The landmark US welfare reform of 1996 provided strong incentives for poor women to work while receiving assistance â but it also provided incentives for some women to reduce their earnings to qualify for benefits. This research develops a new approach to detecting this âwelfare opt-inâ effect and uses it to analyze data from a large randomized evaluation of welfare reform in Connecticut: the âJobs Firstâ program.
The productivity effects of importing inputs: evidence from Hungary
Improved access to foreign inputs has increased firmsâ productivity in a number of countries. Analysing data for Hungary, this research explores the channels through which imported inputs boost productivity and finds that the positive effects are particularly strong for foreign-owned firms.
Does the medical residency match lower salaries for residents?
Whatâs the best way to match new doctors to medical residency programs? The medical residency matching problem is solved by a centralized coordination system that pairs market participants according to their preferences. This paper examines the evidence for the claim that the matching system depresses salaries and finds that an alternative explanation â low salaries represent an implicit tuition fee for medical training â is more promising.
Why is labor mobility in India so low?
Migration from rural areas of India to the city is surprisingly low compared with other large developing countries, leaving higher paying job opportunities unexploited. This research shows that well-functioning rural insurance networks are in part responsible for this misallocation in the labor market, creating incentives that keep adult males in the village. Policies that provide private credit to wealthy households or government safety nets to poor households would encourage greater rural-urban migration but they could also have unintended distributional consequences.
The dynamics of labor market adjustment to trade liberalization
How long should we expect the labor market transition following a trade liberalization episode to last? To what extent will the potential gains from trade be reduced due to the slow adjustment of the economy to the new trade equilibrium? What are the characteristics of the workers who will lose the most from trade liberalization?
Divorce laws and the economic behavior of married couples
By regulating when divorce can occur and how resources are divided when it does, divorce laws can affect peopleâs behavior and their wellbeing both during marriage and at divorce. Household survey data from the United States shows that the introduction of unilateral divorce in states that imposed an equal division of property is associated with higher household savings and lower female employment rates among couples that are already married. This paper develops a model of household behavior to account for these effects and study how current laws can affect the wellbeing of different household members.
Wealthy âhand-to-mouthâ households: key to understanding the impacts of fiscal stimulus
Many families in Europe and North America have substantial assets in the form of housing and retirement accounts but little in the way of liquid wealth or credit facilities to offset short-term income falls. This research shows that these households respond strongly to receiving temporary government transfers, boosting the economy through increased consumption. The findings have far-reaching implications for the design of fiscal stimulus policies in a recession.
Prices, markups and trade reform
In our globalized economy, information about the costs, benefits, and distributional consequences of lowering trade barriers is essential to policymakers trying to decide if a particular agreement should be supported. This research fills an important gap in our knowledge concerning the effects of reducing trade barriers when firms have some degree of monopoly power.
Family welfare cultures: evidence from Norwayâs system of disability insurance
Over the past 50 years, many countries have seen a dramatic rise in the share of their adult population receiving disability benefits â and some argue that the explanation lies in a culture where dependency on welfare is passed from parents to children. By analysing a natural experiment provided by Norwayâs system of disability insurance, this research presents some of the first causal evidence for the intergenerational transmission of âfamily welfare culturesâ.
Competition and ideological diversity: historical evidence from US newspapers
Many news outlets are struggling to survive in rapidly evolving print and digital media markets. This has caused concern that these markets will be dominated by a small number of firms with political agendas. What can regulators do to prevent this from happening and ensure, as much as possible, that the public is served by a competitive, politically diverse marketplace of ideas?
