Options
Lukas Schmid
Former Member
Title
Prof. Dr.
Last Name
Schmid
First name
Lukas
Phone
+41 41 229 58 50
Now showing
1 - 8 of 8
-
PublicationType: working paperIssue: 2017-18
-
PublicationType: working paper
-
-
PublicationLanguage Capability and Labor Market Outcomes : Evidence from Two Natural Experiments in Switzerland( 2014)
;Hangartner, DominikWe estimate the economic gains from the capability in the host country's language using administrative data on the universe of all African migrants that applied for asylum in Switzerland between 1998 and 2009. To isolate the causal effect of language capability on a variety of labor market outcomes, we exploit the random placement of refugees to cantons and the existence of a sharp language border dividing Swiss German and French-speaking cantons. We apply a difference-in-difference estimator using French-speaking African migrants assigned to the French-speaking parts of Switzerland as treatment, and English-speaking African migrants as control group. Our main results suggest an increase in the probability of finding a job of 160\% in the first year after arrival, and more than 100% for the following years.Type: working paper -
PublicationNorm Internalization and Political Collective ActionStates, firms, and many other types of societal organizations rely on the internalization of norms that guide individual behavior to realize more cooperative outcomes. Norm internalization implies that even after a law is abolished, levels of collective action exceed what we would observe if individuals had not experienced this legal norm. We examine norm internalization in the context of a severely sanctioned and long-standing compulsory voting law in the Swiss canton of Vaud from 1900 to 1970. The introduction of compulsory voting increases turnout in federal referendums massively, by 30 percentage points on average, if compared with a counterfactual Vaud that did not introduce compulsory voting. Yet, turnout differences quickly return to zero after voting is no longer compulsory. Moreover, compulsory voting had at most a negligibly small effect on the outcomes of federal referendums. We also examine spillovers on related forms of political collective action that remained voluntary and find only minor contemporaneous effects. Our findings challenge established theories of norm internalization and participation spillovers in the context of political collective action and add to our knowledge about the (in-)efficiency of compulsory voting norms.Type: working paper
-
PublicationRankings, Success, and Individual Performance : Evidence from a Natural ExperimentThis paper explores the impact of rankings on individual performance in a setting of professional athletes competing for high stakes. We use data on World Cup alpine skiing for the period of 1992-2013 and exploit arguably random differences in race times to identify the causal effect of ranking positions. Our results document a significant decrease in subsequent performance among athletes who miss prestigious ranks. The analysis of the channels through which positions affect performance identifies an increasing bias in media attention towards successful athletes.Type: working paper
-
PublicationPolitical Decisions in Multiple ReferendumsMultiple referendums alter the fundamental trade-off between gains and costs of voting because casting one vote costs about the same as casting more than one vote. This paper explores the consequences of multiple referendums by using unique individual voting data on federal referendums in Switzerland for the period of 1981-2010. The results suggest that voters are more likely to turn out for proposals that are combined with more salient proposals. However, the salience of concurrent proposals decreases political knowledge, increases the likelihood of casting an empty ballot, but has no effect on ideological voting. The effects are most pronounced for voters with lower levels of education.Type: working paper
-
PublicationIdentification of Causal Education Effects Using a Discontinuity in School Entry Tests : First Results from a Pilot StudyWe use a credible regression discontinuity design to estimate causal education effects. Pupils in the Swiss education system had to pass a centrally organized exam that classified them into different levels of secondary school, and that ultimately determined their educational degree. A major feature of this exam was the local randomization around the classification threshold due to the impossibility of strategic sorting. Our preliminary results suggest large and significant effects on earnings, political interest, and attitudes toward immigrants. The extension to a wider set of data is part of ongoing research.Type: working paper