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on Demographic Economics |
| By: | Matthias Doepke (Northwestern University); Anne Hannusch (University of Mannheim); Fabian Kindermann (University of Regensburg); Michèle Tertilt (Universität Mannheim) |
| Abstract: | In this survey, we argue that the economic analysis of fertility has entered a new era. First-generation models of fertility choice were designed to account for two empirical regularities that, in the past, held both across countries and across families in a given country: a negative relationship between income and fertility, and another negative relationship between women’s labor force participation and fertility. The economics of fertility has entered a new era because these stylized facts no longer universally hold. In high-income countries, the income-fertility relationship has flattened and in some cases reversed, and the cross-country relationship between women's labor force participation and fertility is now positive. We summarize these new facts and describe new models that are designed to address them. The common theme of these new theories is that they view factors that determine the compatibility of women’s career and family goals as key drivers of fertility. We highlight four factors that facilitate combining a career with a family: family policy, cooperative fathers, favorable social norms, and flexible labor markets. We also review other recent developments in the literature, and we point out promising new directions for future research on the economics of fertility. |
| Keywords: | cross-country analysis, women's careers, family policy |
| JEL: | J13 D31 J16 |
| Date: | 2022–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2022-012&r= |
| By: | András Simonovits (ELKH KRTK KTI, BME MI, Budapest, Tóth Kálmán u 4, 1097, Hungary) |
| Abstract: | A basic function of public pension systems is to guarantee a satisfactory old-age income for short-sighted low earners. In proportional (i.e., earnings-related) systems, this requires a sufficiently high contribution rate. At the same time, there should be a cap on the pension contribution base to leave sufficient room for the efficient private savings of prudent high earners. Taking into account the dependence of life expectancy on the earnings (figuratively called longevity gap), a well-chosen cap has an additional advantage: it limits the unintended income redistribution from the short-lived to the long-lived. Our strongly stylized model is able to illustrate numerically the impact of the contribution rate and of the cap on the social welfare and the unintended income redistribution. |
| Keywords: | public pension system, cap, longevity gap, income redistribution |
| JEL: | D10 H55 I38 |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:has:discpr:2209&r= |
| By: | Raluca E. Buia (Department of Economics, University Of Venice Cà Foscari); Mesfin G. Genie (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice; Health Economics Research Unit, University of Aberdeen); Cristina Elisa Orso (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice; Department of Economics, University of Verona); Giacomo Pasini (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice; NETSPAR) |
| Abstract: | We used retrospective information from the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to analyze the utilization patterns of preventive care around the time of migration of a representative sample of migrants in Europe. We find heterogeneous behaviours across different types of preventive care. Migrants increase the utilization of dental care significantly as soon as they reach the host country compared to the years immediately before migration, while migrant women increase their use of blood pressure tests, gynaecological visits, and mammogram tests progressively after migration. Other types of care do not exhibit particular patterns in relation to the migration episode. We also observe relevant differences in preventive care use around migration by country of origin. Our results suggest that preventive care use by migrants cannot be given for granted and is intimately linked to the process of integration in the host country. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Preventive care, SHARE, event study |
| JEL: | I12 I14 J15 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2022:04&r= |
| By: | Kai Barron; Charles D.H. Parry; Debbie Bradshaw; Rob Dorrington; Pam Groenewald; Ria Laubscher; Richard Matzopoulos |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the impact of a sudden and unexpected nation-wide alcohol sales ban in South Africa. We find that this policy causally reduced injury-induced mortality in the country by at least 14% during the five weeks of the ban. We argue that this estimate constitutes a lower bound on the true impact of alcohol on injury-induced mortality. We also document a sharp drop in violent crimes, indicating a tight link between alcohol and aggressive behaviour in society. Our results underscore the severe harm that alcohol can cause and point towards a role for policy measures that target the heaviest drinkers in society. |
| Keywords: | alcohol, mortality, economics, health, crime, South Africa, Covid-19, violence |
| JEL: | I18 I12 K42 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9595&r= |