Mathieu Lefebvre

• Ph.D. Economics
• Professor (Full) at University of Strasbourg

The current health crisis has particularly affected the elderly population. Nursing homes have unfortunately experienced a relatively large number of deaths. On the basis of this observation and working with European data (from SHARE), we want to check whether nursing homes were lending themselves to excess mortality even before the pandemic. Contr...

Through a series of experiments, this paper tests the relative efficiency of persuasion and commitment schemes to increase and sustain contribution levels in a Voluntary Contribution Game. The design allows us to compare a baseline consisting of a repeated public good game to four treatments of the same game in which we successively introduce a per...

This paper evaluates how three different international accreditations for business schools (AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA) affect student preferences, expressed via enrollment decisions. Focusing on the French context, we build a relative preference indicator to compare schools using data collected by the central clearinghouse that allocates students to sc...

This paper empirically evaluates the impact of fiscal decentralization on the performance of higher education systems. To test this relationship, we build up a panel dataset composed of European countries. Country-level performance is measured by an indicator using data from the Shanghai ranking. Using a dynamic panel approach, we find that a highe...

There is robust evidence in the experimental economics literature showing that monopoly power is affected by trading institutions. In this paper, we study whether trading institutions themselves can shape agents' market behavior through the formation of anchors. We recreate experimentally five different double‐auction market structures (perfect com...

This paper evaluates how three different international accreditations for business schools (AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA) affect student preferences , expressed via enrollment decisions. Focusing on the French context , we build a relative preference indicator to compare schools using data collected by a central clearinghouse that allocates students to sc...

Using a common experimental framework, this paper addresses both the question of the short-term and the long-lasting effects of temporary monetary and non-monetary incentive mechanisms on increasing individual contributions to the public good. The results show that both punishments and rewards significantly increase contributions compared to the ba...

L’objet de cet article est d’analyser de manière expérimentale les liens supposés entre les préférences sociales des individus et la manière dont ils conçoivent la propriété intellectuelle, en opposant en particulier les approches utilitaristes et déontologiques. Pour ce faire, nous avons mis en place un protocole expérimental original à l’interfac...

L’État providence n’a jamais été autant décrié qu’aujourd’hui et pourtant il n’a sans doute jamais été autant nécessaire. Les critiques qu’il doit essuyer viennent de ceux qui veulent en réduire la voilure comme de ceux qui le trouvent inefficace à remplir ses principales missions. Pourtant les multiples fractures sociales qui ont conduit une parti...

Following Kanbur and Mukherjee (Bull Econ Res 59(4):339–359 2007), a solution to the “missing poor” problem (i.e., selection bias in poverty measures due to income-differentiated mortality) consists in computing hypothetical poverty rates while assigning a fictitious income to the prematurely dead. However, in a dynamic general equilibrium economy,...

Higher mortality among the poor prevents standard poverty measures from quantifying the actual extent of old-age poverty. Whereas existing attempts to deal with the ”missing poor” problem assume the absence of income mobility and assign to the prematurely dead a fictitious income equal to the last income enjoyed, this paper relaxes that assumption...

It has been long suggested that public pension wealth may crowd out household savings. However, there remains controversy about the extent of this displacement effect. In this paper we use an original microsimulation model based on retrospective survey data collected through the third wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (S...

This paper studies individuals’ preference for reducing advantageous inequality in the distribution of gains and losses. Combining the inequality aversion model of Fehr and Schmidt (Q J Econ 114(3):817–868, 1999) with loss aversion à la Kahneman and Tversky (Econom J Econom Soc:263–291, 1979), we predict the relative dislike for advantageous inequa...

Depuis quelques années, il est admis qu’il y a lieu de s’inquiéter pour l’avenir de l’État providence. Des menaces croissantes pèsent en effet sur son fonctionnement. Elles ont pour noms vieillissement, concurrence fiscale, changements familiaux et segmentation du marché du travail. Pour toutes ces raisons, les États providences européens ont besoi...

Depuis quelques années, il est admis qu’il y a lieu de s’inquiéter pour l’avenir de l’État providence. Des menaces croissantes pèsent en effet sur son fonctionnement. Elles ont pour noms vieillissement, concurrence fiscale, changements familiaux et segmentation du marché du travail. Pour toutes ces raisons, les États providences européens ont besoi...

Mortality by Income Level from European Data We estimate the relationship between income and mortality in France and a series of European countries. Using a weighted regression method, the life expectancy by income class is obtained from the life expectancy by education. The calculation are made for different cohorts and sex and the results show th...

Inequalities in the Face of Death and Risk of Dependence We use data from the SHARE survey to estimate the relationship between socioeconomic status, mortality and risk of dependence among Europeans aged 50+. We confirm that the subjective probabilities of survival as reported in the survey are good predictors of the probability of actual survival....

We study retirement incentives with an augmented reduced form option value model à la Stock and Wise (1990). We propose methodological extensions to better reflect the respective incentives faced by singles and couples. Our results show that a more comprehensive modeling of couples’ incentives leads to very different patterns of retirement incentiv...

Academia is a rather awkward sector to (ad)minister. It is home to peculiarities such as academic tenure, peer-reviewed publications, and shared governance. Its higher education institutions are a key engine for local economies and they also play an increasingly active role at an international level, linked both to their teaching and research activ...

This paper looks at the relationship between higher education ministers and the performance of the sector that they govern. Using an original panel dataset with the characteristics of European higher education ministers, we find that having a past experience in the sector leads to a higher level of performance, as measured by ranking data. Making a...

We study retirement incentives with augmented option value model a la Stock and Wise (1990). We propose methodological extensions to better reflect the respective incentives faced by singles and couples. Our results show that a more comprehensive modelling of couples' incentives leads to very different patterns of retirement incentives – particular...

We provide an overview of the institutional framework in Belgium that is of relevance for labor market participation and retirement decision at older ages. We then describe key labor market indicators using data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) over the period 1983‐2013 and also present trends in participation in (early‐) retirement routes. Next,...

This paper looks at the relationship between higher education ministers and the performance of the sector that they govern. Using an original panel dataset with the characteristics of European higher education ministers, we find that having a past experience in the sector leads to a higher level of performance, as measured by ranking data. Making a...

Differentiated Mortality and Poverty by Age Under income-differentiated mortality, poverty measures reflect not only the “true” poverty, but, also, the selection process induced by income-differentiated mortality. In front of this selection bias, one solution consists of truncating lifetime income profiles of prematurely dead poor persons by means...

Cet article présente différentes méthodes qui permettent de mesurer et d’expliquer la fraude fiscale et le travail au noir. Il ressort de ce survol qu’il n’existe pas de bonnes méthodes permettant d’appréhender et d’expliquer ces phénomènes. Nous ne pensons pas que les approches indirectes qui visent à donner une évaluation globale et comparative d...

Attitudes towards risk and uncertainty have been indicated to be highly context-dependent, and to be sensitive to the measurement technique employed. We present data collected in controlled experiments with 2,939 subjects in 30 countries measuring risk and uncertainty attitudes through incentivized measures as well as survey questions. Our data sho...

We experimentally study how receiving information about tax compliance of others affects individuals’ occupational choices and subsequent evading decisions. In one treatment individuals receive information about the highest tax evasion rates of others in past experimental sessions with no such social information; in another treatment they receive i...

Classic financial agency theory recommends compensation through stock options rather than shares to induce risk neutrality in otherwise risk averse agents. In an experiment, we find that subjects acting as executives do also take risks that are excessive from the perspective of shareholders if compensated through options. Compensation through restr...

Performance-contingent compensation by means of stock options may induce risk-taking in agents that is excessive from the point of view of the company or the shareholders. We test whether increasing shareholder control may be an effective checking mechanism to rein in such excessive risk-taking. We thus tell one group of experimental CEOs that they...

Income-differentiated mortality, by reducing the share of poor persons in the population, leads to what can be called the "Mortality Paradox": the worse the survival conditions of the poor are, the lower the measured poverty is. We show that the extent to which FGT measures (Foster Greer Thorbecke 1984) underestimate old-age poverty under income-di...

The paper studies retirement behavior of wage‐earners in Belgium – for the first time using rich survey data to explore retirement incentives as faced by individuals. Specifically, we use SHARE data to estimate a model à la Stock and Wise (1990). Exploring the longitudinal nature of SHARELIFE, we construct measures of financial and non‐financial in...

In this paper we survey a number of theoretical and empirical studies in order to propose explanations to the fall of labour force participation at older age. Starting from the largely studied effect of social security schemes on labour supply, we explore the employers behaviour and the role of governments in the development of early retirement sch...

En période de crise économique, les besoins de l'Etat augmentent et l'assiette fiscale se réduit ; il est alors courant de voir resurgir dans le débat public la lutte contre les diverses formes de fraude qui réduisent les recettes publiques. Dans ce contexte, on oppose régulièrement fraude fiscale à fraude sociale et la discussion porte souvent sur...

Cet article étudie les comportements face à la fraude fiscale et à la fraude sociale à partir d'une expérience de laboratoire. Ces deux formes de fraude représentent un manque à gagner certain, bien que difficilement mesurable, pour nos gouvernants endettés. Comprendre les facteurs déterminants de ces comportements est une condition nécessaire à un...

Many Belgian retire well before the statutory retirement age. Numerous exit routes from the labor force can be identified: old-age pensions, conventional early retirement, disability insurance, and unemployment insurance are the most prominent ones. We analyze the retirement decision of Belgian workers adopting an option value framework, and pay sp...

Cet article compare les comportements vis-à-vis de la fraude fiscale et de la fraude sociale à l’aide d’une expérience de laboratoire réalisée avec quatre échantillons de participants : des Belges flamands, des Belges wallons, des Néerlandais et des Français. Les gains monétaires espérés de la fraude sont identiques pour les deux types de fraude. T...

In this article, we propose a structural model of the retirement decision for older workers in Belgium. We model the exit paths available through the various available schemes. Our framework allows exploiting all information on possible exit paths and also better identifying preferences and constraints. Results based upon Belgian microsimulation da...

Under income-differentiated mortality, poverty measures reflect not only the "true" poverty, but, also, the interferences or noise caused by the survival process at work. Such interferences lead to the Mortality Paradox: the worse the survival conditions of the poor are, the lower the measured poverty is. We examine several solutions to avoid that...

This paper aims at illustrating, in the case of Belgian regions, a specific problem faced by poverty measures. Since mortality is related to the level of income – poor persons tend to die, on average, at younger ages than non-poor persons – poverty measures for the elderly depend not only on what one can call the “true poverty”, but, also, on the s...

Dans ce numéro de Regards économiques, nous présentons une mesure multidimensionnelle de la performance des Etats-providence de l’Union européenne. Cette mesure permet de comparer la performance des pays de l’Europe des 15 avec celle des 12 nouveaux membres; elle donne aussi la possibilité de tester l’hypothèse d’un éventuel dumping social; enfin e...

The ratio bias - according to which individuals prefer to bet on probabilities expressed as a ratio of large numbers to normatively equivalent or superior probabilities expressed as a ratio of small numbers - has recently gained momentum, with researchers especially in health economics emphasizing the policy importance of the phenomenon. Although t...

No abstract available.

The paper provides a perspective on the development of the Belgian disability insurance system. Using both survey and administrative data, it sketches a picture of the (changing) factors leading towards disability, as well as the outcomes in terms of program participation. The paper shows the key role of integrating other forms of early retirement...

In a series of experiments conducted in Belgium (Wallonia and Flanders), France and the Netherlands, we compare behavior regarding tax evasion and welfare dodging, with and without information about others’ behavior. Subjects have to decide between a ‘registered’ income, the realization of which will be known to the tax authority for sure, and an ‘...

We report between-subject results on the effect of monetary stakes on risk attitudes. While we find the typical risk seeking for small probabilities, risk seeking is reduced under high stakes. This suggests that utility is not consistently concave.

In this paper we use data on five social inclusion indicators (poverty, inequality, unemployment, education and health) to assess and compare the performance of 27 European welfare states (EU27) in 2008. Aggregate measures of performance are obtained using index number methods similar to those employed in the construction of the widely used Human D...

Measurement and Comparison of Elderly welfare in the EU In this paper, we propose a multidimensional measurement method to assess the welfare of the elderly for the last decade. This measure aggregates several welfare dimensions, namely average and relative income levels, poverty and inequality rates, life expectancy and health. The aggregate measu...

Compensation of executives by means of equity has long been seen as a means to tie executives? income to company performance, and thus as a solution to the principal-agent dilemma created by the separation of ownership and management in publicly owned companies. The overwhelming part of such equity compensation is currently provided in the form of...

The ratio bias – according to which individuals prefer to bet on probabilities expressed as a ratio of large numbers to normatively equivalent or superior probabilities expressed as a ratio of small numbers – has recently gained momentum, with researchers especially in health economics emphasizing the policy importance of the phenomenon. Although t...

This paper proposes an analysis of early retirement for private sector workers in Belgium. On the contrary of early studies in this field (Pestieau and Stijns [1999] and Dellis et al. [2004]), our study is based on a structural model of labour supply. This has the advantage of allowing us to test potential policy reforms aiming at increasing the pa...

Early retirement of wage-earners in Belgium This paper proposes an analysis of early retirement for private sector workers in Belgium. On the contrary of early studies in this field (Pestieau and Stijns [1999] and Dellis et al. [2004]), our study is based on a structural model of labour supply. This has the advantage of allowing us to test potentia...

Most studies on the role of incentives on risk attitude report data obtained from within-subject experimental investigations. This may however raise an issue of sequentiality of effects as later choices may be influenced by earlier ones. This paper reports instead between-subject results on the effect of monetary stakes on risk attitudes for small...

This paper presents a model where young and old workers compete for one type of jobs in the presence of retirement opportunity. Within this framework, we show that increased retirement opportunities (such as early retirement) has most of the time a depressing impact on the unemployment rate. Indeed the number of vacancies posted by firms is influen...

In this article, we use data on five social inclusion indicators (poverty, inequality, unemployment, education and health) to assess and compare the performance of 15 European welfare states (EU15) over a 12-year period from 1995 to 2006. Aggregate measures of performance are obtained using index number methods similar to those employed in the cons...

In this paper, we describe the changes of early retirement programs over time and study the link between trends in elderly labor force participation and youth unemployment. Our empirical results are against the often claimed argument according to which early retirement would reduce youth unemployment. JEL Classification Numbers – H55, J21, J26, J14...

In this paper we use data on five social inclusion indicators (poverty, inequality, unemployment, education and health) to assess the performance of 15 European welfare states (EU15) over a ten-year period from 1995 to 2004. Aggregate measures of performance are obtained using index number methods similar to those employed in the construction of th...

In this paper, we describe the changes of (early) retirement programs over time and study the link between trends in elderly labor force participation and youth unemployment. From a theoretical point of view, there is no convincing argument that the idea of a lump-of-labor should hold. Our empirical results comfort this finding, and indicate a very...

Pension systems differ across European countries according to various characteristics. But every one operates some redistribution within cohort. This paper analyses the comparative intragenerational redistributive performances of public pension transfers using data from the Luxembourg Income Study. The analysis shows that there is wide variation am...

The Redistributive Effects of Pension Systems in Europe Pension systems differ across European countries according to various characteristics. But every one operates some redistribution within cohort. This paper analyses the comparative intra- generational redistributive performances of public pension transfers using data from the Luxembourg Incom...

This paper distinguishes among three types of generosity of social security systems: average generosity, generosity towards early retirement and generosity towards the poor. On the basis of theoretical predictions, it examines the statistical correlations among those types of generosity for 14 OECD countries over the period 1985–2000. It also shows...

Imagine a casual discussion involving three Eurocrats in a café on the Brussels Grand Place. They are attending a meeting on the ‘Future of Pensions in the EU’ and are talking about the generosity of pensions. Each one contends that his country is the most generous. The Belgian contends that his country is by far the most generous as it allows work...

This paper analyses the effect of population ageing on consumptions aggregates in Belgium. Since consumption expenditures change markedly over the life-cycle, the structure of aggregate consumption is likely to change in the course of population ageing. First, we estimate the effect of age on expenditures for 10 composite goods coming from househol...

Political resistance to a progressive increase in the retirement age is widespread in a number of European countries. We present a simple model explaining why such a reform can be opposed even when it is profitable to a majority of citizens. Then, we try to explain the existence of wide differences in the average length of retirement across countri...

The paper analyzes the link between old-age income programs and economic outcomes in Belgium. We use a simulation methodology to construct an average pension generosity variable. Our regression analysis explores the link with distributional outcomes in income, consumption and more subjective indicators. Results document the weak link between averag...

FNous disposons aujourd'hui d'une batterie d'indicateurs d'exclusion sociale pour les pays membres de l'Union Europ�enne. Cette batterie a �t� d�velopp�e pour amener les diff�rents pays membres � tenter d'atteindre les meilleurs scores. C'est ce qu'on appelle la MOC. Elle permet aussi de classer les pays selon l'efficacit� de leur politiques social...

In this article, we use data on five social inclusion indicators (poverty, inequality, unemployment, education and health) to assess and compare the performance of 15 European welfare states (EU15) over a 12-year period from 1995 to 2006. Aggregate measures of performance are obtained using index number methods similar to those employed in the cons...