Economic Studies 160 Linna Martén Essays on Politics, Law, and Economics Linna Martén Essays on Politics, Law, and Economics Department of Economics, Uppsala University Visiting address: Kyrkogårdsgatan 10, Uppsala, Sweden Postal address: Box 513, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden Telephone: +46 18 471 00 00 Telefax: +46 18 471 14 78 Internet: http://www.nek.uu.se/ _______________________________________________________ ECONOMICS AT UPPSALA UNIVERSITY The Department of Economics at Uppsala University has a long history. The first chair in Economics in the Nordic countries was instituted at Uppsala University in 1741. The main focus of research at the department has varied over the years but has typically been oriented towards policy-relevant applied economics, including both theoretical and empirical studies. The currently most active areas of research can be grouped into six categories: * Labour economics * Public economics * Macroeconomics * Microeconometrics * Environmental economics * Housing and urban economics _______________________________________________________ Additional information about research in progress and published reports is given in our project catalogue. The catalogue can be ordered directly from the Department of Economics. Dissertation presented at Uppsala University to be publicly examined in Lecture Hall 2, Ekonomikum, Kyrkogårdsgatan 10, Uppsala, Saturday, 28 May 2016 at 13:15 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The examination will be conducted in English. Faculty examiner: Professor Erik Snowberg (California Institute of Technology). Abstract Martén, L. 2016. Essays on Politics, Law, and Economics. Economic studies 160. 150 pp. Uppsala: Department of Economics, Uppsala University. ISBN 978-91-85519-67-5. Essay 1: Several countries practice a system where laymen, who lack legal education, participate in the judicial decision making. Yet, little is known about their potential influence on the court rulings. In Sweden lay judges (nämndemän) are affiliated with the political parties and appointed in proportion to political party representation in the last local elections. This paper investigates the influence of their partisan belonging when ruling in asylum appeals in the Migration Courts, where laymen are effectively randomly assigned to cases. The results show that the approval rate is affected by the policy position of the laymen's political parties. In particular, asylum appeals are more likely to be rejected when laymen from the anti-immigrant party the Swedish Democrats participate, and less likely to be rejected when laymen from the Left Party, the Christian Democrats or the Green Party participate. This indicates that asylum seekers do not receive an impartial trial, and raises concerns that laymen in the courts can compromise the legal security in general. Essay 2: Although economic circumstances have been argued to be a major determining factor of attitudes to redistribution, there is little well identified evidence at the individual level. Utilizing a unique dataset, with detailed individual information, provides new and convincing evidence on the link between economic circumstances and demand for redistribution (in the form of social benefits). The Swedish National Election Studies are constructed as a rotating survey panel, which makes it possible to estimate the causal effect of economic changes. The empirical analysis shows that individuals who experience a job loss become considerably more supportive of redistribution. Yet, attitudes to redistribution return to their initial level as economic prospects improve, suggesting that the effect is only temporary. Although a job loss also changes attitudes to the political parties, the probability to vote for the left-wing is not affected. Essay 3: A well-functioning labor market is characterized by job reallocations, but the individual costs can be vast. We examine if individual's ability to cope with such adjustments depends on their cognitive and non-cognitive skills (measured by the enlistment tests). Since selection into unemployment is a function of skills, we solve the endogeneity of a job loss by using the exogenous labor market shock provided by the military base closures in Sweden following the end of the Cold War. We find, first, that, on average, labor earnings decrease and unemployment and labor-related benefits increase for those affected. Second, there are heterogeneous treatment effects in terms of unemployment; the treated individuals with high non-cognitive and cognitive skills face lower unemployment effects than the treated individuals with low non-cognitive and cognitive skills. Keywords: Political attitudes, Decision making, Court, Immigration, Legal system, Redistribution, Social insurance, Unemployment, Cognitive and Non-cognitive skills, Displaced workers, Plant closure, Defense draw down Linna Martén, Department of Economics, Box 513, Uppsala University, SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden. © Linna Martén 2016 ISSN 0283-7668 ISBN 978-91-85519-67-5 urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-282782 (http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-282782) Acknowledgments When I started at the university I was convinced that I would eventually become a journalist. Working on diverse topics, searching for tomorrow’s news, and uncovering the real facts. It all seemed so thrilling. Well, there are actually some similarities with doing research, but there is of course one major difference – everything about research happens in slow-motion. Yet, I am convinced that the work on this thesis would have progressed even slower without the guidance of my advisors, Matz Dahlberg and Olle Folke. Thank you for many enlightening discussions, and for motivating me to think big and not take the easy way. You managed to push me to do better, but also convinced me that I had the ability to do so. I am grateful that you were always available for a quick chat, and I always left our meetings feeling slightly better about my research than before. Your encouragement, understanding, and advice in times of doubt have truly been invaluable. There is a saying that “the more you learn, the more you realize how much you do not know.” I have certainly found that to be true. The feeling is only enhanced by being surrounded by all the clever people you meet in academia. Out of all of these people, there are some in particular that have been important for my time as a Ph.D. student. To Katarina Nordblom, I would never have applied to the Ph.D. program to begin with, if you had not suggested it. Thank you for believing in my capacity to do research. To Helena Holmlund and Heléne Lundqvist, my discussants during the licentiate and final seminar, I am grateful for your thorough reading and well thought comments on my work. To Eva Mörk, Mikael Elinder, and Jon Fiva, thank you for the interest you have shown for my research and I have benefited greatly from your feedback. To Jim Snyder, thank you for your hospitality and for inviting me to spend a year at Harvard University. To Shuhei, thank you for all the discussions and dinners we shared in Cambridge. I also extend my gratitude to the administrative staff at the economics department in Uppsala for making everything run so smooth. To fellow Ph.D. students at the department, thank you for numerous lunches, coffee breaks, and after works. Your friendliness and team spirit has definitely made my time here so much more memorable. Lovisa, Selva, Oskar, and Irina, I am so happy that we started this whole journey together. We did not only pull through all the exams, but also mastered the art of rowing, karaoke, and liberal dance moves. I thank you for outstanding team effort. Tove, I am grateful that you showed me that everything about research becomes more fun if you also know how to tap dance. Sebastian, thank you for all the laughs that made the whole job market experience somewhat less nerve-wrecking. I am glad that it ended well for both of us. Fredrik, I am lucky to have had you on the other side of the office. During these past years we have shared the ups and downs of research as well as life in general, and I could not have asked for a better companion. I know that I complain too often about our differences, but please know that I value your opinion particularly high. Writing a thesis is a long and bumpy journey, not least because your mood almost perfectly tracks your latest regression results. I am grateful to all my friends for providing moral support and much needed distrac- tions. In particular I want to thank Sandra, Matilda, and Nina for many fun trips, Hanna for all the late night dinners, and Pär for our regular board game evenings. Finally, to my parents. Thank you for being there whenever I need you and for always encouraging me to follow my interests. Uppsala, April 2016 Linna Martén Contents Introduction ................................................................................... 1 1 Economic Imperialism ...................................................... 1 2 The history of JEL codes .................................................. 5 3 The chapters .................................................................... 8 References ............................................................................... 12 Appendices .............................................................................. 13 I Political Bias in Court? Lay Judges and Asylum Appeals .......... 15 1 Introduction ................................................................... 16 2 Institutional background ................................................