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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | De Ree,Joppe Jaitze |
| Abstract: | Improving the quality of education is one of today's main challenges for governments in the developing world. Based on a unique matched student-to-teacher panel data set on test scores this paper presents two empirical results for Indonesia. First, through detailed inspection of teacher-level responses to test questions, the paper concludes that subject matter knowledge of primary school teachers in Indonesia is low on average and that a 1.0, but also a 2.0 standard deviation increase in teachers'subject matter knowledge seem to be achievable medium-term goals for education policy making in Indonesia. Second, the paper presents the results of three types of value-added regressions, a (standard) level specification, a school fixed-effects specification, and a flexible student-teacher fixed-effects specification. The student-teacher fixed-effects approach estimates the parameters of a value-added model using test score variation within each student-teacher pair across three different subjects, mathematics, science and Indonesian language. The results suggest that a 1.0 (and 2.0) standard deviation increase in teachers'subject matter knowledge across-the-board can yield increases in student achievement by 0.25 (and 0.50) student-level standard deviations by the time students complete the six-year primary school cycle. |
| Keywords: | Education For All,Effective Schools and Teachers,Secondary Education,Tertiary Education,Primary Education |
| Date: | 2016–02–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7556&r=ure |
| By: | Bosquet, Clément; Overman, Henry G |
| Abstract: | We consider the link between birthplace and wages. Using a unique panel dataset we estimate a raw elasticity of wage with respect to birthplace size of 4.6%, two thirds of the 6.8% raw elasticity with respect to city size. We consider a number of mechanisms through which this birthplace effect could arise. Our results suggest that inter-generational transmission (sorting) and the effect of birthplace on current location (geography) both play a role in explaining the effect of birthplace. We find no role for human capital formation at least in terms of educational outcomes (learning). Our results highlight the importance of intergenerational sorting in helping explain the persistence of spatial disparities. |
| Keywords: | lifetime mobility; place of birth; spatial sorting |
| JEL: | J31 J61 J62 R23 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11085&r=ure |
| By: | Mathias Hoffmann; Iryna Stewen |
| Abstract: | We show how capital inflows into and financial deregulation within the United States interacted in driving the recent boom and bust in U.S. housing prices. Interstate banking deregulation during the 1980s cast a long shadow: in states that opened their banking markets to out-of-state banks earlier, house prices were more sensitive to aggregate U.S. capital inflows during 1990-2012. Capital inflows relaxed the value-at-risk constraints of geographically diversified ('integrated') U.S. banks more than those of local banks. Therefore, integrated banks absorbed a larger share of capital inflows and expanded mortgage lending more. This drove up housing prices. |
| Keywords: | house prices, global imbalances, interstate banking deregulation |
| JEL: | G10 G21 G28 F20 F32 F40 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:camaaa:2016-06&r=ure |
| By: | Mitman, Kurt |
| Abstract: | I study the implications of two major debt-relief policies in the US: the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) and the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). To do so, I develop a model of housing and default that includes relevant dimensions of credit-market policy and captures rich heterogeneity in household balance sheets. The model also explains the observed cross-state variation in consumer default rates. I find that BAPCPA significantly reduced bankruptcy rates, but increased foreclosure rates when house prices fell. HARP reduced foreclosures by one percentage point and provided substantial welfare gains to households with high loan-to-value mortgages. |
| Keywords: | bankruptcy; default risk; foreclosure; household debt; housing |
| JEL: | E21 G11 K35 R21 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11043&r=ure |
| By: | Michelle Norris (School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, University College Dublin); Rory Hearne (TASC - Think-tank for Action on Social Change) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines variations in residents’ responses to proposals to redevelop three public housing neighbourhoods in Dublin using Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and the outcomes their resistance achieved. In two of these neighbourhoods community representative structures were strong and although one community co-operated with the PPP plans and the other opposed them, both were broadly successful in achieving their campaign objectives. Community structures in the third case-study area were weak however and the imposition of PPP redevelopment devastated this neighbourhood which is now almost entirely vacant. This case study is employed to critique the literature on grassroots resistance to urban redevelopment and welfare state restructuring and social housing development policy in Ireland. The paper concludes that, contrary to many researchers’ assumptions, residents’ political action and resistance can significantly influence on public housing redevelopment strategies despite the dominance of neoliberal and entrepreneurial governance regimes. However, for vulnerable communities were representative structures are weak, the over-emphasis on gentrification/ social mixing and refurbishing the built environment in Irish public housing development policy can have devastating consequences. Indeed, demolition and rebuilding programmes in particular can destabilise target neighbourhoods to the extent that the residents who ultimately enjoy the benefits of public housing redevelopment are largely or entirely different from those who campaigned for its instigation. |
| Keywords: | Social housing, redevelopment, privatization, gentrification, resistance, neighbourhood, Ireland. |
| Date: | 2016–02–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucd:wpaper:201605&r=ure |
| By: | Fang, Hanming (University of Pennsylvania); Kim, You Suk (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System); Li, Wenli (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia) |
| Abstract: | We present a dynamic structural model of subprime adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) borrowers making payment decisions, taking into account possible consequences of different degrees of delinquency from their lenders. We empirically implement the model using unique data sets that contain information on borrowers' mortgage payment history, their broad balance sheets, and lender responses. Our investigation of the factors that drive borrowers' decisions reveals that subprime ARMs are not all alike. For loans originated in 2004 and 2005, the interest rate resets associated with ARMs as well as the housing and labor market conditions were not as important in borrowers' delinquency decisions as in their decisions to pay o_ their loans. For loans originated in 2006, interest rate resets, housing price declines, and worsening labor market conditions all contributed importantly to their high delinquency rates. Counterfactual policy simulations reveal that even if the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) could be lowered to zero by aggressive traditional monetary policies, it would have a limited effect on reducing the delinquency rates. We find that automatic modification mortgages with cushions, under which the monthly payment or principal balance reductions are triggered only when housing price declines exceed a certain percentage, may result in a Pareto improvement, in that borrowers and lenders are both made better o_ than under the baseline, with lower delinquency and foreclosure rates. Our counterfactual analysis also suggests that limited commitment power on the part of the lenders regarding loan modification policies may be an important reason for the relatively low rate of modifications observed during the housing crisis. |
| Keywords: | Adjustable-rate mortgage; Default; Loan modification; Automatic modification mortgages with cushions |
| JEL: | D12 D14 G2 G21 G33 |
| Date: | 2016–01–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedpwp:16-2&r=ure |
| By: | Arthur (Yan) Huang; David Levinson (Nexus (Networks, Economics, and Urban Systems) Research Group, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota) |
| Abstract: | Abstract Studying trip chaining behavior has been a challenging endeavor which requires the support of microscopic travel data. New insights can be gained given real-time GPS travel data. This research introduces a framework that considers two-destination choice in the context of home-based trip chains. We propose and empirically compare three alternatives of building choice sets where we consider various relationships of the two destinations (such as major-minor destinations, selecting one first, and select- ing two concurrently). Our choice set formation alternatives use survival models to determine the selection probability of a destination. Our results reveal that trip chaining behavior is shaped by the features of retail clusters, spatial patterns of clusters, transportation networks, and the axis of travel. This research supports our hypothesis that not only the spatial relationship but also the land use relationship of the destinations in a trip chain affect the decision making process. Keywords: GPS data, trip chaining, axis of travel, destination choice |
| JEL: | R14 R41 R42 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nex:wpaper:multidestinationchoice&r=ure |
| By: | Gupta, Abhimanyu |
| Abstract: | Autoregressive spectral density estimation for stationary random fields on a regular spatial lattice has many advantages relative to kernel based methods. It provides a guaranteed positive-definite estimate even when suitable edge-effect correction is employed, is simple to compute using least squares and necessitates no choice of kernel. We truncate a true half-plane infinite autoregressive representation to estimate the spectral density. The truncation length is allowed to diverge in all dimensions in order to avoid the potential bias which would accrue due to truncation at a fixed lag-length. Consistency and strong consistency of the proposed estimator, both uniform in frequencies, are established. Under suitable conditions the asymptotic distribution of the estimate is shown to be zero-mean normal and independent at fixed distinct frequencies, mirroring the behaviour for time series. A small Monte Carlo experiment examines finite sample performance. We illustrate the technique by applying it to Los Angeles house price data and a novel analysis of voter turnout data in a US presidential election. Technically the key to the results is the covariance structure of stationary random fields defined on regularly spaced lattices. We study this in detail and show the covariance matrix to satisfy a generalization of the Toeplitz property familiar from time series analysis. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esx:essedp:14458&r=ure |
| By: | Ana Hidalgo-Cabrillana; Cristina Lopez-Mayan |
| Abstract: | Using data from a Spanish assessment program of fourth-grade pupils, we analyze to what extent using traditional and modern teaching styles in class is related to achievement in maths and reading. As a novelty, we measure in-class work using two different sources of information - teacher and students. Our identification strategy relies on between-class within-school variation of teaching styles. We find that modern practices are related to better achievement, especially in reading, while traditional practices, if anything, are detrimental. There are differences depending on the source of information: the magnitude of coefficients is larger when practices are reported by students. These findings are robust to considering alternative identifications of teaching practices. We obtain heterogeneous effects of teaching styles by gender and type of school but only when using students' answers. Our findings highlight the importance of the source of information, teacher or students, to draw adequate conclusions about the effect of teaching style on achievement. |
| Keywords: | students and teacher reports, test scores, teacher quality, modern and traditional teaching |
| JEL: | I20 I21 J24 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:869&r=ure |
| By: | Jasper van Dijk |
| Abstract: | Abstract: This paper shows that attracting tradable jobs to a city has a bigger positive impact on employment in the non-tradable sector in the same city when the unemployment rate is higher. Therefore it is efficient to stimulate firms in the tradable sector to locate and/or expand in cities with relatively high unemployment rate. This policy would also reduce disparity between cities. Finally the jobs created in the non-tradable sector due to this local multiplier effect from the tradable sector will employ relatively more current inhabitants in cities with a high unemployment rate, thus making this policy more attractive for local policy makers as well. A simple model illustrates the effect of a demand shock on employment in the non-tradable sector of a city. Empirically I consider the effect of demand from workers in the tradable sector on employment in the non-tradable sector in the same city using U.S. census data from 1980 to 2000. I find that 100 additional jobs in the tradable sector will increase employment in the non-tradable sector in the same city by employing 81 current residents and employing 28 workers that move to the city from other regions. I find that the size of this local employment multiplier depends on the local unemployment rate. Specifically, the multiplier for current residents increases, which drives the overall effect, but the multiplier for migrants decreases. |
| Keywords: | Local labour market, Multiplier, Tradable, Non-tradable, Unemployment, Migration |
| JEL: | F16 R15 R23 |
| Date: | 2016–01–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:776&r=ure |
| By: | Daniel Albalate (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona); Javier Campos (Faculty of Economics, University of Palmas de Gran Canaria); Juan Luis Jiménez (Faculty of Economics, University of Palmas de Gran Canaria) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses from an empirical point of view the relationship between the provision of high-speed rail services (HSR) and the evolution of tourism at the local level in Spain. We have built a database of 124 municipalities during the 2005-2012 period to study the effects of the introduction of new HSR corridors on the number of visitors and their total and average stay at several end-line and intermediate cities as compared to similar counterparts not having such an infrastructure. We combine both difference-in-difference and panel data techniques to find that these effects are, in general, extremely weak or just restricted to larger cities, once other determining factors are controlled for. |
| Keywords: | High speed rail, local tourism, difference y difference, panel data. JEL classification:R42; R53;L83 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ira:wpaper:201527&r=ure |
| By: | Dominik Heinisch (University of Kassel); Önder Nomaler (Eindhoven University of Technology); Guido Buenstorf (University of Kassel); Koen Frenken (Utrecht University); Harry Lintsen (Eindhoven University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | It has long been argued that geographic co-location supports knowledge spillovers. More recently, this argument has been challenged by showing that knowledge spillovers mainly flow through social networks, which may or may not be localized at various geographic scales. We further scrutinize the conjecture of geographically bounded knowledge spillovers by focusing on knowledge flows between academia and industry. Looking into citations to non-patent literature (NPL) in 2,385 Dutch polymer patents, we find that citation lags are shorter on average if Dutch rather than foreign NPLs are cited. However, when excluding individual and organizational self-citations, geographically proximate NPLs no longer diffuse faster than foreign NPLs. This suggests that knowledge is not “in the air” but transferred by mobile individuals and/or direct university-industry collaboration. Our findings moreover suggest an important role of international conferences in the diffusion of recent scientific knowledge. |
| Keywords: | Non-patent literature, citation lags, knowledge spillovers, university-industry interaction, polymer industry |
| JEL: | O33 R10 L65 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201527&r=ure |
| By: | Gupta, Abhimanyu |
| Abstract: | We examine a higher-order spatial autoregressive model with stochastic, but exogenous, spatial weight matrices. Allowing a general spatial linear process form for the disturbances that permits many common types of error specifications as well as potential ‘long memory’, we provide sufficient conditions for consistency and asymptotic normality of instrumental variables and ordinary least squares estimates. The implications of popular weight matrix normalizations and structures for our theoretical conditions are discussed. A set of Monte Carlo simulations examines the behaviour of the estimates in a variety of situations and suggests, like the theory, that spatial weights generated from distributions with ‘smaller’ moments yield better estimates. Our results are especially pertinent in situations where spatial weights are functions of stochastic economic variables. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esx:essedp:15617&r=ure |
| By: | Coscia, Michele; Hausmann, Ricardo |
| Abstract: | Social relations involve both face-to-face interaction as well as telecommunications. We can observe the geography of phone calls and of the mobility of cell phones in space. These two phenomena can be described as networks of connections between different points in space. We use a dataset that includes billions of phone calls made in Colombia during a six-month period. We draw the two networks and find that the call-based network resembles a higher order aggregation of the mobility network and that both are isomorphic except for a higher spatial decay coefficient of the mobility network relative to the call-based network: when we discount distance effects on the call connections with the same decay observed for mobility connections, the two networks are virtually indistinguishable. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hrv:hksfac:24984035&r=ure |
| By: | Ahlfeldt, Gabriel; Koutroumpis, Pantelis; Valletti, Tommaso |
| Abstract: | This paper shows that having access to a fast Internet connection is an important determinant of capitalization effects in property markets. Our empirical strategy combines a boundary discontinuity design with controls for time-invariant effects and arbitrary macro-economic shocks at a very local level to identify the causal effect of broadband speed on property prices from variation that is plausibly exogenous. Applying this strategy to a micro data set from England between 1995 and 2010 we find a significantly positive effect, but diminishing returns to speed. Our results imply that disconnecting an average property from a high-speed first-generation broadband connection (offering Internet speed up to 8 Mbit/s) would depreciate its value by 2.8%. In contrast, upgrading such a property to a faster connection (offering speeds up to 24 Mbit/s) would increase its value by no more than 1%. We decompose this effect by income and urbanization, finding considerable heterogeneity. These estimates are used to evaluate proposed plans to deliver fast broadband universally. We find that increasing speed and connecting unserved households passes a cost-benefit test in urban and some suburban areas, while the case for universal delivery in rural areas is not as strong. |
| Keywords: | capitalization; digital speed; Internet; property prices; universal access to broadband |
| JEL: | H4 L1 R2 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11046&r=ure |
| By: | Francesconi, Marco; James, Jonathan |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effect of binge drinking on accident and emergency attendances, road accidents, arrests and the number of police officers on duty using a variety of unique data from Britain and a two-sample minimum distance estimation procedure. Our estimates, which reveal sizeable effects of bingeing on all outcomes, are then used to monetize the short-term externalities of binge drinking. We find that these externalities are on average £4.9 billion per year ($7 billion), about £80 for each man, woman and child liing in the UK. The price that internailizes this externality is equivalent to an additional 9p per alcoholic unit, implying a 20% increase with respect to the current avarage prices. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esx:essedp:12766&r=ure |
| By: | Frank Neffke; Anne Otto; César Hidalgo |
| Abstract: | Establishment closures leave many workers unemployed. Based on employment histories of 20 million German workers, we nd that workers often cope with their displacement by moving to dierent regions and industries. However, which of these coping strategies is chosen depends on the local industry mix. A large local presence of predisplacement or related industries strongly reduces the rate at which workers leave the region. Moreover, our ndings suggest that a large local presence of the predisplacement industry induces workers to shift search eorts toward this industry, reducing the spatial scope of search for jobs in alternative industries and vice versa. |
| Keywords: | Displacement, local industry mix, agglomeration externalities, matching, mobility |
| JEL: | J24 J61 J64 R12 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1603&r=ure |
| By: | Justiniano, Alejandro (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago); Primiceri, Giorgio E. (Northwestern University); Tambalotti, Andrea (Federal Reserve Bank of New York) |
| Abstract: | The surge in credit and house prices that preceded the Great Recession was particularly pronounced in ZIP codes with a higher fraction of subprime borrowers (Mian and Sufi 2009). We present a simple model of prime and subprime borrowers distributed across geographic locations, which can reproduce this stylized fact as a result of an expansion in the supply of credit. Owing to their low incomes, subprime households are constrained in their ability to meet interest payments and hence sustain debt. As a result, when the supply of credit increases and interest rates fall, they take on disproportionately more debt than their prime counterparts, who are not subject to that constraint. |
| Keywords: | home prices; housing boom; household debt; credit supply; collateral constraints |
| JEL: | E21 E44 G21 |
| Date: | 2016–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fednsr:766&r=ure |
| By: | Smith, Eric |
| Abstract: | This paper demonstrates the way in which stock-flow matching with endogenous seller entry generates hot and cold spells in house sales. Potential sellers know the number of bidders remaining from the last house sale. If two or more bidders remain, the seller obtains the gains to trade through competitive bidding. The market is active. With one monopolistic bidder, the buyer captures the surplus and sellers become unwilling to enter. The market remains dormant until sellers think enough time has passed for buyer entry to have replenished the market and make entry profitable. The resulting pattern of trade matches up with observations from Wisconsin. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esx:essedp:15620&r=ure |
| By: | Silvia Cruz (UNICAMP - University of Campinas [Campinas] - University of Campinas); Sônia Paulino (University of Sao Paolo); Faïz Gallouj (Clersé - UMR CNRS 8019 - Institut de Sociologie et d'Anthropologie - Université Lille 1 - Sciences et technologies) |
| Abstract: | This paper is devoted to public services innovation in the municipal solid waste sector. It analyses the implementation of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects in the Bandeirantes and São João landfills in the municipality of São Paulo, Brazil. The study is based on the concept of Public-Private Innovation Networks in services (ServPPINs). Using the ServPPIN concept it was possible to identify competence gaps affecting the stakeholders involved in these CDM projects. We focus in particular on those organisational and relational competence gaps that are likely to weaken innovation feasibility in services related to solid waste. In fact, innovation is closely linked to the development of new competences among service providers and users. For the most part, these will arise out of changes in interactions between actors-given that the projects in question include the coordination of various actors (public, private, and citizen). |
| Keywords: | landfill,public service innovation,clean development mechanism,ServPPIN |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01247615&r=ure |
| By: | Patterson, Christina; Sahin, Aysegul; Topa, Giorgio; Violante, Giovanni L. |
| Abstract: | The UK experienced an unusually prolonged stagnation in labor productivity in the aftermath of the Great Recession. This paper analyzes the role of sectoral labor misallocation in accounting for this “productivity puzzle.” If jobseekers disproportionately search for jobs in sectors where productivity is relatively low, hires are concentrated in the wrong sectors, and the post-recession recovery in aggregate productivity can be slow. Our calculations suggest that, quantified at the level of three-digit occupations, this mechanism can explain up to two thirds of the deviations from trend-growth in UK labor productivity since 2007. |
| Keywords: | Mismatch; Occupation; Productivity |
| JEL: | E24 J24 J63 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11055&r=ure |
| By: | Marianna Brunetti (DEF and CEIS, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata" and CeFin); Rocco Ciciretti (DEF and CEIS, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata" and RCEA-Rimini Fellow); Ljubica Djordjevic (SAFE-Goethe University) |
| Abstract: | We show that the mortgage refinancing costs, which serve as a “lock-in” for mortgage holders, play an important role for mortgage shopping. Using a unique household panel dataset that enables us to infer individual bank switching, in conjunction with a legal reform that exogenously slashed down the refinancing costs, we find that the households responded to this change by increasingly shopping both for a mortgage (switching to take out a mortgage), and with a mortgage (switching to refinance an existing loan). Dissecting these results, we show that the effect of the reform was not uniform across households, with more educated individuals and those residing in ex-ante less competitive markets being at the forefront of the wave of mortgage shopping. |
| Keywords: | mortgage refinancing costs, switching costs, search costs, natural experiment |
| JEL: | G21 D14 |
| Date: | 2016–02–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtv:ceisrp:364&r=ure |
| By: | Sugata Bag, Suman Seth and Anish Gupta (Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, India) |
| Abstract: | Urban population in India has been rising rapidly as millions of migrants are moving to urban areas aspiring for higher earning and better living. The number of urban poor is also growing and a significant number of these poor find spaces in slums and continue to struggle for better living standards. Improving their conditions call for significant efforts from the governments for better policy designs. However, better policy design requires understanding the commonalities and differences across slums within and between cities. In this paper, we conduct a comparative study of representative slums across three largest metro cities in India through primary surveys. We find certain characteristics, such as large average household size, poor housing quality, low female labour market participation and high school enrolment rates among children, to be common across and within three cities. Our study however reveals crucial differences between the cities in the demographic pattern of migration and its temporal element. And that in turn brings out considerable heterogeneity among different groups within slums of each cities with respect to living standards, access to civic amenities like sanitation facilities and drinking water. Moreover, there exists major cross-city differences in adult literacy rates across gender, consumption pattern, and subjective wellbeing. Overall, we find that slums in Mumbai on average perform much better in various living condition and social indicators than slums in Delhi and Kolkata. |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cde:cdewps:253&r=ure |
| By: | Helble, Matthias (Asian Development Bank Institute); Aizawa, Toshiaki (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | Urbanization has been progressing quickly in Indonesia and the consequences on health and health inequities are still not well understood. In this paper, we present new empirical evidence on the differences in the utilization of health care services between rural and urban areas as well as for the respective health inequities. Exploiting the rich dataset of the Indonesian Family Life Survey, this paper measures the socioeconomic inequality of health care utilization for the case of the diagnosis of hypertension and its medication. In the Indonesian Family Life Survey, about 45% of all respondents over the age of 39 were found to suffer from hypertension (average systolic blood pressure higher than 140). However, more than half of the people with hypertension have never been diagnosed by a health care professional, and only a small fraction of the people suffering from hypertension are taking medicine for it. Our analysis further shows that diagnosis and medication rates are significantly higher in urban areas than in rural areas, implying that urban areas offer better access to health care services and medicines. Calculating concentration indices, we find that underdiagnosis of hypertension is more prevalent among the poor and this health inequality is more pronounced in rural areas. For the case of medication, we are unable to detect strong evidence of inequality either in rural or urban areas, as most Indonesians with hypertension do not take medicine irrespective of their socioeconomic status. Finally, decomposition analysis shows that the inequality in education, living standards, sanitary conditions, and the possession of vehicle and home appliances can explain a large fraction of the inequality of diagnosis and medication. |
| Keywords: | hypertension; health care; health services; Indonesia; urbanization |
| JEL: | I14 I15 I18 |
| Date: | 2016–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0556&r=ure |
| By: | Clarence Woudsma (University of Waterloo [Waterloo]); Paul Jakubicek (Freight Transport Research Institute - parent); Laetitia Dablanc (IFSTTAR/AME/SPLOTT - Systèmes Productifs, Logistique, Organisation des Transports et Travail - IFSTTAR - Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l'Aménagement et des Réseaux - PRES Université Paris-Est) |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on the spatial patterns of freight and logistics activities in North America. The recent interest in logistics and warehousing and its impact on the urban environment has prompted research investigating the 'sprawling' nature of these firms. Logistics sprawl, i.e. the spatial deconcentration of logistics facilities and distribution centers in metropolitan areas has been examined for several metropolitan areas (Dablanc and Ross 2012; Dablanc 2014; Dablanc et al., 2014), yielding contrasting results: Atlanta and Los Angeles have experienced strong logistics sprawl between 1998 and 2008 while Seattle has not. The objective in this paper is two-fold. An additional case study (Toronto) is investigated to expand the current understanding of North American logistics sprawl and methodological issues, particularly related to facility identification and location data are discussed. An updated method for analyzing spatial patterns of logistics activity in North American cities is subsequently proposed. This updated method may then be used in the future to re-examine former case studies (Los Angeles, Atlanta, Seattle) as well as to investigate new ones. |
| Keywords: | LOCATIONAL PATTERN,LOGISTIC SPRAWL,NAICS AND SIC,CANADA,ZONE URBAINE,TRANSPORT DE MARCHANDISES,LOGISTIQUE,ENTREPOT,TRANSPORT DE MARCHANDISE |
| Date: | 2015–06–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01254415&r=ure |
| By: | Anna Gromada; Claire Shewbridge |
| Abstract: | This paper examines student learning time as a key educational resource. It presents an overview of how different OECD countries allocate instruction time. It also develops a model to understand the effective use of allocated instruction time and examines how different OECD countries compare on this. The paper confirms the value of sufficient instruction time as a key educational resource, but the key conclusion is that what matters the most is the way in which allocated time is used. Student learning time and academic achievement seem to have complex and curvilinear relationship with diminishing returns to scale. The paper also cautions that there should be realistic expectations on how effectively students can learn throughout the school day and year. Accordingly, it suggests that instruction could be organised to better optimise times when students are better able to concentrate. Evidence on lost instruction time in different OECD countries points to areas of potential increased effectiveness within existing time allocations, for example by improving classroom management and matching instruction to better meet students’ learning needs. |
| Date: | 2016–02–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaab:127-en&r=ure |
| By: | Jacques Leonardi (UOW - University of Westminster - University of Westminster); Laetitia Dablanc (IFSTTAR/AME/SPLOTT - Systèmes Productifs, Logistique, Organisation des Transports et Travail - IFSTTAR - Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l'Aménagement et des Réseaux - PRES Université Paris-Est); Patrick Van Egmond (Luxmobility - parent); Cindy Guerlain (LIST - parent) |
| Abstract: | The concept of a multi-actor network of Urban Consolidation Centres (UCCs) was tested in Luxembourg. The authors of this paper developed a feasibility study together with the Luxembourg's Ministry of Transport. The methods used are encompassing data collection and data analysis, ex-ante scenario development and impact assessment of different options, interviews, workshops, and consultation with key operators in the public and private sectors. The market size appears to be sufficient. Clean technology is available and the willingness to use it is given. The management structure can rely upon constructive partnerships, a draft Charter for Urban Logistics and regulatory changes. |
| Keywords: | URBAN CONSOLIDATION CENTRE,CITY LOGISTIC MANAGEMENT MODEL,CLEAN VEHICLE,EX-ANTE IMPACT ASSESSMENT,FAISABILITE,ETUDE D'IMPACT |
| Date: | 2015–06–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01255357&r=ure |
| By: | Takahiro Ito; Kohei Kubota; Fumio Ohtake |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effects of school curricula on subsequent preference formation. The estimation results, using Japanese data, show that the actual curriculum at public elementary schools varies widely from area to area and is associated with preference formation. Specifically, pupils who have experienced participatory/cooperative learning practices are more likely to be altruistic, cooperative with others, reciprocal, and have national pride. In contrast, the influence of education emphasizing more on anti-competitive practices is negatively associated with these attributes. Such contrasts can also be seen for other preferences regarding government policies and a market economy. The findings imply that elementary school education, as a place for early socialization, plays an important role in the formation of life-long social preferences. |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dpr:wpaper:0954&r=ure |
| By: | Fitjar, Rune Dahl; Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés |
| Abstract: | It has often been argued that ‘there is something in the air’ which makes firms in high-density environments – such as cities or clusters – more innovative. The co-location of firms facilitates the emergence of serendipity and casual encounters which promote innovation in firms. We assess this hypothesis using data from a survey of Norwegian firms engaged in innovation partnerships. The results indicate that there may be ‘much less in the air’ than is generally assumed in the literature. The relationships conducive to innovation by Norwegian firms emerged as a consequence of purpose-built searches and had little to do with chance, serendipity, or ‘being there’. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration; externalities; firms; innovation; Norway; spillovers; tacit knowledge |
| JEL: | O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11067&r=ure |
| By: | Kozuka, Eiji; Sawada, Yasuyuki; Todo, Yasuyuki |
| Abstract: | Promoting community participation in school management is a widely found intervention in the developing world. While this type of program is generally believed to be effective, the actual evidence is not sufficient to inform policy makers on how community participation works in improving educational outcomes. To shed more light on this question, we conducted a randomized evaluation of an education program in Burkina Faso. The program was designed to build trust among community members and teachers, and encourage them to work together in school management. The results show that the intervention increased student enrollment, decreased student repetition, and lowered teacher absence. The results also indicate that it had a strong impact on class repetition by 6th grade boys, presumably reflecting parental priorities. This suggests that community participation can improve educational outcomes through empowering the community and enhancing social capital, but whether idealized results can be gained depends on the perception and the knowledge of the community members. |
| Keywords: | school-based management , community participation , randomized controlled trial (RCT) , education , impact evaluation |
| Date: | 2016–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jic:wpaper:112&r=ure |
| By: | Mastrobuoni, Giovanni |
| Abstract: | More policing reduces crime but little is known about the mechanism. Does policing deter crime by reducing its attractiveness, or because it leads to additional arrests of recurrent criminals? This paper provides evidence of a direct link between policing and arrests. During shift changes a peculiar redeployment of police patrols belonging to seperate police forces disrupts policing and lowers the likelihood of clearing robberies with an arrest by 30 percent. There is no evidence that criminals exploit these dips in police performance. A back of the envelope calculation suggests that incapacitation explains 2/3 of the elasticity between robberies and policing. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esx:essedp:12764&r=ure |
| By: | Frame, W. Scott (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the role of the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) System in the U.S. housing finance system. This cooperatively owned government-sponsored enterprise has changed markedly over the past 25 years as a result of membership liberalization and the demise of thrift institutions. Today, despite its name, size, and principal activities, the FHLB System actually provides little targeted support to the housing sector. Instead, recent research highlights the role of the FHLB System as a provider of subsidized general liquidity to its members, including the very largest commercial banking organizations. This role was especially pronounced during the onset of the recent financial crisis and gave rise to the perception of the FHLB System as having become the "lender of next-to-last-resort." |
| Keywords: | residential mortgages; government-sponsored enterprises; liquidity |
| JEL: | G21 G28 |
| Date: | 2016–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedawp:2016-02&r=ure |
| By: | José Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal (University of Zaragoza); José Alberto Molina (University of Zaragoza; Boston College); Jorge Velilla (University of Zaragoza) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyze the spatial distribution of US employment and earnings against an urban wage-efficiency background, where leisure and effort at work are complementary. Using data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) for the period 2003-2014, we analyze the spatial distribution of employment across metropolitan areas. We also empirically study the relationship between individual earnings and commuting and leisure. Our empirical results show that employment is mostly concentrated in metropolitan cores, and that earnings increase with “expected” commuting time, which gives empirical support to our urban wage-efficiency theory. Furthermore, we use Geographical Information System models to show that there is no common pattern of commuting and the employees-to-unemployed rate, although we find higher wages in comparatively crowded states, where average commuting times are also higher. |
| Keywords: | urban wage-efficiency, earnings, commuting, leisure, American Time Use Survey |
| JEL: | J21 J22 J31 R12 R41 |
| Date: | 2016–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boc:bocoec:890&r=ure |
| By: | Giulia Carra; Ismir Mulalic; Mogens Fosgerau; Marc Barthelemy |
| Abstract: | We discuss the distribution of commuting distances and its relation to income. Using data from Great Britain, US and Denmark, we show that the commuting distance is (i) broadly distributed with a tail decaying typically as $1/r^\gamma$ with $\gamma \approx 3$ and (ii) an average growing slowly as a power law with an exponent less than one that depends on the country considered. The classical theory for job search is based on the idea that workers evaluate potential jobs on the wage as they arrive sequentially through time. Extending this model with space, we obtain predictions that are strongly contradicted by our empirical findings. We then propose an alternative model that is based on the idea that workers evaluate potential jobs based on a quality aspect and that workers search for jobs sequentially across space. We assume that the density of potential jobs depends on the skills of the worker and decreases with the wage. The predicted distribution of commuting distances decays as $1/r^3$ and is independent of the distribution of the quality of jobs. We find our alternative model to be in agreement with our data. This type of approach opens new perspectives for the modeling of urban phenomena. |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1602.01578&r=ure |
| By: | Geovanny Castro Aristizabal; Gregorio Gimenez Esteban; Domingo Perez Ximenez-de-Embun (Faculty of Economics and Management, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali) |
| Abstract: | The paper notes and explains the causes of the differences in school performance between public and private schools in Latin America. It uses information from the 8 Latin American countries that participated in PISA 2012. The estimations, two steps with instrumental variables, combined with the technique of the Oaxaca-Blinder’s decomposition, reveal that Uruguay and Brazil had the highest education gap, and Colombia and Mexico the lowest. These differences are explained, mainly, by the observed component of the model. Specifically, the differences in individual characteristics explain the greater proportion of the gaps in performance; followed by family characteristics and resources of the schools. In addition, the decomposition in the no-observed component suggests that students from private schools make better use of the educational resources, both in their homes and in their schools. |
| Keywords: | academic achievement, public and private education, educational production function, instrumental variables, Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition, PISA, Latin America. |
| JEL: | C29 I21 I24 I28 I29 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ddt:wpaper:19&r=ure |
| By: | Fratesi, Ugo; Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how the evolution of employment trends in the regions of Europe since the outbreak of the crisis may have been shaped by the emergence of sheltered economies in certain regions of Europe in the pre-crisis period. The paper uses descriptive and econometric analysis to determine the relationship between the level of protection from the market of regional economies in the years of economic boom between 1995 and 2007 and employment trends in the first four years of the crisis (2008-2012). The analysis covers 272 NUTS2-level regions in 27 EU countries. The results of the analysis show that regions which had developed more sheltered economies during the boom years have not weathered the employment shock associated with the crisis well, while pre-crisis dynamism in employment generation has been connected to lower post-crisis employment destruction. The only exception are the most highly sheltered economies in the pre-crisis period, which have endured a lower level of job destruction than any other type of region. The question is whether this early resistance to job destruction can be maintained once the recovery starts. |
| Keywords: | economic crisis; employment; Europe; regions; sheltered economies |
| JEL: | R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11066&r=ure |
| By: | Ashraf, Nava; Glaeser, Edward L; Ponzetto, Giacomo AM |
| Abstract: | Cities generate negative, as well as positive, externalities; addressing those externalities requires both infrastructure and institutions. Providing clean water and removing refuse requires water and sewer pipes, but the urban poor are often unwilling to pay for the costs of that piping. Standard welfare economics teaches us that either subsidies or Pigouvian fines can solve that problem, but both solution are problematic when institutions are weak. Subsidies lead to waste and corruption; fines lead to extortion of the innocent. Zambia has attempted to solve its problem with subsidies alone, but the subsidies have been too small to solve the “last-mile problem” and so most poor households remain unconnected to the water and sewer system. In nineteenth-century New York, subsidies also proved insufficient and were largely replaced by a penalty-based system. We present a model that illustrates the complementarity between infrastructure and institutions and provides conditions for whether fines, subsidies or a combination of both are the optimal response. One point of the model is that the optimal fine is often not a draconian penalty, but a mild charge that is small enough to avoid extortion. |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11072&r=ure |
| By: | Gupta, Abhimanyu; Robinson, Peter M |
| Abstract: | Pseudo maximum likelihood estimates are developed for higher-order spatial autoregres- sive models with increasingly many parameters, including models with spatial lags in the dependent variables and regression models with spatial autoregressive disturbances. We consider models with and without a linear or nonlinear regression component. Sufficient conditions for consistency and asymptotic normality are provided, the results varying ac- cording to whether the number of neighbours of a particular unit diverges or is bounded. Monte Carlo experiments examine nite-sample behaviour. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esx:essedp:15618&r=ure |