Identification and estimation of household production models

Estimation;Consumer Choice;econometrics

Health and Work of the Elderly: Subjective Health Measures, Reporting Errors and the Endogenous Relationship Between Health and Work

In empirical studies of retirement decisions of the elderly, health is often found to have a large, if not dominant, effect. Depending on which health measures are used, these estimated effects may be biased estimates of the causal effect of health on the dependent variable(s).Research indicates that subjective, self-assessed health measures may be affected by endogenous reporting behaviour and even if an objective health measure is used, it is not likely to be strictly exogenous to labour market status or labour income. Health and labour market variables will be correlated because of unobserved individual-specific characteristics (e.g., investments in human capital and health capital). Moreover, one's labour market status may be expected to have a (reverse) causal effect on current and future health. In this paper we analyse the relative importance of these endogeneity and measurement issues in the context of a model of early retirement decisions. We state assumptions under which we can use relatively simple methods to assess the relative importance of state dependent reporting errors in individual responses to health questions. The estimation results indicate that among respondents receiving disability insurance allowance, reporting errors are large and systematic and that therefore using these measures in retirement models may seriously bias the parameter estimates and the conclusions drawn from these. We furthermore found that health deteriorates with work and that the two variables are endogenously related.

Evaluation of Dutch election programs: The impact of parameter uncertainty

Shortly before the national elections in the Netherlands, the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) evaluates the economic effects of the policy proposals in election programs. This paper investigates the sensitivity of this analysis to the uncertainty of parameter estimates in the economic models that are used. For this purpose, a Monte Carlo analysis of five election programs is performed, using a core version of one of the CPB models. We find that the range of projected outcomes is surprisingly small. Nonetheless, caution remains needed, especially when the estimated effects of different parties are roughly similar.Model simulation; policy evaluation; parameter uncertainty; CGE models

To hum or not to hum: analyzing and provoking sound production in the American lobster (Homarus americanus)

American lobsters (Homarus americanus) produce humming sounds by vibrating their carapace. These sounds have a fundamental frequency on the order of 100 Hz, with multiple higher harmonics. Though I found no relationship between lobster carapace length and hum frequency, I observed sounds similarly structured to hums but with frequencies an order of magnitude higher, suggesting that lobsters may use a wider range of sounds than previously thought. Using laser vibrometry, I was able to pick up high frequencies of carapace vibration that were similar to those I observed on sound recordings. Lobsters seem to hum most readily when approached from above, but many studies have found it difficult to reliably find soniferous lobsters. To find a way to reliably evoke sound production in American lobsters without contributing to the sound environment, lobsters were exposed to overhead abstract visual stimuli on a screen, after which their behavioral reactions were recorded, as well as any sound production in response to the stimulus. Lobsters responded to the screen stimulus with the same types of behaviors with which they responded to general overhead physical stimuli. This study demonstrates that American lobsters may produce high-pitched sounds and that abstract visual cues can be used as a silent tool to elicit lobster behaviors, but not sound production

Performance Related Pay and Labor Productivity

This paper uses information from a panel of Dutch firms to investigate the labor productivity effects of performance related pay (PRP).We find that PRP increases labor productivity at the firm level with about 9%.labour productivity;performance related pay

Health and Work of the Elderly

This paper aims to exp1ore the interre1ation between hea1th and work decisions of e1der1y workers, taking the various ways in which hea1th and work can influence each other exp1icitly into account. For this, two issues are of re1evance. Se1f-assessed health measures are usually at hand in empiricalanalyses and research indicates that these may be affected by endogenous, state dependent, reporting behaviour. Furthermore, even if an objective health measure is used, it is not likely to be strictly exogenous to labour market status or labour income. Health and labour market variables are correlatedbecause of unobserved individual-specific characteristics (e.g., investments in human capital and health capital). Moreover, one's labour rnarket status is expected to have a (reverse) causal effect on health. A solution to the 'Health and Retirement Nexus' requires an integrated model for work decisions, health production and health reporting mechanisms. We formulate such a model andestirnate it on a longitudinal dataset of Dutch elderly