RePEc: Research Papers in Economics
Research Papers in Economics is a collaborative effort of hundreds of volunteers in many countries to enhance the dissemination of research in economics.
School of Economics and Finance Discussion Papers and Working Papers Series
2009
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#253Download full text
- JEL-Codes:
- I10; I12; I31; J24; J81; Z130
- Keywords:
- Willingness to Quit the Job; Turnover Rates: Job Satisfaction; Stress; Police Officers; Work-Life Balance; Fairness; Acceptance.
Retaining the Thin Blue Line: What shapes workers' willingness not to quit the current work environment?
The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of police officers' willingness to quit their current department. For this purpose, we work with US survey data that covers a large set of police officers for the Baltimore Police Department in Maryland. Our results indicate that more effective cooperation between units, a higher trust in the work partner, a higher level of interactional justice and a higher level of work-life-balance reduces police officers' willingness to quit the department substantially. On the other hand, higher physical and psychological stress and the expereicene of traumatic events are not, ceteris paribus, correlated with the willingness to leave the department. It might be that police officers accept stress as an acceptable factor in their job description.
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#252Download full text
- JEL-Codes:
- I10; I12; I31; J24; J81; Z130
- Keywords:
- Gender, Stress, Police Officers, Burnout, Work-life Balance, Justice
Gender Variations of Physiological and Psychological Stress among Police Officers
This paper analyses the effect of gender on reported and perceived levels of stress through examination of both the physical and psychological indicators. It may be interesting to work with police data due to high stress levels among police officers and the fact that the work environment is male dominant (females are a minority). In our study we not only explore gender differences, but also whether job and private environmental factors such as effective cooperation between units, a higher trust in the work partner, a higher level of work-life-balance and home stability, and a higher level of interactional fairness, affect female and male officers differently. Using multivariate regression analysis of police officers we find that female officers are significantly more likely to report suffering from physical stress indicators than their male counterparts while no gender differences are observable in regards to psychological stress. Moreover, a higher level of trust and cooperation, and a higher level of interactional fairness at work are not able to absorb physical stress among female, while these factors have a strong impact on male officers. On the other hand, for both, female and male officers, work-life balance and stability at home have the tendency of reducing physical stress.
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#251Download full text
- JEL-Codes:
- D80; D81; J81; Z130
- Keywords:
- Performance, Stressors, Sport, Behavioural Economics, Work-related stress
Nerves of Steel? Stress, Work Performance and Elite Athletes
There is a notable shortage of empirical research directed at measuring the magnitude and direction of stress effects on performance in a controlled environment. One reason for this is the inherent difficulties in identifying and isolating direct performance measures for individuals. Additionally most traditional work environments contain a multitude of exogenous factors impacting individual performance, but controlling for all such factors is generally unfeasible (omitted variable bias). Moreover, instead of asking individuals about their self-reported stress levels we observe workers’ behavior in situations that can be classified as stressful. For this reason we have stepped outside the traditional workplace in an attempt to gain greater controllability of these factors using the sports environment as our experimental space. We empirically investigate the relationship between stress and performance, in an extreme pressure situation (football penalty kicks) in a winner take all sporting environment (FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Cup competitions). Specifically, we examine all the penalty shootouts between 1976 and 2008 covering in total 16 events. The results indicate that extreme stressors can have a positive or negative impact on individuals’ performance. On the other hand, more commonly experienced stressors do not affect professionals’ performances.
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#250Download full text
- JEL-Codes:
- I1, I310, J24, J81, Z130
- Keywords:
- Social Capital, Trust, Stress, Police Officers
The Relationship between Stress and Social Capital among Police Officers
This paper analyzes the effectiveness of social capital in reducing the negative externalities associated with stress, as well as the physical and psychological indicators of stress among police officers. Despite the fact that there is a large multidisciplinary literature on stress or on social capital, the link between both factors is still underexplored. In this empirical paper we therefore aim at reducing such a shortcoming. We focus on a strategically important work environment, namely law enforcement agents, that is not only characterized as physically and emotionally demanding, but also as an essential part for a well-functioning society due to the fact that inefficiencies in the police force can induce large negative externalities. Using a multivariate regression analysis focusing on nine different proxies for stress and two proxies for social capital and conducting several robustness checks, we find strong evidence that an increased level of social capital is correlated with a lower level of stress. From a policy perspective, our findings suggest that stress reduction programs should actively engage employees to build stronger social networks.
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#249Download full text
- JEL-Codes:
- L83; D03
- Keywords:
- impact of team colours; red; (Australian) rugby league, team sports
The Red Mist? Red Shirts, Success and Team Sports
Baron von Richthofen (the Red Baron) arguably the most famous fighter pilot of all time painted his plane the vividest of red hues, making it visible and identifiable at great distance, showing an aggressive pronouncement of dominance to other pilots. Can colour affect aggression and performance and if so is it observable within team sports? This study explores the effect of red on sporting performances within a team sports arena, through empirical analysis of match results from the Australian Rugby League spanning a period of 30 years. While the descriptive analysis reports a positive relationship, the multivariate analysis provides some mixed results once you control for team effects. Thus, more evidence at the team level is required to better understand whether teams in red do enjoy greater success controlling explicitly in a multivariate analysis for many factors that simultaneously affect performance.
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#248Download full text
- JEL-Codes:
- Z120, I200, J240
- Keywords:
- Religion, Work Ethic, Protestantism, Education
Was Weber Wrong? A Human Capital Theory of Protestant Economic History: A Comment on Becker and Woessmann
This comment makes a contribution to Becker and Woessmann’s paper on a human capital theory of Protestant economic history eventually challenging the famous thesis by Max Weber who attributed economic success to a specific Protestant work ethic (Quarterly Journal of Economics 124 (2) (2009) forthcoming). The authors argue for a human capital approach: higher literacy among Protestants of the 19th century (and not a Protestant work ethic) contributed to higher economic prosperity at that point in history. However, the paper leaves the question open as to whether a Protestant specific work ethic existed or exists at all. Are there observable denomination-based differences in work ethic or is Protestantism only a veil hiding the underlying role of education? We use recent data to explore the role of Protestantism on work ethic. The results indicate that today’s work ethic in fact is influenced by denomination-based religiosity and also education.
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#247Download full text
- Keywords:
- Globalization, Extraordinary Wealth, Corruption, Superstars
Extraordinary Wealth, Globalization, and Corruption
The billionaires of the world attract significant attention from the media and the public. The popular press is full of books selling formulas on how to become rich. Surprisingly, only a limited number of studies have explored empirically the determinants of extraordinary wealth. Using a large data set we explore whether globalization and corruption affect extreme wealth accumulation. We find evidence that an increase in globalization increases super-richness. In addition, we also find that an increase in corruption leads to an increase in the creation of super fortune. This supports the argument that in kleptocracies large sums are transferred into the hands of a small group of individuals.
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#246Download full text
- JEL-Codes:
- D72, H72
- Keywords:
- spatial spillovers, strategic interaction, central city exploitation
Central City Exploitation by Urban Sprawl? Evidence from Swiss Local Communities
This paper investigates spatial spillovers in local spending decisions between the center and the surrounding local communities by using panel data of the canton of Lucerne during the 1990s. Due to the geographical fragmentation with a major central city and some 100 small suburban local communities within a distance from 4 to 55 kilometers to the center this area represents a particularly useful database in order to test the relevance of spatial interactions in a small metropolitan area. The empirical evidence confirms strategic interactions among suburban governments and the central city only for public education, health and environmental spending. There are no spatial interactions with the central city for overall government spending.
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#245Download full text
- JEL-Codes:
- D63; D64; D71; D81
- Keywords:
- Decision under Pressure, Tragic Events and Disasters, Survival, Quasi-Natural Experiment, Altruism
Surviving the Titanic Disaster: Economic, Natural and Social Determinants
The sinking of the Titanic in April 1912 took the lives of 68 percent of the people aboard. Who survived? It was women and children who had a higher probability of being saved, not men. Likewise, people traveling in first class had a better chance of survival than those in second and third class. British passengers were more likely to perish than members of other nations. This extreme event represents a rare case of a well-documented life and death situation where social norms were enforced. This paper shows that economic analysis can account for human behavior in such situations.
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#244Download full text
- JEL-Codes:
- G00, G12, G14
- Keywords:
- linearity, nonlinear, heteroskedasticity-robust tests, autocorrelation-robust tests
HACking at Non-linearity: Evidence from Stocks and Bonds
The implicit assumption of linearity is an important element in empirical finance. This study presents a hypothesis testing approach which examines the linear behaviour of the conditional mean between stock and bond returns. Conventional tests detect spurious non-linearity in the conditional mean caused by heteroskedasticity and/or autocorrelation. This study re-states these tests in a heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation consistent (HAC) framework and we find that stock and bond returns are indeed linear-in-the-mean in both univariate and bivariate settings. This study contends that previous research may have detected spurious non-linearity due to size distortions caused by heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation, rather than the presence of genuine non-linearity.
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#243Download full text
- JEL-Codes:
- H260; H730; D700
- Keywords:
- Tax Morale; Shadow Economy; Tax Compliance; Tax Evasion; Local Autonomy; Federalism; Institution
Local Autonomy, Tax Morale and the Shadow Economy
Policymakers often propose strict enforcement strategies to fight the shadow economy and to increase tax morale. However, there is also a bottom-up approach such as, for example, decentralizing the political power to those who are close to the problems. Thus, this paper analyses the relationship between local autonomy and tax morale or the size of the shadow economy. We use data on tax morale at the individual level and macro data of the size of the shadow economy to systematically analyse the relevance of local autonomy and compliance in Switzerland, a country where the degree of federalism varies across different cantons. The findings suggest that there is a positive (negative) relationship between local autonomy and tax morale (size of the shadow economy).
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#242Download full text
- JEL-Codes:
- D01; D70; K14; K42; Z10
- Keywords:
- Assassinations; rational choice; governance; democracy; dictatorship; deterrence; protection.
Politicians: Be Killed or Survive
In the course of history, a large number of politicians have been assassinated. Rational choice hypotheses are developed and tested using panel data covering more than 100 countries over a period of 20 years. Several strategies, in addition to security measures, are shown to significantly reduce the probability of politicians being attacked or killed: extended institutional and governance quality, democracy, voice and accountability, a well functioning system of law and order, decentralization via the division of power and federalism, larger cabinet size and strengthened civil society. There is also support for a contagion effect.
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#241Download full text
- JEL-Codes:
- K420; D720; D640; O170; J240
- Keywords:
- corruption; contagion effect; conditional cooperation; interdependent preferences
Conditional Corruption
We argue that the decision to bribe bureaucrats depends on the frequency of corruption within a society. We provide a behavioral model to explain this conduct: engaging in corruption results in a disutility of guilt. This implies that people observe a lower probability to be involved in corruption if on average the guilt level of others within a country is higher. We also explore whether - and to what extent - group dynamics or socialization and past experiences affect corruption. In other words, we explore theoretically and empirically whether corruption is contagious and whether conditional cooperation matters. We use the notion of �conditional corruption� for these effects. The empirical section presents evidence using two data sets at the micro level and a large macro level international panel data set covering almost 20 years. The results indicate that the willingness to engage in corruption is influenced by the perceived activities of peers and other individuals. Moreover, the panel data set at the macro level indicates that the past level of corruption has a strong impact on the current corruption level.
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#228Download full text
- JEL-Codes:
- G21;D24
- Keywords:
- Efficiency, productivity; deregulation; Malmquist indices; banking
Malmquist Indices of Pre and Post-Deregulation Productivity, Efficiency and Technological Change in the Singaporean Banking Sector
By the end of the 1990s, the Singaporean government had recognised the need to open up its banking sector so as to remain competitive in the global economy. The Monetary Authority of Singapore thus began deregulation of the banking sector in 1999 to strengthening the competitiveness of local banks relative to their foreign competition through mergers. This paper employs a nonparametric Malmquist productivity index to provide measure of productivity, technological change and efficiency gains over the period 1995-2005. The findings reveal some total factor productivity growth associated with deregulation and scale efficiency improvement largely from mergers amongst the local banks.