We explore empirically whether earnings uncertainty and borrowing constraints deter households from the stock market, consistent with the predictions of theoretical studies of portfolio choice in the presence of uninsurable earnings. Since recent extensions highlight the importance of the correlation between earnings and financial risks, here we use a self-assessed proxy from the DELTA-TNS 2002 cross-sectional survey to empirically assess the impact. Although income risk does not affect the participation decision of households' reporting a negative correlation, it does lower the participation of those who report a nonnegative sign, consistent with economic theory predictions.

The aim of the present study is to show the potential of behavioural microsimulation models as powerful tools for the ex ante evaluation of public policies. We analyse the impact of recent Spanish income tax reforms upon efficiency and household and social welfare and study the effects of various (basic-income and vital-minimum) flat tax schemes. The analysis is performed using a microsimulation model in which labour supply is explicitly taken into account. Instead of following the traditional continuous approach (Hausman, Labour supply, Aaron and Pechman (eds.), How Taxes Affect Economic Behaviour, The Brooking Institution, Washington, DC, 1981; Econometrica, 53: 1255-1282, 1985; Taxes and labour supply, Auerbach and Feldstein, (eds.), Handbook of Public Economics, North-Holland, Amsterdam, vol. 1, 1979), we estimate the direct utility function employing the methodology proposed by Aaberge et al. (Scand. J. Econ., 97: 635-659, 1995) and Van Soest (J. Hum. Resour., 30: 63-88, 1995). We maintain population heterogeneity by applying a social welfare analysis to the complete sample, rather than merely focusing on the active population. The source of our data is a sample of Spanish individuals in the 1995 wave of the EC Household Panel. We find that the redistribution policies considered have only had a minor impact on economic efficiency but, by contrast, have significantly affected social welfare

This article analyzes the gender wage gap in the hospitality sector. First, it explores whether the gender wage gap is partly explained by the economic sector. Second, it measures how this gap changes across the wage distribution using quantile regression. Third, it decomposes the gender wage gap in the hospitality sector to distinguish which part can be explained by observed attributes and which part is explained by other factors (unobserved characteristics or gender discrimination). Methodologically, this article introduces the use of quantile regression to the analysis of the gender wage gap and its decomposition in the hospitality sector. The main findings are as follows. First, on average in the hospitality sector, wages (without taking into account worker skills) are below the overall average wages. However, if a deeper look is taken, this research reveals that unskilled workers are better paid in hospitality than in most of the other sectors. The opposite is true for skilled workers, since mid- and high-wage workers in the hospitality sector receive wages below their counterparts in other sectors. Second, the gender wage gap is particularly low in the hospitality sector and the gap changes across the wage distribution. Third, a large part of the gender wage gap in hospitality is not explained by worker or company characteristics. The segregation of women into worse-paid jobs and gender discrimination (or unobserved characteristics) seem to be the main sources of the gender wage gap.