-
作者：Crossley, Thomas; Jametti, Mario
作者单位：Koc University; University of Cambridge; Universita della Svizzera Italiana; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut
摘要：Pension benefit guarantees have been introduced in several countries to protect private plan members from the loss of income associated with the termination of an underfunded plan. Most such schemes face financial difficulty. Consequently, policy reforms are being contemplated. Economic theory suggests that such schemes will suffer moral hazard problems. We test a specific theoretical prediction: insured plans will invest more heavily in risky assets. Our test exploits policy differences acros...
-
作者：Didier, Tatiana; Rigobon, Roberto; Schmukler, Sergio L.
作者单位：The World Bank; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); National Bureau of Economic Research
摘要：Using unique data on mutual fund portfolios with different investment scopes, we study the extent of international diversification. Mutual funds invest in a surprisingly limited number of stocks-about 100. The number of holdings from a given region declines as the investment scope broadens. Moreover, unexploited gains exist from international diversification. Funds that invest globally could achieve better risk-adjusted returns by adding stocks held by more specialized funds within the same fa...
-
作者：Stroebel, Johannes; van Benthem, Arthur
作者单位：New York University; University of Pennsylvania
摘要：We use fiscal data on 2,468 oil extraction agreements in 38 countries to study tax contracts between resource-rich countries and independent oil companies. We analyze why expropriations occur and what determines the degree of oil price exposure of host countries. With asymmetric information about a country's expropriation cost, even optimal contracts feature expropriations. Near linearity in the oil price of real-world hydrocarbon contracts also helps to explain expropriations. We show theoret...
-
作者：Bilbiie, Florin O.; Straub, Roland
作者单位：heSam Universite; Universite Pantheon-Sorbonne; Paris School of Economics; European Central Bank
摘要：This paper argues that limited asset market participation is crucial in explaining U.S. macroeconomic performance and monetary policy before the 1980s and their changes thereafter. In an otherwise conventional sticky-price model, standard aggregate demand logic is inverted at low enough asset market participation: interest rate increases become expansionary, and passive monetary policy ensures equilibrium determinacy and maximizes welfare. This suggests that Federal Reserve policy in the pre-V...
-
作者：DeCicca, Philip; Kenkel, Donald; Liu, Feng
作者单位：McMaster University; National Bureau of Economic Research; Cornell University; Shanghai University of Finance & Economics
摘要：We conduct an empirical study of the impact of consumer price search on the shifting of cigarette excise taxes to consumer prices. We use novel data on the prices that smokers report paying and document substantial price dispersion. We find that cigarette taxes are shifted at lower rates to carton buyers and, especially, smokers who buy cartons of cigarettes in a state other than their state of residence. We also find evidence that taxes are shifted at somewhat lower rates to the prices paid b...
-
作者：Lovenheim, Michael F.; Mumford, Kevin J.
作者单位：Cornell University; Purdue University System; Purdue University
摘要：This paper uses wealth changes driven by housing market variation to estimate the effect of family resources on fertility decisions. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we show that a $100,000 increase in housing wealth among home owners causes a 16% to 18% increase in the probability of having a child. There is no evidence of an effect of MSA-level housing price growth on the fertility of renters, however. We also present evidence that housing wealth growth increases total fer...
-
作者：Wunder, Christoph; Wiencierz, Andrea; Schwarze, Johannes; Kuechenhoff, Helmut
作者单位：University of Erlangen Nuremberg; University of Munich; Otto Friedrich University Bamberg; Leibniz Association; DIW Berlin - Deutsches Institut fur Wirtschaftsforschung; IZA Institute Labor Economics
摘要：This paper applies semiparametric regression models using penalized splines to investigate the profile of well-being over the life span. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), the analysis shows a common, and quite similar, age-specific pattern of life satisfaction for both Britain and Germany that can be characterized by three age stages. The evidence suggests that the U-shaped profile is a good approximation of decreasing a...
-
作者：Avouyi-Dovi, Sanvi; Fougere, Denis; Gautier, Erwan
作者单位：Universite PSL; Universite Paris-Dauphine; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD); Laboratoire dEconomie de Dauphine LEDa; Nantes Universite
摘要：Using data sets on wage agreements at both industry and firm levels in France, we document stylized facts on wage stickiness. The average duration of wages is a little less than one year, and 10% of wages are modified each month by a wage agreement. The frequency of wage change agreements is staggered over the year, but the frequency of effective wage changes is seasonal. The national minimum wage has a significant impact on the probability and the seasonality of wage changes. Negotiated wage ...
-
作者：Davis, Steven J.; Grim, Cheryl; Haltiwanger, John; Streitwieser, Mary
作者单位：University of Chicago; National Bureau of Economic Research; American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
摘要：We measure unit value electricity prices using 2 million annual observations on U.S. manufacturing plants from 1963 to 2000. These prices display tremendous cross-sectional dispersion, 85-95% of which reflects differences by plant location and purchase quantity. Spatial differentials decline markedly until the late 1980s for large purchasers but rise over time for small purchasers. Unit value price gaps between larger and smaller purchasers are enormous, diminish through the late 1970s, and th...
-
作者：Molloy, Raven; Shan, Hui
摘要：By raising commuting costs, an increase in gasoline prices should reduce the demand for housing in areas far from employment centers relative to locations closer to jobs. Using annual panel data on a large number of postal codes and municipalities from 1981 to 2008, we find that a 10% increase in gas prices leads to a 10% decrease in construction in locations with a long average commute relative to other locations but to no significant change in house prices. Thus, the supply response prevents...
