Université de Fribourg

Optimal social insurance and health inequality

Grossmann, Volker ; Strulik, Holger

(Working Papers SES ; 464)

This paper integrates into public economics a biologically founded, stochastic process of individual ageing. The novel approach enables us to investigate the interaction between health and retirement policy in order to quantitatively characterize the optimal joint design of the social insurance system today and in response to future medical progress, and its implications for health inequality....

Université de Fribourg

Are sociocultural factors important for studying a science university major?

Grossmann, Volker ; Osikominu, Aderonke ; Osterfeld, Marius

(Working Papers SES ; 460)

This paper examines the role of the sociocultural background of students for choosing STEM fields in university. We combine rich survey data on university graduates in Switzerland with municipality level information from the census as well as nationwide elections and referenda to characterize a student›s home environment with respect to religious and political attitudes towards gender equality...

Université de Fribourg

Does Public Education Expansion Lead to Trickle-Down Growth?

Böhm, Sebastian ; Grossmann, Volker ; Steger, Thomas M.

(Working Papers SES ; 452)

The paper revisits the debate on trickle-down growth in view of the widely discussed evolution of the earnings and income distribution that followed a massive expansion of higher education. We propose a dynamic general equilibrium model to dynamically evaluate whether economic growth triggered by an increase in public education expenditure on behalf of those with high learning ability eventually...

Université de Fribourg

Does Bilateral Trust Affect International Movement of Goods and Labor?

Spring, Eva ; Grossmann, Volker

(Working Papers SES ; 442)

Trust in the citizens of a potential partner country may affect the decision to trade with or to migrate to a foreign country. This paper employs panel data to examine the causal impact of such bilateral trust on international trade and migration patterns. We apply instrumental variables (IV) approaches that capture the exogenous variance of bilateral trust separately with eight indicators of...

Université de Fribourg

Migration, Capital Formation, and House Prices

Grossmann, Volker ; Schäfer, Andreas ; Steger, Thomas M.

(Working Papers SES ; 441)

We investigate the effects of interregional labor market integration in a two-sector, overlapping-generations model with land-intensive production in the non-tradable goods sector (housing). To capture the response to migration on housing supply, capital formation is endogenous, assuming that firms face capital adjustment costs. Our analysis highlights heterogeneous welfare effects of labor...

Université de Fribourg

Migration, International Trade and Capital Formation: Cause or Effect ?

Felbermayr, Gabriel ; Grossmann, Volker ; Kohler, Wilhelm

(Working Papers SES ; 436)

In this paper, we provide an overview of the relationship between international migration and international trade as well as capital movements. After taking a brief historical perspective, we first investigate migration flows between two countries in a static, neoclassical context. We allow for a disaggregated view of migration that distinguishes between different types of labor and emphasizes...

Université de Fribourg

Does International Mobility of High-Skilled Workers Aggravate Between-Country Inequality ?

Grossmann, Volker ; Stadelmann, David

(Working Papers SES ; 416)

This paper analyzes the interaction of international migration of high-skilled labor and relative wage income between source and destination economies of expatriates. We develop an overlapping-generations model with increasing returns which suggests that international integration of the market for skilled labor aggravates between-country inequality by harming those which are source economies to...

Université de Fribourg

Wage Effects of High-skilled Migration: International Evidence

Grossmann, Volker ; Stadelmann, David

(Working Papers SES ; 415)

This paper argues that international migration of high-skilled workers triggers productivity effects at the macro level such that the wage rate of skilled workers may well rise in host countries and decline in source countries. We exploit a recent data set on international bilateral migration flows and provide evidence which is consistent with this hypothesis. In order to identify the causal...

Université de Fribourg

Quantifying Optimal Growth Policy

Grossmann, Volker ; Steger, Thomas M. ; Trimborn, Timo

(Working Papers SES ; 414)

The optimal mix of growth policies is determined within a comprehensive endogenous growth model. The analysis captures important elements of the tax-transfer system and accounts for transitional dynamics. Currently, for calculating corporate taxable income US firms are allowed to deduct approximately all oft heircapital and R&D costs from sales revenue. Our analysis suggests that this policy...

Université de Fribourg

Does High-Skilled Migration Affect Publicly Financed Investments ?

Grossmann, Volker ; Stadelmann, David

(Working Papers SES ; 413)

This paper analyzes the interaction between migration of high-skilled labor and publicly financed investment. We develop a theoretical model with multiple, ex ante identical jurisdictions where individuals decide on education and subsequent emigration. Migration decisions are based on differences in net income across jurisdictions which endogenously may occur. The interaction between income...