Browsing by Person "Seiffert, Sebastian"

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Go east : on the impact of the Transiberian Railway on economic development in Eastern Russia
(2019) Seiffert, Sebastian
This paper addresses the question whether or not large-scale infrastructure investments have a causal effect of local economic development. By using a novel instrumental variable approach based on historical trade and travel routes across the Russian East, I am able to identify a causal and negative effect of remoteness to the Transsiberian Railway on local economic activity as measured by nocturnal lights emission.
Gun violence in the U.S. : correlates and causes
(2017) Kukharskyy, Bohdan; Seiffert, Sebastian
This paper provides a county-level investigation of the root causes of gun violence in the U.S. To guide our empirical analysis, we develop a simple theoretical model which suggests that firearm-related offenses in a given county increase with the number of illegal guns and decrease with social capital and police intensity. Using detailed panel data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the period 1986-2014, we find empirical evidence for the causal effects of illegal guns, social capital, and police intensity consistent with our theoretical predictions. Based on our analysis, we derive a range of policy recommendations.
The size of the middle class and educational outcomes : theory and evidence from the Indian subcontinent
(2018) Seiffert, Sebastian; Prettner, Klaus
This paper proposes a stylised model to derive the effect of a sizeable middle class on average educational outcomes. Under reasonable assumptions, the model predicts that the spending share on education increases if the middle class becomes larger such that the size of the middle class has a positive impact on education. We test the relationship empirically by using village/neighbourhood level data from Indian household surveys. To tackle the issue of potential endogeneity of the middle class share of the population, we propose a novel instrument that relies on the fraction of the population belonging to the third (middle) caste (“sudra”). Using this IV strategy, our empirical results support a positive effect of a larger middle class on educational outcomes. Furthermore, we show that the share of the middle class is a more important determinant of female education than male education and that the effect of the middle class on education is more pronounced in rural areas.