Showing papers by "Joshua D. Angrist published in 1998"

Consequences of Employment Protection? the Case of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Abstract: The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to accommodate disabled workers and outlaws discrimination against the disabled in hiring, firing, and pay. Although the ADA was meant to increase employment of the disabled, it also increases costs for employers. The net theoretical impact turns on which provisions of the ADA are most important and how responsive firm entry and exit is to profits. Empirical results using the CPS suggest that the ADA had a negative effect on the employment of disabled men of all working ages and disabled women under age 40. The effects appear to be larger in medium size firms, possibly because small firms were exempt from the ADA. The effects are also larger in states where there have been more ADA-related discrimination charges. Estimates of effects on hiring and firing suggest the ADA reduced hiring of the disabled but did not affect separations. This weighs against a pure firing-costs interpretation of the ADA. Finally, there is little evidence of an impact on the nondisabled, suggesting that the adverse employment consequences of the ADA have been limited to the protected group.

Estimating the labor market impact of voluntary military service using social security data on military applicants

Abstract: The volunteer armed forces play a major role in the American youth labor market, but little is known about the effects of voluntary militaiy service on earnings. The effects of military service are difficult to measure because veterans are both self-selected and screened by the military. This study uses two strategies to reduce selection bias in estimates of the effects of militaiy service on the earnings of veterans. Both approaches involve the analysis of a special match of Social Security earning records to administrative data on applicants to the armed forces. The first strategy compares applicants who enlisted with applicants who did not enlist, while controlling for most of the characteristics used by the military to select soldiers from the applicant pool. This is implemented using matching methods and regression. The second strategy uses instrumental variables that were generated by an error in the scoring of the exams that screen military applicants. Estimates from both strategies are interpreted using models with heterogeneous potential outcomes. The empirical results suggest that soldiers who served in the early 1980s were paid considerably more than comparable civilians while in the military, and that military service is associated with higher employment rates for veterans after service. In spite of this employment gain, however, military service led to only a modest long-run increase in the civilian earnings of nonwhite veterans while actually reducing the civilian earnings of white veterans.

Effects of Work-Related Absences on Families: Evidence from the Gulf War

Abstract: Labor economists and policy makers have long been interested in work-family interactions Work generates income but also reduces the time families have to spend together Many soldiers who were mobilized for Gulf War service were away from home for an extended period of time, so Gulf War mobilization makes for an interesting case study of work-related absences by both husbands and wives We estimate the effect of Gulf War deployment on employment rates for soldiers' spouses, divorce rates, and disability rates among soldiers' children Data from the 1992 Survey of Officers and Enlisted Personnel show that personnel deployed to the Gulf spent 3-6 more months away from home than non-deployed personnel The estimates suggest that deployments of a male soldier reduced wives' employment rates, probably because of added child care responsibilities Deployment of a female soldier left husbands' employment rates unchanged, but female deployment is associated with significantly higher post-deployment divorce rates Finally sample of men and women show no significant increase in the incidence of temporary disabilities among the children of deployed personnel This may be because for most military families, deployment was not associated with a change in living standards

Empirical Strategies in Labor Economics

Abstract: This chapter provides an overview of the methodological and practical issues that arise when estimating causal relationships that are of interest to labor economists. The subject matter includes identification, data collection, and measurement problems. Four identification strategies are discussed, and five empirical examples--the effects of schooling, unions, immigration, military service and class size--illustrate the methodological points. In discussing each example, we adopt an experimentalist perspective that draws a clear distinction between variables that have causal effects, control variables, and outcome variables. The chapter also discusses secondary data sets, primary data collection strategies, and administrative data. The section on measurement issues focuses on recent empirical examples, presents a summary of empirical findings on the reliability of key labor market data, and reviews the role of survey sampling weights and the allocation of missing values in empirical research.

Instrumental Variables Estimation of Quantile Treatment Effects

Abstract: This paper introduces an instrumental variables estimator for the effect of a binary treatment on the quantiles of potential outcomes. The quantile treatment effects (QTE) estimator accommodates exogenous covariates and reduces to quantile regression as a special case when treatment status is exogenous. Asymptotic distribution theory and computational methods are derived. QTE minimizes a piecewise linear objective function for which a local minimum can be obtained using a modified Barrodale-Roberts algorithm. The QTE estimator is illustrated by estimating the effect of childbearing on the distribution of family income.

Instrumental Variables Estimation of Quantile Treatment Effects

Abstract: This paper introduces an instrumental variables estimator for the effect of a binary treatment on the quantiles of potential outcomes. The quantile treatment effects (QTE) estimator accommodates exogenous covariates and reduces to quantile regression as a special case when treatment status is exogenous. Asymptotic distribution theory and computational methods are derived. QTE minimizes a piecewise linear objective function for which a local minimum can be obtained using a modified Barrodale-Roberts algorithm. The QTE estimator is illustrated by estimating the effect of childbearing on the distribution of family income.

Consequences of Employment Protection? The Case of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Abstract: The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to accommodate disabled workers and outlaws discrimination against the disabled in hiring, firing, and pay. Although the ADA was meant to increase employment of the disabled, it also increases costs for employers. The net theoretical impact turns on which provisions of the ADA are most important and how responsive firm entry and exit is to profits. Empirical results using the CPS suggest that the ADA had a negative effect on the employment of disabled men of all working ages and disabled women under age 40. The effects appear to be larger in medium size firms, possibly because small firms were exempt from the ADA. The effects are also larger in states where there have been more ADA-related discrimination charges. Estimates of effects on hiring and firing suggest the ADA reduced hiring of the disabled but did not affect separations. This weighs against a pure firing-costs interpretation of the ADA. Finally, there is little evidence of an impact on the nondisabled, suggesting that the adverse employment consequences of the ADA have been limited to the protected group.

Does Teacher Training Affect Pupil Learning? Evidence from Matched Comparisons in Jerusalem Public Schools

Abstract: The relationship between teachers' characteristics and their pupils' achievement has been the subject of many studies. Most of this research focuses on the impact of teacher salaries, experience, and measures of teachers' pre-service training such as educational background. The effect of on-the-job or in-service training has received much less attention. In this paper, we estimate the effect of in-service teacher training on children's reading and mathematics achievement in Jerusalem elementary schools. The training was based on pedagogical methods developed in US schools. Our research uses a matched-comparison design which exploits the fact that only a few schools received extra funds for training. Differences-in-differences, regression, and nonparametric matching estimates are reported. The results suggest that the training received by teachers in the non-religious branch of the Jerusalem school system led to an improvement in their pupils' test scores. The estimates for religious schools are not clear cut, but this may be because the training program in religious schools started later and was implemented on a smaller scale. The estimates for non-religious schools suggest that, at least in this case, teacher training provided a less costly means of increasing test scores than reducing class size or adding school hours.

Effects of Work-Related Absences on Families: Evidence from the Gulf War

Abstract: Labor economists and policy makers have long been interested in work-family interactions. Work generates income but also reduces the time families have to spend together. Many soldiers who were mobilized for Gulf War service were away from home for an extended period of time, so Gulf War mobilization makes for an interesting case study of work-related absences by both husbands and wives. We estimate the effect of Gulf War deployment on employment rates for soldiers' spouses, divorce rates, and disability rates among soldiers' children. Data from the 1992 Survey of Officers and Enlisted Personnel show that personnel deployed to the Gulf spent 3-6 more months away from home than non-deployed personnel. The estimates suggest that deployments of a male soldier reduced wives' employment rates, probably because of added child care responsibilities. Deployment of a female soldier left husbands' employment rates unchanged, but female deployment is associated with significantly higher post-deployment divorce rates. Finally sample of men and women show no significant increase in the incidence of temporary disabilities among the children of deployed personnel. This may be because for most military families, deployment was not associated with a change in living standards.

The Palestinian labor market between the Gulf War and autonomy

Abstract: The early 1990s were an eventful time in the Middle East. Key events include the Gulf War, the Madrid peace conference, and the introduction of Palestinian autonomy in all of the Gaza Strip and in most West Bank population centers. This period also provides the last chance to look at economic conditions in the territories through the lens of the long-running Israeli survey program, which ended with the transfer of civil authority to the Palestinians. I use the Israeli survey data to describe labor market conditions in the territories on the eve of autonomy. Special attention is given to the impact of changing employment opportunities for Palestinians in Israel and to the situation of Palestinian refugees. Policy implications of the findings are discussed.

Conditional Independence in Sample Selection Models

Abstract: Econometric sample selection models typically use a linear latent-index with constant coefficients to model the selection prodcess and the conditional mean of the regression error in the selected sample. A feature common to most of these models is that the conditional mean function for regression errors is an invertible function of the selection propensity score, i.e., the probability of selection conditional on covariates. Consequently, conditioning on the selection propensity score controls selection bias, a fact which underlies much of the recent literature on non-parametric and semi-parametric selection models. This literature has not addressed the question of whether the propensity-score conditioning property is necessarily a feature of sample selection models. In this paper, I describe the conditional independence properties that make it possible to use the selection propensity score to control selection bias in a general sample selection model. The resulting characterization does not rely on a latent index selection mechanism and imposes no structure other than an assumption of independence between the regression error term and the regressors in random samples. This approach leads to a simple rule that can be used to determine if conditioning on the selection propensity score is sufficient to control selection bias.

The Palestinian Labor Market Between the Gulf War and Autonomy

Abstract: The early 1990s were an eventful time in the Middle East. Key events include the Gulf War, the Madrid peace conference, and the introduction of Palestinian autonomy in all of the Gaza Strip and in most West Bank population centers. This period also provides the last chance to look at economic conditions in the territories through the lens of the long-running Israeli survey program, which ended with the transfer of civil authority to the Palestinians. I use the Israeli survey data to describe labor market conditions in the territories on the eve of autonomy. Special attention is given to the impact of changing employment opportunities for Palestinians in Israel and to the situation of Palestinian refugees. Policy implications of the findings are discussed.

Does Teacher Training Affect Pupil Learning? Evidence from Matched Comparisons in Jerusalem Public Schools

Abstract: The relationship between teachers' characteristics and their pupils' achievement has been the subject of many studies Most of this research focuses on the impact of teacher salaries, experience, and measures of teachers' pre-service training such as educational background The effect of on-the-job or in-service training has received much less attention In this paper, we estimate the effect of in-service teacher training on children's reading and mathematics achievement in Jerusalem elementary schools The training was based on pedagogical methods developed in US schools Our research uses a matched-comparison design which exploits the fact that only a few schools received extra funds for training Differences-in-differences, regression, and nonparametric matching estimates are reported The results suggest that the training received by teachers in the non-religious branch of the Jerusalem school system led to an improvement in their pupils' test scores The estimates for religious schools are not clear cut, but this may be because the training program in religious schools started later and was implemented on a smaller scale The estimates for non-religious schools suggest that, at least in this case, teacher training provided a less costly means of increasing test scores than reducing class size or adding school hours