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on Unemployment, Inequality and Poverty |
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Issue of 2015‒05‒09
three papers chosen by |
| By: | Warn N. Lekfuangfu; Francesca Cornaglia; Nattavudh Powdthavee; Nele Warrinnier |
| Abstract: | We propose a model in which parents have a subjective belief about the impact of their investment on the early skill formation of their children. This subjective belief is determined in part by locus of control (LOC), i.e., the extent to which individuals believe that their actions can influence future outcomes. Consistent with the theory, we show that maternal LOC measured at the 12th week of gestation strongly predicts early and late child cognitive and noncognitive outcomes. We also utilize the variation in maternal LOC to help improve the specification typically used in the estimation of skill production function parameters. |
| Keywords: | locus of control; parental investment; human capital accumulation; early skill formation; ALSPAC |
| JEL: | J01 I31 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lic:licosd:35314&r=ltv |
| By: | Richard Layard |
| Abstract: | Mental illness (especially depression and chronic anxiety) is the biggest single cause of misery in advanced countries. But only one quarter of those who are ill receive treatment. Mental health is crucial for wellbeing and there are modern evidence-based ways of treating mental health problems which have no net cost to the Exchequer. What are the most important factors affecting wellbeing in our society? And what low-cost ways do we have of improving wellbeing, when "all the money's gone"? The final briefing in the CEP 2015 Election Analyses series looks at the progress made in the provision of treatment for mental health problems and considers the plans each major party have put forward to both maintain and expand services. |
| Keywords: | mental health, NHS, government policy |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepeap:035&r=ltv |
| By: | Cemal Eren Arbatli (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Quamrul H. Ashraf (Williams College); Oded Galor (Brown University) |
| Abstract: | This research establishes that the emergence, prevalence, recurrence, and severity of intrastate conflicts in the modern era reflect the long shadow of prehistory. Exploiting variations across national populations, it demonstrates that genetic diversity, as determined predominantly during the exodus of humans from Africa tens of thousands of years ago, has contributed significantly to the frequency, incidence, and onset of both overall and ethnic civil conflict over the last half-century, accounting for a large set of geographical and institutional correlates of conflict, as well as measures of economic development. Furthermore, the analysis establishes the significant contribution of genetic diversity to the intensity of social unrest and to the incidence of intragroup factional conflict. These findings arguably reflect the contribution of genetic diversity to the degree of fractionalization and polarization across ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups in the national population; the adverse influence of genetic diversity on interpersonal trust and cooperation; the contribution of genetic diversity to divergence in preferences for public goods and redistributive policies; and the potential impact of genetic diversity on economic inequality within a society. |
| Keywords: | Civil conflict, genetic diversity, fractionalization, polarization, interpersonal trust, preferences for public goods, economic inequality |
| JEL: | D74 N30 N40 O11 O43 Z13 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wil:wileco:2015-08&r=ltv |