The Impact of Universal Child Benefits on Family Health and Behaviours

In 2006, the Universal Child Care Benefit was introduced in Canada for all children aged less than 6 years. This program aims to help cover the cost of children and to provide financial assistance to families with young children in their choice of childcare. We exploit this policy change to estimate the effects of unconditional family cash transfers on the health and behaviours of two-parent families and their children. Using a difference-in-differences model, we find no evidence that the program improved child and parental outcomes in aggregate. A modest but fragile beneficial effect is found for low-education families and for girls

The Effect of Paid Parental Leave on Breastfeeding, Parental Health and Behavior

Little is known about the effects of paid parental leave (in particular fathers' quotas) on parental health and involvement. In this paper, we exploit a reform that took place in the Canadian province of Quebec to address that important topic. In 2006, Quebec opted out of the federal plan and established its own parental insurance plan, named the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP). This program has lowered the eligibility criteria, increased income replacement and introduced fathers' quotas. Using three data sets, we investigate the impact of the QPIP on breastfeeding and parental health and behavior. Our results show that the reform increased breastfeeding duration and parental involvement. Results also suggest that the policy had limited positive effects on parental health

The Effect of Paid Parental Leave on Breastfeeding, Parental Health and Behavior

Little is known about the effects of paid parental leave (in particular fathers' quotas) on parental health and involvement. In this paper, we exploit a reform that took place in the Canadian province of Quebec to address that important topic. In 2006, Quebec opted out of the federal plan and established its own parental insurance plan, named the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP). This program has lowered the eligibility criteria, increased income replacement and introduced fathers' quotas. Using three data sets, we investigate the impact of the QPIP on breastfeeding and parental health and behavior. Our results show that the reform increased breastfeeding duration and parental involvement. Results also suggest that the policy had limited positive effects on parental health

The Impact of Universal Child Benefits on Family Health and Behaviours

In 2006, the Universal Child Care Benefit was introduced in Canada for all children aged less than 6 years. This program aims to help cover the cost of children and to provide financial assistance to families with young children in their choice of childcare. We exploit this policy change to estimate the effects of unconditional family cash transfers on the health and behaviours of two-parent families and their children. Using a difference-in-differences model, we find no evidence that the program improved child and parental outcomes in aggregate. A modest but fragile beneficial effect is found for low-education families and for girls

Health Inequalities for Immigrants in Canada : Quebec versus the Rest of Canada

Little is known about immigrant health inequalities in Canada by province. To address this knowledge gap, we compare multiple health indicators among immigrants in Quebec, immigrants in the rest of Canada and Canadian-born individuals. The literature emphasizes that it is more difficult for immigrants in Quebec to integrate into the job market compared to immigrants in other Canadian provinces. There is an important link between the labour market situation of immigrants and their mental and physical health. Our results---obtained from data in the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)---show that well-being and health indicators worsen significantly for immigrants in Quebec compared to their counterparts in the rest of Canada and Canadian-born individuals. This is particularly true for mental health and life satisfaction

Health Disparities for Immigrants: Theory and Evidence from Canada

Few empirical studies have been conducted to analyse the disparities in health variables affecting immigrants in a given country. To our knowledge, no theoretical analysis has been conducted to explain health disparities for immigrants between regions in the same country that differs in term of languages spoken and income. In this paper, we use the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) to compare multiple health measures among immigrants in Quebec, immigrants in the rest of Canada and Canadian-born individuals. We propose a simple structural model and conduct an empirical analysis in order to assess possible channels that can explain the health disparities for immigrants between two regions of the same country. Our results show that well-being and health indicators worsen significantly for immigrants in Quebec, compared to their counterparts in the rest of Canada and Canadian-born individuals. Additional econometric analysis also shows that life satisfaction is statistically and significantly associated with health outcomes. The proposed structural model predicts that, when the decision to migrate to a particular area is based on income alone, and if the fixed costs associated with the language barrier are large, immigrants may face health issues

Polygyny, Child Education, Health and Labour: Theory and Evidence from Mali

In this paper, we use the Demographic and Health Survey conducted in Mali to compare children in polygynous families and their counterparts in monogamous families. We also analyse the link between the mothers' order of marriage and their children's outcomes. We finally propose a theoretical model to rationalise our findings. Our results show that children in polygynous families are less enrolled in school, progress less at school and do less domestic household work compared to children from monogamous families. For polygynous families, we found that educational enrolment and progress of children of the first wife are higher than that of children of the second and subsequent wives. Moreover, weight-for-height and body mass index are both lower for children of first wives compared to children of second and subsequent wives. Children of first wives work more at home compared to children of second and subsequent wives. Our theoretical model predicts that if fathers discriminate against their first wives and if effort at school is positively correlated to the father's discrimination, then, on average, children of first wives will perform better at school but will consume less and will have a lower health outcomes compared to children of second wive

Polygyny, Child Education, Health and Labour: Theory and Evidence from Mali

In this paper, we use the Demographic and Health Survey conducted in Mali to compare children in polygynous families and their counterparts in monogamous families. We also analyse the link between the mothers' order of marriage and their children's outcomes. We finally propose a theoretical model to rationalise our findings. Our results show that children in polygynous families are less enrolled in school, progress less at school and do less domestic household work compared to children from monogamous families. For polygynous families, we found that educational enrolment and progress of children of the first wife are higher than that of children of the second and subsequent wives. Moreover, weight-for-height and body mass index are both lower for children of first wives compared to children of second and subsequent wives. Children of first wives work more at home compared to children of second and subsequent wives. Our theoretical model predicts that if fathers discriminate against their first wives and if effort at school is positively correlated to the father's discrimination, then, on average, children of first wives will perform better at school but will consume less and will have a lower health outcomes compared to children of second wive

Health Disparities for Immigrants: Theory and Evidence from Canada

Few empirical studies have been conducted to analyse the disparities in health variables affecting immigrants in a given country. To our knowledge, no theoretical analysis has been conducted to explain health disparities for immigrants between regions in the same country that differs in term of languages spoken and income. In this paper, we use the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) to compare multiple health measures among immigrants in Quebec, immigrants in the rest of Canada and Canadian-born individuals. We propose a simple structural model and conduct an empirical analysis in order to assess possible channels that can explain the health disparities for immigrants between two regions of the same country. Our results show that well-being and health indicators worsen significantly for immigrants in Quebec, compared to their counterparts in the rest of Canada and Canadian-born individuals. Additional econometric analysis also shows that life satisfaction is statistically and significantly associated with health outcomes. The proposed structural model predicts that, when the decision to migrate to a particular area is based on income alone, and if the fixed costs associated with the language barrier are large, immigrants may face health issues