|
on Demographic Economics |
|
Issue of 2013‒07‒15
fifty-one papers chosen by Clarence Nkengne Tsimpo University of Montreal and World Bank Group |
| By: | Kemnitz, Alexander; Thum, Marcel |
| Abstract: | The birth of children often shifts the power balance within a family. If family decisions are made according to the spouses' welfare function, this shift in power may lead to a time consistency problem. The allocation of resources after the birth of children may differ from the ex-ante optimal choice. In a model of cooperative decision making within a family, we show that this time consistency problem leads to a systematic downward bias in fertility choices. By keeping fertility low, families try to mitigate the ex-ante undesired shift in the power balance. This bias in fertility choices provides scope for welfare enhancing policy intervention. We discuss the extent to which existing measures in family policy are suitable to overcome the fertility bias. -- |
| Keywords: | Fertility,Family Policy,Household Allocation |
| JEL: | D13 H31 J13 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:tuddps:0113&r=dem |
| By: | Michael Kind; Jan Kleibrink |
| Abstract: | Does economic insecurity delay fertility? Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) for the years 2001–2011, the impact of economic insecurity on the timing of first birth is examined. Focusing on the timing decision within a career context, different measures of insecurity are analyzed. These include subjective and objective influences on the individual and on more aggregate levels. Results show that men are unaffected by the evaluation of the economic situation on their individual level but they complement positive economic situations on the macro-level with fertility. On the contrary, women delay fertility in response to economic insecurity on the individual level but prepone fertility when observing insecurity on the macro-level. |
| Keywords: | Economic uncertainty; family formation; timing of birth; survival analysis |
| JEL: | J13 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rwi:repape:0422&r=dem |
| By: | S. Quimbo; X. Javier (School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman) |
| Abstract: | Using data from the 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey, we ask whether women's economic empowerment -defined alternatively as having the ability to decide on (i) daily needs, (ii) major purchases, and (iii) spending own income - protects women against domestic violence. Using a simple model of choice of conflict resolution technology among spouses, we find evidence that economic empowerment protects women in a non-linear way. Low and high levels of empowerment reduce the likelihood of women experiencing domestic violence, possibly reflecting traditional gender roles in Philippine society. |
| Keywords: | Economic empowerment; domestic violence; Philippines |
| JEL: | J12 J16 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phs:dpaper:201305&r=dem |
| By: | Ainhoa Aparicio; Libertad González |
| Abstract: | We study the effect of the business cycle on the health of newborn babies using 30 years of birth certificate data for Spain. Exploiting regional variation over time, we find that babies are born healthier when the local unemployment rate is high. Although fertility is lower during recessions, the effect on health is not the result of selection (healthier mothers being more likely to conceive when unemployment is high). We match multiple births to the same parents and find that the main result survives the inclusion of parents fixed-effects. We then explore a range of maternal behaviors as potential channels. Fertility-age women do not appear to engage in significantly healthier behaviors during recessions (in terms of exercise, nutrition, smoking and drinking). However, they are more likely to be out of work. Maternal employment during pregnancy is in turn negatively correlated with babies’ health. We conclude that maternal employment is a plausible mediating channel. |
| Keywords: | recessions, business cycles, infant health, fertility, birth weight, infant mortality, Spain |
| JEL: | I12 J13 O49 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:702&r=dem |
| By: | Arceo-Gomez, Eva O.; Campos-Vázquez, Raymundo M. |
| Abstract: | In Mexico, as in most Latin American countries with indigenous populations, it is commonly believed that European phenotypes are preferred to mestizo or indigenous phenotypes. However, it is hard to test for such racial biases in the labor market using official statistics since race can only be inferred from native language. Moreover, employers may think that married females have lower productivity, and hence they may be more reluctant to hire them. We are interested in testing both hypotheses through a field experiment in the labor market. The experiment consisted on sending fictitious curriculums (CVs) responding to job advertisements with randomized information of the applicants. The CVs included photographs representing three distinct phenotypes: Caucasian, mestizo and indigenous. We also randomly vary marital status across gender and phenotype. Hence, our test consists on finding whether there are significant differences in the callback rates. We find that females have 40 percent more callbacks than males. We also find that indigenous looking females are discriminated against, but the effect is not present for males. Interestingly, married females are penalized in the labor market and this penalty is higher for indigenous-looking women. We did not find an effect of marital status on males. |
| Keywords: | Discrimination; Gender; Race; Marriage; Labor market; Mexico; Hiring; Correspondence study. |
| JEL: | J12 J15 J16 J7 J71 J83 O54 |
| Date: | 2013–06–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48000&r=dem |
| By: | Zachary Zimmer; Codrina Rada; Catalin Stoica |
| Abstract: | The combined demographic developments of population aging and high rates of migration of young adults are consequential for older parents who face a potential decline in support from adult children. These developments also impact the lives of migrant adults who face the challenge of providing support to aging parents from a distance. Systematic data that allow examination of associations between the location of migrants and the provision of support to aging parents are difficult to find for Eastern Europe, a region undergoing enormous demographic and socio-economic transition. Using recently collected data from Romania, a country facing both rapid aging and out-migration, and building upon a family altruism framework, this study models provision of monetary and instrumental support as a function of migrant’s location of residence, location of their siblings in relation to parents, and other characteristics that fall under domains of parental need, ability of migrant to provide, and predisposing characteristics of migrant and parent. Models are run using a mixed methods approach accounting for the random effects at the family level. Results indicate international migrants are more likely to give money while those migrating within Romania are more likely to provide instrumental support. Regardless of type of support or location of migrant, the probability of support increases when other sources are less available and when a parent has greater need. Results provide support for the altruistic framework and help to build upon the understanding of intergenerational exchanges within rapidly changing demographic environments. |
| Keywords: | population aging; migration; intergenerational support; Romania JEL Classification: F22; F24; N30; R23 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uta:papers:2013_09&r=dem |
| By: | Sommerfeld K.; Steffes S.; Fitzenberger B. (GSBE) |
| Abstract: | The effects of childbirth on future labor market outcomes are a key issue for policy discussion. This paper implements a dynamic treatment approach to estimate the effect of having the first child now versus later on future employment for the case of Germany, a country with a long maternity leave coverage. Effect heterogeneity is assessed by estimating ex post outcome regressions. Based on SOEP data, we provide estimates at a monthly frequency. The results show that there are very strong negative employment effects after childbirth. Although the employment loss is reduced over the first five years following childbirth, it does not level off to zero. The employment loss is lower for motherswith a university degree. It is especially high for medium-skilled mothers with long prebirthemployment experience. We find a significant reduction in the employment loss for more recent childbirths. |
| Keywords: | Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General; Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth; Time Allocation and Labor Supply; |
| JEL: | C14 J13 J22 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:umagsb:2013031&r=dem |
| By: | Tamar Khitarishvili |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the gender wage gap among wage workers along the wage distribution in Georgia between 2004 and 2011, based on the recentered influence function (RIF) decomposition approach developed in Firpo, Fortin, and Lemieux (2009). We find that the gender wage gap decreases along the wage distribution, from 0.64 log points to 0.54 log points. Endowment differences explain between 22 percent and 61 percent of the observed gender wage gap, with the explained proportion declining as we move to the top of the distribution. The primary contributors are the differences in the work hours, industrial composition, and employment in the state sector. A substantial portion of the gap, however, remains unexplained, and can be attributed to the differences in returns, especially in the industrial premia. The gender wage gap consistently declined between 2004 and 2011. However, the gap remains large, with women earning 45 percent less than men in 2011. The reduction in the gender wage gap between 2004 and 2007, and the switch from a glass-ceiling shape for the gender gap distribution to a sticky-floor shape, was driven by the rising returns in the state sector for men at the bottom, and by women at the top of the wage distribution. Between 2009 and 2011, the decline in the gender wage gap can be explained by the decrease in men's working hours, which was larger than the decrease in women's working hours. We assess the robustness of our findings using the statistical matching decomposition method developed in Nopo (2008) in order to address the possibility that the high degree of industrial segregation may bias our results. The Nopo decomposition results enrich our understanding of the factors that underlie the gender wage gap but do not alter our key findings, and in fact support their robustness. |
| Keywords: | Gender Wage Gap, Decomposition Methods, Wage Distribution, Transition Economies, Georgia, Glass Ceiling Effect, Sticky Floor Effect |
| JEL: | J16 J31 P2 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_768&r=dem |
| By: | David Gill (University of Oxford); Victoria Prowse (Cornell University) |
| Abstract: | In a real effort experiment with repeated competition we find striking differences in how the work effort of men and women responds to previous wins and losses. For women losing per se is detrimental to productivity, but for men a loss impacts negatively on productivity only when the prize at stake is big enough. Responses to luck are more persistent and explain more of the variation in behavior for women, and account for about half of the gender performance gap in our experiment. Our findings shed new light on why women may be less inclined to pursue competition-intensive careers. |
| Keywords: | Labor market outcomes; Gender gap; Experiment; Real effort; Career development; Competition; Luck; Productivity; Relative performance evaluation; Tournament; Wining; Losing |
| JEL: | C91 D03 J16 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cex:dpaper:2013001&r=dem |
| By: | Creedy, John; Makale, Kathleen |
| Abstract: | This paper presents stochastic projections for 13 categories of social spending in New Zealand over the period 2011-2061. These projections are based on detailed demographic estimates covering fertility, migration and mortality disaggregated by single year of age and gender. Distributional parameters are incorporated for all of the major variables, and are used to build up probabilistic projections for social expenditure as a share of GDP using simulation methods, following Creedy and Scobie (2005). Emphasis is placed on the considerable uncertainty involved in projecting future expenditure levels. |
| Keywords: | Population, Projections, Stochastic simulation, Social expenditure, Fiscal costs, New Zealand, |
| Date: | 2013–07–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vuw:vuwcpf:2838&r=dem |
| By: | Bernhard Hammer; Alexia Prskawetz; Inga Freund |
| Abstract: | We investigate the reallocation of resources across age and gender in a comparative European setting. Our analysis is based on concepts and data from the National Transfer Accounts (NTA) project, as well as on data from income and time use surveys. We introduce the aggregate NTA life cycle deficit as a concept of an economic dependency ratio. This dependency measure allows for flexible age limits and age-specific levels of economic dependency. We then move beyond the current NTA methodology and study gender differences in the generation of income and extend our analysis by unpaid household work. We find large cross-country differences in the age- and gender-specific levels and type of production activities and consequently in the organisation of the resource reallocation across age. Our results clearly indicate that a reform of the welfare system needs to take into account not only public transfers but also private transfers, in particular the services produced within the households for own consumption (e.g. childcare, cooking, cleaning...). |
| Keywords: | Ageing, challenges for welfare system, demographic change, welfare state |
| JEL: | I38 J10 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feu:wfewop:y:2013:m:7:d:0:i:13&r=dem |
| By: | Ilyana Kuziemko; Katherine Meckel; Maya Rossin-Slater |
| Abstract: | Increasingly in U.S. public insurance programs, the state finances and regulates competing, capitated private health plans but does not itself directly insure beneficiaries through a public fee-for-service (FFS) plan. We develop a simple model of risk-selection in such settings. Capitation incentivizes insurers to retain low-cost clients and thus improve their care relative to high-cost clients, who they prefer would switch to a competitor. We test this prediction using county transitions from FFS Medicaid to capitated Medicaid managed care (MMC) for pregnant women and infants. We first document the large health disparities and corresponding cost differences between blacks and Hispanics (who make up the large majority of Medicaid enrollees in our data), with black births costing nearly double that of Hispanics. Consistent with the model, black-Hispanic infant health disparities widen under MMC (e.g., the black-Hispanic mortality gap grows by 42 percent) and black mothers' pre-natal care worsens relative to that of Hispanics. Remarkably, black birth rates fall (and abortions rise) significantly after MMC—consistent with mothers reacting to poor care by reducing fertility or plans discouraging births from high-cost groups. Implications for the ACA exchanges are discussed |
| JEL: | H4 I14 J13 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19198&r=dem |
| By: | Noelia BERNAL; Frederic VERMEULEN |
| Abstract: | We analyze the impact of an increase in the legal retirement age on the effective retirement age in the Netherlands. We do this by means of a dynamic programming model for the retirement behavior of singles. The model is applied to new administrative data that contain very accurate and detailed information on individual incomes and occupational pension entitlements. Our model is able to capture the main patterns observed in the data. We observe that as individuals get older their labor supply declines considerably and this varies by health status. We simulate a soon to be implemented pension reform which aims at gradually increasing the legal retirement age from 65 to 67. The simulation results show a rather small impact on the effective retirement age. Individuals postpone their retirement by only 3 months on average, while differences across individuals mainly depend on their health status. |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ete:ceswps:ces13.03&r=dem |
| By: | Vincenzo Galasso; Tommaso Nannicini |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the differential response of male and female voters to competitive persuasion in political campaigns. During the 2011 municipal elections in Milan, a sample of eligible voters was randomly divided into three groups. Two were exposed to the same incumbent’s campaign but to different opponent’s campaigns, with either a positive or a negative tone. The third—control—group received no electoral information. The campaigns were administered online and consisted of a bundle of advertising tools (videos, texts, slogans). Stark gender differences emerge. Negative advertising increases men’s turnout, but has no effect on women. Females, however, vote more for the opponent and less for the incumbent when they are exposed to the opponent’s positive campaign. Exactly the opposite occurs for males. Additional tests show that our results are not driven by gender identification with the candidate, ideology, or other voter’s observable attributes. Effective strategies of persuasive communication should thus take gender into account. Our results may also help to reconcile the conflicting evidence on the effect of negative vs. positive advertising, as the average impact may wash out when aggregated across gender. Keywords: gender differences, political campaigns, competitive persuasion. JEL classification: D72, J16, M37 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:igi:igierp:487&r=dem |
| By: | Bhalotra, Sonia R. (University of Bristol); Clots-Figueras, Irma (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid); Cassan, Guilhem (University of Namur); Iyer, Lakshmi (Harvard Business School) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether the religious identity of state legislators in India influences development outcomes, both for citizens of their religious group and for the population as a whole. To control for politician identity to be correlated with constituency level voter preferences or characteristics that make religion salient, we use quasi-random variation in legislator identity generated by close elections between Muslim and non-Muslim candidates. We find that increasing the political representation of Muslims improves health and education outcomes in the district from which the legislator is elected. We find no evidence of religious favoritism: Muslim children do not benefit more from Muslim political representation than children from other religious groups. |
| Keywords: | religion, politician identity, infant mortality, primary education, India, Muslim |
| JEL: | I15 J13 H41 P16 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7473&r=dem |
| By: | Tahu Kukutai (University of Waikato); Shefali Pawar (University of Waikato) |
| Abstract: | This report provides a comprehensive demographic and socio-economic profile of the Maori population in Australia using data from the 2011 Australia Census of Population and Housing. The purpose is to provide an evidence base with which to inform future policy approaches with respect to Maori in Australia. It focuses on five key areas: Population size and composition; Identity and culture; Year of arrival and citizenship; Education and work; Lone parenting and unpaid childcare. Comparisons are undertaken with Maori in the 2006 Australia Census, as well as with two reference groups: the total Australia population and migrant non-Maori New Zealanders. Where appropriate, we also distinguish Maori migrants born in New Zealand and Maori born in Australia. This captures important differences within the Maori population in Australia that have been under-examined in previous studies. There are significant differences between New Zealand and Australian-born Maori across a range of indicators. Policy approaches and research need to be attuned to this internal variation and the differing circumstances and needs. The initial analysis in this report suggest that Australian-born Maori have higher education levels than their New Zealand-born counterparts living in Australia and are more engaged in higher education in Australia. However, the youthful age structure of the second generation precludes a comprehensive comparison with respect to labour market characteristics and outcomes. While many Maori migrants appear to be living a relatively ‘good life’, earning comparatively high incomes in lower-skilled jobs, theirs is an inherently vulnerable situation given their low levels of education and limited access to social security. |
| Keywords: | Australia, New Zealand, migrants, Maori, diaspora |
| JEL: | J15 J61 F22 |
| Date: | 2013–06–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wai:nidaea:wp-3&r=dem |
| By: | BAUDIN, Thomas |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cor:louvrp:2252&r=dem |
| By: | Silvia Galeazzi (AlmaLaurea Inter-University Consortium) |
| Abstract: | The analysis focuses on the various educational choices linked to gender. In particular, we want to give an answer to the question: what are the characteristics of women who choose a field of study with a strong male predominance and, conversely, what the characteristics of men who choose curricula that have always been the realm of women? The main aim, therefore, is to investigate what are the characteristics of males and females that are "against the tide" with respect to their peers, choosing educational paths with a clear majority of women for the former and predominantly male for the latter. The definition "minority gender" is used to refer to the two groups. After defining curricula as "female" or "male" ones, the analysis focuses on the description of the profile of the "minority gender". |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:laa:wpaper:53&r=dem |
| By: | Uysal, S. Derya (Department of Economics and Finance, Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna, Austria) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides doubly robust estimators for treatment effect parameters which are defined in multivalued treatment effect framework. We apply this method on a unique data set of British Cohort Study (BCS) to estimate returns to different levels of schooling. Average returns are estimated for entire population, as well as conditional on having a specific educational achievement. The analysis is carried out for female and male samples separately to capture possible gender differences. The results indicate that, on average, the percentage wage gain due to higher education versus any other lower educational attainment is higher for highly educated females than highly educated males. |
| Keywords: | Multivalued treatment, returns to schooling, doubly robust estimation |
| JEL: | C21 J24 I2 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ihs:ihsesp:297&r=dem |
| By: | Gert-Jan Veerman (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands); Jaap Dronkers (Maastricht University, The Netherlands) |
| Abstract: | This article examines the effect of the ethnic school composition on school performances in secondary education for Turkish students, using both cross-national PISA 2009 and Swiss national PISA 2009 data. We argue how social capital theory beside other theories can explain a part of the ethnic composition effect. We employ three indicators of the ethnic composition of a school: the native share, the share of co-ethnics and the ethnic diversity (we employ a residualized score of diversity on the proportion of migrants). Our results show no effect of the proportion of natives on math performances. Furthermore, we show a negative association between ethnic diversity and math performances. Nevertheless, we find a positive association between ethnic diversity and reading performances in The Netherlands. Children of Turkish decent have higher math performances if they are in an educational system with a larger community of co-ethnics and if they are in an educational system with native students with average higher school performances. Finally we find no association between an early comprehensive labor agreement and math performances. |
| Keywords: | ethnic composition, Turkish migrant students, ethnic diversity, social capital |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:1314&r=dem |
| By: | Mario Lackner; Christine Zulehner |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyze the effect of market power on the share of females in top management positions using data from a market in which some firms have market power due to an institutionalized cartel. We investigate collegiate athletics and interpret coaches as top-level managers or chief executive officers (CEOs). The causal link between market power and female employment is established by exploiting the existence of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) as an exogenous shock. Our results show that an increase in the market share has a negative effect on females relative to males among coaches. We interpret this as clear evidence for Becker's (1957) theory on employer discrimination. Only firms operating in an oligopolistic or otherwise not perfectly competitive environment can sustain a taste or cost of discrimination. Market power is necessary to let firms share rents with their workers, which they do in a discriminatory way. |
| Keywords: | gender discrimination, market power |
| JEL: | J71 L40 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jku:nrnwps:2013_07&r=dem |
| By: | Thomas Horvath; Peter Huber |
| Abstract: | We analyse the role of ethnic networks, segregation and diversity of a region on migrants’ success in integration into the host countries’ labour markets. We find a robust negative impact of ethnic networks on unemployment probabilities of the foreign born and a positive one on employment probabilities. In addition a similarly robust positive impact of ethnic diversity on the unemployment probabilities and a negative one on employment probabilities is found. With respect to over-education our results are less robust, but in their majority point to a negative impact of ethnic networks on the probability of over-educated employment and an insignificant or positive impact of diversity. Segregation at the country level, by contrast, remains an insignificant determinant of both the probability of unemployment and of overeducated employment in most specifications and all three variables seem to be only very weakly correlated to the probability of being detached from the labour market and to the probability of being in education. |
| Keywords: | Integration, networks, diversity |
| JEL: | D83 J71 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feu:wfewop:y:2013:m:7:d:0:i:22&r=dem |
| By: | Cansu Akpinar-Sposito (Centre de Recherche Magellan - Université Jean Moulin - Lyon III : EA3713) |
| Abstract: | Abstract: The purpose of this literature review is to analyze the different theoretical approaches in female leadership in the global arena. The literature review comprises peer-reviewed journal articles, white papers, conference proceedings and institutional reports by multilateral organizations on the topic of women in management and career barriers for women. Firstly, we examine the theory of Fagenson, and afterward biological models, socialization models, and structural/cultural models in an organization will be discussed. |
| Keywords: | Women in Management, Gender Organization System, GOS, |
| Date: | 2013–06–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00839365&r=dem |
| By: | Gazi Mainul Hassan (University of Waikato); Arusha Cooray (University of Wollongong) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses the Extreme Bounds Analysis (EBA) to examine the comparative growth effects of gender disaggregated and level-specific enrolment ratios in a panel of Asian economies. To test our hypotheses, at first we employ an endogenous growth type framework where education has externality effects and then we compare the results with those obtained from an alternative neoclassical exogenous growth type model where education’s effect is transmitted only via total factor productivity (TFP). It is found that the externality effects of education are positive and robust for both male and female and that these are relatively large and significant at the primary, secondary as well as tertiary level. Furthermore, in the endogenous type framework, a gender gap is observed wherein the male growth effect of education is consistently larger than that of female at all levels. Compared to these, in the neoclassical type model we find that only the male and female primary and secondary enrolment ratios have robust growth effects. In contrast to the externality effects, these growth effects are small. |
| Keywords: | education and growth; endogenous growth; Solow growth model; extreme bounds analysis; total factor productivity. |
| JEL: | O11 O15 |
| Date: | 2013–07–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wai:econwp:13/10&r=dem |
| By: | Jason Shachat (The Wang Yanan Institute for Studies in Economics and MOE Key Laboratory in Econometrics, Xiamen University); Lijia Wei (School of Economics and Management,Wuhan University) |
| Abstract: | We present a hidden Markov model of discrete strategic heterogeneity and learning in first price independent private values auctions. The model includes three latent bidding rules: constant absolute mark-up, constant percentage mark-up, and strategic best response. Rule switching probabilities depend upon a bidder's past auction outcomes. We apply this model to a new experiment that varies the number of bidders, the auction frame between forward and reverse, and includes the collection of saliva samples - used to measure subjects' sex hormone levels. We find the proportion of bidders following constant absolute mark-up increases with experience, particularly when the number of bidders is large. The primary driver here is subjects' increased propensity to switch strategies when they experience a loss (win) reinforcement when following a strategic (heuristic) rule. This affect is stronger for women and leads them spend more time following boundedly rational rules. We also find women in the Luteal and Menstrual phases of their menstrual cycle bid less aggressively, in terms of surplus demanded, when following the best response rule. This combined with spending more time following simple rules of thumbs explains gender differences in earnings. |
| Keywords: | Private values auction, Discrete heterogeneity, Learning, Gender difference |
| JEL: | C91 D44 C72 C73 C92 D87 |
| Date: | 2013–07–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fee:wpaper:1302&r=dem |
| By: | Christian Dudel; Notburga Ott; Martin Werding |
| Abstract: | How much retirement income is needed in order to maintain one's living standard at old age? As it is difficult to find a firm basis for an empirical treatment of this question, we employ a novel approach to assessing an adequate replacement rate vis- a-vis income in the pre-retirement period. We subject indications regarding satisfaction with current income as collected in the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) to longitudinal analyses, using linear fixed-effects models and fixed-effects ordered logit models as our main analytical tools. We obtain a required net replacement rate of about 87% for the year of entry into retirement as a rather robust result, while replacement rates keeping the living standard unchanged may slightly decline over the retirement period. |
| Keywords: | Retirement, living standard, replacement rate, pensions, saving, satisfaction |
| JEL: | D1 D91 H55 J32 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp563&r=dem |
| By: | Ball, Christopher; Creedy, John |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the implications of population ageing and changes in labour force participation rates for projections of revenue obtained from personal income taxation and a consumption tax (in the form of a broad-based goods and services tax). A projection model is presented, involving changing age-income profiles over time for males and females. The model is estimated and applied to New Zealand over the period 2011-2062. |
| Keywords: | Aging population, Taxation, New Zealand, |
| Date: | 2013–07–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vuw:vuwcpf:2827&r=dem |
| By: | Paul Gertler; James Heckman; Rodrigo Pinto; Arianna Zanolini; Christel Vermeersch; Susan Walker; Susan M. Chang; Sally Grantham-McGregor |
| Abstract: | We find large effects on the earnings of participants from a randomized intervention that gave psychosocial stimulation to stunted Jamaican toddlers living in poverty. The intervention consisted of one-hour weekly visits from community Jamaican health workers over a 2-year period that taught parenting skills and encouraged mothers to interact and play with their children in ways that would develop their children's cognitive and personality skills. We re-interviewed the study participants 20 years after the intervention. Stimulation increased the average earnings of participants by 42 percent. Treatment group earnings caught up to the earnings of a matched non-stunted comparison group. These findings show that psychosocial stimulation early in childhood in disadvantaged settings can have substantial effects on labor market outcomes and reduce later life inequality. |
| JEL: | I10 I20 I25 J20 O15 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19185&r=dem |
| By: | Moshe A. Milevsky; Thomas S. Salisbury |
| Abstract: | Historical tontines promised enormous rewards to the last survivors at the expense of those who died early. While this design appealed to the gambling instinct, it is a suboptimal way to manage longevity risk during retirement. This is why fair life annuities making constant payments -- where the insurance company is exposed to the longevity risk -- induces greater lifetime utility. However, tontines do not have to be designed using a winner-take-all approach and insurance companies do not actually sell fair life annuities, partially due to aggregate longevity risk. In this paper we derive the tontine structure that maximizes lifetime utility, but doesn't expose the sponsor to any longevity risk. We examine its sensitivity to the size of the tontine pool; individual longevity risk aversion; and subjective health status. The optimal tontine varies with the individual's longevity risk aversion $\gamma$ and the number of participants $n$, which is problematic for product design. That said, we introduce a structure called a natural tontine whose payout declines in exact proportion to the (expected) survival probabilities, which is near-optimal for all $\gamma$ and $n$. We compare the utility of optimal tontines to the utility of loaded life annuities under reasonable demographic and economic conditions and find that the life annuity's advantage over tontines, is minimal. We also review and analyze the first-ever mortality-derivative issued by the British government, known as King Williams's tontine of 1693. We shed light on the preferences and beliefs of those who invested in the tontines vs. the annuities and argue that tontines should be re-introduced and allowed to co-exist with life annuities. Individuals would likely select a portfolio of tontines and annuities that suit their personal preferences for consumption and longevity risk, as they did over 320 years ago. |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1307.2824&r=dem |
| By: | Bradley, Samantha R. (RTI International); Gicheva, Dora (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics); Hassell, Lydia (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics); Link, Albert N. (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The role of gender in entrepreneurship has been thoroughly investigated. However, less is known about gender differences in access to private investment when attempting to develop a new technology. In this paper we use data collected by the National Research Council of the National Academies to estimate differences between the probability that a female-owned firm and a male-owned firm, both conducting research funded by the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, will receive private investment funding to help to commercialize the funded technology. We find that female-owned firms are disadvantaged in their access to private investment, especially in the West and Northeast regions of the United States. |
| Keywords: | Private investments; Gender; Technology; Innovation |
| JEL: | L26 O31 O38 |
| Date: | 2013–07–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:uncgec:2013_011&r=dem |
| By: | Felix FitzRoy (University of St. Andrews); Michael Nolan (University of Hull); Max Steinhardt; David Ulph (University of St. Andrews) |
| Abstract: | In contrast to previous results combining all ages we find positive effects of comparison income on happiness for the under 45s, and negative effects for those over 45. In the BHPS these coefficients are several times the magnitude of own income effects. In GSOEP they cancel to give no effect of effect of comparison income on life satisfaction in the whole sample, when controlling for fixed effects, and time-in-panel, and with flexible, age-group dummies. The residual age-happiness relationship is hump-shaped in all three countries. Results are consistent with a simple life cycle model of relative income under uncertainty. |
| Keywords: | subjective life-satisfaction, comparison income, reference groups, age, welfare |
| JEL: | D10 I31 J10 |
| Date: | 2013–07–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:san:wpecon:1304&r=dem |
| By: | Zumbühl M.A.; Pfann G.A.; Dohmen T.J.; Pfann G.A. (GSBE) |
| Abstract: | We study empirically whether there is scope for parents to shape the economic preferences and attitudes of their children through purposeful investments. We exploit information on the risk and trust attitudes of parents and their children, as well as rich information about parental efforts in the upbringing of their children from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study. Our results show that parents who invest more in the upbringing of their children are more similar to them with respectto risk and trust attitudes and thus transmit their own attitudes more strongly. The results are robust to including variables on the relationship between children and parents, family size, and the parents socioeconomic background. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:umagsb:2013033&r=dem |
| By: | Anna S. Brink (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria); Steven F. Koch (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria) |
| Abstract: | South Africa waived user fees for primary health care, first in 1994, and again, in 1996. Since the 1994 plan focused on young children and older adults, as well as pregnant and nursing mothers, the 1996 change, which waived fees for the remainder of the population, subject to means tests, can be examined via differences-in-differences (DD). DD is applied to a subsample of children, underpinned by a multinomial logit regression of health-seeking behavior amongst ill and injured children. Although the policy provided free primary care to all at public clinics, the results of the analysis do not support the hypothesis that free primary care significantly increased public clinic visits amongst ill and injured children. However, there is strong evidence that ill and injured children were more likely (by 6%) to seek at least some sort of treatment following the change in policy, implying that the policy was indirectly successful. |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pre:wpaper:201332&r=dem |
| By: | Cappellari, Lorenzo; Jenkins, Stephen P. |
| Abstract: | We provide new evidence about earnings and labour market volatility in Britain over the period 19922008, and for women as well as men. (Most research about volatility refers to earnings volatility for US men.) We show that earnings volatility declined slightly for both men and women over the period but the changes are not statistically significant. When we look at labour market volatility, i.e. including in the calculations individuals with zero earnings as well as employees with positive earnings, there is a marked and statistically significant decline for both women and men, with the fall greater for men. Using variance decompositions, we show that the fall in labour market volatility is largely accounted for by changes in employment attachment rates. Labour market volatility trends in Britain, and what contributes to them, differ from their US counterparts in several respects. |
| Date: | 2013–07–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:iserwp:2013-10&r=dem |
| By: | Randall S. Jones; Satoshi Urasawa |
| Abstract: | Labour market reform to improve growth prospects and reduce inequality is a top priority in the face of rapid population ageing and a dualistic labour market. Sustaining output growth requires policies to mitigate the impact of rapid population ageing by increasing labour inputs from under-employed segments of the population. In particular, female labour participation should be encouraged by better work-life balance and increasing the availability of highquality, affordable childcare. More flexible employment and wage systems would increase the age at which older workers leave firms. For young people, improved vocational education at the secondary and tertiary levels would help overcome the labour mismatch and the overemphasis on tertiary education. Labour market dualism creates serious equity concerns, as non-regular workers face significantly lower wages, precarious jobs, less coverage by social security and less training. A comprehensive approach is required to break down dualism, including reduced employment protection for regular workers, alongside improved social insurance coverage and expanded training for non-regular workers. This Working Paper relates to the 2012 OECD Economic Survey of Korea (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/Korea).<P>Réformer le marché du travail pour stimuler la croissance et améliorer la cohésion sociale en Corée<BR>La réforme du marché du travail pour améliorer les perspectives de croissance et réduire les inégalités est une priorité absolue face au vieillissement rapide de la population et à un marché du travail dual. Pour soutenir la croissance de la production, les autorités coréennes doivent prendre des mesures pour compenser les effets du vieillissement de la population, en renforçant l’apport de travail des catégories de population sous-employés. Il convient notamment de renforcer le taux d’activité des femmes, en leur assurant des conditions d’emploi permettant de mieux concilier vie professionnelle et vie privée et en améliorant l’offre de services de garde de qualité et à moindre coût. Une plus grande flexibilité des systèmes d’emploi et de rémunération permettrait aux travailleurs âgés de poursuivre leur activité professionnelle. Quant aux jeunes, l’amélioration de la formation professionnelle dans le secondaire et le supérieur contribuerait à résoudre les problèmes d’adéquation entre offre et demande de compétences et de survalorisation de l'enseignement supérieur. Le dualisme engendre de graves problèmes d’équité, car les travailleurs temporaires perçoivent des salaires nettement inférieurs, occupent des emplois précaires, bénéficient d’une couverture sociale plus limitée et d’un moindre accès à la formation. Il faut adopter une approche globale pour briser le dualisme, notamment en réduisant la protection de l’emploi pour les travailleurs réguliers, en améliorant la couverture sociale pour les travailleurs non réguliers et en développant les formations offertes à ces travailleurs. Ce Document de travail se rapporte à l’Étude économique de l’OCDE de la Corée, 2012 (www.oecd.org/eco/etudes/japon). |
| Keywords: | Korea, dualism, employment protection, labour force participation rates, female employment, vocational training, non-regular workers, part-time workers, older workers, work-life balance, labour market, fertility rate, Korean economy, dispatched workers, fixed-term contracts, Corée, taux de participation, travailleurs âgés, dualisme, protection de l'emploi, travailleurs non réguliers, formation professionnelle, travailleurs à temps partiel, activité des femmes, taux de fécondité, équilibre entre travail et vie familiale, travailleurs intérimaires, contrats à durée déterminée, marchés du travail |
| JEL: | J11 J3 J5 J7 |
| Date: | 2013–06–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1068-en&r=dem |
| By: | Motkuri, Venkatanarayana; Veslawatha, Suresh Naik |
| Abstract: | Census 2011 brings new dimension to ongoing debate on the decline in the growth of employment from the last two decade. The census 2011 result gives better picture when compared with NSSO estimation of workforce. It is observed that there is a fast decelerating rate of growth in overall workforce, particularly that of females, between 2001 and 2011. But the work participation rate has not declined, if not increase, as the rate of growth in workforce is not less than that of population. Secondly, incremental workforce especially the male is getting reduced to marginal workers category whereas the high concentration of female in the category of marginal workers is slightly reduced. Occupational distribution of workforce shows that cultivators are declining such decline in agriculture is replaced by increasing agricultural labour. Growth of workforce in non-agriculture is higher than that of agriculture. Growth of female workers engaged in non-agriculture is higher than their male counterparts. |
| Keywords: | Workforce, Growth of Employment, Work Participation, Occupational Distribution and Workforce in Non-Agriculture |
| JEL: | J6 J62 Q1 |
| Date: | 2013–05–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48003&r=dem |
| By: | David Neumark; Patrick Button |
| Abstract: | We examine whether stronger age discrimination laws at the state level moderated the impact of the Great Recession on older workers. We use a difference-in-difference-in-differences strategy to compare older workers in states with stronger and weaker laws, to their prime-age counterparts, both before, during, and after the Great Recession. We find very little evidence that stronger age discrimination protections helped older workers weather the Great Recession, relative to younger workers. The evidence sometimes points in the opposite direction, with stronger state age discrimination protections associated with more adverse effects of the Great Recession on older workers. We suggest that this may be because stronger age discrimination laws protect older workers in normal times, but during an experience like the Great Recession severe labor market disruptions make it difficult to discern discrimination, weakening the effects of stronger state age discrimination protections. |
| JEL: | J14 J26 J71 J78 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19216&r=dem |
| By: | Jean-Charles Croix (SAF - Laboratoire de Sciences Actuarielle et Financière - Université Claude Bernard - Lyon I : EA2429); Frédéric Planchet (SAF - Laboratoire de Sciences Actuarielle et Financière - Université Claude Bernard - Lyon I : EA2429); Pierre-Emmanuel Thérond (SAF - Laboratoire de Sciences Actuarielle et Financière - Université Claude Bernard - Lyon I : EA2429) |
| Abstract: | The Solvency 2 advent and the best-estimate methodology in future cash-flows valuation lead insurers to focus particularly on their assumptions. In mortality, hypothesis are critical as insurers use best-estimate laws instead of standard mortality tables. Backtesting methods, i.e. ex-post modelling validation processes, are encouraged by regulators and rise an increasing interest among practitioners and academics. In this paper, we propose a statistical approach (both parametric and non-parametric models compliant) for mortality laws backtesting under model risk. Afterwards, we'll introduce a specification risk supposing the mortality law true in average but subject to random variations. Finally, the suitability of our method will be assessed within this framework. |
| Date: | 2013–06–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00839339&r=dem |
| By: | James Andreoni; A. Abigail Payne; Justin Smith; David Karp |
| Abstract: | We explore the effects of local ethnic and religious diversity on private donations to charity. We find that an increase in religious or ethnic diversity decreases donations. The ethnicity effect is driven by non-minorities and blacks, and is strongest in high income, low education areas. The religious effect is driven by Catholics, and is concentrated in high income, high education areas. We find no evidence that diversity affects the fraction of households that donate. Our results provide a parallel to the negative effects of diversity on publicly provided goods, and opens new challenges for fundraisers and policy makers. |
| JEL: | H41 R23 J11 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:deptwp:2013-11&r=dem |
| By: | Jesus Crespo Cuaresma; Samir K.C.; Petra Sauer |
| Abstract: | We construct a new dataset of inequality in educational attainment by age and sex at the global level. The comparison of education inequality measures across age groups allows us to assess the effect of inter-generational education attainment trends on economic growth. Our results indicate that countries which are able to reduce the inequality of educational attainment of young cohorts over time tend to have higher growth rates of income per capita. This effect is additional to that implied by the accumulation of human capital and implies that policies aiming at providing broad-based access to schooling have returns in terms of economic growth that go beyond those achieved by increasing average educational attainment. |
| Keywords: | human capital, education inequality, age structure, economic growth |
| JEL: | I24 I25 O50 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feu:wfewop:y:2013:m:6:d:0:i:6&r=dem |
| By: | Hirokazu Yoshikawa; Pia Rebello Britto; Jan Van Ravens; Liliana A. Ponguta; Soojin S. Oh; Roland Dimaya; Richard C. Seder; UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre |
| Abstract: | Over the past decade, early childhood development and education (ECDE) has received increasing attention. This has led to an influx of scientific, macroeconomic, and rights-based evidence, supporting the importance of equitably implementing quality ECDE programmes and services. Despite the increase in evidence, young children in the developing world still bear the greatest burden of poverty, disease, violence, and risk factors. Recent research suggests that equitable access to quality early childhood services (ECS) can reduce the impact of risk factors and improve outcomes. |
| Keywords: | early childhood; education; governance; low income communities; social services; |
| JEL: | A1 D1 H0 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucf:inwopa:inwopa699&r=dem |
| By: | Steven, Brams; Marc, Kilgour |
| Abstract: | Gale and Shapley (1962) proposed the deferred-acceptance algorithm for matching (i) college applicants and colleges and (ii) men and women. In the case of the latter, it produces either one or two stable matches whereby no man and woman would prefer to be matched with each other rather than with their present partners. But stable matches can give one or both players in a pair their worst match, whereas the minimax algorithm that we propose, which finds all assignments that minimize the maximum rank of players in matches, avoids such assignments. Although minimax matches may not be stable, at least one is always Pareto-optimal: No other matching is at least as good for all the players and better for one or more. If there are multiple minimax matches, we propose criteria for choosing the most desirable among them and also discuss the settings in which minimax matches seem more compelling than deferred-acceptance matches when they differ. Finally, we calculate the probability that minimax matches differ from deferred-acceptance matches in a simple case. |
| Keywords: | Deferred-acceptance algorithm; minimax algorithm; matchings; stability |
| JEL: | C71 C78 D7 D71 D78 |
| Date: | 2013–07–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48113&r=dem |
| By: | Chiara Noè (CCA-CHILD, University of Sciences Po, PRESAGE) |
| Abstract: | The article aims at investigating university educational choices in terms of gender. In most industrialized countries girls and boys have made very different choices giving rise to strong segregation, often reflected in worse positions in the labor market. After a brief review of explanations behind the choice of university faculty based on gender differences, the article aims to evaluate one of the factors that strongly influence the choices, the levels and educational outcomes of individuals, namely the family background. |
| Keywords: | gender, educational choices, universities. |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:laa:wpaper:54&r=dem |
| By: | Jason Fletcher; Sanjeev Kumar |
| Abstract: | Recent studies analyzing the effects of religion on various economic, social, health and political outcomes have been largely associational. Although some attempts have been made to establish causation using instrument variable (IV) or difference-in-difference (DID) methods, the instruments and the spatial and temporal variations used in these studies suffer from the usual issues that threaten the use of these identification techniques—validity of exclusion restrictions, quality of counterfactuals in the presence of spatial assortative sorting of people, and concern about omitted variable bias in the absence of information on family level unobservables and child-specific investment by families. During the adolescent years, religious participation might be a matter of limited choice for many individuals, as it is often heavily reliant on parents and family background more generally. Moreover, the focus of most of the studies has been on religious rites and rituals i.e., religious participation or on the intensity of participation. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this paper analyzes the effects of a broad set of measures of religiosity on substance use at different stages of the life course. In contrast to previous studies, we find positive effects of religion on reducing all addictive substance use during adolescence, but not in a consistent fashion during the later years for any other illicit drugs except for crystal meth and marijuana. |
| JEL: | Z12 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19225&r=dem |
| By: | Ogura, Seiritsu |
| Abstract: | Objectives: Recent studies suggest the need to adjust the construct of the Caregiver Reaction Assessment Scale among the family caregivers according to different social norms and differential public services. The aim of this study is to examine the reliability of the original five-subscale CRA and to evaluate the four-subscale CRA proposed by Malhotra, Chan, Malhotra, and Ostbye (2012) among the Japanese family caregivers of old people. Method: I conducted confirmatory factor analysis of the original Given’s Caregiver Reaction Assessment scale among Japanese family caregivers for older persons and found its fit to be less than satisfactory. I then conducted exploratory factor analysis and modified CRA scale for a better fit. Results: The second confirmatory factor analysis of a modified four-factor CRA model, similar to the one developed by Manhotra et al., (2012), showed an acceptable fit. Furthermore, I checked group invariance between the two important groups of family caregivers in Japan-married women caring for parents-in-law and women caring for own parents-and confirmed configural and metric invariance of the modified (18-item four-factor) scale. Conclusion: Thus I believe my 18-item four-factor CRA is a good empirical instrument for evaluating both positive and negative effects of informal caregiving in Japan, and possibly in some other countries in Asia. |
| Keywords: | family caregivers, Caregiver Reaction Assessment, confirmatory factor analysis, group invariance, psychometrics |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:cisdps:604&r=dem |
| By: | Alexandra Spicer; Olena Stavrunova; Susan Thorp |
| Abstract: | Households in many developed economies now reach retirement with lump sums of financial wealth accumulated through defined contribution retirement plans. Managing wealth from individual accumulations and public provision is critical to retirement welfare. We study the dynamics of retirement wealth and asset allocation using the three wealth waves of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) panel survey. We find significant influences of ageing on asset holdings with older households preferring less risk and more liquidity, while maintaining ownership of the family home. In terms of absolute changes in wealth the average retired household accumulated in 2002-06 and decumulated 2006-10 in line with financial market trends. More diversified households did better. The probability of retired households depleting non-housing. Finally, in contrast to the US, the overall effect of health shocks on the wealth of retired Australian households is minimal. |
| Keywords: | Retirement wealth; Life-cycle saving; Public pension; Portfolio choice |
| JEL: | D91 E21 G11 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:camaaa:2013-40&r=dem |
| By: | R. Anton Braun; Karen A. Kopecky; Tatyana Koreshkova |
| Abstract: | Poor health, large acute and long-term care medical expenses, and spousal death are significant drivers of impoverishment among retirees. We document these facts and build a rich, overlapping generations model that reproduces them. We use the model to assess the incentive and welfare effects of Social Security and means-tested social insurance programs such as Medicaid and food stamp programs, for the aged. We find that U.S. means-tested social insurance programs for retirees provide significant welfare benefits for all newborn. Moreover, when means-tested social insurance benefits are of the scale in the United States, all individuals would prefer to be born into an economy with no Social Security. Finally, we find that the benefits of increasing means-tested social insurance are small or negative, if we hold fixed Social Security contributions and benefits at their current levels |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedawp:2013-02&r=dem |
| By: | Sam Schulhofer-Wohl |
| Abstract: | The standard approach to estimating structural parameters in life-cycle models imposes sufficient assumptions on the data to identify the “age profile” of outcomes, then chooses model parameters so that the model’s age profile matches this empirical age profile. I show that the standard approach is both incorrect and unnecessary: incorrect, because it generally produces inconsistent estimators of the structural parameters, and unnecessary, because consistent estimators can be obtained under weaker assumptions. I derive an estimation method that avoids the problems of the standard approach. I illustrate the method’s benefits analytically in a simple model of consumption inequality and numerically by reestimating the classic life-cycle consumption model of Gourinchas and Parker (2002). |
| Keywords: | Demography |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedmwp:707&r=dem |
| By: | Bianca De Stavola (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) |
| Date: | 2013–07–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boc:isug12:06&r=dem |
| By: | Grossman, Michael (CUNY Graduate Center); Tekin, Erdal (Georgia State University); Wada, Roy (University of Illinois at Chicago) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we examine the effect of food prices on clinical measures of obesity, including body mass index (BMI) and percentage body fat (PBF) measures derived from bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), among youths ages 12 through 18. The empirical analyses employ data from various waves of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) merged with several food prices measured by county and year. This is the first study to consider clinically measured levels of body composition rather than BMI to investigate the effects of food prices on obesity among youths. We also examine whether the effects of food prices on body composition differ by gender and race/ethnicity. Our findings suggest that increases in the real price of one calorie in food for home consumption and the real price of fast-food restaurant food lead to improvements in obesity outcomes among youths. We also find that an increase in the real price of fruits and vegetables has negative consequences for these outcomes. Finally, our results indicate that measures of PBF derived from BIA and DXA are no less sensitive and in some cases more sensitive to the prices just mentioned than BMI. |
| Keywords: | food price, obesity, body fat, BMI |
| JEL: | I1 I18 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7465&r=dem |
| By: | Dieter VANDELANNOOTE; Pieter VANLEENHOVE; André DECOSTER; Joris GHYSELS; Gerlinde VERBIST |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses how maternal labor supply responds to the price and availability of childcare services. It focuses in particular on the childcare market of Flanders, which is characterised by above average childcare use, a wide variety of price schemes and suppliers, and strong government supervision regarding quality. Variation in prices and the degree of rationing of three types of childcare services at the municipal level are used to identify mothers’ labor supply responses. A discrete labor supply model of the Van Soest (1995) type is elaborated to allow for heterogeneity in prices and to distinguish between rationed and non-rationed households. These extensions rest on rationing probabilities that are estimated separately for informal childcare, formal subsidised childcare and formal non-subsidised childcare using partial observability models (Poirier, 1980). The estimates confirm earlier findings for Germany and Italy, indicating only small price effects and relatively large supply effects. This shows that labor supply incentives of expansion of childcare services are also present in a country which has surpassed the EU target of childcare slots for 33% of children below the age of 3 (Belgium, in contrast with Germany and Italy). Moreover, budgetary simulations suggest the expansion to be beneficial to the exchequer. Rising tax and social security benefits following the increase in labor supply largely exceed the costs of expansion. |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ete:ceswps:ces13.07&r=dem |