Month: December 2021

MACROECONOMIC EFFECTS OF TELEWORKING IN EU27: STOCHASTIC FRONTIER APPROACH

Lena MALEŠEVIĆ PEROVIĆ

Full professor, University of Split, Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism, Split, Croatia and CERGE-EI Teaching Fellow

lena@efst.hr

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to investigate macroeconomic effects of teleworking during the COVID-19 pandemic, using an atypical approach. We apply stochastic frontier analysis to a Cobb-Douglas production function broadened with teleworkability variable, and analyse the level of (in)efficiency of EU27 countries in producing their GDPs. We find that increasing the percentage of jobs that can be done at home by 1 percentage point reduces the level of technical inefficiency by 3.5%. Additionally, we use a unique e-survey conducted in April and May of 2020, which provides the data on the share of people who started working from home as a results of a COVID-19 situation, and combine it with the teleworkability variable. Overall, our findings suggest that more developed EU countries have a higher share of teleworkable jobs, which in turn reduces their inefficiencies, and furthermore results in more people beginning to work from home in the pandemic. 

Keywords: teleworking, production function, stochastic frontier analysis, EU, COVID-19

JEL classification: C21, O4, O33, O52

 pp. 33-42

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LABOR TAXATION AND INVESTMENT IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. THE IMPACT ON EMPLOYMENT

Michael MITSOPOULOS

Ph.D. Boston University. Director of Business Environment and Regulatory Affairs, SEV Hellenic Federation of Enterprises, Greece.

Michalis@internet.gr

Theodore PELAGIDIS

Professor of Economics, University of Piraeus, Dpt of Maritime St. and Deputy Governor, Bank of Greece. pelagidi@unipi.gr ,

tpelagidis@bankofgreece.gr

Abstract

One of the main topics highlighted in the field of economic policy applications is the impact of taxation on labor. In an era in which macroeconomic stability, technological change and globalization pressure the job market, there exists no strong consensus in the literature on how exactly taxation influences growth, choice between work and leisure, share of income attributed to labor or participation in different job market segments. Focusing on employment levels and using the results of the World Economic Forum (WEF) executive opinion survey (EOS) between 2013-2017 we bypass several challenges often faced in the literature. By doing so, we complement the insights of the existing literature by establishing that, in institutionally mature countries, taxation that is deemed by a survey of business executives to pose a disincentive to work, reduces employment. At the same time, such countries can also rely on the taxation of investment and the flexibility of wages to influence employment levels, unlike less competitive countries.

Keywords: Employment, Taxation of Labor, Non-wage Labor Costs, Executive Opinion Survey

JEL classification: J21, H24, J32, M52

 pp. 13-31

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