Valentin Lindlacher

Digital Infrastructure and Local Economic Development: Early Internet in Sub-Saharan Africa

with Moritz Goldbeck
R&R at Journal of the European Economic Association
latest version here
CESifo Working Paper
job market paper
runner-up for the Distinguished CESifo Affiliate Award at the CESifo Area Conference on the Economics of Digitization 2022

Abstract

We investigate the impact of early internet availability at basic speeds on local economic development in remote areas of developing countries by analyzing nighttime light emissions across towns in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we exploit submarine cable arrivals, which established countrywide internet connections, and the rollout of the national backbones, which defines internet access within countries. Estimating on incidentally connected mid-sized towns, we find that early internet availability increases nighttime light intensity by 10 percent. We consider increased employment as the main explanation. Our findings highlight the importance of closing the digital divide for regional development.

Keywords: Internet; Regional development; Towns; Nighttime light; Sub-Saharan Africa
JEL-Codes: L86, O18, O33, R11

Training, Automation, and Wages: International Worker-Level Evidence

with Oliver Falck, Yuchen Guo, Christina Langer, and Simon Wiederhold
submitted
latest version here
CESifo Working Paper


Abstract

Job training is widely regarded as crucial for protecting workers from automation, yet there is a lack of empirical evidence to support this belief. Using internationally harmonized data from over 90,000 workers across 37 industrialized countries, we construct an individual-level measure of automation risk based on tasks performed at work. Our analysis reveals substantial within-occupation variation in automation risk, overlooked by existing occupation-level measures. To assess whether job training mitigates automation risk, we exploit within-occupation and within-industry variation. Additionally, we employ entropy balancing to re-weight workers without job training based on a rich set of background characteristics, including tested numeracy skills as a proxy for unobserved ability. We find that job training reduces workers’ automation risk by 4.7 percentage points, equivalent to 10 percent of the average automation risk. The training-induced reduction in automation risk accounts for one-fifth of the wage returns to job training. Job training is effective in reducing automation risk and increasing wages across nearly all countries, underscoring the external validity of our findings. Women tend to benefit more from training than men, with the advantage becoming particularly pronounced at older ages.

Keywords: Job training, Human capital, Digital skills, Entropy balancing
JEL-Codes: J24, J31, J61, O33

Should I Mail or Should I Go: Voting Behavior After a One-Time All-Postal Election

with Marius Kröper
submitted
latest version here


Abstract

We investigate how reducing information costs due to forced experimentation with postal voting affects voting behavior. Leveraging a natural experiment during the Bavarian 2020 Mayoral Elections, we employ an event study design. We find a transitory increase in total turnout of 0.4 percentage points and a persistent substitution from in-person to postal voting of nearly one percentage point, lasting at least five years after the treatment. Notably, municipalities with a higher past turnout show a larger effect, suggesting social pressure as a reinforcing mechanism. The conservative governing party (CSU) gains from higher postal turnout and other right-wing parties' in-person voters.

Keywords: Postal voting, Voter turnout, Local elections, Information costs, COVID-19 pandemic, Bavaria, Political participation, Election administration, Public policy experiment
JEL-Codes: D72, H70, D83

Involuntary Changes in Commuting Distances: Effects on Subjective Well-Being in the Era of Mobile Internet

with Katharina Bettig
submitted
latest version here
CESifo Working Paper


Abstract

Commuting is a fundamental aspect of employees’ daily routines, yet its effects on subjective well-being are insufficiently investigated in the context of evolving digital connectivity. This paper investigates the causal effects of changes in commuting distance on subjective well-being in an era of widespread mobile internet access. Exploiting exogenous shifts in commuting distance resulting from employer-driven workplace relocations, we employ a Difference-in-Differences framework using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) from 2010 to 2019. Our results show that an involuntary increase in commuting distance significantly reduces life satisfaction by 3 percent, on average, and heightens feelings of worry by almost 8 percent, on average, with adaptation occurring only partially over time. Investigating the role of increased mobile coverage during commutes, we find that it, at least partially, mitigates declines in life satisfaction, whereas it intensifies the negative impact on satisfaction with leisure.

Keywords: Commuting, Subjective well-being, Mobile coverage, Life satisfaction, SOEP, Panel data
JEL-Codes: I31, J28, R40

Leapfrogging Telecommunication: Did the Roll-Out of Mobile Coverage Structurally Change Labor Markets?

with Marta Bernardi

Keywords: Mobile coverage, Structural transformation, Technological development
JEL-Codes: O33, O12, O14




Work from Home and Absenteeism

with Jean-Victor Alipour, Katharina Bettig, Kamila Cygan-Rehm, and Christian Leßmann

Keywords: Work from Home, Absenteeism, Sickness Absence, Sick Leave, Health
JEL-Codes: I10, J22




Polarizing the Polls: Candidate Ideology and Electoral Engagement

with Klara Lehmann




Cloudy with a Chance of Laziness: Voting Effects from the First East German Bundestag Election

with Sarah Zeller

Keywords: German reunification, Electoral behavior, Persistance, Institutional change, First free elections
JEL-Codes: D72, P16, P36, N93