|
on Demographic Economics |
| By: | Anton A. Cheremukhin; Paulina Restrepo-Echavarria; Antonella Tutino |
| Abstract: | We examine shifts in the U.S. marriage market, assessing how online dating, demographic changes and evolving societal norms influence mate choice and broader sorting trends. Using a targeted search model, we analyze mate selection based on factors such as education, age, race, income and skill. Intriguingly, despite the rise of online dating, preferences, mate choice and overall sorting patterns showed negligible change from 2008 to 2021. However, a longer historical view from 1960 to 2020 reveals a trend toward preferences for similarity, particularly concerning income, education and skills. Our findings refute two out of three potential explanations – reduced search costs and growing spatial segregation – as potential causes of these long-term shifts. In particular, we conclude that people’s capacity to process and evaluate information hasn’t improved despite technological advancements. Among the remaining demographic factors, we identify enhanced workforce participation and college attainment among women as the primary drivers of the U.S. marriage market transformation. Furthermore, we find that the corresponding changes in mate preferences and increased assortativeness by skill and education over this timeframe account for about half of the increased income inequality among households. |
| Keywords: | marriage; sorting; online dating |
| JEL: | J12 D83 C78 |
| Date: | 2024–09–23 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:feddwp:98837 |
| By: | Lozano, Mariona; Esteve, Albert; Boertien, Diederik; Mogi, Ryohei; Cui, Qi |
| Abstract: | Background: Spain has one of the most enduring low levels of fertility in the world, but desired fertility there is still close to two children. Objective: We document recent fertility trends and examine the reasons that women and men provide for not achieving their desired fertility. Methods: We use data from the 2018 Spanish Fertility Survey (14, 556 women and 2, 619 men). We provide a cohort and age perspective and compare women and men. We use retrospective information and classify the reasons people report for not having (more) children. Results: Estimates on observed fertility, employment, and partnerships show that having a stable partner between the ages of 25 and 35 seems key in the transition to childbearing. Work–family conflicts and insufficient economic resources are the main reasons women and men give for not having their desired number of children. These are followed by partnership reasons (not having a stable partner) and health (infertility). Conclusions: Our findings, although descriptive, shed light on the multiple and age-varying obstacles that prevent women and men from achieving desired levels of fertility. Contribution: The Spanish population indicates that the most important preconditions for having (more) children are sufficient economic resources, stability, and having a partner. |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2024–09–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:125484 |
| By: | Jessen, Lasse J.; Koehne, Sebastian; Nüß, Patrick; Ruhose, Jens |
| JEL: | C90 D71 D83 I14 I18 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc24:302332 |
| By: | Damelang, Andreas (FAU); Rückel, Ann-Katrin (FAU); Stops, Michael (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | "This study presents patterns of gender stereotyping in job ads in the German labor market and examines its association with the unequal distribution of men and women across occupations. Using a large dataset of job ads from the "BA-Jobbörse", one of the largest online job portals in Germany, we apply a machine learning algorithm to identify the explicitly verbalized job descriptions. We then use a dictionary of agentic (male-associated) and communal (female-associated) signal words to measure gender stereotyping in the job descriptions. We collect information for 710 different occupations. Our first result shows that more jobs are female-stereotyped than male-stereotyped. We then take the example of two occupational groups that reveal clear differences in tasks contents and are highly relevant regarding important megatrends like digitalization and the demographic change: On the one hand, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and, on the other hand, Health and Social Services occupations. Additionally, we investigate the hierarchical aspect of occupational gender segregation. We distinguish jobs according to their required skill level and whether or not they are supervisory and leadership positions. In contrast to our first result, we find within STEM occupations as well as in supervisory and leadership positions that the majority of jobs is male-stereotyped. Our findings indicate a positive association between gender stereotyping and occupational gender segregation, suggesting that gender stereotyping in job ads might contribute to the underrepresentation of women in certain occupations and occupational positions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | IAB-Open-Access-Publikation |
| JEL: | J71 |
| Date: | 2024–09–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:202413 |
| By: | Bergvall, Sanna (Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg); Fernström, Clara (Stockholm Business School, Stockholm University); Ranehill, Eva (Department of Economics, Lund University); Sandberg, Anna (Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | Recent self-reported and cross-sectional survey evidence documents high levels of mental health problems among PhD students. We study the impact of PhD studies on mental health care uptake using Swedish administrative records of prescriptions for psychiatric medication for the full population of PhD students. First, we provide descriptive evidence that PhD students collect psychiatric medication at a higher rate than a matched sample of individuals holding a master’s degree, but at a lower rate than a matched sample from the general population. Second, we implement an event study analysis and document that, in the years preceding their PhD studies, prospective students collect psychiatric medication at a rate similar to that of a matched sample of individuals holding a master’s degree. However, following the start of PhD studies, the use of psychiatric medication among PhD students increases substantially. This upward trend continues throughout the course of PhD studies, with estimates showing a 40 percent increase by the fifth year compared to pre-PhD levels. After the fifth year, which represents the average duration of PhD studies in our sample, we observe a notable decrease in the utilization of psychiatric medication. |
| Keywords: | Mental health; PhD studies; psychiatric medication |
| JEL: | I10 I23 |
| Date: | 2024–09–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2024_007 |