Trends in shotgun marriages: the pill, the will or the cost?

This paper examines the evolution of out-of-wedlock conceptions and births over the last four decades. Increases in conception outside of marriage only partially account for increases in the illegitimacy rate: controlling for age at pregnancy, being born one year later increases the probability of being single at first conception by 0.9 percentage points, while the probability of being single at first birth rises by 0.5 additional percentage points. The incidence of shotgun (postconception) marriage among those conceiving out of wedlock decreased sharply, but the rate is not affected by the level of planning of the pregnancy nor is driven by non-users of modern contraception. However, women in marriage markets (defined by race, religion, and age) with high modern contraceptive use and who conceive outside marriage are less likely to give birth out of wedlock. The trend over time is significantly steeper when the level of modern contraceptive use in the woman's market is considered, suggesting that the spread of the pill contributed to reduce the rate of increase of out-of-wedlock motherhood

Personality influences individual productivity and wages

Personality has become increasingly important in personnel recruitment, write Maria Cubel, Ana Nuevo-Chiquero, Santiago Sanchez-Pages and Marian Vidal-Fernande

Parental ethnic identity and child test scores

We examine the relationship between parental ethnic identity and the test scores of ethnic minority children. We use standard survey measures of the strength of parental identity alongside validated cognitive test scores in a rich British cohort study. We show that children whose mothers report either an adoption or an active rejection of the majority identity tend to score lower in cognitive tests at age 7, compared to those children whose mothers report neutral feelings about the majority identity. We find no consistent differences in test scores according to mothers’ minority identity. Our findings provide no support for education or citizenship policies which promote the adoption of the majority identity or discourage the maintenance of separate identities in ethnic minority communities

To Pill or not to Pill? Access to Emergency Contraception and Contraceptive Behaviour

We examine the effects of free-of-charge availability of emergency contraception on contraceptive behaviour in Chile. Using a survey of individuals 15 to 29, we exploit variation in availability at the municipality level as a consequence of legal and judicial decisions in the late 2000s. We find an increase in the use of emergency contraception in municipalities in which it was available through the public health system, but also an increase in the use of other methods of hormonal, pre-coital contraception, and a decrease of more traditional contraceptive methods. This effect is concentrated among groups with a low starting use of contraceptives, who may benefit from the contact with the health services. Unlike previous results for developed countries, our results indicate that there is scope for an effect of emergency contraception in settings with low starting levels of contraceptive use, and a significant potential for policies to increase adoption of regular contraception.We are grateful to Isabel Jacas for excellent research assistance, as well as to participants in seminars and conferences in University of Sheffield, University of Edinburgh, ESPE, SAEe, and SMYE. Funding from the Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (CONICYT/FONDAP/15130009) is greatly acknowledged. This research was approved by the University of Chile Institutional Review Board on October 24, 2018. All remaining errors are our ow

To pill or not to pill? access to emergency contraception and contraceptive behaviour

We examine the effects of free-of-charge availability of emergency contraception on contraceptive behaviour in Chile. Using a survey of individuals 15 to 29, we exploit variation in availability at the municipality level as a consequence of legal and judicial decisions in the late 2000s. We find an increase in the use of emergency contraception in municipalities in which it was available through the public health system, but also an increase in the use of other methods of hormonal, pre-coital contraception, and a decrease of more traditional contraceptive methods. This effect is concentrated among groups with a low starting use of contraceptives, who may benefit from the contact with the health services. Unlike previous results for developed countries, our results indicate that there is scope for an effect of emergency contraception in settings with low starting levels of contraceptive use, and a significant potential for policies to increase adoption of regular contraception.We are grateful to Isabel Jacas for excellent research assistance, as well as to participants in seminars and conferences in University of Sheffield, University of Edinburgh, ESPE, SAEe, and SMYE. Funding from the Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (CONICYT/FONDAP/15130009) is greatly acknowledged. This research was approved by the University of Chile Institutional Review Board on October 24, 2018. All remaining errors are our ow

Do personality traits affect productivity? Evidence from the Laboratory

While survey data supports a strong relationship between personality and labor market outcomes, the exact mechanisms behind this association remain unexplored. In this paper, we take advantage of a controlled laboratory set-up to explore whether this relationship operates through productivity. Using a real-e ort task, we analyse the impact of the Big Five personality traits on performance. We nd that more neurotic subjects perform worse, and that more conscientious individuals perform better. These ndings are in line with previous survey studies and suggest that at least part of the e ect of personality on labor market outcomes operates through individual productivity. In addition, we nd evidence that gender and university major a ect the impact of the Big Five personality traits on performance

Do personality traits affect productivity? Evidence from the Laboratory

While survey data supports a strong relationship between personality and labor market outcomes, the exact mechanisms behind this association remain unexplored. In this paper, we take advantage of a controlled laboratory set-up to explore whether this relationship operates through productivity. Using a real-e ort task, we analyse the impact of the Big Five personality traits on performance. We nd that more neurotic subjects perform worse, and that more conscientious individuals perform better. These ndings are in line with previous survey studies and suggest that at least part of the e ect of personality on labor market outcomes operates through individual productivity. In addition, we nd evidence that gender and university major a ect the impact of the Big Five personality traits on performance