nep-hea New Economics Papers
on Health Economics
Issue of 2024‒03‒11
23 papers chosen by
Nicolas R. Ziebarth, Cornell University


  1. Gender Differences in Early Occupational Choices: Evidence from Medical Specialty Selection By Agnès Charpin; Josep Amer-Mestre; Noémi Berlin; Magali Dumontet
  2. Gender pay gap in a highly qualified sector: evidence from administrative data By Nina Giordano; Cecilia Parada; Mijail Yapor
  3. Paternity leave and child outcomes By Avdic, Daniel; Karimi, Arizo; Sjögren, Anna; Sundberg, Elin
  4. Can Public Policies Break the Gender Mold? Evidence from Paternity Leave Reforms in Six Countries By Sébastien Fontenay; Libertad González Luna
  5. The Effect of Migration on Careers of Natives: Evidence from Long-term Care By Peter Haan; Izabela Wnuk
  6. Protective Behavior and Life Insurance By Abigail Hurwitz; Olivia S. Mitchell; Orly Sade
  7. Persistent Effects of Social Program Participation on the Third Generation By Gordon Dahl; Anne Gielen
  8. Long Term Care Risk For Couples and Singles By Elena Capatina; Gary Hansen; Minchung Hsu
  9. The Impact of Losing Childhood Supplemental Security Income Benefits on Long-Term Education and Health Outcomes By Priyanka Anand; Hansoo Ko
  10. Socioemotional Development during Adolescence: Evidence from a Large Macro Shock By Ghazala Azmat; Katja Maria Kaufmann; Yasemin Özdemir
  11. How Much Do People Value Annuities and Their Added Features? By Karolos Arapakis; Gal Wettstein
  12. Reconsidering the cost of job loss: Evidence from redundancies and mass layoffs By Cederlöf, Jonas
  13. Anticipated Monitoring, Inhibited Detection, and Diminished Deterrence By Makofske, Matthew
  14. Does Defensive Gun Use Deter Crime? By John J. Donohue; Alex Oktay; Amy L. Zhang; Matthew Benavides
  15. Intergenerational Transmission of Preferences and Parental Behaviours By Flavia Coda Moscarola; Daniela Del Boca; Giovanna Paladino
  16. Intimate partner violence and children's health outcomes By Jofre-Bonet, Mireia; Rossello-Roig, Melcior; Serra-Sastre, Victoria
  17. Using safety performance indicators to improve road safety: The case of Korea By ITF
  18. Endogenous mobility in pandemics: Theory and evidence from the United States By Xiao Chen; Hanwei Huang; Jiandong Ju; Ruoyan Sun; Jialiang Zhang
  19. Social restrictions, leisure and well-being By Foliano, Francesca; Tonei, Valentina; Sevilla, Almudena
  20. Contagion by COVID-19 in the Cities: Commuting distance and Residential Density matter? By Denis Fernandes Alves; Raul da Mota Silveira; Andre Luis Squarize Chagas; Tatiane Almeida de Menezes
  21. Balancing speed and effectiveness: smoothing income volatility through COVID19 social policy responses in Belgium By Maisarah Wizan;; Wouter Neelen;; Sarah Marchal;
  22. Did Violence Against Asian-Americans Rise in 2020? Evidence from a Novel Approach to Measuring Potentially Racially-Motivated Attacks By Aleksei Knorre; Britte Van Tiem; Aaron Chalfin
  23. COVID-19 Working Paper: Food-Away-From-Home Acquisition Trends Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic By Marchesi, Keenan; McLaughlin, Patrick W.

  1. By: Agnès Charpin; Josep Amer-Mestre; Noémi Berlin; Magali Dumontet
    Abstract: This paper analyses gender differences in occupational choices in a setting in which observed matches are solely determined by supply-side factors: the French centralised medical residency selection mechanism. We show that men and women facing the same occupational choice set make drastically different occupational choices. Medical specialties selected by women pay less, have lower time requirements, and are less competitive. To understand these differences and estimate how much of the gender gap in specialty sorting can be explained by individual preferences for job attributes, we administer a survey to prospective medical residents just before their specialty choice. Using both a hypothetical job choice framework and stated preferences, we show that while “hard” job characteristics (earnings, time requirements) only slightly reduce the gender gap in sorting, “soft” characteristics (daily tasks, contact with patients, willingness to help others) play a larger role in reducing the gap. We also find suggestive evidence of an anticipation effect of fertility on women’s career choices. Our results suggest that individual preferences play a determinant role in explaining gender-based occupational segregation.
    Keywords: Occupational segregation, Gender, Labour market, Job attributes, Willingness to pay
    JEL: J16 J22 J24 J31
    Date: 2024
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:drm:wpaper:2024-5&r=hea
  2. By: Nina Giordano (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Departamento de Métodos Cuantitativos); Cecilia Parada (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Mijail Yapor (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Estadística)
    Abstract: This paper studies the existence of gender pay gaps within the highly skilled profession of medicine in Uruguay. We focus on understanding whether the way an occupation is structured may impact income equality. We use administrative data from the Human Resources Control and Analysis System (SCARH) database, published by the Ministry of Public Health of Uruguay. We estimate the gross and conditional gender pay gaps among physicians for the entire period between 2008 and 2018. Furthermore, we evaluated two potential mechanisms that could explain part of the differences in physician earnings, specifically horizontal segregation (the concentration of women in certain specialities with lower salaries) and vertical segregation (the under representation of women in top hierarchical positions). Our results indicate differences in labour income between female and male physicians, and that horizontal and vertical segregation play a role in explaining these gaps.Length: 33 pages
    Keywords: gender pay gaps, highly prestigious occupations, physicians, segregation
    JEL: J16 J24 J31 J7
    Date: 2023–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulr:wpaper:dt-21-23&r=hea
  3. By: Avdic, Daniel (Deakin University); Karimi, Arizo (Uppsala universitet and UCLS); Sjögren, Anna (IFAU and UCLS); Sundberg, Elin (Uppsala universitet)
    Abstract: We study how fathers’ time impacts children’s human capital using the introduction of earmarked paternity leave in Sweden. We use administrative data on parents’ leave uptake and children’s educational outcomes in a difference-in-discontinuities design, exploiting the plausibly random timing of childbirth. We show that the reform decreased average school-leaving grade point averages of sons of non-college fathers by 0.07 standard deviations and increased intergenerational persistence of human capital by 30 percent. We give suggestive evidence that these findings are explained by asymmetric impacts on parents’ time investments owing to family disruptions and (lack of) substitutability of parents’ time inputs.
    Keywords: parental leave; socioeconomic gradient; social policy; intergenerational skill transmission; regression discontinuity;
    JEL: J12 J13 J16 J18
    Date: 2023–12–22
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2023_025&r=hea
  4. By: Sébastien Fontenay; Libertad González Luna
    Abstract: We investigate the impact of paternity leave policies on gender role attitudes in the next generation. We measure gender-stereotypical attitudes using an Implicit Association Test with 3, 000 online respondents in six countries. Using an RD design, we observe a significant reduction (-0.20 SD) in gender-stereotypical attitudes among men born post-paternity leave implementation. This shift influences career choices, as men whose fathers were affected by the reform are more inclined to pursue counter-stereotypical jobs, particularly in high-skilled occupations like healthcare and education. Our findings highlight how paternity leave fosters egalitarian gender norms and affects the occupational choices of the next generation.
    Keywords: gender norms, paternity leave, female-dominated occupations, regression discontinuity
    JEL: J08 J13 J16 J18
    Date: 2024–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1879&r=hea
  5. By: Peter Haan; Izabela Wnuk
    Abstract: This paper examines the effect of increasing foreign staffing on the labor market outcomes of native workers in the German long-term care sector. Using administrative social security data covering the universe of long-term care workers and policy-induced exogenous variation, we find that increased foreign staffing reduces labor shortages but has diverging implications for the careers of native workers in the sector. While it causes a transition of those currently employed to jobs with better working conditions, higher wages, and non-manual tasks, it simultaneously diminishes re-employment prospects for the unemployed natives with LTC experience.
    Keywords: Immigration, shift-share instrument, long-term care, EU Enlargement
    JEL: J61 I11
    Date: 2024
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp2070&r=hea
  6. By: Abigail Hurwitz; Olivia S. Mitchell; Orly Sade
    Abstract: We study life insurance market responses to Covid-19 using unique national administrative data from Israel on purchases and cancellations of life insurance policies, and an internet survey of Americans’ life insurance choices, risk attitudes, Covid-19 perceptions, and vaccination behavior. We see no evidence that life insurance purchases or cancellations were consistent with adverse selection during the pandemic, while we do find advantageous selection. Moreover, life insurance policyholders were more likely to get vaccinated, thus taking ex-post preventive action reducing their pandemic risk. Such positive reactive behavior has not been previously reported in the life insurance setting.
    JEL: D14 E21 G51 G52
    Date: 2024–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32102&r=hea
  7. By: Gordon Dahl (UC San Diego); Anne Gielen (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
    Abstract: Can participation in safety net programs have long-lasting negative effects across multiple generations? Prior work shows a 1993 Dutch disability insurance reform which tightened requirements and lowered benefits for participants resulted in better outcomes for their children. We study the third generation, finding that grandchildren of individuals whose DI eligibility and benefits were reduced are less likely to be born premature, have low birthweight, or experience complicated deliveries. They also have better health and schooling outcomes during early childhood. These early-life improvements are consequential, as they have been linked to better health, education, and labor market outcomes in adulthood.
    Keywords: Multigenerational links, disability insurance, child health
    JEL: I38 H53 J62
    Date: 2024–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:2406&r=hea
  8. By: Elena Capatina; Gary Hansen; Minchung Hsu
    Abstract: This paper compares the impact of long term care (LTC) risk on single and married households and studies the roles played by informal care (IC), consumption sharing within households, and Medicaid in insuring this risk. We develop a life-cycle model where individuals face survival and health risk, including the possibility of becoming highly disabled and needing LTC. Households are heterogeneous in various important dimensions including education, productivity, and the age difference between spouses. Health evolves stochastically. Agents make consumption-savings decisions in a framework featuring an LTC statedependent utility function. We find that household expenditures increase significantly when LTC becomes necessary, but married individuals are well insured against LTC risk due to IC. However, they still hold considerable assets due to the concern for the spouse who might become a widow/widower and can expect much higher LTC costs. IC significantly reduces precautionary savings for middle and high income groups, but interestingly, it encourages asset accumulation among low income groups because it reduces the probability of meanstested Medicaid LTC.
    Keywords: Long Term Care, Household Risk, Precautionary Savings, Medicaid
    JEL: D91 E21 H31 I10 I38 J14
    Date: 2024–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:acb:cbeeco:2023-697&r=hea
  9. By: Priyanka Anand; Hansoo Ko
    Abstract: Many youth with disabilities rely on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) as an important source of income for their families, but they must go through a redetermination process at age 18 if they are to continue receiving those benefits into adulthood. Our project uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to examine the long-term impact of losing child SSI upon turning 18, due to the 1996 welfare reform, on education and health outcomes. We compare the long-term outcomes of those who turned 18 just after August 1996 with those who turned 18 just before, given that the reform increased the strictness of medical reviews for 18-year-old beneficiaries. Because the respondents are in their 30s and 40s in the later waves of the survey, we also examine the health outcomes of their children.
    Date: 2023–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crr:crrwps:wp2023-15&r=hea
  10. By: Ghazala Azmat; Katja Maria Kaufmann; Yasemin Özdemir
    Abstract: We exploit a large quasi-exogenous shock to study the development of socioemotional skills during early adolescence and their links to long-term behavior and labor market outlook. Using novel, longitudinal, microdata on cohorts of East German adolescents before and after a large macro shock (the German Reunification), we causally estimate the impact on socioemotional skills (self-confidence and impulse control), finding negative effects in the short run. These effects are substantially larger among those affected by the shock in early adolescence (13-14 years old), relative to later adolescence (16-17 years old). Changes in socioemotional skills have a lasting (negative) impact on them as adults, especially among those affected early in their adolescence, in terms of externalizing behavior (e.g., physical fighting), behavioral control problems (i.e., substance abuse), internalizing behavior (i.e., mental health) and in their (labor-market) optimism and expectations. This study highlights the permanent effects of uncertainty on socioemotional skills during formative years.
    Keywords: socioemotional skills, adolescence, behavior, health, labor market outlook.
    JEL: D91 I12 I31 J13 J16 J24
    Date: 2024–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2024_506&r=hea
  11. By: Karolos Arapakis; Gal Wettstein
    Abstract: A longstanding puzzle in the economics of insurance, household finance, and public policy is why so few individuals annuitize their wealth. This paper describes results from a recent survey of people with investable assets over $100, 000 that included a randomized control trial module eliciting individuals’ valuations for a simple immediate annuity, as well as whether they are willing to pay more for annuities with survivor benefits or with a liquidity clause allowing them to withdraw the remaining premium. The major result suggests that half of those surveyed want to annuitize at prevailing market annuity prices, a much higher share than the 12 percent of this group who actually do buy annuities. In terms of annuity features, individuals are unwilling to pay more for a death benefit or a liquidity option, underscoring that it is not supposedly aversive features of annuities preventing more widespread adoption. Moreover, the analysis calibrates a lifecycle model using the Health and Retirement Study. With reasonable preference parameters, the model suggests that annuitization rates for individuals with investable assets over $100, 000 should be even higher than 50 percent, further suggesting that the wedge between the 50 percent that want to annuitize and the 12 percent that do is not due to preferences or economic circumstances. The results find support for “channel factors†– difficulties associated with actually purchasing an annuity – as a major impediment to annuitization.
    Date: 2023–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crr:crrwps:wp2023-18&r=hea
  12. By: Cederlöf, Jonas (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy)
    Abstract: This paper studies the consequences of job loss. While previous literature has relied on mass layof fs and plant closures for identification, I exploit discontinuities in the likelihood of dis placement generated by a last-in-first-out rule used at layof fs in Sweden. Matching data on individual layof f notifications to administrative records, I find that permanent earnings losses are only found among workers losing their job in mass layof fs, whereas workers dis placed in smaller layof fs fully recover. Auxiliary analysis suggests that large layof fs increase exposure to non-employment, prolong unemployment and cause workers to leave the labor force, conceivably by affecting the local labor market
    Keywords: last-in-first-out; job loss; displaced worker; mass layoff; earnings loss;
    JEL: J63 J64 J65
    Date: 2024–02–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2024_002&r=hea
  13. By: Makofske, Matthew
    Abstract: Monitoring programs—by creating expected costs to regulatory violations—promote compliance through general deterrence, and are essential for regulating firms with potentially hazardous products and imperfectly observable compliance. Yet, evidence on how monitoring deployment affects perceived detection probabilities and—by extension—compliance, is sparse. Beginning in May 2020, pandemic-related protocols in Maricopa County, Arizona, required routine health inspections to occur by video-conference at food establishments with vulnerable populations (e.g., hospitals and nursing homes). Unlike conventional on-site inspections—which continued at most food establishments—these "virtual" inspections were scheduled in advance, and thus, easily anticipated. The virtual format also likely inhibits observation of some violations, further reducing detection probability. Tracking five violations that are detected by tests in both inspection formats, I find evidence of substantial anticipation-enabled detection avoidance. Comparing against contemporaneous on-site inspections, virtual inspections detect 53% fewer of these specific violations relative to pre-treatment levels, and that decrease reverses entirely when treated establishments are subsequently inspected on-site. Detected counts of all violations decrease 41% in virtual inspections. Consistent with general deterrence, this decrease is more than offset in establishments' first post-treatment on-site inspections, where detected counts exceed the pre-treatment average by 28%. Across establishment types and compliance histories, deterrence-effect heterogeneity suggests a simple dynamic enforcement rule would better allocate existing inspection resources, and might meaningfully reduce social noncompliance costs.
    Keywords: deterrence, regulatory enforcement, inspection, food safety, public health
    JEL: I18 K32 Q18
    Date: 2024–02–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120044&r=hea
  14. By: John J. Donohue; Alex Oktay; Amy L. Zhang; Matthew Benavides
    Abstract: We study the opposing deterrent and enabling effects of guns carried by law-abiding citizens on violent crime, using the location of shooting ranges as an instrument. Our incident-level data based on admittedly imperfect data from the Gun Violence Archive suggests that defensive gun use (DGU) by crime victims may decrease the probability of their injury or death, while increasing the risk of death or injury by the criminal suspects. However, in the aggregate, higher numbers of defensive gun uses—which proxies for more gun carrying and use—are associated with higher numbers of violent crimes, injuries, and fatalities among victims and suspects alike. We hypothesize that this equilibrium effect arises because more guns being carried and used by citizens produce more incentive and opportunities for criminals to acquire guns, leading to a commensurate increase in the incidence and lethality of crime. In summary, our analysis supports the conclusion that the widespread carrying and use of guns is overall more likely to enable violent crimes than to deter them.
    JEL: I18 K42
    Date: 2024–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32108&r=hea
  15. By: Flavia Coda Moscarola; Daniela Del Boca; Giovanna Paladino
    Abstract: This paper investigates the intergenerational transmission of preferences between parents and their children, examining the transmission of patience, propensity to save, and conscientiousness. We explore the role of specific parental behaviours, such as sharing financial information, in this transmission process. Using data from a representative survey of Italian households (parents with children 14-20 years of age) our analysis reveals a significant and positive correspondence between parents’ and children’s preferences. The results indicate that sharing information strengthens the transmission of patience between parents and children, particularly among children under 18, households with a socioeconomic status (SES) above the median, and daughters. Conversely, sharing information does not impact significantly the transmission of the propensity to save or conscientiousness.
    Keywords: intergenerational transmission, patience, propensity to save, conscientiousness, parental behaviours
    JEL: D14 I21 J24
    Date: 2024
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10902&r=hea
  16. By: Jofre-Bonet, Mireia; Rossello-Roig, Melcior; Serra-Sastre, Victoria
    Abstract: A growing body of literature has established that childhood health is a crucial determinant of human capital formation. Shocks experienced in utero and during early life may have far-reaching consequences that extend well into adulthood. Nevertheless, there is relatively little evidence regarding the effects of parental behaviour on child health. This paper contributes to the literature by examining the impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) on the child's health production function. Using data from the UK's Millennium Cohort Study and leveraging information on both child health and IPV, our analysis reveals that exposure to IPV is negatively associated to child's health. Children witnessing IPV in their household see their probability of being in excellent health reduced by 7 percentage points. Our results also suggest that children exposed to IPV are subject to increased morbidity, manifested in elevated risks of hearing and respiratory problems, as well as long-term health conditions and are less likely to get fully immunised.
    Keywords: intimate partner violence; child health; coefficient stability; propensity score matching
    JEL: I10 J21
    Date: 2024–03–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:121995&r=hea
  17. By: ITF
    Abstract: More than 1.3 million people die each year in road crashes, with millions more suffering life-altering injuries. The Safe System approach aims to eliminate deadly crashes through a comprehensive, shared-responsibility framework. This report offers guidelines for establishing Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs) to assess the effectiveness of Safe System policies in reducing road fatalities and serious injuries. It identifies international best practices for constructing and deploying SPIs, focusing on the case of Korea.
    Date: 2023–12–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:itfaac:126-en&r=hea
  18. By: Xiao Chen; Hanwei Huang; Jiandong Ju; Ruoyan Sun; Jialiang Zhang
    Abstract: We study infectious diseases in a spatial epidemiology model with forward-looking individuals who weigh disease environments against economic opportunities when moving across regions. This endogenous mobility allows regions to share risk and health resources, resulting in positive epidemiological externalities for regions with high R0s. We develop the Normalized Hat Algebra to analyze disease and mobility dynamics. Applying our model to US data, we find that cross-state mobility controls that hinder risk and resource sharing increase COVID-19 deaths and decrease social welfare. Conversely, by enabling "self-containment" and "self-healing, " endogenous mobility reduces COVID-19 infections by 27.6% and deaths by 22.1%.
    Keywords: SIRD model, spatial economy, endogenous mobility, basic reproduction number, Normalized Hat Algebra, containment policies, Covid-19
    Date: 2024–02–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1981&r=hea
  19. By: Foliano, Francesca; Tonei, Valentina; Sevilla, Almudena
    Abstract: A wide-ranging public debate surrounds how pandemic lockdown measures differentially impacted individuals and which precise mechanisms – whether financial-, health-, or policy-driven – predominate in determining these effects. Using a nationally representative 24-h diary survey covering the first two years of the pandemic, we explore potential mechanisms underlying changes in well-being. We exploit the variation in the stringency of the social restrictions implemented by the UK government during this period and use an event-study methodology to net out the impact of social restrictions from other pandemic effects. We find that well-being dropped by 47 % (for men) and 71 % (for women) of a standard deviation during the strictest lockdown and that it took longer to revert to pre-pandemic levels than previously estimated. This finding holds after we account for financial conditions and changes in local infection and death rates, suggesting that the time use–related changes driven by social restrictions dominate financial and health shocks in driving the overall well-being effects during the pandemic. Our detailed data on time allocation and individual preferences over the activities undertaken throughout the day suggest that the drop in well-being was primarily associated to a drastic reduction in time spent in leisure with non–household members or outside the home, a category with greater weight in the well-being of women.
    Keywords: well-being; life satisfaction; social isolation; time use; instantaneous enjoyment; Covid-19; coronavirus
    JEL: I10 I18
    Date: 2024–04–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:121996&r=hea
  20. By: Denis Fernandes Alves; Raul da Mota Silveira; Andre Luis Squarize Chagas; Tatiane Almeida de Menezes
    Abstract: [This study addresses COVID-19 infection and its relationship with the city's constructive intensity, commuting time to work, and labor market dynamics during the lockdown period. Microdata from formal workers in the city of Recife are used, adjusting a probability model for disease contraction. We identified positive and significant relationships between these urban characteristics and increased contagion, controlling for various factors such as neighborhood, individual characteristics, comorbidities, occupations, and economic activities. Our results indicate that greater distance to employment increases the probability of infection. The same applies to constructive intensity, suggesting that residences in denser areas, such as apartments in buildings, condominiums, and informal settlements, elevate the chances of contracting the disease. It is also observed that formal workers with completed higher education have lower infection risks, while healthcare professionals on the frontline of combating the disease face higher risks. Overall, the lockdown was effective in reducing contagion by limiting people's mobility during the specified period.]
    Keywords: Commuting; floor-area-ratio (FAR); lockdown; COVID-19; Recife
    JEL: C38 C21 R11 R12
    Date: 2024–02–22
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2024wpecon07&r=hea
  21. By: Maisarah Wizan;; Wouter Neelen;; Sarah Marchal;
    Abstract: With the ever-changing COVID-19 situation and social distancing measures globally, policy makers were confronted with the challenge of organising timely measures that would protect households against income shocks and volatile incomes. As they generally have fewer alternatives, low-income households are especially vulnerable to the long-term scarring effects caused by volatile incomes. As such, the rise in income volatility due to the dynamic nature of the pandemic calls into question the adequacy of welfare states and additional social support measures implemented. Concurrently, researchers are challenged particularly by the scarcity of data in these circumstances. In this working paper, we contribute to the existing literature by presenting an analysis of a substantially broad range of social support measures implemented in Belgium during the COVID19 pandemic in 2020 as a case study. We use a non-parametric approximation of monthly incomes and monthly changes in employment based on aggregate administrative data, allowing us to estimate within-year income volatility. We evaluate the effectiveness of federal and regional measures in Belgium in mitigating income volatility and shocks and their timeliness for those who were economically affected by the social distancing measures. We find that differences in the targeting design of the main COVID-19 social policies in Belgium resulted in varying effectiveness in reducing income volatility as well as differences in targeting and poverty reduction efficiency. We observe large heterogeneity in efficiency, especially among regional COVID-19 support measures.
    Date: 2023–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hdl:wpaper:2304&r=hea
  22. By: Aleksei Knorre; Britte Van Tiem; Aaron Chalfin
    Abstract: Did anti-Asian violence rise after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic? Efforts to answer this question are compromised by the inherent difficulty of measuring racially-motivated crimes as well as concerns that reporting of racially-motivated hate crimes may have changed due to their increased salience during the pandemic. We pursue an alternative approach to studying whether anti-Asian violence rose after March 2020 that addresses each of these concerns. Using data from the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System, we study inter-race violence occurring in public spaces. While public violence declined among all Americans after March 2020, the share of public violence directed at Asian-Americans by people who were previously unknown to them – or were acquaintances – rose more than it did for other Americans. While this relationship did not hold among an auxiliary sample of large US cities, the national evidence is consistent with a modest increase in racially- motivated violence directed towards Asian-Americans.
    JEL: K4 K40 K42
    Date: 2024–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32121&r=hea
  23. By: Marchesi, Keenan; McLaughlin, Patrick W.
    Abstract: The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the ensuing policy responses disrupted how consumers in the United States acquired food away from home, and little is known about how they continued to access these goods. This report summarizes national-level trends in dollars U.S. consumers spent from December 2019–February 2020 through April–June 2022 at quick- and full-service restaurants by service mode (on-premise, drive-thru, delivery, and carry-out) and acquisition and ordering method. Results show that while on-premises (eating inside a restaurant) spending fell at quick- and full-service restaurants, spending at full-service restaurants remained much lower than pre-pandemic spending levels. USDA, Economic Research Service researchers found that consumers quickly adapted to other service modes, like delivery or drive-thru, and this offset many of the losses observed in spending at quick-service restaurants. The authors also observed that consumers increased spending via cell phone apps for carry-out and delivery orders at both types of restaurants relative to pre-pandemic spending. In short, while consumers’ restaurant spending largely returned to pre-pandemic levels, many of the ways that consumers interacted with quick- and full-service restaurants immediately following the onset of the pandemic remained.
    Keywords: Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies
    Date: 2023–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersap:339965&r=hea

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