Search Results

Author: Baum, Charles L., II
Resulting in 29 citations.
1. Baum, Charles L., II
A Dynamic Analysis of the Effect of Child Care Costs on the Work Decisions of Low-Income Mothers with Infants
Demography 39,1 (February 2002): 139-164.
Also: http://www.springerlink.com/content/3551655125501255/
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Child Care; Employment; Income Level; Mothers; Work Hours/Schedule

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Child care costs reduce the net benefit of working and consequently influence mothers' decisions to work. They affect the employment of low-income mothers in particular because they represent a larger portion of these mothers' earnings. I used a hazard framework to examine a mother's decisions about work and hours of work after childbirth. I focused on low-income mothers with infants because they are the ones who may be most affected by child care costs. The results showed that child care costs are a barrier to work that is larger for low-income mothers than for non-low-income mothers. Further, child care costs have large negative effects on hours of work.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. "A Dynamic Analysis of the Effect of Child Care Costs on the Work Decisions of Low-Income Mothers with Infants." Demography 39,1 (February 2002): 139-164.
2. Baum, Charles L., II
Does Early Maternal Employment Harm Child Development? An Analysis of the Potential Benefits of Leave Taking
Journal of Labor Economics 21,2 (April 2003): 409-448.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/345563
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Keyword(s): Bias Decomposition; Child Development; Cognitive Development; Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); Maternal Employment; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT); Work History

More mothers engage in marketplace work today than ever before, with over 33% returning to work by the time their child is 3 months old. This article identifies the effects of maternal marketplace work in the initial months of an infant's life on the child's development. Results suggest that such work in the first year of a child's life has detrimental effects. Where significant, the results also indicate negative effects of maternal employment in the child's first quarter of life. However, the negative effects of maternal marketplace work are partially offset by positive effects of increased family income. EconLit database, Copyright: 2003, American Economic Association.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. "Does Early Maternal Employment Harm Child Development? An Analysis of the Potential Benefits of Leave Taking." Journal of Labor Economics 21,2 (April 2003): 409-448.
3. Baum, Charles L., II
Has Family Leave Legislation Increased Leave-Taking?
Journal of Law and Policy 15 (2004): 93-114.
Also: http://www.wulaw.wustl.edu/Journal/15/p115%20Baum%20book%20pages.pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Washington University - St. Louis, School of Law
Keyword(s): Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); Leave, Family or Maternity/Paternity; Maternal Employment

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In 1993, the federal government passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which gives eligible employees twelve weeks of job-protected unpaid leave from work per year to address family issues. Employees are eligible for family leave under the FMLA if they have worked for their employer for at least a year, accumulating at least 1,250 work hours. Employers are covered if they employ at least fifty workers. Prior to the FMLA's passage, twelve states and the District of Columbia had passed their own family leave legislation mandating similar benefits. One potential use of family leave legislation is to give mothers leave from work after giving birth. One potential use of this legislation is to allow mothers leave from work after giving birth. In this Article, I estimate the effects of family leave legislation on mothers' leave-taking after giving birth. I examine the effects of family leave legislation as a natural experiment because state family leave laws (passed prior to the FMLA) vary both in scope and in dates of enforcement. I also identify the mothers who have the employment history to be eligible for the mandated leave benefits and who work for employers of sufficient size to be covered by their state's legislation. My results suggest that family leave legislation has had little effect on leave taking.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. "Has Family Leave Legislation Increased Leave-Taking?" Journal of Law and Policy 15 (2004): 93-114.
4. Baum, Charles L., II
Seven Jobs in a Lifetime? An Analysis of Employee Tenure
Economic Inquiry published online (16 December 2021): DOI: 10.1111/ecin.13057.
Also: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecin.13057
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97
Publisher: Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Job Tenure; Modeling, Hazard/Event History/Survival/Duration; Work History

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This analysis examines the number of jobs and the lengths of employer-specific tenures for four cohorts of relatively young workers: male and female high school and college graduates. It compares those measures with the experiences of an older cohort of workers who were born approximately 20 years earlier. Young workers today have many jobs--at least seven--over the first decade or two of their careers. The majority last no more than a year. Hazard models for the annual probability of separating from an employer show that short tenures are associated with a high probability of leaving.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. "Seven Jobs in a Lifetime? An Analysis of Employee Tenure." Economic Inquiry published online (16 December 2021): DOI: 10.1111/ecin.13057.
5. Baum, Charles L., II
The Effects of Cigarette Costs on BMI and Obesity
Health Economics 18,1 (January 2009): 3-19.
Also: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hec.881/pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Cigarette Use (see Smoking); Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Obesity; Taxes; Weight

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

About 30% of Americans are currently obese, which is roughly a 100% increase from 25 years ago. Public health officials have consequently become alarmed because recent research indicates that societal costs of obesity now exceed those of cigarette smoking and alcoholism. Cigarette taxes may have exacerbated the prevalence of obesity. In 1964, the US Surgeon General issued its first report relating smoking and health, and since that time, federal and state governments have increased cigarette taxes in a successful effort to reduce cigarette smoking. However, because cigarette smoking and obesity seem inversely related, cigarette taxes may have simultaneously increased obesity. This paper examines the effects of cigarette costs on BMI and obesity and finds that they have significant positive effects. This paper attempts to reconcile conflicting evidence in the literature by controlling more carefully for correlation with state-specific time trends using panel data. Results indicate that the net benefit to society of increasing cigarette taxes may not be as large as previously thought, though this research in no way concludes that they should be decreased to prompt weight loss. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. "The Effects of Cigarette Costs on BMI and Obesity." Health Economics 18,1 (January 2009): 3-19.
6. Baum, Charles L., II
The Effects of College on Weight: Examining the "Freshman 15" Myth and Other Effects of College Over the Life Cycle
Demography 54,1 (February 2017): 311-336.
Also: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13524-016-0530-6
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): College Education; Life Cycle Research; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Modeling, Instrumental Variables; Socioeconomic Background; Weight

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This study examines the effects of college on weight over much of the life cycle. I compare weights for college students with their weights before and after college and with the weights of noncollege peers using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). I also examine the longer-term effects of college measured almost three decades later. I find that college freshmen gain substantially less than the 15 pounds rumored to be typical for freshmen. Using difference models, individual-specific fixed-effects models, and instrumental variables models to control for various sources of potential bias, I find that freshman year college attendance is estimated to cause only about a one-pound increase. Supplemental results show that those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds gain more weight during the freshman college year. Longer term, having a college education consistently decreases weight. These negative effects have faded over the last 20 years, and they diminish as respondents approach middle age. These trends are more prevalent for whites and Hispanics than for blacks.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. "The Effects of College on Weight: Examining the "Freshman 15" Myth and Other Effects of College Over the Life Cycle." Demography 54,1 (February 2017): 311-336.
7. Baum, Charles L., II
The Effects of Employment while Pregnant on Health at Birth
Working Paper, Department of Economics and Finance Working Paper Series, Middle Tennessee State University, September 2004.
Also: http://www.mtsu.edu/~berc/working/Ruhm%20VII.pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Department of Economics and Finance, Middle Tennessee State University
Keyword(s): Child Health; Infants; Maternal Employment; Pregnancy and Pregnancy Outcomes

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Today, many pregnant women take a brief period of time off from work to give birth. In this paper, I identify the effects of pregnancy employment on health at birth. My initial results show that pregnancy employment has beneficial effects. However, these effects often become statistically insignificant when I control for earnings from pregnancy employment, when I exclusively examine women employed prior to the pregnancy, and when I examine siblings in fixed effects models. I conclude that beneficial effects of pregnancy employment are partially due to increased family income via earnings during the pregnancy and partially due to unobserved heterogeneity. There is no evidence that increased female labor force participation adversely affects health at birth.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. "The Effects of Employment while Pregnant on Health at Birth." Working Paper, Department of Economics and Finance Working Paper Series, Middle Tennessee State University, September 2004.
8. Baum, Charles L., II
The Effects of Food Stamp Receipt on Weight Gained by Expectant Mothers
Journal of Population Economics 25,4 (October 2012): 1307-1340.
Also: http://www.springerlink.com/content/dl121w636444r208/
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Springer
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Food Stamps (see Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program); Obesity; Pregnancy and Pregnancy Outcomes; Weight

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

With over 66% of Americans overweight, expectant mothers are unusual because they are encouraged to gain weight while pregnant. Food stamp receipt (FSR) may facilitate recommended weight gain by providing resources for food and nutrition. I examine the effects of FSR on the amount of weight gained by low-income expectant mothers using NLSY79 data. Results indicate FSR decreases the probability gaining insufficient weight but does not exacerbate the probability of gaining too much weight. Examining the effects of FSR on pregnancy weight gain is important because low birth weight is more likely when expectant mothers gain insufficient weight.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. "The Effects of Food Stamp Receipt on Weight Gained by Expectant Mothers." Journal of Population Economics 25,4 (October 2012): 1307-1340.
9. Baum, Charles L., II
The Effects of Food Stamps on Obesity
USDA Research and Information Collections. Washington, DC: US Department of Agriculture, 2007.
Also: http://hdl.handle.net/10113/32855
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Keyword(s): Benefits; Body Mass Index (BMI); Food Stamps (see Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program); Gender Differences; Nutritional Status/Nutrition/Consumption Behaviors; Obesity

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This report uses 1985-2000 data from the 1979 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine the effects of the Food Stamp Program on obesity. The effects are found to differ by gender, level of benefits, and duration of participation. Results suggest that, for females, current program participation increases Body Mass Index (by 0.5 index point on average) as well as the probability of being obese (between 2 and 5 percentage points). Current program participation was not found to have significant effects for males. Long-term participation is found to increase obesity for females and males.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. The Effects of Food Stamps on Obesity. USDA Research and Information Collections. Washington, DC: US Department of Agriculture, 2007..
10. Baum, Charles L., II
The Effects of Food Stamps on Obesity
Working Paper, Department of Economics and Finance, Middle Tennessee State University Working Paper Series, February 2010.
Also: http://frank.mtsu.edu/~berc/working/Economics_Working_Papers.html
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Department of Economics and Finance, Middle Tennessee State University
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Food Stamps (see Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program); Obesity; Poverty; Weight

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Poverty has historically been associated with a decrease in food consumption. This at least partially changed in 1964 when the Food Stamp Act began guaranteeing food for those in poverty. Since the Act's passage, the prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically, particularly among those with low incomes. This paper examines the effects of the Food Stamp Program on the prevalence of obesity using 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data. Results indicate food stamps have significant positive effects on obesity and the obesity gap for females, but these effects are relatively small and such benefits, consequently, are approximated to have played a minor role in increasing obesity at the aggregate level.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. "The Effects of Food Stamps on Obesity." Working Paper, Department of Economics and Finance, Middle Tennessee State University Working Paper Series, February 2010.
11. Baum, Charles L., II
The Effects of Food Stamps on Obesity
Southern Economic Journal 77,3 (January 2011): 623-651.
Also: http://news-business.vlex.com/vid/the-effects-food-stamps-on-obesity-250297346
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Allen Press, Inc.
Keyword(s): Disadvantaged, Economically; Food Stamps (see Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program); Obesity; Poverty

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Poverty has historically been associated with a decrease in food consumption. This at least partially changed in 1964 when the Food Stamp Act began guaranteeing food for those in poverty. Since the act's passage, the prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically, particularly among those with low incomes. This article examines the effects of the Food Stamp Program on the prevalence of obesity using 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data. Results indicate that food stamps have significant positive effects on obesity and the obesity gap for females, but these effects are relatively small, and consequently, such benefits are approximated to have played a minor role in increasing obesity at the aggregate level
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. "The Effects of Food Stamps on Obesity." Southern Economic Journal 77,3 (January 2011): 623-651.
12. Baum, Charles L., II
The Effects of Government-Mandated Family Leave on Employer Family Leave Policies
Contemporary Economic Policy 24,3 (July 2006): 432-445.
Also: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1093/cep/byj025/full
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Western Economic Association International
Keyword(s): Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); Leave, Family or Maternity/Paternity; Legislation

The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees employees 12 weeks of unpaid leave. However, studies find either small or insignificant effects of the legislation on employment, work, leave-taking, and wages. Perhaps employees are unable to use the leave because it is unpaid or they do not need family leave because they already may take off work via vacation, sick leave, and disability leave policies. If so, then family leave legislation may have increased employer-provided family leave without corresponding effects on employment-related outcomes. This article examines family leave legislation's effects on employers' family leave policies, finding positive effects.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. "The Effects of Government-Mandated Family Leave on Employer Family Leave Policies." Contemporary Economic Policy 24,3 (July 2006): 432-445.
13. Baum, Charles L., II
The Effects of Maternity Leave Legislation on Mothers' Labor Supply After Childbirth
Ph.D. Dissertation, The University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, 1999
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: UMI - University Microfilms, Bell and Howell Information and Learning
Keyword(s): Benefits; Endogeneity; Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); Fertility; Leave, Family or Maternity/Paternity; Maternal Employment; Wages, Women; Work Experience

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, ten states and the District of Columbia passed maternity leave legislation (MLL) allowing a mother a period of leave from work after childbirth and guaranteeing that she can return to her old job. In 1993, President Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the first piece of federal MLL. Similar to state legislation, the FMLA guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave for eligible mothers. However, federal leave mandates have not met with universal approval. President Bush twice vetoed such legislation because of the costs he feared it would impose on business. Others said leave legislation was unnecessary and would have no effect since many firms already offered leave. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), I evaluate the effect of MLL on the timing of a mother's return to work, on whether she returns to work for her pre-childbirth employer or at a new job, and on the number of hours she chooses to work. I also examine the effect of leave mandates on wages and on the amount of leave allowed by employers. I estimate both a semi-structural and a reduced-form empirical model, both of which account for the endogeneity of fertility, wages, and previous labor force experience. My results indicate MLL has virtually no effect on the length of leave allowed by employers. The semi-structural specification indicates MLL slightly increases the hazard rate for returning to work at the pre-childbirth job in the first 6 weeks after childbirth by affecting informal arrangements that determine whether the pre-childbirth job is made available by employers. Additionally, MLL has a negative effect on the wage rate paid to mothers who start new jobs. My findings will help determine whether MLL achieves its goals and whether proposed extensions to existing MLL will be beneficial.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. The Effects of Maternity Leave Legislation on Mothers' Labor Supply After Childbirth. Ph.D. Dissertation, The University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, 1999.
14. Baum, Charles L., II
The Effects of Maternity Leave Legislation on Mothers' Labor Supply after Childbirth
Southern Economic Journal 69,4 (April 2003): 772-800.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1061651
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Childbearing; Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); Human Capital; Leave, Family or Maternity/Paternity; Legislation; Maternal Employment; Work Reentry

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, 12 states and the District of Columbia passed maternity leave legislation (MLL) allowing mothers a period of leave from work after childbirth. In 1993, President Clinton signed the first piece of federal MLL, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Similar to state legislation, the FMLA guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave for eligible mothers. I evaluate the effect of MLL on the incidence of leave taking, the probability that mothers will eventually return to work at their prechildbirth jobs, and the timing of their return. The results indicate that the legislation increases the number of mothers who eventually return to their prechildbirth jobs but that MLL does not have a statistically significant effect on the incidence of leave taking. The results also indicate that MLL allows mothers to delay their return to work at their prechildbirth jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. "The Effects of Maternity Leave Legislation on Mothers' Labor Supply after Childbirth." Southern Economic Journal 69,4 (April 2003): 772-800.
15. Baum, Charles L., II
The Effects of Vehicle Ownership on Employment
Journal of Urban Economics 66,3 (November 2009): 151-163.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094119009000412
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Academic Press, Inc.
Keyword(s): Employment; Job Search; Mothers, Education; Parents, Single; Rural/Urban Differences; Transportation; Welfare

Vehicle ownership may promote work if employment opportunities and job searches are enhanced by reliable transportation. For example, vehicles may serve to reduce potential physical isolation from employment opportunities. I examine the effects of vehicle ownership and vehicle quality on employment for single mothers with no more than a high school education using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data. I control for potential bias by jointly estimating employment and vehicle ownership in a maximum likelihood framework using state welfare eligibility asset rules as instruments. Results show that vehicle ownership increases employment. Positive effects of vehicles do not differ for urban and rural residents, but they do change with economic conditions. Further, welfare recipients are significantly more likely to exit the program and become employed if they own a vehicle. [Copyright 2009 Elsevier]
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. "The Effects of Vehicle Ownership on Employment." Journal of Urban Economics 66,3 (November 2009): 151-163.
16. Baum, Charles L., II
The Long-Term Effects of Early and Recent Maternal Employment on a Child's Academic Achievement
Journal of Family Issues 25, 1 (2004): 29-60.
Also: http://jfi.sagepub.com/content/25/1/29.full.pdf
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: Sage Publications
Keyword(s): Academic Development; Achievement; Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Children, Academic Development; High School; Maternal Employment; Rotter Scale (see Locus of Control); School Progress

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

More children today are being raised in households with mothers who work for pay compared to a generation ago, when most mothers did not engage in marketplace work. This demographic change is important because it could affect children. In this article, the effects of early and recent maternal employment on a child's academic development are identified as measured by high school grades. Results suggest that whereas early maternal employment does not have an effect, recent maternal employment (during a child's adolescent years) significantly decreases grades. Results also show that the effects of maternal employment do not differ for boys and girls.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. "The Long-Term Effects of Early and Recent Maternal Employment on a Child's Academic Achievement." Journal of Family Issues 25, 1 (2004): 29-60.
17. Baum, Charles L., II
Chou, Shin-Yi
The Socio-Economic Causes of Obesity
Working Paper No. 17423. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2011.
Also: http://www.nber.org/papers/w17423
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Cigarette Use (see Smoking); Food Stamps (see Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program); Obesity; Socioeconomic Factors; Urbanization/Urban Living

An increasing number of Americans are obese, with a body mass index of 30 or more. In fact, the latest estimates indicate that about 30% of Americans are currently obese, which is roughly a 100% increase from 25 years ago. It is well accepted that weight gain is caused by caloric imbalance, where more calories are consumed than expended. Nevertheless, it is not clear why the prevalence of obesity has increased so dramatically over the last 30 years.

We simultaneously estimate the effects of the various socio-economic factors on weight status, considering in our analysis many of the socio-economic factors that have been identified by other researchers as important influences on caloric imbalance: employment, physical activity at work, food prices, the prevalence of restaurants, cigarette smoking, cigarette prices and taxes, food stamp receipt, and urbanization. We use 1979- and 1997-cohort National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) data, which allows us to compare the prevalence of obesity between cohorts surveyed roughly 25 years apart. Using the traditional Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique, we find that cigarette smoking has the largest effect: the decline in cigarette smoking explains about 2% of the increase in the weight measures. The other significant factors explain less.

Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II and Shin-Yi Chou. "The Socio-Economic Causes of Obesity." Working Paper No. 17423. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2011.
18. Baum, Charles L., II
Chou, Shin-Yi
Why Has the Prevalence of Obesity Doubled?
Review of Economics of the Household 14,2 (June 2016): 251-267.
Also: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11150-015-9298-5
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97
Publisher: Springer
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Cigarette Use (see Smoking); Food Stamps (see Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program); Obesity; Urbanization/Urban Living; Weight

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The prevalence of obesity has doubled over the last 25 years. We estimate the effects of multiple socio-environmental factors (e.g., physical demands at work, restaurants, food prices, cigarette smoking, food stamps, and urban sprawl) on obesity using NLSY data. Then we use the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition technique to approximate the contribution of each socio-environmental factor to the increase during this time. Many socio-environmental factors significantly affect weight, but none are able to explain a large portion of the obesity increase. Decreases in cigarette smoking consistently explains about 2–4 % of the increase in obesity and BMI. Food stamp receipt also consistently affects the measures of weight, but the small decrease in food stamp program participation during the period we examine actually dampened the increases in obesity and BMI. Collectively, the socio-environmental factors we examine never explain more than about 6.5 % of the weight increases.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II and Shin-Yi Chou. "Why Has the Prevalence of Obesity Doubled?" Review of Economics of the Household 14,2 (June 2016): 251-267.
19. Baum, Charles L., II
Ford, William F.
The Wage Effects of Obesity: A Longitudinal Study
Health Economics 13,9 (September 2004): 885-899.
Also: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hec.881/pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Behavioral Differences; Discrimination, Job; Gender; Health Factors; Obesity; Variables, Independent - Covariate; Wage Effects; Wages, Men; Wages, Women

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

We use National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) data to examine the effects of obesity on wages by gender. Sample means indicate that both men and women experience a persistent obesity wage penalty over the first two decades of their careers. We then control for a standard set of socioeconomic and familial variables but find that standard covariates do not explain why obese workers experience persistent wage penalties. This suggests that other variables -- including job discrimination, health-related factors and/or obese workers' behavior patterns -- may be the channels through which obesity adversely affects wages. The study closes with a discussion of the public policy implications suggested by these findings.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II and William F. Ford. "The Wage Effects of Obesity: A Longitudinal Study." Health Economics 13,9 (September 2004): 885-899.
20. Baum, Charles L., II
Ford, William F.
Hopper, Jeffrey D.
The Obese Smoker's Wage Penalty
Social Science Quarterly 87,4 (December 2006): 863-881.
Also: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2006.00440.x/abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing, Inc. => Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Cigarette Use (see Smoking); Discrimination; Discrimination, Employer; Gender Differences; Obesity; Wage Effects; Wage Penalty/Career Penalty

Smoking and obesity are associated with significant wage penalties when considered separately. We assess the combined effects of those behaviors. Methods. We estimate the effects of smoking and obesity on wages using multivariate regression analysis with 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data. Results. The raw data indicate that obese smokers experience large earnings penalties. However, these penalties are not found to be interactive or directly causal for most of the demographic subgroups we examine. One exception is the wage penalty associated with obesity for females, which remains significant throughout the analysis. Conclusions. In the absence of a demonstrable direct causal effect of those behaviors on wages, associated individual-specific socioeconomic factors appear to be the driving forces behind the obese smoker wage penalty. Not included, but potentially significant, are the effects of employer and customer discrimination against obese smokers and the possible labor policy implications of such discrimination.

Copyright of Social Science Quarterly (Blackwell Publishing Limited) is the property of Blackwell Publishing Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts)

Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II, William F. Ford and Jeffrey D. Hopper. "The Obese Smoker's Wage Penalty ." Social Science Quarterly 87,4 (December 2006): 863-881.
21. Baum, Charles L., II
Ruhm, Christopher J.
Age, Socioeconomic Status and Obesity Growth
Journal of Health Economics 28,3 (May 2009): 635-648.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167629609000095
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Age and Ageing; Childhood; Ethnic Studies; Family Characteristics; Family Income; Health Factors; Household Composition; Life Cycle Research; Obesity; Racial Studies; Socioeconomic Status (SES); Weight

We use panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to examine how body weight changes with age for a cohort moving through early adulthood, to investigate how the age-obesity gradient differs with socioeconomic status (SES) and to study channels for these SES disparities. Our results show first that weight increases with age and is inversely related to SES during childhood. Second, the obesity gradient widens over the lifecycle, consistent with research on other health outcomes. Third, a substantial portion of the "effect" of early life conditions operates through race/ethnicity and the translation of advantaged family backgrounds during childhood into higher levels of subsequent education. By contrast, little of the SES gap appears to propagate through household composition, family income or health behaviors. Fourth, adult SES has independent effects after controlling for childhood status.

Copyright of Journal of Health Economics is the property of Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II and Christopher J. Ruhm. "Age, Socioeconomic Status and Obesity Growth." Journal of Health Economics 28,3 (May 2009): 635-648.
22. Baum, Charles L., II
Ruhm, Christopher J.
Age, Socioeconomic Status and Obesity Growth
NBER Working Paper No. 13289, National Bureau of Economic Research, August 2007
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Age and Ageing; Ethnic Differences; Family Background and Culture; Health Factors; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Life Cycle Research; Obesity; Racial Differences; Socioeconomic Status (SES); Weight

The rapid growth in obesity represents a major public concern. Although body weight tends to increase with age, the evolution of obesity over the lifecycle is not well understood. We use longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine how body weight changes with age for a cohort moving through early adulthood. We further investigate how the age-obesity gradient differs with socioeconomic status (SES) and begin to examine channels for these SES disparities. Our analysis uncovers three main findings. First, weight rises with age but is inversely related to SES at given ages. Second, the SES-obesity gradient widens over the lifecycle, a result consistent with research examining other health outcomes such as overall status or specific medical conditions. Third, a substantial portion of the SES "effect" is transmitted through race/ethnicity and the translation of advantaged family backgrounds during childhood into high levels of subsequent education. Conversely, little of the SES difference appears to be propagated through family income, marital status, number of children, or the set of health behaviors we control for. However, approximately half of the SES-weight correlation persists after the inclusion of controls, illustrating the need for further study of mechanisms for the gradient
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II and Christopher J. Ruhm. "Age, Socioeconomic Status and Obesity Growth." NBER Working Paper No. 13289, National Bureau of Economic Research, August 2007.
23. Baum, Charles L., II
Ruhm, Christopher J.
The Changing Benefits of Early Work Experience
NBER Working Paper No. 20413, National Bureau of Economic Research, August 2014.
Also: http://www.nber.org/papers/w20413
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Employment, In-School; Employment, Part-Time; Employment, Youth; High School Employment; Minimum Wage; Occupational Attainment; Wages, Youth; Work Experience

We examine whether the benefits of high school work experience have changed over the last 20 years by comparing effects for the 1979 and 1997 cohorts of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Our main specifications suggest that the future wage benefits of working 20 hours per week in the senior year of high school have fallen from 8.3 percent for the earlier cohort, measured in 1987-1989, to 4.4 percent for the later one, in 2008-2010. Moreover, the gains of work are largely restricted to women and have diminished over time for them. We are able to explain about five-eighths of the differential between cohorts, with most of this being attributed to the way that high school employment is related to subsequent adult work experience and occupational attainment.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II and Christopher J. Ruhm. "The Changing Benefits of Early Work Experience." NBER Working Paper No. 20413, National Bureau of Economic Research, August 2014.
24. Baum, Charles L., II
Ruhm, Christopher J.
The Changing Benefits of Early Work Experience
Southern Economic Journal 83,2 (October 2016): 343-363.
Also: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/soej.12157/abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97
Publisher: Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Earnings; Employment, In-School; High School Students; Occupational Attainment

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

We examine whether the benefits of high school work experience have changed over the last 20 years by comparing effects for the 1979 and 1997 cohorts of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Our main specifications suggest that the future annual earnings benefits of working 20 h per week in the senior year of high school have fallen from 17.4% for the earlier cohort, measured in 1987-1989, to 12.1% for the later cohort, in 2008-2010. The gains have diminished by similar amounts for men and women but much more substantially for those who do not later attend college than for those who do. We further show that most of the differential between cohorts can be attributed to the way that high school employment is related to subsequent adult work experience and occupational attainment.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II and Christopher J. Ruhm. "The Changing Benefits of Early Work Experience." Southern Economic Journal 83,2 (October 2016): 343-363.
25. Baum, Charles L., II
Ruhm, Christopher J.
The Effects of Paid Family Leave in California on Labor Market Outcomes
NBER Working Paper No. 19741, National Bureau of Economic Research, December 2013.
Also: http://www.nber.org/papers/w19741
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); Fathers; Labor Market Outcomes; Leave, Family or Maternity/Paternity; Mothers; Wages; Work Hours/Schedule; Work Reentry

Using data from the 1997 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY-97), we examine the effects of California’s first in the nation government-mandated paid family leave program (CA-PFL) on mothers’ and fathers’ use of leave during the period surrounding child birth, and on the timing of mothers’ return to work, the probability of eventually returning to pre-childbirth jobs, and subsequent labor market outcomes. Our results show that CA-PFL raised leave-taking by around 2.4 weeks for the average mother and just under one week for the average father. The timing of the increased leave use – immediately after birth for men and around the time that temporary disability insurance benefits are exhausted for women – is consistent with causal effects of CA-PFL. Rights to paid leave are also associated with higher work and employment probabilities for mothers nine to twelve months after birth, possibly because they increase job continuity among those with relatively weak labor force attachments. We also find positive effects of California’s program on hours and weeks of work during their child’s second year of life and possibly also on wages.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II and Christopher J. Ruhm. "The Effects of Paid Family Leave in California on Labor Market Outcomes." NBER Working Paper No. 19741, National Bureau of Economic Research, December 2013.
26. Baum, Charles L., II
Ruhm, Christopher J.
The Effects of Paid Family Leave in California on Labor Market Outcomes
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 35,2 (Spring 2016): 333-356.
Also: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pam.21894/abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); Geocoded Data; Labor Market Outcomes; Leave, Family or Maternity/Paternity; Maternal Employment; State-Level Data/Policy

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Using data from the 1997 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY-97), we examine the effects of California's paid family leave program (CA-PFL) on mothers' and fathers' use of leave during the period surrounding child birth, and on the timing of mothers' return to work, the probability of eventually returning to prechildbirth jobs, and subsequent labor market outcomes. We estimate multivariate difference-in-differences regression models that compare changes in the outcomes for new California parents before and after the enactment of CA-PFL to those for corresponding parents in control states. Our results suggest that CA-PFL raised leave use by almost five weeks for the average covered mother and two to three days for the corresponding father. Maternal leave-taking appears to increase in the quarter before the birth and to extend through the two quarters after it. Paternal leave-taking rises fairly quickly after the birth and is short-lasting. Rights to paid leave are also associated with higher work and employment probabilities for mothers nine to 12 months after birth, probably because they increase job continuity among those with relatively weak labor force attachments. We also find positive effects of California's program on hours and weeks of work during their child's second year of life.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II and Christopher J. Ruhm. "The Effects of Paid Family Leave in California on Labor Market Outcomes." Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 35,2 (Spring 2016): 333-356.
27. Owens, Mark F.
Baum, Charles L., II
The Effects of Federal Housing Assistance on Exiting Welfare and Becoming Employed for Welfare Recipients
Journal of Poverty 13,2 (2009): 130-151.
Also: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10875540902841705
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Routledge ==> Taylor & Francis (1998)
Keyword(s): Employment; Labor Force Participation; Poverty; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); Unemployment; Welfare

Welfare reform's success in encouraging employment may be affected by the federal housing program because many households receive welfare and housing assistance. Housing assistance could discourage employment because housing subsidies are reduced proportionally with earnings; alternatively, it could encourage employment by increasing stability and allowing more resources to be allocated toward employment-related expenses. We examine housing assistance's effects on exiting welfare and becoming employed. Remaining on welfare is positively associated with receiving housing assistance, but fixed effects models suggest this is due to correlation with unmeasured factors rather than a causal effect. We find little association between housing assistance and employment.
Bibliography Citation
Owens, Mark F. and Charles L. Baum. "The Effects of Federal Housing Assistance on Exiting Welfare and Becoming Employed for Welfare Recipients." Journal of Poverty 13,2 (2009): 130-151.
28. Owens, Mark F.
Baum, Charles L., II
The Effects of Welfare Vehicle Asset Rules on Vehicle Assets
Applied Economics 44,13 (May 2012): 1603-1619.
Also: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00036846.2010.548783
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Keyword(s): Assets; Legislation; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); Welfare

Before 1996, households were typically ineligible for welfare if they had assets worth more than $1000, where $1500 from each vehicle's value was excluded from this determination. However, the 1996 welfare reform act began allowing states to increase their asset limits and vehicle exclusions. This may prompt low-income households to reallocate resources to or from vehicles. We examine the effects of state vehicle asset rules on vehicle assets. Results show that liberalizing asset rules increases vehicle assets and that this increase is driven largely by eligible individuals increasing vehicle assets, with no evidence indicating that ineligible individuals reduce vehicle assets to become eligible.
Bibliography Citation
Owens, Mark F. and Charles L. Baum. "The Effects of Welfare Vehicle Asset Rules on Vehicle Assets." Applied Economics 44,13 (May 2012): 1603-1619.
29. Ruhm, Christopher J.
Baum, Charles L., II
The Lasting Benefits of Early Work Experience
Policy Report, Washington DC: Employment Policies Institute, August 2014.
Also: https://www.epionline.org/study/the-lasting-benefits-of-early-work-experience/
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97
Publisher: Employment Policies Institute
Keyword(s): Employment, In-School; Employment, Part-Time; Employment, Youth; High School Employment; Minimum Wage; Occupational Attainment; Work Experience

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The US labor market has recovered slowly but steadily in the years since the Great Recession officially ended in June 2009. But for young adults between the ages of 16 and 19, the recovery has been tepid at best: In the five year period since the summer of 2008, youth unemployment has averaged a staggering 23.5 percent, and the seasonally-adjusted rate was still north of 21 percent as of this writing. These young adults are missing out on extra spending cash, but they’re also missing out on early workforce experience that could play a valuable role in future career development. In this new study, Drs. Christopher Ruhm of the University of Virginia and Charles Baum of Middle Tennessee State University examine data that spans three decades to measure the career benefits of early work experience.

The economists rely on data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), which tracks the career progress of one group of respondents who graduated from high school in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and another group of respondents who were in high school around the turn of the millennium. This permits them to examine both the near-term benefits of early work experience (roughly 10 years after graduation) and the longer-term benefits of that experience (roughly 30 years after graduation).

Carefully controlling for other family background characteristics that could impact subsequent career achievement, Drs. Ruhm and Baum find clear evidence that part-time work by young adults–both during senior year of high school, and during the summer months—translates to future career benefits that include higher hourly wages, increased annual earnings and less time spent out of work.

Bibliography Citation
Ruhm, Christopher J. and Charles L. Baum. "The Lasting Benefits of Early Work Experience." Policy Report, Washington DC: Employment Policies Institute, August 2014.