The Economic Journal

article

Inequality and Relative Ability Beliefs

Jeffrey V. Butler

The Economic Journal > 126 > 593 > 907 - 948

I present experimental evidence for a novel mechanism yielding inequality persistence. Just world beliefs research suggests that individuals believe they merit unequal treatment they experience. Merit depends on ability and effort so that disadvantage (advantage) may undermine (bolster) confidence in own relative ability. Because decisions determining economic success rely on such beliefs (e.g. competitiveness),...

article

The Need for Enemies

Leopoldo Fergusson, James A. Robinson, Ragnar Torvik, Juan F. Vargas

The Economic Journal > 126 > 593 > 1018 - 1054

We develop a model where some politicians have an edge in undertaking a task and this gives them electoral advantage, creating an incentive to underperform in the task. We test the empirical implications in the context of fighting against insurgents, using Colombian data. The main prediction is that large defeats for the insurgents reduce the probability that these politicians fight them, especially...

article

A Theory of Political Entrenchment

Gilles Saint‐Paul, Davide Ticchi, Andrea Vindigni

The Economic Journal > 126 > 593 > 1238 - 1263

Can an incumbent political party increase its chances at re‐election by implementing inefficient policies that harm its constituency? This paper studies the possibility of such a phenomenon, which we label political entrenchment. We use a two‐party dynamic model of redistribution with probabilistic voting. Political entrenchment by the Left occurs only if incumbency rents are sufficiently high. Low‐skill...

article

The Effect of Local Area Crime on Mental Health

Christian Dustmann, Francesco Fasani

The Economic Journal > 126 > 593 > 978 - 1017

This study analyses the effect of local crime rates on residents' mental health. Using longitudinal information on individuals' mental well‐being, we address the problem of sorting and endogenous moving behaviour. We find that crime causes considerable mental distress for residents, primarily driven by property crime. Effects are stronger for females, and mainly related to depression and anxiety....

article

Classroom Grade Composition and Pupil Achievement

Edwin Leuven, Marte Rønning

The Economic Journal > 126 > 593 > 1164 - 1192

This article exploits discontinuous grade mixing rules in Norwegian junior high schools to estimate how classroom grade composition affects pupil achievement. Pupils in mixed grade classrooms are found to outperform pupils in single grade classrooms. This finding is driven by pupils benefiting from sharing the classroom with more mature peers from higher grades. The presence of lower grade peers is...

article

Intergenerational Transfers and the Fertility–Income Relationship

Juan Carlos Córdoba, Marla Ripoll

The Economic Journal > 126 > 593 > 949 - 977

Evidence from cross‐sectional data reveals a negative relationship between family income and fertility. This article argues that constraints to intergenerational transfers are crucial for understanding this relationship. If parents could legally impose debt obligations on their children to recover the costs incurred in raising them, then fertility would be independent of parental income. A relationship...

article

Trust and the Welfare State: the Twin Peaks Curve

Yann Algan, Pierre Cahuc, Marc Sangnier

The Economic Journal > 126 > 593 > 861 - 883

We show the existence of a twin peaks relation between trust and the size of the welfare state that stems from two opposing forces. Uncivic people support large welfare states because they expect to benefit from them without bearing their costs. But civic individuals support generous benefits and high taxes only when they are surrounded by trustworthy individuals. We provide empirical evidence for...

article

The Engine Immobiliser: A Non‐starter for Car Thieves

Jan C. Ours, Ben Vollaard

The Economic Journal > 126 > 593 > 1264 - 1291

We provide evidence for a beneficial welfare impact of a policy targeted at strengthening victim precaution. Regulation made application of the electronic engine immobiliser mandatory for all new cars sold within the European Union. We exploit the regulation as source of exogenous variation in use of the anti‐theft device. The device reduced car theft by an estimated 40%, accounting for both the protective...

article

Endowments at Birth and Parents' Investments in Children

Achyuta Adhvaryu, Anant Nyshadham

The Economic Journal > 126 > 593 > 781 - 820

Do parents invest more in higher quality children, or do they compensate for lower quality by giving more to children with lower endowments? We answer this question in the context of a large‐scale iodine supplementation programme in Tanzania. We find that children with higher programme exposure were more likely to receive necessary vaccines and were breastfed for longer. Siblings of treated children...

article

On Measuring the Welfare Gains from Trade Under Consumer Heterogeneity

Sergey Nigai

The Economic Journal > 126 > 593 > 1193 - 1237

I develop a multi‐country, multi‐industry model of trade that features heterogeneous consumers with non‐homothetic preferences. I use the model to quantify the measurement errors in the welfare gains estimates caused by the assumption of a representative consumer (ARC). First, I reduce the world level of all trade costs by 15% and find that ARC overestimates (underestimates) the gains of the poor...

article

Why Did the Netherlands Develop So Early? The Legacy of the Brethren of the Common Life

İ. Semih Akçomak, Dinand Webbink, Bas Weel

The Economic Journal > 126 > 593 > 821 - 860

This research establishes a link between the Brethren of the Common Life (BCL), a religious community founded by Geert Groote in Deventer in the late fourteenth century, and the early economic development of the Netherlands. The BCL stimulated human capital accumulation. The historical analyses show that the BCL contributed to the high rates of literacy, to the high level of book production and to...

article

Regulation via the Polluter‐pays Principle

Stefan Ambec, Lars Ehlers

The Economic Journal > 126 > 593 > 884 - 906

We consider the problem of regulating an economy with environmental pollution. We examine the distributional impact of the polluter‐pays (PP) principle which requires that any agent compensates all other agents for the damages caused by his or her (pollution) emissions. With constant marginal damages we show that regulation via the PP principle leads to the unique welfare distribution that induces...

article

The Economic Aftermath of Resource Booms: Evidence from Boomtowns in the American West

Grant D. Jacobsen, Dominic P. Parker

The Economic Journal > 126 > 593 > 1092 - 1128

The current US oil and gas boom is injecting labour, capital and revenue into communities near reserves. Will these communities be cursed with lower long‐run incomes in the wake of the boom? We study the oil boom‐and‐bust cycle of the 1970s and 1980s to gain insights. Using annual data on drilling to identify western boom‐and‐bust counties, we find substantial positive local employment and income...

article

Mathematics and Gender: Heterogeneity in Causes and Consequences

Juanna Schrøter Joensen, Helena Skyt Nielsen

The Economic Journal > 126 > 593 > 1129 - 1163

We exploit an institutional reduction in the costs of acquiring advanced high school mathematics to assess the causes and consequences of fewer girls choosing advanced mathematics. Girls at the top and boys at the middle of the mathematics ability distribution took more mathematics because of the cost reduction. We estimate a positive average earnings effect encompassing girls completing more advanced...

article

Does High Inequality Attract High Skilled Immigrants?

Eric D. Gould, Omer Moav

The Economic Journal > 126 > 593 > 1055 - 1091

This study examines how the sources and levels of income inequality affect how a country attracts and retains high skilled workers. With parameter values that yield realistic levels of emigration, our model shows that emigration rates increase with education when the returns to education are higher abroad. However, the relationship between unobservable skills (‘residual wages’) and emigration can...

INFONA - science communication portal

The Economic Journal

Inequality and Relative Ability Beliefs

The Need for Enemies

A Theory of Political Entrenchment

The Effect of Local Area Crime on Mental Health

Classroom Grade Composition and Pupil Achievement

Intergenerational Transfers and the Fertility–Income Relationship

Trust and the Welfare State: the Twin Peaks Curve

The Engine Immobiliser: A Non‐starter for Car Thieves

Endowments at Birth and Parents' Investments in Children

On Measuring the Welfare Gains from Trade Under Consumer Heterogeneity

Why Did the Netherlands Develop So Early? The Legacy of the Brethren of the Common Life

Regulation via the Polluter‐pays Principle

The Economic Aftermath of Resource Booms: Evidence from Boomtowns in the American West

Mathematics and Gender: Heterogeneity in Causes and Consequences

Does High Inequality Attract High Skilled Immigrants?

Filter options

Publication date

INFONA - science communication portal

The Economic Journal

Add recipient

Sending message cancelled

Are you sure you want to cancel sending this message?

Send message

Filter options

Publication date

Date range setting

Set the date range to filter the displayed results. You can set a starting date, ending date or both. You can enter the dates manually or choose them from the calendar.

Reporting an error / abuse

Sending the report failed

Accessibility options