Publications
The Differential Effect of Childbirth on Men’s and Women’s Careers, Labour Economics, 2022
Recipient of the Regional Science Association Best Paper Award for Doctoral Student Research, 2021
Recipient of the Berglas prize for Doctoral Student Research, 2021
Recipient of the Regional Science Association Best Paper Award for Doctoral Student Research, 2021
Recipient of the Berglas prize for Doctoral Student Research, 2021
Abstract
This paper studies the impact of first childbirth on parents’ labour supply and life satisfaction as a function
of their pre-birth earnings. My contribution is to examine how childbearing differentially affects men and women according to their relative role within the household before childbirth. Using data from Germany and a quasi-experimental approach based on event studies around first childbirth, I find that the negative impact of children on women’s labour-market outcomes is significant and persistent regardless of their relative potential earnings before childbirth. In contrast, men tend to increase their earnings and employment rates after childbirth but only in households where women were primary breadwinners pre-birth. I also find that in these households, after childbirth, men invest more time in childcare and less in leisure activities whereas women invest more time in housework relative to men breadwinners households. Correspondingly, both spouses report a decrease in their housework satisfaction while men become dissatisfied with work and leisure.
This paper studies the impact of first childbirth on parents’ labour supply and life satisfaction as a function
of their pre-birth earnings. My contribution is to examine how childbearing differentially affects men and women according to their relative role within the household before childbirth. Using data from Germany and a quasi-experimental approach based on event studies around first childbirth, I find that the negative impact of children on women’s labour-market outcomes is significant and persistent regardless of their relative potential earnings before childbirth. In contrast, men tend to increase their earnings and employment rates after childbirth but only in households where women were primary breadwinners pre-birth. I also find that in these households, after childbirth, men invest more time in childcare and less in leisure activities whereas women invest more time in housework relative to men breadwinners households. Correspondingly, both spouses report a decrease in their housework satisfaction while men become dissatisfied with work and leisure.
Work in Progress
Information Barriers and the Earned Income Tax Credit
Recipient of the the Israeli Industrial Relations Research Association Best Paper Award, 2022
Recipient of the the Israeli Industrial Relations Research Association Best Paper Award, 2022
Abstract
This paper examines whether receiving Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) encourages individuals to stay employed the following year and whether it improves their earnings. In Israel, individuals are eligible for the EITC benefit only if they have a child. However, the child’s birth year affects when the eligibility actually begins. Thus, the first child’s date of birth introduces a variation in the timing of exposure to the EITC. Using a regression discontinuity design, I compare the labor market outcomes of parents whose first child was born just before January 1st making them eligible for EITC one year earlier, and parents whose first child was born just after January 1st, thus eligible for EITC only the following year. To mitigate potential concerns related to seasonality, I incorporate a cohort of parents whose first child was born before implementing the EITC. I then estimate the effects utilizing a difference-in-differences regression discontinuity research design. My findings indicate that receiving EITC leads individuals to work more months and earn more. It also increased their probability of receiving EITC the following year. However, I did not find a significant effect on their probability of employment.
This paper examines whether receiving Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) encourages individuals to stay employed the following year and whether it improves their earnings. In Israel, individuals are eligible for the EITC benefit only if they have a child. However, the child’s birth year affects when the eligibility actually begins. Thus, the first child’s date of birth introduces a variation in the timing of exposure to the EITC. Using a regression discontinuity design, I compare the labor market outcomes of parents whose first child was born just before January 1st making them eligible for EITC one year earlier, and parents whose first child was born just after January 1st, thus eligible for EITC only the following year. To mitigate potential concerns related to seasonality, I incorporate a cohort of parents whose first child was born before implementing the EITC. I then estimate the effects utilizing a difference-in-differences regression discontinuity research design. My findings indicate that receiving EITC leads individuals to work more months and earn more. It also increased their probability of receiving EITC the following year. However, I did not find a significant effect on their probability of employment.
Public Preschool and the Next Birth [working title] (with Analia Schlosser)
Abstract
We examine how economic incentives in the form of free universal preschool affect fertility decisions, leveraging the fact that the year in which a child starts preschool is a discontinuous function of the child’s date of birth. Using a regression discontinuity design, we compare fertility patterns of women whose children were born just before or after the preschool entry cutoff date. We use another source of exogenous variation, a change in Israel’s preschool entry cutoff, to address potential seasonality concerns. Adding a cohort of women who gave birth within the same time window before the cutoff change, we estimate the effects using a difference-in-differences regression discontinuity research design. We find that access to free universal preschool shortens intervals between births and increases the likelihood of having additional children. Censoring issues prevent us from fully estimating the effect on completed fertility. Nevertheless, auxiliary indicators suggest that access to free universal preschool induces additional births. Therefore, our findings indicate an abbreviated interval between children and an increase in total fertility.
We examine how economic incentives in the form of free universal preschool affect fertility decisions, leveraging the fact that the year in which a child starts preschool is a discontinuous function of the child’s date of birth. Using a regression discontinuity design, we compare fertility patterns of women whose children were born just before or after the preschool entry cutoff date. We use another source of exogenous variation, a change in Israel’s preschool entry cutoff, to address potential seasonality concerns. Adding a cohort of women who gave birth within the same time window before the cutoff change, we estimate the effects using a difference-in-differences regression discontinuity research design. We find that access to free universal preschool shortens intervals between births and increases the likelihood of having additional children. Censoring issues prevent us from fully estimating the effect on completed fertility. Nevertheless, auxiliary indicators suggest that access to free universal preschool induces additional births. Therefore, our findings indicate an abbreviated interval between children and an increase in total fertility.
