the number and average duration of classes are salient determinants of student performance. However, the effects are not homogeneous — in terms of both direction and magnitude — across the distribution. We find that students below the median benefit from a shorter school year, while a longer school year benefits students above the median. Furthermore, low-achieving students benefit from fewer, shorter classes per day, while high-achieving students benefit from more and longer classes per day. |
| Keywords: | student achievement, school quality, school year length, stochastic dominance, distributional analysis |
| JEL: | C14 I21 I28 |
| Date: | 2005–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smu:ecowpa:0506&r=ure |
| By: | Fuad Hasanov (Oakland University); Douglas Dacy (University of Texas at Austin) |
| Abstract: | This paper computes an aggregate real after-tax rate of return on residential real estate in the United States. We account for net rental income, capital gain, and subsidies due to tax provisions for homeowners in constructing a total return measure. We also compute separate returns to owners and rentiers (that is, households who rent to others). Both quarterly and annual data over 1952-2000 period are used in the analysis. We compare our measure of return with that in the literature and analyze how housing compares to other assets in the household portfolio. Our approach provides a more comprehensive measure of return than that found in the literature. We confirm that residential housing provides a high average return and low volatility, has low correlation with other assets such as stocks and bonds, and exhibits high positive correlation with inflation. The efficient frontier analysis shows that the residential housing providing diversification should be an important part of the household portfolio. Our results also indicate that housing may be as good an investment as stocks (S&P 500). |
| Keywords: | housing return, measurement, efficient frontier, household portfolio |
| JEL: | G |
| Date: | 2005–10–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpfi:0510005&r=ure |
| By: | Timothy K.M. Beatty, Erling Røed Larsen and Dag Einar Sommervoll (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | Measuring change in the price of housing is an important and notoriously difficult task for national statistical agencies. Different approaches have been attempted, but suffer from known weaknesses. This article suggests dividing housing outlays into consumption and saving. The changes in prices of the consumption component are governed primarily by the purchasing price and the interest rate, and lead us to the construction of a consumption cost index. We show that over the lifespan of the mortgage, under some general assumptions, the price changes most relevant for inflation measurement can be obtained from a housing price index. The main challenge lies in computing weights for the housing consumption index. We demonstrate how this can be done in practice. An empirical example using data from Norway shows that over the 12-month period from June 2003 to June 2004 the official inflation was measured at 1.3%. This did not properly account for a 10.2% increase in house prices. The methodology proposed in this paper estimates the 12-month inflation at 3.4%. |
| Keywords: | asset price inflation; consumer price index; consumption cost; housing prices; inflation measurement; mortgage; rental equivalence; user cost |
| JEL: | D1 E3 E5 |
| Date: | 2005–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:427&r=ure |
| By: | Blume,L.E.; Durlauf,S.N. (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Social Systems Research Institute) |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:att:wimass:200512&r=ure |
| By: | Brock,W.A.; Durlauf,S.N. (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Social Systems Research Institute) |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:att:wimass:20055&r=ure |
| By: | Brock,W.A.; Xepapadeas,A. (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Social Systems Research Institute) |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:att:wimass:200511&r=ure |
| By: | Arcand Jean-Louis (CERDI-CNRS, University of Auvergne & European Development Network); Béatrice d'Hombres (CERDI-CNRS, University of Auvergne) |
| Abstract: | The social science literature has done much to document pervasive racial discrimination in Brazil and there is little doubt that a very dark color is a handicap to social advancement. Nevertheless, very few empirical economic studies have attempted to quantify the impact of ethnic discrimination in Brazil. Using data culled from the Pesquisa National por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD), this paper fills this void by analysing ethnic wage and employment gaps, as well as sectoral segregation in Brazil, using the Oaxaca decomposition methodology. In addition, we use a quantile regression approach to see whether the inter-ethnic wage gap is heterogeneous over the conditional wage distribution |
| Keywords: | Discrimination, Earnings, Unemployment, Segregation |
| JEL: | J |
| Date: | 2005–10–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpla:0510015&r=ure |
| By: | Amnon Frenkel |
| Abstract: | The spatial aspects of high-rise buildings in the Tel Aviv metropolitan region in Israel are examined, using empirical data gathered through a field survey. A multinomial logic model is employed to test the hypotheses concerning the cyclic model in the development of the metropolitan region. The results support empirical evidence of the dispersal of high-rise buildings in space, indicating an initial process of convergence in the Tel Aviv metropolitan pattern. The study points out that intensive high-rise building is expected to develop extensively in the future, particularly in the core and inner-ring cities. A classic negative gradient pattern is indicated in the dispersal of intensive high-rise building, moving from the core area toward the outskirts of the metropolitan region. In contrast, the classic pattern between center and fringes does not hold within the built-up areas of the cities. |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p171&r=ure |
| By: | Brock,W.A.; Durlauf,S.N. (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Social Systems Research Institute) |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:att:wimass:20042&r=ure |
| By: | Fuad Hasanov (Oakland University) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether the inclusion of housing in a household portfolio is important to the household’s intertemporal decision making. Households hold portfolios of assets rather than a Treasury bill and/or a stock index and make their spending decisions based on expected total returns of an array of assets. The total returns account for capital gains, taxes, and inflation. In addition to financial assets such as stocks and bonds, we incorporate a real asset, residential housing, into a household portfolio. In particular, we estimate the intertemporal elasticity of substitution (IES), that is, how a change in asset or portfolio return affects household’s consumption growth, using a sample of households from the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Since changes in housing return can affect consumption of households over time, we investigate whether the inclusion of housing in the household portfolio provides different IES estimates. Moreover, utilizing a household-level data set, we estimate IES parameters for different groups of assetholders. Our results indicate that the housing return positively affects consumption growth, and housing is an important asset to account for in the household portfolio. |
| Keywords: | intertemporal elasticity of substitution, intertemporal choice, consumption, housing, household portfolio |
| JEL: | D91 E21 C13 |
| Date: | 2005–10–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpma:0510011&r=ure |
| By: | Durlauf,S.N. (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Social Systems Research Institute) |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:att:wimass:20051&r=ure |
| By: | Durlauf,S.N. (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Social Systems Research Institute) |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:att:wimass:20052&r=ure |
| By: | Junyi Shen (Osaka School of Interna ional Public Policy, Osaka University); Yusuke Sakata (School of Economics, Kinki University); Yoshizo Hashimoto (Osaka School of Interna ional Public Policy, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | This paper models a transport negative impact on environment as one of attributes of the transport mode. By this modeling, we are able to examine whether individual environmental consciousness has a significant effect on his/her choice of transport mode. A survey data from Saito and Onohara Area in Northern Osaka of Japan is used to estimate the model specified by Heteroscedastic Extreme Value (HEV). Both of the estimated and simulated results imply that individual environmental consciousness does influence his/her decision on transport mode choice. Furthermore, the likelihood ratio tests suggest that both the utility and scale parameters are not equal across sub-samples of university commuters, research-facility commuters, and residents. The details of the comparison across sub-samples suggest that we may learn more from subdividing a whole sample into several sub-samples if we could select them based on their characteristics. |
| Keywords: | Environmental consciousness; Transport mode choice; Stated choice experiment; Heteroscedastic Extreme Value (HEV) model; Value of time saving (VOTS) |
| JEL: | C35 D12 Q51 R41 |
| Date: | 2005–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:0529&r=ure |
| By: | Brock,W.A.; Xepapadeas,A. (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Social Systems Research Institute) |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:att:wimass:200417&r=ure |
| By: | Thomas Liebig; Alfonso Sousa-Poza |
| Abstract: | With the emerging international competition to attract highly skilled migrants, the determinants of their choice of residential location are increasing in importance. Besides expected wages and job opportunities, the costs of migration and the subjective evaluation of a location, two other factors help determine the expected net return from migration: taxes and network effects. Yet empirical research on the effects of these two factors and their interaction on highly skilled migration is lacking. The aim of this paper is to throw some empirical light on the role of these two factors via a case study of Switzerland. For several reasons, Switzerland is a particularly interesting case study for this task. Tax rates are primarily determined at the local level and thus enough variation exists to analyse their influence on migration. Furthermore, in contrast to other European countries, Switzerland has pursued a fairly liberal immigration policy and maintains a unique permit system that has become increasingly skills-focused: more than 35% of all persons with a university degree resident in Switzerland are immigrants. Analysis of the 2000 Swiss census data provides evidence for fiscally-induced migration within Switzerland, particularly with respect to a location choice of highly skilled immigrants. Avec l’émergence d’une compétition internationale pour attirer les migrants hautement qualifiés, les déterminants des choix de lieu de résidence de ces derniers gagnent en importance. En plus des perspectives de salaires et d’emploi, du coût de migration et des appréciations subjectives portées sur ces lieux, deux autres facteurs semblent jouer sur le rendement net attendu de la migration : les impôts et les effets de réseaux. Ceci étant, l’étude de l’impact de ces deux facteurs, ainsi que des effets de leurs interactions, manquent dans les analyses empiriques. Le but de ce papier est d’analyser le rôle de ces deux facteurs à travers l’étude du cas de la Suisse. Pour plusieurs raisons, la Suisse s’avère un pays particulièrement intéressant à étudier à cet égard. Les taux d’imposition sont principalement déterminés au niveau local; d’où l’existence de variations suffisantes pour analyser leur impact sur la migration. De plus, contrairement à d’autres pays européens, la Suisse a poursuivi une politique assez libérale en matière d’immigration et maintient un système unique de permis, qui est devenu de plus en plus ciblé sur les qualifications : plus de 35 % de toutes les personnes détenant un diplôme universitaire qui résident en Suisse sont des immigrés. L’analyse des données du recensement Suisse de 2000 met en évidence la migration intra-Suisse engendrée par des raisons fiscales, concernant plus particulièrement le choix des lieux de résidence des immigrés hautement qualifiés. |
| JEL: | F22 H73 J61 |
| Date: | 2005–07–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:elsaab:24-en&r=ure |
| By: | Durlauf,S.N.; Fafchamps,M. (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Social Systems Research Institute) |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:att:wimass:200412&r=ure |
| By: | Durlauf,S.N.; Cohen-Cole,E. (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Social Systems Research Institute) |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:att:wimass:20048&r=ure |
| By: | Shin-Kun Peng (Academia Sinica); Takatoshi Tabuchi (Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | We propose location-then-variety competition for amulti-productandmulti-store oligopoly,in which the number of firms, the number of stores and their location, and the number of varieties are endogenously determined. We show that ascompared to price-then-variety competition, location-then-variety competition with multi-stores yields a much richer set of equilibrium outcomes, such as market segmentation, interlacing, sandwich and enclosure. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2005cf360&r=ure |
| By: | Helena Marques (Loughborough University); Hugh Metcalf (University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we estimate a sectoral real wage equation for three regional blocs of the enlarged EU that we defined as North (wealthiest EU), South (Greece, Portugal and Spain) and East (acceding Central and Eastern European countries). The estimation results show that real wages react differently in each of the blocs to the impact of market size, location and factor endowments across a range of industrial sectors which differ by their degrees of economies of scale and skill-intensities in the presence of transport costs. |
| Keywords: | wage equation, labour demand, human capital, EU enlargement |
| JEL: | F15 F22 J31 L6 |
| Date: | 2003–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lbo:lbowps:2003_13&r=ure |
| By: | Berry Blijie |
| Abstract: | Due to the renewed interest for Integrated Land-use and Transport models, the urge for sound models that describe the behaviour of the agents on the urban markets has grown. A preferred subject of study within this context is the empirical research into the influence of accessibility on the residential choice behaviour of households. However, despite of the effort of several researchers, this relationship seems hard to quantify. In this paper we present a theoretical design for a discrete choice model of the residential choice of households. From the existing knowledge from a literature review and new insights, we present a new approach for measuring the influence of accessibility on the residential choice process. This theoretical model exists of three main parts, namely: the unique information of households, the arrangement of households into certain destination groups and composing systematic choice sets to estimate a discrete choice model. Within this framework, an important role is set aside for the concept of subjective accessibility, being the individuals perception and utility of accessibility. Finally, we derived a Logit model that is able to combine the simultaneous influence of migration distance and commuting time. |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p185&r=ure |
| By: | Jens Lundsgaard |
| Abstract: | With population ageing setting in sooner and more forcefully than in other OECD countries, Finland needs to reorder its fiscal priorities so as to ensure fiscal sustainability. That will require considerable reform as public spending currently expands vigorously. While GDP growth has slowed from the exceptionally rapid pace of the late 1990s, public consumption has continued to grow fast, as new obligations by central government and popular demand led municipalities to expand service provision. After some consolidation in 2003, local government spending has accelerated again and the deficit has widened to ¾ per cent of GDP in 2004 for the municipalities considered as a whole – despite still larger transfers from central government. At the same time, the tax burden is high, especially on labour. Ensuring the sustainability of public finances over the long term, while maintaining the essential parts of the welfare society will only be possible by i) raising the effectiveness of public spending, ii) reforming the financing of municipalities to encourage better control of spending and limit future rises in municipal income taxation and iii) rebalancing the mix between public and private provision and funding of services. This working paper discusses ways in which progress could be made on such a policy agenda. It relates to the 2004 OECD Economic Survey of Finland (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/finland) updating the Survey’s analysis by incorporating data for 2004 and recent developments. <P>Vieillissement, services sociaux et collectiviés locales en Finlande Avec une population qui vieillit plus rapidement et plus fortement que dans les autres pays de l’OCDE, la Finlande se trouve dans l’obligation d’ajuster ses priorités budgétaires afin d’en assurer la viabilité à plus long terme. Il faudra pour cela des réformes considérables, car l’expansion des dépenses publiques est actuellement très forte. Bien que la croissance du PIB se soit ralentie par rapport à son rythme exceptionnellement rapide du début des années 90, la consommation publique a continué à progresser rapidement, les nouvelles obligations imposées par l’administration centrale et par la pression des usagers ayant amené les municipalités à accroître leur offre de services publics. Après une certaine stabilisation en 2003, les dépenses des collectivités locales se sont à nouveau accélérées et le déficit a été porté à ¾ pour cent du PIB en 2004 pour les municipalités considérées dans leur ensemble – malgré le versement de transferts encore plus importants par l’administration centrale. Quant à la charge fiscale, elle reste élevée, surtout celle qui pèse sur la main-d’œuvre. Il ne sera possible d’assurer la stabilisation à long terme des finances publiques tout en maintenant les éléments essentiels de la protection sociale qu’à condition i) d’améliorer l’efficacité des dépenses publiques, ii) de réformer le financement des communes pour les inciter à mieux contrôler leurs dépenses et limiter les augmentations futures de l’impôt municipal sur le revenu et iii) de rééquilibrer le partage entre le secteur public et le secteur privé dans l’offre et dans le financement des services publics. Ce document de travail examine les moyens de progresser dans la réalisation de ce programme. Il se réfère à l’Etude économique de 2004 de l’OCDE sur la Finlande (www.oecd.org/eco/etudes/finlande) et met à jour les analyses effectuées dans cette étude en y insérant des données pour 2004 et en prenant en compte l’évolution récente. |
| Keywords: | Finland, fiscal policy, politique budgétaire, ageing, public sector efficiency, efficacité du secteur public, pensions, local government, retraites, vouchers, fiscal federalism, vieillissement, fédéralisme budgétaire, Finlande, impôt sur le revenu, contracting out, income tax, property tax, welfare services, collectivités locales, bons d'achat, externalisation, impôt immobilier, services sociaux |
| JEL: | H2 H4 H5 H7 L3 |
| Date: | 2005–05–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:428-en&r=ure |
| By: | Jean-Louis Arcand (CERDI-CNRS, University of Auvergne & European Development Network); Béatrice d'Hombres (CERDI-CNRS, University of Auvergne & University of Padua); Paul Gyselinck (CERDI-CNRS, University of Auvergne) |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on instrument choice while consistently estimating the returns to education in Vietnam. Using data culled from the 2 rounds of the Vietnam Living Standards Survey (VLSS), we explore different sets of exogenous instruments that rely on demand and supply side sources of variation in schooling as well as the matrix of instruments proposed by Hausman and Taylor (1981). Instrument validity tests suggest that many variables do not satisfy the necessary conditions allowing them to be used as instruments. As in several studies, we find that IV estimates of the returns to education are substantially higher than the corresponding OLS estimate. We show how the Hausman-Taylor matrix of instruments, when combined with other instruments, may be a useful way of consistently estimating an average return to education rather than a local average treatment effect (Angrist, 1994). |
| Keywords: | ate of return, instrumental variables procedures, Instrument choice, Hausman-Taylor estimator, Hahn-Hausman test, Vietnam |
| JEL: | J31 I21 C30 |
| Date: | 2005–10–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpla:0510011&r=ure |