Birth weight and family status revisited: evidence from Austrian register data

In this paper, we study the socio-economic determinants of birth weight with a focus on the mother’s family status. We use Austrian birth register data covering all births between 1984 and 2007 and find that a mother’s marriage is associated with a higher birth weight of the newborn in a range between 4 and 6 dekagrams. This result remains stable if we control for time-invariant unobserved mother heterogeneity. A divorce around pregnancy results in birth weight 2 to 8 dekagrams lower as compared to that of newborn babies of single mothers. The family status effects in the 2000s are stronger as they were in the 1980s. A quantile regression suggests that family effects are more pronounced at the lower quantiles of the birth weight distribution and diminish at higher percentiles. Finally, in accordance with several instrumental variable (IV) studies, we find that the significantly positive impact of family status on children’s health outcomes disappears if we confine our sample to mothers, who are below the age of 22 years. We conclude that social and financial stress may have an important influence on the birth weight of newborns, especially at the lower tail of the birth weight distribution.Low birth weight, family status, newborn health, fixed-effects estimations

Honesty on the Streets: A Natural Field Experiment on Newspaper Purchasing

A publisher uses an honor system for selling a newspaper in the street. The customers are supposed to pay, but they can also pay less than the price or not pay at all. We conduct an experiment to study honesty in this market. The results show that appealing to honesty increases payments, whereas reminding the customers of the legal norm has no effect. Furthermore, appealing to honesty does not affect the behavior of the dishonest. These findings suggest that some people have internalized an honesty norm, whereas others have not, and that the willingness to pay to obey the norm differs among individuals. In a follow-up survey study we find that honesty is associated with family characteristics, self-esteem, social connectedness, trust in the legal system, and compliance with tax regulations.honesty, internalized social norm, natural field experiment, survey

Birth weight and family status revisited: evidence from Austrian register data

In this paper, we study the socio-economic determinants of birth weight with a focus on the mother’s family status. We use Austrian birth register data covering all births between 1984 and 2007 and find that a mother’s marriage is associated with a higher birth weight of the newborn in a range between 4 and 6 dekagrams. This result remains stable if we control for time-invariant unobserved mother heterogeneity. A divorce around pregnancy results in birth weight 2 to 8 dekagrams lower as compared to that of newborn babies of single mothers. The family status effects in the 2000s are stronger as they were in the 1980s. A quantile regression suggests that family effects are more pronounced at the lower quantiles of the birth weight distribution and diminish at higher percentiles. Finally, in accordance with several instrumental variable (IV) studies, we find that the significantly positive impact of family status on children’s health outcomes disappears if we confine our sample to mothers, who are below the age of 22 years. We conclude that social and financial stress may have an important influence on the birth weight of newborns, especially at the lower tail of the birth weight distribution.Low birth weight, family status, newborn health, fixed-effects estimations

Proportionality of Willingness to Pay to Small Risk Changes – The Impact of Attitudinal Factors in Scope Tests

Sensitivity (proportionality) of willingness to pay to (small) risk changes is often used as a criterion to test for valid measures of economic preferences. In a contingent valuation (CV) study conducted in Austria in February 2005 1,005 respondents were asked their willingness to pay (WTP) for preventing an increase in risk by 1/42,500 and 3/42,500, respectively. WTP for the higher risk variation is significantly higher than WTP for the lower risk change. We find evidence that those respondents who have personal experience with avalanches combine the information about future risk increase, provided in the survey, with the observed number of mortal avalanche accidents in the past. The proportionality of WTP holds if such prior experiences are taken into account and the influence of attitudinal factors in scope tests are controlled for.Contingent Valuation, Willingness to Pay, Scope Test, Sensitivity of WTP

Dying in an Avalanche: Current Risks and Valuation

This paper examines the influence of implicit information associated with the occurrence of avalanches on willingness to pay (WTP) values for a risk prevention of dying in an avalanche. We present results of a contingent valuation (CV) study carried out in Austria in two different periods (fall 2004 and winter 2005). The comparison of WTP results between the two waves allows the identification whether the immediate occurrence of avalanches and their attendant deathly accidents affect individual risk evaluations. Surprisingly, individuals state a lower WTP in winter although avalanche accidents are predominant at that time. Personal responsibility of risk exposure and its associated voluntariness are main reasons for the decrease in WTP over time. Preferences for alternative protective measures (e.g. against car accidents or food poisoning) also lead to a decrease of WTP while a higher risk perception and personal experience with avalanches show a positive influence. We conclude that the change in WTP across seasons is not arbitrary but can be explained by specific risk characteristics. It follows that WTP is more robust as previously assumed and therefore represents a proper measure for the elicitation of individual risk reduction preferences.Contingent valuation, willingness to pay, risk prevention, risk perception

Dying in an Avalanche: Current risks and Valuation

This paper examines the influence of implicit information associated with the occurrence of avalanches on willingness to pay (WTP) values for a risk prevention of dying in an avalanche. We present results of a contingent valuation (CV) study carried out in Austria in two different periods (fall 2004 and winter 2005). The comparison of WTP results between the two waves allows the identification whether the immediate occurrence of avalanches and their attendant deathly accidents affect individual risk evaluations. Surprisingly, individuals state a lower WTP in winter although avalanche accidents are predominant at that time. Personal responsibility of risk exposure and its associated voluntariness are main reasons for the decrease in WTP over time. Preferences for alternative protective measures (e.g. against car accidents or food poisoning) also lead to a decrease of WTP while a higher risk perception and personal experience with avalanches show a positive influence. We conclude that the change in WTP across seasons is not arbitrary but can be explained by specific risk characteristics. It follows that WTP is more robust as previously assumed and therefore represents a proper measure for the elicitation of individual risk reduction preferences.D81, J17, Q51Contingent valuation, willingness to pay, risk prevention, risk perception

The fallacy of the Good Samaritan: Volunteering as a weird way of making money

This paper explores individual motives for volunteering: The analysis is based on the interpretation of volunteering as a consumption good (consumption model) or as a mean to increase individual’s own human capital (investment model). We present an econometric framework taking into account self selection into volunteering and simultaneity between the volunteering decision and the determination of income in order to test these two models and to identify the underlying motives. We find strong statistical evidence for the investment model with a highly robust and significant impact of volunteering on the wage rate. On average the wage premium as the difference in the wage rate between one person volunteering and not volunteering amounts up to 15.7 percent. Within the framework of the investment model it turns out that the number of volunteering hours plays a major role in explaining this wage premium. This supports the idea of volunteering as a mean to accumulate human capital and signalling willingness to perform. As far as the consumption model is concerned we find no convincing statistical evidence for its validity. The strong evidence for the investment model requires the consideration of voluntary activities in the estimation of wage equations. Moreover, we conclude that the existence of the wage premium is a decisive factor for people to volunteer or not and therefore reflects an important argument in the recruitment process of volunteers for several organisations.volunteering; voluntary labour supply; human capital accumulation; wage premium; altruism.

Volunteering and the State

This paper explores the capability of the state to affect the individual’s decision to work for free. For this purpose we combine individual-level data from the European and World Values Survey with macroeconomic and political variables for OECD member countries. Empirically we identify three channels for crowding out of voluntary labor. Firstly, an increase in public social expenditure decreases the probability that the individual will volunteer (fiscal crowding out). Secondly, a political consensus between individuals and the government also induces volunteers to reduce their unsalaried activities (consensual crowding out). And finally, the more a government supports democratization, the lower is the individual’s engagement (participatory crowding out). Religiosity and a more unequal income distribution in a country increase individuals’ willingness to volunteer.Volunteering, voluntary labor supply, private provision of public goods, public social expenditure, political consensus, democratization

Coasian payments for agricultural external benefits - an empirical cross-section analysis

This paper deals with a cross section analysis of local compensation payments to farmers for their provision of landscape amenities in alpine tourist communities. These payments can be interpreted as the outcomes of Coasian negotiations. Based on Austrian data we empirically identify the underlying determinants of the negotiating process. The probability for a positive negotiation outcome depends on politico-economic factors such as municipal revenues per resident and the share of votes for distinct parties in parliamentary elections. Whereas benefits associated with landscape amenities also play an important role transaction costs of bargaining are of minor relevance. If the variety of the countryside seems to be endangered tourist communities start compensating their farmers for landscape-enhancing activities. Local subsidy schemes supplement European Union and national policies in support of rural areas as they internalize positive agricultural externalities.Coase Theorem; Coasian payments; external benefits of agriculture; landscape-enhancing agricultural services

Volunteering and the State

This paper explores the capability of the state to affect the individual's decision to work for free. For this purpose we combine individual-level data from the European and World Values Survey with macroeconomic and political variables for OECD member countries. Empirically we identify three channels for crowding out of voluntary labor. Firstly, an increase in public social expenditure decreases the probability that the individual will volunteer (fiscal crowding out). Secondly, a political consensus between individuals and the government also induces volunteers to reduce their unsalaried activities (consensual crowding out). And finally, the more a government supports democratization, the lower is the individual's engagement (participatory crowding out). Religiosity and a more unequal income distribution in a country increase individuals’ willingness to volunteer.volunteering, voluntary labor supply, private provision of public goods, public social expenditure, political consensus, democratization