Birth Timing and Neonatal Health Borra, Cristina; González, Libertad; Sevilla, Almudena
The American economic review,
05/2016, Letnik:
106, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
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We take advantage of a new natural experiment to evaluate the health effects of scheduling birth early for non-medical reasons on infant health. In 2010, the cancellation of a generous child benefit ...in Spain led may families to schedule birth early in order to remain eligible for the subsidy. We document that the affected cohort of children did not suffer any increase in birth complications or medical conditions right at birth, but were significantly more likely to be admitted to hospital during their second and third weeks of life, suggesting potentially persistent negative health effects.
Anchoring the yield curve using survey expectations Altavilla, Carlo; Giacomini, Raffaella; Ragusa, Giuseppe
Journal of applied econometrics (Chichester, England),
September/October 2017, Letnik:
32, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
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The dynamic behavior of the term structure of interest rates is difficult to replicate with models, and even models with a proven track record of empirical performance have underperformed since the ...early 2000s. On the other hand, survey expectations can accurately predict yields, but they are typically not available for all maturities and/or forecast horizons. We show how survey expectations can be exploited to improve the accuracy of yield curve forecasts given by a base model. We do so by employing a flexible exponential tilting method that anchors the model forecasts to the survey expectations, and we develop a test to guide the choice of the anchoring points. The method implicitly incorporates into yield curve forecasts any information that survey participants have access to—such as information about the current state of the economy or forward-looking information contained in monetary policy announcements—without the need to explicitly model it. We document that anchoring delivers large and significant gains in forecast accuracy relative to the class of models that are widely adopted by financial and policy institutions for forecasting the term structure of interest rates.
This study uses the Becker's (1957) taste-based discrimination model to analyse the effects of import penetration from China and from the Rest of the World (ROW) on the share of female workers and on ...the male-female wage gap in the manufacturing sector of Brazil. Using 2000-2012 data from the Brazilian Censuses and Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios, this paper finds no effect of the industry-level exports share on these outcomes. The Chinese import penetration increased the female share and narrowed the male-female wage gap except for college educated workers. The ROW import penetration raised the female share among workers with college degrees, but widened the wage gap except for those with college degrees. These effects were modified with the implementation of the Nova Matriz Econômica (NME) policy in 2008. During the post-NME regime, Chinese import penetration reduced the female share across all workers' groups, while the negative effects of ROW increased on the female share of all groups and on the wage gap in the unskilled-labour intensive industries except for the workers with college degrees. Hence, the effects of the heightened trade-induced competition on workers' discrimination depends on the type and source of imports, the education of workers, and the domestic policies, specifically on wages and sectoral subsidies.
Summary
Empirical studies show that government ideology has hardly influenced welfare expenditures since the 1990s, casting doubt on the general ability of national governments to design economic ...policies according to their programmatic appeals. This study takes a comprehensive view on policy‐making by using a modified version of the Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom of the World Index. I focus on the aspects of economic freedom that provoke party polarization and that national governments are capable of influencing. The results suggest that government ideology still matters in the early 21st century: The empirical analysis of 36 OECD or new European Union member states from 2000 to 2012 shows that left‐wing governments are associated with significantly lower economic freedom. Economic freedom continues to be the guiding principle that divides left and right in economic policy‐making because the left still promotes relatively higher levels of government spending and regulation.
We show that equilibrium matching models imply that standard estimates of the matching function elasticities are exposed to an endogeneity bias, which arises from the search behavior of agents on ...either side of the market. We offer an estimation method which, under certain structural assumptions about the process driving shocks to matching efficiency, is immune from that bias. Application of our method to the estimation of a basic version of the matching function using aggregate U.S. data from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) suggests that the bias can be quantitatively important.
► Matching models imply that standard estimates of the matching function are biased. ► The bias arises from endogenous search by agents on both sides of the market. ► We offer an estimation method which is immune from that bias. ► Application of our method suggests that the bias is quantitatively important.
We show that armed conflict in Uganda affects civic participation, measured by the frequency of political discussion and local meeting attendance. Relying on four rounds of nationally representative ...individual-level data on civic participation bracketing a large number of battle events, we find that civic participation increases in districts in which battle events took place. Evidence from a variety of identification strategies, including difference-in-difference and IV estimates, suggest that the relationship is causal. However, unlike previous studies, we find that experiencing violence does not affect formal electoral participation.
This paper explores the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) into FDI least recipient regions. Panel data for 20 sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) and 11 Middle East and North Africa (MENA) ...countries are used for the period 2000–12. Findings of the fixed effects estimations suggest that FDI inflows into these regions are influenced by GDP per capita, infrastructure development, trade openness, and control of corruption. Conversely, inflation negatively affects FDI inflows, and rents from natural resources do not significantly influence FDI. Furthermore, the findings show that marginal benefits from any increase in the quantity of FDI determinants (with the exception of control of corruption) will be less for SSA countries. The paper concludes with important policy implications deduced from the findings.
The implementation of innovation-driven strategy is of great significance. Analysis of the driving factors of innovation performance from quantitative and systematic perspectives is needed for policy ...making. By drawing upon the LMDI model, this study identifies the driving factors and their corresponding contributions in the innovation performance of 30 Chinese provincial-level regions during the period 2000–2012. The innovation performance is decomposed into the regional economic structure effect, R&D intensity effect, innovation efficiency effect, and economic development effect according to the driving mechanism. The results indicate that the third effect in this list, innovation efficiency, contributes the most to innovation performance at 54.28%, followed by the regional R&D intensity at 27.49%, and China’s economic development at 19.92%. The effect of the regional economic structure is negative, at −1.69%. This study further analyzes four major economic areas of China and identifies the channels through which each area conducts their innovation activities. The empirical findings provide information for policy measures to implement innovation-driven strategies.
Creating a new racial order Hochschild, Jennifer L; Weaver, Vesla M; Burch, Traci R
2012., 20120226, 2012, 2012-02-26, 20120101
eBook
The American racial order--the beliefs, institutions, and practices that organize relationships among the nation's races and ethnicities--is undergoing its greatest transformation since the 1960s. ...Creating a New Racial Order takes a groundbreaking look at the reasons behind this dramatic change, and considers how different groups of Americans are being affected. Through revealing narrative and striking research, the authors show that the personal and political choices of Americans will be critical to how, and how much, racial hierarchy is redefined in decades to come.
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