Children as income-producing assets: the case of teen illegitimacy and government transfers

This paper develops a classical model of the teen fertility decision in the presence of public income transfers. The theoretical model predicts that welfare payments will encourage fertility, holding constant other economic opportunities, and that better economic opportunities will discourage fertility. Considering the possible simultaneity of illegitimacy rates and benefit levels, due to the collective choice process, the authors confirm the theoretical model's predictions with state-level data from 1980 through 1990. The authors find that including fixed effects in the regression to control for unobserved differences between states does not sufficiently control for endogeneity. After controlling for endogeneity, real welfare benefits are strongly and robustly related to teen illegitimacy. The point estimates of the elasticity with respect to changes in the illegitimacy rate are around +1.3 for White teens and +2.1 for Black teens. Real wages for women with a high school education or less are negatively related to teen illegitimacy for White teens, with an elasticity of around -0.4. Finally, male wages appear to have little effect on the illegitimacy rate for White teens but appear negatively correlated with the illegitimacy rate for Black teens in some model specifications.     

The impact of diabetes insurance mandates on infant health

Among the factors thought to contribute to lagging improvements in infant health in recent years are increasing obesity and diabetes prevalence among women of childbearing age. This article uses a difference‐in‐difference‐in‐difference empirical strategy to investigate the impact of mandated insurance coverage for diabetes on adverse pregnancy outcomes. Among educated women, who have high rates of coverage through private insurance that is subject to insurance mandates, diabetes mandates are associated with a reduction in low birth weight and premature birth prevalence. These gains are concentrated among older women and are larger for African‐Americans. There is a weaker effect on the prevalence of high birth weight, potentially because of the deleterious effects of an increased probability of pregnancy weight gain in excess of 35 pounds among diabetic women in states with mandates.     

The effect of family planning exposure on fertility choices and reproductive health care in rural Pakistan

This paper investigates whether family planning exposure mainly through the Lady Health Worker Program has had any effect on women’s fertility choices and use of reproductive health care service in rural Pakistan, using the 2013 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS). Exploiting variations in the program intensity across regions, we conduct instrumental variables (IV) estimation on the impact of family planning exposure on women’s fertility preferences and reproductive behaviors. Our analysis shows that even in the presence of strong son preferences in Pakistan, increasing family planning exposure reduces women’s incentive to have additional children. Moreover, family planning exposure is associated with more antenatal care visits, more deliveries performed by skilled professionals, and a greater chance of delivery at the health center. Finally, we examine the heterogeneity in the effect on fertility preference by age group and education level, and find that the effect is mainly significant for the educated and young women.     

Can Beer Taxes Affect Teen Pregnancy? Evidence Based on Teen Abortion Rates and Birth Rates

Economists have investigated the effects of increased alcohol taxes on various alcohol-related phenomena like traffic fatalities, but to my knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the effects of beer taxes on teen pregnancy outcomes, namely abortion and birth rates. The study employs state-level data for 15-19-year-old women for the years 1985, 1988, 1992, and 1996. The smallness of the panel imposes some constraints on the statistical methods used. Results indicate that higher beer taxes have statistically significant negative effects on teen abortion rates, though the magnitudes of the effects are quite small. Effects on birthrates are statistically insignificant. This suggests that increased beer taxes may help prevent some unwanted pregnancies that would typically be terminated via abortions rather than culminating in live births. However, the small magnitudes of the effects strongly caution against relying on increased beer taxes to noticeably reduce teen pregnancy rates.     

Culture,fertility and the socioeconomic status of women

This paper aims to study the effect of culture on economic outcomes by focusing on one unique fertility norm in China: the belief of continuing the family line. Using the national representative household survey data, we successively examine the fertility behavior and socioeconomic status of women in regions of China with varying beliefs regarding continuing the family line. We show that this local fertility norm has positive and significant effects on the fertility behavior, including the number of births; sex selection biased towards boys; and the education, employment status, and income of women. We also show that the gender gaps in education, labor supply, and income are significantly larger in regions where the belief of continuing the family line is stronger. Our results are robust to the control for reverse causality issue by measuring the local fertility norm using the beliefs of the older generation.     

The Effects of State Merit Aid Programs on Attendance at Elite Colleges

State merit aid programs have been found to reduce the likelihood that students attend college out of state. Using the U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) rankings of colleges and universities to measure college quality and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System data to measure enrollment, we explore how this reduction in out‐of‐state enrollment differs by the academic quality of the institution. Our difference‐in‐differences results suggest that state merit aid programs do not induce students to forgo attending top 15 ranked schools. However, state merit aid does induce some students to forgo attending out‐of‐state schools ranked below the top 15 and shifts them toward lower quality in‐state schools, so that the net effect is a reduction in academic quality, as measured by USNWR. These effects may have long‐term implications for students' degree completion rates and labor market earnings.     

Income Disparity among Persons with Disabilities,Assessed by Education and Sex: Accentuated Gender Difference Found in Metro Manila,the Philippines

How do persons with disabilities (PWDs) earn a living? This paper presents an investigation of the economic activities of PWDs in the Philippines, where, among developing countries, disability‐related legislation is relatively progressive. In 2008, a field survey was conducted in cooperation with Disability People's Organizations using a tailor‐made questionnaire in Metro Manila. The explanatory variables of income of PWDs were examined using Mincer regression. The conclusions are as follows. (1) There is remarkable income disparity among PWDs, differing with education and sex. (2) After controlling for PWDs' characteristics, it was found that female PWDs are likely to earn less than male PWDs. Such a significant income gap between men and women among PWDs is remarkable in the Philippines, where gender difference in income is generally small. This finding suggests that female PWDs are doubly disadvantaged in earning income.     

Early Adolescent Sex and Diminished School Attachment: Selection or Spillovers?

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examines the relationship between adolescent virginity and four measures of school attachment: out-of-school suspensions, unexcused absences from school, affinity for school, and preference to attend college. Ordinary least squares and school fixed effects estimates reflect that adolescents who engage in sexual activity are less likely to be attached to school than virgins. However, after controlling for unmeasured heterogeneity via individual fixed effects and instrumental variables, the evidence of a causal link is weaker, with modest adverse effects of early teen sex observed for the youngest teenagers. The results suggest that adverse educational spillovers of early teen sex are sensitive to controls for unobservables.     

The Effect of SNAP and School Food Programs on Food Security,Diet Quality,and Food Spending: Sensitivity to Program Reporting Error

There is an extensive research literature on the effects of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on food‐related outcomes which has shown somewhat mixed results but generally favorable effects. However, most of the research has used data sets whose information on SNAP participation is gathered from responses on household surveys, and such responses are subject to reporting error. This study uses the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey data set to examine the effect of reporting error on food‐related outcomes, for that data set contains information on SNAP participation gathered from government administrative records. Our analysis shows that the degree of reporting error is small and has little effect on the estimated impact of participation in the SNAP program on food security, diet quality, and food spending. A supplemental analysis of the effect of school food programs likewise shows no difference in using survey or administrative data in the analysis.     

Does Generation Matter to Entrepreneurship? Four Generations of Entrepreneurs

This study for the first time addresses generation effects on eight entrepreneur types across four U.S. generations: Traditionalists, Boomers, Gen‐Xers, and Millennials. It adopts hierarchical age‐period‐cohort (HAPC) models using multilevel mixed‐effects logistic regression models with random period effect controls and the same‐age comparison between two neighboring generations. The empirical study relies on monthly Current Population Survey data across 11 years (2006–2016). When controlling for age, period, path dependency, seasonality, and other demographic and socioeconomic factors, no generational differences are identified for workers' entrepreneur propensity, mirroring entrepreneurs' misfits; for entrepreneur‐type propensities, limited generation differences are identified: the odds for Gen‐Xers to be novice (vs. non‐novice) entrepreneurs are 10% higher than Boomers for the ages of 44 and 51; the odds for Boomers to be opportunity (vs. necessity) entrepreneurs are 2.3 times higher than Traditionalists for the ages 63–70. The limited generational difference is consistent with prior literature using HAPC.     

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN POPULATION GROUPS IN SOUTH AFRICA AND THE TIMING AND NUMBER OF BIRTHS

From 1981 to 2005, the total fertility rate in South Africa has been reduced from an estimated level of 4.6 to 2.8 children per woman. The relative differences in the total fertility rate between population groups, however, remain large. Our empirical analysis of the determinants of the timing of births shows that better‐educated women schedule birth later and have fewer children. The differences in education between population groups account for a substantive part (up to 40%) of the differences in completed fertility between the population groups. Our findings suggest that educational reforms aimed at equal access to education, which benefit African women most, may not only improve the quality of life of women but also, through their impact on fertility behaviour, yield long‐run benefits, as they will have fewer children and more resources to invest in the next generation.     

Timing is Everything: The Impact of School Lunch Length on Children's Body Weight

The large number of overweight children in the United States has prompted school administrators and policy makers to identify practices in schools that contribute to unhealthy weight outcomes for children and develop strategies to prevent further increases. Advocates for school nutrition reform have suggested that it is important for children to have an adequate amount of time to eat meals in school in order to maintain a healthy weight. This article examines whether the length of time children are given to eat lunch in school has an impact on their weight. I find evidence that an increase in lunch length reduces the probability a child is overweight, and this finding is robust across various econometric specifications, including a two‐sample instrumental variable model and difference‐in‐differences model that account for the potential endogeneity of lunch length.     

LINKING POVERTY AND INCOME SHOCKS TO RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR: EVIDENCE FROM A PANEL STUDY OF YOUNG ADULTS IN CAPE TOWN

Is there a link between household income and income stress, and risky sexual behaviour of young people? Anecdotal and qualitative evidence suggests this may be the case, but there is little quantitative research measuring this relationship. We use two waves of new data from the Cape Area Panel Study to investigate this link for 2,993 African and coloured youths aged 14 to 22 in 2002. In the process, we discuss one type of research design that could allow for a causal interpretation of the effect of income poverty on HIV risk. This design plausibly separates out the effect of income stress from the effect of living in a poor household by comparing behaviours across households with and without negative economic shocks, conditional on baseline income. Our results indicate that females in poorer households are more likely to be sexually active in 2002 and more likely to sexually debut by 2005. In addition, girls in households experiencing negative economic shocks are more likely to reduce condom use between 2002 and 2005. However, they are less likely to have multiple partners in 2002 or have transitioned to multiple partners by 2005. Males who experienced a negative shock are more likely to have multiple partners. Despite the tight research design for assessing shocks, the findings on the impacts of shocks do not generate clear recommendations for policy. There appears to be no systematic difference in condom use at last sex by household income levels or income shocks.     

Do Households Prefer Small School Districts? A Natural Experiment

Some education reformers have proposed breaking up large urban school districts, thereby moving to a more efficient scale, increasing school choices, and promoting school competition. This article tests whether households expect these effects and whether they value them. It considers the effect on real estate prices of the surprise breakup of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) into 11 minidistricts in April 2000. We estimate households' reaction to this reform in a difference‐in‐differences setting that controls for any unobserved spatial effects unaffected by the announcement. We find that households valued this decentralization, with a 2–3 percentage point increase in housing values in the LAUSD area over pre‐existing trends, compared with control districts. The effect is highest in wealthier neighborhoods but otherwise homogenous within the LAUSD area. The results suggest that households believe that decentralization would make schools more effective and that they respond to signals about schools' future.     

Determinants of Female Fertility in Taiwan, 1966–2001: Empirical Evidence from Cointegration and Variance Decomposition Analysis*

This study investigates the determinants of the fertility rate in Taiwan over the period 1966–2001. Consistent with theory, the key explanatory variables in Taiwan's fertility model are real income, infant mortality rate, female education and female labor force participation rate. The test for cointegration is based on the recently developed bounds testing procedure while the long‐run and short‐run elasticities are based on the autoregressive distributed lag model. Among our key results, female education and female labor force participation rate are found to be the key determinants of fertility in Taiwan in the long run. The variance decom‐position analysis indicates that in the long run approximately 45percent of the variation in fertility is explained by the combined impact of female labor force participation, mortality and income, implying that socioeconomic development played an important role in the fertility transition in Taiwan. This result is consistent with the traditional structural hypothesis.     

THE CHANGING FACE OF PUBLIC FINANCING OF HIGHER EDUCATION,WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SOUTH AFRICA1

Higher education displays characteristics of both private and public goods and there is a trend worldwide to expect individuals to pay more of the costs of their higher education. In South Africa public funding of higher education decreased from 0.86% of GDP in 1986 to only 0.66% in 2006; so that student tuition fees had to be increased to compensate for this loss of income. In the process staff numbers were kept relatively constant while student numbers increased appreciably. Two future scenarios, based on public higher education expenditure as a percentage of GDP and on real state allocation per WFTES, are spelt out. Although the qualifications awarded per FTE academic staff member increased over time, the graduation rates of the higher education institutions in South Africa are worsening. High‐level research, measured in publication units per FTE academic staff member, shows a disturbing decreasing trend since 1997.     

Faculty Gender in the College Classroom: Does It Matter for Achievement and Major Choice?

Many feel that faculty members of the same gender may serve as role models, helping students to perform better in classes and encouraging them to continue in a subject. However, while higher education research has found evidence of positive effects of matching on gender, there are also many findings of zero impact. The main hurdle in this literature is identifying the exogenous impact in the absence of student sorting by gender. This article addresses this difficulty by using institutional data from a private liberal arts institution to examine outcomes for students in courses taught by new faculty members for which the students would not know the gender before registering. Results provide evidence of a role model effect for both genders; students earn higher grades in courses taught by same‐gender instructors in fields traditionally dominated by the opposite gender. Major choice and course‐taking behavior are mostly unaffected by faculty gender.     

Educational Investment for Future Marriage? Evidence of Missing Girls from China

Numerous studies have shown that a sex ratio imbalance (more boys than girls in a society) may result in a sequence of social problems. This study investigated the expected effect of a high sex ratio on educational investment. Using nationally representative data from the China Family Panel Studies and the 2010 Census, we determined the following: (i) a high sex ratio increased educational expenditure for boys relative to girls; (ii) parents who took education seriously and who cared about their children's education were more likely to invest in education to appear attractive in the future marriage market, and (iii) the profound impact of a high sex ratio on educational expenditure was more pronounced in less educated and poorer families. Our findings raised the possibility that the effect of the sex ratio may bring about more gender inequality in the future. The implicit cost of a high sex ratio may further lead to a vicious cycle of family fertility and childbearing.     

Determinants of Well‐being and Poverty Changes in Cameroon: 2001–2007

Abstract: This paper identifies and decomposes sources that explain household economic well‐being in Cameroon. It uses the 2001 and 2007 Cameroon Household Consumption Surveys, synthetic variables constructed by the multiple correspondence analysis and econometric approaches that correct for potential endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity in a step‐wise manner and simultaneously. Sources of well‐being that explain poverty are then decomposed into growth and redistribution components. Variables that significantly explain household economic well‐being are education, health, household size, fraction of active household members, working in the formal sector and area of residence. Decomposition analysis shows that the growth components largely account for changes in deprivation in terms of each regressed‐income source. With the exception of the income source education, redistribution components slowed down progress in alleviating shortfall in other regressed‐income sources. These results have implications for public interventions that affect education and health for all, labour market participation and infrastructure development.