|
on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Peter Christensen; Ignacio Sarmiento-Barbieri; Christopher Timmins |
| Abstract: | We report evidence on discriminatory behavior from the largest correspondence study conducted to date in the rental housing market. Using more than 25,000 interactions with rental property managers across the 50 largest U.S. cities, the study reveals that African American and Hispanic/LatinX renters continue to face discriminatory constraints in the majority of U.S. cities although there are important regional differences. Stronger discriminatory constraints on renters of color (particularly African Americans) are also associated with higher levels of residential segregation and larger gaps in intergenerational income mobility. Using matched evidence on the actual rental outcomes at the properties in our experiment, we show that correspondence study measurements of discrimination do indeed predict actual outcomes. |
| JEL: | J15 R31 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29516&r= |
| By: | Miroslava Federicova |
| Abstract: | Early tracking school systems, which stream student by ability, are considered a trigger of widening inequality in education. However, more homogenous class composition resulting from ability tracking seem to improve efficiency of teaching and learning. Literature on peer effects shows contradictory findings about these two counteracting effects. This paper contributes to the discussion of the efficacy of ability tracking by examining the effects of the outflow of high-ability students after primary education on the long-term educational outcomes and behaviour of their peers who remain in regular classes. Exploiting a 2009 school reform in Slovakia which postponed tracking by one year, we show that the outflow of high-performing peers results in a weak negative longrun effect on non-tracked student’s math scores and late arrivals at school, and more persistent negative effects on out-of-school study time. |
| Keywords: | early-tracking school system; peer effects; gender effects; Slovak school reform; |
| JEL: | I21 I24 I28 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp709&r= |
| By: | Riley Wilson (Brigham Young University) |
| Abstract: | I document a new empirical pattern of internal mobility in the United States. Namely, county-to-county migration and commuting drop off discretely at state borders. People are three times as likely to move to a county 15 miles away, but in the same state, than to move to an equally distant county in a different state. These gaps remain even among neighboring counties or counties in the same commuting zone. This pattern is not explained by differences in county characteristics, is not driven by any particular demographic group, and is not explained by pecuniary costs such as differences in state occupational licensing, taxes, or transfer program generosity. However, county-to-county social connectedness (as measured by the number of Facebook linkages) follows a similar pattern. Although the patterns in social networks would be consistent with information frictions, nonpecuniary psychic costs, or behavioral biases such as a sate identity or home bias, the data suggest that state identity and home bias play an outsized role. This empirical pattern has real economic impacts. Building on existing methods, I show that employment in border counties adjusts more slowly after local economic shocks relative to interior counties. These counties also exhibit less in-migration and in-commuting, suggesting the lack of mobility leads to slower labor market adjustment. |
| Keywords: | Internal migration, commuting, social networks, border discontinuities |
| JEL: | J6 R1 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upj:weupjo:21-358&r= |
| By: | Gibbons, Stephen; Scrutinio, Vincenzo; Telhaj, Shqiponja |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the understanding of the causal relationship between teacher turnover and student performance. We extend this research by examining the mechanisms through which turnover affects student learning, and by providing evidence on how schools respond to mitigate the disruptive effects of turnover. Using administrative data covering all state-school, age-16 students and their teachers in England, we find that a higher teacher entry rate has a small but significant negative effect on students’ final qualifications from compulsory-age schooling. This is the first study to document that the lack of school-specific human capital in incoming teachers is the main mechanism through which turnover disrupts student performance. We also find evidence that schools mitigate the effects of turnover by assigning new teachers away from high-risk student grades. |
| Keywords: | teachers; turnover; student attainment; schools; UKRI block grant |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2021–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:112723&r= |
| By: | Li, Xiaolu (Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications); Ma, Lin (Singapore Management University); Tang, Yang (Nanyang Technological University) |
| Abstract: | We structurally estimate the firm-level frictions across prefectures in China and quantify their aggregate and distributional implications. Based on a general equi-librium model with input and output distortions and migration, we show that the firm-level frictions are less dispersed and less correlated with productivity in richer prefectures. Counterfactual exercises show that reducing the within-prefecture mis-allocation increases the aggregate welfare, discourages migration towards large cities, and narrows the spatial inequality. Moreover, internal migration alleviates the impacts of micro-frictions on aggregate welfare and worsens their impacts on spatial inequality. |
| Keywords: | misallocation; regional trade; economic geography; welfare gain |
| JEL: | F12 O11 R12 |
| Date: | 2021–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:smuesw:2021_009&r= |
| By: | Aymo Brunetti; Konstantin Büchel; Martina Jakob; Ben Jann; Daniel Steffen |
| Abstract: | Good teachers are the backbone of a successful education system. Yet, in developing countries, teachers' content knowledge is often inadequate. This study documents that primary school math teachers in the department of Morazan in El Salvador only master 47 percent of the curriculum they teach. In a randomized controlled trial with 175 teachers, we further evaluate a computer-assisted learning (CAL) approach to address this shortcoming. After a ve months in-service training combining CAL-based self-studying with monthly workshops, participating teachers outperformed their peers from the control group by 0.29, but this e ect depreciated by 72 percent within one year. Our simulations show that the program is unlikely to be as cost-e ective as CAL interventions directly targeting students. |
| Keywords: | Education quality, teacher performance, teacher training, student learning, basic math education, computer-assisted learning |
| JEL: | C93 I20 I21 I28 O15 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ube:dpvwib:dp2114&r= |
| By: | Clare Halloran; Rebecca Jack; James C. Okun; Emily Oster |
| Abstract: | We estimate the impact of district-level schooling mode (in-person versus hybrid or distance learning) on test scores. We combine Spring 2021 state standardized test score data with comprehensive data on schooling in the 2020-21 school year across 12 states. We find that pass rates declined compared to prior years and that these declines were larger in districts with less in-person instruction. Passing rates in math declined by 14.2 percentage points on average; we estimate this decline was 10.1 percentage points smaller for districts fully in-person. Changes in English language arts scores were smaller, but were significantly larger in districts with larger populations of students who are Black, Hispanic or eligible for free and reduced price lunch. |
| JEL: | I14 I21 I24 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29497&r= |
| By: | Yanyou Chen; James W. Roberts; Christopher D. Timmins; Ashley Vissing |
| Abstract: | We analyze mortgage lenders’ behavior with respect to shale gas risk during the period of the U.S. shale gas boom, which coincided with fluctuations in the U.S. housing market and increased scrutiny in the lending industry. Shale gas operations have the potential to place affected houses into technical default such that government sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are unable to maintain them in their portfolios. We find that lenders changed from being willing to pay $814 on average to avoid one unit of shale risk before the financial distress of 2008 and subsequent increased scrutiny, to $3,137, or 1.6% of profit earned on an average mortgage, afterwards. Our approach provides an alternative to the traditional property value hedonic measurement of the disamenities associated with shale gas development by looking at the decisions of mortgage professionals. |
| JEL: | G21 Q35 Q51 Q53 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29494&r= |
| By: | Bonacini, Luca; Murat, Marina |
| Abstract: | By using PISA 2018 data, we investigate the associations between digital divides and educational inequalities in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. We find strong and significant cognitive losses of students lacking the resources needed to learn remotely; everything else given, they range from 25 to 70 percent of a school year. In Germany, Italy and France, where tracking between schools starts earlier, digital gaps are strongly associated with school types. They are also wider in urban areas, where the use of ICT resources is more widespread. Grades repetition in Spain is associated with the digital divide, while family characteristics matter in the United Kingdom. In the longer run, students who cannot learn remotely are more likely to repeat grades and end their education early, especially where grades repetition is more common: Spain, Germany, and Italy. Education policies should be designed accordingly. |
| Keywords: | Digital divide,education inequalities,educational systems,remote learning,PI |
| JEL: | I21 I24 H52 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:679r&r= |
| By: | Herrera, Catalina (Northeastern University); Sahn, David E. (Cornell University) |
| Abstract: | BACKGROUND: Internal migration, mostly composed of young adults and the poor, constitutes the largest flow of people in developing countries. Few studies document the patterns and determinants of internal youth migration in sub-Saharan Africa. OBJECTIVES: This paper analyzes the socioeconomic determinants of the decisions among young adults to internally migrate in Senegal. We focus on whether their decisions to migrate are influenced by individual characteristics, as well as the circumstances in the households and communities where young adults grew up, and whether these factors are differentiated by gender. METHODS: Using a unique migration household survey in Senegal, we estimate multinomial logit models to analyze the role of childhood socioeconomic determinants in later youth migration decisions to rural and urban areas. RESULTS: We find that young people undertake mostly rural-to-rural and urban-to-urban migrations, and over half of them are temporary migrants. We also find that the determinants are heterogeneous by gender and destination. The higher the fathers' education, the more (less) likely are their daughters to move to urban (rural) areas. Young individuals who spend their childhood in betteroff households are more likely to move to urban areas. The presence of younger siblings during childhood increases the propensity of moving to rural areas. Access to primary schools from the childhood residence decreases the likelihood of migrating to urban areas for both men and women. CONTRIBUTION: We contribute to the sparse literature on internal youth migration in developing countries by highlighting the relevance of the family- and community-level characteristics during childhood in predicting later migration in life. |
| Keywords: | internal migration, youth, Senegal |
| JEL: | O15 R23 J13 N37 |
| Date: | 2020–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12988&r= |
| By: | Moritz Kuhn; Iourii Manovskii; Xincheng Qiu |
| Abstract: | Spatial di erences in labor market performance are large and highly persistent. Using data from the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom, we document striking similarities in spatial di erences in unemployment, vacancies, job nding, and job lling within each country. This robust set of facts guides and disciplines the development of a theory of local labor market performance. We nd that a spatial version of a Diamond- Mortensen-Pissarides model with endogenous separations and on-the-job search quanti- tatively accounts for all the documented empirical regularities. The model also quanti- tatively rationalizes why di erences in job-separation rates have primary importance in inducing di erences in unemployment across space while changes in the job- nding rate are the main driver in unemployment uctuations over the business cycle. |
| Keywords: | Local Labor Markets, Unemployment, Vacancies, Search and Matching |
| JEL: | J63 J64 E24 E32 R13 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2021_321&r= |
| By: | Isabella Dobrescu (School of Economics); Alberto Motta (UNSW School of Economics); Richard Holden (UNSW School of Economics); Adrian Piccoli (UNSW Sydney) |
| Abstract: | We report results from a ï¬ eld experiment on cultural context in standardized tests among 6th- and 8th-grade school students in Australia. The National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a series of basicskills tests given to Australian students. In our experiment, 1135 students in Dubbo – a regional area in the North-Western part of the state of New South Wales – were randomly assigned to either a regular NAPLAN test or a contextualized test designed speciï¬ cally for this experiment by the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group — a not-for-proï¬ t Aboriginal organization. The contextualized test was speciï¬ cally designed to mimic the regular test, but adapted to the local context of Dubbo. We evaluate effects on tests scores in numeracy for grades 6 and 8, and reading for grade 6. In numeracy, we do not ï¬ nd robust evidence of an impact on test scores. In reading, we ï¬ nd qualitatively large effects. The average treatment effect for reading is 0.27 s.d., with higher effects for Indigenous students (0.30 s.d.) than non-Indigenous students (0.24 s.d.) Together these results imply that cultural context may be important for performance on certain types of basic-skills tests. |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:swe:wpaper:2021-08&r= |
| By: | Aggarwal, Aradhna |
| Abstract: | With globalisation gathering momentum in the early 2000s, economic corridors gained tremendous traction as a policy tool of economic and social development in the developing countries. A variety of new corridors have sprung up ranging in geographic scope- from local to national to cross border regional to mega transnational corridors forming land bridges for countries across different regions. This paper reviews the current knowledge on economic corridors. The focus is on regional economic corridors. It concludes that a deep understanding of economic corridors as a development tool, finding common grounds, and building mutual trust between stakeholders both within and across borders are critical for the success of regional economic corridors. |
| Keywords: | Regional economic corridors, Conceptual framework, Evolution, Benefits and costs, Policy, Success factors |
| JEL: | F02 F15 F55 O18 O2 |
| Date: | 2020–04–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:110706&r= |
| By: | Fisher, Jack (London School of Economics); Gavazza, Alessandro (London School of Economics); Liu, Lu (Imperial College Business School); Ramadorai, Tarun (Imperial College Business School); Tripathy, Jagdish (Bank of England) |
| Abstract: | Evidence from a range of countries reveals that household inaction in mortgage refinancing can be pervasive despite financial incentives to take action. Inactive households may implicitly cross-subsidise active households, allowing competitive lenders to set lower average mortgage rates. To provide a money-metric assessment of cross-subsidies, we construct a model of household refinancing and structurally estimate it on rich administrative data on the stock of loans in the UK mortgage market in June 2015. We estimate sizeable cross-subsidies during this sample period, from relatively poorer households and those located in less-wealthy areas towards richer households and those located in wealthier areas. The findings over this sample period highlight how the design of household finance markets can contribute to wealth inequality. Estimated cross-subsidies may differ in more recent periods given changes in the UK mortgage market since 2015. |
| Keywords: | Mortgages; refinancing; cross-subsidies; wealth inequality; household inaction; household finance |
| JEL: | D63 G21 L51 N20 R21 R31 |
| Date: | 2021–11–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boe:boeewp:0948&r= |
| By: | Mr. Holger Floerkemeier; Mr. Nikola Spatafora |
| Abstract: | We discuss regional disparities in economic performance and living standards. We first set out some key facts, and provide a conceptual framework to help analyze whether such disparities are efficient, or instead reflect market and/or policy failures. We examine whether policy attempts to reduce regional disparities necessarily involve a trade-off between equity and efficiency. We then investigate whether policymakers should focus on boosting the economic performance of lagging regions—or, conversely, accept the presence of regional disparities, and instead assist households in lagging regions through transfer payments, investments in education, health, and other basic services, and by facilitating out-migration. |
| Keywords: | Regional Disparities;Place-Based Policies;Inclusive Growth.;WP;market forces;agglomeration economy;supplier firm;wage competitiveness;community development;earnings differential;wage difference |
| Date: | 2021–02–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2021/038&r= |
| By: | Coad, Alex; Srhoj, Stjepan |
| Abstract: | The Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (EE) approach makes specific predictions regarding how EE inputs are converted into high-growth firms (HGFs) as an output. A simulation model draws out our hypothesis of regional persistence in HGF shares. Based on intuitions that EEs are persistent, we investigate whether regional HGF shares are persistent, using census data for 2 European countries taken separately (Croatia for 2004-2019, and Slovenia for 2008-2014). Overall, there is no clear persistence in regional HGF shares - regions with large HGF shares in one period are not necessarily likely to have large HGF shares in the following period. This is a puzzle for EE theory. In fact, there seems to be more persistence in industry-level HGF shares than for regional HGF shares. We formulate a 'broken clock' critique - just as a broken clock is correct twice a day, EE recommendations may sometimes be correct, but are fundamentally flawed as long as time-changing outcomes (HGF shares) are predicted using time-invariant variables (such as local universities, institutions and infrastructure). |
| Keywords: | High-Growth Firms,Persistence,Regional Persistence,Entrepreneurial Ecosystems,Clusters,Sectoral Systems of Innovation |
| JEL: | L25 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:996&r= |
| By: | Blankmeyer, Eric |
| Abstract: | A correlation between regressors and disturbances presents challenging problems in linear regression. In the context of spatial econometrics LeSage and Pace (2009) show that an autoregressive model estimated by maximum likelihood may be able to detect least squares bias. I suggest that spatial neighbors can be replaced by “peer groups” as in Blankmeyer et al. (2011), thereby extending considerably the range of contexts where the autoregressive model can be utilized. The procedure is applied to two data sets and in a simulation |
| Keywords: | peer groups, least-squares bias, spatial autoregression |
| JEL: | C4 |
| Date: | 2021–11–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:110866&r= |
| By: | Pan, Lei; Matsuki, Takashi |
| Abstract: | We examine the house prices convergence across twelve OECD countries over the period 1905-2016. Using novel quantile unit root tests which allow for smooth breaks via a Fourier expansion series, we find that nine countries show the presence of relative house price convergence at all the quantiles. Focusing on several specific quantiles, eleven countries have significant convergence tendencies. Moreover, there are four definite patterns related to shocks on the relative house prices across quantiles. |
| Keywords: | House prices; Convergence; Unit root; Quantile regression; Fourier expansion |
| JEL: | O18 R31 |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:110816&r= |
| By: | Auer, Daniel; Götz, Lilia |
| Abstract: | Whether or not immigration negatively affects the labor market outcomes of natives is an ongoing debate. One of the challenges for empirical evidence is the simultaneity of supply- and demand-side effects. To isolate the demand side, we focus on recent refugees in Germany who are exogenously allocated to districts and largely excluded from the labor market. Using panel data of all German districts between 2010 and 2018 and leveraging variation in the local stock of asylum seekers, we find that 1,000 asylum seekers create 267 jobs on average in a district. This growth effect is mainly driven by a demand for additional labor in service, public administration, and social work. As a consequence, we also observe a significant reduction in the local unemployment rate when more refugees arrive. The dynamic panel data estimates are robust to various sensitivity checks and two different instrumental variable approaches. Quantifying the demand side of immigration adds to our understanding of local labor market dynamics in an increasingly mobile world. |
| Keywords: | labor demand,refugee migration,employment growth,unemployment |
| JEL: | J21 J23 O15 R11 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:989&r= |
| By: | Mats P. Kahl (Leuphana University of Lüneburg) |
| Abstract: | Competition on the German gasoline market is of interest for economists, competition authorities and the general public alike. In this paper, I analyse how constantly lower gasoline prices in Poland affect the prices set in the German border region. More precisely, I estimate the impact of one additional kilometre of distance to the nearest Polish competitor on the price charged by German gasoline stations. The analysis is based on a complete dataset of German gasoline prices and an accurate assessment of distances. Fitting random effects models for German gasoline prices while controlling for various station characteristics, I find no evidence suggesting that German gasoline stations enter into price competition with their Polish opponents. The analysis of gasoline station infrastructure in the German border region reveals increasingly sparse gasoline station density when approaching the Polish border, along with an increasing share of premium brands. On the one hand, I find evidence suggesting that price competition between German and Polish gasoline stations is dominated by the enormous tax differences that presumably exceed profit margins by far; on the other hand, I reveal the consequences on the market structure that are caused by German gasoline stations anticipating this permanent difference in taxes when deciding upon where to locate their gasoline stations. |
| Keywords: | gasoline market, cross-border competition, market transparency |
| JEL: | L13 L41 L92 |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:392&r= |
| By: | Ferreri, Mara; Sanyal, Romola |
| Abstract: | The eruption of disruptive digital platforms is reshaping geographies of housing under the gaze of corporations and through the webs of algorithms. Engaging with interdisciplinary scholarship on informal housing across the Global North and South, we propose the term ‘digital informalisation’ to examine how digital platforms are engendering new and opaque ways of governing housing, presenting a theoretical and political blind spot. Focusing on rental housing, our paper unpacks the ways in which new forms of digital management of risk control access and filter populations. In contrast to progressive imaginaries of ‘smart’ technological mediation, practices of algorithmic redlining, biased tenant profiling and the management of risk in private tenancies and in housing welfare both introduce and extend discriminatory and exclusionary housing practices. The paper aims to contribute to research on informal housing in the Global North by examining digital mediation and its governance as key overlooked components of housing geographies beyond North and South dichotomies. |
| Keywords: | algorithm; Global North; digital platforms; housing informality |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2021–12–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:112794&r= |
| By: | Zhou, Haiwen |
| Abstract: | Empirical evidence shows that firms located in regions with larger population size are on average larger and more productive. To explain this empirical observation, firms producing intermediate goods are assumed to choose their technologies with different levels of fixed and marginal costs. In this general equilibrium model of economic geography, intermediate good producers engage in oligopolistic competition. The model is tractable and leads to interesting and analytical results. An intermediate good producer in the region with a higher population produces a higher level of output and has a lower marginal cost of production regardless of the existence of regional trade. With regional trade, if a worker moves from the region with a lower number of workers to the region with a higher number of workers, intermediate good producers in both regions choose less advanced technologies. |
| Keywords: | Technology choice, economic geography, international trade, increasing returns, oligopoly |
| JEL: | D43 F12 L13 O14 R12 |
| Date: | 2021–12–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:110939&r= |
| By: | Dirk Bethmann (Korea University; Department of Economics; Anam-dong, Sungbuk-gu; Seoul 02841); Jae Il Cho (Vanderbilt University; Department of Economics; 010-back Calhoun Hall, Nashville, TN, 37240, United States) |
| Abstract: | In spring 2015, the South Korean province of South Gyeongsang stopped providing free school lunches to primary and secondary school students while large portions of schools in other provinces continued to provide free lunches at school. After the provincial governmentfaced strong opposition, South Gyeongsang reintroduced the free school lunch program the very next year. Using a difference-in-differences design, we use these policy changes to evaluate their impact on students’ body mass index (BMI) and mental health status. Our results show that abolishing the free-lunch policy had negative effects on students’ BMI as well as mental health status; furthermore the effects reversed once the policy was reintroduced. The results have strong policy implications: introducing free school lunches increases both the physical and mental health of students and as a result, student welfare. Free-lunch policies, therefore, provide simple and inexpensive instruments to improve learning environments |
| Keywords: | free lunch policies; difference in differences design; student health |
| JEL: | I14 I28 I31 C23 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iek:wpaper:2107&r= |
| By: | Louis Lippens; Siel Vermeiren; Stijn Baert (-) |
| Abstract: | Notwithstanding the improved integration of various minority groups in the workforce, unequal treatment in hiring still hinders many individuals’ access to the labour market. To tackle this inaccessibility, it is essential to know which and to what extent minority groups face hiring discrimination. This meta-analysis synthesises a quasi-exhaustive register of correspondence experiments on hiring discrimination published between 2005 and 2020. Using a random-effects model, we computed pooled discrimination ratios concerning ten discrimination grounds upon which unequal treatment in hiring is forbidden under United States federal or state law. We find that hiring discrimination against candidates with disabilities, older candidates, and less physically attractive candidates is at least equally severe as the unequal treatment of candidates with salient racial or ethnic characteristics. Remarkably, hiring discrimination against older applicants is even higher in Europe than in the United States. Furthermore, unequal treatment in hiring based on sexual orientation seems to be prompted mainly by signalling activism rather than same-sex orientation in itself. Last, aside from a significant decrease in ethnic and racial hiring discrimination in Europe, we find no structural evidence of recent temporal changes in hiring discrimination based on the various other grounds within the scope of this review |
| Keywords: | hiring discrimination, unequal treatment, meta-analysis, correspondence experiment, audit study |
| JEL: | J71 J23 J14 J15 J16 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:21/1035&r= |
| By: | Kristin F. Butcher; Kelsey Moran; Tara Watson |
| Abstract: | The U.S. population is aging. We examine whether immigration causally affects the likelihood that the U.S.-born elderly live in institutional settings. Using a shift-share instrument to identify exogenous variation in immigration, we find that a 10 percentage point increase in the less-educated foreign-born labor force share in a local area reduces institutionalization among the elderly by 1.5 and 3.8 percentage points for those aged 65+ and 80+, a 26-29 percent effect relative to the mean. The estimates imply that a typical U.S-born individual over age 65 in the year 2000 was 0.5 percentage points (10 percent) less likely to be living in an institution than would have been the case if immigration had remained at 1980 levels. We show that immigration affects the availability and cost of home services, including those provided by home health aides, gardeners and housekeepers, and other less-educated workers, reducing the cost of aging in the community. |
| JEL: | I11 J14 J15 J61 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29520&r= |
| By: | Xuan Jiang; Kelly Chen; Zeynep K. Hansen; Scott Lowe |
| Abstract: | The increased popularity of college Grade Forgiveness policies, which allow students to retake classes and substitute the new grades for the previous grades in their GPA calculations, is controversial yet understudied. Our paper is the first to ask whether such policies benefit students and how. To answer these questions, we use student-level admissions and transcript data from a four-year public institution in the U.S. that underwent two major changes in its GPA policy. We find that Grade Forgiveness significantly incentivizes students, especially students with the strongest academic preparation, to take STEM courses and challenging courses and to enroll in more credits. The increased variations in within-term grades suggest that students may change their effort allocations between courses taken in the same semester and spend more effort on courses that promise a higher grade in return. We also find that repeaters whose first attempted grades are forgiven are more likely to persist in the failed subject and obtain better grades subsequently. Finally, we see an increase in graduation in STEM majors for students who were intensively exposed to this policy. |
| JEL: | I21 I23 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29493&r= |
| By: | Jiwon Choi; Ilyana Kuziemko; Ebonya L. Washington; Gavin Wright |
| Abstract: | Why have white, less educated voters left the Democratic Party over the past few decades? Scholars have proposed ethnocentrism, social issues and deindustrialization as potential answers. We highlight the role played by the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In event-study analysis, we demonstrate that counties whose 1990 employment depended on industries vulnerable to NAFTA suffered large and persistent employment losses relative to other counties. These losses begin in the mid-1990s and are only modestly offset by transfer programs. While exposed counties historically voted Democratic, in the mid-1990s they turn away from the party of the president (Bill Clinton) who ushered in the agreement and by 2000 vote majority Republican in House elections. Employing a variety of micro-data sources, including 1992-1994 respondent-level panel data, we show that protectionist views predict movement toward the GOP in the years that NAFTA is debated and implemented. This shift among protectionist respondents is larger for whites (especially men and those without a college degree) and those with conservative social views, suggesting an interactive effect whereby racial identity and social-issue positions mediate reactions to economic policies. |
| JEL: | D72 F16 H5 J2 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29525&r= |
| By: | Benjamin L. Collier; Cameron Ellis; Benjamin J. Keys |
| Abstract: | We show that borrowers are highly sensitive to the requirement of posting their homes as collateral. Using administrative loan application and performance data from the U.S. Federal Disaster Loan Program, we exploit a loan amount threshold above which households must post their residence as collateral. One-third of all borrowers select the maximum uncollateralized loan amount, and our bunching estimates suggest that the median borrower is willing to give up 40% of their loan amount to avoid collateral. Exploiting time variation in the loan amount threshold, we find that collateral causally reduces default rates by 35%. Our results help to explain high perceived default costs in the mortgage market, and uniquely quantify the extent to which collateral reduces moral hazard in consumer credit markets. |
| JEL: | D14 D82 G23 G28 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29527&r= |
| By: | Schargrodsky, Ernesto; Freira, Lucía |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between inequality and crime, with a focus on the Latin America and Caribbean region.We find a significant, positive, and robust association between these variables. The results persist if one instruments for inequality with historical variables in crime regressions, suggesting that a causal interpretation of the estimated effect is reasonable. Moreover, inequality is the only variable showing this robust regularity. Education levels, economic activity, income per capita, and poverty show weaker and unstable relationships with crime. The analysis of the distribution of crime victimization indicates that men and youth suffer more crime than women and the elderly. By socio-economic strata, high-income groups suffer more victimization relative to poorer groups in LAC countries, but the poor suffer more homicides. |
| Keywords: | Desarrollo, Pobreza, Políticas públicas, |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dbl:dblwop:1786&r= |
| By: | Nancy Qian; Marco Tabellini |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the empirical relationship between inclusion and state capacity, as theorized by Besley and Persson (2009). We examine the impact of racial discrimination on Black U.S. military enlistment during the onset of WWII. We find that discrimination had a large and negative effect on volunteer enlistment after the Pearl Harbor attack. The result is robust to a large number of controls that account for potential confounders. The negative effect of discrimination is moderated by geographical proximity to Pearl Harbor, and is larger for educated men. We provide consistent evidence for Japanese Americans. |
| JEL: | B0 N12 P16 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29482&r= |
| By: | Valentina Michelangeli; José-Luis Peydró; Enrico Sette |
| Abstract: | We identify the relative importance for bank lending of borrower (demand-side) versus bank (supply-side) factors. We submit thousands of fictitious mortgage applications, changing one borrower-level factor at time, to the major Italian online mortgage platform. Each application goes to all banks. Borrower and bank factors are equally strong in causing and explaining loan acceptance. For pricing, borrower factors are instead stronger. Moreover, banks supplying less credit accept riskier borrowers. Exploiting the administrative credit register, there is borrower-lender assortative matching, and the bank-level strength measure estimated on the experimental data is associated to credit supply and risk-taking to real firms. |
| Keywords: | credit; banks; mortgages; SMEs; risk-taking. |
| JEL: | G21 G51 E51 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1809&r= |
| By: | Angela Zhou; Andrew Koo; Nathan Kallus; Rene Ropac; Richard Peterson; Stephen Koppel; Tiffany Bergin |
| Abstract: | We conduct an empirical evaluation of the impact of New York's bail reform on crime. New York State's Bail Elimination Act went into effect on January 1, 2020, eliminating money bail and pretrial detention for nearly all misdemeanor and nonviolent felony defendants. Our analysis of effects on aggregate crime rates after the reform informs the understanding of bail reform and general deterrence. We conduct a synthetic control analysis for a comparative case study of impact of bail reform. We focus on synthetic control analysis of post-intervention changes in crime for assault, theft, burglary, robbery, and drug crimes, constructing a dataset from publicly reported crime data of 27 large municipalities. Our findings, including placebo checks and other robustness checks, show that for assault, theft, and drug crimes, there is no significant impact of bail reform on crime; for burglary and robbery, we similarly have null findings but the synthetic control is also more variable so these are deemed less conclusive. |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2111.08664&r= |
| By: | Carlo Cambini; Elena Grinza; Lorien Sabatino |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of ultra-fast broadband (UFB) infrastructures on the total factor productivity (TFP) and labor productivity of firms. We use unique balanced panel data for the 2013-2019 period on incorporated firms in Italy. Using the geographical location of the firms, we match firm data with municipality-level information on the diffusion of UFB, which started in 2015 in Italy. We derive consistent firm-level TFP estimates by adopting a version of the Ackerberg et al.’s (2015) method, which also accounts for firm fixed effects. We then assess the impact of UFB on productivity and deal with the endogeneity of UFB by exploiting the physical distance between each municipality and the closest backbone node. Our results show an overall positive impact of UFB on productivity. Services companies benefit the most from advanced broadband technologies, as do firms located in the North-West and South of Italy. We further decompose the impact of full-fiber networks (FTTH) from mixed copper-fiber connections (FTTC) and find that FTTH networks significantly contribute to enhancing firm productivity. Finally, by exploiting Labor Force Survey data, we provide suggestive evidence that productivity increases from UFB might be related to structural changes at the workforce level. |
| Keywords: | Ultra-fast broadband (UFB); fiber-based networks; fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) |
| JEL: | L96 D24 D22 |
| Date: | 2021–12–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/334687&r= |
| By: | Bindler, Anna (University of Colonge); Hjalmarsson, Randi (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Ketel, Nadine (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); Mitrut, Andreea (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University) |
| Abstract: | Many rights are conferred on Dutch youth at ages 16 and 18. Using national register data for all reported victimizations, we find sharp and discontinuous increases in victimization rates at these ages: about 13% for both genders at 16 and 9% (15%) for males (females) at 18. These results are comparable across subsamples (based on socio-economic and neighborhood characteristics) with different baseline victimization risks. We assess potential mechanisms using data on offense location, cross-cohort variation in the minimum legal drinking age driven by a 2014 reform, and survey data of alcohol/drug consumption and mobility behaviors. We conclude that the bundle of access to weak alcohol, bars/clubs and smoking increases victimization at 16 and that age 18 rights (hard alcohol, marijuana coffee shops) exacerbate this risk; vehicle access does not play an important role. Finally, we do not find systematic spillover effects onto individuals who have not yet received these rights. |
| Keywords: | victimization; crime; youth; youth protection laws; alcohol; inequality; RDD |
| JEL: | I12 I14 J13 K36 K42 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0817&r= |
| By: | Kosyakova, Yuliya (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany ; Univ. Bamberg); Laible, Marie-Christine (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | "We analyze socioemotional skills’ role for destination-language proficiency among recent refugees in Germany. While socioemotional skills have been shown to predict educational outcomes, they have been overlooked for immigrants’ language acquisition. We extend a well-established model of destination-language proficiency and assume that socioemotional skills’ effects manifest through the channels of exposure, efficiency, and incentives. Using longitudinal data and growth curve models, we find that socioemotional skills significantly shape destinationlanguage learning. Openness to new experiences, conscientiousness, risk appetite and locus of control positively relate to language proficiency, while extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism are insignificant. We observe mediating effects, suggesting that socioemotional skills shape the channels of efficiency or exposure. Moreover, we observe multiplication effects reinforcing other advanta-geous characteristics’ effects on language proficiency. In sum, socioemotional skills affect refugees’ destination-language proficiency and thereby contribute to sustainable economic and societal integration processes. We conclude by discussing policy implications." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | Bundesrepublik Deutschland ; Auswirkungen ; berufliche Integration ; Deutsch als Fremdsprache ; emotionale Intelligenz ; Geflüchtete ; Persönlichkeitsmerkmale ; Risikobereitschaft ; Selbstverantwortung ; soziale Integration ; soziale Qualifikation ; Spracherwerb ; IAB-BAMF-SOEP-Befragung von Geflüchteten ; 2016-2020 |
| JEL: | D91 J15 J24 I26 |
| Date: | 2021–12–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:202119&r= |
| By: | Defina, Ryan |
| Abstract: | Geography plays a fundamental role in today’s interconnected world. Financial flows operate within a multitude of regulatory and supervisory parameters often heavily influenced by regional factors. While deposit insurance is one factor affecting these flows, it too has been influenced by regional factors, particularly in the past 20 years with the rapid growth and development of deposit insurance systems, and has undergone substantial changes as a result. Understanding geographic dynamics in deposit insurance design enables policy makers to better understand the impact of regional factors on the features of deposit insurance systems and vice versa. Correlation between deposit insurer features in neighbouring jurisdictions offers the potential to facilitate collaboration under the grounds of common history and institutional development, but also introduces many challenges to multiple and bilateral coordination. We explore these issues further and highlight considerations for deposit insurance research, training and more targeted technical assistance initiatives. This paper investigates the associations between the features of deposit insurance systems and geography using a relatively simple statistical approach, and quantified through analysis of data collected by IADI. The results focus on a cross-sectional analysis of 2019 Annual Survey results. An implicit assumption is made that relationships observed in 2019 data are broadly representative of the true underlying dynamics between variables of interest and geography, although further analysis incorporating a time dimension would provide clarity on this assumption. Results suggest that geography is an important factor to consider when exploring a range of deposit insurance data items. However, this effect does not play a role for all aspects of deposit insurance systems, and is subject to a number of caveats. In some instances, the age of deposit insurers (a proxy for maturity in system design and implementation) can influence more than the region as a whole. Moreover, sample sizes used are relatively small so this needs to be taken into account when reviewing the results. Future research directions in this area could seek to broaden the suite of data items considered; conduct a targeted follow-up to further unpack the economic, financial, legal and cultural dynamics driving both inter- and intra-regional variation; or explicitly consider temporal dynamics through appraising longitudinal panels of deposit insurance metrics. |
| Keywords: | deposit insurance; bank resolution |
| JEL: | G21 G33 |
| Date: | 2021–04–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:110557&r= |
| By: | Nicholas Apergis (Department of Banking and Financial Management, University of Piraeus, Karaoli & Dimitriou 80, 18534, Piraeus, Greece); Konstantinos Gavriilidis (Stirling Management School, University of Stirling, FK9 4LA, Stirling, UK); Rangan Gupta (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield 0028, South Africa) |
| Abstract: | This study examines whether climate policy uncertainty affects the propensity of people to travel. To do so, we employ the Climate Policy Uncertainty (CPU) index and US air travel data to eight regional overseas destinations for the period 2000-2019. Using time-varying causality tests to deal with the structural breaks that exist in the relationship between CPU and US air travel, we find that CPU is a major determinant of air-travel demand to all destinations examined. The results are robust when we control for macroeconomic factors, uncertainty and geopolitical risks. The findings have important implications for destination countries and tourism professionals. |
| Keywords: | Climate policy uncertainty, CPU index, air travel destinations, US, structural breaks, time-varying causality test |
| JEL: | C32 C51 L8 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pre:wpaper:202186&r= |
| By: | Tsang, Andrew |
| Abstract: | This paper applies causal machine learning methods to analyze the heterogeneous regional impacts of monetary policy in China. The method uncovers the heterogeneous regional im-pacts of different monetary policy stances on the provincial figures for real GDP growth, CPI inflation and loan growth compared to the national averages. The varying effects of expansionary and contractionary monetary policy phases on Chinese provinces are highlighted and explained. Subsequently, applying interpretable machine learning, the empirical results show that the credit channel is the main channel affecting the regional impacts of monetary policy. An imminent conclusion of the uneven provincial responses to the “one size fits all” monetary policy is that different policymakers should coordinate their efforts to search for the optimal fiscal and monetary policy mix. |
| Keywords: | China, monetary policy, regional heterogeneity, machine learning, shadow banking |
| JEL: | C54 C61 E52 R11 |
| Date: | 2021–07–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:110703&r= |
| By: | Isabel Cavalli (Université Côte d'Azur, France; CNRS, GREDEG; Institute of Economics, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Italy); Charlie Joyez (Université Côte d'Azur, France; CNRS, GREDEG) |
| Abstract: | Innovation is a dynamic process whose complexity lies in networks among heterogeneous actors, with collaboration often ending in patent co-ownership. Governments introduced many policies to redefine the role of universities in research collaboration once acknowledging their value in scientific knowledge. This paper explores how patent co-ownership evolved in France after decisive policy interventions (1999, 2006, 2007). Using French copatent data (1978-2018), we first employ Network Analysis to capture the evolution of centrality of French Universities. We then apply a Dif-in-Dif, incorporating a Propensity Score Matching (PSM), to investigate the potential causal relationship between policy interventions and the evolution of universities' centrality, contrasting with with French Public Research Organizations as well as German and Italian universities. Our results point to the increasing centrality gained by French universities in patenting co-ownership over the years and its essential role, as an innovator actor, in the French innovation system. Although the Innovation Act (1999) positively impacted their centrality, the impact of 2006-on legislation is either null or even negative, offsetting the initial trend. |
| Keywords: | Innovation dynamics, Universities, Collaborative Patents, Network centrality, treatment effect |
| JEL: | C54 D85 O32 O33 O34 O38 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gre:wpaper:2021-38&r= |
| By: | Samuel Bazzi; Andreas Ferrara; Martin Fiszbein; Thomas P. Pearson; Patrick A. Testa |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a novel perspective on the Great Migration out of the U.S. South. Using a shift-share identification strategy, we show how millions of Southern white migrants transformed the cultural and political landscape across America. Counties with a larger Southern white share by 1940 exhibited growing support for right-wing politics throughout the 20th century and beyond. Racial animus, religious conservatism, and localist attitudes among the Southern white diaspora hastened partisan realignment as the Republican Party found fresh support for the Southern strategy outside the South. Their congressional representatives were more likely to oppose politically liberal legislation, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and to object to the Electoral College count in 2021. These migrants helped shape institutions that reinforced racial inequity and exclusion, they shared ideology through religious organizations and popular media, and they transmitted an array of cultural norms to non-Southern populations. Together, our findings suggest that Southern white migrants may have forever changed the trajectory of American politics. |
| JEL: | D72 J15 J18 N32 P16 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29506&r= |
| By: | Bridges, Jonathan (Bank of England); Green, Georgina (Bank of England); Joy, Mark (Bank of England) |
| Abstract: | Using a panel dataset of 26 advanced economies over the five decades preceding the Covid crisis, we show that inequality rises following recessions and that rapid credit growth in the run up to a downturn exacerbates that effect. A one standard deviation credit boom leads to a 40% amplification of the distributional fallout in the bust that follows. These links between inequality, credit and downturns are particularly significant for recessions associated with financial crises. We also find some evidence that low bank capital ahead of a downturn amplifies the inequality increase that follows. These insights add a new dimension to policy cost-benefit analysis, at the distributional level. Newly established macroprudential regimes have been empowered with tools to safeguard financial stability by bolstering both lender and borrower resilience. Using those tools may have distributional effects, potentially limiting individual borrowing choices. Our findings make clear, however, that not using those tools can lead to distributional costs, in the event of an untamed crisis. |
| Keywords: | Recessions; local projections; inequality; macroprudential policy |
| JEL: | D63 G01 N10 |
| Date: | 2021–11–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boe:boeewp:0949&r= |
| By: | Francesca Marchetta (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne); Sokcheng Sim |
| Abstract: | Parental migration can influence schooling outcomes of their children left behind via two contrasting channels: the reduced parental input and supervision in children's education, and the resources that are generated (and shared via remittances) by migration. We analyze the relationship between parental migration and education for the Cambodian children left behind in rural areas. |
| Abstract: | La migration des parents peut influencer la scolarité des enfants qu'ils laissent derrière eux, par deux canaux : une moindre surveillance et un investissement réduit des parents dans l'éducation des enfants d'une part, et d'autre part, des ressources générées par la migration qui peuvent être investies dans l'éducation des enfants. Nous analysons cette relation pour les enfants cambodgiens qui résident dans les zones rurales du pays. |
| Keywords: | Scolarisation,Education,Migration,Cambodge |
| Date: | 2021–11–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03445638&r= |
| By: | Rodier, Caroline PhD; Harold, Brian |
| Abstract: | In rural areas, cost-effective transit service is challenging to provide due to greater travel distances, lower population densities, and longer travel times than in cities. Access to a personal car is often essential to the quality of life for most residents, enabling them to readily access essential services. However, keeping one or two vehicles in reliable working order can be prohibitively expensive for low-income families. To address this issue, multiple organizations partnered to launch an electric vehicle (EV) carsharing pilot called Míocar in 2019. This non-profit service in the rural San Joaquin Valley of California differs from the dominant carsharing model of for-profit businesses serving affluent communities that already have high-quality transit. Míocar seeks to provide carsharing to price-sensitive populations with low transit access at a price point that is more affordable than owning a personal vehicle. The service currently has 27 EVs located at eight hubs throughout the San Joaquin Valley. |
| Keywords: | Engineering |
| Date: | 2021–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt1dp793rs&r= |
| By: | Takahiro Akita (IUJ Research Institutey, International University of University); Dorji Lethro (National Statistics Bureau, Royal Government of Bhutan) |
| Abstract: | This study examines whether Bhutan’s rural economic growth was pro-poor from 2007-2017 by using expenditure data from the Bhutan Living Standard Surveys. It also conducts an IV probit analysis to explore the determinants of poverty. Even in rural areas, growth is necessary for the reduction of poverty. Besides relying on trickle-down effects from hydropower projects and tourism, promotion of agriculture-based small scale industries is essential for the acceleration of rural economic growth, where further development of basic industrial infrastructure and socioeconomic facilities is imperative. The country also needs to further promote and strengthen basic education in rural areas since education is found to have played an important role in reducing poverty. Many rural households are vulnerable to poverty. To prevent vulnerable households from falling into poverty, more effective social safety net programs may be necessary based on regional differences in factors affecting living conditions. |
| Keywords: | pro-poor growth, rural economic growth, poverty incidence. expenditure inequality, education, Bhutan |
| JEL: | I32 O15 O18 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iuj:wpaper:ems_2021_06&r= |
| By: | Karim Bekhtiar; Benjamin Bittschi (Austrian Institute of Economic Research); Richard Sellner |
| Abstract: | In a seminal paper Graetz and Michaels (2018) find that robots increase labor productivity and TFP, lower output prices and adversely affect the employment share of low-skilled labor. We demonstrate that these effects are heavily influenced by the sample composition and argue that focusing on manufacturing and mining sectors mitigates unobserved heterogeneity and is more coherent with an identification strategy that rests on instruments that do not vary by industries. In sum, this leads to more plausible results regarding the overall economic effects of robotization, whereby the focus on robotizing industries leads to a sizable drop of the productivity effects, halving the effect size for labor productivity and insignificant price effects. The most pronounced consequences from the sample choice occur for labor market outcomes, where significant negative employment effects become insignificant and positive wage effects are reversed into the opposite. We show that controlling for demographic workforce characteristics is essential for obtaining significant labor productivity effects and leads to the negative effects of robots on wages. Additionally, investigating only robotizing sectors does not corroborate skill-biased technological change due to robotization, but rather, indicates towards labor market polarization. Finally, we document a non-monotonicity in one of the instruments, which calls for caution in the use of that instrument. |
| Keywords: | Robots, Productivity, Technological change |
| Date: | 2021–12–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wfo:wpaper:y:2021:i:639&r= |
| By: | Brassiolo, Pablo; Estrada, Ricardo; Fajardo, Gustavo |
| Abstract: | The incidence of patronage can vary widely across levels of gov ernment within a country. We show this in the context of Brazil, which has been the focus of most recent research on patronage. In particular, we find that bureaucratic turnover follows politi cal cycles among municipal employees, but not among state or federal level employees. This is not driven by differences across levels of government in the composition of the workforce or in the labor regimes used. Thus, the most likely explanation is differences in institutional quality. That pattern of institutional development, with central instances of government more pro fessionalized that local ones, mirrors historical experiences of civil service reform. |
| Keywords: | Desarrollo institucional, Economía, Gobernabilidad, Políticas públicas, Sector público, |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dbl:dblwop:1824&r= |
| By: | James B. Davies (University of Western Ontario); Samantha L. Black (University of Western Ontario) |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwo:uwowop:20201&r= |
| By: | Christoph Kleineberg (Leuphana University of Lüneburg) |
| Abstract: | The geographical definition of markets is a crucial challenge for economists. With the availability of multiple tools to compare prices, the idea of market definition is entering a new era as it infiltrates the digital sphere. Since December 1st, 2013 the market transparency unit of the Federal German Cartel Office is forwarding all prices, for every gasoline type, at every gasoline station in Germany at all times, through consumer information services to consumers by the means of websites or smartphone apps. Gasoline is a perfectly homogenous product as there is no alternative for its consumption by car, bus or truck drivers in the short or medium run. The availability of price data allows us to study what premiums drivers are willing to pay in order to avoid search costs or additional driving distances. The research question is how prices of highway gasoline stations are dependent upon prices offered by street gasoline stations in the vicinity, and what additional price customers are willing to pay to avoid searching for another gasoline station away from the highway. Results indicate that there is a premium of 10 to 11 cents per litre throughout the day and 15 cents per litre in the evening on gasoline sold by stations on the highway. When checked for robustness, results indicate that the pricing behavior of gasoline stations differ depending on the particular market environment. There is no uniform pricing behavior of highway gasoline stations. Some highway gasoline station are setting their prices independently from the gasoline stations in the vicinity, other are acting like regular gasoline stations and do not even charge an additional premium. Furthermore, a high frequency of traffic on highways leads to lower prices whereas a high population density leads to higher prices. |
| Keywords: | market definition, applied economics, pricing patterns, gasoline market |
| JEL: | D03 D40 L11 |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:389&r= |
| By: | Raj Chandra; Gabriel E. Lade; GianCarlo Moschini (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University) |
| Abstract: | A systematic component of wine quality is believed to depend on the geo-climatic factors of its production conditions. This belief has long been a motivation for the development of geographical indications for wines. In the United States, American Viticulture Areas (AVAs) represent the most common geographic factor firms use to differentiate their products. In this paper, we estimate a discrete choice model of US wine demand to study the market and welfare impact of AVAs. Specifically, we develop a two-level nested logit choice model, featuring many wine products and characteristics-including wine type, brands, and varietals, in addition to AVAs-and estimate it using Nielsen Consumer Panel data over the 2007-2019 period. We find significant welfare gains from AVA information on wine labels. Over the period of interest, the welfare gain attributable to AVAs is estimated at about $2.37 billion, with wine producers and retailers capturing approximately 80% of this surplus. Approximately 90% of consumer welfare gains are due to product differentiation and increased variety, with the remaining gains due to price decreases resulting from increased product competition. |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:21-wp628&r= |
| By: | Robert Baumann (College of the Holy Cross); Victor Matheson (College of the Holy Cross); E. Frank Stephenson (Berry College); Robert Murray (College of the Holy Cross) |
| Abstract: | Despite claims, primarily from Republican lawmakers, that the removal of the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game has cost local businesses in the Atlanta area $100 million in damages, an examination of hotel occupancy during the 2014 All-Star Game in Minneapolis and the 2019 All-Star Game in Cleveland suggests that these events generated at most 10,000 additional room nights and $4.5 million in additional hotel revenues for the host cities. These figures suggest that the All-Star Game generates a total direct marginal increase in tourism spending of only $3.9 to $9.4 million. Claiming that Georgia has lost $100 million from the removal of the game is pure fiction with no basis in economic data. |
| Keywords: | sports, stadiums, baseball, All-Star Game, mega-events |
| JEL: | L83 Z20 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hcx:wpaper:2101&r= |