Family labor supply,taxation and saving in an imperfect capital market

This paper combines income and expenditure with time use data to provide a unique picture of the labor supply, household production, saving and consumption decisions of two-adult households over a life cycle defined in terms of the presence and ages of children. The study also draws on data for household borrowing and lending, direct and indirect benefits and taxes to calibrate a “family” life cycle model at the core of which is the hypothesis that households face a borrowing interest rate that rises with the amount of non-collateral based borrowing. The household members jointly choose time paths of time use, consumption and saving over their life cycle in the face of this capital market imperfection. Importantly, households are shown to differ significantly in their saving behavior in a way that depends on secondary earner labor supply, with a strong positive association between saving and the income of the second earner. The results differ sharply from those of the existing literature.     

Family life cycle differences for shopping styles,information use,and decision-making

This article identifies shopping styles, information use, and decision-making differences by family life cycle stage in a purchase of a durable good. Data were collected using mailed questionnaires. The sample consists of 378 cases. Data are analyzed using factor analyses, analysis of variance, and cross tabulations. The shopping style factor indicates younger adults are brand conscious. The consumer factor indicates that people in older life cycle stages read more than people in younger life cycle stages. The inexperience factor indicates single parents, younger families, and younger adults are more inexperienced. The decision-making variable indicates that younger adults and single parents make decisions by themselves and younger families make decisions with their spouses. Reasons for purchases indicate that single parents do not own the product, older families are replacing, and retirees want new product characteristics.Leona K. Hawks is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Home Economics and Consumer Education, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-2910. She received her Ed.D. from Brigham Young University. Her current research interests include consumer decision-making and behavior.Norleen M. Ackerman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Home Economics and Consumer Education, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-2910. She received her Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Her current research interests include consumer purchase behavior, family financial security, and life quality of farm families.     

Crowding-out in savings decisions,portfolio default adoption and home ownership: evidence from the Chilean retirement system

This paper studies crowd-out effects across choices regarding different sources of investment and savings in the Chilean pension system (e.g., voluntary savings within and outside the retirement system, housing status, and default portfolio adoption). Because preferences over choice sets are unobserved and it is expected that individual unobserved characteristics may be correlated across decisions, I jointly estimate a dynamic reduced-form life cycle model of wealth accumulation. Simulation results indicate no short- or long-run crowd-out effects across voluntary savings accounts within and outside the retirement system. There is evidence that in the short run, there is crowding-out between mandatory savings and other forms of investments, such as home ownership or savings in the financial-banking sector. Results also show that in the long run, individuals treat home ownership and participation in voluntary retirement programs as substitute goods. Finally, the long-run effects of participating in voluntary savings programs are important in increasing active participation in portfolio decisions.

     

Productive engagement among older Americans: prevalence, patterns, and implications for public policy

This study estimates the prevalence of productive engagement among adults aged 60 and over residing in the United States over a nine-year period. We analyze three waves of data from the Americans' Changing Lives Study, which allows the findings to describe the non-institutionalized older American population. Focusing upon five activities--formal paid employment, irregular paid work, unpaid volunteerism, caregiving, and informal assistance to others--we identify changes in the engagement rates, examine the extent to which engagement occurs through single or multiple concurrent activities, and document intra-individual patterns of engagement within and across forms of productive activity, including the continuity, initiation, and cessation of involvement. The findings reveal that late-life productive engagement is widespread, with the majority of older individuals involved in multiple forms of activity concurrently. Non-market-based activities such as caregiving, informal assistance, and volunteering are most prevalent. Initiation and cessation of activities are common and yield more complex patterns and lower rates of non-participation than are revealed in cross-sectional analyses. Time spent in productive engagement is highly variable and exhibits an overall decline across time. We conclude by highlighting policy strategies to increase the availability and quality of opportunities for productive engagement and promote planning for engagement in late life.     

Productive Engagement Among Older Americans: Prevalence,Patterns, and Implications for Public Policy

This study estimates the prevalence of productive engagement among adults aged 60 and over residing in the United States over a nine-year period. We analyze three waves of data from the Americans' Changing Lives Study, which allows the findings to describe the non-institutionalized older American population. Focusing upon five activities—formal paid employment, irregular paid work, unpaid volunteerism, caregiving, and informal assistance to others—we identify changes in the engagement rates, examine the extent to which engagement occurs through single or multiple concurrent activities, and document intra-individual patterns of engagement within and across forms of productive activity, including the continuity, initiation, and cessation of involvement. The findings reveal that late-life productive engagement is widespread, with the majority of older individuals involved in multiple forms of activity concurrently. Non–market-based activities such as caregiving, informal assistance, and volunteering are most prevalent. Initiation and cessation of activities are common and yield more complex patterns and lower rates of non-participation than are revealed in cross-sectional analyses. Time spent in productive engagement is highly variable and exhibits an overall decline across time. We conclude by highlighting policy strategies to increase the availability and quality of opportunities for productive engagement and promote planning for engagement in late life.     

Using a computer simulation game to teach family time use concepts

A computer simulation game designed to give students insights into family time use concepts has been used in an introductory family resource management class at Ohio State University and other universities. The game allows for planning for time use changes over the family life cycle. The game can give students insights into economic and sociological models of time use. It is possible that future versions of the game could be used in family counseling.His research interests include derivation of optimal decision-making rules for families and family financial management.Her research interests include financial management over the life course including financial ratios, baby boomers, and retirement. She received her Ph.D. in 1993 from The Ohio State University in Family Resource Management.His research interests include the time trade-offs made between couples, financial planning over the life cycle, and the interaction of time and money between families and their home-based businesses. He received his Ph.D. in 1993 from The Ohio State University in Family Resource Management.     

Money,power and spending decisions in intimate relationships1

Drawing on British data from the 2002 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) module on ‘Family and Changing Gender Roles’, this paper is an exploratory attempt to assess the extent to which newly emerging ‘individualised’ patterns of money management in intimate relationships, are coming to be associated with shifts towards greater equality between partners, in terms of who has the final say over large expenditure decisions, and the implications this has for overall satisfaction with the relationship and happiness with life in general. Our findings show that while in general, keeping money partly separate was associated with a relatively high level of male control, which was more visible to female respondents than male control in other systems, a minority of (sometimes) higher earning, cohabiting women with partly separate finances, were able to make autonomous decisions about spending, possibly by using their own personal spending money. However, the analysis also indicates that when either men or women made autonomous decisions about spending, both male and female respondents were less satisfied with family life, as well as with life in general, than those who made joint decisions.     

Money matters: An exploratory study of the socio-cultural context of consumption, saving, and investment patterns

This study focuses on 36 professional South Asian (Indian) families in a metropolitan city in Canada in order to understand motives for financial behavior. In accordance with the Hindu world view, Indians view wealth acquisition as necessary for the natural progression of an individual's life and take a long view of time when it comes to investment decisions. Their primary purpose is to invest money in order to provide for their children's education. Their cultural roots allow them to take a long-term view and makes them more risk tolerant. Although these families take economic criteria into account, such criteria alone do not fully explain their consumption, saving, and investment patterns. It would appear that their need for saving determines their consumption, not the other way around. To understand their financial behavior, one has to identify the cultural worlds in which Indians live. The study highlights the importance of understanding the socio-cultural context of decisions that may appear to be purely economic decisions at first sight.     

Cancer as a Life Transition: A Relational Approach to Cancer Wellness in Women

Receiving a diagnosis of cancer is a traumatic event and changes one's life forever. The period of initial diagnosis and treatment is indeed a life transition, regardless of the prognosis. It precipitates a change in self-perception, physically, emotionally, and interpersonally. It changes how a woman sees herself, her family, and her world. Simultaneously the woman is confronted with many decisions to make regarding treatment options and the management of personal, familial, and work related responsibilities. People have the opportunity to reflect on old decisions and to make new decisions. Inevitably one is confronted by mortality. The management of this illness is done in the context of a complex network of relationships with family, friends, coworkers, doctors, other medical personnel, and clergy. Often it is the clinical social worker who is in the position of facilitating access to and participation in resources for care. Many women join healing communities or wellness centers to find a model of care and achieve a state of well-being that utilizes and encourages the support of these relationships. Understanding the importance and impact of these relationships can help clinical social workers facilitate cancer wellness in their clients and advocate better on their behalf. The intent of this paper is to understand the concept of cancer wellness as a relational approach and to promote its place in integrative clinical social work practice.     

Retirement and Productive Activity in Later Life

It is commonly believed that as people age and leave the labor force, they disengage from productive activity and become dependent. While consistent with the conventional economic view of what constitutes productive activity, this belief is inconsistent with a more contemporary view that unpaid work (domestic, volunteer, and caring work) is equally economically valuable (i.e., productive). We investigate differences in how people allocate time among productive and other activities pre- and post-retirement. Results indicate that people remain engaged in productive activities even as they move out of the labor force, substituting unpaid for paid work. Only respondents who have exceeded their normal life expectancy greatly reduce their productive activity. Evidence suggests a need to revisit assumptions underlying policy debate on population aging.

The Contradictory Effects of Work and Family on Political Activism

This paper examines the contradictory effects of occupations and families on political activism. Based on a comparative study of left-wing and right-wing activists from the 1960s, I find that although people maintain their beliefs and values across the life cycle, occupations and family life become competing interests in sustained political involvement. At the same time, careers can serve as an extension of political beliefs; families also act both to nurture and confirm political beliefs as well as pull people away from the world of politics.     

Chilly Environments, Stratification, and Productivity Differences

Productivity differences between sociology PhD’s were examined controlling for both human capital and life style differences. Productivity was defined in two ways. First, we looked at differences in article productivity to date. Next, differences in the average productivity of faculty (defined as total articles to date divided by years of experience) were explored. We aimed to capture how working in a chilly environment shapes productivity differences among faculty—especially between faculty working in ranked and unranked PhD programs. Faculty who worked in a ranked PhD department were significantly more productive than others. However, women in these departments were much more likely than men to report being in a chilly environment. Among faculty working in unranked PhD programs in sociology, two variables were critical in understanding productivity differences (age the PhD was awarded and chilly work environment). Faculty who felt welcomed in their department published more than others all else equal. Being in a chilly environment appears detrimental to establishing a publishing career for these faculty.     

Life satisfaction in midlife childless and empty-nest men and women

The primary purpose of this study was to contrast the life satisfaction of midlife empty-nest and childless individuals. Seventy-two men and women reported on their satisfaction with 11 areas of life as well as with regard to children. Empty-nest individuals were more satisfied than childless persons with regard to their decisions regarding children; however, the childless individuals were not unhappy with their decisions. Empty-nest individuals were also more positive than childless individuals about contact with children. There were no differences between the two groups with regard to areas of life satisfaction not related to children; nor were there significant gender differences in life satisfaction. The results were discussed in relation to both theory and data concerning midlife satisfaction and adjustment.SMS AssociatesThe research was completed by James E. Bell in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the masters of counseling degree at Arizona State University.     

Cooperation,job security,and wages in a dual labor market equilibrium

By introducing cooperation among individuals working within a firm, this paper constructs a model generating a dualistic competitive equilibrium with differentials in wages and job security in an industry with product demand uncertainty. Primary firms offer high job security to promote cooperation and achieve high productivity. Secondary firms merely take advantage of ability to adjust employment. Wage differentials arise because cooperation is more productive among members of the same social group and thus different groups of workers face different labor demand. In contrast to the Arrow-Debreu economy, firms making long-term decisions and those making short-term decisions coexist in the equilibrium.     

Structuring Commitments in Interrupted Careers: Career Breaks,Commitment and the Life Cycle in Teaching

Recent interest in work commitment has been within a unitary paradigm in both the sociological literature on women's commitment to work and in the human resource management literature on the need to generate commitment to work. The paper argues that the ‘commitment concept’ is a social construction with a multiplicity of meanings and that its usage is subjective, contradictory, temporal and frequently gendered. Debates focusing on the ‘masculine’ job model of commitment tend to provide only partial insights by an emphasis on the continuous, linear career and thereby neglect, or negate, the work commitment of women who take a career break. Drawing on a large study of professional teachers, the paper enables a comparison of commitment indicators between stages within a life history and between ‘returners’ and other respondents. The findings demonstrate how commitments change over time and indicate that the commitments of returners are the outcome of the interplay between ‘choices’ and the different structural conditions they encounter during their life cycle which may lead to ‘career curtailment’ or, in times of labour shortages, career opportunities.     

Does marriage affect men’s labor market outcomes? A European perspective

Does marriage make men more productive, or do more productive men marry? Previous studies have reached different conclusions but have also been conducted using different methodologies in different countries and in different time periods. We use two sources of European panel data (spanning the years 1994–2001 and 2003–2007) to assess the relationship between marriage and labor market outcomes. By using data from 12 countries over a 13 year period, we are able to investigate the impact of marriage in different country groups and across time. We find that selection into marriage accounts for most of the differences in hours worked and wages between married and non-married men. With respect to wages we note that while the difference between married and non-married males has increased over time, the actual effect of marriage has disappeared.     

The benefits of joint and separate financial management of couples

Financial management differs across households with consequences for financial outcomes and well-being of partners in households. A large-sample study has been performed, investigating the relationship between financial management of households and the occurrence of financial problems. To our knowledge, this is the first study on this relationship. Data from both partners was collected on having joint and separate bank accounts, on financial decision making, on drivers of financial management, and on financial outcomes. Based on the data, four financial management styles were derived: syncratic/joint, male-dominant, female-dominant, and autonomous financial management. In the syncratic style, partners have a joint bank account and take most financial decisions together. In the male/female-dominant styles, one partner (husband or wife) takes the main financial decisions. In the autonomous style, both partners have their own bank accounts and make their own decisions. As a conclusion, we find that syncratic financial management and having a joint instead of a separate bank account correlates with fewer financial problems, as compared with male-dominant money management and having separate bank accounts. Deciding together as partners is beneficial for the quality of financial management and for avoiding financial problems.     

Changing Forest Service Values and Their Implications for Land Management Decisions Affecting Resource-Dependent Communities1

Abstract Employees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service (USFS) are frequently confronted with difficult trade-off decisions in establishing multiple-use priorities that affect rural communities economically dependent on national forests. Although such decisions are often tied to laws and agency policies, in many cases they may also reflect the value orientations of USFS personnel. This study utilizes survey data collected from a nationwide sample of USFS employees to examine value orientations and management priorities across the different levels of USFS line officers. Results indicate sharp differences between established ongoing management practices and the directions these officers believe the agency should be moving, with greater emphasis given to noncommodity uses such as recreation and wildlife rather than timber.     

Die Zeit von Sozialsystemen

The following article starts from the assumption that the techno-economical rationality as a model affects all social systems and their way to deal with time. Symptomatic in this respect are mainly two factors increased time pressure and a universal tendency to increase speed. This has consequences for the management of complexity and change processes. Hierarchy as the predominant social structure is overtaxed: the need for collective autonomy and self-control is growing. Therefore, hierarchy has to introduce processes that are foreign to its nature. Important social processes within the organization are not given enough time; time pressure is used as an excuse. Groups at the top of the hierarchy and their efforts to reach consensus in their decisions seem to have a key function.     

A 3-D model of health decline: disease, disability, and depression among Black and White older adults

Much of the research on health decline in older adulthood has specified a single causal direction between two health domains, often measured at the same time point, making it difficult to disentangle the mechanisms of health decline over time. Using three waves of data over seven years from older residents of North Carolina, a 3-D model is used to examine the temporal ordering of general health decline and the pathways of influence across three health domains (disease, disability, and depression). In addition, we test whether the 3-D model of health decline is similar for Black and White older adults. Results indicate that both prevalent and incident disease lead to increases in depression and that prevalent disease leads to greater disability three years later. Depression, in turn, leads to disease, identifying a cycle of health decline that is, for the most part, similar for Black and White older adults. The effect of widowhood is more deleterious to the health of Black older adults than for their White counterparts.