|
on Demographic Economics |
|
Issue of 2013‒02‒16
thirty-two papers chosen by Clarence Nkengne Tsimpo University of Montreal and World Bank Group |
| By: | Adamou, Adamos; Drakos, Christina; Iyer, Sriya |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the gender-selection decisions of immigrants in the United Kingdom, using data from the 1971-2006 General Household Survey. We examine sex-selective abortion in the UK among immigrant families and the gender composition of previous births, conditional on socio-economic characteristics. Our key result is that immigrants balance their family after the birth of two sons, by having a daughter thereafter. Our study also is the first to estimate the number of missing women among Asian immigrants in a European country, contributing to research on the US and Canada that missing women are also a phenomenon of the developed world. |
| JEL: | J13 J15 O52 Z13 |
| Date: | 2013–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1306&r=dem |
| By: | Dickerson, Andy (University of Sheffield); McIntosh, Steven (University of Sheffield); Valente, Christine (University of Bristol) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses microdata for 19 African countries to examine the gender difference in maths test scores amongst primary school children. There is a significant difference in maths test scores in favour of boys, similar to that previously observed in developed countries. This difference cannot be explained by gender differences in school quality, home environment, or within-school gender discrimination in access to schooling inputs. However, the gender gap varies widely with characteristics of the regions in which the pupils live, and these regional characteristics are more predictive of the gender gap than parental education and school characteristics, including teacher gender. At the cross-country level, differences in fertility rates account for nearly half the variation in the gender gap, and this relationship is not due to the correlation between fertility and GDP nor to gender inequality as measured by the Gender Gap Index. |
| Keywords: | cognitive maths skills, gender, Africa |
| JEL: | O15 I20 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7174&r=dem |
| By: | Nicole Halmdienst (Department of Economics, University of Linz, Austria); Rudolf Winter-Ebmer |
| Abstract: | In this paper we address the long-run effects of childhood shocks on health in late adulthood. Applying a life-course approach and data from SHARE we estimate direct and indirect effects of shocks like relocation, dispossession, or hunger on health outcomes after age fifty. Having lived in a children’s home, in a foster family, or having suffered a period of hunger turn out to be the most detrimental. Using a finite mixture model, which allows to classify the associations between shocks and later health into a-priori unknown groups, we show that some adverse shocks have opposite effects for specific groups. |
| Keywords: | Early life experience, health, Europe |
| JEL: | J1 I12 J13 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jku:econwp:2013_02&r=dem |
| By: | Nicole Halmdienst (Department of Economics, University of Linz, Austria); Rudolf Winter-Ebmer |
| Abstract: | In this paper we address the long-run effects of childhood shocks on health in late adulthood. Applying a life-course approach and data from SHARE we estimate direct and indirect effects of shocks like relocation, dispossession, or hunger on health outcomes after age fifty. Having lived in a children’s home, in a foster family, or having suffered a period of hunger turn out to be the most detrimental. Using a finite mixture model, which allows to classify the associations between shocks and later health into a-priori unknown groups, we show that some adverse shocks have opposite effects for specific groups. |
| Keywords: | Early life experience, health, Europe |
| JEL: | J1 I12 J13 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jku:nrnwps:2013_01&r=dem |
| By: | Seo-Young Cho |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether male soccer tradition can predict the success of female soccer. Different from the existing literature, this paper utilizes panel data covering 175 countries during the 1991-2011 period, capturing country heterogeneity effects and time trends. An instrumental variable approach is further employed in order to identify causal relation. My findings do not support the widespread perception that male tradition determines female soccer attainments. On the other hand, my results indicate that women's empowerment can be a driving force for the success of female soccer. |
| Keywords: | female and male soccer, women's empowerment, panel analysis |
| JEL: | C33 J16 Z10 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1267&r=dem |
| By: | Alison L. Booth; Lina Cardona-Sosa; Patrick Nolen |
| Abstract: | We examine the effect of single-sex classes on the pass rates, grades, and course choices of students in a coeducational university. We randomly assign students to all-female, all-male, and coed classes and, therefore, get around the selection issues present in other studies on single-sex education. We find that one hour a week of single-sex education benefits females: females are 7% more likely to pass their first year courses and score 10% higher in their required second year classes than their peers attending coeducational classes. We find no effect of single-sex education on the probability that a female will take technical classes and there is no effect of single-sex education for males. Furthermore we are able to examine potential mechanisms driving the single-sex effect for females. We find that the results are consistent with a reduction in stereotype threat for females and are not due to a potential tracking effect. |
| Keywords: | single-sex, education, gender, experiment |
| JEL: | C91 C92 J16 J33 |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:auu:dpaper:679&r=dem |
| By: | Bijwaard, Govert (NIDI - Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute); Wang, Qi (NIDI - Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute) |
| Abstract: | Using unique administrative micro panel data, this paper presents a comprehensive empirical analysis of the return of recent foreign students in The Netherlands. The life course experiences of these students in the host, both on the labour market and in marriage formation, impact their decision to leave. Using a "timing-of-events" model we estimate the impact of these processes on the return intensity. The model allows for correlated unobserved heterogeneity across the migration, the labour market and the marriage formation processes. The large size of the data permits us to stratify the analysis by five groups based on the country of birth. The empirical analyses reveal that employment induces students to stay and unemployment induces them to leave. Forming a family in The Netherlands makes the students more prone to stay. The size of the impact of these life course experiences on return differs by age at entry and gender. |
| Keywords: | student migration, timing of events method, labour dynamics, marriage |
| JEL: | F22 J64 J12 C41 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7185&r=dem |
| By: | Sumner La Croix (University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization Department of Economics); Lauren Gabriel (William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawai`i–Mānoa) |
| Abstract: | This report provides quantitative and qualitative measures of the impact of same-sex marriage on Hawai`i’s economy and government. We find that marriage equality is likely to lead to substantial increases in visitor arrivals, visitor spending, and state and county general excise tax revenues. We estimate that fewer than 100 spouses will be added as beneficiaries to public and private employer-provided health insurance plans. The size of the gains from marriage equality depends critically on upcoming rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. |
| Keywords: | same-sex, marriage, health insurance, tourism, Hawaii |
| JEL: | J12 K36 I18 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hai:wpaper:201302&r=dem |
| By: | Spears, Dean |
| Abstract: | Physical height is an important economic variable reflecting health and human capital. Puzzlingly, however, differences in average height across developing countries are not well explained by differences in wealth. In particular, children in India are shorter, on average, than children in Africa who are poorer, on average, a paradox called"the Asian enigma"which has received much attention from economists. This paper provides the first documentation of a quantitatively important gradient between child height and sanitation that can statistically explain a large fraction of international height differences. This association between sanitation and human capital is robustly stable, even after accounting for other heterogeneity, such as in GDP. The author applies three complementary empirical strategies to identify the association between sanitation and child height: country-level regressions across 140 country-years in 65 developing countries; within-country analysis of differences over time within Indian districts; and econometric decomposition of the India-Africa height differences in child-level data. Open defecation, which is exceptionally widespread in India, can account for much or all of the excess stunting in India. |
| Keywords: | Population Policies,Early Child and Children's Health,Disease Control&Prevention,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Youth and Governance |
| Date: | 2013–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6351&r=dem |
| By: | Golsteyn, Bart H.H. (Maastricht University); Grönqvist, Hans (SOFI, Stockholm University); Lindahl, Lena (SOFI, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between time preferences and lifetime social and economic behavior. We use a Swedish longitudinal dataset that links information from a large survey on children's time preferences at age 13 to administrative registers spanning over five decades. Our results indicate a substantial adverse relationship between high discount rates and school performance, health, labor supply, and lifetime income. Males and high ability children gain significantly more from being future-oriented. These discrepancies are largest regarding outcomes later in life. We also show that the relationship between time preferences and long-run outcomes operates through early human capital investments. |
| Keywords: | intertemporal choice, personality, preference parameter, human capital, income, health |
| JEL: | D03 D91 J01 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7165&r=dem |
| By: | Sumner La Croix (UHERO, University of Hawaii at Manoa); Lauren Gabriel (William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawai`iÐManoa) |
| Abstract: | This report provides quantitative and qualitative measures of the impact of same-sex marriage on Hawai`iÕs economy and government. We find that marriage equality is likely to lead to substantial increases in visitor arrivals, visitor spending, and state and county general excise tax revenues. We estimate that fewer than 100 spouses will be added as beneficiaries to public and private employer-provided health insurance plans. The size of the gains from marriage equality depends critically on upcoming rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutionality of CaliforniaÕs Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. |
| Keywords: | same-sex, marriage, health insurance, tourism, Hawaii |
| JEL: | J12 K36 I18 |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hae:wpaper:2013-1&r=dem |
| By: | Aretz, Bodo (ZEW Mannheim) |
| 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: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7158&r=dem |
| By: | Stijn BAERT (Ghent University - Sherppa); Baert COCKX (Ghent University - Sherppa, UCLouvain - IRES, IZA, CESifo); Niels GHEYLE (Ghent University - Sherppa); Cora VANDAMME (Ghent University - Sherppa) |
| Abstract: | We empirically test the relationship between hiring discrimination and labour market tightness at the level of the occupation. To this end, we conduct a correspondence test in the youth labour market. In line with theoretical expectations, we find that, compared to natives, candidates with a foreign sounding name are equally often invited to a job interview if they apply for occupations for which vacancies are difficult to fill, but they have to send twice as many applications for occupations for which labour market tightness is low. Our findings are robust against various sensitivity checks. |
| Keywords: | hiring discrimination, ethnic discrimination, labour market tightness, field experiments |
| JEL: | C93 J15 J21 J24 J42 J71 |
| Date: | 2013–01–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctl:louvir:2013001&r=dem |
| By: | Angelov, Nikolay (IFAU); Johansson, Per (IFAU); Lindahl, Erica (IFAU) |
| Abstract: | We compare the income and wage trajectories of women in relation to their male partners before and after parenthood. Focusing on the within-couple gap allows us to control for both observed and unobserved attributes of the spouse and to estimate both short- and long-term effects of entering parenthood. Our main finding is that 15 years after the first child was born, the male-female gender gaps in income and wages have increased with 35 and 10 percentage points, respectively. In line with a collective labor supply model, the magnitude of these effects depends on relative incomes or wages within the family. |
| Keywords: | gender gap, quantile regression, income, wages |
| JEL: | J21 D13 C21 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7181&r=dem |
| By: | Cervellati, Matteo (University of Bologna); Sunde, Uwe (University of Munich) |
| Abstract: | We propose a unied growth theory to investigate the mechanics generating the economic and demographic transition, and the role of mortality dierences for comparative development. The framework can replicate the quantitative pat- terns in historical time series data and in contemporaneous cross-country panel data, including the bi-modal distribution of the endogenous variables across coun- tries. The results suggest that dierences in extrinsic mortality might explain a substantial part of the observed dierences in the timing of the take-o across countries and the worldwide density distribution of the main variables of interest. |
| Keywords: | Economic and Demographic Transition, Adult Mortality, Child Mortality, Quantitative Analysis, Unied Growth Model, Heterogeneous Human Capital, Comparative Development, Development Traps |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:warwcg:112&r=dem |
| By: | Coenen, J.; Van Klaveren, C. |
| Keywords: | Teacher, Student Achievement, Gender, Mathematics |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tir:wpaper:47&r=dem |
| By: | Brown, W. Mark<br /> Lafrance, Amelie |
| Abstract: | This paper examines why rates of homeownership have been increasing amongst young higher-income households, but declining among young lower-income households. For the period from 1981 to 2006, household data from the Census of Population, supplemented with information from the Survey of Financial Security, are employed to model the decision to own across the income distribution. The model assesses whether housing market conditions (e.g., the cost of renting versus owning), the financial condition of households (e.g., whether the household has sufficient wealth to make a standard down payment), and demographic factors (e.g., changing family composition) account for these diverging trends in housing demand. |
| Keywords: | Income, pensions, spending and wealth, Families, households and housing, Household assets, debts and wealth, Household characteristics, Housing and dwelling characteristics |
| Date: | 2013–01–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:stc:stcp5e:2013083e&r=dem |
| By: | Michael J. Kottelenberg; Steven F. Lehrer |
| Abstract: | In Canada, advocates of universal child care often point to policies implemented in Quebec as providing a model for early education and care policies in other provinces. While these policies have proven to be incredibly popular among citizens, initial evaluations of access to these programs indicated they led to a multitude of undesirable child developmental, health and family outcomes. These research findings ignited substantial controversy and criticism. In this study, we show the robustness of the initial analyses to i) concerns over whether negative outcomes would vanish over time as suppliers gained experience providing child care, ii) concerns regarding multiple testing, and iii) concerns that the original test measured the causal impact of childcare availability and not child care attendance. A notable exception is that despite estimated effects stemming from the policy indicating declines in motor-social development scores in Quebec relative to the rest of Canada, our analyses imply that on average attending childcare in Canada leads to a significant increase in this test score. However, our analysis reveals substantial heterogeneity in program impacts that occur in response to the Quebec policies and indicates that most of the negative impacts reported in earlier research are driven by children from families who only attended childcare in response to the implementation of this policy. |
| JEL: | C31 H2 I28 J2 |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18785&r=dem |
| By: | Halliday, Timothy J. (University of Hawaii at Manoa) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we use the death file from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to investigate the relationship between county-level unemployment rates and mortality risk. After partialling out important confounding factors including baseline health status as well as state and industry fixed effects, we show that poor local labor market conditions are associated with higher mortality risk for working-aged men. In particular, we show that a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate increases their mortality hazard by 6%. There is little to no such relationship for people with weaker labor force attachments such as women or the elderly. Our results contribute to a growing body of work that suggests that poor economic conditions pose health risks and illustrate an important contrast with studies based on aggregate data. |
| Keywords: | recessions, mortality, health, aggregation |
| JEL: | I0 I12 J1 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7157&r=dem |
| By: | Joensen, Juanna Schrøter (Stockholm School of Economics); Nielsen, Helena Skyt (Aarhus University) |
| 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 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7164&r=dem |
| By: | Scott Fulford (Boston College) |
| Abstract: | Despite the evidence for high returns to education at an individual level, large increases in education across the developing world have brought disappointing returns in aggregate. This paper shows that the same pattern holds in India by building aggregates from micro-data so that the comparability and quality issues that plague cross-country analyses are not a problem. In India both men and women with more education live in households with greater consumption per capita. Yet in aggregate, comparing across age cohorts and states, better educated male cohorts consume only about 4% more than less well educated ones. Better educated female cohorts do not live in households with higher consumption. This result is robust to: (1) using econometric models that account for survey measurement error, (2) different measures of household consumption and composition, (3) allowing returns to differ by state, and (4) age mismeasurement. Comparing state returns to a measure of school quality, it does not seem that poor quality is responsible for the low returns. |
| Keywords: | education, India, household consumption, school quality |
| JEL: | O15 I2 |
| Date: | 2012–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boc:bocoec:819&r=dem |
| By: | Rodriguez, German; Popp, Jennie S. Hughes; Ulrich, Rick; Vickery-Niederman, Gina; Black, Michael |
| Abstract: | This poster describes the integration of life cycle costing capabilities into a life cycle assessment model of greenhouse gas emissions for US swine production. Combining both tools allows for a sustainable analysis of a process to identify potential production practices which are environmentally friendly and economically feasible. |
| Keywords: | GHG emissions, life cycle assessment, life cycle costing, pork production, Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Q52, Q54, |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea13:142946&r=dem |
| By: | Carvalho, Leandro (RAND); Soares, Rodrigo R. (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)) |
| Abstract: | We use data from a unique survey of members of drug-trafficking gangs in favelas (slums) of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to characterize drug-trafficking jobs and study the selection into gangs, analyzing what distinguishes gang-members from other youth living in favelas. We also estimate wage regressions for gang-members and examine their career path: age at entry, progression within the gangs' hierarchy, and short- to medium-term outcomes. Individuals from lower socioeconomic background and with no religious affiliation have higher probability of joining a gang, while those with problems at school and early use of drugs join the gang at younger ages. Wages within the gang do not depend on education, but are increasing with experience and involvement in gang-related violence. The two-year mortality rate in the sample of gang-members reaches 20%, with the probability of death increasing with initial involvement in gang violence and with personality traits associated with unruliness. |
| Keywords: | crime, youth, gangs, drugs, trafficking, Brazil |
| JEL: | J4 K42 O15 O17 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7189&r=dem |
| By: | Osinubi, Adenola; Escalante, Cesar L. |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates poverty in rural Georgia Counties for the years 2000 and 2009. Analysis from 2000 concluded unexpected results from the female head of household and percent black variables. The 2009 results were more consistent with expectations but the percent white and out migration variables produced unexpected results. |
| Keywords: | Rural Poverty, Poverty, Southern States, Georgia, Minorities, Unites States, Women, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2013–01–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea13:142463&r=dem |
| By: | Michał Brzeziński (Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw) |
| Abstract: | We use data from the British Household Panel Survey to analyse changes in poverty of self-reported health from 1991 to 2008. Recently introduced ordinal counterparts of the classical Foster, Greer, Thorbecke (1984) (FGT) poverty measures are used to decompose changes in self-reported health poverty over time into within-group health poverty changes and population shifts between groups. We also provide statistical inference for these ordinal FGT indices. Results suggest that the health poverty rate increased independently of health poverty threshold chosen. In case of other ordinal FGT indices, which are sensitive to depth and distribution of health poverty, results depend on the health poverty threshold. The subgroup decompositions of changes in total health poverty in Britain suggest that the most important poverty-increasing factors include a rise of both health poverty and population shares of persons cohabiting and couples with no children as well as an increase of the population of retired persons. |
| Keywords: | health poverty, ordinal FGT measures, self-reported health, statistical inference, British Household Panel Survey |
| JEL: | I32 D63 I14 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:war:wpaper:2013-02&r=dem |
| By: | Atheendar S. Venkataramani (Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University); Brendan Maughan-Brown (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | Poverty may influence HIV risk by increasing vulnerability to economic shocks and thereby preventing key health investments. We explored this by examining the relationship between household shocks and the timing of traditional male circumcision, a practice associated with considerable expense and whose HIV-prevention benefits are larger when done earlier, even within young adulthood. Using unique data on a sample of Xhosa men, a group that almost universally practice traditional circumcision, we found that respondents in the poorest households delayed circumcision by two years if a household member experienced loss of income or death and/or illness. The impact of these shocks declined with increasing household income. Our findings suggest that interventions that work to mitigate the impact of shocks among the poor may be useful in HIV prevention efforts. More generally, they illustrate that the relationship between HIV and wealth may be more nuanced than assumed in previous work. |
| Keywords: | Economic shocks, poverty, male circumcision, HIV, South Africa |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:93&r=dem |
| By: | Tanellari, Eftila; Kostandini, Genti; Bonabana, Jackie |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effects of gender on the adoption of new technologies of peanut production in Eastern Uganda. The findings suggest that females adopt improved varieties at a lower rate compared to males. In addition, females in female-headed households are less likely to adopt. |
| Keywords: | Adoption, Gender, Uganda, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Development, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea13:143204&r=dem |
| By: | Louis N. Christofides (Department of Economics, Universities of Cyprus and of Guelph.); Alexandros Polycarpou (Department of Economics, University of Cyprus); Konstantinos Vrachimis (Department of Economics, University of Cyprus and Cooperative Central Bank of Cyprus.) |
| Abstract: | We consider and attempt to understand the gender wage gap across 26 European countries, using 2007 data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions. The size of the gender wage gap varies considerably across countries, definitions of the gap, and selection-correction mechanisms. Most of the gap cannot be explained by the characteristics available in this data set. Quantile regressions show that, in a number of countries, the wage gap is wider at the top (‘glass ceilings’) and/or at the bottom of the wage distribution (‘sticky floors’). We find larger mean/median gender gaps and more evidence of glass ceilings for full-time full-year employees, suggesting more female disadvantage in ‘better’ jobs. These features may be related to country-specific policies that cannot be evaluated at the individual-country level, at a point in time. We use the cross-country variation in the unexplained wage gaps of this larger-than-usual sample of states to explore the influence of (i) country policies that reconcile work and family life and (ii) their wage-setting institutions. We find that country policies and institutions are related to features of their unexplained gender wage gaps in systematic, quantitatively important, ways. |
| Keywords: | Gender wage gap; selection; quantiles;work-family reconciliation; wage-setting institutions |
| JEL: | J16 J31 J50 C21 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gue:guelph:2013-01&r=dem |
| By: | Velde, F R. |
| Abstract: | I measure the parameters of coin wear using data collected in the 19th century. A comparison across denominations and countries shows that coin wear (in relative terms) is linear in the logarithm of coin value. Data from coin hoards of the 18th and early 19th centuries yield similar estimates of mean coin wear, showing that hoards provide useful information. Finally, under assumptions of normality for initial coin weights and coin loss I use maximum likelihood estimation to recover the parameters of the wear process from a sample of coins whose age is unknown. The method performs well on the hoard data (for which the age is known and can serve as a check). |
| Keywords: | coin circulation, coin wear, abrasion, velocity, denomination, gold, silver. |
| JEL: | N10 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bfr:banfra:422&r=dem |
| By: | Dammert, Ana C. (Carleton University); Ural Marchand, Beyza (University of Alberta); Wan, Chi (University of Massachusetts Boston) |
| 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 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7159&r=dem |
| By: | Marsha Gold |
| Keywords: | Long-Term Care, Aging Population, International, Health; commentary |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2013–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:7654&r=dem |
| By: | Vincenzo Atella (University of Rome "Tor Vergata"); Lorenzo Carbonari (University of Rome "Tor Vergata") |
| Abstract: | We study the relationship between gerontocracy and aggregate economic performance in a simple theoretical model where growth is driven by human capital accumulation and productive government spending (investments in ICT). We show that gerontocratic élites display the tendency to underinvest in public education and productive government services, thus being harmful for growth. In absence of intergenerational altruism, the damage caused by gerontocracy is mainly due to the lack of long-term delayed return on investments, originated by the shorter life horizon of the elder ruling class. An empirical analysis is carried out to test theoretical predictions across different countries and different economic sectors. The econometric results confirm our main hypotheses. |
| Keywords: | Gerontocracy, Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity, Education, ICT. |
| JEL: | J1 O4 |
| Date: | 2013–02–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtv:ceisrp:263&r=dem |