Publications by Eelke Jong
Journal of European Public Policy, 2019
The European Union (EU) response to the euro crisis brought new relevance to the debate on social... more The European Union (EU) response to the euro crisis brought new relevance to the debate on socialization through European institutions. While previous studies differ in their support for EU socialization, many have argued that the euro crisis revealed a far-reaching convergence of views among Europe's leaders. Theoretically, the European Central Bank (ECB) in particular is expected to have the power to socialize its governors into a common worldview. The present article questions this proposition. Using the technique of cognitive mapping to provide an in-depth analysis of the views of five members of the ECB Governing Board, we find that even for ECB governors national culture generally trumps EU socialization. Only for ECB President Trichet significant evidence of EU socialization is found. The study also points to some new scope-conditions for socialization that may further our understanding of how European institutions may foster the sustainable socialization of views.
The European sovereign debt crisis has brought to the fore a fault line between German and French... more The European sovereign debt crisis has brought to the fore a fault line between German and French politicians and board members of the ECB. In this paper we argue that these differences are rooted in cultural differences between Germany and France. This position is based on previous research on the relation between central bank independence and national culture and the construction of cognitive maps of a French (Jean-Claude Trichet) and German (Axel Weber) member of the ECB’s board. Consequently, although a European wide agreement on the ECB’s independence has been reached, national cultural differences still play an important role in the Board members’ preferences and the ECB’s policy. As such, this paper illustrates one of the central tenets of this volume that the Cultural Turn in economics has a distinct value for understanding financial affairs. Moreover, it introduces a new methodological approach to operationalise dimensions of culture in the process.
Utrecht School of Economics Working Papers, Jan 1, 2011
Financial Cultures and Crisis Dynamics, 2014
The European sovereign debt crisis has brought to the fore a fault line between German and French... more The European sovereign debt crisis has brought to the fore a fault line between German and French politicians and board members of the ECB. In this paper we argue that these differences are rooted in cultural differences between Germany and France. This position is based on previous research on the relation between central bank independence and national culture and the construction of cognitive maps of a French (Jean-Claude Trichet) and German (Axel Weber) member of the ECB’s board. Consequently, although a European wide agreement on the ECB’s independence has been reached, national cultural differences still play an important role in the Board members’ preferences and the ECB’s policy. As such, this chapter illustrates one of the central tenets of this volume that the Cultural Turn in economics has a distinct value for understanding financial affairs. Moreover, it introduces a new methodological approach to operationalise dimensions of culture in the process.
International Economics and Economic Policy, Jan 1, 2013
When accepting the Maastricht treaty, the members of the Euro-zone agreed on the establishment of... more When accepting the Maastricht treaty, the members of the Euro-zone agreed on the establishment of a very independent European Central Bank (ECB). Over the years, however, French political leaders systematically brought forward proposals undermining the ECB’s independence, much to the dismay of their German counterparts. This pattern of political disagreement on central bank independence has again surfaced during the current sovereign debt crisis, and has contributed to the discord amongst the Euro-zone members on the causes and proper solutions to the problems. This article conducts tests of various factors generally expected to influence the preference for central bank independence. It shows that economic explanations are unable to account for the persistent differences amongst European member-states on this issue. In contrast, national differences in political and economic culture and especially a nation’s score on the dimension Power Distance—its acceptance of centralisation of power in political leaders or institutions—does show a correlation with the different levels of internalisation of the norm of central bank independence. These findings show that institutionalisation of economic norms does not imply their internalisation by the political and the economic elite. In the broader context of current European politics, this may mean that even if European leaders will be able to come up with a common institutional answer to the current crisis, more profound convergence of their underlying economic and political cultures is needed for the successful and sustainable implementation of these solutions.
Papers by Eelke Jong
Financial Cultures and Crisis Dynamics, 2014
In the discussion papers series the Koopmans Institute publishes results of ongoing research for ... more In the discussion papers series the Koopmans Institute publishes results of ongoing research for early dissemination of research results, and to enhance discussion with colleagues.
Journal of European Public Policy, 2017
The European Union (EU) response to the euro crisis brought new relevance to the debate on social... more The European Union (EU) response to the euro crisis brought new relevance to the debate on socialization through European institutions. While previous studies differ in their support for EU socialization, many have argued that the euro crisis revealed a far-reaching convergence of views among Europe's leaders. Theoretically, the European Central Bank (ECB) in particular is expected to have the power to socialize its governors into a common worldview. The present article questions this proposition. Using the technique of cognitive mapping to provide an in-depth analysis of the views of five members of the ECB Governing Board, we find that even for ECB governors national culture generally trumps EU socialization. Only for ECB President Trichet significant evidence of EU socialization is found. The study also points to some new scope-conditions for socialization that may further our understanding of how European institutions may foster the sustainable socialization of views.
International Economics and Economic Policy, 2012
Femke van Esch & Eelke de Jong 1 2 3 Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are he... more Femke van Esch & Eelke de Jong 1 2 3 Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Springer-Verlag. This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be self-archived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your work, please use the accepted author's version for posting to your own website or your institution's repository. You may further deposit the accepted author's version on a funder's repository at a funder's request, provided it is not made publicly available until 12 months after publication.
The following full text is a publisher's version. For additional information about this publ... more The following full text is a publisher's version. For additional information about this publication click this link.
Recent years have seen an increasing interest in and controversy about the role of religion in so... more Recent years have seen an increasing interest in and controversy about the role of religion in society. This paper reviews recent studies on the influence of religion on institutions and economic growth. The empirical results of these studies appear to be ambiguous, which could be due to the lack of a theoretical framework. No religion appears to be specifically pro- or anti-growth. Some studies reveal that at many times rulers try to influence the dominant interpretation of a religion. Although causality is a difficult issue, evidence is increasingly in favor of a causal effect from the economic situation to religious interpretations.
For the period since the late 1980s this paper examines the effectiveness of the catalytic approa... more For the period since the late 1980s this paper examines the effectiveness of the catalytic approach the belief that IMF intervention triggers private capital inflows. The results indicate that this approach is often ineffective due to two coordination failures between official creditors. The first is the failure of the various multilateral and bilateral creditors to coordinate their crisis lending. As a consequence in about 25 percent of all cases, the total amount provided by official creditors exceeded the countries financing need and thus facilitated private sector’s withdrawal from the country in stead of generating an incentive for additional capital inflows. The second coordination failure arrives from the involvement of the bilateral creditors, united in the Paris Club. Paris Club debt restructuring agreements contain a ‘comparability of treatment’ clause, according to which the debtor country has to restructure its outstanding private debt under comparable terms. This coerci...
The IMF is one of the most heavily criticized international financial institutions in the world a... more The IMF is one of the most heavily criticized international financial institutions in the world and has been accused of having a negative effect on education. By using multi-level analyses, this paper estimates the effects of IMF supported programs on the growth in school enrollment in developing countries at the district level for girls and boys aged 9-11 and 12-14. Using data on 44 countries, containing 431 districts between 1997-2007, effects of IMF programs are measured in three ways. Effects are estimated for whether or not a country has an IMF program, followed by a comparison between short and long-term programs. The effects of different program characteristics are also estimated. Results indicate that short-term IMF programs have significant positive effects on the growth in school enrollment for girls and boys aged 9-11. These effects are more positive in more rural areas and in less developed regions. Labor market reforms are found to have strong negative significant effec...
Dit artikel behandelt de oorzaken van complicaties bij geboorten en de invloed van gezinsplanning... more Dit artikel behandelt de oorzaken van complicaties bij geboorten en de invloed van gezinsplanning op de onderwijsdeelname van kinderen. Uit een casestudie in een perifeer ziekenhuis concluderen we dat complicaties bij de geboorte van kinderen veel oorzaken hebben, waaronder: het te laat erkennen van de zwangerschap door meisjes jonger dan 18 jaar, het onvolledig verzamelen van medische gegevens door de eerstelijnspost en het niet systematisch naleven van vaste routines in het ziekenhuis. Dit laatste komt doordat veel artsen maar tijdelijk aan het ziekenhuis zijn verbonden. De effecten van gezinsplanning op de onderwijsdeelname van kinderen is bestudeerd met behulp van een econometrische analyse van de gegevens van ruim 100.000 kinderen. Hieruit blijkt dat kinderen minder vaak naar school gaan als het aantal kinderen groot is, de tijd tussen de opeenvolgende geboorten kort is en er een zwangere vrouw in het gezin is.
Many regard corruption to be detrimental to international trade. Some, however, think that corrup... more Many regard corruption to be detrimental to international trade. Some, however, think that corruption greases commerce in case of low-quality institutions. Others argue that arbitrary corruption is more damaging to trade than predictable corruption. This is the first paper to test these hypotheses empirically with trade-related measures of corruption. It finds that in general, corruption is detrimental to international trade. However, bribe paying may be beneficial in countries with very long waiting-times at the border or low-quality customs. Moreover, the nature of corruption matters: more uncertainty in advance about the bribe to be paid reduces trade.
The following full text is a publisher's version.
We investigate the influence of institutional arrangements on inflation in 18 OECD countries. The... more We investigate the influence of institutional arrangements on inflation in 18 OECD countries. The factors considered are, on the on hand institutional constraints on monetary policy such as the independence of the Central Bank and commitment to fixed exchange rates and on the other political factors such as ideological and re-election motives. We find that an independent Central Bank has a disinflationary effect, whereas fixed exchange rates have no influence. Above a threshold value, the independence of the Central Bank becomes effective. The ideological colour of the government is measured by a new proxy that is more precise than those used in related studies. The use of this proxy changes the results significantly.
Social Indicators Research
Research and policy circles often emphasize the importance of social capital in achieving social ... more Research and policy circles often emphasize the importance of social capital in achieving social transformation and economic development. There is also, however, potentially a ‘dark side’ to social capital. This study investigates the relationship between two different types of social capital—structural and cognitive—using two different measures of political violence: self-reported support for political violence and self-reported participation in political violence. We theorized that cognitive social capital will facilitate social cohesion within a community, enabling particularized trust between neighbours and a shared identity. On the other hand, structural social capital, or associational membership, potentially facilitates the diffusion of grievances and facilitates collective mobilization. Accordingly, we predict that higher levels of structural social capital will be associated with support for and participation in political violence, whilst higher levels of cognitive social c...
Journal of Water and Health
Clean water provision remains a serious problem in low- and middle-income countries. In 2017, abo... more Clean water provision remains a serious problem in low- and middle-income countries. In 2017, about 30% of the world population relied on unimproved water sources located outside of the dwellings. Often women and children are occupied in fetching water. This situation increases the prevalence of water-related diseases such as diarrhoea and reduces children's study time. School attendance may decrease due to the combined effects of diarrhoea and time spent on fetching water. We investigate the effects on school absenteeism and primary school enrolment in Indonesia, using a panel data set for 295 districts over the period 1994–2014. Districts with higher diarrhoea prevalence are found to have lower school enrolment (B: −0.202, sig p < 0.01) and higher school absenteeism (B: 2.334, sig p < 0.001). Districts where more households have access to private water facilities have higher school enrolment (B: 0.025, sig p < 0.01) and lower school absenteeism (B: −0.027, sig p < ...
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Publications by Eelke Jong
Papers by Eelke Jong