Essays on inequality and ageing
| dc.contributor.author | MAZZA, Jan | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-03-31T13:55:07Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-03-31T13:55:07Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.description | Defence date: 28 March 2025 | en |
| dc.description | Examining Board: Prof. Ramon Marimon (European University Institute Emeritus Professor, Supervisor) ; Prof. Thomas Crossley (University of Michigan, Co-supervisor) ; Prof. Corina Boar (New York University) ; Prof. Matthias Doepke (London School of Economics and Political Science) | en |
| dc.description.abstract | This thesis includes three independent chapters. The first connects inter-generational asset transfers and education. Using Italian microdata, I show that (i) expecting an inheritance predicts university enrollment, and (ii) expecting an inheritance predicts the intention to leave a bequest. I join these findings in a stylized model where individuals from altruistic dynasties accumulate human capital to increase long-term earnings, hence the ability to finance bequests. Through a richer quantitative lifecycle model, I find that (i) heterogeneity in bequest motives and coresidence patterns can account for more than 40% of the observed enrollment gap between youths who do and do not expect an inheritance, (ii) the expected financial transfer per se disincentivizes education, (iii) estate taxation can raise enrollment rates, and (iv) the link between inheritance expectations and education is stronger when the discounted returns to education are lower. The second chapter, co-authored with Andrej Mijakovic, documents a positive association between within-country income inequality and current account balances. This is driven by differences in saving rates arising in response to permanent income inequality. A two-country heterogeneous agent model with non-homothetic preferences reproduces saving rates increasing in permanent income, leading to capital outflows from the less unequal country. In addition, the model accounts for the U.S. exception through the effects of financial liberalisation, and illustrates how inequality variation across and within countries, rather than its absolute levels, shapes global imbalances. The third chapter, co-authored with several colleagues, investigates how feedback on blood test results affects survey participation in biomeasure sample collection. Using a randomized study within the UK Understanding Society Innovation Panel, we find that offering feedback significantly increases participants’ willingness to provide blood samples, especially in web-based surveys. This shows how simple interventions can improve the quality and quantity of biomedical data. | en |
| dc.description.tableofcontents | -- 1 Inheritance Expectations, Dynastic Altruism, and Education -- 2 Domestic Inequality and Global Imbalances -- 3 Does the feedback of blood results in observational studies influence response and consent? A randomised study of the Understanding Society Innovation Panel -- Appendix A Inheritance Expectations, Dynastic Altruism, and Education -- Appendix B Domestic Inequality and Global Imbalances | en |
| dc.description.version | Chapter 3 'Does the feedback of blood results in observational studies influence response and consent? A randomised study of the Understanding Society Innovation Panel' of the PhD thesis draws upon an earlier version published as an article 'Does the feedback of blood results in observational studies influence response and consent? : a randomised study of the Understanding Society Innovation Panel' (2023) in the journal 'BMC Medical research methodology'. | en |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | en |
| dc.identifier.citation | Florence : European University Institute, 2025 | en |
| dc.identifier.doi | 10.2870/4233570 | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1814/78250 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.orcid.upload | false | * |
| dc.publisher | European University Institute | en |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | EUI | en |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | ECO | en |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | PhD Thesis | en |
| dc.relation.replaces | https://hdl.handle.net/1814/78251 | en |
| dc.rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess | en |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Aging -- Economic aspects | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Equality | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Older people -- Social conditions | |
| dc.title | Essays on inequality and ageing | en |
| dc.type | Thesis | en |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| person.identifier.orcid | 0000-0001-6577-7740 | |
| person.identifier.other | 44386 | |
| relation.isAuthorOfPublication | b16802fa-320e-4ced-b024-5186c2d3ade8 | |
| relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery | b16802fa-320e-4ced-b024-5186c2d3ade8 |
