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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Sarah Bana; Kelly Bedard; Maya Rossin-Slater |
| Abstract: | Although the United States provides unpaid maternity and family leave to qualifying workers, it is the only OECD country without a national paid leave policy, making wage replacement a pivotal issue under debate. We use ten years of linked administrative data from California together with a regression kink (RK) design to estimate the causal impacts of benefits in the first state-level paid family leave program for women with earnings near the maximum benefit threshold. We find no evidence that a higher weekly benefit amount (WBA) increases leave duration or leads to adverse future labor market outcomes for mothers in this group. In contrast, we document consistent evidence that an increase in the WBA leads to a small increase in the share of quarters worked one to two years after the leave and a sizeable increase in the likelihood of making a future paid family leave claim across a variety of specifications. |
| JEL: | I18 J13 J16 J18 |
| Date: | 2018–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24438&r=lab |
| By: | Libertad González; Sergi Jiménez-Martín; Natalia Nollenberger; Judit Vall-Castello |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the short- and long-term effects for women of access to subsidized, legal abortion by exploiting the Spanish legalization of abortion in 1985. Using birth records and survey data, we find robust evidence that the legalization led to an immediate decrease in the number of births to women aged 21 and younger. This effect was driven by provinces with a higher supply of abortion services. In those regions, young women affected by the reform were also less likely to marry. Using data from the Labor Force Survey and exploiting the rollout of abortion clinics across provinces and over time, we find evidence that the affected cohorts of women, who were able to postpone fertility as a result of the legalization of abortion, achieved higher educational attainment and had higher life satisfaction 20 years after the reform. We do not find evidence of increases in the probability of being employed. |
| Keywords: | abortion, fertility, education and labor market outcomes, satisfaction |
| JEL: | J12 J13 I21 C21 |
| Date: | 2018–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:1035&r=lab |
| By: | Dahl, Gordon B. (UC San Diego and IZA); Kotsadam, Andreas (Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research); Rooth, Dan-Olof (Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | We examine whether exposure of men to women in a traditionally male-dominated environment can change attitudes about mixed-gender productivity, gender roles and gender identity. Our context is the military in Norway, where we randomly assigned female recruits to some squads but not others during boot camp. We find that living and working with women for 8 weeks causes men to adopt more egalitarian attitudes. There is a 14 percentage point increase in the fraction of men who think mixed-gender teams perform as well or better than same-gender teams, an 8 percentage point increase in men who think household work should be shared equally and a 14 ercentage point increase in men who do not completely disavow feminine traits. Contrary to the predictions of many policymakers, we find no evidence that integrating women into squads hurt male recruits’ satisfaction with boot camp or their plans to continue in the military. These findings provide evidence that even in a highly gender-skewed environment, gender stereotypes are malleable and can be altered by integrating members of the opposite sex. |
| Keywords: | gender attitudes; occupational segregation; contact theory |
| JEL: | J16 J24 |
| Date: | 2018–04–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sofiwp:2018_005&r=lab |
| By: | John Cullinan (National University of Ireland, Galway); Kevin Denny (University College Dublin); Darragh Flannery (University of Limerick) |
| Abstract: | We examine the relationship between the distribution of upper secondary school performance and a range of individual and school level characteristics using unconditional quantile regression methods and data from Ireland. We find that determinants such as social class, maternal unemployment, extra private tuition, and working part-time have differential effects for low and high ability students and that important insights are lost by focusing on the conditional mean. The implication is that while certain factors can impact on whether or not a student is likely to proceed to higher education, other factors may affect where students go and what they study. |
| Keywords: | Secondary school performance; Distribution; Unconditional quantile regression; Ireland |
| JEL: | I20 I21 J00 J01 |
| Date: | 2018–12–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucd:wpaper:201808&r=lab |
| By: | Isil Erel; Léa H. Stern; Chenhao Tan; Michael S. Weisbach |
| Abstract: | Can an algorithm assist firms in their hiring decisions of corporate directors? This paper proposes a method of selecting boards of directors that relies on machine learning. We develop algorithms with the goal of selecting directors that would be preferred by the shareholders of a particular firm. Using shareholder support for individual directors in subsequent elections and firm profitability as performance measures, we construct algorithms to make out-of-sample predictions of these measures of director performance. We then run tests of the quality of these predictions and show that, when compared with a realistic pool of potential candidates, directors predicted to do poorly by our algorithms indeed rank much lower in performance than directors who were predicted to do well. Deviations from the benchmark provided by the algorithms suggest that firm-selected directors are more likely to be male, have previously held more directorships, have fewer qualifications and larger networks. Machine learning holds promise for understanding the process by which existing governance structures are chosen, and has potential to help real world firms improve their governance. |
| JEL: | G34 M12 M51 |
| Date: | 2018–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24435&r=lab |
| By: | Assaad, Ragui (University of Minnesota); Hendy, Rana (Doha Institute for Graduate Studies); Lassassi, Moundir (Center for Research in Applied Economics for Development); Yassin, Shaimaa (University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) |
| Abstract: | Despite rapidly rising female educational attainment and the closing if not reversal of the gender gap in education, female labor force participation rates in the MENA region remain low and stagnant, a phenomenon that has come to be known as the "MENA paradox." Even if increases in participation are observed, they are typically in the form of rising unemployment. We argue in this paper that female labor force participation among educated women in four MENA countries - Algeria, Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia - is constrained by adverse developments in the structure of employment opportunities on the demand side. Specifically, we argue that the contraction in public sector employment opportunities has not been made up by a commensurate increase in opportunities in the formal private sector, leading to increases in female unemployment or declines in participation. We use multinomial logit models estimated on annual labor force survey data by country to simulate trends in female participation in different labor market states (public sector, private wage work, non-wage work, unemployment and non-participation) for married and unmarried women of a given educational and age profile. Our results confirm that the decline in the probability of public sector employment for women with higher education is associated with either an increase in unemployment or a decline in participation. |
| Keywords: | public employment, labor market, female labor force participation, sectoral choice, human capital, MENA |
| JEL: | J16 J21 J22 J82 |
| Date: | 2018–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11385&r=lab |
| By: | Raj Chetty; Nathaniel Hendren; Maggie R. Jones; Sonya R. Porter |
| Abstract: | We study the sources of racial and ethnic disparities in income using de-identified longitudinal data covering nearly the entire U.S. population from 1989-2015. We document three sets of results. First, the intergenerational persistence of disparities varies substantially across racial groups. For example, Hispanic Americans are moving up significantly in the income distribution across generations because they have relatively high rates of intergenerational income mobility. In contrast, black Americans have substantially lower rates of upward mobility and higher rates of downward mobility than whites, leading to large income disparities that persist across generations. Conditional on parent income, the black-white income gap is driven entirely by large differences in wages and employment rates between black and white men; there are no such differences between black and white women. Second, differences in family characteristics such as parental marital status, education, and wealth explain very little of the black-white income gap conditional on parent income. Differences in ability also do not explain the patterns of intergenerational mobility we document. Third, the black-white gap persists even among boys who grow up in the same neighborhood. Controlling for parental income, black boys have lower incomes in adulthood than white boys in 99% of Census tracts. Both black and white boys have better outcomes in low-poverty areas, but black-white gaps are larger on average for boys who grow up in such neighborhoods. The few areas in which black-white gaps are relatively small tend to be low-poverty neighborhoods with low levels of racial bias among whites and high rates of father presence among blacks. Black males who move to such neighborhoods earlier in childhood earn more and are less likely to be incarcerated. However, fewer than 5% of black children grow up in such environments. These findings suggest that reducing the black-white income gap will require efforts whose impacts cross neighborhood and class lines and increase upward mobility specifically for black men. |
| JEL: | H0 J0 |
| Date: | 2018–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24441&r=lab |
| By: | Andersen, Torben M; Kristoffersen,; Svarer, Michael |
| Abstract: | The past employment history - employment requirements - is part of the eligibility conditions for unemployment insurance in most western countries. In a standard search-matching model, we show how employment requirements strengthen the reentitlement effect and thereby changes the trade-off between insurance and incentives in the design of the optimal insurance scheme. Deploying employment requirements for benefit eligibility may thus allow for both higher benefit levels and longer duration, and yet labor market performance is improved. When the need for insurance increases due to higher risk aversion, employment requirements becomes less lenient, and oppositely when the environment becomes more risky. |
| Keywords: | incentives; job-search; Reentitlement effects; unemployment insurance. |
| JEL: | E32 H3 J65 |
| Date: | 2018–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12802&r=lab |
| By: | Eliza Forsythe (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) |
| Abstract: | With falling labor market dynamism in the United States, opportunities within firms take on increasing importance in young workers’ career progression. Developing a variety of occupational ranking metrics, I show that occupational mobility within firms follows a standard life cycle pattern in which the frequency, distance, and wage return from mobility falls with age. However, when upward and downward mobility are considered separately, the average magnitude of directional mobility increases through middle age. I find that wage growth for young workers deteriorated substantially in the first decade of the 2000s, primarily driven by a reduction in wage growth within firms. Encouragingly, wage growth has improved markedly for young workers since 2012. |
| Keywords: | Careers, occupations, youth |
| JEL: | J24 J62 M51 |
| Date: | 2018–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upj:weupjo:18-286&r=lab |
| By: | Addison, John T. (University of South Carolina); Teixeira, Paulino (University of Coimbra); Grunau, Philipp (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung); Bellmann, Lutz (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the potential impact of works councils and unions on the deployment of fixed-term contracts and agency temps. We report inter al. that works councils are associated with a higher number of temporary agency workers when demand volatility is high while the opposite holds for fixed-term contracts. These disparities likely reflect differences in function, with agency work being more directed toward the protection of a shrinking core and fixed-term contacts being as much a port of entry as a buffer stock. We are also able to identify the number of new hires with a fixed-term contract as well as the number of FTC conversions (into regular employment) and renewals, the correlates of which flows are broadly consistent with the stock data. |
| Keywords: | agency temps, fixed-term contracts, stepping stones, buffer stocks, labor market duality, extensive/intensive margins, works councils, unions, collective bargaining, demand volatility, complementarity, Germany |
| JEL: | J21 J23 J41 J J51 J63 K31 |
| Date: | 2018–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11378&r=lab |
| By: | S Anukriti (Boston College; IZA); Sungoh Kwon (University of Connecticut); Nishith Prakash (University of Connecticut) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how traditional marriage market institutions affect households’ financial decisions. We study how bride-to-groom marriage payments, i.e., dowries, influence saving behavior in rural India. Exploiting variation in firstborn gender and heterogeneity in dowry amounts across marriage markets, we find that the prospect of paying higher dowry increases household savings, which are primarily financed through increased paternal labor supply. This is the first paper that highlights this alternative motive for savings in dowry-paying societies. However, we find no impacts of dowry expectations on son-preferring fertility behaviors and investments in girls. |
| Keywords: | Household Savings, Dowry, Marriage Payments, India, Labor Supply, Fertility, Sex Ratio, Child Investments |
| JEL: | J1 D14 O15 |
| Date: | 2018–04–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boc:bocoec:949&r=lab |
| By: | Joyce, Patrick (The Ratio Institute) |
| Abstract: | In 2015 and 2016 almost 2.7 million asylum seekers travelled to Europe in search of protection. More than half of them, 1.4 million people, sought refuge in Germany or Sweden. Germany received the most people by far but Sweden took in more as a share of its population. The big influx of refugees induced major changes in migration and integration in both countries. This paper compares the policies on labour market integration in both countries focusing on what Sweden can learn from Germany to improve integration. |
| Keywords: | Labour market; Integration; Education and Social welfare. |
| JEL: | I24 I38 J15 J61 |
| Date: | 2018–03–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0307&r=lab |
| By: | Thomas Y. Mathä; Giuseppe Pulina; Michael Ziegelmeyer |
| Abstract: | This report presents the methodology and main descriptive results of the second wave of the Cross-border Household Finance and Consumption Survey (XB-HFCS) conducted in 2014. The survey provides novel information on the economic and financial situation of households employed in Luxembourg but living in neighbouring countries (cross-border commuters), who contribute substantially to Luxembourg’s economy. We present results on the composition of their assets and liabilities, net wealth, income and consumption. Household net wealth of crossborder commuters is more equally distributed compared to that of employed households resident in Luxembourg. In addition, cross-border commuters have a higher median net wealth and gross income compared to those of the employed population in their country of residence. About 26% of their financial assets and 19% of their liabilities are located in Luxembourg. While the majority of the non-durable expenditures are done in the country of residence, cross-border commuters consume about 20% of their household income in Luxembourg. |
| Keywords: | cross-border commuters, households, survey, assets, liabilities, wealth, income, consumption |
| JEL: | D31 D14 C81 C83 J61 |
| Date: | 2018–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcl:bclwop:bclwp119&r=lab |
| By: | Joyce, Patrick (The Ratio Institute) |
| Abstract: | The refugee influx in 2015 marked the largest mass movement in Europe since WWII. More than half of the arrivals applied for asylum on the northernmost edge of the continent: Germany was the top destination by far but Sweden received more asylum seekers relative to its population. The Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark also took in significant numbers. The developments in 2015 caused several of these countries to reconsider their policies on migration and integration of refugees. This paper compares the policies in these five countries after 2015 focusing on what Sweden can learn from the others. |
| Keywords: | Labour market; Integration; Education and Social welfare. |
| JEL: | I24 I38 J15 J61 |
| Date: | 2018–04–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0308&r=lab |
| By: | Dieu Nsenga (Department of Economics, Nelson Mandela University); Mirada Nach (Department of Economics, Nelson Mandela University); Hlalefang Khobai (Department of Economics, Nelson Mandela University); Clement Moyo (Department of Economics, Nelson Mandela University); Andrew Phiri (Department of Economics, Nelson Mandela University) |
| Abstract: | The focus of our study is on determining whether unemployment rates in 8 New Industrialized Economies conform to the natural rate hypothesis or the hysteresis hypothesis. To this end, we employ a variety of unit of unit root testing procedures to quarterly data collected between 2002:q1 and 2017:q1. In summary of our findings, conventional unit root tests which neither account for asymmetries or structural breaks produce the most inconclusive results. On the other hand, tests which incorporate structural breaks whilst ignoring asymmetries tends to favour the natural rate hypothesis for our panel of countries. However, simultaneously accounting for asymmetries and unobserved structural breaks seemingly produces the most robust findings and confirms hysteresis in all unemployment rates except for the Asian economies/countries of Thailand and the Philippines. |
| Keywords: | Natural rate hypothesis, hysteresis hypothesis, Unemployment, unit root tests, Fourier function approximation, Newly Industrialized Economies. |
| JEL: | C22 C51 E24 J60 |
| Date: | 2018–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mnd:wpaper:1817&r=lab |
| By: | Cirelli, Fernando; Espino, Emilio; Sanchez, Juan M. (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) |
| Abstract: | The benefits of implementing Unemployment Insurance Savings Accounts (UISAs) are studied in the presence of the multiple sources of information frictions often existing in developing countries. A benchmark incomplete markets economy is calibrated to Mexico in the early 2000s. The unconstrained optimal allocation would imply very large welfare gains relative to the benchmark economy (similar to an increase in consumption of 23% in every period). More importantly, in presence of multiple sources of information frictions, about half of those potential gains can be accrued through the implementation of UISAs with replacement rates between 40-50%, contribution rates between 10-15%, an initial liquidity transfer of about 20 quarters of average income, and higher payroll taxes to finance those initial stocks. |
| Keywords: | Unemployment Insurance; Informality; Moral Hazard; UISA. |
| JEL: | D82 H55 I38 J65 |
| Date: | 2018–04–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2018-006&r=lab |