Trends in commuting time of European workers: A cross-country analysis

This paper examines the time spent commuting to/from work by workers in fifteen European countries, during the last three decades, with the aim of analyzing recent trends in commuting and the factors affecting commuting behavior. Using data from several waves of the European Working Conditions Survey, results show a significant gender gap in commuting time in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the UK, with male workers devoting more time to commuting than their female counterparts. We further explore the factors related to commuting time, documenting a level of heterogeneity in commuting behavior as certain determinants of commuting time differ across countries. By analyzing the evolution of commuting time in Europe in recent decades, and the associated factors, our analysis may serve to guide future planning programs

Intergenerational correlation of self-employment in Western Europe

Existing research has focused on factors explaining why individuals become self-employed. Self-employment may represent a significant proportion of total employment in many countries, and the intergenerational correlation of self-employment has been used as an explanatory factor, although findings differ across countries, methods, and strategies. Using data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), we analyze the existence of intergenerational correlations of self-employment in nine European countries, using information on the current self-employment status of respondents, and that of their parents when the respondents were 14 years old. We show that this correlation is statistically significant in general terms. Furthermore, the transmission is especially important between fathers and sons. We also contribute reporting differences in these correlations across countries. The transmission is partially explained by a country's legal context for self-employment, and by its entrepreneurial culture, with the former being more important than the latter

Two-way commuting: Asymmetries from time use surveys

Daily commuting of workers is a complex phenomenon that has long attracted research attention and, despite the significant literature acknowledging differences between morning and evening commuting, commuting trips to and from work are considered symmetric in much of the prior research. We explore the asymmetries in time spent commuting to and from work, in seven countries, using detailed time use records from the Multinational Time Use Study (MTUS). We focus on the duration, mode of transport, and timing of commuting trips, and we provide evidence of the socio-demographic characteristics related to such asymmetries. We find that commutes to work (usually in the morning) last longer than commutes from work (usually in the afternoon or evening), although there are quantitative differences among countries. The timing of commuting also differs across countries, although commutes to work are more concentrated at certain hours in the morning than commutes from work. Our results may provide a better analysis of public policies, and open questions for future research, tackling the correlation between commuting behaviors and worker well-being, land use and city structure, and extreme commuting, among others

Should We Cheer Together? Gender Differences in Instantaneous Well-being: An Application to COVID-19 Lockdowns

The COVID-19 pandemic has confined millions in their homes, an unprecedented opportunity to spend more time together with family members. This paper explores subjective well-being in the uses of time for US and UK workers, differentiating between solo activities and activities done with family members, at home and outside the home. Using American and British time use surveys, we compute the instant utility associated with paid work, unpaid work, leisure, and childcare activities. OLS regressions on both men and women show that workers prefer joint leisure to solo leisure, and that significant differences exist for solo and joint market work and housework, between the sexes. Despite that, the effect magnitudes are relatively low. Furthermore, we simulate a strict lockdown situation by replacing where and with whom worker episodes would be, based on mid-2020 strict confinements. Results suggest diverging effects, since more time with the spouse/partner and children, and less time with others, seems to increase the experienced wellbeing of women, compared to that of men. The simulation exercise also reveals asymmetric effects in the US and in the UK. The conclusions of this paper may help in assessing the psychological consequences of COVID-19 lockdowns, beyond the negative economic and labour market consequences

The daily mobility of older adults: Urban/rural differences in ten developed countries

This paper explores the mobility patterns of older adults in ten countries, with a focus on the differences produced by urban environments in their non-work trips. Using detailed time use diaries from the Multinational Time Use Study for the last two decades, we analyze the trips associated with leisure and housework of non-working older adults. The results show that older adults in urban areas spend more time in leisure trips than similar individuals in rural areas. On the other hand, male older adults in urban areas spend less time in housework trips than do their counterparts in rural areas. However, such correlations are found to differ by country, gender, type of trip, and mode of transport, revealing complex correlations between urban forms and older adults’ daily mobility. Furthermore, factors such as the number of railway kilometers, gross domestic product growth rates, and the percentage of urban population in the country seem to be associated with differences in the behavior of older adults in their non-work daily trips

Intrahousehold Bargaining Power in Spain: An Empirical Test of the Collective Model

This paper analyzes the intrahousehold bargaining power of spouses in Spanish families, in a collective framework. We estimate household labor supply equations and, under certain testable restrictions, we obtain a theoretically derived sharing rule for household income, which characterizes intrahousehold bargaining power. Then, using unique data on decision-making in the household, we construct Pareto weights, and study the validity of the collective model by comparing the theoretical sharing rule and the constructed Pareto weight. The results reveal that both the observed Pareto weight and the theoretical sharing rule display qualitative similarities, thus providing direct empirical support to the collective model. Furthermore, the results suggest that Spanish wives behave more altruistically, while husbands behave more egoistically. This should be taken into account by policy makers and researchers when analyzing inequality in the household, and contemplating specific policies affecting the household

The commuting behavior of workers in the United States: Differences between the employed and the self-employed

In this paper, we analyze the commuting behavior of workers in the United States, with a focus on the differences between employees and the self-employed. Using the American Time Use Survey for the years 2003–2014, our empirical results show that employees spend 7.22 more minutes per day commuting than their self-employed counterparts, which represents a difference of 17% of the average commuting time of employed workers. This is especially prevalent in non-metropolitan areas, and it also appears to depend on the size of the population of the area of residence. Our results suggest that there is a complex relationship between urban form and the commuting behavior of workers

Population behaviors and labor supply of the employed and the self-employed: Efficiency wages and time use, intrahousehold commitment, and intergenerational transmission

El objetivo principal de esta Tesis es analizar, tanto teórica como empíricamente, diferentes comportamientos de la población desde el punto de vista de la oferta de trabajo, incluyendo los llamados salarios de eficiencia urbanos y la distribución del tiempo disponible de los trabajadores en Estados Unidos y España, la oferta laboral de las familias y el compromiso intrafamiliar en un contexto intertemporal en Estados Unidos y Europa, y la existencia de transmisiones intergeneracionales de la actividad laboral y el auto-empleo en Europa.En el Capítulo 1 se estudia el tiempo que emplean los trabajadores en sus desplazamientos de ida y vuelta a su puesto de trabajo (tiempo de \commuting"), así como su relación con otros usos del tiempo de los trabajadores, sus salarios, y su actividad laboral en Estados Unidos y España. El análisis se desarrolla en un marco teórico basado en los modelos de salarios de eficiencia urbanos, de acuerdo a los cuales el tiempo de \commuting" es un shock que afecta a la distribución del tiempo de que disponen los trabajadores. El modelo asume que el tiempo de ocio y el tiempo que los trabajadores emplean en eludir su trabajo son sustitutos y, por tanto, el tiempo de \commuting" tiene un impacto negativo en el tiempo de ocio y un impacto positivo en el tiempo de elusión del trabajo. Sin embargo, los resultados del modelo dependen de esta hipótesis de sustitución entre tiempo de ocio y tiempo de elusión del trabajo que, hasta la fecha, no ha sido analizada empíricamente. En dicho contexto, estimamos el modelo de salarios de eficiencia urbanos empleando la Encuesta de Uso del Tiempo de Estados Unidos de los años 2001-2014, y la Encuesta de Uso del Tiempo Española de los años 2009-2010. El caso de Aragón es estudiado de forma singular. Asimismo, el marco teórico de salarios de eficiencia urbanos es extendido a los trabajadores autoempleados.Los resultados muestran cómo el tiempo de ocio y el tiempo de elusión del trabajo están relacionados negativamente tanto en Estados Unidos como en España,proporcionando validez empírica a la principal hipótesis del marco teórico. Asimismo, también se encuentra una correlación negativa entre el tiempo de \commuting" y el tiempo de ocio, una relación positiva entre el tiempo de \commuting" y el tiempo de elusión del trabajo, y una relación positiva entre el tiempo de\commuting" y los salarios de los trabajadores, tal y como predice el modelo teórico. Finalmente, los resultados sugieren que los trabajadores empleados residen más lejos de los núcleos de empleo que los trabajadores auto-empleados, que a su vez residen más lejos que los desempleados.Estos resultados, por tanto, avalan las predicciones del modelo teórico, sugiriendo la existencia de mecanismos de salarios de eficiencia urbanos en Estados Unidos y España.En el Capítulo 2 se analizan comportamientos de las familias, partiendo de unmodelo colectivo. En primer lugar, se plantea y desarrolla un modelo colectivo intertemporal de oferta de trabajo, cuyo objetivo principal es distinguir teóricamente los tres modelos diferentes que caracterizan la habilidad de los individuos para cooperar con sus cónyuges a lo largo del tiempo: el modelo de compromiso total, el modelo de ausencia de compromiso, y el modelo de compromiso limitado. De acuerdo al modelo de compromiso total, las decisiones familiares relativas a la oferta laboral no pueden verse afectadas por los shocks salariales que experimenten los individuos, mientras que de acuerdo al modelo de ausencia de compromiso la oferta laboral de los individuos en un periodo concreto queda determinada exclusivamente por los shocks salariales que se experimenten en dicho periodo. Por otro lado, el modelo de compromiso limitadopredice que los shocks salariales que experimentan los individuos tienen un impacto semi-permanente en su oferta de trabajo, de forma qué en un periodo dado, tanto los shocks actuales como los shocks pasados (o una acumulación de los mismos) determinan la oferta laboral de las familias. En segundo lugar, estimamos la forma reducida del modelo teórico empleando los datos Panel Study of Income Dynamics de Estados Unidos, para el periodo 2001-2015, y los datos European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions de Europa, para los años 2003-2016. El caso de España y Aragón se estudia, asimismo, en detalle. Los resultados, para todos los países analizados, rechazan los modelos de compromiso total y de ausencia de compromiso, ya que las estimaciones sugieren que los shocks salariales que experimentan los individuos juegan el papel que predice el modelo de compromiso limitado. En particular, cuando un cónyuge experimentó en el pasado un shock salarial positivo, dicho shock tiene un impacto positivo y semi-permante en su poder de negociación intrafamiliar, lo cúal queda reflejado en una disminución de sus horas de trabajo. Estos resultados sugieren que el modelo de compromiso limitado es un candidato preferible, frente a los modelos de compromiso total y de ausencia de compromiso, para el futuro desarrollo de modelos de comportamiento intrafamiliar.Finalmente, en el Capítulo 3 estudiamos la existencia de transmisiones intergeneracionales, de padres y madres a hijos e hijas, de la actividad laboral y el auto-empleo en Europa, usando primero los datos European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions de los años 2003-2016. Empleando el estimador de efectos fijos, los resultados muestran una correlación positiva y significativa entre el hecho de que los individuos estén empleados en un momento concreto, y que también lo estén sus padres en dicho momento. Por otro lado, las estimaciones no muestran una transmisión clara del auto-empleo, ya que el hecho de que los padres sean auto-empleados no parece estar correlacionado con la actividad como auto-empleadas de sus hijas en dicho periodo de tiempo. Sin embargo, estos resultados pueden estar reflejando decisiones de las familias respecto a su oferta laboral en el corto plazo, y no transmisiones intergeneracionales, que en general se asocian más con efectos de a largo plazo. En consecuencia, y para analizar estas transmisiones en el largo plazo, empleamos en segundo lugar el módulo especial sobre Transmisiones Intergeneracionales de los datos European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, en su versión transversal del año 2011. Dicho módulo incluye información sobre los hogares de los individuos entrevistados de forma retrospectiva, cuando estos tenían 14 años de edad, incluyendo diversas características de los padres, tales como su edad o su empleo. De esta forma, estimamos con estos datos la correlación entre el hecho de que un individuo esté empleado, o auto-empleado, en el año 2011, y que sus padres fuesen trabajadores empleados, o auto-empleados, cuando dicho individuo tenía 14 años. Los resultados muestran una correlación positiva y estadísticamente significativa entre la actividad laboral de los hijos en el año 2011, y la de sus padres durante la juventud de los hijos. Esto sugiere que las decisiones laborales de los individuos relativas al auto-empleo, aunque no parecen estar fuertemente ligadas a decisiones familiares intergeneracionales en el corto plazo, sí que quedan determinadas por transmisiones intergeneracionales en el largo plazo.The main purpose of this Thesis is the theoretical and empirical study of a range of population behaviors, from the point of view of the supply side of the labor market, including urban efficiency wages in the United States (US) and Spain, household labor supply decisions, intrahousehold intertemporal commitment in the US and Europe, and intergenerational correlation of employment and self-employment decisions in Europe. The Thesis is divided into three essays. Chapter 1 studies commuting, time use, and employment outcomes of workers in the US and Spain, within an urban efficiency wages theoretical framework, where commuting is considered a shock to time endowments. Leisure time and shirking at work are assumed to be substitutes so, ultimately, commuting has a negative impact on leisure time, and a positive impact on shirking at work. However, that substitution hypothesis leads to an ambiguity that, to now, had not been analyzed. The model is estimated using data from the American Time Use Surveys for years 2001-2014, and the Spanish Time Use Survey for years 2009-2010. The case of Aragón is also investigated, and a model for self-employed workers is proposed. Results show a negative elasticity between leisure time and shirking at work in the US and Spain, providing empirical support to the main hypothesis of the model. Findings also show a negative correlation between commuting and leisure, a positive correlation between commuting and shirking at work, and a positive correlation between commuting time and wages. Furthermore, results suggest that employed workers tend to reside farther from employment cores than the unemployed, with the self-employed workers lying between them. These results are in line with the predictions of the model, thus suggesting the existence of urban efficiency wages in the US and Spain. Chapter 2 studies intertemporal collective behaviors on the basis of collective models. It first develops an intertemporal collective model of labor supply, with the main objective of distinguishing the different models that characterize the ability of spouses to cooperate: the full commitment model, the non-commitment, and the limited commitment model. Under full commitment, workers' wage shocks cannot affect their labor supply, while under non-commitment, only current shocks should determine current household labor supply. However, under limited commitment, wage shocks must have a semi-permanent effect on labor supply decisions, as both current and past shocks should determine spouses' bargaining power. The model is estimated using data from the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics from years 2001-2015, and from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions from years 2003-2016. The case of Spain is more closely investigated, with a focus on Aragón and other regions. Results reject the full- and non-commitment models, as past shocks play the role predicted by the limited commitment model. Specifically, when a spouse performed better than expected in the past, (s)he works less, suggesting that (s)he attracts a larger fraction of household resources. This result is maintained for the countries studied, suggesting that the limited commitment version of the collective model is an excellent candidate for future theoretical and empirical models of intrahousehold dynamics. Chapter 3 addresses intergenerational transmission of employment and self-employ-ment, using data from the longitudinal European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions for the years 2003-2016. Fixed effect estimates show a significant short-term correlation between the current employment status of parents and that of their children. On the other hand, the intergenerational correlation of self-employment seems to be limited to father-to-son correlations, as it is not significant for females, in general terms. However, these intergenerational correlations may be reflecting short-term household labor supply decisions, and not transmissions, which are often related to long-term effects. To overcome this issue, we use the 2011 special module on Intergenerational Transmissions of the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (in its cross-sectional version), where respondents provide information about the labor status of their parents when they themselves were 14 years old. Thus, we can estimate whether parents' employment status when young has any significant impact on their current employment status. Estimates show a strong and significant correlation between current respondents' self-employment status, and that of their parents when the respondents were 14 years old. This suggests that self-employment decisions are not only related to short-term family labor supply decisions, but also to long-term intergenerational transmissions.<br /

Trasplante Renal de Donante Vivo en Aragón: Análisis evolutivo y factores pronósticos

Introducción: El trasplante renal de donante vivo (TRV) constituye hoy la mejor modalidad de tratamiento en la enfermedad renal terminal, siendo su principal indicación el trasplante prediálisis o anticipado. Los excelentes resultados que proporciona y la creciente demanda del trasplante renal han hecho que en los últimos años aumente el número de procedimientos de este tipo en nuestro medio. En el presente estudio nos proponemos conocer la realidad del TRV en Aragón desde el comienzo del programa y explorar los factores predictores que influyen en el resultado del trasplante a los 12 meses. Material y métodos: Estudio retrospectivo de las características epidemiológicas, clínicas y pronósticas de donante, receptor y trasplante en los 69 casos de TRV realizados en nuestro centro. Los receptores con un tiempo de seguimiento mayor a un año fueron divididos en dos grupos en función del resultado del trasplante a los 12 meses: buen resultado si la tasa de filtración glomerular estimada (TFGe) ≥40 mL/min/1.73 m2 (n= 50) y mal resultado si TFGe <40 mL/min/1.73 m2 o pérdida de injerto o fallecimiento (n=11). El seguimiento se completó hasta el 22 de mayo de 2017. Resultados: Las características epidemiológicas en nuestra muestra son similares a las encontradas a nivel nacional. Un 56.5% de los receptores de TRV en Aragón fueron anticipados. El 68.1% de los donantes fueron mujeres, mientras que el 78,3% de los receptores eran varones. La supervivencia del injerto a los 12 meses fue del 94,4%. De los diversos factores pronósticos identificados en el análisis bivariante, en el análisis multivariante encontramos a la edad del donante como el único factor independiente relacionado con la TFGe (β -0,344; IC 95% -0,978 a -0,171; p=0,006) y el mal resultado del trasplante (β 1,152; IC 95% 1,014 a 1,309; p=0,029) a los 12 meses. Conclusiones: El TRV se ha consolidado en los últimos años en Aragón como alternativa de tratamiento renal sustitutivo. Nuestros resultados sugieren que la edad del donante es un importante factor predictor de función renal después del TRV. La selección cuidadosa del donante y del receptor es una condición indispensable para el éxito del TRV

Resampling and bootstrap algorithms to assess the relevance of variables: applications to cross-section entrepreneurship data

In this paper, we propose an algorithmic approach based on resampling and bootstrap techniques to measure the importance of a variable, or a set of variables, in econometric models. This algorithmic approach allows us to check the real weight of a variable in a model, avoiding the biases of classical tests, and to select the more relevant variables, or models, in terms of predictability, by reducing dimensions. We apply this methodology to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data for the year 2014, to analyze the individual- and national-level determinants of entrepreneurial activity, and compare the results with a forward selection approach, also based on resampling predictability, and a standard forward stepwise selection process. We find that our proposed techniques offer more accurate results, which show that innovation and new technologies, peer effects, the sociocultural environment, entrepreneurial education at University, R&D transfers, and the availability of government subsidies are among the most important predictors of entrepreneurial behavior