Economic Papers最新文献

This study aims to analyse the tax efforts of 17 non-special category states of India over the period of 2000–01 to 2020–21. The stochastic estimation of the tax frontier identified per capita income and urbanisation as dominating factors determining tax revenue across Indian states. The implementation of a Goods and Services Tax is estimated to increase tax revenue significantly, whereas the pandemic shock resulted in a deterioration of the tax revenue. In addition, the sampled states have collectively secured a tax effort score of 0.832, ranging from 0.62 (Goa) to 0.92 (Karnataka). The empirics showed that Goa and West Bengal were the laggard states in terms of tax effort. Among the determinants of tax efficiency (effort), the variates ‘outstanding liabilities’ and ‘fiscal devolution from central government’ are found to be adversely affecting, while ‘social expenditure’ is predicted to have a stimulating impact on tax effort.

The relationship between health and happiness is well established. However, disability and the burden of disease can also affect the happiness of the local population. We argue that income inequality can worsen the positive effect of health on happiness levels. Using data from 136 economies from 2005 to 2019, we estimate a dynamic panel model that controls the endogeneity and simultaneity issues, and measure the effect of healthy life expectancy on happiness at varying levels of income inequality. We find evidence that healthy life expectancy is significantly and positively associated with happiness, however, at high levels of income inequality, this effect reduces. We shed new perspectives on the costs of income inequality.

What are the economic returns to education in Australia? Using data from the 2018–2022 waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, and taking account of the existing estimates of ability bias and social returns to schooling, I estimate the economic return to various levels of education. As in a 2008 paper in this journal, which used data from the 2001–2005 waves of the same survey, I report large returns. Across high school, vocational education and university qualifications, an additional year of schooling raises hourly wages by 7 per cent, boosts annual earnings by 13 per cent, and increases the probability of reporting positive earnings by 4 percentage points. In terms of hourly wages, the largest per-year returns are from completing a Bachelor degree. In terms of annual earnings, the largest per-year returns are from completing year 12. Testing for changes in returns to schooling over time provides little evidence of systematic trends over the period 2001–2022. Over the lifecycle, returns to education tend to decline from age 60 for high school and vocational qualifications, and tend to decline from age 55 for university qualifications, suggesting that the value of education diminishes as workers approach retirement age.

The key purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between inflation and output dynamics in a global macroeconomic framework by utilising time-series data from Pakistan and thirty-two trading partners which account for around 95 per cent of foreign trade of Pakistan, over the period 1979Q2–2016Q4. By featuring the GVAR approach, this paper empirically examined the international linkages to account for cross-country inflationary spillovers. The findings show that both foreign and global variables jointly and significantly matter for the inflation-output relationship in developing economies, in general and, in particular, in the economy of Pakistan. The findings from general impulse response functions (GIRF) reveal that shocks to the US real output, oil prices and food prices are transmitted and settled quickly, and put forward a significant impact on real GDP and inflation in Pakistan and its trading partner economies. Inflation in Pakistan is driven more strongly by the global changes in oil and food prices than GDP. For monetary policy formulation, the central bank should take into account developments in inflation-output dynamics of Pakistan's major trading partners.

This study investigates the impact of COVID-19 infections and mobility restriction policies on stock market volatility. We estimate panel data models for seven countries using daily data from February 12, 2020 to April 14, 2021. Our results show that the number of new cases of COVID-19 infections and the introduction of mobility restriction policies plays a crucial role in shaping stock market volatility during the pandemic. We found that new cases of COVID-19 infections and mobility restrictions policies increase stock market jumps rather than increase continuous volatility. We also find that mobility restriction policies lessen the impact of new COVID-19 cases on stock market volatility.

This study delves into the intricate interplay between visible inequality, conspicuous consumption, and food consumption in Indian households. Leveraging data from the Consumer Pyramids Household Survey (CPHS) provides significant insights. Through empirical analyses, including panel data analysis and instrumental variable panel data analysis, this study supports the hypothesis that there exists a relationship between visible inequality and conspicuous consumption among Indian households. The positive coefficients linked to conspicuous consumption variability reinforce established theories concerning the impact of status perception on spending behaviour. This study reveals a noteworthy adverse effect of visible inequality on essential expenditures, particularly food consumption, highlighting the delicate balancing act that households navigate between status-driven spending and meeting fundamental needs. By employing instrumental variable regression models to address endogeneity concerns, this study robustly confirms the relationship between visible inequality and conspicuous consumption. This study emphasises the nuanced relationship between status-oriented spending, visible inequality, and essential expenses in Indian households.

Those with intra-organisational familial links often advance more quickly due to nepotism. We harness a large database from a natural setting relating to a specific paternal mechanism in professional sport; with our results suggesting that when external arbitrators are utilised as a tool to ensure fairness of assessments, there is effectively no evidence of performance evaluation bias in favour of subjects with the internal benefit of family reputation. This suggests that impartial assessors may be an appropriate method of safeguarding against nepotism within organisations. However, there is still some weak evidence that the influence of the agent's family name can itself still make a difference.

Economists have played a powerful role in shaping modern Australia. Drawing on my experience as an academic economist and an economic policymaker, I outline ten principles to guide economists seeking to maximise their impact. These are to (i) Focus on well-being, not just dollars; (ii) Think comparative advantage; (iii) Ignore sunk costs; (iv) Optimise, subject to constraints; (v) Use the best evidence; (vi) Consider expected value; (vii) Think in magnitudes, not just in signs; (viii) Channel a libertarian; (ix) Remember equity; and (x) Incentives matter.

We calculate efficiency change, technological progress and productivity growth in Australian private health insurance (PHI) funds using Malmquist indices from 2016/2017 to 2021/2022. Starting in January 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and the various policy responses to it brought significant disruption to the PHI industry with restrictions placed on elective surgery, and hence insured hospital days, and the use of extras cover for dental, physiotherapy, optical and other services. Lockdowns also saw PHI funds implement work-from-home arrangements and invest to improve policyholder services; the share of Australians with PHI cover grew counter to trend; global financial markets experienced significant volatility, impacting PHI investment revenue and PHI funds delayed even refunded premiums to offset financial pressures on policyholders. We show that productivity declined during the first 18 months of the pandemic and then grew very strongly. We also find the typical PHI fund is 36.5% more productive at the end of the period than the beginning, with most gains being technological (38.3%), involving a large upward shift in the industry frontier, countering much smaller losses from scale (−0.2%) and pure technical (−1.1%) inefficiency. This suggests that the PHI industry responded well to the disruption associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study aims to empirically validate the theories of missing linkages among major economic sectors (agriculture, industry and service) and jobless growth in the context of Indian economy using the RBI-KLEMS database for the period 1980–2018. The study employs the ARDL framework to identify both short-run and long-run relationships between sectoral employment elasticity and sectoral share of value-added with other covariates (specifically macroeconomic factors). Our empirical findings validate the prevalence of theory of missing linkages and jobless growth. Further, we found that weak linkages exist between agriculture, industry and service sectors. However, industry and services have strong interlinkages, whereas industry and agriculture have weak linkages, which leads to weak linkages between services and agriculture. Additionally, it was observed that macroeconomic factors do not exhibit a short-term relationship with employment elasticities in explaining missing linkages. In fact, macroeconomic factors demonstrate a substantial long-term association. Based on these interlinkages, the study proposes the potential for policies to stimulate growth across sectors. Nonetheless, policies aimed at improving the productivity of the primary sector remain a prominent solution.