Does economic freedom increase income inequality? Evidence from the EU countries

This paper examines the relationship between economic liberalization and income inequality in the EU using panel data for the 2000s. The empirical evidence suggests that economic freedom is strongly related to income inequality. However, not all areas of economic freedom affect income distribution similarly. Government size is robustly associated with inequality, and also when controlling for potential endogeneity in a dynamic panel data analysis. Regulation is linked to income inequality as well, whereas legal system and sound money have no significant effects on income distribution. In the case of freedom to trade internationally, the relationship differs between old (EU-15) and new (former socialist) EU countries.     

Organic food consumption in Europe: International segmentation based on value system differences

In this paper, we analyze the market for organic products in eight European countries, based on differences in their respective value systems. With a significant sample of 8014 consumers, we first identify international segments in the European organic products market using the Values Theory. Then we apply the Theory of Planned Behavior to examine how European consumers use attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control to form their purchase intention for organic products. Results show that subjective norms are the main underlying factor driving consumer behavior concerning these products. This effect is higher for the group of countries whose citizens score higher on Schwartz's value scale. In this segment of countries, people are more likely to be affected by what others think, which means that the best approach is to increase social awareness of the relevance of purchasing organic products. Organic products represent a potentially profitable opportunity for companies with an international horizon. Results are also useful for consumers and public administrations.     

Equilibrium Dynamics in a Two-Sector Model with Taxes

In this paper we are concerned with the equilibrium dynamics of a two-sector model of endogenous growth with distortionary taxes. We show that for certain parameters values and tax schemes every equilibrium orbit—except the steady state solution—is non-interior; i.e., there are times in which one of the sectors is inactive. This analysis confirms that in multisector models the set of easily checkable, universal conditions that can guarantee the interiority of equilibrium solutions is rather limited. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: D90, E22.     

A comparison of empirical models used to infer the willingness to pay in contingent valuation

The essence of the contingent valuation method consists of creating a hypothetical market where respondents are asked about their willingness to pay (WTP) for a non-market good. Different empirical models can be formulated to estimate the expected WTP of a sample of respondents and, then, through aggregation, the social valuation of the good is inferred.This paper outlines the relevance of the distributional assumptions when estimating mean WTP. Several parametric and non-parametric methods are discussed and applied to calculate the existence value of a natural space. Results show that WTP is extremely sensitive to the empirical model used.First version received: November 2002 / Final version received: January 2004     

Implementing Electricity Restructuring

Electricity is one of the last U.S.industries in which competition is replacingregulation. We briefly review the technologyfor producing and delivering power, the historyof electricity policy, and recent state andinternational experience. We then outline themajor questions facing policymakers as theydecide whether, when, and how to implementrestructuring. We conclude with some thoughtson the California electricity crisis and otherpolitical controversies. Although theCalifornia experience has come to define whatit means for electricity markets to fail, mostof the problems it raised are among those weknow how to solve or prevent. The stillunresolved make-or-break issue remains whetherthe cooperation necessary to maintainreliability is compatible with the degree ofcompetition necessary to bring about greaterefficiency and lower prices.     

Modeling the inconsistency in intertemporal choice: the generalized Weibull discount function and its extension

The aim of this paper is to obtain the family of the so-called generalized Weibull discount functions, introduced by Takeuchi (Game Econ Behav 71:456–478, 2011), by deforming the q-exponential discount function by means of the Stevens’ “power” law. The obtained discount functions exhibit different degrees of inconsistency and so they can be classified according to the value of their characteristic deforming parameters. Moreover, we extend the construction of the generalized Weibull discount function starting from any discount function instead of the q-exponential discounting. In any case, the value of the parameter \(\theta \) of these new discount functions is extended from (0, 1] to the union of the intervals \((-\,\infty ,0) \cup (0,+\,\infty )\).     

Export Price Discrimination in Europe and Exchange Rates

The paper studies pricing-to-market behavior on a wide range of disaggregated European Union exports to OECD countries. The sample allows better identification of products for which such behavior is pervasive. The results suggest that the degree of markup adjustment in response to exchange rate changes is similar across destination markets. The evidence of pricing-to-market across source countries ranges from 40% (Netherlands) to 63% (Germany) of the products in the sample, except for the United Kingdom, where there is remarkably little evidence of it. However, formal comparisons across source countries by product do not usually reveal differences in behavior.     

European women: why do(n’t) they work?1

To increase labour market participation is a major challenge currently faced by the EU, and attracting women into the labour force appears as a promising avenue to do so. Therefore, a clear understanding of what the factors influencing the evolution of female participation rates are in Europe is essential for a successful design of policy measures aiming at increasing participation rates. This article provides empirical evidence on the role that institutions have played in determining participation rates of women in the European labour markets. Our findings discard any doubt on the influence of institutions on women's participation in Europe. The strictness of labour market institutions negatively affects female participation rates. We also find that institutional features aimed at reconciling motherhood with professional life such as maternity leave schemes and part-time work favour participation rates of prime-age women. Additionally, fertility rates and education enrolment have been relevant for the evolution of participation rates during the sample period considered for prime-age and young females, respectively, while cohort effects drive the developments of older females.     

The Rise and Fall of Centralized Wage Bargaining

During the three decades spanning the early 1950s to the early 1980s, the wage‐setting process in most Northern European countries was dominated by centralized bargaining (i.e., peak‐level labor and employer associations set wages nationwide). In the early 1980s, centralized wage bargaining began to collapse. In this paper, we assess a novel explanation for both the initial establishment of a centralized wage‐setting process, and its subsequent collapse. According to our theory, centralized wage bargaining was set up as a response to the spillovers created by the unemployment benefit program. Its collapse was the result of the increase in the productivity gap across workers, brought about by equipment‐specific technological progress and equipment–skill complementarity.