We investigate peer effects in weight gain by exploiting a natural experiment, roommate assignments of 751 male and 845 female first-year college students. Results indicate that females are subject to peer influence in weight gain, with little evidence of peer effects for males. Peer influences...

This study utilizes a natural experiment—conditionally random dormitory assignments of first-year US college students—to investigate the influence of obesogenic environmental factors in explaining changes in weight and exercise behavior during the 2009–2010 academic year. The design...

We examine peer effects in teen childbearing among close friends, using miscarriages as a natural experiment. We use 775 women from the core sample of Add Health who had a friend with a teen pregnancy. We find a sizable negative treatment effect: a close friend’s teen birth is associated...

This study investigates the importance of peer effects in explaining weight gain among freshman college students. We exploit a natural experiment that takes place on most college campuses in the US - randomized roommate assignments. While previous studies suggest that having an obese spouse,...

This study examines whether the size of the college earnings premium varies depending on the quality of the match between an individual's degree field and his/her occupation. The study uses the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) to obtain a new measure of the quality of occupational match...

In light of the recent concerns regarding the solvency of Social Security’s Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI), private pensions may play an increasingly important role in the retirement welfare of U.S. retirees. However, the private pension landscape is also evolving in ways...

This study utilizes pension plan level 5500 data from the Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service to investigate the determinants of traditional defined benefit plan conversion to hybrid cash balance plans during the 1990s. Incorporating the possibility of plan termination instead of...