Jan-Emmanuel De Neve

Thanks for visiting my site! I am a PhD candidate at the London School of Economics with research interests in economics, politics, and behavioral genetics. Previously I was a Fulbright scholar in Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, where I received the Raphael Award 2007 for intellectual and personal qualities. At Harvard University I was twice presented with a Distinction in Teaching award for classes taught on Politics of the EU and International Politics. I also worked as a Research Associate in Finance at Harvard Business School (2007-08), at the United Nations (2006) and the European Commission (2003-05).

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"Genes, Economics, and Happiness" (with James H. Fowler and Bruno S. Frey) Institute for Empirical Research in Economics (University of Zurich) Working Paper No. 475. download
Abstract: Research on happiness has produced valuable insights into the sources of subjective well-being. A major finding from this literature is that people exhibit a "baseline" happiness that shows persistent strength over time, and twin studies have shown that genes play a significant role in explaining the variance of baseline happiness between individuals. However, these studies have not identified which genes might be involved. This article presents evidence of a specific gene that predicts subjective well-being. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we show that individuals with a transcriptionally more efficient version of the serotonin transporter gene (5HTT) are significantly more likely to report higher levels of life satisfaction. Having one or two alleles of the more efficient type raises the average likelihood of being very satisfied with one's life by 8.5% and 17.3%, respectively. This result may help to explain the stable component of happiness and suggests that genetic association studies can help us to better understand individual heterogeneity in subjective well-being.

"The MAOA Gene Predicts Credit Card Debt" (with James H. Fowler)   download  Discussed in Newsweek and WSJ SmartMoney articles       
Abstract: Economists have long realized the importance of credit markets and borrowing behavior for household finance and economics more generally. However, none of this previous work has explored the role of biological constraints. Here we present the first evidence of a specific gene that may influence borrowing behavior. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we show that individuals with a polymorphism of the MAOA gene that has lower transcriptional efficiency are significantly more likely to report having credit card debt. Having one or both MAOA alleles of the low efficiency type raises the average likelihood of having credit card debt by 7.8% and 15.9% respectively. About half of our population has one or both MAOA alleles of the low type. The results suggest that economists should integrate innate propensities into economic models and consider the welfare consequences of possible discrimination by lenders on the basis of genotype.

"Ideological Change and the Economics of Voting Behavior in the US, 1920-2008." LSE Political Science and Political Economy Working Paper. download
Abstract: This paper tests the proposition that voters advance a more liberal agenda in prosperous times and shift towards being more conservative in dire economic times. A reference-dependent utility model establishes a dynamic relationship between income growth and voting behavior by way of the demand for public goods and the optimal tax rate. This income growth model may serve as an alternative to the redistributive model of voter preferences. Ordinary and instrumented statistical analyses of a new time series for the US median voter are highly encouraging of the theory. This work links voting behavior to economic business cycles and shows that ideological change is endogenous to income growth rates.

"Does It Matter Who Governs? Politics, Institutional Complementarities, and Macroeconomic Performance" [in progress]

"Endogenous Preferences: The Political Consequences of Economic Institutions." LSE Political Science and Political Economy Working Paper No. 04/2009.  download  Awarded the Wicksell Prize for best paper by a scholar under the age of 30 at the EPCS annual meeting
Abstract: This paper attempts to explain cross-national voting behavior in 18 Western democracies over 1960-2003. It starts by introducing a new data set for the median voter that corrects for stochastic error in the statistics from the Comparative Manifesto Project. Next, the paper finds that electoral behavior is closely related to the salience of particular economic institutions. Labour organization, skill specificity, and public sector employment are found to influence individual voting behavior. At the country level, this paper suggests that coordinated market economies move the median voter to the left, whereas liberal market economies move the median voter to the right. The empirical analysis employs cross-sectional and panel data that is instrumented with the level of economic structure circa 1900 to estimate the net effect of economic institutions on the median voter. Significant results show that revealed voter preferences are endogenous to the economic institutions of the political economy. This paper places Political Economy at the heart of voting behavior.

"The Median Voter Data Set: Voter Preferences across 50 Democracies from 1945" download data
Abstract: The median voter, or the ideological position of the electoral center, has figured widely across literatures. This paper introduces an updated and improved median voter data set that allows for comparison across time and across countries. The data set employs thestatistics provided by the Comparative Manifesto Project but corrects for stochastic error using work by Benoit, Laver, and Mikhaylov (2009). This research applies the Kim and Fording (2003) methodology that links party positions with electoral outcomes to arrive at revealed voter preferences. This data set provides insight into the median voter in over 50 democracies. For more established democracies the time series typically starts in the mid 1940s. For the United States the data starts in 1920 and includes the 2008 election. Descriptive graphs illustrate the major trends in voter preferences. The median voter data set is included at the end of this paper and is available online.

"Consumer Demand for Prize-Linked Savings: A Preliminary Analysis" (with Nick Maynard and Peter Tufano) Harvard Business School Finance Working Paper No. 08-06. download
Abstract: This paper reports on a small-scale survey of the potential American demand for prize-linked savings accounts, an account that awards prizes as part of the saving product's return. In October 2006, Centra Credit Union launched a prize-linked savings pilot. As part of that initiative, we conducted a mall intercept survey of over 500 people in Clarksville, Indiana, the community where the program was launched. This preliminary data suggests that low-to-moderate income Americans may have substantial demand for prize-linked savings, with a majority of survey participants expressing an interest in opening a prize-linked savings account. As predicted by theory and international experience, interest in prize-linked savings is greatest among people who do not have regular saving habits, who have little actual savings, who play lotteries extensively, and who are optimistic about their futures.

"The World Food Programme during the Global Food Crisis" (with Anette Mikes, Peter Tufano, and Eric Werker) Harvard Business School Case 709-024. download

"The European Onion? How Differentiated Integration is Reshaping the EU" Journal of European Integration. Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 503-521. download
Abstract: This paper provides an up-to-date overview of the gradual development of differentiated integration and the ensuing changes in the nature of European integration. It considers the dynamics of deepening and widening of the EU and proposes the metaphor of a 'European Onion' that is designed to capture the bigger picture. Further, this paper expands upon the centripetal effects of differentiated integration and shows its potential to generate more cooperative public opinion in future enlargement rounds. Finally, a state of play in European integration theory is offered that incorporates differentiated integration.

Miscellaneous:

Political Risk Markets

Political Risk Funds

Sovereign Risk Markets