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on Demographic Economics |
| By: | Andrew Glover; Jonathan Heathcote; Dirk Krueger; Jose-Victor Rios-Rull |
| Abstract: | To slow the spread of COVID-19, many countries are shutting down nonessential sectors of the economy. Older individuals have the most to gain from slowing virus diffusion. Younger workers in sectors that are shuttered have the most to lose. In this paper, we build a model in which economic activity and disease progression are jointly determined. Individuals differ by age (young and retired), by sector (basic and luxury), and by health status. Disease transmission occurs in the workplace, in consumption activities, at home, and in hospitals. We study the optimal economic mitigation policy of a utilitarian government that can redistribute across individuals, but where such redistribution is costly. We show that optimal redistribution and mitigation policies interact, and reflect a compromise between the strongly diverging preferred policy paths of different subgroups of the population. We find that the shutdown in place on April 12 is too extensive, but that a partial shutdown should remain in place through July. People prefer deeper and longer shutdowns if a vaccine is imminent, especially the elderly. |
| Keywords: | Redistribution; COVID-19; Economic policy; Pandemic; Shutdowns |
| JEL: | J08 J23 J63 J78 |
| Date: | 2020–05–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedkrw:88056&r=all |
| By: | Sa, Filipa (King's College London) |
| Abstract: | I use simple correlations and regression analysis to study how the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases and the number of deaths with Covid-19 per 100,000 people is related with the socioeconomic characteristics of local areas in England and Wales. I find that local areas that have larger households, worse levels of self-reported health and a larger fraction of people using public transport have more Covid-19 infections per 100,000 people. For mortality, household size and use of public transport are less important, but there is a clear relation with age, ethnicity and self-reported health. Local areas with an older population, a larger share of black or Asian population and worse levels of self-reported health have more Covid-19 deaths per 100,000 people. To prevent the spread of infection and reduce mortality, policymakers should introduce measures to improve housing conditions and improve the health of the population. Also, as many countries now begin to relax lockdown measures, they should pay particular attention to reducing the risk of infection in public transport. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19 |
| JEL: | I1 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izapps:pp159&r=all |
| By: | Dostie, Benoit (HEC Montreal); Li, Jiang (Statistics Canada); Card, David (University of California, Berkeley); Parent, Daniel (HEC Montreal) |
| Abstract: | We use longitudinal data from the income tax system to study the impacts of firms' employment and wage-setting policies on the level and change in immigrant-native wage differences in Canada. We focus on immigrants who arrived in the early 2000s, distinguishing between those with and without a college degree from two broad groups of countries – the U.S., the U.K. and Northern Europe, and the rest of the world. Consistent with a growing literature based on the two-way fixed effects model of Abowd, Kramarz, and Margolis (1999), we find that firm-specific wage premiums explain a significant share of earnings inequality in Canada and contribute to the average earnings gap between immigrants and natives. In the decade after receiving permanent status, earnings of immigrants rise relative to those of natives. Compositional effects due to selective outmigration and changing participation play no role in this gain. About one-sixth is attributable to movements up the job ladder to employers that offer higher pay premiums for all groups, with particularly large gains for immigrants from the "rest of the world" countries. |
| Keywords: | wage differentials, immigrants, linked employer-employee data, firm effects |
| JEL: | J15 J31 J71 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13245&r=all |
| By: | Bucher-Koenen, Tabea (Munich Center for the Economics of Aging); Farbmacher, Helmut (Munich Center for the Economics of Aging); Guber, Raphael (Munich Center for the Economics of Aging); Vikström, Johan (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy) |
| Abstract: | We document increased old-age mortality rates among Swedish twin mothers compared to non-twin mothers. Results are based on administrative data on mortality for the years 1990 to 2010. We argue that twins are an unplanned shock to fertility in the cohorts of older women considered. Deaths due to lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart attacks, which are associated with stress during life, are significantly increased. Stratifying the sample by education and pension income shows the highest increase in mortality rates among highly educated mothers and those with above-median pension income. These results are consistent with the existence of a double burden from child rearing and working on mothers’ health. |
| Keywords: | Mortality; maternal health; fertility; twins |
| JEL: | I10 J13 J20 |
| Date: | 2020–05–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2020_007&r=all |
| By: | Gerst, Benedikt (RWTH Aachen University); Grund, Christian (RWTH Aachen University) |
| Abstract: | Although male employees are increasingly making use of parental leave, gender differences in both usage and duration of parental leave are still prevalent. In this contribution, we explore the role of gender for the relation between the incidence/duration of parental leave and earnings after returning to a job. We use data on middle managers in the German chemical industry and show that parental leave pay gaps are much more severe for males than they are for females. |
| Keywords: | compensation, gender, parental leave, stigma, wages |
| JEL: | M52 M12 J16 J31 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13216&r=all |
| By: | Rossi, Pauline; Godard, Mathilde |
| Abstract: | The old-age security motive for fertility postulates that people’s needs for old-age support raise the demand for children. We test this widespread idea using the extension of social pensions in Namibia during the nineties. The reform eliminated inequalities in pension coverage and benefit across regions and ethnic groups. Combining differences in pre-reform pensions and differences in exposure across cohorts, we show that pensions substantially reduce fertility, especially in late reproductive life. This article provides the first quasi-experimental quantification of the old-age security motive. The results suggest that improving social protection for the elderly could go a long way in fostering fertility decline in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Keywords: | Fertility, Old-age pensions, Social security, Africa, Difference-in-differences |
| Date: | 2020–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpm:docweb:2002&r=all |