Green Consumers, Greenwashing and the Misperception of Environmental Quality

E-print/Working paper (2014)

Malte : île-sentinelle de l’Union européenne

E-print/Working paper (2014)

European integration and consensus politics in the Low Countries Observations on an under-researched relationship

E-print/Working paper (2014)

The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg are well-known cases of consensus politics. Traditionally, decision-making in the Low Countries has been characterized by broad involvement, power sharing and ... [more ▼]

The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg are well-known cases of consensus politics. Traditionally, decision-making in the Low Countries has been characterized by broad involvement, power sharing and making compromises. These countries were also founding member states of the European Union (EU) and its predecessors. However, the relationship between European integration and the tradition of domestic consensus politics remains unclear. In order to explore this relationship this paper presents the conceptual framework and a short summary of the recently published book European Integration and Consensus Politics in the Low Countries (edited by Hans Vollaard, Jan Beyers and Patrick Dumont; Routledge). The authors discuss how consensus politics would shape the impact of European integration. They also analyse whether European integration may undermine the fundamental characteristics of consensus politics in the Low Countries. Drawing on consociationalism and Europeanization research, they provide a comprehensive overview of Europeanization in the three Low Countries as well as a better understanding of the varieties of consensus politics across and within these countries. In doing this they refer to a wide range of in-depth studies on a variety of political actors such as governments, parliaments, political parties, courts, ministries and interest groups as well as key policy issues such as the ratification of EU treaties and migration policy. Their most important observation is that European integration has changed the substance of consensus politics in some policy-areas, but barely the domestic political practice itself. [less ▲]

The Geographical Origins of Early State Formation

E-print/Working paper (2014)

his research theoretically and empirically advances the hypothesis that in early stages of development, land and climatic variability had a persistent beneficial effect on the advent of early statehood. A ... [more ▼]

his research theoretically and empirically advances the hypothesis that in early stages of development, land and climatic variability had a persistent beneficial effect on the advent of early statehood. A high degree of land and climatic diversity, and its association with potential gains from trade, accentuated the incentives to develop social, political and physical infrastructure that could facilitate interregional interaction. Hence, the emergence of states was expedited in more diverse geographical environments. To explore the hypotheses the analysis exploits exogenous sources of variation in a) the measure of land variability across countries, and b) climatic variability within countries over the period 500-1500 CE. The research establishes that i) the advent of statehood was expedited in regions characterized by a higher degree of variability in land and climatic conditions, ii) the effect of (land and climatic) variability on statehood operates partly through the advancement of technologies associated with trade, thus suggesting that it is the pivotal role of states in facilitating trade that ultimately contributed to their emergence and consolidation, and, iii) the effect of land variability on statehood dissipates over time [less ▲]

Large Deviation asymptotics for the exit from a domain of the bridge of a general Diffusion

E-print/Working paper (2014)

Natural Land Productivity, Cooperation and Comparative Development

E-print/Working paper (2014)

This research advances the hypothesis that natural land productivity in the past, and its effect on the desirable level of cooperation in the agricultural sector, had a persistent effect on the evolution ... [more ▼]

This research advances the hypothesis that natural land productivity in the past, and its effect on the desirable level of cooperation in the agricultural sector, had a persistent effect on the evolution of social capital, the process of industrialization and comparative economic development across the globe. Exploiting exogenous sources of variations in land productivity across a) countries; b) individuals within a country, and c) migrants of different ancestry within a country, the research establishes that lower level of land productivity in the past is associated with more intense cooperation and higher levels of contemporary social capital and development. [less ▲]

A general approach to small deviation via concentration of measures

E-print/Working paper (2014)

Some insights on bicategories of fractions - III

E-print/Working paper (2014)

We fix any bicategory A together with a class of morphisms W_A, such that there is a bicategory of fractions A[W_A^{-1}] (as described by D. Pronk). Given another such pair (B,W_B) and any pseudofunctor F ... [more ▼]

We fix any bicategory A together with a class of morphisms W_A, such that there is a bicategory of fractions A[W_A^{-1}] (as described by D. Pronk). Given another such pair (B,W_B) and any pseudofunctor F : A → B, we find necessary and sufficient conditions in order to have an induced equivalence of bicategories from A[W_A^{-1}] to B[W_B^{-1}]. In particular, this gives necessary and sufficient conditions in order to have an equivalence from any bicategory of fractions A[W_A^{-1}] to any given bicategory B. [less ▲]

Some insights on bicategories of fractions – I

E-print/Working paper (2014)

In this paper we investigate the construction of bicategories of fractions originally described by D. Pronk: given any bicategory C together with a suitable class of morphisms W, one can construct a ... [more ▼]

In this paper we investigate the construction of bicategories of fractions originally described by D. Pronk: given any bicategory C together with a suitable class of morphisms W, one can construct a bicategory C[W^{-1}], where all the morphisms of W are turned into internal equivalences, and that is universal with respect to this property. Most of the descriptions leading to such a construction were long and heavily based on the axiom of choice. In this paper we simplify considerably the constructions of associators, vertical and horizontal compositions in a bicategory of fractions, thus proving that the axiom of choice is not needed under certain conditions. The simplified description of associators and 2-compositions will also play a crucial role in the next papers of this series. [less ▲]

Weak fiber products in bicategories of fractions

E-print/Working paper (2014)

We fix any pair (C,W) consisting of a bicategory and a class of morphisms in it, admitting a bicalculus of fractions, i.e. a “localization” of C with respect to the class W. In the resulting bicategory of ... [more ▼]

We fix any pair (C,W) consisting of a bicategory and a class of morphisms in it, admitting a bicalculus of fractions, i.e. a “localization” of C with respect to the class W. In the resulting bicategory of fractions, we identify necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of weak fiber products. [less ▲]

Mutual Funds’ Returns from Providing Liquidity and Costs of Immediacy

E-print/Working paper (2014)

We present evidence that some mutual funds systematically act as contrarian traders, and earn returns in the stock market by providing liquidity to investors that demand immediacy, while others ... [more ▼]

We present evidence that some mutual funds systematically act as contrarian traders, and earn returns in the stock market by providing liquidity to investors that demand immediacy, while others systematically realize costs of immediacy. On average, the mutual funds’ costs of immediacy exceed their returns from providing liquidity. The funds with outflows, flows that correlate with industry flows, high market beta funds, and funds highly exposed to the momentum strategy suffer the most in costs of immediacy. The mutual funds’ average underperformance can be explained with their costs of immediacy. Finally, the funds’ historical costs of immediacy predict their alphas. [less ▲]

Offshore financial centres and bank secrecy

E-print/Working paper (2014)

XDEM - FEM Coupling Simulations of the Interactions between a Tire Tread and Granular Terrain

E-print/Working paper (2014)

This study proposes an efficient combination of the Discrete Element Method (DEM) and the Finite Element Method (FEM) to study the tractive performance of a rubber tire in interaction with granular ... [more ▼]

This study proposes an efficient combination of the Discrete Element Method (DEM) and the Finite Element Method (FEM) to study the tractive performance of a rubber tire in interaction with granular terrain. The presented approach is relevant to all engineering devices interacting with granular matter which causes response forces. Herein, the extended discrete element method (XDEM) is used to describe the dynamics of the granular assembly. On the one hand, the discrete approach accounts for the motion and forces of each grain individually. On the other hand, the finite element method accurately predicts the deformations and stresses acting within the tire tread. Hence, the simulation domain occupied by the tire tread is efficiently described as a continuous entity. The coupling of both methods is based on the interface shared by the two spatially separated domains. Contact forces develop at the interface and propagate into each domain. The coupling method enables to capture both responses simultaneously and allows to sufficiently resolve the different length scales. Each grain in contact with the surface of the tire tread generates a contact force which it reacts on repulsively. The contact forces sum up over the tread surface and cause the tire tread to deform. The coupling method compensates quite naturally the shortages of both numerical methods. It further employs a fast contact detection algorithm to save valuable computation time. The proposed DEM-FEM Coupling technique was employed to study the tractive performance of a rubber tire with lug tread patterns in a soil bed. The contact forces at the tread surface are captured by 3D simulations for a tire slip of 5%. The simulations showed to accurately recapture the gross tractive effort, running resistance and drawbar pull of the tire tread in comparison to related measurements. Further, the traction mechanisms between the tire tread and the granular ground are studied by analysing the motion of the soil grains and the deformation of the tread. [less ▲]

Extreme Returns in the European Financial Crisis

E-print/Working paper (2014)

We examine the transmission of extreme stock market returns among three groups of countries: the Euro-periphery countries (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain), the Euro-core countries (Germany ... [more ▼]

We examine the transmission of extreme stock market returns among three groups of countries: the Euro-periphery countries (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain), the Euro-core countries (Germany, France, the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium), and the major European Union -but not euro- countries (Sweden, UK, Poland, Czech Republic, Denmark). Using extreme returns on daily stock market data from January 2004 till March 2013, we nd that transmission e ects are present for the tails of the returns distributions for the Pre-crisis, the US-crisis and the Euro-crisis periods from the Euro-periphery group to the Non-Euro and the Euro-core groups. Within group e ects are stronger in the crisis periods. We nd that the transmission channel does not seem to have intensi ed during the crisis periods, but it transmitted larger shocks (in some cases, extreme bottom returns doubled during the crisis periods). Thus, as extreme returns have become much more "extreme" during the nancial crisis periods, the expected losses on extreme return days have increased signi cantly. Given the fact that stock market capitalisations in these country groups are trillions of Euros, a 1% or 2% increase in extreme bottom returns (in crisis periods) can lead to aggregate losses of tens of billions Euros in one single trading day. [less ▲]

Hedge Fund Innovation

E-print/Working paper (2014)

We study first-mover advantages in the hedge fund industry by clustering hedge funds based on the type of assets and instruments they trade in, sector and investment focus, and fund details. We find that ... [more ▼]

We study first-mover advantages in the hedge fund industry by clustering hedge funds based on the type of assets and instruments they trade in, sector and investment focus, and fund details. We find that early entry in a cluster is associated with higher excess returns, longer survival, higher incentive fees and lower management fees compared to funds that arrive later. Moreover, the latest entrants have a high loading on the returns of the innovators, but with lower incentive fees, and higher management fees. Cross-sectional regressions show that the out-performance of innovating funds are declining with age. The results are robust to different parameters of clustering and backfill-bias, and are not driven by the possible existence of flagship and follow-on funds. Our results show that the reported characteristics of hedge funds can be used to infer strategy-related information and suggest that specific first-mover advantages exist in the hedge fund industry. [less ▲]

Ripple Effects from Industry Defaults

E-print/Working paper (2014)

Les modifications territoriales dans la Grande Région SaarLorLux du Congrès de Vienne à aujourd hui

E-print/Working paper (2014)

The territorial changes of the Greater Region since 1815 are presented in ten maps. The timeline map shows the territorial situation in a defined year from 1815 onwards (if the map does not appear after a ... [more ▼]

The territorial changes of the Greater Region since 1815 are presented in ten maps. The timeline map shows the territorial situation in a defined year from 1815 onwards (if the map does not appear after a few seconds, it might be necessary to reload the page). After activating the timeline you can choose a year (set both controllers to the same year). In addition it is possible to let the map run through the time like a video. The map can be zoomed in and out, and you can access relevant information by clicking on a territory. [less ▲]

Evaluating Option Pricing Model Performance Using Model Uncertainty

E-print/Working paper (2014)

Cournot Competition and "Green" Innovation: An Inverted-U Relationship

E-print/Working paper (2014)

Emotions-at-Risk: An Experimental Investigation into Emotions, Option Prices and Risk Perception

E-print/Working paper (2014)

Art as an Aternative Asset Class: Risk and Return Characteristics of the Middle Eastern & Northern African Art Markets

E-print/Working paper (2014)

A Snap-Shot of WWI in 140 Signs – One Year On

E-print/Working paper (2014)

Specific Markov-switching behaviour for ARMA parameters

E-print/Working paper (2014)

Change-point (CP) and Markov-switching (MS) Auto-regressive models have been intensively discussed over the last two decades due to their flexibility and their relatively simple estimations. Although CP ... [more ▼]

Change-point (CP) and Markov-switching (MS) Auto-regressive models have been intensively discussed over the last two decades due to their flexibility and their relatively simple estimations. Although CP- and MS-ARMA models constitute a natural extension, they have been barely studied. The main reason comes from that classical inference fails when estimating these models. In particular the CP- and MS-ARMA models exhibit path dependence problem that renders the likelihood out of reach. We propose an estimation method that circumvents the issue. Our MCMC algorithm resting on the sticky in.finite hidden Markov-switching model (sticky IHMM) self-determines the number of regimes as well as the specification : CP or MS. Furthermore, the CP and MS frameworks usually assume that all the model parameters vary from one regime to another. We relax this restrictive assumption. As illustrated by simulations realized on moderate samples (300 observations), the sticky IHMM-ARMA algorithm detects which parameters of the model change over regimes. Applications to the U.S. GDP growth and the DJIA realized volatility highlight this flexibility by estimating different structural breaks for the mean and the variance parameters. [less ▲]

Dissecting the Act of God: An Exploration of the effect of Religion on Economic Activity

E-print/Working paper (2014)

This research establishes that religiosity has a persistent effect on economic outcomes. First we use a sample of migrants in the US to establish that religiosity at the country of origin has a long ... [more ▼]

This research establishes that religiosity has a persistent effect on economic outcomes. First we use a sample of migrants in the US to establish that religiosity at the country of origin has a long lasting effect on the religiosity of migrants. Second, exploiting variations in the inherited component of religiosity of migrants, our analysis uncovers the causal effect of religiosity on economic activity using a panel of countries for the period 1935-2000. The empirical findings suggest that i) church attendance has a positive impact on economic outcomes; ii) religious beliefs in the existence of god, hell, heaven and miracles have no systematic effect on economic outcomes, and iii) stronger faith is associated with prosperity. Moreover we extend our analysis to uncover the channels via which religiosity operates. Notably, the positive effect of religious participation and of stronger faith on economic outcomes operates via the creation of social capital and the development of traits, such as hard work and thrift, that are conducive to growth. [less ▲]

Z_2^n-Supergeometry II: Batchelor-Gawedzki Theorem

E-print/Working paper (2014)

CDS Contracts versus Put Options: A robust relationship?

E-print/Working paper (2014)

REVENU, POPULATION ET FLUX MIGRATOIRES AU 21ème SIÈCLE: UN DÉFI SOCIÉTAL POUR L’ EUROPE

E-print/Working paper (2014)

ALIA rejects plans for new radio station

E-print/Working paper (2014)

Stochastic stability of endogenous growth: The AK case

E-print/Working paper (2014)

This note studies the stochastic stability of the standard AK growth model un- der uncertain output technology. Capital accumulation follows a stochastic lin- ear homogenous differential equation. It’s ... [more ▼]

This note studies the stochastic stability of the standard AK growth model un- der uncertain output technology. Capital accumulation follows a stochastic lin- ear homogenous differential equation. It’s shown that exponential balanced paths, which characterize optimal trajectories in the absence of uncertainty, are not robust to uncertainty. Precisely, it’s demonstrated that the economy almost surely col- lapses at exponential speed even though productivity is initially arbitrarily high. [less ▲]

Immigration, occupational choice and public employment

E-print/Working paper (2014)

This paper investigates the theoretical effects of immigration in an occupational choice model with three sectors: a low-skilled, a high-skilled and a public sector. The originality of our approach is to ... [more ▼]

This paper investigates the theoretical effects of immigration in an occupational choice model with three sectors: a low-skilled, a high-skilled and a public sector. The originality of our approach is to consider (i) intersectoral mobility of labor and (ii) public employment. We highlight the fact that including a public sector is crucial, since omitting it implies that low-skilled immigration unambiguously reduces wages and welfare of all workers. However, when public employment is considered, we demonstrate that immigration increases wages in the high-skilled and the public sectors, provided that the immigrant workforce is not too large and the access to public jobs is not too easy. The average wage of natives may also increase accordingly. Moreover, immigration may improve workers’ welfare in each sector. Finally, the mechanism underlying these results does not require complementarity between natives and immigrants. [less ▲]

The global economic crisis and the effect of immigration on the employment of native-born workers in Europe

E-print/Working paper (2014)

The debate regarding the economic effects of immigration has attracted renewed interest in European countries since the economic crisis. We provide an approximation for the labor market effects of ... [more ▼]

The debate regarding the economic effects of immigration has attracted renewed interest in European countries since the economic crisis. We provide an approximation for the labor market effects of immigrants in four European countries during the global economic crisis after briefly analyzing the situation of native- and foreign-born workers for the recent period. Our analysis focuses on the correlation between the stock of immigrant workers and the number of local labor market workers across several segments of the labor market using a simple model approach. Based on data from Eurostat and the LFS (Labour Force Survey), we estimate a structural dynamic model using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) to take into account the adjustment dynamics in the labor market and labor market segment, educational level, country of origin and gender of the workers. Overall, the empirical results suggest that the immigration shock on the employment rates of native-born workers is persistent and very weak over the business cycle. The effect is globally positive and the origin of immigrants does not appear to change the nature of the impact. We offer some explanations for these findings that are linked with the dual labor markets and the differences in the degree of substitution between native and immigrant workers. [less ▲]

The 2011 European Short Sale Ban: An Option Market Perspective

E-print/Working paper (2014)

Pricing Default Risk: The Good, The Bad, and The Anomaly

E-print/Working paper (2014)

Asymptotic normality of randomized periodogram for estimating quadratic variation in mixed Brownian-fractional Brownian model

E-print/Working paper (2014)

We study asymptotic normality of the randomized periodogram estimator of quadratic variation in the mixed Brownian--fractional Brownian model. In the semimartingale case, that is, where the Hurst ... [more ▼]

We study asymptotic normality of the randomized periodogram estimator of quadratic variation in the mixed Brownian--fractional Brownian model. In the semimartingale case, that is, where the Hurst parameter H of the fractional part satisfies H∈(3/4,1), the central limit theorem holds. In the nonsemimartingale case, that is, where H∈(1/2,3/4], the convergence toward the normal distribution with a nonzero mean still holds if H=3/4, whereas for the other values, that is, H∈(1/2,3/4), the central convergence does not take place. We also provide Berry--Esseen estimates for the estimator. [less ▲]

Construction of sheaves on the subanalytic site

E-print/Working paper (2013)

Regards sur le sentiment de sécurité des résidents au Luxembourg

E-print/Working paper (2013)

Cette publication présente les résultats de l’enquête sur la sécurité réalisée courant 2013 au Luxembourg. L’exploitation des résultats est réalisée conjointement par le STATEC et l’Université du ... [more ▼]

Cette publication présente les résultats de l’enquête sur la sécurité réalisée courant 2013 au Luxembourg. L’exploitation des résultats est réalisée conjointement par le STATEC et l’Université du Luxembourg/INSIDE (Integrative Research Unit on Social and Individual Development). L’enquête pose différentes questions concernant la perception par les résidents du niveau de sécurité dans leur voisinage, leurs craintes quant à différents délits, mais également leur satisfaction par rapport au travail de la police et de la justice. Les mesures de précaution comme des alarmes ou des portes sécurisées font également partie des sujets traités. Pour finir, on se penchera sur la proportion d’incidents qui font effectivement l’objet d’une plainte auprès de la police. [less ▲]

La transition des jeunes de l’éducation vers l‘emploi - Der Übergang Jugendlicher von der Ausbildung in die Erwerbstätigkeit

E-print/Working paper (2013)

C’est à partir de 15 ans que commence la transition des jeunes de l’éducation vers le marché du travail. Cette phase de transition se clôt vers l’âge de 30 ans. À l’âge de 29 ans, 83.7% des jeunes adultes ... [more ▼]

C’est à partir de 15 ans que commence la transition des jeunes de l’éducation vers le marché du travail. Cette phase de transition se clôt vers l’âge de 30 ans. À l’âge de 29 ans, 83.7% des jeunes adultes ont un emploi, 4.1% sont occupés dans leur propre ménage et seulement 3.2% suivent encore une formation. Chez les 25-29 ans, la part des chômeurs est d’autant plus élevée que le niveau d’éducation est faible. De même, dans cette tranche d’âge, les personnes ayant un niveau d’éducation faible travaillent plus souvent dans leur propre ménage. Parmi les jeunes qui ont un emploi, la part des contrats de travail à durée déterminée (CDD) diminue avec l’âge : chez les personnes âgées de 21 ans, la part des CDD est de 23.9 % ; elle recule à 9.9% chez les personnes âgées de 29 ans. 32.2% de l’ensemble des jeunes âgés de 15 à 29 ans et ayant un emploi travaillent dans la branche « administration publique, éducation, santé et action sociale ». En revanche, le pourcentage correspondant n’est que de 0.9% dans l’agriculture. La part des femmes âgées de 15 à 29 ans est la pIus importante dans la branche des « autres services » (74.9%) qui inclut notamment les activités des ménages en tant qu’employeurs et donc les femmes de ménage. Les femmes sont peu représentées dans la construction (9.7%). Les étrangers de 15 à 29 ans sont surrepré-sentés dans la construction, mais également dans les « activités spécialisées, scientifiques et techniques et activités de services administratifs et de soutien » (environ 65% dans ces deux branches). En revanche, les étrangers sont sous-représentés dans la branche « administration publique, éducation et santé et action sociale » (14.7% de l’emploi des 15-29 ans dans cette branche), ainsi que dans l’agriculture (13.3%). Avec 46.9%, près de la moitié des jeunes de nationalité luxembourgeoise travaillent dans le secteur public et parapublic (administration publique, éducation, santé et action sociale). La répartition des jeunes étrangers sur les différentes branches d’activité est plus équilibrée. [less ▲]

Parallel Implementation of LEA

E-print/Working paper (2013)

Les personnes âgées - Ältere Menschen in Luxemburg

E-print/Working paper (2013)

Am 1. Februar 2011 lebten 71 742 Menschen über 64 Jahre in Luxemburg, was einem Anstieg von +17.5% im Vergleich zur Volkszählung 2001 entspricht. Verglichen mit dem Wachstum der Gesamtbevölkerung von 16.6 ... [more ▼]

Am 1. Februar 2011 lebten 71 742 Menschen über 64 Jahre in Luxemburg, was einem Anstieg von +17.5% im Vergleich zur Volkszählung 2001 entspricht. Verglichen mit dem Wachstum der Gesamtbevölkerung von 16.6% ist die Zahl der älteren Menschen somit etwas stärker gewachsen. Der Ausländeranteil ist bei den älteren Menschen deutlich niedriger als in der Gesamtbevölkerung (21.4% vs. 43.0%). Allerdings ist der Ausländeranteil in dieser Bevölkerungsgruppe seit der Volkszählung 2001 gestiegen (damals 15.3%). Die höhere Lebenserwartung von Frauen zeigt sich darin, dass der Frauenanteil mit zunehmendem Alter ansteigt: Bei den über 64-Jährigen liegt der Frauenanteil bei 57.2%, bei den über 84-Jährigen bei 73.2%. Damit geht einher, dass es für Frauen deutlich wahrscheinlicher ist, dass ihr Partner vor ihnen stirbt. Frauen sind damit mit einer höheren Wahrscheinlichkeit im Alter alleinstehend, leben bei ihren Kindern oder ziehen in ein Pflegeheim. Umgekehrt ist es für Männer deutlich wahrscheinlicher, dass sie auch im höheren Alter noch mit ihrer Partnerin im Privathaushalt zusammenleben. [less ▲]

Les Allemands au Luxembourg - Deutsche in Luxemburg

E-print/Working paper (2013)

À la date du recensement (1er février 2011), 12 049 Allemands vivaient au Luxembourg, soit 2.4% de la population totale. En termes absolus, le nombre d’Allemands a augmenté légèrement, mais de façon ... [more ▼]

À la date du recensement (1er février 2011), 12 049 Allemands vivaient au Luxembourg, soit 2.4% de la population totale. En termes absolus, le nombre d’Allemands a augmenté légèrement, mais de façon continue, depuis le recensement de 1970; cependant leur part dans la population reste relativement stable depuis 1947. L’âge moyen des Allemands est légèrement supérieur à celui de la population du Grand-Duché dans son ensemble (42.1 ans, contre 38.7 ans). La très grande majorité des Allemands habitant au Luxembourg sont nés en Allemagne (78.2%), alors que 12.4% sont nés au Luxembourg. En termes absolus, les Allemands sont les plus nombreux à Luxembourg-Ville (3 546), soit 3.7% de la population de la capitale. La part relative des Allemands est cependant la plus élevée dans la commune de Grevenmacher, avec 7.7% de la population. D’une manière générale, les Allemands ont un niveau d’éducation supérieur à la moyenne des habitants du Luxembourg, les cohortes jeunes des Allemands présents dans le pays ayant atteint des niveaux d’éducation plus élevés que les cohortes plus âgées. [less ▲]

Who benefits from partial tax coordination?

E-print/Working paper (2013)

In this paper, we investigate whether partial tax coordination is beneficial to <br />countries within and outside a tax union, in which countries are supposed to compete <br />in taxes and infrastructure ... [more ▼]

In this paper, we investigate whether partial tax coordination is beneficial to <br />countries within and outside a tax union, in which countries are supposed to compete <br />in taxes and infrastructure. Our results demonstrate that, a subgroup of countries <br />agreeing on a common tax rate, can harm both member and nonmember <br />states. This is in contrast to the classical findings that partial tax harmonization <br />is Pareto improving. When a minimum tax rate is imposed within a tax union, we <br />demonstrate that it does not necessarily improve the welfare of the member countries. <br />Moreover, both the high tax and low tax countries can be worse off. This <br />conclusion is at odds with the classical result that a high tax country benefits from <br />the imposition of a lower tax bound. [less ▲]

Les communes de la région sud - Die Gemeinden der Région sud

E-print/Working paper (2013)

À la date du recensement au 1er février 2011, 148 812 personnes vivaient dans la région sud du pays, soit une augmentation de 12.3% par rapport au recensement de 2001. Cette augmentation de la population ... [more ▼]

À la date du recensement au 1er février 2011, 148 812 personnes vivaient dans la région sud du pays, soit une augmentation de 12.3% par rapport au recensement de 2001. Cette augmentation de la population est inférieure à la moyenne nationale (+16.6%). La structure par âge de la population de la région sud est assez proche de celle du pays dans son ensemble. On note néanmoins des différences significatives entre Luxembourgeois et étrangers. Les Luxembourgeois sont surreprésentés dans les cohortes âgées et parmi les jeunes adultes. En re-vanche, les étrangers sont surreprésentés parmi les enfants et, surtout, dans les cohortes d’âge moyen de 25 à 50 ans. 58.9% des habitants de la région sud sont luxembourgeois et 23.1% sont portugais. Le pourcentage des personnes de toutes les autres nationalités présentes atteint 18% de la population. Avec 41.1%, la part globale des étrangers dans la population de la région sud est un peu inférieure à la moyenne nationale (43.0% d’étrangers). La part des propriétaires de logement est de 76% dans la région sud, soit un pourcentage légèrement supé-rieur à la moyenne nationale (73.0%). En revanche, la surface moyenne de logement est plus réduite dans la région sud que dans le pays dans son en-semble (117 m², contre 130 m²). Le loyer moyen est de 727 € dans la région sud, alors qu’il est de 888 € dans le pays. En revanche, comme les surfaces louées sont plus réduites qu’en moyenne nationale, le loyer par mètre carré ne se situe pas très loin de la moyenne du Grand-Duché (11.86 €/m² dans la région sud, contre 12.45 €/m² dans le pays dans son ensemble). Quant aux types de ménages, les diffé-rences entre la région sud et le pays dans son en-semble sont peu significatives. En revanche, on constate des écarts importants quant au niveau d’éducation. 45.5% de la population de la région sud ont un niveau d’éducation faible (primaire, se-condaire inférieur). Le pourcentage correspondant n’est que de 34.5% en moyenne dans le pays. À l’inverse, la part des habitants de la région sud ayant un niveau d’éducation élevé (enseignement supérieur) est, avec 15.1%, largement inférieure à la moyenne nationale (27.1%). [less ▲]

Les personnes vivant en couple

E-print/Working paper (2013)

Parmi les 512 353 personnes recensées au 1er février 2011, 231 472 (soit 45.2%) vivent en couple. Ce pourcentage est un peu plus élevé pour les étrangers (47.6%) que pour les Luxembourgeois (43.4%). 88.1 ... [more ▼]

Parmi les 512 353 personnes recensées au 1er février 2011, 231 472 (soit 45.2%) vivent en couple. Ce pourcentage est un peu plus élevé pour les étrangers (47.6%) que pour les Luxembourgeois (43.4%). 88.1% des personnes vivant en couple sont mariées, 9.1% vivent en union consensuelle et 2.7% sont « pacsées ». Les Luxembourgeois sont un peu plus souvent mariés (89.1%) que les personnes de nationalité étrangère (86.9%), qui eux vivent plus souvent en union consensuelle avec respectivement 10.8% des étrangers et 7.8% des Luxembourgeois. Il existe une corrélation assez prononcée entre l’âge et le fait d’être marié, car seulement 45% des personnes âgées de 20 à 24 ans qui vivent en couple sont mariées, alors que presque la totalité des 65 ans et plus le sont (97.9%). Concernant la situation socio-économique des personnes vivant en couple, 59.5% ont un emploi tandis qu’environ un cinquième est à la retraite. Les personnes mariées ont plus souvent des enfants vivant dans le même noyau familial que les deux autres types d’union. En effet, 61.5% des personnes mariées ont des enfants vivant dans le même noyau familial contre respectivement 53.2% et 38.5% pour les personnes en union consensuelle ou pacsées. On dé-nombre au total 13.1% de couples mixtes (Luxembourgeois-étranger), 48.1% de couples formés par des Luxembourgeois et 38.8% de couples constitués par 2 étrangers. Une mixité plus prononcée est observée parmi les couples vivant en union consensuelle ou pacsés que parmi les couples mariés. Un cinquième de ces couples pacsés ou vivant en union consensuelle sont formés par une personne luxembourgeoise et une personne de nationalité étrangère (respectivement 19.2% et 20.7%). Ce pourcentage ne s’élève qu’à 12.1% pour les couples mariés. Parmi les couples où au moins une personne travaille, 4 sur 10 sont composés de deux personnes ayant le même statut dans l’emploi. Globalement, dans 27.8% des couples, on trouve au moins un des deux conjoints qui travaille dans le secteur public. [less ▲]

Product Unbundling in the Travel Industry: The Economics of Airline Bag Fees

E-print/Working paper (2013)

This paper provides theory and evidence on airline bag fees, offering insights into a real-world case of product unbundling. The theory predicts that an airline’s fares should fall when it introduces a ... [more ▼]

This paper provides theory and evidence on airline bag fees, offering insights into a real-world case of product unbundling. The theory predicts that an airline’s fares should fall when it introduces a bag fee, but that the full trip price (the bag fee plus the new fare) could either rise or fall. The empirical evidence presented in the paper provides strong confirmation of this prediction. The data also suggest that the average fare falls by less than the bag fee itself, so that the full price of a trip rises for passengers who choose to check bags. [less ▲]

LEARN stellt sech fier

E-print/Working paper (2013)

La Ville de Luxembourg et sa périphérie - Luxemburg-Stadt im Vergleich zum Umland und dem Großherzogtum

E-print/Working paper (2013)

95 058 personnes vivaient dans la capitale à la date du recensement (1er février 2011), soit 24.0% de plus qu’en 2001. Avec ce taux, la croissance démographique de la Ville de Luxembourg a dépassé celle ... [more ▼]

95 058 personnes vivaient dans la capitale à la date du recensement (1er février 2011), soit 24.0% de plus qu’en 2001. Avec ce taux, la croissance démographique de la Ville de Luxembourg a dépassé celle de sa périphérie, c’est-à-dire Luxembourg-Campagne1 (dont la population a augmenté de 17.0% de 2001 à 2011), mais aussi celle de l’ensemble du pays (+16.6%). Luxembourg-Ville et Luxembourg-Campagne représentaient ensemble 29.6% des habitants du pays en 2011, contre 28.4% en 2001. Seul un tiers des habitants de la capitale sont des Luxembourgeois (35.1%), suivis par les Français (14.3%) et les Portugais (14.1%). La sur-face moyenne des logements dans la Ville de Luxembourg est de 105.5 m² et se situe largement en-dessous de la surface moyenne des logements dans l’ensemble du pays (129.9 m²) et dans la périphérie de la Ville (144.8 m² à Luxembourg-Campagne). Cependant, la taille moyenne des ménages à Luxembourg-Ville (1.94 personnes par ménage) est également plus réduite que dans l’ensemble du pays (2.41) et à Luxembourg-Cam-pagne (2.47). Avec 26.4%, la part des habitants vivant seuls est près de deux fois plus élevée dans la capitale que dans le pays pris dans son en-semble (13.8%). 40.3% des habitants de la capitale vivent dans des ménages constitués par un couple avec enfant(s), alors que dans le pays le pourcen-tage correspondant atteint les 51.8%. Les habitants de la Ville de Luxembourg ont souvent des niveaux d‘éducation plus élevés que dans le reste du pays. La part des personnes ayant un diplôme de type « master » ou un doctorat (33.9%) est plus de deux fois plus élevé que dans le pays en général (14.8%). En revanche, les niveaux d’éducation faibles ou moyens sont moins fréquents dans la capitale que dans le reste du pays. [less ▲]

Patent office governance and patent examination quality

E-print/Working paper (2013)

The present paper discusses the role of quality in patent examination process from the perspective of patent offices' behavior and organization. After documenting original stylized facts, the paper ... [more ▼]

The present paper discusses the role of quality in patent examination process from the perspective of patent offices' behavior and organization. After documenting original stylized facts, the paper presents a model in which patent offices set patent fees and the quality level of their examination process. A higher effort in the examination process enhances the patent holders' protection in the judicial system and strengthens the screening of innovations with small inventive steps. We compare the quality of the examination process for various objectives of patent offices. Patent examination quality is the highest in an office maximizing incentives to innovate and the lowest in that maximizing the number of granted patents. A rent-seeking patent office can provide good incentives to innovate if it does not set too high markups on fees. [less ▲]

Income Inequality and Support for Development Aid

E-print/Working paper (2013)

The Right to an ‘Effective Judicial Remedy’ and the Changing Conditions of Implementing EU Law

E-print/Working paper (2013)

Niveau d’éducation de la population du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg

E-print/Working paper (2013)

Un peu plus d’un quart (27%) de la population âgée d’au moins 15 ans ne poursuivant plus d’études possèdent un diplôme de l’enseignement supérieur. Ce pourcentage est un peu plus élevé chez les hommes que ... [more ▼]

Un peu plus d’un quart (27%) de la population âgée d’au moins 15 ans ne poursuivant plus d’études possèdent un diplôme de l’enseignement supérieur. Ce pourcentage est un peu plus élevé chez les hommes que chez les femmes (29.7% contre 24.5%). En revanche, un cinquième de la population (19.9%) n’a pas dépassé le niveau d’enseignement primaire. La part des personnes ayant atteint le niveau du secondaire inférieur est de 14.6% et 35.5% de la population ont atteint un niveau d’éducation du secondaire supérieur. Depuis 2001, une augmentation du niveau d’éducation est observée. La part des diplômés de l’enseignement supérieur passe de 19.6% en 2001 à 27.0% en 2011. Les générations les plus âgées ont un niveau d’éducation moins élevé que les générations plus jeunes : 53.5% des 85 ans et plus ont, au maximum, atteint le niveau d’enseignement primaire, contre seulement 9.4% des 20 à 39 ans. Les personnes de nationalité étrangère sont surreprésentées pour deux niveaux d’éducation : le primaire et le supérieur. 24.4% des étrangers n’ont atteint que le niveau d’éducation primaire, contre 16.8% des Luxembourgeois. En revanche 31.8% des étrangers ont atteint un niveau d’éducation supérieur, contre seulement 23.7% des Luxembourgeois. Le type de diplôme obtenu à une grande influence sur la profession exercée. 88.6% des personnes qui travaillent dans les professions intellectuelles et scientifiques ont un diplôme de l’enseignement supérieur, alors qu’ils ne représentent que 1.8% des personnes exerçant une profession élémentaire. À noter également que 57.4% des personnes nées au Grand-Duché et ayant obtenu un diplôme supérieur ont acquis leur diplôme à l’étranger. Si l’on ne prend en compte que les personnes ayant obtenu un master ou un doctorat, ce pourcentage atteint les 90.7%. [less ▲]