The Pitfalls of Using a Child Support Schedule Based on Outdated Data

A strong rationale for updating child support guidelines arises from changes over time in the measurement of expenditures on children, as well as changes in the empirical relationship between expenditures on children and the income of parents. Such changes affect the accuracy of the numerics upon which states' child support guidelines are based. This study evaluates an alternative child support guideline that was proposed for Virginia and draws lessons for other states that similarly base their guidelines on older survey data. Regression results show that over time, the child expenditure and household income relationship has changed considerably. Furthermore, the largest increases in expenditures attributable to children have occurred for lower- and middle-income households

Gender Differences in Socioeconomic Status and Health: Evidence from the 2008 Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey

The study provides new evidence on gender differences in educational attainment, labor market status, health status, and land titling in Vietnam. Up-to-date statistical evidence on household well-being in Vietnam is particularly important given the heavy weight the government has placed on meeting the needs of vulnerable members of the population, reducing overall poverty, and improving societal well-being. Vietnam’s government has placed priority emphasis on achieving gender equality in the 2006 Law on Gender Equality. One of the major themes addressed in this report is Vietnam’s demonstrated progress in achieving social development targets. The study also identifies a few areas where female outcomes lag those of men, and suggests policies that might help to reduce the observed gaps.

Impact of the 2008-2009 Food, Fuel, and Financial Crisis On the Philippine Labor Market

This study examines how the 2008-2009 surges in international food and fuel prices and coinciding global financial crisis impacted the Philippine labor market, with a focus on gendered outcomes. A battery of descriptive statistics and probit regressions based on repeated cross sections of the Philippine Labor Force Survey indicate that both men and women experienced declines in the likelihood of employment, especially in 2008 and in manufacturing. While men’s job losses were limited to wage employment, women lost job opportunities in wage- and self-employment, and they experienced increases in unpaid family work. Real wages fell for men and women, with much of the decline at the upper tails of the wage distribution. If one considers education as a proxy for skill, results suggest that unskilled workers were affected most adversely when the crisis began, especially in terms of employment losses, but as the crisis conditions wore on, skilled workers experienced negative impacts as well, especially in terms of real wage cuts.

War and women's work : evidence from the conflict in Nepal

This paper examines how Nepal's 1996-2006 civil conflict affected women's decisions to engage in employment. Using three waves of the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey, the authors employ a difference-in-difference approach to identify the impact of war on women's employment decisions. The results indicate that as a result of the Maoist-led insurgency, women's employment probabilities were substantially higher in 2001 and 2006 relative to the outbreak of war in 1996. These employment results also hold for self-employment decisions, and they hold for smaller sub-samples that condition on husband's migration status and women's status as widows or household heads. Numerous robustness checks of the difference-in-difference estimates based on alternative empirical methods provide compelling evidence that women's likelihood of employment increased as a consequence of the conflict.Population Policies,Rural Poverty Reduction,Labor Markets,Regional Economic Development,Gender and Law

War and Women’s Work: Evidence from the Conflict in Nepal

In a study of the effect of war on women’s work, this paper examines how Nepal’s 1996-2006 civil conflict affected women’s decisions to engage in employment. Using three waves of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey, we employ a difference-in-difference approach to identify the impact of war on women’s employment decisions. Results indicate that as a result of the Maoist-led insurgency, women’s employment probabilities were substantially higher in 2001 and 2006 relative to the outbreak of war in 1996. These employment results also hold for self-employment decisions, and they hold for smaller sub-samples that condition on husband’s migration status and women’s status as widows or household heads. Robustness checks of the difference-in-difference estimates based on alternative empirical methods provide substantial evidence that women’s likelihood of employment increased as a consequence of the conflict.

Impact of the 2008-2009 Food, Fuel, and Financial Crisis on the Philippine Labor Market

This study examines how the 2008-2009 surges in international food and fuel prices and coinciding global financial crisis impacted the Philippine labor market, with a focus on gendered outcomes. A battery of descriptive statistics and probit regressions based on repeated cross sections of the Philippine Labor Force Survey indicate that both men and women experienced declines in the likelihood of employment, especially in 2008 and in manufacturing. While men's job losses were limited to wage employment, women lost job opportunities in wage- and self-employment, and they experienced increases in unpaid family work. Real wages fell for men and women, with much of the decline at the upper tails of the wage distribution. If one considers education as a proxy for skill, results suggest that unskilled workers were affected most adversely when the crisis began, especially in terms of employment losses, but as the crisis conditions wore on, skilled workers experienced negative impacts as well, especially in terms of real wage cuts.crises, Philippines, women, labor market

A reversal of fortune for Korean women : explaining the 1983 upward turn in relative earnings

Between 1971 and 1983, Korea's mean gender earnings ration remained virtually stagnant at 47 percent. But after 1983, the earnings ration took a distinct turn upward. In other words, not until after 1983 did Korean women make any progress in closing the gender-earnings gap. when controlling for education, the analysis reveals a surprising drop in relative earning across education groups in the 1970s and early 1980s, and a recover thereafter. The author uses an extremely rich set of microdata (suitable for decomposition) to explain the trends in Korea's earnings differential. Results indicate that most of the 1983 reversal is attributable to a strong compression in market returns to skills and to narrowing gender differences in education and experience. The widening gender earnings differential across education groups before 1983 resulted primarily from a growing gender gap in unobserved characteristics. Growing gender differences in unmeasured ability or increased wage discrimination could explain this trend. After 1983, women with high school education or less benefit primarily from a dramatic narrowing in the economy's distribution of market payoffs to skills, enough for women to begin to catch up to men relative earnings. A compression in the return to skills helped only some groups. Women with college educations did not experience increased benefits from changes in the market payoff to skills. Stricter enforcement of Korea's equal-pay-for-equal-work provision could help reduce the outright discrimination against women workers that might be the underlying problem. By boosting the potential of Korea's female labor force, stronger enforcement of Korea's equal opportunity provisions would improve the country's economic productivity.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Public Health Promotion,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Gender and Development,Primary Education,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Primary Education,Educational Sciences,Anthropology

The debate on labor standards and international trade: Lessons from Cambodia and Bangladesh

This study examines the status and enforcement of labor standards in two Asian economies (Cambodia and Bangladesh) that are experiencing strong pressures to cut labor costs and improve the price competitiveness of their textile and garment exports. Analysis of survey, interview, and compliance data indicate differing trajectories in compliance with basic labor standards. While problems persist in Bangladesh, compliance has improved in Cambodia following a trade agreement with the United States that linked positive trade incentives with labor standards enforcement. These contrasting experiences suggest that trade-linked schemes can achieve improvements in labor standards without hindering export growth or job growth

Engendering development strategies and macroeconomic policies: What's Sound and Sensible?

This paper takes stock of the project on engendering macroeconomic theory and policies. We present an overview of feminist arguments and methodologies by focusing on the feminist critiques of neoliberal policies, key debates on conceptualization and measurement of wellbeing, methodologies for gender-aware analysis and the empirical evidence on gendered effects of development strategies and their component policies. We examine the gendered impacts of neoliberal reforms by using two approaches: a country case-study approach and a specific reform-focused evaluation of the theoretical predictions and empirical evidence

Options for enforcing labor standards: Lessons from Bangladesh and Cambodia

This study examines labor standards enforcement and compliance in two Asian economies (Bangladesh and Cambodia) that have amongst the lowest labor costs in the world but are experiencing strong pressures to improve the price competitiveness of their textile and garment exports. Analysis of survey, focus group, and inspection data indicate differing trajectories in compliance with basic labor standards. While extremely low wages and poor working conditions have persisted in Bangladesh, compliance has begun to improve in Cambodia following a trade agreement with the United States that linked positive trade incentives with labor standards enforcement. These contrasting experiences suggest that in less developed countries governments consider trade-linked schemes to achieve improvements in working conditions without hindering export growth or job growth