Psychological Traits and Earnings Differences Among Men: A Study of Second - Generation Immigrants in Sweden

The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of psychological traits on earnings differentials between second-generation immigrants and individuals with native-born parents. The study is based on the cohort of men born in 1973 and residing in Sweden in December 1990. In this paper we use an indicator of psychological ability measured in connection to the military enrolment test in Sweden. The results show that the measure of psychological traits is an important determinant of earnings at the age of 30. Using an Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition we find that the earnings differences between second-generation immigrants and individuals with native born parents to a large part are explained by differences in endowments of psychological traits.Earnings differentials; psychological traits; military enrolment test; secondgeneration immigrants; Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition

Civil Returns of Military Training: A Study of Young Men in Sweden

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of military training on earnings for young men in Sweden. The analysis is based on the cohort of men born in 1973. The 1973 cohort was conscripted during a time of rapid change in the Swedish security policy and substantial cutdowns of the armed forces. As a consequence, a relatively large part of the cohort was assigned a service category after the enlistment test but one third of these individuals were never conscripted. We argue that these organizational changes along with the set of important background variables that are available makes it possible to rely on selection on observables. A strong result is that military training has a positive effect on annual earnings at the age of 30 for the group in the private category that subsequently do not obtain an high educational level.Earnings; Conscription; Enlistment test; Military training

Municipal preferences for state imposed amalgamations: An empirical study based on the 1952 municipal reform in Sweden

This paper concerns municipal preferences for state imposed municipal amalgamations. The main purpose of the paper is to study what factors that can explain municipal acceptance or objection of a state imposed amalgamation decision. The empirical analysis is based on the extensive municipal reform in Sweden in 1952. As much as 66 percent of the newly formed municipalities had at least one municipality that objected to the new organisation. The results indicate that the size of the municipality is of importance; small and large municipalities are most likely to accept the amalgamation decision. Furthermore, the relative municipal size affects the probability of accepting the amalgamation decision and equally sized municipalities are less likely to amalgamate on a voluntary basis. We also find that interjurisdictional co-operation prior to the reform has a positive effect on the municipal decision to accept the new municipal structure.Local government structure; municipal amalgamations; heterogeneous preferences

E-learning como herramienta de política regional: principios para un análisis de coste-beneficio

Un proyecto de ley presentado por el gobierno sueco en 2001 manifestaba que la educación superior debe fijarse el objetivo de atraer una mayor diversidad de estudiantes. Se habla de las herramientas TIC como un medio para llegar a nuevos grupos de estudiantes, p. ej., estudiantes que no pueden desplazarse debido a su situación social o a una discapacidad física. Al mismo tiempo, varias regiones de Suecia se enfrentan a una migración neta negativa que en gran parte está motivada por las condiciones del mercado de trabajo y por el desplazamiento de los jóvenes a otros lugares para poder acceder a la educación superior. Estas regiones sufren un déficit de capital humano en ciertas áreas de competencia. Haciendo frente común con el objetivo de este proyecto de ley del gobierno, los gobiernos nacionales y locales tratan de ofrecer soluciones integrando la educación superior y la política regional, es decir, llevando la educación superior a los habitantes en un intento de dirigirse a grupos de este tipo, como los que tienen fuertes lazos con la región con la esperanza de alentarlos a quedarse en la región después completar sus estudios. La educación superior es cara y los gobiernos locales son quienes se hacen cargo del coste adicional que supone llevar la educación a sus habitantes. Por tanto, para minimizar costes, se imparten programas y cursos con ayuda de herramientas TIC. El grado de formación impartido por Internet (e-learning) varía de un programa y curso a otro, desde un 100 por ciento de aprendizaje impartido por Internet a un aprendizaje de tipo mixto. Hay al menos tres cuestiones importantes a la hora de decidir si invertir o no en educación superior impartida por Internet. ¿Llega a nuevos grupos objetivo? ¿Es la educación impartida por Internet de la misma calidad, o superior, en comparación con el programa impartido en el campus? ¿Está motivada la inversión desde una perspectiva de bienestar social? El propósito de este estudio es analizar el e-learning como una herramienta de política regional y presentar los principios de análisis de coste-beneficio correspondientes a la educación superior impartida por Internet. Además, se presentan brevemente datos empíricos de un caso práctico sueco

Spatial Spillover Effects in the Swedish Local Rescue Services

This paper studies what factors determine the expenditures on rescue services by municipalities in Sweden. The main purpose is to identify spatial spillover effects between municipalities in order to analyse strategic behaviour. The analysis is based on a joint product model, where collective security is assumed to contain local and regional public good elements. In the empirical analysis we find that the reaction functions are negatively sloped, meaning that we cannot reject the hypothesis of free riding behaviour. It is also found that rescue services can be considered a normal good and that the municipalities respond positively to security policy threats. Cet article cherche à étudier les facteurs qui déterminent les dépenses des municipalités suédoises pour les services de secours. Le but principal est d'identifier les effets de débordement géographiques sur les municipalités afin d'analyser le comportement stratégique. L'analyse est fondée sur un modèle de produits liés, dont la sécurité collective est censée inclure des éléments de bien public à la fois locaux et régionaux. Il en résulte de l'analyse empirique que les courbes qui tracent les fonctions de réaction sont descendantes, ce qui veut dire que l'on ne peut pas rejeter l'hypothèse de l'entrée libre. Il s'avère aussi que les services de secours peuvent être considérés un bien normal et que les municipalités réagissent de façon positive aux menaces pour leur politique de sécurité. In diesem Aufsatz wird untersucht, welche Faktoren bei schwedischen Gemeindeverwaltungen die Ausgaben für Rettungsdienste bestimmen. Der Hauptzweck ist, die Folgen eines Überfließens der Bevölkerung von Stadtbezirk zu Stadtbezirk zu identifizieren, um dann strategisches Verhalten zu analysieren. Die Analyse stützt sich auf ein Modell des Gemeinschaftsproduktes, bei dem angenommen wird, daß die kollektive Sicherheit örtliche und regionale Elemente des Gemeinwohls enthält. In der empirischen Analyse wird festgestellt, daß die Reaktionsfunktionen ein Gefälle aufweisen, was bedeutet, daß die Autoren die Hypothese einer offenen Diskussion nicht ablehnen können. Es erweist sich auch, daß Rettungsdienst als Grundrecht angesehen wird, und daß Stadtverwaltungen positiv auf Bedrohungen ihrer Sicherheitspolitik reagieren.Rescue Services, Joint Product Model, Spatial Spillovers, Spatial Autoregression,

Empirical Studies in Local Public Finance: Spillovers, Amalgamations, and Tactical Redistribution

This thesis consists of four papers, which concern horizontal as well as vertical interactions and interdependencies in a multilevel public sector. In Paper [I] we study spatial spillover effects in the Swedish local rescue services. The analysis is based on a joint product model where collective security is assumed to contain local and regional public good elements. In the empirical analysis we find that the reaction functions are negatively sloped, meaning that we can not reject the hypothesis of free riding behaviour. It is also found that rescue services can be considered a normal good and that the municipalities respond positively to security policy threats. Paper [II] concerns amalgamation impacts on local public expenditures in Sweden after the 1952 municipal reform. This paper compares the growth of local public expenditures in the newly formed municipalities with the municipalities that were not affected by the reform. The empirical results indicate that municipal amalgamations may realise economies of scale as long as the municipalities do not exceed some critical size. However, when we consider unobservable factors that simultaneously affect amalgamations using an IV model, the amalgamation effects on expenditure growth are not significant. This means that unobservable factors such as natural affinity were important determinants of the effects of the reform. Paper [III] concerns the local government structure and its impact on local growth. In the empirical analysis we study if the 1952 municipal reform affected average income growth and population growth between 1953 and 1959. The results indicate that the reform had a positive effect on population growth in small municipalities. The results also show that the composition of the newly formed municipality may affect subsequent population growth. In Paper [IV] we study if incumbent governments in Sweden distribute temporary grants to municipalities according to political objectives. We also study whether the search behaviour of municipalities is affected by political factors. The sample contains three election years: 1982, 1985, and 1988. It is found that the municipal decision to apply for temporary grants is not affected by political factors. Although the results indicate that socialist governments distribute grants using political criteria the results are ambiguous.Joint product model; rescue services; spatial spillovers; local public expenditures; municipal amalgamations; economic growth; population growth; intergovernmental grants; swing voter; tactical redistribution

E-learning as a Regional Policy Tool: Principles for a Cost-benefit Analysis

Un proyecto de ley presentado por el gobierno sueco en 2001 manifestaba que la educación superior debe fijarse el objetivo de atraer una mayor diversidad de estudiantes. Se habla de las herramientas TIC como un medio para llegar a nuevos grupos de estudiantes, p. ej., estudiantes que no pueden desplazarse debido a su situación social o a una discapacidad física. Al mismo tiempo, varias regiones de Suecia se enfrentan a una migración neta negativa que en gran parte está motivada por las condiciones del mercado de trabajo y por el desplazamiento de los jóvenes a otros lugares para poder acceder a la educación superior. Estas regiones sufren un déficit de capital humano en ciertas áreas de competencia. Haciendo frente común con el objetivo de este proyecto de ley del gobierno, los gobiernos nacionales y locales tratan de ofrecer soluciones integrando la educación superior y la política regional, es decir, llevando la educación superior a los habitantes en un intento de dirigirse a grupos de este tipo, como los que tienen fuertes lazos con la región con la esperanza de alentarlos a quedarse en la región después completar sus estudios. La educación superior es cara y los gobiernos locales son quienes se hacen cargo del coste adicional que supone llevar la educación a sus habitantes. Por tanto, para minimizar costes, se imparten programas y cursos con ayuda de herramientas TIC. El grado de formación impartido por Internet (e-learning) varía de un programa y curso a otro, desde un 100 por ciento de aprendizaje impartido por Internet a un aprendizaje de tipo mixto. Hay al menos tres cuestiones importantes a la hora de decidir si invertir o no en educación superior impartida por Internet. ¿Llega a nuevos grupos objetivo? ¿Es la educación impartida por Internet de la misma calidad, o superior, en comparación con el programa impartido en el campus? ¿Está motivada la inversión desde una perspectiva de bienestar social? El propósito de este estudio es analizar el e-learning como una herramienta de política regional y presentar los principios de análisis de coste-beneficio correspondientes a la educación superior impartida por Internet. Además, se presentan brevemente datos empíricos de un caso práctico sueco

The impact of peacekeeping on post-deployment earnings for Swedish veterans

We study the effect of peacekeeping on post-deployment earnings for military veterans. Using Swedish administrative data, we follow a sample of more than 11,000 veterans who were deployed for the first time during the period 1993-2010 for up to nine years after returning home. To deal with selection bias, we use difference-in-differences propensity score matching based on a rich set of covariates, including measures of individual ability, health and pre-deployment labour market attachment. We find that, overall, veterans’ post-deployment earnings are largely unaffected by their service. Even though Swedish veterans in the studied period tend to outperform their birthcohort peers who did not serve, we show that this advantage in earnings disappears once we adjust for non-random selection into service

The impact of peacekeeping on post-deployment earnings for Swedish veterans

We study the effect of peacekeeping on post-deployment earnings for military veterans. Using Swedish administrative data, we follow a sample of more than 11,000 veterans who were deployed for the first time during the period 1993-2010 for up to nine years after returning home. To deal with selection bias, we use difference-in-differences propensity score matching based on a rich set of covariates, including measures of individual ability, health and pre-deployment labour market attachment. We find that, overall, veterans’ post-deployment earnings are largely unaffected by their service. Even though Swedish veterans in the studied period tend to outperform their birthcohort peers who did not serve, we show that this advantage in earnings disappears once we adjust for non-random selection into service