Work norms, social insurance and the allocation of talent

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Corneo, Giacomo
• 署名单位: Free University of Berlin; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut; IZA Institute Labor Economics
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2013.09.002
• 发表日期: 2013
• 页码: 79-92
• 关键词: work norms; unemployment insurance; occupational mobility; Economic growth

摘要

This paper challenges the view that weak work norms make generous welfare states economically unsustainable. I develop a dynamic model of family-transmitted values that has a laissez-faire equilibrium with strong work norms coexisting with a social-insurance equilibrium with weak work norms. While the former has better incentives, the latter induces more intergenerational occupational mobility which improves the allocation of talent and fuels growth. Strong work norms arise as a way for parents to protect their children from the risk of lacking talent. I present evidence from microdata showing that generous social insurance correlates with high intergenerational occupational mobility and that more mobile individuals endorse weaker work norms. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.