Browsing Department of Economics (ECON) by Year Published
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Cost-benefit-beregningHøjbjerg Jacobsen, Rasmus (Frederiksberg, 2011)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: I perioden januar-august 2011 har CEBR udført en analyseopgave for Landsforeningen BEDRE PSYKIATRI. Formålet med projektet har været at undersøge det samfundsøkonomiske potentiale for forøget inddragelse af pårørende i behandlingen af personer med psykisk sygdom i Danmark. Specifikt har det været formålet at gennemføre en cost-benefit beregning af familieintervention og inddragelse af pårørende på baggrund af de faktiske livsforløb for patienter med psykisk sygdom i Danmark og de resultater af effekter af familieintervention og pårørendeinddragelse, der kan findes i faglitteraturen. Undervejs har en række personer givet værdifulde kommentarer til projektet, og forfatteren vil gerne takke alle herfor. Særlig tak skal rettes til Martin Junge fra CEBR, professor Søren Bo Nielsen, CBS, samt Thorstein Theilgaard og Jens Peter Dam Eckardt Jensen fra BEDRE PSYKIATRI. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8578 Files in this item: 1
Rasmus_H_Jacobsen_2011.pdf (390.7Kb) -
Staff utilisation in branches of a large Canadian bankAsmild, Mette; Bogetoft, Peter; Hougaard, Jens Leth (, 2011)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: In this paper we consider staffing decisions in branches of a large Canadian bank. The bank has well-developed staffing models and the branches work in a highly competitive environment. One would therefore expect limited ’inefficiency’ in the sense of wasted resources and over-staffing. Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) we nevertheless find considerable ’inefficiency’ which raises the question whether this is best interpreted as waste or if the apparent inefficiency may serve other purposes. To investigate this, we invoke the theoretical framework of Rational Inefficiency (Bogetoft and Hougaard 2003). A systematic pattern of slack consumption emerges, which suggests that the allocation of slack between sta↵ groups is far from random. The slack pattern seems natural from the point of view of employee value and hierarchy and also considering employee flexibility and substitutability. For example we find relatively large over-staffing at the supervisor level which is natural given both their strong bargaining position derived from their role in the branch hierarchy and given the relative flexibility of supervisor resources. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8634 Files in this item: 1
Asmild Bogetoft Hougaard_2011.pdf (567.5Kb) -
Junge, Martin; Højbjerg Jacobsen, Rasmus (Frederiksberg, 2011)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Denne rapport afrapporterer CEBR-projektet ”Afviste ansøgere på videregående uddannelser”, som er udført af Rasmus Højbjerg Jacobsen og Martin Junge for DEA. Det overordnede formål med projektet er at beskrive og følge udvalgte årgange af ansøgere, som har søgt ind på videregående uddannelser gennem den koordinerede tilmelding (KOT-årgange). Det er så vidt vides første gang dette udføres i en dansk kontekst. I lyset af debatten om, hvad Danmark skal leve af i fremtiden, hvor uddannelse har været fremhævet som en meget vigtig kilde (se f.eks. De Økonomiske Råd, 2010), kan afviste ansøgere på den ene side være et potentielt spild, hvis de ikke opnår den uddannelse, som de gerne ville have. På den anden side kan der være et ønske om prioritere uddannelserne, så dermed kan det være rationelt, at ikke alle får deres drømmeuddannelse. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8579 Files in this item: 1
Rasmus_H_Jacobsen_2011_a.pdf (362.1Kb) -
AnalyserapportHøjbjerg Jacobsen, Rasmus (Frederiksberg, 2011)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: I perioden marts 2011 til august 2011 har CEBR udført en analyseopgave for Specialfunktionen for Ligestilling. Formålet med projektet har været at levere en mængde beskrivende statistik over, hvordan unge mødre klarer sig i Danmark fordelt på de enkelte jobcenterområder. Undervejs har en række personer givet værdifulde kommentarer til projektet, og forfatteren vil gerne takke alle herfor. Der skal også lyde en stor tak til Christine Marie Skovgaard for værdifuld assistance på projektet. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8581 Files in this item: 1
Rasmus_H_Jacobsen_2011_b.pdf (1.174Mb) -
Schwenen, Sebastian (Frederiksberg, 2011)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The regulatory approach to supply security in electricity markets has been substantially altered since power markets were partly privatized and reregulated in the mid 1990’s, when regulators chose to rely on market based prices and decentralized commercially based decisions on generation capacities. Prior to this market restructuring power systems basically worked as planned economies, however, the decentralization of production decisions introduced stochastic elements to electricity systems. Additionally, since the early 2000’s, power generating companies, often incentivized by the state, started increasing the share of renewable but intermittent energy sources in their generation portfolios. Due to its intermittency the production process of wind, solar and hydro power is difficult to plan and therefore the final amount of power that enters the market at each point in time becomes difficult to predict. As the level of power supply intermittency increases, so also do the number of challenges that market based approaches face in organizing secure power systems.... URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8376 Files in this item: 1
Sebastian_Schwenen.pdf (781.2Kb) -
Evidence from Unexpected Inheritance due to Sudden DeathAndersen, Steffen; Meisner Nielsen, Kasper (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: We use a natural experiment to investigate the impact of participation constraints on individuals' decisions to invest in the stock market. Unexpected inheritance due to sudden deaths results in exogenous variation in financial wealth and allows us to examine whether fixed entry and ongoing participation costs cause non-participation. We have three key findings. First, windfall wealth has a positive effect on participation. Second, the majority of households do not react to sizeable windfalls by entering the stock market, but hold on to substantial safe assets—even over longer horizons. Third, the majority of households inheriting stock holdings actively sell the entire portfolio. Overall, these findings suggest that participation by many individuals is unlikely to be constrained by financial participation costs. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8169 Files in this item: 1
wp3-2010.pdf (254.6Kb) -
Andersen, Steffen; Harrison, Glenn W.; Hole, Arne Risa; Rutström, E. Elisabet (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: We develop an extension of the familiar linear mixed logit model to allow for the direct estimation of parametric non-linear functions defined over structural parameters. A classic application is the estimation of coefficients of utility functions to characterize risk attitudes. There are several unexpected benefits of this extension, apart from the ability to directly estimate structural parameters of theoretical interest. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8171 Files in this item: 1
wp4-2010.pdf (174.4Kb) -
Foley, Kelly; Gallipoli, Giovanni; Green, David (Bristol, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: We use a large, rich Canadian micro-level dataset to examine the channels through which family socio-economic status and unobservable characteristics a ect children's decisions to drop out of high school. First, we document the strength of observable socio-economic factors: our data suggest that teenage boys with two parents who are themselves high school dropouts have a 16% chance of dropping out, compared to a dropout rate of less than 1% for boys whose parents both have a university degree. We examine the channels through which this socio-economic gradient arises using an extended version of the factor model set out in Carneiro, Hansen, and Heckman (2003). Speci cally, we consider the impact of cognitive and non-cognitive ability and the value that parents place on education. Our results support three main conclusions. First, cognitive ability at age 15 has a substantial impact on dropping out. Second, parental valuation of education has an impact of approximately the same size as cognitive ability e ects for medium and low ability teenagers. A low ability teenager has a probability of dropping out of approximately .03 if his parents place a high value on education but .36 if their education valuation is low. Third, parental education has no direct e ect on dropping out once we control for ability and parental valuation of education. Our results point to the importance of whatever determines ability at age 15 (including, potentially, early childhood interventions) and of parental valuation of education during the teenage years. We also make a small methodological contribution by extending the standard factor based estimator to allow a non-linear relationship between the factors and a covariate of interest. We show that allowing for non-linearities has a substantial impact on estimated e ects. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8582 Files in this item: 1
Foley_2009.pdf (369.2Kb) -
Kolm, Ann-Sofie; Larsen, Birthe (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper develops a general equilibrium search and matching model where an underground economy co-exists along with the formal part of the economy. In analyzing how tax and punishment policies a¤ect labour market performance, we find that punishment of infor- mal sector activities induce workers and firms to reallocate towards the formal sector. However, more importantly, we find that this real- location tends to improve e¢ ciency in search, reduce the overall wage pressure, and reduce actual unemployment. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8209 Files in this item: 1
wp5-2010.pdf (158.2Kb) -
Evidence from a Matrilineal and a Patriarchal SocietyAndersen, Steffen; Ertac, Seda; Gneezy, Uri; List, John A.; Maximiano, Sandra (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Economists and other social scientists typically rely on gender differences in the family-career balance, discrimination, and ability to explain gender gaps in wages and in the prospect for advancement. A new explanation that has recently surfaced in the economics literature is that men are more competitively inclined than women, and having a successful career requires competitiveness. A natural question revolves around the underlying determinants of these documented competitive differences: are women simply born less competitive, or do they become so through the process of socialization? To shed light on this issue, we compare the competitiveness of children in matrilineal and patriarchal societies to show that the difference starts around puberty. Moreover, most of the changes during this period of life are within the patriarchal society, in which boys become more competitive with age while girls become less competitive. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8389 Files in this item: 1
Steffen_Andersen_2010.pdf (203.8Kb) -
Heterogeneity and Non-LinearitiesIversen, Jens; Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj; Sørensen, Anders (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The returns to education in self-employment are addressed in four different specifications of the relationship between log income and years of schooling. The specifications range from a standard Mincer equation with a constant percentage increase in income to an additional year of schooling to the most flexible specification with dummy variables for the different number of years of schooling split into different types of education. Based on the more flexible specifications, important non-linearities and heterogeneity in the returns to education in self-employment are found. These results are robust across different estimation methods: OLS; Heckit correction models to handle sample selection; and IV to deal with the potential endogeneity of years of schooling. Moreover, the results are insensitive to the use of different sample years, different definitions of self-employment, and different income measures for the self-employed. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8225 Files in this item: 1
Sorensen_WP_2010.pdf (411.9Kb) -
Højbjerg Jacobsen, Rasmus (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: I perioden januar til september 2010 har CEBR udført en analyseopgave for Mødrehjælpen. Formålet med denne analyse har været at belyse, i hvilket omfang Mødrehælpens Projekt I Gang økonomisk bidrager til, at de mødre, der deltager i projektet, klarer sig bedre. Da der ikke har været individdata til rådighed om projektets deltagere, har den nærværende analyse både haft som formål at identificere en gruppe af mødre, der er sammenlignelige med deltagerne samt belyse, hvordan denne og andre grupper af mødre klarer sig i samfundet. Den første rapport fra projektet udkom i august. Denne udgave indeholder yderligere oplysninger anvendelsen af sundhedssystemet samt brug af receptpligtig medicin. Undervejs har en række personer givet værdifulde kommentarer til projektet, og forfatteren vil gerne takke alle herfor. Særlig tak skal rettes til Martin Junge for sin store hjælpsomhed i forbindelse med dette projekt. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8576 Files in this item: 1
Rasmus_H_Jacobsen_2010.pdf (472.9Kb) -
Baghdasaryan, Delia; la Cour, Lisbeth (København, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This study empirically investigates if competition’s impact on firm performance depends on the ownership structure. Our results show that an increase in import competition has a positive effect on firms with concentrated ownership and a negative effect on firms with dispersed ownership, regardless of the level of domestic competition. Given that the optimal level of ownership concentration with respect to firm productivity is high (low) if tariffs are low (high) in the case when import competition is high these results are consistent with theoretical findings that competition has positive effects in companies that are a priori efficient but not in unproductive firms. If tariffs are high, however, they support inferences based on the x-inefficiency literature. Contrary to what has been suggested by some theoretical results, the riskiness of a firm’s environment does not seem to influence our results. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7660 Files in this item: 1
wp1-2009.pdf (296.5Kb) -
Theory and ExperimentsAndersen, Steffen; Fountain, John; Harrison, Glenn W.; Rutström, E. Elisabet (, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Subjective beliefs play a role in many economic decisions. There is a large theoretical literature on the elicitation of beliefs, and an equally large empirical literature. However, there is a gulf between the two. The theoretical literature proposes a range of procedures that can be used to recover beliefs, but stresses the need to make strong auxiliary assumptions or “calibrating adjustments” to elicited reports in order to recover the latent belief. With some notable exceptions, the empirical literature seems intent on either making those strong assumptions or ignoring the need for calibration. We make three contributions to bridge this gulf. First, we offer a general theoretical framework in which the belief elicitation task can be viewed as an exchange of state-dependent commodities between two traders. Second, we provide a specific elicitation procedure which has clear counterparts in field betting environments, and that is directly motivated by our theoretical framework. Finally, we illustrate how one can jointly estimate risk attitudes and subjective beliefs using structural maximum likelihood methods. This allows the observer to make inferences about the latent subjective belief, calibrating for virtually any well-specified model of choice under uncertainty. We demonstrate our procedures with an experiment in which we elicit subjective probabilities over three future events and one fact. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7799 Files in this item: 1
wp2009-3.pdf (2.043Mb) -
Andersen, Steffen; Fountain, John; Harrison, Glenn W.; Rutström, E. Elisabet (, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: It is intuitive that decision-makers might have attitudes towards uncertainty just as they might have attitudes towards risk. However, it is only recently that this intuitive notion has been formalized and axiomatically characterized. We estimate the extent of uncertainty aversion in a manner that is parsimonious and consistent with theory. We demonstrate that one can jointly estimate attitudes towards uncertainty, attitudes towards risk, and subjective probabilities in a rigorous manner. Our structural econometric model constructively demonstrates the theoretical claims that it is possible to define uncertainty aversion in an empirically tractable manner. Our results show that attitudes towards risk and uncertainty can be different, qualitatively and quantitatively, and that allowing for these differences can have significant effects on inferences about subjective probabilities. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7803 Files in this item: 1
wp2009-7.pdf (467.5Kb) -
Andersen, Steffen; Harrison, Glenn W.; Hole, Arne Risa; Rutström, E. Elisabet (, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Experimental data exhibit considerable individual heterogeneity. We review the econometric methods employed to characterize that heterogeneity. We pay particular attention to the trade-off between collecting and allowing for observable characteristics, such as the familiar demographics, and the use of statistical methods to allow for unobserved individual heterogeneity. We demonstrate that these tools are complementary. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7802 Files in this item: 1
wp2009-6.pdf (420.1Kb) -
hvordan får vi mest vækst for pengene?Skaksen, Jan Rose; Kirk, Jens Sand; Stephensen, Peter (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7987 Files in this item: 1
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Essays on sorting and globalizationScheuer, Christian (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: "Leaping into the future of labor economics: the research potential of linking employer and employee data" is the title of a paper by Daniel S Hammermesh published in Labour Economics in 1999. I quote it here, since it captures much of my motivation for the work included in this thesis. Considering applied micro econometrics and labor economics my main elds of interest, the development of linked employer-employee data that took place in Denmark around the time of the new millennium, marked new and exciting possibilities. For some years Danish researchers have had access to very detailed information on all people living in Denmark, but at the beginning of this century also data on all companies linked to these persons was being made available for research. Combined with modern computer technology this meant access to a linked database following all employers and all employees in Denmark over time. I had no doubt that this should be the centerpiece of my Ph.D. The result has been two lines of research, one studying the e¤ect of globalization on labor demand in Denmark, and one studying sorting, that is, how and why employers meet employees in the labor market. In the summary I treat each line of research independently although I would like to emphasize, that studying a labor market where fi rms and workers reacts to one another is the corner stone in both. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7928 Files in this item: 1
Christian_Scheuer.pdf (1.312Mb) -
Andersen, Steffen; Harrison, Glenn W.; Lau, Morten Igel; Rutström, Elisabet E. (, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: We make the case that psychologists should make wider use of econometric methods for the estimation of structural models. These methods involve the development of maximum likelihood estimates of models, where the likelihood function is tailored to the structural model. In recent years these models have been developed for a wide range of behavioral models of choice under uncertainty. We explain the components of this methodology, and illustrate with applications to major models from psychology. The goal is to build, and traverse, a constructive bridge between the modeling insights of psychology and the statistical tools of economists. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7800 Files in this item: 1
wp2009-4.pdf (1.471Mb) -
Andersen, Steffen; Fountain, John; Harrison, Glenn W.; Rutström, E. Elisabet (, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Subjective probabilities play a role in many economic decisions. There is a large theoretical literature on the elicitation of subjective probabilities, and an equally large empirical literature. However, there is a gulf between the two. The theoretical literature proposes a range of procedures that can be used to recover subjective probabilities, but stresses the need to make strong auxiliary assumptions or “calibrating adjustments” to elicited reports in order to recover the latent probability. With some notable exceptions, the empirical literature seems intent on either making those strong assumptions or ignoring the need for calibration. We illustrate how one can jointly estimate risk attitudes and subjective probabilities using structural maximum likelihood methods. This allows the observer to make inferences about the latent subjective probability, calibrating for virtually any well-specified model of choice under uncertainty. We demonstrate our procedures with experiments in which we elicit subjective probabilities. We calibrate the estimates of subjective beliefs assuming that choices are made consistently with expected utility theory or rank-dependent utility theory. Inferred subjective probabilities are significantly different when calibrated according to either theory. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7801 Files in this item: 1
wp2009-5.pdf (435.4Kb)