The Long-Term Effects of the Chernobyl Catastrophe on Subjective Well-Being and Mental Health

This paper assesses the long-term subjective well-being and mental health toll of the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 in the general Ukrainian population and estimates the monetary differential necessary to compensate victims of the catastrophe. The analysis is based on two nationally representative Ukrainian data sets and reveals that even 20 years after the accident subjective well-being is negatively associated with self-reported assessments of having been affected by the catastrophe. The causal long-term effect of the disaster on life satisfaction is established by exploiting variation in official radiation data which are linked to survey respondents through information on their place of living in 1986. We find higher depression and trauma rates as well as poorer subjective life expectancy among those stronger affected by Chernobyl. Expressed in monetary terms, the estimated amount of income required to compensate for the experienced utility loss amounts to an annual cost of seven percent of Ukraine's GDP.Chernobyl catastrophe, subjective well-being, mental health, instrumental variable

The Long-Run Consequences of Chernobyl: Evidence on Subjective Well-Being, Mental Health and Welfare

This paper assesses the long-run toll taken by a large-scale technological disaster on welfare, well-being and mental health. We estimate the causal effect of the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe after 20 years by linking geographic variation in radioactive fallout to respondents of a nationally representative survey in Ukraine according to their place of residence in 1986. The psychological effects of this nuclear disaster are large and persistent. More affected individuals exhibit poorer subjective well-being, higher depression rates and lower subjective survival probabilities; they rely more on governmental transfers as source of subsistence. We estimate the aggregate annual welfare loss at 6–8% of Ukraine’s GDP highlighting previously ignored externalities of large-scale catastrophes

Paid parental leave and children's schooling outcomes

This article investigates whether schooling outcomes at age 15 are affected by the duration of maternity leave, i.e. the time mothers spend at home with their new‐born before returning to work. We exploit an unanticipated reform in Austria which extended the maximum duration of paid and job protected parental leave from 12 to 24 months for births as of 1 July, 1990. Using PISA data from the cohorts 1990 and 1987, we find no significant overall impact of the parental leave extension on standardised test scores. However, subgroup analyses reveal strong heterogeneity by maternal education and child gender

Determinants Of Poverty During Transition: Household Survey Evidence From Ukraine

The paper analyzes the incidence, the severity and the determinants of household poverty in Ukraine during transition using two comparable surveys from 1996 and 2004. We measure poverty using income and consumption and contrast the effects of various poverty lines. Poverty in both periods follows some of the determinants commonly identified in the literature, including greater poverty among households with children and with less education. We also identify specific features of poverty in transition, including the relatively low importance of unemployment and the existence of poverty even among households with employment. Poverty determinants change over time in line with the experience of transition and restructuring.Poverty, Transition, Survey, Ukraine

Determinants of Poverty during Transition: Household Survey Evidence from Ukraine

The paper analyzes the incidence, the severity and the determinants of household poverty in Ukraine during transition using two comparable surveys from 1996 and 2004. We measure poverty using income and consumption and contrast the effects of various poverty lines. Poverty in both periods follows some of the determinants commonly identified in the literature, including greater poverty among households with children and with less education. We also identify specific features of poverty in transition, including the relatively low importance of unemployment and the existence of poverty even among households with employment. Poverty determinants change over time in line with the experience of transition and restructuring.poverty, transition, survey, Ukraine

Determinants of Poverty during Transition: Household Survey Evidence from Ukraine

The paper analyzes the incidence, the severity and the determinants of household poverty inUkraine during transition using two comparable surveys from 1996 and 2004. We measurepoverty using income and consumption and contrast the effects of various poverty lines.Poverty in both periods follows some of the determinants commonly identified in theliterature, including greater poverty among households with children and with less education.We also identify specific features of poverty in transition, including the relatively lowimportance of unemployment and the existence of poverty even among households withemployment. Poverty determinants change over time in line with the experience of transitionand restructuring.poverty, transition, survey, Ukraine

Determinants of Poverty during Transition: Household Survey Evidence from Ukraine

The paper analyzes the incidence, the severity and the determinants of household poverty in Ukraine during transition using two comparable surveys from 1996 and 2004. We measure poverty using income and consumption and contrast the effects of various poverty lines. Poverty in both periods follows some of the determinants commonly identified in the literature, including greater poverty among households with children and with less education. We also identify specific features of poverty in transition, including the relatively low importance of unemployment and the existence of poverty even among households with employment. Poverty determinants change over time in line with the experience of transition and restructuring. --poverty,transition,survey,Ukraine

Essays on Subjective Well-Being and Human Capital

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