De sociala missförhållanden som skilsmässor riskerar att orsaka påverkar samhället i stort, och innebär i förlängningen kostnader som samhället på ett eller annat sätt får bära. Syftet med uppsatsen är dels att analysera hur skilsmässor varierar över konjunkturcykeln i USA, men också undersöka hur faktorer som inkomst, barn och ekonomisk tillväxt påverkar sannolikheten för skilsmässa inom olika ålderskohorter. I denna analys jämförs kohorten födda år 1957–1964 med kohorten födda 1980–1984. Vidare studeras även om påverkan skiljer sig åt mellan kohorterna. Till analysen används data både på landnivå samt på individnivå i form av longitudinella data. För att besvara uppsatsens syfte görs korrelations- och regressionsanalyser. Resultat från data på landnivå visar att högre ekonomisk tillväxt är förenat med en ökning av antal skilsmässor. Resultat från analys av de två ålderskohorterna som ingår i analysen, visar att en ökning av årlig inkomst minskar sannolikheten för skilsmässa inom båda ålderskohorterna. Samma påverkan har det att skaffa ett barn, däremot så minskar sannolikheten för skilsmässa mer för varje ytterligare barn inom den äldre kohorten. Inom den yngre kohorten blir minskningen av sannolikheten mindre desto fler barn de skaffar, för att vid fyra barn i stället övergå till att öka sannolikheten för skilsmässa. En ökning av ekonomisk tillväxt påverkar kohorterna olika, där sannolikheten för skilsmässa ökar inom den äldre kohorten medan sannolikheten minskar inom den yngre kohorten. Konjunkturkänsligheten jämförs mellan de två kohorterna genom att analysera den ekonomiska tillväxtens påverkan på skilsmässor under en och samma tidsperiod. Resultat visar då att en ökad ekonomisk tillväxt minskar sannolikheten för skilsmässa inom båda kohorterna, med en något större minskning av sannolikheten för den äldre kohorten.

An important part of almost every student‟s high school experience is participation in an extracurricular activity. Many schools encourage their students to participate in these voluntary activities because they build skills that may not be taught in the classroom, but may be important in becoming successful in school and in the community. Extracurricular activities put students in leadership positions, teach them team work, and can instill a confidence in their abilities. Previous research has shown that participation in extracurricular activities in high school can affect labor market conditions and educational achievements, but few studies have differentiated the impacts of different types of extracurricular activities on earnings and educational attainment. This paper examines the academic and labor market effects of participating in a performing arts activity in high school. The arts are of particular interest because the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 lists it as a core academic course. The core courses are believed to increase the academic attainment of students, and are eligible for increased federal funding based on “scientifically-based research” (Arts Education Partnership, 2005; Arts Education Partnership, 2006, p. 4). A major problem in program evaluation is the possibility of selection bias due to the non-randomized way individuals self-select into activities. To reduce the bias, a treatment effects model is estimated using the covariate matching technique. I use the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) to test my hypotheses.

No description available.

Mixed results have been reported when body size is used to estimate the effect of health and nutritional status on worker productivity. This dissertation offers an alternative hypothesis that body composition rather than body size is responsible for the effects of health and nutritional status on worker productivity. Body fat is responsible for the poor health associated with obesity. Lean body mass is responsible for the superior performance associated with physical fitness. Studies using body size alone cannot distinguish the combined, but opposite effects, of body fat and lean body mass. A method is provided here that overcomes the lack of data for body composition. The clinical information available in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1988-94 (NHANES III) is used to estimate body composition for the survey participants in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY 1979). The inclusion of estimated body composition in the estimated wage equation shows that the effect of lean body mass on the wage rate is positive while the effect of body fat is negative. Estimated body composition is then used to examine the role of physical differences in the gender wage gap. The decomposition of the gender wage gap shows that most of the previously unexplained differences in wages between men and women can be attributed to the gender differences in body composition. The explanatory power of estimated body composition rises significantly with occupational physical strength requirements. This result suggests that estimated body composition is capturing occupational requirements previously omitted from the past studies. The findings presented in this dissertation indicate that body composition plays an important, though previously unidentified, role on wage determination. It is clear that capital investments in body composition yield economic dividends by impacting hourly wages of workers. Empirical studies that do not address differences in body composition risk obtaining biased results. Future public health policies should take into consideration the combined but opposite effects of body fat and lean body mass. It is not body size alone, but the compositional makeup of the human body, that public health policies may need to address.

This dissertation examines the effects of career interruptions on workers’ wages. In chapter four I examine whether controlling for the type of interruption differently affects men’s and women’s wages and therefore can be used to explain the remaining gender wage differences. The increased participation of married women in the labor force has increased their wages from just 30% of men’s wages in 1890 to nearly 80% as of 2001. Thus, although the gender wage gap has narrowed over time, it has yet to be eliminated. One argument for the persistence of the gender wage gap is that previously researchers have used poor measures of experience to estimate men’s and women’s wages. Although previous studies have made strides in measuring experience, including controls for the timing of work experience, the gender wage gap persists. I extend the wage-gap literature by including controls for the types of interruptions men and women encounter. Because they typically experience different types of interruptions, I examine whether the varying types affect wages differently. I control for the types of interruptions and find similar effects for men’s and women’s wages. My study shows that types of job interruptions do not explain the remaining wage differentials. The fifth chapter extends from the fourth chapter by including controls for all periods of unpaid leave from work. I examine whether wage differences exist between workers who return to their current employer post-interruption versus those who change employers post-interruption. I find differences in the wage effects from different types of unpaid leave for men and women. Chapter six extends from previous chapters by including controls for all periods of paid leave from work in addition to unpaid leaves from work. I examine whether depreciation effects occur when women spend time out of work but receive compensation through paid maternity leaves. I find no evidence that time out of work because of paid maternity leaves depreciates skills.

No description available.