The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy

Published by De Gruyter

Volume 22 Issue 3

July 2022

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

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Contents
Journal Overview

Publicly Available July 20, 2022

Frontmatter

Page range: i-iv

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Research Articles

April 29, 2022

Better School, Better Score? Evidence From a Chinese Earthquake-Stricken County

Xuan Leng, Xinyan Liu

Page range: 409-437

Abstract

Little is known about the long-term impact of postdisaster government support on students’ educational outcomes in selective high schools. Using the instrumental variable approach and administrative education data on an earthquake-affected county, we found that entering a selective high school in a postdisaster government-supported county reduces the college entrance examination scores of students and, thus, their success in attending college. Suggestive evidence showed that the redistribution of educational resources across schools could be a reason for this negative impact of selective schools. We conclude that raising awareness of this educational misallocation problem can be of great importance in improving the average level of human capital in rural areas.

May 20, 2022

The Effects of School Start Time on Educational Outcomes: Evidence from the 9 O’clock Attendance Policy in South Korea

Taehoon Kim

Page range: 439-474

Abstract

This study estimates the effects of school start time on sleep time, time use, and educational achievement of high school students. Gyeonggi province, the largest province in South Korea, has implemented the 9 O’clock Attendance Policy, which has delayed school start times to 9:00 AM since September 2014. Changes in the above outcomes before and after the policy implementation are compared between Gyeonggi and other provinces which do not implement the policy. The difference-in-differences estimation results show that the policy increases sleep time, and this is mainly from delayed wake-up time. The policy also reduces adolescents’ time use for computer games. The estimation results using administrative national exam data show that the 9 O’clock Attendance Policy does not significantly affect academic achievement.

June 15, 2022

The Effect of Spousal Loss on the Cognitive Ability of the Elder

Hwanoong Lee, Changsu Ko

Page range: 475-525

Abstract

Given that economic growth is associated with increased life expectancy, declines in cognitive ability among the elder is a critical problem across the developed world. In this paper, we analyze the causal effect of the death of a spouse on the surviving spouse’s cognitive ability using the fixed effect model. The reliability of the estimates is enhanced by robustness checks, such as an event study model, to attend to potential threats to identification. Results show that, on average, spousal loss significantly reduces the cognitive functioning of the surviving spouse. We also study heterogeneity in the effect of spousal loss, finding that co-residing with children greatly mitigates the negative effect of bereavement.

Open Access June 29, 2022

High School Choices by Immigrant Students in Italy: Evidence from Administrative Data

Koray Aktaş, Gianluca Argentin, Gian Paolo Barbetta, Luca V.A. Colombo, Gianna Barbieri

Page range: 527-572

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Abstract

We investigate the educational choices of first- and second-generation immigrant students at the transition between lower-secondary school and high school by exploiting a large longitudinal dataset of about 50,000 students in Italy. We find that immigrant students are less likely to choose challenging academic track high schools compared with their Italian counterparts, after controlling for household characteristics, school fixed effects, and students’ performance. We show that systematic differences in teachers’ feedback received by the two groups of students are an important driver of the observed differences in educational choices by immigrant and native students. In addition, after controlling for observable characteristics, we find that immigrant students are more likely to be formally advised by their teachers to choose vocational or technical high schools rather than academic tracks, especially in the case of female students, reflecting a discrimination bias that has not previously been emphasized in the literature. This suggests the role for a new dimension of policy intervention aimed at reducing the possibility of teachers’ induced discrimination based on implicit stereotypes.

Publicly Available July 1, 2022

Permitting the Compensation of Birth Mothers for Adoption Expenses and its Impact on Adoptions

Cullen T. Wallace

Page range: 573-600

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Abstract

For seven decades, states have passed legislation to regulate the exchange of funds in the adoption process by either enabling or prohibiting prospective adoptive parents from compensating a matched birth mother for adoption-related expenses. In 1940, no state codes contained provisions for adoption compensation. By the mid-1980s, nearly half of states had passed such legislation, and today, 45 states have such laws. Leveraging this variation in state adoption laws governing compensation, I estimate how the allowance of monetary transfers affects the number of infant adoptions in a two-stage difference-in-differences framework. Results indicate that the number of private infant adoptions is not affected by the passage of such laws, and estimates are robust across multiple specifications. The findings suggesting that non-fiscal concerns or uncertainty in the matching process may overshadow potential compensation of medical, legal, or living expenses.

Letters

Open Access May 2, 2022

Social Efficiency of Market Entry Under Tax Policy

Debasmita Basak, Arijit Mukherjee

Page range: 601-610

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Abstract

We provide a new rationale for socially insufficient market entry. We show that if the shadow cost of public funds is sufficiently high, the number of firms under free entry can be socially insufficient if the tax policies are “time inconsistent”, so that the governments cannot commit to the tax policies before market entry of firms. Hence, strategic tax policies may provide a reason why policymakers should engage in pro-competitive policies. Lump-sum subsidies to firms may be a way to achieve that goal.

Open Access June 15, 2022

Employment Protection, Workforce Mix and Firm Performance

Chiara Ardito, Fabio Berton, Lia Pacelli, Filippo Passerini

Page range: 611-621

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Abstract

We measure the impact of employment protection reduction in an uncertain framework on firms’ hires and performance, exploiting the Italian 2015 Jobs Act. Results indicate that firms (1) stabilize workforce mainly through contract transformations of low-tenure and low-human-capital incumbent workers performing high-physical and low-intellectual tasks; (2) apply a cost-saving strategy that increases profits and decreases value added per-head. Effects are stronger among non-exporting and non-innovative firms. Our evidence casts doubts on the effectiveness of employment protection reductions in enhancing productivity in the long run.

June 1, 2022

A Note on University Admission Tests: Simple Theory and Empirical Analysis

Gianni De Fraja, Konstantinos Eleftheriou, Marilou Ioakimidis

Page range: 623-632

Abstract

University admission mechanisms are often quite complex. This paper examines one effect of their design on the students’ incentives to exert effort in preparation for the test. We adapt a multi-unit all-pay model of auction to draw the conclusion that abler students work harder: this conclusion is in line with the behaviour of a sample of students who apply for admission to the Greek university system with the complex rules newly introduced in 2013.

June 22, 2022

Motivation in a Reciprocal Task: Interaction Effects of Task Meaning, Goal Salience, and Time Pressure

Valentin Wagner, Gerhard Riener

Page range: 633-645

Abstract

We investigate the effectiveness of task meaning, time pressure, and knowing the upper bound of performance (maximum performance goal) in a reciprocal information digitization task and their interactions. Participants search information about schools where the quantity dimension of information refers to the number of schools and the quality dimension to finding the correct name of the headmaster. We obtain measures of quality (correctly entered information) and quantity (number of digitized entities). Time pressure has a positive effect on quantity and a negative on quality. Moreover, we cannot replicate the positive effects of high task meaning found in previous research. This indicates that its effectiveness might depend on the work context. While time pressure significantly decreases quality, its interaction with task meaning and maximum performance goals increases quantity marginally without loss in quality.

July 8, 2022

Income Losses, Cash Transfers and Trust in Financial and Political Institutions: Survey Evidence from the Covid-19 Crisis

Giovanni Immordino, Tommaso Oliviero, Alberto Zazzaro

Page range: 647-654

Abstract

Using a survey of Italian households, we find that large income losses suffered during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 are associated with a decline in trust towards political (i.e. Italian Central Government and the EU Parliament) and financial (i.e. ECB and Italian commercial banks) institutions in the management of the Covid-19. The decline is lower for households who received public transfers in the wake of the pandemic. Our results highlight that household exposure to economic losses if not compensated by government income support measures are an important determinant of mistrust in institutions for the management of an economic crisis.

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

> Information on submission process