Parity-specific probabilities of having a next birth are estimated from national fertility data and are compared with nation-specific costs of having children as measured by time-budget data, by attitude data from the International Social Survey Program, and by panel data on labor earnings and...

This paper explores the implications of possible bias cancellation using Rubin-style matching methods with complete and incomplete data. After reviewing the na?ve causal estimator and the approaches of Heckman and Rubin to the causal estimation problem, we show how missing data can complicate...

Propensity score matching provides an estimate of the effect of a 'treatment' variable on an outcome variable that is largely free of bias arising from an association between treatment status and observable variables. However, matching methods are not robust against 'hidden bias' arising from...

In den letzten Jahren hat sich eine unified theory aus der Arbeitsökonomik heraus-gebildet, in der die Meinung vorherrscht, dass die Kombination makroökonomi- scher Schocks und flexibler Arbeitsmarktinstitutionen in den USA eine starke Zu-nahme der Lohnungleichheit verursacht habe, während...

Using newly collected data from the General Social Survey, we compare levels of segregation by race and along other potential dimensions of social cleavage for ties defined in terms of trust and acquaintanceship. We further estimate the size of the trust network and compare its size and...

Comparisons of well-being across societies depend both on the amount of inequality at the national level and also on the national average level of well-being. Comparisons between the U.S. and western Europe show that inequality is greater in the U.S. but that average GDP per capita is also...