Search Results

Source: Journal of Human Resources
Resulting in 165 citations.
1. Acs, Gregory P.
The Impact of Welfare on Young Mothers' Subsequent Childbearing Decisions
Journal of Human Resources 31,4 (Fall 1996): 898-915.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146151
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); Benefits; Childbearing; Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Fertility; Income; Modeling, Hazard/Event History/Survival/Duration; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Welfare

Politicians, the press, and the public have become increasingly worried about welfare becoming a "lifestyle" in which women have multiple births both to increase their incomes and to prolong their stays on the welfare roles. Such concerns have given rise to policy proposals such as the "family rap" which would deny welfare recipients higher welfare payments if they have another child while on welfare. This paper examines the relationship between welfare and births to women who already have a child. using data on young mothers from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). I find that variations in welfare benefit levels and the incremental benefit have no statistically significant impacts on the subsequent childbearing decisions of young mothers in general, nor on the subsequent childbearing decisions of women who received welfare in particular. Furthermore, mothers who received welfare to support their first children are no more likely to have additional children in any given year through the age of 23. Copyright Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 1996
Bibliography Citation
Acs, Gregory P. "The Impact of Welfare on Young Mothers' Subsequent Childbearing Decisions." Journal of Human Resources 31,4 (Fall 1996): 898-915.
2. Ahituv, Avner
Hotz, V. Joseph
Philipson, Tomas
The Responsiveness of the Demand for Condoms to the Local Prevalence of AIDS
Journal of Human Resources 31,4 (Fall 1996): 869-897.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146150
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Contraception; Epidemiology; Residence; Sexual Activity; Sexual Behavior

This paper investigates the degree to which the local prevalence of AIDS increases the demand for disease-preventing methods of contraception among young adults. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY-1979), we find substantial evidence that the use of condoms was quite responsive to the prevalence of AIDS in one's state of residence and this responsiveness has been increasing over time. We present both cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence estimating that a 1 percent increase in the prevalence of AIDS increases the propensity to use a condom significantly and up to 50 percent for the most prevalence-responsive groups. Our findings tend support to the existence of a self-limiting incentive effect of epidemics--an effect that tends to be ignored in epidemiological theories of the spread of infectious diseases. [Copyright Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 1996]
Bibliography Citation
Ahituv, Avner, V. Joseph Hotz and Tomas Philipson. "The Responsiveness of the Demand for Condoms to the Local Prevalence of AIDS." Journal of Human Resources 31,4 (Fall 1996): 869-897.
3. Aizer, Anna
McLanahan, Sara S.
The Impact of Child Support Enforcement on Fertility, Parental Investments, and Child Well-being
The Journal of Human Resources 41,1 (Winter 2006): 28-45.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40057256
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Births, Repeat / Spacing; Child Support; Childbearing, Premarital/Nonmarital; Fatherhood; Fathers; Fertility; Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study; State-Level Data/Policy

Increasing the probability of paying child support, in addition to increasing resources available for investment in children, also may alter the incentives faced by men to have children out of wedlock. We find that strengthening child support enforcement leads men to have fewer out-of-wedlock births and among those who do become fathers, to do so with more educated women and those with a higher propensity to invest in children. Thus, policies that compel men to pay child support may affect child outcomes through two pathways: an increase in financial resources and a birth selection process.
Bibliography Citation
Aizer, Anna and Sara S. McLanahan. "The Impact of Child Support Enforcement on Fertility, Parental Investments, and Child Well-being." The Journal of Human Resources 41,1 (Winter 2006): 28-45.
4. Altonji, Joseph G.
Cattan, Sarah
Ware, Iain
Identifying Sibling Influence on Teenage Substance Use
Journal of Human Resources 52,1 (Winter 2017): 1-47.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/52/1/1.abstract?sid=bee89e0a-f629-43bd-be46-cddff8697c80
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Behavior; Family Influences; Heterogeneity; Siblings; Substance Use

We assess the extent to which the large sibling correlations in substance use are causal. Our primary approach is based on a joint dynamic model of the behavior of older and younger siblings that allows for family specific effects, individual specific heterogeneity, and state dependence. We use the model to simulate the dynamic response of substance use to the behavior of the older sibling. Overall, we find that substance use is affected by the example of older siblings but only a small fraction of the sibling correlation is causal.
Bibliography Citation
Altonji, Joseph G., Sarah Cattan and Iain Ware. "Identifying Sibling Influence on Teenage Substance Use ." Journal of Human Resources 52,1 (Winter 2017): 1-47.
5. Altonji, Joseph G.
Dunn, Thomas Albert
An Intergenerational Model of Wages, Hours, and Earnings
Journal of Human Resources 35,2 (Spring 2000): 221-258.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146324
Cohort(s): Mature Women, Older Men, Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Earnings; Gender; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Parental Influences; Siblings; Sons; Wage Effects; Wages

We develop a model in which a set of unobserved parental and sibling factors drives wages and work preferences. These factors lead to similarities within families in wages, work hours, and earnings. We estimate the model using data on parents and siblings in the National Longitudinal Surveys. We find that parental and sibling wage factors influence the wages of both sons and daughters. We also find strong similarities in work hours that run along gender lines and are due primarily to linkages in preferences. The effect of wages on earnings is direct rather than through a labor supply response.
Bibliography Citation
Altonji, Joseph G. and Thomas Albert Dunn. "An Intergenerational Model of Wages, Hours, and Earnings." Journal of Human Resources 35,2 (Spring 2000): 221-258.
6. Andrisani, Paul J.
Internal-External Attitudes, Personal Initiative, and the Labor Market Experience of White and Black Men
Journal of Human Resources 12,3 (Summer 1977): 308-328.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145493
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Duncan Index; Earnings; Educational Returns; Locus of Control (see Rotter Scale); Rotter Scale (see Locus of Control); Schooling; Work Attitudes; Work Experience

The analysis provides support for the hypothesis that internal-external attitudes are strongly related to a number of aspects of labor market experience. Confidence in these findings is strengthened by the fact that observed relationships were independent of individual differences in a wide range of characteristics and were supported as well by longitudinal data. Findings also indicate that there are only minor differences between young and middle- aged men in internal-external attitudes. There is little consistent evidence among young men that educational attainment had lower returns for blacks than whites during the late 1960s and 1970s. Initiative appears to have considerable labor market payoffs for young and middle-age men, blacks as well as whites, and especially for the young.
Bibliography Citation
Andrisani, Paul J. "Internal-External Attitudes, Personal Initiative, and the Labor Market Experience of White and Black Men." Journal of Human Resources 12,3 (Summer 1977): 308-328.
7. Andrisani, Paul J.
Internal-External Attitudes, Sense of Efficacy, and Labor Market Experience: A Reply to Duncan and Morgan
Journal of Human Resources 16,4 (Fall 1981): 658-666.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145241
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Employment; Income Dynamics/Shocks; Teenagers; Work Attitudes

Duncan and Morgan's main criticism can be stated quite simply: they disagree with the conclusion that attitudinal change could result in greater initiative and more successful labor market experience, particularly among youths, because the conclusion is inconsistent with their replication and with almost all other PSID studies as well. The author disagrees with their interpretation of his research and shows that a number of studies in addition to his have used NLS data and come to the same conclusion he has. Differences between NLS and PSID data are discussed as likely explanations of why these data sets generate different findings about the role of psychological variables in the dynamics of labor market processes.
Bibliography Citation
Andrisani, Paul J. "Internal-External Attitudes, Sense of Efficacy, and Labor Market Experience: A Reply to Duncan and Morgan." Journal of Human Resources 16,4 (Fall 1981): 658-666.
8. Antecol, Heather
Bedard, Kelly
The Racial Wage Gap: The Importance of Labor Force Attachment Differences across Black, Mexican and White Men
Journal of Human Resources 39,2 (Spring 2004): 564-583.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3559027
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Black Studies; Ethnic Differences; Hispanic Studies; Hispanics; Labor Force Participation; Minorities; Minority Groups; Racial Differences

Labor market attachment differs significantly across young black, Mexican, and white men. Although it has long been agreed that potential experience is a poor proxy for actual experience for women, many view it as an acceptable approximation for men. Using the NLSY, this paper documents the substantial difference between potential and actual experience for both black and Mexican men. We show that the fraction of the black/white and Mexican/white wage gaps that are explained by differences in potential experience are quite different from the fraction of the racial wage gaps that are explained by actual (real) experience differences.
Bibliography Citation
Antecol, Heather and Kelly Bedard. "The Racial Wage Gap: The Importance of Labor Force Attachment Differences across Black, Mexican and White Men." Journal of Human Resources 39,2 (Spring 2004): 564-583.
9. Argys, Laura M.
Peters, H. Elizabeth
Waldman, Donald M.
Can the Family Support Act Put Some Life Back Into Deadbeat Dads?
Journal of Human Resources 36,2 (Spring 2001): 226-252.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069658
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Child Support; Children; Divorce; Fathers, Absence; Parents, Single

Federal legislation mandates the use of child-support guidelines to improve adequacy and horizontal equity of child-support awards. Using state guideline formulas, and a sample of women drawn from the NLSY we compare the effects of guidelines on children born out of wedlock versus children whose parents divorced or separated. Our analyses indicate that guidelines increase the probability of child-support awards for children born out of wedlock. Guidelines also reduce variation in awards by eliminating outliers, not by equalizing awards across the entire distribution. Awards for high-income divorced or separated fathers fall substantially below the guideline amount.
Bibliography Citation
Argys, Laura M., H. Elizabeth Peters and Donald M. Waldman. "Can the Family Support Act Put Some Life Back Into Deadbeat Dads?" Journal of Human Resources 36,2 (Spring 2001): 226-252.
10. Aughinbaugh, Alison Aileen
Does Head Start Yield Long-Term Benefits?
Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Fall 2001): 641-665.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069637
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Head Start; Preschool Children; Program Participation/Evaluation; School Suspension/Expulsion; Test Scores/Test theory/IRT; Tests and Testing

Using a new data set, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), this paper examines the relationships between Head Start and school suspensions, grade retentions, and scores on math achievement tests. The body of previous work that has studied the effects of Head Start on child outcomes has examined relatively young children or small samples from compensatory preschool programs other than Head Start. Using the NLSY97 helps to remedy some of the data issues because it is a large nationally representative data set and contains outcomes up to the teenage years. The estimates indicate that Head Start participation does not have long-term benefits. This finding is compatible with past work showing that compensatory preschool programs that are long in duration and intensive are more likely to improve participants' outcomes.
Bibliography Citation
Aughinbaugh, Alison Aileen. "Does Head Start Yield Long-Term Benefits?" Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Fall 2001): 641-665.
11. Aughinbaugh, Alison Aileen
The Impact of Attrition on the Children of the NLSY79
Journal of Human Resources 39,2 (Spring 2004 ): 536-563.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3559026
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Attrition; Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Behavioral Problems; Family Characteristics; Family Income; Marital Status; Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT)

This paper examines the impact of attrition among the women of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and children in the NLSY79 Mother-Child Supplement (NLSY79-C). Attrition among the children is nonrandom with respect to mother's marital status, grandfather's completed schooling, and family income. These differences that are related to the probability of attrition do not appear to impact estimates of the effects of family income or maternal employment early in the child's life on either PPVT or BPI standard scores. However, the women who are not interviewed in any child-supplement year and the children for whom supplemental information is never collected appear to be the most disadvantaged. The omission of these children from the NLSY79-C may impact estimates of family characteristics on child outcomes, but because there are relatively few such children, the effects of their omission are likely to be small.
Bibliography Citation
Aughinbaugh, Alison Aileen. "The Impact of Attrition on the Children of the NLSY79." Journal of Human Resources 39,2 (Spring 2004 ): 536-563.
12. Aughinbaugh, Alison Aileen
Gittleman, Maury
Does Money Matter? A Comparison of the Effect of Income on Child Development in the United States and Great Britain
Journal of Human Resources 38,2 (Spring 2003): 416-440.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1558750
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB); Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Britain, British; Cross-national Analysis; Family Income; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Motor and Social Development (MSD); NCDS - National Child Development Study (British); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT); Verbal Memory (McCarthy Scale)

In this paper, we examine the effect of income on child development in the United States and the United Kingdom, as measured by scores on cognitive, behavior, and social assessments. In line with previous results for the US we find that for both countries income generally has an effect on child development that is positive and significant, but whose size is small relative to other family background variables
Bibliography Citation
Aughinbaugh, Alison Aileen and Maury Gittleman. "Does Money Matter? A Comparison of the Effect of Income on Child Development in the United States and Great Britain." Journal of Human Resources 38,2 (Spring 2003): 416-440.
13. Averett, Susan L.
Korenman, Sanders D.
The Economic Reality of the Beauty Myth
Journal of Human Resources 31,2 (Spring 1996): 304-330.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146065
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Black Studies; Discrimination; Earnings; Family Background and Culture; Height, Height-Weight Ratios; Income; Labor Market Outcomes; Marital Status; Obesity; Siblings

A study investigates income, marital status, and hourly pay differentials by body mass in a sample of 23- and 31-year-olds drawn from the 1988 National Longitudinal Survey of Labor Market Experience of Youth. Obese women have lower family incomes than women whose weight-for-height is in the "recommended" range. The results for men are weaker and mixed. The study finds similar results when it compares same-sex siblings in order to control for family background differences. Differences in economic status by body mass for women increase markedly when an earlier weight measure is used or the sample is restricted to persons who were single and childless when the early weight was reported. There is some evidence of labor market discrimination against obese women. Differences in marriage probabilities and spouse's earnings, however, account for 50% to 95% of their lower economic status. There is little evidence that obese African American women suffer an economic penalty to other African American women. [Copyright Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 1996]
Bibliography Citation
Averett, Susan L. and Sanders D. Korenman. "The Economic Reality of the Beauty Myth." Journal of Human Resources 31,2 (Spring 1996): 304-330.
14. Bacolod, Marigee Ponla
Blum, Bernardo S.
Two Sides of the Same Coin: U.S. "Residual" Inequality and the Gender Gap
Journal of Human Resources 45,1 (Winter 2010): 97-242.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/45/1/197.short
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Gender Differences; Noncognitive Skills; Skills; Wage Gap

We show that the narrowing gender gap and the growth in earnings inequality are consistent with a simple model in which skills are heterogeneous, and the growth in skill prices has been particularly strong for skills with which women are well endowed. Empirical analysis of DOT, CPS, and NLSY79 data finds evidence to support this model. A large increase in the prices of cognitive and people skills--skills with which women are well endowed--and a decline in the price of motor skills account for up to 40 percent of the rising inequality and 20 percent of the narrowing gender gap.
Bibliography Citation
Bacolod, Marigee Ponla and Bernardo S. Blum. "Two Sides of the Same Coin: U.S. "Residual" Inequality and the Gender Gap." Journal of Human Resources 45,1 (Winter 2010): 97-242.
15. Balsa, Ana I.
Parental Problem-Drinking and Adult Children's Labor Market Outcomes
Journal of Human Resources 43,2 (Spring 2008): 454-486.
Also: http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/jhr/2008ab/balsa2.htm
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Children; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Labor Market Outcomes

Current estimates of the societal costs of alcoholism do not consider the impact of parental drinking on children. This paper analyzes the consequences of parental problem-drinking on children's labor market outcomes in adulthood. Using the NLSY79, I show that having a problem-drinking parent is associated with longer periods out of the labor force, lengthier unemployment, and lower wages, in particular for male respondents. Increased probabilities of experiencing health problems and abusing alcohol are speculative forces behind these effects. While causality cannot be determined due to imprecise IV estimates, the paper calls for further investigation of the intergeneration costs of problem-drinking.
Bibliography Citation
Balsa, Ana I. "Parental Problem-Drinking and Adult Children's Labor Market Outcomes." Journal of Human Resources 43,2 (Spring 2008): 454-486.
16. Bartel, Ann P.
Race Differences in Job Satisfaction: A Reappraisal
Journal of Human Resources 16,2 (Spring 1981): 294-303.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145514
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Discrimination, Racial/Ethnic; Job Satisfaction; Occupational Aspirations; Wages

This article has shown that the blacks in the NLS Older Men sample were significantly more satisfied with their jobs in l966, l969, and l971 than whites with similar personal, job and location characteristics. While blacks do earn lower full wages than whites and should therefore be less satisfied, discrimination may have also caused blacks to be satisfied with less. In the case of older men, this direct effect of race on job satisfaction dominates and becomes increasingly important over time. For other cohorts, the available evidence is also consistent with greater impact of the effect over time.
Bibliography Citation
Bartel, Ann P. "Race Differences in Job Satisfaction: A Reappraisal." Journal of Human Resources 16,2 (Spring 1981): 294-303.
17. Becker, Brian E.
Hills, Stephen M.
Teenage Unemployment: Some Evidence of the Long-Run Effects on Wages
Journal of Human Resources 15,3 (Summer 1980): 354-372.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145288
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Job Training; Teenagers; Unemployment; Unemployment, Youth; Wages

While the issue of teenage unemployment has received a great deal of attention by policy-makers and the popular press, there is little systematic research on the long-run effects of this experience. This study attempts to address this question by examining the influence of teenage unemployment on subsequent wage rates. The study finds that for the average out-of-school youth, teenage unemployment has little effect on the wages earned as a young adult eight years later. In general, the experience is a positive one for white and black youth, though more so for the former. While extended teen unemployment diminishes these benefits for both races, only black youth suffer a drop in subsequent wages. There is indirect evidence that government training programs offset part of the effect of long-term teenage unemployment. Note: This was originally a report from the Center for Human Resource Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, February 1979.
Bibliography Citation
Becker, Brian E. and Stephen M. Hills. "Teenage Unemployment: Some Evidence of the Long-Run Effects on Wages." Journal of Human Resources 15,3 (Summer 1980): 354-372.
18. Becker, Brian E.
Hills, Stephen M.
The Long-Run Effects of Job Changes and Unemployment Among Male Teenagers
Journal of Human Resources 18,2 (Spring 1983): 197-212.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145482
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Mobility; Mobility, Job; Racial Differences; Teenagers; Transition, School to Work; Unemployment; Wages

Drawing on the Young Men's cohort of the National Longitudinal Surveys, we examine the long-run effects of teenage labor market experience on subsequent adult wages. Our study expands on earlier work by considering the effects of both unemployment and job mobility during the period of transition from school to work. We conclude that the net effect of job-switching during the teen years is a positive one for both blacks and whites. Furthermore, we find that the "scarring" effects of teen unemployment are overstated and that short periods of unemployment are associated with higher average wages some 8-10 years later. Finally, the net effect of teenage labor market experience on subsequent wages is positive for both races, though more so for blacks. The black teen labor market experience actually serves to narrow the subsequent black/ white wage differential.
Bibliography Citation
Becker, Brian E. and Stephen M. Hills. "The Long-Run Effects of Job Changes and Unemployment Among Male Teenagers." Journal of Human Resources 18,2 (Spring 1983): 197-212.
19. Berger, Mark Charles
Leigh, J. Paul
Schooling, Self-Selection, and Health
Journal of Human Resources 24,3 (Summer 1989): 433-455.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145822
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Disabled Workers; Educational Attainment; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Modeling; Schooling

A study investigates the validity of alternative explanations for the observed schooling-good health correlation. Empirical models are tested with data from the Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I and the NLS of Young Men. The models are estimated using four different measures of overall health: disability, functional limitations, and systolic and diastolic blood pressures. The results uniformly show that the direct effect of schooling on health is more important than the effect of unobservables, such as rate of time discount. An important implication for public policy is that the results suggest that education programs aimed at increasing the public's knowledge about health can be used to improve the overall level of health in society. [ABI/INFORM]
Bibliography Citation
Berger, Mark Charles and J. Paul Leigh. "Schooling, Self-Selection, and Health." Journal of Human Resources 24,3 (Summer 1989): 433-455.
20. Blackburn, McKinley L.
Decomposing Wage Variation: A Comment on Michael P. Keane's "Individual Heterogeneity and Interindustry Wage Differentials"
Journal of Human Resources 30,4 (September 1995): 853-860.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146235
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Heterogeneity; Wage Differentials; Wage Equations; Wage Theory

(Response to Michael Keane Article on Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 28, P. 134, 1993.) Michael P. Keane (1993) uses panel data to control for the effects of time-invariant individual characteristics when estimating the effects of industry on wages. He concludes that these individual effects can account for 84 percent of the industry-associated variation found in typical cross-section studies. The author argues that this conclusion is based on a misleading wage variance decomposition that would tend to overstate the importance of individual effects. A reconsideration of Keane's results shows that his estimates are of a similar magnitude to those of earlier studies that attempt to control for individual ability.
Bibliography Citation
Blackburn, McKinley L. "Decomposing Wage Variation: A Comment on Michael P. Keane's "Individual Heterogeneity and Interindustry Wage Differentials"." Journal of Human Resources 30,4 (September 1995): 853-860.
21. Blackburn, McKinley L.
Welfare Effects on the Marital Decisions of Never-Married Mothers
Journal of Human Resources 35,1 (Winter 2000): 116-142.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146358
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Benefits; Marriage; Mothers; Racial Differences; Welfare

The economic theory of marriage suggests that more generous welfare benefits should serve to reduce the probability of marriage among mothers who have given birth out of wedlock. This relationship is explored using data on never-married mothers in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Only very limited evidence indicates that higher welfare payments lower the probability of marriage for nonblack never-married mothers. For black never-married mothers, the results suggest that higher benefits are associated with higher marriage rates.
Bibliography Citation
Blackburn, McKinley L. "Welfare Effects on the Marital Decisions of Never-Married Mothers." Journal of Human Resources 35,1 (Winter 2000): 116-142.
22. Blau, David M.
The Effect of Child Care Characteristics on Child Development
Journal of Human Resources 34,4 (Fall 1999): 786-822.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146417
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Child Care; Child Development; Home Environment; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT); Training

The effect of group size, staff-child ratio, training, and other characteristics of child care on child development is estimated using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. In contrast to most previous research, the sample is large and nationally representative, the data contain good measures of the home environment, and there are repeated measures of child development. Child care characteristics have little association with child development on average. Associations are found for some groups of children, but they are as likely to be of the "wrong" sign as they are to be of the sign predicted by developmental psychologists.
Bibliography Citation
Blau, David M. "The Effect of Child Care Characteristics on Child Development." Journal of Human Resources 34,4 (Fall 1999): 786-822.
23. Bleakley, Hoyt
Chin, Aimee
What Holds Back the Second Generation? The Intergenerational Transmission of Language Human Capital Among Immigrants
Journal of Human Resources 43,2 (Spring 2008): 267-298.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/43/2/267.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB); Immigrants; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Language Development; Variables, Instrumental

In 2000 Census microdata, various outcomes of second-generation immigrants are related to their parents' age at arrival in the United States, and in particular whether that age fell within the "critical period" of language acquisition. We interpret this as an effect of the parents' English language skills and construct an instrumental variable for parental English proficiency. Estimates of the effect of parents' English-speaking proficiency using two-stage least squares yield significant, positive results for children's English-speaking proficiency and preschool attendance, and significant, negative results for dropping out of high school and being below age-appropriate grade.
Bibliography Citation
Bleakley, Hoyt and Aimee Chin. "What Holds Back the Second Generation? The Intergenerational Transmission of Language Human Capital Among Immigrants." Journal of Human Resources 43,2 (Spring 2008): 267-298.
24. Borjas, George J.
Job Satisfaction, Wages, and Unions
Journal of Human Resources 14,1 (Winter 1979): 21-40.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145536
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Job Satisfaction; Job Tenure; Quits; Unions; Wages

This paper provides a systematic empirical analysis of the effect of union membership on job satisfaction and wages, and shows how the interaction between these effects leads to empirically observable relations between unionization and individual quit probabilities. Union members, on average, report lower levels of job satisfaction. Interestingly, unionization causes greater dissatisfaction at higher tenure levels. These findings are attributed to both the politicization of the unionized labor force and the fact that union members face flatter earnings profiles. The importance of the latter effect is reflected by the empirical fact that unions have a strong negative effect on quit probabilities at low levels of tenure, but the effect diminishes (absolutely) as tenure increases.
Bibliography Citation
Borjas, George J. "Job Satisfaction, Wages, and Unions." Journal of Human Resources 14,1 (Winter 1979): 21-40.
25. Borjas, George J.
The Relationship Between Wages and Weekly Hours of Work: The Role of Division Bias
Journal of Human Resources 15,3 (Summer 1980): 409-423.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145291
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Marital Status; Wages

New empirical evidence on the relationship between weekly hours of work and the wage rate is presented in this study. Several methods to avoid the division bias are discussed. Depending on the specification of the labor- supply function, the unbiased estimates were zero or positive.
Bibliography Citation
Borjas, George J. "The Relationship Between Wages and Weekly Hours of Work: The Role of Division Bias." Journal of Human Resources 15,3 (Summer 1980): 409-423.
26. Borus, Michael E.
Willingness to Work Among Youth
Journal of Human Resources 17,4 (Fall 1982): 581-593.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145616
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Employment; Employment, Youth; Minimum Wage; Socioeconomic Status (SES); Wages; Wages, Reservation; Work Attitudes

Considerable discussion has centered around the hypothesis that high rates of unemployment among black and other minority youth may result from a reluctance for such young people to accept menial employment. To test this, the l979 NLSY questioned young men and women aged 14- 22 about their willingness to accept full-time employment in each of seven occupations at varying rates of pay. Previous research was contradicted by findings that black youth are more willing than their white counterparts to accept employment. Some sex stereotyping was found in occupational preferences and many youths stated that they would be willing to work for less than the existing minimum wage.
Bibliography Citation
Borus, Michael E. "Willingness to Work Among Youth." Journal of Human Resources 17,4 (Fall 1982): 581-593.
27. Bound, John
Self-Reported Versus Objective Measures of Health in Retirement Models
Journal of Human Resources 26,1 (Winter 1991): 106-138.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145718
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Age and Ageing; Data Quality/Consistency; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Morbidity; Mortality; Quits; Research Methodology; Retirement History Study; Retirement/Retirement Planning; Self-Reporting

Labor supply models are sensitive to the measures of health used. When self-reported measures are used, health seems to play a larger role and economic factors a smaller one than when more objective measures are used. While this may indicate biases inherent in using self-reported measures, there are reasons to be suspicious of more objective measures as well. A statistical model incorporating both self-reported and objective measures of health shows the potential biases involved in using either measure or in using one to instrument the other. The model is initially unidentified, but incorporating outside information on the validity of self-reported measures confirms fears about both the self-reported and objective measures available on such data sets as the Retirement History Survey or the National Longitudinal Survey of Older Men.
Bibliography Citation
Bound, John. "Self-Reported Versus Objective Measures of Health in Retirement Models." Journal of Human Resources 26,1 (Winter 1991): 106-138.
28. Bratsberg, Bernt
Ragan, James F. Jr.
The Impact of Host-Country Schooling on Earnings: A Study of Male Immigrants in the United States
Journal of Human Resources 37,1 (Winter 2002): 63-105.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069604
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Earnings; Educational Attainment; Educational Returns; Immigrants; Language Aptitude; Male Sample; Schooling; Wages

Immigrants in the United States who acquire U.S. schooling earn higher wages than other immigrants. Using data from the U.S. censuses and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we show that this wage advantage results from both greater educational attainment and higher returns to education. The higher returns are not the consequence of ability bias or greater English proficiency of those who acquire U.S. schooling. Returns to years of non-U.S. education are higher for immigrants who complete their schooling in the United States, consistent with the view that U.S. schooling upgrades or certifies education received in the source country. For those without U.S. schooling, returns are higher for immigrants from highly developed countries and countries for which English is an official language.
Bibliography Citation
Bratsberg, Bernt and James F. Jr. Ragan. "The Impact of Host-Country Schooling on Earnings: A Study of Male Immigrants in the United States." Journal of Human Resources 37,1 (Winter 2002): 63-105.
29. Bratsberg, Bernt
Terrell, Dek
Experience, Tenure, and Wage Growth of Young Black and White Men
Journal of Human Resources 33,3 (Summer 1998): 658-682.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146337
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): High School Completion/Graduates; Job Tenure; Racial Differences; Wage Growth; Work Experience

This paper studies the source of differences in wage growth between young black and white workers. Focusing on "terminal" high school graduates from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we estimate the returns to on-the-job tenure and general labor market experience using ordinary least squares, Altonji and Shakotko, and Topel estimators. Results from all three estimators indicate that for black workers returns to general experience trail those for white workers, but that black workers earn equal if not higher returns to tenure than do white workers.
Bibliography Citation
Bratsberg, Bernt and Dek Terrell. "Experience, Tenure, and Wage Growth of Young Black and White Men." Journal of Human Resources 33,3 (Summer 1998): 658-682.
30. Brown, Randall S.
Moon, Marilyn
Zoloth, Barbara S.
Incorporating Occupational Attainment in Studies of Male-Female Earnings Differentials
Journal of Human Resources 15,1 (Winter 1980): 3-28.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145344
Cohort(s): Mature Women, Older Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Blue-Collar Jobs; Discrimination, Sex; Earnings; Occupational Attainment; White Collar Jobs

This study focuses on determining the extent to which differences between males and females in hourly wages are due to differences in occupational distribution versus unequal pay within occupational categories, and to what extent these differences in occupation and wages are explainable by differences between the sexes in observed attributes. The results show that only 14 to 17 percent of the total wage differential is attributable to differences in endowments. Most of the unexplained difference in overall wages arises from unexplained differences in wages within the broad occupational categories rather than from unexplained differences in occupational distributions.
Bibliography Citation
Brown, Randall S., Marilyn Moon and Barbara S. Zoloth. "Incorporating Occupational Attainment in Studies of Male-Female Earnings Differentials." Journal of Human Resources 15,1 (Winter 1980): 3-28.
31. Buckles, Kasey S.
Munnich, Elizabeth L.
Birth Spacing and Sibling Outcomes
Journal of Human Resources 47,3 (Summer 2012): 613-642.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/47/3/613.abstract
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Births, Repeat / Spacing; Children, Well-Being; Educational Attainment; Educational Outcomes; Fertility; Modeling, OLS; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Siblings; Socioeconomic Status (SES); Test Scores/Test theory/IRT

Using the NLSY79 and NLSY79 Child and Young Adult Surveys, we investigate the effect of the age difference between siblings (spacing) on educational achievement. Because spacing may be endogenous, we use an instrumental variables strategy that exploits variation in spacing driven by miscarriages. The IV results indicate that a one-year increase in spacing increases test scores for older siblings by about 0.17 standard deviations. These results are larger than the OLS estimates, suggesting that failing to account for the endogeneity of spacing may understate its benefits. For younger siblings, we find no causal impact of spacing on test scores.
Bibliography Citation
Buckles, Kasey S. and Elizabeth L. Munnich. "Birth Spacing and Sibling Outcomes." Journal of Human Resources 47,3 (Summer 2012): 613-642.
32. Carliner, Geoffrey
The Wages of Older Men
Journal of Human Resources 17,1 (Winter 1982): 25-38.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145522
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Age and Ageing; Discrimination; Discrimination, Age; Educational Attainment; Health Factors; Job Patterns; Retirement/Retirement Planning; Wage Levels; Wages, Men

Net depreciation rates in human capital are estimated from wage data on a longitudinal sample of Older Men aged 45-64. The results indicate that wage rates begin to decline in the early fifties at rates under one percent annually and decline at about two percent annually after age 60. This decrease was offset by the general increase in wage levels so that on average the real wages of men approaching retirement did not decline during the period studied. The general increase was larger for blacks than for whites, probably because of decreases in labor market discrimination between 1966 and 1974. An appendix presents a GLS estimator for a variance components model in which the number of observations per individual varies.
Bibliography Citation
Carliner, Geoffrey. "The Wages of Older Men." Journal of Human Resources 17,1 (Winter 1982): 25-38.
33. Cascio, Elizabeth Ulrich
Lewis, Ethan Gatewood
Schooling and the Armed Forces Qualifying Test: Evidence from School-Entry Laws
The Journal of Human Resources 41,2 (Spring 2006): 294-318.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40057277
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Age at School Entry; Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Ethnic Differences; High School; Minorities; Racial Differences; School Entry/Readiness; Schooling; State-Level Data/Policy

How much can late schooling investments close racial and ethnic skill gaps? We investigate this question by exploiting the large differences in completed schooling that arise among teenagers with birthdays near school-entry cutoff dates. We estimate that an additional year of high school raises the Armed Forces Qualifying Test (AFQT) scores of minorities in the NLSY79 by 0.31 to 0.32 standard deviations. These estimates imply that closing existing racial and ethnic gaps in schooling could close skill gaps by between 25 and 50 percent. Our approach also uncovers a significant direct effect of season of birth on test scores, suggesting that previous estimates using season of birth as an instrument for schooling are biased.
Bibliography Citation
Cascio, Elizabeth Ulrich and Ethan Gatewood Lewis. "Schooling and the Armed Forces Qualifying Test: Evidence from School-Entry Laws." The Journal of Human Resources 41,2 (Spring 2006): 294-318.
34. Cawley, John
The Impact of Obesity on Wages
Journal of Human Resources 39,2 (Spring 2004): 451-474.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3559022
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Earnings; Economics of Discrimination; Obesity; Wage Determination; Wage Levels; Wage Rates; Wages; Weight

Previous studies of the relationship between body weight and wages have found mixed results. This paper uses a larger data set and several regression strategies in an attempt to generate more consistent estimates of the effect of weight on wages. Differences across gender, race, and ethnicity are explored. This paper finds that weight lowers wages for white females; OLS estimates indicate that a difference in weight of two standard deviations (roughly 65 pounds) is associated with a difference in wages of 9 percent. In absolute value, this is equivalent to the wage effect of roughly one and a half years of education or three years of work experience. Negative correlations between weight and wages observed for other gender-ethnic groups appear to be due to unobserved heterogeneity.
Bibliography Citation
Cawley, John. "The Impact of Obesity on Wages." Journal of Human Resources 39,2 (Spring 2004): 451-474.
35. Cebi, Merve
Locus of Control and Human Capital Investment Revisited
Journal of Human Resources 42,4 (Fall 2007): 919-932.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40057334
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Child Development; Cognitive Development; Fertility; Human Capital; Labor Market Outcomes; Locus of Control (see Rotter Scale); Modeling; Occupational Choice; Teenagers

This paper examines the effect of teenagers' outlooks--specified as their locus of control--on educational attainment and labor market outcomes. I replicate the study of Coleman and DeLeire (2003) and test the predictions of their theoretical model using a different data set--National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). The findings fail to support the predictions of the model and suggest that locus of control is not a significant determinant of educational outcomes once cognitive ability is controlled for; however, locus of control is rewarded in the labor market later in life.
Bibliography Citation
Cebi, Merve. "Locus of Control and Human Capital Investment Revisited." Journal of Human Resources 42,4 (Fall 2007): 919-932.
36. Centeno, Mario
The Match Quality Gains from Unemployment Insurance
Journal of Human Resources 39,3 (Summer 2004): 839-63.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3559000
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Job Tenure; Unemployment Insurance

This paper assesses the benefits of unemployment insurance (UI) by measuring its effect in match quality. We note that UI generosity should affect the decision to match or not and should therefore have some effect on match quality. Using NLSY data, we analyze the relationship between post-unemployment job tenure and measures of the state-level UI generosity and the unemployment rate at the time the job is started. We show that greater UI generosity leads to longer job tenure. Furthermore, we find some evidence that this effect is more pronounced during busts, UI having a limited dampening effect on the cyclical variation in match quality.
Bibliography Citation
Centeno, Mario. "The Match Quality Gains from Unemployment Insurance." Journal of Human Resources 39,3 (Summer 2004): 839-63.
37. Chirikos, Thomas N.
Nestel, Gilbert
Occupational Differences in the Ability of Men to Delay Retirement
Journal of Human Resources 26,1 (Winter 1991): 1-26.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145714
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Disabled Workers; Health Factors; Industrial Sector; Job Hazards; Job Requirements; Mortality; Occupations; Retirement/Retirement Planning

The functional capacity of older men to remain at work in different occupational settings is an important consideration in judging recent legislation to extend the age of retirement. This paper utilizes a competing- risk model of retirement, disability and death to test hypotheses about the influence of physically strenuous work on the ability to delay retirement. Time-dependent hazard rate functions are estimated with panel data from the NLS of Older Men. Physical job requirements and health conditions are found to influence the likelihood of retiring in a disabled state. However, projections of the fractions of workers in physically strenuous and sedentary job categories that are likely to encounter difficulty in staying in the labor force do not differ greatly. The authors conclude that special policies aimed directly at workers in nonsedentary occupations may not be warranted.
Bibliography Citation
Chirikos, Thomas N. and Gilbert Nestel. "Occupational Differences in the Ability of Men to Delay Retirement." Journal of Human Resources 26,1 (Winter 1991): 1-26.
38. Cornwell, Christopher
Dorsey, Stuart
Mehrzad, Nasser
Opportunistic Behavior by Firms in Implicit Pension Contracts
Journal of Human Resources 26,4 (Fall 1991): 704-725.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145981
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Behavior; Inflation; Pensions; Retirement/Retirement Planning

Several studies have established that under the most common form of pension coverage, benefits accrue disproportionately near the end of a worker's career. Such backloading establishes a penalty for early quitting but many also create an incentive for opportunistic behavior. Because benefits generally are a function of highest earnings, when nominal earnings are expected to rise, an employer can reduce pension liabilities by discharging workers prior to retirement. This paper uses the NLS of Older Men to test whether such actions by employers are systematic. It is estimated that pension-covered workers with mean losses are less likely to be discharged. Unexpected increases in pension losses due to increases in inflation, however, raise the risk of discharge. No evidence was found that the minimum vesting standards of the Employees' Retirement Income Security Act reduces the likelihood of discharge for older workers who previously were not vested. These results are consistent with an implicit pension contract under which employer compliance is enforced by reputation. [MGMT CONTENTS]
Bibliography Citation
Cornwell, Christopher, Stuart Dorsey and Nasser Mehrzad. "Opportunistic Behavior by Firms in Implicit Pension Contracts." Journal of Human Resources 26,4 (Fall 1991): 704-725.
39. Cunha, Flavio
Heckman, James J.
Formulating, Identifying, and Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation
The Journal of Human Resources 43,4 (Fall 2008): 738-782.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/43/4/738.abstract
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB); Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Child Development; Family Income; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Human Capital; I.Q.; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Life Cycle Research; Parental Influences; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Skill Formation; Skills

This paper estimates models of the evolution of cognitive and noncognitive skills and explores the role of family environments in shaping these skills at different stages of the life cycle of the child. Central to this analysis is identification of the technology of skill formation. We estimate a dynamic factor model to solve the problem of endogeneity of inputs and multiplicity of inputs relative to instruments. We identify the scale of the factors by estimating their effects on adult outcomes. In this fashion we avoid reliance on test scores and changes in test scores that have no natural metric. Parental investments are generally more effective in raising noncognitive skills. Noncognitive skills promote the formation of cognitive skills but, in most specifications of our model, cognitive skills do not promote the formation of noncognitive skills. Parental inputs have different effects at different stages of the child's life cycle with cognitive skills affected more at early ages and noncognitive skills affected more at later ages.
Bibliography Citation
Cunha, Flavio and James J. Heckman. "Formulating, Identifying, and Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation." The Journal of Human Resources 43,4 (Fall 2008): 738-782.
40. Currie, Janet
Fallick, Bruce C.
The Minimum Wage and the Employment of Youth: Evidence from the NLSY
Journal of Human Resources 31,2 (Spring 1996): 404-428.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146069
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Employment, Youth; Minimum Wage; Peers/Peer influence/Peer relations; Wage Dynamics; Wage Rates; Wages; Work Hours/Schedule

Using panel data on individuals from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, the authors find that employed individuals who were affected by the increases in the federal minimum wage in 1979 and 1980 were about 3 percent less likely to be employed a year later, even after accounting for the fact that workers employed at the minimum wage may differ from their peers in unobserved ways.
Bibliography Citation
Currie, Janet and Bruce C. Fallick. "The Minimum Wage and the Employment of Youth: Evidence from the NLSY." Journal of Human Resources 31,2 (Spring 1996): 404-428.
41. Currie, Janet
Nixon, Lucia A.
Cole, Nancy
Restrictions on Medicaid Funding of Abortion: Effects on Birth Weight and Pregnancy Resolution
Journal of Human Resources 31,1 (Winter 1996): 159-188.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146046
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Abortion; Birthweight; Endogeneity; Modeling; Pregnancy and Pregnancy Outcomes; Underreporting

Previous research suggests that restricting the availability of abortion reduces average birth weight. In this paper we use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to reexamine this question. Most previous studies have estimated the probability that a pregnancy is carried to term, and then used these estimates to calculate "selection corrections" that are included in models of birth weight. We focus instead on reduced form models of birth weight that are not affected by under reporting of abortion, and that do not involve strong identifying restrictions. We also explore the potential endogeneity of abortion laws by comparing jurisdictions with abortion restrictions to jurisdictions where restrictive laws have been passed but are enjoined by the courts. Our results provide little support for the hypothesis that restrictions reduce average birth weight. We also find some evidence that abortion restrictions are endogenous, and that estimated effects on birth weight may reflect unobserved characteristics of states. (Copyright Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 1996)
Bibliography Citation
Currie, Janet, Lucia A. Nixon and Nancy Cole. "Restrictions on Medicaid Funding of Abortion: Effects on Birth Weight and Pregnancy Resolution." Journal of Human Resources 31,1 (Winter 1996): 159-188.
42. Currie, Janet
Thomas, Duncan
Medical Care for Children Public Insurance, Private Insurance, and Racial Differences in Utilization
Journal of Human Resources 30,1 (Winter 1995): 135-162.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146194
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Child Health; Children, Health Care; Children, Illness; Family Background and Culture; Fathers, Absence; Heterogeneity; Maternal Employment; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Racial Differences

Data from two waves of the Child-Mother module of the National Longitudinal Surveys are used to examine the medical care received by children. We compare those covered by Medicaid, by private health insurance and those with no insurance coverage at all. We find there are substantial differences in the impact of public and private health insurance and these effects also differ between blacks and whites. White children on Medicaid tend to have more doctor checkups than any other children and white children on Medicaid or a private insurance plan have a higher number of doctor visits for illness. In contrast, for black children, neither Medicaid nor private insurance coverage is associated with any advantage in terms of the number of doctor visits for illness. Furthermore, black children with private coverage are no more likely than those with no coverage to have doctor checkups; black Medicaid children are more likely than either group to have checkups although the gap is not precisely estimated. We exploit the longitudinal dimension of the data in order to take account of potential selection and thus include child specific fixed effects in the models. The results are robust to the inclusion of these controls for unobserved heterogeneity. They suggest that private and public health insurance mean different things to different children, and that national insurance coverage will not equalize utilization of care.
Bibliography Citation
Currie, Janet and Duncan Thomas. "Medical Care for Children Public Insurance, Private Insurance, and Racial Differences in Utilization." Journal of Human Resources 30,1 (Winter 1995): 135-162.
43. Davey, Adam
Shanahan, Michael J.
Schafer, Joseph L.
Correcting for Selective Nonresponse in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Using Multiple Imputation
Journal of Human Resources 36,3 (Summer 2001): 500-519.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069628
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Attrition; Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Data Analysis; Data Quality/Consistency; Longitudinal Surveys; Modeling, Growth Curve/Latent Trajectory Analysis; Nonresponse; Poverty; Psychological Effects

Survey attrition and nonresponse, particularly when selective, present unique challenges to researchers interested in studying developmental processes and longitudinal change. Four distinct patterns of nonresponse on children's psychosocial adjustment and lifetime poverty experiences and family histories are identified using principal components analysis. In turn, membership in these four groups is significantly predicted by the child's demographic characteristics, family experiences, and previous values on adjustment variables, indicating selective nonresponse and raising the possibility of biased estimates based on listwise deletion of missing data. We then examine a set of latent growth curve models that interrelate children?s family experiences and psychosocial adjustment using listwise deletion (LD) and multiple imputation (MI) procedures. Implications for treatment of nonresponse in national longitudinal surveys are discussed.
Bibliography Citation
Davey, Adam, Michael J. Shanahan and Joseph L. Schafer. "Correcting for Selective Nonresponse in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Using Multiple Imputation." Journal of Human Resources 36,3 (Summer 2001): 500-519.
44. Dee, Thomas S.
The Effects of Minimum Legal Drinking Ages on Teen Childbearing
Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Fall 2001): 823-838.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069643
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Childbearing, Adolescent; Modeling, Multilevel; Racial Differences

This study provides empirical evidence on the structural relationship between alcohol use and teen childbearing by exploiting the exogenous variation in youth alcohol availability generated by changes in state minimum legal drinking ages. The reduced-form childbearing models are based on state-level panel data and two-way fixed effect specifications as well as models that incorporate as controls the contemporaneous childbearing data from older women who were unaffected by the state changes in youth alcohol policy. The results indicate that alcohol availability and use have large, independent, and statistically significant effects on childbearing among black teens but not necessarily among white teens. Copyrighgt: 2002 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
Bibliography Citation
Dee, Thomas S. "The Effects of Minimum Legal Drinking Ages on Teen Childbearing." Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Fall 2001): 823-838.
45. Dillon, Eleanor Wiske
Smith, Jeffrey A.
The Consequences of Academic Match between Students and Colleges
Journal of Human Resources published online (13 November 2019): DOI: 10.3368/jhr.55.3.0818-9702R1.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2019/11/07/jhr.55.3.0818-9702R1.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Cognitive Ability; College Characteristics; College Degree; Earnings; STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics)

We consider the effects of student ability, college quality, and the interaction between the two on academic outcomes and earnings using data on two cohorts of college enrollees. Student ability and college quality strongly improve degree completion and earnings for all students. We find evidence of meaningful complementarity between student ability and college quality in degree completion at four years and long-term earnings, but not in degree completion at six years or STEM degree completion. This complementarity implies some tradeoff between equity and efficiency for policies that move lower ability students to higher quality colleges.
Bibliography Citation
Dillon, Eleanor Wiske and Jeffrey A. Smith. "The Consequences of Academic Match between Students and Colleges." Journal of Human Resources published online (13 November 2019): DOI: 10.3368/jhr.55.3.0818-9702R1.
46. Dougherty, Christopher
The Marriage Earnings Premium as a Distributed Fixed Effect
Journal of Human Resources 41,2 (Spring 2006): 433-443.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40057282
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Earnings; Gender Differences; Labor Market Outcomes; Marital Stability; Marriage; Modeling, Fixed Effects

Wage equations using cross-sectional data typically find an earnings premium in excess of 10 percent for married men. One leading hypothesis for the premium is that marriage facilitates specialization that enables married men to become more productive than single men. Another is that the premium is attributable to an unobserved fixed effect, married men possessing qualities that are valued in the labor market as well as the marriage market. This paper suggests that the premium is attributable to an unobserved time-distributed fixed effect that emerges and grows with the approach of marriage and continues to grow for some years after marriage. A similar distributed fixed effect is found in the case of women, but it is smaller and declines after a few years of marriage. The results appear to cast doubt on the specialization hypothesis.
Bibliography Citation
Dougherty, Christopher. "The Marriage Earnings Premium as a Distributed Fixed Effect ." Journal of Human Resources 41,2 (Spring 2006): 433-443.
47. Dougherty, Christopher
Why Are Returns to Schooling Higher for Women than for Men?
Journal of Human Resources 40,4 (Fall 2005): 969-988.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4129547
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Educational Returns; Gender Differences

Many studies have found that the impact of schooling on earnings is greater for females than for males, despite the fact that females tend to earn less, both absolutely and controlling for personal characteristics. This study investigates possible reasons for this effect, using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979-. One explanation is that education appears to have a double effect on the earnings of women. It increases their skills and productivity, as it does with men, and in addition it appears to reduce the gap in male and female earnings attributable to factors such as discrimination, tastes, and circumstances. The latter appear to account for about half of the differential in the returns to schooling.
Bibliography Citation
Dougherty, Christopher. "Why Are Returns to Schooling Higher for Women than for Men?" Journal of Human Resources 40,4 (Fall 2005): 969-988.
48. Duncan, Greg J.
Morgan, James N.
Andrisani, Paul J.
Sense of Efficacy and Subsequent Change in Earnings - A Replication
Journal of Human Resources 16,4 (Fall 1981): 649-666.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145240
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Attitudes; Earnings; Internal-External Attitude; Labor Force Participation; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Racial Differences

In a recent article, Paul Andrisani, using data from the NLS panels of Young and Older Men, found internal- external attitudes related to the level of and subsequent changes in their economic status. An attempt is made here to replicate part of Andrisani's analysis and is limited to an analysis of the effects of initial efficacy on subsequent change in economic status. The replication indicated somewhat smaller effects of initial efficacy on subsequent changes in earnings in Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) data than in the NLS data but produced larger effects when the time period was extended. However, the evidence did not support Andrisani's conclusion that an attitudinal change among whites and blacks with external attitudes would result in greater initiative and a more successful labor market experience. In a reply, Andrisani contends that Duncan and Morgan's PSID findings are inconsistent with the evidence. Further, Andrisani finds the replication questionable and points out that it ignored about 92% of the data.
Bibliography Citation
Duncan, Greg J., James N. Morgan and Paul J. Andrisani. "Sense of Efficacy and Subsequent Change in Earnings - A Replication." Journal of Human Resources 16,4 (Fall 1981): 649-666.
49. Ehrenberg, Ronald G.
Marcus, Alan J.
Minimum Wages and Teenagers' Enrollment-Employment Outcomes: A Multinomial Logit Model
Journal of Human Resources 17,1 (Winter 1982): 39-58.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145523
Cohort(s): Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Educational Attainment; Family Resources; Minimum Wage; Schooling; Teenagers

This paper tests the hypothesis that the effect of minimum wage legislation on teenagers' education decisions is asymmetrical across family income classes, with the legislation inducing children from low-income families to reduce their levels of schooling and children from higher- income families to increase their educational attainment. The authors use data from the NLS of Young Men and Young Women, and exploit the fact that, although the minimum wage is fixed at a point in time, its value relative to adult wages varies across areas. Multinomial logit models of teenagers' enrollment-employment outcomes are estimated. The hypothesis appears to be confirmed for white teens; however, the evidence for nonwhites is more ambiguous.
Bibliography Citation
Ehrenberg, Ronald G. and Alan J. Marcus. "Minimum Wages and Teenagers' Enrollment-Employment Outcomes: A Multinomial Logit Model." Journal of Human Resources 17,1 (Winter 1982): 39-58.
50. England, Paula A.
The Failure of Human Capital Theory to Explain Occupational Sex Segregation
Journal of Human Resources 17,3 (Spring 1982): 358-370.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/i301238
Cohort(s): Mature Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Discrimination, Sex; Employment, Intermittent/Precarious; Human Capital Theory; Occupational Segregation; Occupations, Female; Occupations, Male; Sex Roles; Work History

The human capital theory has not provided an explanation of occupational sex segregation that fits the evidence. Findings do not show that women are penalized more for time spent out of the labor force if they choose predominantly female occupations than if they choose predominantly male occupations. The findings contradict the contention of Polachek.
Bibliography Citation
England, Paula A. "The Failure of Human Capital Theory to Explain Occupational Sex Segregation." Journal of Human Resources 17,3 (Spring 1982): 358-370.
51. Evans, David S.
Leighton, Linda S.
Why Do Smaller Firms Pay Less?
Journal of Human Resources 24,2 (Spring 1989): 299-318.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145858
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Education; Firm Size; Firms; Heterogeneity; Job Tenure; Job Turnover; Wages

This paper uses data from the NLS of Young Men and the Current Population Survey for 1983 to examine the relationships among wages, firm size, and plant size. Results indicate that: (1) plant size has little independent effect on wages once the firm size of firms with fewer than 1,000 employees is controlled for; (2) evidence of sorting on observed and unobserved ability characteristics across firm sizes was found. Better educated and more stable workers are in larger firms; and (3) results from a first-difference estimator indicate that about 60 percent of the wage-size effect is due to unobserved heterogeneity when all firms are considered and about 100 percent when firms with 25 or more employees are considered.
Bibliography Citation
Evans, David S. and Linda S. Leighton. "Why Do Smaller Firms Pay Less?" Journal of Human Resources 24,2 (Spring 1989): 299-318.
52. Falaris, Evangelos M.
Migration and Wages of Young Men
Journal of Human Resources 23,4 (Fall 1988): 514-534.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145811
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Migration; Regions; Wages, Young Men

This report specifies a two-period nested logit migration model with selectivity. The model is estimated using a sample of young male workers from the NLSY. The respondent's choices among the nine U.S. Census divisions during the first two years after leaving full-time schooling are studied. The author addresses several methodological issues and documents that wages significantly affect the migration decisions of young workers.
Bibliography Citation
Falaris, Evangelos M. "Migration and Wages of Young Men." Journal of Human Resources 23,4 (Fall 1988): 514-534.
53. Falaris, Evangelos M.
Peters, H. Elizabeth
Schooling Choices and Demographic Cycles
Journal of Human Resources 27,4 (Fall 1992): 551-574.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146075
Cohort(s): NLSY79, Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Demography; Educational Attainment; Life Cycle Research; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); School Completion; Schooling

This paper examines the effect of demographic cycles on schooling choices and the timing of school completion. Utilizing data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience and from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we find that men and women born during the upswing of a demographic cycle obtain more schooling and take longer to finish a year of schooling than comparable individuals born during the downswing of a demographic cycle. The patterns that we document are more complex than would be predicted by any of the theoretical models of educational responses to demographic cycles that have been presented in the literature.
Bibliography Citation
Falaris, Evangelos M. and H. Elizabeth Peters. "Schooling Choices and Demographic Cycles." Journal of Human Resources 27,4 (Fall 1992): 551-574.
54. Falaris, Evangelos M.
Peters, H. Elizabeth
Survey Attrition and Schooling Choices
Journal of Human Resources 33,2 (Spring 1998): 531-554.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146440
Cohort(s): NLSY79, Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Attrition; Behavior; Family Background and Culture; Modeling; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Schooling

We use data from three cohorts of the National Longitudinal Surveys of L abor Market Experience and from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to study the effect of survey attrition on estimates of statistical models of schooling choices. We estimate regressions using data on people who always respond to the surveys (stayers) and on people who miss some surveys (attritors) and test whether the same statistical model describes the behavior of stayers and attritors. In general (with a few exceptions) we find that attrition either has no effect on the regression estimates or only affects the estimates of the intercept (and sometimes the coefficients of birth year dummies) and does not affect estimates of family background slope coefficients.
Bibliography Citation
Falaris, Evangelos M. and H. Elizabeth Peters. "Survey Attrition and Schooling Choices." Journal of Human Resources 33,2 (Spring 1998): 531-554.
55. Flanagan, Robert J.
Discrimination Theory, Labor Turnover, and Racial Unemployment Differentials
Journal of Human Resources 13,2 (Spring 1978): 187-207.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145358
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Discrimination; Discrimination, Racial/Ethnic; Quits; Racial Differences; Unemployment; Wages

This paper examines theoretically and empirically the feedback from racial wage differences to unemployment differentials among experienced workers. Although the received theory predicts that the removal of racial wage differentials will increase the relative unemployment of blacks, this conclusion rests on a demand oriented analysis of discrimination which omits the effect of market discrimination on racial differences in quit behavior, movements between market and nonmarket activity, and related unemployment. The empirical work in the paper analyzes turnover flows and the probability of incurring unemployment, conditional on turnover by race. In clarifying the role of racial wage differentials on supply behavior, the results challenge the traditional interpretation of the effect of wage discrimination.
Bibliography Citation
Flanagan, Robert J. "Discrimination Theory, Labor Turnover, and Racial Unemployment Differentials." Journal of Human Resources 13,2 (Spring 1978): 187-207.
56. Flinn, Christopher Jay
Kulka, Richard
Moffitt, Robert A.
Introduction to the Journal of Human Resources Special Issue on Data Quality
Journal of Human Resources 36,3 (Summer 2001): 413-625.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069624
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI); Data Quality/Consistency; Longitudinal Data Sets; Modeling; Nonresponse

A conference entitled "Data Quality Issues in Longitudinal Surveys" was held at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan on October 28-29, 1998. The papers included in this symposium are revised versions of seven of the papers that were presented. Topics discussed include reducing panel attrition and the search for effective policy instruments; an analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 recall experiment; controlling for seam problems in duration model estimates with application to the current population survey and the computer aided telephone interview/computer aided personal interview overlap survey; correcting for selective nonresponse in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth using multiple imputation; comparing data quality of fertility and first sexual intercourse histories; attrition and follow-up in the Indonesia Family Life Survey; and the quality of retrospective data, based on an examination of long-term recall in a developing country
Bibliography Citation
Flinn, Christopher Jay, Richard Kulka and Robert A. Moffitt. "Introduction to the Journal of Human Resources Special Issue on Data Quality ." Journal of Human Resources 36,3 (Summer 2001): 413-625.
57. Flores-Lagunes, Alfonso
Light, Audrey L.
Interpreting Degree Effects in the Returns to Education
Journal of Human Resources 45,2 (March 2010): 439-467.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/45/2/439.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): College Dropouts; College Graduates; Educational Returns; GED/General Educational Diploma/General Equivalency Degree/General Educational Development; High School Completion/Graduates; High School Dropouts; Modeling; Schooling, Post-secondary; Wage Equations

Researchers often identify degree effects by including degree attainment (D) and years of schooling (S) in a wage model, yet the source of independent variation in these measures is not well understood. We argue that S is negatively correlated with ability among degree-holders because the most able graduate the fastest, but positively correlated among dropouts because the most able benefit from increased schooling. Using NLSY79 data, we find support for this argument; our findings also suggest that highest grade completed is the preferred measure of S for dropouts, while age at school exit is a more informative measure for degree-holders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Human Resources is the property of University of Wisconsin Press 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
Flores-Lagunes, Alfonso and Audrey L. Light. "Interpreting Degree Effects in the Returns to Education." Journal of Human Resources 45,2 (March 2010): 439-467.
58. Frazis, Harley Jay
Loewenstein, Mark A.
How Responsive are Quits to Benefits?
Journal of Human Resources 48,4 (Fall 2013): 969-997.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/48/4/969.refs
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Benefits, Fringe; Quits; Wages

Economists have argued that one function of fringe benefits is to reduce turnover. However, the effect on quits of the marginal dollar of benefits relative to wages is underresearched. We use the benefit incidence data in the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and the cost information in the National Compensation Survey to impute benefit costs and estimate quit regressions. The quit rate is much more responsive to benefits than to wages, and total turnover even more so; benefit costs are also correlated with training provision. We cannot disentangle the effects of individual benefits due to their high correlation.
Bibliography Citation
Frazis, Harley Jay and Mark A. Loewenstein. "How Responsive are Quits to Benefits?" Journal of Human Resources 48,4 (Fall 2013): 969-997.
59. Frazis, Harley Jay
Loewenstein, Mark A.
Reexamining the Returns to Training: Functional Form, Magnitude, and Interpretation
Journal of Human Resources 40,2 (Spring 2005): 453-476.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4129533
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Heterogeneity; Training; Training, On-the-Job; Wage Equations; Wage Growth; Wages

We investigate the functional form for formal training in a wage equation and derive estimates of its rate of return. The cube root fits best in our two data sets. We show that if wages are not adjusted continuously, estimating the return to training requires one lag and one lead of training. Using the cube root and a semi-nonparametric estimator, estimated returns are 150-180 percent. Adjusting for heterogeneity in wage growth, promotions, and direct costs reduces the return to 40-50 percent. We find evidence of heterogeneity in returns. Our estimates can thus be regarded as the return to training for the trained, but cannot be extrapolated to the untrained.
Bibliography Citation
Frazis, Harley Jay and Mark A. Loewenstein. "Reexamining the Returns to Training: Functional Form, Magnitude, and Interpretation." Journal of Human Resources 40,2 (Spring 2005): 453-476.
60. Fredland, John Eric
Little, Roger D.
Long Term Returns to Vocational Training: Evidence from Military Sources
Journal of Human Resources 15,1 (Winter 1980): 49-66.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145346
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Earnings; Educational Returns; Military Training; Vocational Education

This study investigates long- run returns of mid-career white male workers who received military vocational training during WWII and immediately thereafter. The cross-section earnings regressions strongly suggest that those who utilized their vocational training receive long-term premiums. In contrast, those individuals who did not use their training in subsequent employment did not appear to earn premiums, which indicates that the training effects are job specific.
Bibliography Citation
Fredland, John Eric and Roger D. Little. "Long Term Returns to Vocational Training: Evidence from Military Sources." Journal of Human Resources 15,1 (Winter 1980): 49-66.
61. Gabriel, Paul E.
Schmitz, Susanne
Favorable Self-Selection and the Internal Migration of Young White Males in the United States
Journal of Human Resources 30,3 (Summer 1995): 460-471.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146031
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Economics, Demographic; Economics, Regional; Labor Market Demographics; Labor Market Studies, Geographic; Labor Market, Secondary; Migration; Regions; Rural/Urban Differences; Selectivity Bias/Selection Bias; Wage Differentials

This study offers an alternative empirical technique to test whether the favorable self-selection hypothesis applies to internal migrants in the United States. The authors' empirical specification attempts to determine if prospective migrants possess unobserved traits, such as higher ability or motivation, that influence their earnings potential relative to nonmigrants. Using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data for 1985 through 1991, they find some support for the favorable self-selection hypothesis for white males who move from one standard metropolitan statistical area to another. Prior to their move, prospective migrants enjoy a consistent advantage in annual wage and salary income relative to nonmigrants with similar earnings-related characteristics.
Bibliography Citation
Gabriel, Paul E. and Susanne Schmitz. "Favorable Self-Selection and the Internal Migration of Young White Males in the United States." Journal of Human Resources 30,3 (Summer 1995): 460-471.
62. Garen, John Edward
The Trade-Off Between Wages and Wage Growth
Journal of Human Resources 20,4 (Fall 1985): 522-539.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145682
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Earnings; Educational Returns; Wage Growth

This paper tests the theory of compensating differentials by estimating the sacrifice in current earnings necessary to acquire employment leading to future wage growth. Utilizing longitudinal data from the Young Men cohort, the predicted value of each individual's actual wage growth subsequent to the current period is related to the current wage. The results indicate a strong, inverse relationship between current earnings and the amount of future wage growth "purchased." The magnitude of this trade-off between current and future earnings varies with schooling, as does the total amount of current earnings capacity invested in wage growth. These findings are then compared to related results in the human capital production function literature.
Bibliography Citation
Garen, John Edward. "The Trade-Off Between Wages and Wage Growth." Journal of Human Resources 20,4 (Fall 1985): 522-539.
63. Gill, Andrew Matthew
Incorporating the Causes of Occupational Differences in Studies of Racial Wage Differentials
Journal of Human Resources 29,1 (Winter 1994): 20-41.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146054
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Career Patterns; Occupational Attainment; Occupational Choice; Occupational Status; Racial Differences; Selectivity Bias/Selection Bias; Wage Differentials

This study provides a basic framework for incorporating the causes of occupational differences into analyses of racial wage differentials. Using National Longitudinal Survey data, the influence of personal characteristics, occupational choice, and discrimination on the occupational attainment of young men was investigated. Two findings were reached: First, correcting for self-selection increases importance of occupational distribution in explaining racial wage differentials; and second differential access to high-paying occupations contributes substantially to wage differences.
Bibliography Citation
Gill, Andrew Matthew. "Incorporating the Causes of Occupational Differences in Studies of Racial Wage Differentials." Journal of Human Resources 29,1 (Winter 1994): 20-41.
64. Gill, Andrew Matthew
Leigh, Duane E.
Do the Returns to Community Colleges Differ between Academic and Vocational Programs?
Journal of Human Resources 38,1 (Winter 2003): 134-155.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/XXXVIII/1/134.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): College Dropouts; College Education; College Graduates; Colleges; Earnings; Transfers, Skill; Vocational Education; Vocational Training

This paper provides new evidence about the payoffs to community colleges' terminal training programs as distinct from their traditional transfer function. Using NLSY data, we offer three main findings. First, four-year college graduates who started at a community tcollege are not at a substantial earnings disadvantage relative to those who started at a four-year college. Second, community college students in terminal training programs enjoy a positive payoff comparable to that received by four-year college starters who do not graduate. Finally, we find evidence of positive self-selection for community college students who choose the terminal training track.
Bibliography Citation
Gill, Andrew Matthew and Duane E. Leigh. "Do the Returns to Community Colleges Differ between Academic and Vocational Programs?" Journal of Human Resources 38,1 (Winter 2003): 134-155.
65. Gilleskie, Donna B.
Lutz, Byron F.
The Impact of Employer-Provided Health Insurance on Dynamic Employment Transitions
Journal of Human Resources 37,1 (Winter 2002): 129-162.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069606
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Benefits; Benefits, Insurance; Health Care; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Heterogeneity; Job Tenure; Male Sample; Marital Status; Mobility, Job

We estimate the impact of employer-provided health insurance (EPHI) on the job mobility of males over time using a dynamic empirical model that accounts for unobserved heterogeneity. Previous studies of job-lock reach different conclusions about possible distortions in labor mobility stemming from an employment-based health insurance system: a few authors find no evidence of job-lock, although most find reductions in the mobility of insured workers of between 20 and 40 percent. We use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth which includes variables describing the health insurance an individual holds, as well as whether he is offered insurance by his employer. This additional information allows us to model the latent individual characteristics that are correlated with the offer of EPHI, the acceptance of EPHI, and employment transitions. Our results provide an estimate of job-lock unbiased through correlation with positive job characteristics and individual specific turnover propensity. We find no evidence of job-lock among married males, and produce small estimates of job-lock among unmarried males of between 10 and 15 percent.
Bibliography Citation
Gilleskie, Donna B. and Byron F. Lutz. "The Impact of Employer-Provided Health Insurance on Dynamic Employment Transitions." Journal of Human Resources 37,1 (Winter 2002): 129-162.
66. Glied, Sherry A.
Neidell, Matthew J.
The Economic Value of Teeth
Journal of Human Resources 45,2 (March 2010): 468-496.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/45/2/468.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Discrimination, Employer; Earnings; Economic Well-Being; Gender Differences; Health Reform; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Labor Market Outcomes; Socioeconomic Status (SES); Well-Being

This paper examines the effect of oral health on labor market outcomes by exploiting variation in fluoridated water exposure during childhood. The politics surrounding the adoption of water fluoridation by local governments suggests exposure to fluoride is exogenous to other factors affecting earnings. Exposure to fluoridated water increases women's earnings by approximately 4 percent, but has no detectable effect for men. Furthermore, the effect is largely concentrated amongst women from families of low socioeconomic status. We find little evidence to support occupational sorting, statistical discrimination, and productivity as potential channels, with some evidence supporting consumer and possibly employer discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Human Resources is the property of University of Wisconsin Press 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
Glied, Sherry A. and Matthew J. Neidell. "The Economic Value of Teeth." Journal of Human Resources 45,2 (March 2010): 468-496.
67. Gonul, Fusun Feride
Dynamic Labor Force Participation Decisions of Males in the Presence of Layoffs and Uncertain Job Offers
Journal of Human Resources 24,2 (Spring 1989): 195-220.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145853
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Employment; Job Tenure; Labor Force Participation; Layoffs; Unemployment; Unemployment Duration; Wages; Work History

This paper presents a utility maximization model of workers who make decisions to work or not over a life time. When they work they earn wage income, when they do not work they have leisure time but earn no income. The objective is to maximize the presented discounted value of utility arising from the participation decisions. In addition to duration probabilities, state dependence enters the model by the existence of a different risk while working, namely, the dismissal risk, than the one while not working, namely, the possibility of no job offers. The method used in solving and estimating this problem is to embed a dynamic programming algorithm within a maximum likelihood routine. The data are from the NLSY. Given the structural parameter estimates, experiments are performed to ascertain the impact of changes in forcing variables on unemployment and employment duration.
Bibliography Citation
Gonul, Fusun Feride. "Dynamic Labor Force Participation Decisions of Males in the Presence of Layoffs and Uncertain Job Offers." Journal of Human Resources 24,2 (Spring 1989): 195-220.
68. Gray, Jeffrey S.
The Fall in Men's Return to Marriage: Declining Productivity Effects or Changing Selection?
Journal of Human Resources 32,3 (Summer 1997): 481-504.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146180
Cohort(s): NLSY79, Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Earnings, Wives; Household Models; Human Capital; Marital Status; Variables, Instrumental; Wage Equations; Wives, Income

Historically, one of the most robust findings from human capital wage equations has been that married men earn more than men who never marry. However, the earnings premium paid to married compared with never-married men declined by more than 40 percent during the 1980s. Data from the National Longitudinal Surveys (young men and youth cohorts) are used to explore two competing explanations for this decline: changes in the selection of high-wage men into marriage and changes in the productivity effects of marriage due to declining specialization within households. The results suggest that the drop in the marriage wage premium was due largely to a decline in the productivity effects associated with marriage. Instrumental variables estimation suggests that these declining productivity effects can be explained by a reduction in the average degree of specialization across households coupled with an increase in the wage penalty associated with wives' labor market hours.
Bibliography Citation
Gray, Jeffrey S. "The Fall in Men's Return to Marriage: Declining Productivity Effects or Changing Selection?" Journal of Human Resources 32,3 (Summer 1997): 481-504.
69. Grogger, Jeffrey
Speech and Wages
Journal of Human Resources 54,4 (Fall 2019): 926-952.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/54/4/926.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Behavior; Paradata; Racial Differences; Wages

Although language has been widely studied, relatively little is known about how a worker's speech, in his/her native tongue, is related to wages, or what explains the observed relationship. To address these questions, I analyzed audio data from respondents to the NLSY97. Wages are strongly associated with speech patterns among both African Americans and Southern whites. For Southern whites, this is largely explained by residential location. For blacks, it is explained by sorting: workers with mainstream speech sort toward occupations that involve intensive interpersonal interactions and earn a sizeable wage premium there.
Bibliography Citation
Grogger, Jeffrey. "Speech and Wages." Journal of Human Resources 54,4 (Fall 2019): 926-952.
70. Gronberg, Timothy J.
Reed, W. Robert
Estimating Workers' Marginal Willingness to Pay for Job Attributes Using Duration Data
Journal of Human Resources 29,3 (Summer 1994): 911-931.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146258
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Job Knowledge; Job Search; Job Tenure; Job Turnover; Labor Market Outcomes; Occupational Choice; Occupational Investment; Wage Models

This paper develops and applies a method for estimating workers' marginal willingness to pay for job attributes when workers' job choices are characterized by imperfect information and labor market search. As an application, this paper analyzes the job durations of white males using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Cohort and the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Estimates of workers' willingness to pay derived from the job duration model are compared with those derived from an hedonic wage model.
Bibliography Citation
Gronberg, Timothy J. and W. Robert Reed. "Estimating Workers' Marginal Willingness to Pay for Job Attributes Using Duration Data." Journal of Human Resources 29,3 (Summer 1994): 911-931.
71. Hamermesh, Daniel S.
The Changing Distribution of Job Satisfaction
Journal of Human Resources 36,1 (Winter 2001): 1-30.
Also: http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/jhr/2001ab/hammermesh.html
Cohort(s): NLSY79, Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Cross-national Analysis; Earnings; German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP); Germany, German; Job Satisfaction; Skills; Wage Effects; Wages; Wages, Young Men

The distribution of job satisfaction widened across cohorts of young men in the United States between 1978 and 1988, and between 1978 and 1996, in ways correlated with changing wage inequality. Satisfaction among workers in upper earnings quartiles rose relative to that of workers in the lowest quartile. An identical phenomenon is observed among men in West Germany in response to a sharp increase in the relative earnings of high-wage men in the mid-1990s. Several hypotheses about the determinants of satisfaction are presented and examined using both cross-section data on these cohorts and panel data from the NLSY and the German SOEP. The evidence is most consistent with workers' job satisfaction being especially responsive to surprises in the returns to observable skills, less so to surprises in the returns to unobservables. The effects of earnings shocks on job satisfaction dissipate over time.
Bibliography Citation
Hamermesh, Daniel S. "The Changing Distribution of Job Satisfaction." Journal of Human Resources 36,1 (Winter 2001): 1-30.
72. Hauser, Robert M.
Kuo, Hsiang-Hui Daphne
Does the Gender Composition of Sibships Affect Women's Education Attainment?
Journal of Human Resources 33,3 (Summer 1998): 644-657.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146336
Cohort(s): Mature Women, NLS General
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Educational Attainment; Gender Differences; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Siblings; Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP); Women's Education

Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the November 1989 Current Population survey, and the National Longitudinal Study of Women suggest that women with sisters may have completed less schooling than women without sisters. This hypothesis follows a long tradition of theories about the effects of sibling number and configuration. There is relatively weak evidence for this hypothesis in the analysis on which the findings are based. Analyses of the effects of sibling gender composition on educational attainment among cohorts of women in the Occupational Changes in a Generation Survey, the Survey of Income and Program Participation, and the National Survey of Families and Households offer no support for this hypothesis or other related hypotheses about the effects of the gender composition of sibships.
Bibliography Citation
Hauser, Robert M. and Hsiang-Hui Daphne Kuo. "Does the Gender Composition of Sibships Affect Women's Education Attainment?" Journal of Human Resources 33,3 (Summer 1998): 644-657.
73. Heywood, John S.
Racial Earnings Differentials and Performance Pay
Journal of Human Resources 40,2 (Spring 2005): 435-452.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4129532
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Discrimination, Racial/Ethnic; Earnings; Performance pay; Racial Differences; Wage Determination; Wage Differentials; Wages; Wages, Men

This paper presents an information model in which workers receiving output-based pay experience less racial earnings discrimination than those receiving time rates and supervisory evaluations. Tests using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth reveal no racial wage differential among male workers paid output-based pay while confirming a significant differential among those paid time rates. In addition, the racial wage differential among those receiving bonus pay, usually based on supervisory evaluations, tends to be larger than for those not receiving such bonuses.
Bibliography Citation
Heywood, John S. "Racial Earnings Differentials and Performance Pay." Journal of Human Resources 40,2 (Spring 2005): 435-452.
74. Hill, Carolyn J.
Michael, Robert T.
Measuring Poverty in the NLSY97
Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Fall 2001): 727-761.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069640
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Child Care; Family Income; Food Stamps (see Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program); Poverty; Program Participation/Evaluation; Teenagers; Welfare

Using data from the NLSY97, we construct two measures of poverty using the official U.S. definition and the National Research Council (NRC) definition. We estimate the two poverty rates for 1996 for youths 12-16 as 17.9 (official) and 23.4 (NRC), and document the discrepancies between youths considered in poverty under the two measures. We also explore the influence of poverty on youths' outcomes using the official and NRC measures of poverty. The paper shows that the prevalence of poverty and its measured consequences are affected by the way we measure poverty.
Bibliography Citation
Hill, Carolyn J. and Robert T. Michael. "Measuring Poverty in the NLSY97." Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Fall 2001): 727-761.
75. Hill, M. Anne
O'Neill, June E.
Family Endowments and the Achievement of Young Children with Special Reference to the Underclass
Journal of Human Resources 29,4 (Autumn 1994): 1064-1100.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146134
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Cognitive Ability; Cognitive Development; Educational Attainment; Family Resources; Grandmothers; Income; Income Level; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Mothers, Education; Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT); Underclass; Welfare; Work Hours/Schedule

A study investigates the factors underlying cognitive achievement among young children using a Becker-Tomes model of intergenerational transmission adapted to incorporate transmission of a family's cultural orientation toward achievement. The model relates the child's achievement to parental income and cognitive skills as well as to grandparent's income and education. Using data on Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) scores for children born to women in the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth, large and significant positive effects are found for the mother's Armed Forces Qualification Test score, her schooling, and the grandparents' schooling. It is found that increases in the mother's hours at work bear significant negative effects on her child's achievement. The effect is only partially compensated for by higher money income among these young children. The mother's welfare dependence is associated with a reduction in the child's PPVT score, an effect that is not explained by poverty persistence. (ABI/Inform)
Bibliography Citation
Hill, M. Anne and June E. O'Neill. "Family Endowments and the Achievement of Young Children with Special Reference to the Underclass." Journal of Human Resources 29,4 (Autumn 1994): 1064-1100.
76. Hills, Stephen M.
Estimating the Relationships between Unemployment Compensation and the Duration of Unemployment--The Problem of Eligible Nonfilers
Journal of Human Resources 17,3 (Summer 1982): 460-470.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145592
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Blue-Collar Jobs; Craftsmen; High School Curriculum; Job Skills; Military Service; Mobility, Job; Schooling; Vocational Education; Wages

This paper tests the sensitivity of the relationship between unemployment insurance and unemployment duration, using three definitions for the appropriate sample of respondents to estimate a duration of unemployment model. The authors replicate the model originally utilized by Ehrenberg and Oaxaca, but perform the replication on data derived from the detailed work histories available in the 1970 and 1971 NLS of Older and Young Men. Our replication confirms Ehrenberg and Oaxaca's earlier findings that a larger replacement ratio is associated with significantly more unemployment for any one individual, all else constant. After the sample used to estimate the model is redefined, however, the strong relationship between the wage replacement ratio and duration of unemployment disappears.
Bibliography Citation
Hills, Stephen M. "Estimating the Relationships between Unemployment Compensation and the Duration of Unemployment--The Problem of Eligible Nonfilers." Journal of Human Resources 17,3 (Summer 1982): 460-470.
77. Hirsch, Barry T.
Schumacher, Edward J.
Unions, Wages, and Skills
Journal of Human Resources 33,1 (Winter 1998): 201-219.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146319
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Aptitude; Skilled Workers; Skills; Test Scores/Test theory/IRT; Transfers, Skill; Unions; Wage Differentials; Wage Effects; Wage Levels; Wages

Studies uniformly conclude that union wage effects arc largest for workers with low measured skills. Longitudinal analysis using 1989/90 1994/95 Current Population Survey matched panels produces union premium estimates equivalent across skill groups, following appropriate sample restrictions and control for worker-specific skills. Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth aptitude scores confirms that union workers with high measured skills have relatively low unmeasured skills. Differential selection by skill class and skill homogeneity in union workplaces results from employer and employee sorting in response to wage standardization, union organizing where skills are homogeneous, and unionized employers' reluctance to hire the most as well as least able workers.
Bibliography Citation
Hirsch, Barry T. and Edward J. Schumacher. "Unions, Wages, and Skills." Journal of Human Resources 33,1 (Winter 1998): 201-219.
78. Hofferth, Sandra L.
Wissoker, Douglas A.
Price, Quality, and Income in Child Care Choice
Journal of Human Resources 27,1 (Winter 1992): 70-111.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145913
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Child Care; Maternal Employment; Modeling, Logit

This paper explores the hypothesis that parents consider the price and quality of child care as well as their own resources and needs when they make their child care decisions. Parents are expected to minimize price and maximize quality, controlling for income. Price is measured in terms of predicted expenditures on child care; quality is measured by the ratio of children to staff members. Data come from the 1985 wave of the NLSY. Expenditures for each mode of child care are modeled, correcting for selection, and predicted expenditures are obtained for each of four child care modes (center, sitter, relative, and husband/partner). Using a multinomial logit model, the impacts of price, quality, family income, and family characteristics on choice of each of these forms of child care are examined.
Bibliography Citation
Hofferth, Sandra L. and Douglas A. Wissoker. "Price, Quality, and Income in Child Care Choice." Journal of Human Resources 27,1 (Winter 1992): 70-111.
79. Holzer, Harry J.
Reservation Wages and Their Labor Market Effects for Black and White Male Youth
Journal of Human Resources 21,2 (Spring 1986): 157-177.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145795
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Racial Differences; Self-Reporting; Unemployment Duration; Unemployment, Youth; Wages, Reservation; Wages, Young Men

Self-reported reservation wages, the lowest wages considered acceptable, for unemployed young black and white males in one year were used in an empirical analysis to explain wage and employment results in the following year. A set of equations were estimated utilizing data from the 1979 and 1980 panels of the NLSY. In absolute terms, young blacks desired wages comparable to those of young whites but received wages much lower than those of whites. Relative to what blacks obtained in the market, reservation wages were higher for blacks than for whites. The relatively higher reservation wages of young blacks affected their unemployment durations, while the wages they received were influenced somewhat. For young blacks, rising relative reservation wages and their recent wage and employment trends seemed to be related.
Bibliography Citation
Holzer, Harry J. "Reservation Wages and Their Labor Market Effects for Black and White Male Youth." Journal of Human Resources 21,2 (Spring 1986): 157-177.
80. Horrigan, Michael W.
Walker, James R.
"Introduction" to the Special Issue on Early Results from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort
Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Fall 2001): 627-838.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069635
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Human Capital; Labor Economics; Labor Force Participation; Longitudinal Data Sets; Longitudinal Surveys; NLS Description

Note(s): Title from cover. "Papers presented at the National Longitudinal Survey 1997 Early Results Conference held in Washington, DC on November 18-19, 1999" --Introduction. Includes bibliographical references. Special Issue on Early Results from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort

The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97 (NLSY97) is a new survey undertaken by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Begun in the mid-sixties, the "NLS Program" has followed men and women as they enter, develop and retire from their jobs and careers over the past three decades. The five previous cohorts of NLS data have been among the most widely used omnibus, large-scale household surveys in the US, used by social scientists for basic and applied research and having substantial influence on social policy by contributing to our nation's understanding of the labor market, the role of human capital in earnings, the importance of race, gender and age in occupation and wage determination, and many other areas. These data sets have influenced numerous labor and welfare policies and informed a wide range of private and public choices, including the importance of innate ability in determining earnings, the complexities and dynamics of decisions about marriage, family and work.

The NLSY97 is a new cohort of approximately 9,000 men and women age 12-16 on December 31, 1996 (i.e., individuals born in 1980-1984). This new data set became available to the public for research purposes in January 1999. The data set contains over 2,000 variables about these 9,000 youths, collected in face-to-face interviews of about 72 minutes with the youth, plus about 60 minutes with the youth's parent, and an additional 30 minutes with a family member describing the youth's family circumstances and history. Since the data were all collected by computer, there is considerable complexity as well as richness of detail in these data files. See the attached l isting for a more detailed listing of the content of the first round instruments.

Bibliography Citation
Horrigan, Michael W. and James R. Walker. ""Introduction" to the Special Issue on Early Results from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort ." Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Fall 2001): 627-838.
81. Horrigan, Michael W.
Walker, James R.
Introduction to the Journal of Human Resources Early Results Issue
Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Autumn 2001): 627.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069635
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Longitudinal Data Sets; Longitudinal Surveys

(Special Issue on Early Results from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort). This issue contains papers presented at the National Longitudinal Survey 1997 Early Results Conference held in Washington, DC on November 18-19, 1999. The NLSY97 is the latest entry in the Bureau of Labor Statistics longitudinal survey program. Like the heavily analyzed NLSY79, the 1997 Cohort collects information on the transition from school to work and from adolescence into adult- hood. While sharing many design features as the NLSY79, as these papers illustrate, the NLSY97 also contains many enhancements and novelties as well.

The introduction to the issue, "The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 " Cohort" by Robert Michael and Michael Pergamit describes the content and initial fielding effort for the new cohort. The remaining six papers investigate a particular behavioral or policy issue using the NLSY97 data. The papers were chosen to illustrate the breath of the survey, especially on topics of interest to the JHR readership. More than 30 papers were presented at the conference.

Other papers appear in September 10, 2001 issue of the Monthly Labor Review and in Social Awakenings: Adolescent Behavior as Adulthood Approaches, edited by Robert T. Michael and published by Russell Sage Press (New York: 2001).

Bibliography Citation
Horrigan, Michael W. and James R. Walker. "Introduction to the Journal of Human Resources Early Results Issue." Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Autumn 2001): 627.
82. Hotz, V. Joseph
McElroy, Susan Williams
Sanders, Seth G.
Teenage Childbearing and Its Life Cycle Consequences
Journal of Human Resources 40,3 (Summer 2005): 683-715.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4129557
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Childbearing, Adolescent; Earnings; Socioeconomic Status (SES); Variables, Instrumental

We exploit a "natural experiment" associated with human reproduction to identify the causal effect of teen childbearing on the socioeconomic attainment of teen mothers. We exploit the fact that some women who become pregnant experience a miscarriage and do not have a live birth. Using miscarriages as an instrumental variable, we estimate the effect of teen mothers not delaying their childbearing on their subsequent attainment. We find that many of the negative consequences of teenage childbearing are much smaller than those found in previous studies. For most outcomes, the adverse consequences of early childbearing are short-lived. Finally, for annual hours of work and earnings, we find that a teen mother would have lower levels of each at older ages if they had delayed their childbearing.
Bibliography Citation
Hotz, V. Joseph, Susan Williams McElroy and Seth G. Sanders. "Teenage Childbearing and Its Life Cycle Consequences." Journal of Human Resources 40,3 (Summer 2005): 683-715.
83. Huang, Wei
Liu, Elaine M.
Zuppann, C. Andrew
Relative Obesity and the Formation of Non-cognitive Abilities During Adolescence
Journal of Human Resources published online (10 November 2020): DOI: 10.3368/jhr.58.2.1018-9812R2.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2020/11/04/jhr.58.2.1018-9812R2
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Geocoded Data; Noncognitive Skills; Obesity; Self-Esteem

We study the role of relative childhood and adolescent obesity in the development of non-cognitive abilities. We employ a novel identification strategy, utilizing the fact that one's body size is a relative concept and there are large variations in body sizes across MSAs. We focus on children who move between MSAs. Controlling for origin-destination state pair fixed effects, we find that a 10 percentile point increase in relative body size would increase behavioral problems by 2 percentile points. This effect is of a similar magnitude to a two-year reduction in maternal education.
Bibliography Citation
Huang, Wei, Elaine M. Liu and C. Andrew Zuppann. "Relative Obesity and the Formation of Non-cognitive Abilities During Adolescence." Journal of Human Resources published online (10 November 2020): DOI: 10.3368/jhr.58.2.1018-9812R2.
84. Johnson, Richard W.
Neumark, David B.
Age Discrimination, Job Separations, and Employment Status of Older Workers: Evidence from Self-Reports
Journal of Human Resources 32,4 (Fall 1997): 779-811.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146428
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Age and Ageing; Discrimination, Age; Employment; Job Turnover; Labor Market Outcomes; Self-Reporting

This paper explores the consequences of age discrimination in the workplace by analyzing self-reports of discrimination in the National Longitudinal Survey of Older Men, for the period 1966-80. Workers with positive reports were much more likely to separate from their employer and less likely to remain employed than workers who report no employer related age discrimination. The findings for job separations, but not employment status, are robust to numerous attempts to correct the estimates for the inherent limitations of self-reported data, particularly heterogeneity in the propensity to report discrimination, the influence of mandatory retirement, and the possibility that other negative labor market outcomes are attributed to discrimination.
Bibliography Citation
Johnson, Richard W. and David B. Neumark. "Age Discrimination, Job Separations, and Employment Status of Older Workers: Evidence from Self-Reports." Journal of Human Resources 32,4 (Fall 1997): 779-811.
85. Jones, Ethel B.
Union/Nonunion Differentials: Membership or Coverage?
Journal of Human Resources 17,2 (Spring 1982): 276-285.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145473
Cohort(s): Mature Women, Older Men, Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Collective Bargaining; Unions; Wage Differentials

Data from the original four NLS cohorts are used to estimate the differences in the union wage effect when "unionism" is designated by membership compared with collective bargaining coverage. Contrary to a priori expectations, designation by membership results in the larger estimate. The author discusses why nonmembers who are covered by a collective bargaining contract appear to obtain a smaller wage advantage than union members, pointing out that the appearance of lower benefits may, in part, stem from response error.
Bibliography Citation
Jones, Ethel B. "Union/Nonunion Differentials: Membership or Coverage?" Journal of Human Resources 17,2 (Spring 1982): 276-285.
86. Jones, Ethel B.
Long, James E.
Human Capital and Labor Market Employment: Additional Evidence for Women
Journal of Human Resources 14,2 (Spring 1979): 270-279.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145649
Cohort(s): Mature Women, Young Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Educational Attainment; Employment; Human Capital Theory; Work Experience

This paper examines the effect of using potential experience as a proxy for actual labor market experience. Researchers often are forced to use "potential experience" due to the lack of data covering individual work histories. The results show that using models with potential experience may be poor guides for policy decisions because they underestimate the effect of past work experience on female employment rates. The paper also demonstrates that differences in human capital variables explain part of the difference in the employment ratios of blacks and whites. Differences in the ability of the various models to explain the black-white employment rate gap suggest that further research is needed to understand the employment differences among groups of people.
Bibliography Citation
Jones, Ethel B. and James E. Long. "Human Capital and Labor Market Employment: Additional Evidence for Women." Journal of Human Resources 14,2 (Spring 1979): 270-279.
87. Jones, Ethel B.
Long, James E.
Part-Week Work and Human Capital Investment by Married Women
Journal of Human Resources 14,4 (Fall 1979): 563-778.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145324
Cohort(s): Mature Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Earnings; Human Capital Theory; Job Training; Life Cycle Research; Part-Time Work; Wives

This paper uses NLS data to examine the relationship between part-week work and the wages and postschool human capital investment of married women. The empirical evidence presented is consistent with the hypothesis that part-week workers and their employers will have relatively lower incentive to invest in on-the-job training since part-week work means fewer hours in the labor market than full-week employment. The effect of part-week work by women on the male-female wage differential is ambiguous because the labor force participation of married women is discontinuous over the life cycle.
Bibliography Citation
Jones, Ethel B. and James E. Long. "Part-Week Work and Human Capital Investment by Married Women." Journal of Human Resources 14,4 (Fall 1979): 563-778.
88. Kaestner, Robert
Are Brothers Really Better? Sibling Sex Composition and Educational Achievement Revisited
Journal of Human Resources 32,2 (Spring 1997): 250-284.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146215
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Brothers; Educational Attainment; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Racial Differences; Siblings

In this paper, I examine the relationship between sibling sex composition and educational achievement. First, I replicate the study of Butcher and Case (1994) using data on a more recent birth cohort. Contrary to the findings of that study, I find basically no effect of sibling sex composition on the educational attainment of white males or females, although among black adults, those who grew up with a sister, or who had relatively more sisters, had greater levels of educational attainment than black adults with no or fewer sisters. Second, I broaden the analysis by examining the educational outcomes of children and teenagers. This extension is important because it provides an additional opportunity to test for sibling sex composition effects, and it helps differentiate between potential causes of a sibling sex composition effect. The results obtained from the analysis of child and teen outcomes suggest that sibling sex composition had little effect on educational achievement. The only group to be affected was black teens between the ages of 15 and 18. Those who grew up with sisters had higher educational achievement levels than those who grew up with brothers. (Copyright Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 1997) Full-text available on-line: http://nber.nber.org/papers/W5521
Bibliography Citation
Kaestner, Robert. "Are Brothers Really Better? Sibling Sex Composition and Educational Achievement Revisited." Journal of Human Resources 32,2 (Spring 1997): 250-284.
89. Kaestner, Robert
The Effect of Illicit Drug Use on the Labor Supply of Young Adults
Journal of Human Resources 29,1 (Winter 1994): 126-155.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146059
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Drug Use; Employment, Youth; Illegal Activities; Labor Supply

This paper analyzes the effects of illicit drug use on the labor supply of young adults using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The paper investigates whether the frequency and timing of marijuana and cocaine use are systematically related to the labor supply, and presents both cross-sectional and panel data estimates. The cross-sectional results are consistent with those of previous researchers, and suggest that illicit drug use has large, negative effects on labor supply. The longitudinal results, however, suggest that illicit drug use does not have a significant adverse impact on labor supply. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)
Bibliography Citation
Kaestner, Robert. "The Effect of Illicit Drug Use on the Labor Supply of Young Adults." Journal of Human Resources 29,1 (Winter 1994): 126-155.
90. Kahn, Lawrence M.
Low, Stuart A.
An Empirical Model of Employed Search, Unemployed Search, and Nonsearch
Journal of Human Resources 19,1 (Winter 1983): 104-117.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145419
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Collective Bargaining; Employment; Job Search; Public Sector; Unemployment; Wages

The 1969-1971 NLS of Young Men were used to study the employed worker's choice among employed search, unemployed search, and not searching for a new job. It was assumed that an unobserved variable, search intensity, governs this choice such that unemployed search involves a greater intensity than employed search, which, of course, is associated with greater intensity than nonsearch. The principal results are that current wages, seniority, collective bargaining coverage, employment outside construction, and employment by government are each, ceteris paribus, negatively associated with search intensity. Further, each of these variables lowers the probability of not searching and raises the probabilities of employed and unemployed job search.
Bibliography Citation
Kahn, Lawrence M. and Stuart A. Low. "An Empirical Model of Employed Search, Unemployed Search, and Nonsearch." Journal of Human Resources 19,1 (Winter 1983): 104-117.
91. Kalachek, Edward
Raines, Fredric Q.
The Structure Of Wage Differences Among Mature Male Workers
Journal of Human Resources 11,4 (Fall 1976): 454-506.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145428
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Human Capital; Locus of Control (see Rotter Scale); Rotter Scale (see Locus of Control); Unions; Vocational Training; Wage Differentials; Wages, Men; Work Experience

A number of hypotheses concerning the determinants of interpersonal differences in wages are developed and tested. The role of personality structure and of knowledge acquired costlessly from the environment in the overall formation of human capital is found to be considerably important. Testing the hypothesis that labor market segmentation and disequilibrium account for a substantial portion of the variance in wages shows that human capital differences appear to be the prime determinant of interpersonal differences in wages among older males, but that workers with the same level of human capital can earn substantially different wages depending on union membership, industry, and occupation affiliation.
Bibliography Citation
Kalachek, Edward and Fredric Q. Raines. "The Structure Of Wage Differences Among Mature Male Workers." Journal of Human Resources 11,4 (Fall 1976): 454-506.
92. Keane, Michael P.
Individual Heterogeneity and Interindustry Wage Differentials
Journal of Human Resources 28,1 (Winter 1993): 134-161.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146091
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Heterogeneity; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Wage Differentials; Wage Theory

Estimates of interindustry wage differentials are obtained using a fixed-effects estimator on a long panel, the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Men (NLS). After controlling for observable worker characteristics, 84 percent of the residual variance of log wages across industries is explained by individual fixed effects. Only 16 percent of the residual variance is "explained" by industry dummies. Since no controls for specific job characteristics are used, job characteristics that vary across industries could potentially explain this rather small residual across-industry log wage variance that is not attributable to individual effects. Clearly, then, these data do not force us to resort to noncompetitive explanations of interindustry wage differentials, such as efficiency wage theory. Furthermore, efficiency wage theories predict that wages in efficiency wage paying (or primary) industries should be relatively rigid. Therefore, industry wage differentials should widen in recessions. However, no such tendency is found in the data. (ABI/Inform)
Bibliography Citation
Keane, Michael P. "Individual Heterogeneity and Interindustry Wage Differentials." Journal of Human Resources 28,1 (Winter 1993): 134-161.
93. Keane, Michael P.
Wolpin, Kenneth I.
Estimating Welfare Effects Consistent with Forward-Looking Behavior: Part II: Empirical Results
Journal of Human Resources 37,3 (Summer 2002): 600-622.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069683
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Behavior; Benefits; Fertility; Labor Force Participation; Marriage; Schooling; Welfare

In this paper, we provide estimates of welfare benefit effects on a set of behaviors that includes welfare participation, fertility, marriage, work and schooling using approximations to the decision rules that would be derived from an explicit dynamic optimization problem. We use the stylized model and associated simulations from Part I as a guide in specifying the approximate decision rules that we estimate here. The estimates are based on data from the 1979 youth cohort of the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience (NLSY79).
Bibliography Citation
Keane, Michael P. and Kenneth I. Wolpin. "Estimating Welfare Effects Consistent with Forward-Looking Behavior: Part II: Empirical Results." Journal of Human Resources 37,3 (Summer 2002): 600-622.
94. King, Randall H.
Some Further Evidence on the Rate of Return to Schooling and the Business Cycle
Journal of Human Resources 15,2 (Spring 1980): 264-271.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145335
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Business Cycles; Dropouts; Educational Returns; Unemployment

It is clear from the results of this analysis and the Kniesner, Padilla, Polachek study that the business cycle has a strong impact on calculated rates of return to schooling. Specifically, cross-sectional rates of return are strongly related (positively) to the unemployment rate in the year the cross-section is taken. However, contrary to the KPP findings, the sensitivity of the relationship was not found to be substantially different between the races.
Bibliography Citation
King, Randall H. "Some Further Evidence on the Rate of Return to Schooling and the Business Cycle." Journal of Human Resources 15,2 (Spring 1980): 264-271.
95. Klepinger, Daniel H.
Lundberg, Shelly
Plotnick, Robert D.
How Does Adolescent Fertility Affect the Human Capital and Wages of Young Women?
Journal of Human Resources 34,3 (Summer 1999): 421-448.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146375
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Adolescent Fertility; Childbearing, Adolescent; Educational Attainment; Human Capital; Teenagers; Wages, Adult; Wages, Youth; Work Experience

We estimate the relationship between teenage childbearing, human capital investment, and wages in early adulthood, using a sample of women from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and a large set of potential instruments for fertility--principally state and county-level indicators of the costs of fertility and fertility control. Adolescent fertility substantially reduces years of formal education and teenage work experience and, for white women only, early adult work experience. Through reductions in human capital, teenage childbearing has a significant effect on market wages at age 25. Our results suggest that public policies which reduce teenage childbearing are likely to have positive effects on the economic well-being of many young mothers.
Bibliography Citation
Klepinger, Daniel H., Shelly Lundberg and Robert D. Plotnick. "How Does Adolescent Fertility Affect the Human Capital and Wages of Young Women?" Journal of Human Resources 34,3 (Summer 1999): 421-448.
96. Kniesner, Thomas J.
Padilla, Arthur H.
Polachek, Solomon W.
The Rate of Return to Schooling and the Business Cycle
Journal of Human Resources 13,2 (Spring 1978): 264-277.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145361
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Business Cycles; Educational Returns; Employment; School Quality; Schooling; Wages

This study illustrates two avenues through which the business cycle affects the rate of return to schooling. The results show that the degree to which the increased relative black rate of return is attributable to comparative gains in school quality may be overstated. Evidence shows that the relative rate of return for young whites is directly related to the incidence of unemployment.
Bibliography Citation
Kniesner, Thomas J., Arthur H. Padilla and Solomon W. Polachek. "The Rate of Return to Schooling and the Business Cycle." Journal of Human Resources 13,2 (Spring 1978): 264-277.
97. Kniesner, Thomas J.
Polachek, Solomon W.
Padilla, Arthur H.
The Rate of Return to Schooling and the Business Cycle: Additional Estimates
Journal of Human Resources 15,2 (Spring 1980): 273-277.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145336
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Earnings; Educational Returns; Schooling; Unemployment

The central purpose of this paper is to illustrate that the business cycle disturbs relative black/white rates of return. This is demonstrated in two ways. First, the authors make note that King's rate of return estimates support the hypothesis that blacks fare relatively poorly in times of high unemployment. Secondly, evidence is presented which corroborates original findings from an earnings function estimated with panel data.
Bibliography Citation
Kniesner, Thomas J., Solomon W. Polachek and Arthur H. Padilla. "The Rate of Return to Schooling and the Business Cycle: Additional Estimates." Journal of Human Resources 15,2 (Spring 1980): 273-277.
98. Knox, Virginia Williams
The Effects of Child Support Payments on Developmental Outcomes for Elementary School-Age Children
Journal of Human Resources 31,4 (1996): 817-840.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146148
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Child Support; Children, School-Age; Cognitive Ability; Cognitive Development; Educational Attainment; Fathers, Absence; Heterogeneity; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Marital Status; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Parents, Single; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading)

Past research suggests that increasing the incomes of single mothers will bring intergenerational benefits. However, some sources of income may he more beneficial to children than others. This paper evaluates the effects of child support payments from absent fathers on children's achievement test scores and home environments, using three methods to control for heterogeneity among families The results provide evidence that increased child support payments may improve the academic achievement of elementary school-age children even more than income from other sources. While overall family income appears to affect levels of cognitive stimulation available in children's homes, child support dies not have larger effects than other sources of income. These findings suggest that increasing the financial contributions of absent fathers through improved child support enforcement or other interventions may be a particularly beneficial income support strategy for children in single mother families.
Bibliography Citation
Knox, Virginia Williams. "The Effects of Child Support Payments on Developmental Outcomes for Elementary School-Age Children." Journal of Human Resources 31,4 (1996): 817-840.
99. Korenman, Sanders D.
Neumark, David B.
Does Marriage Really Make Men More Productive?
Journal of Human Resources 26,2 (Spring 1991): 282-307.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145924
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Discrimination; Earnings; Marital Status; Marriage; Occupational Status; Wages

This paper examines hypothesized labor market productivity differentials among men of different marital statuses. Utilizing data from the NLS of Young Men, it attempts to distinguish empirically among three competing hypotheses surrounding the large hourly wage premiums (10-40 percent, controlling for observable worker and job characteristics) paid to married men in comparison to never married men. The hypotheses are: productivity-enhancing effects of marriage, selection of "more productive" men into the married state, and discrimination. To the extent that the data allow us to distinguish among the three, they suggest that selection accounts for somewhat less than half of the differential, and discrimination accounts for none of it.
Bibliography Citation
Korenman, Sanders D. and David B. Neumark. "Does Marriage Really Make Men More Productive?" Journal of Human Resources 26,2 (Spring 1991): 282-307.
100. Korenman, Sanders D.
Neumark, David B.
Marriage, Motherhood, and Wages
Journal of Human Resources 27,2 (Spring 1992): 233-255.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145734
Cohort(s): Young Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA); Endogeneity; Heterogeneity; Job Tenure; Marriage; Motherhood; Variables, Instrumental; Wage Equations; Wages, Women; Work Experience

Cross-sectional studies find little association between a woman's marital status and her wage rate, but often a negative relationship between children and wages. Several problems in drawing causal inferences from cross-sectional relationships between marriage, motherhood, and wages are analyzed using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Women. It is found that heterogeneity leads to biased estimates of the "direct" effects of marriage and motherhood on wages (i.e., effects net of experience and tenure); first-difference estimates reveal no direct effect of marriage or motherhood on women's wages. Statistical evidence is also found that experience and tenure may be endogenous variables in wage equations; instrumental variables estimates suggest that both ordinary least squares cross-sectional and first-difference estimates understate the direct (negative) effect of children on wages.
Bibliography Citation
Korenman, Sanders D. and David B. Neumark. "Marriage, Motherhood, and Wages." Journal of Human Resources 27,2 (Spring 1992): 233-255.
101. Krashinsky, Harry
Do Marital Status and Computer Usage Really Change the Wage Structure?
Journal of Human Resources 39,3 (Summer 2004): 774-791.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3558996
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Marital Status; Skills; Wages

This analysis uses several identification strategies and data sources to control for individual ability and determine the causal effect of marital status and computer usage on wages. Although data from the CPS, NLSY and a data set of identical twins show that there are large cross-sectional effects of these variables, new econometric specifications are applied to these data which indicate that marital status and computer usage are not important causal determinants of earnings, even after adjustments are made for measurement error and within-twin differences in ability.
Bibliography Citation
Krashinsky, Harry. "Do Marital Status and Computer Usage Really Change the Wage Structure?" Journal of Human Resources 39,3 (Summer 2004): 774-791.
102. Lakdawalla, Darius N.
Philipson, Tomas
Labor Supply and Weight
Journal of Human Resources 42,1 (Winter 2007): 85-116.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40057299
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Exercise, On-the-job; Health Factors; Job Characteristics; Labor Supply; Occupations; Weight

We use panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to investigate on-the-job exercise and weight. For male workers, job-related exercise has causal effects on weight, but for female workers, the effects seem primarily selective. A man who spends 18 years in the most physical fitness-demanding occupation is about 25 pounds (14 percent) lighter than his peer in the least demanding occupation. These effects are strongest for the heaviest quartile of men. Conversely, a male worker spending 18 years in the most strength-demanding occupation is about 28 pounds (15 percent) heavier than his counterpart in the least demanding job. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Bibliography Citation
Lakdawalla, Darius N. and Tomas Philipson. "Labor Supply and Weight." Journal of Human Resources 42,1 (Winter 2007): 85-116.
103. Lang, Kevin
Zagorsky, Jay L.
Does Growing Up with a Parent Absent Really Hurt?
Journal of Human Resources 36,2 (Spring 2001): 253-273.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069659
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Bias Decomposition; Children; Cognitive Ability; Economic Well-Being; Fathers, Absence; Parental Influences; Parents, Single

It is widely recognized that children who grow up without a biological parent do worse, on average, than other children. However, because having a single parent is highly correlated with many other socioeconomic disadvantages, the negative outcomes might be caused by something beyond the parent's absence. Econometric tests using a variety of background controls and parental death as an exogenous cause of absence, show little evidence that a parent's presence during childhood affects economic well being in adulthood. The two exceptions are that living without a mother impacts girls' cognitive performance while having a father die lowers sons' chances of marriage.
Bibliography Citation
Lang, Kevin and Jay L. Zagorsky. "Does Growing Up with a Parent Absent Really Hurt?" Journal of Human Resources 36,2 (Spring 2001): 253-273.
104. Lazear, Edward
Schooling as a Wage Depressant
Journal of Human Resources 12,2 (Spring 1977): 164-176.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145383
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): College Graduates; Dropouts; Educational Returns; Mobility, Job; Part-Time Work; Schooling; Wages

Other things constant, students' measured wage rates are only about 85 percent those of nonstudents. This finding is consistent with a hypothesis that suggests that students receive an equalizing difference in the form of more flexible or easier jobs at the price of lower pecuniary earnings. Another finding of this study is that students who work only during the summer are less likely than others to accept lower-paying jobs. Furthermore, 92 percent of students who work change jobs upon graduation, and returns to school-leaving are linked to the switch. Finally, the results cannot be explained by student-glutted labor markets.
Bibliography Citation
Lazear, Edward. "Schooling as a Wage Depressant." Journal of Human Resources 12,2 (Spring 1977): 164-176.
105. Lehmann, Jee-Yeon K.
Nuevo-Chiquero, Ana
Vidal-Fernández, Marian
The Early Origins of Birth Order Differences in Children's Outcomes and Parental Behavior
Journal of Human Resources 53,1 (Winter 2018): 123-156.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/53/1/123.abstract
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Birth Order; Breastfeeding; Cognitive Ability; Cognitive Development; Parent-Child Interaction; Parental Influences; Pre/post Natal Behavior

We document birth order differences in cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes and maternal behavior from birth to adolescence using data from the Children of the NLSY79. As early as age one, latter-born children score lower on cognitive assessments than their siblings, and the birth order gap in cognitive assessment increases until the time of school entry and remains statistically significant thereafter. Mothers take more risks during pregnancy and are less likely to breastfeed and to provide cognitive stimulation for latter-born children. Variations in parental behavior can explain most of the differences in cognitive abilities before school entry. Our findings suggest that broad shifts in parental behavior from first to latter-born children is a plausible explanation for the observed birth order differences in education and labor market outcomes.
Bibliography Citation
Lehmann, Jee-Yeon K., Ana Nuevo-Chiquero and Marian Vidal-Fernández. "The Early Origins of Birth Order Differences in Children's Outcomes and Parental Behavior." Journal of Human Resources 53,1 (Winter 2018): 123-156.
106. Leibowitz, Arleen A.
Klerman, Jacob Alex
Waite, Linda J.
Employment of New Mothers and Child Care Choice: Differences by Children's Age
Journal of Human Resources 27,1 (Winter 1992): 112-133.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145914
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Child Care; Educational Attainment; Employment; Family Income; First Birth; Labor Force Participation; Maternal Employment; Mothers; Wages

This paper examines the impact of the cost and availability of child care on the employment of women during the first two years following the birth of their first child. Using data from the NLSY, the authors examine the initial choice of child care after childbirth and test the hypothesis that the impact of cost and availability of child care depends on the child's age. Results indicate that: (1) regardless of the point in time at which mothers returned to work, about half of the women studied used relatives to care for their children; (2) the likelihood of working during the two year period decreased as family income increased; (3) living close to one's mother increased somewhat the probability of returning to work in the early post-partum period; and (4) the size of the child care tax credit was strongly and positively related to the likelihood of returning to work.
Bibliography Citation
Leibowitz, Arleen A., Jacob Alex Klerman and Linda J. Waite. "Employment of New Mothers and Child Care Choice: Differences by Children's Age." Journal of Human Resources 27,1 (Winter 1992): 112-133.
107. Leigh, Duane E.
Occupational Advancement in the Late 1960s: An Indirect Test of the Dual Labor Market Hypothesis
Journal of Human Resources 11,2 (Spring 1976): 155-171.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145450
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Census of Population; Job Tenure; Labor Market, Secondary; Mobility; Mobility, Job; Work History

The occupational mobility of black and white males during the late 1960s is examined to test the hypotheses that large and systematic racial differentials exist in both between-firm and within-firm job upgrading. Longitudinal data from the 1970 Census and the NLS of Older and Young Men are used in the empirical analysis. Neither sample provides evidence of a systematic racial differential in the effect of interfirm mobility on occupational advancement. The evidence with respect to intrafirm advancement is less unequivocal. Given the racial differential in initial occupational levels, however, only small black-white differences in advancement appear within internal labor markets.
Bibliography Citation
Leigh, Duane E. "Occupational Advancement in the Late 1960s: An Indirect Test of the Dual Labor Market Hypothesis." Journal of Human Resources 11,2 (Spring 1976): 155-171.
108. Leigh, Duane E.
Racial Discrimination and Labor Unions: Evidence from the NLS Sample of Middle-Aged Men
Journal of Human Resources 13,4 (Fall 1978): 568-577.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145265
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Blue-Collar Jobs; Collective Bargaining; Discrimination, Racial/Ethnic; Unions; Wage Levels; Wages

This study examines the relationship between unions and labor market discrimination. Despite a few differences in data bases, most of the findings reported in this paper support Ashenfelter's earlier analysis of the same study. With respect to industrial unions, collective bargaining coverage was found to produce a larger covered-noncovered wage differential for blacks than for whites. These unions appear to have an important wage leveling effect across skill categories of jobs and there is no evidence that blacks are disproportionately excluded from membership. Alternatively, craft unions appear to practice entry discrimination against blacks, and covered- noncovered earnings differentials earned by skilled and semiskilled whites are significantly higher than those earned by blacks. In addition, wage differentials received by unionized workers in construction are considerably larger than those received by craft unions outside the building trades. The overall impact of craft unions on black-white earnings ratio in 1969 was to depress the ratio slightly relative to what it would have been in the absence of unionism.
Bibliography Citation
Leigh, Duane E. "Racial Discrimination and Labor Unions: Evidence from the NLS Sample of Middle-Aged Men." Journal of Human Resources 13,4 (Fall 1978): 568-577.
109. Leigh, Duane E.
The Determinants of Workers' Union Status: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Surveys
Journal of Human Resources 20,4 (Fall 1985): 555-566.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145684
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Geographical Variation; Occupations; Racial Differences; Unions

According to the literature on determinants of union status, substantial differences exist in the likelihood of union membership by persons with various characteristics. It is unknown if this trend is due to differences in individual worker's preferences for union representation rather than differences in the availability of unionized jobs; Farber (1983) encountered a censoring problem in estimating his queue for explaining the process. However, using the 1980 wave of the Young Men Cohort of the NLS largely avoids this problem and permits direct estimation of crucial probabilities associated with the model. There are important differences in econometric methodologies and the data sets analyzed, but the results support Farber's conclusion that queuing for vacancies in existing union jobs is an important labor market phenomenon. Supply constraints on the availability of union jobs dominate worker preferences in explaining differences in extent of unionization by occupation and region.
Bibliography Citation
Leigh, Duane E. "The Determinants of Workers' Union Status: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Surveys." Journal of Human Resources 20,4 (Fall 1985): 555-566.
110. Leigh, Duane E.
Why is There Mandatory Retirement? An Empirical Re-Examination
Journal of Human Resources 19,4 (Fall 1984): 512-531.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145945
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Job Training; Retirement/Retirement Planning

In attempting to provide a more comprehensive empirical analysis of the determinants of mandatory retirement practices, this paper adds to the empirical predictions of Lazear's "incentives" model several implications drawn from a specific training model of mandatory retirement. These implications relate mandatory retirement to costs of monitoring worker performance and investments in specific human capital. Using data from the NLS Older Men sample, evidence is presented supporting the conclusion that both monitoring costs and specific training are important elements of an economic explanation of mandatory retirement.
Bibliography Citation
Leigh, Duane E. "Why is There Mandatory Retirement? An Empirical Re-Examination." Journal of Human Resources 19,4 (Fall 1984): 512-531.
111. Leigh, Duane E.
Gill, Andrew Matthew
Labor Market Returns to Community Colleges: Evidence for Returning Adults
Journal of Human Resources 32,2 (Spring 1997): 334-353.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146218
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Colleges; Earnings; High School Completion/Graduates; Labor Market Outcomes; Training, Occupational

Kane and Rouse (1993) furnish evidence that enrollment in a two-year or four-year-college program increases earnings by 5 to 8 percent per year of college credits, whether or nor a degree is earned. This evidence has provided the intellectual basis for policy recommendations to increase access by adult, workers to long-term education and training programs, such as those supplied by community colleges. Yet to be answered, however, is the question whether these favorable return estimates hold for experienced adult workers who return to school. For both A.A. and nondegree community college programs, our results indicate returns that are positive and of essentially the same size for returning adults as they are for continuing high school graduates. Among males in nondegree programs, in fact, returning adults enjoy an incremental earnings effect of 8 to 10 percent above that received by continuing students. (Copyright Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 1997)
Bibliography Citation
Leigh, Duane E. and Andrew Matthew Gill. "Labor Market Returns to Community Colleges: Evidence for Returning Adults." Journal of Human Resources 32,2 (Spring 1997): 334-353.
112. Light, Audrey L.
The Effects of Interrupted Schooling on Wages
Journal of Human Resources 30,3 (Summer 1995): 472-502.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146032
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Benefits, Fringe; Dropouts; Human Capital; Labor Economics; Schooling; Training; Training, On-the-Job; Wage Differentials; Wage Models; Wages

Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth reveal that 35 percent of white men who leave school between 1979 and 1988 return to school by 1989. This paper examines the wage effects of these nontraditional enrollment patterns. I estimate a wage model which allows individuals to follow a different wage path before and after their reenrollment and an alternative model which does not account for school and work discontinuities. I find that young men who delay their schooling receive wage boosts that are smaller than those received by their continuously schooled counterparts. Wage models that fail to account for 'delayed' schooling tend to understate the returns to schooling received prior to the start of the career.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. "The Effects of Interrupted Schooling on Wages." Journal of Human Resources 30,3 (Summer 1995): 472-502.
113. Light, Audrey L.
Strayer, Wayne Earle
Determinants of College Completion: School Quality or Student Ability?
Journal of Human Resources 35,2 (Spring 2000): 299-332.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146327
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): College Education; College Enrollment; College Graduates; Colleges; Modeling, Probit; School Completion; School Quality; Skills

We investigate whether the "match" between student ability and college quality is an important determinant of college graduation rates. We jointly estimate a multinomial probit model of college attendance decisions in which the alternatives are no college and attendance at college in four quality categories, and a binomial probit model of subsequent graduation decisions. By allowing the error terms to be correlated across alternatives and time periods, we identify the effects of observed factors net of their correlation with unobservables. We find that students of all ability levels have higher chances of graduating if the quality level of their college "matches" their observed skill level.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Wayne Earle Strayer. "Determinants of College Completion: School Quality or Student Ability?" Journal of Human Resources 35,2 (Spring 2000): 299-332.
114. Light, Audrey L.
Strayer, Wayne Earle
Who Receives the College Wage Premium? Assessing the Labor Market Returns to Degrees and College Transfer Patterns
Journal of Human Resources 39,3 (Summer 2004): 746-774.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3558995
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): College Education; Colleges; Educational Attainment; Heterogeneity; Modeling; Wage Determination; Wage Models; Wage Theory

Using data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we estimate wage models in which college-educated workers are classified according to their degree attainment, college type, and college transfer status. The detailed taxonomy produces modest improvements in explanatory power relative to standard specifications, and reveals considerable heterogeneity in the predicted wages of college-educated workers. We find that transfer students receive an "indirect" wage benefit insofar as changing colleges allows them to earn a degree. Some transfer students receive an additional "direct" wage benefit, presumably because switching schools increases their skill investment opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Wayne Earle Strayer. "Who Receives the College Wage Premium? Assessing the Labor Market Returns to Degrees and College Transfer Patterns." Journal of Human Resources 39,3 (Summer 2004): 746-774.
115. Link, Charles R.
Ratledge, Edward C.
Proxies for Observations on Individuals Sampled from a Population: A Reply
Journal of Human Resources 11,3 (Summer 1976): 413-419.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145280
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Educational Costs; Educational Returns

One of the purposes of our earlier paper was to replicate research conducted by George Johnson and Frank Stafford. We contended that our district-wide measure of expenditures is more likely to measure the expenditure received by an individual than the statewide measure used by those authors. John Akin and Thomas Kniesner speak to this assumption in their comment. They correctly state that "the actual statistical problem is to choose the best aggregation level from which to take an average as a proxy for individuals sampled from a population." They are also correct in noting the difficulty of showing rigorously whether the deviation of the ith student from a statewide average is greater than or less than the deviation from a district-wide measure. The issue is indeed empirical. We make the assumption on a series of empirical and theoretical arguments. In the discussion that follows, evidence, some of which is admittedly impressionistic, is given suggesting that the school district expenditure is likely to be a superior measure, at least for whites.
Bibliography Citation
Link, Charles R. and Edward C. Ratledge. "Proxies for Observations on Individuals Sampled from a Population: A Reply." Journal of Human Resources 11,3 (Summer 1976): 413-419.
116. Link, Charles R.
Ratledge, Edward C.
Social Returns to Quantity and Quality of Education: A Further Statement
Journal of Human Resources 10,1 (Winter 1975): 78-89.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145120
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Earnings; Educational Costs; Educational Returns; Schooling

Data from a large sample of young black and white males (out of school) are utilized to analyze the impact of the quantity and quality of education (district-wide annual expenditures per student) on earnings. Large but diminishing returns to incremental expenditures are observed. The findings also suggest that education's role in the large relative gains in black earnings during the 1960s worked through quality instead of quantity aspects. Finally, the returns to education are sensitive to the specification of the potential labor market experience variable.
Bibliography Citation
Link, Charles R. and Edward C. Ratledge. "Social Returns to Quantity and Quality of Education: A Further Statement." Journal of Human Resources 10,1 (Winter 1975): 78-89.
117. Loewenstein, Mark A.
Spletzer, James R.
General and Specific Training: Evidence and Implications
Journal of Human Resources 34,4 (Fall 1999): 710-733.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146414
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Mobility; Skills; Training; Training, Employee; Wage Growth

Using data from the Employer Opportunity Pilot Project (EOPP) survey and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), we explicitly document the specificity and generality of employer-provided training, and we analyze how wage growth and mobility are influenced by our direct measures of specific and general training. In spite of the emphasis that labor economists have placed on specific training, we find that employers in the EOPP and workers in the NLSY indicate that most of the skills learned in training are useful elsewhere. Our results are consistent with several recent models that predict that employers will often extract some of the returns to the general training they provide.
Bibliography Citation
Loewenstein, Mark A. and James R. Spletzer. "General and Specific Training: Evidence and Implications." Journal of Human Resources 34,4 (Fall 1999): 710-733.
118. Loh, Eng Seng
Productivity Differences and the Marriage Wage Premium for White Males
Journal of Human Resources 31,3 (Summer 1996): 566-589.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146266
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Economics, Demographic; Human Capital; Labor Economics; Occupational Choice; Schooling; Training, Occupational; Training, On-the-Job; Wage Differentials; Wage Levels

Attempts to account for the positive, and often large, wage premium paid to married men based on their greater productivity have been inconclusive. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this paper provides new evidence that labor productivity differences between married and never-married men are unlikely to be the cause of the marriage premium.
Bibliography Citation
Loh, Eng Seng. "Productivity Differences and the Marriage Wage Premium for White Males." Journal of Human Resources 31,3 (Summer 1996): 566-589.
119. Long, James E.
Are Government Workers Overpaid? Alternative Evidence
Journal of Human Resources 17,1 (Winter 1982): 123-131.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145528
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Job Tenure; Job Turnover; Public Sector; Wages

Studies of employment using Smith's approach of measuring what comparable people earn in government relative to private employment show consistently and substantially higher pay for government workers, at least in terms of nominal wages and earnings. In the absence of comprehensive compensation data for individuals, an alternative test of whether government workers are underpaid is proposed. The finding that government employment reduces the probability of job quitting further suggests that government workers receive economic rents in the form of higher wages or greater fringe benefits in contrast to those in private jobs.
Bibliography Citation
Long, James E. "Are Government Workers Overpaid? Alternative Evidence." Journal of Human Resources 17,1 (Winter 1982): 123-131.
120. Loughran, David S.
Zissimopoulos, Julie M.
Why Wait? The Effect of Marriage and Childbearing on the Wages of Men and Women
Journal of Human Resources 44,2 (Spring 2009): 326-349.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/44/2/326.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79, Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Child Care; Children; Domestic Violence; Earnings; Family Structure; Marital Dissolution; Marriage; Wage Differentials; Wage Levels

We use data from the earlier and later cohorts of the NLSY to estimate the effect of marriage and childbearing on wages. Our estimates imply that marriage lowers female wages 2-4 percent in the year of marriage. Marriage also lowers the wage growth of men and women by about two and four percentage points, respectively. A first birth lowers female wages 2-3 percent, but has no effect on wage growth. Male wages are unaffected by childbearing. These findings suggest that early marriage and childbearing can lead to substantial decreases in lifetime earnings.
Bibliography Citation
Loughran, David S. and Julie M. Zissimopoulos. "Why Wait? The Effect of Marriage and Childbearing on the Wages of Men and Women." Journal of Human Resources 44,2 (Spring 2009): 326-349.
121. Lovenheim, Michael F.
Reynolds, C. Lockwood
The Effect of Housing Wealth on College Choice: Evidence from the Housing Boom
Journal of Human Resources 48,1 (Winter 2013): 1-35.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/48/1/1.short
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): College Characteristics; College Graduates; Wealth

We use NLSY97 data to examine how home price variation affects the quality of postsecondary schools students attend. We find a $10,000 increase in housing wealth increases the likelihood of public flagship university enrollment relative to nonflagship enrollment by 2.0 percent and decreases the relative probability of attending a community college by 1.6 percent. These effects are driven by lower-income families, predominantly by altering student application decisions. We also find home price changes affect direct quality measures of institutions students attend. Furthermore, for lower-income students, each $10,000 increase in home prices leads to a 1.8 percent increase in the likelihood of completing college.
Bibliography Citation
Lovenheim, Michael F. and C. Lockwood Reynolds. "The Effect of Housing Wealth on College Choice: Evidence from the Housing Boom." Journal of Human Resources 48,1 (Winter 2013): 1-35.
122. Lusardi, Annamaria
Cossa, Ricardo
Krupka, Erin L.
Savings of Young Parents
Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Fall 2001): 762-794.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069641
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Assets; Household Income; Nonresponse; Parenthood; Savings

In this paper, we examine household savings using data from the National Longitudinal Survey, Cohort 1997. This data set provides detailed information about assets and liabilities of parents with teenage children. In our empirical work, we have to first deal with several problems in measuring wealth. Although many responding parents report owning assets and liabilities, they often do not report their values. To get around the nonresponse problem, we impute the missing values for assets and liabilities. To study the patterns of accumulation of young parents, we examine wealth holdings and asset ownership across several demographic groups.
Bibliography Citation
Lusardi, Annamaria, Ricardo Cossa and Erin L. Krupka. "Savings of Young Parents." Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Fall 2001): 762-794.
123. MaCurdy, Thomas E.
Mroz, Thomas
Gritz, R. Mark
An Evaluation of the National Longitudinal Survey on Youth
Journal of Human Resources 33,2 (Spring 1998): 345-436.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146435
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Attrition; Data Quality/Consistency; Labor Market Surveys; NLS Description; Welfare; Work History

The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) has become one of the most widely used data sources for investigating many of the economic and demographic circumstances faced by young adults during the 1980s. The usefulness of the NLSY for empirical analyses relies on the presumption that these data are representative of the population of U.S. youths throughout the 1980s. As the NLSY approaches its third decade, researchers may be concerned about the ongoing representativeness of the NLSY due to the possibility of nonrandom attrition.
Bibliography Citation
MaCurdy, Thomas E., Thomas Mroz and R. Mark Gritz. "An Evaluation of the National Longitudinal Survey on Youth." Journal of Human Resources 33,2 (Spring 1998): 345-436.
124. McKinnish, Terra G.
Sexually Integrated Workplaces and Divorce: Another Form of On-the-Job Search
Journal of Human Resources 42,2 (Spring 2007): 331-352.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/XLII/2/331.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Census of Population; Discrimination, Sex; Divorce; Gender Differences; Marital Status; Working Conditions

As women have entered the work force and occupational sex segregation has declined, workers experience increased contact with the opposite sex on the job. The sex mix a worker encounters on the job should affect the cost of search for alternative mates and therefore the probability of divorce. This paper uses 1990 Census data to calculate the sex mix by industry-occupation cell. These results are then used to predict divorce among ever-married respondents in the 1990 Census and the NLSY79. The results indicate that those who work with a larger fraction of workers of the opposite sex are more likely to be divorced. (Abstract by the author.)
Bibliography Citation
McKinnish, Terra G. "Sexually Integrated Workplaces and Divorce: Another Form of On-the-Job Search ." Journal of Human Resources 42,2 (Spring 2007): 331-352.
125. Michael, Robert T.
Pergamit, Michael R.
The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort
Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Autumn 2001): 628-640.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069636
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Children; Economics, Demographic; Labor Market Surveys; Longitudinal Data Sets; Longitudinal Surveys; Sample Selection

This essay describes the new National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort (NLSY97) that is the data set used in the articles in this volume. It briefly describes the background for the survey, its sponsorship by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, its fielding, and the nature of the substantive content of the first-year questionnaire. The paper notes major differences between this new survey and the earlier data sets in the National Longitudinal Survey Program.
Bibliography Citation
Michael, Robert T. and Michael R. Pergamit. "The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort." Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Autumn 2001): 628-640.
126. Miller, Douglas L.
Shenhav, Na'ama
Grosz, Michel Z.
Selection into Identification in Fixed Effects Models, with Application to Head Start
Journal of Human Resources (15 November 2021): DOI: 10.3368/jhr.58.5.0520-10930R1.
Also: https://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2021/11/03/jhr.58.5.0520-10930R1.abstract
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): College Enrollment; Head Start; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID)

Many papers use fixed effects (FE) to identify causal impacts of an intervention. When treatment status only varies within some FE groups (e.g., families, for family fixed effects), FE can induce non-random selection of groups into the identifying sample, which we term selection into identification (SI). This paper empirically documents SI in the context of several family fixed effects (FFE) applications with a binary treatment. We show that the characteristics of the FFE identifying sample are different than the overall sample (and the policy-relevant population), including having larger families. The main implication of this is that when treatment effects are heterogeneous, the FE estimate may not be representative of the average treatment effect (ATE). We show that a reweighting-on-observables FE estimator can help recover the ATE for policy-relevant populations, and recommend its use either as a primary estimator or as a diagnostic tool to assess the importance of SI. We apply these insights to re-examine the long-term effects of Head Start in the PSID and the CNLSY using FFE. When we reweight the FFE estimates, we find that Head Start leads to a 2.1 percentage point (p.p.) increase (s.e. = 5.9 p.p.) in the likelihood of attending some college for white Head Start participants in the PSID. This participants' ATE is 83% smaller than the traditional FFE estimate (12 p.p). We also find that the CNLSY Head Start participants' ATE is smaller than the FE estimates. This raises new concerns with the external validity of FE estimates.
Bibliography Citation
Miller, Douglas L., Na'ama Shenhav and Michel Z. Grosz. "Selection into Identification in Fixed Effects Models, with Application to Head Start." Journal of Human Resources (15 November 2021): DOI: 10.3368/jhr.58.5.0520-10930R1.
127. Mincer, Jacob
Ofek, Haim
Interrupted Work Careers: Depreciation and Restoration of Human Capital
Journal of Human Resources 17,1 (Winter 1982): 3-24.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145520
Cohort(s): Mature Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Career Patterns; Employment, Intermittent/Precarious; Human Capital Theory; Immigrants; Migration; Wages; Wives

The quantitative effects and even the existence of a "human capital depreciation" phenomenon have been a subject of controversy in the recent literature. Prior work, however, was largely cross-sectional and the longitudinal dimension, if any, was retrospective. Using longitudinal panel data (on married women in the NLS of Mature Women), we have now established that real wages at reentry are, indeed, lower than at the point of labor force withdrawal; and the decline in wages is greater, the longer the interruption. Another striking finding is a relatively rapid growth in wages after the return to work. This rapid growth appears to reflect the restoration (or "repair") of previously eroded human capital. The phenomenon of "depreciation" and "restoration" is also visible in data for immigrants to the United States. However, while immigrants eventually catch up with and often surpass natives, returnees from the non-market do not fully restore their earnings potential.
Bibliography Citation
Mincer, Jacob and Haim Ofek. "Interrupted Work Careers: Depreciation and Restoration of Human Capital." Journal of Human Resources 17,1 (Winter 1982): 3-24.
128. Mincer, Jacob
Polachek, Solomon W.
An Exchange: The Theory of Human Capital and the Earnings of Women: Women's Earnings Reexamined
Journal of Human Resources 13,1 (Winter 1978): 118-134.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145305
Cohort(s): Mature Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Children; Simultaneity; Unemployment; Wages; Wives; Work Experience

Sandell and Saunders find three blemishes in our earlier study: (1) that some of the original data made available to us by the Center for Human Resource Research (their own organization) is incorrect; (2) that we misinterpret the coefficients of our own model; and (3) that their treatment of the simultaneity problem is preferable to ours and yields somewhat different coefficients. We respond to these points in order. In discussing data errors and replications under point (1), we extend the evidence to related work by others and introduce new and more direct evidence from the NLS of Mature Women 1967-1971 panel. Points (2) and (3) are restricted to the methodological and conceptual issues raised about our treatment of the 1967 sample.
Bibliography Citation
Mincer, Jacob and Solomon W. Polachek. "An Exchange: The Theory of Human Capital and the Earnings of Women: Women's Earnings Reexamined." Journal of Human Resources 13,1 (Winter 1978): 118-134.
129. Moffitt, Robert A.
The Estimation of Fertility Equations on Panel Data
Journal of Human Resources 19,1 (Winter 1984): 22-34.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145414
Cohort(s): Young Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Childbearing; Fertility; Research Methodology

Several econometric issues in the estimation of fertility equations with panel data are addressed in this paper. The most interesting is the truncation of error term in a number-of-children equation arising from the fact that the number of children cannot fall over time. It is shown that this generates a "ratchet" mechanism under which the probability of having a child drops suddenly following a birth and then gradually rises again until another birth occurs. Estimates are provided with data from National Longitudinal Surveys Young Women's cohort.
Bibliography Citation
Moffitt, Robert A. "The Estimation of Fertility Equations on Panel Data." Journal of Human Resources 19,1 (Winter 1984): 22-34.
130. Moore, William J.
Pearce, Douglas D.
Wilson, R. Mark
The Regulation of Occupations and the Earnings of Women
Journal of Human Resources 16,3 (Summer 1981): 366-383.
Also: http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/jhr/1981ab/moore3.htm
Cohort(s): Mature Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Earnings; Government Regulation; Occupational Status

In this study, the authors use a human capital model to examine the effects of occupational licensing and occupational certification on the wage rates of individual women. Results indicate that certified women earn about 20% more per hour after controlling for the following: personal characteristics, regional location, human capital factors, and occupational category. In addition, evidence did not reveal a statistically significant premium.
Bibliography Citation
Moore, William J., Douglas D. Pearce and R. Mark Wilson. "The Regulation of Occupations and the Earnings of Women." Journal of Human Resources 16,3 (Summer 1981): 366-383.
131. Mroz, Thomas
Savage, Timothy Howard
The Long-Term Effects of Youth Unemployment
The Journal of Human Resources 41,2 (Spring 2006): 259-293.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40057276
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Human Capital; Labor Market Outcomes; Unemployment; Youth Problems

Using NLSY data, we examine the long-term effect of youth unemployment on later labor market outcomes. Involuntary unemployment may yield sub-optimal investments in human capital in the short run. A theoretical model of dynamic human capital investment predicts a rational "catch-up" response. Using semiparametric techniques to control for the endogeneity of prior behavior, our estimates provide strong evidence of this response. We also find evidence of persistence in unemployment. Combining our semiparametric estimates with a dynamic approximation to the lifecycle, we find that unemployment experienced as long ago as ten years continues to affect earnings adversely despite the catch-up response.
Bibliography Citation
Mroz, Thomas and Timothy Howard Savage. "The Long-Term Effects of Youth Unemployment." The Journal of Human Resources 41,2 (Spring 2006): 259-293.
132. Neal, Derek A.
The Link Between Ability and Specialization: An Explanation for Observed Correlations Between Wages and Mobility Rates
Journal of Human Resources 33,1 (Winter 1998): 173-200.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146318
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Job Turnover; Mobility; Mobility, Job; Modeling; Skilled Workers; Training; Training, Occupational; Wage Differentials; Wage Levels; Wage Rates

Wage levels and turnover rates are negatively correlated across types of employment, and this fact is often interpreted as evidence that high-wage jobs are rationed. A simple training model illustrates, however, that this correlation may arise because able workers have an incentive to choose highly specialized jobs. In any job, the most able workers possess the most valuable stocks of specific skills and therefore face the highest mobility costs. Thus, able workers may have a comparative advantage in specialized employments. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth provide an opportunity to evaluate the merits of the training model developed here. Data on worker training and mobility provide support for several implications of the model. The model also provides new ways to interpret existing results in the literature on interindustry wage differentials.
Bibliography Citation
Neal, Derek A. "The Link Between Ability and Specialization: An Explanation for Observed Correlations Between Wages and Mobility Rates." Journal of Human Resources 33,1 (Winter 1998): 173-200.
133. Neumark, David B.
Employers' Discriminatory Behavior and the Estimation of Wage Discrimination
Journal of Human Resources 23,3 (Summer 1988): 279-295.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145830
Cohort(s): Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Discrimination; Discrimination, Employer; Wages

This paper considers the linkage of empirical estimates of wage discrimination between two groups, introduced by Oaxaca (1973), to a theoretical model of employers' discriminatory behavior. It is shown that, conditional on different assumptions about employers' discriminatory tastes, Oaxaca's estimators of wage discrimination can be derived. That the approach is more generally useful is demonstrated by deriving an alternative estimator of wage discrimination, based on the assumption that within each type of labor (e.g., unskilled, skilled) the utility function capturing employers' discriminatory tastes is homogeneous of degree zero with respect to labor inputs from each of the two groups. The estimators are compared empirically in an application to male-female wage differentials.
Bibliography Citation
Neumark, David B. "Employers' Discriminatory Behavior and the Estimation of Wage Discrimination." Journal of Human Resources 23,3 (Summer 1988): 279-295.
134. Neumark, David B.
Joyce, Mary
Evaluating School-to-Work Programs Using the New NLSY
Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Fall 2001): 666-702.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069638
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): College Enrollment; Employment, Youth; High School; High School Diploma; Labor Force Participation; Schooling; Transition, School to Work; Transitional Programs

The new NLSY offers researchers opportunities to analyze direct evidence on school-to-work programs, using data collected from individuals and schools. This paper focuses on the consequences of school-to-work programs for youth employment and schooling decisions while in high school, and students' subjective assessments of the likelihood of future schooling and work behavior. School-to-work participation does not appear to influence behavior likely associated with future college attendance, although it does appear to increase respondents' subjective probabilities of obtaining a high-school diploma. More in accordance with the traditional view of school-to-work programs, participation increases the perceived likelihood of future labor market activity.
Bibliography Citation
Neumark, David B. and Mary Joyce. "Evaluating School-to-Work Programs Using the New NLSY." Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Fall 2001): 666-702.
135. Neumark, David B.
McLennan, Michele
Sex Discrimination and Women's Labor Market Outcomes
Journal of Human Resources 30,4 (Fall 1995): 713-740.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146229
Cohort(s): Young Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Discrimination, Sex; Employment; Human Capital; Labor Force Participation; Labor Market Outcomes; Self-Reporting; Wage Differentials; Wage Growth; Work Experience

Using self-reported sex discrimination data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Women, a study found that working women who report discrimination are more likely to change employers or interrupt their labor force participation. However, women who report discrimination do not accrue less experience or have lower wage growth. (SK)
Bibliography Citation
Neumark, David B. and Michele McLennan. "Sex Discrimination and Women's Labor Market Outcomes." Journal of Human Resources 30,4 (Fall 1995): 713-740.
136. Olsen, Randall J.
The National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience Merged Child-Mother Data
Journal of Human Resources 24,2 (Spring 1989): 336-339.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145861
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLS General, NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): General Assessment; Longitudinal Data Sets; NLS Description; Overview, Child Assessment Data; Tests and Testing

This article describes the new child data currently being distributed by the Center for Human Resource Research, The Ohio State University. In 1986, a battery of child assessment instruments was administered to the approximately 5,000 children born to mothers of the NLSY cohort. These child assessment measures included: (1) measures of the home environment and mother-child relationship; (2) measures of early verbal ability of young children; (3) memory tests; (4) math ability; (5) reading ability and comprehension; (6) temperament and behavior problems; (7) the child's self-perception of academic ability and sense of self-worth; and (8) motor and social development. These data are distributed as a Child Assessment Raw Item File. In addition, data from these child assessment were combined with data collected on the NLSY mothers during the 1979-1986 surveys to form a Merged Child-Mother File. This second data set contains information on the mother's family of origin, marital history, income, health history as well as information on each child's family background, family employment and education history, household composition, pre- and post-natal health care, child care experiences, and selected items from the 1986 child assessments.
Bibliography Citation
Olsen, Randall J. "The National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience Merged Child-Mother Data." Journal of Human Resources 24,2 (Spring 1989): 336-339.
137. Pabilonia, Sabrina Wulff
Evidence on Youth Employment, Earnings, and Parental Transfers in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997
Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Fall 2001): 795-822.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069642
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Allowance, Pocket Money; Behavior; Earnings; Employment, Youth; Parenting Skills/Styles; Teenagers; Transfers, Financial; Transfers, Parental

The employment behavior of youths under age 16 has been neglected in the literature. This paper uses data from the new National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) to examine the employment and earning behavior of youths aged 12-16 as well as the cash transfers received from their parents. Nearly half the youths (47 percent) earned income in 1996. As youths age, the amount of money they control increases as earnings grow faster than allowances. Results also suggest that a negative relationship exists both between youth employment and parental allowances and between earnings and parental allowances for youths aged 14-16.
Bibliography Citation
Pabilonia, Sabrina Wulff. "Evidence on Youth Employment, Earnings, and Parental Transfers in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997." Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Fall 2001): 795-822.
138. Parnes, Herbert S.
Kohen, Andrew I.
Occupational Information and Labor Market Status: The Case of Young Men
Journal of Human Resources 10,1 (Winter 1975): 44-55.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145118
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Educational Attainment; High School; I.Q.; Job Skills; Regions; Socioeconomic Status (SES); Urban and Regional Planning; Urbanization/Urban Living; Work Knowledge

The results of an occupational information test display a positive relationship between scores and the education, I.Q., and socioeconomic status of each participant. Furthermore, the young men whose origins are in urban areas scored significantly higher than those individuals from rural areas.Two years following the test, youth who scored higher were able to obtain better paying positions. The human capital theory and educational policy support these findings.
Bibliography Citation
Parnes, Herbert S. and Andrew I. Kohen. "Occupational Information and Labor Market Status: The Case of Young Men." Journal of Human Resources 10,1 (Winter 1975): 44-55.
139. Pavan, Ronni
On the Production of Skills and the Birth-Order Effect
Journal of Human Resources 51,3 (1 August 2016): 699-726.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/51/3/699.abstract
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Birth Order; Cognitive Ability; Parental Investments; Siblings

First-born children tend to outperform their younger siblings on measures such as cognitive exams, wages, educational attainment, and employment. Using a framework similar to Cunha and Heckman (2008) and Cunha, Heckman, and Schennach (2010), this paper finds that differences in parents' investments across siblings can account for more than one-half of the gap in cognitive skills among siblings. The study's framework accommodates for endogeneity in parents' investments, measurement error, missing observations, and dynamic impacts of parental investments.
Bibliography Citation
Pavan, Ronni. "On the Production of Skills and the Birth-Order Effect." Journal of Human Resources 51,3 (1 August 2016): 699-726.
140. Peters, H. Elizabeth
Retrospective Versus Panel Data in Analyzing Life-Cycle Events
Journal of Human Resources 23,4 (Fall 1988): 488-513.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145810
Cohort(s): Young Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Data Quality/Consistency; Life Cycle Research; Longitudinal Data Sets; Longitudinal Surveys; Marital Status; Remarriage

In view of the large cost of longitudinal data collection, it is important to assess the quality of information about life-cycle events which can be obtained from less costly retrospective surveys. This paper compares data from a retrospective marital history with that derived for the same individuals from panel information. The data utilized in the study come from the Young Women's cohort which was initiated in 1968. In 1978, the respondents were asked about the dates of past marital events; in 1983, the retrospective histories were updated. The panel information that is available includes marital status and characteristics of the current husband (if present) at each interview date. From this source, a limited panel marital history can be constructed. The results indicate that when a marital event is reported in both sources, there is substantial agreement about the date of the event. The errors are, however, systematic, and are seen primarily to relate to factors which increase the difficulty of recall in retrospective histories. Since the panel data only ask about current marital status, some marital events cannot be correctly identified. This limitation is more important for remarriage rate estimates than for first marriage rate estimates.
Bibliography Citation
Peters, H. Elizabeth. "Retrospective Versus Panel Data in Analyzing Life-Cycle Events." Journal of Human Resources 23,4 (Fall 1988): 488-513.
141. Petterson, Stephen Mark
Black-White Differences in Reservation Wages and Joblessness A Replication
Journal of Human Resources 33,3 (Summer 1998): 758-770.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146341
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Black Studies; Racial Differences; Unemployment; Wage Gap; Wages, Reservation

Examining self-reported reservation wages from the 1979-80 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), Holzer concludes that 26 to 42 percent of the race difference in the length of jobless spells is due to the higher wages sought by young Black men. This replication uses NLSY reservation wage data from 1979 through 1986. Although I find a Black-White difference in reservation wages, I fail to find a positive effect of these measures on the duration of jobless spells. Thus, evidence from the NLSY does not support the claim that reservation wage differences explain the race employment gap.
Bibliography Citation
Petterson, Stephen Mark. "Black-White Differences in Reservation Wages and Joblessness A Replication." Journal of Human Resources 33,3 (Summer 1998): 758-770.
142. Pierret, Charles R.
Event History Data and Survey Recall: An Analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Recall Experiment
Journal of Human Resources 36,3 (Summer 2001): 439-466.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069626
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); Data Quality/Consistency; Employment, History; Event History; Food Stamps (see Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)

Prior to its switch from an annual interviewing format to a biennial one, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) conducted an experiment to see how less frequent interviews would affect data quality. This paper analyzes this experiment with respect to data collected using event history techniques, namely AFDC and food stamp recipiency and employment history. Respondents faced with the longer recall period failed to report short spells of recipiency, employment, and nonemployment. The pattern of the coefficients in econometric models of the type often used to study event history did not change greatly, though tests reject the equality of the coefficients between the recall sample and the control group in half of the models estimated.
Bibliography Citation
Pierret, Charles R. "Event History Data and Survey Recall: An Analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Recall Experiment." Journal of Human Resources 36,3 (Summer 2001): 439-466.
143. Polachek, Solomon W.
Potential Biases in Measuring Male-Female Discrimination
Journal of Human Resources 10,2 (Spring 1975): 205-229.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/144827
Cohort(s): Mature Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Children; Discrimination, Sex; Earnings; Earnings, Husbands; Family Resources; Life Cycle Research; Marital Status; Marriage; Sexual Division of Labor; Wives, Income

By addressing the problem of life-cycle division of labor within the family, this study considers the question of the effect of family characteristics on both male and female earnings capacities. The paper illustrates both theoretically and empirically that being married and having children have opposite effects on the wage rates of husbands and wives, and further that these diverging wage patterns are perpetuated over the length of the marriage. Neglecting the fact that family characteristics have opposite effects on male and female wage structures leads to biases in the computation of the male-female discrimination coefficient.
Bibliography Citation
Polachek, Solomon W. "Potential Biases in Measuring Male-Female Discrimination." Journal of Human Resources 10,2 (Spring 1975): 205-229.
144. Ragan, James F. Jr.
Tremblay, Carol Horton
Testing for Employee Discrimination by Race and Sex
Journal of Human Resources 23,1 (Winter 1988): 123-137.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145848
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Discrimination; Discrimination, Racial/Ethnic; Discrimination, Sex; Occupations, Female; Wages

According to the theory of employee discrimination, if members of one group have a taste for discrimination against another group, they will demand a compensating wage premium for working with members of the other group. This study is the first to directly test this theory at the micro level. In an analysis of data from the NLSY, evidence was found that both white and nonwhite youths practice employee discrimination, although the form of this discrimination differs by race. Results hold for both the South and non-South, as well as for the country as a whole. The hypothesis of employee discrimination by sex was also examined but rejected.
Bibliography Citation
Ragan, James F. Jr. and Carol Horton Tremblay. "Testing for Employee Discrimination by Race and Sex." Journal of Human Resources 23,1 (Winter 1988): 123-137.
145. Reynolds, John R.
Pemberton, Jennifer
Rising College Expectations Among Youth in the United States: A Comparison of the 1979 and 1997 NLSY
Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Fall 2001): 703-726.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069639
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): College Degree; College Education; Educational Aspirations/Expectations; Ethnic Differences; Family Background and Culture; Family Resources; Family Structure; Gender Differences; High School Curriculum; Labor Market, Secondary; Local Labor Market; Modeling, Probit; Peers/Peer influence/Peer relations; Racial Differences

We examine the rise in college expectations among 15- and 16-year-olds in the 1979 and 1997 NLSY. Probit models estimate the effects of gender, race/ethnicity, family characteristics, and local economic conditions on the probability of expecting a college degree. Race/ethnic differences and the influences of family resources and county economic conditions declined between 1979 and 1997. In contrast, girls became more likely to expect a college degree than boys, and family structure grew in importance over time. Family resources and structure appear to shape expectations largely through differences in school peers, teacher quality and interest, and past academic performance.
Bibliography Citation
Reynolds, John R. and Jennifer Pemberton. "Rising College Expectations Among Youth in the United States: A Comparison of the 1979 and 1997 NLSY." Journal of Human Resources 36,4 (Fall 2001): 703-726.
146. Rosenzweig, Mark R.
Wolpin, Kenneth I.
Are There Increasing Returns to the Intergenerational Production of Human Capital? Maternal Schooling and Child Intellectual Achievement
Journal of Human Resources 29,2 (Spring 1994): 670-693.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146115
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Birthweight; Childbearing; Children, Academic Development; Control; General Assessment; Heterogeneity; Human Capital; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Modeling; Mothers, Education; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT); Pre-natal Care/Exposure; Pre/post Natal Behavior; Pre/post Natal Health Care; Siblings; Test Scores/Test theory/IRT; Tests and Testing

A common empirical finding obtained from data sets describing both high and low-income households is a strong positive correlation between the educational attainment of mothers and measures of the human capital of their children, such as birthweight, survival, educational attainment or health This relationship appears to be robust controls for various measures of income. Two principal hypotheses have been suggested for why maternal education and offspring human capital outcomes are related. First, education may improve the efficiency of human capital production, so that there are increasing returns, intergenerationally, in parental human capital. Estimates from models that take into account heterogeneity in maternal endowments could not reject this hypothesis and suggest benefits to postponed childbearing. In particular, they suggest that postponement of the initiation of childbearin by two years among women who are tenth-graders would result in a 5 percent increase in their children's achievement test scores.
Bibliography Citation
Rosenzweig, Mark R. and Kenneth I. Wolpin. "Are There Increasing Returns to the Intergenerational Production of Human Capital? Maternal Schooling and Child Intellectual Achievement." Journal of Human Resources 29,2 (Spring 1994): 670-693.
147. Rosenzweig, Mark R.
Wolpin, Kenneth I.
Inequality Among Young Adult Siblings, Public Assistance Programs, and Intergenerational Living Arrangements
Journal of Human Resources 29,4 (Fall 1994): 1101-1125.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146135
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Age and Ageing; Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); Coresidence; Earnings; Education; Endogeneity; Income; Siblings; Welfare

In this paper, we formulate a model of young-adult, parent and public sector interactions to consider the allocation of parental resources among siblings who are young adults. In particular, we examine the issue of the determination of the distribution of parental housing among young adult children, with particular attention to the role of public welfare programs. We model these decisions as a sample non-cooperative game between young adult children and their parents who take governmental welfare rules concerning assistance as exogenous to their decisions, but actual public support as endogenous. We show that identification of parental decision rules concerning the distribution of cursedness among multiple offspring requires information on the characteristics of parents and of all of the adult children as well as the governmental welfare rules that pertain to the area of residence of the parents and of each of the sibling children who may live apart from the parents. Information on the siblings represented in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) combined with information of state-level welfare rules, by year, is used to obtain estimates of parental co-residence decision rules in terms of the earnings, schooling and fertility choices of their children and potential welfare benefits based on estimation procedures that take into account, to varying degrees, missing information relevant to these decisions.
Bibliography Citation
Rosenzweig, Mark R. and Kenneth I. Wolpin. "Inequality Among Young Adult Siblings, Public Assistance Programs, and Intergenerational Living Arrangements." Journal of Human Resources 29,4 (Fall 1994): 1101-1125.
148. Rosenzweig, Mark R.
Wolpin, Kenneth I.
Maternal Expectations and Ex Post Rationalizations The Usefulness of Survey Information on the Wantedness of Children
Journal of Human Resources 28,2 (Spring 1993): 205-229.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146201
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Bias Decomposition; Birth Outcomes; Birthweight; Children; Contraception; Fertility; Pre-natal Care/Exposure; Pre/post Natal Behavior; Pre/post Natal Health Care; Wantedness

In this paper we assess the value of retrospectively-ascertained information on the wantedness of children by evaluating (i) the extent to which such information provides an unbiased estimate of the excess births occurring solely as a consequence of imperfect fertility control and (ii) whether information on the wantedness of a child is a good predictor of its subsequent treatment by parents--whether unwantedness signals neglect. We formulate a dynamic model of fertility incorporating stochastic fertility control, uncertain child traits and information accumulation from which we can formulate a rigorous definition of child-specific unwantedness. Based on information on both retrospectively obtained and pre-birth information on wantedness and on children's birthweight, we find that parents are more likely to report that children are wanted ex post if they have a better birth outcome and exhibit overly optimistic expectations about their children's traits and/or risk preferences. As a consequence, published statistics on the prevalence of unwanted births overstate the true proportion due to contraceptive failure by 26 percent. Data are from the NLSY a sample of 3,233 females who had a live birth by 1986.
Bibliography Citation
Rosenzweig, Mark R. and Kenneth I. Wolpin. "Maternal Expectations and Ex Post Rationalizations The Usefulness of Survey Information on the Wantedness of Children." Journal of Human Resources 28,2 (Spring 1993): 205-229.
149. Rothstein, Donna S.
High School Employment and Youths' Academic Achievement
Journal of Human Resources 42,1 (Winter 2007): 194-213.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40057302
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Achievement; Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB); Employment, Youth; High School Employment; High School Transcripts; School Performance; Work Hours/Schedule

This paper asks whether employment during high school impacts youths' grade point average. Unlike much of the prior literature, it allows for the endogeneity of the hours and dropout decisions, uses ASVAB test scores, and tests whether youth employment is dynamic. The results indicate that high school employment and its lag have small, negative impacts on academic grade point average for both males and females. The hours effects diminish when a fixed person effect is included, and they become statistically insignificant when hours are instrumented.
Bibliography Citation
Rothstein, Donna S. "High School Employment and Youths' Academic Achievement." Journal of Human Resources 42,1 (Winter 2007): 194-213.
150. Rotz, Dana
Why Have Divorce Rates Fallen? The Role of Women's Age at Marriage
Journal of Human Resources 51,4 (Fall 2016): 961-1002.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/51/4/961
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Age at First Marriage; Divorce; National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG); Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)

American divorce rates rose from the 1950s to the 1970s peaked around 1980, and have fallen ever since. The mean age at marriage also substantially increased after 1970. I explore the extent to which the rise in age at marriage can explain the decrease in divorce rates for cohorts marrying after 1980 using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, and National Survey of Family Growth. Three different empirical approaches suggest that the increase in women's age at marriage is the main proximate cause of the fall in divorce rates.
Bibliography Citation
Rotz, Dana. "Why Have Divorce Rates Fallen? The Role of Women's Age at Marriage." Journal of Human Resources 51,4 (Fall 2016): 961-1002.
151. Ruhm, Christopher J.
Parental Employment and Child Cognitive Development
Journal of Human Resources 39,1 (Winter 2004): 155-192.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3559009
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Bias Decomposition; Child Development; Children, Academic Development; Maternal Employment; Motherhood; Parental Influences; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading)

Maternal employment during the first three years of the child's life has a small deleterious effect on estimated verbal ability of three- and four-year-olds and a larger negative impact on reading and mathematics achievement of five- and six-year-olds. This study provides a more pessimistic assessment than most prior research for two reasons. First, previous analyses often control crudely for differences in child and household characteristics. Second, the negative relationships are more pronounced for the reading and mathematics performance of five- and six-year-old children than for the verbal scores of three- and four-year-olds.
Bibliography Citation
Ruhm, Christopher J. "Parental Employment and Child Cognitive Development." Journal of Human Resources 39,1 (Winter 2004): 155-192.
152. Rumberger, Russell W.
The Economic Decline Of College Graduates: Fact Or Fallacy?
Journal of Human Resources 15,1 (Winter 1980): 99-112.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145350
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): College Graduates; Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Educational Attainment; Educational Returns; Job Requirements; Overeducation; Schooling

Using Census data and information from the Department of Labor on the skill requirements of jobs, two models were tested in order to evaluate changes in the position of workers between l969 and l975. The first model was based on workers' mean weekly earnings. The second model was based on the discrepancy between the skill requirements of jobs and workers' educational skills. The results indicate that the economic position of male college graduates compared to high school graduates did not decline during this period in terms of relative earnings, but did decline in terms of the relative utilization of educational skills.
Bibliography Citation
Rumberger, Russell W. "The Economic Decline Of College Graduates: Fact Or Fallacy?" Journal of Human Resources 15,1 (Winter 1980): 99-112.
153. Sandell, Steven H.
Attitudes Toward Market Work and the Effect of Wage Rates on the Lifetime Labor Supply of Married Women
Journal of Human Resources 12,3 (Summer 1977): 379-386.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145497
Cohort(s): Mature Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Bias Decomposition; Family Influences; Husbands, Influence; Wage Rates; Wives

This study observes the lifetime labor force participation of married women and analyzes the consequences of excluding taste variables from the conventional economic model. The author focuses on the extent of each participant's work experience during the time span between her first child and 1967. When attitudinal variables are included in the analysis, a decrease in the effect of the wife's potential wage on her postnatal labor supply is observed. Therefore, the frequent omission of these variables probably yield upward biased estimates of own wage elasticities. It is still unclear whether the wage results are more accurate for equations that include or exclude taste variables.
Bibliography Citation
Sandell, Steven H. "Attitudes Toward Market Work and the Effect of Wage Rates on the Lifetime Labor Supply of Married Women." Journal of Human Resources 12,3 (Summer 1977): 379-386.
154. Sandell, Steven H.
Shapiro, David
An Exchange: Theory of Human Capital and the Earnings of Women: A Reexamination of the Evidence
Journal of Human Resources 13,1 (Winter 1978): 103-117.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145304
Cohort(s): Mature Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Childbearing; Discrimination, Sex; Earnings; Fertility; Human Capital Theory; Life Cycle Research; Simultaneity

This study examines both the empirical specification of human capital models of earnings in the presence of discontinuous work experience over the life cycle and simultaneous-equations models of wage determination and labor supply. Compared to the previous period, no evidence is found of greater investment in general training in the interval of labor force participation after the birth of the first child. The effect of depreciation of human capital on women's earnings appears to be approximately one-half of one percent per year out of the labor force. In addition, the contribution of differences in work experience between men and women in explaining wage differences by sex is about half of that indicated by Mincer and Polachek.
Bibliography Citation
Sandell, Steven H. and David Shapiro. "An Exchange: Theory of Human Capital and the Earnings of Women: A Reexamination of the Evidence." Journal of Human Resources 13,1 (Winter 1978): 103-117.
155. Sandell, Steven H.
Shapiro, David
Work Expectations, Human Capital Accumulation and the Wages of Young Women
Journal of Human Resources 15,3 (Summer 1980): 335-353.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145287
Cohort(s): Young Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Human Capital Theory; Job Training; Occupational Aspirations; Public Sector; Schooling, Post-secondary; Training, Post-School; Unions; Wages, Young Women

This study analyzes young women's ex ante preferences for future labor force attachment by estimating their human capital accumulation and pay. The evidence supports the human capital hypothesis that receipt of on-the-job training is positively related to expectations of future labor force participation. The study also presents empirical estimates of the effects on wages of general and specific on-the-job training as well as maturation. Finally, the results show that postschool investments in training are a major determinant of wages and wage growth among young women. Note: An earlier version of this paper was prepared in April 1979 as a report from the Center For Human Resource Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
Bibliography Citation
Sandell, Steven H. and David Shapiro. "Work Expectations, Human Capital Accumulation and the Wages of Young Women." Journal of Human Resources 15,3 (Summer 1980): 335-353.
156. Shaw, Kathryn L.
A Formulation of the Earnings Function Using the Concept of Occupational Investment
Journal of Human Resources 19,3 (Summer 1984): 319-340.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/145876
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Earnings; Income; Job Skills; Occupational Investment; Schooling, Post-secondary; Training, Post-School; Transfers, Skill; Work Experience

Standard models of income determination specify income to be a function of two variables that measure postschool investment--the years of labor market experience and the years of employer tenure. This investigation develops a better proxy for general human capital investments by hypothesizing that the intensity of investment varies by occupation and that a proportion of the occupational skills are transferable with occupational change. After developing exogenous measures of these features, the occupational investment variable is calculated for the Young Men cohort. Empirical work demonstrates that occupational investment is a strong determinant of income--far superior to the experience variable.
Bibliography Citation
Shaw, Kathryn L. "A Formulation of the Earnings Function Using the Concept of Occupational Investment." Journal of Human Resources 19,3 (Summer 1984): 319-340.
157. Shea, John R.
Welfare Mothers: Barriers to Labor Force Entry
Journal of Human Resources 8 (1973): 90-102.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/144816
Cohort(s): Mature Women
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); Family Income; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Marital Status; Poverty; Sex Roles

(Editor's note: from Volume 8, the Work and Welfare Supplement): Using interview data from a national sample of 30- to 44-year-old women who were out of the labor force in 1967, reactions to a hypothetical job offer are analyzed. While black women are more likely than white to have responded affirmatively, there is no difference by potential eligibility for a family assistance payment. Among the potentially eligible, multiple regression (OLS) analysis shows that either (or both) (1) willingness to take a hypothetical job, or (2) required rate of pay is systematically related to marital status, receipt of AFDC, poor health, family income less respondent's earnings, and attitude toward the propriety of mother's working.
Bibliography Citation
Shea, John R. "Welfare Mothers: Barriers to Labor Force Entry." Journal of Human Resources 8 (1973): 90-102.
158. Speer, Jamin D.
Pre-Market Skills, Occupational Choice, and Career Progression
Journal of Human Resources 52,1 (Winter 2017): 187-246.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/52/1/187
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB); Career Patterns; Gender Differences; Layoffs; Occupational Choice; Occupational Information Network (O*NET); Skills

This paper develops a new empirical framework for analyzing occupational choice and career progression. I merge the NLSYs with O*Net and find that pre-market skills (primarily ASVAB test scores) predict the task content of the workers' occupations. These measures account for 71 percent of the gender gap in science and engineering occupations. Career trajectories are similar across workers, so that initial differences in occupation persist over time. I then quantify the effect of layoffs on career trajectory and find that a layoff erases one-fourth of a worker's total career increase in task content but this effect only lasts two years.
Bibliography Citation
Speer, Jamin D. "Pre-Market Skills, Occupational Choice, and Career Progression." Journal of Human Resources 52,1 (Winter 2017): 187-246.
159. Sullivan, Paul Joseph
Estimation of an Occupational Choice Model When Occupations Are Misclassified
Journal of Human Resources 44,2 (Spring 2009): 495-535.
Also: http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/jhr/2009ab/sullivan2.htm
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Census of Population; Heterogeneity; Human Capital; Misclassification, Mismeasurement; Modeling; Occupational Choice; Occupations; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID)

This paper develops an empirical occupational choice model that corrects for misclassification in occupational choices and measurement error in occupation-specific work experience. The model is used to estimate the extent of measurement error in occupation data and quantify the bias that results from ignoring measurement error in occupation codes when studying the determinants of occupational choices and estimating the effects of occupation-specific human capital on wages. The parameter estimates reveal that 9 percent of occupational choices in the 1979 cohort of the NLSY are misclassified. Ignoring misclassification leads to biases that affect the conclusions drawn from empirical occupational choice models.
Bibliography Citation
Sullivan, Paul Joseph. "Estimation of an Occupational Choice Model When Occupations Are Misclassified." Journal of Human Resources 44,2 (Spring 2009): 495-535.
160. Sullivan, Paul
To, Ted
Search and Nonwage Job Characteristics
Journal of Human Resources 49,2 (Spring 2014): 472-507.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/49/2/472.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Benefits, Fringe; Job Characteristics; Job Search; Mobility, Job

This paper quantifies the importance of nonwage job characteristics to workers by estimating a structural on-the-job search model. The model generalizes the standard search framework by allowing workers to search for jobs based on both wages and job-specific nonwage utility flows. Within the structure of the search model, data on accepted wages and wage changes at job transitions identify the importance of nonwage utility through revealed preference. The estimates reveal that utility from nonwage job characteristics plays an important role in determining job mobility, the value of jobs to workers, and the gains from job search.
Bibliography Citation
Sullivan, Paul and Ted To. "Search and Nonwage Job Characteristics." Journal of Human Resources 49,2 (Spring 2014): 472-507.
161. Thomas, Duncan
Like Father, Like Son; Like Mother, Like Daughter Parental Resources and Child Height
Journal of Human Resources 29,4 (Fall 1994): 950-988.
Also: http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/jhr/1994ab/thomas.html
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Age at Menarche/First Menstruation; Child Health; Cross-national Analysis; Education; Education Indicators; Fathers and Sons; Gender Differences; Height; Household Income; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Mothers and Daughters; Mothers, Age at Menarche; Mothers, Education; Mothers, Height; Nutritional Status/Nutrition/Consumption Behaviors; Parental Influences; Racial Differences

Using household survey data from the United States, Brazil, and Ghana, this article examines the relationship between parental education and child height, an indicator of health and nutritional status. In all three countries, the education of the mother has a bigger effect on her daughter's height; paternal education, in contrast, has a bigger impact on his son's height. There are, apparently, differences in the allocation of household resources depending on the gender of the child and these differences vary with the gender of the parent. These results are quite robust and persist even after including controls for unobserved household fixed effects. Results for all three countries are discussed. Results suggest that gender differences in resource allocations reflect both technological differences in child rearing and differences in the preferences of parents.
Bibliography Citation
Thomas, Duncan. "Like Father, Like Son; Like Mother, Like Daughter Parental Resources and Child Height." Journal of Human Resources 29,4 (Fall 1994): 950-988.
162. Thompson, Owen
Head Start's Long-Run Impact: Evidence from the Program's Introduction
Journal of Human Resources 30,5 (2019): 748-764.
Also: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0887403417721605
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Earnings; Educational Attainment; Geocoded Data; Head Start; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Labor Market Outcomes

This paper estimates the effect of Head Start on health, education, and labor market outcomes observed through age 48. I combine outcome data from the NLSY79 with archival records on early Head Start funding levels, and for identification exploit differences across counties in the introduction timing and size of local Head Start programs. This allows me to compare the long-term outcomes of children who were too old for Head Start when the program was introduced in their county with the outcomes of children who were sufficiently young to be eligible. I find that individuals from counties that had an average sized program when they were in Head Start's target age range experienced a $2,199 increase in annual adult earnings, completed .125 additional years of education, were 4.6 percentage points less likely to have a health limitation at age 40, and overall experienced a .081 standard deviation improvement in a summary index of these and other outcome measures. Funding levels at ages outside of Head Start's target range are not significantly correlated with long-term outcomes. Estimated treatment effects are largest among blacks, the children of lower-education parents, and children exposed to better funded Head Start programs, heterogeneity that is consistent with a causal program impact. © 2017 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
Bibliography Citation
Thompson, Owen. "Head Start's Long-Run Impact: Evidence from the Program's Introduction." Journal of Human Resources 30,5 (2019): 748-764.
163. Thompson, Owen
Selected Fertility and Racial Inequality
Journal of Human Resources published online (5 April 2022): DOI: 10.3368/jhr.0221-11481R2.
Also: https://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2022/03/31/jhr.0221-11481R2.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Earnings; Educational Attainment; Fertility; Racial Differences; Regions

Racial inequality can be affected by changes in race-specific fertility patterns that influence the composition of births, in addition to post-birth factors like schools and labor markets that have been the focus of most prior research. This paper documents a large decline in the fertility of southern African American women after 1964, and argues that these fertility patterns likely led to substantial reductions in racial inequality in the next generation through a selection effect. I first show that the Black-white difference in the general fertility rate fell by approximately 40% between 1964 and 1970 among southern women, with no change in racial fertility differences in the North over this period. I also show that these fertility declines were much stronger among socioeconomically disadvantaged southern Black women, for instance those with 8 or fewer years of education and with four or more existing children, which led southern Black children born after 1964 to come from systematically smaller and more educated families. I then directly estimate the association between racial fertility differences and racial differences in the education and earnings of the next generation in a two-way fixed effects framework, and find that selective fertility declines were conditionally associated with a reduction in the Black-white education gap of approximately .15 years (22%) and a reduction in the Black-white earnings gap of approximately 6 log points (16%). These patterns suggest that a substantial share of the Black socioeconomic progress of the 1960s and 1970s was due to selective fertility declines among less advantaged African American women in the South.
Bibliography Citation
Thompson, Owen. "Selected Fertility and Racial Inequality." Journal of Human Resources published online (5 April 2022): DOI: 10.3368/jhr.0221-11481R2.
164. Urzua, Sergio
Racial Labor Market Gaps: The Role of Abilities and Schooling Choices
Journal of Human Resources 43,4 (Fall 2008): 919-971.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/43/4/919.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Cognitive Ability; Earnings; Educational Aspirations/Expectations; Family Background and Culture; Labor Market Outcomes; Racial Differences; Schooling; Test Scores/Test theory/IRT

This paper studies the relationship between abilities, schooling choices, and black-white differentials in labor market outcomes. The analysis is based on a model of endogenous schooling choices. Agents' schooling decisions are based on expected future earnings, family background, and unobserved abilities. Earnings are also determined by unobserved abilities. The analysis distinguishes unobserved abilities from observed test scores. The model is implemented using data from the NLSY79. The results indicate that, even after controlling for abilities, there exist significant racial labor market gaps. They also suggest that the standard practice of equating observed test scores may overcompensate for differentials in ability.
Bibliography Citation
Urzua, Sergio. "Racial Labor Market Gaps: The Role of Abilities and Schooling Choices." Journal of Human Resources 43,4 (Fall 2008): 919-971.
165. Wu, Lawrence L.
Martin, Steven P.
Long, Daniel A.
Comparing Data Quality of Fertility and First Sexual Intercourse Histories
Journal of Human Resources 36,3 (Summer 2001): 520-555.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069629
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Age at First Intercourse; Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Data Quality/Consistency; Event History; Fertility; First Birth; National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG); Sexual Activity; Sexual Experiences/Virginity

This paper evaluates the data quality of two demographic variables in light of hypotheses on respondent recall from the literature on survey methodology. An emerging consensus in this literature is that recall of the timing of an event declines with recall duration unless the dating of an event is frequently "rehearsed." We provide empirical evidence consistent with this hypothesis by assessing the quality of demographic data on two event history variables as supplied by female respondents. A first outcome concerns the interval between a first and second birth. We assess examine birth intervals using birth registration data from the Vital Statistics on Natality (VSN) and individual-level survey data from the 1990 June Current Population Survey (CPS), the 1979-93 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), and the 1988 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Overall, we find relatively little variation in the quality of birth interval data across these four surveys, with one exception--CPS data in which responses have been allocated. A second demographic variable is age at first sexual intercourse. We engage in several analyses of this variable. First, we use NLSY data to analyze discrepancies between successive reports on age (to the nearest year) at first intercourse. Second, we analyze a form of partially missing data (respondent inability to recall the calendar month of intercourse) that occurs in both the NLSY and NSFG. Third, we identify NLSY respondents who, in successive interviews, give contradictory reports about whether or not sexual activity had been initiated. Our findings suggest that data quality varies significantly with duration of recall and with measures of respondent ability related to arithmetic facility and memory. Observed differences by race and ethnicity narrow substantially when controlling for these and other background factors. We find evidence for a nonlinear association between duration of recall and data quality, with similar patterns occurring in both the NLSY and NSFG. Finally, our NLSY results are suggestive of a pattern in which recent initiation of sexual activity may be concealed by respondents.
Bibliography Citation
Wu, Lawrence L., Steven P. Martin and Daniel A. Long. "Comparing Data Quality of Fertility and First Sexual Intercourse Histories." Journal of Human Resources 36,3 (Summer 2001): 520-555.