|
on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Sahlström, Ellen (Aalto University); Silliman, Mikko (Norwegian School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | We study the extent and consequences of biases against immigrants exhibited by high school teachers in Finland. Compared to native students, immigrant students receive 0.06 standard deviation units lower scores from teachers than from blind graders. This effect is almost entirely driven by grading penalties incurred by high-performing immigrant students and is largest in subjects where teachers have more discretion in grading. While teacher-assigned grades on the matriculation exam are not used for tertiary enrollment decisions, we show that immigrant students who attend schools with biased teachers are less likely to continue to higher education. |
| Keywords: | immigrants, discrimination, teachers, education policy |
| JEL: | I24 J15 J68 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16899&r=ure |
| By: | Rajat Verma; Mithun Debnath; Shagun Mittal; Satish V. Ukkusuri |
| Abstract: | Locational measures of accessibility are widely used in urban and transportation planning to understand the impact of the transportation system on influencing people's access to places. However, there is a considerable lack of measurement standards and publicly available data. We propose a generalized measure of locational accessibility that has a comprehensible form for transportation planning analysis. This metric combines the cumulative opportunities approach with gravity-based measures and is capable of catering to multiple trip purposes, travel modes, cost thresholds, and scales of analysis. Using data from multiple publicly available datasets, this metric is computed by trip purpose and travel time threshold for all block groups in the United States, and the data is made publicly accessible. Further, case studies of three large metropolitan areas reveal substantial inefficiencies in transportation infrastructure, with the most inefficiency observed in sprawling and non-core urban areas, especially for bicycling. Subsequently, it is shown that targeted investment in facilities can contribute to a more equitable distribution of accessibility to essential shopping and service facilities. By assigning greater weights to socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods, the proposed metric formally incorporates equity considerations into transportation planning, contributing to a more equitable distribution of accessibility to essential services and facilities. |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2404.04985&r=ure |
| By: | Yusuf Agus (European University Institute); Betul Turkum (Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, AMSE, Marseille, France) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on classroom peer relationships using a unique field dataset collected from 3rd and 4th-grade students in Turkey. Using data from both pre-pandemic and pandemic cohorts, we find significant changes in social interactions among the pandemic cohort after prolonged school closures. We observe varying effects contingent upon the nature of peer relationships. While friendship relationships deteriorated, some facets of academic support relationships among classmates display enhancement. However, this progress is exclusively observed among native students, as opposed to refugees. Additionally, we uncover significant improvements in inter-ethnicity and inter-gender relationships in classrooms after COVID-19. |
| Keywords: | Peer relationships; COVID-19; classroom social networks; refugees |
| JEL: | D85 I21 I24 I28 J15 J16 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aim:wpaimx:2415&r=ure |
| By: | Luca, Davide; Özgüzel, Cem; Wei, Zhiwu |
| Abstract: | The paper maps the spatially uneven diffusion of working from home across 30 European countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. We summarise the determinants of remote working and show that its uptake was lower than in the US, and substantially uneven across/within countries, with most remote jobs concentrated in cities and capital regions. We then apply a variance decomposition procedure to investigate whether the uneven distribution of remote jobs can be attributed to individual or territorial factors. Results underscore the importance of composition effects as, compared to intermediate-density and rural areas, cities hosted more workers in occupations/sectors more amenable to working remotely. Overall, findings highlight how working from home is unlikely to substantially alter the current patterns of spatial inequality between core urban areas and peripheral rural regions. |
| Keywords: | work from home; Europe; spatial inequality; Covid-19; coronavirus; telework; remote work |
| JEL: | I18 J20 O52 P25 |
| Date: | 2024–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:122651&r=ure |
| By: | Fredriksson, Peter (Uppsala University); Öckert, Björn (IFAU); Tilley, J. Lucas (Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | We examine whether parental and school investments reinforce or compensate for student performance. Our analysis exploits school-starting-age rules in 34 countries, capturing achievement variation that arises because younger children typically underperform their older peers. Parents respond to lower performance by providing additional homework help, while schools allocate weaker students to smaller classes and offer more remedial tutoring. Notably, parents provide more support to low-performing children in nearly all countries studied. Compensatory investments increase over grade levels, suggesting parents and schools respond as information about achievement is revealed. Moreover, our evidence suggests that parental and school investments are substitutes. |
| Keywords: | human capital investment, parental inputs, school inputs, student performance, school starting age |
| JEL: | I21 I28 J24 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16901&r=ure |
| By: | Bardoscia, Marco (Bank of England); Carro, Adrian (Banco de España, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford); Hinterschweiger, Marc (Bank of England); Napoletano, Mauro (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna); Popoyan, Lilit (Queen Mary, University of London); Roventini, Andrea (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna); Uluc, Arzu (Bank of England) |
| Abstract: | We develop a macroeconomic agent-based model to study the joint impact of borrower and lender-based prudential policies on the housing and credit markets and the economy more widely. We perform three experiments: (i) an increase of total capital requirements; (ii) an introduction of a loan-to-income (LTI) cap on mortgages to owner-occupiers; and (iii) a joint introduction of both experiments at the same time. Our results suggest that tightening capital requirements leads to a sharp decrease in commercial and mortgage lending, and housing transactions. When the LTI cap is in place, house prices fall sharply relative to income, and the homeownership rate decreases. When both policy instruments are combined, we find that housing transactions and prices drop. Both policies have a positive impact on real GDP and unemployment, while there is no material impact on inflation and the real interest rate. |
| Keywords: | Prudential policies; housing market; macroeconomy; agent-based models |
| JEL: | C63 D10 D31 E58 G21 G28 R20 R21 R31 |
| Date: | 2024–03–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boe:boeewp:1066&r=ure |
| By: | Daniel Auer; Michaela Slotwinski; Achim Ahrens; Dominik Hangartner; Selina Kurer; Stefanie Kurt; Alois Stutzer |
| Abstract: | Despite intense policy debates, the relationship between social welfare and refugee crime remains understudied. Taking steps to address this gap, our study focuses on Switzerland, where mobility restrictions on exogenously assigned refugees coincide with cantons’ autonomy in setting social assistance rates. Linking time-varying cantonal benefit rates between 2009 and 2016 to individual-level administrative data, we find that higher social assistance reduces criminal charges, especially for petty crimes and drug offenses. In light of limited (short-run) repercussions for refugees’ labor market participation, our results suggest social assistance can be a cost-effective measure to improve refugee welfare and enhance public safety. |
| Keywords: | immigration, crime, welfare benefits, refugees, migration policy |
| JEL: | D02 H53 J18 K42 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11051&r=ure |
| By: | Rocco Rante (The Louvre Museum); Federico Trionfetti (Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, AMSE, Marseille, France); Priyam Verma (Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, AMSE, Marseille, France) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we bring fresh evidence on the city size distribution from a ‘lab’ represented by the region of Bukhara observed in the 9th CE. At that time this region was homogeneous in all respects (technology, amenities, climate, culture, language, religion, etc.) and yet cities had different sizes. We rationalize the city size distribution of this economy in a simple general equilibrium spatial model of which we estimate the parameters using the method of moments. The estimated model predicts very well the 9th century city size distribution. Spatial centrality is the major determinant of city size. The silk road contributes to explain what centrality cannot. We find little evidence of persistence of the urban structure when comparing the 9th and the 21st century. We find instead that centroid of the region has moved towards the economic core of the Uzbek economy. |
| Keywords: | Spatial Model, Archaeological Data, Centrality |
| JEL: | R12 R13 F1 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aim:wpaimx:2413&r=ure |
| By: | Torberg Falch (Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology); Bjarne Strøm (Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology) |
| Abstract: | This paper documents the construction of a historical data set for Norwegian compulsory education covering more than 160 years from 1861 to 2024. The data include the number of students and teachers, teacher shortages measured by the share of teachers without the formal qualifications determined by law, and the number of admitted students and graduates from teacher education institutions. In addition to the national time series, we also present panel data at the county level at a five-year frequency covering the period 1870-1935. The construction of the data series is based on a historical description of the development of the compulsory education system, including school finance and teacher wage-setting institutions, in addition to the system for teacher education. The School Act of 1860 required that teachers should have formal teacher education or similar qualifications in order to be appointed to permanent teaching positions. Variants of this rule have been a legal constraint since 1860. The data constructed in this paper provides the basis for more detailed empirical analyses of the relationship between teacher shortages, fluctuations in teacher demand, and teacher supply as determined by the number of graduates from teacher education institutions. |
| Date: | 2024–04–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nst:samfok:19924&r=ure |
| By: | Willem P Sijp; Anastasios Panagiotelis |
| Abstract: | A new methodology is proposed to approximate the time-dependent house price distribution at a fine regional scale using Gaussian mixtures. The means, variances and weights of the mixture components are related to time, location and dwelling type through a non linear function trained by a deep functional approximator. Price indices are derived as means, medians, quantiles or other functions of the estimated distributions. Price densities for larger regions, such as a city, are calculated via a weighted sum of the component density functions. The method is applied to a data set covering all of Australia at a fine spatial and temporal resolution. In addition to enabling a detailed exploration of the data, the proposed index yields lower prediction errors in the practical task of individual dwelling price projection from previous sales values within the three major Australian cities. The estimated quantiles are also found to be well calibrated empirically, capturing the complexity of house price distributions. |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2404.05178&r=ure |
| By: | Nguyen, Ha Trong; Mitrou, Francis |
| Abstract: | By leveraging randomly timed exposure to local cyclones as natural experiments, this study pioneers a comprehensive causal analysis of cyclone impacts on residential outcomes among Australian individuals. Drawing upon over two decades of nationally representative longitudinal data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, coupled with historical cyclone records, individual fixed effects models uncover substantial increases in reported home damage. Planned relocation intentions and actual migration experiences show moderate increases, particularly in cases of higher cyclone severity and proximity. Additionally, these cyclones prompt individuals to acknowledge the significance of home-related insurance and actively seek coverage. Alongside long-distance domestic migration, insurance acquisition emerges as another alternative coping mechanism, effectively mitigating future repair costs. Extensive heterogeneity analyses reveal that the choice among these coping strategies depends on factors such as cyclone severity, age, prior homeownership, income, insurance coverage, rural/urban residence, coastal proximity, and community cyclone history. Moreover, the study identifies home damage from cyclones as a key factor driving observed migration patterns. |
| Keywords: | Natural Disasters, Migration, Insurance, Australia |
| JEL: | G22 G52 J61 Q54 R23 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1426&r=ure |
| By: | Claudio Deiana; Ludovica Giua; Roberto Nisticò |
| Abstract: | This paper establishes a new fact about immigration policies: legalization has long-term effects on formal employment of undocumented immigrants and their assimilation. We exploit the broad amnesty enacted in Italy in 2002 together with rich survey data collected in 2011 on a representative sample of immigrant households to estimate the effect of regularization in the long run. Immigrants who were not eligible for the amnesty have a 14% lower probability of working in the formal sector a decade later, are subject to more severe ethnic segregation on the job and display less linguistic assimilation than their regularized counterparts. |
| Keywords: | undocumented immigrants, amnesty program, formal employment, discrimination, segregation |
| JEL: | J15 J61 K37 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11026&r=ure |
| By: | Maruseva, Valeria; Kroll, Henning |
| Abstract: | Large and economically diverse countries often face a problem of regional imbalances which goes beyond a simple division between a core and a periphery. In large countries regions "out of the core" demonstrate substantial variety in economic, social and cultural terms, they have difference resource and technological base. These local specifics determine to large extent new their path development and ability to grasp the opportunities provided by ongoing socio-technological transformation. This paper suggests classification of non-core regions of Germany under relational perspective, taking into account not only geographical remoteness of these regions, but also their social, economic and demographic characteristics. Breaking down the periphery of Germany to several more homogeneous groups allows us to evaluate their resilience and potential in a more precise manner, providing thus a base for policy implications and future research. |
| Keywords: | regional development, non-core regions, regional classification, structural change, lock-in |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fisidp:289596&r=ure |
| By: | Matthew Klesta |
| Abstract: | This series of reports examines home mortgages and refinances from 2018 through 2022, a period of great change. The reports look at seven large counties in Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh); Cuyahoga County, Ohio (Cleveland); Fayette County, Kentucky (Lexington); Franklin County, Ohio (Columbus); Hamilton County, Ohio (Cincinnati); Lucas County, Ohio (Toledo); and Montgomery County, Ohio (Dayton). |
| Keywords: | Lending; Access to credit; Affordable housing; Home Mortgage Disclosure Act |
| Date: | 2024–04–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:c00034:98176&r=ure |
| By: | Jan Ditzen (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano); William Grieser (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano); Morad Zekhnini (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano) |
| Abstract: | Network analysis has become critical to the study of social sciences. While several Stata programs are available for analyzing network structures, programs that execute regression analysis with a network structure are currently lacking. We fill this gap by introducing the nwxtregress command. Building on spatial econometric methods (LeSage and Pace 2009), nwxtregress uses MCMC estimation to produce estimates of endogenous peer effects, as well as own-node (direct) and cross-node (indirect) partial effects, where nodes correspond to cross-sectional units of observation, such as firms, and edges correspond to the relations between nodes. Unlike existing spatial regression commands (for example, spxtregress), nwxtregress is designed to handle unbalanced panels of economic and social networks. Networks can be directed or undirected with weighted or unweighted edges, and they can be imported in a list format that does not require a shapefile or a Stata spatial weight matrix set by spmatrix. A special focus of the presentation will be put on the construction of the spatial weight matrix and integration with Python to improve speed. |
| Date: | 2023–09–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boc:lsug23:21&r=ure |
| By: | Kaya, Ezgi |
| Abstract: | Using administrative data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings linked to the 2011 Census of England and Wales, this paper explores the labour market performance of first-generation immigrants and compares it to that of UK-born employees. By focusing on various labour market outcomes and distinguishing immigrants based on their years of residence in the UK, the analysis reveals that more recent immigrants, on average, earn less, work longer hours, and are more likely to be employed in low-skilled occupations or temporary employment compared to observationally equivalent UK-born employees. However, the labour market performance of immigrants with ten or more years of residence in the UK is more comparable to that of their UK-born counterparts. These patterns are similar for males and females, but there is considerable heterogeneity in terms of ethnicity, country of birth, and reason for migration, as well as across the pay distribution. |
| Keywords: | immigration, linked administrative data, years of residence, labour market outcomes, regression, decomposition |
| JEL: | J24 J31 J61 J71 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1418&r=ure |
| By: | Gaurab Aryal; Charles Murry; Pallavi Pal; Arnab Palit |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the effects of bundling demand for broadband internet by K-12 schools. In 2014, New Jersey switched from decentralized procurements to a new procurement system that bundled schools into four regional groups. Using an event study approach, we find that, on average, prices for participants decreased by one-third, and broadband speed purchased increased sixfold. We bound the change in school expenditures due to the program and find that participants saved at least as much as their total “E-rate” subsidy from the federal government. Under weak assumptions on demand, we show that participating schools experienced large welfare gains. |
| Keywords: | broadband internet, exposure problem, bundling, welfare |
| JEL: | D44 H42 L86 L96 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11035&r=ure |
| By: | Klaus Gründler; Andreas Link |
| Abstract: | Inequality between ethnic groups has been shown to be negatively related to GDP, but research on its effect on contemporary economic growth is limited by the availability of comparable data. We compile a novel and comprehensive dataset of harmonized Gini indices on ethnic inequality for countries and sub-national units between 1992 and 2013. Our approach exploits differentials in nighttime lights (NTL) across ethnic homelands, using new techniques to harmonize NTL series across geographic regions and years to address concerns about spatial and temporal incomparability of satellite photographs. Our new data shows that ethnic inequality is widespread across countries but has decreased over time. Exploiting the artificiality of sub-national borders in an instrumental variable setting, we provide evidence that income inequality across ethnic groups reduces contemporary economic growth. The negative effect of ethnic inequality is caused by increasing conflict and decreasing public goods provision. |
| Keywords: | ethnic inequality, economic development, regional data, nighttime lights, satellite photographs, calibration, ethnic groups, conflict, public goods provision |
| JEL: | O10 O15 O43 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11034&r=ure |
| By: | Mahajan, Parag (University of Delaware); Morales, Nicolas (Richmond Fed); Shih, Kevin Y. (Queens College, CUNY); Chen, Mingyu (IZA); Brinatti, Agostina (University of Michigan) |
| Abstract: | We study how random variation in the availability of highly educated, foreign-born workers impacts firm performance and recruitment behavior. We combine two rich data sources: 1) administrative employer-employee matched data from the US Census Bureau; and 2) firmlevel information on the first large-scale H-1B visa lottery in 2007. Using an event-study approach, we find that lottery wins lead to increases in firm hiring of college-educated, immigrant labor along with increases in scale and survival. These effects are stronger for small, skill-intensive, and high-productivity firms that participate in the lottery. We do not find evidence for displacement of native-born, college-educated workers at the firm level, on net. However, this result masks dynamics among more specific subgroups of incumbents that we further elucidate. |
| Keywords: | immigration, firm dynamics, productivity, H-1B visa, high-skilled migration |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16917&r=ure |
| By: | Perroni, Carlo (University of Warwick); Scharf, Kimberley (University of Nottingham); Smith, Sarah (University of Bristol); Talavera, Oleksandr (University of Birmingham); Vi, Linh (Aston University) |
| Abstract: | Combining longitudinal postcode-level data on charitable donations made through a UK giving portal with publicly available data on local crime and neighborhood characteristics, we study the relationship between local crime and local residents’ charitable giving and we investigate the possible mechanisms underlying this relationship. An increase in local crime corresponds to a sizeable increase in the overall size of unscheduled charitable donations. This effect is mainly driven by the responses of female and gender unclassified donors. Donation responses also reflect postcode variation in socio-economic characteristics, levels of mental health, and political leanings, but mainly so for female and gender-unidentified donors. |
| Keywords: | Charitable Donations, Prosocial Behavior, Crime JEL Classification: H41, D64, D91, J15 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:706&r=ure |
| By: | Rafael Pucci |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the understudied phenomenon of urban land conflicts in contexts with weak enforcement of property rights. I examine, both theoretically and empirically, the use of arson as a violent tool to force slum removal from high-value land in cities. Leveraging fine-grained geocoded data, I employ panel regression and Difference-in-Differences analyses to demonstrate that the probability of slum fires dramatically increases with rising land prices. This effect is nonlinear and driven exclusively by slums situated on private lands, highlighting the role of high-powered incentives behind arson. These results illustrate how urban land conflicts can have different outcomes than their rural counterparts. |
| Keywords: | Urban Land Conflict; Slums; Arson; Violence; Property Rights |
| JEL: | K42 D74 O18 R10 |
| Date: | 2024–04–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2024wpecon13&r=ure |
| By: | Simon Firestone; Nathan Y. Godin; Akos Horvath; Jacob Sagi |
| Abstract: | We use model-implied volatility to proxy for property risk perceptions in the commercial real estate lending market. Although loan-to-value ratios (LTVs) unconditionally decreased following the Global Financial Crisis, LTVs conditioned on implied volatility and other theoretically motivated fundamental determinants of optimal leverage show no conclusive trend before or after the crisis. Taking reported property and loan attributes at face value, we find no clear pattern of unwarranted credit being extended to commercial real estate assets. We conclude that systematically higher LTV decisions pre-crisis would have primarily stemmed from risk misperceptions rather than imprudent practices. Our findings suggest that the aggregate LTV level should be interpreted as a proxy for lending standards only after controlling for aggregate risk perceptions, among a host of asset and lending market factors. Our findings also highlight the importance of measuring and tracking aggregate risk perceptions in informing regulators and policymakers. |
| Keywords: | Loan underwriting; Lending standards; Global Financial Crisis; Mortgages; Real estate finance; Implied volatility |
| JEL: | C22 D80 G01 G10 G18 G21 R38 |
| Date: | 2024–04–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2024-19&r=ure |
| By: | Knutsson, Daniel (Orebro University School of Business); Tyrefors, Björn (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | We evaluate a non-targeted summer youth employment program (SYEP) for high school students aged 16–19 in Stockholm, Sweden, where public sector job offers were as good as randomly assigned. In contrast to previous studies evaluating SYEP that targeted groups with lower socioeconomic status, we find substantial labor market effects but no effects on education, crime, or health outcomes. However, income is negatively affected except during the program year. The penalty increases in absolute terms but does not change much in relative terms over time. The penalty is consistently statistically significant and large just after high school graduation, but there are indications that the penalty attenuates at ages 24. The adverse effects are the largest for applicants not enrolled in an academic track, who are males, and with less educated mothers. Interestingly, the extensive margin (having a job) is not the critical factor. Instead, a SYEP job offer affects the probability of obtaining more qualified and full-time employment after high school graduation. We argue that receiving a program job leads to less private-sector labor market experience, provides a negative signal, and disrupts (private) labor market connections, which is vital for those seeking a job just after high school. |
| Keywords: | Labor market programs; Youth unemployment; Summer employment; Random list; SYEP |
| JEL: | J13 J21 J38 J45 |
| Date: | 2024–03–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1485&r=ure |
| By: | Miguel Faria-e-Castro; Samuel Jordan-Wood |
| Abstract: | An analysis suggests that commercial real estate exposures may have been a relevant driver of bank holding company stock returns in 2023. |
| Keywords: | commercial real estate; bank stock |
| Date: | 2024–04–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:l00001:98110&r=ure |
| By: | Eric Auerbach; Yong Cai; Ahnaf Rafi |
| Abstract: | Researchers who estimate treatment effects using a regression discontinuity design (RDD) typically assume that there are no spillovers between the treated and control units. This may be unrealistic. We characterize the estimand of RDD in a setting where spillovers occur between units that are close in their values of the running variable. Under the assumption that spillovers are linear-in-means, we show that the estimand depends on the ratio of two terms: (1) the radius over which spillovers occur and (2) the choice of bandwidth used for the local linear regression. Specifically, RDD estimates direct treatment effect when radius is of larger order than the bandwidth, and total treatment effect when radius is of smaller order than the bandwidth. In the more realistic regime where radius is of similar order as the bandwidth, the RDD estimand is a mix of the above effects. To recover direct and spillover effects, we propose incorporating estimated spillover terms into local linear regression -- the local analog of peer effects regression. We also clarify the settings under which the donut-hole RD is able to eliminate the effects of spillovers. |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2404.06471&r=ure |
| By: | Peter Nilsson; Matthew Tarduno; Sebastian Tebbe; J. Peter Nilsson |
| Abstract: | We provide a framework for setting congestion charges that reflect emission and congestion externalities and policy responses, such as vehicle ownership, driving, and residential sorting. Using Swedish administrative microdata, we identify these responses by exploiting a temporary exemption for alternative fuel vehicles and variation in individuals’ exposure to congestion charges. We find that commuters respond by adopting exempted alternative fuel vehicles, shifting trips away from fossil fuel toward alternative fuel vehicles, and changing where they live and work. We combine the estimated responses with the framework to recover an optimal congestion charge of €9.46 per crossing in Stockholm. |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11038&r=ure |
| By: | Miho Taguma; Alena Frid |
| Abstract: | This evolving paper follows a first paper released in 2021 on “National or regional curriculum frameworks and visualisations”. It presented a compilation of visualisations of curriculum frameworks, main competences and strategic schemes provided by countries and jurisdictions as part of the OECD Education 2030 curriculum analysis work. This paper presents a compilation of visualisations from conceptual frameworks that align with the OECD Learning Framework – OECD Learning Compass 2030, developed by inter-governmental, international organisations, non-governmental associations, or at the school or local level. The OECD Learning Compass 2030 positions itself as an overarching framework, with a taxonomy that serves as a common language for a multitude of audiences and contexts. The paper is an evolving document: new frameworks will be added and updated on a regular basis, in particular with frameworks of those schools, NPOs and other social partners who become part of the OECD Education 2030 multi-stakeholders’ group. |
| Date: | 2024–04–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaab:314-en&r=ure |
| By: | Fays, Valentine; Mahy, Benoît; Rycx, François |
| Abstract: | This article is the first to examine how 1st-generation migrants affect the employment of workers born in the host country according to their origin, distinguishing between natives and 2nd-generation migrants. To do so, we take advantage of access to a unique linked employer-employee dataset for the Belgian economy enabling us to test these relationships at a quite precise level of the labour market, i.e. the firm level. Fixed effect estimates, including a large number of covariates, suggest complementarity between the employment of 1st-generation migrants and workers born in Belgium (both natives and 2nd-generation migrants, respectively). Several sensitivity tests, considering different levels of aggregation, workers' levels of education, migrants' region of origin, workers' occupations, and sectors corroborate this conclusion. |
| Keywords: | 1st- and 2nd-generation migrants, Substitutability, Complementarity, Moderating factors |
| JEL: | J15 J24 J62 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1420&r=ure |
| By: | Alessia Lo Turco (Università Politecnica delle Marche); Daniela Maggioni (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore); Federico Trionfetti (Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, AMSE, Marseille, France) |
| Abstract: | Data on EU economies show no correlation between low-skilled immigration and the skill premium. We rationalise this evidence in a model where firms face search and screening costs. Low-skilled immigration diminishes the relative benefit of screening skilled workers, leading to a decline in their relative ability within the firm and an undetermined impact on the skill premium. On region-sector and firm level data from 2008 to 2013, we find that low-skilled immigration in Italian regions has reduced skill intensity without affecting the skill premium. Using proxies for workers’ ability and screening activity, we provide supporting evidence for the theorised mechanisms. |
| Keywords: | matching, screening, skill-intensity, factor relative ability |
| JEL: | F22 J61 F16 D24 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aim:wpaimx:2414&r=ure |
| By: | Leogrande, Angelo |
| Abstract: | in the following article I analyze the trend of cultural and creative employment in the Italian regions between 2004 and 2022 through the use of ISTAT-BES data. After presenting a static analysis, I also present the results of the clustering analysis aimed at identifying groupings between Italian regions. Subsequently, an econometric model is proposed for estimating the value of cultural and creative employment in the Italian regions. Finally, I compare various machine learning models for predicting the value of cultural and creative employment. The results are critically discussed through an economic policy analysis. |
| Keywords: | ovation, Innovation and Invention, Management of Technological Innovation and R&D, Technological Change, Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital |
| JEL: | O30 O31 O32 O33 O34 |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120603&r=ure |
| By: | Goldring, Thomas (Georgia State University); Ribar, David C. (Georgia State University) |
| Abstract: | High-quality childcare services are vital to children's development and family wellbeing but are not equitably accessed by all children. Programs supported by the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) have the potential to reduce these inequities. Economically eligible Black children use CCDF-supported services at higher rates than other children, but less is known about disparities in the characteristics of those services. This study uses weekly subsidy records from Georgia's Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) program to examine racial, ethnic, and geographic differences in the types, modes, quality, proximity, and stability of care and in subsidy payments, co-payments, and subsidy use. The study distinguishes between unconditional differences that it observes in children's experiences and conditional disparities that it estimates after accounting for children's needs and other characteristics. It interprets the conditional disparities as evidence of inequity. The analysis uncovers many unconditional racial and ethnic differences in subsidized care outcomes and several geographic differences. However, the study finds fewer (and mostly smaller) conditional differences, including very few conditional differences between non-Hispanic Black and White children. The results suggest that there is substantial equity in participating children's use of CAPS services. |
| Keywords: | equity, childcare arrangements, subsidized child care, race and ethnicity, geography, administrative data, Georgia |
| JEL: | J13 I38 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16902&r=ure |
| By: | David R. Agrawal; Dirk Foremny; Clara Martínez-Toledano |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of decentralized wealth taxation on mobility and the effectiveness of tax coordination at mitigating tax competition. We exploit the reintroduction of the Spanish wealth tax, after which all regions except Madrid levied positive tax rates. We find the mobility responses to wealth taxes are within the range of prior estimates with respect to income taxes. However, wealth tax mobility responses generate losses to personal income tax revenues that are six times larger than the direct losses to wealth taxes. Madrid could achieve higher total regional revenues by agreeing to a harmonized positive tax rate. |
| Keywords: | wealth taxes, mobility, fiscal decentralization, fiscal federalism, tax coordination |
| JEL: | E21 H24 H31 H73 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11048&r=ure |
| By: | Jason R. Bailey; W. Brent Lindquist; Svetlozar T. Rachev |
| Abstract: | Using data from 2000 through 2022, we analyze the predictive capability of the annual numbers of new home constructions and four available environmental, social, and governance factors on the average annual price of homes sold in eight major U.S. cities. We contrast the predictive capability of a P-spline generalized additive model (GAM) against a strictly linear version of the commonly used generalized linear model (GLM). As the data for the annual price and predictor variables constitute non-stationary time series, to avoid spurious correlations in the analysis we transform each time series appropriately to produce stationary series for use in the GAM and GLM models. While arithmetic returns or first differences are adequate transformations for the predictor variables, for the average price response variable we utilize the series of innovations obtained from AR(q)-ARCH(1) fits. Based on the GAM results, we find that the influence of ESG factors varies markedly by city, reflecting geographic diversity. Notably, the presence of air conditioning emerges as a strong factor. Despite limitations on the length of available time series, this study represents a pivotal step toward integrating ESG considerations into predictive real estate models. |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2404.07132&r=ure |
| By: | Patrice Pieretti; Giuseppe Pulina; Skerdilajda Zanaj |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we model two-way migration as the outcome of strategic public policies adopted by competing jurisdictions. We assume that two economies, distinguished by different technological levels, host a continuum of mobile individuals with varying skill levels. To maximize their net revenues, governments compete for mobile workers by taxing wages and providing a public good that enhances firm productivity (public input). We show that the most skilled workers migrate to the technologically advanced economy. However, the government in the less technologically developed economy can retain some of its skilled workers and attract workers from abroad by offering lower taxes or more public inputs. As a result, a two-way migration pattern emerges, driven by governments’ strategic policy choices. Finally, the introduction of heterogeneity in population size does not significantly alter the results. |
| Keywords: | Bilateral migration, tax competition; heterogeneous skills, technological gap, policy competition. |
| JEL: | H20 H32 H54 H87 F22 F60 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcl:bclwop:bclwp183&r=ure |
| By: | Matte Hartog; Andres Gomez-Lievano; Ricardo Hausmann; Frank Neffke |
| Abstract: | Between the mid-19th and mid-20th century, the US transformed from an agri- cultural economy to the frontier in science, technology and industry. We study how the US transitioned from traditional craftsmanship-based to today’s science-based innovation. To do so, we digitize half a million pages of patent yearbooks that describe inventors, organizations and technologies on over 1.6M patent and add demo- graphic information from US census records and information on corporate research activities from large-scale repeated surveys on industrial research labs. Starting in 1920, the 19th-century craftsmanship-based invention was, within just 20 years, overtaken by a rapidly emerging new system based on teamwork and a new specialist class of inventors, engineers. This new system relied on a social innovation: industrial research labs. These labs supported high-skill teamwork, replacing the collaborations within families with professional ties in firms and industrial research labs. This shift had wide-ranging consequences. It not only altered the division of labor in invention, but also reshaped the geography of innovation, reestablishing large cities as epicenters of technological progress and introduced new barriers to patenting for women and foreign-born inventors that have persisted into the 21st century. |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2408&r=ure |
| By: | Altsitsiadis, E.; Kaiser, M.; Tsakas, A.; Kyriakidis, A.; Stamos, A. |
| Abstract: | Clean energy transition underpins the European Energy strategy with ambitious objectives for Renewable Energy Technologies (RET) deployment. Yet, social support remains a significant barrier to accelerating the energy transition. Existing studies have examined wide-ranging social-psychological factors that can affect support for RETs but have failed to address key local barriers. This study aims to illuminate regional characteristics that can influence social support for energy alternatives by assessing public support for two emerging renewables, hydrogen and biomethane, in three different EU countries, the Netherlands, Spain and Greece. We combine our micro-data with EU regional indicators to extend our model beyond known individual-level factors and test the effects of higher-scale antecedents covering regional development, poverty and social exclusion statistics. Our multilevel regression analysis reveals that severe material deprivation plays a key role in social support for RETs. In particular, our results suggest that people living in regions with elevated poverty levels are less likely to support such energy systems. This finding is consistent for both the renewables examined in the three EU countries studied. Our research offers significant and timely insights for accelerating the clean energy transition, while highlighting the need for better strategies to gain and increase social support for RETs. |
| Keywords: | Renewable energy acceptance, just transition, energy poverty, regional factors |
| JEL: | I32 Q42 Q55 R58 |
| Date: | 2024–04–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:2419&r=ure |
| By: | Buchot, Tom; Couttenier, Mathieu; Laugerette, Lucile; Mougin, Elisa; Verlet, Alexandre |
| Abstract: | Bai et al. (2023) examine the impact of individual networks on state building, focusing on the role of the leader Zeng Guofan during the Taiping Revolution in China between 1850 and 1864. In their main results, the authors demonstrate that being connected to Zeng increases the number of fatalities during the war after his assumption of power, with point estimates being significant at the 1% or 5% level. They also find a positive and significant effect of connections to Zeng among Hunan people on the number of national-level office positions, with point estimates significant at the 1% level. First, we reproduce the paper's main findings and identify minor inaccuracies in the codes that need fixing for the proper reproduction of some tables. However, these issues do not significantly impact the overall results. Second, we conduct additional checks and argue that the results are robust to variations in the number of fixed effects but highly dependent on the choice of econometric specification. We employ alternative models more suitable for data with a substantial number of zeros, revealing a decrease in the magnitude and significance of the estimates. Last, we perform spatial robustness checks, confirming the absence of spatial correlation between Hunan county and its neighboring regions, as suggested by the authors. |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:115&r=ure |
| By: | Aldén, Lina (Linnaeus University); Hammarstedt, Mats (Linnaeus University); Skedinger, Per (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | Our use of longitudinal register data combined with a unique survey allows us to offer a more comprehensive picture of rural self-employment than in previous studies. We find that self-employed in rural settings are more likely than those in metropolitan regions to employ others, but self-employment rates in rural areas are lower. There is substantial heterogeneity among the rural self-employed; in-movers are quite different from stayers in terms of their perceptions of the conditions necessary for business success and their employment practices. Policy initiatives aimed at fostering development in rural areas should consider these distinctions. |
| Keywords: | Self-Employment; Labor Mobility; Regional Development; Rural Economics |
| JEL: | J24 J61 R11 |
| Date: | 2024–04–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1487&r=ure |
| By: | Sophia Chen; Ryu Matsuura; Flavien Moreau; Ms. Joana Pereira |
| Abstract: | Prioritizing populations most in need of social assistance is an important policy decision. In the Eastern Caribbean, social assistance targeting is constrained by limited data and the need for rapid support in times of large economic and natural disaster shocks. We leverage recent advances in machine learning and satellite imagery processing to propose an implementable strategy in the face of these constraints. We show that local well-being can be predicted with high accuracy in the Eastern Caribbean region using satellite data and that such predictions can be used to improve targeting by reducing aggregation bias, better allocating resources across areas, and proxying for information difficult to verify. |
| Keywords: | Social assistance targeting; satellite data; machine learning; Eastern Caribbean; Small Island Developing States. |
| Date: | 2024–04–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2024/084&r=ure |
| By: | Michelle W. Bowman |
| Date: | 2024–04–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgsq:98126&r=ure |
| By: | Efthymios Altsitsiadis; Micha Kaiser; Anastasios Tsakas; Anastasios Kyriakidis; Angelos Stamos |
| Keywords: | Renewable energy acceptance, just transition, energy poverty, regional factors |
| JEL: | I32 Q42 Q55 R58 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg2402&r=ure |
| By: | Jantsch, Antje; Piper, Alan |
| Abstract: | In this study, we explore the relationship between town size and subjective well-being (SWB) in Latin America. We utilize data from the Latinobarómetro survey from 2005 to 2015, employing multilevel modeling to analyze individual responses to life satisfaction as an indicator of SWB. We refine the town size categories provided in the Latinobarómetro by cross-referencing the geographic information with the United Nations Demographic Yearbook, one of our main contributions, leaving us with more refined town size categories than previous research. Given previous theories, we also explore how education moderates the town size-SWB relationship. Our findings reveal that individuals in towns with populations between 10, 000 and 500, 000 report lower life satisfaction compared to those in smaller or larger towns. Controlling for national macroeconomic conditions reverses the positive association between SWB and living in a very large city. Furthermore, we find support for the notion that lower-educated individuals are less happy in large cities, while the relationship is inconclusive for highly-educated individuals. This study underscores the importance of refining town size data and suggests avenues for future research to deepen collective understanding of the ‘geography of happiness’ in Latin America. |
| Keywords: | life satisfaction, subjective well-being, education, town size, Latin America, Latinobarómetro, multilevel modelling |
| JEL: | I31 R10 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120565&r=ure |
| By: | Jack Dunbar; Christopher J. Kurz; Geng Li; Maria D. Tito |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the impact of two fiscal programs, the Economic Impact Payments and the Paycheck Protection Program, on vehicle purchases and relates our findings to post-pandemic price pressures. We find that receiving a stimulus check increased the probability of purchasing new vehicles. In addition, the disbursement of funds from the Paycheck Protection Program was associated with a rise in local new car registrations. Our estimates indicate that these two programs account for a boost of 1 3/4 million units—or 12 percent—to new car sales in 2020. Furthermore, the induced boost in sales coincided with the presence of significant production constraints and exacerbated an inventory drawdown, thereby contributing to the rapid increase in new vehicle prices that prevailed in the subsequent years. |
| Keywords: | Discretionary Fiscal Policy; Light Vehicle Purchases; Inflation |
| JEL: | E21 E31 G31 G51 H24 H31 |
| Date: | 2024–03–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2024-13&r=ure |
| By: | Rabah Arezki; Duong Trung Le; Ha Nguyen; Hieu Nguyen |
| Abstract: | We empirically examine how import competition affects sentiment toward China in local communities in the United States using a news-based index for sentiment. Results are threefold. First, U.S. sentiment toward China peaked in 2007 before turning negative. Second, communities more exposed to import competition from China have experienced a greater deterioration in sentiment. Third, the trade-induced U.S. sentiment toward China is broad-based, encompassing political, military, and national security issues. These findings suggest that competition over trade may have important geopolitical implications through sentiment of local communities. |
| Keywords: | import competition, sentiment, fragmentation |
| JEL: | E24 F14 F16 J23 J31 L60 O47 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11044&r=ure |
| By: | Leogrande, Angelo |
| Abstract: | In the following article I analyze the determinants of regular internet users in the Italian regions. The data is analyzed both in terms of static analysis and also through the application of the k-Means algorithm optimized with the Elbow method. Subsequently, an econometric model is presented for estimating regular internet users in the Italian regions based on variables that reflect the state of technological innovation and digital culture. The results are analyzed and discussed in light of the implications that digitalisation has for triggering economic growth. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, Innovation and Invention, Management of Technological Innovation and R&D, Technological Change, Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital |
| JEL: | O30 O31 O32 O33 O34 |
| Date: | 2024–04–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120612&r=ure |
| By: | Bart van Ark (The Productivity Institute, The University of Manchester); Mary O'Mahony (The Productivity Institute, King's College London) |
| Keywords: | Productivity, UK regions, UK places |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anj:ppaper:018&r=ure |
| By: | Daniel Montolio (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB); Zelda Brutti (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, Unit S.3 - CC-ME) |
| Abstract: | We analyse how grade distributions change when higher education evaluations transition online and disentangle the mechanisms that help to explain the change observed in students' results. We leverage administrative panel data, survey data and data on course plans from a large undergraduate degree at the University of Barcelona. We show that grade averages increase and their dispersion reduce. Changes are driven by students from the lower end of the performance distribution and by a reduction in the occurrence of fail grades; however, we do not find evidence for artificial `grade adjusting' to explain the phenomenon. We are also able to dismiss shifts in the composition of test takers, improvements in teaching quality or in learning experiences and increases in student engagement. While changes in the assessment formats employed do not appear to mediate the causal relationship between online evaluation and higher grades, we identify more dispersed evaluation opportunities and increased cheating as explanatory factors. |
| Keywords: | Higher Education; Online Education; Online Assessment; Administrative Data; Survey Data; Covid |
| JEL: | I23 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:doc2024-03&r=ure |
| By: | BIANCHI Guia (European Commission - JRC); MATTI Cristian (European Commission - JRC); PONTIKAKIS Dimitrios (European Commission - JRC); REIMERIS Ramojus (European Commission - JRC); HAEGEMAN Karel Herman (European Commission - JRC); MIEDZINSKI Michal (European Commission - JRC); SILLERO ILLANES Carmen (European Commission - JRC); MIFSUD Solange (European Commission - JRC); SASSO Simone (European Commission - JRC); BOL Erica (European Commission - JRC); MARQUES SANTOS Anabela (European Commission - JRC); ANDREONI Antonio; JANSSEN Matthijs; SAUBLENS Christian; STEFANOV Ruslan; TOLIAS Yannis |
| Abstract: | Addressing complex challenges requires different tools, mindsets and approaches from those traditionally used, which contributed to create some of these challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, raising inequalities. Focusing on one is not sufficient and understanding their interlinkages and feedback effects is essential. Innovation policy alone cannot help us tackle such problems, nor to achieve the European Green Deal – Europe’s own socio-economic transformation strategy. For this, interterritorial collaboration, network governance and coordinated policy-action mixes enable efforts at the local, regional and national level to achieve long-term societal wellbeing and climate resilient development. Building partnerships is therefore not only a desired objective, but a necessary prerequisite to move towards long-term societal wellbeing and secure Europe’s open strategic autonomy. ‘Innovation for place-based transformations’ includes three operational documents. First, the ACTIONbook provides some activities to build strategic and purpose-driven partnerships within an institution, department, territory, and across boundaries. Then, a collection of practices from territories describes existing approaches to transformative innovation taking place in Europe. Finally, a collection of tools for ACTION is linked to activities described in the ACTIONbook and can be used to put them in practice. This document is published by the Joint Research Centre and the European Committee of the Regions and is the result of a co-creative effort with Partnerships for Regional Innovation (PRI) pilot participants, the PRI Scientific Committee, experts and policymakers. |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc135826&r=ure |
| By: | Graubner, Marten; Hüttel, Silke |
| Abstract: | Much of the land economics literature has largely ignored the spatial nature of competition and related differences between farmland rental and sales markets. In this note we propose a model for price formation in both markets under a spatial competition framework. We demonstrate that price formation differs, particularly under policy-induced output price shocks. We suggest that using rent-price ratio as an approximation for expectations in the net returns of farming, based on the net present value model, may produce biased results. We conclude that estimates for the capitalization of agricultural, environmental and energy policy into farmland prices can be biased. |
| Keywords: | Land Markets, Rent-price Ratio, Spatial Competition |
| JEL: | L13 Q12 Q18 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:forlwp:290396&r=ure |