|
on Health Economics |
| By: | Nicholas Bloom; Gordon B. Dahl; Dan-Olof Rooth |
| Abstract: | There has been a dramatic rise in disability employment in the US since the pandemic, a pattern mirrored in other countries as well. A similar increase is not found for any other major gender, race, age or education demographic. At the same time, work from home has risen four-fold. This paper asks whether the two are causally related. Analyzing CPS and ACS microdata, we find the increase in disability employment is concentrated in occupations with high levels of working from home. Controlling for compositional changes and labor market tightness, we estimate that a 1 percentage point increase in work from home increases full-time employment by 1.1% for individuals with a physical disability. A back of the envelope calculation reveals that the post pandemic increase in working from home explains 80% of the rise in full-time employment. Wage data suggests that WFH increased the supply of workers with a disability, likely by reducing commuting costs and enabling better control of working conditions. |
| JEL: | J14 J20 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32943 |
| By: | Antinyan, Armenak (Thames Water); Burn, Ian (University of Liverpool); Jones, Melanie K. (Cardiff University) |
| Abstract: | While hiring discrimination against disabled candidates is widely documented, the reasons for such discrimination and the mechanisms designed to reduce it are not well understood. This study aims to tackle these questions through a large-scale correspondence study. Fictitious job applications were sent to about 4, 000 job vacancies for accountants and financial accounts assistants in the UK. Consistent with discrimination, we find a 5.6 percentage point (15%) gap in the employer callback rate associated with mobility impairment indicated by the use of a wheelchair, but substantial occupational heterogeneity. Productivity signals designed to reduce statistical discrimination, including the offer of a positive reference from a previous employer and, enhanced education and technical skills, do not reduce, and actually widen, the disability gap in callbacks. Our findings are suggestive of taste-based discrimination being a significant barrier to employment for disabled people that requires policy attention. |
| Keywords: | disability, discrimination, correspondence studies, productivity signals |
| JEL: | J14 J71 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17290 |
| By: | Becker, Sebastian (Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS), Germany); Gehlen, Annica (DIW Berlin); Geyer, Johannes (DIW Berlin); Haan, Peter (DIW Berlin) |
| Abstract: | We provide novel evidence about the incentive and welfare effects of an increase in the generosity of disability benefits. Importantly, a unique policy variation in Germany allows us to isolate the income effect of a change in benefit generosity. We leverage this quasi-experimental policy variation using an RD design to estimate the effect of increasing disability benefits on employment, earnings, labor market transitions, and mortality outcomes using administrative data on the universe of new disability benefit recipients. Contrary to previous literature, our analysis reveals no significant impact on the employment and earnings of DI recipients due to the increased benefits. However, we find a sizable effect of the probability of returning to the labor market. We find no effects on recipient mortality six years after benefit award, but estimates imply a notable reduction in poverty risk, highlighting meaningful welfare implications of increased generosity. |
| Keywords: | disability insurance, pension reform, wealth effect, labor supply, mortality, RDD |
| JEL: | H55 I12 J22 J26 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17298 |
| By: | Carter, Charles (University of Bath); Delaney, Judith M. (University of Bath); Papps, Kerry L. (University of Bradford) |
| Abstract: | We exploit a spatial discontinuity in the wages paid by the United Kingdom's National Health Service to examine how wages affect the duration of time a vacancy is advertised. NHS workers in inner London are mandated by law to be paid an extra 4.3% more than those who work in outer London. We use a regression discontinuity design and estimate an elasticity of duration with respect to wages of -6.3. This number is larger than reported by previous studies and suggests that firms can fill worker shortages faster by raising wages. This also highlights the importance this margin of worker recruitment when analysing firm search and job match. Our results are robust to various checks including a placebo test using fictitious borders and are robust to changes in the bandwidth and the duration measure. The estimates are similar across all occupational groups in the NHS and are not limited to jobs that require specific skills such as nurses and therapists. Our results provide evidence for policy makers which suggests that increasing the wages paid to NHS workers may lead to increased cost savings by reducing the need to hire expensive agency staff and may also lead to better health outcomes of the population through reduced staff shortages. |
| Keywords: | vacancy duration, wages, employer search |
| JEL: | J22 J23 J31 J38 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17273 |
| By: | Sara MacLennan |
| Abstract: | In this paper we examine the cost-effectiveness of providing NICE recommended psychological therapy to young people. For each type of mental health problem we show: (i) the assumptions used to derive the impact of treating one person on the number of "additional years of healthy life" (free of the condition) that that person will experience. (ii) the cost-saving to the government per "additional year of healthy life". (iii) the resulting overall cost-savings per person treated. (iv) the initial cost of the treatment, and (v) the resulting WELLBYs. |
| Keywords: | child mental health, schools, anxiety, crime, education |
| Date: | 2024–09–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepops:63 |
| By: | Kristin F. Butcher; Deniz Civril; Sari Pekkala Kerr |
| Abstract: | We use the Longitudinal Business Database to examine the impact of state-level paid parental leave laws in California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island on firms. Our main estimation strategy uses multi-unit firms and compares within-firm changes in outcomes for establishments in treated and untreated states. We find that paid parental leave laws reduce employment in firms’ establishments in treated states. We investigate heterogeneity of the effects by pre-mandate share of workers in an industry that were women, and find that there is no systematic evidence that firms reduce employment more in industries with a higher share of women employees. |
| Keywords: | Paid Leave; Employment; Productivity |
| JEL: | H75 J13 J18 J21 J23 J31 J63 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedhwp:98827 |
| By: | Kim, Seonghoon (Singapore Management University); Wang, Lanjie (Singapore Management University) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the short-term impacts of unemployment in Singapore, a setting without public unemployment insurance. Using monthly panel data from the Singapore Life Panel, we analyze dynamic effects on major life outcomes such as income, spending, health, and subjective well-being over two years post-unemployment. Our findings reveal substantial initial earnings losses with incomplete recovery, as income remains 50.6% below pre-unemployment levels after 24 months. Despite this persistent income gap, consumption responses are modest, with total household expenditure decreasing by 13–17% over two years. The two-year marginal propensity to consume is about 0.2 which is smaller than estimates in countries with more extensive social insurance, suggesting robust self-insurance mechanisms. We observe increased retirement and self-employment but no significant spousal earnings response. While health status remains largely unchanged, we find substantial declines in life satisfaction. Our study provides insights into unemployment dynamics in a UI-free environment, suggesting modest welfare gains from introducing unemployment benefits in Singapore. |
| Keywords: | unemployment shock, consumption spending, event study design, monthly panel |
| JEL: | J14 J60 E24 D12 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17299 |
| By: | Nolan H. Miller; David Molitor; Eric Zou |
| Abstract: | We estimate how acute air pollution exposure from wildfire smoke impacts human health in the U.S., allowing for nonlinear effects. Wildfire smoke is pervasive and produces air quality shocks of varying intensity, depending on wind patterns and plume thickness. Using administrative Medicare records for 2007–2019, we estimate that wildfire smoke accounts for 18% of ambient PM2.5 concentrations, 0.42% of deaths, and 0.69% of emergency room visits among adults aged 65 and over. Smaller pollution shocks have outsized health impacts, indicating significant health benefits from improving air quality, even in areas meeting current regulatory standards. |
| JEL: | I18 J14 Q51 Q53 Q54 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32924 |
| By: | Abdel Ghany, Jasmin (University of Oxford); Wilde, Joshua (University of Oxford); Dimitrova, Anna (University of California); Kashyap, Ridhi (University of Oxford); Muttarak, Raya (University of Bologna) |
| Abstract: | Sex ratios at birth shape populations and are linked to maternal health and gender discrimination. We estimate the effect of prenatal temperature exposure on birth sex by linking data on 5 million births in 33 sub-Saharan African countries and India with high-resolution temperature data. We find that days with a maximum temperature above 20°C reduce male births in both regions. In sub-Saharan Africa, we observe fewer male births after high first trimester temperature exposure, consistent with increased spontaneous abortions from maternal heat stress. By contrast, in India we find second trimester temperature exposure is associated with fewer male births, consistent with reductions in induced sex-selective abortions against girls. These findings demonstrate that climate change harms maternal health, increases prenatal mortality, and reduces engagement with the health system. |
| Keywords: | sex ratios at birth, temperature, prenatal exposure, maternal health, abortion |
| JEL: | J13 J10 I15 I10 O13 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17310 |
| By: | Freak-Poli, Rosanne (Monash University); Jenkins, Stephen P. (London School of Economics); Shields, Michael A. (Monash University); Trinh, Trong-Anh (Monash University) |
| Abstract: | Despite a substantial literature on the links between social relationships and mortality, the size of the relative risks from loneliness, social isolation, and living alone, remain controversial. Further research is therefore important given demographic changes meaning that more people are living alone, for longer, and with chronic health conditions. Using 19 waves of high-quality Australian longitudinal data we provide new evidence using multiple measures of social relationships, model specifications, and adjustments for confounding. We focus on chronic measures of (poor) social relationships and provide separate estimates by gender. We find that both functional and structural aspects of social relationships are independently strongly associated with all-cause mortality. We estimate a hazard ratio for loneliness of 1.41, which is greater for males (1.55) than females (1.24). These hazard ratios are larger than found for social isolation (1.19). We also find a strong relationship between being an active member of a club and reduced mortality risk, but no evidence that living alone is an independent risk factor. We provide useful comparisons with the mortality risks associated with smoking and household income. Overall, our findings suggest that interventions should focus on reducing both loneliness and social isolation, as well as encouraging active social participation. |
| Keywords: | mortality, social relationships, loneliness, social support, social isolation, club membership, living alone, smoking, income, survival analysis |
| JEL: | I14 I18 I31 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17274 |
| By: | Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. (University of Sydney); Tayeb, Haniene (ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course) |
| Abstract: | We examine the correlation in self-control between parents and their young-adult children. Analyzing two decades of population-representative panel data, we exploit variation in the family environment during childhood to investigate how family stress related to: i) parenting responsibilities; ii) parents' relationship quality; iii) household finances; and iv) poor mental health shapes the transmission of self-control across generations. A finite mixture model is used to account for unobserved heterogeneity in young adults' capacity for self-control. Our results indicate that some young people may be particularly sensitive to growing up in a stressful environment, opening the door for family stress to shape the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage through the formation of self-control. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational self-control, Brief Self-Control Scale, finite mixture models |
| JEL: | D91 D10 J13 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17265 |
| By: | Strombotne, Kiersten (Boston University); Day, Sophia (NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene); Konty, Kevin (NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene); Fletcher, Jason M. (University of Wisconsin-Madison) |
| Abstract: | Children form social ties along dimensions of gender and race/ethnicity, and thus may differ greatly in exposure to peer health and also in reactivity to peer influence. This paper estimates heterogeneity in the peer effects of obesity along dimensions of gender, race/ethnicity, and socio-economic status for grade-mates within schools. Using data from the New York City (NYC) FITNESSGRAM initiative on over 1.6 million children in grades K-8, we find that males and females are equally responsive to peer effects. We estimate larger differences by race/ethnicity, immigration status and home language, but find no statistically significant differences in peer effects by socio-economic status. Taken together, these findings suggest that policies that reduce obesity could simultaneously widen some existing health disparities due to the heterogeneities in peer effects we uncover. Understanding the dynamics of peer influence is essential for designing policies and programs that seek to leverage social interactions for better health outcomes. |
| Keywords: | peer effects, children, adolescents, obesity, health disparities |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17292 |
| By: | Görlitz, Katja (Hochschule der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (HdBA)); Heß, Pascal (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg); Tamm, Marcus (Hochschule der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (HdBA)) |
| Abstract: | This study provides a policy evaluation of laws allowing early school enrollment of children, i.e., enrollment before the official school starting age. It investigates the effects of early enrollment on educational attainment, wages and employment. While the school starting age is usually determined by children's date of birth and legal cutoffs, some German states allowed early enrollment in some years. Exploiting state and cohort variation, the results show that male early enrollees attain fewer years of schooling, enter the labor market earlier and have a larger labor market attachment at around age 16. Positive wage effects persist until approximately age 35. Results for women roughly resemble those for men but they are less convincingly estimated. |
| Keywords: | early enrollment policy, early school entry, wages, employment, school starting age |
| JEL: | I28 J21 J24 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17303 |
| By: | Nduka, Eleanya (University of Warwick and UK Energy Research Centre); Jimoh, Modupe (University of Warwick and UK Energy Research Centre) |
| Abstract: | This study utilizes novel data to investigate the impact of cooking energy sources and indoor air pollution on the happiness, life satisfaction, physical, and mental health of women in Nigeria. The existing body of literature relies on ambient air pollution data, which can be limiting in resource-constrained settings. To address this gap, we employ a direct approach, measuring Carbon Monoxide (CO) levels in participants’ blood using the Rad-57 CO-oximeter. Our analysis reveals strong positive correlations between the utilization of clean cooking energy and women’s reported happiness and life satisfaction. Additionally, the study finds that clean cooking energy usage is associated with a significant reduction in mental health problems among women. These findings highlight a substantial disparity in wellbeing based on access to clean cooking energy sources. Furthermore, exposure to carbon monoxide, as measured in this study, demonstrates a detrimental effect on women’s health and overall well-being. Consequently, policymakers and stakeholders should prioritize initiatives that promote household energy access and facilitate the transition to clean cooking practices, especially in rural areas where the use of polluting fuels and exposure to indoor air pollution remain prevalent concerns. |
| Keywords: | Air pollution ; Clean Cooking ; Dirty Cooking ; Energy ; Health ; Happiness ; Mental health ; Well-being ; Women; Poverty. |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1515 |
| By: | Akgündüz, Yusuf Emre (Sabanci University); Akyol, Pelin (Bilkent University); Aydemir, Abdurrahman B. (Sabanci University); Demirci, Murat (Koc University); Kirdar, Murat Güray (Bogazici University) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the intergenerational effects of the 1997 compulsory schooling reform in Turkey, which extended compulsory schooling from five to eight years, on the developmental outcomes of children aged 36 to 59 months. We draw upon data from the 2018 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey, which features a comprehensive module on early childhood development (ECD), and estimate the impact of mothers' exposure to education reform using RDD. Our analysis reveals a significant increase in maternal educational attainment and corresponding enhancements in children's readiness to learn. Exploring the underlying mechanisms, we find a notable expansion in the number and variety of activities parents, especially fathers, engage in with their children. In a further examination of parental outcomes, we find evidence pointing to narrower educational and age disparities between partners, suggesting an improvement in mothers' agency—aligned with the heightened engagement of fathers with their children. Despite the typical emphasis on mothers in ECD research, our study indicates a significant enhancement in fathers' involvement with their children accompanied by improvement in children's cognitive outcomes. |
| Keywords: | compulsory education, early child development, parental investment, mother's agency, cognitive skills |
| JEL: | H52 I26 J13 J24 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17249 |
| By: | Pardy, Martina; Riom, Capucine; Hoffmann, Roman |
| Abstract: | Worsening climatic conditions are a significant threat to livelihoods, health and well-being worldwide. In this paper, we estimate the impact of temperature and precipitation anomalies on inequality and poverty using a dataset combining comprehensive climatological data with subnational regional wealth and inequality measures derived from the Demographic and Health Surveys for 52 countries and 453 regions. Using the International Wealth Index as a comparative measure of material wealth, we find a significant impact of temperature anomalies on the distribution of material wealth. We estimate that an average temperature anomaly of one standard deviation in the past 4 years increases the regional Gini coefficient by 0.018 points and increases the share of extremely poor households by 4.1 percent. The impacts are stronger in rural areas. We find that temperature anomalies affect inequality through multiple channels, including agricultural employment, the deterioration of assets, decreased economic activity, higher unemployment and worsened access to healthcare. The impacts of precipitation anomalies on inequality, on the other hand, are more ambiguous. |
| Keywords: | environment; inequality; regional development |
| JEL: | Q56 I31 R11 |
| Date: | 2024–09–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:125447 |
| By: | Gökçe, Merve Betül (Bogazici University); Kirdar, Murat Güray (Bogazici University) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the impact of the Syrian civil war and refugee status on the risk of physical intimate partner violence (IPV) among Syrian women in Jordan, the country with the second highest refugee-to-native ratio worldwide. We analyze data from the 2017-18 Jordan Population and Family Health Survey, which includes a nationally representative sample of Syrian refugees. Using the information on the timing of first violence after marriage within a discrete-time duration analysis, we examine the hazard rates of IPV exposure across different periods: prewar Syria, postwar Syria, and refugee status. Our findings demonstrate that war and refugee status increase the risk of IPV, and these findings persist for women who were married before the civil war. Additionally, the rise in IPV after the refugees' arrival in Jordan diminishes over time. The study identifies the economic strain resulting from lower household wealth and refugee husbands' employment losses as a driver of the rise in IPV. Moreover, our innovative approach utilizing GPS locations of refugee households to calculate refugee density reveals that greater social isolation, indicated by reduced proximity to other refugees, significantly exacerbates the risk of IPV among these women. In addition, we explore whether the civil war and refugee status alter marriage patterns, which could contribute to the observed effects on IPV. Both the civil war and forced migration lower the marriage age and increase the incidence of non-cousin marriages at the expense of cousin marriages—both of which are associated with a higher risk of IPV. |
| Keywords: | Syrian refugees, forced migration, intimate partner violence, physical violence, war and displacement, Jordan |
| JEL: | J12 J15 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17284 |
| By: | Hossain, Mobarak; Jukes, Matthew C. H. |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the emergence of gender differences in socioemotional skills and traits during adolescence, and the socioeconomic and cultural factors that may explain such gaps, in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. Findings from Young Lives longitudinal data showed that the gender gap in self-efficacy emerges around age 19, with males scoring more highly than females in Ethiopia, India and Vietnam. Similar, but less consistent, patterns were observed for self-esteem and peer relations. At age 22, males also scored more highly than females, in at least one country, in emotional stability, conscientiousness, grit, and teamwork. In India and Ethiopia, the two countries with higher poverty and more unequal gender attitudes, we found gender differences in a greater number of socioemotional skills or traits. A predictive analysis of self-efficacy, emotional stability and teamwork found that time spent in paid and unpaid household activities, having a more equal attitude to gender roles, and socioeconomic status were associated with the gender gap in socioemotional skills. These covariates explained gender gaps more in India and Ethiopia than in other countries. However, substantial portions of gender differences remained unexplained by available variables. Our findings may help clarify the origins of gender inequalities in life outcomes and how they can be addressed through socioemotional programmes in adolescence. |
| Keywords: | socioemotional skills; LMICs; young lives; longitudinal analysis; Taylor & Francis deal |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2024–08–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:124441 |
| By: | Jeffrey Clemens; Julia A. Payson; Stan Veuger |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented levels of federal transfers to state governments. Did this funding increase benefit incumbent politicians electorally? Identifying the effect of revenue windfalls on voting is challenging because whatever conditions led to the influx of cash might also benefit or harm incumbents for other reasons. We develop an instrument that allows us to predict allocations to states based on variation in congressional representation. We find that incumbents in state-wide races in 2020, 2021, and 2022 performed significantly better in states that received more relief funding due to their overrepresentation in Congress. These results are robust across specifications and after adjusting for a variety of economic and political controls. We consistently find that the pandemic-period electoral advantage of incumbent politicians in states receiving more aid substantially exceeds the more modest advantage politicians in these states enjoyed before the pandemic. This paper contributes to our understanding of economic voting and the incumbency advantage during times of crisis as well as the downstream electoral consequences of both the COVID-19 pandemic and of unequal political representation at the federal level. |
| JEL: | H7 H77 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32962 |
| By: | Parrendah Adwoa Kpeli (Department of International Economic Policy, University of Freiburg) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the impact of religiosity on preventive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, specifically on mask usage, vaccine administration, booster doses, and the probability of testing positive for COVID-19. This study employs an extensive, recurrent dataset from 2020 to 2022 to analye the behaviors of many religious groups, focusing specifically on the differences between born-again and non-born-again Protestants. The results indicate that born-again Protestants exhibit a lower propensity to adhere to preventive measures, such as mask-wearing and immunisations. In contrast, non-born-again Protestants and Catholics demonstrate a higher likelihood of compliance with these guidelines. Unsurprisingly, born-again Protestants exhibit an increased propensity for testing positive for COVID-19 and are, therefore, more likely to have contributed to its heightened spread in the US. This research is essential for understanding the relationship between religiosity and health behaviours, as it emphasises the significant influence of religious identity on public health outcomes. It provides new insights into adherence to health directives, addressing significant gaps in the research by distinguishing among religious subgroups, analysing various preventative behaviours, and monitoring changes over an extended period throughout the United States. |
| Keywords: | Covid-19, religiosity, health behaviour |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fre:wpaper:49 |