Fertility and Women’s Education in the UK: A Cohort Analysis

Against a background of falling and low fertility, this paper presents an analysis of trends in fertility in the UK across cohorts born between 1935 and 1975. The decline in fertility is shown to have two distinct phases – first, a fall in third and higher-order births (affecting cohorts born 1935-45) and second, a delay in childbearing and a rise in childlessness (affecting cohorts born since 1945). The delay in childbearing and rise in childlessness cannot all be explained by the rise in female participation in higher education, rather there has been increasing polarization in fertility and employment by education.cohort fertility trends, education

GEEQBOX: A MATLAB Toolbox for Generalized Estimating Equations and Quasi-Least Squares

The GEEQBOX toolbox analyzes correlated data via the method of generalized estimating equations (GEE) and quasi-least squares (QLS), an approach based on GEE that overcomes some limitations of GEE that have been noted in the literature. GEEQBOX is currently able to handle correlated data that follows a normal, Bernoulli or Poisson distribution, and that is assumed to have an AR(1), Markov, tri-diagonal, equicorrelated, unstructured or working independence correlation structure. This toolbox is for use with MATLAB.

Does welfare reform affect fertility? Evidence from the UK

In 1999 the UK government made major reforms to the system of child-contingent benefits, including the introduction of Working Families' Tax Credit and an increase in means-tested Income Support for families with children. Between 1999-2003 government spending per-child on these benefits rose by 50 per cent in real terms, a change that was unprecedented over a thirty year period. This paper examines whether there was a response in childbearing. To identify the effect of the reforms, we exploit the fact that the spending increases were targeted at low-income households and we use the (exogenously determined) education of the woman and her partner to define treatment and control groups. We argue that the reforms are most likely to have a positive fertility effect for women in couples and show that this is the case. We find that there was an increase in births (by around 15 per cent) among the group affected by the reforms.Welfare reform; fertility; Working Families Tax Credit

Does Welfare Reform Affect Fertility? Evidence from the UK

This paper presents evidence on the fertility effect of welfare from a set of reforms that took place in the UK in 1999 and that substantially increased support for poorer families with children. The reforms, including the introduction of the Working Families Tax Credit and an increase in means-tested income support, raised benefits by up to 10 per cent of household income. We exploit the fact that the reforms were targeted on low-income households and use a differences-in-differences approach to evaluate their impact on fertility. A priori, the fertility effect of the reforms is ambiguous because WFTC has pro-employment effects. In practice, these are more important for lone mothers and we therefore focus on women in couples where we expect the reforms to have a positive effect on births. We find that the reforms raised the probability of birth among women in couples by around 10 per cent (implying an elasticity of 0.22). In line with previous work, the effect is greatest for first births.Welfare reform, Fertility, Working Families Tax Credit

GEEQBOX: A MATLAB Toolbox for Generalized Estimating Equations and Quasi-Least Squares

The GEEQBOX toolbox analyzes correlated data via the method of generalized estimating equations (GEE) and quasi-least squares (QLS), an approach based on GEE that overcomes some limitations of GEE that have been noted in the literature. GEEQBOX is currently able to handle correlated data that follows a normal, Bernoulli or Poisson distribution, and that is assumed to have an AR(1), Markov, tri-diagonal, equicorrelated, unstructured or working independence correlation structure. This toolbox is for use with MATLAB

How important is pro-social behaviour in the delivery of public services?

A number of papers have posited that there is a relationship between institutional structure and pro-social behaviour, in particular donated labour, in the delivery of public services, such as health, social care and education. However, there has been very little empirical research that attempts to measure whether such a relationship exists in practice. This is the aim of this paper. Including a robust set of individual and job-specific controls, we find that individuals in the non-profit sector are significantly more likely to donate their labour, measured by unpaid overtime, than those in the for-profit sector. We can reject that this difference is simply due to implicit contracts or social norms. We find some evidence that individuals differentially select into the non-profit and for-profit sectors according to whether they donate their labour.pro-social behaviour; public services; donated labour; motivation

Measuring abortion stigma in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand: the development, adaptation, and validation of multiple individual-level instruments

The stigmatisation of abortion is a pervasive influence on the prohibiting, threatening, and undermining of quality abortion care. In Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ) abortion stigma impacts abortion care quality, including the experiences of accessing, providing, and supporting abortion. Although there are qualitative reports of how abortion stigma is experienced in ANZ, quantitative details are scant. This thesis aimed to address gaps in quantifying abortion stigma in ANZ. To understand how to best measure abortion stigma in ANZ, we conducted a systematic review of approaches quantifying abortion stigma globally. No instrument measuring abortion stigma in ANZ was found. The Individual Level Abortion Stigma scale (ILAS) and Abortion Providers Stigma Scale – Revised (APSS-R) have the most robust psychometric properties according to rigorous guidelines for evaluating measurement properties. The ILAS and APSS-R measure individual level abortion stigma. Through qualitative inquiry, the ILAS and APSS-R were reviewed for use in ANZ and their appropriateness for measuring stigmatisation of people, groups, and organisations supporting abortion care in ANZ. Four instruments measuring individual-level abortion stigma in ANZ were generated for: A) people who have had an abortion; B) people who provide abortion related care; C) people who publicly support abortion; and, D) groups/organisations supporting and/or providing abortion care. The four ANZ instruments were revised by representatives of the relevant end-user groups. Through an online survey, the instruments have been psychometrically tested for Australia demonstrating validity and reliability. These instruments can improve our understanding of abortion stigma and the evaluation of interventions addressing abortion stigma. Future co-designed research should explore the role of research in stigmatising abortion, revise the instruments for specific subgroups, and explore short form versions of the instruments