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Income is one of the most important and well–studied determinants of subjective well–being (SWB), and empirical evidence indicates that there is a robust positive income effect on measures of SWB. However, evidence from previous studies is inconclusive regarding the impact of relative income on reported well–being. In this study, we use original Japanese survey data collected in 2015 and reference...
Many countries which experienced rising home prices (often described as bubbles) over the 2000s decade also ran large trade deficits. Some early research on the topic suggested that capital from trade surplus countries lowered borrowing costs and boosted housing values. In this scenario, the current account deficits and high home prices in bubble countries were driven in substantial part by capital...
This paper estimates the effects of risky behaviors (e.g., smoking, alcohol, marijuana, risky sex) on subjective well‐being. To identify these effects from endogenous sorting, I use information from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and a system of simultaneous equations for participation in four risky activities and formation of individual happiness. My results provide evidence that...
In this paper, we investigate the relationships among total population, wages and the urban population in the Italian economy during the period 1320‐1870. From the late Middle Ages to the Early Modern age (the Italian Renaissance), the prevailing conditions were those of a poor, mainly agricultural economy with rudimentary technology. However, these centuries witnessed considerable growth of urban...
This paper examines the effect of extending the primary school day on maternal labor supply. I exploit the staggered nature of the recent German reform to extend school hours and assess whether or not gaining access to a full day school increases the likelihood that mothers enter into the labor market or extend their hours worked if already employed. I use the German Socio‐Economic Panel data set...
A substantial literature exists on the effects of military expenditures on economic growth, yet no study has analyzed the effects of military occupation other than in anecdotal cases. This paper uses a panel of 214 countries from 1950 to 2013 to study how economic growth is impacted by different forms of military occupation. Transformative occupations aim to establish institutions to promote stability...
This paper empirically studies the human capital effects of grammatical rules that permit speakers to drop a personal pronoun when used as a subject of a sentence. By de‐emphasizing the significance of the individual, such languages may perpetuate ancient values and norms that give primacy to the collective, inducing governments and families to invest relatively little in education because education...
We examine the impact of labour productivity growth of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) on labour productivity growth of large firms in a 19‐year panel of 26 European countries. We apply a dynamic panel data model that allows for macro‐level interdependencies in productivity between small and large firms. Our main finding concerns a sizable positive effect of labour productivity increases...
We experimentally explore the connections between horizontal conflict of interests (citizens have heterogeneous preferences over collective decisions) and vertical conflict of interests (agents in charge of implementing collective decisions earn political rents). We identify two sets of models that incorporate both types of conflicts: electoral models with endogenous rents, and common‐agency models...
Incentivizing subordinates is a crucial task of anyone in a decision‐making role. However, little is known about the mechanisms behind selection of different types of incentives. Our laboratory experiment characterizes the ways in which male and female decision‐makers assign incentives, and how these choices are perceived by those affected by them. We find that women are significantly less likely...
This study uses survey data from the I.Family Study to investigate the association between adolescent and peer overweight in a sample of adolescents aged 12–16 from six European countries. We find clear evidence of peer effects on body mass index, waist circumference, and body fat, which are stronger among adolescents at the upper end of overweight distribution. We also provide evidence that both...
We explore whether EU membership has led to faster economic growth. Using different estimation strategies, different time periods, different country samples, and different datasets, we are unable to demonstrate the presence of a membership growth premium. This may reflect that GDP data are too noisy and/or causal identification too complicated, in which case we should remain agnostic about the EU's...
This paper studies the impact of government borrowing costs on fiscal discipline against the background of unprecedentedly low interest rates in advanced economies brought about by ultra‐expansionary monetary policies of recent years. Applying the panel data econometric approach for a sample of OECD and 11 early euro area countries over the period 1985–2015, the study suggests a positive and statistically...
What role do personal values play in the practice of economists? By means of a survey among economists working inside and outside academia in the Netherlands, we present novel insights on their personal values, how these differ from the average citizen, and how values impact their economic views and their methodological choices. Three overarching values summarize the value structure of economists:...
The new institutional literature widely acknowledges the benefits of growth‐enhancing institutions but rarely discusses the path of institutional reform. While good institutions stabilize the structure of exchange and decrease uncertainty in market transactions, institutional reform may involve institutional volatility. If institutional volatility increases uncertainty, it can mitigate the benefits...
Government transparency has been discussed both as a way to decrease informational asymmetries between officeholders and citizens and as part of what makes for procedurally fair governance. These two different lines of argument generate predictions about how transparency should change voters’ reactions to economic and policy outcomes. First, under high transparency, voters should respond less positively...
Two views exist regarding the nature of the banking business. The dominant view defines banks as financial intermediaries – institutions in the business of transferring money from savers to borrowers. An alternative view advances that banks finance borrowers via money creation. I explain the differences between these two views and argue for the superiority of the latter one as a description of modern...
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