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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Lukáš Lafférs (Matej Bel University); Bernhard Schmidpeter (Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz) |
| Abstract: | We explore the impact of successful job search after childbirth on mothers' labor market careers. Using a bounding approach and administrative data, we find strong heterogeneity in the returns to leaving the pre-birth employer. Moving to a new employer after childbirth leads to an increase in re-employment earnings only for mothers at the upper part of the earnings distribution. For these mothers, initial job search also increases long-term earnings. We provide evidence that earnings gains are the result of higher geographical mobility and longer commutes to work. Successful mothers are also more likely to move to faster growing firms and firms offering better opportunities to women. Our results do not suggest that husbands play an important role in supporting successful job search of mothers. |
| Keywords: | parental leave, return-to-work, job search, earnings, earnings gaps |
| JEL: | C21 J13 J31 J62 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jku:econwp:2021-13&r= |
| By: | Kevin André Pineda Hernandez; François Rycx; Mélanie Volral |
| Abstract: | Although many studies point to the significant influence of collective bargaining institutions on earnings inequalities, evidence on how these institutions shape poverty rates across developed economies remains surprisingly scarce. It would be a mistake, though, to believe that the relationship between earnings inequalities and poverty is straightforward. Indeed, whereas earnings inequalities are measured at the individual level, poverty is calculated at the household level using equivalised (disposable) incomes. Accordingly, in most developed countries poverty is not primarily an issue of the working poor. This paper explicitly addresses the relationship between collective bargaining systems and working-age poverty rates in 24 developed countries over the period 1990-2015. Using an up-to-date and fine-grained taxonomy of bargaining systems and relying on state-of-the-art panel data estimation techniques, we find that countries with more centralised and/or coordinated bargaining systems display significantly lower working-age poverty rates than countries with largely or fully decentralised systems. However, this result only holds in a post-tax benefit scenario. Controlling for country-fixed effects and endogeneity, our estimates indeed suggest that the poverty-reducing effect of collective bargaining institutions stems from the political strength of trade unions in promoting public social spending rather than from any direct effect on earnings inequalities. |
| Keywords: | Collective bargaining systems; Poverty rates; Social security expenditures; Panel data; Advanced economies |
| JEL: | C23 C26 I32 I38 J51 J52 |
| Date: | 2021–07–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/328359&r= |
| By: | Jonas Cederlöf; Peter Fredriksson; Arash Nekoei; David Seim |
| Abstract: | We investigate a prevalent, but understudied, employment protection policy: mandatory advance notice (MN), requiring employers to notify employees of forthcoming layoffs. MN increases future production, as notified workers search on the job, but reduces current production as they supply less effort. Our theoretical model captures this trade-off and predicts that MN improves production efficiency by increasing information sharing, whereas large production losses can be avoided by worker-firm agreements on side-payments – severance pay – in lieu of MN. We provide evidence of such severance increases in response to an extension of MN using novel Swedish administrative data. We then estimate the production gain of MN: extending the MN period leads to shorter non-employment duration and higher reemployment wages, plausibly driven by on-the-job search. Using variation in notice duration across firms, we estimate the productivity loss of notice. The estimates of benefits and costs suggest that MN has a positive net impact on production, offering an empirically-grounded efficiency argument for mandating notice. |
| Keywords: | unemployment, advance notice, job mobility, job quality |
| JEL: | J31 J33 J63 J68 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9208&r= |
| By: | Wahba Jackline (University of Southampton); Nelly Elmallakh |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of massive refugee inflows on the internal mobility of the host’s country population. We rely on panel data from before and after the Syrian war and exploit the geographical distribution of Syrians across Jordanian subdistricts. Using Difference-in-Differences, we find that the Syrian inflows increased Jordanian residential mobility. In particular, native outflows of the camp hosting areas increased by 27%. The increased residential mobility out of the camp areas seems to be triggered by an increase in rents and a crowding out of Jordanian students by Syrians in schools. Our results also show that the Syrian presence increased Jordanians’ job location mobility into the camp areas. These findings are robust to controlling for refugees’ locational sorting using instrumental variables, while auxiliary placebo regressions confirm that pre-existing trends in outcomes are not driving the results. We also provide a thorough discussion on the impact of refugees versus broader impacts of the Syrian war. |
| Keywords: | internal migration, job mobility, forced displacement, refugees, Jordan |
| JEL: | F22 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:2120&r= |
| By: | Gabriela Galassi; David Koll; Lukas Mayr |
| Abstract: | We document a substantial positive correlation of employment status between mothers and their offspring in the United States, linking data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and the NLSY79 Children and Young Adults. Relative to a never employed mother, one who is employed throughout her working-age life increases the probability of her offspring's employment by 11 per- cent in each given year, after controlling for ability, education, fertility, and wealth. The intergenerational transmission of maternal employment is stronger to daughters than to sons, and it is higher for low-educated and low-income mothers. Investigat- ing potential mechanisms, we provide suggestive evidence for a role-model channel, through which labor force participation is transmitted. Offspring, especially daugh- ters, seem to emulate the example of their mother when they observe her working. By contrast, we are able to rule out several alternative candidate explanations such as network effects, occupation-specific human capital and local conditions of the labor market. |
| Keywords: | Intergenerational transmission, preferences for work, female employment |
| JEL: | J21 J22 J62 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2021_309&r= |
| By: | Simon Rabaté (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis) |
| Abstract: | Having children can result in large earnings penalties for mothers. Using extensive administrative data from the Netherlands, we assess the magnitude and drivers of the effects of first childbirth on parents' earnings trajectories in the Netherlands. We show that mothers' earnings are 46% lower compared to their pre-birth earnings trajectory, whereas fathers' earnings are unaffected by child birth. We examine the role of two potential determinants of the unequal distribution of parents' labour market costs by gender: childcare policies and gender norms. We find that while child care availability is correlated with lower child penalty, the immediate short-term causal effect of increasing child care availability on the earnings penalty of becoming a mother is small. By taking advantage of variation in gender norms in different population groups, we show that gender norms are strongly correlated with child penalty for mothers. Having children can result in large earnings penalties for mothers. Using extensive administrative data from the Netherlands, we assess the magnitude and drivers of the effects of first childbirth on parents' earnings trajectories in the Netherlands. We show that mothers' earnings are 46% lower compared to their pre-birth earnings trajectory, whereas fathers' earnings are unaffected by child birth. We examine the role of two potential determinants of the unequal distribution of parents' labour market costs by gender: childcare policies and gender norms. We find that while child care availability is correlated with lower child penalty, the immediate short-term causal effect of increasing child care availability on the earnings penalty of becoming a mother is small. By taking advantage of variation in gender norms in different population groups, we show that gender norms are strongly correlated with child penalty for mothers. |
| JEL: | I26 I32 J13 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:424.rdf&r= |
| By: | Matthias Fahn; Takeshi Murooka |
| Abstract: | This paper theoretically investigates how an increase in the supply of homogenous workers can raise wages, generating new insights on potential drivers for the observed non-negative wage effects of immigration. We develop a model of a labor market with frictions in which firms can motivate workers only through informal incentives. A higher labor supply increases firms’ chances of filling a vacancy, which reduces their credibility to compensate workers for their effort. As a response, firms endogenously generate costs of turnover by paying workers a rent, and this rent is higher if an increase in labor supply reduces a firm’s credibility. By this effect, a higher labor supply — for example caused by immigration — can increase workers’ compensation. Moreover, an asymmetric equilibrium exists in which native workers are paid higher wages than immigrants and work harder. In such an equilibrium, an inflow of immigrants increases productivity, profits, and employment. |
| Keywords: | Informal Incentives, Labor Supply, Immigration. |
| JEL: | D21 D86 F22 J21 J61 L22 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jku:econwp:2021-12&r= |
| By: | Bhalotra, Sonia (University of Warwick, CEPR, IZA, IEA); Britto, Diogo G. C. (Bocconi University, BAFFI-CAREFIN, CLEAN Center for the Economic Analysis of Crime, GAPPE/UFPE, IZA); Pinotti, Paolo (Bocconi University, BAFFI-CAREFIN, CLEAN Center for the Economic Analysis of Crime, CEPR); Sampaio, Breno (Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, BAFFI-CAREFIN, CLEAN Center for the Economic Analysis of Crime, GAPPE/UFPE, IZA) |
| Abstract: | We estimate impacts of male job loss, female job loss, and male unemployment benefits on domestic violence in Brazil. We merge employer-employee and social welfare registers with administrative data on domestic violence cases brought to criminal courts, use of public shelters by victims and mandatory notifications of domestic violence by health providers. Leveraging mass layoffs for identification, we find that both male and female job loss, independently, lead to large and pervasive increases in domestic violence. Exploiting a discontinuity in unemployment insurance eligibility, we find that eligible men are not less likely to commit domestic violence while benefits are being paid, and more likely to commit it once benefits expire. Our findings are consistent with job loss increasing domestic violence on account of a negative income shock and an increase in exposure of victims to perpetrators, with unemployment benefits partially off setting the income shock while reinforcing the exposure shock. |
| Keywords: | domestic violence ; unemployment ; mass layoffs ; unemployment insurance ; income shock ; exposure ; Brazil |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1363&r= |
| By: | Catia Batista |
| Abstract: | We test the predictions of different classic migration theories by using incentivized laboratory experiments to investigate how potential migrants decide between working in different destinations. We test theories of income maximization, migrant skill-selection, and multidestination choice as we vary migration costs, liquidity constraints, risk, social benefits, and incomplete information. We show the standard income maximization model of migration with selection on observed and unobserved skills leads to a much higher migration rate and more negative skill-selection than is obtained when migration decisions take place under more realistic assumptions. Second, we investigate whether the independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA) assumption holds. We find it holds for most people when decisions just involve wages, costs, and liquidity constraints. However, once we add a risk of unemployment and incomplete information, IIA no longer holds for about 20 percent of our sample. |
| Keywords: | Migrant Selection, Destination Choice, Lab Experiment, IIA |
| JEL: | F22 O15 C91 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:2123&r= |
| By: | Ashwini Deshpande (Ashoka University); Jitendra Singh (Ashoka University) |
| Abstract: | The stubbornly low and declining level of labor force participation rate (LFPR) of Indian women has prompted a great deal of attention with a focus on factors con- straining women’s labour supply. Using 12 rounds of a high frequency household panel survey, we demonstrate volatility in Indian women’s labour market engagement, as they exit and (re)enter the labor force multiple times over short period for reasons unrelated to marriage, child-birth, or change in household income. We demonstrate how these frequent transitions exacerbate the issue of measurement of female LFPR. Women elsewhere in the world face a “motherhood penalty†in the form of adverse labour market outcomes after the first childbirth. We evaluate the motherhood penalty in the Indian context and find that mothers with new children have a lower base level of LFPR, but there is no sharp decline around the time of childbirth. Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition of determinants of female LFPR suggests that none of the total fall (10 percentage points) in our study period is explained by a change in supply-side demo- graphic characteristics. We suggest that frequent transitions, as well as fall in LFPR, are consistent with the demand-side constraints, viz., that women’s participation is falling due unavailability of steady gainful employment. The high unemployment rate and industry-wise composition of total employment provide suggestive evidence that women’s participation is falling as women are likely to be displaced from employment by male workers. We show that women’s employment is likely to suffer more than men’s due to negative economic shocks, as was seen during the fallout of demonetisation of 86 percent of Indian currency in 2016. Our analysis contests the prominent narrative that women are voluntarily dropping out of the labor force due to an increase in household income and conservative social norms. Our results suggest that India needs to focus more on creating jobs for women to retain them in the labor force. |
| Keywords: | Female labour force participation rate; Employment; Social norms; India; labour demand |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ash:wpaper:65&r= |
| By: | Caitlin Allen Whitehead; Haroon Bhorat; Robert Hill; Tim Köhler; François Steenkamp (Development Policy Research Unit, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we examine the potential employment displacement effects of technologies related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) on the MER sector, by observing this risk through the lens of the task content of occupations or the routinisation hypothesis. We use network analytics to develop a MER sector occupation space, which shows the occupational structure of the MER sector labour force. Given the occupational structure of the sector, we identify occupations at high risk of displacement – i.e. what tasks, and hence what occupations, are most at risk of being automatated, computerised or digitised. Drawing on household survey data, we explore the characteristics of workers who occupy these high risk occupations in an attempt at identifying a typology of individuals most likely to be deleteriously impacted on by 4IR technologies. Three implications emerge: Firstly, technology induced employment displacement is likely to jeopardise low- to medium-skill employment in the production cluster occupations, and correspondingly result in an increase in relative demand for semi- and high-skilled nonproduction cluster occupations. Second, the non-random distribution of high risk occupations across the two clusters of the occupation space suggests that the skill transition to shift workers from high to low risk occupations is long, and in the event of substantial uptake of employment displacing technologies across the sector, technological unemployment is that much harder to mitigate. Third, the relatively high employment share associated with high risk occupations in the production cluster indicates that the potential displacement effects resulting in technological unemployment are likely to be substantial. |
| Keywords: | Automation; employment; manufacturing; fourth industrial revolution; task content of occupations; technology |
| JEL: | O13 O14 O25 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctw:wpaper:202106&r= |
| By: | Sam Parsons (Social Research Institute, UCL); Alex Bryson (Social Research Institute, UCL); Alice Sullivan (Social Research Institute, UCL) |
| Abstract: | Using data from two British birth cohorts born in 1958 and 1970 we investigate the impact of teenage conduct problems on subsequent employment prospects through to age 42. We find teenagers with conduct problems went on to spend fewer months both in paid employment, and in employment, education and training (EET) between age 17 and 42 than comparable teenagers who did not experience conduct problems. Employment and EET disadvantages were greatest among those with severe behavioural problems. The ‘gap’ in time spent in employment or EET by conduct problem status was similar for men and women across cohorts, with only a small part of the gap being attenuated by differences in social background, individual characteristics and educational attainment in public examination at age 16. We discuss the implications of our findings. |
| Keywords: | behavioural problems, Rutter, labour market, employment, education, training, disadvantage, educational attainment |
| JEL: | I12 J20 J64 |
| Date: | 2021–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qss:dqsswp:2122&r= |
| By: | Brent Bundick; Nicolas Petrosky-Nadeau |
| Abstract: | The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) recently revised its interpretation of its maximum employment mandate. In this paper, we analyze the possible effects of this policy change using a theoretical model with frictional labor markets and nominal rigidities. A monetary policy which stabilizes “shortfalls” rather than “deviations” of employment from its maximum level leads to higher inflation and more hiring at all times due to expectations of more accommodative future policy. Thus, offsetting only shortfalls of employment results in higher nominal policy rates on average which provide more policy space and better outcomes during a zero lower bound episode. Our model suggests that the FOMC's reinterpretation of its employment mandate could alter the business-cycle and longer-run properties of the economy and result in a steeper reduced-form Phillips curve. |
| Keywords: | Monetary Policy; Equilibrium Unemployment; Nominal Rigidities; Zero Lower Bound |
| JEL: | E32 E52 J64 |
| Date: | 2021–07–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedfwp:92920&r= |
| By: | Dennis Tamesberger (Department for Economic, Welfare and Social Policy, Chamber of Labour, Linz, Austria); Simon Theurl (Department for Labour Market and Integration, Chamber of Labour, Vienna, Austria) |
| Abstract: | Short-time work was frequently used in the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic to minimize crisis-related layoffs. This paper focuses on the short-time work (STW) scheme in Austria by exploring the characteristic features of the Austrian Coronavirus STW model and examining how it was utilized. We first give a historical overview of how STW developed in Austria before focusing specifically on the country’s STW scheme – one of the most generous among the EU27 – during the course of the coronavirus pandemic. By analyzing relevant data, we identified three key periods in which STW was reformed and slightly modified. We also aim to show how STW take-up rates differ according to gender and sector. Moreover, we consider STW payments alongside sectors and are able to identify those sectors that see a greater benefit from STW. We conclude that the pandemic offered learning effects, thus allowing STW to be used more efficiently in the future by employers in times of crisis. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19 crisis, unemployment, short-time work (STW), labor hoarding, ALMPs |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ico:wpaper:127&r= |
| By: | Martinez-Jimenez, M.; Hollingsworth, B.; Zucchelli, E. |
| Abstract: | We explore the effects of retirement on both physical and mental ill-health and whether these change in the presence of economic shocks. We employ inverse probability weighting regression adjustment to examine the mechanisms influencing the relationship between retirement and health and a difference-in-differences approach combined with matching to investigate whether the health effects of retirement are affected by the Great Recession. We estimate these models on data drawn from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and find that retirement leads to a deterioration in both mental and physical health, however there seems to be considerable effect heterogeneity by gender and occupational status. Our findings also suggest that retiring shortly after the Great Recession appears to improve mental and physical health, although only among individuals working in the most affected regions. Overall, our results indicate that the health effects of retirement might be influenced by the presence of economic shocks. |
| Keywords: | retirement; health; Great Recession; ELSA; |
| JEL: | J14 J26 I10 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:hectdg:21/11&r= |
| By: | Nguyen, Cuong Viet |
| Abstract: | In this study, we examine characteristics of employment in FDI in Vietnam. Workers from FDI account for 5.6% of working people. Female and younger people are more likely to work the FDI sector. Compared with private and public sectors, the FDI sector has a lower share of workers who have tertiary education. The FDI sector has a high proportion of workers with social insurance, at 95%. However, there is a relatively large proportion of the FDI workers receiving daily wages and piece payment. The FDI workers have a high number of working hours and more likely to have overtime working hours. The FDI workers have lower wages per hour than those in the private and public sector. However, once observed characteristics of workers are controlled for, the FDI workers have higher hourly and monthly wages than the private as well as public workers. The proportion of FDI workers who moved out of the FDI sector was 11% over a three-month period and 31% over a two-year period. Older workers are more likely to move out of the FDI sector than young ones. There is no evidence that workers move out of the FDI sector after age 35. |
| Keywords: | FDI,employment,labor,Vietnam |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:901&r= |
| By: | Tim Köhler; Haroon Bhorat (Development Policy Research Unit, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | As part of the South African government’s response to the adverse economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s system of social assistance was temporarily expanded. On the extensive margin, a special COVID-19 grant was introduced to provide support to a large, previously unreached group – unemployed adults – and therefore address a notable hole in the social safety net. Given the grant’s distinct target group, it is plausible that its labour market effects may vary from those of preexisting grants. In this paper, we provide a quantitative, descriptive analysis on COVID-19 grant receipt as well as causal estimates of the receipt of the grant on labour market participation by adopting a quasi-experimental econometric approach. First, we find that not only did the grant bring millions of previously unreached adults into the system, but application for and receipt of the grant was relatively pro-poor, and it was relatively well-targeted to the unemployed. We estimate that in the grant’s absence poverty would have been over 5% higher among the poorest households, and household income inequality 1.3% to 6.3% higher. Second, contrary to the common concern that grant programs may discourage work, our preferred causal estimate suggests that COVID-19 grant receipt increased the probability of job search by more than 25 percentage points. This highlights the grant’s important role in reducing inactivity, enabling participation, and ultimately aiding labour market recovery. |
| Keywords: | South Africa, labour market, COVID-19, pandemic, grants, social assistance, poverty, household income inequality |
| JEL: | D04 D31 C54 H53 J48 J68 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctw:wpaper:202108&r= |
| By: | Mohrenweiser, Jens |
| Abstract: | Recent studies on the economic effects of works councils in Germany using the European Company Survey estimate a significant negative effect of works councils on establishment productivity and profitability. These results are in stark contrast to studies using the IAB Establishment Panel estimating a significant positive effect of works councils on establishment productivity and profitability. This article scrutinises these empirical approaches. While sample selection and control variables have a substantial impact on the magnitude of marginal effects, the definition of the dependent variable as an objective or subjective measure causes the opposing signs. Beyond that, similar measures in both datasets lead to comparable marginal effects highlighting the relevance of the definition of the dependent variable for inferences and interpretation of studies about the effectiveness of industrial relations institutions and raising questions about the validity of the performance measures. |
| Keywords: | works councils,codetermination,profitability |
| JEL: | J53 M54 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:895&r= |
| By: | Andreas Irmen |
| Abstract: | How does population aging affect economic growth and factor shares in times of increasingly automatable production processes? The present paper addresses this question in a new macroeconomic model of automation where competitive firms perform tasks to produce output. Tasks require labor and machines as inputs. New machines embody superior technological knowledge and substitute for labor in the performance of tasks. Automation is labor-augmenting in the reduced-form aggregate production function. If wages increase then the incentive to automate becomes stronger. Moreover, the labor share declines even though the aggregate production function is Cobb-Douglas. Population aging due to a higher longevity reduces automation in the short and promotes it in the long run. It boosts the growth rate of absolute and per-capita GDP in the short and the long run, lifts the labor share in the short and reduces it in the long run. Population aging due to a decline in fertility increases automation, reduces the growth rate of GDP, and lowers the labor share in the short and the long run. In the short run, it may or may not increase the growth rate of per-capita GDP, in the long run it unequivocally accelerates per-capita GDP growth. |
| Keywords: | population aging, automation, factor shares, endogenous technical change, endogenous labor supply |
| JEL: | E22 J11 J22 J23 O33 O41 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9193&r= |
| By: | Hnatkovska, Viktoria; Hou, Chenyu; Lahiri, Amartya |
| Abstract: | India has witnessed a remarkable catch-up by the historically disadvantaged scheduled castes and tribes (SC/STs) towards non-SC/ST levels in their education attainment levels, occupation choices as well as wages during the period 1983-2012. Using a heterogenous agent, multi-sector model we show that sectoral productivity growth during this period can explain 75 percent of the observed wage convergence between the castes. Inter-sectoral net flows of workers are key as they account for 3/4 of the predicted convergence. Absent these net flows, the caste wage gaps would have marginally widened. Selection effects, while present in these net flows, account for just a quarter of the predicted wage convergence. We also find that affirmative action policies that reduced skilling costs for SC/STs may have reduced the levels of the caste wage gaps at all times but played a limited role in accounting for the dynamics of the wage gap. Growth was key for the dynamic wage convergence. |
| Keywords: | Castes, convergence, labor |
| JEL: | J6 O1 |
| Date: | 2021–07–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:108980&r= |
| By: | Niimi, Yoko |
| Abstract: | Using microdata from the Japanese Panel Survey of Consumers, this paper examines the relationship between marriage and wealth with particular focus on women. By exploiting unique data on personal wealth, it also assesses whether the wealth effect of marriage differs depending on whether we measure wealth in terms of personal wealth or household wealth, an issue that very few studies have examined thus far. When wealth is measured in terms of equivalized household net worth on the assumption that household resources are shared equally within married couples, marriage is found to contribute to women’s wealth holdings but only to their nonfinancial net worth, although there are some signs that it also contributes to their total net worth as the duration of marriage becomes longer. By contrast, when wealth is measured in terms of personal net worth based on the actual ownership of assets, marriage is found to be negatively and significantly associated with women’s wealth holdings. These findings underscore the fact that women in Japan are potentially in a financially vulnerable position even after they marry, which is driven, at least partly, by the fact that married women’s careers tend to be disrupted by family responsibilities in Japan. |
| Keywords: | marriage, wealth, intrahousehold resource allocation, Japan, D13, D14, D31, J12 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agi:wpaper:00000183&r= |
| By: | Remco van Eijkel (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study to what extent employment generates spillover effects on other life domains for persons with a work disability. We find that that paid work reduces the probability of using mental health care by 7 percentage points, engaging in criminal activity by 3 percentage points and using non-medical home care by 8 percentage points. Relative to the baseline prevalence in our sample of disabled persons, these effects range between 30 and 60 percent. Increasing labor participation of disabled workers thus generates beneficial effects on other important life domains like health and social behavior. This not only benefits disabled workers in the form of a higher quality of life and lower out-of-pocket payments on health care, but also society as a whole in the form of lower public expenditures on health care and crime. Our paper therefore contributes to a better understanding of the full benefits of activation policies targeted at disabled people. |
| JEL: | J68 H75 I18 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:425.rdf&r= |
| By: | Mark Huggett; Wenlan Luo |
| Abstract: | We derive an optimal labor income tax rate formula for urban models in which tax rates are determined by traditional forces plus a new term arising from urban forces: house price, migration and agglomeration effects. Based on the earnings distributions and housing costs in large and small US cities, we find that in a benchmark model (i) optimal income tax rates are U-shaped, (ii) urban forces serve to raise optimal tax rates at all income levels and (iii) adopting an optimal tax system induces agents with low skills to leave large, productive cities. While agglomeration effects enter the optimal tax formula, they play almost no quantitative role in shaping optimal labor income tax rates. |
| Keywords: | Housing; Income inequality; Urban economics; Optimal taxation |
| JEL: | R20 J10 H20 |
| Date: | 2021–07–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedmoi:92931&r= |
| By: | Ruth Patrick; Aaron Reeves; Kitty Stewart |
| Abstract: | Child poverty in the UK has seen rapid change over the last two decades, broadly falling from the late 1990s until 2012/13 and rising since then. As a result, child poverty rates converged with rates of poverty for working-age non-parents before diverging again. This paper examines these changes through the lens of family size, asking how horizontal inequalities have changed over this period between larger families - those with three or more children - and smaller families with one or two. Focusing on data from before the pandemic, we look at trends in poverty rates for the two groups and explore alternative explanatory factors - including changes in the composition of larger families, differential employment rates, and differences in the impact of social security support. |
| Keywords: | child poverty, family size, social security, benefits |
| JEL: | I31 I32 I38 J12 J13 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:sticas:/224&r= |