The Effect of Board Directors from Countries with Different Genetic Diversity Levels on Corporate Performance
Manthos D. Delis, Chrysovalantis Gaganis, Iftekhar Hasan, Fotios Pasiouras
Management Science,
No. 1,
2017
Abstract
We link genetic diversity in the country of origin of the firms’ board members with corporate performance via board members’ nationality. We hypothesize that our approach captures deep-rooted differences in cultural, institutional, social, psychological, physiological, and other traits that cannot be captured by other recently measured indices of diversity. Using a panel of firms listed in the North American and UK stock markets, we find that adding board directors from countries with different levels of genetic diversity (either higher or lower) increases firm performance. This effect prevails when we control for a number of cultural, institutional, firm-level, and board member characteristics, as well as for the nationality of the board of directors. To identify the relationship, we use—as instrumental variables for our diversity indices—the migratory distance from East Africa and the level of ultraviolet exposure in the directors’ country of nationality.
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Alternatives to GDP - Measuring the Impact of Natural Disasters using Panel Data
Jörg Döpke, Philip Maschke
Journal of Economic and Social Measurement,
No. 3,
2016
Abstract
A frequent criticism of GDP states that events that obviously reduce welfare of people can nevertheless increase GDP per capita. We use data of natural disasters as quasi experiments to examine whether alternatives to GDP (Human Development Index, Progress Index, Index of Economic Well-Being and a Happiness Index) lead to more plausible responses to disasters. Applying a Differences-in-Differences approach and estimates from various panels of countries we find no noteworthy differences between the response of real GDP per capita and the responses of suggested alternative welfare measures to a natural disaster except for the Human Development Index.
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Global Food Prices and Monetary Policy in an Emerging Market Economy: The Case of India
Oliver Holtemöller, Sushanta Mallick
Journal of Asian Economics,
2016
Abstract
This paper investigates a perception in the political debates as to what extent poor countries are affected by price movements in the global commodity markets. To test this perception, we use the case of India to establish in a standard SVAR model that global food prices influence aggregate prices and food prices in India. To further analyze these empirical results, we specify a small open economy New-Keynesian model including oil and food prices and estimate it using observed data over the period 1996Q2 to 2013Q2 by applying Bayesian estimation techniques. The results suggest that a big part of the variation in inflation in India is due to cost-push shocks and, mainly during the years 2008 and 2010, also to global food price shocks, after having controlled for exogenous rainfall shocks. We conclude that the inflationary supply shocks (cost-push, oil price, domestic food price and global food price shocks) are important contributors to inflation in India. Since the monetary authority responds to these supply shocks with a higher interest rate which tends to slow growth, this raises concerns about how such output losses can be prevented by reducing exposure to commodity price shocks.
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Taxation and the International Mobility of Inventors
Ufuk Akcigit, Salomé Baslandze, Stefanie Stantcheva
American Economic Review,
No. 10,
2016
Abstract
We study the effect of top tax rates on “superstar” inventors’ international mobility since 1977, using panel data on inventors from the US and European Patent Offices. We exploit the differential impact of changes in top tax rates on inventors of different qualities. Superstar inventors' location choices are significantly affected by top tax rates. In our preferred specification, the elasticity to the net-of-tax rate of the number of domestic superstar inventors is around 0.03, while that of foreign superstar inventors is around 1. These elasticities are larger for inventors in multinational companies. An inventor is less sensitive to taxes in a country if his company performs a higher share of its research there.
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22.09.2016 • 39/2016
Strong Financial Literacy could Lead to More Self-employment
The probability that a person is self-employed also depends on how much financial literacy they have. A new study by the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) – Member of the Leibniz Association recently confirmed this correlation.
Walter Hyll
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09.09.2016 • 38/2016
The Perception of Financial Inferiority Nurtures Negative Attitudes Towards Foreigners
When people feel that their own economic status is inferior to the economic status of a relevant peer group, it becomes more likely that they develop negative attitudes towards foreigners. This link was found in a new study of the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) – Member of the Leibniz Association. The effect is particularly strong with respect to foreigners from low-wage countries.
Walter Hyll
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A Fresh Look at the Labor Market Height Premium in Germany
Frieder Kropfhäußer
Economics Bulletin,
No. 3,
2016
Abstract
I use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) to analyze the relationship between height and wages in a sample of young German workers. My results show that the crude height wage premium documented in the literature is explained by unobserved heterogeneity on the sibling level. This contradicts the findings of a labor market height premium in Germany using OLS and Hausman-Taylor estimators as well as the Swedish finding of a height effect remaining after controlling for sibling fixed effects.
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Monetary-fiscal Policy Interaction and Fiscal Inflation: A Tale of Three Countries
Martin Kliem, Alexander Kriwoluzky, Samad Sarferaz
European Economic Review,
2016
Abstract
We study the impact of the interaction between fiscal and monetary policy on the low-frequency relationship between the fiscal stance and inflation using cross-country data from 1965 to 1999. In a first step, we contrast the monetary–fiscal narrative for Germany, the U.S., and Italy with evidence obtained from simple regression models and a time-varying VAR. We find that the low-frequency relationship between the fiscal stance and inflation is low during periods of an independent central bank and responsible fiscal policy and more pronounced in times of non-responsible fiscal policy and accommodative monetary authorities. In a second step, we use an estimated DSGE model to interpret the low-frequency measure structurally and to illustrate the mechanisms through which fiscal actions affect inflation in the long run. The findings from the DSGE model suggest that switches in the monetary–fiscal policy interaction and accompanying variations in the propagation of structural shocks can well account for changes in the low-frequency relationship between the fiscal stance and inflation.
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24.06.2016 • 26/2016
UK’s “No” to EU will be costly for both sides
On Thursday 23rd, the British people have decided to leave the European Union (EU) Their vote not to remain in the European community was surprisingly clear. UK’s exit will have both political and economic consequences which are far-reaching for the country itself as well as the rest of Europe. “The reactions of the remaining member states are the crucial key now, especially France’s and Germany’s” says Reint E. Gropp, President of the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) – Member of the Leibniz Association.
Reint E. Gropp
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