Published by De Gruyter Oldenbourg

Volume 72 Issue 1

Issue of Review of Economics

Contents
Journal Overview

Publicly Available May 7, 2021

Research Articles

May 7, 2021

Inheritance and Stockholding: The Role of Expectations

Marc-André Luik, Jan Salland

Page range: 1-28

Abstract

This paper uses data from the Health and Retirement Study to investigate the role of inheritances for stockholding. Individual heir fixed-effects estimates show that an inheritance receipt increases subsequent stock market participation. The respective magnitude of this shift is higher for large and fully anticipated receipts, whereas it seems to be largest for fully but larger-than-expected transfers. Generally, our effects are driven by households entering the stock market. Also, a less pre-inheritance liquidity constrained household shows higher post-inheritance stock ownership probability. This suggests, inheritance size as well as receipt and size anticipation are determinants for stockholding. In the context of stock market participation, our results highlight considerable heir and transfer heterogeneity which can have important implications for bequest taxation and economic welfare. By means of the intergenerational transmission of inequality and socio-economic status via the ‘wealth channel’, households not only benefit from transfer receipt but also from later capital gains, due to stock market participation.

May 7, 2021

Strategic Welfare Policies with Migration: A Theoretical Model and Empirical Evidence

Maria Alessandra Antonelli, Valeria De Bonis

Page range: 29-50

Abstract

We test the welfare magnet hypothesis for Europe. We modify the existing theoretical frameworks assuming that: (a) welfare services, intended as the output of welfare expenditure, not the poor’s income or social expenditure, enter the median voter’s utility function; (b) preferences depend on the position of the median voter in the income distribution; and (c) the total amount of welfare services provided may differ from the amount needed to finance them, because of inefficiencies in the transfer process. We then test the welfare magnet hypothesis for 22 European countries by estimating a reaction function corresponding to the generic form adopted by the literature, but using the variables inspired by the model. We find evidence of a positive strategic interaction among countries, which suggests a downward bias in the choice of the protection level because of welfare competition. The level of social protection also positively depends on GDP, the redistributive attitudes of residents and their weight in the population, vis-à-vis the migrants’ share, and the efficiency of social expenditure.

May 7, 2021

A Real-Business-Cycle Model with Institutional Quality: The Case of Bulgaria (1999–2018)

Aleksandar Vasilev

Page range: 51-69

Abstract

This paper takes an otherwise standard real-business-cycle (RBC) setup with government sector, and augments it with an output-expropriation mechanism and shocks to institutional quality in order to study business cycle fluctuations. The extraction decision is endogenous: households can use their time either productively, or engage in opportunistic activities. Stronger institutions decrease the size of the available resources for capture, and suppress corrupt behavior. As a test case, the model is calibrated to Bulgaria after the introduction of the currency board (1999–2018). Overall, the shocks to institutional quality generate business cycles of the same magnitude as in data, which suggests that political economy factors might be the major driving force behind the observed economic fluctuations in Bulgaria. Another interesting result, generated by the model, is that on average, the estimated size of evaded resources is approximately one-fourth of output, which is very close to the estimates of the unofficial economy share, e.g. European Commission (2014). Special eurobarometer 402: undeclared work . European Commission, Brussels and Medina, L. and Schneider, F. (2017). Shadow economies around the world: what did we learn over the last 20 Years? IMF Working Paper WP/18/17 . International Monetary Fund, Washington DC.

About this journal

Welcome! As of 2016 the Review of Economics as well as all other journals of Lucius and Lucius Verlagsgesellschaft are published by De Gruyter Oldenbourg.

Aims and Scope
The Review of Economics (Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftswissenschaften) is a peer-reviewed general interest journal and publishes articles from all fields of economics.
Only articles with a strong policy focus are considered for publication. The Review of Economics will consider papers that are based on (i) a well defined theoretical model (ii) an empirical analysis or (iii) an experimental or (iv) an evidence-based framework.
The Review of Economics is also highly interested in survey articles on important policy issues.
Since the Review of Economics intends to deliver a forum for policy contributions and to influence the public debate we guarantee a quick and efficient referee process (the initial publication decision will be made within a maximum of 90 days). The editors may decide to publish papers without a referee process whenever authors send their submissions together with the referee reports and the decision letter of the previous submission and explain how they reacted to the reports. Accepted articles will be pre-published on the internet page of the journal as soon as they are accepted. Because the Review of Economics is not an e-Journal all articles also appear in a regular print version with some delay.

Partner Journal
Czech Journal of Economics and Finance

The Czech Journal of Economics and Finance (ISSN 0015-1920) is an English-language, double-blind refereed academic journal published in Prague since 1951. It devotes special attention to monetary economics, public finance, financial economics, and international economics, but it is open to high-quality papers from all fields of modern economics. The editors prefer empirically oriented papers, but do not exclude review articles or theoretical contributions provided that they are of high quality and relevant to the journal's aims.

Volume 72 Issue 1

Issue of Review of Economics

Frontmatter

Inheritance and Stockholding: The Role of Expectations

Abstract

Strategic Welfare Policies with Migration: A Theoretical Model and Empirical Evidence

Abstract

A Real-Business-Cycle Model with Institutional Quality: The Case of Bulgaria (1999–2018)

Abstract