Institute for the Study of Labor

About: Institute for the Study of Labor is a nonprofit organization based out in Bonn, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Wage & Unemployment. The organization has 2039 authors who have published 13475 publications receiving 439376 citations.

A Matching Model with Endogenous Skill Requirements

Abstract: In this paper, we construct a model that focuses on the role of skill in the labor market. We consider a labor market in which workers differ in their abilities and jobs differ in their skill requirements. The distribution of worker abilities is exogenous, but we model the choice of skill requirements by firms. High-skill jobs produce more output than low-skill jobs do, but high-skill jobs require high-skill workers and thus are more difficult to fill. We use a matching model together with a Nash bargaining approach to wage setting to determine the equilibrium mix of job types, along with the equilibrium relationship between worker and job characteristics, wages, and unemployment. The model has the property that skill-biased technical change, i.e., an increase in the productivity of the high-skill jobs, leads to an increase in wage inequality both within and across worker types.

The Agricultural Origins of Time Preference

Abstract: This research explores the origins of observed differences in time preference across countries and regions Exploiting a natural experiment associated with the expansion of suitable crops for cultivation in the course of the Columbian Exchange, the research establishes that pre-industrial agro-climatic characteristics that were conducive to higher return to agricultural investment, triggered selection, adaptation and learning processes that generated a persistent positive effect on the prevalence of long-term orientation in the contemporary era Furthermore, the research establishes that these agro-climatic characteristics have had a culturally embodied impact on economic behavior such as technological adoption, education, saving, and smoking

Social Capital and Political Accountability

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate a channel through which social (or civic) capital may improve economic wellbeing and the functioning of institutions: political accountability. The main idea is that voters who share values and beliefs that foster cooperation are more likely to base their vote on criteria of social welfare rather than narrow personal interest. We frame this intuition into a simple model of political accountability with retrospective voting and heterogeneous endowments of civic attitudes. We then take this conjecture to the data using information on the Italian members of Parliament in the postwar period (1948–2001). The empirical evidence shows that the electoral punishment of political misbehavior is considerably larger in electoral districts with high social capital, where political misbehavior refers to receiving a request of criminal prosecution or shirking in parliamentary activity, and social capital is measured by blood donation (or by non-profit organizations and electoral turnout). Accordingly, political misbehaviors are less frequent in electoral districts where civic attitudes are widespread.

Do Enclaves Matter in Immigrant Adjustment

Abstract: This paper is concerned with the determinants and consequences of immigrant/linguistic concentrations (enclaves). The reasons for the formation of these concentrations are discussed. Hypotheses are...

A Flying Start? Maternity Leave Benefits and Long-Run Outcomes of Children

Abstract: We study a change in maternity leave entitlements in Norway. Mothers giving birth before July 1, 1977, were eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid leave, while those giving birth after that date were entitled to 4 months of paid leave and 12 months of unpaid leave. The increased time spent with the child led to a 2 percentage point decline in high school dropout rates and a 5 percent increase in wages at age 30. These effects were larger for the children of mothers who, in the absence of the reform, would have taken very low levels of unpaid leave.