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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Kaiser, Ulrich (University of Zurich); Mata, José (Copenhagen Business School) |
| Abstract: | We study whether gender norms—proxied by Switzerland’s 1981 referendum on constitutional gender equality—continue to shape women’s entrepreneurship today, despite major demographic change. Using startup data for all Swiss municipalities from 2016 to 2023, we find that places with stronger historical support for gender equality have significantly higher women-to-men startup ratios. A one–percentage point increase in the 1981 “yes” vote share is associated with a 0.165 percent increase in this ratio. The result is robust to controlling for later gender-related referenda, extensive municipal characteristics, and contemporary policy measures. The association is stronger in municipalities with more stable populations and in less religious municipalities. Childcare spending alone is not linked to startup rates, but it positively affects women’s entrepreneurship when combined with supportive historical gender norms, highlighting the joint role of formal policies and informal social support. |
| Keywords: | Switzerland, female founders, cultural persistence, entrepreneurship, gender norms |
| JEL: | J16 L26 Z13 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18337 |
| By: | Kotsadam, Andreas (Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research); Løvgren, Mette (Oslo Metropolitan University); Moreau, Nicolas (Université de la Réunion); Stancanelli, Elena G. F. (Paris School of Economics); van Soest, Arthur (Tilburg University) |
| Abstract: | We study how working from home links to gendered attitudes about household work and childcare. Using a vignette experiment embedded in a regular Dutch population representative survey, we randomly vary the gender of the partner working from home in a hypothetical dual-earner couple. When presented with various routine and emergency chores, respondents, on average, agree that the partner working from home should execute them. These effects are significantly larger when the vignette randomly depicts a man, rather than a woman, working from home, but these gender differences in respondents’ expectations vanish in a scenario where no partner works from home. All in all, the evidence gathered indicates that Work from Home may blast rather than boost gender norms around household work and childcare. |
| Keywords: | gender norms, household work, work from home, vignette |
| JEL: | D13 D83 J16 J22 M54 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18324 |
| By: | Trond Christian Vigtel (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how compositional changes among the unemployed and the matching efficiency in the labor market affects the matching process between establishments and job seekers in Norway. We use an aggregate matching function which takes into account dispersion across local labor markets, and allow for variation in search intensity among the unemployed. Using detailed micro-data on individuals and establishments for the period 2001–2024, we find that the decreasing matching efficiency in the labor market over the period 2007–2019 was driven by a increased dispersion of matching rates across local labor markets due to differential labor market conditions, and not a change in the allocation of unemployed across different local labor markets with inherently different matching efficiencies. |
| Keywords: | Matching Efficiency; Composition Effects; Vacancies |
| JEL: | J23 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:1023 |
| By: | Montenovo, Laura |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea24:343664 |
| By: | Marianne Simonsen; Lars Skipper; Jeffrey Andrew Smith |
| Abstract: | This paper uses register-based data to analyze the consequences of a recent major Danish welfare reform for children’s academic performance and well-being. In addition to work requirements, the reform brought about considerable reductions in welfare transfers. We implement a comparative event study that contrasts outcomes for individuals on welfare at the time of reform announcement before and after the implementation of the reform with the parallel development in outcomes for an uncontaminated comparison group, namely those on welfare exactly one year prior. Our analysis documents that mothers’ propensity to receive welfare decreased somewhat as a consequence of the reform, just as we observe a small increase in hours worked. At the same time, we do not detect negative effects on children’s short-run academic performance. We do find small negative effects on children’s self-reported school well-being and document substantial upticks in reports to child protective services for children exposed to the reform. |
| Keywords: | welfare reform, child outcomes, Denmark |
| JEL: | I38 J13 J22 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12369 |
| By: | Deng, Zichen (University of Amsterdam); Luo, Weixiang (Fudan University, China); Plug, Erik (University of Amsterdam); Yu, Jia (Peking University) |
| Abstract: | We document, for the very first time, the relationship between earnings and sexual orientation in China. Using data from the 2020 Chinese Private Life Survey, we find that gay men earn significantly less than comparable heterosexual men, with the largest penalties for rural-hukou holders and among men reporting exclusive same-sex attraction. Lesbian women tend to earn more than heterosexual women, but the differences are small and mostly insignificant. The estimates for bisexual men and women are uniformly insignificant. We conclude that the gay penalties and lesbian premiums in China, albeit imprecisely estimated, mirror those observed in Western labor markets and are most consistent with explanations based on conventional gender norms and intra-household specialization. |
| Keywords: | earnings, sexual orientation, China |
| JEL: | D10 J10 J15 J30 J70 O10 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18317 |
| By: | Singhal, Karan (University of Luxembourg, LISER); Sierminska, Eva (Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)) |
| Abstract: | We study the determinants of field specialization among U.S. economics PhD students, focusing on individual, institutional, and contextual factors shaping early research careers. Using data on over 8, 000 dissertations from 2009–2018, we classify each dissertation into one of ten fields using author-reported JEL codes and topic modeling of abstracts. We link dissertations to student gender, program characteristics, and country of origin inferred from surnames and matched to country-level indicators. We find substantial variation in field choice by region of origin. Gender gaps in specialization are not uniform but vary in size and direction across regions, indicating that gender and origin interact in shaping choices. Results are robust to alternative classification methods and to using genetic distance as a continuous measure of origin. Our findings highlight how early specialization in economics reflects inherited context and institutional exposure, with implications for research agendas, job market outcomes, and diversity across subfields. |
| Keywords: | topic modeling, JEL, economics PhD students, field specialization, diversity in economics |
| JEL: | J15 J16 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18348 |
| By: | Samuel Berlinski; Guillermo Cruces; Sebastian Galiani; Paul Gertler; Fabian Gonzalez |
| Abstract: | We study the long-run effects of a large public expansion of pre-primary education in Argentina. Between 1993 and 1999 the federal government financed the construction of new preschool classrooms targeted to departments with low base- line enrollment and high poverty, creating roughly 186, 000 additional places. We link administrative records on classroom construction to four population censuses and estimate difference-in-differences models that compare treated and untreated cohorts across high- and low-construction departments. An additional preschool seat per child increases post-kindergarten schooling by about 0.5 years, raising the probability of completing secondary school by 11.9 percentage points and of enrolling in post-secondary education by 7.1 percentage points. For women, access to the program also reduces completed fertility: an additional seat lowers the number of live births per woman by 0.18, and we find no evidence that selective migration biases these estimates. We find little impact on labor-market outcomes at the census date, consistent with beneficiaries still being in school or in the early stages of their careers. A benefit-cost analysis based on the estimated schooling gains, standard Mincer returns, and observed construction and operating costs yields a benefit-cost ratio of about 11 and an internal rate of return of 13%. Our findings show that universal at-scale pre-primary expansions in middle-income countries can generate sizable improvements in human capital and demographic outcomes at relatively low fiscal cost. |
| JEL: | J13 J16 J38 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34552 |
| By: | Barham, Tania (University of Colorado, Boulder); Cadena, Brian C. (University of Colorado, Boulder); Schechter, Lauren (University of Notre Dame) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the effects of a supported work program that provides TANF recipients with a suite of services including a six-month subsidized internship with a local employer. We use rich administrative data and implement a stacked difference-in-differences design comparing program participants to observably similar TANF recipients to estimate effects on employment, earnings, and benefit receipt. Program enrollment led to an immediate increase in formal-sector employment and earnings, with limited post-program fadeout. The program increased employment by 10 percentage points (20 percent) and earnings by \$861 per quarter (48 percent) in the three years following program exit. Program participation also increased participants' total benefit receipt during the program, with modest decreases after program exit. The program is relatively cost-effective compared to other adult subsidized employment programs due to longer-than-average persistence of the employment and earnings gains. |
| Keywords: | active labor market programs, TANF, subsidized employment, staggered difference-in-differences |
| JEL: | J24 J68 I38 H43 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18342 |
| By: | Mundra, Kusum (Rutgers University); Bagheri, Omid (Kent State University) |
| Abstract: | Using various years of data from the National Survey of College Survey we examine the earnings of work visa immigrants who entered the U.S. during the various H-1B cap periods and whether the cap was binding or not at the time of their entry. For work visa entrants in the non-academic sector as well as from cap bound countries, we find that earning premium relative to college graduate natives ranges between 17%-25% if the immigrants entered the U.S. during the initial period of H-1B and during the later binding cap periods. This premium is lost if immigrants first entered on H-1B during the non-binding period. Compared to pre 1990 work immigrants we find there is a drop in earnings for immigrants who entered on H-1B during the non binding period. This is not seen in the academic sector and for five cap exempt countries, where cap is not relevant. Our findings are driven by the H-1B program involving staffing agencies hiring of low ability workers and workers facing wage suppression with limited job mobility. Work visa entrants may also face scarring in the labor market because of lack of U.S. education experience. We do not find this drop in earning for student visa entrants who are admitted by the university selection process. |
| Keywords: | high-skilled immigrants, visa cap, H-1B, earnings |
| JEL: | J61 J24 J31 J1 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18321 |
| By: | Grebol, Ricard (affiliation not available); Machelett, Margarita (Banco de España); Stuhler, Jan (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid); Villanueva, Ernesto (Bank of Spain) |
| Abstract: | We study the evolution of intergenerational educational mobility and related distributional statistics in Spain. Over recent decades, mobility has risen by one-third, coinciding with pronounced declines in inequality and assortative mating among the same cohorts. To explore these patterns, we examine regional correlates of mobility, using split-sample techniques. A key finding from both national and regional analyses is the close association between mobility and assortative mating: spousal sorting accounts for nearly half of the regional variation in intergenerational correlations and also appears to be a key mediator of the negative relationship between inequality and mobility documented in recent studies. |
| Keywords: | assortative mating, intergenerational mobility, inequality, education |
| JEL: | I24 J12 J62 N34 R11 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18351 |
| By: | Fuchs, Larissa (affiliation not available); Heinz, Matthias (University of Cologne); Pinger, Pia (University of Cologne); Thon, Max (University of Cologne) |
| Abstract: | We conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a leading technology firm to study how highlighting flexibility and career advancement in job advertisements causally affects the applicant pool. Highlighting career advancement increases the number of applications from men for entry-level positions and attracts additional applicants with strong qualifications and a good fit, which in turn leads to more interview invitations. By contrast, highlighting flexibility increases applications from both women and men at the entry level but provides limited evidence of attracting higher-quality or better-fit applicants. A complementary survey experiment among STEM students shows how job advertisements shape beliefs about the firm’s job characteristics and work environment. Overall, our results show that the amenities firms choose to highlight can powerfully influence both the size and characteristics of their applicant pool. |
| Keywords: | gender, job advertisements, field experiments, hiring |
| JEL: | M51 M52 D22 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18310 |
| By: | Blau, Francine D. (Cornell University); Cohen, Isaac; Comey, Matthew (Cornell University); Kahn, Lawrence M. (Cornell University); Boboshko, Nikolai (Cornell University) |
| Abstract: | Using 1979-2019 Current Population Survey data, we study the effect of state and federal minimum wage policies on gender, race, and ethnic inequality. We find that minimum wages substantially reduce intergroup wage inequality at least up to the 20th wage percentile, with no evidence of adverse employment effects. We conduct counterfactual simulations of between-group inequality due to minimum wage changes since 1979. Declines in the real minimum wage in the 1980s slowed progress in narrowing between-group inequality. Relatively small changes in minimum wages during 1989-1998 and 1998-2007 meant little role for the minimum wage over those time spans. Since 2007, several states have steeply raised their minimum wages, especially raising Hispanics’ relative wages, because they earn low wages and reside disproportionately in those states. Finally, we find that raising the federal minimum wage to $12/hour in 2020 dollars ($14.49 in 2025Q2 dollars) would reduce existing between-group wage gaps below the 15th percentile by 25-50%. |
| Keywords: | Hispanic-White wage gaps, race wage gaps, gender wage gaps, wage differentials, wage distribution, minimum wage, wage inequality |
| JEL: | J15 J16 J31 J38 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18345 |
| By: | Antman, Francisca M. (University of Colorado, Boulder); Skoy, Evelyn (Hamilton College); Kim, Paul (University of Colorado, Boulder) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of international students on the academic outcomes of domestic peers in introductory economics courses. We address the potential endogeneity of class selection by focusing on first-year students enrolling in a large public flagship university, for whom class assignment is likely to be quasi-random, conditional on a rich set of control variables for the class and individual. Results suggest an increased share of international student peers reduces the likelihood of majoring in economics for domestic White and Asian men while increasing the likelihood of majoring in economics for domestic men from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. There is also evidence that higher shares of international student peers increase the likelihood that domestic White and Asian men major in business and decrease the likelihood that some men drop out of college. Additional analyses point to introductory course grades as possible mechanisms to explain these results, as a higher international peer share is associated with higher domestic student grades. Results for men enrolled in large introductory economics classes are similar to the main results for men overall and are also similar for women. |
| Keywords: | race/ethnicity, college dropout, college major, immigration, higher education, peer effects, gender, international, foreign |
| JEL: | I23 J15 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18341 |
| By: | Mikko Aaltonen; Martti Kaila; Emily E. Nix |
| Abstract: | This paper provides the first experimental evidence on the impact of providing a guaranteed basic income on criminal perpetration and victimization. We analyze a nationwide randomized controlled trial that provided 2, 000 unemployed individuals in Finland with an unconditional monthly payment of 560 Euros for two years (2017-2018), while 173, 222 comparable individuals remained under the existing social safety net. Using comprehensive administrative data on police reports and district court trials, we estimate precise zero effects on criminal perpetration and victimization. Point estimates are small and statistically insignificant across all crime categories. Our confidence intervals rule out reductions in perpetration of 5 percent or more for crime reports and 10 percent or more for criminal charges. |
| JEL: | I38 K42 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34547 |
| By: | Matthew Freedman; Noah Arman Kouchekinia; David Neumark |
| Abstract: | The Opportunity Zone program was designed to encourage investment in distressed communities across the United States. Early research found no evidence of impacts of the program on employment, earnings, or poverty of zone residents, but some evidence of positive effects on employment among businesses in zones. Using the latest survey-based as well as administrative data, we adopt a longer-run and more comprehensive perspective on the labor market impacts of OZs. We find that OZ designation increases job creation among businesses within zones. However, a large share of the newly created jobs in zones is offset by declines in nearby low-income communities. While we detect gains in OZ resident employment over the longer run, the increase comes from jobs with workplaces outside of OZs that, in light of the changing demographic composition of zones, are likely held by new as opposed to existing residents. Overall, our results suggest that OZs have limited benefits for existing residents of targeted areas and are associated mainly with a spatial reallocation of jobs and households. |
| JEL: | J2 R1 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34589 |
| By: | Francine D. Blau; Isaac Cohen; Matthew Comey; Lawrence Kahn; Nikolai Boboshko |
| Abstract: | Using 1979-2019 Current Population Survey data, we study the effect of state and federal minimum wage policies on gender, race, and ethnic inequality. We find that minimum wages substantially reduce intergroup wage inequality at least up to the 20th wage percentile, with no evidence of adverse employment effects. We conduct counterfactual simulations of between-group inequality due to minimum wage changes since 1979. Declines in the real minimum wage in the 1980s slowed progress in narrowing between-group inequality. Relatively small changes in minimum wages during 1989-1998 and 1998-2007 meant little role for the minimum wage over those time spans. Since 2007, several states have steeply raised their minimum wages, especially raising Hispanics’ relative wages, because they earn low wages and reside disproportionately in those states. Finally, we find that raising the federal minimum wage to $12/hour in 2020 dollars ($14.49 in 2025Q2 dollars) would reduce existing between-group wage gaps below the 15th percentile by 25-50%. |
| Keywords: | wage inequality, minimum wage, wage differentials, gender wage gaps, race wage gaps, hispanic-white wage gaps |
| JEL: | J15 J16 J31 J38 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12371 |
| By: | Xiao Ma; Marc-Andreas Muendler; Alejandro Nakab |
| Abstract: | Export activity shapes workers’ experience-wage profiles. Using employer-employee and customs data for Brazilian manufacturing, we document that workers' experience wage profiles are steeper at exporters than at non-exporters and, among exporters, steeper at exporters shipping to high-income destinations. We develop and quantify a model featuring worker-firm wage bargaining, export-market entry by multi-worker firms, and human capital accumulation by workers to interpret the data. Human capital growth can explain one-half of the differences in wage profiles between exporters and non-exporters. We show that increased human capital per worker can account for one-half of the overall gains in real income from trade openness. |
| JEL: | E24 F12 F14 F16 J24 J64 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34580 |
| By: | De Vera, Micole (Banco de España); Garcia-Brazales, Javier (CEMFI); Lin, Jiayi (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) |
| Abstract: | What determines long-term mental health and its intergenerational correlation? Exploiting variation in unemployment rates upon labor market entry across Australian states and cohorts, we provide novel evidence that the mental health of daughters is affected by the labor market entry conditions of their parents. In particular, a one standard deviation shock to the unemployment rate upon parental labor market entry worsens daughters' mental health during adolescence by 11% of a standard deviation. This effect is accompanied by lower levels of satisfaction with their health, financial situation, safety, and overall life. A mediation analysis suggests that a sizable proportion (24%) of the impacts on the descendants' mental health is explained by the worse mental health of their parents at mid-life. We do not detect any systematic impact of parental labor market entry conditions among sons. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational correlation, well-being, mental health, recession, Australia |
| JEL: | E32 I14 I31 J62 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18305 |