Each week, the Dutch Postcode Lottery (PCL) randomly selects a postal code, and distributes cash and a new BMWto lottery participants in that code. We study the effects of these shocks on lottery winners and their neighbors.Consistent with the life-cycle hypothesis, the effects on winners’...

Socio-economic interrelationships among regions can be measured in terms of economic flows, migration, or physical geographically-based measures, such as distance or length of shared areal unit boundaries. In general, proximity and openness tend to favour a similar economic performance among...

This discussion paper resulted in a publication in <I>Land Economics</I> (2014). Volume 90(4), pages 717-745.<P> This paper contrasts the discovered preference hypothesis against the theory of coherent arbitrariness in a split-sample stated choice experiment on flood risk exposure in the Netherlands. A...</p></i>

This discussion paper resulted in a publication in the <A href="http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/REST_a_00103">'Review of Economics and Statistics'</A>, 2010, 93(3), 982-994.<P> We propose a first order bias correction term for the Gini index to reduce the bias due to grouping. The first order correction term is obtained from studying the estimator of the...</p></a>

Published in <A href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9442.2010.01613.x/abstract">The Scandinavian Journal of Economics"</A>, 112(3), 618-39.<P>The perpetual inventory method used for the construction of education data per country leads to systematic measurement error. This paper analyses the effect of this measurement error on GDP regressions. There is a systematic...</p></a>

This discussion paper resulted in an article in <I>Fiscal Studies</I> (2009). Volume 30, issue 3/4, pages 391-417.<P> Every three years, Indonesia fields simultaneously two nationwide surveys which collect consumption data. Onecollects consumption using 23 questions, the other using 320 questions. Based...</p></i>

Local policy makers seek ways to deal with abandoned industrial heritage in their jurisdictions. Much is demolished, but in some cases considerable investments are made to preserve the cultural aspects of industrial sites. The renewal plans are usually designed to stimulate urban renewal in the...

This paper investigates the effectiveness of an intervention that was targeted at a specific group of Dutch Social Assistance (SA) recipients with debt problems. With a large share of the income gains of work resumption were transferred to the creditors, these individuals experienced a strong a...

In this paper we determine the effect of transport cost on commuting flows, on the basis of an analysis of home-to-work journeys between municipalities in Denmark. Special attention is given to a proper estimation method and the form of the distance-decay function. It appears that neither an...

This paper addresses the timing of a location's historical transition from rural to urban activity. We test whether urbanization occurs sooner in places with higher agricultural potential and comparatively lower transport costs, using worldwide data that divide the earth's surface at half-degree...