Journal of Economic Surveys最新文献

The wage elasticity to corporate income tax (CIT) is an essential parameter for assessing tax policy reforms. This paper applies meta-regression analysis to quantitatively review the growing empirical tax incidence literature that indicates a substantial shift of the tax burden onto employees. While most studies report a large wage-reducing effect of the CIT, our findings suggest that estimates with positive values are published less often than they should. After accounting for the bias, we find no significant average association between wage rates and corporate taxation. We document that the tax variable, econometric method, type of tax variation, and underlying time and country coverage of studies drive the heterogeneity among reported effects. The implied best-practice estimates suggest that the tax elasticity of wages is systematically larger for emerging countries and smaller when tax changes at the subnational level are exploited.

We collected over 1600 estimates on the relationship between bank capital and lending and construct 40 variables to capture the context in which these estimates are obtained. Accounting for potential publication bias, we find that a 1 percentage point (pp) increase in capital (regulatory) ratio results in around 0.3 pp increase in annual credit growth, while changes to capital requirements cause a decrease of around 0.7 pp. Using Bayesian and frequentist model averaging, we show that the relationship between bank capital and lending changes over time, reflecting the post-crisis period of increasingly demanding bank capital regulation and subdued profitability. We also find that the reported estimates of semi-elasticities are significantly influenced by the empirical approach chosen by researchers. Our findings suggest that the literature fails to provide policymakers with reliable estimates of the effects of capital regulation on bank lending, and our study offers insights that could help guide future research.

This paper systematically analyzes and synthesizes the literature on the determinants and consequences of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure. The study is unique in that it synthesizes based on the geographical setting of the original research. We analyzed 135 empirical studies published in Chartered Association of Business Schools (ABS) ranked journals from 1982 to 2020. The results reveal that various global, country-specific, market-specific, and firm-specific factors are important in determining a firm's CSR disclosure policies. These factors are consistently relevant in both developed and developing economies. Furthermore, the synthesis shows that companies achieve various CSR disclosure-related benefits in the form of a better reputation, enhanced financial performance, better access to external finances, better stakeholder management, and enhanced corporate accountability. In terms of theories, we observe a high heterogeneity among various studies examining the same empirical phenomenon. Based on the analysis and review results, we identify avenues for future research.

Inequality is perhaps one of the most challenging issues of our time. Empirical literature, using observational data, indicates that higher inequality is associated with lower social capital. Oftentimes, however, the causal effects of inequality are difficult to establish based on survey and empirical observations. To this end, we review a large body of experimental literature and assess the causal effects of inequality on experimental proxies for social capital. We find compelling evidence that inequality undermines trust, discourages cooperation, and encourages unethical behaviors. The overall effect on generosity is, however, less clear.

This study reviews key policy challenges relating to solo self-employed workers––the segment with increasing shares in the workforce in most developed countries in recent decades. We document that this segment attracts the attention of policymakers within four policy domains: addressing decent work deficits, entrepreneurship and small business policies, activating marginalized groups through self-employment, and improving the well-being of the solo self-employed. We offer an integrative framework enabling the analysis of synergies and contradictions of the various policy initiatives targeting the solo self-employed. The study argues that workers who persistently employ only themselves should be understood as a (third) segment of the labor market qualitatively distinct from the traditionally defined categories of “employee” or “employer.” A policy-oriented segmentation of the contemporary workforce using this “blurred trinary divide” is proposed with size estimates of its key segments and subsegments. Finally, the study discusses the prospects of the solo self-employed in the emerging post-pandemic economy and offers recommendations regarding future research and data collection.

The economics of standards pertains to the investigation of economic problems related to standards. It was established as a field of research between 2000 and 2010 and has developed rapidly since. Focusing on the relevant theories, methods, and issues, this article systematically summarizes and evaluates the extant literature on the economics of standards. The theory section concentrates on the classification, supply–demand, and economic effects of standards. The method section expands on these theoretical and empirical dimensions, while the final issue section focuses on standards alongside economic growth, trade, and innovation. The study's findings have implications for promoting teaching and research on the economics of standards and improving the practice of standardization.

Central banks' forecasts are important monetary policy inputs and tools for central bank communication. We survey the literature on forecasting at the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England, and Bank of Canada, focusing especially on recent developments. After describing these central banks' forecasting frameworks, we discuss the literature on central bank forecast evaluation and new tests of unbiasedness and efficiency. We also discuss evidence of central banks' informational advantage over private sector forecasters, which appears to have weakened over time, and how central bank forecasts may affect private sector expectations even in the absence of an informational advantage. We discuss how the Great Recession led central banks to evaluate their forecasting frameworks, how the Covid-19 pandemic has further challenged central bank forecasting, and directions for future research.

This survey article provides an overview of the recent experimental economic literature on fairness-related behaviors in children and adolescents. We discuss different motives underlying fair behavior, summarize the development of fairness and inequality acceptance across different developmental stages, and we shed light on behavioral heterogeneity with respect to gender, SES, and cultural background. Moreover, we also discuss the role of preferences and social norms as determinants of fair behavior in children and adolescents. To learn about the origins of fair behavior, we address the influence of social environments, such as the family and we discuss the potential contribution of the genetic disposition.

Transitioning to a low-carbon economy will entail sweeping transformations of energy and economic systems. A growing research body has raised concerns about the effect of such strain on financial stability. This literature on “financial transition risk” has highlighted that the conjunction of climate policy, technological change and shifts in consumption patterns may propagate to financial markets. In extreme cases, these dynamics may result in a “Climate-Minsky” moment with systemic implications. The field has developed quickly, covering many methods and research questions. While this expansion in literature is advantageous when studying a complex issue like the low-carbon transition, it also comes with downsides. The large number of methods hampers result comparison, and the integration of research designs. It also makes it difficult to provide a synthetic view of results in the literature as well as identify remaining uncertainties. To bridge these gaps, I propose a critical review of the literature. I examine three sub-fields: the asset stranding literature, the direct assessment of transition risks through prospective models and the financial empirics of the low-carbon transition. I expound their main results, critically assess underlying methodologies and propose a framework to compare results. The review ends by suggesting some avenues for future research.

As a result of the growth of the football players' transfer market and the increased availability of data, scholars from different fields have been investigating the topic of the empirical determination of the football players’ valuation, that is, transfer fees or monetary valuation proposed by media, for 30 years. We propose a systematic review of the topic to provide the research community with an overview of the determinants of football players' valuation. Peer-reviewed papers written in English on men's football presenting fully available and interpretable econometrical results were selected. Based on the careful analysis of the 29 selected papers and their empirical models, this study has two main implications. First, it classifies all the independent variables used in the literature to explain or predict football players’ valuation, and proposes a set of core explanatory variables, with associated expected signs, that constitutes the common ground on which to build further research. Second, by presenting the state of the art in the current empirical literature, it highlights the existing gaps and suggests precise future research objectives. From a more general perspective, the review provides empirical insights for researchers interested in the valuation of human resources, signaling theory, market design, or bargaining theory.