This paper tests the "lock-in" effect of mortgage contract terms and establishes the link between changes in market interest rates and homeowner mobility. The analysis is based on the Panel Study of Income Dynamics during 1990-1993, when mortgage interest rates declined by almost 30 percent

Using a sample based on 268 questionnaires submitted to people attending the Acquatico Bellucci circus, Italy, this paper analyzes the circusgoers's preferences for circus animals. Results show that higher preferences for circus animals are related to frequency of consumption. However,...

In this empirical research note, we use a large scale German household survey data set to analyze the correlation between religiosity and social trust. Religiosity takes into account religious affiliations (Catholic, Protestant, other Christian, Muslim/Islam, other religions, none) and the...

Algan and Cahuc (2010) argue that “inherited trust†is a key factor in explaining growth rates across countries. They derive a measure of inherited trust by linking respondents' “home countries†in the United States General Social Survey (1972-2004) and the 2000 wave of the...

While high rates of youth unemployment are a severe problem in most European countries, the program evaluation literature shows that di sadvantaged youths constitute a group that is particularly difficult to assist effectively. As innovative measures are thus needed, we evaluate a German pilot...

This paper studies the extent of discrimination against mainland Chinese immigrants in the Hong Kong labour market and provides a quantitative assessment of the source of wage differentials between local born Hong Kong residents and Chinese immigrants. Using the 2001 Hong Kong Population Census...

It is well-known that the efficient-bargain model imposes no general restrictions on the slope of the contract curve. As a result, both upward- and downward-sloping curves are consistent with the theory. Less is known, however, about the effect on the contract curve of changes in the demand and...

We reconsider the effect of economic development on urban unemployment by introducing households with nonhomothetic preferences into a sector-specific capital version of the Harris–Todaro model. Contrary to previous studies, this work shows that urban unemployment decreases with urban...

This study aims to estimate the extent of intergenerational mobility of earnings in Taiwan. The intergenerational elasticity of a child's earnings with respect to its parent's earnings is estimated by using household micro-data from the Panel Study of Family Dynamics (PSFD) in Taiwan. We apply...

This paper examines the impact of immigration on income inequality. Using data from 1990 and 2000 US Censuses, we link the changes in income inequality as measured by the Gini index with immigrant flows into each metropolitan area in the U.S. We address endogeneity of immigrant inflows by...