@liser.lu Philippe Van Kerm

Inequality (17)

(2023), 'Automation and income inequality in Europe', IZA Discussion Paper 16499, IZA Institute for the Study of Labor, Bonn, Germany.

Abstract:
We study the effects of robot penetration on household income inequality in 14 European countries between 2006–2018, a period marked by the rapid adoption of industrial robots. Automation reduced relative hourly wages and employment of more exposed demographic groups, similarly to the results for the United States. Using robot-driven wage and employment shocks as input to the EUROMOD microsimulation model, we find that automation had minor effects on income inequality. Household labour income diversification and tax and welfare policies largely absorbed labour market shocks caused by automation. Transfers played a key role in cushioning the transmission of these shocks to household incomes.

@TECHREPORT{pvk-941,
	Author = {Doorley, Karina and Gromadzki, Jan and Lewandowski, Piotr and Tuda, Dora and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Automation and income inequality in Europe},
	Series = {IZA Discussion Paper},
	Number = {16499},
	Institution = {IZA Institute for the Study of Labor},
	Address = {Bonn, Germany},
	Month = {Oct},
	Year = {2023}
}
(2022), 'Distributional Change: Assessing the Contribution of Household Income Sources', Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 84(1), 158-184.

Abstract:
We develop a decomposition of changes in household income distributions by factor components to quantify the contribution of changes over time in the association between sources of income and changes in their (marginal) distributions. The two components are broken down to isolate the contribution of specific income sources. An application to the change in the distribution of household incomes in Luxembourg between 2004 and 2013 reveals contrasted results: increased association between spouse earnings, public transfers and taxes depressed the income share of poor households while changes in marginal distributions increased incomes in the upper half of the distribution.

@ARTICLE{pvk-631,
	Author = {Kyzyma, Iryna and Fusco, Alessio and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Distributional Change: Assessing the Contribution of Household Income Sources},
	Journal = {Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics},
	Volume = {84},
	Number = {1},
	Pages = {158-184},
	Year = {2022}
}
(2022), 'Higher Education Expansion and Labour Income Inequality in High-income Countries: A Gender-specific Perspective', Luxembourg Income Study Working Paper 837, LIS Cross-National Data Center, Luxembourg.

Abstract:
The expansion of higher education since the second half of the 20th century was particularly pronounced among women. In most high-income countries to date more women complete a tertiary level than men. But research on the implications of higher education expansion for labour income inequality has largely treated expansion as gender neutral. With this paper we build on prior studies that have ignored potentially differential effects by factoring in what it means for earnings inequality to increase tertiary education among women as compared to men. To this end we draw on harmonised data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) for 27 countries and two time points, 1995 and 2015, and use the method of Recentered Influence Function (RIF) regression. We obtain three main insights from our study. First, no average distributive effect of higher education expansion exists. Second, the distributive effect is gender-specific. The impact on the Gini coefficient of increasing tertiary attainment of men is positive and significant but the impact of increasing tertiary attainment of women is negative and significant. Third, the increasing share of tertiary educational attainment is the main factor explaining that distributive estimates shrink towards zero over time for both women and men. Only for men does larger inequality between and within educational groups significantly contribute to magnify the impact of educational expansion on earnings distributions across countries. Our analysis highlights that taking the gender dimension into account is crucial to obtain exhaustive understanding of the role of education for overall income inequality.

@TECHREPORT{pvk-771,
	Author = {Sauer, Petra and Van Kerm, Philippe and Checchi, Daniele},
	Title = {Higher Education Expansion and Labour Income Inequality in High-income Countries: A Gender-specific Perspective},
	Series = {Luxembourg Income Study Working Paper},
	Number = {837},
	Institution = {LIS Cross-National Data Center},
	Address = {Luxembourg},
	Month = {May},
	Year = {2022}
}
(2022), 'Understanding Twenty Years of Inequality and Poverty Trends in Russia', Review of Income and Wealth, 68(S1), 108-130.

Abstract:
The distribution of income in Russia changed significantly over the past 25 years. This paper examines the factors that have been driving the fall in inequality and poverty over two recent decades in the Russian Federation. Changes in earnings from public and private sectors and pensions have been the main sources of changes in the income distribution between 1994 and 2015. Falling inequality and poverty were the result of a decrease in the dispersion of private sector earnings and an increase in the levels of pensions and public sector earnings. Neither the evolution of socio-demographic characteristics nor the level or structure of employment alone had big impacts.

@ARTICLE{pvk-791,
	Author = {Lisina, Anastasiya and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Understanding Twenty Years of Inequality and Poverty Trends in Russia},
	Journal = {Review of Income and Wealth},
	Volume = {68},
	Number = {S1},
	Pages = {108-130},
	Month = {February},
	Year = {2022}
}
(2021), 'Higher Education Expansion and Inequality in Labour Incomes: The Importance of a Gendered Perspective', Inequality Matters 18, LIS Cross-National Data Center, Luxembourg.

Abstract:
No abstract available.

@TECHREPORT{pvk-881,
	Author = {Sauer, Petra and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Higher Education Expansion and Inequality in Labour Incomes: The Importance of a Gendered Perspective},
	Series = {Inequality Matters},
	Number = {18},
	Institution = {LIS Cross-National Data Center},
	Address = {Luxembourg},
	Month = {June},
	Year = {2021}
}
(2021), 'Intergenerational wealth transfers and wealth inequality in rich countries: What do we learn from Gini decomposition?', Economics Letters, 199, 10970.

Abstract:
The role of intergenerational transfers of wealth via inheritance and gifts inter vivos in the accumulation of household wealth and the generation of wealth inequality has been hotly debated. This paper uses data from household wealth surveys for six rich countries – Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the US – to assess the contribution of intergenerational wealth transfers to wealth inequality using decomposition methods for the Gini coefficient. The results show that transfer wealth is consistently a good deal more unequally distributed than non-transfer wealth and total wealth. Transfer wealth accounts for only about one-tenth of overall wealth inequality for the US compared to one-third for Germany and Italy. This mirrors the importance of transfer wealth in total wealth in each country, with differences in inequality in transfer wealth and its correlation with total wealth having only a modest impact. We find that a marginal percentage increase in all transfers reduces total wealth inequality in Britain, Germany and the US, while it would increase total wealth inequality in France, Italy and Spain.

@ARTICLE{pvk-711,
	Author = {Nolan, Brian and Palomino, Juan C. and Van Kerm, Philippe and Morelli, Salvatore},
	Title = {Intergenerational wealth transfers and wealth inequality in rich countries: {W}hat do we learn from {G}ini decomposition?},
	Journal = {Economics Letters},
	Volume = {199},
	Pages = {10970},
	Month = {January},
	Year = {2021}
}
(2021), 'Accounting for differences in income inequality across countries: tax-benefit policy, labour market structure, returns and demographics', Journal of Economic Inequality, 19, 13-43.

Abstract:
This paper presents a framework for studying international differences in the distribution of household income. Integrating micro-econometric and micro-simulation approaches in a decomposition analysis, it quantifies the role of tax-benefit systems, employment and occupational structures, labour and financial market returns, and demographic composition in accounting for differences in income inequality across countries. Building upon EUROMOD (the European tax-benefit calculator) and its harmonised datasets, the model is portable and can be implemented for cross-country comparisons between any participating country. An application to the UK and Ireland—two countries that have much in common while displaying different levels of inequality—shows that differences in tax-benefit rules between the two countries account for over one third of the observed difference in disposable household income inequality. Demographic differences play negligible roles. The Irish tax-benefit system is more redistributive than UK’s due to a higher tax progressivity and higher average transfer rates. These are largely attributable to policy parameter differences, but also to differences in pre-tax, pre-transfer income distributions.

@ARTICLE{pvk-622,
	Author = {Sologon, Denisa M. and Van Kerm, Philippe and Li, Jinjing and O'Donoghue, Cathal},
	Title = {Accounting for differences in income inequality across countries: tax-benefit policy, labour market structure, returns and demographics},
	Journal = {Journal of Economic Inequality},
	Volume = {19},
	Pages = {13-43},
	Month = {March},
	Year = {2021}
}
(2021), 'Foreign-born households in the income distribution and their contribution to social indicators in European countries', in A.-C. Guio, E. Marlier & B. Nolan, Improving the understanding of poverty and social exclusion in Europe, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, Ch. 5, pp. 87-102.

Abstract:
This chapter provides new evidence about the relative differences in the incomes and living conditions of native- and foreign-born households exploiting EU-SILC data for 2007 and 2018. For the 28 countries with a satisfying coverage of immigrant populations, we document where the foreign-born stand along the distribution of incomes and living conditions and then derive their contribution to seven social indicators. We find that individuals living in foreign-born households have lower incomes and higher levels of poverty and deprivation in all countries examined. No clear improvement in the relative position of foreign-born households is observed between 2007 and 2018. Although there is much heterogeneity in the incomes of foreign-born households, their generally disadvantaged situation implies that, on the whole, they tend to push inequality, poverty and deprivation indicators upwards. This effect persists in many countries, albeit mitigated in magnitude, when we account for the different characteristics of foreign-born compared to natives.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-801,
	Author = {Fusco, Alessio and Sohst, Rhea Ravenna and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Foreign-born households in the income distribution and their contribution to social indicators in {E}uropean countries},
	Editor = {Guio, Anne-Catherine  and Marlier, Eric  and Nolan, Brian },
	Booktitle = {Improving the understanding of poverty and social exclusion in {E}urope},
	Publisher = { Publications Office of the European Union},
	Address = {Luxembourg},
	Chapter = {5},
	Pages = {87-102},
	Year = {2021}
}
(2020), 'The intergenerational transmission of wealth in rich countries', VoxEU 19 September 2020, Centre for Economic Policy Research, London, United Kingdom.

Abstract:
No abstract available.

@TECHREPORT{pvk-741,
	Author = {Nolan, Brian and Palomino, Juan C. and Van Kerm, Philippe and Morelli, Salvatore},
	Title = {The intergenerational transmission of wealth in rich countries},
	Series = {VoxEU},
	Number = {19 September 2020},
	Institution = { Centre for Economic Policy Research},
	Address = {London, United Kingdom},
	Month = {September},
	Year = {2020}
}
(2019), 'What Drives Inequality?', Research on Economic Inequality 27, Emerald Publishing Ltd, Bingley, UK.

Abstract:
No abstract available.

@BOOK{pvk-871,
	Author = {Decancq, Koen and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {What Drives Inequality?},
	Series = {Research on Economic Inequality},
	Number = {27},
	Publisher = {Emerald Publishing Ltd},
	Address = {Bingley, UK},
	Month = {September},
	Year = {2019}
}
(2019), 'Accounting for the distributional effects of the 2007-2008 crisis and the Economic Adjustment Program in Portugal', LISER Working Paper 2019-05, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.

Abstract:
This paper develops a new method to model the household disposable income distribution and decompose changes in this distribution (or functionals such as inequality measures) over time. It integrates both a micro-econometric and microsimulation approaches, combining a flexible parametric modelling of the distribution of market income with the EUROMOD microsimulation model to simulate the value of taxes and benefits. The method allows for the quantification of the contributions of four main factors to changes in the disposable income distribution between any two years: (i) labour market structure; (ii) returns; (iii) demographic composition; and (iv) tax-benefit system. We apply this new framework to the study of changes in the income distribution in Portugal between 2007 and 2013, accounting for the distributional effects of the 2007-2008 crisis and aftermath policies, in particular the Economic Adjustment Program (EAP). Results show that these effects were substantial and reflected markedly different developments over two periods: 2007-2009, when stimulus packages determined important income gains for the bottom of the distribution and a decrease in income inequality; 2010-2013, when the crisis and austerity measures took a toll on the incomes of Portuguese households, particularly those at the bottom and top of the distribution, leading to an increase in income inequality.

@TECHREPORT{pvk-911,
	Author = {Sologon, Denisa M. and Almeida, Vanda and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Accounting for the distributional effects of the 2007-2008 crisis and the {E}conomic {A}djustment {P}rogram in {P}ortugal},
	Series = {LISER Working Paper},
	Number = {2019-05},
	Institution = {Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research},
	Address = {Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg},
	Month = {April},
	Year = {2019}
}
(2019), 'Income and Wealth Above the Median: New Measurements and Results for Europe and the United States', in K. Decancq & P. Van Kerm, What Drives Inequality?, Research on Economic Inequality 27, Emerald Publishing Ltd, Bingley, pp. 89-104.

Abstract:
The study of the upper tail of the income and wealth distributions is important to the understanding of economic inequality. By means of the ‘isograph’, a new tool to describe income or wealth distributions, we compare wealth and income and wealth-to-income ratios in 16 European countries and the United States using data for years 2013/2014 from the Eurozone Household Finance and Consumption Survey and the US Survey on Consumer Finances. Focusing on the top half of the distribution, we find that for households in the top income quintile, wealth-to-income ratios generally increase rapidly with income; the association between high wealth and high incomes is highest among the highest percentiles. There is generally a positive relationship between median wealth in the country and the wealth of the top 1%. However, the United States is an outlier where the median wealth is relatively low but the wealth of the top 1% is extremely high.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-751,
	Author = {Chauvel, Louis and Hartung, Anne and Bar-Haim, Eyal and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Income and Wealth Above the Median: New Measurements and Results for {E}urope and the {U}nited {S}tates},
	Editor = {Decancq, Koen  and Van Kerm, Philippe },
	Booktitle = {What Drives Inequality?},
	Series = {Research on Economic Inequality},
	Number = {27},
	Publisher = {Emerald Publishing Ltd},
	Address = {Bingley},
	Pages = {89-104},
	Month = {September},
	Year = {2019}
}
(2018), 'Wealth Inequality', in B. Nolan, Generating Prosperity for Working Families in Affluent Countries, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, Ch. 12, pp. 312-334.

Abstract:
No abstract available.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-841,
	Author = {Nolan, Brian and Morelli, Salvatore and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Wealth Inequality},
	Editor = {Nolan, Brian },
	Booktitle = {Generating Prosperity for Working Families in Affluent Countries},
	Publisher = {Oxford University Press},
	Address = {Oxford, UK},
	Chapter = {12},
	Pages = {312-334},
	Month = {October},
	Year = {2018}
}
(2018), 'Foreign Workers and the Wage Distribution: What Does the Influence Function Reveal?', Econometrics, 6(3), 1-26.

Abstract:
This paper draws upon influence function regression methods to determine where foreign workers stand in the distribution of private sector wages in Luxembourg, and assess whether and how much their wages contribute to wage inequality. This is quantified by measuring the effect that a marginal increase in the proportion of foreign workers—foreign residents or cross-border workers—would have on selected quantiles and measures of inequality. Analysis of the 2006 Structure of Earnings Survey reveals that foreign workers have generally lower wages than natives and therefore tend to haul the overall wage distribution downwards. Yet, their influence on wage inequality reveals small and negative. All impacts are further muted when accounting for human capital and, especially, job characteristics. Not observing any large positive inequality contribution on the Luxembourg labour market is a striking result given the sheer size of the foreign workforce and its polarization at both ends of the skill distribution.

@ARTICLE{pvk-462,
	Author = {Choe, Chung and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Foreign Workers and the Wage Distribution: {W}hat Does the Influence Function Reveal?},
	Journal = {Econometrics},
	Volume = {6},
	Number = {3},
	Pages = {1-26},
	Month = {September},
	Year = {2018}
}
(2017), 'Wealth, Top Incomes, and Inequality', in K. Hamilton & C. Hepburn, National Wealth: What is Missing, Why it Matters, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, Ch. 8, pp. 175-203.

Abstract:
Although it is heartening to see wealth inequality being taken seriously, key concepts are often muddled, including the distinction between income and wealth, what is included in !wealth!, and facts about wealth distributions. This chapter highlights issues that arise in making ideas and facts about wealth inequality precise, and employs newly-available data to take a fresh look at wealth and wealth inequality in a comparative perspective. The composition of wealth is similar across countries, with housing wealth being the key asset. Wealth is considerably more unequally distributed than income, and it is distinctively so in the United States. Extending definitions to include pension wealth however reduces inequality substantially. Analysis also sheds light on life-cycle patterns and the role of inheritance. Discussion of the joint distributions of income and wealth suggests that interactions between increasing top income shares and the concentration of wealth and income from wealth towards the top is critical.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-693,
	Author = {Cowell, Frank A. and Nolan, Brian and Olivera, Javier and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Wealth, Top Incomes, and Inequality},
	Editor = {Hamilton, Kirk  and Hepburn, Cameron },
	Booktitle = {National Wealth: What is Missing, Why it Matters},
	Publisher = {Oxford University Press},
	Address = {Oxford, UK},
	Chapter = {8},
	Pages = {175-203},
	Month = {September},
	Year = {2017}
}
(2009), 'Income inequality and self-reported health status: Evidence from the European Community Household Panel survey', Demography, 46(4), 805-825.

Abstract:
We examine the effect of income inequality on individualś self-rated health status in a pooled sample of 11 countries, using longitudinal data from the European Community Household Panel survey. Taking advantage of the longitudinal and cross-national nature of our data, and carefully modeling the self-reported health information, we avoid several of the pitfalls suffered by earlier studies on this topic. We calculate income inequality indices measured at two standard levels of geography (NUTS-0 and NUTS-1) and find consistent evidence that income inequality is negatively related to self-rated health status in the European Union for both men and women, particularly when measured at national level. However, despite its statistical significance, the magnitude of the impact of inequality on health is very small.

@ARTICLE{pvk-13,
	Author = {Hildebrand, Vincent A. and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Income inequality and self-reported health status: Evidence from the {E}uropean {C}ommunity {H}ousehold {P}anel survey},
	Journal = {Demography},
	Volume = {46},
	Number = {4},
	Pages = {805-825},
	Month = {November},
	Year = {2009}
}
(2009), 'The measurement of economic inequality', in W. Salverda, B. Nolan & T.M. Smeeding, Oxford Handbook on Economic Inequality, Oxford University Press, Ch. 3, pp. 40-67.

Abstract:
This article provides an introduction to methods for the measurement of economic inequality. It reviews the inequality measures that economists have developed, and explains how one might choose between indices or check whether conclusions about inequality difference can be derived without choosing any specific index. It reviews mobility measurement and some fundamental questions about how the distributions of economic interest are defined.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-561,
	Author = {Jenkins, Stephen P. and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {The measurement of economic inequality},
	Editor = {Salverda, Wiemer  and Nolan, Brian  and Smeeding, Timothy M.},
	Booktitle = {Oxford Handbook on Economic Inequality},
	Publisher = {Oxford University Press},
	Chapter = {3},
	Pages = {40-67},
	Year = {2009}
}

Wealth (11)

(2022), 'Public Support for Tax Policies in COVID-19 Times: Evidence from Luxembourg', International Tax and Public Finance, 29, 1395-1418.

Abstract:
We study attitudes towards the introduction of hypothetical new taxes to finance the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic. We rely on survey data collected in Luxembourg in 2020. The survey asks for the agreement of respondents over: a one-time net wealth tax, an inheritance tax, a temporary solidarity income tax, and a temporary increase in VAT. All questions include different and randomly assigned tax attributes (tax rates and exemption amounts). We find a clear divide with relatively high support for new wealth and inheritance taxes on the one hand and a low support for increases in VAT and income taxes on the other hand. While 58% of respondents agree or strongly agree with a one-time tax levied on net worth, only 24% are in favor of a small increase in VAT. Support for any tax is however negatively associated with the size of the tax as measured by the predicted revenues. Our results indicate that a one-time wealth tax could raise substantial revenues and still garner public support.

@ARTICLE{pvk-702,
	Author = {Olivera, Javier and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Public Support for Tax Policies in {COVID-19} Times: Evidence from {L}uxembourg},
	Journal = {International Tax and Public Finance},
	Volume = {29},
	Pages = {1395-1418},
	Month = {July},
	Year = {2022},
	Note = {}
}
(2022), 'Intergenerational wealth transfers in Great Britain from the Wealth and Assets Survey in comparative perspective', Fiscal Studies, 43(2), 179-199.

Abstract:
Wealth surveys that collect information on intergenerational transfers provide new scope for comparative study of those transfers and their relationship with wealth across rich countries. However, this is problematic in the case of Great Britain, due to specific features of the Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS), the central source of survey-based household wealth data, in particular the extent of missing information in its first wave. This has severely constrained efforts to investigate patterns of wealth transfer in Great Britain in comparative perspective. In this paper, we set out these issues and present ways of dealing with them. On this basis, we then examine the main similarities and differences in patterns of intergenerational transmission of wealth between Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States. Our findings reveal common features across these countries as well as some important respects in which Great Britain was distinctive, though less of an outlier than the US. About 35 per cent of British households reported receiving an intergenerational wealth transfer at some point, similar to most of the comparator countries but much higher than the US. We conclude by setting out how WAS can be enhanced to address these issues at source, proposals with which the Office for National Statistics is seriously engaged.

@ARTICLE{pvk-831,
	Author = {Nolan, Brian and Palomino, Juan C. and Van Kerm, Philippe and Morelli, Salvatore},
	Title = {Intergenerational wealth transfers in {G}reat {B}ritain from the {W}ealth and {A}ssets {S}urvey in comparative perspective},
	Journal = {Fiscal Studies},
	Volume = {43},
	Number = {2},
	Pages = {179-199},
	Month = {February},
	Year = {2022}
}
(2022), 'The wealth (disadvantage) of single-parent households', Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 702(1), 188-204.

Abstract:
Wealth is a buffer against economic shocks and the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage. We investigate the wealth of single-parent households in six high-income countries that span a variety of institutional contexts and welfare regimes. Using household survey data, we show that single-parent households in all these countries are disadvantaged in the wealth they hold, compared to dual-parent households—more so in Great Britain, France, Germany, and the United States; and less so in Italy and, especially, Spain. We tease out major differences in types of wealth holdings in single- and dual-parent households. We find that the single-parent wealth deficit is not explained by differences in age or number of children but that it is influenced by education, income, homeownership, and receipt of intergenerational transfers. We discuss the policy implications of our findings, both in terms of how single parents are treated in social protection and taxation systems and, more broadly, in the supports they require if they are to overcome barriers to accumulating wealth.

@ARTICLE{pvk-921,
	Author = {Nolan, Brian and Palomino, Juan C. and Van Kerm, Philippe and Morelli, Salvatore},
	Title = {The wealth (disadvantage) of single-parent households},
	Journal = {Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science},
	Volume = {702},
	Number = {1},
	Pages = {188-204},
	Month = {July},
	Year = {2022},
	Note = {}
}
(2021), 'Intergenerational wealth transfers and wealth inequality in rich countries: What do we learn from Gini decomposition?', Economics Letters, 199, 10970.

Abstract:
The role of intergenerational transfers of wealth via inheritance and gifts inter vivos in the accumulation of household wealth and the generation of wealth inequality has been hotly debated. This paper uses data from household wealth surveys for six rich countries – Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the US – to assess the contribution of intergenerational wealth transfers to wealth inequality using decomposition methods for the Gini coefficient. The results show that transfer wealth is consistently a good deal more unequally distributed than non-transfer wealth and total wealth. Transfer wealth accounts for only about one-tenth of overall wealth inequality for the US compared to one-third for Germany and Italy. This mirrors the importance of transfer wealth in total wealth in each country, with differences in inequality in transfer wealth and its correlation with total wealth having only a modest impact. We find that a marginal percentage increase in all transfers reduces total wealth inequality in Britain, Germany and the US, while it would increase total wealth inequality in France, Italy and Spain.

@ARTICLE{pvk-711,
	Author = {Nolan, Brian and Palomino, Juan C. and Van Kerm, Philippe and Morelli, Salvatore},
	Title = {Intergenerational wealth transfers and wealth inequality in rich countries: {W}hat do we learn from {G}ini decomposition?},
	Journal = {Economics Letters},
	Volume = {199},
	Pages = {10970},
	Month = {January},
	Year = {2021}
}
(2021), 'Inheritance, gifts and the accumulation of wealth for low-income households', Journal of European Social Policy, 31(5), 533-548.

Abstract:
Many low-income households in rich countries have very little wealth, but the role of intergenerational wealth transmission in underpinning this deficit is not known. This article seeks to fill that gap by investigating patterns of past wealth transfer receipt for low-income versus other households in seven rich countries and assessing the contribution that these transfers, or their absence, make to current wealth levels. We find that households on low incomes are relatively disadvantaged in terms of intergenerational transfers received in the past, both in terms of the likelihood of having received any and the amounts received by those who do benefit from such transfers. The role that this disadvantage plays in the linkage between current low-income and low wealth is assessed and evidence presented that it is significant. Simulation of a universal wealth transfer scheme or ‘capital endowment’ on reaching adulthood for two countries shows that such a policy could lead to a marked decline in the proportion of low-income adults with negative or no wealth. This and alternative or complementary policy responses to these wealth deficits merit the most serious attention.

@ARTICLE{pvk-761,
	Author = {Morelli, Salvatore and Nolan, Brian and Palomino, Juan C. and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Inheritance, gifts and the accumulation of wealth for low-income households},
	Journal = {Journal of European Social Policy},
	Volume = {31},
	Number = {5},
	Pages = {533-548},
	Year = {2021}
}
(2020), 'The intergenerational transmission of wealth in rich countries', VoxEU 19 September 2020, Centre for Economic Policy Research, London, United Kingdom.

Abstract:
No abstract available.

@TECHREPORT{pvk-741,
	Author = {Nolan, Brian and Palomino, Juan C. and Van Kerm, Philippe and Morelli, Salvatore},
	Title = {The intergenerational transmission of wealth in rich countries},
	Series = {VoxEU},
	Number = {19 September 2020},
	Institution = { Centre for Economic Policy Research},
	Address = {London, United Kingdom},
	Month = {September},
	Year = {2020}
}
(2020), 'The Wealth of Families: The Intergenerational Transmission of Wealth in Britain in Comparative Perspective', Report to the Nuffield Foundation, Institute for New Economic Thinking, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.

Abstract:
The distribution of wealth is of major concern for its potential economic, social and political impacts. Wealth transfers between generations give rise to a variety of normative and practical issues with respect to taxation in particular as equity between and within generations looms large in current British debates. This report contributes to those debates by investigating patterns of wealth transmission across generations and the role this plays in wealth accumulation and the generation of wealth inequality in Britain compared with other rich countries. It is the first study to investigate this in depth in a comparative framework bringing together data from the Wealth and Assets Survey with survey data for France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the US. It is based on retrospective data from surveys carried out before the current health and economic crisis due to COVID-19. That crisis will have deep-seated and long-lasting effects on wealth that are extremely difficult to assess at this point, including on inheritances to be received in the future, but that does not diminish the importance of understanding past patterns of intergenerational wealth transmission.

@UNPUBLISHED{pvk-851,
	Author = {Nolan, Brian and Palomino, Juan C. and Van Kerm, Philippe and Morelli, Salvatore},
	Title = {The Wealth of Families: The Intergenerational Transmission of Wealth in {B}ritain in Comparative Perspective},
	Note = {Report to the Nuffield Foundation, Institute for New Economic Thinking, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford},
	Month = {August},
	Year = {2020},
	Note = {}
}
(2019), 'Income and Wealth Above the Median: New Measurements and Results for Europe and the United States', in K. Decancq & P. Van Kerm, What Drives Inequality?, Research on Economic Inequality 27, Emerald Publishing Ltd, Bingley, pp. 89-104.

Abstract:
The study of the upper tail of the income and wealth distributions is important to the understanding of economic inequality. By means of the ‘isograph’, a new tool to describe income or wealth distributions, we compare wealth and income and wealth-to-income ratios in 16 European countries and the United States using data for years 2013/2014 from the Eurozone Household Finance and Consumption Survey and the US Survey on Consumer Finances. Focusing on the top half of the distribution, we find that for households in the top income quintile, wealth-to-income ratios generally increase rapidly with income; the association between high wealth and high incomes is highest among the highest percentiles. There is generally a positive relationship between median wealth in the country and the wealth of the top 1%. However, the United States is an outlier where the median wealth is relatively low but the wealth of the top 1% is extremely high.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-751,
	Author = {Chauvel, Louis and Hartung, Anne and Bar-Haim, Eyal and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Income and Wealth Above the Median: New Measurements and Results for {E}urope and the {U}nited {S}tates},
	Editor = {Decancq, Koen  and Van Kerm, Philippe },
	Booktitle = {What Drives Inequality?},
	Series = {Research on Economic Inequality},
	Number = {27},
	Publisher = {Emerald Publishing Ltd},
	Address = {Bingley},
	Pages = {89-104},
	Month = {September},
	Year = {2019}
}
(2018), 'Wealth Inequality', in B. Nolan, Generating Prosperity for Working Families in Affluent Countries, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, Ch. 12, pp. 312-334.

Abstract:
No abstract available.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-841,
	Author = {Nolan, Brian and Morelli, Salvatore and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Wealth Inequality},
	Editor = {Nolan, Brian },
	Booktitle = {Generating Prosperity for Working Families in Affluent Countries},
	Publisher = {Oxford University Press},
	Address = {Oxford, UK},
	Chapter = {12},
	Pages = {312-334},
	Month = {October},
	Year = {2018}
}
(2017), 'Wealth, Top Incomes, and Inequality', in K. Hamilton & C. Hepburn, National Wealth: What is Missing, Why it Matters, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, Ch. 8, pp. 175-203.

Abstract:
Although it is heartening to see wealth inequality being taken seriously, key concepts are often muddled, including the distinction between income and wealth, what is included in !wealth!, and facts about wealth distributions. This chapter highlights issues that arise in making ideas and facts about wealth inequality precise, and employs newly-available data to take a fresh look at wealth and wealth inequality in a comparative perspective. The composition of wealth is similar across countries, with housing wealth being the key asset. Wealth is considerably more unequally distributed than income, and it is distinctively so in the United States. Extending definitions to include pension wealth however reduces inequality substantially. Analysis also sheds light on life-cycle patterns and the role of inheritance. Discussion of the joint distributions of income and wealth suggests that interactions between increasing top income shares and the concentration of wealth and income from wealth towards the top is critical.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-693,
	Author = {Cowell, Frank A. and Nolan, Brian and Olivera, Javier and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Wealth, Top Incomes, and Inequality},
	Editor = {Hamilton, Kirk  and Hepburn, Cameron },
	Booktitle = {National Wealth: What is Missing, Why it Matters},
	Publisher = {Oxford University Press},
	Address = {Oxford, UK},
	Chapter = {8},
	Pages = {175-203},
	Month = {September},
	Year = {2017}
}
(2013), 'The joint distribution of income and wealth', in J. Gornick & M. Jäntti, Economic Inequality in Cross-National Perspective, Social Inequality Series, Stanford University Press, USA.

Abstract:
No abstract available.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-551,
	Author = {J\äntti, Markus and Sierminska, Eva M. and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {The joint distribution of income and wealth},
	Editor = {Gornick, Janet  and J\äntti, Markus },
	Booktitle = {Economic Inequality in Cross-National Perspective},
	Series = {Social Inequality Series},
	Publisher = { Stanford University Press},
	Address = {USA},
	Year = {2013}
}

COVID-19 (7)

(2022), 'Public Support for Tax Policies in COVID-19 Times: Evidence from Luxembourg', International Tax and Public Finance, 29, 1395-1418.

Abstract:
We study attitudes towards the introduction of hypothetical new taxes to finance the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic. We rely on survey data collected in Luxembourg in 2020. The survey asks for the agreement of respondents over: a one-time net wealth tax, an inheritance tax, a temporary solidarity income tax, and a temporary increase in VAT. All questions include different and randomly assigned tax attributes (tax rates and exemption amounts). We find a clear divide with relatively high support for new wealth and inheritance taxes on the one hand and a low support for increases in VAT and income taxes on the other hand. While 58% of respondents agree or strongly agree with a one-time tax levied on net worth, only 24% are in favor of a small increase in VAT. Support for any tax is however negatively associated with the size of the tax as measured by the predicted revenues. Our results indicate that a one-time wealth tax could raise substantial revenues and still garner public support.

@ARTICLE{pvk-702,
	Author = {Olivera, Javier and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Public Support for Tax Policies in {COVID-19} Times: Evidence from {L}uxembourg},
	Journal = {International Tax and Public Finance},
	Volume = {29},
	Pages = {1395-1418},
	Month = {July},
	Year = {2022},
	Note = {}
}
(2022), 'La COVID-19 au Luxembourg: Le gradient social de l'épidémie', Rapport ``Santé pour Tous'' #1, Ministère de la Santé, Gouvernement du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg.

Abstract:
Ce rapport cherche à identifier les disparités liées aux facteurs socioéconomiques et démographiques selon le degré d’exposition de la population aux différents risques liés à la COVID-19 depuis son émergence en mars 2020 au Luxembourg. Il fait partie du projet « Santé pour tous », mis en place en 2020 par le ministère de la Santé pour mieux comprendre les inégalités en matière de santé. his report explores socio-economic and demographic disparities in COVID-19 health impacts in Luxembourg since March 2020. It describes variations in the risk of infections, hospitalizations and death across a number of socio-economic and demographic variables. It also examines variations in vaccination rates. It is part of the !Santé Pour Tous! project initiated by the Ministry of Health to under inequalities in health.

@TECHREPORT{pvk-821,
	Author = {Van Kerm, Philippe and Salagean, Ioana C and Ametepe, Fofo Senyo},
	Title = {La {COVID-19} au {L}uxembourg: Le gradient social de l'\'epid\'emie},
	Series = {Rapport ``Sant\é pour Tous\'\'},
	Number = {#1},
	Institution = {Minist\ère de la Sant\é, Gouvernement du Grand-Duch\é de Luxembourg},
	Month = {February},
	Year = {2022}
}
(2022), 'COVID-19 and Gender Equality in Luxembourg', Report to Ministère de l'Egalité entre les Hommes et les Femmes, Gouvernement du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg.

Abstract:
No abstract available.

@UNPUBLISHED{pvk-861,
	Author = {Peluso, Eugenio and Ametepe, Fofo Senyo and Andreoli, Francesco and Genevois, Anne-Sophie and Menta, Giorgia and Salagean, Ioana C and Van Kerm, Philippe and Verheyden, Bertrand},
	Title = {{COVID-19} and Gender Equality in {L}uxembourg},
	Note = {Report to Minist\`ere de l'Egalit\'e entre les Hommes et les Femmes, Gouvernement du Grand-Duch\'e de Luxembourg},
	Month = {March},
	Year = {2022},
	Note = {}
}
(2021), 'Design and implementation of the Socio-Economic Impact Survey', in M. Dijst, Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19: Collecting the Data, Les Rapports du LISER, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, Ch. 3, pp. 17-30.

Abstract:
No abstract available.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-721,
	Author = {van Acker, Veronique and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Design and implementation of the Socio-Economic Impact Survey},
	Editor = {Dijst, Martin },
	Booktitle = {Socio-Economic Impacts of {COVID-19}: {C}ollecting the Data},
	Series = {Les Rapports du LISER},
	Publisher = {Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research},
	Address = {Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg},
	Chapter = {3},
	Pages = {17-30},
	Month = {March},
	Year = {2021}
}
(2021), 'Work and living conditions', in Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19: Collecting the Data, Les Rapports du LISER, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, Ch. 2, pp. 9-16.

Abstract:
No abstract available.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-731,
	Author = {Van Kerm, Philippe and Martin, Ludivine},
	Title = {Work and living conditions},
	Booktitle = {Socio-Economic Impacts of {COVID-19}: {C}ollecting the Data},
	Series = {Les Rapports du LISER},
	Publisher = {Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research},
	Address = {Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg},
	Chapter = {2},
	Pages = {9-16},
	Month = {March},
	Year = {2021}
}
(2021), 'Unemployment and working hours of women and men during the pandemic', LISER-MEGA Series on Gender Dimensions of the COVID-19 Pandemic 1, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.

Abstract:
This note examines differences in how men and women's employment has been impacted since March 2020, and explains why analysts have coined the term “she-cession” to describe the economic and labour market impacts of the pandemic.

@TECHREPORT{pvk-891,
	Author = {Todorovic, Jelena and Van Kerm, Philippe and Peluso, Eugenio},
	Title = {Unemployment and working hours of women and men during the pandemic},
	Series = {LISER-MEGA Series on Gender Dimensions of the COVID-19 Pandemic},
	Number = {1},
	Institution = {Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research},
	Address = {Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg},
	Month = {August},
	Year = {2021}
}
(2021), 'Time use, childcare and home schooling', LISER-MEGA Series on Gender Dimensions of the COVID-19 Pandemic 2, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.

Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected households around the globe in many dimensions. Governments' responses to the public health crisis have almost brought economies to a halt and unemployment rates have jumped to historical highs. Work conditions for those who remained employed changed abruptly, with many being forced to work from home. As schools and daycare centres closed, child-care needs soared. Social distancing recommendations and stay-at-home orders made it difficult, if not impossible, for informal care providers, such as grandparents or other family members, to help with child-care responsibilities. So how did parents cope?

@TECHREPORT{pvk-901,
	Author = {Todorovic, Jelena and Van Kerm, Philippe and Peluso, Eugenio},
	Title = {Time use, childcare and home schooling},
	Series = {LISER-MEGA Series on Gender Dimensions of the COVID-19 Pandemic},
	Number = {2},
	Institution = {Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research},
	Address = {Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg},
	Month = {November},
	Year = {2021}
}

Gender gap (5)

(2022), 'Higher Education Expansion and Labour Income Inequality in High-income Countries: A Gender-specific Perspective', Luxembourg Income Study Working Paper 837, LIS Cross-National Data Center, Luxembourg.

Abstract:
The expansion of higher education since the second half of the 20th century was particularly pronounced among women. In most high-income countries to date more women complete a tertiary level than men. But research on the implications of higher education expansion for labour income inequality has largely treated expansion as gender neutral. With this paper we build on prior studies that have ignored potentially differential effects by factoring in what it means for earnings inequality to increase tertiary education among women as compared to men. To this end we draw on harmonised data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) for 27 countries and two time points, 1995 and 2015, and use the method of Recentered Influence Function (RIF) regression. We obtain three main insights from our study. First, no average distributive effect of higher education expansion exists. Second, the distributive effect is gender-specific. The impact on the Gini coefficient of increasing tertiary attainment of men is positive and significant but the impact of increasing tertiary attainment of women is negative and significant. Third, the increasing share of tertiary educational attainment is the main factor explaining that distributive estimates shrink towards zero over time for both women and men. Only for men does larger inequality between and within educational groups significantly contribute to magnify the impact of educational expansion on earnings distributions across countries. Our analysis highlights that taking the gender dimension into account is crucial to obtain exhaustive understanding of the role of education for overall income inequality.

@TECHREPORT{pvk-771,
	Author = {Sauer, Petra and Van Kerm, Philippe and Checchi, Daniele},
	Title = {Higher Education Expansion and Labour Income Inequality in High-income Countries: A Gender-specific Perspective},
	Series = {Luxembourg Income Study Working Paper},
	Number = {837},
	Institution = {LIS Cross-National Data Center},
	Address = {Luxembourg},
	Month = {May},
	Year = {2022}
}
(2022), 'COVID-19 and Gender Equality in Luxembourg', Report to Ministère de l'Egalité entre les Hommes et les Femmes, Gouvernement du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg.

Abstract:
No abstract available.

@UNPUBLISHED{pvk-861,
	Author = {Peluso, Eugenio and Ametepe, Fofo Senyo and Andreoli, Francesco and Genevois, Anne-Sophie and Menta, Giorgia and Salagean, Ioana C and Van Kerm, Philippe and Verheyden, Bertrand},
	Title = {{COVID-19} and Gender Equality in {L}uxembourg},
	Note = {Report to Minist\`ere de l'Egalit\'e entre les Hommes et les Femmes, Gouvernement du Grand-Duch\'e de Luxembourg},
	Month = {March},
	Year = {2022},
	Note = {}
}
(2021), 'Higher Education Expansion and Inequality in Labour Incomes: The Importance of a Gendered Perspective', Inequality Matters 18, LIS Cross-National Data Center, Luxembourg.

Abstract:
No abstract available.

@TECHREPORT{pvk-881,
	Author = {Sauer, Petra and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Higher Education Expansion and Inequality in Labour Incomes: The Importance of a Gendered Perspective},
	Series = {Inequality Matters},
	Number = {18},
	Institution = {LIS Cross-National Data Center},
	Address = {Luxembourg},
	Month = {June},
	Year = {2021}
}
(2019), 'Minimum Wages and the Gender Gap in Pay: New Evidence from the United Kingdom and Ireland', Review of Income and Wealth, 65(3), 514-539.

Abstract:
Women are disproportionately in low‐paid work compared to men so, in the absence of rationing effects on their employment, they should benefit the most from minimum wage policies. This study examines the change in the gender wage gap around the introduction of minimum wages in Ireland and the United Kingdom (U.K.). Using survey data for the two countries, we develop a decomposition of the change in the gender differences in wage distributions around the date of introduction of minimum wages. We separate out price effects attributed to minimum wages from employment composition effects. A significant reduction of the gender gap at low wages is observed after the introduction of the minimum wage in Ireland, while there is hardly any change in the U.K. Counterfactual simulations show that the difference between countries may be attributed to gender differences in non‐compliance with the minimum wage legislation in the U.K.

@ARTICLE{pvk-414,
	Author = {Bargain, Olivier and Doorley, Karina and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Minimum Wages and the Gender Gap in Pay: {N}ew Evidence from the {U}nited {K}ingdom and {I}reland},
	Journal = {Review of Income and Wealth},
	Volume = {65},
	Number = {3},
	Pages = {514-539},
	Month = {September},
	Year = {2019}
}
(2013), 'Generalized measures of wage differentials', Empirical Economics, 45(1), 465-482.

Abstract:
This paper considers measures of wage differentials not solely determined by mean comparisons but summarizing differences across complete wage distributions. The approach builds on considerations of risk or inequality aversion and on standard expected utility concepts. In an application to the gender pay gap in Luxembourg the disadvantage of women persists according to the proposed measures: lower mean wages for women are not compensated by differences in higher moments of wage distributions (e.g., by less dispersion) at least for realistic assumptions about women preferences toward risk and inequality. The paper also illustrates an original empirical model for wage distributions in the presence of covariates and under endogenous labour market participation.

@ARTICLE{pvk-333,
	Author = {Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Generalized measures of wage differentials},
	Journal = {Empirical Economics},
	Volume = {45},
	Number = {1},
	Pages = {465-482},
	Month = {August},
	Year = {2013}
}

Health (4)

(2024), 'Predicting depression in old age: Combining life course data with machine learning', Economics and Human Biology, 52, 101331.

Abstract:
With ageing populations, understanding life course factors that raise the risk of depression in old age may help anticipate needs and reduce healthcare costs in the long run. We estimate the risk of depression in old age by combining adult life course trajectories and childhood conditions in supervised machine learning algorithms. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we implement and compare the performance of six alternative machine learning algorithms. We analyse the performance of the algorithms using different life-course data configurations. While we obtain similar predictive abilities between algorithms, we achieve the highest predictive performance when employing semi-structured representations of life courses using sequence data. We use the Shapley Additive Explanations method to extract the most decisive predictive patterns. Age, health, childhood conditions, and low education predict most depression risk later in life, but we identify new predictive patterns in indicators of life course instability and low utilization of dental care services.

@ARTICLE{pvk-961,
	Author = {Montorsi, Carlotta and Fusco, Alessio and Van Kerm, Philippe and Bordas, St\éphane A.},
	Title = {Predicting depression in old age: Combining life course data with machine learning},
	Journal = {Economics and Human Biology},
	Volume = {52},
	Pages = {101331},
	Month = {Jan},
	Year = {2024}
}
(2023), 'Commuting time and absenteeism: Evidence from a natural experiment', LISER Working Paper 2023-08, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.

Abstract:
This paper investigates the effect of commuting time on absenteeism using a natural experiment. This relationship is notoriously difficult to assess without exogenous shocks to commuting and with the survey data typically exploited. The study uses detailed administrative data for Luxembourg to measure the impact on work absences of a temporary shock to commuting time caused by large-scale roadworks at the border between Belgium and Luxembourg. The roadworks affected the commuting time of cross-border workers from Belgium, leaving cross-border commuters from France as a natural control group in a difference-in-difference setup. The findings reveal a positive -- but quantitatively relatively small -- effect of commuting time on absenteeism, driven mainly by increased absences due to reported illness or family reasons. Male workers appear to respond more than female workers to the shock in commuting time.

@TECHREPORT{pvk-951,
	Author = {Mertens, Arnaud and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Commuting time and absenteeism: Evidence from a natural experiment},
	Series = {LISER Working Paper},
	Number = {2023-08},
	Institution = {Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research},
	Address = {Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg},
	Month = {11},
	Year = {2023}
}
(2019), 'Do Children Carry the Weight of Divorce?', Demography, 56(3), 785-811.

Abstract:
Relatively few studies have examined the physical health of children who experience parental separation. The few studies on this topic have largely focused on the United States and have used cross-sectional designs. Our study investigates the relationship between parental separation and children's body mass index (BMI) and overweight/obesity risk using the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Treating parental separation as a process, we analyze variations in children's physical health before and after the date of their parents' separation in order to capture potential anticipation, adaptation, delayed, or cumulative effects. We estimate fixed-effects models to account for the potential correlation between children's physical health and unobserved factors associated with parental separation, such as socioeconomic background and other time-invariant parental characteristics. We find no evidence of statistically significant anticipation effects in the build-up to parental separation or of statistically significant changes in children's physical health immediately after separation. However, our results show that in the longer term, the BMI of children whose parents separate significantly deviates from the BMI of children from intact families. Furthermore, this association is especially strong for separations that occur when children are under age 6.

@ARTICLE{pvk-681,
	Author = {Ozcan, Berkay and Goisis, Alice and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Do Children Carry the Weight of Divorce?},
	Journal = {Demography},
	Volume = {56},
	Number = {3},
	Pages = {785-811},
	Month = {June},
	Year = {2019}
}
(2009), 'Income inequality and self-reported health status: Evidence from the European Community Household Panel survey', Demography, 46(4), 805-825.

Abstract:
We examine the effect of income inequality on individualś self-rated health status in a pooled sample of 11 countries, using longitudinal data from the European Community Household Panel survey. Taking advantage of the longitudinal and cross-national nature of our data, and carefully modeling the self-reported health information, we avoid several of the pitfalls suffered by earlier studies on this topic. We calculate income inequality indices measured at two standard levels of geography (NUTS-0 and NUTS-1) and find consistent evidence that income inequality is negatively related to self-rated health status in the European Union for both men and women, particularly when measured at national level. However, despite its statistical significance, the magnitude of the impact of inequality on health is very small.

@ARTICLE{pvk-13,
	Author = {Hildebrand, Vincent A. and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Income inequality and self-reported health status: Evidence from the {E}uropean {C}ommunity {H}ousehold {P}anel survey},
	Journal = {Demography},
	Volume = {46},
	Number = {4},
	Pages = {805-825},
	Month = {November},
	Year = {2009}
}

Immigration and integration (3)

(2024), 'The progression of achievement gap between immigrant and native-born students from primary to secondary education', Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 92, 100961.

Abstract:
This paper depicts the evolution of gaps in academic performance between native and immigrant background students, as they progress from primary to secondary education. We study three cohorts of students in European and traditional English-speaking immigration countries using combinations of international assessment studies (PIRLS, TIMSS and PISA). To address the issue of comparability of test scores across surveys and over time, we exploit rank-based measures of relative performance, which only require ordinal comparability of the data. We do not find significant differences between the academic achievements of immigrant children and their native-born peers in English-speaking receiving countries. By contrast, immigrant-background children – both of first- and of second-generation – exhibit a large achievement gap in primary school in Europe, even when accounting for observable differences in socioeconomic characteristics. The gap tends to narrow down in secondary education in both reading and mathematics but is not fully absorbed in most countries. This finding is noteworthy among second-generation students in systems with early tracking. The performance of students with mixed parents is not markedly different from native students. Diverging educational progress between immigrant children in traditional immigration countries and our sample of European countries seems to reinforce the importance of the initial socioeconomic endowment in shaping the academic trajectories of immigrant children.

@ARTICLE{pvk-672,
	Author = {Alieva, Aigul and Hildebrand, Vincent A. and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {The progression of achievement gap between immigrant and native-born students from primary to secondary education},
	Journal = {Research in Social Stratification and Mobility},
	Volume = {92},
	Pages = { 100961},
	Month = {August},
	Year = {2024}
}
(2021), 'Foreign-born households in the income distribution and their contribution to social indicators in European countries', in A.-C. Guio, E. Marlier & B. Nolan, Improving the understanding of poverty and social exclusion in Europe, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, Ch. 5, pp. 87-102.

Abstract:
This chapter provides new evidence about the relative differences in the incomes and living conditions of native- and foreign-born households exploiting EU-SILC data for 2007 and 2018. For the 28 countries with a satisfying coverage of immigrant populations, we document where the foreign-born stand along the distribution of incomes and living conditions and then derive their contribution to seven social indicators. We find that individuals living in foreign-born households have lower incomes and higher levels of poverty and deprivation in all countries examined. No clear improvement in the relative position of foreign-born households is observed between 2007 and 2018. Although there is much heterogeneity in the incomes of foreign-born households, their generally disadvantaged situation implies that, on the whole, they tend to push inequality, poverty and deprivation indicators upwards. This effect persists in many countries, albeit mitigated in magnitude, when we account for the different characteristics of foreign-born compared to natives.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-801,
	Author = {Fusco, Alessio and Sohst, Rhea Ravenna and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Foreign-born households in the income distribution and their contribution to social indicators in {E}uropean countries},
	Editor = {Guio, Anne-Catherine  and Marlier, Eric  and Nolan, Brian },
	Booktitle = {Improving the understanding of poverty and social exclusion in {E}urope},
	Publisher = { Publications Office of the European Union},
	Address = {Luxembourg},
	Chapter = {5},
	Pages = {87-102},
	Year = {2021}
}
(2018), 'How does the achievement gap between immigrant and native-born pupils progress from primary to secondary education?', LISER Working Paper 2018-20, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.

Abstract:
This paper documents the change in educational achievement differences between native and foreign background students between the ages of 10 and 15, as they progress from primary to secondary education. We examine three cohorts of students in a number of Western European and traditional English-speaking immigration countries using combinations of PIRLS, TIMSS and PISA survey data. While the performance of students with mixed parents is not markedly different from native students', foreign background children--both first- and second-generation--exhibit a large achievement gap at age 10 in continental Europe, even when accounting for observable differences in socio-economic characteristics. The gap tends to narrow down by age 15 in reading, but no catching up is observed in mathematics. By contrast, we do not find significant differences between the academic achievements of immigrant children and their native-born peers in traditional immigration countries.

@TECHREPORT{pvk-671,
	Author = {Alieva, Aigul and Hildebrand, Vincent A. and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {How does the achievement gap between immigrant and native-born pupils progress from primary to secondary education?},
	Series = {LISER Working Paper},
	Number = {2018-20},
	Institution = {Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research},
	Address = {Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg},
	Month = {December},
	Year = {2018}
}
(2018), 'Foreign Workers and the Wage Distribution: What Does the Influence Function Reveal?', Econometrics, 6(3), 1-26.

Abstract:
This paper draws upon influence function regression methods to determine where foreign workers stand in the distribution of private sector wages in Luxembourg, and assess whether and how much their wages contribute to wage inequality. This is quantified by measuring the effect that a marginal increase in the proportion of foreign workers—foreign residents or cross-border workers—would have on selected quantiles and measures of inequality. Analysis of the 2006 Structure of Earnings Survey reveals that foreign workers have generally lower wages than natives and therefore tend to haul the overall wage distribution downwards. Yet, their influence on wage inequality reveals small and negative. All impacts are further muted when accounting for human capital and, especially, job characteristics. Not observing any large positive inequality contribution on the Luxembourg labour market is a striking result given the sheer size of the foreign workforce and its polarization at both ends of the skill distribution.

@ARTICLE{pvk-462,
	Author = {Choe, Chung and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Foreign Workers and the Wage Distribution: {W}hat Does the Influence Function Reveal?},
	Journal = {Econometrics},
	Volume = {6},
	Number = {3},
	Pages = {1-26},
	Month = {September},
	Year = {2018}
}

Poverty (3)

(2023), 'Measuring Poverty Persistence', in J. Silber, Research Handbook on Measuring Poverty and Deprivation, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham Glos , UK.

Abstract:
This chapter reviews the literature on the measurement of poverty persistence. The review has two parts. We first cover the literature on poverty persistence indicators which develops !principled”, descriptive summary measures. We then review the econometric literature which teases out the determinants of poverty persistence. Finally, we describe the challenges and limitations the literature on poverty persistence face.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-782,
	Author = {Fusco, Alessio and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Measuring Poverty Persistence},
	Editor = {Silber, Jacques },
	Booktitle = {Research Handbook on Measuring Poverty and Deprivation},
	Publisher = {Edward Elgar Publishing},
	Address = {Cheltenham  Glos , UK},
	Month = {March},
	Year = {2023}
}
(2022), 'Understanding Twenty Years of Inequality and Poverty Trends in Russia', Review of Income and Wealth, 68(S1), 108-130.

Abstract:
The distribution of income in Russia changed significantly over the past 25 years. This paper examines the factors that have been driving the fall in inequality and poverty over two recent decades in the Russian Federation. Changes in earnings from public and private sectors and pensions have been the main sources of changes in the income distribution between 1994 and 2015. Falling inequality and poverty were the result of a decrease in the dispersion of private sector earnings and an increase in the levels of pensions and public sector earnings. Neither the evolution of socio-demographic characteristics nor the level or structure of employment alone had big impacts.

@ARTICLE{pvk-791,
	Author = {Lisina, Anastasiya and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Understanding Twenty Years of Inequality and Poverty Trends in Russia},
	Journal = {Review of Income and Wealth},
	Volume = {68},
	Number = {S1},
	Pages = {108-130},
	Month = {February},
	Year = {2022}
}
(2021), 'Inheritance, gifts and the accumulation of wealth for low-income households', Journal of European Social Policy, 31(5), 533-548.

Abstract:
Many low-income households in rich countries have very little wealth, but the role of intergenerational wealth transmission in underpinning this deficit is not known. This article seeks to fill that gap by investigating patterns of past wealth transfer receipt for low-income versus other households in seven rich countries and assessing the contribution that these transfers, or their absence, make to current wealth levels. We find that households on low incomes are relatively disadvantaged in terms of intergenerational transfers received in the past, both in terms of the likelihood of having received any and the amounts received by those who do benefit from such transfers. The role that this disadvantage plays in the linkage between current low-income and low wealth is assessed and evidence presented that it is significant. Simulation of a universal wealth transfer scheme or ‘capital endowment’ on reaching adulthood for two countries shows that such a policy could lead to a marked decline in the proportion of low-income adults with negative or no wealth. This and alternative or complementary policy responses to these wealth deficits merit the most serious attention.

@ARTICLE{pvk-761,
	Author = {Morelli, Salvatore and Nolan, Brian and Palomino, Juan C. and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Inheritance, gifts and the accumulation of wealth for low-income households},
	Journal = {Journal of European Social Policy},
	Volume = {31},
	Number = {5},
	Pages = {533-548},
	Year = {2021}
}

Wage differentials (3)

(2019), 'Minimum Wages and the Gender Gap in Pay: New Evidence from the United Kingdom and Ireland', Review of Income and Wealth, 65(3), 514-539.

Abstract:
Women are disproportionately in low‐paid work compared to men so, in the absence of rationing effects on their employment, they should benefit the most from minimum wage policies. This study examines the change in the gender wage gap around the introduction of minimum wages in Ireland and the United Kingdom (U.K.). Using survey data for the two countries, we develop a decomposition of the change in the gender differences in wage distributions around the date of introduction of minimum wages. We separate out price effects attributed to minimum wages from employment composition effects. A significant reduction of the gender gap at low wages is observed after the introduction of the minimum wage in Ireland, while there is hardly any change in the U.K. Counterfactual simulations show that the difference between countries may be attributed to gender differences in non‐compliance with the minimum wage legislation in the U.K.

@ARTICLE{pvk-414,
	Author = {Bargain, Olivier and Doorley, Karina and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Minimum Wages and the Gender Gap in Pay: {N}ew Evidence from the {U}nited {K}ingdom and {I}reland},
	Journal = {Review of Income and Wealth},
	Volume = {65},
	Number = {3},
	Pages = {514-539},
	Month = {September},
	Year = {2019}
}
(2018), 'Foreign Workers and the Wage Distribution: What Does the Influence Function Reveal?', Econometrics, 6(3), 1-26.

Abstract:
This paper draws upon influence function regression methods to determine where foreign workers stand in the distribution of private sector wages in Luxembourg, and assess whether and how much their wages contribute to wage inequality. This is quantified by measuring the effect that a marginal increase in the proportion of foreign workers—foreign residents or cross-border workers—would have on selected quantiles and measures of inequality. Analysis of the 2006 Structure of Earnings Survey reveals that foreign workers have generally lower wages than natives and therefore tend to haul the overall wage distribution downwards. Yet, their influence on wage inequality reveals small and negative. All impacts are further muted when accounting for human capital and, especially, job characteristics. Not observing any large positive inequality contribution on the Luxembourg labour market is a striking result given the sheer size of the foreign workforce and its polarization at both ends of the skill distribution.

@ARTICLE{pvk-462,
	Author = {Choe, Chung and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Foreign Workers and the Wage Distribution: {W}hat Does the Influence Function Reveal?},
	Journal = {Econometrics},
	Volume = {6},
	Number = {3},
	Pages = {1-26},
	Month = {September},
	Year = {2018}
}
(2013), 'Generalized measures of wage differentials', Empirical Economics, 45(1), 465-482.

Abstract:
This paper considers measures of wage differentials not solely determined by mean comparisons but summarizing differences across complete wage distributions. The approach builds on considerations of risk or inequality aversion and on standard expected utility concepts. In an application to the gender pay gap in Luxembourg the disadvantage of women persists according to the proposed measures: lower mean wages for women are not compensated by differences in higher moments of wage distributions (e.g., by less dispersion) at least for realistic assumptions about women preferences toward risk and inequality. The paper also illustrates an original empirical model for wage distributions in the presence of covariates and under endogenous labour market participation.

@ARTICLE{pvk-333,
	Author = {Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Generalized measures of wage differentials},
	Journal = {Empirical Economics},
	Volume = {45},
	Number = {1},
	Pages = {465-482},
	Month = {August},
	Year = {2013}
}

Inference (2)

(2021), 'Design and implementation of the Socio-Economic Impact Survey', in M. Dijst, Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19: Collecting the Data, Les Rapports du LISER, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, Ch. 3, pp. 17-30.

Abstract:
No abstract available.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-721,
	Author = {van Acker, Veronique and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Design and implementation of the Socio-Economic Impact Survey},
	Editor = {Dijst, Martin },
	Booktitle = {Socio-Economic Impacts of {COVID-19}: {C}ollecting the Data},
	Series = {Les Rapports du LISER},
	Publisher = {Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research},
	Address = {Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg},
	Chapter = {3},
	Pages = {17-30},
	Month = {March},
	Year = {2021}
}
(2021), 'Rotation Group Bias in the Estimation of EU Social Indicators', in A.-C. Guio, E. Marlier & B. Nolan, Improving the understanding of poverty and social exclusion in Europe, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, Ch. 17, pp. 295-312.

Abstract:
The European Union Statistics on Income and Living Condition (EU-SILC) instrument relies on a 4-wave rotating panel design. A new population sample is drawn every year and selected respondents are interviewed annually for up to four years. A complete EU-SILC cross-section dataset therefore contains data from samples drawn independently in four different years. This paper applies influence function regressions methods to examine to what extent the rotating panel design of EU-SILC influences the estimates of social indicators such as income poverty rates or income inequality measures, in other words whether a “rotation group bias” is observed. Our analysis of the 2014 EU-SILC cross-sectional data highlights that estimates of income inequality and poverty rates for newer rotation groups are often higher than for older ones. `Fresh' rotation groups exert an influence that is significantly different from other rotation groups in 7 of the 28 countries examined. These impacts remain significant even when accounting for different socio-demographic characteristics of house-holds and main characteristics of the sampling. Not all countries are affected by the bias however. We cannot isolate the source of the bias, but we raise attention to an issue that may affect the reliability of important social indicator estimates.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-811,
	Author = {Fusco, Alessio and Gallo, Giovanni and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Rotation Group Bias in the Estimation of {EU} Social Indicators},
	Editor = {Guio, Anne-Catherine  and Marlier, Eric  and Nolan, Brian },
	Booktitle = {Improving the understanding of poverty and social exclusion in {E}urope},
	Publisher = {Publications Office of the European Union},
	Address = {Luxembourg},
	Chapter = {17},
	Pages = {295-312},
	Year = {2021}
}

Education (1)

(2024), 'The progression of achievement gap between immigrant and native-born students from primary to secondary education', Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 92, 100961.

Abstract:
This paper depicts the evolution of gaps in academic performance between native and immigrant background students, as they progress from primary to secondary education. We study three cohorts of students in European and traditional English-speaking immigration countries using combinations of international assessment studies (PIRLS, TIMSS and PISA). To address the issue of comparability of test scores across surveys and over time, we exploit rank-based measures of relative performance, which only require ordinal comparability of the data. We do not find significant differences between the academic achievements of immigrant children and their native-born peers in English-speaking receiving countries. By contrast, immigrant-background children – both of first- and of second-generation – exhibit a large achievement gap in primary school in Europe, even when accounting for observable differences in socioeconomic characteristics. The gap tends to narrow down in secondary education in both reading and mathematics but is not fully absorbed in most countries. This finding is noteworthy among second-generation students in systems with early tracking. The performance of students with mixed parents is not markedly different from native students. Diverging educational progress between immigrant children in traditional immigration countries and our sample of European countries seems to reinforce the importance of the initial socioeconomic endowment in shaping the academic trajectories of immigrant children.

@ARTICLE{pvk-672,
	Author = {Alieva, Aigul and Hildebrand, Vincent A. and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {The progression of achievement gap between immigrant and native-born students from primary to secondary education},
	Journal = {Research in Social Stratification and Mobility},
	Volume = {92},
	Pages = { 100961},
	Month = {August},
	Year = {2024}
}
(2018), 'How does the achievement gap between immigrant and native-born pupils progress from primary to secondary education?', LISER Working Paper 2018-20, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.

Abstract:
This paper documents the change in educational achievement differences between native and foreign background students between the ages of 10 and 15, as they progress from primary to secondary education. We examine three cohorts of students in a number of Western European and traditional English-speaking immigration countries using combinations of PIRLS, TIMSS and PISA survey data. While the performance of students with mixed parents is not markedly different from native students', foreign background children--both first- and second-generation--exhibit a large achievement gap at age 10 in continental Europe, even when accounting for observable differences in socio-economic characteristics. The gap tends to narrow down by age 15 in reading, but no catching up is observed in mathematics. By contrast, we do not find significant differences between the academic achievements of immigrant children and their native-born peers in traditional immigration countries.

@TECHREPORT{pvk-671,
	Author = {Alieva, Aigul and Hildebrand, Vincent A. and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {How does the achievement gap between immigrant and native-born pupils progress from primary to secondary education?},
	Series = {LISER Working Paper},
	Number = {2018-20},
	Institution = {Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research},
	Address = {Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg},
	Month = {December},
	Year = {2018}
}

Income dynamics and mobility (1)

(2023), 'Measuring Poverty Persistence', in J. Silber, Research Handbook on Measuring Poverty and Deprivation, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham Glos , UK.

Abstract:
This chapter reviews the literature on the measurement of poverty persistence. The review has two parts. We first cover the literature on poverty persistence indicators which develops !principled”, descriptive summary measures. We then review the econometric literature which teases out the determinants of poverty persistence. Finally, we describe the challenges and limitations the literature on poverty persistence face.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-782,
	Author = {Fusco, Alessio and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Measuring Poverty Persistence},
	Editor = {Silber, Jacques },
	Booktitle = {Research Handbook on Measuring Poverty and Deprivation},
	Publisher = {Edward Elgar Publishing},
	Address = {Cheltenham  Glos , UK},
	Month = {March},
	Year = {2023}
}

Social indicators (1)

(2021), 'Rotation Group Bias in the Estimation of EU Social Indicators', in A.-C. Guio, E. Marlier & B. Nolan, Improving the understanding of poverty and social exclusion in Europe, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, Ch. 17, pp. 295-312.

Abstract:
The European Union Statistics on Income and Living Condition (EU-SILC) instrument relies on a 4-wave rotating panel design. A new population sample is drawn every year and selected respondents are interviewed annually for up to four years. A complete EU-SILC cross-section dataset therefore contains data from samples drawn independently in four different years. This paper applies influence function regressions methods to examine to what extent the rotating panel design of EU-SILC influences the estimates of social indicators such as income poverty rates or income inequality measures, in other words whether a “rotation group bias” is observed. Our analysis of the 2014 EU-SILC cross-sectional data highlights that estimates of income inequality and poverty rates for newer rotation groups are often higher than for older ones. `Fresh' rotation groups exert an influence that is significantly different from other rotation groups in 7 of the 28 countries examined. These impacts remain significant even when accounting for different socio-demographic characteristics of house-holds and main characteristics of the sampling. Not all countries are affected by the bias however. We cannot isolate the source of the bias, but we raise attention to an issue that may affect the reliability of important social indicator estimates.

@INCOLLECTION{pvk-811,
	Author = {Fusco, Alessio and Gallo, Giovanni and Van Kerm, Philippe},
	Title = {Rotation Group Bias in the Estimation of {EU} Social Indicators},
	Editor = {Guio, Anne-Catherine  and Marlier, Eric  and Nolan, Brian },
	Booktitle = {Improving the understanding of poverty and social exclusion in {E}urope},
	Publisher = {Publications Office of the European Union},
	Address = {Luxembourg},
	Chapter = {17},
	Pages = {295-312},
	Year = {2021}
}

Stata (1)

(2001), 'Generalized Lorenz curves and related graphs: An update for Stata 7', Stata Journal, 1(1), 107-112.

Abstract:
No abstract available.

@ARTICLE{pvk-161,
	Author = {Van Kerm, Philippe and Jenkins, Stephen P.},
	Title = {Generalized {L}orenz curves and related graphs: An update for {S}tata 7},
	Journal = {Stata Journal},
	Volume = {1},
	Number = {1},
	Pages = {107-112},
	Month = {November},
	Year = {2001}
}

Sustainability (1)

(2024), 'Driving Behavioral Change for an Economic and Social Transition towards more Resilience and Sustainability in Luxembourg (SOC2050)', Report, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg.

Abstract:
The SOC2050 study, commissioned by Luxembourg Strategy and conducted by LISER from November 2022 to August 2023, assessed the citizens’ interest in transitioning society and the economy in Luxembourg towards greater resilience and sustainability. This initiative contributes to the United Nations Goal – Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns (SDG12). This study surveyed 912 individuals who participated in a three-wave study over 10 months and who provided rich information about their behaviours and attitudes toward sustainability. 4 domains were selected for their major impact on sustainability and their carbon footprint: meat consumption, mobility patterns, home energy consumption, and the acceptance of financial sacrifices to reduce one’s carbon impact. The survey also collected in each wave participants’ support towards 6 hypothetical policies aimed at regulating or taxing unsustainable behaviours. The SOC2050 report describes the final results of the longitudinal online survey conducted in 2023. These results contribute to address 2 central questions. The first question explores how sociodemographic factors, constraints, psychological aspects, and social norms influence these behaviours and attitudes toward sustainability. The analysis was further enriched by examining the impacts of personality traits and behavioural biases. The second question examines whether targeted communications can increase the desirability of a sustainable transition. This second question is addressed through a randomised controlled trial in which information treatments are randomly assigned to participants. These treatments provide participants with information about sustainable behaviour and attitudes in society, aiming to correct the widespread underestimation of other people’s efforts, called !pluralistic ignorance!. SOC2050 highlights that pro-environmental behaviour stems from a mix of sociodemographic elements, personality traits, and societal perceptions. Key drivers include higher education, prosocial orientations and self-development. While time and financial constraints matter, easing them doesn’t guarantee sustainable actions and may even have unintended effects. Fear-based messages, highlighting risks and social judgments might also be counterproductive, possibly discouraging engagement or fostering resistance. Instead, strategies emphasising education and the reinforcement of positive social values seem more promising.

@BOOK{pvk-971,
	Author = {Cristelo, David and Fallucchi, Francesco and Jiang-Wang, Angela and Tenikue, Michel and Van Kerm, Philippe and Verheyden, Bertrand},
	Title = {Driving Behavioral Change for an Economic and Social Transition towards more Resilience and Sustainability in Luxembourg (SOC2050)},
	Series = {Report},
	Publisher = {Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research},
	Address = {Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg},
	Month = {Jan},
	Year = {2024}
}