As the first country in the world, Slovakia implemented and repeated mass rapid antigen testing. A new paper published ONLINE FIRST OPEN ACCESS in the Journal of Population Economics has shown that this had reduced infections substantially.
by Martin Kahanec, Lukáš Lafférs & Bernhard Schmidpeter
Published ONLINE FIRST 2021: Journal of Population Economics OPEN ACCESS: PDF
Martin Kahanec
Author Abstract: In the absence of effective vaccination, mass testing and quarantining of positive cases and their contacts could help to mitigate pandemics and allow economies to stay open. We investigate the effects of repeated mass testing on the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, using data from the first ever nationwide rapid antigen testing implemented in Slovakia in autumn 2020. After the first round of testing, only districts above an ex ante unknown threshold of test positivity were re-tested. Comparing districts above and below the threshold, we provide evidence that repeated mass antigen testing can temporarily reduce the number of new infections. Our results suggest that mass testing coupled with the quarantining of positive cases and their contacts could be an effective tool in mitigating pandemics. For lasting effects, re-testing at regular intervals would likely be necessary.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
Published ONLINE FIRST 2021: Journal of Population Economics FREE READLINK: https://rdcu.be/coNTX
Author Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of an increase in life expectancy on the level and the distribution of income in the presence of skill heterogeneity and automation. It shows analytically that an increase in life expectancy induces the replacement of low-skilled workers by automation capital and high-skilled workers. Moreover, it raises the skill premium and has an ambiguous effect on total income. A simulation exercise, based on US data, shows that an increase in life expectancy raises the level as well as the inequality of income. We consider redistributive policies that can mitigate some of the adverse effects of an increase in life expectancy for low-skilled workers.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
A new GLO Discussion Paper finds that the election of a mayor supported by an anti-immigrant coalition significantly affect immigrants’ location choices only when considering the most recent years.
Author Abstract: We investigate the influence of anti-immigrant parties on foreigners’ location choices in Italy. Considering municipal elections from 2000 to 2018, we create a database that includes a scientific-based classification on the anti-/pro-immigration axis of all Italian political parties based on experts’ opinions. Via the adoption of a regression discontinuity design, we find that the election of a mayor supported by an anti-immigrant coalition significantly affect immigrants’ location choices only when considering the most recent years. This finding does not appear to be driven by the enactment of policies against immigrants but by an ‘inhospitality effect’, which got stronger over time due to the exacerbation of political propaganda at the national and local level.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
A new GLO Discussion Paper for Italy documents that the economic effects of the COVID-19 shock are dramatically unbalanced across the Italian territory and spatially uncorrelated with the epidemiological pattern of the first wave.
Author Abstract: This paper assesses the impact of the first wave of the pandemic on the local economies of one of the hardest-hit countries, Italy. We combine quarterly local labor market data with the new machine learning control method for counterfactual building. Our results document that the economic effects of the COVID-19 shock are dramatically unbalanced across the Italian territory and spatially uncorrelated with the epidemiological pattern of the first wave. The heterogeneity of employment losses is associated with exposure to social aggregation risks and pre-existing labor market fragilities. Finally, we quantify the protective role played by the labor market interventions implemented by the government and show that, while effective, they disproportionately benefitted the most developed Italian regions. Such diverging trajectories and unequal policy effects call for a place-based policy approach that promptly addresses the uneven economic geography of the current crisis.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
A new GLO Discussion Paper finds that the implementation of a six-week paid family leave in California/USA reduced the post-neonatal mortality rate with larger effects for infants with married mothers and infant boys.
Author Abstract: One goal of the paid family leave (PFL) is to help working mothers balance their careers and family responsibilities and hence improve the well-being of their infants. However, most studies of PFL on early childhood outcomes have been based on the analyses of surviving infants. If PFL reduces infant deaths, such analyses would understate the effects. Using the linked birth and infant death data in the U.S. with a difference-in-differences framework, I find that the implementation of a six-week PFL in California reduced the post-neonatal mortality rate by 0.135, or it saved approximately 339 infant lives. The effects were driven by death from internal causes, and there were larger effects for infants with married mothers and infant boys. Additional robustness checks and placebo examinations indicate that the effect is not due to confounding factors or contemporary shocks but causal.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
A new GLO Discussion Paper reflects and evaluates the literature on labour standards against the background of changes in the nature of labour , the workplace and societal needs.
Author Abstract: This chapter deals with the question of whether labour standards are less relevant or more relevant for the new world of work which is vastly different from the old world of work when most labour standards were first established. The various rationales for labour standards are first outlined. This is followed by a discussion of the changing pressures in the labour market that emanate from various forces: the pressures affecting employers and hence their demand for labour; the changing nature of the supply of labour; changes in forms of employee representation and the legal and regulatory environment in which the parties operate; and changes in the workplace and human resource practices within firms. These pressures lead to a changing role and need for labour standards, generally increasing the need, but also tending to reduce the ability of governments to provide such standards. Some illustrative evidence of the impact of specific labour standards is outlined, followed by a discussion of labour standards in developing and emerging economies. The paper concludes with a discussion of possible elements of smart regulation in this area to deal with the difficult trade-off between the increased need for labour standards confronting the reduced ability of governments to provide such standards.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
A new GLO Discussion Paper finds that international students move away strongly in response to recent political factors suggesting a considerable loss for European economies.
Author Abstract: Over the last decades, Europe attracted an increasing number of internationally mobile students. The related influx of talent into European labour markets constituted an important factor to the knowledge economy. This research addresses the question whether changing political landscapes in Europe, e.g. an increasing scepticism concerning migrants or support for right-wing parties, translated into a diminishing attractiveness of European economies. To this end, international graduates’ staying behaviour in 28 European destination countries is investigated based on bilateral stay rates for almost 150 countries of origin in the years 2009 to 2019. Controlling for various immigration regimes and institutional settings, international graduates are found to display a high level of sensitivity with respect to political dynamics: A distinct dominance of the right political spectrum may lower the number of international graduates willing to stay by up to 50%. The effect is particularly strong in election years when voters’ political preferences become more salient. Eventually, this amounts to a considerable loss for European economies since international graduates have acquired destination country specific human capital and are easily integrated into host societies.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
SSCIIMPACT FACTOR2.813 (2020) from 1.840 (2019) & 1.253 (2018) SSCI 5-Year Impact Factor3.318 (2020) from 2.353 (2019) & 2.072 (2018) SSCI Journal Citation Indicator (JCI) = 1.20 (2020).JoPE has 20% more citation impact than the average in its category. Rank by JCI in 2020: 98/549, Q1 Economics; 10/49, Q1 in Demography CiteScore (Scopus): 3.9 (2020) SJR (Scimago Journal Rank): 1.89 (2020) IDEAS/RePEc ranking (July 2021) was 77/2,698 journals (based on the Simple Impact Factor 17.327, for Journals and all years)
The Journal of Population of Economicsis an international quarterly that publishes original theoretical and applied research in all areas of population economics, household economics, and human resources. This report contains information about the Journal and its editorial process in the past year and some earlier years.
Figure 1: Number of Submissions
The number of submissions has substantially increased over recent years (Figure 1). Between 2011 and 2013, the Journal received about 400 submissions per year; by 2016 the number of submissions neared 500, and in 2020, 871 manuscripts were received. This marks an annual increase of submissions of 41%. Over the decade 2010-2020, the manuscript inflow rose from 337 to a level 2.6 times higher. The additional workload was managed through an efficient desk rejection policy for initial screening.
Figure 2: Origin of Submissions
In line with past years, the largest single share of submissions made in 2020 were from corresponding authors based in Europe (Figure 2). Nearly 40% of all submissions originated from Europe, and over one-third (34%) of submissions came from authors based in Asia and the Middle East. Under one-fifth (17%) of submissions came from authors based in North America. The remaining submissions came from contributors from Africa (6%), Oceania (Australia and New Zealand; 4%), and South and Central America (4%).
Figure 3: Visits by World Region 2019
Figure 3 contains the internet visits to the Journal on the Springer website from the world regions. With over a third of visits coming from North America and 29% from Europe, followed by the Asia-pacific region (22%), the Journal is globally accessed and read.
Figure 4: Days to First Decision
Figure 4 shows that the average number of days between submission and first decision has generally declined over time. Despite a slight uptick in the turnaround time for first decisions between 2015 and 2016, which may be partially attributed to the increased volume of submissions, there was a substantial reduction in turnaround time in following years. In 2020, the average time for first decisions was 24 days. The Journal is committed to keep the time between submission and decisions low, including eventual publication. Since 2013 the Journal has executed a desk rejection policy to provide authors with an early signal for better targeting of their work. The large number of submissions combined with an annual quota of 40 manuscripts keeps the acceptance rates of the Journal very low.
Table 1 shows three acceptance rate measures: 1) the number of manuscripts accepted in a given year as a share of all final decisions made in that year; 2) the number of published articles in a given year as a share of all submissions in that year; and; 3) the number of articles published in a given year divided by the number of the previous year’s submissions.
The number of accepted papers (submitted at any point in time) in a given year as a share of all decisions made in that year has shifted over time. The acceptance rate has declined from 7% in 2018 to 4.9% in 2019, slightly increasing in 2020 to 5.4%. If acceptance rate is measured as the number of published manuscripts as a share of total submissions received in that year, the acceptance rate was slightly higher, at 4.6% in 2020 (at 40 manuscripts from among 871 submissions), falling from 7.1% in 2018 and 6.5% in 2019. Measuring the acceptance rate as the number of publications as a share of the number of submissions received in the previous year (2019) would yield a 2020 rate of 6.5%, which is lower than the previous years (7.6% in 2018 and 7.1% in 2019).
Table 1: Acceptance Rates
Index Year
2018
2019
2020
No. accepted / Total No. decisions
7.0%
4.9%
5.4%
No. articles publ. / No. submissions
7.1%
6.5%
4.6%
No. articles publ. / No. subm. prev. year
7.6%
7.1%
6.5%
Table 2 reports the status of papers submitted in the given year for years 2018 – 2020. The Journal’s Impact Factor has increased substantially over time (Figure 5). In 2020 Impact Factor was 2.813, and the 5-year Impact Factor was 3.318. The Journal ranked 104/377 in economics and 10/29 in demography in 2020. As of July 2021, the Journal’s IDEAS/RePEc ranking was 77/2,698 (based on the Simple Impact Factor 17.327, for Journals and all years).
Table 2: Status of Papers Submitted in Particular Year
Outcome/Year
2018
2019
2020
Accept
39
35
47
Revise
68
125
81
Reject
522
551
737
The Journal is ranked in: Social Science Citation Index, Journal Citation Reports/Social Sciences, SCOPUS, EconLit, Google Scholar, EBSCO Discovery Service, ProQuest, CAB International, ABS Academic Journal Quality Guide, Academic OneFile, Academic Search, Bibliography of Asian Studies, CAB Abstracts, CSA Environmental Sciences, Current Contents/Social & Behavioral Sciences, ECONIS, ERIH PLUS, Gale, Global Health, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS), JSTOR, OCLC, Research Papers in Economics (RePEc), Review of Population Reviews, SCImago, and Summon by ProQuest.
Klaus F. Zimmermann, Editor-in-Chief Journal of Population Economics
Author Abstract: Recent studies have explored hiring discrimination as an obstacle to former burnout patients. Many workers, however, return to the same employer, where they face an even more severe aftermath of burnout syndrome: promotion discrimination. To our knowledge, we are the first to directly address this issue in research. More specifically, we conducted a vignette experiment with 406 genuine managers, testing the potential of the main burnout stigma theoretically described in the literature as potential mediators of promotion discrimination. Estimates reveal that compared to employees without an employment interruption, former burnout patients have no less than a 34.4% lower probability of receiving a promotion. Moreover, these employees are perceived as having low (1) leadership, (2) learning capacity, (3) motivation, (4) autonomy and (5) stress tolerance, as well as being (6) less capable of taking on an exemplary role, (7) having worse current and (8) future health, (9) collaborating with them is regarded more negatively, and (10) managers perceive them as having fewer options to leave the organisation if denied a promotion. Four of these perceptions, namely lower leadership capacities, stress tolerance, abilities to take on an exemplary role and chances of finding another job explain almost half the burnout effect on promotion probabilities.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
A new paper published ONLINE FIRST freely accessible finds that changes in legislation across time and between US states during the early twentieth century make parents chose to have fewer children in response to the constraints imposed.
The effect of compulsory schooling laws and child labor restrictions on fertility: evidence from the early twentieth century
by Yannay Shanan
Published ONLINE FIRST 2021: Journal of Population Economics FREE READLINK: https://rdcu.be/cn2UZ
Author Abstract: This paper uses census data to examine the impact of child labor restrictions imposed by compulsory schooling laws and child labor regulation on fertility. By exploiting variation induced by changes in legislation across time and between US states during the early twentieth century, I show that parents chose to have fewer children in response to the constraints imposed on the labor supply of their potential children and the increase in their expected quality. My findings suggest that compulsory schooling laws and child labor regulation contributed to the demographic transition in the US and provide additional empirical support for the notion that financial incentives play a role in determining household fertility decisions.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
A new GLO Discussion Paper studies various aspects of the wage gaps between formal and informal sector workers in Turkey: The decline in informal employment is not uniform, returns to informality vary significantly, and the rise of white collar low skilled service jobs is mainly responsible for the increasing wage gap at the bottom end.
Author Abstract: Various studies found wage gaps between formal and informal sector workers even after controlling for a number of individual and firm level characteristics. It has also been shown that earnings differentials across these sectors are quite stable over the years. While there is limited amount of research considering the same issues focusing on Turkish labor market, the development of wage gap between formal and informal employment has not been examined. In our paper, we carry this analysis for Turkey and estimate the wage gap between formal and informal sector workers by utilizing the Household Labor Force Survey (LFS) for the period of 2005 and 2019. There are three main findings; first, decline in informal employment is not uniform and especially after 2012 there is a slight increase in the share of informal jobs at the lower end of wage distribution. Second, we demonstrate that returns to informality vary significantly across quantiles even after a matching technique through inverse probability treatment weights are considered. While at the upper end of the distribution, the penalty is extremely small and stable over the years, at the bottom end, the informal sector considerably reduces wages, and the effect becomes larger over time. The negative and increasing penalty is observable well before the refugee inflows. The last part of our analysis looks at the occupational composition within formal and informal sectors over time and points out that the rise of white collar low skilled service (WCLS) jobs among informal employment is mainly responsible for the increasing wage gap for the workers at the bottom end.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
A new GLO Discussion Paper finds for Italian women that those with stronger stereotypes are more likely to state that they know a victim of violence but are not more likely to state that violence (physical or psychological) is widespread in their area of residence.
Author Abstract: Using a new measure of the strength of gender stereotypes defined at the individual level and based on responses to a survey conducted with more than 4,500 Italian women in July 2020, we show that women with stronger stereotypes are more likely to state that they know a victim of violence but are not more likely to state that violence (physical or psychological) is widespread in their area of residence. They are also more likely to rank behaviours meant to control a victim’s interpersonal contacts and access to financial resources as more serious than physically and sexually violent behaviours and to justify violent acts using distressing, event-specific circumstances (e.g., a period of economic distress) rather than the deep-seated psychological issues of the attackers. Finally, when personal stereotyping is stronger, respondents are more likely to suggest that a hypothetical victim of violence either not react to or deal directly with the partner rather than look for formal help. Using different controls for the impact of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on the respondents’ personal and economic lives does not affect our main findings.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
The meta-analysis provided in a new GLO Discussion Paper finds that gay men earned less than heterosexual men; lesbian women earned more than heterosexual women, while bisexual men earned less than heterosexual men.
Author Abstract: This meta-analysis utilizes 24 papers published between 2012-2020 that focus on earnings differences by sexual orientation. The papers cover the period between 1991 and 2018, and countries in Europe, North America and Australia. The meta-analysis indicates that gay men earned less than heterosexual men. Lesbian women earned more than heterosexual women, while bisexual men earned less than heterosexual men. Bisexual women earned less than heterosexual women. According to the meta-analysis, in data sets after 2010, gay men and bisexual men and women continue to experience earnings penalties, while lesbian women continue to experience earnings premiums. Τhe meta-regression estimates indicate relationships between study characteristics and the estimated earnings effects for sexual minorities. For instance, regions, sexual minority data set sizes, and earnings classifications influence the outcomes. The persistence of earnings penalties for gay men and bisexual men and women in the face of anti-discrimination policies represents a cause for concern and indicates the need for comprehensive legislation and workplace guidelines to guarantee that people receive fair pay and not experience any form of workplace inequality simply because of their sexual orientation.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
A new GLO Discussion Paper finds for Switzerland that children born to mothers who were exogenously allocated to an environment that matched their linguistic heritage are on average healthier than those that were allocated to an unfamiliar language environment.
Author Abstract: This paper investigates the intergenerational effect of communication barriers on child health at birth using a natural experiment in Switzerland. We leverage the fact that refugees arriving in Switzerland originate from places that have large shares of French (or Italian) speakers for historical reasons and upon arrival are by law randomly allocated across states that are dominated by different languages but subject to the same jurisdiction. Our findings based on administrative records of all refugee arrivals and birth events between 2010 and 2017 show that children born to mothers who were exogenously allocated to an environment that matched their linguistic heritage are on average 72 gram heavier (or 2.2%) than those that were allocated to an unfamiliar language environment. The differences are driven by growth rather than gestation and manifest in a 2.9 percentage point difference in low birth weight incidence. We find substantial dose-response relationships in terms of language exposure in both, the origin country and the destination region. Moreover, French (Italian) exposed refugees only benefit from French-(Italian-) speaking destinations, but not vice versa. Contrasting the language match with co-ethnic networks, we find that high quality networks are acting as a substitute rather than a complement.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
A new GLO Discussion Paper for Scottish universities finds a substantial and persistent increase in cases in areas containing halls and evidence of persistent spillovers.
Author Abstract: This paper estimates the impact of University reopenings in Scotland in Autumn 2020 on COVID-19 cases in Scottish neighbourhoods. We geolocate all student halls in Scotland, and merge this data with neighbourhood-level case data. We employ a local differences-indi fferences strategy and tackle two research questions. First, we ask what was the impact of the start of semester on cases in the student neighbourhoods? Next, we turn our attention to the spillover of cases in the nearby communities to student neighbourhoods. University semester start dates in Scotland are staggered over the month of September, and we deal with this by focusing on each start cluster, as well as implementing the Callaway and Sant’Anna (2020) estimator. We find a substantial and persistent increase in cases in areas containing halls and evidence of persistent spillovers. These effects are linked to the group of Universities that started on 14th September, which include large Universities located in the major urban areas. The cases began to rise on 21st September, with 100 extra cases per 100,000 per day, and peaked a week later with 400 additional cases per 100,000 per day, after which they started declining, but persist until the Autumn tightening of coronavirus restrictions bit in November, two months after the restrictions were enacted. Our results invite a re-think of how close contact activities may safely resume.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
Global Labor Organization (GLO) invites interested young scholars to apply for participation in the 2021-22GLO Virtual Young Scholars Program (GLO VirtYS). This is the third cohort of the successful GLO venture to support career developments of young researchers. It also provides a unique opportunity to interact with the large and very active GLO global network.
A new GLO Discussion Paper studies the brain drain, human capital, and inequality’s institutional impact in a model where a rent-seeking elite taxes residents and voicing affects the likelihood of regime change.
Author Abstract: Brain drain BD, human capital h, and inequality’s institutional impact is examined in a model where a rent-seeking elite taxes residents and voicing affects the likelihood of regime change. We find that BD and h’s impact on institutional quality (Q) are as follows: i) Q is a U-shaped function of BD, with maximum (minimum) at BD = 0 (0 ) BD1, and is maximized at BD = 0; vi) Q increases in a high (low) BD country under a host country’s immigration promotion (restriction); vii) a high BD country’s institutions improve (worsen) under a large (small) reduction in BD; viii) the latter is particularly relevant for small and micro states where BD and Q are likely to be greater than in large but otherwise similar countries.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
The 36th EBES Conference in Istanbul took place July 1-3, 2021 in Hybrid Mode. A highlight of the second day was the GLO Handbook Session on “Worker Representation, Labor-Management Relations and Labor Standards” chaired by GLO Fellow Uwe Jirjahn. GLO and EBES are collaborating organizations.
The conference included a GLO Handbook Session on “Worker Representation, Labor-Management Relations and Labor Standards” organized and chaired by Uwe Jirjahn (University of Trier and GLO), who is a Section Editor of the Handbook. The event took place on July 2, 3.50-5.50 pm, Istanbul time.
Decent Work and the Quality of Work and Employment Francis Green (University College London and GLO)
Union Membership and Collective Bargaining: Trends and Determinants Claus Schnabel (Universität Erlangen Nürnberg)
Unions, Worker Participation and Worker Well-Being Benjamin Artz (University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and GLO) and John S. Heywood (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and GLO)
Worker Voice and Political Participation in Civil Society John Budd (University of Minnesota and GLO) and Ryan Lamare (University of Illinois and GLO)
Works Councils Jens Mohrenweiser (Bournemouth University)
Board-Level Worker Representation Aleksandra Gregoric (Copenhagen Business School)
The Covid-19 delayed IEA World Congress (“Bali”) now takes place virtually on 2-6 July 2021.
On invitation of the International Economic Association (IEA) the Global Labor Organization (GLO) has organized three sessions for the IEA World Congress, which were recorded by GLO with support of Kent University on June 10, 2021. See program details, report and video access: LINK
The 36th EBES Conference in Istanbul took place July 1-3, 2021 in Hybrid Mode. Highlights of the first day included a session of journal editors on journal publishing and the presentation of the EBES Fellow Award to Barry Eichengreen who delivered his Fellow Speech on “Financial Regulation for the Platform Economy”. The sessions were chaired by EBES & GLO President Klaus F. Zimmermann. GLO and EBES are collaborating organizations.
Just announced IF Impact Factors for 2020 by Clarivate Web of Science: Journal of Population Economics: 2.813 Finance Research Letters: 5.596 Journal of International Financial Markets Institutions and Money: 4.211 Emerging Markets Review: 4.073 Eurasian Business Review: 3.500
EBES Fellow Speech: “Financial Regulation for the Platform Economy”
Barry Eichengreen is the George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Professor of Economics and Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1987. He is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). He worked as Senior Policy Advisor at the IMF. He is a regular monthly columnist for Project Syndicate. He has held Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships and has been a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (Palo Alto) and the Institute for Advanced Study (Berlin).
His larger number of books include recently • In Defense of Public Debt (with Asmaa El-Ganainy, Rui Esteves and Kris Mitchener), Oxford University Press, 2021 • How to Achieve Inclusive Growth (edited with Valerie Serra, Asmaa El-Ganainy and Martin Schindler), Oxford University Press, 2021 • The Populist Temptation: Economic Grievance and Political Reaction in the Modern Era (2018), • How Global Currencies Work: Past, Present, and Future, with Livia Chitu and Arnaud Mehl, (2017) • The Korean Economy: From a Miraculous Past to a Sustainable Future (Harvard East Asian Monographs) with Wonhyuk Lim, Yung Chul Park and Dwight H. Perkins, (2015) • Renminbi Internationalization: Achievements, Prospects, and Challenges, co-edited with Masahiro Kawai, (2015) • Hall of Mirrors: The Great Depression, The Great Recession, and the Uses-and Misuses-of History, (2015)
He was awarded the Economic History Association’s Jonathan R.T. Hughes Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 2002 and the University of California at Berkeley Social Science Division’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2004. He is also the recipient of a doctor honoris causa from the American University in Paris. He is ranked as one of the top economists by IDEAS: 6th (number of works), 22 (average rank score) etc. •His research interests are: exchange rates and capital flows; the gold standard and the Great Depression; the European economy; European integration; the impact of China on the international economic and financial system; IMF policy. His research was published in top journals such as Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Review, Economic Journal, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control,Economic Policy, and Journal of International Economics.
A new GLO Discussion Paper based on data collected by the World Bank suggests that a significant proportion of surviving firms in Central America are vulnerable to permanent closure.
Author Abstract: This study considers the economic impact of Covid-19 on enterprises in four Central American countries – El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. At the time of the analysis neither the pandemic nor its economic consequences had fully run their course. It is not, therefore, a definitive analysis but it is important to try to draw important lessons as soon as possible. The main focus of the study was the initial impact on labour markets. The analysis was based on World Bank enterprise surveys§ undertaken before the outbreak of Covid-19 and follow-up surveys on the effects of the pandemic, also undertaken by the World Bank. These were combined with data on government containment measures and on morbidity and mortality rates.
The use of enterprise data to analyse labour market issues has some limitations but also many strengths. The data is useful for analysing the consequences for gender equality in employment. Since the demand for labour is a derived demand firm level data provides a clear link to labour market effects. The pandemic has caused a significant loss in sales for many firms, This creates a loss of liquidity which, in turn, has caused some firms to reduce employment, working hours and wages. Government containment measures necessary to save lives such as temporary workplace closures have added to the burden for both firms and employees.
The study starts by using the surveys to identify the important stylised facts. Although some issues are already well documented anecdotally through media reports this provides a more evidence based approach. It also helps identify several issues, such as the impact on gender equality which have received less journalistic attention. The study is further supported by a regression analysis (OLS and SURE) of several key outcomes (changes in sales, employment, the share of females in employment and firm expectations of survival). A limitation of such analysis with any enterprise level is heterogeneity and, in consequence, a risk of sample selection bias. To provide robustness checks we use a matching approach.
The results suggest that a significant proportion of surviving firms are vulnerable to permanent closure. The ability of firms to retain labour depends on sales which are affected by both the pandemic itself and the government containment measures. Only a small proportion of firms have received government support and there is evidence that it could help both firm survival and the retention of labour. There is some doubt whether the four countries have the institutional capacity to provide effective support. If such doubts prove well founded then support may need to be externally driven.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
A new GLO Discussion Paper on Vietnam suggests that COVID-19 leads to a substantial reduction in household’s per-capita income and to additional 1.7 million poor people.
Author Abstract: Using household data from the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey (VHLSS) and the sector-specific growth and remittance inflow projections by Asian Development Bank (ADB), this study first estimated the COVID-19 pandemic on income and poverty status of the Vietnamese households, and then simulated the impact of cash transfer programs by the government of Vietnam on the income and poverty status of households. Our simulations suggest that COVID-19 leads to substantial reduction in household’s per-capita income, and results in additional 1.7 million poor people. The cash transfers would be pro-poor and helps bring about 1.2 million people out of poverty. The transfers would be particularly pro-poor for ethnic minority and rural persons and those working in severely affected economic sectors. Based on the findings, we discussed various policies to implement appropriate measures to help households cope with adverse economic impact of COVID-19.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
Author Abstract: This paper evaluates if and to what extend the risk of becoming Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) has worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic in Italy. The analysis is based on a unique dataset from the merging of two sample surveys, the Italian Labor Force Survey and the Institutional Quality Index dataset. We find that the probability of being NEET significantly increased during the pandemic, but heterogeneously between age cohorts and geographical areas. The most affected categories have been young people (aged 25-34) and those living in North-West regions. Females are mostly affected compared to males, especially those experiencing motherhood and living in a Southern province. Investment in education reduces the NEET status, mainly for age-group 25-34 in the South. Participation in the civil society significantly reduces the probability to being NEET. Finally, active policies conducted at regional level are a further educational investment that protect from becoming NEET, although their effectiveness is not significant in the Southern regions. We provide novel evidence to inform policymakers and help building evidence-based policies, tailored on local needs.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
The 36th EBES Conference in Istanbul will take place on July 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, 2021 in Hybrid Mode.This is aGLO supported event. EBESis theEurasia Business and Economics Society, a strategic partner and institutional supporter of GLO. GLO President Klaus F. Zimmermann is also President of EBES.(Invited speakers see below)
The conference includes a GLO Handbook Session on “Worker Representation, Labor-Management Relations and Labor Standards” organized and chaired by Uwe Jirjahn (University of Trier and GLO), who is a Section Editor of the Handbook. The event takes place on July 2, 3.50-5.50 pm, Istanbul time.
GLO Handbook Session: Worker Representation, Labor-Management Relations and Labor Standards
Decent Work and the Quality of Work and Employment Francis Green (University College London and GLO)
Union Membership and Collective Bargaining: Trends and Determinants Claus Schnabel (Universität Erlangen Nürnberg)
Unions, Worker Participation and Worker Well-Being Benjamin Artz (University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and GLO) and John S. Heywood (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and GLO)
Worker Voice and Political Participation in Civil Society John Budd (University of Minnesota and GLO) and Ryan Lamare (University of Illinois and GLO)
Works Councils Jens Mohrenweiser (Bournemouth University)
Board-Level Worker Representation Aleksandra Gregoric (Copenhagen Business School)
Invited Speakersof EBES 36
EBES is pleased to announce that distinguished colleagues Barry Eichengreen, Narjess Boubakri, Klaus F. Zimmermann and Jonathan Batten will join the conference as the keynote speakers and/or invited editors.
Barry Eichengreen is the George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Professor of Economics and Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1987. He is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). He worked as Senior Policy Advisor at the IMF. He is a regular monthly columnist for Project Syndicate. His books include The Populist Temptation: Economic Grievance and Political Reaction in the Modern Era (2018), How Global Currencies Work: Past, Present, and Future, with Livia Chitu and Arnaud Mehl, (2017), The Korean Economy: From a Miraculous Past to a Sustainable Future (Harvard East Asian Monographs) with Wonhyuk Lim, Yung Chul Park and Dwight H. Perkins, (2015), Renminbi Internationalization: Achievements, Prospects, and Challenges, co-edited with Masahiro Kawai, (2015), Hall of Mirrors: The Great Depression, The Great Recession, and the Uses-and Misuses-of History, (2015). He was awarded the Economic History Association’s Jonathan R.T. Hughes Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 2002 and the University of California at Berkeley Social Science Division’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2004. He is also the recipient of a doctor honoris causa from the American University in Paris. He is ranked as one of the top economists by IDEAS: 6th (number of works), 22 (average rank score) etc. His research interests are: exchange rates and capital flows; the gold standard and the Great Depression; the European economy; European integration; the impact of China on the international economic and financial system; IMF policy. His research was published in top journals such as Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Review, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, and Journal of International Economics.
Narjess Boubakri is professor of Finance at American University of Sharjah (AUS) (United Arab Emirates) where she joined in 2007. She is currently the Dean of the School of Business Administration at AUS as well. She has taught at Laval University and HEC Montreal School of Business (Canada). She has also several editorial roles at leading journals such as Editor (Finance Research Letters), Co-Editor (Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance), Associate Editor (Journal of Corporate Finance), and Subject Editor (Emerging Markets Review; Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions, and Money; and Journal of International Business Policy). Her papers were published in well-known journals such as Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Banking and Finance, and Journal of Accounting Research. Her research has been widely cited (Google Scholar=6,000+). Her research areas are Corporate Governance, Privatization, Corporate Finance, International Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions, Legal and Political Institutions, Lobbying, and Earnings Management.
Klaus F. Zimmermann is President of the Global Labor Organization (GLO); Co-Director of POP at UNU-MERIT; Full Professor of Economics at Bonn University (em.); Honorary Professor, Maastricht University, Free University of Berlin and Renmin University of China; Member, German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Regional Science Academy, and Academia Europaea (Chair of its Section for Economics, Business and Management Sciences). Among others, he has worked at Macquarie University, the Universities of Melbourne, Princeton, Harvard, Munich, Kyoto, Mannheim, Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania. Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and Fellow of the European Economic Association (EEA). Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Population Economics. Editorial Board of International Journal of Manpower, Research in Labor Economics and Comparative Economic Studies, among others. Founding Director, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA); Past-President, German Institute for Economic Research (DIW). Distinguished John G. Diefenbaker Award 1998 of the Canada Council for the Arts; Outstanding Contribution Award 2013 of the European Investment Bank. Rockefeller Foundation Policy Fellow 2017; Eminent Research Scholar Award 2017, Australia; EBES Fellow Award 2018. He has published in many top journals including Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Review, Econometrica, Journal of the European Economic Association, Journal of Human Resources, Journal of Applied Econometrics, Public Choice, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Population Economics and Journal of Public Economics. His research fields are population, labor, development, and migration.
Jonathan Batten is professor of finance and CIMB-UUM Chair in Banking and Finance at the School of Economics, Finance and Banking at the University Utara Malaysia (Malaysia). Prior to this position, he worked at the Monash University (Australia), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Hong Kong), and Seoul National University (Korea). He is a well-known academician who has published articles in many of the leading economics and finance journals and currently serves as the Editor of Emerging Markets Review (SSCI), Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions & Money (SSCI), and Finance Research Letters (SSCI). He was also the President of EBES from July 2014 till December 2018. His current research interests include: financial market development and risk management; spread modelling arbitrage and market integration; and the investigation of the non-linear dynamics of financial prices.
The Institute for Economic and Social Research (IESR) at Jinan University and the Global Labor Organization (GLO) are jointly organizing the Fourth IESR-GLO Virtual Conference. The conference this year is held from June 24 (Thursday) to June 26 (Saturday), 2021 through Zoom. The theme is Social Safety Net and Welfare Programs. Robert Moffitt and Timothy Smeeding are the keynote speakers. (Feng of IESR right & Zimmermann of GLO left)
Speakers on June 24 from the left: Michael Christl, Jinyuan Yang, Sen Xue Shuaizhang Feng, Robert Moffitt, Klaus F. Zimmermann Feng Chen, Laura V. Zimmermann, Xi Chen
Day 2; June 25:
Program
8.00-11.05 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-11.05 am New York / 1:00-4:05 pm London JUNE 24 (Thursday). Chair:Sen Xue(IESR, Jinan University & GLO)
8.00-8.05 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-8.05 am New York / 1:00-1:05 pm London Opening Remarks by Shuaizhang Feng (IESR, Jinan University & GLO) & Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University & GLO)
8.05-9.05 pm Beijing Time / 8:05-9.05 am New York / 1:05-2:05 pm London Keynote Lecture:Take-up in Social Assistance Programs: Theory and Evidence Keynote Speaker: Robert Moffitt (Johns Hopkins University)
9.05-9.35 pm Beijing Time / 9:05-9.35 am New York / 2:05-2:35 pm London The Power of Lakshmi: Monetary Incentives for Raising a Girl Nabaneeta Biswas (Marshall University), Christopher Cornwell (University of Georgia) &Laura V. Zimmermann(University of Georgia & GLO). Based on GLO Discussion Paper No. 888. Download PDF.
9.35-10.05 pm Beijing Time / 9:35-10.05 am New York / 2:35-3:05 pm London Grandfathers and Grandsons: Social Security Expansion and Child Health in China Jinyuan Yang (Virginia Tech)& Xi Chen (Yale University & GLO)
10.05-10.35 pm Beijing Time / 10:05-10.35 am New York / 3:05-3:35 pm London Trapped in inactivity? Social Assistance and Labour Supply in Austria Michael Christl (European Commission & GLO) & Silvia De Poli (European Commission)
10.35-11.05 pm Beijing Time / 10:35-11.05 am New York / 3:35-4:05 pm London Does Paid Family Leave Save Infant Lives? Evidence from California Feng Chen(Tulane University & GLO)
8.00-11.00 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-11.00 am New York / 1:00-4:00 pm London June 25 (Friday). Policy Forum on Social Assistance Systems Chair: Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University & GLO)
8.00-8.45 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-8.45 am New York / 1:00-1:45 pm London Japan. Masayoshi Hayashi (University of Tokyo) Public Assistance in Japan: Current State and Challenges
8.45-9.30 pm Beijing Time / 8:45-9.30 am New York / 1:45-2:30 pm London South Korea. Inhoe Ku(Seoul National University) Social Assistance in South Korea: Policy Developments, Impacts and Implications for Future Reform
9.30-10.15 pm Beijing Time / 9:30-10.15 am New York / 2:30-3:15 pm London Germany. Alexander Spermann (FOM/Cologne, University of Freiburg and GLO) Basic Income in Germany 1991-2021: Challenges After Reunification, Hartz Reforms and the Current Reform Debate
10.15-11.00 pm Beijing Time / 10.15-11.00 am New York / 3:15-4:00 pm London Sweden. Björn Gustafsson (University of Gothenburg and GLO) Social Assistance in Sweden – Provision, Recipients and Challenges
8.00-11.00 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-11.00 am New York / 1:00-4:00 pm London JUNE 26 (Saturday). Chair: Shuaizhang Feng (IESR, Jinan University & GLO)
8.00-9.00 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-9.00 am New York / 1:00-2:00 pm London Keynote Lecture:Poverty and Income Support Around the World: China, India and Asia in Comparative Perspective Keynote Speaker: Timothy Smeeding (University of Wisconsin–Madison)
9.00-9.30 pm Beijing Time / 9:00-9.30 am New York / 2:00-2:30 pm London The Health of Disability Insurance Enrollees: An International Comparison Enrica Croda (Ca’Foscari University of Venice & GLO),Jonathan Skinner (Dartmouth College) & Laura Yasaitis (Dartmouth College)
9.30-10.00 pm Beijing Time / 9:30-10.00 am New York / 2:30-3:00 pm London The Unintended Effect of Medicaid Aging Waivers on Informal Caregiving Xianhua (Emma) Zai(Ohio State University & GLO)
10.00-10.30 pm Beijing Time / 10:00-10.30 am New York / 3:00-3:30 pm London Housing Vouchers, Labor Supply and Household Formation: A Structural Approach Ning Zhang (University of Pittsburgh)
10.30-11.00 pm Beijing Time / 10:30-11.00 am New York / 3:30-4:00 pm London The Structure and Incentives of a COVID related Emergency Wage Subsidy Jules Linden (National University Ireland Galway & Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Reesarch), Cathal O’Donoghue (National University Ireland Galway), Denisa M. Sologon (Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Reesarch)
Keynote speakers
Robert Moffitt on June 24; 8.00 pm Beijing Time
Robert A. Moffitt is the Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Economics at Johns Hopkins University and holds a joint appointment at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He obtained his Ph.D. degree from Brown University. His research interests are in the areas of labor economics and applied microeconometrics, with a special focus on the economics of issues relating to the low-income population in the U.S.. A large portion of his research has concerned the labor supply decisions of female heads of family and its response to the U.S. welfare system. He has published on the AFDC, Food Stamp, and Medicaid programs.
Moffitt has served as Chief Editor of the American Economic Review, Coeditor of the Review of Economics and Statistics, Chief Editor of the Journal of Human Resources, and as Chair of the National Academy of Sciences Panel to Evaluate Welfare Reform. He is currently editor of Tax Policy and the Economy.
Moffitt is also a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a Fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a recipient of a MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health, a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Past President of the Population Association of America.
Timothy Smeeding on June 26; 8.00 pm Beijing Time
Timothy Smeeding is Lee Rainwater Distinguished Professor of Public Affairs and Economics of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He was director of the Institute for Research on Poverty from 2008–2014 and was the founding director of the Luxembourg Income Study from 1983-2006. He was named the John Kenneth Galbraith Fellow, American Academy of Political and Social Science in 2017.
Professor Smeeding’s recent work has been on social and economic mobility across generations, inequality of income, consumption and wealth, and poverty in national and cross-national contexts.
His recent publications include: SNAP Matters: How Food Stamps Affect Health and Well Being (Stanford University Press, 2015); Monitoring Social Mobility in the 21st Century (Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2015); From Parents to Children: The Intergenerational Transmission of Advantage (Russell Sage Foundation, 2012); Persistence, Privilege and Parenting: The Comparative Study of Intergenerational Mobility (Russell Sage Foundation, 2011); The Handbook of Economic Inequality (Oxford University Press, 2009); Poor Kids in a Rich Country: America’s Children in Comparative Perspective (Russell Sage Foundation, 2003); and The American Welfare State: Laggard or Leader?, (Oxford University Press, 2010).
Policy Forum on Social Assistance Systems
June 25th: 8:pm-11pm Beijing Time/ 8:00am-11am New York / 1:00pm-4:00pm London Chair: Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University & GLO)
8:00-8:45 pm: Japan. Masayoshi Hayashi (University of Tokyo) Public Assistance in Japan: Current State and Challenges
8:45-9:30 pm: Korea. Inhoe Ku(Seoul National University) Social Assistance in South Korea: Policy Developments, Impacts and Implications for Future Reform
9:30-10:15 pm: Germany. Alexander Spermann (FOM/Cologne, University of Freiburg and GLO) Basic Income in Germany 1991-2021: Challenges After Reunification, Hartz Reforms and the Current Reform Debate
10:15-11:00 pm: Sweden. Björn Gustafsson (University of Gothenburg and GLO) Social Assistance in Sweden – Provision, Recipients and Challenges
Masayoshi Hayashi (University of Tokyo) Professor of Economics at the University of Tokyo, and the President of the Japan Institute of Public Finance. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from Queen’s University at Kingston, Canada. His research interests include redistribution, taxation and fiscal federalism.
Inhoe Ku(Seoul National University) Professor at the Department of Social Welfare, Seoul National University. He is currently working as the President of the Korean Academy of Social Welfare. His research has been focusing on poverty, inequality and social policy.
Alexander Spermann (FOM/Cologne, University of Freiburg and GLO) Has started his research on social assistance more than thirty years ago. After finishing his dissertation and habilitation at the University of Freiburg, he held leading positions at international research institutes (ZEW, IZA) and is currently Professor of Economics at FOM Cologne and University of Freiburg. He has been a regular contributor to the media for decades.
Björn Gustafsson (University of Gothenburg and GLO) Professor Emeritus, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He has published several papers on social assistance in Sweden. Since the 1990s he has also studied various aspects on income among Chinese households.
From the left: Masayoshi Hayashi, Inhoe Ku, Alexander Spermann, and Björn Gustafsson
A new paper published ONLINE FIRST freely accessible finds that commodity shocks lead to an increase in the number of births and the birth rate in Chile.
Baby commodity booms? The impact of commodity shocks on fertility decisions and outcomes
by Francisco Gallego & Jeanne Lafortune
Published ONLINE FIRST 2021: Journal of Population Economics FREE READLINK: https://rdcu.be/cnd2y
Author Abstract: This paper uses international commodity prices and local natural resource endowments as a source of plausibly exogenous variation in local Chilean economic conditions to study how these shocks impact fertility behavior of families in a small, emerging open economy where non-marital fertility is common but parental obligations are not well enforced. We find that these commodity shocks lead to an increase in the number of births and the birth rate. We argue that these results are consistent with most women experiencing an income effect and a limited substitution effect from commodity booms. This is confirmed by looking at groups that would have experienced a larger income than substitution effect: higher-order births, births within marital relationships, and those by mothers who do not experience an increase in their employment probability respond more strongly to these commodity booms.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
A new GLO Discussion Paper finds that an increase in national teams’ performance in international cups is associated with a drop in birth rates nine months after the event.
Author Abstract: Does national team performance boost birth rates? We compiled a unique dataset combining country-level monthly birth rates for 50 European countries, along 56 years, with measures of national teams’ performance in 27 international football events. We find that an increase in national teams’ performance in international cups is associated with a drop in birth rates nine months after the event. We hypothesize that these results might be explained by individuals’ time allocation choices.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
The Institute for Economic and Social Research (IESR) at Jinan University and the Global Labor Organization (GLO) are jointly organizing the Fourth IESR-GLO Virtual Conference. The conference this year will be held from June 24 (Thursday) to June 26 (Saturday), 2021 through Zoom. The theme is Social Safety Net and Welfare Programs. Robert Moffitt and Timothy Smeeding are the keynote speakers. To register see below.
The IESR-GLO annual conference is aimed to provide a platform for scholars and experts to exchange ideas on the current pressing economic issues through presentations of high-quality academic papers and policy discussions. Previous IESR-GLO Conferences have covered topics such as the Economics of Covid-19 in 2020 and on the Labor Markets in Belt and Road countries in 2019. (Feng of IESR right & Zimmermann of GLO left)
To participate
No participation fee. For registration, please click the link: https://www.wjx.cn/vj/mKRDcqR.aspx
8.00-11.05 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-11.05 am New York / 1:00-4:05 pm London JUNE 24 (Thursday). Chair:Sen Xue(IESR, Jinan University & GLO)
Speakers on June 24 from the left: Michael Christl, Jinyuan Yang, Sen Xue Shuaizhang Feng, Robert Moffitt, Klaus F. Zimmermann Feng Chen, Laura V. Zimmermann, Xi Chen
8.00-8.05 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-8.05 am New York / 1:00-1:05 pm London Opening Remarks by Shuaizhang Feng (IESR, Jinan University & GLO) & Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University & GLO)
8.05-9.05 pm Beijing Time / 8:05-9.05 am New York / 1:05-2:05 pm London Keynote Lecture:Take-up in Social Assistance Programs: Theory and Evidence Keynote Speaker: Robert Moffitt (Johns Hopkins University)
9.05-9.35 pm Beijing Time / 9:05-9.35 am New York / 2:05-2:35 pm London The Power of Lakshmi: Monetary Incentives for Raising a Girl Nabaneeta Biswas (Marshall University), Christopher Cornwell (University of Georgia) &Laura V. Zimmermann(University of Georgia & GLO)
9.35-10.05 pm Beijing Time / 9:35-10.05 am New York / 2:35-3:05 pm London Grandfathers and Grandsons: Social Security Expansion and Child Health in China Jinyuan Yang (Virginia Tech)& Xi Chen (Yale University & GLO)
10.05-10.35 pm Beijing Time / 10:05-10.35 am New York / 3:05-3:35 pm London Trapped in inactivity? Social Assistance and Labour Supply in Austria Michael Christl (European Commission & GLO) & Silvia De Poli (European Commission)
10.35-11.05 pm Beijing Time / 10:35-11.05 am New York / 3:35-4:05 pm London Does Paid Family Leave Save Infant Lives? Evidence from California Feng Chen (Tulane University & GLO)
Using data for young Romanians, a new GLO Discussion Paper finds that it is external religiosity that interacts with weaker addictive behaviors like smoking, drinking and using drugs.
Author Abstract: While under communism, identity-providing religion was suppressed, religiosity is strong today even among the youth in post-communist countries. This provides an appropriate background to investigate how external and internal religiosity relates to addictive behaviors like smoking, drinking and drugs among the young. This study shows that not religion as such or internal religiosity, but largely observable (external) religiosity prevents them from wallowing those vices.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
The Institute for Economic and Social Research (IESR) at Jinan University and the Global Labor Organization (GLO) are jointly organizing the Fourth IESR-GLO Virtual Conference. The conference this year will be held from June 24 (Thursday) to June 26 (Saturday), 2021 through Zoom. The theme is Social Safety Net and Welfare Programs. Robert Moffitt and Timothy Smeeding will be the keynote speakers. To register see below.
The IESR-GLO annual conference is aimed to provide a platform for scholars and experts to exchange ideas on the current pressing economic issues through presentations of high-quality academic papers and policy discussions. Previous IESR-GLO Conferences have covered topics such as the Economics of Covid-19 in 2020 and on the Labor Markets in Belt and Road countries in 2019. (Feng right & Zimmermann left)
To participate
No participation fee. For registration, please click the link: https://www.wjx.cn/vj/mKRDcqR.aspx
8.00-11.05 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-11.05 am New York / 1:00-4:05 pm London JUNE 24 (Thursday). Chair:Sen Xue(IESR, Jinan University & GLO)
8.00-8.05 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-8.05 am New York / 1:00-1:05 pm London Opening Remarks by Shuaizhang Feng (IESR, Jinan University & GLO) & Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University & GLO)
8.05-9.05 pm Beijing Time / 8:05-9.05 am New York / 1:05-2:05 pm London Keynote Lecture:Take-up in Social Assistance Programs: Theory and Evidence Keynote Speaker: Robert Moffitt (Johns Hopkins University)
9.05-9.35 pm Beijing Time / 9:05-9.35 am New York / 2:05-2:35 pm London The Power of Lakshmi: Monetary Incentives for Raising a Girl Nabaneeta Biswas (Marshall University), Christopher Cornwell (University of Georgia) &Laura V. Zimmermann(University of Georgia & GLO)
9.35-10.05 pm Beijing Time / 9:35-10.05 am New York / 2:35-3:05 pm London Grandfathers and Grandsons: Social Security Expansion and Child Health in China Jinyuan Yang (Virginia Tech)& Xi Chen (Yale University & GLO)
10.05-10.35 pm Beijing Time / 10:05-10.35 am New York / 3:05-3:35 pm London Trapped in inactivity? Social Assistance and Labour Supply in Austria Michael Christl (European Commission & GLO) & Silvia De Poli (European Commission)
10.35-11.05 pm Beijing Time / 10:35-11.05 am New York / 3:35-4:05 pm London Does Paid Family Leave Save Infant Lives? Evidence from California Feng Chen(Tulane University & GLO)
8.00-11.00 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-11.00 am New York / 1:00-4:00 pm London June 25 (Friday). Policy Forum on Social Assistance Systems Chair: Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University & GLO)
8.00-8.45 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-8.45 am New York / 1:00-1:45 pm London Japan. Masayoshi Hayashi (University of Tokyo) Public Assistance in Japan: Current State and Challenges
8.45-9.30 pm Beijing Time / 8:45-9.30 am New York / 1:45-2:30 pm London South Korea. Inhoe Ku(Seoul National University) Social Assistance in South Korea: Policy Developments, Impacts and Implications for Future Reform
9.30-10.15 pm Beijing Time / 9:30-10.15 am New York / 2:30-3:15 pm London Germany. Alexander Spermann (FOM/Cologne, University of Freiburg and GLO) Basic Income in Germany 1991-2021: Challenges After Reunification, Hartz Reforms and the Current Reform Debate
10.15-11.00 pm Beijing Time / 10.15-11.00 am New York / 3:15-4:00 pm London Sweden. Björn Gustafsson (University of Gothenburg and GLO) Social Assistance in Sweden – Provision, Recipients and Challenges
8.00-11.00 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-11.00 am New York / 1:00-4:00 pm London JUNE 26 (Saturday). Chair: Shuaizhang Feng (IESR, Jinan University & GLO)
8.00-9.00 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-9.00 am New York / 1:00-2:00 pm London Keynote Lecture:Poverty and Income Support Around the World: China, India and Asia in Comparative Perspective Keynote Speaker: Timothy Smeeding (University of Wisconsin–Madison)
9.00-9.30 pm Beijing Time / 9:00-9.30 am New York / 2:00-2:30 pm London The Health of Disability Insurance Enrollees: An International Comparison Enrica Croda (Ca’Foscari University of Venice & GLO),Jonathan Skinner (Dartmouth College) & Laura Yasaitis (Dartmouth College)
9.30-10.00 pm Beijing Time / 9:30-10.00 am New York / 2:30-3:00 pm London The Unintended Effect of Medicaid Aging Waivers on Informal Caregiving Xianhua (Emma) Zai(Ohio State University & GLO)
10.00-10.30 pm Beijing Time / 10:00-10.30 am New York / 3:00-3:30 pm London Housing Vouchers, Labor Supply and Household Formation: A Structural Approach Ning Zhang (University of Pittsburgh)
10.30-11.00 pm Beijing Time / 10:30-11.00 am New York / 3:30-4:00 pm London The Structure and Incentives of a COVID related Emergency Wage Subsidy Jules Linden (National University Ireland Galway & Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Reesarch), Cathal O’Donoghue (National University Ireland Galway), Denisa M. Sologon (Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Reesarch)
Keynote speakers
Robert Moffitt on June 24; 8.00 pm Beijing Time
Robert A. Moffitt is the Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Economics at Johns Hopkins University and holds a joint appointment at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He obtained his Ph.D. degree from Brown University. His research interests are in the areas of labor economics and applied microeconometrics, with a special focus on the economics of issues relating to the low-income population in the U.S.. A large portion of his research has concerned the labor supply decisions of female heads of family and its response to the U.S. welfare system. He has published on the AFDC, Food Stamp, and Medicaid programs.
Moffitt has served as Chief Editor of the American Economic Review, Coeditor of the Review of Economics and Statistics, Chief Editor of the Journal of Human Resources, and as Chair of the National Academy of Sciences Panel to Evaluate Welfare Reform. He is currently editor of Tax Policy and the Economy.
Moffitt is also a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a Fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a recipient of a MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health, a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Past President of the Population Association of America.
Timothy Smeeding on June 26; 8.00 pm Beijing Time
Timothy Smeeding is Lee Rainwater Distinguished Professor of Public Affairs and Economics of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He was director of the Institute for Research on Poverty from 2008–2014 and was the founding director of the Luxembourg Income Study from 1983-2006. He was named the John Kenneth Galbraith Fellow, American Academy of Political and Social Science in 2017.
Professor Smeeding’s recent work has been on social and economic mobility across generations, inequality of income, consumption and wealth, and poverty in national and cross-national contexts.
His recent publications include: SNAP Matters: How Food Stamps Affect Health and Well Being (Stanford University Press, 2015); Monitoring Social Mobility in the 21st Century (Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2015); From Parents to Children: The Intergenerational Transmission of Advantage (Russell Sage Foundation, 2012); Persistence, Privilege and Parenting: The Comparative Study of Intergenerational Mobility (Russell Sage Foundation, 2011); The Handbook of Economic Inequality (Oxford University Press, 2009); Poor Kids in a Rich Country: America’s Children in Comparative Perspective (Russell Sage Foundation, 2003); and The American Welfare State: Laggard or Leader?, (Oxford University Press, 2010).
Policy Forum on Social Assistance Systems
June 25th: 8:pm-11pm Beijing Time/ 8:00am-11am New York / 1:00pm-4:00pm London Chair: Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University & GLO)
8:00-8:45 pm: Japan. Masayoshi Hayashi (University of Tokyo) Public Assistance in Japan: Current State and Challenges
8:45-9:30 pm: Korea. Inhoe Ku(Seoul National University) Social Assistance in South Korea: Policy Developments, Impacts and Implications for Future Reform
9:30-10:15 pm: Germany. Alexander Spermann (FOM/Cologne, University of Freiburg and GLO) Basic Income in Germany 1991-2021: Challenges After Reunification, Hartz Reforms and the Current Reform Debate
10:15-11:00 pm: Sweden. Björn Gustafsson (University of Gothenburg and GLO) Social Assistance in Sweden – Provision, Recipients and Challenges
Masayoshi Hayashi (University of Tokyo) Professor of Economics at the University of Tokyo, and the President of the Japan Institute of Public Finance. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from Queen’s University at Kingston, Canada. His research interests include redistribution, taxation and fiscal federalism.
Inhoe Ku(Seoul National University) Professor at the Department of Social Welfare, Seoul National University. He is currently working as the President of the Korean Academy of Social Welfare. His research has been focusing on poverty, inequality and social policy.
Alexander Spermann (FOM/Cologne, University of Freiburg and GLO) Has started his research on social assistance more than thirty years ago. After finishing his dissertation and habilitation at the University of Freiburg, he held leading positions at international research institutes (ZEW, IZA) and is currently Professor of Economics at FOM Cologne and University of Freiburg. He has been a regular contributor to the media for decades.
Björn Gustafsson (University of Gothenburg and GLO) Professor Emeritus, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He has published several papers on social assistance in Sweden. Since the 1990s he has also studied various aspects on income among Chinese households.
From the left: Masayoshi Hayashi, Inhoe Ku, Alexander Spermann, and Björn Gustafsson
Klaus F. Zimmermann, GLO Shuaizhang Feng, Jinan University Sen Xue, Jinan University
Contact
For inquiries regarding the conference, please contact Sen Xue at sen.xue@jnu.edu.cn. General inquiries regarding the submissions should be directed to iesrjnu@gmail.com.
A new GLO Discussion Paper finds for China that vocational upper secondary graduates face a wage penalty compared to academic upper secondary graduates.
Author Abstract: In this paper, we use the Chinese General Social Survey data to analyse the returns to upper secondary vocational education in China. To address possible endogeneity of vocational training due to omitted heterogeneity, we construct a novel instrumental variable using the proportion of tertiary education graduates relative to the entire population by year. Our main finding is that, although returns to vocational upper secondary education appear higher than returns to academic upper secondary education according to the Mincerian equation, the results from the instrumental variable method tell the opposite story: vocational upper secondary graduates face a wage penalty compared to academic upper secondary graduates. The wage penalty is confirmed by an alternative and more recent IV method – the Lewbel method (Lewbel, 2012). Our findings highlight the importance of properly accounting for endogeneity when estimating the returns to vocational education.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
Author Abstract: This paper investigates the relative importance of confidence in public institutions to explain cross-country differences in the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. We extend the related literature by employing regression and machine learning methods to identify the most critical predictors of deaths attributed to the pandemic. We find that a one standard deviation increase (e.g., the actual difference between the US and Finland) in confidence is associated with 350.9 fewer predicted deaths per million inhabitants. Confidence in public institutions is one of the most important predictors of deaths attributed to COVID-19, compared to country-level measures of individual health risks, the health system, demographics, economic and political development, and social capital. Our results suggest that effective policy implementation requires citizens to cooperate with their governments, and willingness to cooperate relies on confidence in public institutions.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
A new paper published ONLINE FIRST freely accessible demonstrate for Italy that supervised machine learning techniques outperform the official statistical method by substantially improving the prediction accuracy of local mortality.
by Augusto Cerqua, Roberta Di Stefano, Marco Letta & Sara Miccoli
Published ONLINE FIRST 2021: Journal of Population Economics OPEN ACCESS andPDF.
GLO Fellow Marco Letta
Author Abstract: Estimates of the real death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic have proven to be problematic in many countries, Italy being no exception. Mortality estimates at the local level are even more uncertain as they require stringent conditions, such as granularity and accuracy of the data at hand, which are rarely met. The “official” approach adopted by public institutions to estimate the “excess mortality” during the pandemic draws on a comparison between observed all-cause mortality data for 2020 and averages of mortality figures in the past years for the same period. In this paper, we apply the recently developed machine learning control method to build a more realistic counterfactual scenario of mortality in the absence of COVID-19. We demonstrate that supervised machine learning techniques outperform the official method by substantially improving the prediction accuracy of the local mortality in “ordinary” years, especially in small- and medium-sized municipalities. We then apply the best-performing algorithms to derive estimates of local excess mortality for the period between February and September 2020. Such estimates allow us to provide insights about the demographic evolution of the first wave of the pandemic throughout the country. To help improve diagnostic and monitoring efforts, our dataset is freely available to the research community.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
The George Soros Visiting Chair or Practitioner Chair is awarded to scholars or practitioners who have demonstrated outstanding achievement or a distinguished record of participation in the academic, professional, journalistic, political, or civic world of public policy.
A new paper published ONLINE FIRST freely accessible finds for the USA that mobility decreases significantly more in high-trust counties than in low-trust counties after stay-at-home orders are implemented.
by Abel Brodeur, Idaliya Grigoryeva & Lamis Kattan
Published ONLINE FIRST 2021: Journal of Population Economics ACCESS. FREE READLINK: https://rdcu.be/cmSoY
Author Abstract: A clear understanding of community response to government decisions is crucial for policy makers and health officials during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we document the determinants of implementation and compliance with stay-at-home orders in the USA, focusing on trust and social capital. Using cell phone data measuring changes in non-essential trips and average distance traveled, we find that mobility decreases significantly more in high-trust counties than in low-trust counties after the stay-at-home orders are implemented, with larger effects for more stringent orders. We also provide evidence that the estimated effect on post-order compliance is especially large for confidence in the press and governmental institutions, and relatively smaller for confidence in medicine and in science.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
The Institute for Economic and Social Research (IESR) at Jinan University and the Global Labor Organization (GLO) are jointly organizing the Fourth IESR-GLO Virtual Conference. The conference this year will be held from June 24 (Thursday) to June 26 (Saturday), 2021 through Zoom. The theme is Social Safety Net and Welfare Programs. Robert Moffitt and Timothy Smeeding will be the keynote speakers. To register see below.
The IESR-GLO annual conference is aimed to provide a platform for scholars and experts to exchange ideas on the current pressing economic issues through presentations of high-quality academic papers and policy discussions. Previous IESR-GLO Conferences have covered topics such as the Economics of Covid-19 in 2020 and on the Labor Markets in Belt and Road countries in 2019.
To participate
No participation fee. For registration, please click the link: https://www.wjx.cn/vj/mKRDcqR.aspx
8.00-11.05 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-11.05 am New York / 1:00-4:05 pm London JUNE 24 (Thursday). Chair:Sen Xue(IESR, Jinan University & GLO)
8.00-8.05 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-8.05 am New York / 1:00-1:05 pm London Opening Remarks by Shuaizhang Feng (IESR, Jinan University & GLO) & Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University & GLO)
8.05-9.05 pm Beijing Time / 8:05-9.05 am New York / 1:05-2:05 pm London Keynote Lecture:Take-up in Social Assistance Programs: Theory and Evidence Keynote Speaker: Robert Moffitt (Johns Hopkins University)
9.05-9.35 pm Beijing Time / 9:05-9.35 am New York / 2:05-2:35 pm London The Power of Lakshmi: Monetary Incentives for Raising a Girl Nabaneeta Biswas (Marshall University), Christopher Cornwell (University of Georgia) &Laura V. Zimmermann(University of Georgia & GLO)
9.35-10.05 pm Beijing Time / 9:35-10.05 am New York / 2:35-3:05 pm London Grandfathers and Grandsons: Social Security Expansion and Child Health in China Jinyuan Yang (Virginia Tech)& Xi Chen (Yale University & GLO)
10.05-10.35 pm Beijing Time / 10:05-10.35 am New York / 3:05-3:35 pm London Trapped in inactivity? Social Assistance and Labour Supply in Austria Michael Christl (European Commission & GLO) & Silvia De Poli (European Commission)
10.35-11.05 pm Beijing Time / 10:35-11.05 am New York / 3:35-4:05 pm London Does Paid Family Leave Save Infant Lives? Evidence from California Feng Chen (Tulane University)
8.00-11.00 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-11.00 am New York / 1:00-4:00 pm London June 25 (Friday). Policy Forum on Social Assistance Systems Chair: Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University & GLO)
8.00-8.45 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-8.45 am New York / 1:00-1:45 pm London Japan. Masayoshi Hayashi (University of Tokyo) Public Assistance in Japan: Current State and Challenges
8.45-9.30 pm Beijing Time / 8:45-9.30 am New York / 1:45-2:30 pm London South Korea. Inhoe Ku(Seoul National University) Social Assistance in South Korea: Policy Developments, Impacts and Implications for Future Reform
9.30-10.15 pm Beijing Time / 9:30-10.15 am New York / 2:30-3:15 pm London Germany. Alexander Spermann (FOM/Cologne, University of Freiburg and GLO) Basic Income in Germany 1991-2021: Challenges After Reunification, Hartz Reforms and the Current Reform Debate
10.15-11.00 pm Beijing Time / 10.15-11.00 am New York / 3:15-4:00 pm London Sweden. Björn Gustafsson (University of Gothenburg and GLO) Social Assistance in Sweden – Provision, Recipients and Challenges
8.00-11.00 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-11.00 am New York / 1:00-4:00 pm London JUNE 26 (Saturday). Chair: Shuaizhang Feng (IESR, Jinan University & GLO)
8.00-9.00 pm Beijing Time / 8:00-9.00 am New York / 1:00-2:00 pm London Keynote Lecture:Poverty and Income Support Around the World: China, India and Asia in Comparative Perspective Keynote Speaker: Timothy Smeeding (University of Wisconsin–Madison)
9.00-9.30 pm Beijing Time / 9:00-9.30 am New York / 2:00-2:30 pm London The Health of Disability Insurance Enrollees: An International Comparison Enrica Croda (Ca’Foscari University of Venice & GLO),Jonathan Skinner (Dartmouth College) & Laura Yasaitis (Dartmouth College)
9.30-10.00 pm Beijing Time / 9:30-10.00 am New York / 2:30-3:00 pm London The Unintended Effect of Medicaid Aging Waivers on Informal Caregiving Xianhua (Emma) Zai(Ohio State University & GLO)
10.00-10.30 pm Beijing Time / 10:00-10.30 am New York / 3:00-3:30 pm London Housing Vouchers, Labor Supply and Household Formation: A Structural Approach Ning Zhang (University of Pittsburgh)
10.30-11.00 pm Beijing Time / 10:30-11.00 am New York / 3:30-4:00 pm London The Structure and Incentives of a COVID related Emergency Wage Subsidy Jules Linden (National University Ireland Galway & Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Reesarch), Cathal O’Donoghue (National University Ireland Galway), Denisa M. Sologon (Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Reesarch)
Keynote speakers
Robert Moffitt on June 24; 8.00 pm Beijing Time
Robert A. Moffitt is the Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Economics at Johns Hopkins University and holds a joint appointment at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He obtained his Ph.D. degree from Brown University. His research interests are in the areas of labor economics and applied microeconometrics, with a special focus on the economics of issues relating to the low-income population in the U.S.. A large portion of his research has concerned the labor supply decisions of female heads of family and its response to the U.S. welfare system. He has published on the AFDC, Food Stamp, and Medicaid programs.
Moffitt has served as Chief Editor of the American Economic Review, Coeditor of the Review of Economics and Statistics, Chief Editor of the Journal of Human Resources, and as Chair of the National Academy of Sciences Panel to Evaluate Welfare Reform. He is currently editor of Tax Policy and the Economy.
Moffitt is also a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a Fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a recipient of a MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health, a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Past President of the Population Association of America.
Timothy Smeeding on June 26; 8.00 pm Beijing Time
Timothy Smeeding is Lee Rainwater Distinguished Professor of Public Affairs and Economics of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He was director of the Institute for Research on Poverty from 2008–2014 and was the founding director of the Luxembourg Income Study from 1983-2006. He was named the John Kenneth Galbraith Fellow, American Academy of Political and Social Science in 2017.
Professor Smeeding’s recent work has been on social and economic mobility across generations, inequality of income, consumption and wealth, and poverty in national and cross-national contexts.
His recent publications include: SNAP Matters: How Food Stamps Affect Health and Well Being (Stanford University Press, 2015); Monitoring Social Mobility in the 21st Century (Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2015); From Parents to Children: The Intergenerational Transmission of Advantage (Russell Sage Foundation, 2012); Persistence, Privilege and Parenting: The Comparative Study of Intergenerational Mobility (Russell Sage Foundation, 2011); The Handbook of Economic Inequality (Oxford University Press, 2009); Poor Kids in a Rich Country: America’s Children in Comparative Perspective (Russell Sage Foundation, 2003); and The American Welfare State: Laggard or Leader?, (Oxford University Press, 2010).
Policy Forum on Social Assistance Systems
June 25th: 8:pm-11pm Beijing Time/ 8:00am-11am New York / 1:00pm-4:00pm London Chair: Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University & GLO)
8:00-8:45 pm: Japan. Masayoshi Hayashi (University of Tokyo) Public Assistance in Japan: Current State and Challenges
8:45-9:30 pm: Korea. Inhoe Ku(Seoul National University) Social Assistance in South Korea: Policy Developments, Impacts and Implications for Future Reform
9:30-10:15 pm: Germany. Alexander Spermann (FOM/Cologne, University of Freiburg and GLO) Basic Income in Germany 1991-2021: Challenges After Reunification, Hartz Reforms and the Current Reform Debate
10:15-11:00 pm: Sweden. Björn Gustafsson (University of Gothenburg and GLO) Social Assistance in Sweden – Provision, Recipients and Challenges
Masayoshi Hayashi (University of Tokyo) Professor of Economics at the University of Tokyo, and the President of the Japan Institute of Public Finance. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from Queen’s University at Kingston, Canada. His research interests include redistribution, taxation and fiscal federalism.
Inhoe Ku(Seoul National University) Professor at the Department of Social Welfare, Seoul National University. He is currently working as the President of the Korean Academy of Social Welfare. His research has been focusing on poverty, inequality and social policy.
Alexander Spermann (FOM/Cologne, University of Freiburg and GLO) Has started his research on social assistance more than thirty years ago. After finishing his dissertation and habilitation at the University of Freiburg, he held leading positions at international research institutes (ZEW, IZA) and is currently Professor of Economics at FOM Cologne and University of Freiburg. He has been a regular contributor to the media for decades.
Björn Gustafsson (University of Gothenburg and GLO) Professor Emeritus, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He has published several papers on social assistance in Sweden. Since the 1990s he has also studied various aspects on income among Chinese households.
From the left: Masayoshi Hayashi, Inhoe Ku, Alexander Spermann, and Björn Gustafsson
Klaus F. Zimmermann, GLO Shuaizhang Feng, Jinan University Sen Xue, Jinan University
Contact
For inquiries regarding the conference, please contact Sen Xue at sen.xue@jnu.edu.cn. General inquiries regarding the submissions should be directed to iesrjnu@gmail.com.
Author Abstract: I review trends in migration to the UK since the Brexit referendum, examining first the sharp fall in net migration from the EU that resulted, and then the recent more dramatic exodus of foreign-born residents during the covid-19 pandemic. I describe the new post-Brexit system, and review studies which attempt to estimate both the impact on future migration flows and on GDP and GDP per capita. Finally, I discuss the wider economic impact of the new system and some of the policy implications.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
A new paper published ONLINE FIRST freely accessible finds for Japan that during Covid-19 school closures increased the inequality of mental health between genders and parents with different educational backgrounds.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
Published ONLINE FIRST 2021: Journal of Population Economics OPEN ACCESS andPDF.
Author Abstract: The spread of the novel coronavirus disease caused schools in Japan to close to cope with the pandemic. In response to the school closures, parents of students were obliged to care for their children during the daytime, when children usually were at school. Did the increase in the burden of childcare influence parents’ mental health? Based on short panel data from mid-March to mid-April 2020, we explore how school closures influenced the mental health of parents with school-aged children. Using a fixed-effects model, we find that school closures led to mothers of students suffering from worse mental health compared to other females, while the fathers’ mental health did not differ from that of other males. This tendency is only observed for less-educated mothers who had children attending primary school, not for those with children attending junior high school nor for more-educated mothers. The contribution of this paper is showing that school closures increased the inequality of mental health between genders and parents with different educational backgrounds.
A new paper published ONLINE FIRST freely accessible finds for Portugal’s wage gap between vocational and general secondary education no support for either the human capital prediction of crossing wage profiles or the hypothesis that general graduates increasingly outperform vocational graduates in late career.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
Author Abstract: We document and analyse the wage gap between vocational and general secondary education in Portugal between 1994 and 2013. As Portuguese workers have been educated in different school systems, we have to distinguish between birth cohorts. Analysing the wage gaps within cohorts, we find no support for either the human capital prediction of crossing wage profiles or the hypothesis that general graduates increasingly outperform vocational graduates in late career. We discover that the lifecycle wage profiles have shifted over time. We link the pattern of shifting cohort profiles to changes in the school system and in the structure of labour demand. We conclude that assessing the relative value of vocational education requires assessing how the vocational curriculum responds to changes in economic structure and technology. We show that the decline in assortative matching between workers and firms has benefited vocationally educated workers.
A new paper published ONLINE FIRST freely accessible finds for Germany that among the self-employed, who generally face a higher likelihood of income losses due to COVID-19 than employees, women are about one-third more likely to experience income losses than their male counterparts. No comparable gender gap among employees is found.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
Author Abstract: We investigate how the economic consequences of the pandemic and the government-mandated measures to contain its spread affect the self-employed — particularly women — in Germany. For our analysis, we use representative, real-time survey data in which respondents were asked about their situation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings indicate that among the self-employed, who generally face a higher likelihood of income losses due to COVID-19 than employees, women are about one-third more likely to experience income losses than their male counterparts. We do not find a comparable gender gap among employees. Our results further suggest that the gender gap among the self-employed is largely explained by the fact that women disproportionately work in industries that are more severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our analysis of potential mechanisms reveals that women are significantly more likely to be impacted by government-imposed restrictions, e.g., the regulation of opening hours. We conclude that future policy measures intending to mitigate the consequences of such shocks should account for this considerable variation in economic hardship.
On invitation of the International Economic Association (IEA) the Global Labor Organization (GLO) had organized three sessions for the IEA World Congress, which were recorded by GLO with support of Kent University on June 10, 2021.
The Covid-19 delayed IEA World Congress (“Bali”) now takes place virtually on 2-6 July 2021.
Seebackground material to the papers below where available.
PROGRAM
Session I.“Socioeconomic Status and Identity”. Chair: Kompal Sinha (Macquarie University)
“Social Assimilation and Labor Market Outcomes of Internal Migrant Workers” Shu Cai (Jinan University) with Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University & GLO) Discussion: Matloob Piracha (University of Kent)
“Ethnic Identity and Immigrants’ Labour Market Outcomes” Matloob Piracha (University of Kent) with Massimiliano Tani (University of New South Wales), Zhiming Cheng (University of New South Wales) and Ben Zhe Wang (Macquarie University) Discussion: Shu Cai (Jinan University)
“Distributional Analysis of the Role of Breadth and Persistence of Multiple Deprivation in the Health Gradient Measured by Biomarkers” Kompal Sinha (Macquarie University) with Apostolos Davillas (Norwich Business School), Andrew M. Jones (University of York) and Anurag Sharma (University of New South Wales) Discussion: Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University & GLO)
Eva Van Belle & Martin Kahanec
Session II. “The Migration Challenge“. Chair: Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University & GLO)
“Global Challenges and the Handbook Project” (Klaus F. Zimmermann, Ed., Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics, Springer Nature, forthcoming). Chapters presented here in this session will appear in the Handbook. Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University & GLO)
“Welfare Migration” Martin Guzi (Masaryk University) with Martin Kahanec (Central European University)
“Climate Change and Migration” Shuaizhang Feng (Jinan University) with Xiaomeng Cui, (Jinan University)
Discussion: Martin Kahanec (Central European University)
Eskil Wadensjö
Session III. “Wage gaps”. Chair: Amelie Constant (Princeton University)
“The Native-Immigrant Wage Gap: A Meta-Analysis” Eva Van Belle (nccr and University of Neuchâtel) with Didier Ruedin (University of Neuchâtel) Discussion: Hans Lööf (Royal Institute of Technology)
“Occupational Sorting and Wage Gaps of Refugees” Hans Lööf (Royal Institute of Technology) with Christopher F. Baum (Boston College), Andreas Stephan (Jönköping University and DIW Berlin) and Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University & GLO) Discussion: Eva Van Belle (nccr and University of Neuchâtel)
“Fifty-five Years of Wage Disparities between Hispanics and Non-Hispanic Whites in the U.S.” Amelie Constant (Princeton University) with Douglas S. Massey (Princeton University) Discussion: Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University & GLO)
Klaus F. Zimmermann, Ed., Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics, Springer Nature, forthcoming. Further information LINK.
Martin Guzi and Martin Kahanec, Welfare Migration. Forthcoming in: Zimmermann K. (eds) Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Springer, Cham.
Aycan Çelikakso and Eskil Wadensjö, Child Migration. Forthcoming in: Zimmermann K. (eds) Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Springer, Cham.
Xiaomeng Cui and Shuaizhang Feng (2020), Climate Change and Migration. In: Zimmermann K. (eds) Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_115-1
A new GLO Discussion Paperindicates that introducing a hypothetical wage penalty for discriminatory choice behavior lowers discrimination and that higher penalties have a greater effect.
Author Abstract: Using a choice experiment, we test whether taste-based employee discrimination against ethnic minorities is susceptible to loss aversion. In line with empirical evidence from previous research, our results indicate that introducing a hypothetical wage penalty for discriminatory choice behaviour lowers discrimination and that higher penalties have a greater effect. Most notably, we find that the propensity to discriminate is significantly lower when this penalty is loss-framed rather than gain-framed. From a policy perspective, it could therefore be more effective to financially penalise taste-based discriminators than to incentivise them not to discriminate.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
A new GLO Discussion Paper reviews employers’ violations of the wage contracts of workers on H-1B temporary work visas to the US; higher labor market power is associated with fewer violations, higher unemployment rates and subcontractor firms are associated with more.
Author Abstract: This study explores what determines employers’ violations of the wage contracts of workers on H-1B temporary work visas, which occur when firms pay those workers below the promised prevailing or “market” wage. A theoretical framework is proposed that predicts more violations during economic downturns, fewer violations when firms have more labor-market power, and more violations by subcontractor firms. Empirical analysis is based on a firm-level matched dataset of wage and hour violations and the firms that sponsor H-1Bs. Higher labor market power, measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, is associated with fewer violations. Higher unemployment rates and subcontractor firms are associated with more violations. The effects of the unemployment rate and labor market power are amplified in subcontractor firms.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
Sergio Scicchitano is Co-Lead of the GLO Coronavirus Cluster. On behalf of the Cluster he is organizing the “Panel Session CO466: The econometrics of Covid-19 pandemic” at the 15th International Conference on Computational and Financial Econometrics (CFE 2021), hosted by King’s College London on 18-20 December 2021.
Sergio Scicchitano
Abstact submission now open until 6th September 2021. How to submit: http://www.cfenetwork.org/CFE2021/submission.php
A new GLO Discussion Paper finds that there is no significant difference between valuations of a private good and various versions of a public good as long as the good itself is the same.
Author Abstract: A frequent finding in the empirical literature on cost-benefit analysis of traffic safety measures is that valuations of public goods are lower than valuations of private goods, contrary to theory predictions. This study elicits the willingness to pay for publicly and privately provided safety improvement benefiting cyclists and pedestrians, a relatively neglected group in this literature. Our results suggest that there is no significant difference between valuations of a private good and three versions of a public good as long as the good itself is the same, in our case a mobile phone app. The public good versions differ in attributes such as mandatory or voluntary use and private or public provision institutions. . This finding is consistent with the simultaneous presence of both financial altruism and safety altruism, or neither. Public institutions are preferred to private ones in the provision of the public goods, and voluntary participation is preferred to mandated regulation. We also find evidence that attitudes that favor using taxes to fund traffic safety projects, and public responsibility for traffic safety are associated with a higher willingness to pay.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
TheGLO Virtual Seminar is a monthly internal GLO research event chaired by GLO Director Matloob Piracha and hosted by the GLO partner institution University of Kent. The results are available on the GLO website and the GLO News section, where also the video of the presentation is posted. All GLO related videos are also available in the GLO YouTube channel. (To subscribe go there.)
The last seminar was given on June 3, 2021, London/UKat 1-2 pm, by Chiara Rapallini (Università degli Studi di Firenze and GLO) on Personality Traits and Earnings: A Meta-Analysis. See below a report and the full video of the seminar.
1. Provides a meta-analytical review of the empirical literature on the relationship between personal earnings and the Big Five personality traits.
2. Based on 936 partial effect sizes collected from 65 peer-reviewed articles published between 2001 and 2020.
3. Finds that personal earnings are positively associated with the traits of Openness, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion, and negatively associated with the traits of Agreeableness and Neuroticism.
4. Meta-regression estimates suggest that the results of the primary literature are at least partially driven by the characteristics of the study design and, in particular, that the inclusion of individual controls like the level of education attained or/and a proxy for cognitive abilities helps to explain study heterogeneity.
A new GLO Discussion Paper finds that tenure exhibits an inverted-U-shaped relationship with respect to productivity, but its impact differs widely across workforce and firm dimensions.
Author Abstract: In this paper, we explore the impact of workers’ tenure on firm productivity, using rich longitudinal matched employer-employee data on private Belgian firms. We estimate a production function augmented with a firm-level measure of tenure. We deal with endogeneity, which arises from unobserved firm heterogeneity and reverse causality, by applying a modified version of Ackerberg et al.’s (2015) control function method, which explicitly removes firm fixed effects. Consistently with recent theoretical predictions, we find that tenure exhibits an inverted-U-shaped relationship with respect to productivity. The existence of decreasing marginal returns to tenure is corroborated in our analysis on the tenure composition of the workforce. We also find that the impact of tenure differs widely across workforce and firm dimensions. Tenure is particularly beneficial for productivity in contexts characterized by a certain degree of routineness and lower job complexity. Along the same lines, our findings indicate that tenure exerts stronger (positive) impacts in industrial and high capital-intensive firms, as well as in firms less reliant on knowledge- and ICT-intensive processes.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
A new GLO Discussion Paper finds that a light-touch intervention can increase socioeconomic and racial diversity in undergraduate economics.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
Author Abstract: We assess whether a light-touch intervention can increase socioeconomic and racial diversity in undergraduate Economics. We randomly assigned over 2,200 students a message with basic information about the Economics major; the basic message combined with an emphasis on the rewarding careers or financial returns associated with the major; or no message. Messages increased the proportion of first generation and underrepresented minority (URM) students majoring in Economics by five percentage points. This effect size was sufficient to reverse the gap in Economics majors between first generation/URM students and students not in these groups. Effect sizes were larger and more precise for better-performing students and first generation students. Extrapolating to the full sample, the treatment would double the proportion of first generation and underrepresented minority students majoring in Economics.
Featured image: Photo-by-Mikael-Kristenson-on-Unsplash
A new GLO Discussion Paper finds that bad economic conditions when young can significantly predict higher entrepreneurship in later life.
The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.
Author Abstract: We argue that past events experienced during the critical ages of 18-25 can influence an individual’s future entrepreneurship based on the “impressionable years hypothesis”. Accordingly, we empirically investigate the relationship between bad economic conditions during youth and later-life entrepreneurship using Gallup from 2009 to 2014. The identification is achieved through variations across 77 countries and age cohorts born between 1954 and 1989. Our findings indicate that bad economic conditions when young can significantly predict higher entrepreneurship in later life. For example, experiencing at least one economic contraction during youth increases future self-employment/business ownership propensities by about 6/10% at the outcome means. Graduating from college and entering the job market in a bad economy cannot explain our results. Findings are robust to numerous methods of measuring economic contractions and controlling for behavioural measures as well as economic shocks experienced before and after the impressionable years.
