846 research outputs found
The role of income in marriage and divorce transitions among young Americans
No full textThe paper investigates the importance of income in young Americans’ decisions to form and dissolve households. Using data on young American men and women from the NLSY, an important role for income in both these transitions is found. There are significant differences between young men and women. High earnings capacity increases the probability of marriage and decreases the probability of divorce for young men. High earnings capacity decreases the probability of marriage for young women, and has no impact on divorce. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2003Marriage, divorce, income effects, J12,
Employment, family union and childbearing decisions in Great Britain
No full textThe paper investigates the life-cycle relationship of work and family life in Britain based on the British Household Panel Survey. Using hazard regression techniques we estimate a five-equation model, which includes birth events, union formation, union dissolution, employment and non-employment events. We find that transitions in and out of employment for men are relatively independent of other transitions. In contrast, there are strong links between employment of females, having children and union formation. By undertaking a detailed microsimulations analysis, we show that different levels of labour force participation by females do not necessarily lead to large changes in fertility events. Changes in union formation and fertility events, in contrast, have larger effects on employment
'I vont to be alone': transitions to independent living, marriage and divorce among young Americans
No full textWe investigate the importance of economic factors in young Americans’ decisions to form and dissolve households. We adopt a search theoretic framework to analyse the decisions to: leave the parental home; form a marriage or partnership; and dissolve a marriage or partnership. We focus, in particular, on the impact of economic factors. Using a 14-year panel dataset of young Americans (the NLSY), we find an important role for income in all these transitions. High income in the individual’s present state reduces the chance of changing state, while high expected income in the destination state makes a move more likely
Transitions from home to marriage of young Americans
No full textThe paper examines the impact of income on the transitions between home, living independently and first marriage of young Americans. A matching model is outlined, similar to that used in theories of job search, to explain the probability of marriage and living alone. A multiple-state, multiple-transition model which allows for correlated heterogeneity on the first and subsequent transitions is estimated. The results show that income has a strong and significant effect. The impact of unobserved heterogeneity is examined in detail. The impact of the young person's earnings on the transitions is explored through simulation
Modelling poverty by not modelling poverty: an application of a simultaneous hazards approach to the UK
No full textWe pursue an economic approach to analysing poverty. This requires a focus on the variables that individuals can influence, such as forming or dissolving a union or having children. We argue that this indirect approach to modelling poverty is the right way to bring economic tools to bear on the issue. In our implementation of this approach, we focus on endogenous demographic and employment transitions as the driving forces behind changes in poverty. We construct a dataset covering event histories over a long window and estimate five simultaneous hazards with unrestricted correlated heterogeneity. The model fits the demographic and poverty data reasonably well. We investigate the important parameters and processes for differences in individuals poverty likelihood. Employment, and particularly employment of disadvantaged women with children, is important. poverty dynamics; poverty transitions; simultaneous hazards
Mums go online: Is the internet changing the demand for healthcare?
No full textWe study the effect of internet diffusion on childbirth procedures performed in England between 2000 and 2011. We exploit an identification strategy based on geographical discontinuities in internet access generated by technological factors. We show that broadband internet access increased Cesarean-sections: mothers living in areas with better internet access are 2.5 percent more likely to have a C-section than mothers living in areas with worse internet access. The effect is driven by first-time mothers who are 6 percent more likely to obtain an elective C-section. The increased C-section rate is not accompanied by changes in health care outcomes of mothers and newborns. Health care costs increased with no corresponding medical benefits for patients. Heterogeneity analysis shows that mothers with low income and low education are those more affected: thanks to the internet, they progressively close the C-section gap with mothers with higher income and education. We show evidence documenting the growing importance of the internet as a source of health related information, and we argue that patient’s access to online information is changing the relationship between health care providers and patients
The Impact of Competition on Management Quality: Evidence from Public Hospitals
No full textWe analyze the causal impact of competition on managerial quality (and hospital performance). To address the endogeneity of market structure we analyze the English public hospital sector where entry and exit are controlled by the central government. Because closing hospitals in areas where the governing party is expecting a tight election race ("marginals") is rare due to the fear of electoral defeat, we can use political marginality as an instrumental variable for the number of hospitals in a geographical area. We find that higher competition is positively correlated with management quality, measured using a new survey tool. Adding a rival hospital increases management quality by 0.4 standard deviations and increases survival rates from emergency heart attacks by 8.8%. We confirm the validity of our IV strategy by conditioning on marginality in the hospital's own catchment area, thus identifying purely off the marginality of rival hospitals. This controls for "hidden policies" that could be used in marginal districts to improve hospital management. We also run placebo tests of marginality on schools, a public service where the central government has no formal influence on market structure.management, hospitals, competition, productivity
Early Health Related Behaviours and their Impact on Later Life Chances: Evidence from the US (OUT (publ. in Health Economics, 7(5), 1998)
No full textThis paper uses evidence from the US to examine the impact of adolescent illegal consumption and violent behaviour on later life chances. Specifically, we look at the effect of such behaviour by young men in late adolscence on productivity and household formation ten years on. We find that alcohol and soft drug consumption have no harmful effects on economic prospects in later life. In contrast, hard drug consumption and violent behaviour in adolescence are both associated with lower productivity even by the time the individuals are in their late twenties. These effects are substantial and affect earnings levels and earnings growth. These results are robust to the inclusion of a rich set of additional controls measuring aspects of the individuals' backgrounds. However, we find no evidence of any of these behaviours significantly affecting household formation.alcohol and drug consumption, anti-social behaviour, earnings, marriage
Expenditure on healthcare in the UK: a review of the issues
No full textThis review examines the performance of the UK healthcare system. After presenting data on the level and distribution of resources, three topics are examined. The first is the lessons from international comparisons of evidence on expenditure, equity and healthcare outcomes. The second is the lessons from the recent internal market reforms. The third is the lessons from an analysis of the role for private finance in UK healthcare. The review concludes that economists and policymakers need to focus more attention on the relationship between healthcare inputs — expenditure — and health outcomes, and, within this, on the incentives facing suppliers and demanders of healthcare.
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