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on Economics of Happiness |
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Issue of 2010‒07‒17
four papers chosen by |
| By: | Kristin Turney (University of Michigan) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being survey (N = 2,427) to examine the association between the chronicity and timing of maternal depression and child well-being. Maternal depression, particularly chronic depression, is linked to internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors in children, and children have worse behaviors when mothers report proximate depression. Children of depressed and nondepressed mothers have similar cognitive outcomes. Results also suggest that boys are more vulnerable to maternal depression than girls, and that socioeconomic advantage does not buffer children from the consequences of maternal depression. Given that impairments in early childhood may place children on disadvantaged life course trajectories, early intervention and treatment of depressed mothers may help ameliorate social disparities. |
| Keywords: | depression; development or outcomes; Fragile Families and Child Well-being; intergenerational transmission; transition to parenthood |
| JEL: | J12 J15 I00 D13 D63 |
| Date: | 2010–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pri:crcwel:1233&r=hap |
| By: | Marah A. Curtis (Boston University); Amanda B. Geller (Columbia University) |
| Abstract: | This article examines housing insecurity among an understudied population: urban fathers of young children. Housing security is of particular importance for vulnerable populations, and urban fathers, many of whom face unemployment and monitoring from the child support and criminal justice systems, often rely on this security to mitigate the socioeconomic challenges they face. By assessing the extent and type of housing insecurity affecting urban fathers, we identify a potentially serious source of disadvantage facing families more broadly. A year after the birth of a new child, fully a quarter of fathers reported significant housing insecurities with 3% experiencing homelessness. Results suggest that from 9 – 12% of fathers are doubling up, relying on others for living expenses, and moving more than once every year. Finally, only half of fathers had been able to maintain housing security over the three to four years since the focal child’s birth. |
| Keywords: | demographics, urban environment, homeless |
| JEL: | D19 D60 I00 I32 J12 |
| Date: | 2010–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pri:crcwel:1231&r=hap |
| By: | Ebertz, Alexander |
| Keywords: | Household Mobility; Migration; Quality of Life |
| Date: | 2010–05–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lmu:dissen:11532&r=hap |
| By: | Martin Gächter; Peter Schwazer; Engelbert Theurl |
| Abstract: | Gender inequalities in mortality/life expectancy have been a major area of research in the social sciences since the 1970s. However, the questions posed and the research strategies used are still in a state of flux. In the present paper we shed some light on two related questions: (i) Which socioeconomic variables determine the gender gap in mortality? (ii) Are male and female mortality rates determined by different socioeconomic factors and in different shapes? We use aggregated data from Austria both at the community and district level covering the time period 1969 - 2004. Our two-level empirical design combined with a panel structure at the districts level reveals additional evidence on these questions compared to previous studies at the regional level. By using weighted regression analysis (panel fixed effects, pooled and cross section) we find that the gender gap is negatively associated with higher average net income, a higher educational level, a higher share of immigrants and better familial integration. In general, males are more sensitive with respect to social and economic conditions compared to females, leading to a narrowing gap in mortality when living conditions improve. These results are also confirmed by our Blinder-Oaxaca Decomposition. |
| Keywords: | mortality, gender mortality gap, life expectancy, Austria |
| JEL: | I12 I18 J16 |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inn:wpaper:2010-16&r=hap |