The Supercomputer MACH-2: Use Cases

Use Case: Econometric Analysis of Austrian Administrative and Market Data

• Department of Economics, JKU Linz

For various research projects at the Department of Economics, the availability of a powerful high-performance computer infrastructure for the processing and analysis of very large amount of data is of particular importance. The Department of Economics at JKU Linz is the leading Austrian institution for applied (micro)econom(etr)ic research on an international level where economic research has become more empirical and uses increasingly (administrative) Big Data sources. The excellence of the department is rooted in a combination of topic-oriented research style, an up-to-date (micro-)econometric toolbox, and exceptionally good data in the field of labor, health and population, as well as industrial organization. The research questions share a common toolbox of evaluation methods, with a strong focus on identification and a solid theoretical backing. The outcomes generate knowledge about the functioning and optimal regulation of labor, the welfare state, and product markets, as well as the role of firm organization and social norms.

As far as the data aspect is concerned the Department of Economics has collected over the last twenty years individual-level data from social security records, unemployment registers, health insurance funds, disability administration authorities, or the tax office. These data encompass, in most cases, the entire Austrian population over the last 45 years. Furthermore, the Department of Economics built up a database on the more or less complete Austrian e-commerce market over several years.

The supercomputing resources available at JKU represent an indispensable necessity for the processing and the analysis of these data. The excellent service-oriented support in the field of supercomputing provided by JKU's divison for super computing also allows non-computer scientists to use the supercomputing infrastructure for high performance computations.

The following research projects were dependent on the availability of JKUs high-performance computer infrastructure:

• Cristian Doppler Labor "Alterung, Gesundheit und Arbeitsmarkt" (2014-2021)
• OeNB’s Anniversary Fund Nr. 16242 “Technological change, internal migration and the depolulation of rural areas" (2015-10.2017)
• LIT-Call "Digitalization and routine jobs: unemployment experience and job search" (2018-2020)
• FWF Project "Neue Erkenntnisse über Effekte von Downsizing" (ab 2020)
• OeNB’s Anniversary Fund Nr. 16255 "Firm Behavior in E-Commerce" (2015-2018)
• Project "Empirische Analyse der Linzer Gesundheitsversorgung" (Stadt Linz)
• Project "Versorgungsforschung" (KUK, OÖG, ÖGK, Ärztekammer)
• Various clinic projects with departments of the Upper Austrian hospitals

• Ahammer A., Horvath G., Winter-Ebmer R.: The Effects of Income on Mortality - New Evidence for the Absence of a Causal Link, in Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Serie A, 2017
• Hofer H., Titelbach G., Winter-Ebmer R., Ahammer A.: Wage discrimination against immigrants in Austria?, in Labour, 2017
• Böheim R., Zulehner C., Fink M., Rocha-Akis S.: Die Entwicklung geschlechtsspezifischer Lohnunterschiede in Österreich, in WIFO, in WIFO-Monatsberichte, Vol. 90, Nr. 9, Seite(n) 713-725, 2017
• Halla M., Wagner A., Zweimüller J.: Immigration and Voting for the Far Right, in Journal of the European Economic Association, Vol. 15, Nr. 6, Seite(n) 1341-1385, 2017
• Winter-Ebmer R., Frühwirth-Schnatter S., Pittner S., Weber A.: Analysing Plant Closure Effects Using Time-Varying Mixture-of-Experts Markov Chain Clustering, in The Annals of Applied Statistics, 2018
• Pruckner G., Schober T.: Hospitals and the generic versus brand‐name prescription decision in the outpatient sector, in Health Economics, Vol. 27, 2018
• Ahammer A.: Physicians, sick leave certificates, and patients' subsequent employment outcomes, in Health Economics, Vol. 27, Nr. 6, 2018
• Frimmel W., Horvath G., Schnalzenberger M., Winter-Ebmer R.: Seniority Wages and the Role of Firm in Retirement, in Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 168, 2018
• Böheim R., Leoni T.: Sickness and disability policies: Reform paths in OECD countries between 1990 and 2014, in International Journal of Social Welfare, Vol. 27, Nr. 2, Seite(n) 168–185, 2018
• Winter-Ebmer R., Hackl F.: Customer Reactions to a Webshop's Service Quality, in Empirica, 2019
• Frimmel W., Halla M., Paetzold J.: The Intergenerational Causal Effect of Tax Evasion: Evidence from the Commuter Tax Allowance in Austria, in Journal of the European Economic Association, Vol. 17, Nr. 6, 2019
• Munir T., Baumberg Geiger B., Böheim R.: The growing American health penalty: International trends in the employment of older workers with poor health, in Social Science Research, Vol. 82, Charlotte, Seite(n) 18-32, 2019
• Böheim R., Fink M., Zulehner C.: About time: the narrowing gender wage gap in Austria, in Empirica, 2020
• Böheim R., Leoni T.: Absenteeism on bridging days, in Applied Economics Letters, Vol. 27, Nr. 20, Seite(n) 1667-1671, 2020
• Pruckner G., Schneeweis N., Schober T., Zweimüller M.: Birth Order, Parental Health Investment and Health in Childhood, in Journal of Health Economics, Vol. 76, 2020
• Halla M., Mayr H., Pruckner G., García-Gómez P.: Cutting Fertility? Effects of Cesarian Deliveries on Subsequent Fertility and Maternal Labor Supply, in Journal of Health Economics, Vol. 72, 2020
• Böheim R., Stöllinger P.: Decomposition of the gender wage gap using the LASSO estimator, in Applied Economics Letters, Vol. 28, Nr. 10, Seite(n) 817-828, 2020
• Laffers L., Schmidpeter B.: Early Child Development and Parents' Labor Supply, in Journal of Applied Econometrics, Vol. forthcoming, 2020 Schober T.: Effects of a measles outbreak on vaccination uptake, in Economics and Human Biology, Vol. 38, 2020
• Böheim R., Leoni T.: Evidence from a natural experiment of sickness costs on sickness absences, in Sandinavian Journal of Economics, Vol. 122, Nr. 2, Seite(n) 553–581, 2020
• Ahammer A., Schober T.: Exploring Variations in Healthcare Expenditures – What is the Role of Practice Styles?, in Health Economics, Vol. 29, Nr. 6, 2020
• Winter-Ebmer R., Frimmel W., Halla M., Schmidpeter B.: Grandmothers’ Labor Supply, in Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 55, Nr. 4, 2020
• Danzer N., Halla M., Schneeweis N., Zweimüller M.: Parental Leave, (In)formal Childcare and Long-Term Child Outcomes, in Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 55, Nr. 4, 2020
• Pruckner G., Frimmel W.: Retirement and Healthcare Utilization, in Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 184, 2020
• Ahammer A., Halla M., Schneeweis N.: The Effect of Prenatal Maternity Leave on Short and Long-term Child Outcomes, in Journal of Health Economics, Vol. 70, 2020
• Pruckner G., Schober T., Zocher K.: The company you keep: health behavior among work peers, in The European Journal of Health Economics, Vol. 21, 2020
• Winter-Ebmer R., Fernández-Macías E., Anton J.: Does robotization affect job quality? Evidence from European regional labour markets, in IZA Discussion Paper, Nr. 13975, 2020
• Halla M., Schmieder J., Weber A.: Job Displacement, Family Dynamics and Spousal Labor Supply, in American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Vol. 12, Nr. 4, Seite(n) 253-287, 2020
• Winter-Ebmer R., Schmidpeter B.: Automation, Unemployment, and the Role of Labor Market Training, in European Economic Review, 2021 Frimmel W.: Later Retirement and the Labor Market Re-Integration of Elderly Unemployed Workers, in The Journal of the Economics of Aging, Vol. 19, 2021
• Hackl F., Hölzl-Leitner M., Zulehner C., Winter-Ebmer R.: Successful retailer strategies in price comparison platforms, in Managerial and Decision Economics, 2021
• Böheim R., Hackl F., Hölzl-Leitner M.: The impact of price adjustment costs on price dispersion in e-commerce, in International Journal of Industrial Organization, 2021