Journal of Public Economics 2024年 12月刊 目录与摘要
刊发卷期：Volume 240
刊发时间：December 2024
期刊等级：ABS 3
出版厂商：Elsevier
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目录
1.All is not lost: Organized crime and social capital formation
Paolo Buonanno, Irene Ferrari, Alessandro Saia
2.From viewers to voters: Tracing Fox News’ impact on American democracy
Elliott Ash, Sergio Galletta, Matteo Pinna, Christopher S. Warshaw
3.Who truly bears (bank) taxes? Evidence from only shifting statutory incidence
Gabriel Jiménez, David Martinez-Miera, José-Luis Peydró
4.Misperceived effectiveness and the demand for psychotherapy
Christopher Roth, Peter Schwardmann, Egon Tripodi
5.The effects of lump-sum food benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic on spending, hardship, and health
Lauren Bauer, Krista Ruffini, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach
6.Place-based policies, structural change and female labor: Evidence from India’s Special Economic Zones
Johannes Gallé, Daniel Overbeck, Nadine Riedel, Tobias Seidel
7.The scale and nature of neighborhood effects on children
Stephen B. Billings, Mark Hoekstra, Gabriel Pons Rotger
8.Laffer’s day in court: The revenue effects of criminal justice fees and fines
Samuel Norris, Evan K. Rose
摘要
1.All is not lost: Organized crime and social capital formation
Paolo Buonanno, Irene Ferrari, Alessandro Saia
We investigate how institutional quality influences social capital by exploiting a policy designed to fight organized crime in Italy: the dismissal of city councils following criminal infiltration into local governments. To measure social capital, we employ a novel, fine-grained indicator based on Italy’s 5 per Mille provision, which allows taxpayers to allocate a portion of their income tax to non-profit organizations. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, we find that city council dismissals lead to a significant increase in social capital. We document that the perceived strengthening of law enforcement is the primary mechanism through which city council dismissals enhance social capital.
2.From viewers to voters: Tracing Fox News’ impact on American democracy
Elliott Ash, Sergio Galletta, Matteo Pinna, Christopher S. Warshaw
This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the effect of Fox News Channel (FNC) on the mass public’s political preferences and voting behavior in the United States from 2000 to 2020. We show that FNC has shifted the ideology and partisan identity of Americans rightward. This shift has helped Republican candidates in elections across levels of U.S. government over the past decade. Our estimates suggests that an increase of 0.05 rating points in Fox News viewership, induced by exogenous changes in channel placement, has increased Republican vote shares by at least 0.5 percentage points in recent presidential, Senate, House, and gubernatorial elections. Our findings have broad implications for political behavior, elections, and the political process in the United States.
3.Who truly bears (bank) taxes? Evidence from only shifting statutory incidence
Gabriel Jiménez, David Martinez-Miera, José-Luis Peydró
We analyze the effects of only shifting the statutory incidence of taxes by exploiting: (i) a mortgage tax shift from being levied on borrowers to being levied on banks, without tax rate changes; (ii) some areas –for historical reasons– being tax-exempt (or having different tax rates); and (iii) administrative data. After the shift, the average mortgage rate increases, less for households with more banking opportunities or with higher income. The tax pass-through is nonexistent for high-income households, but complete for low-income households. Consistently, banks’ risk-taking increases, especially by more policy-affected banks. Results are consistent with a model in which all borrowers have tax saliency issues and differ in their bargaining power vis-à-vis the lender. Overall, the evidence is inconsistent with the irrelevance of statutory incidence and suggests unintended consequences on inequality and banks’ risk-taking.
4.Misperceived effectiveness and the demand for psychotherapy
Christopher Roth, Peter Schwardmann, Egon Tripodi
While psychotherapy has been shown to be effective in treating depression, take-up remains low. In a sample of 1843 depressed individuals, we document that effectiveness concerns are top of mind when respondents consider the value of therapy. We then show that the average respondent underestimates the effectiveness of therapy. An information treatment correcting this misperception increases participants’ incentivized willingness to pay for a 166 to $176. Our evidence suggests that while information can influence therapy demand by altering beliefs and shifting attention, it may not significantly increase demand unless substantial subsidies are provided.
5.The effects of lump-sum food benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic on spending, hardship, and health
Lauren Bauer, Krista Ruffini, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach
This paper examines how providing families with lump-sum in-kind assistance during the pandemic affected food hardship, economic well-being, and maternal health. We study the introduction of a new program, P-EBT, that provided grocery vouchers worth approximately 300 per student during spring and summer 2020. Using cross-state variation in program timing, we find that families spent 18–42 per student per week in the 6 weeks after benefit receipt. Household food insufficiency and children’s food insecurity among low-income families declined by 27–49 % in the month following receipt, and maternal mental health improved by 0.9 standard deviation.
6.Place-based policies, structural change and female labor: Evidence from India’s Special Economic Zones
Johannes Gallé, Daniel Overbeck, Nadine Riedel, Tobias Seidel
This paper quantifies the local economic impact of special economic zones (SEZs) established in India between 2005 and 2013. Using a novel dataset that combines census information on the universe of Indian firms with geo-referenced data on SEZs, we find that the establishment of SEZs increased local manufacturing and service employment, with positive spillovers up to 10 km from the SEZ area. The analysis shows that the gains in manufacturing and service employment were accompanied by a decline in agricultural labor, especially for women, suggesting that the policy contributed to structural change. In further analysis, we document that significant local employment effects occur across different types of SEZs: privately and publicly run zones, and SEZs with different industry designations.
7.The scale and nature of neighborhood effects on children
Stephen B. Billings, Mark Hoekstra, Gabriel Pons Rotger
Research documents a causal impact of place on children’s long-run outcomes. However, little is known about the scale at which neighborhood effects operate, and thus what it is about neighborhoods that matters. By using the quasi-random assignment of public housing along with administrative data from Denmark, we get inside the “black box” of neighborhood effects by defining neighborhoods using various characteristics and scales. Results indicate effects on education and earnings are large but local, while effects on drug possession operate on a broader scale. Additionally, unemployment and education are better predictors of outcomes than neighborhood income.
8.Laffer’s day in court: The revenue effects of criminal justice fees and fines
Samuel Norris, Evan K. Rose
Many jurisdictions levy sizable fines and fees (legal financial obligations, or LFOs) on criminal defendants. Proponents argue LFOs are a “tax on crime” that funds courts and provides deterrence; opponents argue they do neither. We examine the fiscal implications of lowering LFOs. Incentives to default generate a “Laffer” curve with revenue eventually decreasing in LFOs. Using detailed administrative data, however, we find few defendants demonstrably on the right-hand side of the curve. Those who are tend to be poor, Black, and charged with felonies. As a result, decreasing LFOs for the average defendant would come at substantial cost to governments.
