By January 1, 2005, Switzerland reduced the legal level of blood–alcohol concentration while driving from 0.8h to 0.5h. This happend on basis of the assumptions that more restrictive per mil levels increase road safety. The benefit of lower blood–alcohol levels, however, depends on whether...

Research increasingly shows that differences in endowments at birth need not be genetic but instead are influenced by environmental factors while the fetus is in the womb. In addition, these differences may persist well beyond childhood. In this paper, we study one such environmental factor –...

How much additional income does a couple with two children need to be equally well-off as a childless couple? This question is important for public policy decisions on social benefits or child allowances. Since equivalence scales express the change in the cost of attaining a certain welfare...

Research increasingly shows that differences in endowments at birth need not be genetic but instead are influenced by environmental factors while the fetus is in the womb. In addition, these differences may persist well beyond childhood. In this paper, we study one such environmental factor -...

This paper analyzes the interrelation between men's gender role attitudes and female labor supply decision. Following Fernández et al. (2004), I argue that the recent increases in the female labor market participation rate are driven by the growing proportion of men who were brought up in a...

How large are the economies of scale of living together? And how do partners share their resources? The first question is usually answered by equivalence scales. Traditional estimation and application of equivalence scales assumes equal sharing of income within the household. This paper uses...

How large are the economies of scale of living together? And how do partners share their resources? The first question is usually answered by equivalence scales. Traditional estimation and application of equivalence scales assumes equal sharing of income within the household. This paper uses...

Using data on elderly individuals and couples, we estimate a collective model of household consumption of a variety of goods, showing how resources are shared between husband and wife, and how this allocation is affected by retirement and health status. We identify the extent to which shared...

Using a variance decomposition framework that bounds the effect of families and neighbourhoods, we find important effects of family characteristics and residential location on adult education and earnings in Norway. Neighbourhoods are less important than families, as the correlations among...