
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).
CV
Research and Publications:
"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]
"Republicans Don't Cry: Emotions, Empathy,
and Political Preferences" [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.
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"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
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