Contemporary Economic Policy最新文献

A growing literature shows that income volatility has negative effects on household well-being. Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we use temporal ordering to investigate the relationship between monthly household income volatility and the subsequent change in self-reported health status of the household head. For liquidity constrained households, a one standard deviation increase in volatility over 24 months leads to a 1.3%–4.3% increase in the probability of worsened health. The magnitude of this effect is approximately two-thirds that of the impact of a one standard deviation change in the level of mean household income.

The entry of Big Techs in the financial ecosystem might affect financial stability, among others through the opportunities and challenges they create for financial inclusion. We survey the literature to determine the effectiveness of financial education in improving financial literacy and inclusion and assess the impact of financial inclusion on financial stability. We argue for new research to determine whether financial education can help people to reap the financial-inclusion benefits that Big Tech may bring. We also conclude that financial-inclusion opportunities created by Big Tech might introduce financial stability risks and underline the importance of proper supervision and regulation.

We show that economies of scale estimated individually for each EU country differ from the officially adopted OECD-modified scale; the differences across the countries further confirm the prevailing East-West disparity. Using the minimum income question in the 2019 EU-Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey, we demonstrate that applying the estimated country-specific subjective equivalence scales, instead of the uniform OECD-modified scale, results in up to a 6 pp change in the at-risk-of-poverty rate. If inadequate equivalence scales are used, the equivalised income fails to inform the statistics of income poverty and prevents national social policies from being correctly targeted.

Modern Money Theory (MMT) has risen to prominence in popular policy debates within macroeconomics. MMT economists argue for creating a job guarantee program, which they argue would generate price stability. Using a benchmark model of time consistency supplemented with a job guarantee, we conclude that once policymakers' incentives are considered, the job guarantee does nothing to help stabilize prices. We compare this program to a competing proposal to maintain price stability and full employment, NGDP targeting.

We estimate the effectiveness of a government-led anti-domestic-abuse campaign launched in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic on the number of calls to the Italian domestic violence helpline. In the week after the start of the campaign, we document a sharp increase in the number of calls. By exploiting geographical variation in the exposure to the campaign ads aired on public TV networks, we find that greater exposure is associated with an increase in the number of calls after the launch of the campaign. However, the effectiveness of the media campaign is hindered in areas where gender stereotypes are stronger.

This paper sheds light on the formation process of noncognitive skills by examining the determinants of a host of personality traits. Using data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS), for individuals in larger families (three or more children), we find having a same-sex sibling leads to improved long-run noncognitive skills and positive personality traits. The latter result is driven entirely by females. We examine potential mechanisms by exploring the links between parental investment and sibling interactions. The results could possibly speak to public actions to enhance child development and human capital accumulation.

We investigate the contribution of college admissions to the labor market beauty premium. We sampled 1800 social media profiles of students from universities ranked from 1 to 200 in China and the US. Chinese universities use standardized test scores for admissions. US universities use also extracurricular activities. Consistent with beauty-blind admissions, alumni's beauty is uncorrelated with the rank of the school they attended in China. In the US, White men who attended high-ranked schools are better looking, especially attendees of private schools. A one percentage point increase in beauty rank corresponds to a half-point increase in the school rank.

We test whether the economic effects of globalization change the social and political attitudes of white Americans. Specifically, we examine the effect of a local labor market's exposure to import competition brought about by the rapid changes in the Chinese economy from 1990 to 2007 on perceptions of immigrants, minorities, religion and guns. We do not find meaningful changes in aggregate attitudes. Instead, using detailed information from the General Social Survey, we find evidence of significant hardening of existing attitudes or “clinging” to long-standing beliefs.

The observed presence of China in the top 18 oil/minerals exporting countries in Africa warrants special interest, as the engagement has extended considerably to appear as an influential, hitherto questionable, South–South cooperation. In this study, the determinants of China's Foreign direct investment (FDI) stock and flow from 2003 to 2017 is examined using Ordinary least squares (OLS), generalized least squares (GLS) and Instrumental Variable 2-Stage Least Squares techniques. The results indicate that oil/minerals and agricultural imports facilitate more FDI, and political instability spurs more FDI. Overall, this study recommends that policymakers should enhance trade policies to improve the sustainability of China–Africa engagement.

This paper investigates the relevance of wage distributions among players in determining the seasonal performances of Italian Serie A teams. Using dispersion measures on weighted wages calculated from 2007 to 2021, we analyzed the relationship between pay dispersion and team performance over 14 seasons. The percentage of points at the end of the season served as the dependent variable, and panel data techniques revealed a statistically significant association of seasonal team performances with relative wages and a negative association with salary dispersion. The empirical results confirm that cohesion theory holds true for soccer teams in Italy, and therefore more equally weighted wages are associated with better on-field performance.