lars osberg - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by lars osberg
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Sep 28, 2012
have been enormously helpful. Errors remaining are the author's sole responsibility.
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Nov 1, 2011
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Aug 1, 2003
This paper develops an Index of Economic Well-being (IEWB) for the United States,
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Apr 1, 1995
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2000
This paper examines the level and distribution of equivalent after tax, after transfer money inco... more This paper examines the level and distribution of equivalent after tax, after transfer money income in Canada, the USA, the UK, Germany and Sweden using micro-data from the Luxembourg Income Study from 1969/70 to 1994/95. It concentrates on inequality within and between birth cohorts. At any point in time, less than 11% of aggregate income inequality is due to intergenerational inequality, but the experience of different birth cohorts over the period has varied widely across countries. The five countries studied differ in the trends observed in aggregate income, poverty, polarization and income inequality. In the USA and the UK, the incomes of the top decile of each cohort have risen dramatically, but the incomes of the bottom quintile have stagnated. In Canada and Sweden both the top and bottom deciles of each cohort have experienced similar trends. Germany is an intermediate case. Poverty trends are extremely sensitive to the distribution of the gains from growth-if only 10% of the income gains of the top decile of the UK and the USA had been transferred to the bottom decile, poverty in both countries in 1994/95 would have been substantially lower than in 1979, instead of substantially higher. The basic lesson is the diversity of income distribution trends to be observed in international data-and the consequent diversity of implications for political economy.
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2002
Journal of Economic Issues, Sep 1, 1988
Unemployment is one of the outcomes that individuals experience in the labor market. Economics is... more Unemployment is one of the outcomes that individuals experience in the labor market. Economics is a discipline that usually seeks to explain individual outcomes as the result of the choices individuals make subject to the constraints they face. Some economic explanations of unemployment, have, therefore, chosen to view unemployment as arising from voluntary individual adjustments of labor supply, given wage rates-but others view unemployment as directly reflecting constraints on the quantity of labor that individuals can supply. Although economists may agree on the importance of "choice subject to constraint," they disagree on the fundamental question "Is the outcome of unemployment primarily to be explained by individual choices or by the quantity constraints to which those choices are subject?" The major theme of this essay is that the "mainstream" answer to this question has changed dramatically over the past few decades-as, indeed, labor economics as a subject area has changed. As P. J. McNulty and others have noted, mainstream labor economics has largely deserted its institutional roots and has become an area for applied micro-economic theorizing and sophisticated econometrics [McNulty 19801. Instead of inductive analysis based (at least partially) on primary
Applied Economics, Nov 1, 1991
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2000
Journal of Health Economics, Sep 1, 2019
Applied Economics, Apr 1, 1993
Journal of Economic Inequality, Jul 8, 2015
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Aug 1, 2020
This paper develops normative approaches for measuring individual-level income insecurity. Using ... more This paper develops normative approaches for measuring individual-level income insecurity. Using concepts derived from Expected Utility Theory and Prospect Theory, we build a suite of measures designed to capture various facets of psychologically distressing income risk. We present an application for the US and Germany from 1993-2013, employing conditionally heteroskedastic fixed-effects models to generate predictive densities for future incomes. Our results reveal much higher levels of income risk in the US relative to Germany, which can be mostly attributed to a higher level of autonomous, time-invariant volatility. State-by-state variations in liberal/conservative political administrations partially explain our results, and we find some evidence that trade exposure is a contributing factor in the US.
This paper estimates the impact of economic insecurity on the mental health of Australian adults.... more This paper estimates the impact of economic insecurity on the mental health of Australian adults. Taking microdata from the 2001-2011 HILDA panel survey, we produce a conceptually diverse set of insecurity measures and explore their relationships with the SF-36 mental health index. By using fixed effects models that control for unobservable heterogeneity, and by exploiting exogenous fluctuations in economic conditions as an identification strategy, we produce estimates that correct for endogeneity more thoroughly than previous works. Our results show that exposure to economic risks has consistently detrimental health effects. The main novelty comes from the breadth of risks that are found to be harmful. Job insecurity, financial dissatisfaction, reductions in income, an inability to meet standard expenditures and a lack of access to emergency funds all adversely affect health. This suggests that the common element of economic insecurity (rather than idiosyncratic phenomena associate...
Oxford Scholarship Online, 2018
This chapter highlights Canada’s distinctive trajectory of inequality and living standards. Inequ... more This chapter highlights Canada’s distinctive trajectory of inequality and living standards. Inequality rose markedly because real incomes grew strongly at the very top but stagnated for most of the rest of the income distribution until the resource-led boom of the 2000s. The importance of macroeconomic policy is brought out, in particular the role of monetary policy in choking off growth in order to keep inflation low, at the cost of substantial unemployment. The growth in incomes at the very top may be underestimated by the available estimates, while the weakening of redistribution via the tax and transfer systems has accentuated the trend to greater inequality. The consequences of a sustained ‘squeeze’ on middle incomes and living standards are spelled out and the implications for the future, in the absence of a major shift in the growth strategy, are discussed.
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Sep 28, 2012
have been enormously helpful. Errors remaining are the author's sole responsibility.
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Nov 1, 2011
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Aug 1, 2003
This paper develops an Index of Economic Well-being (IEWB) for the United States,
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Apr 1, 1995
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2000
This paper examines the level and distribution of equivalent after tax, after transfer money inco... more This paper examines the level and distribution of equivalent after tax, after transfer money income in Canada, the USA, the UK, Germany and Sweden using micro-data from the Luxembourg Income Study from 1969/70 to 1994/95. It concentrates on inequality within and between birth cohorts. At any point in time, less than 11% of aggregate income inequality is due to intergenerational inequality, but the experience of different birth cohorts over the period has varied widely across countries. The five countries studied differ in the trends observed in aggregate income, poverty, polarization and income inequality. In the USA and the UK, the incomes of the top decile of each cohort have risen dramatically, but the incomes of the bottom quintile have stagnated. In Canada and Sweden both the top and bottom deciles of each cohort have experienced similar trends. Germany is an intermediate case. Poverty trends are extremely sensitive to the distribution of the gains from growth-if only 10% of the income gains of the top decile of the UK and the USA had been transferred to the bottom decile, poverty in both countries in 1994/95 would have been substantially lower than in 1979, instead of substantially higher. The basic lesson is the diversity of income distribution trends to be observed in international data-and the consequent diversity of implications for political economy.
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2002
Journal of Economic Issues, Sep 1, 1988
Unemployment is one of the outcomes that individuals experience in the labor market. Economics is... more Unemployment is one of the outcomes that individuals experience in the labor market. Economics is a discipline that usually seeks to explain individual outcomes as the result of the choices individuals make subject to the constraints they face. Some economic explanations of unemployment, have, therefore, chosen to view unemployment as arising from voluntary individual adjustments of labor supply, given wage rates-but others view unemployment as directly reflecting constraints on the quantity of labor that individuals can supply. Although economists may agree on the importance of "choice subject to constraint," they disagree on the fundamental question "Is the outcome of unemployment primarily to be explained by individual choices or by the quantity constraints to which those choices are subject?" The major theme of this essay is that the "mainstream" answer to this question has changed dramatically over the past few decades-as, indeed, labor economics as a subject area has changed. As P. J. McNulty and others have noted, mainstream labor economics has largely deserted its institutional roots and has become an area for applied micro-economic theorizing and sophisticated econometrics [McNulty 19801. Instead of inductive analysis based (at least partially) on primary
Applied Economics, Nov 1, 1991
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2000
Journal of Health Economics, Sep 1, 2019
Applied Economics, Apr 1, 1993
Journal of Economic Inequality, Jul 8, 2015
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Aug 1, 2020
This paper develops normative approaches for measuring individual-level income insecurity. Using ... more This paper develops normative approaches for measuring individual-level income insecurity. Using concepts derived from Expected Utility Theory and Prospect Theory, we build a suite of measures designed to capture various facets of psychologically distressing income risk. We present an application for the US and Germany from 1993-2013, employing conditionally heteroskedastic fixed-effects models to generate predictive densities for future incomes. Our results reveal much higher levels of income risk in the US relative to Germany, which can be mostly attributed to a higher level of autonomous, time-invariant volatility. State-by-state variations in liberal/conservative political administrations partially explain our results, and we find some evidence that trade exposure is a contributing factor in the US.
This paper estimates the impact of economic insecurity on the mental health of Australian adults.... more This paper estimates the impact of economic insecurity on the mental health of Australian adults. Taking microdata from the 2001-2011 HILDA panel survey, we produce a conceptually diverse set of insecurity measures and explore their relationships with the SF-36 mental health index. By using fixed effects models that control for unobservable heterogeneity, and by exploiting exogenous fluctuations in economic conditions as an identification strategy, we produce estimates that correct for endogeneity more thoroughly than previous works. Our results show that exposure to economic risks has consistently detrimental health effects. The main novelty comes from the breadth of risks that are found to be harmful. Job insecurity, financial dissatisfaction, reductions in income, an inability to meet standard expenditures and a lack of access to emergency funds all adversely affect health. This suggests that the common element of economic insecurity (rather than idiosyncratic phenomena associate...
Oxford Scholarship Online, 2018
This chapter highlights Canada’s distinctive trajectory of inequality and living standards. Inequ... more This chapter highlights Canada’s distinctive trajectory of inequality and living standards. Inequality rose markedly because real incomes grew strongly at the very top but stagnated for most of the rest of the income distribution until the resource-led boom of the 2000s. The importance of macroeconomic policy is brought out, in particular the role of monetary policy in choking off growth in order to keep inflation low, at the cost of substantial unemployment. The growth in incomes at the very top may be underestimated by the available estimates, while the weakening of redistribution via the tax and transfer systems has accentuated the trend to greater inequality. The consequences of a sustained ‘squeeze’ on middle incomes and living standards are spelled out and the implications for the future, in the absence of a major shift in the growth strategy, are discussed.