Event Categories: BICEPS/SSE Riga Research Seminar
BICEPS/SSE Riga Research Seminar: Understanding How Job Retention Schemes Reshape the Skill Profile of Labor within Firms
We are happy to invite you to a BICEPS/SSE Riga research seminar, which will take place on Thursday, September 14, at 17:00 at SSE Riga, room 611.
We are delighted to welcome Konstantins Benkovskis (Bank of Latvia and SSE Riga) as the speaker. Konstantins is an advisor to the Monetary Policy Department at the Bank of Latvia and an Associate Professor at SSE Riga. His main research interests include international trade, non-price competitiveness, global value chains, productivity, and resource allocation. Konstantins is a Board Member of the Baltic Economic Association and a member of the Editorial Board of the Baltic Journal of Economics.
Title: Understanding How Job Retention Schemes Reshape the Skill Profile of Labor within Firms (co-authored with Olegs Tkacevs and Karlis Vilerts, Bank of Latvia)
Time: Thursday, September 14, 17:00
Venue: SSE Riga, room 611
Abstract
Utilizing employer-employee data from Latvia, this paper examines the repercussions of participation in job retention programs on the skill composition of the workforce at the firm level. The findings of this study reveal that participation in job retention schemes yields a favorable impact on employees’ probability of retaining their employment within the same firm after the program concludes. The magnitude of this effect is independent of the skills acquired by employees who receive the benefits. However, employees with higher skills are less likely to participate in the job retention scheme due to legal restrictions on the maximum benefit amount and income replacement rate. Taken together, the findings of this investigation suggest that job retention schemes may have an adverse effect on the quality of workforce at the firm level.
BICEPS/SSE Riga Research Seminar: Kamikazes in Public Procurements
We are happy to invite you to a BICEPS/SSE Riga research seminar, which will take place on Thursday, August 24, at 17:00 at SSE Riga, room 411.
We are delighted to welcome Alminas Žaldokas as the speaker. Alminas is an Associate Professor in Finance at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). His research focuses on the interaction between firm decisions in the financial and in the product markets. In particular, he studies corporate finance decisions that relate to the firm investment in innovation, the formation of collusive arrangements between firms, and the facilitation of ESG practices. Alminas Žaldokas has published in journals such as Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Accounting Research, Management Science, RAND Journal of Economics, Journal of International Economics, and Journal of Financial Intermediation. Read more about the speaker here.
Title: Kamikazes in Public Procurements (co-authored with Dimas Fazio, National University of Singapore)
Time: Thursday, August 24, 17:00
Venue: SSE Riga, room 411
Abstract
Using granular auction data on 15 million item purchases in Brazilian public procurements between 2005-2021, we document a widespread pattern that the lowest bidder (“kamikaze”) does not satisfy required formalities after the auction is concluded, which allows the second-lowest bid to win the auction. Such a pattern can be observed in up to 15-20% of procurement auctions and results in 15-17% higher procurement prices as compared to similar auctions procuring the same product or service items, organized by the same government institutions, and even having the same winning firm. Kamikaze firms are smaller, younger, and tend to be co-owned by the same ultimate owner as the winning firm. Using observed kamikaze behaviour as a bid rigging marker, we measure how financial constraints endogenous to collusion affect real non-market outcomes. We see more hospital deaths in the four quarters after an increased fraction of procurement auctions involving kamikazes in those hospitals. Similarly, we observe an increase in the road accidents following the road service contracts involving kamikaze firms.
BICEPS/SSE Riga Research Seminar: Education, Fake News and the Political Budget Cycle
We are happy to invite you to a BICEPS/SSE Riga research seminar, which will take place on Thursday, May 25, at 17:00 at SSE Riga, room 507.
We are delighted to welcome Fabio Padovano as the speaker. Fabio Padovano is Professor at the University of Rennes 1 and Professor at the University of Roma III. He has been Visiting Professor at the University of Western Ontario, University of Maryland, George Mason University, University of Fribourg and London School of Economics and Political Science. Fabio Padovano has published in journals such as Public Choice, European Journal of Political Economy, Economics of Governance, Economic Inquiry, Energy Economics, Kyklos and Constitutional Political Economy. His current research interests are in the fields of public choice, political economy, local public finance, law and economics, environmental economics, economics of religion and economics of the arts.
Title: Education, Fake News and the Political Budget Cycle
Time: Thursday, May 25, 17:00
Venue: SSE Riga, room 507
Abstract
This paper empirically verifies whether education, an indicator of voters’ ability to process information, constrains political budget cycles (PBC), a measure of inefficiency in the agency relationship between voters and their representatives. Over information and the spread of fake news question the previous results of conditional PBC literature on information as a factor improving such relationship. We proxy the quality of education by PISA scores and the its diffusion by the percentage of students completing secondary and tertiary education. On a sample of 46 countries over the period 2000-2019, the estimates show that higher levels of education reduce the magnitude of PBC. Adding standard proxies for information (media and internet penetration) does not affect the results, showing that education matters more than information. The analysis also shows that higher degrees of democracy reduce the education levels needed to control PBC. All the other findings of the literature appear confirmed.
BICEPS/SSE Riga Research Seminar: Market Transparency Through a Common Data Platform
We are happy to invite you to a BICEPS/SSE Riga research seminar on Thursday, April 13, at 17:00 at SSE Riga, room 611.
We are delighted to welcome Chloé Le Coq as the speaker. Chloé Le Coq is Professor of Economics at Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas (CRED) and Research Fellow at the Stockholm School of Economics (SITE). She is a Member of the Scientific Advisory Board DIW Berlin and a Member of the Scientific Committee Chair ETI LAB -Mines Paris. Her research investigates topics related to antitrust policy, industrial organization, and behavioral economics, with a particular focus on energy markets and social innovation. Read more about the speaker here.
Title: Market transparency through a common data platform (with E. Lazarczyk)
Time: Thursday, April 13, 17:00
Venue: SSE Riga, room 611
Abstract
This paper provides evidence of the effect of increasing market transparency on market outcomes. We focus on the introduction of the Transparency Platform operated by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) which stores data provided by each member state on physical grid conditions and generation capacities. Using detailed hourly zonal data on Nord Pool, we find evidence that increasing information does not necessarily lead to more competitive outcomes. Specifically, during periods of congestion, the impact of transparency on competition is specific to each zone. Furthermore, the effect of transparency may depend on the varying technologies that are available in different zones.
BICEPS/SSE Riga Research Seminar: Nudging or Gambling to Save? A Field Experiment on Savings Behaviour
We are happy to invite you to a BICEPS/SSE Riga research seminar, which will take place on Thursday, March 30, at 17:00 at SSE Riga, room 411.
We are delighted to welcome Andris Saulītis as the speaker. Andris is a Senior Researcher at the University of Latvia’s Institute of Philosophy and Sociology. He earned his PhD in sociology from the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. Andris Saulītis’ research centers on household financial behavior and experimental methodology.
Speaker: Andris Saulītis (Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, University of Latvia)
Title: Nudging or Gambling to Save? A Field Experiment on Savings Behaviour (co-authored with Lea Kroeger, Humboldt University of Berlin)
Time: Thursday, March 30, 17:00
Venue: SSE Riga, room 411
Abstract
This experimental study aims to investigate the effect of nudges and prize-linked savings (PLS) account and examine the external validity of laboratory experiments on savings behaviour. We employ a natural setting in collaboration with a professional survey company operating in Latvia and Estonia. The company recruits respondents on a daily basis to take part in commissioned surveys in return for a payment. While usually the payment to the individuals is done immediately after filling out a survey, the experimental design presented participants with a choice between immediate and delayed consumption of the money earned. The experimental design consisted of three experimental groups. In baseline offer, respondents were given the choice between receiving 10 euros immediately or depositing all or part of the amount in a virtual savings account for six months, with a maximum payout of 12 euros. In the social norm treatment, respondents were informed before the choice question that the survey focuses on household financial behaviour and that previous surveys revealed that the majority of respondents choose to save. The PLS account treatment offered individuals, who allocated all 10 euros to the savings account, to participate in a lottery with the chance to win an additional 5 euros on the top of the interest earned. The experimental results show that both social norm nudge and PLS account treatments tend to increase the number of individuals who decide to save. However, it is much lower than found in the laboratory experiments that have examined the effect of PLS accounts on savings behaviour. Both treatments resulted in approximately similar 8% points increase in the number of individuals who opted for savings. The introduction of the PLS account increased savings by 13%, while the social norm treatment increased it by 24%. At the same time, we identify several suggestive savings patterns that are in line with previous studies. First, individuals who play lotteries are more likely to invest in PLS, while non-lottery players are more responsive to social norms. Second, Estonians tend to save more often than Latvians, a trend that has been found in many empirical studies. Taken together, the results of this field experiment provide a more accurate representation of the true behaviour of individuals when it comes to savings and investment decisions. It also suggests that social norms can be as persuasive as financial incentives to increase the savings level.
BICEPS/SSE Riga Research Seminar: Ageing and Urban Demand for Existing Homes
We are happy to invite you to a BICEPS/SSE Riga research seminar, which will take place on Thursday, February 16, at 17:00 at SSE Riga, room 411.
We are delighted to welcome Ellam Kulati as the speaker. Ellam is a PhD Scholar at the Centre for Economic Analysis (CenEA, Poland) and a Quantitative Psychology and Economics PhD candidate at the University of Warsaw.
Speaker: Ellam Kulati (Centre for Economic Analysis (CenEA), University of Warsaw, Quantitative Psychology and Economics (QPE))
Title: Ageing and Urban Demand for Existing Homes
Time: Thursday, February 16, 17:00
Venue: SSE Riga, room 411
Abstract
How does demographic ageing translate into the housing market? Despite the popularity of hedonic models in housing demand studies, situations where quantity changes better reflect demand adjustments have previously been identified. Using uniquely compiled data on 65 Polish city districts, spanning from 2010 to 2020, this paper interrogates price and turnover as measures of demand while empirically determining the demand adjustment patterns rendered by an ageing population. Results from the implemented spatial panel models reveal an inverse relationship of ageing to the demand for homeownership, predominantly reflected in price relative to quantity responses. The findings are robust to non-spatial model specifications.
BICEPS/SSE Riga Research Seminar: Employee-Owned Firms, First Work Experience, and Young Workers’ Careers
We invite you to a BICEPS/SSE Riga research seminar, which will take place on Thursday, December 15, at 17:00, SSE Riga room 611.
We are delighted to welcome Jose Garcia-Louzao as the speaker. Jose is a Principal Research Economist at the Applied Macroeconomics Research Division of the Bank of Lithuania, a Research Fellow at Vilnius University and a Research Afilliate of the CESifo Research Network. His research interest is in Applied Microeconometrics with a focus on Labor Economics. Read more about the speaker here.
Speaker: Jose Garcia-Louzao (Bank of Lithuania, Vilnius University, CESifo)
Title: Employee-Owned Firms, First Work Experience, and Young Workers’ Careers (co-authored with Gabriel Burdin)
Time: Thursday, December 15, 17:00
Venue: SSE Riga, room 611
Abstract
Employee ownership (EO) attracts considerable attention in academic and policy circles. While most studies assess the impact of EO by focusing on contemporaneous worker-firm relationships, surprisingly little is known about its dynamic effects on young workers’ career paths. Using detailed administrative data from Spain, we investigate the impact of having an initial work experience in a worker cooperative versus a conventional firm on subsequent earnings. We find that young workers’ exposure to cooperatives at the time of labour market entry reduces earnings by about 8% during the first 15 years in the labour market. The selection of individuals with low initial ability in cooperatives does not appear to be a relevant channel. Our results rather seem to be related to differences in the wage returns to experience and job mobility. On the one hand, we document lower wage returns to experience acquired in worker cooperatives, but no differences in subsequent career progression in terms of promotions. On the other hand, we find that workers who had their first job in a worker cooperative show a strong attachment to the cooperative sector and are less likely to voluntarily leave their employers. Taken together, our findings suggest the existence of cooperative-specific non-pecuniary job attributes that might compensate for lower lifetime earnings.
BICEPS/SSE Riga Research Seminar: Too Complex to Digest? Federal Tax Bills and Their Processing in US Financial Markets
We invite you to a BICEPS/SSE Riga research seminar, which will take place on Monday, December 5, at SSE Riga, room 411, at 12:00.
We are delighted to welcome Hamza Bennani as the speaker. Hamza is a Professor of economics in the Institute of Economics and Management at Nantes University, and a scientific advisor in the French Council of Economic Analysis (office of the Prime Minister). His research focuses on central bank communication, central bank decision-making process and media economics. His work has been published in journals such as the Journal of International Money and Finance, Economic Modelling and European Journal of Political Economy. Read more about the speaker here.
Speaker: Hamza Bennani (Nantes University, French Council of Economic Analysis)
Title: Too Complex to Digest? Federal Tax Bills and Their Processing in US Financial Markets (co-authored with Matthias Neuenkirch)
Time: Monday, December 5, 12:00
Venue: SSE Riga, room 411
Abstract
In this paper, we analyze whether the complexity of tax bills affects financial markets. Based on the Flesch-Kincaid grade level of the 32 tax bills identified by Romer and Romer (2010) in the period 1962–2003, we assess the relationship between tax bills’ complexity and financial markets using an event study approach. Our results show a negative (positive) and significant relationship between the present value of tax bills and changes in the 10-year government bond yields (S&P 500 returns). The magnitude of this relationship increases over time, suggesting that market participants underreact at first and need a couple of days to digest the information contained in the tax bills. This delay can be explained by the textual characteristics of the bills in the case of the 10-year yields as a lower readability partly offsets the negative relationship for up to three days after the signing of a tax bill, but not thereafter. In the case of the stock market, we find similar offsetting evidence, but only for a part of the readability measures employed in this paper.
No prior registration for the seminar is necessary. For any questions about the seminar, or if you have a colleague that would like to be added to the distribution list, please write to Nicolas Gavoille.
BICEPS/SSE Riga Research Seminar: Firm Heterogeneity and the Impact of Payroll Taxes
We invite you to a BICEPS/SSE Riga research seminar, which will take place on Thursday, November 24, at SSE Riga, room 411 (note a room change).
We are delighted to welcome Anikó Bíró as the speaker. Anikó is a senior researcher at the Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies in Budapest, Hungary. She holds a PhD from Central European University. Anikó does empirical research in the fields of Labour Economics, Health Economics, and the Economics of Ageing. Her work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Public Economics, Labour Economics and Health Economics. Read more about the speaker here.
Speaker: Anikó Bíró (Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungary)
Title: Firm Heterogeneity and the Impact of Payroll Taxes (co-authored with Réka Branyiczki, Attila Lindner, Lili Márk and Dániel Prinz)
Time: Thursday, November 24, 17:00
Venue: SSE Riga, room 411 (not the usual 611)
Abstract
We study the impact of a large payroll tax cut for older workers in Hungary. Motivated by the predictions of a standard equilibrium job search model, we examine the heterogeneous impact of the policy. Employment increases most at low-productivity firms offering lower-wage jobs, which tend to hire from unemployment, while the effects are more muted for high-productivity firms offering high-wage jobs. At the same time, wages only increase at high-productivity firms. These results point to important heterogeneity in the incidence of payroll tax cuts across firms and highlight that payroll taxes have a significant impact on the composition of jobs in the labor market.
No prior registration for the seminar is necessary. For any questions about the seminar, or if you have a colleague that would like to be added to the distribution list, please write to Nicolas Gavoille.
BICEPS/SSE Riga Research Seminar: Did Job Retention Schemes Save Jobs during the COVID-19 Pandemic? Firm-level Evidence from Latvia
We invite you to a BICEPS/SSE Riga research seminar, which will take place on Thursday, October 27, at SSE Riga, room 611.
We are delighted to welcome Konstantins Benkovskis (Bank of Latvia and SSE Riga) as the speaker. Konstantins is an advisor to the Monetary Policy Department at the Bank of Latvia and an Associate Professor at SSE Riga. His main research interests include international trade, non-price competitiveness, global value chains, productivity and resource allocation. Konstantins is the Board Member of the Baltic Economic Association and the Editor of the Baltic Journal of Economics.
Speaker: Konstantins Benkovskis (Bank of Latvia and SSE Riga)
Title: Did Job Retention Schemes Save Jobs during the COVID-19 Pandemic? Firm-level Evidence from Latvia (co-authored with Olegs Tkacevs and Karlis Vilerts, Bank of Latvia)
Time: Thursday, October 27, 17:00
Venue: SSE Riga, room 611
Abstract
The study examines the impact of participation of Latvia’s firms in the Job retention scheme (JRS) on firm employment during the covid-19 pandemics. It focuses on the idle-time allowances paid out during the first wave of the pandemics (in Spring 2020) and their employment effects until the beginning of the second wave (in Autumn 2020). It uses novel firm-level dataset at monthly frequency and applies difference-in-difference estimation to track employment dynamics over time in firms that participated in JRS versus firms that did not participate. The estimation results indicate that the employment effect of JRS participation was positive and statistically significant, i.e. participating firms managed to keep their employees and resume their economic activity faster than similar non-participating firms. The effect comes both from reducing the probability of becoming inactive, as well as from higher growth of the number of employees for firms that remained active. The effect appears particularly strong in sectors with a higher share of highly skilled employees and sectors with relatively low level of interpersonal contact. The allocation effect of JRS is ambiguous and is subject to further investigation.
No prior registration for the seminar is necessary. For any questions about the seminar, or if you have a colleague that would like to be added to the distribution list, please write to Nicolas Gavoille.