Browsing Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) by Title
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le Maire, Daniel; Schjerning, Bertel (København, 2007)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between self-employment choice, expected earnings, and uncertainty. Several interesting results emerge from our analysis on Danish longitudinal register data: Firstly, self-employed (taxable) personal income bunch at kink points in the tax system since self-employed can retain earnings and thereby transfer income across tax-years. Secondly, expected income level and income variance are important determinants in choice of occupation. Thirdly, men put more emphasis on expected earnings level, while women appears more risk averse, which contribute to explain why fewer women are self-employed. Finally, our results suggest that non-western immigrants are marginalized into self-employment. Occupational choice, self-employment, wage-dierentials, income uncertainty, risk aversion, overcon dence, self-selection, gender dierences. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7701 Files in this item: 1
artikel 04.pdf (261.1Kb) -
AnalyserapportFosse, Henrik Barslund; Højbjerg Jacobsen, Rasmus; Kuhn, Johan Moritz (Frederiksberg, 2012)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Hovedformålet med denne rapport har været at foretage sammenligninger på to planer: For det første at sammenligne de økonomiske modeller ADAM og DREAM, og for det andet at sammenligne to mulige scenarier for danske økonomi. Hovedvægten er lagt på at undersøge, hvordan udviklingen i boligpriserne og de offentlige finanser varierer på tværs af de økonomiske forudsætninger og de økonomiske modeller. Vi arbejder i hovedtræk med tre forløb: Et reform- og genopretningsforløb, et laden-stå-til-forløb med negativ udvikling i udlandet og et grundforløb i de to modeller, som vi bruger til at sammenligne de øvrige forløb med. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8537 Files in this item: 1
Fosse_Jacobsen_Kuhn_2012.pdf (4.076Mb) -
Iversen, Jens; Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj; Sørensen, Anders (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: We argue that formal schooling and wage-work experience are complementary types of human capital for entrepreneurs. Strong empirical support is found for this hypothesis as the interaction term between schooling and actual wage-work experience enters positively and significantly in a Mincer equation, whereas the effect of schooling in the absence of wage-work experience is insignificant. These results are extremely robust towards more flexible specifications, including fixed-effects estimations dealing with unobserved heterogeneity. For wage workers, the interaction term is negligible, confirming that the complementarity is a distinct characteristic of entrepreneurial human capital. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7990 Files in this item: 1
WP_Iversen_Malchow_Sorensen.pdf (256.4Kb) -
Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj; Schjerning, Bertel; Sørensen, Anders (København, 2008)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper analyses the importance of entrepreneurs for job creation and wage growth. Relying on unique data that covers all plants, firms and individuals in the Danish private sector, we are able to distil a number of different measures of entrepreneurial plants from the set of new plants, including measures that much more precisely capture the "truly new” or "entrepreneurial” plants than in previous studies. Using these data, we find that while new plants in general account for one third of the gross job creation in the economy, entrepreneurial plants are responsible for between 15% and 25% of this, and thus only account for up to 8% of total gross job creation in the economy. However, entrepreneurial plants seem to generate more additional jobs than other new plants in the years following entry. Finally, the jobs generated by entrepreneurial plants are to a large extent low-wage jobs, as they are not found to contribute to the growth in average wages. However, this insight varies across the different types of entrepreneurial plants. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7713 Files in this item: 1
dp 2008-13.pdf (122.6Kb) -
Poutvaara, Panu (København, 2007)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper analyzes educational choices and political support for subsidies to higher education in the presence of a time-consistency problem in income redistribution. There may be political support for so generous subsidization that it motivates the median voter to obtain higher education. As a result of increasing own income, the median voter prefers in the future lower taxes than without higher education. Therefore, the expansion of participation in higher education during the second half of the 20th century may have partly been driven by the aim to limit the political support for overly generous income redistribution. education, time-consistency problem, voting, subsidies to education URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7684 Files in this item: 1
artikel 17.pdf (191.4Kb) -
Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj; Munch, Jakob Roland; Schroll, Sanne; Rose Skaksen, Jan (København, 2007)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: In this paper, we use data from the first two rounds of the European Social Survey to analyze the extent to which differences in average attitudes towards immigration across the EU-15 countries may be explained by differences in socioeconomic characteristics and individually perceived consequences of immigration, using an extension of a decomposition technique developed by Fairlie (2005). We find that despite the significant effects of socioeconomic characteristics on attitudes, differences in the distributions of these characteristics can only explain a modest share of the cross-country variation in average attitudes. A larger part can be explained by differences in perceived consequences of immigration, but the main part is still left unexplained. Apart from providing useful input for policy makers working in the area of immigration policy, this raises a number of questions for further research for which the ESS data can be successfully applied. Attitudes, Immigration, Cross-country differences URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7687 Files in this item: 1
artikel 05.pdf (511.8Kb) -
Fosse, Henrik Barslund (Frederiksberg, 2012)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Firms exporting to foreign markets face a particular challenge: to price their exports in a foreign market when the exchange rate changes. This paper takes on pricing- to-market using a unique data set that covers rm level monthly trade at great detail. As opposed to annual trade ows, monthly trade ows bring us closer to the transaction level where rm decisions are actually made. I nd that the utilization of monthly data does add new information about the average level of pricing-to-market, and the di¤erences between long-run pricing-to-market and short-run pricing-to-market. Furthermore, I nd industry di¤erences in pricing-to-market in terms of the magnitude (zero to complete pricing-to-market) and the timing (when do rms changes prices), and that pricing-to-market is stronger on high-income markets. As discussed in detail in the paper, all results are in-line with predictions of several theoretical contributions to the litterature on pricing-to-market and exchange rate pass-through. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8539 Files in this item: 1
Fosse_2012_1.pdf (303.2Kb) -
Glazer, Amihai; Kanniainen, Vesa; Poutvaara, Panu (København, 2008)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper develops a theory of consumer boycotts. Some consumers care not only about the products they buy but also about whether the firm behaves ethically. Other consumers do not care about the behavior of the firm but yet may like to give the impression of being ethical consumers. Consequently, to affect a firm’s ethical behavior, moral consumers refuse to buy from an unethical firm. Consumers who do not care about ethical behavior may join the boycott to (falsely) signal that they do care. In the firm’s choice between ethical and unethical behavior, the optimality of mixed and pure strategies depends on the cost of behaving ethically. In particular, when the cost is (relatively) low, ethical behavior arises from a prisoners’ dilemma as the firm’s optimal strategy. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7706 Files in this item: 1
dp 2008-08.pdf (225.8Kb) -
Koskela, Erkki; Poutvaara, Panu (København, 2008)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: In European Welfare States, low-skilled workers are typically unionized, while the wage formation of high-skilled workers is more competitive. To focus on this aspect, we analyze how flexible international outsourcing and labour taxation affect wage formation, employment and welfare in dual domestic labour markets. Higher productivity of outsourcing, lower cost of outsourcing and lower factor price of outsourcing increase wage dispersion between the high-skilled and low-skilled workers. Increasing wage tax progression of low-skilled workers decreases the wage rate and increases the labour demand of low-skilled workers. It decreases the welfare of lowskilled workers and increases both the welfare of high-skilled workers and the profit of firms. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7696 Files in this item: 1
dp 2008-15.pdf (183.1Kb) -
Kaiser, Ulrich; Grimpe, Christoph (København, 2008)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Determining the research and development (R&D) boundaries of the firm as the choice between internal, collaborative and external technology acquisition has since long been a major challenge for firms to secure a continuous stream of innovative products or processes. While research on R&D cooperation or strategic alliances is abundant, little is known about the outsourcing of R&D activities to contract research organizations and its implications for innovation performance. This paper investigates the driving forces of external technology sourcing through contract research based on arguments from transaction cost theory and the resource-based view of the firm. Using a large and comprehensive data set of innovating firms from Germany our findings suggest that technological uncertainty, contractual experience and openness to external knowledge sources motivate the choice for engaging in contract research activities. Moreover, we show that internal and external R&D sourcing are complements: the marginal contribution of internal (external) R&D is the larger the more firms spend on external (internal) R&D. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7690 Files in this item: 1
dp 2008-02.pdf (227.6Kb) -
Højbjerg Jacobsen, Rasmus (Frederiksberg, 2013)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: When a policy maker or an administrator decides on how many and which of a number of proposed policy measures to implement an important piece of information is whether the effort is “worthwhile”. The precise meaning of the word “worthwhile” will depend on the context. In some cases, the question of whether a policy measure is worthwhile will be decided on a purely qualitative basis given the results of the policy measure. In other – and perhaps most – cases some sort of money evaluation will be attached to the results, and a total effect in money terms will be used to evaluate the results. This manual is concerned with the latter case. Given the large degree of competition between various projects for public funds, a compelling case for a specific project can be made if a well carried out cost-benefit-analysis shows a resulting surplus. While this criterion is obviously not the only one used, it could be an important factor when preparing policy makers to make decisions about a specific project. The basic idea behind cost-benefit-analysis is simple: calculate all benefits and all the costs associated with a specific effort, subtract the costs from the benefits while carefully addressing the time profile, and use the resulting number as an indicator for the economic profitability of the project. If the result is positive, the project produces an economic surplus, and if it is negative the project leads to an economic loss. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8878 Files in this item: 1
Rasmus_Hoejbjerg_Jacobsen.pdf (402.7Kb) -
Hagen Jørgensen, Ole (København, 2008)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper shows how improved health conditions aect fertility decisions and economic growth. Survival rates for children and adults are incorporated into an overlapping generations model featuring endogenous fertility and altruism from workers towards their retired parents. The main nding is that a simultaneous increase in child and adult survival decreases fertility and increases savings and productivity growth. The analysis illustrates the key role of health in the demographic transition. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7695 Files in this item: 1
dp 2008-04.pdf (1.563Mb) -
Er Danskere Specielle?Munch, Jakob Roland; Rose Skaksen, Jan; Schroll, Sanne; Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj (København, 2006)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Denne artikel belyser holdninger til immigration blandt borgere i Danmark og de øvrige EU-15 lande - herunder holdningerne til immigration, der følger af den seneste EU-udvidelse. Det analyseres, hvilke faktorer der ligger til frund for disse holdninger, samt i hvilken udstrækning danskere afviger fra EU-gennemsnittet. Den typiske dansker er lidt mere skeptisk overfor immigration end andre europæere. Danskerne afskiller sig desuden ved, at forholdsvis få forbinder øget immigration med negative konsekvenser for arbejdsmarkedet, men forholdsvis mange forbinder det med højere omkostninger for velfærdsstaten. Når der tages hensyn til opfattelserne af de økonomiske konsekvenser af immigration, kommer Danmark til at fremstå som et væsentligt mere immigrationsskeptisk land, end hvad der kommer til udtryk i de ukorrigerede holdninger. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7564 Files in this item: 1
ap_2006-01_001.pdf (411.2Kb) -
Do Police Reduce Group Violence?Priks, Mikael; Poutvaara, Panu (København, 2007)[More information][Less information]
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Munch, Jakob Roland; Rose Skaksen, Jan; Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj (København, 2007)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: We propose a complementary approach to analyze the impact of immigration on the wages of native workers. Using linked employer-employee data from Denmark for a relatively long time period (1993-2004), we study the consequences of an increased use of immigrants at the most disaggregate level – the workplace. We find that an increase in the share of workers from less developed countries at the workplace has a signifi cantly negative effect on the wages of natives – also when controlling for potential endogeneity using both fi xed effects and IV. The use of immigrants from more developed countries also appears to be correlated with wages. However, these correlations disappear when controlling for unobserved fi rm and worker characteristics and are thus likely to reflect selection rather than a causal effect of these immigrants. Finally, we find a positive impact on the wages of native workers from having Eastern European co-workers. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7638 Files in this item: 1
wp18-2007.pdf (697.2Kb) -
Kanniainen, Vesa; Poutvaara, Panu (København, 2007)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper identifies several distortions which create barriers to entrepreneurship. First, in addition to the innate entry cost, there are entry costs caused by regulation. Second, union wage policies raise the opportunity cost of entrepreneurship. Third, inefficiencies in the transmission of tacit knowledge between generations of entrepreneurs can arise: with access to within-family ownership transfer, the outside market for entrepreneurship operates as a lemon’s market. This problem becomes relevant when the economic life of a business idea exceeds the active life of an entrepreneur. barriers to entrepreneurship, tacit knowledge, occupational choice URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7711 Files in this item: 1
artikel 18.pdf (210.7Kb) -
Rosholm, Michael; Scheuer, Christian; Sørensen, Anders (København, 2007)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of globalization, in the sense of increasing international trade, on the demand for skills in Danish manufacturing companies. The study is based on a unique data set that enables us to develop rich measures of international outsourcing and import penetration. Moreover, the data also allows several strategies to strengthen the causal interpretation of our results. The main finding of the analysis is that it is of crucial importance to distinguish imports - both in the form of outsourcing and overall imports - by country-of-origin. We find that international trade with low-wage countries leads to skill-upgrading. This is especially pronounced for import penetration with a ceteris paribus contribution of around fifty percent to skill-upgrading. Moreover, we find that import penetration in goods originating from high-wage countries lead to skill-downgrading. This latter result suggests that Danish manufacturing has comparative advantage in skill intensive production when compared to low-wage countries, but in unskill-intensive production when compared to high-wage countries. Skill-upgrading, Low-wage country outsourcing, Low-wage country import penetration, Comparative advantage URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7709 Files in this item: 1
artikel 20.pdf (389.3Kb) -
Rent Sharing or Composition?Fosse, Henrik Barslund; Maitra, Madhura (Frederiksberg, 2012)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Offshoring firms are found to pay higher average wages than purely domestic firms. We provide a unifying empirical approach by capturing the different channels through which offshoring may explain this wage difference: (i) due to change in the composition of workers (skill composition effect) (ii) because all existing workers get higher pay (rent sharing effect). Using Danish worker-firm data we explain how much each channel contributes to higher wages. To estimate the causal effect of offshoring on wages we use China’s accession to the WTO in December 2001 - and the soon after boom in Chinese exports - as positive exogenous shocks to the incentive to offshore to China. Both skill composition and rent sharing effects are found to be important in explaining the resultant gain in wages. We also show that the firm’s timing in the offshoring process determines the relative importance of a channel. For firms offshoring to China in 2002 but not in 1999, only rent sharing explains the gain in wages. For firms offshoring to China both before and after China’s WTO accession the wage increase is explained mostly by the skill composition effect. Moreover, these patterns are not discernible from the measures of skill composition and rent sharing available in typical firm level datasets - like ratio of educated to uneducated workers and sales per employee. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8540 Files in this item: 1
Fosse_2012_2.pdf (255.2Kb) -
Glazer, Amihai; Kanniainen, Vesa; Poutvaara, Panu (København, 2008)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: We consider the effects of income redistribution when people can migrate from one country to another, and when land within each country is heterogeneous. Taxes related to income can then affect property values, and can induce migration, which further affects property values. We show that under these conditions a utilitarian government should never equalize after-tax incomes. If migration is impossible, it may even transfer income from the poor to the rich, reducing the rents earned by absentee landlords. The redistributive tax on the rich may be higher or lower when the rich can migrate than when they cannot. A Rawlsian government in the absence of mobility will equalize after-tax incomes. Under mobility, Rawlsian governments cut their taxes if and only if the relative pre-tax income of the poor is sufficiently low. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7689 Files in this item: 1
dp 2008-05.pdf (163.9Kb) -
Fehr, Hans; Habermann, Christian (København, 2007)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The present paper studies the growth and efficiency consequences of tax-favored individual retirement accounts in a general equilibrium overlapping generations model with idiosyncratic lifespan and labor income uncertainty. We distinguish between economies with rational and with hyperbolic consumers and compare the consequences of mandatory and voluntary retirement plans with and without annuitized benefits. While a full taxation of capital income yields the highest efficiency gains in the rational consumer model, annuitization and hyperbolic discounting substantially improve the economic efficiency of IRAs. We also show that annuitization alters the intergenerational welfare consequences of the reform substantially, since it reduces accidental bequests. Finally, even if mandatory saving programs have a clear cost advantage, they are only recommendable if consumers are myopic. individual retirement accounts, annuities, stochastic general equilibrium, hyperbolic consumers URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7710 Files in this item: 1
artikel 11.pdf (258.2Kb)