Showing papers in "Journal of Human Resources in 1991"

Self-Reported versus Objective Measures of Health in Retirement Models

Abstract: Labor supply models are sensitive to the measures of health used. When self-reported measures are used, health seems to play a larger role and economic factors a smaller one than when more objective measures are used. While this may indicate biases inherent in using self-reported measures, there are reasons to be suspicious of more objective measures as well. A statistical model incorporating both self-reported and objective measures of health shows the potential biases involved in using either measure or in using one to instrument the other. The model is initially unidentified, but incorporating outside information on the validity of self-reported measures confirms fears about both the self-reported and objective measures available on such data sets as the Retirement History Survey or the National Longitudinal Survey of Older Men.

Does Marriage Really Make Men More Productive

Abstract: This paper presents new descriptive evidence regarding marital pay premiums earned by white males. Longitudinal data indicate that wages rise after marriage, and that cross-sectional marriage premiums appear to result from a steepening of the earnings profile. Data from a company personnelfile that includes information on job grades and supervisor performance ratings reveal large marital status pay differences within a narrow range of occupations (managers and professionals) and environments (a single firm). Married workers tend to be located in higher paying job grades; there are very small pay differentials within grades. Married men receive higher performance ratings than single men; as a result, they are much more likely to be promoted. Controlling for rated performance, however, eliminates the promotion differential. Sanders Korenman is an assistant professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University and is a faculty associate of the Office of Population Research at Princeton University and a research affiliate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). David Neumark is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania and a research affiliate of the NBER. Korenman wishes to acknowledge the Hewlett Foundation and the Harvard University Center for Population Studies for financial support. The authors are grateful to James Medofffor making available an extract from the company personnelfile; questions regarding data availability should be directed to Professor James

How does mother's education affect child height ?

Abstract: Many studies have demonstrated that parental education has a significant positive impact on child health This paper attempts to identify the mechanisms through which maternal education affects one indicator of child health-height conditional on age and sex Using data from the 1986 Brazilian Demographic and Health Survey, it is shown that almost all the impact of maternal education can be explained by indicators of access to information-reading papers, watching television, and listening to the radio In urban areas, whether the mother is semi-literate accounts for some of the education effect There are also significant interactions between maternal education and the availability of community services indicating that education and health services are substitutes but education and the availability of sewerage services are complements Very little of the maternal education effect is transmitted through income

The Structure of the Female/Male Wage Differential Is It Who You Are, What You Do, or Where You Work?

Abstract: The efficacy of policies to narrow the malelfemale wage differential depends partly on the size of the portion(s) of the gap targeted. Previous research finds no between-sex wage gap within occupations within employer (job-cell). This is the first study to disentangle segregation by occupation from that based on employer or on job-cell. In five industries, controlling for other forms of segregation, occupational segregation produces a gap of 11 percent (manufacturing) to 26 percent (services). The wage gaps from establishment and job-cell segregation are about 6 percent each. Since comparable worth acts on the occupation and job-cell components, it has a potentially large impact.

A Longitudinal Analysis of Sibling Correlations in Economic Status

Abstract: Numerous previous studies have used sibling correlations to measure the importance of family background as a determinant of economic status The sibling correlations estimated in these studies, however, have been depressed by a failure to distinguish transitory and permanent income variation and, in some cases, by overly homogeneous samples This paper presents a methodology to address these problems and applies it to longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Our main conclusion is that family background exerts greater influence on economic status than has been indicated by most earlier research

Effects of the Minimum Wage on the Employment Status of Youths. An Update.

Abstract: The large decline in the relative value of the minimum wage during the 1980s makes that period a valuable one for identifying the impact of variation in the minimum wage on youth employment. This study produces the robust finding that, when the experience of the 1980s is included, a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage is estimated to reduce teen employment by less than 1 percent-the lower end of the range of previous estimates. Because this small employment effect is offset by a labor force withdrawal effect, the study finds no discernible effect on measured unemployment. The study also finds no apparent effect of the minimum wage on the employment of young adults aged 20-24.

School District Leave Policies, Teacher Absenteeism, and Student Achievement

Abstract: This paper addresses how provisions that address leave usage in teacher contracts influence teacher absences from the classroom, how teacher absences influence student absenteeism, and how teacher and student absenteeism influence student test score performance. Based on an extensive data collection effort conducted by the authors, it presents an econometric analysis using data from over 700 school districts in New York State in 1986-87. It concludes that changing some provisions (e.g., increasing the number of unused leave days teachers can cumulate and "cash in" at retirement) may simultaneously benefit teachers, students, and taxpayers.

Vocational schooling, occupational matching, and labor market earnings in Israel

Abstract: The authors conducted a comparative analysis of the earnings of workers in Israel who had last attended vocational schools and those who had last attended academic secondary schools before entering the labor force. Their findings suggest that Israel may provide an example of an educational system in which vocational schooling is economically effective. Vocational schooling in Israel has proven more cost-effective than general academic training. In particular, vocational school attenders who later worked in occupations related to their course of study earned more. Their wages were up to 10 percent more a month than their peers who studied at academic secondary schools and those who attended vocational schools but found employment in other occupations not related to their field of study. These results reinforce similar findings in recent research on vocational schooling in the United States. A caveat is necessary to temper the generally positive findings concerning vocational schooling in Israel. While vocational schooling is cost-effective compared with other forms of secondary schooling, it does not compare favorably with other forms of training for skilled trades, such as apprenticeships and factory-based vocational schools. Another factor is the national consensus in Israel favoring education designed to equip young people for the social and cultural role of integrating the country's heterogenous, largely immigrant population.

The incentive effects of Medicaid on women's labor supply

Abstract: This paper investigates Medicaid's impact on women's labor supply behavior while taking into account Medicaid's link to the AFDC program. The data were extracted from the 1986 Current Population Survey. A majorfinding is that Medicaid, valued as government-provided health insurance, has a significant negative impact on an average female head's probability of working. For instance, a I0 percent increase in Medicaid would reduce a head's probability of working by .9 to 1.3 percentage points. Contrary to expectations, Medicaid is found to have a generally insignificant effect on hours worked.

An Assessment of Measurement Error Bias for Estimating the Effect of Mental Distress on Income

Abstract: Analyzing data on 2,225 men and 2,401 women from the National Comorbidity Survey, the authors examine the impact of psychiatric disorders on employment and, among those employed, work hours and income. They find that psychiatric disorders significantly ..

Longitudinal Patterns of Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration Health and Safety Regulations in the Manufacturing Sector

Abstract: We examine the impact of Occupational Safety and Health Administration enforcement on compliance with agency regulations in the manufacturing sector, with a unique plant-level data set on inspections and compliance during 1972-83, the first 12 years of the agency. The analysis suggests that, for an individual plant, the effect of OSHA inspections during this period was to reduce the level of citations on average by 3.1-3.5, or approximately half of the first inspection average of 6.3 citations. The total effect on expected citations of OSHA inspections can be decomposed into two parts: evaluated at the mean of the sample predictions, half of the total reduction in citations occurred due to previous violators coming into compliance and half was due to a reduction in citations among plants that continued to violate the standards.

Reestimating OSHA's Effects Have the Data Changed?

Abstract: Our analysis replicates earlier studies of OSHA's inspection effects to see if, in the face of recordkeeping changes and new inspection targeting procedures, the relationships previously found still hold. The sizes and patterns of coefficients that we obtain in our analyses, including the lack of evidence that OSHA inspections (or the threat of them) reduce the injury rate, are consistent with those found earlier. We also analyze whether the new inspection procedure resulted in the reduction of reported injury rates among both inspected and uninspected plants. Consistent with an earlier paper, we find some downward bias in reporting among uninspectedfirms affected by the records-check procedure; however, we do not find this reporting bias among inspected plants.

Career Plans and Expectations of Young Women and Men: The Earnings Gap and Labor Force Participation.

Abstract: Using detailed information on the career plans and earnings expectations of college business school seniors, we test the hypothesis that women who plan to work intermittently choose jobs with lower rewards to work experience in return for lower penalties for labor force interruptions We find that while men and women expect similar starting salaries, women anticipate considerably lower earnings in subsequent years, even under the assumption of continuous employment after leaving school While it is also true that women in the sample plan to work fewer years than men, these differences do not explain the observed gender differences in expected earnings profiles We also find no evidence that gender differences in expected earnings have any effect on the number of years these women plan to be in the labor market

Equal Employment Opportunity Law and Firm Profitability

Abstract: Based on a sample of 260 cases reported in the Wall Street Journal between 1964 and 1986, this study finds that the equity value of firms charged with violating equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws fell at the time that a suit, decision, or settlement was announced. Most dramatically, the value of firms involved in class action suits fell 15.6 percent on average around the time of the suit. Further, the average loss to shareholders exceeds the amount firms are required to spend to settle the case. This may be due to the expected costs of changing employment practices or to the information about the firm's management that is revealed by the case. A staggering number of statutes, amendments, and court decisions regulating equal opportunity in employment have been passed during the past 25 years. Firms found guilty of violations of equal employment opportunity laws have been required to pay millions of dollars in back pay and to alter their employment practices to comply with the laws. This study measures the costs to firms resulting from government and private lawsuits, and the further costs of losing those suits. I address this question by examining changes in the market value of the equity of firms at the time a lawsuit is filed for a violation of an equal employment opportunity (EEO) law and at the time a decision of guilty or a settlement

Do the School Nutrition Programs Supplement Household Food Expenditures

Abstract: The extent to which the school nutrition programs-the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP)-supplement household food expenditures is an important indication of whether the objectives of the programs are being met. Using data from the National Evaluation of School Nutrition Programs and a bivariate selection model, this paper obtains estimates of such supplementation. Ifind that somewhat less than one-half of each additional dollar of NSLP benefits is used by households to supplement food expenditures, while all of each additional dollar of SBP benefits is allocated to such expenditures.

Physicians' Choices of Specialty, Location, and Mode: A Reexamination within an Interdependent Decision Framework

Abstract: In this paper, physicians' decisions regarding the specialty, community size, and mode of their first practices are analyzed in a simultaneous decision model using a nested logit specification. Physicians face a choice set consisting of eight specialties, seven community sizes, and three practice settings. Data come from the Longitudinal Survey of the Class of 1960. Income is found to be statistically significant and the average income elasticity is 1.05, which is considerably larger than previous estimates. However, the elasticity estimate is very sensitive to the assumed decision process. A series of policy simulations are then performed to estimate the effect of specified income-based policies on the predicted distribution of physicians across specialties, community sizes, and modes.

The Decline of Sex Segregation and the Wage Gap, 1970-80.

Abstract: This study makes use of 1970 and 1980 Census of Population employment and earnings data at the detailed occupation and industry level to examine changes in the distribution of the U.S. work force by sex and to assess their impact on relative female earnings. First, we find clear evidence that both occupational segregation and industrial segregation declined during these years. Second, high employment growth within an occupation is associated with declines in segregation. Third, declines in industry segregation within occupation are associated with improvements in relative female earnings independently of other factors which affect relative pay. Fourth, high employment growth is associated with improvements in relative female earnings, independently of its effect on occupational segregation. As a result, employment growth acts to reduce the wage gap directly, possibly by lowering barriers to women finding jobs at high wage firms, and also indirectly by lowering the degree of industrial segregation. These results thus suggest that barriers or discrimination against women tend to be lower in sectors where demand is strong.

Who receives medical care? Income, implicit prices, and the distribution of medical services among pregnant women in the United States

Abstract: The distribution of medical services among pregnant married women in the United States in 1980 is very unequal. This distribution is examined to assess the predominant effect of tax, transfer, and insurance schemes on the implicit prices of medical services facing women differing by socioeconomic status, healthiness and race. Estimates of the determinants of the probability of receiving four major prenatal medical services are obtained, controlling both for socioeconomic status and for initial health status, as inferred from estimates of health technology determining birthweight. Results reject the hypotheses that medical services are provided only on the basis of medical need or are allocated in a market in which the implicit price of care is invariant to husband's income. The combined effect of taxes and transfers is found to reduce the implicit price paid for these four medical services by rich compared to poor married women in the United States, and thus to encourage their use by higher income (and education) groups.

Opportunistic Behavior by Firms in Implicit Pension Contracts

Abstract: Several studies have established that under the most common form of pension coverage, benefits accrue disproportionately near the end of a worker's career. Such backloading establishes a penalty for early quitting but may also create an incentive for opportunistic firm behavior. Because benefits generally are a function of highest earnings, when nominal earnings are expected to rise, an employer can reduce pension liabilities by discharging workers prior to retirement. This paper uses the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Men to test whether such actions by employers are systematic. We estimate that pension-covered workers with mean losses are less likely to be discharged. Unexpected increases in pension losses due to increases in inflation, however, raise the risk of discharge. We find no evidence that the minimum vesting standards of the Employees' Retirement Income Security Act reduces the likelihood of discharge for older workers who previously were not vested. These results are consistent with an implicit pension contract under which employer compliance is enforced by reputation.

Are First Impressions Important in Academia

Abstract: This paper demonstrates that the popular belief that first impressions are important in determining career success is theoretically sound. The model is then tested with salary data on mathematicians and economists. In general, the point estimates show that the long run increase in salary from an additional article or citation declines with the age at which it is received. The large standard errors, however, suggest that first impressions are not as important as the point estimates imply.

Job Tenure and Joblessness of Displaced Workers.

Abstract: Selective search where unemployed job losers confine their job seeking efforts to matches in the pre-separation sector has attracted considerable attention as a possible source of high and persistent unemployment. However, this idea is questionable. ...

Measuring the Intensity of Poverty Among Subpopulations Applications to the United States

Abstract: This paper proposes an approach to measuring the intensity of poverty within a group, relative to that of the population to which the group belongs. A poverty intensity index is presented which is easy to interpret and satisfies a number of desirable properties. The intensity of poverty among racial and residential groups, in various geographical locations, is measured using 1980 United States Census data.

Occupational Differences in the Ability of Men to Delay Retirement

Abstract: Whether the functional capacity of older men to remain at work differs by occupational assignment is an important consideration in judging policies designed to advance the age of retirement. A competing-risk model of retirement, disability and death is used to test hypotheses about the influence of physically strenuous work on the ability to delay retirement. Time-dependent hazard rate functions are estimated with panel data on a nationally representative sample of older American males. Physical job requirements and health conditions are found to affect the likelihood of retiring in a disabled state. However, projections of the fractions of workers in physically strenuous and sedentary job categories that are likely to encounter difficulty in staying in the labor force do not differ greatly. Special policy consideration of workers in nonsedentary occupations may therefore be questioned.

Welfare Benefits and Lone Parents' Employment in Great Britain

Abstract: The analysis pools ten years of General Household Surveys to identify the effects of Britain's welfare benefit system on a lone mother's probability of employment. It confirms the prediction that, because of the implicit 100 percent tax rate in the system, higher nonlabor income (other than welfare benefits) increases the probability while a higher benefit guarantee reduces it. The analysis also confirms that among women who could never be eligible for benefits, higher nonlabor income reduces the probability of employment and the guarantee has no effect.

Explaining Pension Dynamics

Abstract: Whether and how the labor market will adapt to anticipated changes in the workforce age distribution depends on how able companies are to induce desired turnover patterns among older and younger employees This paper contends that companies can and will use pension plan provisions as powerful incentives to induce people to remain on their jobs, and perhaps even more importantly to leave at later ages A longitudinalfile of collectively bargained pension plans gathered by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics is examined empirically We find dramatic increases in benefit levels, reductions in early, normal and deferred retirement ages, and declines in the age at which pension present values peak (with retirement after that age penalized) Several explanations for these observed pension outcomes are evaluated empirically We believe that these findings indicate how employer-provided pensions can and will play an important role in helping companies induce desired turnover patterns as the workforce ages

The Distribution of Economic Losses among Displaced Workers: A Replication

Abstract: This paper estimates the impact of unemployment on earnings following re-employment for a large and representative sample of British men, 1984-94. Unemployment incidence is found to have only a temporary effect, an average earnings setback of 10% on ...