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on Unemployment, Inequality and Poverty |
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Issue of 2023‒05‒22
four papers chosen by |
| By: | Joan Costa-Font (LSE - London School of Economics and Political Science, IZA - Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit - Institute of Labor Economics, CESifo - Center for Economic Studies and Ifo for Economic Research - CESifo Group Munich); Sarah Fleche (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, CEP - LSE - Centre for Economic Performance - LSE - London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE - London School of Economics and Political Science, CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Ricardo Pagan (University of Málaga) |
| Abstract: | The proportion of people sleeping less than the daily-recommended hours has increased. Yet, we know little about the labour market returns to sleep. We use longitudinal data from Germany and exploit exogenous variation in sleep duration induced by time and local variations in sunset time. We find that a 1-hour increase in weekly sleep increases employment by 1.6 percentage points and weekly earnings by 3.4%. Most of this earnings effect comes from productivity improvements, while the number of working hours decreases with sleep time. We identify one mechanism driving these effects, namely the better mental health workers experience from sleeping more hours. |
| Keywords: | sleep, employment, productivity, mental health, sunset times |
| Date: | 2022–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-04084107&r=ltv |
| By: | Wenli Li; Costas Meghir; Florian Oswald |
| Abstract: | We specify and estimate a lifecycle model of consumption, housing demand and labor supply in an environment where individuals may file for bankruptcy or default on their mortgage. Uncertainty in the model is driven by house price shocks, education specific productivity shocks, and catastrophic consumption events, while bankruptcy is governed by the basic institutional framework in the U.S. as implied by Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. The model is estimated using micro data on credit reports and mortgages combined with data from the American Community Survey. We use the model to understand the relative importance of the two chapters (7 and 13) for each of our two education groups that differ in both preferences and wage profiles. We also provide an evaluation of the BAPCPA reform. Our paper demonstrates importance of distributional effects of Bankruptcy policy. |
| Keywords: | Lifecycle; Bankruptcy; Housing; Mortgage Default; Labor Supply; Consumption; Education; Insurance; Moral hazard. |
| JEL: | G33 K35 J22 J31 D14 D18 D52 D53 E21 |
| Date: | 2022–08–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedpwp:94692&r=ltv |
| By: | Carl Emmerson (Institute for Fiscal Studies); Jonathan Cribb (Institute for Fiscal Studies); Laurence O'Brien (Institute for Fiscal Studies) |
| Date: | 2022–01–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:07/22&r=ltv |
| By: | Lisa Cameron (Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, The University of Melbourne); Diana Contreras Suarez (Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, The University of Melbourne); Yi-Ping Tseng (Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, The University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | Although it is well established that women’s labour force participation drops markedly with marriage and childbearing, surprisingly little is known about women’s labour market transitions, especially in developing countries. This paper uses the Indonesian Family Life Survey to track the employment histories of over 9, 000 women across a period of more than 20 years, observing them as they get married and have children. The data show that large numbers of Indonesian women drop out of the labour market as a result of marriage and childbearing. The difficulty of maintaining formal sector employment emerges as a key problem. Having worked in the formal sector prior to the birth of a first child reduces the probability of working in the year following the birth by 20 percentage points and reduces the probability of returning to the labour market thereafter by 3.6 percentage points. Further, to the extent that women do return to work, formal sector employment is associated with greater delays in returning - women are more likely to return to work in the formal sector only once their child starts primary school, while in the informal sector they return earlier. We find little evidence of women switching from the formal to the informal sector. Formal sector labour market policies such as flexible work hours; compressed work weeks; part-time work (with the same career opportunities and benefits as full-time work); the ability to work from home; and work-based childcare are likely to boost women’s labour force participation, with consequent boosts to economic productivity and prosperity. |
| Keywords: | female labour force participation, labour market transitions, economic development, childbearing |
| JEL: | J20 J16 O15 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2023n06&r=ltv |