Klaus F. Zimmermann

GLO Discussion Paper No. 1073, 2022; in print:  Journal of Population Economics

Confidential and legal access to abortion and contraception in the United States, 1960-2020 – Download PDF
by Myers, Caitlin Knowles

See also the GLO Post.

GLO Fellow Caitlin Myers

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Using data from large-scale experiments with entire families for Bangladesh, the research finds that both mothers’ and fathers’ risk, time and social preferences are significantly positively correlated with their children’s economic preferences. Results differ from evidence for rich countries.

Shyamal Chowdhury, Matthias Sutter & Klaus F. Zimmermann (2022)

Economic Preferences across Generations and Family Clusters: A Large-scale Experiment in a Developing Country

Forthcoming: Journal of Political Economy, September 2022 (vol. 130, no. 9)

Free Pre-publication version

Abstract: Our large-scale experiment with 542 families from rural Bangladesh finds substantial intergenerational persistence of economic preferences. Both mothers’ and fathers’ risk, time and social preferences are significantly (and largely to the same degree) positively correlated with their children’s economic preferences, even when controlling for personality traits and socio-economic background. We discuss possible transmission channels and are the first to classify all families into one of two clusters, with either relatively patient, risk-tolerant and pro-social members or relatively impatient, risk averse and spiteful members. Classifications correlate with socio-economic background variables. We find that our results differ from evidence for rich countries.

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Using data for young Romanians a research paper finds that it is external religiosity that interacts with weaker addictive behaviors like smoking, drinking and using drugs. The study is now forthcoming OPEN ACCESS in the Journal of Economics, Management and Religion.

Religiosity, Smoking and Other Addictive Behaviors
by Roman, Monica & Zimmermann, Klaus F. & Plopeanu, Aurelian-Petruș

Published: Journal of Economics, Management and Religion (JEMAR), Vol. 3, No. 2 (2022), 2250001. https://doi.org/10.1142/S2737436X22500017

OPEN ACCESS FREE PDF

Abstract: While under communism the identity-providing religion was suppressed, religiosity is strong today even among the youth in post-communist countries. This provides an appropriate background to investigate how external and internal religiosity relates to risky behaviors like smoking, drinking, and drugs among the young. This study shows that not religion as such or internal religiosity, but largely observable (external) religiosity prevents them from wallowing in those vices. While this is found strongly for both males and females, those females doubting or reflecting religion show a somewhat smaller risky activity. 

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“CAMPAGNE VACCINALE. Bons et mauvais élèves de la vaccination dans le monde: radioscopie des facteurs clés.”

Interview with the French Media Platform “Atlantico” on global drivers of vaccination success.

Here is the interview in French. (English draft below.) It relates to a VoxEU Column and research available as CEPR Discussion Paper (references and links to related papers below).

Vu M. Ngo, Klaus F. Zimmermann, Phuc V. Nguyen, Toan Luu Duc Huynh and Huan H. Nguyen (2022). “CAMPAGNE VACCINALE. Bons et mauvais élèves de la vaccination dans le monde : radioscopie des facteurs clés.”

Interview with the French media Atlantico. PDF. LINK to the French website.

Q: What are the main criteria for determining the success of a vaccination campaign in a given country ?

Our study looks at this from a global, cross-country perspective investigating how fast countries have moved with their vaccination campaigns after they got access to the vaccine. Factors considered in our statistical analysis were political regimes, the education system, Gross Domestic Product per capita, population density, share of older inhabitants, vaccines purchased, vaccine policies, average daily new infected COVID-19 cases and variables controlling for differences across continents.

Q: Do some countries have a structural advantage before starting a national vaccination campaign?

The intensity of the educational system is the most important, in particular at the beginning of the campaign. Later in the process, to get speed, it is the economic strength of the country. More democratic countries have advantages at the outset, they are more sensitive in reacting to people’s needs. But the differences to more autocratic countries become less relevant in the process.  Differences in vaccine policies mattered initially, but not afterwards.

Q: How important is it to determine these criteria before establishing a nationwide vaccination strategy ? Can the variables of the campaign be adjusted to fit the parameters of each country ? Can we see common incentives for different countries?  

These criteria provide a reference to judge the quality of country-specific strategies, the counterfactual to what the performance was against the average country in such a national situation. Since the challenge is global, it becomes also obvious that the rich and educated countries of the world need to support those that are still behind. It is also in their own interest.

Q: You note that democratic regimes have a faster rate of vaccination but that this advantage fades as they try to vaccinate more people. How much does the type of government in a country affect the success of a vaccination campaign? Based on these criteria, in what range is France?

We distinguished between full democracy, flaw democracy, hybrid regime and autocratic country. Initially, the differences of all those with autocratic countries were strong, but with the exception of full democracies these differences indeed faded away. Full democracies, as France, showed a persistent advantage however in the whole process. But we should admit that political regimes explain only 11% to 15% of the total factors we measure associated with the vaccination success.

Background studies:

Vu M. Ngo, Klaus F. Zimmermann, Phuc V. Nguyen, Toan Luu Duc Huynh and Huan H. Nguyen (2022). “Understanding the setup and speed of global COVID-19 vaccination campaigns”. VoxEU on 25 January 2022.

Vu M. Ngo, Klaus F. Zimmermann, Phuc V. Nguyen, Toan Luu Duc Huynh and Huan H. Nguyen (2021). “How education and GDP drive the COVID-19 vaccination campaign”. CEPR Discussion Paper No. 16757.

Related Covid-19 papers:

Gokhan Karabulut, Klaus F. Zimmermann, Mehmet Huseyin Bilgin and Asli Cansin Doker (2021), “Democracy and COVID-19 Outcomes”. Economics Letters (EL-Prepublication, EL-Online Appendix) Volume 203, June 2021, 109840 Open Access; free PDF. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2021.109840

Klaus F. Zimmermann, Gokhan Karabulut, Mehmet Huseyin Bilgin and Asli Cansin Doker  (2020), “Inter-country Distancing, Globalization and the Coronavirus Pandemic“, The World Economy, Vol. 43, pp. 1484-1498. OPEN ACCESS, doi:10.1111/twec.12969. PDF.

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