Etienne Farvaque

University of Lille · Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences

We build a new dataset covering 90 years of Cholera spreading in Hindustan from 1814 to 1904. We gather data from a collection of primary sources issued from medical reports. We propose a harmonization procedure to make these data comparable and corresponding to the current borders of India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Our methodology is corro...

I make use of the characteristics of more than 6000 rock bands to empirically analyze if and how the stability of their members helps them to get a higher level of success. Bands cover all genres of Rock music (from Country to Punk), and their performance is assessed by having a song ranked in Billboard 100. Analyzing how the turn-over of members o...

Review of: Le Hellfest: Un pèlerinage pour metalheads (Hellfest: A Pilgrimage for Metalheads) , Corentin Charbonnier (2017) Azay-sur-Cher: Corentin Charbonnier éditions, 208 pp., ISBN 978-2-95587-890-3, p/bk, €17

This article uses a survey amongst students at European universities to explore whether Russia's invasion of Ukraine has affected attitudes towards European integration. Some respondents completed the survey just before Russia's assault on 24 February 2022, and some did so just afterwards, thus delivering a quasi-experimental design situation, whic...

This article uses a survey amongst students at European universities to explore whether Russia's invasion of Ukraine has affected attitudes towards European integration. Some respondents completed the survey just before Russia's assault on 24 February 2022, and some did so just afterwards, thus delivering a quasi‐experimental design situation, whic...

This paper uses a survey among students at European universities to explore whether Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has affected attitudes toward European integration. Some respondents completed the survey just before Russia’s assault on February 24, 2022, and some did so just afterwards, thus delivering a quasi-experimental design situation, which we...

How do natural and man-made disasters faced by central bankers in their impressionable years influence their decision-making? Using data on a large panel of central bankers from developing and developed countries, we find that central bankers who have experienced a larger number of natural as well as man-made disasters tend to act in a more conserv...

Cet article évalue l’influence des avantages et rémunérations versés par les laboratoires pharmaceutiques aux médecins sur les pratiques de délivrance de ces derniers. A partir de données exhaustives couvrant la période 2014-2018, nous estimons l’influence des dépenses de promotion des laboratoires sur les prescriptions effectuées par les médecins...

If historical shocks influence educational outcomes, how long does the effect last, and does it differ among ethnic groups? This study answers these questions by exploiting the historical experiment of partition—that is the splitting of the British Raj into India and Pakistan—and by presenting a theoretical model that explains the trade-offs such a...

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11698-021-00233-6

L’étude des règles budgétaires en vigueur dans les États américains, pour la plupart depuis très longtemps, permet de juger si leur effet est pro ou contra-cyclique face à un choc. Nous analysons les ajustements budgétaires mis en œuvre, non seulement en étudiant les variations des dépenses et des impôts, mais aussi en intégrant la volatilité de l’...

We analyze the persistence of the major determinants of distrust toward the European Union (EU) and pro-Brexit voting attitudes of citizens of the United Kingdom. Looking both backward and forward, our analysis confirms that Euroscepticism is deep-rooted, although the data reveal differences across different parts of the country. We observe no majo...

We analyze the impact of natural disasters experienced in the early life of central bankers to assess their reaction to present‐day similar events. We use a panel dataset covering 68 (developed and developing) countries, for the period 2000 Q1 to 2017 Q4, to examine how the very‐short‐run dynamics of inflation is affected by the (actual) natural di...

Have negative experiences (in particular, natural disasters) that central bankers’ have known in their early life influenced monetary policy decisions in front of the COVID-19 pandemic? We answer this question using a sample of 19 developing countries. We show that central bankers who experienced episodes of epidemics in their early life lowered in...

Cet article évalue l'influence des avantages et rémunérations versés par les laboratoires pharmaceutiques aux médecins sur les pratiques de délivrance de ces derniers. A partir de données exhaustives couvrant la période 2014-2018, nous estimons l'influence des dépenses de promotion des laboratoires sur les prescriptions effectuées par les médecins...

Were policy responses of the US states to the pandemic driven by partisan politics or by budgetary reasons? We show that balanced-budget rules also had an impact, mediated by the possibility of benefiting from the funds previously stored in budget stabilisation funds. State policymakers tried to square the circle by simultaneously respecting budget...

We examine how much an early – i.e., childhood – experience of recession influences the behavior of central bankers. We develop a model of decision making by a committee whose leader and members exhibit recession aversion due to their personal experience. The model reveals that recession aversion could lead to a reluctance of the policymaker to inc...

The School Week Schedule Reform: A Cost Estimation for French Municipalities The article estimates the cost of the recent reform of the French school-week schedule to municipalities. Detailed data from both the municipal financial accounts and the timetables of each school are used. This makes it possible to differentiate the impact of the reform o...

This paper disentangles resource management skills of candidates from the electoral circumstances that help them getting (re-)elected. It is first made use of the DEA method to measure candidates’ resource management abilities. Second, determinants of these scores are estimated. The paper uses a database detailing the different sources of campaign...

The paper analyzes the relations between the legal and regulatory production and the gains of popularity for the President and the Prime Minister in France. Using the GMM system estimation, we show that the Executive's popularity depends on legislative activism, creating reasons to legislate frantically, but also that the Executive has strong incen...

Politicians are always seeking popularity, and they use several tools to try to influence their approval rate. We investigate the dynamic relationship between French executive politicians’ approval rates and three types of legislative acts (laws, ordonnances, and decrees) that they can use to signal their policy stance. Given the persistent debate...

We analyze the allocaiion of a government transfer (the DGF) to cities in France. If the transfer is governed by rules, these rules are so complex that they may hide discretionary biases. Our empirical analysis reveals that such biases exist, and are used, favoring some electoral "fortresses.". © Presses de Sciences Po. Tous droits réservés pour to...

L’article estime le coût de la réforme des rythmes scolaires pour les communes. Il est fait usage de données détaillées issues à la fois des comptes financiers communaux et des emplois du temps de chaque école. Cela permet, d’une part, de différencier l’impact de la réforme sur les dépenses par nature au sein de la fonction scolaire (subventions de...

Nous étudions l’allocation de la dotation globale de fonctionnement (DGF) des communes. Les modalités d’allocation de la DGF sont fixées par des règles en apparence strictes, mais dont la complexité même pourrait créer des marges discrétionnaires. Notre analyse empirique révèle que ces marges existent et sont utilisées, favorisant certains « bastio...

We demonstrate that even though during WWII the interest rate was close to zero supporting the financing of the military effort, dissent inside the FOMC occurred with a similar frequency to other policy episodes. Our analysis highlights that the debates which resulted in dissents turned around two broad issues: the size of the Fed’s balance sheet a...

This paper uses network analysis to measure the position and influence of two prominent academics, James M. Buchanan and Gordon Tullock, founders of Public Choice theory. First, an account of their parallel lives is given. Second, a review of the literature and of the standard centrality measures is provided, insisting on their relevance to assess...

The recent crisis has given rise to proposals for the creation of a European unemployment insurance system. We simulate an EU-wide mechanism under various scenarios, varying methods of financing (common or country-specific contribution rates) and triggers for pay-outs (all time or contingent clauses). We analyse the impact of the system using diffe...

This paper sheds some new light on the determinants of FOMC members’ monetary policy preferences. For that purpose, we use a new dataset of macroeconomic indicators for the Fed districts, as well as preferences revealed by FOMC members in the Transcripts, to compute a desired interest rate for each individual member. First, we find that FOMC member...

Cet article s’inscrit dans le débat sur les règles budgétaires, qui occupe une place centrale dans les questions de politiques publiques étant donné les déficits hérités de la grande récession. La diversité des règles dans le cas canadien offre une expérience quasi naturelle de leur effet. Nous définissons une nomenclature des règles d’équilibre bu...

In 2012, several reports were published advocating the creation of a genuine fiscal capacity at the European level, to strengthen the foundations of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) by helping member countries to adjust to asymmetric shocks. The design of a common stabilization fund should be well thought, though: what would be stabilized? Whe...

This paper examines the modalities of risk sharing in the United States, and their evolution between the pre-financial crisis period and the post-crisis one. Reassessing the mechanisms at play in the US economy, we document a lower share of adjustment coming from capital markets, in comparison to previous estimates. The measures taken during the cr...

This paper tests the hypothesis that upper-level governments can transfer the accountability of the costs of a reform to a lower one. The reform of the school week in France provides the ground for a verification of the attribution of accountability hypothesis, as it was nationally decided and locally implemented, right before a municipal election....

Inflation and its dynamics have been always capturing the attention of economic scholars and policymakers worldwide. Numerous theories in economic literature tried to define the concept of inflation by suggesting different sides of the phenomenon—by evoking the cost-push inflation side, the demand-pull, or both sides. Potential determinants of infl...

This paper discusses the implications of overconfidence when it affects a monetary policy maker. We consider two forms of overconfidence: the illusion of precision and the illusion of control. Incorporating them into a standard New Keynesian framework, we consider the optimal term length of a central banker and examine how it depends on the types a...

http://www.nbp.pl/publikacje/materialy_i_studia/221_en.pdf

Rent seeking in French overseas territories: Stylized facts and cumulative mechanisms This article analyses the rent-seeking process in small, remote economies, considering the case of the French overseas territories. We first present stylized facts about the functioning of these economies and societies. We particularly show how these facts combine...

This article analyses the rent-seeking process in small, remote economies, considering the case of the French overseas territories. We first present stylized facts about the functioning of these economies and societies. We particularly show how these facts combine themselves to create economies wherein most of the actors depend on protection and re...

Implementing Basel Framework's Transparency Requirements in Emerging Countries: Bane or Boon? The purpose of this article is to sum up the impact of regulatory requirements for transparency for banks, focusing on the implementation of Basel's requirements in developing and emerging countries. We show how an increased transparency implies a rise in...

Les finances publiques québécoises sont régies, depuis 1996, par la Loi sur l'équilibre budgétaire, et, depuis 2006, par la Loi sur la réduction de la dette. Dans la foulée de la dernière récession, plusieurs dispositions de ces deux lois ont été modifiées. Les règles budgétaires québécoises ainsi réformées pourront-elles demeurer en place à long t...

This research looks at the determinants of the adoption of the school-rhythm reform by French municipalities. The possibility opened to mayors to adopt the reform sooner (2013) or later (2014) offers the opportunity to measure how much the interests of the children have weighted on the decision. As our results reveal strong partisan biases to be pr...

We show that voters are fiscal conservatives, although in the long run only: while the average (over the mandate) level of debt has a negative impact on the probability of reelection, pre-election debt accumulation by incumbents increases their probability of reelection. As the negative impact becomes larger as the debt level becomes higher, it com...

Using a new database of French municipalities that covers 821 towns and 2 elections (2001 and 2008), we examine how the budget structure, degree of electoral competition and the economic context affect the share of votes for the incumbent. We assess the speci cities created by the two-round process under French electoral rule (a dual ballot under p...

This paper discusses the implications of overconfidence when it affects a monetary policy-maker. We consider two forms of overconfidence: the illusion of precision and the illusion of control. Embedding them in a standard New Keynesian framework, we derive the optimal term length of a central banker and examine how it depends on the types and degre...

This paper examines the influence of the biographical experience of monetary policy committee members on their performance in managing inflation and output volatility. Our sample covers major OECD countries in the 1999 to 2010 period. Using data envelopment analysis (DEA), we study the efficiency of monetary policy committees. Then, we look at the...

We investigate the interactions between countries of the discretionary component of national fiscal policies (i.e. the cyclically- and interest-adjusted part of fiscal policy), therefore observing and investigating the part of public spending and tax receipts on which governments keep full discretion. Our sample covers 18 OECD countries, during the...

This paper aims to explain the rise and fall of communism by exploring the interplay between economic incentives and social preferences transmitted by ideology. We introduce inequality-averse and inefficiency-averse agents and analyze their con‡flict through the interaction between leaders with economic power and followers with ideological determin...

This study examines public opinion in 15 European countries, on the proposal to establish an independent European Central Bank (ECB). Using data from Eurobarometer surveys for 1998 to 2000, which included a specific question on this issue, we show that inflation performance is not sufficient to explain people's preference for an independent central...

Cet article fait le point sur la question des regles budgetaires, qui occupe une place centrale dans les debats de politiques publiques sur la resorption eventuelle des deficits herites de la Grande Recession. Il revient d’abord rapidement sur la litterature theorique relative aux regles budgetaires. Il dresse ensuite une nomenclature des regles bu...

This study examines the relationship between bank transparency and efficiency. Using a unique data set for Russian banks, we find that transparency is important and that, among the dimensions of transparency, the transparency in board and management structure and process represents the most significant determinant. These results are controlled for...

Résumé Cet article présente la littérature relative à la transparence des entreprises. La transparence apparaît souvent comme souhaitable voire nécessaire dans les discours des responsables politiques. La littérature académique est néanmoins plus nuancée : elle montre que même si une divulgation d’informations accrue de la part des entreprises a so...

Transparency requirements are central to the third pillar of the Basel prescriptions. The purpose of this article is to offer a simple theoretical model to analyze the impact of regulatory requirements for transparency on the balance sheet and profits of banks, focusing on the implementation of Basel's requirements in emerging countries. We show ho...

This paper addresses empirically the still debated issue of the legitimacy of the European Central Bank (ECB) with regard to European polities, presenting evidence on public opinion support for the ECB as elicited from responses in the recent waves of the Eurobarometer survey. We employ a rich set of potential determinants, combining macroeconomic...

This paper aims to explain the rise and fall of communism by exploring the interplay between economic incentives and social preferences transmitted by ideology. We introduce inequality-averse and inefficiency-averse agents and analyze their conflict through the interaction between leaders with economic power and followers with ideological determina...

Nous étudions l'influence des variables économiques et politiques sur les résultats obtenus par les candidats des partis sortants aux élections municipales françaises. Les contributions de l'article sont les suivantes: (1) nous travaillons sur la probabilité de réélection des sortants à chacun des deux tours, (2) nous intégrons explicitement les sp...

This study examines public opinion in 15 European countries, on the proposal to establish an independent European Central Bank (ECB). Using data from Eurobarometer surveys for 1998 to 2000, which included a specific question on this, we show that inflation performance is not sufficient to explain people's preference for an independent central bank:...

This paper reviews the literature on corporate disclosure. Policymakers often support corporate disclosure but more contrasted views have emerged in the academic literature, showing that even if disclosure can actually benefits to shareholders, it is costly and it may trigger pernicious effects. Disclosing information is expensive (communication an...

This paper shows that the probability of replacing a central bank governor is positively related to the time already spent in office, to banking and currency crises, the occurrence of elections, central bank independence reforms, and inflation. Moreover, results are shown to depend on the change being a regular or irregular one, and whether it occu...

We investigate the influence of economic and political variables on the electoral outcomes for the incumbent mayor's political party. Our contributions are the following: (1) we deal with reelection probabilities at each electoral round, (2) we explicitly consider the specificities of the two-round electoral rule and the degree of political competi...

The paper deals with the fear-of-losing-customers argument for price rigidity. We address the following question: does the fact that customers are subject to non-renewal clause foster price flexibility? Using a new database in which customers are forced to change their subscription each year, we find that sluggishness in price adjustment exists eve...

This study examines the relationship between bank transparency and efficiency. Using a unique dataset for Russian banks, we find that transparency is important and that, among the dimensions of transparency, the transparency in board and management structure and process represents the most significant determinant. These results are controlled for s...

In this paper, we expose the results of a voting experiment realized in 2007, during the French Presidential election. This experiment aimed at confronting the single transferable vote (STV) procedure with two criteria: simplicity and the selection of a Condorcet-winner. Building on our electoral sample’s preferences, we show that this voting proce...

This paper starts by describing the composition of monetary policy committees (MPCs) in inflation-targeting and non-targeting countries. The experience of MPC members on their inflation performance is then compared, opposing inflation targeters with non-targeters. Our sample covers the major Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cou...

This article analyzes the dynamics of electoral promises, building on an electoral competition model with endogenous policies. It extends the literature by considering sanctions from the electorate and lobbies when the politician does not satisfy the expected performance she promised to deliver before the election. This framework allows us to deal...

This paper uses a new database on campaign funding on French members of parliament to analyze their efficiency. The database includes the level of funding, as well as the origin of the resources the politicians have at their disposal. The funding sources are identified with true resources used by the candidates. This allows us to use DEA methods to...

We contrast the influence of demography and central bank independence on inflation. The recent demographic trends in developed countries are shown to weight more on inflation than central bank independence, while the contrary stands for the period from 1960 to 1979. participants to Bocconi University's Paolo Baffi Center Conference on Central Bank...

We investigate the relationships between the discretionary component of national fiscal policies, for a sample of 18 OECD countries, during the 1970 – 2008 period. First, we build a measure of discretionary fiscal policy, considered as the residual component of a VAR model. More precisely, we isolate the structural part of the canonical residual. T...

The literature on sub-national elections reveals that politicians can influence voters with the instruments they can use at this level, particularly the repartition of budgets between investment and operating expenditures, and the number of public employees. Veiga and Veiga (2007), for Portugal, show that increases in investment expenditures and ch...

This note considers the foundations of the Federal Reserve Board's independence. Its origins are shown to reside in the American political philosophy, under which independence is an essential working condition for a perennial democracy.

This article analyzes the dynamics of electoral promises towards the population and interest groups, focusing on the reaction of voters to the proximity of a candidate to interests groups. In a two-period electoral competition model, we show that a (re)election seeking politician must consider the inherent characteristics of voters whilst making an...

This paper relates the volatility of interest rates to the collective nature of monetary policymaking in monetary unions. Several decision rules are modelled, including hegemonic and democratic procedures, and also committees headed by a chairman. A ranking of decision rules in terms of the volatility of policy rates is obtained, showing that the p...

This paper examines the influence of the biographical experience of monetary policy committee members on their inflation performance. Our sample covers major OECD countries in the 1999 to 2008 period. The results show that policy makers' backgrounds influence inflation. The professional background of monetary policy committees' members proves impor...

The paper first reviews the evolution of federal fiscal rules in the United States, showing a trend towards balanced-budget rules, not golden rules. An explanation to this trend is provided in a model that includes voter's preferences that are skewed by the history of the budget structure, and fiscal rules on the budget. Previous results in the lit...

This article reviews the recent literature on the consequences of disclosure for listed firms. Though some studies show that disclosure is desirable for shareholders because it reduces the cost of capital, and increases the value created, others provide more mixed results. The conclusion on the collective advantages is even less convincing; it is n...

This paper is an empirical study of the publication records of communications to a weekly seminar, continued from 1997. We look at the quality of publications, and also at the determinants of publications. Our results offer lessons for both presenters and organizers of research seminars in the academia.

A “winner” under any voting rule ? An experience on the Single Transferable Vote In this paper, we expose the results of a voting experiment realised in 2007, during the French Presidential election. This experiment aimed at confronting the Single Transferable Vote (SVT) procedure to two criteria : simplicity and the selection of a Condorcet-winner...

This paper disentangles between two hypotheses on the determinants of Australia's and of the US' average tariffs levels. Relying on historical data that covers a century (1904 to 2005), the results indicate strong long-run relations between US and Australian tariffs, though the speed of adjustment to the long-run relationship is higher for the US....