Where STEM Graduates Stem From: The Intergenerational Transmission of Comparative Skill Advantages
Eric A. Hanushek, Babs Jacobs, Guido Schwerdt, Rolf van der Velden, Stan Vermeulen, Simon Wiederhold
VoxEU,
Juni
2023
Abstract
The standard economic model of occupational choice following a basic Roy model emphasizes individual selection and comparative advantage, but the sources of comparative advantage are not well understood. We employ a unique combination of Dutch survey and registry data that links math and language skills across generations and permits analysis of the intergenerational transmission of comparative skill advantages. Exploiting within-family between-subject variation in skills, we show that comparative advantages in math of parents are significantly linked to those of their children. A causal interpretation follows from a novel IV estimation that isolates variation in parent skill advantages due to their teacher and classroom peer quality. Finally, we show the strong influence of family skill transmission on children’s choices of STEM fields.
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Where Do STEM Graduates Stem from? The Intergenerational Transmission of Comparative Skill Advantages
Eric A. Hanushek, Babs Jacobs, Guido Schwerdt, Rolf van der Velden, Stan Vermeulen, Simon Wiederhold
IWH Discussion Papers,
Nr. 13,
2023
Abstract
The standard economic model of occupational choice following a basic Roy model emphasizes individual selection and comparative advantage, but the sources of comparative advantage are not well understood. We employ a unique combination of Dutch survey and registry data that links math and language skills across generations and permits analysis of the intergenerational transmission of comparative skill advantages. Exploiting within-family between-subject variation in skills, we show that comparative advantages in math of parents are significantly linked to those of their children. A causal interpretation follows from a novel IV estimation that isolates variation in parent skill advantages due to their teacher and classroom peer quality. Finally, we show the strong influence of family skill transmission on children’s choices of STEM fields.
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IWH-Alumni Das IWH möchte den Kontakt zu seinen ehemaligen Mitarbeiterinnen und...
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06.10.2021 • 24/2021
IWH-Insolvenztrend: Insolvenzzahlen bleiben niedrig, mehr Industriejobs von Insolvenz betroffen
Die Anzahl der Insolvenzen von Personen- und Kapitalgesellschaften verharrte im September in der Nähe der historischen Tiefststände. Die Zahl der betroffenen Jobs im Verarbeitenden Gewerbe stieg dagegen deutlich an. Das Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung Halle (IWH) liefert mit dem IWH-Insolvenztrend ein monatliches Update zum bundesweiten Insolvenzgeschehen.
Steffen Müller
Pressemitteilung lesen
Tournament Incentives and Acquisition Performance
Iftekhar Hasan, Marco Navone, Thomas To, Eliza Wu
Review of Corporate Finance Studies,
Nr. 2,
2020
Abstract
This paper examines the impact of promotion-based tournament incentives on corporate acquisition performance. Measuring tournament incentives as the compensation ratio between the CEO and other senior executives, we show that acquirers with greater tournament incentives experience lower announcement returns. Further analysis shows that the negative effect is driven by the risk-seeking behavior of senior executives induced by tournament incentives. Our results are robust to alternative identification strategies. Our evidence highlights that senior executives, in addition to the CEO, play an influential role in acquisition decisions.
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On DSGE Models
Lawrence J. Christiano, Martin S. Eichenbaum, Mathias Trabandt
Journal of Economic Perspectives,
Nr. 3,
2018
Abstract
The outcome of any important macroeconomic policy change is the net effect of forces operating on different parts of the economy. A central challenge facing policymakers is how to assess the relative strength of those forces. Economists have a range of tools that can be used to make such assessments. Dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models are the leading tool for making such assessments in an open and transparent manner. We review the state of mainstream DSGE models before the financial crisis and the Great Recession. We then describe how DSGE models are estimated and evaluated. We address the question of why DSGE modelers—like most other economists and policymakers—failed to predict the financial crisis and the Great Recession, and how DSGE modelers responded to the financial crisis and its aftermath. We discuss how current DSGE models are actually used by policymakers. We then provide a brief response to some criticisms of DSGE models, with special emphasis on criticism by Joseph Stiglitz, and offer some concluding remarks.
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Transferability of Skills across Sectors and Heterogeneous Displacement Costs
Moises Yi, Steffen Müller, Jens Stegmaier
American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings,
Nr. 5,
2017
Abstract
We use rich German administrative data to estimate new measures of skill transferability between manufacturing and other sectors. These measures capture the value of workers' human capital when applied in different sectors and are directly related to workers' displacement costs. We estimate these transferability measures using a selection correction model, which addresses workers' endogenous mobility, and a novel selection instrument based on the social network of workers. Our results indicate substantial heterogeneity in how workers can transfer their skills when they move across sectors, which implies heterogeneous displacement costs that depend on the sector to which workers reallocate.
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Paternal Unemployment During Childhood: Causal Effects on Youth Worklessness and Educational Attainment
Steffen Müller, Regina T. Riphahn, Caroline Schwientek
Oxford Economic Papers,
Nr. 1,
2017
Abstract
Using long-running data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1984–2012), we investigate the impact of paternal unemployment on child labour market and education outcomes. We first describe correlation patterns and then use sibling fixed effects and the Gottschalk (1996) method to identify the causal effects of paternal unemployment. We find different patterns for sons and daughters. Paternal unemployment does not seem to causally affect the outcomes of sons. In contrast, it increases both daughters’ worklessness and educational attainment. We test the robustness of the results and explore potential explanations.
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Vererbung von Arbeitslosigkeit: Wie der Vater, so der Sohn?
Steffen Müller
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
Nr. 2,
2016
Abstract
Jugendarbeitslosigkeit und mangelnde Chancen sozialen Aufstiegs gehören zu den wichtigsten sozialpolitischen Herausforderungen in vielen Ländern. Die Probleme erweisen sich als so hartnäckig, dass die These naheliegt, sie würden innerhalb der Familien „vererbt“. Eine Studie des IWH und der Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg hat jetzt erstmals für Deutschland untersucht, wie lange junge Männer, die als Kinder einen zeitweise arbeitslosen Vater hatten, später selbst arbeitslos gewesen sind. Zudem wurde geprüft, ob die Ursache für die Arbeitslosigkeit der Söhne in der Arbeitslosigkeit der Väter selbst oder in gemeinsamen familiären Faktoren zu suchen ist, die zu einer höheren Arbeitslosigkeit von Vätern und Söhnen führen.
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Paternal Unemployment During Childhood: Causal Effects on Youth Worklessness and Educational Attainment
Steffen Müller, Regina T. Riphahn, Caroline Schwientek
Abstract
Using long-running data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1984-2012), we investigate the impact of paternal unemployment on child labor market and education outcomes. We first describe correlation patterns and then use sibling fixed effects and the Gottschalk (1996) method to identify the causal effects of paternal unemployment. We find different patterns for sons and daughters. Paternal unemployment does not seem to causally affect the outcomes of sons. In contrast, it increases both daughters‘ worklessness and educational attainment. We test the robustness of the results and explore potential explanations.
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