The Within‐Job Motherhood Wage Penalty in Norway, 1979–1996

The motherhood wage penalty is a substantial obstacle to progress in gender equality at work. Using matched employer–employee data from Norway (1979–1996, N = 236,857 individuals, N = 1,027,462 individual‐years), a country with public policies that promote combining family and career, we investigate (a) whether the penalty arises from differential pay by employers or from the sorting of employees on occupations and establishments and (b) changes in the penalties during a period with major changes in family policies. We find that (a) the penalty to motherhood was mostly due to sorting on occupations and occupation‐establishment units (mothers and nonmothers working in the same occupation and establishment received similar pay), and (b) the wage penalties to motherhood declined substantially over the 18‐year period.     

NUDGING LIFE INSURANCE HOLDINGS IN THE WORKPLACE

Using data from a university, we analyze a policy designed to increase employer‐sponsored life insurance. The university increased basic life insurance holdings, which nudged employees with supplemental coverage to have more life insurance. In large part due to inertia, the nudge increased life insurance holdings one‐for‐one for those who could have undone it. Additionally, we find that expanding coverage options significantly increased total life insurance holdings for new hires who were not subject to inertia. These policy changes reduced uninsured vulnerabilities for two‐thirds of employees. Our findings have important policy implications for addressing widespread disparities in life insurance coverage. (JEL D31, G22, D03, J32, J33, J38, H20)     

A DYNAMIC EXPLANATION OF THE WILLINGNESS TO PAY AND WILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT DISPARITY

Recent evidence from laboratory experiments suggests that important disparities exist between willingness to pay (WTP) and compensation demanded for the same good. Because a fundamental postulate in neoclassical theory is that with small income effects and many available substitutes, the willingness to accept (WTA) and WTP measures of value for a commodity should be roughly equivalent, this finding has vast implications in both a positive and normative sense. This study advances, and experimentally tests, a new explanation of the WTP/WTA disparity—a dynamic theory based on the presence of commitment costs. Although to date neoclassical models have not explained the observed data patterns well, we find that the commitment cost theory combined with a simple behavioral anomaly is able to lend insights into the causes and severity of the WTA/WTP disparity. Furthermore, we find that market experience attenuates the behavioral anomaly, consistent with the notion that no value disparity exists for agents with sufficient market experience. (JEL Q21, Q26)     

BUYING THEIR VOTES? A STUDY OF LOCAL TAX‐PRICE DISCRIMINATION

A population's demographic composition may affect political support for various public services. This article examines whether the aging‐in‐place of local residents decreases financial support for public schools in the United States. I expand on previous empirical work by examining whether tax‐price reductions offered to elderly homeowners moderate their effect on local school revenues. The results reveal that an aging population structure substantially decreases school revenues, unless elderly homeowners receive state‐financed reductions in their local tax‐prices. Sizable differences hold even when comparing school districts located near each other but on opposite sides of state borders. Given the imminent aging of the population structure in the United States and many other developed countries, governments' targeted tax reduction policies could have important effects on equilibrium school revenues. (JEL I22, J14, H71)     

The Economic Value of Career Counseling Services for College Students in South Korea

This study investigated college students’ perception of the monetary value of career counseling services by using the contingent valuation method. The results of a multivariate survival analysis based on interviews with a convenience sample of 291 undergraduate students in South Korea indicate that, on average, participants’ expressed willingness to pay (WTP) for such services ranged from U.S. $10.22 to $10.54 per hour of individual career counseling. Self‐stigma and attitudes toward counseling had positive effects on their WTP, whereas the year in college and social stigma had negative effects. The results provide policy makers with preliminary evidence of the monetary value of career counseling.     

The Affordable Care Act,Dependent Health Insurance Coverage,and Young Adults' Health

This study examines the consequences of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) dependent coverage provision for the health of U.S. young adults aged\–25. Using data from the Current Population Survey—March Supplement for the years 2007–2012 and ordered logistic regression analyses, we examine self‐rated health and its association with dependent health insurance coverage for 19‐ to 25‐year‐olds and a comparison group of 28‐ to 34‐year‐olds before and after implementation of the ACA. Compared to 28‐ to 34‐year‐olds, results indicate the post‐ACA period (2010–2011) is associated with increased access to dependent health insurance coverage and improved health for young adults aged 19–25 relative to the period before implementation (2008–2009). More than half of the difference in health improvement across age groups can be attributed to changes in dependent coverage. These results are the first to demonstrate a positive health benefit resulting from the implementation of the ACA.     

Children Living With Uninsured Family Members: Differences by Family Structure

Despite increased access to insurance through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, uninsurance rates are expected to remain relatively high. Having uninsured family members may expose children to financial hardships. Eligibility rules governing both private and public health insurance are based on outdated expectations about family structure. Using 2009–2011 data from the National Health Interview Survey (N = 65,038), the authors investigated family structure differences in family‐level insurance coverage of households with children. Children living with married biological parents were the least likely to have uninsured family members and most likely to have all family members covered by private insurance. Controlling for demographic characteristics and income, children in single‐mother families had the same risk of having an uninsured family member as children in married‐parent families. Children with cohabiting biological parents had higher rates of family uninsurance than children with married biological parents, even accounting for other characteristics.     

中国基本医疗保险的实际参保率及其分布特征:基于多源数据的分析

全民覆盖是基本医疗保险降低国民医疗费用负担的前提条件。中国基本医疗保险是否实现了全民覆盖仍存在争议。本文利用多源调查数据,分析了我国基本医疗保险实际参保率及其分布特征。不同来源的数据基本证实,2015-2016年,中国仍有超过10%的国民没有参加任何一项基本医疗保险制度。其中,城镇居民、非农户口和没有户口的居民、东北地区、年轻人、儿童、未就业人群、低收入人群、在校学生以及流动人口基本医疗保险实际参保率更低。城乡居民实行自愿参保,因管理部门分割、信息系统不统一导致的重复参保以及因财政补贴制度导致的户籍地参保等制度设计,是导致基本医疗保险未能实现全民覆盖的根源。要实现基本医疗保险全民覆盖,解决国民医疗后顾之忧,未来我国基本医疗保险应实行强制参保、以家庭为单元参保、常住地参保,建立全国统一的基本医疗保险信息系统,并鼓励发展补充性医疗保障制度。     

ELECTRIC AND PLUG‐IN HYBRID VEHICLE DEMAND: LESSONS FOR AN EMERGING MARKET

Understanding demand in the new plug‐in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) market is critical to designing more effective adoption policies. We use stated preference data from an innovative choice experiment to estimate demand for PHEVs relative to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and to explore heterogeneity in demand for these vehicles. We find the gap between willingness to pay for PHEVs and their price premium over conventional vehicles is on the order of current subsidies, while that of BEVs is an order of magnitude larger. We use a latent class model to show PHEVs draw a different consumer segment into the market. (JEL Q5, R41)     

SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAMS AND LOCATION CHOICES OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS

This paper studies how the school choice policies that subsidize private school attendance using public funds affect the spatial distribution of private schools in the United States. Private school choice programs enacted between 1997 and 2010 are examined and linked to private school provision 2 years later. The paper finds that school choice policies lead to more private schools where the input to public schools is lower and the pool of students with special needs is larger. Yet the introduction of means‐tested school choice programs does not necessarily lead private schools to locate in low‐income neighborhoods. (JEL I2, H4, R3)     

THE EFFECT OF INSURANCE COVERAGE ON PREVENTIVE CARE

Despite the growth in health insurance products that differentially cover preventive care and nonpreventive care, little is known about how preventive care utilization responds to targeted changes in coverage. Using administrative data from a large company, this paper examines the implementation of an insurance benefit design which differentially increased the price of nonpreventive care while decreasing the price of prevention. Leveraging a difference‐in‐differences research strategy, we find that preventive care utilization did not increase and even declined due to the differential price change. This evidence indicates a meaningful negative cross‐price effect, suggesting that nonpreventive care and preventive care are complements. (JEL I13, I11)     

公共租赁房建设与新型城镇化

上海推进的公共租赁住房建设,是上海＂十二五＂期间住房保障体系的重要组成部分,符合深化住房制度改革和加快完善住房保障体系的总体要求,同时也与上海推进新型城镇化建设相呼应。新型城镇化的核心是＂人的城镇化＂,人的安居乐业是新型城镇化的关键所在。上海公租房政策对推动＂人的城镇化＂,具有极为重要的引导作用：强化了对非沪籍居民和中等收入阶层居住权的保障;有助于对工作者居住权利的保障;有助于带动整个区域的和谐、均衡发展。政府在推动公共租赁住房建设的过程中,还须适度扩大规模,改变产权式保障的传统思路;从严实行进出筛选机制,鼓励向上流动;坚持运作市场化、社区社会化、政策政府化;关注产业布局,突出其人才属性。     

Where are They from and How Far Must They Go? Examining Location and Travel Distance in U.S. Abortion Fund Patients

The current study examines a secondary data analysis of 3,452 administrative cases from a national abortion fund representing patients who received pledges for financial assistance to pay for an abortion from 2010 to 2015 in the United States, where abortion costs are not covered under federal public health programs. Case data were analyzed to assess patients' geographic origin, and whether or not cases were more likely to originate from states with Medicaid and private insurance restrictions. The anticipated travel distance to the provider and whether or not travel distances had been increasing over time were also examined. Results indicate that the majority of pledges are made to residents of the South, Midwest, states without expanded Medicaid access to abortion, and states that have private insurance restrictions on abortion coverage. Results further indicate that those who receive funding pledges anticipated traveling approximately 225 kilometers (140 miles) on average to access the abortion. This distance increased from 2010 to 2015, with patients seeking second trimester procedures expecting to travel nearly 3 times farther than patients in their first term. Abortion fund patients travel great distances to access an abortion and those distances are increasing over time. It is recommended that policy restricting public funding of abortion be repealed to improve access to abortion not only in the United States, but also in other countries where policy restrictions may impede access to abortion, even when it is legal.     

RELIABILITY OF STATED PREFERENCES FOR CHOLERA AND TYPHOID VACCINES WITH TIME TO THINK IN HUE,VIETNAM

We examine the effect of giving respondents time to think about their stated choices (SC) in a survey of cholera and typhoid vaccine preferences in Hue, Vietnam. Because neither vaccine is widely available in Vietnam, we used the SC approach (a stated preference technique) and gave half of our respondents overnight to think about their choices to make the hypothetical valuation scenario as similar to a real‐life choice situation as possible. Respondents who were given extra time made fewer choices that violated internal validity tests of utility theory, and had lower average willingness to pay (WTP), confirming a result found in similar studies in the contingent valuation literature. (JEL D12, I18, C25)     

LOSING BY LESS? IMPORT COMPETITION,UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE GENEROSITY,AND CRIME

Increased import competition from China has brought about a host of negative consequences for the most exposed industries and labor markets. Do social programs attenuate these harmful effects? We examine changes in import competition between 1990 and 2007, taking crime as our outcome of interest and unemployment insurance as our mitigating program. We find strong evidence that counties with access to more generous unemployment insurance experienced relatively smaller increases in trade‐induced property crime. This highlights a new and important positive externality of unemployment insurance. (JEL H00, R10)     

WHAT DO UNIONS DO TO PENSION PERFORMANCE?

Unions can have either positive or negative effects on risk‐adjusted returns in pension plans. On the positive side, a union can improve monitoring of pension advisors and asset managers. On the negative side, the union may sacrifice returns by making investments that promote union goals. This paper discusses how the structure of the pension plan affects the union's ability and willingness to sacrifice returns to promote union goals. Using panel data on over 38,000 pension plans drawn from IRS Form 5500 filings between 1988 and 2008, we find the lowest performing plans are unionized multi‐employer plans. Among defined contribution plans, the underperformance of multi‐employer union plans disappears when the pension is controlled by individual participants. (JEL J32, J51)     

Recipes for Attention: Policy Reforms,Crises, Organizational Characteristics,and the Newspaper Coverage of the LGBT Movement, 1969–2009

Why do some organizations in a movement seeking social change gain extensive national newspaper coverage? To address the question, we innovate in theoretical and empirical ways. First, we elaborate a theoretical argument that builds from the political mediation theory of movement consequences and incorporates the social organization of newspaper practices. This media and political mediation model integrates political and media contexts and organizations' characteristics and actions. With this model, we hypothesize two main routes to coverage: one that includes changes in public policy and involves policy‐engaged, well‐resourced, and inclusive organizations and a second that combines social crises and protest organizations. Second, we appraise these arguments with the first analysis of the national coverage of all organizations in a social movement over its career: 84 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights and AIDS‐related organizations in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Wall Street Journal from 1969 to 2010. These analyses go beyond previous research that provides either snapshots of many organizations at one point in time or overtime analyses of aggregated groups of organizations or individual organizations. The results of both historical and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analyses support our media and political mediation model.     

Determinants of willingness to pay for coastal zone quality improvement

Individuals’ decision to use a particular coastal beach is influenced by their preferences and perceptions as well as site's characteristics. This study examines visitors’ attributes and desired site specific characteristics in order to determine the factors affecting willingness to pay (WTP) for an improvement quality (environment, water as well as recreation activities) program. A contingent valuation survey was carried out in order to evaluate the economic benefits of improving coastal zone quality. The study area was coastal line of an area in Central Greece (Volos) where some beaches failures to meet the standards of the Blue Flag program. Our empirical findings suggest that the major variables affecting respondents’ willingness to pay were related to previous environmental behavior. The previous respondents’ participation in environmental protection programs by paying an amount was the most important determinate parameter for their WTP. Income, age, gender, coastal recreational activities and environmental quality of the site plays an important role to people's WTP for quality improvement of coastal zone.     

THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT AND COLLEGE ENROLLMENT DECISIONS

We investigate the effect of the expansion of the federal dependent coverage mandate for young adults under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on college enrollment decisions of young Americans. The expansion removes the requirement that young individuals need to be enrolled as full‐time students in order to remain on their parents' health insurance past the age of 18 and expands the coverage mandate to age 26 irrespective of student status. This changes the incentives for the full‐time college enrollment decisions of young individuals. We use panel data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) for the years 2003–2013 and estimate that the dependent coverage expansion under the ACA decreases the probability to enroll as full‐time student by 3 percentage points using a difference‐in‐differences framework. Furthermore, we find that part‐time college enrollment is unaffected by the new policy. The results are robust to changes in the model specification and become stronger when we increase the sample overlap between treatment and control groups using trimming based on propensity scores. (JEL C35, I23, I10, I18)