Suchergebnisse

We use employee-level panel data from a single firm to explore the possibility that individuals may select insurance coverage in part based on their anticipated behavioral ("moral hazard") response to insurance, a phenomenon we label "selection on moral hazard." Using a model of plan choice and medical utilization, we present evidence of heterogenous moral hazard as well as selection on it, and explore some of its implications. For example, we show that, at least in our context, abstracting from selection on moral hazard could lead to overestimates of the spending reduction associated with introducing a high-deductible health insurance option. (JEL D82, G22, I13, J32)

Economies at early stages of development are frequently shaken by large changes in growth rates, whereas advanced economies tend to experience relatively stable growth rates. To explain this pattern, we propose a model of technological diversification. Production makes use of input-varieties that are subject to imperfectly correlated shocks. Endogenous variety adoption by firms raises average productivity and provides diversification benefits against variety-specific shocks. Firm-level and aggregate volatility thus decline as a by-product of the development process. We quantitatively assess the model's predictions and find that it can generate patterns of volatility and development consistent with the data. (JEL D21, D24, E23, O33, O47)

This paper tries to contribute to the empirical literature on the European consumers' plastic money payment habits, using the Bank of Italy data over the 1993–2008 period. In line with other evidence on this topic, mainly focused on the US economy, we find that age, education, non‐durable consumptions, regional variation and income are strong predictors of plastic money possession and use in Italy. We also find that households with a higher indebtedness level have a higher propensity to hold credit cards. Furthermore, we find that technological improvements, observed in the last 15 years, do not significantly affect the marginal probabilities to hold and use plastic money conditioned to the main socio‐demographic factors.

Based on the parallel growth implications of the four urban growth theories (endogenous growth theory, random growth theory, hybrid growth theory and locational fundamentals theory), this paper uses Chinese city size data from 1984 to 2006 and time-series econometric techniques to test for parallel growth. The results from various types of stationarity tests show that city growth is generally random. Conditioning on growth trend and structural change, certain groups of cities with common location-specific characteristics, such as a similar natural resource endowment or policy regime, grow parallel in the long run, suggesting that locational fundamentals may have a persistent impact on city growth.

This paper explained paddy fields conversion at Tangerang Regency which enhancing every year. The quantitative data showed the paddy fields conversion was affected with economic structure change and the infrastructure facilities enhancement and also the high population growth. Real paddy fields area affected the total paddy production enhancement, however the width of paddy fields conversion to non-paddy fields had not yet proven affected the total paddy production decrease at Tangerang Regency if it was supported with agricultural technology and intensification. The Tangerang Regency community's need on rice was yet lacking, Tangerang Regional Government has to bring rice from other region to fulfill this need.Keywords: Field Conversion, Paddy Field, Rice Production, and Food Resilience.

The Mycenaean tablet TH Uq 434 provides clear evidence that the preposition pa-ro can govern nouns marked with instrumental morphology (specifically instr. pl. in -pi). Elsewhere we also have evidence for unambiguous dative-locative morphology after pa-ro. Although there appears to be a correspondence between morphology and sense (ablatival sense with instrumental morphology, locative sense with dative-locative morphology) which could be used to suggest a syncretism of ablative and instrumental, it is argued that this is illusory, and that the only scenario which satisfactorily explains the data is (i) a dative-locative-instrumental syncretism and (ii) a simplification of the system of case government by prepositions.

Using household travel diary data collected in Germany between 1997 and 2012, we employ an instrumental variable (IV) approach to estimate fuel price and efficiency elasticities. The aim is to gauge the relative impacts of fuel economy standards and fuel taxes on distance traveled. We find that the magnitude of the elasticity estimates are statistically indistinguishable: higher fuel prices reduce driving by the same degree as higher fuel efficiency increases driving. This finding indicates an offsetting effect of fuel efficiency standards on the effectiveness of fuel taxation, calling into question the efficacy of the European Commission's current efforts to legislate CO2 emissions limits for new cars given prevailing high fuel taxes.

WCTR 2013 selected proceedings ; Natural disasters and their impact on transport networks in Europe have gained increasing attention in Europe in the recent years, following the impacts of heavy snowfall in the UK and Central Europe and the volcanic ash cloud of Iceland in 2010. So far research addressing the interaction between nature and transport networks has been limited, thus providing very limited insights to the magnitude of such impacts or how to mitigate them in the future. This paper presents one approach to address these issues, utilizing data and findings from the recent European Union FP7 projects EWENT and WEATHER ; WCTR 2013, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, 15 - 18 July 2013

The increased occurrence of extreme weather conditions leading to drought is a key development challenge. This paper studies how these extreme events interact with the political process at the local level using rich administrative data for drought declarations and mayoral elections in Brazil. While accounting for current and historical rainfall patterns, the paper finds that that: i) municipalities led by a mayor affiliated with the President's party are more likely to receive formal drought declarations prior to the municipal election; and ii) receiving a drought declaration reinforces the electoral advantage of incumbent mayors running for reelection. These results are robust to the inclusion of a rich set of controls for municipal attributes.

Using panel data for non-OECD countries covering the period 1970-2012, this paper analyzes the impact of the duration of primary education on school enrollment, drop-outs and completion rates. The empirical results show that for children in elementary school one additional grade of primary education has a negative impact on enrollment rate, while the effect on drop-outs is positive. Analogously, we also observed that an additional grade in primary education reduces the enrollment rate in secondary education. These results are in line with the fertility model approach; that is, in developing and underdeveloped countries parents do not have incentive to send children to school given the high perceived present economic value of children.

This study tests for a break in the persistence of EMU government bond yield spreads examining data from France, Italy and Spain and using German interest rates as a kind of benchmark. The results reported here provide evidence for breaks between 2006 and 2008. The persistence of the yield spreads against German government bonds has increased signi cantly after this period. This could be a sign of higher sovereign credit risk (and possibly even redenomination risk) caused by the debt crisis in the euro area. We nd long-memory behavior before and after the breakpoints and empirical evidence for positive excess kurtosis and GARCH-e ects when persistence increases.

We study how natural-resource rents affect the risk of internal conflict within countries and how the federal structure of countries influences this relationship. Natural-resource abundance may induce excessive rent-seeking and thus increase the risk of internal conflict. Fiscal and political decentralization as an institutional arrangement for rent-sharing and political codetermination of regions within a country may limit the destructive effect of the natural-resource rents on internal stability. Using cross-country and panel data covering the period 1984-2004 from more than 90 countries, we find evidence that natural-resource rents indeed increase the risk of internal conflict, but this relationship is significantly mitigated by decentralization.

The substantial increase in female employment rates in Europe over the past two decades has often been linked in political and public rhetoric to negative effects on child development, including obesity. We analyse this association between maternal employment and childhood obesity using rich objective reports of various anthropometric and other measures of fatness from the IDEFICS study of children aged 2-9 in 16 regions of eight European countries. Based on such data as accelerometer measures and information from nutritional diaries, we also investigate the effects of maternal employment on obesity's main drivers: calorie intake and physical activity. Our analysis provides little evidence for any association between maternal employment and childhood obesity, diet or physical activity.

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate on the pro-poor growth measurement techniques using monetary versus non-monetary indicators. In this context, an alternative method for introducing non-monetary indicators into monetary pro-poor growth analysis is presented. The method is based on the definition of a Conditional Growth Incidence Curve for each group of households with a common selected non-monetary characteristic. Additional information provided by the Conditional Growth Incidence Curve is useful for a more detailed pro-poor growth analysis. Empirical illustration using data from rural Ethiopia between 2004 and 2009 shows the utility and the limits of each measurement technique.

The substantial increase in female employment rates in Europe over the past two decades has often been linked in political and public rhetoric to negative effects on child development, including obesity. We analyse this association between maternal employment and childhood obesity using rich objective reports of various anthropometric and other measures of fatness from the IDEFICS study of children aged 2-9 in 16 regions of eight European countries. Based on such data as accelerometer measures and information from nutritional diaries, we also investigate the effects of maternal employment on obesity's main drivers: calorie intake and physical activity. Our analysis provides little evidence for any association between maternal employment and childhood obesity, diet or physical activity.