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13:30 | Applied Micro Research Seminar
University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Abstract: In this paper, I investigate the mental health effects of job displacement in 1-adult and 2-adult households. In a 1-adult household, if a worker loses a job unexpectedly, significant mental health deterioration can become manifest. In a 2-adult household, the deterioration may be less severe for the displaced worker due to burden and risk sharing with the partner. However, in this 2-adult household, there exists the additional risk of the partner’s unemployment, which could be detrimental to the worker’s mental health. I compare the overall burden in 1- and 2-adult households and find no statistically significant difference. This follows because the distress associated with the partner’s displacement is offset by the lower distress upon own displacement. Regarding gender differences, I show that job displacement upsets male and female workers for different reasons and to different extents depending on partnership status. These results offer fresh insights into unemployment shocks, the crucial role of partner support, and how the gender gap in mental health can be linked to household structure.
Full Text: Job Displacement and the Mental Health of Households: Burden Sharing Counteract Spillover
14:45 | Micro Theory Research Seminar
Pawel Gola (University of Edinburgh) "On the Importance of Social Status for Occupational Sorting"
University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Abstract: Models of self-selection predict that occupations with flat wage schedules attract workers of low average skill. Yet, in academia wages are flat but the average skill level is high. In this paper, I examine whether social status concerns can explain this puzzle. I find that within-occupation status can ensure that academia attracts mainly high-skilled workers, but only at the cost of attracting few workers overall. If, however, workers care both about within- and between-occupation status, then academia can be arbitrarily large and attract workers of high average skill. I conclude that within- and between-occupation status concerns act as complements.
JEL Classification: D91, J24
Keywords: occupational sorting, self-selection, social status, occupational prestige, relative concerns
Full Text: On the Importance of Social Status for Occupational Sorting
