Capital-skill Complementarity and the Redistributive Effects of Social Security Reform

This paper analyses the general equilibrium implications of reforming pay-as-you-go pension systems in an economy with heterogeneous agents, human capital investment and capital-skill complementarity. It shows that increasing funding delivers in the long run higher physical and human capital and therefore higher output, but also higher wage and income inequality. The latter affects preferences over the degree of redistribution of e remaining pay-as-you-go component: despite the greater role that edistribution could perform in the new steady state, we find a preference for lower redistribution for a larger group of the population.capital-skill complementarity, inter and intragenerational redistribution, pay-as-you-go, fully funded

On the formation of international migration policies when no country has an exclusive policy-setting say

This paper identifies the migration policies that emerge when both the sending country and the receiving country wield power to set migration quotas, when controlling migration is costly, and when the decision how much human capital to acquire depends, among other things, on the migration policies. The paper analyzes the endogenous formation of bilateral agreements in the shape of transfers to support migration controls, and in the shape of joint arrangements regarding the migration policy and the cost-sharing of its implementation. The paper shows that in equilibrium both the sending country and the receiving country can participate in setting the migration policy, that bilateral agreements can arise as a welfare-improving mechanism, and that the sending country can gain from migration even when it does not set its preferred policy.Human capital formation, International migration, Migration policies, Welfare analysis, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Labor and Human Capital, F22, I30, J24, J61,

Downgraded dreams: labor market outcomes and mental health in undocumented migration

Undocumented immigrant workers are particularly exposed to mental health risk factors, including occupational downgrading – i.e. the loss in occupational status upon arrival. This study breaks new ground by examining the relationship between occupational downgrading and mental health among this hard-to-reach population, offering the first-ever investigation of its kind. Leveraging a unique dataset collected by a primary care outpatient clinic in Milan, Italy, which combines medical evaluations with detailed occupational information, we construct a direct measure of occupational downgrading, which adds to the literature. We employ logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for mental and behavioral disorders. The study also offers fresh evidence on the socioeconomic and health status of a sizable sample of undocumented migrants. The study sample consists of 1738 individuals that had their first medical examination in 2017–18. Prevalence of mental health conditions is 5.58%. Data also highlight poor labor market integration: one third of individuals in the sample is employed, mostly in elementary occupations; 66.63% of immigrant workers experienced occupational downgrading. Regression results show that undocumented immigrants who undergo occupational downgrading are at considerably higher risk of mental disorders. ORs range from 1.729 (95% CI 1.071–2.793), when the model only includes individual characteristics determined prior to migration, to 2.659 (CI 1.342–5.271), when it accounts for all the available controls. From a policy perspective, our study underscores the need to consider the broader impact of policies, including restrictive entry and integration policies, on migrant health. Additionally, ensuring access to primary care for all immigrants is crucial for early detection and treatment of mental health conditions

Avoidable hospitalizations and access to primary care: comparisons among Italians, resident immigrants and undocumented immigrants in administrative hospital discharge records

Background Immigrants face multiple barriers in accessing healthcare; however, empirical assessment of access presents serious methodological issues, and evidence on undocumented immigrants is scant and based mainly on non-representative samples. We examine avoidable hospitalization (AH) as an indicator of poor access to primary care (PC) in Italy, where a universal healthcare system guarantees access but fails to assign general practitioners to undocumented immigrants. Methods Using anonymized national hospital discharge records in 2019, undocumented immigrants were identified through an administrative financing code. Potential effects of poor access to PC were measured by focusing on the incidence of AH, differentiated among chronic, acute and vaccine-preventable conditions, comparing Italian citizens, documented (foreign nationals with residence permits) and undocumented immigrants. We estimated odd ratios (ORs) through logistic regression models, controlling for individual and contextual confounders. Findings Compared with Italians, undocumented and documented immigrants adjusted odd ratios (OR) for the risk of AH were 1¢422 (95% CI 1¢322-1¢528) and 1¢243 (95% CI 1¢201-1¢287), respectively. Documented immigrants showed ORs not significantly greater than 1 for AH due to chronic diseases compared with Italians, while undocumented immigrants registered higher adjusted OR for all AH categories − chronic (OR 1¢187; 95% CI 1¢064-1¢325), acute (OR 1¢645; 95% CI 1¢500-1¢803) and vaccine-preventable (OR 2¢170; 95% CI 1¢285-3¢664). Interpretation Documented and undocumented immigrants face considerably higher risk of AH compared to Italians. Considering the burden of AHs, access to PC (including preventive and ambulatory care) should be provided to undocumented immigrants, and additional barriers to care for all immigrants should be further explored

Employment of Undocumented Immigrants and the Prospect of Legal Status: Evidence from an Amnesty Program

This article estimates the causal effect of the prospect of legal status on the employment outcomes of undocumented immigrants. The identification strategy exploits a natural experiment provided by an Italian amnesty program that introduced an exogenous discontinuity in eligibility based on date of arrival. The authors find that immigrants who are potentially eligible for legal status under the amnesty program have a significantly higher probability of being employed relative to undocumented immigrants who are not eligible. The size of the estimated effect is equivalent to about half the increase in employment that undocumented immigrants in our sample normally experience during their first year in Italy. These findings are robust to several checks and falsification exercises

L'integrazione (mancata) nel mercato del lavoro

Quando si parla di immigrazione e mercato del lavoro, bisogna tenere presente due temi, tra loro strettamente intrecciati: gli effetti dei flussi migratori sui nativi e il livello di integrazione dei migranti nel mercato del lavoro di destinazione. Per quel che riguarda il primo aspetto, l’evidenza suggerisce che l’immigrazione ha un modesto effetto positivo sui salari e sui livelli di occupazione media dei nativi. Tuttavia, essa danneggia gli esiti del mercato del lavoro dei lavoratori che si trovano nella parte bassa della distribuzione salariale/delle competenze. Per quel che riguarda il secondo aspetto, a livello europeo e in particolare per l’Italia, emerge una mancata integrazione degli immigrati nel mercato del lavoro. Il fenomeno sta peggiorando nel tempo ed è particolarmente acuto per gli immigrati altamente istruiti, configurandosi come uno spreco di risorse a livello aggregato

Tolerant or segregated? Immigration and electoral outcomes in urban areas

Despite recent research evidence that an increased share of immigrants in an area causes an increase in anti‐immigrant‐party votes, the electoral impact of exposure to immigration appears virtually non‐existent—or even contrary—in urban areas. This study thus reassesses the latter using disaggregated data for Milan, Italy's second‐largest city. The spatial scale of the analysis addresses the possible bias from aggregating neighbourhoods that are experiencing different immigration inflows. Using a sharp measure of anti‐immigration vote and a new instrumental variable to address the possible endogeneity of immigrant share, I find that exposure to immigration has a positive effect on anti‐immigration‐party votes even in urban contexts. These results are of possible major interest to moderate political forces and European institutions and could usefully guide policy‐makers in designing immigrant location policies

Interregional migration and labor market imbalances

This paper investigates the effects of internal migration in developed countries on widening wage inequality and high unemployment, and it addresses the geographical dimension of both problems. A two-region dynamic model is developed, which accounts for the skill composition of recent internal migration flows; it also innovates on the existing literature on migration by introducing capital-skill complementarity in the production function. The main conclusion is that migration can actually aggravate labor market imbalances. In a competitive set-up, migration temporarily amplifies the geographical dispersion of unskilled workers’ wages and raises the average wage premium of the economy. When wage rigidities are introduced, labor mobility increases regional dispersion of unskilled workers’ employment. In the short-run it may even reduce the total employment of the economy. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2004Internal migration, unemployment, wage inequality, E24, J31, R23,

Riflessioni sul rapporto fra economia e diritto

The paper discusses the methodological foundations of law and economics. In particular, it deals with the capacity of economics to properly model and measure laws and institutions. We argue that contemporary economic analysis of law is generally based on a simplistic version of mainstream economics. This process of simplification of both the heterogeneity of methodological approaches and the complexity of reality have potential important consequences which are here illustrated. We draw implications for how law and economics should, or should not, evolve in the future, in order to guarantee a genuine interdisciplinary approach to the study of legal systems

Dal 1931 al 2010

In una precedente nota (Dal 1929 al 2008, Short Note Econpubblica, novembre 2008.) avevamo sottolineato che fattori finanziari, reali e culturali comuni erano riconoscibili nell’innesco della crisi del ‘29 e di quella iniziata nel 2008. Sottolineavamo anche che raramente la storia si ripete, pur riconoscendo che esistevano elementi di preoccupazioni derivanti, in particolare, dall’ideologia economica dominante. Effettivamente, le politiche di sostegno della domanda adottate in molti paesi hanno impedito un approfondimento della caduta dei livelli di attività. In altri termini, l’allontanamento dall’ortodossia neoclassica, con il generico richiamo a impostazioni keynesiane, ha consentito, da un lato, un rimbalzo sia pur limitato, della produzione e, dall’altro, ha evitato la ripetizione delle vicende dei primi anni ’30, quando la caduta della produzione industriale a livello mondiale è continuata per 38 mesi dal giugno 1929 (per i necessari riferimenti statistici si veda B. Eichengreen & K.H.O’Rourke, What do the new data tell us?, Vox, 8 marzo 2010). Nel corso degli ultimi mesi dell’anno in corso si sono tuttavia manifestate turbolenze sui mercati valutari e delle obbligazioni governative che, partendo dal caso in ultima analisi marginale della Grecia, si sono estese ad altre realtà, sollecitando sia politiche economiche restrittive sul fronte fiscale (antitetiche a quelle seguite nell’ultimo biennio), sia un riesame dell’architettura finanziaria internazionale, in particolare nell’area europea. Anche i problemi manifestatisi nel 2010 possono, nei limiti di cui diremo, essere interpretati alla luce di vicende assimilabili verificatesi nel 1931 negli Stati Uniti. Dati gli effetti negativi che ebbero le scelte di politica economica di quell’anno, non è inopportuno chiedersi se analoghi pericoli di approfondimento della crisi, o di aborto della ripresa economica in atto, non possano manifestarsi nel prossimo futuro