The shift in monetary policy has different repercussions on bank profits depending on the prevalence of fixed or floating interest rates charged on loans. The Baltic states provide a case study of the impact of monetary tightening on profits in predominantly floating interest rates setup amid...

When wealth or income rises suddenly, the propensity for that "easy money" to be directed towards unproductive use, "easy spending", may rise. The cross-country relationship between conspicuous consumption and revenue windfalls is explored by estimating the response of demand for imports of...

This paper studies how windfalls from agriculture influence demand for electrification in a developing country. Leveraging two decades of administrative data on the universe of electricity grid customers in Rwanda, and plausibly exogenous variations in international coffee prices, we document...

This paper analyzes the effect of commodity price fluctuations on a commodity-exporting economy. Using Chilean and international copper market data, I find that positive copper price changes resulting from copper-specific demand shocks generate a broad GDP expansion, with no visible decline in...

Using a large survey of euro area consumers, we conduct an experiment in which respondents report how they would adjust their labor market participation, hours worked, and job search effort (if not employed) in response to randomly assigned windfall gain scenarios. Windfall gains reduce labor...

We use plausibly exogenous variation in the redistribution of natural resource tax revenues in Peru to study whether transfers to local governments can stimulate economic activity in low income areas. We show that resource windfalls to non-extractive municipalities between 2006 and 2018 changed...

I study the ramifications of the German short-time work (STW) scheme using novel administrative data on STW and drawing on evidence from establishment surveys that are linked to the administrative data. I show that, besides financial reasons, firms value and use STW because it allows them to...

Using variation in federal pandemic-era fiscal aid to states driven by the strength of political representation, we find that incremental pandemic-era fiscal aid to states was most likely to end up in the categories of general administrative service spending and employee pension benefit funding....

We use plausibly exogenous variation in the redistribution of natural resource tax revenues in Peru to study whether transfers to local governments can stimulate economic activity in low-income areas. We show that resource windfalls to non-extractive municipalities between 2006 and 2018 changed...

We examine the relationship between oil price windfalls and labor market regulation empirically through panel regressions in a sample of 83 countries spanning 1970-2014. We find that oil price windfall gains lead to a deregulation of the labor market in autocracies but have no effects in...

This paper aims to determine how individuals react when windfall money incomes are taxed. Using Synthetic Difference in Differences and Synthetic Control Methods, we analyze the effects of the 2013 change in lottery winnings' taxation in Portugal and Spain. By analyzing EuroMillions sales data...

Natural resource revenues contribute to sustainable development when they are reinvested sufficiently in public services, such as education, that offer long-term social returns. Cross-country evidence suggests that resource-rich countries fail at this, spending less on public services than...

Using administrative data on Taiwanese lottery winners, this paper examines the effects of cash windfalls on entrepreneurship. We compare the start-up decisions of households winning more than 1.5 million NT$ (50,000 US$) in the lottery in a particular year with those of households winning less...

Using e-filed Form 990 data, I construct a novel measure of unrestricted cash windfalls to examine the outcomes associated with windfalls for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). The evidence suggests that NPOs that receive windfalls tend to focus more on program (i.e., mission-focused) spending and...

While there is a broad consensus in the literature that stock ownership is associated with individual characteristics, such as wealth, income, risk preferences, and financial literacy, less is known about the dynamics of stock market participation (SMP). Major fluctuations in SMP are oftentimes...

Some corporations would profit from the current crisis while everyone else suffers. Moreover, the government will be spending trillions on saving the economy. Naturally, this spending would benefit the winners since they spent on their services. One reason for these extraordinary profits is not...

The surge in fossil fuel prices in 2022 has generated substantial windfall profits in the energy sector. Policymakers in many countries are exploring policies to tax part of these profits. Excess profits can be taxed by tax instruments targeted at economic rents that avoid discouraging...

We study the impact of natural resource royalties on educational outcomes in Colombia. We analyze a reform enacted in 2012 that made the distribution of these royalties more equitable. Before the reform, most royalties were assigned to the regions where the natural resources were exploited; with...