scholarly journals Increasing Block Rate Electricity Pricing and Propensity to Purchase Electrical Appliances: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Russia

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (21) ◽  
pp. 6954
Author(s):  
Salim Turdaliev
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Electricity Pricing ◽  
Energy Policies ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Residential Electricity ◽  
The Relationship

This paper provides empirical evidence on the relationship between the increasing-block-rate (IBR) pricing of electricity and the propensity of households to buy major electrical appliances. I use a variation from a natural experiment in Russia that introduced IBR pricing for residential electricity in a number of experimental regions in 2013. The study employs household-level panel data, which records, among others, whether the household has purchased any major electrical appliances during the last three months. Using a difference-in-differences specification, I show that the purchase of major electrical appliances in the regions with IBR pricing has increased by more than 20% (or more than two percentage points). The findings suggest that price-based energy policies may be an effective tool in shaping the behaviour of households.

scholarly journals The Buck Stops Where? Federalism, Uncertainty, and Investment in the Brazilian Water and Sanitation Sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Plous Kresch
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Total System ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Regulatory Uncertainty ◽  
System Access ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Different Levels

This paper documents how regulatory uncertainty may undermine public service when different levels of government share a mandate on public service provision. I examine the Brazilian water and sanitation sector, which presents a natural experiment of shared provision between state and municipal companies. Using a difference-in-differences framework, I study a legal reform that clarified the relationship between municipal and state providers and eliminated any takeover threat by state companies. I find that after the reform, municipal companies almost doubled their total system investment, leading to significant increases in system access and decreases in child mortality. (JEL H77, L95, O13, O18, Q53)

scholarly journals Welfare and the depth of informality: Evidence from five African countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva-Maria Egger ◽  
Cecilia Poggi ◽  
Héctor Rufrancos
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Linear Relationship ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Household Head ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Hours Worked ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Relationship

This study explores the relationship between household poverty and depth of informality by proposing a new measure of informality at the household level. It is defined as the share of activities (hours worked or income earned) without social insurance for wage workers in the household. We apply cross-sectional regressions to five urban sub-Saharan African countries, showing that a household head informality dummy obscures a non-linear relationship between the depth of household informality and welfare outcomes. In some countries, a small share of income from formal jobs is associated with at least the same welfare as a fully formal portfolio. By assessing transitions between household portfolios with panel data for urban Nigeria, we also show that most welfare differences are explained by selection and that movements in and out of formality cannot sufficiently change welfare trajectories. The results call for better inclusion of informal profiles to social insurance programmes.

scholarly journals The Relationship Between Information & Communication Technology and Foreign Direct Investment Inflow to Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Abdisalan Salad Warsame
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Foreign Direct Investment Inflow ◽  
Information Communication ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Ict Infrastructure ◽  
The Relationship

This paper examined the relationship between the increasing Information & Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure in Africa and foreign direct investment inflow to Africa using panel data sourced from ITU and WDI over 17 years (1998-2014). The paper applies both the fixed-effect and difference-in-differences models. The results indicate that there is a positive correlation between FDI inflow and ICT level in the host country.  The surge in ICT infrastructure in 2009 has substantially increased the FDI inflow to Africa. This increase in FDI inflow was more in the countries that have access to the sea than the countries that have no access to the sea. In other words, the average scale change in FDI inflow to the countries with no access to the sea is smaller than the countries with the coastline.

scholarly journals Booming with Speed: High-Speed Rail and Regional Green Innovation

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Zixuan Zhu ◽  
Xiaoyan Lin ◽  
Hao Yang
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Capital Mobility ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Labor Mobility ◽  
Green Innovation ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
High Speed Rail ◽  
Sustainable Economy ◽  
The Relationship

Exploiting China’s high-speed rail (HSR) as a quasi-natural experiment, we examine the relationship between the HSR connection and green innovation. The opening of HSR can promote green innovation by facilitating the flow of innovation factors. Using the multiperiod difference-in-differences (DID) model, we find that the regional green innovation performance significantly becomes better following the opening of HSR in the local city. Moreover, in examining the specific mechanisms at work, we find evidence that HSR stimulates green patents through increased labor mobility and research capital mobility. Further analyses show that the facilitating effect of HSR is heterogeneous among cities. Our paper sheds new light on the effects of HSR on social welfare in the case of sustainable economy.

scholarly journals A Spatial Difference-in-Differences Approach to Evaluate the Efficiency of Urban Green Innovation under the Pilot Policy of Combining Technology and Finance

CONVERTER ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 719-727
Author(s):  
Xuefang Zhang, Wei Dai
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Spatial Difference ◽  
Green Innovation ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
The Impact

With the “Pilot Policy of Combining Technology and Finance” implemented in 2011 and 2016 as a quasi-natural experiment, taking the panel data of a total of 285 cities in China in 2003-2018 as an example, the spatial difference-in-differences models are used to evaluate the impact of pilot policy of combining technology and finance on urban green innovation efficiency. The study found that technology and finance pilot policies obviously increase the regional green innovation level. At the same time, local governments play an important role in regional green innovation practice activities, involving both positive and negative roles. The research herein provides quantitative support for evaluating the effects of technology and finance pilot policies, and provides a reference for the further innovation and promotion of the technology and finance pilot policies.

How City Lobbyists Bridge Representational Gaps

2021 ◽  
pp. 34-62
Author(s):  
Julia Payson
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Political Geography ◽  
The State ◽  
Simple Theory ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Lobbying Activity ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter develops a simple theory of intergovernmental lobbying that emphasizes the relationship between cities and their elected delegations. Compared to most interest groups, cities are uniquely dependent on the state and federal officials who are elected to represent them by virtue of their political geography. The quality of this representation should therefore influence the demand for the lobbying. This chapter tests several observable implications of this theory using original panel data on annual city lobbying activity in all fifty states. A series of difference-in-differences designs reveal that municipal officials hire lobbyists in response to a wide array of representational challenges, such as hostile redistricting efforts and flips in the partisan composition of their delegations. The results are broadly consistent with a model of intergovernmental lobbying in which cities use lobbyists to compensate for the representational gaps that sometimes emerge in federal systems.

Tourism and poverty reduction: Empirical evidence from China

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Zhao ◽  
Xin Xia
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Reduction Effect ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Empirical Analysis ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Distribution Of Income

This study empirically examines whether tourism affects poverty reduction based on the panel data of Chinese provinces for the period from 1999 to 2014. Using more comprehensive Foster–Greer–Thorbecke index to decompose poverty into three indices, namely, headcount ratio, poverty gap, and poverty severity, we investigate the relationship between tourism and poverty indices within a single framework. The empirical analysis indicates that tourism has a positive effect on poverty reduction and the concomitant inequality in the distribution of income among the poor could weaken the poverty reduction effect of tourism. China’s western provinces confirm a stronger relationship between tourism and poverty reduction, although the effect of tourism on poverty in the eastern provinces is nearly negligible. We also identify possible mechanisms by which tourism may have an impact on poverty. The results provide empirical evidence to provide an improved assessment of the pro-poor effect of tourism in China.

scholarly journals China’s Carbon Emissions and Trading Pilot, Political Connection, and Innovation Input of Publicly Listed Private Firms

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (17) ◽  
pp. 6084
Author(s):  
Wei Liu ◽  
Chunquan Yu ◽  
Shixiong Cheng ◽  
Jingyi Xu ◽  
Yuzhao Wu
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Private Firms ◽  
Political Connection ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Positive Effect

Taking China’s carbon emissions and trading pilot (CCETP) as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper examines the impact of CCETP on publicly listed private firms’ innovation input and the moderating effect of the firms’ political connection based on the difference-in-differences model. The results show that CCETP has a significantly positive effect on the innovation input of Chinese publicly listed private firms. Moreover, the political connection of executives exhibits a positive moderating effect on CCETP’s impact on innovation input. Meanwhile, the effect is more significant in regions with high environmental protection investment and large publicly listed private firms. The conclusions could provide some policy enlightenment for China’s carbon market, as well as a rational adjustment of the relationship between political connection and innovation input of publicly listed private firms in the future.

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