Purchasing Power Party (PPP) has long been intensively studied in empirical researches. However, a unanimous conclusion has not been reached. As an alternative to a narrative literature review, this paper conducts a meta-regression analysis of a collection of thirty-three studies, in order to uncover the sources of variation in the empirical findings relating to PPP. We also test the validities of suggestions made by the narrative literature reviewers that the use of more years of data, more countries, more powerful tests, more general model specifications, and an allowance for non-linearity might mitigate the issue of PPP puzzle. We find that the proposition is true and that whether PPP holds in the long run mainly depends on the methodology employed, the regimes the data are sampled from, and the length of the sample of data that is used. When addressing the persistence of the deviations from PPP, it mostly depends on the methodologies adopted.

The primary aim of this thesis is to examine whether the policy recommendations made by the European Central Bank in response to the financial crisis of 2008 were biased towards fiscal consolidation. It posits that such policies, commonly known as austerity, were underpinned by estimates of the fiscal multiplier that were lower than those of international and independent researchers. To analyse this, it provides a systematic overview of the ECB's fiscal multiplier estimates by performing a meta-regression analysis on all ECB working papers making multiplier estimates published between 1992 and 2012, and comparing the results against those of a larger dataset containing multiplier estimates made. It finds that the multiplier estimates of the ECB are significantly lower than the norm, which is potentially suggestive of bias. This thesis contributes to the literature on ideational bias in economic policy-making by providing a systematic literature review that helps inform the discussion on austerity in the EU. It also servers as a replication and expansion of previous meta-regression studies on the fiscal multiplier, by being the first study that specifically examines the estimates of a specific institution.

Cette thèse s’intéresse aux effets des transferts de fonds sur la pauvreté et les différents indicateurs de bien-être et à la mesure de l’impact de ces flux monétaires sur les différentes positions de la répartition de la dépense par tête. L’étude utilise les données des deux plus récentes enquêtes sur les ménages du Vietnam (VHLSS 2010 et 2012). Plusieurs méthodes empiriques sont utilisées dans cette thèse: méta-analyse, appariement par propension de score, la régression avec les variables instrumentales et enfin l’effet du traitement sur le quantile (QTE). On a utilisé l’indicateur de pauvreté (basé sur la consommation) selon le critère du Bureau General des Statistiques du Vietnam (GSO) et de la Banque Mondiale (WB) et les indicateurs de bien-être : dépenses par tête et dépenses des ménages. Plusieurs résultats intéressants ont émergé. L'étude présentée dans le chapitre 2 constitue une des premières méta-analyses pour mettre en évidence l'effet empirique véritable de l'impact des transferts de fonds sur la pauvreté. Nos résultats ont trouvé que de nombreuses caractéristiques de l’étude peuvent expliquer l’hétérogénéité de différentes tailles reportées de l’effet des transferts de fonds sur la pauvreté : la région géographique et le niveau de développement de pays récipiendaire, la méthode économétrique et les indicateurs de pauvreté utilisés. Dans le chapitre 3, on a utilisé la méthode d’appariement par propension de score. On a trouvé que les transferts ont réduit la probabilité d’être pauvre entre 7.3 % pour les familles rurales et 3 % pour les familles urbaines. En outre, les transferts de fonds ont amélioré le niveau de vie des ménages qui en bénéficient. Dans le chapitre 4, nous avons utilisé la méthode de régression avec les variables instrumentales, les transferts de fonds ont réduit la probabilité pour la famille de vivre sous le seuil de pauvreté de 7.5%. Les résultats sont robustes et vérifiés par les différentes méthodes économétriques. Au final, on trouve que le gain de transfert de fonds est plus important dans les familles riches au Vietnam, surtout quand on prend en compte l’endogenéité de la variable «transfert de fonds ». / This study examines the impact of remittances on poverty, the welfare of receiving-households. It measures the extent to which the remittance flows are distributed among households at various points in the consumption distribution, using two latest rounds of Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys 2010 and 2012 (VHLSSs). We applied different estimation method in this study including the meta-regression framework, matching method, IV method and quantile treatment effect regression. We use the expenditure poverty line measured by General Statistics Office/World Bank (GSO-WB), while the welfare indicator is measured by household and per capita expenditure. Several interesting results emerged. In chapter 2, the study is one of the first meta-regression analysis regarding the investigation of the “true” empirical effect of remittances on poverty reduction. The findings reveal that the heterogeneity in effect size of the impact of remittance on poverty reduction for a specific study may depend on various key factors: geographical region and level of development of one country, econometric method, and poverty indicators. In chapter 3, we apply the matching method. The poverty reduction effect of remittances varies between 7.3 percentage points and 3.0 percentage points for rural and urban families respectively. Furthermore, we find a significant increase of expenditure for remittances-receiving households. In chapter 4, using the historical migration networks as instruments for remittance receipts, we found that international remittances do decrease the likelihood of household poverty by about 7.5 percentage points. Finally, the gain of remittances is significantly larger among better–off households in Vietnam, especially when the endogeneity of remittance is taken into account in QTE estimation.

As an economically as well as politically sensitive topic, labor market interventions stir up discussions among professionals as well as general public. Most economists take negative stance against minimum wage policies providing arguments backed by theoretical reasoning rather then sound empirical evidence. Knowledge of labor market outcomes and their transmission channel to other segments of the economy are till nowadays limited and inconsistent. Neither empirical research in the field contributes to a uniform consent on the impact of minimum wage hikes on the price level. Moreover, the reported estimates display large heterogeneity and after a brief inspection reveal that the field is infested with publication selectivity. A uniquely constructed dataset consisting of 469 estimates of the price effect of minimum wage changes and their associated characteristics is analyzed using a set of statistical tools generally known as meta-analysis. The method is a powerful tool nowadays widely used in empirical research to synthesize and systematically evaluate sometimes inconsistent research results. While the study finds no consistent evidence of an actual link between minimum wage hikes and inflationary pressures, the empirical results show strong presence of publication selectivity. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

abstract: Consumers can purchase local food through intermediated marketing channels, such as grocery stores, or through direct-to-consumer marketing channels, for instance, farmers markets. While the number of farms that utilize direct-to-consumer outlets keeps increasing, the direct-to-consumer sales remain lower than intermediated sales. If consumers prefer to purchase local food through intermediated channels, then policies designed to support direct channels may be misguided. Using a variety of experiments, this dissertation investigates consumer preferences for local food and their demand differentiated by marketing channel. In the first essay, I examine the existing literature on consumer preferences for local food by applying meta-regression analysis to a set of eligible research papers. My analysis provides evidence of statistically significant willingness to pay for local food products. Moreover, I find that a methodological approach and study-specific characteristics have a significant influence on the reported estimates for local attribute. By separating the demand for local from the demand for a particular channel, the second essay attempts to disentangle consumers’ preferences for marketing channels and the local-attribute in their food purchases. Using an online choice experiment, I find that consumers are willing to pay a premium for local food. However, they are not willing to pay premiums for local food that is sold at farmers markets relative to supermarkets. Therefore, in the third essay I seek to explain the rise in intermediated local by investigating local food shopping behavior. I develop a model of channel-selection in a nested context and apply it to the primary data gathered through an online food diary. I find that, while some consumers enjoy shopping at farmers markets to meet their objectives, such as socialization with farmers, the majority of consumers buy local food from supermarkets because they offer convenient settings where a variety of products can be bought as one basket. My overall results suggest that, if the goal is to increase the sales of local food, regardless of the channel, then existing supply-chain relationships in the local food channel appear to be performing well. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Agribusiness 2018

When estimating the influence income per capita exerts on health care expenditure, the research in the field offers mixed results. Studies employ different data, estimation techniques and models, which brings about the question whether these differences in research design play any part in explaining the heterogeneity of reported outcomes. By employing meta-regression analysis, the present paper analyzes 220 estimates of health spending income elasticity collected from 54 studies and finds that publication bias is of marginal concern for the literature. The model specification choices, more exactly whether a study accounts for institutional factors and advancements in medical technology, have a negative effect on reported outcomes. Moreover, the "economic research cycle hypothesis" finds support in our analysis. Lastly, the research finds that the true income elasticity of health spending is situated around unity level, which makes health care neither a luxury, nor a necessity. Keywords: meta-regression analysis, aggregate health expenditure, income elasticity 1

The elasticity of factor substitution between capital and labor is a crucial parameter in many economic fields. However, despite extensive research, there is no agreement on its value. Utilizing 738 estimates from 41 studies published between 1961 and 2016, this paper provides the first meta-regression analysis of capital-labor substitution elasticities for the U.S. economy. We show that heterogeneity in reported estimates is driven by the choice of estimation equations, the modeling of technological dynamics, and data characteristics. Based on the underlying meta-regression sample and a "best practice" specification, we estimate a long-run elasticity in the range of 0.6 to 0.7. For all estimated elasticities the hypothesis of a Cobb-Douglas production function is rejected.

The thesis consists of three papers, summarized as follows.        "The Determinants of Labour Market Institutions: A Panel Data Study"    This paper analyses the argument that labour market institutions can be thought of as devices for social insurance. It investigates the hypotheses that a country's exposure to external risk and ethnic fractionalisation are correlated with labor market institutions. Extreme bounds analysis with panel data of fourty years indicates that countries that are more open to international trade have stricter employment protection, strong unions, and a more coordinated wage bargaining process. Moreover, there is evidence that union density is negatively associated with the degree of ethnic fracationalisation.  "Why do Some Studies Show that Generous Unemployment Benefits Increase Unemployment Rates? A Meta-Analysis of Cross-Country Studies"    This paper investigates the hypothesis that generous unemployment benefits give rise to high levels of unemployment by systematically reviewing 34 cross-country studies. In contrast to conventional literature surveys, I perform a meta-analysis which applies regression techniques to a set of results taken from the existing literature. The main finding is that the choice of the primary data and estimation method matter for the final outcome. The control variables in the primary studies also affect the results. "The Effects of Trade on Unemployment: Evidence from 20 OECD countries"    This study empirically investigates if international trade has an impact on aggregate unemployment in the presence of labour market institutions. Using data for twenty OECD countries for the years 1961-2008, this study finds that an increase in trade leads to higher aggregate unemployment as it interacts with rigid labour market institutions, whereas it may reduce aggregate unemployment if the labour market is characterised by flexibility. In a country with the average degree of the labour market rigidities, an increase in trade has no significant effect on unemployment rates.

The main part of this thesis is composed of three separate chapters, each using an innovative approach to analysing externalities from economic activity. The general introduction and overall conclusion sections complete the structure of the thesis. Chapter one examines the value of statistical life, an essential parameter used in ascribing monetary values to the mortality costs of air pollution in health risk analyses. This willingness to pay estimate is virtually non-existent for most developing countries. In the absence of local estimates, two major benefit transfer approaches lend themselves to the estimation of the value of statistical life: the value transfer method and the meta-regression analysis. Using Nigeria as a sample country, we find that the latter method is better tailored than the former for incorporating many characteristics that vary between study sites and policy sites into its benefit transfer application. It is therefore likely to provide more accurate value of statistical life predictions for very low-income countries. Employing the meta-regression method, we find Nigeria’s value of statistical life estimate to be $489,000. Combining this estimate with dose response functions from the epidemiological literature, it follows that if Nigeria had mitigated its 2006 particulate air pollution to the World Health Organisation standards, it could have avoided at least 58,000 premature deaths and recorded an avoided mortality related welfare loss of about $28 billion or 19 percent of the nation’s GDP for that year. The second chapter applies the quantile fixed effects technique in exploring the CO2 environmental Kuznets curve within two groups of economic development (OECD and Non-OECD countries) and six geographical regions – West, East Europe, Latin America, East Asia, West Asia and Africa. A comparison of the findings with those of the conventional fixed effects method reveals that the latter may depict a flawed summary of the prevailing income-emissions nexus depending on the conditional quantile examined. We also extend the Machado and Mata decomposition method to the Kuznets curve framework to explore the most important explanations for the carbon emissions gap between OECD and Non-OECD countries. We find a statistically significant OECD-Non-OECD emissions gap and this contracts as we ascend the emissions distribution. Also, had the Non-OECD group the incomes of the OECD group, the former would pollute 26 to 40 percent more than the latter ceteris paribus. The decomposition further reveals that there are non-income related factors working against the Non-OECD group’s greening. We tentatively conclude that deliberate and systematic mitigation of current CO2 emissions in the Non-OECD group is required. The final chapter employs the Arellano-Bond difference GMM method in investigating the oil curse in OECD and Non-OECD oil exporting countries. Empirical studies investigating the natural resource curse theory mostly employ cross-country and panel regression techniques subject to endogeneity bias. Also, most of these studies employ GDP in its aggregate or per-capita terms as the outcome variable in their analyses. However, the use of GDP measures of income for resource curse investigations does not portray the true incomes of resource intensive economies. Standard national accounts treat natural resource rents as a positive contribution to income without making a corresponding adjustment for the value of depleted natural resource stock. This treatment, inconsistent with green national accounting, leads to a positive bias in the national income computations of resource rich economies. Our paper deviates from most empirical studies in the literature by using the Arellano-Bond difference GMM method. We test the robustness of the curse in the predominantly used measures of national income, GDP, by investigating the theme in genuine income measures of economic output as well. We employ two alternative measures of resource intensity in our explorations: the share of oil rents in GDP and per-capita oil reserves. Our results provide evidence of the curse in Non-OECD countries employing aggregate and per-capita measures of genuine income. On the other hand, we find oil abundance to be a blessing rather than a curse to the OECD countries in our sample.

Cette thèse s’intéresse à l’impact des instabilités macroéconomiques sur les institutions dans les pays endéveloppement et au rôle joué par l’aide. Le rôle de l’histoire dans l’explication de ces impacts est aussiexaminé. La thèse se structure en quatre essais qui analysent l’impact des instabilités macroéconomiques, del’aide et de l’histoire sur les institutions essentiellement mesurées par des indices de démocratie et de corruption.Le premier chapitre résume la littérature sur les impacts de l’aide sur la qualité des institutions etanalyse les résultats controversés qui en ressortent. Le deuxième chapitre étudie l’impact de l’instabilitédes termes de l’échange sur la démocratie et le rôle que l’aide peut jouer dans ce contexte. Nous confirmonsl’hypothèse que l’aide peut bien avoir un impact positif sur la démocratie dans le long terme en atténuant leseffets néfastes de l’instabilité des termes de l’échange sur l’instabilité sur la croissance et ce, en rendant cettedernière plus stable. Le troisième chapitre s’intéresse à l’instabilité même de l’aide et aborde la questionde savoir si l’imprévisibilité des flux d’aide peuvent susciter ou aggraver la corruption et ainsi affaiblir lesinstitutions. Les résultats empiriques confirment cette hypothèse et montrent en plus que cet impact est plusimportant pour les pays ayant une faible qualité initiale des institutions. Le quatrième chapitre revienssur l’importance de ces conditions institutionnelles pré-Existantes pour expliquer les impacts institutionnelsde l’aide en introduisant le rôle de l’histoire et plus particulièrement le rôle des transferts institutionnels.Le chapitre conclut que la crise institutionnelle provoquée par l’échec de ces transferts explique en grandepartie les effets pervers perçus de l’aide sur la qualité des institutions. / This thesis examines the impact of macroeconomic instabilities on institutions in developing countries andthe role played by aid. The thesis further invetigates the role of history in explaining those impacts. Thethesis consists of four essays analyzing the impacts of macroinstabilities, aid and history on institutions. Thefirst chapter provides a comprehensive literature survey on the institutional impacts of aid and sheds lighton the controversial findings evidenced. The second chapter focuses on the impact of trade instability oninstitutions and the role that aid can play in this context. We provide evidence that aid can have a positiverole in democracy building in the long term by dampening the adverse effects of terms-Of-Trade instabilityon growth and thereby by making it more stable. The third chapter examines the instability of aid flowand addresses the question of whether unpredictable aid flows can create or aggravate corruption among theelites, and thereby weaken institutions. The findings from the empirical analysis provide evidence that higheraid unpredictability is associated with more rent-Seeking and corruption, this impact being more severe forthe countries having weak initial institutions. The fourth chapter investigates the extent to which thosepre-Existing institutional conditions matters for explaining the impacts of aid on institutions, by introducingthe role of history and more particularly the role of institutional transplantations. The chapter provides supportivefindings to the hypothesis that the institutional crisis caused by the unreceptive transplants largelyaccounts for aid’s impacts on the quality of institutions.