Does tax evasion run in the family? To answer this question, we study the case of the commuter tax allowance in Austria. This allowance is designed as a step function of the distance between the residence and the workplace, creating sharp discontinuities at each bracket threshold. The distance...

We provide a novel interpretation of the estimated treatment effects from evaluations of parental leave reforms. Accounting for the counterfactual mode of care is crucial in the analysis of child outcomes and potential mediators. We evaluate a large and generous parental leave extension in...

We explore the origins of the cultural norm regarding illegitimacy and test the hypothesis that traditional agricultural production structures influenced the historical illegitimacy ratio, and have a lasting effect until today. Based on data dating back to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, we use...

After World War II, Austria was divided into four occupation zones for 10 years. We exploit the migration shock out of the Soviet zone to understand why economic activity is distributed unevenly in space. We show that the distorted population distribution has fully persisted until now. More...

There is a strong debate about who should provide care to young children. Governments offer two alternative types of institutions: formal childcare and parental leave. We assess the effectiveness of these two competing institutions in promoting child development by comparing how a major parental...

Does tax evasion run in the family? We study the case of the commuter tax allowance in Austria, which is designed as a step function of the commuting distance, creating sharp discontinuities at each bracket threshold. The data sources allow us to observe actual compliance behavior at the...

We provide a novel interpretation of the estimated treatment effects from evaluations of parental leave reforms. Accounting for the counterfactual mode of care is crucial in the analysis of child outcomes and potential mediators. We evaluate a large and generous parental leave extension in...

This paper explores the historical origins of the cultural norm regarding illegitimacy (formerly known as bastardy). We test the hypothesis that traditional agricultural production structures influenced the historical illegitimacy ratio, and have had a lasting effect until today. Based on data...

The labor supply effects of becoming a grandmother are not well established in the empirical literature. We estimate the effect of becoming a grandmother on the labor supply decision of older workers. Under the assumption that grandmothers cannot predict the exact date of conception of their...

Maternity leave policies are designed to safeguard the health of pregnant workers and their unborn children. However, little is known about the impact of existing policies, which are not evidence-based. We evaluate a maternity leave extension in Austria, which increased mandatory leave from 6 to...