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on Demographic Economics |
| By: | Konstantin Yanovsky (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy); Daniel Shestakov (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy); Tatiana Letunova (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The paper consists of reference materials on Family crisis. The problem (literature review) focused on number of the version explaining fall in fertility (birthrate) in the industrialized countries. Possibility to propose governmental policies efficiently encouraging giving birth among middle class (among the groups, accumulating both major part of Human capital and civic skill) discussed in this part as well. The Model for comparison of two modes of marriage / divorce elaborated and presented: free private contract regulation turned to be less harming the incentives to marry and to preserve marriage than governmental regulation. The stages of governmental intervention are described in the third part of the paper. |
| Keywords: | family, demographic transition, family crisis, fertility, birthrate, divorce rate, mandatory pension insurance, best interest of the child, women, universal |
| JEL: | D72 J71 K36 N40 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gai:wpaper:0101&r=all |
| By: | Alfonso R. Sánchez; J. Ignacio García-Pérez; Sergi Jiménez |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we explore the links between pension reform, early retirement, and the use of unemployment as an alternative pathway to retirement. We use a dynamic rational expectations model to analyze the search and retirement behaviour of employed and unemployed workers aged 50 or over. The model is calibrated to reproduce the main reemployment and retirement patterns observed between 2002 and 2008 in Spain. It is subsequently used to analyze the effects of the 2011 pension reform in Spain, characterized by two-year delays in both the early and the normal retirement ages. We find that this reform generates large increases in labour supply and sizable cuts in pension costs, but these are achieved at the expense of very large welfare losses, especially among unemployed workers. As an alternative, we propose leaving the early retirement age unchanged, but penalizing the minimum pension (reducing its generosity in parallel to the cuts imposed on individual pension benefits, and making it more actuarially fair with age). This alternative reform strikes a better balance between individual welfare and labour supply stimulus. |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:761&r=all |
| By: | Magnus Hatlebakk; Yogendra B. Gurung |
| Abstract: | A family survey was conducted in Nepal to investigate whether female empowerment leads to more education, in particular for girls. The relative economic power of the male and female side of the extended family was used as an instrument for female empowerment. The findings indicate, however, that both female empowerment and relative economic power affect education. There is a positive association between female empowerment and children’s education for both gender, while boys are prioritized if the male side of the family is economically weak. |
| Keywords: | Education, Intrahousehold, Female autonomy |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chm:wpaper:wp2014-7&r=all |
| By: | Kai-Uwe Müller; Katharina Wrohlich |
| Abstract: | We apply a structural model of mothers' labor supply and child care choices to evaluate the effects of two childcare reforms in Germany that were introduced simultaneously in August 2013. First, a legal claim to subsidized child care became effective for all children aged one year or older. Second, a new benefit called 'Betreuungsgeld' came into effect that is granted to families who do not use public or publicly subsidized child care. Both reforms target children of the same age group and are unconditional on the parents' income or employment status, yet affect mothers' incentives for labor supply and child care choices in opposite directions. Our model facilitates estimating the joint reform impact as well as disentangling the individual effects of both policies. A comprehensive data set with information on labor supply, the use of and potential access restrictions to various child care arrangements provides the basis for the empirical analysis. We find the overall effect of both reforms to be small but positive as far as mother's labor supply and the use of formal care is concerned. The legal claim's positive impact on mothers' labor supply and the use of formal child care is largely offset by the negative effect on both outcomes resulting from the introduction of the 'Betreuungsgeld'. |
| Keywords: | Family policy, labor supply, child care, policy evaluation, structural model |
| JEL: | J22 J18 H31 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1396&r=all |
| By: | Josephine Jacobs; Courtney Van Houtven; Audrey Laporte; Peter Coyte |
| Abstract: | Since the 1960's there have been substantial increases in women's labor force attachment. Meanwhile, increases in life expectancy and a shifting focus to care in community settings have increased the odds of becoming a caregiver. In light of these changes and the unpaid leave policies introduced in the 1990s to reduce this role strain, it is important to assess whether the labor market outcomes of caregivers have changed over time. We explored the impact of caregiving on women's labor force outcomes and whether this effect was different for women in the Baby Boomer generation versus women born in the pre-World War II years. Using data from the American National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Mature Women, we followed two cohorts of pre-retirement aged women at similar points in their careers. We used pooled and fixed-effects regressions and found that intensive informal caregiving was negatively associated with labor force participation for both pre-Baby Boomers and Baby Boomers. Further, the caregiving effects were not significantly different across cohorts. Caregiving was not significantly associated with the hours worked or wages. This study provides a first step in establishing that caregiving labor market penalties have persisted over time, despite the introduction of offsetting policies. |
| Keywords: | Informal caregiving, unpaid caregiving, labor force participation, cohort, gender, United States |
| JEL: | J22 J1 I11 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cch:wpaper:140001&r=all |
| By: | Josephine Jacobs; Courtney Van Houtven; Audrey Laporte; Peter Coyte |
| Abstract: | With increasing pressure on retirement-aged individuals to provide informal care while remaining in the workforce, it is important to understand the impact of informal care demands on individuals' retirement decisions. This paper explores whether different intensities of informal caregiving can lead to retirement for women in the United States. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women, we control for time-invariant heterogeneity and for time-varying sources of bias with a two-stage least squares model with fixed effects. We find that there is no significant effect on retirement for all informal caregivers, but there are important incremental effects of caregiving intensity. Women who provide at least 20 hours of informal care per week are 3 percentage points more likely to retire relative to other women. We also find that when unobserved heterogeneity is controlled for with fixed effects, we cannot reject exogeneity. These findings suggest that policies encouraging both informal care and later retirement may not be feasible without allowances for flexible scheduling or other supports for working caregivers. |
| Keywords: | Informal caregiving, unpaid care, retirement, United States |
| JEL: | J22 J1 I11 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cch:wpaper:140008&r=all |
| By: | Alena Bicakova |
| Abstract: | This paper sets the groundwork for analysis of the effect of selection into labor force on gender unemployment gaps. We derive the Manski bounds for gender unemployment gaps in 21 EU countries and show that in addition to the positive selection documented in the gender wage gap research, there is also evidence of negative selection into the labor force among women after childbirth. While positive selection of women into the labor force leads to downward bias in gender unemployment gaps, negative selection results in overestimation of gender unemployment gaps. |
| Keywords: | labor force participation; gender unemployment gaps; |
| JEL: | J13 J21 J71 |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp513&r=all |
| By: | Gregory, Christian; Rahkovsky, Ilya; Anekwe, Tobenna |
| Abstract: | Until recently, many restaurants and fast-food places did not offer nutrition information at the point of purchase. This is expected to change because the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires that nutrition information be posted in many of these venues. Once the law is fully implemented, it will be important to understand how it has affected consumer behavior. To establish a baseline against which to measure changes in the use of onsite nutrition information about food away from home (FAFH), we examine the demographic characteristics and dietary behaviors of U.S. consumers of FAFH before passage of the law, based on responses to the 2007-08 and 2009-10 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). In particular, we examine the characteristics of consumers who use nutrition information and of those who express interest in using the information when they eat out in the future. |
| Keywords: | Food away from home, diet quality, nutrition, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:174796&r=all |
| By: | González Chapela, Jorge |
| Abstract: | The split work shift has been argued as one of the reasons behind the different Spanish time schedule, characterized by reduced sleep and a more difficult work-family balance. This paper presents direct evidence on the effect that being on a split shift has on Spanish workers’ wellbeing and time use. The split shift is found associated to more time spent working in the market, sleeping, and eating, and less time spent doing housework, caring for children, and at leisure. An increased feeling of being overwhelmed by tasks and having little time to do them is also found among female split-shifters. |
| Keywords: | work shift; role overload; time use; Spanish Time Use Survey |
| JEL: | I32 J22 |
| Date: | 2014–07–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:57301&r=all |
| By: | Alex Bryson; Arnaud Chevalier |
| Abstract: | Research on employers' hiring discrimination is limited by the unlawfulness of such activity. Consequently, researchers have focused on the intention to hire. Instead, we rely on a virtual labour market, the Fantasy Football Premier League, where employers can freely exercise their taste for racial discrimination in terms of hiring and firing. The setting allows us to eliminate co-worker, consumer-based and statistical discrimination as potential sources of discrimination, thus isolating the effects of taste-based discrimination. We find no evidence of racial discrimination, either in initial hiring or through the season, in a context where employers are fully aware of current and prospective workers' productivity. |
| Keywords: | Race, labour market discrimination, football |
| JEL: | J15 J23 J24 J71 M51 |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1283&r=all |
| By: | Davide Suverato (LMU University of Munich) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a two-sector, two-factor trade model with labor market frictions in which workers search for a job also when they are employed. On the job search (OJS) is a key ingredient to explain the response to trade liberalization of sectoral employment, unemployment and wage i equality. OJS generates wage dispersion and it leads to a reallocation of workers from less productive firms that pay lower wages to more productive ones. Following a trade liberalization the traditional selection effects are more severe than without OJS and the tradable sector experiences a loss of employment, while the opposite is true for the non tradable sector. Starting from autarky, the opening to trade has a positive effect on employment but it increases wage inequality. For an already open economy, a further increase of trade openness can, however, lead to an increase of unemployment. The dynamics of labor market variables is obtained in closed form. The model predicts overshooting at the time of implementation of a trade liberalization, then the paths of adjustment follow a stable transitional dynamics. |
| Keywords: | International Trade, Unemployment, Wage Inequality, Firm Dynamics |
| JEL: | F12 F16 E24 |
| Date: | 2014–06–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csl:devewp:368&r=all |