Good for Living? On the Relation between Globalization and Life Expectancy

This paper analyzes the relation between three dimensions of globalization (economic, social and political) and life expectancy using a panel of 92 countries over the period 1970-2005. Using different estimation techniques and sample groupings we find a very robust positive effect from economic globalization on life expectancy, even when controlling for income, nutritional intake, literacy, number of physicians and several other factors. The result also holds when the sample is restricted to low income countries only. For political and social globalization we find no robust effects.Globalization; health; life expectancy; development

Globalization and Absolute Poverty – A Panel Data Study

Using panel data from more than 100 countries around the world from 1988 through 2007, this paper examines the relationship between economic and social globalization and absolute income poverty ex post. We use the globalization index developed by Dreher (2006) and the World Bank poverty estimates. Using a fixed-effect panel based on five-year averages and using a “long run” first difference regression, we find a robust negative correlation between globalization and poverty. We further examine mechanisms and robustness by separately analyzing the effects of components of economic (trade flows and trade policies) and social globalization (information flows, personal contact and cultural proximity) respectively, controlling for growth, education, inflation, urbanization, and government consumption. Results suggest that information flows and more liberal trade restrictions are robustly negatively correlated with absolute poverty. While growth decreases poverty in the long run, only a small part of the poverty-reducing effect of globalization is mediated via growth.Globalization; Poverty; Panel Data

Life Expectancy and Mother-Baby Interventions. Evidence from A Historical Trial

This paper investigates the potential of maternal and infant health programs to improve the life expectancy of women and children. We study a program trialed 1931-33 in seven Swedish medical districts, assembling individual data from parish records and aggregate data from annual reports of medical districts. We estimate short run program effects on maternal and infant mortality. In addition, we track individuals exposed to the program together with unexposed individuals from neighbouring birth-cohorts so as to establish whether they survive to age 40, an age by which maternal mortality of the offspring is determined, and age 75, an age by which 35% of the sample cohorts had died. We find significant impacts of exposure to the infant program on infant survival and on the probability of surviving to ages 5, 40 and 75. The estimates suggest that the impact on life expectancy is largely driven by infant survival. The program narrowed health inequalities. Its impact was systematically larger among children born out of wedlock, who also exhibit higher baseline rates of infant mortality. There is no evidence of endogenous fertility responses or of selection into the program on a range of relevant observables. The evidence is consistent with parents reinforcing treatment by the public health intervention. We are unable to identify any impacts of program components delivered to mothers.Diese Studie untersucht die Möglichkeiten von Gesundheitsprogrammen, die Lebenserwartung von Müttern und Kindern zu verbessern. Wir analysieren ein Programm, das zwischen 1931 und 1933 in sieben schwedischen medizinischen Bezirken getestet wurde. Hierfür wurden Individualdaten aus Gemeinderegistern, Geburten- und Sterbestatistiken sowie aggregierte Daten aus jährlichen Berichten der medizinischen Bezirke digitalisiert und erfasst. Wir schätzen kurzfristige Programmeffekte auf die Mütter- und Kindersterblichkeit in der ersten Generation. Zusätzlich verfolgen wir Individuen, die durch das Programm betroffen waren, und nicht betroffene Individuen aus benachbarten Geburtskohorten über die Zeit, um herauszufinden, ob sie bis zum 40. bzw. 75. Lebensjahr überlebt haben. Im Alter 40 steht die Müttersterblichkeit in der zweiten Generation fest. Im Alter 75 sind 35% der Individuen in den Stichprobenkohorten bereits verstorben. Wir finden starke und statistisch signifikante Effekte des Gesundheitsprogramms für Kinder auf deren Sterblichkeit und Überlebenswahrscheinlichkeit bis zu den Lebensaltern 5, 40 und 75. Diese Effekte sind unabhängig vom Geschlecht. Die Schätzergebnisse implizieren, dass der Einfluss auf die Lebenserwartung stark durch das Überleben von Säuglingen getrieben wird. Das Programm verringerte gesundheitliche Ungleichheiten. Insbesondere wirkte es sich systematisch stärker auf Kinder jüngerer oder unverheirateter Mütter aus, welche auch höhere Ausgangsniveaus der Kindersterblichkeit aufweisen. Auf Basis einer Reihe relevanter beobachtbarer Variablen lassen sich keine endogenen Fertilitätseffekte oder Selektionseffekte in das Programm feststellen. Die Ergebnisse sind konsistent mit der Annahme, dass Eltern durch ihr Verhalten die Effekte der Intervention verstärkt haben. Wir können keine Effekte von Programmkomponenten, die vor der Geburt Anwendung fanden, auf die Mütter- oder Kindersterblichkeit feststellen

What aspects of society affect the quality of life of a minority? Global evidence from the new Gay Happiness Index

There is great variation in views on and treatment of minorities such as gay men across the world. We are the first to pinpoint what features of societies that are beneficial to gay men's quality of life by making use of a unique new cross-country dataset covering 110 countries, the Gay Happiness Index. It covers how gays perceive public opinion about them, how they experience behavior towards them and how satisfied they are with their lives. Our study is based on the premise that it is important to look at minority-specific effects of policies and institutions and not solely at the effects for the average citizen, as well as the transmission mechanisms through which policies and institutions affect life satisfaction. We find that legal rights for gay men, GDP per capita, democracy and economic globalization tend to benefit gays, primarily by shaping public opinion and behavior in a pro-gay direction, while religion and living in a post-communist country exert a negative effect. These factors have largely been shown to matter for the well-being of people in general as well, which interestingly implies that "special rights" are not necessarily needed for gays but the same policies that provide a good life for most people

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger? The Impact of the 1918 Spanish Flu Epidemic on Economic Performance in Sweden

We study the impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic on economic performance in Sweden. The pandemic was one of the severest and deadliest pandemics in human history, but it has hitherto received only scant attention in the economic literature – despite important implications for modern-day pandemics. In this paper, we exploit seemingly exogenous variation in incidence rates between Swedish regions to estimate the impact of the pandemic. Using difference-in-differences and high-quality administrative data from Sweden, we estimate the effects on earnings, capital returns and poverty. We find that the pandemic led to a significant increase in poverty rates. There is also relatively strong evidence that capital returns were negatively affected by the pandemic. On the other hand, we find robust evidence that the influenza had no discernible effect on earnings. This finding is surprising since it goes against most previous empirical studies as well as theoretical predictions

Pushed by poverty or by institutions? Determinants of global migration flows

The existing literature on determinants of migration flows typically claims that income differences across countries should be a pushing factor for people's movement. We suggest that institutional quality is a better proxy for the factors that trigger migration. People may well want to stay in or move to relatively poor countries if institutions are good, partly because good institutions have an intrinsic value for people and partly because good institutions may be a sign of future economic growth. In contrast, low income and absolute poverty work both as push-factors and as credit constraints, so that people may want to leave, but few can afford to migrate when poverty is high. We test our hypotheses using new data on bilateral migration flows from Abel and Sander (2014), the Worldwide Governance Indicators and the World Bank data on headcount poverty, using a migration gravity model with a spatial specification. Controlling for both source and destination income levels, we find that institutional quality matters significantly for migration. Poor institutions act as a push factor, while absolute poverty in a country of origin limits migration. We also find that omitting spatial factors biases the effect of institutions upwards

Regimteorin i svensk kontext. Från Volvo till IKEA i Kalmar

The regime theory is the dominant paradigm in the studies of urban politics in USA. It provides a set of concepts to analyse the change from government to governance in the American local politics. The regime theory postulates that governing power in local government tends to be highly fragmented. The private sector has with its control of economic resources a major influence in shaping governing decisions. In this essay I study the regime theory in a Swedish context to investigate if the theory is pertinent when studying of Swedish local governance. The results of my study show that the regime theory is useful for analysing urban politics also in the Swedish context. This essay focuses on the cooperation between the private and the public sector in the economic policy in Kalmar. I found that these actors generally consider that it exist an interdependent relation between them. To enable growth they have a need for dialogue and cooperation but the results of my study show that this do not always work in the practice. From Stones definition of a regime I draw the conclusion that there is no existing regime in the economic policy in Kalmar today

Infant health and longevity: Evidence from a historical trial in Sweden

This paper investigates the potential of an infant intervention to improve life expectancy, contributing to emerging interest in the early life origins of chronic disease. We analyse a pioneering program trialled in Sweden in the 1930s, which provided information, support and monitoring of infant care. Using birth certificate data from parish records matched to death registers, we estimate that the average duration of program exposure in infancy led to a 1.54% point decline in the risk of infant death (23% of baseline risk) and a 2.37% decline in the risk of dying by age 75 (6.5% of baseline risk)

Arbetsledningsrätten. Skillnader med avseende på anställd och inhyrd personal.

En arbetsgivares rätt att ensam leda och fördela arbetet samt besluta om vem som ska ingå i arbetskraften i arbetsgivarens verksamhet är en väl förankrad rättighet på den svenska arbetsmarknaden. I den så kallade decemberkompromissen år 1906 skrevs denna fria arbetsledningsrätt in i huvudavtalet mellan SAF och LO varpå arbetsledningsrätten blev erkänd. Än idag är arbetsgivarens arbetsledningsrätt vidsträckt men numera är arbetsgivaren skyldig att följa olika regleringar och lagar som inskränker på den fria arbetsledningsrätten. Den traditionella anställningen bygger på ett anställningsavtal mellan arbetsgivare och arbetstagare. Som en följd av anställningsavtalet har arbetstagaren en arbetsskyldighet och en lydnadsplikt gentemot arbetsgivaren, men även ett skydd för anställningen. På senare år har det traditionella anställningsförhållandet mellan en arbetsgivare och en arbetstagare fått sällskap av exempelvis bemanningsanställningar. Bemanningsbranschen är en relativt ny företeelse i Sverige då den under större delen av 1900 talet var förbjuden. I början av 1990-talet blev den en erkänd faktor på den svenska arbetsmarknaden då statens arbetsförmedlingsmonopol upphävdes genom lagen om privat arbetsförmedling och uthyrning av arbetskraft. Sedan dess har den expanderat och anses idag vara väl etablerad på arbetsmarknaden. Inhyrning av personal innebär att tre parter måste samverka; bemanningsföretaget, kundföretaget och personen som hyrs ut. Denna trepartsrelation sätter krav på en fungerande arbetsledning men ger även upphov till frågor om kundföretaget har rätt att utöva sin arbetsledningsrätt över inhyrd personal då inget avtal slutits mellan kundföretaget och den inhyrda medarbetaren, vidare blir det oklart om det föreligger arbetsskyldighet och lydnadsplikt för den inhyrde personen gentemot kundföretaget

Infant Health and Longevity: Evidence from a Historical Trial in Sweden

This paper investigates the potential of an infant intervention to improve life expectancy, contributing to emerging interest in the early life origins of chronic disease. We analyse a pioneering program trialled in Sweden in the 1930s, which provided information, support and monitoring of infant care. Using birth certificate data from parish records matched to death registers, we estimate that the average duration of program exposure in infancy led to a 1.54% point decline in the risk of infant death (23% of baseline risk) and a 2.37% decline in the risk of dying by age 75 (6.5% of baseline risk)