We study the causal effects of digitizing work on information workers’ time-use and performance at a large insurance firm. We make causal inferences and obtain unbiased estimates by exploiting a quasi-experiment: the phased introduction of Electronic Document Management (EDM) across multiple offices at different dates. We apply a difference-in-differences methodology to econometrically measure ...

In this paper we empirically test whether public R&D subsidies crowd out private R&D investment in Flanders and Germany, using firm level data from the Flemish and German part of the Community Innovation survey (CIS III and IV). Both the non-parametric matching estimator and the conditional difference-in-difference estimator with repeated cross-sections (CDiDRCS) clearly indicate that the crowd...

This study assesses the influence of managerial responses to online customer reviews on product sales. We leverage a natural experiment provided by two online travel agencies. Both agents allow customers to post reviews on hotels, but only one of the travel agents allows hotel management to post managerial responses. Using a difference-in-difference approach, we find that managerial responses h...

In 1998 the Norwegian government introduced a program that increased parents’ incentives to stay home with children under the age of three. Many eligible children had older siblings, and we investigate how this program affected long-run educational outcomes of the older siblings. Using comprehensive administrative data, we estimate a difference-in-differences model which exploits differences in...

In 1998 the Norwegian government introduced a program that substantially increased parents’ incentives to stay home with children under the age of three. Many eligible children had older siblings, and we investigate how this program affected long-run educational outcomes of the older siblings. Using comprehensive administrative data, we estimate a difference-in-differences model which exploits ...

College campuses are particular causes for concern each flu season because of the close and constant proximity of community members. Limited existing research suggests that, like the general population, this subpopulation is undervaccinated, and inaccurate perception of the safety, efficacy, and necessity of the vaccine plays a large part. In this paper, we introduce a simple cost-benefit model...

We propose a difference-in-differences (DiD) approach to estimate the impact of incentives on cost reduction. We show theoretically, and estimate empirically, that German electricity distribution system operators (DSOs) incur higher costs when subject to a loweredpowered regulation mechanism. The difference is particularly significant (about 7%) for firms in the upper quartile of the efficiency...

I n this paper, I examine the systemic effects of campaign spending, looking at outcomes at the level of the legislature rather than the individual seat. Using a difference-in-differences design, I show that state-level corporate campaign contribution bans have a large effect on electoral outcomes at the legislature level. A 1 percentage-point increase in the Democratic (or Republican) party’s ...

Does More Generous Student Aid Increase Enrolment Rates into Higher Education? Evaluating the German Student Aid Reform of 2001 Students from low-income families are eligible to student aid under the federal students’ financial assistance scheme (BAfoeG) in Germany. We evaluate the effectiveness of a recent reform of student aid that substantially increased the amount received by eligible stude...

This study investigates a relationship between free access to research articles and the diffusion of their ideas as measured by citation counts. By using a dataset from the Social Science Research Network (SSRN), an open repository of research articles, and employing a natural experiment that allows the effect of free access separate from other confounding factors, this study identifies the cau...