Search results for "welfare"
showing 10 items of 921 documents
Why did Spanish Regions not Converge before the Civil War? Agglomeration Economies and (Regional) Growth Revisited
2015
In this paper we explore the relationship between the presence of agglomeration economies and regional economic growth in Spain during the period 1870-1930. The study allows us to revisit the existence of a trade-off between economic growth and territorial cohesion, and also to examine whether the existence of agglomeration economies could explain the upswing in regional income inequality during the early stages of development. In doing so, we present alternative indicators for agglomeration economies and estimate conditional growth regressions at province (NUTS3) level. In line with new economic geography models, agglomeration economies in a context of market integration widened regional i…
The Deadly Embrace between the Banks and the State in Spain, 1850-2015
2017
espanolEste trabajo analiza las relaciones financieras entre el sector bancario y la Hacienda publica en la Espana contemporanea. Los sistemas fiscales han sido insuficientes, generando un deficit presupuestario cronico. Este forzo una gestion irresponsable de la deuda publica hasta 1987. Ello impidio que los deficits presupuestarios pudiesen financiarse con deuda emitida en las bolsas, y obligo al Estado a recurrir a la banca (publica y privada). La evolucion de las nuevas series de las carteras de deuda publica se explica por la busqueda de rentabilidad de los bancos y por los cambios en la regulacion bancaria y la represion financiera que favorecieron al statu quo bancario. Se analizan l…
Do microfinance institutions benefit from integrating financial and nonfinancial services?
2017
This article examines the impact of microfinance ‘plus’ (i.e. coordinated combination of financial and nonfinancial services) on the performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs). Using a global data set of MFIs in 77 countries, we find that the provision of nonfinancial services does not harm nor improve MFIs’ financial sustainability and efficiency. The results however suggest that the provision of social services is associated with improved loan quality and greater depth of outreach.
La relación causa-efecto entre exclusión/inclusión social y financiera. Una aproximación teórica
2021
La realidad social y económica actual representada en situaciones de vulnerabilidad y desigualdad ha dejado al descubierto tipos de exclusión que no estaban abordados en los diferentes estudios, como son los casos de la exclusión financiera y social, dado que tales conceptos eran comúnmente identificados en términos de pobreza, miseria o marginalidad, entre otros. Estas nuevas categorías de estudio dan lugar a la búsqueda de estrategias que permitan disminuir esa brecha de desigualdad, mediante el estudio de la relación entre la inclusión financiera y la inclusión social. En esta línea, el presente trabajo tiene como propósito desarrollar una aproximación teórica que visibilice la relación …
Cultural Distance and International Trade in Services: A Disaggregate View
2020
Abstract In this paper, we estimate the effect of “cultural distance” on bilateral trade in services. The measure of cultural distance we use is based on scores that reflect country averages of individuals’ attitudes towards inequality, self-orientation, competition, uncertainty, traditions, and indulgence. Controlling for standard ingredients of gravity equations, we show that an aggregate measure of cultural distance has a significantly negative effect on total bilateral services trade. Once we take a more disaggregate view, we find that the strength of this effect differs across various types of services and various aspects of cultural distance.
Measuring Social Mobility
1993
Abstract The paper considers the ranking of mobility matrices in a simple Markov model of social mobility. The approach is the dynamic counterpart ot the "static" inequality ranking of income distributions by the Lorenz curve. The derived partial ordering is motivated by welfare considerations, is shown to be equivalent to same intuitive mobility concepts, and is used to screen some immobility indices. The equivalence of the ranking with the "permanent income" Lorenz ordering gives support to the claim that this approach is the natural extension of Kolm′s [The optimal production of social justice, in "Public Economics (J. Margolis and H. Guitton, Eds.), MacMillan, London, 1969], Atkinson′s …
Does one size fit all? The impact of cognitive skills on economic growth
2016
Les Documents de Travail de l'IREDU, n°2016-1; This paper tests for heterogeneous effects of cognitive skills on economic growth across countries. Using a new extended dataset on cognitive skills and controlling for potential endogeneity, we find that the magnitude of the effect is about 60 per cent higher for low-income countries compared to high-income countries, and it more than doubles when low TFP countries are compared to high TFP countries. There are also marked differences across geographic regions. Using data on the share of the population with advanced and minimum skill levels, our results also indicate that high-income countries should focus on increasing the number of high skill…
Redistribution, selection, and trade
2017
Abstract This paper examines the distributional effects of international trade in a general equilibrium model with heterogeneous agents and a welfare state redistributing income. The redistribution scheme is financed by a progressive income tax and gives the same absolute transfer to all individuals. Ceteris paribus, international trade leads to an increase in income per capita but also to higher income inequality on two fronts. Inter-group inequality between managers and workers increases, and intra-group inequality within the group of managers goes up as well. We show that for a given tax rate, there is an endogenous increase in the size of the welfare state that works against the increas…
Do we value mobility?
2015
Is there a trade-off between people's preference for income equality and income mobility? Testing for the existence of such a trade-off is difficult because mobility is a multifaceted concept. We analyse results from a questionnaire experiment based on simple precise concepts of income inequality and income mobility. We fnd no direct trade-off in preference between mobility and equality, but an indirect trade-off, applying when more income mobility can only be obtained at the expense of some income inequality. Mobility preference - but not equality preference - appears to be driven by personal experience of mobility.
ESTIMATING INCENTIVE AND WELFARE EFFECTS OF NONSTATIONARY UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
2013
The distribution of unemployment duration in our equilibrium matching model with spell-dependent unemployment benefits displays time-varying exit rates. Building on semi-Markov processes, we translate these rates into an expression for the aggregate unemployment rate. Structural estimation using German microdata allows us to discuss the effects of an unemployment benefit reform (Hartz IV). The reform reduced unemployment by less than 0.1 percentage points. Contrary to general beliefs, the net wage for most skill and regional groups increased. Taking the insurance effect of unemployment benefits into account, however, the reform is welfare reducing for 76% of workers.