A number of states have recently instituted family cap policies, under which women who conceive a child while receiving cash assistance are not entitled to additional cash benefits upon the birth of the child. This paper takes advantage of the variation across states in the timing of the...

This paper presents a response to Jaeger, Joyce, and Kaestner's (JJK) recent critique (IZA Discussion Paper No. 10317) of our 2015 paper "Media Influences on Social Outcomes: The Impact of MTV's 16 and Pregnant on Teen Childbearing." In terms of replication, those authors are able to confirm...

We revisit the cyclical nature of birth rates and infant health and investigate to what extent the relationship between aggregate labor market conditions and birth outcomes is mitigated by the consumption smoothing income assistance delivered through unemployment insurance (UI). We introduce a...

We revisit the cyclical nature of birth rates and infant health and investigate to what extent the relationship between aggregate labor market conditions and birth outcomes is mitigated by the consumption smoothing income assistance delivered through unemployment insurance (UI). We introduce a...

This paper proposes that the adoption of the modern U.S. mortgage (i.e., low down payment, long-term, and fixed-rate)--led by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Veteran's Administration (VA) loan insurance programs--set the stage for the mid-twentieth century U.S. baby boom by...

In an effort to alleviate the perceived growth of a digital divide, the U.S. government enacted a major subsidy for Internet and communications investment in schools starting in 1998. The program subsidized spending by 20-90 percent, depending on school characteristics. Using new data on school...