Publications:
With Johannes Boehm (Sciences Po & CEPR) and Xavier Jaravel (LSE & CEPR)
American Economic Review - Volume 115, N°1, January 2025
Abstract
We present experimental evidence on the marginal propensity to consume (MPC) out of transitory transfers, distributing prepaid debit cards with different features. The one-month MPC is substantially higher with a card expiring after three weeks (61%), compared to a transfer without expiration (23%). The finding that households consume more when presented with an urgent spending need lends support to theories where the salience of treatments affects choices. We also estimate that the consumption response is concentrated in the first weeks after the transfer and that a large fraction of households has high MPCs, even those with high liquid wealth.
With Odran Bonnet (Insee), Tristan Loisel (Insee & Crest) and Lionel Wilner (Insee & Crest)
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management - Volume 129, January 2025
Abstract
This article exploits both the crude oil price surge consecutive to the invasion of Ukraine and 2022 fuel excise tax rebates in France as quasi-natural experiments to infer the price sensitivity of fuel demand. Based on granular individual bank account data at the transaction level, we properly disentangle anticipation effects from price effects, and estimate an average price elasticity of -0.31. It varies little with respect to income and location but substantially decreases, in absolute, with respect to fuel spending and is higher for retirees. We evaluate financial and distributional effects of the actual tax policy as well as its impact on CO2 emissions based on counterfactual simulations. We empirically demonstrate that resorting to transfers, be they targeted or not, achieves only imperfect compensation against fuel inflation. However, we show that a policy maker subject to a tight budget constraint and seeking to alleviate excessive losses, relative to income, prefers means-tested transfers to rebates.
With Samuel Delpeuch (OCDE-Sciences Po) and Philippe Martin (Sciences-Po and CEPR)
Abstract
We investigate the role of trade imbalances in the rise of protectionism in the past 10 years. Bilateral as well as multilateral trade imbalances are robust predictors of protectionist attacks. This result is partly but not entirely driven by the US and the Trump years. We also find that countries that experience a bilateral real exchange rate appreciation launch more protectionist attacks. The role of trade imbalances in the rise of protectionism is confirmed when we use fiscal policies as instrumental variables for trade imbalances. Countries with more expansionary fiscal policies react to the ensuing trade imbalance by a more protectionist trade policy. The role of trade imbalances in the rise of protectionism is quantitatively important: in the G20, a one standard deviation increase in the bilateral and multilateral trade deficits of a country leads respectively to a 7% and 17% rise of protectionist attacks by this country.
With Charles Louis-Sidois (Vienna University of Economics and Business)
Abstract
We investigate the impact of compulsory military service on turnout and political preferences. Exploiting the suspension of mandatory conscription for French men, we find a significant and positive impact of military service on turnout. This effect ranges from 3.6 percentage points for the first round of the presidential election of 2012 to 8.9 percentage points for the second round of the legislative elections. Using a survey conducted in 2017, we investigate the impact of conscription on political preferences. We find that former conscripts are significantly more nationalist and conservative. Especially, we show that they are more likely to support and vote for the Front National, which is the main far-right party in France.
Work in progress:
With Pierre Cotterlaz (Sciences-Po and CEPII)
Abstract
This paper documents the effect of information frictions on trade using a historical large-scale improvement in the transmission of news: the emergence of global news agencies. The information available to potential traders became more abundant, was delivered faster and at a cheaper price between countries covered by a news agency. By exploiting differences in the timing of telegraph openings and news agency coverage across pairs of countries, we are able to disentangle the pure effect of information from the effect of a reduction in communication costs. Panel gravity estimates reveal that bilateral trade increased by 30% more for pairs of countries covered by a news agency and connected by a telegraph than for pairs of countries simply connected by a telegraph.
With Odran Bonnet (Insee), Tristan Loisel (Insee & Crest) and Lionel Wilner (Insee & Crest)
Submitted
Abstract
This paper exploits the introduction of the German carbon tax in 2021 as well as excise tax rebates on fuel in both France and Germany, consecutive to the 2022 oil crisis, to infer how fuel tourism responds to changes in relative prices. Based on French high-frequency transaction-level data issued from individual banking accounts, we find substantial displacement between foreign and domestic consumption. When relative prices increase by 1%, the relative cross-border demand decreases by 7.7%. In border areas, the elasticity of tax revenue with respect to foreign prices is as high as 0.5. Moreover, there is no substantial difference in demand response to either carbon or excise tax. Such empirical evidence illustrates the importance of coordinating tax policy within EU.
We use anonymised transaction and bank data from France to document the evolution of consumption and savings dynamics since the onset of the pandemic. We find that consumption has dropped very severely during the nation-wide lockdown but experienced a strong and steady rebound during the Summer, before faltering in late September. This drop in consumption was met with a significant increase in aggregate households' net financial wealth. This excess savings is extremely heterogenous across the income distribution: 50% of excess wealth accrued to the top decile. Households in the bottom decile of the income distribution experienced a severe decrease in consumption, a decrease in savings and an increase in debt. We estimate marginal propensities to consume and show that their magnitude is large, especially at the bottom of the income and liquidity distributions
Oldies:
Abstract
This paper studies the effects of media capture by private owners. Using French data on the changes in firm ownership of newspapers, the paper documents a change in agenda setting of newspapers acquired by owners with business interests outside the media industry. While these new owners do not improve the economic situation of their newspapers, they play an active role in the editorial process of the newspaper. These new owners change the top editorial and managing personnel, the number and type of journalists while the media-only owners do not. By the same token, these newspapers discuss less parliamentary bills that concern its owner’s industry and discuss more majority-sponsored bills.
Other (policy) work:
avec Odran Bonnet, Tristan Loisel et Lionel Wilner.
Insee Analyses n°97, Septembre 2024. disponible ici
avec Claudia Senik.
Note de l'Observatoire du Bien-être n°2024-05, CEPREMAP, Mai 2024. disponible ici
Avec Laurent Bach, Antoine Bozio, Paul Dutronc-Postel, Arthur Guillouzouic et Clément Malgouyres.
Rapport IPP n°48. (2023) disponible ici et synthèse ici
Comment les automobilistes ajustent leur consommation de carburant aux variations de prix
avec Odran Bonnet, Tristan Loisel et Lionel Wilner.
Focus CAE n°97, Juillet 2023. disponible ici
Insee Analyses n°86, Juillet 2023. disponible ici
with Nicolas Grimprel and Camille Landais
LSE Public Policy Review (2022) Volume 2, Issue 4, p.9
La situation financière des ménages en début de crise énergétique
avec Hélène Paris, Philippe Martin et Marion Rault.
Focus CAE n°88, Juillet 2022.
avec Jean Beuve et Vincent Pons.
Focus CAE n°85, Juin 2022.
avec Hélène Paris et Marion Rault.
Focus CAE n°83, Mars 2022.
La crise a‐t‐elle laissé la culture en jachère ? Analyses à partir de données bancaires
avec Titouan le Calvé et César Poux
Focus CAE n°80, Février 2022.
Repenser l’héritage : analyses supplémentaires
avec Camille Biernat, Clément Dherbécourt, Gabrielle Fack, Nicolas Grimprel, Camille Landais et Stefanie Stantcheva.
Focus CAE n°77, Décembre 2021.
La situation financière des PME/TPE en août 2021 au vu de leurs comptes bancaires
avec Anne Epaulard, Titouan Le Calvé, Philippe Martin, Hélène Paris, Kevin Parra Ramirez et David Sraer
Focus CAE n°65, Septembre 2021.
Baisse des taux d’intérêt et effets sur les inégalités entre ménages depuis 2012
avec Hamza Bennani et Hélène Paris
Focus CAE n°61, Juin 2021.
Consommation, épargne et fragilités financières pendant la crise Covid
with Camille Landais and Chloe Lavest
Focus CAE n°54, Janvier 2021.
Dynamiques de consommation dans la crise : les enseignements en temps réel des données bancaires
with David Bounie, Youssouf Camara, John Galbraith, Camille Landais, Chloe Lavest, Tatiana Pazem and Baptiste Savatier
Focus CAE n°49, Octobre 2020.
Attractiveness, trade policy and globalization additional scenarios
with Samuel Delpeuch, Keith Head, Philippe Martin and Thierry Mayer.
Focus CAE n°45, Juillet 2020.
with Hélène Paris.
Focus CAE n°44, Juillet 2020.
Les déterminants locaux du mécontentement: analyse statistique au niveau communal
with Eva Davoine and Clément Malgouyres.
Focus CAE n°39, Janvier 2020.
Une filière du cannabis en France
with Jean Beuve and Pierre-Yves Geoffard.
Focus CAE n°34, Juin 2019.
Le cannabis médical : une évidence ?
Focus CAE n°32, Juin 2019.