Showing papers in "Journal of Human Resources in 2018"

The Labor Market Effects of a Refugee Wave: Synthetic Control Method Meets the Mariel Boatlift

Abstract: We apply the synthetic control method to reexamine the labor market effects of the Mariel Boatlift, first studied by David Card (1990). This method improves on previous studies by choosing a control group of cities that best matches Miami's labor market trends pre-Boatlift and providing more reliable inference. Using a sample of non-Cuban high school dropouts we find no significant difference in the wages of workers in Miami relative to its control after 1980. We also show that by focusing on small subsamples and matching the control group on a short pre-1979 series, as done in Borjas (2017), one can find large wage differences between Miami and the control because of large measurement error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective Policy for Reducing Poverty and Inequality? The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Distribution of Income

Abstract: We examine the effect of the EITC on the poverty and income of single mothers with children using a quasi-experimental approach that leverages variation in generosity due to policy expansions across tax years and family sizes. We find that the income increasing effects of the EITC are concentrated between 75 and 150 percent of income-to-poverty with little effect at the lowest income levels and at levels of 250 percent of poverty and higher. We use these results to show that by failing to capture the indirect effects of the credit on earnings, static calculations of the antipoverty effects of the EITC may be underestimated by almost 50 percent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One Step at a Time: The Effects of an Early Literacy Text Messaging Program for Parents of Preschoolers

Abstract: Large systematic differences in young children's home learning experiences have long-term economic consequences. Many parenting programs place significant demands on parents' time and inundate parents with information. This study evaluates the effects of READY4K!, an eight-month-long text-messaging intervention for parents of preschoolers that targets the behavioral barriers to engaged parenting. We find that READY4K! increased parental involvement at home and school by 0.15 to 0.29 standard deviations, leading to child gains in early literacy of about 0.11 standard deviations. The results point to the salience of behavioral barriers to parenting and the potential for low-cost interventions to reduce these barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Long-Term Effects of Early Life Medicaid Coverage*

Abstract: In this study, we evaluate how an expansion of Medicaid coverage for pregnant women and infants affected the adult outcomes ofindividuals who gained access to coverage in utero and during the first year oflife. We find that cohorts whose mothers gained eligibilityfor prenatal coverage under Medicaid have lower rates ofchronic conditions as adults and fewer hospitalizations related to diabetes and obesity. We also find that the expansions increased high school graduation rates. Our results indicate that expanding Medicaid prenatal coverage had long-term benefits for the next generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gainfully Employed? Assessing the Employment and Earnings of For-Profit College Students Using Administrative Data

Abstract: We draw on population-level administrative data from the U.S. Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service to quantify the impact of for-profit college attendance on the employment and earnings of more than one million students. Using a matched comparison group difference-in-differences design, we find that certificate-seeking students in for-profit institutions are 1.5 percentage points less likely to be employed and, conditional on employment, have 11 percent lower earnings after attendance than students in public institutions. These results hold for both men and women and for seven of the top ten fields of study. We find that earnings and employment outcomes are particularly poor for students attending for-profit colleges that offer the majority of their courses online and for multicampus chains. We find that for-profit students experience small, statistically insignificant gains in annual earnings after attendance compared to a matched [End Page 342] control group of young individuals who do not attend college. A back-of-the-envelope comparison of these earnings gains to average debt burdens suggests that for-profit certificate programs do not pay off for the average student. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manila to Malaysia, Quezon to Qatar: International Migration and Its Effects on Origin-Country Human Capital

Abstract: I estimate the effect of international migration on the human capital of children in the migrants' origin country. Using administrative data containing all migrant departures from the Philippines, I exploit variation across provinces in destination-country demand for migrants. My estimates are at the local labor market level, allowing for spillovers to nonmigrant households. An average year-to-year percent increase in migration causes a 3.5 percent increase in secondary school enrollment. The effects are likely driven by increased income rather than an increased expected wage premium for education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More Than Just a Nudge: Supporting Kindergarten Parents with Differentiated and Personalized Text Messages

Abstract: Recent studies show that texting-based interventions can produce educational benefits in children across a range of ages. We study effects of a text-based program for parents of kindergarten children, distinguishing a general program from one adding differentiation and personalization based on each child's developmental level. Children in the differentiated and personalized program were 63 percent more likely to read at a higher level (p < 0.001) compared to the general group, and their parents reported engaging more in literacy activities. Effects were driven by children further from average levels of baseline development, indicating that the effects likely stemmed from text content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Value of Smarter Teachers: International Evidence on Teacher Cognitive Skills and Student Performance

Abstract: Differences in teacher quality are commonly cited as a key determinant of the huge international student performance gaps However, convincing evidence on this relationship is still lacking, in part because it is unclear how to measure teacher quality consistently across countries We use unique international assessment data to investigate the role of teacher cognitive skills as one main dimension of teacher quality in explaining student outcomes Our main identification strategy exploits exogenous variation in teacher cognitive skills attributable to international differences in relative wages of nonteacher public sector employees Using student-level test score data, we find that teacher cognitive skills are an important determinant of international differences in student performance Results are supported by fixed-effects estimation that uses within-country between-subject variation in teacher skills

How to Improve Teaching Practice? An Experimental Comparison of Centralized Training and In-Classroom Coaching

Abstract: We experimentally compare two modes of in-service professional development for South African public primary school teachers. In both modes teachers received the same learning materials and daily lesson plans, aligned to the official literacy curriculum. Students exposed to two years of the program improved their reading proficiency by 0.12 standard deviations if their teachers received centralized training, compared to 0.24 if their teachers received in-class coaching. Classroom observations reveal that teachers were more likely to split students into smaller reading groups, which enabled individualized attention and more opportunities to practice reading. Results vary by class size and baseline student reading proficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does Access to Family Planning Increase Children's Opportunities? Evidence from the War on Poverty and the Early Years of Title X.

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between parents' access to family planning and the economic resources of their children. Using the county-level introduction of U.S. family planning programs between 1964 and 1973, we find that children born after programs began had 2.8% higher household incomes. They were also 7% less likely to live in poverty and 12% less likely to live in households receiving public assistance. A bounding exercise suggests that the direct effects of family planning programs on parents' resources account for roughly two-thirds of these gains. [End Page 825] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterogeneity of the Carnegie Effect

Abstract: The Carnegie effect is the harm inherited wealth does to a recipient's work effort. Carnegie effect estimates are few, reflecting that such effects are hard to trace. Most previous studies rely on data from limited-size surveys. We use information from administrative data covering the entire Norwegian population, enabling an examination of the heterogeneity of the Carnegie effect. Estimation results show significant reductions in labor supply for recipients oflarge inheritances. We find that Carnegie effects differ according to transfer size, the recipient's age and eligibility for other transfer programs, and the existence ofnew heirs in the family chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Black–White Education Scaled Test-Score Gap in Grades K-7

Abstract: We measure the black–white achievement gap from kindergarten through seventh grade on an interval scale created by tying each grade–test score combination to average eventual education After correcting for various sources of test measurement error, some of which are unique to forward-looking scales, we find no racial component in the evolution of the achievement gap through the first eight years of schooling Further, most, if not all, of the gap can be explained by socioeconomic differences Our results suggest that the rising racial test gap in previous studies probably reflects excessive measurement error in testing in the early grades [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Siblings, Teachers, and Spillovers on Academic Achievement

Abstract: :This study documents sibling spillover effects on child test score achievement using administrative school records from North Carolina. While teacher experience is a known determinant of student achievement, I show that teacher experience also affects the achievement of a child's younger siblings. In contrast, teacher experience does not have an effect on the test scores of the child's older siblings, suggesting that direct sibling effects rather than parental behavior responses are more important. These findings suggest that we are underestimating the importance of education inputs by ignoring the spillover effects on siblings.

Head Start's Long-Run Impact: Evidence from the Program's Introduction.

Abstract: This paper estimates the effect of Head Start on health, education, and labor market outcomes observed through age 48. I combine outcome data from the NLSY79 with archival records on early Head Start funding levels and for identification exploit differences across counties in the introduction timing and size of local Head Start programs. This allows me to compare the long-term outcomes of children who were too old for Head Start when the program was introduced in their county with the outcomes of children who were sufficiently young to be eligible. I find that individuals from counties that had an average-sized program when they were in Head Start's target age range experienced a $2,199 increase in annual adult earnings, completed 0.125 additional years of education, were 4.6 percentage points less likely to have a health limitation at age 40, and overall experienced a 0.081 standard deviation improvement in a summary index of these and other outcome measures. Funding levels at ages outside of Head Start's target range are not significantly correlated with long-term outcomes. Estimated treatment effects are largest among blacks, the children of lower-education parents, and children exposed to better funded Head Start programs—heterogeneity that is consistent with a causal program impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Going beyond LATE: Bounding Average Treatment Effects of Job Corps Training

Abstract: We derive bounds on the population average treatment effect (ATE) and the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) with an instrumental variable and employ them to evaluate the effectiveness of the Job Corps (JC) training program using data from a randomized evaluation with noncompliance. We find positive effects of JC on earnings and employment, and negative effects on public benefits dependence for eligible applicants (ATE) and participants (ATT). Some of our results also point to positive average effects on the labor market outcomes of "never-takers" (individuals who never enroll in JC regardless of their treatment assignment). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Effect of Increasing Education Efficiency on University Enrollment Evidence from Administrative Data and an Unusual Schooling Reform in Germany

Abstract: We examine the consequences of compressing secondary schooling for university enrollment. An unusual education reform in Germany reduced the length of academic high school while simultaneously increasing the instruction hours in the remaining years. Accordingly, students receive the same amount of schooling but over a shorter period of time. Based on a difference-indifferences approach and using administrative data on all students in Germany, we find that this reform decreased university enrollment rates. Moreover, students are more likely to delay their enrollment, to drop out of university, and to change their major We discuss supply-side restrictions, age differences, and increased workload during school as potential mechanisms and present back-of-the-envelope cost–benefit considerations showing that the earnings gain from an extended labor market participation may still offset the adverse effects presented in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Labor Market Effects of U.S. Sick Pay Mandates

Abstract: This paper exploits temporal and spatial variation in the implementation of nine city- and four state-level U.S. sick pay mandates to assess their labor market consequences. We use the synthetic control group method and traditional difference-in-differences models along with the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages to estimate the causal effects of mandated sick pay on employment and wages. We do not find much evidence that employment or wages were significantly affected by the mandates that typically allow employees to earn one hour of paid sick leave per work week, up to seven days per year. Employment decreases of 2 percent lie outside the 92 percent confidence interval and wage decreases of 3 percent lie outside the 95 percent confidence interval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does Teaching Children How to Play Cognitively Demanding Games Improve Their Educational Attainment? Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial of Chess Instruction in England

Abstract: A number of studies suggest that teaching children how to play chess may have an impact on their educational attainment. Yet the strength of this evidence is undermined by limitations with research design. This paper attempts to overcome these limitations by presenting evidence from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving more than 4,000 children in England. In contrast to much of the existing literature, we find no evidence of an effect of chess instruction on children's mathematics, reading, or science test scores. Our results provide a timely reminder of the need for social scientists to employ robust research designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asymmetry of Information within Family Networks

Abstract: This paper studies asymmetry of information and transfers within a unique data set of 712 extended family networks from Tanzania. Using cross-reports on asset holdings, we construct measures of misperception of income among all pairs of households belonging to the same network. We show that there is significant asymmetry of information and no evidence of major systematic over-evaluation or under-evaluation of income in our data, although there is a slight over-evaluation on the part of migrants regarding non-migrants. We develop a static model of asymmetric information that contrasts altruism, pressure and exchange as motives to transfer. The model makes predictions about the correlations between misperceptions and transfers under these competing explanations. Testing these predictions in the data uncovers the active role played by the recipient. Our findings suggest that the recipient sets the terms of the transfers, either by exerting pressure to give on the donor or by holding the bargaining power during the exchange of services with the donor.

Diversity and Employment Prospects: Neighbors Matter!

Abstract: This paper aims at determining whether and how the level of origins' diversity of a that it was mostly due to self-selection. I also show that diversity in terms of nationalities (a proxy for cultural diversity) matters more than diversity based on parents' origins (a proxy for ethnic diversity). These results reveal that local diversity may act as a barrier to communication, preventing job information transmission, and hence reducing employment prospects.

Keeping the Production Line Running: Internal Substitution and Employee Absence

Abstract: We postulate that the production losses from absence depend on firms' ability to internally substitute for absent workers, incentivizing firms to keep absence low in jobs with few substitutes. Using Swedish employer–employee data we show that absence is substantially lower in such positions conditional on establishment and occupation fixed effects. The result is driven by employee adjustments of absence to substitutability, and sorting of low (high) absence workers into (out of) positions with few substitutes. These findings highlight that internal substitution insures firms against production disruptions and that absence costs are important aspects of firms' hiring and separation decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]