-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: This paper provides evidence on the effect of welfare reform on fertility, focusing on UK reforms in 1999 that increased per-child
spending by 50% in real terms. We use a difference-in-differences approach, exploiting the fact that the reforms were targeted
at low-income households. The reforms were likely to differentially affect the fertility of women in couples and single women
because of the opportunity cost effects of the welfare-to-work element. We find no increase in births among single women,
but evidence to support an increase in births (by around 15%) among coupled women.
KeywordsWelfare reform–Fertility
Journal of Population Economics 04/2012; 25(1):245-266. · 0.92 Impact Factor
-
Anita Ratcliffe
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: This study investigates whether and why house prices matter for well-being. House prices may influence well-being via a wealth/access-to-credit mechanism, as a rise in prices increases housing wealth and the collateral value of a house, and via a relative concerns mechanism, if renters compare themselves to homeowners and vice versa. Alternatively, any correlation between house prices and well-being may simply reflect broader economic conditions rather than a causal effect. Using local area house price data, this study distinguishes between these alternative explanations by comparing the correlation between local house prices and well-being for homeowners and renters. A small positive correlation between house prices and well-being exists for both homeowners and renters, indicating the absence of a wealth/credit mechanism or relative concerns mechanism. This correlation cannot be explained by economic variables such as local unemployment, earnings or earnings expectations, hinting at a purely psychological phenomenon.
Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK, The Centre for Market and Public Organisation. 01/2010;
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Women’s family and working lives have changed enormously over the last 25 years in the United Kingdom (UK). Most of the changes
are well-documented and several have been discussed in other chapters – women are increasingly delaying childbearing and more
are remaining childless (see Simpson, 2009); they are also delaying partnership, increasingly choosing cohabitation instead
of marriage, and a growing number are raising children as lone mothers; and women are working more, both before and after
childbearing (see Hansen et al., 2009).
06/2009: pages 41-58;
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Evidence shows that real-effort investments can affect bilateral bargaining outcomes. This paper investigates whether similar investments can inhibit equilibrium convergence of experimental markets. In one treatment, sellers’ relative effort affects the allocation of production costs, but a random productivity shock ensures that the allocation is not necessarily equitable. In another treatment, sellers’ effort increases the buyers’ valuation of a good. We find that effort investments have a short-lived impact on trading behavior when sellers’ effort benefits buyers, but no effect when effort determines cost allocation. Efficiency rates are high and do not differ across treatments.
Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK, The Centre for Market and Public Organisation. 01/2008;
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Against a background of falling and low fertility, this paper presents an analysis of trends in fertility in the UK across cohorts born between 1935 and 1975. The decline in fertility is shown to have two distinct phases – first, a fall in third and higher-order births (affecting cohorts born 1935-45) and second, a delay in childbearing and a rise in childlessness (affecting cohorts born since 1945). The delay in childbearing and rise in childlessness cannot all be explained by the rise in female participation in higher education, rather there has been increasing polarization in fertility and employment by education.
01/2007;
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: We estimate the causal effect of mandatory participation in the military service on the involvement in criminal activities. We exploit the random assignment of young men to military service in Argentina through a draft lottery to identify this causal effect. Using a unique set of administrative data that includes draft eligibility, participation in the military service, and criminal records, we find that participation in the military service increases the likelihood of developing a criminal record in adulthood. The effects are not only significant for the cohorts that performed military service during war times, but also for those that provided service at peace times. We also find that military service has detrimental effects on future performance in the labor market.
Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK, The Centre for Market and Public Organisation. 01/2007;
-
Journal of Population Economics 25(1):245-266. · 0.92 Impact Factor
