The distributional impact of unification and the 1992–93 recession on West German households

The 1992–93 recession in the western states of Germany has been attributed, in substantial measure, to the macroeconomic consequences of policies to finance unification. Studies of the costs of unification have not attempted to measure the burden of the recession. We estimate a dynamic, panel model of household incomes using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) and use it to forecast what these incomes would have been in 1992–94 without a recession. Using a ratio of actual to forecast incomes, we compare the relative burden of the recession across households. Our findings suggest that western households below the median income bore the brunt of the combined impact of unification and the recession of 1992–93.
JEL classification: P3, D3, E3.     

The Structural Relation Between Mortgage and Market Interest Rates

This paper analyzes the dynamic relationship between primary and secondary mortgage markets and the short-term and long-term market interest rates. Using a series of monthly data on fixed rate mortgage rates and GNMA rates, we explore the dependence and speed of adjustment in these primary and secondary mortgage rates to each other as well as to the long and short-term government rates. The results indicate that residential mortgage rates in general, appear to follow the long-term rate and are not very sensitive to movements in the short-term interest rate.     

LABOUR SUPPLY ESTIMATION AND PUBLIC POLICY

Abstract. Economists devote considerable energies towards refining their econometric techniques to overcome difficulties connected with conducting empirical research. Despite advances in technique. it is not clear whether further refinement in this direction is worthwhile for policy purposes. It may be that no further amount of statistical adjustment of inadequate data will increase understanding, and that better data is simply necessary to add to our knowledge. But rarely is sufficient credit paid to new forms of data. In short, econometric technique is emphasized to the neglect of data innovation, as if new data were merely lying about waiting for an ingenious suggestion for use. This paper surveys advances of the last twenty five years in estimating labour supply for policy purposes with a view towards appreciating the relative contribution of both improvements in econometric technique as well as developments of new data.
After briefly detailing the key parameters which economists have sought to estimate, we describe the early 'first generation' research (circa 1970), which is plagued by problems of unobservable variables, measurement errors, truncation and selectivity bias, and non linear budget constraints. 'Second generation' research constitute attempts to resolve one or more of these difficulties, and the respective contribution of econometric technique and new data is acknowledged and assessed, including the contribution of data generated by large scale social experiments in which participants are randomly assigned to different guaranteed income plans and their labour supply behaviour measured.     

中国金融产业集聚与地区工业化——基于2002年—2010年省际面板数据的分析

金融产业集聚在地区工业化进程中发挥着非常重要的作用。通过区位商法的分析发现,我国东、中、西部地区金融产业的集聚程度有着较大差距,其中东部地区集聚度较高,而中西部地区则集聚度较低。面板数据的计量检验结果表明,金融产业空间集聚的差异对我国三大不同地区工业化产生了不同影响。总体而言,银行业集聚对工业化的影响作用最大,而证券和保险业集聚作用则较小,而对于不同地区、不同省份以及不同时期来说,这一作用也存在着差异。因此,可以通过调整金融业的空间集聚格局来促进工业化的发展。     

宽松的环境政策能吸引更多的外商直接投资吗——基于中国工业省级面板数据的分析

利用我国1997~2009年的工业省级面板数据和动态面板GMM估计方法,考察了相对宽松的环境政策是否是吸引FDI的主要原因。研究发现,环境政策较宽松的地区能够吸引更多的外资流入,但这种影响并不大,所以,以降低环境标准、牺牲环境为代价来吸引FDI不是明智之举;与东、中部地区相比,西部在吸引FDI上处于明显劣势,这在一定程度上加剧了我国经济结构的失衡。     

收入流动性、代际传递与农村反贫困———异质性视角下新疆30个贫困县的实证分析简

文章从收入流动性、贫困代际传递与反贫困关系的理论研究入手,利用2000—2012年数据,选取新疆30个贫困县为研究主体,运用面板模型和面板误差修正模型分析了三者之间的长期和短期动态关系。研究发现：（1）从长期看,收入流动性、贫困代际传递对反贫困有显著作用,且收入流动性对反贫困的促进作用依赖于该县的贫困水平;（2）短期而言,新疆30个贫困县的收入流动性、贫困代际传递对反贫困的效果存在异质性。因此,建议制定以提高收入流动性和减少贫困代际传递为目标的对策和机制,并注重实行差异化措施来达到反贫困效果。     

商业健康保险是否促进了居民健康——基于微观数据的实证研究

党的十九大报告明确提出全面实施"健康中国"战略,强调商业健康保险参与多层次医疗保障体系建设,服务广大人民群众健康保障的重要作用。明确商业健康保险如何从微观层面提高居民健康是有效发挥其助力"健康中国"作用的前提与基础。本文基于中国健康和营养调查(CHNS)2000～2015年面板数据,利用面板工具变量法解决内生性,考察商业健康保险对居民健康水平的影响,同时对不同收入阶层和年龄阶段进行异质性分析,并进行机制探讨。研究表明,商业健康保险能够显著提高居民的健康水平,而且这一正向影响对高收入阶层和中年人群的正向影响更为明显。此外,机制分析表明商业健康保险能够提高居民的医疗服务利用,改善居民健康行为,从而提高健康水平。     

我国西部地区贸易对环境污染影响的分析——基于西部地区省际面板数据的检验

选取2000-2008年西部地区十一个省、直辖市和自治区的贸易与环境相关数据,利用面板数据模型对西部地区贸易对环境污染的影响进行实证分析,研究结果表明规模效应和贸易开放度的增加加剧了西部地区的环境污染,结构效应和环境政策则减少了西部地区的环境污染,而技术效应对西部地区环境污染的影响不显著。