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on Demographic Economics |
| By: | Sonia Bhalotra, Sonia (University of Warwick, CEPR, IEA,CAGE,IZA); Venkataramani, Atheendar (University of Pennsylvania); Walther, Selma (University of Sussex, IZA and CERGE-EI) |
| Abstract: | We investigate women’s fertility, labor and marriage market responses to large declines in child mortality. We find delayed childbearing, with lower intensive and extensive margin fertility, a decline in the chances of ever having married, increased labor force participation and an improvement in occupational status. This constitutes the first evidence that improvements in child survival allow women to start fertility later and invest more in the labor market. We present a new theory of fertility that incorporates dynamic choices and reconciles our findings with existing models of behavior. |
| Keywords: | women’s labor force participation ; fertility timing ; childlessness ; child mortality ; medical innovation JEL Classification: J13 ; I18 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1388&r= |
| By: | Mika Akesaka; Nobuyoshi Kikuchi |
| Abstract: | We examine the effects of local labor market conditions during early pregnancy on birth and later outcomes. Using a longitudinal survey of newborns in Japan, we find that improvements in employment opportunities increase the probability of low birth weight, attributable to shortened gestation. This negative effect is mainly driven by the impact of economic shocks on the female labor market. However, we do not find a lasting effect of economic shocks during early pregnancy on severe health conditions or developmental delays in early childhood. Using prefecture-level panel data, we confirm that improvements in female employment opportunities are significantly negatively associated with infant birth weight, but not with the fertility and infant mortality rate. |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dpr:wpaper:1153&r= |
| By: | Kamb, Rebecca; Tamm, Marcus |
| Abstract: | School entry regulations lead to differences in the age when children start school. While previous literature estimated the effects of age at school entry for compliers with school entry regulations, we look at non-compliers, namely those who enter school one year before the official entry date. Based on an instrumental variable approach, the results show that early enrollment increases the number of children by 0.1, whereas we find no significant impact on rates of childlessness. |
| Keywords: | School starting age,early school enrollment,fertility,motherhood,childlessness |
| JEL: | I21 J24 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:929&r= |
| By: | Igor Fedotenkov; Anneleen Vandeplas |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the link between the demographic structure of populations and firm entry rates in the European Union. We find that firm entry rates have a hump-shaped relationship with human demography, with the 40-54 age group having the strongest positive impact on firm entry. Potential mechanisms through which this relationship may arise include labour market participation, demand and access to entrepreneurship (linked with experience and access to finance). Perhaps more surprisingly, firm entry again picks up with generations aged 80 and over expanding. This could relate to the fact that a larger 80+ age cohort reflects greater longevity, which in turn increases savings, reduces interest rates and therefore increases availability of external financing. When controlling for life expectancy and interest rates, the coefficient corresponding to the 80+ age cohort sharply declines and becomes insignificant. Based on the results of the analysis, we assess the implications of our results for firm entry rates by 2025 and 2030, using UN population projections. |
| Keywords: | Firm entry rates, demographic structure, longevity |
| JEL: | D22 J11 J15 L29 M13 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lic:licosd:42821&r= |
| By: | Aditi Dimri (University of Warwick [Coventry]); Véronique Gille (LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Philipp Ketz (PSE - Paris School of Economics - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement) |
| Abstract: | Current measurement of sex-selective abortion is based on observing an imbalance be tween the sex ratio at birth and the natural sex ratio, providing us with the number of missing female foetuses. However, this measure does not tell us how widespread this phenomenon is, i.e., how many women abort, which will not be equal to the number of sex-selective abortions if there is repeated sex-selective abortion. In this paper, we show that the number of women that abort between two consecutive births and whether they do so repeatedly can be inferred using sex ratios and information on birth spacing. We apply our model to Indian DHS data to estimate how many women abort and to assess whether they do so repeatedly between two births. The results depend on the birth order and siblings composition: For example, we find that women whose first born is a girl abort at most once before the birth of the second child, i.e., (almost) none of them abort a second time if again pregnant with a girl after a first abortion. In contrast, we find evidence of repeated sex-selective abortion before the birth of the third child among women whose first two children are girls. We also introduce a novel constrained maximum likelihood estimator that imposes a (set of) random constraint(s) and that may be of independent interest. |
| Keywords: | Sex ratio,Sex-selective abortion,Measurement,India,Constrained maximum likelihood estimation,Random constraint(s) |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-03495964&r= |
| By: | Héctor Pifarré i Arolas (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Enrique Acosta (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Christian Dudel (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Jo M. Hale (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Mikko Myrskylä (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Background: Racial mortality disparities in the U.S. are well-documented and central to the debate on social inequalities in health. We argue that standard measures that are used to describe the disparities, such as life expectancy or years of life lost, underestimate those disparities. Methods: We analyze contemporary U.S. mortality disparities comparing Blacks and Hispanics to Whites using CDC and NCHS data. We estimate mortality disparities using standard metrics and a novel approach that weights mortality inequalities by the population fraction that is exposed to the inequalities. We then express the magnitude of these inequalities by comparing them to the loss of life due to leading causes of death. Results: Based on the exposure-adjusted measure, the Black mortality disadvantage is as deadly or deadlier than circulatory diseases, the top cause of death in the U.S; and 43% (men) and 87% (women) larger than the disadvantage as measured by life expectancy. For Hispanics, the exposure-adjusted mortality advantage over Whites is over two times larger, for both men and women, than what life expectancy disparities would imply, and 21% (men) and 11% (women) larger than when measured using standard years of life lost. Conclusions: Mortality inequalities experienced by real populations can differ markedly from the inequalities that are calculated for synthetic populations that are used in standard calculations. We show that racial/ethnic disparities in the U.S. are underestimated if not adjusted for the populations experiencing the inequalities. For health policy the exposure-adjusted inequalities are likely to provide a more reasonable signal on where to allocate scarce resources. |
| Keywords: | USA, age distribution, differential mortality, racial discrimination, risk exposure |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2021-023&r= |
| By: | Christina Bohk-Ewald (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Enrique Acosta (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Timothy Riffe (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Christian Dudel (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Mikko Myrskylä (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2021-024&r= |