Nobody Home: The Effect of Maternal Labor Force Participation on Long-Term Child Outcomes

We investigate how mother's employment during childhood affects long term child outcomes. We utilize rich longitudinal data from Norway covering the entire Norwegian population between the years 1970 to 2007. The data allows us to match all family members and to measure maternal labor force participation throughout the child's entire childhood. Our empirical approach exploits the variation in exposure to a working mother that exists across older and younger siblings in different family types. We compare sibling differences in families where the mother enters the labor force when the children are older and where the mother remains employed full time thereafter, to sibling differences in families where the mother remains out of the labor force during the entirety of her children's adolescent years. Our identification strategy is, therefore, in the spirit of traditional difference-in-differences, the first difference pertaining to the differences in children's ages within a family and the second pertaining to different family types. The analysis suggests that maternal labor force participation has significant and negative effects on years of education and labor market outcomes. However, the effects are small, which supports the notion that maternal labor force participation has, on average, a small effect on long-term outcomes for children

The Intergenerational Transfer of the Gender Gap in Labor Force Participation

Despite well-documented convergence during the later years of the 20th century, labor force attachment remains markedly higher for men than for women. The current paper employs rich longitudinal registry data to investigate the intergenerational transfer of the gender gap in labor force participation. We explore the extent that family- and community-level characteristics, measured in childhood, differentially predict the likelihood of employment for adult Norwegian men and women. Drawing on theories pertaining to the importance of information, skills and gender norms transfer, our empirical analysis demonstrates that a parsimonious set of family- and community-level characteristics can explain a substantial part of the gender gap. These results suggest that female labor force participation is constrained by the intergenerational transfer of beliefs and expectations about family and work

Impacts of Hospital Wait Time on Health and Labor Supply

We estimate the effects of wait time for orthopedic surgery on health and labor market outcomes of Norwegian workers. Our identification strategy exploits variation in wait times for surgery generated by the idiosyncratic variation in system congestion at the time of referral. While we find no significant evidence of lasting health effects, longer wait times have persistent negative effects on subsequent labor supply. For every 10 days spent waiting for surgery, we estimate health-related workplace absences increase 8.7 days over the five years following referral, and the likelihood of permanent disability insurance increases by 0.4 percentage point. Cost benefit calculations point to sizable fiscal savings from shorter wait time

The lost generation: Effects of youth labor market opportunities on longterm labor market outcomes

This study shows that local unemployment rates at the age of graduation from compulsory school and high-school have negative effects on males’ earnings, employment and disability pension when measured as late as age 35. Utilizing registry data for all Norwegian males born in 1959–1973, I demonstrate that local unemployment rates at the typical age of graduation from compulsory school (age 16) and high-school (age 19) have persistent, negative effects on males’ earnings, employment, and disability pension utilization when measured as late as age 35. With data on every male IQ, I study how labor market conditions at age of graduation have differential effects for low- and high-ability males. As one would expect, low-ability males are particularly vulnerable to business cycles at the time of labor market entry

The lost generation: Effects of youth labor market opportunities on longterm labor market outcomes

This study shows that local unemployment rates at the age of graduation from compulsory school and high-school have negative effects on males’ earnings, employment and disability pension when measured as late as age 35. Utilizing registry data for all Norwegian males born in 1959–1973, I demonstrate that local unemployment rates at the typical age of graduation from compulsory school (age 16) and high-school (age 19) have persistent, negative effects on males’ earnings, employment, and disability pension utilization when measured as late as age 35. With data on every male IQ, I study how labor market conditions at age of graduation have differential effects for low- and high-ability males. As one would expect, low-ability males are particularly vulnerable to business cycles at the time of labor market entry

Impacts of hospital wait time on patient health and labor supply

We estimate the effects of wait time for orthopedic surgery on health and labor market outcomes of Norwegian workers. Our identification strategy exploits variation in wait times for surgery generated by the idiosyncratic variation in system congestion at the time of referral. While we find no significant evidence of lasting health effects, longer wait times have persistent negative effects on subsequent labor supply. For every 10 days spent waiting for surgery, we estimate health-related workplace absences increase 8.7 days over the five years following referral, and the likelihood of permanent disability insurance increases by 0.4 percentage point. Cost benefit calculations point to sizable fiscal savings from shorter wait times

The intergenerational transfer of the employment gender gap

Despite well-documented convergence during the later years of the 20th century, labor market attachment remains markedly higher for men than for women. The current paper employs rich longitudinal registry data to investigate the intergenerational transfer of the gender gap in employment. We explore the extent that family- and community-level characteristics, measured in childhood, differentially predict employment for adult Norwegian men and women. Drawing on theories pertaining to the importance of information, skills and gender norms transfer, our empirical analysis demonstrates that a parsimonious set of family- and community-level characteristics can explain a substantial part of the gender gap. These results suggest that female employment continues to be influenced by the intergenerational transfer of beliefs and expectations about family and work.Norwegian Research Council (OF-10018)publishedVersio

Impacts of hospital wait time on patient health and labor supply

We estimate the effects of wait time for orthopedic surgery on health and labor market outcomes of Norwegian workers. Our identification strategy exploits variation in wait times for surgery generated by the idiosyncratic variation in system congestion at the time of referral. While we find no significant evidence of lasting health effects, longer wait times have persistent negative effects on subsequent labor supply. For every 10 days spent waiting for surgery, we estimate health-related workplace absences increase 8.7 days over the five years following referral, and the likelihood of permanent disability insurance increases by 0.4 percentage point. Cost benefit calculations point to sizable fiscal savings from shorter wait times.Research Council of Norway (grants #214338 and #227117) Western Norway Regional Health Authority research department at Stavanger University HospitapublishedVersio