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Bonn : IZA, 2017
Abstract: Nonfinancial defined contribution (NDC) pension schemes have been successfully implemented since the mid-1990s in a number of European countries such as Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, and Sweden. The NDC approach features the lifelong contribution-benefit link of a financial defined contribution (FDC) personal account scheme, but is based on the pay-as-you-go format. At its start-up, the pay-as-you go commitments of the preceding defined benefit (DB) system are converted into individua ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2018
Abstract: As concerns over growing levels of student loan debt continue to mount for both students and taxpayers, many have called for an improved accountability system in the U.S. higher education system. In this policy brief, I discuss the many flaws in our current system, and outline how a system known as “risk-sharing” could drastically improve incentives and outcomes. I present a framework for how risk-sharing could be structured, and illustrate the distributional impacts (both positive and ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2012
Abstract: Higher education is in the position to save Europe by rendering a substantial contribution to sustainable economic growth. For that purpose higher education must strengthen its innovative power in entrepreneurship education and by focusing research more on societal problems, while being better empowered and enabled by Governments. Universities must show leadership in resolving or channeling the major societal questions. More European competition between universities in education and re ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2019
Abstract: The paper examines recent policy reforms in Italy focusing on the impact of the 2012 Fornero reforms of employment protection legislation as well as the initial impact of the EU-wide Youth Guarantee scheme introduced in Italy in March 2014. The paper then examines how these two policy reforms interacted. The analysis first confirms the finding that the Fornero reform increased permanent hires particularly amongst the very youngest workers; it then goes on to find that the YG was indeed ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2019
Abstract: TA common feature of public sector labor markets is the use of pay scales. This paper examines how the removal of pay scales impacts productivity, by exploiting a reform that compelled all schools in England to replace pay scales with school-designed performance related pay schemes. We find that schools in labor markets with better outside options for teachers saw relatively higher increases in teacher pay. Schools in these areas relatively increase their spending on teachers, have hig ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2013
Abstract: In the Great Recession most OECD countries used short-time work (publicly subsidized working time reductions) to counteract a steep increase in unemployment. We show that short-time work can actually save jobs. However, there is an important distinction to be made: while the rule-based component of short-time work is a cost-efficient job saver, the discretionary component appears to be completely ineffective. In a case study for Germany, we use the rich data available to combine micro- ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2020
Abstract: The added worker effect (AWE) measures the entry of individuals into the labor force due to their partners' job loss. We propose a new method to calculate the AWE, which allows us to estimate its effect on any labor market outcome. We show that the AWE reduces the fraction of households with two non-employed members. The AWE also accounts for why women's employment is less cyclical and more symmetric compared to men. In recessions, while some women lose their employment, others enter t ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2020
Abstract: The paper presents findings from a novel survey of Italian, British, and American families in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic of spring 2020. A high percentage report disruptions in the patterns of family life, manifesting in new work patterns, chore allocations and household tensions. Though men have taken a greater share of childcare and grocery shopping duties, reallocations are not nearly as stark as disruptions to work patterns might suggest, and families having to reallocat ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2013
Abstract: Women are on average more absent from work for health reasons than men. At the same time, they live longer. This conflicting pattern suggests that part of the gender difference in health-related absenteeism arises from differences between the genders unrelated to actual health. An overlooked explanation could be that men and women's preferences for absenteeism differ, for example because of gender differences in risk preferences. These differences may originate from the utility-maximiz ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2017
Abstract: Programs that increase the economic capacity of poor women can have cascading effects on children's participation in school and work that are theoretically undetermined. The research presents a simple model to describe the possible channels through which these programs may affect children's activities. Based on a cluster-randomized trial, we examine how a program providing capital and training to women in poor rural communities in Nicaragua affected children. Children in beneficiary ho ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2017
Abstract: Maternity and family leave policies enable mothers to take time off work to prepare for and recover from childbirth and to care for their new children. While there is substantial variation in the details of these policies around the world, the existing research yields the following general conclusions. First, despite important barriers to the take-up of leave, both the implementation of new programs and extensions of existing ones increase leavetaking rates among new parents. Second, l ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2017
Abstract: The research draw lessons from existing work and analysis on the effects of parental leave and other interventions aimed at aiding families. The outcomes of interest are female employment, gender gaps in earnings and fertility. The authors begin with a discussion of the historical introduction of family policies ever since the end of the nineteenth century and then turn to the details regarding family policies currently in effect across high-income nations. Then they sketch a framework ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2011
Abstract: The Bologna process inspired the Italian 3+2 reform of the university system which constitutes a big increase in the supply of college graduates. This paper is a preliminary attempt to identify the effects of the reform on the probability (relative to non-graduates) of employment of college graduates in the age range 25-34; their quality of employment measured with the relative probability of being employed with a temporary contract; the college wage premium. Using administrative data ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2020
Abstract: This study examines the initial impact of COVID-19 shutdowns on the employment and hours of unincorporated self-employed workers using data from the Current Population Survey. Although the shutdowns decreased employment and hours for all groups, differential effects by gender, couple status, and parental status exist. Coupled women were less likely to be working than coupled men, while single women were more likely to be working than single men. However, fathers of school-age children ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2020
Abstract: Italy has probably been one of the first ships to cross the storm of the pandemic, soon after Wuhan in China, and one of the worst performers with a GDP fall of -10% in 2020. The reason is that the pandemic recession has drawn on old structural problems, which already before the pandemic made the country one of the worst performers in terms of growth rates in Europe in the last 20 years. The evils of Italy are well known. It is the second biggest manufacturer in Europe, but also among ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2020
Abstract: This paper analyzes the role of networks in the spatial diffusion of local economic shocks in Africa. We show that road and ethnic connectivity are particularly important factors for diffusing economic spillovers over longer distances. We then determine the key players, i.e., which districts are key in propagating local economic shocks across Africa. Using these results, we conduct counterfactual policy exercises to evaluate the potential gains from policies that increase economic acti ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2020
Abstract: Home office at full pay is not an option for all employees hit by the coronavirus crisis. To analyze changes in work arrangements during the pandemic, a team of economists from the University of Bonn, IZA and the University of Tilburg surveyed around 5,500 individuals in the Netherlands from March 20-31. The results show that high-skilled workers spend more time in the home office, while less-skilled workers are more likely to work reduced hours or lose their jobs. Education plays a ke ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2021
Abstract: As the pandemic continues and countries experience a massive second wave, labor markets continue to be heavily affected. At the same time, countries have started to extend, but also adjust stabilization measures initially introduced at the outset of the crisis. As of today, three main elements of crisis response require particular attention: the further development of short-time work schemes, ad hoc income protection for the self-employed, and the specific difficulties labor markets ar ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2013
Abstract: Female labor supply can insure households against shocks to paternal employment. The paper estimates whether the female labor supply response to a paternal employment shock differs by eligibility to maternity employment protection. We exploit time-state variation in the implementation of unpaid maternity leave through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in the US which increased employment protection from 0 to 12 weeks. We find that mothers eligible for FMLA speed up their return t ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2018
Abstract: This paper addresses the directions to follow when designing new educational systems and school-to-work transition regimes to adhere to the needs of Industry 4.0. Although a high level of general education will be important for its training content to develop adaptability, it is not the only component to develop. What will be more and more important are work related skills, both the general ones and the ones which are job-specific and need, therefore, on-the-job training to develop. Th ...; [Read more...]