The Evolution of Ideology, Fairness and Redistribution

By: Alberto Alesina (Harvard University)
Guido Cozzi (Durham Business School)
Noemi Mantovan (Bangor University)

URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dur:durham:2012_05&r=ltv

Ideas about what is “fair” influence preferences for redistribution. We study the dynamic evolution of different economies in which redistributive policies, perception of fairness, inequality and growth are jointly determined. We show how including beliefs about fairness can keep two otherwise identical countries in di¤erent development paths for a very long time. We show how different initial conditions regarding how “fair” is the same level of inequality can lead to two permanently different steady states. We also explore how bequest taxation can be an efficient way of redistributing wealth to correct “unfair” past accumulation of inequality
Keywords: Endogenous Growth, Basic and Applied R&D, Endogenous Technological Change, Common Law

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More Hours, More Jobs? The Employment Effects of Longer Working Hours

By: Andrews, Martyn J. (University of Manchester)
Gerner, Hans-Dieter (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg)
Schank, Thorsten (University of Mainz)
Upward, Richard (University of Nottingham)

URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6652&r=ltv

Increases in standard hours have been a contentious policy issue in Germany. Whilst this might directly lead to a substitution of workers by hours, there may also be a positive employment effect due to reduced costs. Moreover, the response of firms differs between firms which offer overtime and those which do not. For a panel of German plants (2001-2006), we analyse the effect of increased standard hours on employment. Using difference-in-difference methods we find that, consistent with theory, overtime plants showed a significant positive employment response, whilst for standard-time plants there is no difference at all between plants which increased standard hours and those which did not.
Keywords: working time, employment, plant-level data, difference-in-differences