111,954 research outputs found
The Baby Boom, Baby Busts, and Grandmothers
No full textStudies in family economics and anthropology suggest that grandmothers are a highly valuable source of childcare assistance. As such, availability of grandmothers affects the cost of having children, and hence fertility decisions of young parents. In this paper, we develop a simple model to assess the fertility implications of the fluctuations in both output (as argued by demographers) and grandmother-availability induced child-care costs over the period 1920-1970. Model does a good job of mimicking the bust-boom-bust pattern during this period. When the child-care cost channel is shut down, the model’s performance weakens significantly; in particular, it fails to capture the bust in the 1960’s altogether.fertility, baby boom, baby bust, female labor-force participation, grandmother availability
Baby Boom, Asset Market Meltdown and Liquidity Trap
No full textA so-called “asset market meltdown hypothesis” predicts that baby boomers’ large savings will drive asset market booms that will eventually collapse because of the boomers’ large retirement dissavings. As good news to baby boomers, our analysis shows that this meltdown hypothesis is fundamentally flawed; and baby-boom-driven asset market booms may not necessarily collapse. However, bad news is that, in the case where meltdowns are about to happen, forward-looking baby boomers’ attempts to escape them will be futile and may lead the economy into a “liquidity trap”. (JEL E21, E22, E44, G12)baby boom; asset market meltdown; liquidity trap; investment elasticity
THE IMPACT OF CHANGING CONSUMER PREFERENCES ON BABY FOOD CONSUMPTION
No full textThis study examines the relationship between processed baby food consumption, socioeconomic factors, and attitudes and awareness concerning baby food safety and nutrition. The results are consistent with the view that recent concerns about safety may have negatively impacted consumption. Several socioeconomic factors were also found to be significant in explaining consumption.Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,
The scattering of baby Skyrmions off potential obstructions, in a Landau-Lifshitz model
No full textThe dynamics of baby skyrmions of the (2+1) new baby Skyrme model, in a Landau - Lifshitz model, was studied in the presence of various potential obstructions of varying geometries. The potential obstructions were created by introducing a localised inhomogeneity in the new baby Skyrme model's potential coefficient. The size and shape of the potential obstruction was varied and two systems were investigated, namely the symmetric and asymmetric systems. In the symmetric system the trajectory of the baby skyrmions, as they traverse the barrier, was deformed from the normal circular trajectory, during which time the skyrmions sped up. For critical values of the barrier height, the baby skyrmions no longer formed a bound state and were free to separate. In the case of a potential hole, the baby skyrmions no longer formed a bound state and moved asymptotically along the edge of the hole. In the asymmetric barrier system the baby skyrmions behaved the same as the skyrmions of the symmetric obstructions. Away from the obstruction the baby skyrmions orbited the boundary of the system. In the potential hole system the bound skyrmions moved along the edge of the hole. For critical values of the hole depth, the bound state between the skyrmions was broken, resulting in one of the skyrmions remaining stationary and the other traversing the edge of the hole. During our investigations into this system it was found that the definition of the angular momentum must be modified to ensure overall conservation. It was shown how these modifications arise and how they are calculated
The RP(^2) sigma and easy plane baby skyrme models
No full textThis thesis examines the behaviour of two new models exhibiting topological solitons. This analysis is predominantly numerical, but a limited collective coordinate approach is attempted where appropriate. In chapter 1 we review the field of solitons. In particular the nature of topological solitons and their associated mathematical formalism are explained. A number of models admitting solitons are defined. In chapter 2 we look at the numerical methods necessary to solve the time evolution of topological solitons in the S(^2) sigma model and the baby Skyrme model. We also examine methods for finding static solutions of the equations of motion of such models. In chapter 3 we define the RP(^2) sigma and baby Skyrme models. We examine the behaviour of these models and find them to be identical to their (S^2) counterparts for most field configurations. The topological reason for this is explained. The existence of a topological object called a defect is noted and the behaviour of solitons in the presence of a defect is examined. A collective coordinate approach is used to examine the behaviour of solitons in the presence of a defect. In chapter 4 the easy plane baby Skyrme model is defined. An ansatz for the static skyrmions is proposed and its energy found to be accurate to 1.2% for the 1-skyrmion and about 0.5% for 2 to 4-skyrmions. These skyrmions are composed of two quasi- independent soliton like objects which we name "half lumps". These objects may not exist alone. The scattering properties of these objects are examined numerically. The behaviour of these scattering processes are explained in terms of the fields and potential energy of their intermediate states in the simulation. In chapter 5 we summarise our work and propose future work in this field
The Baby Boom and World War II: A Macroeconomic Analysis
No full textWe argue that one major cause of the U.S. postwar baby boom was the rise in female labor supply during WorldWar II. We develop a quantitative dynamic general equilibrium model with endogenous fertility and female labor force participation decisions. We use the model to assess the impact of the war on female labor supply and fertility in the decades following the war. For the war generation of women, the high demand for female labor brought about by mobilization leads to an increase in labor supply that persists after the war. As a result, younger women who reach adulthood in the 1950s face increased labor market competition, which impels them to exit the labor market and start having children earlier. The effect is amplified by the rise in taxes necessary to pay down wartime government debt. In our calibrated model, the war generates a substantial baby boom followed by a baby bust.
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