The French ?Earned Income Supplement? (RSA) and back-to-work incentives

RMI, API, unemployment, means-tested benefits, back-to-work incentives.

The "distance-varying" gravity model in international economics: is the distance an obstacle to trade?

In this paper, we address the problem of the role of the distance between trading partners by assuming the variability of coefficients in a standard gravity model. The distance can be interpreted as an indicator of the cost of entry in a market (a fixed cost): the greater the distance, the higher the entry cost, and the more we need to have a large market to be able to cover a high cost of entry. To explore this idea, the paper uses a method called Flexible Least Squares. By allowing the parameters of the gravity model to vary over the observations, our main result is that the more the partner's GDP is large, the less the distance is an obstacle to trade.Gravity Equation; Flexible Least Squares; Geographical Distance

The "distance-varying" gravity model in international economics: is the distance an obstacle to trade?

In this paper, we address the problem of the role of the distance between trading partners by assuming the variability of coefficients in a standard gravity model. The distance can be interpreted as an indicator of the cost of entry in a market (a fixed cost): the greater the distance, the higher the entry cost, and the more we need to have a large market to be able to cover a high cost of entry. To explore this idea, the paper uses a method called Flexible Least Squares. By allowing the parameters of the gravity model to vary over the observations, our main result is that the more the partner's GDP is large, the less the distance is an obstacle to trade.Gravity Equation, Flexible Least Squares, Geographical Distance

Évaluation du vieillissement de la population par l’indice de Coulson et l’âge médian

Il existe plusieurs outils permettant d'évaluer le vieillissement de la population. Cette étude compare l'efficacité de l'indice de Coulson et de l'âge médian pour mesurer l'intensité de ce processus. Ces deux indices, dont les résultats sont relativement semblables pour la mesure de la structure d'âge, aboutissent à des résultats très différents et parfois opposées lorsque appliqués à l'étude du vieillissement. L'indice de Coulson est beaucoup plus précis et, en ce sens, il correspond fidèlement à un modèle régional de vieillissement où l'influence de la croissance et du degré d'urbanisation des municipalités est déterminant.There are many measures to evaluate aging of population. This study compares the efficiency of the Coulson's index and the median age in measuring the intensity of the aging process. These indices which are relatively similar when measuring the age structure, prove to be very different, even opposed in some cases, when measuring aging. The Coulson's index is much more precise and corresponds accurately to a regional model of aging which is dominated by the influence of growth and urbanization level of municipalities

Growth, distribution and poverty in Madagascar

This paper presents an applied microsimulation model built on household data with explicit treatment of heterogeneity of skills, labor preferences and opportunities, and consumption preferences at the individual and/or household level, while allowing for an endogenous determination of relative prices between sectors. The model is primarily focused on labor markets and labor allocation at the household level, but consumption behavior is also modeled. Modeling choices are driven by a desire to make the best possible use of microeconomic information derived from household data. This framework supports analysis of the impact of different growth strategies on poverty and income distribution, without making use of the “representative agent” assumption. The model is built on household survey data and represents the behavior of 4,508 households. Household behavioral equations are estimated econometrically. Different sets of simulation are carried out to examine the comparative statics of the model and study the impact of different growth strategies on poverty and inequality. Simulation results show the potential usefulness of this class of models to derive both poverty and inequality measures and transition matrices without prior assumptions regarding the intra-group income distribution. Market clearing equations allow for the endogenous determination of relative prices between sectors. The impact of different growth strategies on poverty and inequality is complex given general equilibrium effects and the wide range of household positions in markets for factors and goods markets. Partial equilibrium analysis or the use of representative households would miss these effects.Microeconomics Madagascar. ,Madagascar. ,Labor market. ,Poverty. ,TMD ,

The "distance-varying" gravity model in international economics: is the distance an obstacle to trade?

In this paper, we address the problem of the role of the distance between trading partners by assuming the variability of coefficients in a standard gravity model. The distance can be interpreted as an indicator of the cost of entry in a market (a fixed cost): the greater the distance, the higher the entry cost, and the more we need to have a large market to be able to cover a high cost of entry. To explore this idea, the paper uses a method called Flexible Least Squares. By allowing the parameters of the gravity model to vary over the observations, our main result is that the more the partner's GDP is large, the less the distance is an obstacle to trade.Gravity Equation; Flexible Least Squares; Geographical Distance

Is the Household Demand for In-Home Services Sensitive to Tax Reductions? : The French Case

Our paper examines the impact of tax reductions on the demand for services in the home. For that purpose, we estimate a structural model of demand for such services by using household individual data collected by INSEE (Paris) in 1996. In this model, the net hourly wage paid to the domestic employee, the household preferences for consumption of in-home services and the decision to take advantage of the tax reduction are considered as endogenous variables. Estimation of the econometric model uses the fact that some households are observed to consume domestic services and to take advantage of the tax reduction, while others either consume such services but do not take advantage of the tax reduction, or do not consume these services at all. Its identification relies on an exclusion restriction resulting from the tax credit schedule. Results show that the probability of consuming in-home services increases with age and income. A ten per cent increase in the tax reduction would increase from 45.9 to 50.8 per cent the proportion of households benefiting from the tax reduction among those who consume paid in-home services. Moreover, 13.5 per cent of households who do not actually consume such services would do so after the ten per cent increase in the tax reduction. These simulated variations would mainly concern high-income households