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on Demographic Economics |
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Issue of 2013‒01‒26
34 papers chosen by Clarence Nkengne Tsimpo University of Montreal and World Bank Group |
| By: | Marcella Corsi; Manuela Samek Lodovici |
| Abstract: | Ageing is a distinctly gendered phenomenon, women being increasingly represented in the older cohorts of the European population, due to their longer life expectancy than men. Furthermore, gender differences and inequalities are a fundamental feature of social exclusion and poverty in old age. The twofold discrimination against older women workers based on gender and age stereotypes, combined with their greater vulnerability in the labour market caused by women-specific work trajectories (i.e. career breaks, part-time employment and the gender pay gap) compound with institutional arrangements in producing higher risks of poverty in old age for women than for men. While inadequate or obsolete skills remain the main barriers for older workers to remain in or re-enter the labour market, for women also unpaid work responsibilities (in particular care burdens) constitute severe constraints. Indeed crucial gender issues in old age relate to the role of older women as both major providers and users of care services.This paper discusses gender inequalities in old age and analyses measures implemented in the main policy areas of active ageing (employment; training and life-long learning; volunteer/community work; age-friendly environment and supportive services), in order to identify effective strategies in a gender equality perspective. |
| Date: | 2013–01–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/137877&r=dem |
| By: | Joanna Lahey |
| Abstract: | During the 19th century, the US birthrate fell by half. While previous economic literature has emphasized demand-side explanations for this decline—that rising land prices and literacy caused a decrease in demand for children—historians and others have emphasized changes in the supply of technologies to control fertility, including abortion and birth control. In this paper I exploit the introduction during the 19th century of state laws governing American women’s access to abortion to measure the effect of changes in the supply of fertility technologies on the number of children born. I estimate an increase in the birthrate of 4 to 12% when abortion is restricted, which lies within the ranges of estimates found for the effect of fertility control supply restrictions on birthrates today. The importance of legal abortion in reducing 19th-century birthrates helps to account for a previously unexplained portion of the demographic transition. This paper posits that there has long been a demand, often unmet, for fertility control that should be considered in future demographic research as well as in policy formulation. |
| JEL: | J11 J13 K3 N31 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18717&r=dem |
| By: | Farre, Lidia |
| Abstract: | This paper is a critical review of the literature on the issue of how male behavior affects female outcomes in the promotion of gender equality. It employs the family as the main unit of analysis because a large part of gender interactions occurs within this institution. This survey first summarizes recent studies on the distribution of power within the family and identifies several factors that have altered the bargaining position of men and women over the last decades. It then reviews empirical work on the contribution of men, as fathers and husbands, to the health and socioeconomic outcomes of women in both developed and developing countries. Finally, it discusses a set of economic policies that have intentionally or unintentionally affected men's attitudes and behaviors. The main implication is that policies meant to achieve gender equality should focus on men rather than exclusively target women. |
| Keywords: | Population Policies,Gender and Development,Gender and Law,Gender and Health,Health Monitoring&Evaluation |
| Date: | 2013–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6323&r=dem |
| By: | Jun, Bogang |
| Abstract: | Unified Growth Theory suggests the demographic transition and the associated rise in human capital formation were critical forces in the transition from Malthusian stagnation to modern economic growth. This paper provides empirical evidence in support of this hypothesis based on the development process in Korea. Exploiting variations in fertility in human capital formation across regions in Korea over the period 1970 to 2010, the study establishes that the process of development in Korea was associated with a reduction in child quantity and increase child quality. |
| Keywords: | Demographic transition; Quantity-quality trade-off; Unified Growth Theory |
| JEL: | J13 N15 I25 |
| Date: | 2013–01–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:43971&r=dem |
| By: | Vivien Procher (Schumpeter School of Business and Economics, University of Wuppertal); Colin Vance (RWI, Hohenzollernstraße 1-3, 45128 Essen) |
| Abstract: | The labor force participation rate of women and men is converging in industrialized countries, but disparities nevertheless remain with respect to unpaid activities. Shopping for household maintenance, in particular, is a time-consuming, out-of-home activity that continues to be undertaken primarily by women, irrespective of their employment status. The present study employs panel methods to analyze, descriptively and econometrically, gender disparities in shopping behavior among couples using data from the German Mobility Panel (MOP) for 1996 to 2009. While women still shop more than men, we find evidence that the differential has narrowed in recent years, particularly among couples with children. Several individual and household characteristics are found to be significant determinants of shopping behavior, whereby employment status and children emerge as the most important single factors. In addition, the possession of a driver’s license coupled with unrestricted car availability increase each partner’s time in shopping. |
| Keywords: | Shopping, Time-use, gender differences |
| JEL: | D13 J16 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bwu:schdps:sdp13001&r=dem |
| By: | Alger, Ingela (TSE (LERNA, CNRS) Univesité Toulouse 1 Capitole); Cox, Donald (Boston College) |
| Abstract: | What can evolutionary biology tell us about male-female differences in preferences concerning family matters? Might mothers be more solicitous toward offspring than fathers, for example? The economics literature has documented gender differences—children benefit more from money put in the hands of mothers rather than fathers, for example—and these differences are thought to be partly due to preferences. Yet for good reason family economics is mostly concerned with how prices and incomes affect behavior against a backdrop of exogenous preferences. Evolutionary biology complements this approach by treating preferences as the outcome of natural selection. We mine the well-developed biological literature to make a prima facie case for evolutionary roots of parental preferences. We consider the most rudimentary of traits—sex differences in gamete size and internal fertilization—and explain how they have been thought to generate malefemale differences in altruism toward children and other preferences related to family behavior. The evolutionary approach to the family illuminates connections between issues typically thought distinct in family economics, such as parental care and marriage markets. |
| Date: | 2012–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:iastwp:26675&r=dem |
| By: | John P. Conley (Vanderbilt University); Ali Sina Önder (Uppsala University); Benno Torgler (Queensland University of Technology and EBS Business School) |
| Abstract: | Using life cycle publication data of 9,368 economics PhD graduates from 127 U.S. institutions, we investigate how unemployment in the U.S. economy prior to starting graduate studies and at the time of entry into the academic job market affect economics PhD graduates’ research productivity. We analyze the period between 1987 and 1996 and find that favorable conditions at the time of academic job search have a positive effect on research productivity (measured in numbers of publications) for both male and female graduates. On the other hand, unfavourable employment conditions at the time of entry into graduate school affects female research productivity negatively, but male productivity positively. These findings are consistent with the notion that men and women differ in their perception of risk in high skill occupations. In the specific context of research-active occupations that require high skill and costly investment in human capital, an ex post poor return on undergraduate educational investment may cause women to opt for less risky and secure occupations while men seem more likely to “double down” on their investment in human capital. Further investigation, however, shows that additional factors may also be at work. |
| Keywords: | Research Productivity, Human Capital, Graduate Education, Gender Differences |
| JEL: | J16 J24 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2012.86&r=dem |
| By: | Günther Fink (Harvard School of Public Health); Isabel Günther (ETH Zurich); Kenneth Hill (Harvard School of Public Health) |
| Abstract: | High urban mortality delayed transitions to low mortality in 19th century Europe, but an urban mortality advantage emerged as European transitions progressed into the 20th century. Recent analysis has suggested that high mortality in the rapidly growing urban slums of developing countries might once again delay transitions to low mortality in the 21st century. In this paper we use data from Demographic and Health Surveys across 37 countries to investigate this hypothesis. We document the changes in child mortality over the last twenty years, with a special focus on urban slums and on differences between small and large cities. We show that slum areas fare worse than other urban areas across all child mortality categories and all city categories, but that generally children growing up in urban slums fare at least as well as children in rural areas. Moreover, the improvements in child mortality appear to have affected slum residents at least as much as other urban and rural residents, indicating a neutral role of slum settlements in the mortality transition of developing countries. |
| Keywords: | child mortality, urban slums, mortality transition |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gdm:wpaper:9913&r=dem |
| By: | Mahanta, Bidisha; Nayak, Purusottam |
| Abstract: | The present paper is an attempt to analyze the status of gender inequality in North East India using various indicators based on secondary data. The study reveals that the northeast is better off than that of the nation as a whole in terms of gender equality. However inequality between women and men exists in the region in spite of the predominance of various ethnic groups who by and large do not believe in sex discrimination. The study reveals that women are relatively disempowered and enjoy somewhat lower status than that of men in the region. Gender gap exists in terms of access to education, employment and health. A large gender gap exists in political participation both at the levels of state and nation. Among the northeastern states, Meghalaya, Manipur and Mizoram show relatively lesser degree of gender inequality in terms of work participation, literacy, infant mortality and sex ratio. The situation is however adverse in case of Tripura, Assam and Sikkim. The study concludes with an observation that access to education, employment and health are only the enabling factors that may not guarantee the achievement towards the goal, which however, largely depends on the mindset of the people. |
| Keywords: | Gender; Inequality; North East India |
| JEL: | O1 |
| Date: | 2013–01–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:43846&r=dem |
| By: | Gupta, Prachi; Das, Upasak; Singh, Ashish |
| Abstract: | Using data from the India Human Development Survey, this paper analyses the relationship between child disability and maternal work participation for India. The authors' findings suggest a significant positive relationship between child disability and the work participation of the urban mothers who are wives of household heads. These mothers are 1.27 times as likely to participate in labour market as mothers (wives in urban areas) without a disabled child. However, for the same mothers, child disability significantly affects the weekly work hours of those participating in the labour market in a negative manner with presence of a disabled child reducing the weekly work hours by 3.6 hours. For the rural mothers and the mothers in urban areas who are household heads, our findings do not suggest any significant association between child disabilities and their work participation (or weekly work hours). -- |
| Keywords: | Child disability,maternal work participation,India |
| JEL: | J10 J22 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwedp:20136&r=dem |
| By: | Leon Bettendorf; Kees Folmer; Egbert Jongen |
| Abstract: | We study the extension of an EITC for single mothers in the Netherlands to mothers with a youngest child of 12 to 15 years old. This reform has increased the net income for the treatment group by 5%. Using both DD and RD, we show that this reform has had a negligible effect on labour participation with tight confidence intervals around zero. Our results are at odds with a number of related studies. This is likely to be due to their use of single women without children as the control group, which in our case is an invalid control group. |
| JEL: | C21 H24 J22 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:229&r=dem |
| By: | Aretz, Bodo |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the evolution of wage inequality and wage mobility separately for men and women in West and East Germany over the last four decades. Using a large administrative data set which covers the years 1975 to 2008, I find that wage inequality increased and wage mobility decreased for male and female workers in East and West Germany. Women faced a higher level of wage inequality and a lower level of wage mobility than men in both parts of the country throughout the entire observation period. The mobility decline was sharper in East Germany so that the level of wage mobility has fallen below that of West Germany over time. Looking at long-term mobility, a slowly closing gap between men and women is observed. -- |
| Keywords: | Wage Mobility,Wage Inequality,Administrative Data |
| JEL: | J31 D63 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:13003&r=dem |
| By: | Arianna Caporali (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Sebastian Klüsener (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Gerda R. Neyer (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Sandra Krapf (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Olga Grigorieva (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Demographic behaviour is shaped not only by characteristics at the individual level, but also by the context in which individuals are embedded. The Contextual Database of the Generations and Gender Programme (GGP) supports research on these micro-macro links by providing cross-country comparative contextual data on demographic, socio-economic, and policy developments covering up to 60 countries in Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania. This paper presents conceptual considerations and recent advances in the implementation of this database. Although conceptually linked to the Generations and Gender Survey, the GGP Contextual Database can also be used for the analysis of data from other surveys or to study macro-developments. With its unique combination of features, this database could serve as a model for the development of contextual databases linked to other surveys. These features include the provision of harmonised national and sub-national regional time series of indicators in a dynamic web environment with innovative functionalities, such as metadata documentation by single data entry and automatic geocoding. |
| Keywords: | Europe, data banks, fertility, gender, generations |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2013-001&r=dem |
| By: | Brishti Guha (Singapore Management University, School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | I unify the following (1) men face paternal uncertainty while women do not face maternal uncertainty, (2) putative fathers and paternal kin care about true paternity, (3) paternity confidence is systematically lower in matrilocal cultures than in patrilocal ones, (4) inheritance tends to be patrilineal in high paternity confidence cultures and matrilineal in low confidence ones, and (5) most societies with patrilineal inheritance were patrilocal while most societies with matrilineal inheritance were matrilocal. I model the co-evolution of inheritance patterns and post-marital residence patterns - and their relationship with paternity uncertainty. Using a game theoretic model, I examine how a "high paternity confidence" patrilocal-patrilineal equilibrium and a "low paternity confidence" matrilineal-matrilocal equilibrium could emerge. The endogenous choice of the old to monitor the sexual behavior of the young women who reside with them, thereby affecting the paternity confidence of the young women's husbands and hence their productive incentives, is crucial. |
| Keywords: | Uncertain paternity; grandparents; incentives; patrilocality; inheritance; monitoring |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:siu:wpaper:37-2012&r=dem |
| By: | Kosse, Fabian; Pfeiffer, Friedhelm |
| Abstract: | This study explores the intergenerational transmission of time preferences and focuses on the question which specific aspects of mother's time preference are related to her preschool child's ability to delay gratification. We provide a new procedure for assessing the parameters of a 'quasi-hyperbolic' discount function (Laibson, 1997) using two trade-off experiments. We apply the procedure to a sample of 213 mother-child pairs and show that especially mother's beta parameter is related to her preschool child's ability to delay gratification. -- |
| Keywords: | Intergenerational Transmission,Time Preference,Quasi-Hyperbolic Discounting,Preschool Children |
| JEL: | D90 D10 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:13002&r=dem |
| By: | Ignacio A. Inoa; Nathalie Picard; André de Palma (THEMA, Universite de Cergy-Pontoise and THEMA; THEMA, Universite de Cergy-Pontoise and THEMA; ENS Cachan) |
| Abstract: | The effect of an individual-specific measure of accessibility to jobs is analyzed using a three-level nested logit model of residential location, workplace, and job type choice. This measure takes into account the attractiveness of different job types when the workplace choice is anticipated in the residential location decision. The model allows for variation in the preferences for job types across individuals and accounts for individual heterogeneity of preferences at each choice level in the following dimensions: education, age, gender and children. Using data from the Greater Paris Area, estimation results indicate that the individual-specific accessibility measure is an important determinant of the residential location choice and its effect differ along the life cycle. Results also show that the job type attractiveness measure is a more significant predictor of workplace location than the standard measures. |
| Keywords: | residential location, job location, accessibility, nested logit, Greater Paris. |
| JEL: | R21 C35 C51 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ema:worpap:2013-02&r=dem |
| By: | YAMAGUCHI Kazuo |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses the promotion of women's economic activities in Japan, investigating the causes of gender wage gap, and exposes the dearth of Japanese firms that actively promote employment of women despite their higher productivity. The paper then explains the central role of the employment system in the delay in the promotion of women's economic activities in Japan, elucidating the evolution of this employment system—the result of rational choices under specific historical conditions and the notion of strategic rationality in institution building. Furthermore, the paper clarifies how the employment institutions established under these circumstances came to experience a sub-optimal equilibrium by failing to adapt themselves to historical changes in external conditions, and how the promotion of women's economic activities can be a breakthrough for such dysfunctional inertia of Japanese firms. Based on these findings, the paper introduces general principles for a society in which people can fully develop their capabilities, and makes concrete policy proposals that would bring about changes in social institutions that currently hinder the promotion of women's economic activities. |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rpdpjp:13002&r=dem |
| By: | Synøve Nygaard Andersen and Torbjørn Skardhamar (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | Previous studies have identified an “immigrant paradox” in crime in which crime rates are highest among immigrants who are young when they arrive in the host country, even though social capital and integration in the labour market and social networks favour the young. We use Norwegian registry data to estimate the probability of committing at least one crime in any year after the year of immigration, and we include interaction terms between age and age at immigration to explore the troublesome temporal association between age, age at immigration and duration of residence. The results suggest an overall negative association between age at immigration and registered crime, which seems to be exaggerated by the residual effect of the omitted duration of residence variable. Comparability of results between studies depends crucially on how age at immigration is measured. |
| Keywords: | Crime; Immigrants; Age at immigration; Duration of residence |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:728&r=dem |
| By: | Wilebaldo Martinez Toyes (Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to show the major demographic changes of Juarez in the first decade of the 21st century. A decade marked by the significant impact of the United States economic crisis in 2002 and 2008 and by violence crisis due to the fighting of organized crime. The results allow us to see a demographic transformation of the three components responsible for conditioning the volume and structure of the population, which led to a pronounced decline in the rate of population growth. In addition, migration is identified as a new phenomenon to analyse in the new demographic reality of Juarez. |
| Keywords: | population dynamics, migration, economic crisis and violence. |
| JEL: | J11 |
| Date: | 2013–01–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cjz:ca41cj:13&r=dem |
| By: | Ziegelmeyer, Michael; Nick, Julius (Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA)) |
| Abstract: | Financing pensions in the EU is a challenge. Many EU countries introduced private pension schemes to compensate declining public pension levels due to reforms made necessary by demographic change. In 2001, Germany introduced the Riester pension. Ten years after introduction the prevalence rate of this voluntary private pension scheme approximates 37%. However, numerous criticisms raise doubts that the market for Riester products is transparent. Using the 2010 German SAVE survey, this paper investigates for the first time terminated and dormant Riester contracts on a household level. Respectively 14.5% and 12.5% of households who own or have owned a Riester contract terminated it or stopped paying contributions. We find that around 45% of terminated or dormant Riester contracts are caused at least partly by product-related reasons, which is significantly higher than for endowment life insurance contracts. Uptake of a new contract after a termination is more likely if termination is productrelated. Nevertheless, after a termination 73% of households do not sign a new contract, which can have serious long-term consequences for old-age income. Households with low income, low financial wealth or low pension literacy are more likely to have terminated or dormant contracts. Low income and low financial wealth households also have the lowest prevalence rate of Riester contracts and are at higher risk of old-age poverty. |
| JEL: | D12 D91 D14 J26 |
| Date: | 2012–08–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mea:meawpa:12262&r=dem |
| By: | Bruce D. Meyer; James X. Sullivan |
| Abstract: | This paper considers the long-run patterns of poverty in the United States from the early 1960s to 2010. Our results contradict previous studies that have argued that poverty has shown little improvement over time or that anti-poverty efforts have been ineffective. We find that moving from traditional income-based measures of poverty to a consumption-based measure (which we argue is superior on both theoretical and practical grounds) and, crucially, adjusting for bias in price indices leads to the conclusion that the poverty rate declined by 26.4 percentage points between 1960 and 2010, with 8.5 percentage points of that decline occurring since 1980. Consumption poverty suggests considerably greater improvement than income poverty for single parent families and the aged, but relatively less improvement for married parent families. Our analyses of the proximate causes of these patterns indicate that changes in tax policy explain a substantial part of the decline in poverty and that social security has been important, but that the roles of other transfer programs have been small. Changes in education have contributed to the decline, while other demographic trends have played a small role. Measurement error in income is likely to explain some of the most noticeable differences between changes in income and consumption poverty, but saving and dissaving do not appear to play a large role for most demographic groups. |
| JEL: | D12 I32 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18718&r=dem |
| By: | Kusmin, Lorin D. |
| Abstract: | Rural America At A Glance, 2012 Edition highlights the most recent indicators of social and economic conditions in rural areas for use in developing policies and programs to assist rural areas. This year's edition focuses on the U.S. rural economy, including employment trends, poverty, and population trends. |
| Keywords: | Rural indicators, population, employment, rural unemployment, nonmetropolitan, nonmetro, rural economy, metro, rural America, census data, population growth, poverty, recession, demographics, Community/Rural/Urban Development, |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uerseb:142548&r=dem |
| By: | Zayeda Sharmin (Department of Political Studies, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST)); Mohammad Samiul Islam (Department of Public Administration, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST)) |
| Abstract: | Bangladesh’s geographic location and geo-morphological conditions have made the country one of the most vulnerable to weather and climate induced changes. Bangladesh is a land of wetlands, which occupy around 50 percent of the country. Wetlands play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance of ecosystems, but wetland habitats of Bangladesh are under constant threats due to climate induced changes and anthropogenic activities. Climate change is causing a rise in sea levels, which already now put wetlands at risk of excessive calamities. Seasonal irregularities and extremes are the main threats to the wetland ecosystem. Anyway, there are important gender perspectives in all aspects of climate change. Women make up a large number of the poor in communities that are highly dependent on local natural resources for their livelihood and are disproportionately vulnerable to and affected by climate change. Moreover, women’s limited access to resources and decision-making processes increases their vulnerability to climate change. |
| Keywords: | climate Change, gender, gender vulnerability, Bangladesh |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bnr:wpaper:16&r=dem |
| By: | Norma B. Coe; Matthew S. Rutledge |
| Abstract: | In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Sullivan v. Zebley case fundamentally changed, albeit temporarily, the criteria under which children qualified for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program based on disability. Instead of a system based on medical criteria alone, 1996 enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) tied children’s eligibility for SSI, in part, to the effects of their medically determinable impairments on their ability to function day-to-day in age-appropriate activities at home, at school, and in their communities. This paper examines what happened to the Zebley cohort after the age of 18 relative to cohorts who received SSI payments under stricter criteria. This paper evaluates the long-term impact on educational attainment, earnings, SSI and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) participation, and other markers of adult development for the Zebley cohort. We find that, overall, SSI receipt in childhood is associated more positive outcomes than negative ones. The Zebley cohort has a longer attachment to the labor force and a lower likelihood of welfare receipt in adulthood, but also a higher likelihood of lacking health insurance coverage. In addition, those with health conditions most likely to be affected by the new evaluation criteria appear to substitute welfare benefits for disability benefits These results are consistent with the hypothesis that SSI receipt at the margin improves adult outcomes. |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crr:crrwps:wp2013-3&r=dem |
| By: | Ricky Kanabar; Peter Simmons |
| Abstract: | US males labour force behaviour shows lifecycle effects. We develop a lifecycle model of individual labour supply, with a single financial asset and non labour income. With widely used preferences, we derive the analytical form of the value function and optimal labour participation for any period, t. Consumption and savings switches its form as participation changes. A spell of part time work has strong implications for earlier decisions on participation, consumption, savings and the marginal value of leisure and wealth. We apply our framework to explain the increasing prevalence of non standard retirement noted in the literature. |
| Keywords: | Lifecycle, Labour supply decision, Retirement, Unretirement |
| JEL: | J22 J26 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:yorken:13/01&r=dem |
| By: | Edoka, I.P.;; |
| Abstract: | This study decomposes differences in saliva log cotinine between children/adolescents from low and high socioeconomic backgrounds using the 1997/98 cross-section of the Health Survey for England (HSE). Three decomposition methods are applied including a mean-based (Oaxaca-Blinder) decomposition method and two further methods that allow the decomposition of differences in quantiles (the quantile regression and the recentered influence function regression decomposition methods). By extending the analysis beyond differences in means, this study is able to identify the contributions of different characteristics to differences in quantiles of the log cotinine distribution. Differences in log cotinine between the two study groups are decomposed into a part explained by group differences in the distribution of characteristics (composition effect) and a part explained by group differences in the impact of these characteristics (structural effect). The composition effect accounts for a larger proportion of the total difference in log cotinine compared to the structural effect. The composition effect attributable to smoking within the home explains more of socioeconomic differences at lower quantiles indicative of passive smoking compared to higher quantiles that are indicative of active smoking while the composition effect of household income and parental smoking explains more of socioeconomic differences in active smoking compared to passive smoking. The structural effect of parental smoking and smoking within homes is indicative of underlying group differences in parents‟ compensatory behaviours that limit the impact of parents‟ risky lifestyle choices on child health. |
| Keywords: | cotinine, socioeconomic inequality, decomposition analysis, passive smoking, active smoking |
| JEL: | C1 I14 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:hectdg:12/29&r=dem |
| By: | Juanna Schrøter Joensen (Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden); Helena Skyt Nielsen (Department of Economics and Business, Aarhus University, Denmark) |
| Abstract: | There is a large gender gap in advanced math coursework in high school that many believe exists because girls are discouraged from taking math courses. In this paper, we exploit an institutional change that reduced the costs of acquiring advanced high school math to determine if access is, in fact, the mechanism - in particular for girls at the top of the math ability distribution. By estimating marginal treatment effects of acquiring advanced math qualifications, we document substantial beneficial wage effects from encouraging even more females to opt for these qualifications. Our analysis suggests that the beneficial effect comes from accelerating graduation and attracting females to high-paid or traditionally male-dominated career tracks and to CEO positions. Our results may be reconciled with experimental and empirical evidence suggesting there is a pool of unexploited math talent among high ability girls that may be retrieved by changing the institutional set-up of math teaching. |
| Keywords: | Math, gender, career choice, high school curriculum, instrumental variable |
| JEL: | I21 J24 |
| Date: | 2013–01–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aah:aarhec:2013-01&r=dem |
| By: | Carlos Medina; Jairo Núñez; Jorge Andrés Tamayo |
| Abstract: | We assess the effects of the Colombian Unemployment Subsidy (US) program on future labor participation, unemployment, formality, school attendance and earnings of its beneficiaries, on household earnings and school attendance of the household members, and on weight and height of their children at birth. In addition to providing benefits, the program also provides training to some recipients. We use regression discontinuity and matching differences-in-differences estimators and find that both approaches indicate that participation in the labor market, the earnings of beneficiaries, and household income, do not increase, and for some populations decrease during the 18 months after leaving from the Unemployment Subsidy program. Enrollment in formal health insurance falls. The effects on male household heads include larger reductions in their earnings, larger decreases in their labor participation, and greater increases in their unemployment rates. We also find a small though statistically significant positive effect of the program on school attendance of the beneficiaries, but none on their children’s weight or height at birth. The results also are sensitive to the type of training that beneficiaries receive in the Unemployment Subsidy program. Overall, the program serves as a mechanism for smoothing consumption and providing social assistance rather than as a mechanism for promoting a more efficient labor market. |
| Date: | 2013–01–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000094:010393&r=dem |
| By: | Coppola, Michela; Lamla, Bettina (Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA)) |
| Abstract: | There is an increasing interest among social scientists in merging survey data with administrative records from social security institutions. Record linkage represents one way to combine different sources using a unique identifier such as the Social Security number. The informed consent of the respondents however is required, which in turn might induce bias to the consent question and even threaten stability in a panel study. Data from the longitudinal household survey “Saving and old‐age Provision in Germany” (SAVE) are used for analysis of consent rates and patterns. In the latest wave of the study participants have been asked to provide their written consent to link their answers to administrative data from the Federal Employment Agency which also includes information on the respondents’ employers. The combined data set will open new avenues for research on the link between institutions, saving behavior and old‐age provision: The survey data contains information on private pension and non‐pension wealth which will be complemented by complete employment histories. Moreover, from the administrative data entitlements to public pensions can be derived, while an employer survey will shed more light on the diffusion of occupational pensions. SAVE is mainly conducted as a self‐administered paper and pencil (P&P) questionnaire, while existing research is based on personal interviews. Given a response rate of 81% of the participants and a consent rate of 58%, asking for consent appears feasible in a P&P design. There is evidence for mild consent bias. However, considering correlations between giving the consent and a series of socio‐demographic variables, as well as variables capturing respondents’ motivation and willingness can explain variation in the consent only to a small extent. We conclude that most of the variation is random. |
| Date: | 2012–07–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mea:meawpa:12258&r=dem |
| By: | Diego Restuccia; Guillaume Vandenbroucke |
| Abstract: | Consider the following facts. In 1950 the richest ten-percent of countries attained an average of 8.1 years of schooling whereas the poorest ten-percent of countries attained 1.3 years, a 6-fold difference. By 2005, the difference in schooling declined to 2-fold. The fact is that schooling has increased faster in poor than in rich countries. What explains educational attainment differences across countries and their evolution over time? We develop an otherwise standard model of human capital accumulation with two novel but important features: non-homotetic preferences and an operating labor supply margin. We use the model to assess the quantitative contribution of productivity and life expectancy differences across countries in explaining educational attainment. Calibrating the parameters of the model to reproduce the historical time-series data for the United States, we find that the model accounts for 96 percent of the difference in schooling levels between rich and poor countries in 1950 and 89 percent of the increase in schooling over time in poor countries. The model generates a faster increase in schooling in poor than in rich countries consistent with the data. These results highlight the role of development in education and thus have important implications for educational policy. |
| Keywords: | schooling, productivity, life expectancy, education policy, labor supply |
| JEL: | O1 O4 E24 J22 J24 |
| Date: | 2013–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-469&r=dem |
| By: | Dammert, Ana (Carleton University); Ural Marchand, Beyza (University of Alberta, Department of Economics); Wan, Chi (University of Massachusetts) |
| Abstract: | In the absence of discrimination, there should be no wage-productivity differentials as relative wages should be equal to the relative marginal productivity levels of workers. This paper investigates the role of globalization on the structure and evolution of gender differentials in China by simultaneously estimating demand-side wage and productivity outcomes using nonlinear least squares. The analyses are based on a comprehensive population-wide panel survey of manufacturing firms between the years of 2004 and 2007, covering 94 percent of total industry output and providing an accurate representation of labor demand. The results suggest that more exposure to globalization through increased exports is associated with lower gender wage-productivity differentials, and more exposure through increased foreign investment leads to differentials in favor of female workers. On the other hand, gender discrimination is found to be prevalent among domestically owned and non-exporting firms. |
| Keywords: | China; gender wage discrimination; globalization; firm ownership |
| JEL: | D22 F21 J16 J31 |
| Date: | 2013–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:albaec:2013_001&r=dem |
| By: | Bryan Campbell; Laurence Allaire; Vinh Nguyen; Paul Gauthier; Richard Guay; Michel Magnan |
| Abstract: | <b>Contexte : Un nouveau système d’épargne, les RVER</b> <p> Ce rapport présente nos résultats de recherche dans le cadre du second mandat d’une série de projets sur l’épargne-retraite et les fonds de pension. L’objectif du premier rapport était d’examiner la protection offerte aux Québécoises et Québécois en matière de régime de retraite dans le cas des employés du secteur privé dont les revenus se situent surtout entre 40 000 $ et 100 000 $. On compte 2,7 millions de Québécois dans le secteur privé qui ne travaillent pas à leur propre compte. De ce nombre, seulement 25 % environ sont protégés par des régimes de retraite d’employeurs pour compléter leur revenu provenant du Régime de rentes du Québec (RRQ) et de la Sécurité de la Vieillesse (SV/SRG) fédérale, au moment de la retraite. Les membres de ce groupe, lors de la transition vers la retraite, sont particulièrement vulnérables à une diminution marquée de leur niveau de vie s’ils n’ont pas épargné suffisamment en vue de cette retraite, ou acquis des actifs pouvant servir à la soutenir. Notre premier mandat consistait à examiner leurs perspectives en ce qui a trait à leur préparation à la retraite ainsi qu’à proposer des changements lorsqu’il est justifié de le faire. <p> Ce précédent mandat s’est conclu par un rapport regroupant une variété de mécanismes voués à encourager l’épargne chez ce groupe de travailleurs, et ce, sous le concept général de « Pensions 4-2 ». Les éléments principaux de ce rapport incluent : (1) tous les travailleurs sans régime d’employeur sont automatiquement inscrits dans un régime d’épargne avec un taux de cotisation par défaut que nous suggérons à un niveau de 4 %; (2) cette cotisation est accompagnée d’une contribution de l’employeur de 0,5 % pour chaque 1 % épargné par l’employé, jusqu’à un maximum de 2 %; et, (3) les cotisations sont versées dans un compte d’épargne individuel au nom de l’employé et sont transférables lorsque l’employé change d’employeur. <p> La structure d’épargne RVER, annoncée par le gouvernement du Québec dans le budget du printemps 2012, et le contenu de ce premier rapport sont généralement en concordance; les points (1) et (3) y sont incorporés, alors que la proposition (2) est facultative pour l’employeur. |
| Date: | 2013–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirpro:2013rp-02&r=dem |
| By: | Alberto Alesina (Harvard University and IGIER Bocconi); Johann Harnoss (EQUIPPE, University of Lille, Harvard University and HWWI Hamburg); Hillel Rapoport (Bar-Ilan University, EQUIPPE and Center for International Development, Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | The diversity of people has economic costs and benefits. Using recent immigration data from 195 countries, we propose an index of diversity based on people's birthplaces. This new index is decomposed into a "size" (share of foreign born) and a "variety" (diversity of immigrants) component and is available for 1990 and 2000 and for the overall as well as for the high (workers with college education) and low-skill fractions of the workforce. We show that birthplace diversity is largely uncorrelated with ethnic and linguistic fractionalization and that - unlike fractionalization - it is positively related to economic development even after controlling for education, institutions, ethnic and linguistic fractionalization, trade openness, geography, market size, and origin-effects. This positive association appears particularly strong for the diversity of skilled immigrants in richer countries. We make progress towards addressing endogeneity by specifying a gravity model to predict the diversity of immigration based on exogenous bilateral variables. The results are robust across various OLS and 2SLS specifications. |
| Keywords: | Birthplace diversity, ethnic diversity, economic growth, productivity, immigration. |
| JEL: | O1 O4 F22 F43 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:1304&r=dem |
| By: | Lin, Biing-Hwan; Guthrie, Joanne F. |
| Abstract: | Food prepared away from home (FAFH)—whether eaten in restaurants, fast-food and\r other locations, or as take-out or delivery to be eaten at home—is now a routine part of the diets of most Americans, accounting for 41 percent of food expenditures and 32 percent of caloric intake. This report analyzes data on individuals 2 years of age and older from two national food consumption surveys (one conducted in 1977-78 and another in 2005-08) to assess changes in the consumption and nutritional quality of FAFH versus food prepared at home (FAH). In the past three decades, FAH has changed more in response to dietary guidance, becoming significantly lower in fat content and richer in calcium, whereas FAFH did not. In 2005-08, FAFH was also higher in saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol and lower in dietary fi ber than FAH. The increased popularity and lower nutritional\r: quality of FAFH is prompting new health promotion strategies, such as menu labeling. |
| Keywords: | food away from home, food at home, food consumption, diet quality, Nationwide Food Consumption Survey, NFCS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, NHANES, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:142361&r=dem |