The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy

Published by De Gruyter

Volume 20 Issue 4

October 2020

Issue of The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy

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Contents
Journal Overview

Research Articles

July 29, 2020

Erasmus Exchange Program – A Matter of (Relatively) Older Students

Luca Fumarco, Magnus Carlsson, Benjamin G. Gibbs

Article number: 20200055

Abstract

This study contributes to the literature on long-term effects of relative age (i.e. age differences between classmates in compulsory school) by examining tertiary education outcomes. We investigate whether there is evidence of relative age effects on university students enrolled in the Erasmus exchange program. We use administrative data on all exchange students who visited the Linnaeus University, in Sweden, in the four years since its founding. We find long-term evidence of RAEs—the youngest cohort students participate less often to the Erasmus exchange program than older cohort members.

August 24, 2020

Co-Production in Local Public Service Delivery: The Case of Waste Management

Giuseppe Di Liddo, Annalisa Vinella

Article number: 20190403

Abstract

In a simple model of waste management, we analyse the basic aspects of co-production in local public service delivery. Our results suggest that citizen involvement may lead to an expansion of the production possibility frontier, if waste sorting is made sufficiently convenient, relative to work, through an appropriate tax policy. However, by diverting time away from work, this policy may trigger a tax base erosion phenomenon. We find that the incentive power of the tax should be high (low) when local preferences for the service are very high (low) relative to local incomes. In the intermediate situation, two cases arise. First, when preferences are (not very) low relative to incomes, taxation should pursue resource collection purposes and be deprived of its incentive effects. Second, when preferences are middle-to-high relative to incomes, the trade-off between incentive provision and tax base erosion causes the optimal tax rate to first increase, then decrease.

Open Access September 28, 2020

The Effects of a Parenting Program on Maternal Well-Being: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial

Georg F. Camehl, Christa Katharina Spiess, Kurt Hahlweg

Article number: 20200084

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Abstract

This paper evaluates how a light-touch parenting program for parents of children below school entry age affects maternal family well-being. We analyze data from a randomized controlled trial focusing on non-disadvantaged parents. Overall, results show no short-term effects but a relatively large positive effect of the intervention on maternal family well-being in the medium term. With a 20- to 30-percent standard deviation, the effects appearing three years after treatment are relatively large. Mechanisms such as improvements in child behavior are further explored.

Letters

July 24, 2020

The Impact of Marital Status on Job Finding: A Field Experiment in the Chinese Labor Market

Gergely Horváth

Article number: 20190364

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of marital status on job finding in China using the correspondence methodology. Fictitious CVs are sent to job advertisements through an online job board website, focusing on financial and accounting jobs, and the callback rate is measured. We vary the gender and marital status on otherwise identical CVs. The previous literature suggests that being married has a negative impact on the labor market outcomes of females, but a positive impact for males. In contrast, for the Chinese labor market, we do not find a significant effect of marital status on job finding for either gender.

August 10, 2020

A Note on the Efficiency Gains from a Refusal to Deal in a Bertrand-Nash Framework

Soheil R. Nadimi, Dennis L. Weisman

Article number: 20200070

Abstract

A vertically integrated provider (VIP) initially has a duty to deal with a rival at unregulated upstream and downstream prices in a Bertrand-Nash framework. The duty to deal is subsequently terminated which enables the VIP to acquire the rival and serve as a two-product, downstream monopolist. We find that the refusal to deal is efficiency-enhancing, given that prices decrease while profits increase ex post .

Open Access September 30, 2020

The Panzar–Rosse H Statistic and Monopoly. Issues on its Use as a Market Power Measure

Juan Manuel Sanchez-Cartas

Article number: 20200193

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Abstract

This note emphasizes some flaws of the Panzar–Rosse H statistic to address market power. First, I show that it is more related to the pass-through rate than to a market power measure, which implies reconsidering its interpretation and use. Second, I show that the inclusion of other strategic variables rather than prices or quantities may lead to contradictory predictions about market power. Therefore, competition authorities should refrain from using the H statistic to rule out significant market power because it is not a well-behaved measure of the degree of competition.

About this journal

Objective
The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy (BEJEAP) welcomes submissions that employ microeconomics to analyze issues in organizational economics, consumer behavior, and public policy. Articles submitted to BEJEAP can come in two formats: research papers and letters. Authors should bring to their analysis whatever microeconomic theoretical, experimental or econometric tools are helpful. We publish both empirical work and applied theory (though not more abstract forms of applied theory), and our aim is to disseminate papers that have practical implications for public policy, organizational or individual decision making.

Topics

Design of organizations and institutions
Industrial organization
Health economics
Public finance
Labour Economics
Economics of education, family, development, law, or the environment
Effects of domestic and international policy

Article formats
Research Papers, Letters

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