Demand for Redistribution: Individuals' Responses to Economic Setbacks
In: The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Band 121, Heft 1, S. 225-242
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In: The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Band 121, Heft 1, S. 225-242
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Although economic circumstances have been argued to be a major determining factor of attitudes to redistribution, there is little well identied evidence at the individual level. Utilizing a unique dataset, with detailed individual information,provides new and convincing evidence on the link between economic circumstances and demand for redistribution (in the form of benefits and support). The SwedishNational Election Studies are constructed as a rotating survey panel, which makes it possible to estimate the causal effect of economic changes. The empirical analysis shows that individuals who experience a job loss become considerably more supportive of redistribution. Yet, attitudes to redistribution return to their initiallevel as economic prospects improve, suggesting that the effect is only temporary.Despite the fact that a job loss also changes attitudes to the political parties, theprobability to vote for the left-wing is not affected.
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Although economic circumstances have been argued to be a major determining factor of attitudes to redistribution, there is little well identified evidence at the individual level. Utilizing a unique dataset, with detailed individual information, provides new and convincing evidence on the link between economic circumstances and demand for redistribution (in the form of benefits and support). The Swedish National Election Studies are constructed as a rotating survey panel, which makes it possible to estimate the causal effect of economic changes. The empirical analysis shows that individuals who experience a job loss become considerably more supportive of redistribution. Yet, attitudes to redistribution return to their initial level as economic prospects improve, suggesting that the effect is only temporary. Despite the fact that a job loss also changes attitudes to the political parties, the probability to vote for the left-wing is not affected.
BASE
Essay 1: Several countries practice a system where laymen, who lack legal education, participate in the judicial decision making. Yet, little is known about their potential influence on the court rulings. In Sweden lay judges (nämndemän) are affiliated with the political parties and appointed in proportion to political party representation in the last local elections. This paper investigates the influence of their partisan belonging when ruling in asylum appeals in the Migration Courts, where laymen are effectively randomly assigned to cases. The results show that the approval rate is affected by the policy position of the laymen's political parties. In particular, asylum appeals are more likely to be rejected when laymen from the anti-immigrant party the Swedish Democrats participate, and less likely to be rejected when laymen from the Left Party, the Christian Democrats or the Green Party participate. This indicates that asylum seekers do not receive an impartial trial, and raises concerns that laymen in the courts can compromise the legal security in general. ; Essay 2: Although economic circumstances have been argued to be a major determining factor of attitudes to redistribution, there is little well identified evidence at the individual level. Utilizing a unique dataset, with detailed individual information, provides new and convincing evidence on the link between economic circumstances and demand for redistribution (in the form of social benefits). The Swedish National Election Studies are constructed as a rotating survey panel, which makes it possible to estimate the causal effect of economic changes. The empirical analysis shows that individuals who experience a job loss become considerably more supportive of redistribution. Yet, attitudes to redistribution return to their initial level as economic prospects improve, suggesting that the effect is only temporary. Although a job loss also changes attitudes to the political parties, the probability to vote for the left-wing is not affected. ; Essay 3: A well-functioning labor market is characterized by job reallocations, but the individual costs can be vast. We examine if individual's ability to cope with such adjustments depends on their cognitive and non-cognitive skills (measured by the enlistment tests). Since selection into unemployment is a function of skills, we solve the endogeneity of a job loss by using the exogenous labor market shock provided by the military base closures in Sweden following the end of the Cold War. We find, first, that, on average, labor earnings decrease and unemployment and labor-related benefits increase for those affected. Second, there are heterogeneous treatment effects in terms of unemployment; the treated individuals with high non-cognitive and cognitive skills face lower unemployment effects than the treated individuals with low non-cognitive and cognitive skills.
BASE
Several countries practice a system where laymen, who lack legal education, participate in the judicial decision making. Yet, little is known about their potential influence on the court rulings. In Sweden lay judges (namndeman) are affiliated with the political parties and appointed in proportion to political party representation in the last local elections. This paper investigates the influence of their partisan belonging when ruling in asylum appeals in the Migration Courts, where laymen are e ectively randomly assigned to cases. The results show that the approval rate is affected by the policy position of the laymen's political parties. In particular, asylum appeals are more likely to be rejected when laymen from the anti-immigrant party the Swedish Democrats participate, and less likely to be rejected when laymen from the Left Party, the Christian Democrats or the Green Party participate. This indicates that asylum seekers do not receive an impartial trial, and raises concerns that laymen in the courts can compromise the legal security in general.
BASE
Several countries practice a system where laymen, who lack legal education, participate in the judicial decision making. Yet, little is known about their potential influence on the court rulings. In Sweden lay judges (namndeman) are affiliated with the political parties and appointed in proportion to political party representation in the last local elections. This paper investigates the influence of their partisan belonging when ruling in asylum appeals in the Migration Courts, where laymen are e ectively randomly assigned to cases. The results show that the approval rate is affected by the policy position of the laymen's political parties. In particular, asylum appeals are more likely to be rejected when laymen from the anti-immigrant party the Swedish Democrats participate, and less likely to be rejected when laymen from the Left Party, the Christian Democrats or the Green Party participate. This indicates that asylum seekers do not receive an impartial trial, and raises concerns that laymen in the courts can compromise the legal security in general.
BASE
A well-functioning labor market is characterized by job reallocations, but the individual costs can be vast. We examine if individual's ability to cope with such adjustments depends on their cognitive and non-cognitive skills (measured by population-wide enlistment tests). Since selection into unemployment is a function of skills, we address the endogeneity of a job loss by exploiting the exogenous labor market shock provided by the military base closures in Sweden following the end of the Cold War. We find that labor earnings decrease and unemployment and social insurance benefits increase for displaced workers. In particular, individuals with high cognitive and, especially, non-cognitive skills face shorter unemployment spells than the individuals with low skills.
BASE
There is widespread concern in Europe and other refugee-receiving continents that living in an enclave of coethnics hinders refugees' economic and social integration. Several European governments have adopted policies to geographically disperse refugees. While many theoretical arguments and descriptive studies analyze the impact of spatially concentrated ethnic networks on immigrant integration, there is limited causal evidence that sheds light on the efficacy of these policies. We provide evidence by studying the economic integration of refugees in Switzerland, where some refugees are assigned to live in a specific location upon arrival and, by law, are not permitted to relocate during the first 5 y. Leveraging this exogenous placement mechanism, we find that refugees assigned to locations with many conationals are more likely to enter the labor market. This benefit is most pronounced about 3 y after arrival and weakens somewhat with longer residency. In addition, we find that, among refugees employed by the same company, a high proportion share nationality, ethnicity, or language, which suggests that ethnic residential networks transmit information about employment opportunities. Together, these findings contribute to our understanding of the importance of ethnic networks for facilitating refugee integration, and they have implications for the design of refugee allocation policies. ; ISSN:0027-8424 ; ISSN:1091-6490
BASE
There is widespread concern in Europe and other refugee-receiving continents that living in an enclave of coethnics hinders refugees' economic and social integration. Several European governments have adopted policies to geographically disperse refugees. While many theoretical arguments and descriptive studies analyze the impact of spatially concentrated ethnic networks on immigrant integration, there is limited causal evidence that sheds light on the efficacy of these policies. We provide evidence by studying the economic integration of refugees in Switzerland, where some refugees are assigned to live in a specific location upon arrival and, by law, are not permitted to relocate during the first 5 y. Leveraging this exogenous placement mechanism, we find that refugees assigned to locations with many conationals are more likely to enter the labor market. This benefit is most pronounced about 3 y after arrival and weakens somewhat with longer residency. In addition, we find that, among refugees employed by the same company, a high proportion share nationality, ethnicity, or language, which suggests that ethnic residential networks transmit information about employment opportunities. Together, these findings contribute to our understanding of the importance of ethnic networks for facilitating refugee integration, and they have implications for the design of refugee allocation policies.
BASE
There is widespread concern in Europe and other refugee-receiving continents that living in an enclave of coethnics hinders refugees' economic and social integration. Several European governments have adopted policies to geographically disperse refugees. While many theoretical arguments and descriptive studies analyze the impact of spatially concentrated ethnic networks on immigrant integration, there is limited causal evidence that sheds light on the efficacy of these policies. We provide evidence by studying the economic integration of refugees in Switzerland, where some refugees are assigned to live in a specific location upon arrival and, by law, are not permitted to relocate during the first 5 y. Leveraging this exogenous placement mechanism, we find that refugees assigned to locations with many conationals are more likely to enter the labor market. This benefit is most pronounced about 3 y after arrival and weakens somewhat with longer residency. In addition, we find that, among refugees employed by the same company, a high proportion share nationality, ethnicity, or language, which suggests that ethnic residential networks transmit information about employment opportunities. Together, these findings contribute to our understanding of the importance of ethnic networks for facilitating refugee integration, and they have implications for the design of refugee allocation policies.
BASE
In: The journal of politics: JOP, Band 86, Heft 3, S. 953-967
ISSN: 1468-2508