Does accessibility to local public employment agencies matter? Answers from a French quasi-experiment

We question whether accessibility to local public employment agencies impacts exits from unemployment. We deal with the potential endogeneity of the residential location of jobseekers by using the unanticipated creation of a new agency in the French region of Lyon as a quasi-natural experiment. We use exhaustive and geo-located individual data on jobseekers and local public employment agencies. Contrary to past evidence based on aggregated data, we find no evidence that jobseekers with improved accessibility to the local public employment services experience an improvement of their probability of exiting unemployment. We however find evidence of transitory organizational effects. These findings strongly question the costly strategy of a fine distribution of local public employment agencies across the territory while suggesting that institutional issues are key.     

Substitution between leisure activities: a quasi-natural experiment using sports viewing and cinema attendance

The allocation of time between leisure activities and work has been extensively analysed in academic literature. However, leisure time is limited and there may not be sufficient time to enjoy all the leisure activities desired. Hence, this article considers the allocation of time between substitute leisure activities. International football tournaments provide an opportunity to consider consumers’ preferences for watching football and films in a quasi-natural experimental setting. A trade-off between these leisure activities is identified using a difference-in-difference methodology. Using an original, four-country data set, a large and robust negative effect of mega sports events on cinema admissions is identified.     

A Tale of Three Countries: What is the Relationship Between COVID-19, Lockdown and Happiness?

The COVID-19 pandemic led many governments to implement lockdown regulations to curb the spread of the virus. Though lockdowns do minimise the physical damage caused by the virus, there may also be substantial damage to population well-being. Using a pooled data set, we analyse the relationship between a mandatory lockdown and happiness in three diverse countries: South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. These countries differ amongst others in terms of lockdown regulations and duration. The primary aim is to determine, whether a lockdown is negatively associated with happiness, notwithstanding the characteristics of a country or the strictness of the lockdown regulations. Second, we compare the effect size of the lockdown on happiness between these countries. We use Difference-in-Difference estimations to determine the association between lockdown and happiness and a Least Squares Dummy Variable estimation to study the heterogeneity in the effect size of the lockdown by country. Our results show that a lockdown is associated with a decline in happiness, regardless of the characteristics of the country or the type and duration of its lockdown regulations. Furthermore, the effect size differs between countries in the sense that the more stringent the stay-at-home regulations are, the greater it seems to be.     

增值税转型改革与企业固定资产投资决策——基于中国上市公司数据的面板双重差分模型分析

通过选择我国上市公司财务数据,采用面板双重差分模型,从企业微观层面分析增值税转型改革对企业固定资产投资决策的影响。研究发现:增值税转型改革显著提高了企业固定资产投资,有利于老工业基地的固定资产更新改造和优化产业结构;但从长期效果看,转型政策对企业投资行为的影响存在滞后期,而且不同地区的投资激励效果也有显著差异。     

“一带一路”倡议能否提升对外直接投资企业盈利能力？

基于2011-2015年A股上市公司与商务部《境外投资企业（机构）名录》数据，利用倾向得分匹配方法（PSM）和双重差分法（DID）考察“一带一路”倡议对中国对外直接投资企业盈利能力的影响及作用机制。研究发现：“一带一路”倡议显著提升了中国对沿线国家投资企业的盈利能力。机制检验表明，“一带一路”倡议能够通过推进中国与沿线国家间的经济融合和文化包容来提升对外投资企业的盈利能力，而政治互信在样本期内不显著。进一步研究发现，“一带一路”倡议对企业盈利能力的提升作用主要体现在国有企业、新兴优势产业以及投资目的为非邻近中国的“一带一路”国家上。     

Compulsory schooling laws and school crime

Extensive literature demonstrates that compulsory schooling laws improve educational attainment, well-being, civic involvement, and labour market outcomes. However, at-risk youth incapacitated to schools may impact the learning environment and school safety. The purpose of this article is to study whether raising the minimum dropout age (MDA) requirement above 16 increases crime committed within US public high schools. A difference-in-difference estimation exploits changes in state-level MDA laws over time and indicates that schools in states that raise their MDA requirement to 18 incur more overall crime relative to schools in states that do not, while no effect on overall crime is identified when the MDA requirement is raised to 17. Furthermore, these effects persist for 4 years after passage and more intensely in metropolitan areas. Coupling this research with existing literature suggests that when the MDA requirement is raised to 18, only a small portion of the observed reduction in juvenile crime is displaced to schools. Analysis by category of crime reveals schools incur more physical attacks, no change in illegal drug and property crimes, and fewer violent crimes in states that raise their MDA requirement to 18, while illegal drug crimes increase in states that raise their MDA requirement to 17.     

Does state-mandated reporting work? The case of surgical site infection in CABG patients

This paper is the first empirical study to explore the relationship between the state-mandated reporting of surgical site infections (SSIs) and changes in infection rates, length of stay and costs among coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients. This paper uses generalized difference-in-difference (DID) methods to analyze patient discharge data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from January 2004 to December 2011 merged with state-level data on mandatory reporting status. After controlling patient and hospital characteristics, and state and year fixed effects, we do not find empirical evidence that state-mandated reporting leads to lower odds of SSIs in CABG procedure. Although it is associated with shorter length of stay and lower costs, the effect is not significant. These results suggest that merely requiring hospitals to report outcomes may not lead to significant changes at least in the case of SSIs among CABG patients.     

新型农村合作医疗的福利效应分析：微观数据的证据

利用2000年和2006年的中国健康与营养调查(CHNS)数据和倍差方法,以参合农民为作用组,非参合农民为对照组,对新型农村合作医疗政策的福利效应作了实证分析。新型农村合作医疗政策增加了医疗服务利用;但新型农村合作医疗政策对净医疗费用(扣除合作医疗补偿后的费用)没有影响。     

农业科技园区的经济发展带动效应——来自河北省县域的实证评估

目的 农业科技园区作为农业现代化的示范基地,发挥着拓展农业功能、促进农业经济增长的作用。文章将评估农业科技园区的经济发展带动效应。方法 将农业科技园区视为一项“准自然实验”,以2007—2020年河北省167个区县的面板数据为研究样本,运用多期双重差分模型,评估了河北省省级以上农业科技园区对农业经济的影响。结果 （1）农业科技园区总体上显著提高了农业产值,从而有效带动当地农业经济发展水平,这一结论在经过安慰剂检验、稳健性检验后依然稳健。（2）机制分析表明,农业科技园区能够通过科技创新促进农业经济的发展;异质性分析结果显示,农业科技园区对农业经济的影响在不同等级、不同地理空间、不同行政层级中存在差异。结论 河北省应继续加大农业科技园区的建设力度,持续提升科技园区创新水平以助力实现河北省农业高质量发展。     

国有企业民营化的环境影响研究

十九大提出要深化国有企业改革，加快发展混合所有制经济。基于2007—2015年我国A股上市公司数据，从企业环境表现的视角研究国有企业进行民营化改革的非经济性后果。研究发现，国有企业民营化后，企业的环境表现会有所下降，但这种现象只在政府环保补贴少的企业和环境监管力度弱的地区中存在。上述研究从环境表现的视角提供了国有企业民营化改革后果的经验证据，对丰富国有企业民营化改革的认识、更好地完善民营化企业的环境治理具有借鉴意义。