Showing papers in "Journal of Human Resources in 2014"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors estimate the labor market effect of attending a highly selective college, using the College and Beyond Survey linked to Social Security Administration data, and extend earlier work by estimating effects for students that entered college in 1976 over a longer time horizon.
Abstract: We estimate the labor market effect of attending a highly selective college, using the College and Beyond Survey linked to Social Security Administration data. We extend earlier work by estimating effects for students that entered college in 1976 over a longer time horizon (from 1983 through 2007) and for a more recent cohort (1989). For both cohorts, the effects of college characteristics on earnings are sizeable (and similar in magnitude) in standard regression models. In selectionadjusted models, these effects generally fall to close to zero; however, these effects remain large for certain subgroups, such as for black and Hispanic students.
188 citations
TL;DR: The first large-scale international comparison of labor supply elasticities for 17 European countries and the United States using a harmonized empirical approach was made by as mentioned in this paper, who found that own-wage elasticities are relatively small and more uniform across countries than previously considered.
Abstract: We suggest the first large-scale international comparison of labor supply elasticities for 17 European countries and the United States using a harmonized empirical approach. We find that own-wage elasticities are relatively small and more uniform across countries than previously considered. Nonetheless, such differences do exist, and are found not to arise from different tax-benefit systems, wage/hour levels, or demographic compositions across countries, suggesting genuine differences in work preferences across countries. Furthermore, three other findings are consistent across countries: The extensive margin dominates the intensive margin; for singles, this leads to larger responses in low-income groups; and income elasticities are extremely small.
170 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the impact of retirement on individuals' health and found that the benefits of working past age 62 and 65 are beneficial and significant for individuals' well-being.
Abstract: This paper examines the impact of retirement on individuals' health Declines in health commonly compel workers to retire, so the challenge is to disentangle the simultaneous causal effects The estimation strategy employs an instrumental variables specification The instrument is based on workers' self-reported probabilities of working past ages 62 and 65, taken from the first period in which they are observed Results indicate that the retirement effect on health is beneficial and significant Investigation into behavioral data, such as smoking and exercise, suggests that retirement may affect health through such channels With additional leisure time, many retirees practice healthier habits
170 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provided causal evidence on the long-term consequences of large-scale physical destruction on educational attainment, health status, and labor market outcomes of children in Germany during World War Two.
Abstract: This paper provides causal evidence on the long-term consequences of large-scale physical destruction on educational attainment, health status, and labor market outcomes of children. I exploit the plausibly exogenous region-by-cohort variation in the intensity of World War Two (WWII) destruction as a unique quasi-experiment. I find that exposure to destruction had long-lasting detrimental effects on the human capital formation, health, and labor market outcomes of Germans who were at school-age during WWII. An important channel for the effect of destruction on educational attainment is the destruction of schools whereas malnutrition is partly behind the estimated impact on health.
130 citations
TL;DR: The authors found significant differences in early cognitive development by socioeconomic status in early childhood for five Latin American countries and used the same measure of receptive language ability for all five countries to help with comparability.
Abstract: Research from the United States shows that gaps in early cognitive and noncognitive abilities appear early in the life cycle. Little is known about this important question for developing countries. This paper provides new evidence of sharp differences in cognitive development by socioeconomic status in early childhood for five Latin American countries. To help with comparability, the paper uses the same measure of receptive language ability for all five countries. It finds important differences in development in early childhood across countries, and steep socioeconomic gradients within every country. For the three countries where panel data to follow children over time exists, there are few substantive changes in scores once children enter school. These results are robust to different ways of defining socioeconomic status, to different ways of standardizing outcomes, and to selective non-response on the measure of cognitive development.
114 citations
TL;DR: The authors used large-scale register data on 450,000 Swedish males who underwent mandatory military enlistment at age 18, and a subsample of 150,000 siblings, to examine why tall people earn more.
Abstract: We use large-scale register data on 450,000 Swedish males who underwent mandatory military enlistment at age 18, and a subsample of 150,000 siblings, to examine why tall people earn more. We show the importance of both cognitive and noncognitive skills, as well as family background and muscular strength for the height-earnings relationship. In addition, we show that a substantial height premium remains after these factors have been accounted for, which originates from very short people having low earnings. This is mostly explained by the sorting of short people into low-paid occupations, which may indicate discrimination by stature.
106 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide empirical evidence of crime's impact on the mental well-being of both victims and non-victims, and they differentiate between the direct impact to victims and the indirect impact to society due to the fear of crime.
Abstract: We provide empirical evidence of crime's impact on the mental well-being of both victims and nonvictims. We differentiate between the direct impact to victims and the indirect impact to society due to the fear of crime. The results show a decrease in mental well-being after violent crime victimization and that the violent crime rate has a negative impact on mental well-being of nonvictims. Property crime victimization and property crime rates show no such comparable impact. Finally, we estimate that society-wide impact of increasing the crime rate by one victim is about 80 times more than the direct impact on the victim.
97 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the role of lower-tail income inequality in determining rates of early nonmarital childbearing among low socioeconomic status (SES) women was investigated using individual-level data from the United States.
Abstract: Using individual-level data from the United States, we empirically investigate the role of lower-tail income inequality in determining rates of early nonmarital childbearing among low socioeconomic status (SES) women. We present robust evidence that young low-SES women are more likely to have a nonmarital birth when they live in places with larger lower-tail income inequality, all else held constant. We calculate that differences in the level of inequality are able to explain a sizeable share of the geographic variation in teen fertility rates. We propose a model of adolescent decision-making that facilitates the interpretation of our results.
92 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the link between bullying and later school performance using survey and register-based data for children born in a region of Denmark during 1990-92, which allows them to carefully consider possible confounders including psychological factors.
Abstract: Bullying is a widespread social phenomenon that is thought to have detrimental effects on life outcomes. This paper investigates the link between bullying and later school performance. We rely on rich survey and register-based data for children born in a region of Denmark during 1990–92, which allows us to carefully consider possible confounders including psychological factors. We implement an IV strategy inspired by Carrell and Hoekstra (2010) where we instrument victim status with the proportion of peers from troubled homes in one’s classroom. We show that bullied children suffer in terms of GPA and effects tend to increase with severity .
88 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effect of birth order on human capital development in Ecuador and found that earlier-born children receive less quality time from their mothers and are breastfed shorter.
Abstract: In this paper we examine the effect of birth order on human capital development in Ecuador. Using family fixed effects models we find positive and persistent birth order effects; earlier-born children stay behind in their human capital development from infancy to adolescence. Turning to potential mechanisms, we find that earlier-born children receive less quality time from their mothers. Additionally, they are breastfed shorter. Poverty plays a key role in explaining these birth order patterns; we observe the largest birth order effects in poor and low-educated families, accompanied with reversed birth order effects in rich and high-educated families.
79 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors study the socioeconomic gradient of child development on a sample of low and middle-income children aged 6-42 months in Bogota using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development.
Abstract: We study the socioeconomic gradient of child development on a sample of low- and middle-income children aged 6–42 months in Bogota using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. We find an average difference of 0.53, 0.42, and 0.49 standard deviations (SD) in cognition, receptive, and expressive language respectively, between children in the top and bottom quartile of the wealth distribution. These gaps increase substantially to 0.81 SD (cognition), 0.76 SD (receptive language), and 0.68 SD (expressive language) for children aged 31–42 months. These robust findings can inform the design and targeting of interventions promoting early childhood development.
TL;DR: The intervention increased the number of courses graded above 70 and points earned above 70 for second-year students but generated no significant effect on overall GPA.
Abstract: We evaluate the effects of academic achievement awards for first- and second-year college students studying at a Canadian commuter college. The award scheme offered linear cash incentives for course grades above 70. Awards were paid every term. Program participants also had access to peer advising by upperclassmen. Program engagement appears to have been high but overall treatment effects were small. The intervention increased the number of courses graded above 70 and points earned above 70 for second-year students but generated no significant effect on overall GPA. Results are somewhat stronger for a subsample of applicants who correctly described the program rules.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate the medium-term effects of a program that provided scholarships for three years to poor children upon graduation from elementary school in Cambodia, a low-income country.
Abstract: Despite progress in recent decades, a substantial fraction of children in developing countries attain little schooling, and many adults lack skills that are valued in the labor market. We evaluate the medium-term effects of a program that provided scholarships for three years to poor children upon graduation from elementary school in Cambodia, a low-income country. To do this we use a sharp regression discontinuity design. We show that scholarships have substantial effects on school attainment. By the time children would have been in grade 11 had they remained in school, two years after they stopped being eligible for scholarships, those who were offered scholarships have attained 0.6 more grades of completed schooling. Nevertheless, we find no evidence that scholarships had significant effects on test scores, employment, earnings, or the probability of getting married or having a child in adolescence.
TL;DR: This paper investigated gender differences in the impact of Brazil's trade liberalization on labor market outcomes and found that gender differences are concentrated among the low-skilled population and in the tradable sector, where male and female workers are most likely to be imperfect substitutes.
Abstract: This paper investigates gender differences in the impact of Brazil's trade liberalization on labor market outcomes. To identify the causal effect of trade reforms, the paper uses difference-in-difference estimation exploiting variation across microregions in pre-liberalization industry composition. The analysis finds that trade liberalization reduced male and female labor force participation and employment rates, but the effects on men were significantly larger. Thereby, tariff reductions contributed to gender convergence in labor force participation and employment rates. Gender differences are concentrated among the low-skilled population and in the tradable sector, where male and female workers are most likely to be imperfect substitutes.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate peer effects in weight gain by exploiting a natural experiment, roommate assignments of 751 male and 845 female first-year college students, and find that females are subject to peer influence in weight-gain, with little evidence of peer effects for males.
Abstract: We investigate peer effects in weight gain by exploiting a natural experiment, roommate assignments of 751 male and 845 female first-year college students. Results indicate that females are subject to peer influence in weight gain, with little evidence of peer effects for males. Peer influences appear to be heterogeneous as heavier and thinner females are affected by roommates more than average-weight females, and hierarchical with females influenced only by roommates who are thinner, of a higher socioeconomic status, and more sexually experienced relative to themselves. Similarity of academic performance, religiosity, and political views appears to facilitate transmission of peer influences.
TL;DR: The authors quantifies the importance of nonwage job characteristics to workers by estimating a structural on-the-job search model, which generalizes the standard search framework by allowing workers to search for jobs based on both wages and job-specific nonwage utility flows.
Abstract: This paper quantifies the importance of nonwage job characteristics to workers by estimating a structural on-the-job search model. The model generalizes the standard search framework by allowing workers to search for jobs based on both wages and job-specific nonwage utility flows. Within the structure of the search model, data on accepted wages and wage changes at job transitions identify the importance of nonwage utility through revealed preference. The estimates reveal that utility from nonwage job characteristics plays an important role in determining job mobility, the value of jobs to workers, and the gains from job search.
TL;DR: Evidence is presented that UC campuses changed the weight given to SAT scores, high school GPA, and family background in response to California’s ban on race-based affirmative action, and that these changes were able to substantially offset the fall in minority admissions rates.
Abstract: Using administrative data from the University of California (UC), we present evidence that UC campuses changed the weight given to SAT scores, high school GPA, and family background in response to California’s ban on race-based affirmative action, and that these changes were able to substantially (though far from completely) offset the fall in minority admissions rates. For both minorities and nonminorities, these changes to the estimated admissions rule hurt students with relatively strong academic credentials and whose parents were relatively affluent and educated. Despite these compositional shifts, however, average student quality (as measured by expected first- year college GPA) remained stable.
TL;DR: In this article, the causal income elasticity of smoking participation, cessation, and cigarette demand conditional upon participation was estimated using an instrumental variables (IV) estimation strategy, and they found that smoking appears to be a normal good among low-income adults: higher-instrumented income is associated with an increase in the number of cigarettes consumed and a decrease in smoking cessation.
Abstract: In this paper we estimate the causal income elasticity of smoking participation, cessation, and cigarette demand conditional upon participation. Using an instrumental variables (IV) estimation strategy, we find that smoking appears to be a normal good among low-income adults: Higher-instrumented income is associated with an increase in the number of cigarettes consumed and a decrease in smoking cessation. The magnitude and direction of the changes in the income coefficients from our OLS to IV estimates are consistent with the hypothesis that correlational estimates between income and smoking-related outcomes are biased by unobservable characteristics that differentiate higher-income smokers from lower-income smokers.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the channels through which family socio-economic status and unobservable characteristics aect children's decisions to drop out of high school and found that cognitive ability at age 15 has a substantial impact on dropping out.
Abstract: We use a large, rich Canadian micro-level dataset to examine the channels through which family socio-economic status and unobservable characteristics aect children’s decisions to drop out of high school. First, we document the strength of observable socio-economic factors: our data suggest that teenage boys with two parents who are themselves high school dropouts have a 16% chance of dropping out, compared to a dropout rate of less than 1% for boys whose parents both have a university degree. We examine the channels through which this socio-economic gradient arises using an extended version of the factor model set out in Carneiro, Hansen, and Heckman (2003). Specically, we consider the impact of cognitive and non-cognitive ability and the value that parents place on education. Our results support three main conclusions. First, cognitive ability at age 15 has a substantial impact on dropping out. Second, parental valuation of education has an impact of approximately the same size as cognitive ability eects for medium and low ability teenagers. A low ability teenager has a probability of dropping out of approximately .03 if his parents place a high value on education but .36 if their education valuation is low. Third, parental education has no direct eect on dropping out once we control for ability and parental valuation of education. Our results point to the importance of whatever determines ability at age 15 (including, potentially, early childhood interventions) and of parental valuation of education during the teenage years. We also make a small methodological contribution by extending the standard factor based estimator to allow a non-linear relationship between the factors and a covariate of interest. We show that allowing for non-linearities has a substantial impact on estimated eects.
TL;DR: The authors showed that a short-term reading program, designed to provide age-appropriate reading material, to train teachers in their use, and to support teachers' initial efforts for about a month, improves students' reading skills by 0.13 standard deviations.
Abstract: We show that a short-term (31-day) reading program, designed to provide age-appropriate reading material, to train teachers in their use, and to support teachers’ initial efforts for about a month, improves students’ reading skills by 0.13 standard deviations. The effect is still present three months after the program but diminishes to 0.06 standard deviations, probably due to a reduced emphasis on reading after the program. We find that the program also encourages students to read more on their own at home. We find no evidence that improved reading ability improves test scores on other subjects.
TL;DR: The randomized timing of the 2008 Economic Stimulus Payments is exploited to suggest that liquidity constraints may not constitute a direct barrier to care, but rather that liquidity can increase health care utilization indirectly by increasing the need for care.
Abstract: Household finances can affect health and health care through several channels. To explore these channels, we exploit the randomized timing of the arrival of the 2008 Economic Stimulus Payments. We find that the payments raised the probability of an adult emergency department visit over the following 23 weeks by an average of 1.1 percent. This effect is difficult to reconcile with the Permanent Income Hypothesis. We observe little impact on avoidable hospitalizations or emergency visits for nonurgent conditions and no difference in effects as a function of health insurance coverage. By contrast, we show that the increase is driven by visits for urgent medical conditions, like drug- and alcohol- related visits. Complementary evidence suggests that consumers are not simply substituting from outpatient doctor visits to hospital care. The results thus suggest that liquidity constraints may not constitute a direct barrier to care, but rather that liquidity can increase health care utilization indirectly by increasing the need for care.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the effect of a regulation mandating a minimum nurse-staffing level on the quality of healthcare in nursing homes and found no impact of the regulation on patient outcomes or overall facility quality.
Abstract: This paper investigates the effect of a regulation mandating a minimum nurse-staffing level on the quality of healthcare in nursing homes. To comply with the regulation, firms increase employment of nurses in proportion to the gap between their initial staffing level and the legislated minimum threshold. If higher nurse staffing causes better quality, then the changes in quality outcomes should mirror these changes. Despite inducing increases in nurse aide hours of 10 percent on average and up to 30 percent for some firms, I find no impact of the regulation on patient outcomes or overall facility quality.
TL;DR: In this paper, the impacts of teacher pay-for-performance (P4P) reforms adopted with complementary human resource management (HRM) practices on student achievement and workforce flows are studied.
Abstract: This paper studies the impacts of teacher pay-for-performance (P4P) reforms adopted with complementary human resource management (HRM) practices on student achievement and workforce flows. Since 2005, dozens of Minnesota school districts in cooperation with teachers’ unions implemented P4P as part of the state’s Quality Compensation program. Exploiting district variation in participation status and timing, we find evidence that P4P-centered HRM reform raises students’ achievement by 0.03 standard deviations. Falsification tests suggest that gains are causal. They appear to be driven especially by productivity increases among less-experienced teachers.
TL;DR: This paper used several decades of U.S. time-diary surveys to assess the impact of low-skilled immigration, through lower prices for commercial childcare, on parental time investments.
Abstract: This paper uses several decades of U.S. time-diary surveys to assess the impact of low-skilled immigration, through lower prices for commercial childcare, on parental time investments. Using an instrumental variables approach that accounts for the endogenous location of immigrants, we find that low-skilled immigration to the United States has contributed to substantial reductions in the time allocated to basic childcare by college-educated mothers of nonschool-aged children. However, these mothers have not reduced the time allocated to more stimulating educational and recreational activities with their children. Understanding the factors driving parental-time investments on children is crucial from a child-development perspective.
TL;DR: It is shown that the voucher increase has a small but statistically significant effect on ACS take-up, and the invitation to the meeting appears to cancel out the positive effect of the vouchers increase.
Abstract: This paper is based on a randomised social experiment conducted in order to understand the low take-up rate of a Complementary health-insurance voucher program for the poorest in France (the Aide Complementaire Sante: ACS). We explore two of the main hypotheses put forward to explain low enrolment: a lack of information about the program and a voucher amount considered to be too low. A sample of eligible individuals living in an urban area in Northern France were randomly split into three groups: a control group who benefited from the standard level of financial aid; a group benefiting from an increase in the value of the voucher; and a third group benefiting from the same increase along with an invitation to an information meeting regarding ACS. We show that the voucher increase has a small but statistically significant effect on ACS take-up. The invitation to the meeting appears to cancel out the positive effect of the voucher increase. Using an instrumental variable model to control for potential selection bias, we find ambiguous evidence of the meeting attendance on ACS take-up. This study confirms the difficulties that are faced in increasing the health insurance
coverage of poor populations via subsidy programs.
TL;DR: This article examined whether a student's relative socioeconomic status (SES) has a direct effect on substance use and found that relative deprivation is positively associated with alcohol consumption, drinking to intoxication, and smoking for adolescent males, but not for females.
Abstract: Relative deprivation has been associated with lower social and job satisfaction as well as adverse health outcomes. Using Add Health data, we examine whether a student’s relative socioeconomic status (SES) has a direct effect on substance use. We advance the existing literature by addressing selection and simultaneity bias and by focusing on a reference group likely to exert the most influence on the respondents. We find that relative deprivation is positively associated with alcohol consumption, drinking to intoxication, and smoking for adolescent males, but not for females. Alternative variable definitions and robustness checks confirm these findings.
TL;DR: In this article, the social institutions of lineage maintenance, patrilocality, and joint families have a significant role in explaining sex differences in survival and health outcomes in rural India, which accounts for 7 percent of excess female mortality in Haryana and Rajasthan and 4 percent in Punjab.
Abstract: This paper demonstrates that the social institutions of lineage maintenance, patrilocality, and joint families have a significant role in explaining sex differences in survival and health outcomes in rural India. Tests using panel data from rural households support this explanation, which accounts for 7 percent of excess female mortality in Haryana and Rajasthan and 4 percent in Punjab. An institutional explanation suggests limits on the role for public policy in addressing large sex differences in health and mortality outcomes.
TL;DR: Using the canonical economic model of religiosity, this article developed an empirical test to investigate the importance of religious participation, in particular religious proscriptions and rules, on determining behavior.
Abstract: A large literature shows that religious participation is associated with various behaviors and outcomes, but researchers lack an accepted instrument for religion and have struggled to establish whether these associations are causal. Using the canonical economic model of religiosity, I develop an empirical test to investigate the importance of religious participation, in particular religious proscriptions and rules, on determining behavior. The test relies on exogenous variation in the cost of secular activities rather than an instrument for religious participation. Several empirical applications of this test are conducted; the results indicate a strong role for religious proscriptions in determining behavior.
TL;DR: This article studied how the growth of industrial employment increased bilingualism in India between 1931 and 1961 and found that bilingualism was mainly the result of learning, rather than migration or assimilation, and was not a byproduct of becoming literate.
Abstract: Bilingualism is a distinct and important form of human capital in linguistically diverse countries. When communication among workers increases productivity, there can be economic incentives to learn a second language. I study how the growth of industrial employment increased bilingualism in India between 1931 and 1961. During that period, Indian factories were linguistically mixed. I exploit industrial clustering and sectoral demand growth for identification. The effect on bilingualism was strongest in import-competing districts and among local linguistic minorities. Bilingualism was mainly the result of learning, rather than than migration or assimilation, and was not a byproduct of becoming literate. My results shed new light on human capital investment in developing economies and on the long-run evolution of languages and cultures.
TL;DR: The authors found evidence of sibling rivalry and gender bias that cannot be detected by conventional methods using twins and found that having a sibling may affect a child's education in two ways: an indirect effect by keeping sibsize lower and a direct rivalry effect where sib size remains constant.
Abstract: Parents preferring sons tend to go on having more children until a boy is born and to concentrate investment in boys for a given number of children (sibsize). Thus, having a brother may affect a child's education in two ways: an indirect effect by keeping sibsize lower and a direct rivalry effect where sibsize remains constant. We estimate the direct and indirect effects of a next brother on the first child's education conditional on potential sibsize. We address endogenous sibsize using twins. We find new evidence of sibling rivalry and gender bias that cannot be detected by conventional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]