Amazing again – Bonn Cherry Blossoms 2018

Posted on April 16, 2018 by admin

NOW AGAIN: Party in the “Old City” of Bonn, the so-called Altstadt, the craft and civil city quarter of Bonn/Germany. Cherry trees will unfold soon their full bloom into a sea of cherry blossoms…

 

Bonn Cherry Blossom Festival

WONDERFUL PICTURES

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Does Foreign Aid Stop Refugee Flows? New Evidence for the Policy Debate

Posted on April 14, 2018 by admin

In the recent heated public debates in Europe about how to control refugee flows to Europe, it is often argued that foreign aid should be helpful to moderate such migration. In a new Discussion Paper of the Global Labor Organization (GLO), Axel Dreher, Andreas Fuchs and Sarah Langlotz provide strong empirical evidence using global data sources to suggest that while exogenous aid encourages recipient governments to support the return of citizens, we find no evidence that aid reduces worldwide refugee outflows in the short term; however, the authors find effects in the very long run.

GLO Fellow Axel Dreher  is associated  with the Alfred-Weber-Institute for Economics, Heidelberg University; KOF Swiss Economic Institute; CEPR; Georg-August University Goettingen; and CESifo.

GLO Fellow Andreas Fuchs is associated with the Research Center for Distributional Conflict and Globalization & Alfred-Weber-Institute for Economics, Heidelberg University.

GLO Fellow Sarah Langlotz is associated  with the Alfred-Weber-Institute for Economics, Heidelberg University.

Axel Dreher, Andreas Fuchs & Sarah Langlotz: The Effects of Foreign Aid on Refugee Flows, GLO Discussion Paper No. 195.  FREE DOWNLOAD: Download PDF

ABSTRACT

This article is the first to systematically study whether foreign aid affects the net flows of refugees from recipient countries. Combining refugee data on 141 origin countries over the 1976-2013 period with bilateral Official Development Assistance data, we estimate the causal effects of a country’s aid receipts on both total refugee flows to the world and flows to donor countries. The interaction of donor-government fractionalization and a recipient country’s probability of receiving aid provides a powerful and excludable instrumental variable,when we control for country – and time-fixed effects that capture the levels of the interacted variables. Although our results suggest that exogenous aid induces recipient governments to encourage the return of their citizens, we find no evidence that aid reduces worldwide refugee outflows or flows to donor countries in the short term. However, we observe long-run effects after four three-year periods, which appear to be driven by lagged positive effects of aid on growth. (Abstract marginally adapted from the DP.)

The study is in line with earlier research on South-North refugee migration. As Rotte, Vogler and Zimmermann (1997) have shown in their econometric analysis using refugee migration data to Germany, the issue had been discussed before. Short-term measures would not work, a long-term perspective would be needed.

Ralph Rotte, Michael Vogler & Klaus F. Zimmermann (1997), South-North Refugee Migration: Lessons for Development Cooperation, Review of Development Economics, 1 (1), pp. 99-115. Access.

Abstract: Migration has become a major concern of European development policies. By improving socio-economic and political conditions through development cooperation, a reduction of South-North migration flows is envisaged. This new approach is examined by analyzing the causes of asylum migration from developing countries to Germany. The econometric findings suggest that support of democracy, economic development and trade will not reduce migration, at least not in the medium-run. However, restrictive legal measures work. Migration control by international development cooperation therefore seems to need a long-term perspective.

Titles and free access to all GLO Discussion Papers

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS, EconPapers).

Complete list of all GLO DPs downloadable for free.

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Bucharest Conference on Economic and Social Research: Call for Papers

Posted on April 14, 2018 by admin

The Institute for Economic Forecasting and the Romanian Academy in Bucharest invite paper submissions and participants to the 4th International Conference on “Recent Advances in Economic and Social Research“, in Bucharest on May 10-11, 2018.

SECTIONS
Section I – Economic Modeling and Forecasting
Section II – Financial Markets
Section III – Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics
Section IV – Economic Development, Innovation, Growth
Section V – Young Talent

WORKSHOPS
SPOS 2017 – Impactul aderării României la Uniunea Europeană asupra economiei românești. Analiză sectorială (industrie, agricultură, servicii etc.)
Romania – Korea Productivity Workshop

IMPORTANT DATES
May 2nd 2017 – Deadline for abstract submission
May 6th 2017 – Notification of acceptance
May 8th 2017 – Deadline for paper submission

PUBLICATION
Romanian Journal of Economic Forecasting
Financial Studies
Hyperion Economic Journal
Institute for Economic Forecasting Conference Proceedings

LOCATION
Casa Academiei, Calea 13 Septembrie no. 13, Bucharest Romania

EXPENSES
The conference participation is free of charge.

PAPER SUBMISSION
Please submit your contributions to raesr@ipe.ro

HONORARY BOARD
Lucian Liviu Albu, Institute for Economic Forecasting and GLO
Tsangyao Chang, Feng Chia University
Lili Ding, Ocean University of China
Don Lien, The University of Texas at San Antonio
Xin Zhao, Ocean University of China
Klaus F. Zimmermann, UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University and GLO

PROGRAM CHAIR
Adrian Cantemir Călin, Institute for Economic Forecasting and GLO

SCIENTIFIC BOARD
Bogdan Albu, XTB România
Mariana Bălan, Institute for Economic Forecasting
Petre Caraiani, Institute for Economic Forecasting
Adrian Cantemir Călin, Institute for Economic Forecasting
Ion Ghizdeanu, Institute for Economic Forecasting
Alexandra Lavinia Horobeţ, Bucharest University of Economic Studies
Gheorghe Hurduzeu, Bucharest University of Economic Studies
Marioara Iordan, Institute for Economic Forecasting
Yin Kedong, Ocean University of China
Tienwei Lou, Chinese Culture University Department of Banking & Finance
Radu Lupu, Institute for Economic Forecasting
Radu Muşetescu, Bucharest University of Economic Studies
Dorel Mihai Paraschiv, Bucharest University of Economic Studies
Cătălin Păuna, World Bank
Elena Pelinescu, Institute for Economic Forecasting
Oana Cristina Popovici, Institute for Economic Forecasting
Meng Zhaosu, Ocean University of China

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Tiberiu Diaconescu, Institute for Economic Forecasting
Adnan Khurshid, Abbottabad University of Science and Technology
Oana Cristina Popovici, Institute for Economic Forecasting
Sorana Vătavu, West University of Timisoara

ORGANIZING INSTITUTIONS
Institute for Economic Forecasting, Romanian Academy & XTB România

GLO – GLOBAL LABOR ORGANIZATION
The Institute for Economic Forecasting supports the GLO. GLO President
Klaus F. Zimmermann is a member of the Honorary Board.

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Important Health Policy and Healthcare Event Supported by GLO takes place at Yale University on May 11-13, 2018

Posted on April 14, 2018 by admin

Important health research and policy event at Yale University organized by the China Health Policy and Management Society and GLO Fellow Xi Chen of Yale University, and supported, among others, by the Global Labor Organization (GLO). GLO is contributing two sessions at the event (see below). (See also here for a first GLO announcement in 2017.)

 

 Advances in Health Policy and Healthcare: The Road Ahead

China Health Policy and Management Society 2nd Biennial Conference & a Celebration of the 10th Anniversary of China Health Policy and Management Society (2008-2018)

http://blog.betsygrauerrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/yale-university.jpg

Yale University: May 11-13, 2018

Purpose: This is the 2nd biennial meeting of China Health Policy and Management Society (CHPAMS) and its official journal China Health Review. The meeting’s theme is Advances in Health Policy and Healthcare: The Road Ahead, with a special focus on Healthy China 2030 national blueprint.

A draft of the impressive complete program of the event can be found here.

The event will also see two GLO Special Sessions which have been organized by Professor and GLO Fellow Xi Chen in his capacity as the GLO Cluster Lead of the “Environment and Human Capital in Developing Countries” program. The two sessions are listed here:

C3: GLO Special Session I: Environment, Natural Disasters and Health
Something in the Pipe: Flint Water Crisis and Health at Birth
Rui Wang Tulane University
Major disease burden and all-cause mortality among the China largest multiple metal exposure cohort: Jinchang cohort
Zhiyuan Cheng Lanzhou University & Yale University
Long Term Health Consequences among Wenchuan Earthquake Affected Adult Survivors: Evidence from Literature and Empirical Data
Mingqi Fu Huazhong University of Science and Techonology
Smog in Aging Brains: The Impact of Exposure to Air Pollution on Cognitive Performance
Xi Chen Yale University
D2: GLO Special Session II: Air Pollution
Air Pollution and Lung Cancer Mortality: Evidence from a Natural Experiment
Qing Han The University of Kansas
What Happens in the Womb under the Dome: The Impact of Air Pollution on Birth Outcomes
Xiaoying Liu University of Pennsylvania
Maternal Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Childhood Overweight and Obesity: A Prospective Birth Cohort Study in Wuhan, China
Shaoping Yang Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Maternal Exposure to Air Pollution and Risk of Neural Tube Defects
Jinzhu Zhao Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Xi Chen, Yale University and GLO. He is the GLO Cluster Lead of “Environment and Human Capital in Developing Countries” and the incoming President of CHPAMS.

 

 

 

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Migration for Development: From Research to Policy. How Economic Migration May Foster Development at Home

Posted on April 13, 2018 by admin

A high-profile workshop organized by the European Development Research Network focused on how migration and migration policies can affect economic development and studied the policies that strengthen the benefits of migration for both sending and receiving countries. The event took place at Bonn University on December 5, 2016 under the leadership of Stephan Klasen (University of Goettingen), the President of the European Development Research Network.

The keynote speaker of the event had been Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University and ZEF, Bonn University), who is also the President of the Global Labor Organization (GLO).

GLO Discussion Paper No. 70 Migration for Development: From Challenges to Opportunities – Download PDF

by Klaus F. Zimmermann

Background paper to the keynote presentations to the European Development Conference 2016 on “Migration and Development” at Bonn University, December 5, 2016, and to the 22. Eurasia Business and Economics Society (EBES) Conference, May 24-26, 2017 at Sapienza University of Rome.

The papers of this event have now been published in French and English in the Revue D’Économie Du Développement collecting also articles of GLO Fellows Hillel Rapoport (Paris School of Economics), Dean Yang (University of Michigan) and Tommaso Frattini (Milan University) and were discussed, among others, by GLO Fellows Toman Barsbai (Kiel Institute for the World Economy) and Melissa Siegel (Maastricht Graduate School of Governance and UNU-Merit). (See for more details below.)

 

 

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Inter-generational transmission of fertility preferences in Romania: How the 1966 abortion ban has affected the demand for children in the next-generation

Posted on April 13, 2018 by admin

How do fertility preferences transfer between generations within families? In a new Discussion Paper of the Global Labor Organization (GLO), GLO Fellow Federico H. Gutierrez (Vanderbilt University) provides evidence using a historical event, the 1966 abortion ban in Romania. Current fertility preferences of individuals are negatively affected by parental experiences with the ban.

Federico H. Gutierrez: The Inter-generational Fertility Effect of an Abortion Ban: Understanding the Role of Inherited Wealth and Preferences, GLO Discussion Paper No. 167.  FREE DOWNLOAD.

ABSTRACT

This paper studies to what extent banning first-generation women from aborting affected the fertility of second-generation individuals who did not face such legal constraint. Using multiple censuses from Romania, the paper follows men and women born around the 1966 Romanian abortion ban to study the demand for children over their life cycle. The empirical approach combines elements of the regressions discontinuity design and the Heckman’s selection model. Results indicate that second-generation individuals whose mothers were affected by the ban had a significantly lower demand for children. One-third of such decline is explained by inherited socio-economic status and two-thirds presumably by preferences. (Abstract marginally adapted from the DP.)


Titles and free access to all GLO Discussion Paper

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS, EconPapers).

Complete list of all GLO DPs downloadable for free.

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New study shows: Individuals of Eastern Orthodox religion are less happy and have less social capital

Posted on April 12, 2018 by admin

Relative to Catholics, Protestants and non-believers, those individuals of Eastern Orthodox religion seem to be less happy, have less social capital and prefer old ideas and safe jobs. In a new Discussion Paper of the Global Labor Organization (GLO), Simeon Djankov and Elena Nikolova provide strong empirical evidence using global data sources to suggest that this is support for the received Berdyaev hypothesis of communism as a successor of orthodoxy.

Simeon Djankov  is associated  with the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK and the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics, USA.

GLO Fellow Elena Nikolova is associated with the Central European Labor Studies Institute, Slovakia, the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies, Regensburg, Germany, and University College London.

Simeon Djankov & Elena Nikolova: Communism as the Unhappy Coming, GLO Discussion Paper No. 192.  FREE DOWNLOAD.

ABSTRACT

Eastern Orthodox believers are less happy compared to those of Catholic and Protestant faith using data covering more than 100 countries around the world. Consistent with the happiness results, the study also finds that relative to Catholics, Protestants and non-believers, those of Eastern Orthodox religion have less social capital and prefer old ideas and safe jobs. In addition, Orthodoxy is associated with left-leaning political preferences and stronger support for government involvement in the economy. Compared to non-believers and Orthodox adherents, Catholics and Protestants are less likely to agree that government ownership is a good, and Protestants are less likely to agree that getting rich can only happen at the expense of others. These differences in life satisfaction and other attitudes and values persisted despite the fact that communist elites sought to eradicate church-going in Eastern Europe, since communists maintained many aspects of Orthodox theology which were useful for the advancement of the communist doctrine. The findings are consistent with Berdyaev’s (1933, 1937) hypothesis of communism as a successor of Orthodoxy. (Abstract marginally adapted from the DP.)

Titles and free access to all GLO Discussion Papers

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS, EconPapers).

Complete list of all GLO DPs downloadable for free.

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Immigration restrictions induce lower cultural assimilation

Posted on April 9, 2018 by admin

As migration research has shown, restricting free labor mobility leads to more migrants in the host country. People stay longer or forever and bring family. My 2014 article on Circular Migration has reviewed this point providing evidence for Mexico and Germany. In the German context, the 1973 migration labor recruitment stop has lead to more migrants when the restrictions were binding.

In this tradition, a new scientific study forthcoming in the Journal of Population Economics investigates the impact of restrictions on cultural assimilation. If those migrants with a stronger affection to the culture of origin are more temporary, more of them stay even permanently, and restrictions may lead to a slower cultural assimilation into the host country, among them or even in the next generation. The new paper studies the impact on second-generation cultural assimilation in this context.

THE PAPER:

Immigration restrictions and second-generation cultural assimilation: theory and quasi-experimental evidence

by Fausto Galli & Giuseppe Russo

Fausto Galli is at the Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Statistiche, Universita’ di Salerno, Fisciano, Italy

GLO Fellow Giuseppe Russo is at the Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Statistiche, Universita’ di Salerno, Fisciano, Italy and at the Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), Napoli, Italy

Website Link. Accepted for publication, forthcoming in the Journal of Population Economics. Available online. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-018-0694-z

The Journal of Population Economics is supported by the Global Labor Organization (GLO).

ABSTRACT

We study the effects of immigration restrictions on the cultural assimilation of second-generation migrants. In our theoretical model, when mobility is free, individuals with a stronger taste for their native culture migrate temporarily. When immigration is restricted, however, these individuals are incentivized to relocate permanently. Permanent emigrants procreate in the destination country and convey their cultural traits to the second generation, who will therefore find assimilation harder. We test this prediction by using the 1973 immigration ban in Germany (Anwerbestopp) as a quasi-experiment. Since the ban only concerned immigrants from countries outside the European Economic Community, they act as a treatment group. According to our estimates, the Anwerbestopp has reduced the cultural assimilation of the second generation. This result demonstrated robustness to several checks. We conclude that restrictive immigration policies may have the unintended consequence of delaying the intergenerational process of cultural assimilation.

The responsible editor has been Klaus F. Zimmermann.

Journal of Population Economics

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Brown & Zimmermann: Both Co-Directors of POP discussed the strategy for 2018 at UNU-MERIT in Maastricht

Posted on April 2, 2018 by admin

Alessio Brown and Klaus F. Zimmermann, both Co-Directors of POP at UNU-MERIT in Maastricht, met on March 28, 2018 at UNU-MERIT to discuss the annual research strategy for the group and to meet with PhD students, researchers and GLO Fellows. GLO stands for Global Labor Organization.

They informed researchers about GLO Thematic Clusters, in particular those on Africa (Lead: Almas Heshmati), Gender (Lead: Nick Drydakis) and Conflict (Lead: Tilman Brück).

These and other GLO research programs will be presented and discussed at the forthcoming 25th EBES conference with FOM and GLO in Berlin on May 23 – 26.

Brown and Zimmermann also participated at the UNU-MERIT migration seminar of the day. Klaus F. Zimmermann, who is also the President of the Global Labor Organization (GLO), will present a paper in the UNU-MERIT migration seminar on April 18.

UNU-MERIT and POP also host the office of the Journal of Population Economics. Klaus F. Zimmermann, who is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal, discussed strategic issues and daily business matters with Michaella Vanore (UNU-MERIT and POP), the Managing Editor of the Journal.

Alessio Brown (left) and Klaus F. Zimmermann

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Ritzen & Zimmermann discuss European employment challenges at UNU-MERIT, Maastricht: A full employment strategy

Posted on March 31, 2018 by admin

Jo Ritzen is Professor of International Economics of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Maastricht University, UNU‐MERIT, Graduate School of Governance. Klaus F. Zimmermann is Professor, UNU‐MERIT, Maastricht University and Bonn University; President, Global Labor Organization (GLO) and Research Fellow, CEPR.

Since years, Ritzen and Zimmermann have discussed the development of the European labor markets as a core factor behind Euroscepticism, which has been seen as posing an existential threat to the European Union. Therefore, European labor policies need to become more ambitious to fight unemployment. In their new discussion paper, Ritzen and Zimmermann outline the challenges and perspectives of a full employment policy across Europe: “We need a full employment strategy for Europe!”

Jo Ritzen & Klaus F. Zimmermann: Towards a European Full Employment Policy, UNU-MERIT Discussion Paper #2018-018.

ABSTRACT

Full employment in the European Union member states is a challenge but feasible, also in downswings of the business cycle and during stages of increased robotization. It requires labor legislation that ensures flexibility and retraining, responsive labor sharing during the business cycle and to individual life cycle needs, government interventions to supply supplemental employment and revamping dual education. The future of work is better ensured with coordinated European full employment labor policies establishing fair work conditions based on long-run business strategies as well as a fair distribution of national income between labor and capital.

Jo Ritzen (right) and Klaus F. Zimmermann at UNU-MERIT, Maastricht.

In 2017, Jo Ritzen has published a related book on: A Second Chance for Europe. Economic, Political and Legal Perspectives of the European Union, Springer Verlag Heidelberg.

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