We examine the relationship between income volatility and life expectancy in mid-sized U.S. commuting zones between 2006 and 2014. We use a commercial dataset, InfoUSA, to measure income volatility which we link to estimates of life expectancy by gender, county, race, and income. We find that higher income volatility in a county is associated with lower life expectancy, but only at the bottom of the income distribution and primarily for non-Hispanic Whites. Though we cannot extrapolate our findings to individual-level relationships, we do link them to existing literatures on place-based differences in mortality and the relationship between volatility and health.
{"title":"The Association between the Volatility of Income and Life Expectancy in the United States.","authors":"Anna L Ziff, Emily Wiemers, V Joseph Hotz","doi":"10.1086/732668","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/732668","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We examine the relationship between income volatility and life expectancy in mid-sized U.S. commuting zones between 2006 and 2014. We use a commercial dataset, InfoUSA, to measure income volatility which we link to estimates of life expectancy by gender, county, race, and income. We find that higher income volatility in a county is associated with lower life expectancy, but only at the bottom of the income distribution and primarily for non-Hispanic Whites. Though we cannot extrapolate our findings to individual-level relationships, we do link them to existing literatures on place-based differences in mortality and the relationship between volatility and health.</p>","PeriodicalId":48308,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Labor Economics","volume":"43 Suppl 1","pages":"S153-S178"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12002405/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144019205","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Erin Kelley, Gregory Lane, Matthew Pecenco, Edward Rubin
Many workers are evaluated on their ability to engage with customers. We measure the impact of gender-based customer discrimination on the productivity of online sales agents in sub-Saharan Africa. Using a novel framework that randomly varies the gender of names presented to customers without changing worker behavior, we find the assignment of a female-sounding name leads to 50 percent fewer purchases. Customers also lag in responding, are less expressive, and avoid discussing purchases. We show similar results for customers around the world and across workers. Removing customer bias, we find women would be more productive than their male coworkers.
{"title":"Customer Discrimination in the Workplace: Evidence from Online Sales.","authors":"Erin Kelley, Gregory Lane, Matthew Pecenco, Edward Rubin","doi":"10.1086/733049","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/733049","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Many workers are evaluated on their ability to engage with customers. We measure the impact of gender-based customer discrimination on the productivity of online sales agents in sub-Saharan Africa. Using a novel framework that randomly varies the gender of names presented to customers without changing worker behavior, we find the assignment of a female-sounding name leads to 50 percent fewer purchases. Customers also lag in responding, are less expressive, and avoid discussing purchases. We show similar results for customers around the world and across workers. Removing customer bias, we find women would be more productive than their male coworkers.</p>","PeriodicalId":48308,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Labor Economics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12352488/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144974629","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
We document that the US marriage market is characterized by two systematic empirical patterns. First, there is a quantitatively large, strong, and persistent negative relationship between changes in cohort size and marriage rates of women. Second, the same negative correlation holds for men. We then establish the features a model should possess to generate these patterns. A standard matching model with search frictions is rejected by the data because it produces a negative relationship for women but a positive relationship for men. We generalize the standard model to show under what conditions it rationalizes both patterns.
{"title":"Cohort Size and the Marriage Market: Explaining Nearly a Century of Changes in US Marriage Rates.","authors":"Mary Ann Bronson, Maurizio Mazzocco","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We document that the US marriage market is characterized by two systematic empirical patterns. First, there is a quantitatively large, strong, and persistent negative relationship between changes in cohort size and marriage rates of women. Second, the same negative correlation holds for men. We then establish the features a model should possess to generate these patterns. A standard matching model with search frictions is rejected by the data because it produces a negative relationship for women but a positive relationship for men. We generalize the standard model to show under what conditions it rationalizes both patterns.</p>","PeriodicalId":48308,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Labor Economics","volume":"42 3","pages":"877-920"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12726969/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145828852","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Analyzing data spanning three decades covering the near universe of births, we study county-level differences in Cesarean section (C-section) rates among first-time mothers of singleton births. Our research reveals persistent geographic variation in C-section rates for both low- and high-risk groups. Counties with elevated C-section rates consistently perform more C-sections across mothers at all levels of appropriateness for the procedure. These elevated rates of C-section in high C-section counties are associated with reduced maternal and infant morbidity. We also find that C-section decisions are less responsive to underlying risks for Black mothers relative to white mothers, suggesting potential welfare-reducing disparities.
{"title":"Geographic Variation in Cesarean Sections in the United States: Trends, Correlates, and Other Interesting Facts.","authors":"Sarah Robinson,Heather Royer,David Silver","doi":"10.1086/728804","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/728804","url":null,"abstract":"Analyzing data spanning three decades covering the near universe of births, we study county-level differences in Cesarean section (C-section) rates among first-time mothers of singleton births. Our research reveals persistent geographic variation in C-section rates for both low- and high-risk groups. Counties with elevated C-section rates consistently perform more C-sections across mothers at all levels of appropriateness for the procedure. These elevated rates of C-section in high C-section counties are associated with reduced maternal and infant morbidity. We also find that C-section decisions are less responsive to underlying risks for Black mothers relative to white mothers, suggesting potential welfare-reducing disparities.","PeriodicalId":48308,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Labor Economics","volume":"75 1","pages":"S219-S259"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142249153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wolfgang Frimmel, Martin Halla, Jörg Paetzold, Julia Schmieder
{"title":"Health of Parents, Their Children's Labor Supply, and the Role of Migrant Care Workers","authors":"Wolfgang Frimmel, Martin Halla, Jörg Paetzold, Julia Schmieder","doi":"10.1086/729102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/729102","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48308,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Labor Economics","volume":"14 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139004912","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Imran Rasul, Vittorio Bassi, Oriana Bandiera, Robin Burgess, Anna Vitali, Munshi Sulaiman
{"title":"The Search for Good Jobs: Evidence from a Six-year Field Experiment in Uganda","authors":"Imran Rasul, Vittorio Bassi, Oriana Bandiera, Robin Burgess, Anna Vitali, Munshi Sulaiman","doi":"10.1086/728429","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/728429","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48308,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Labor Economics","volume":"35 1-2","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134909814","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Severe gender imbalances coupled with the stark income differences across countries are driving an increase in cross-border marriages in many Asian countries. This paper theoretically and empirically studies who marries whom, including how cross-border couples are selected, and how marital surplus is allocated within couples in the marriage markets of Taiwan (a wealthier side with male-biased sex ratios) and Vietnam (a poorer side with balanced sex ratios). Among the cross-border marriages that are predominantly made up of Taiwanese men and Vietnamese women, I nd that Taiwanese men are selected from the middle level of the socioeconomic status distribution, and Vietnamese women are positively selected for cross-border marriages. Moreover, I show that changes in costs of cross-border marriage, incurred by immigration-policy changes and proliferation of matching services, also affect the welfare of Taiwanese and Vietnamese who do not participate in cross-border marriages by altering marriage rates, matching partners, and intra-household allocations.
{"title":"Matching Across Markets: An Economic Analysis of Cross-Border Marriage","authors":"So Yoon Ahn","doi":"10.1086/728359","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/728359","url":null,"abstract":"Severe gender imbalances coupled with the stark income differences across countries are driving an increase in cross-border marriages in many Asian countries. This paper theoretically and empirically studies who marries whom, including how cross-border couples are selected, and how marital surplus is allocated within couples in the marriage markets of Taiwan (a wealthier side with male-biased sex ratios) and Vietnam (a poorer side with balanced sex ratios). Among the cross-border marriages that are predominantly made up of Taiwanese men and Vietnamese women, I nd that Taiwanese men are selected from the middle level of the socioeconomic status distribution, and Vietnamese women are positively selected for cross-border marriages. Moreover, I show that changes in costs of cross-border marriage, incurred by immigration-policy changes and proliferation of matching services, also affect the welfare of Taiwanese and Vietnamese who do not participate in cross-border marriages by altering marriage rates, matching partners, and intra-household allocations.","PeriodicalId":48308,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Labor Economics","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136377193","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic Recession on Less Educated Women’s Human Capital: Some Projections","authors":"Mark Drozd, Robert Moffitt, Xinyu Zhao","doi":"10.1086/728431","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/728431","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48308,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Labor Economics","volume":"21 4","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134909482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
We investigate the impact on work absences of a large reduction in paid sick leave benefits in Spain. Our results highlight substantial decreases in frequency (number of spells) mostly offset by increases in duration (length of spells). Overall, the policy did reduce the number of days lost to sick leave. For some, however, return to work was premature, as we document large increases in both the proportion of relapses and the number of working accidents. Displacement toward this unaffected benefit scheme cancels out almost two-fifths of the gains in terms of estimated absence reductions from the sick leave benefit cut.
{"title":"Sick Leave Cuts and (Unhealthy) Returns to Work","authors":"Olivier Marie, Judit Vall Castello","doi":"10.1086/720629","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/720629","url":null,"abstract":"We investigate the impact on work absences of a large reduction in paid sick leave benefits in Spain. Our results highlight substantial decreases in frequency (number of spells) mostly offset by increases in duration (length of spells). Overall, the policy did reduce the number of days lost to sick leave. For some, however, return to work was premature, as we document large increases in both the proportion of relapses and the number of working accidents. Displacement toward this unaffected benefit scheme cancels out almost two-fifths of the gains in terms of estimated absence reductions from the sick leave benefit cut.","PeriodicalId":48308,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Labor Economics","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135790550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}