{"title":"Spillovers from Costly Credit","authors":"Brian T. Melzer","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2235766","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2235766","url":null,"abstract":"Recent research on the effects of credit access among low- and moderate-income households finds that high-cost payday loans exacerbate, rather than alleviate, financial distress for a subset of borrowers (Melzer 2011; Skiba and Tobacman 2011). In this study I find that others, outside the borrowing household, bear a portion of these costs too: households with payday loan access are 20% more likely to use food assistance benefits and 10% less likely to make child support payments required of non-resident parents. These findings suggest that as borrowers accommodate interest and principal payments on payday loan debt, they prioritize loan payments over other liabilities like child support payments and they turn to transfer programs like food stamps to supplement the household’s resources. To establish this finding, the analysis uses a measure of payday loan access that is robust to the concern that lender location decisions and state policies governing payday lending are endogenous relative to household financial condition. The analysis also confirms that the effect is absent in the mid-1990s, prior to the spread of payday lending, and that the effect grows over time, in parallel with the growth of payday lending.","PeriodicalId":130325,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Household (Topic)","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114449265","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Individual Impact of Tax Fairness Dimensions on Tax Compliance: Canadian Evidence","authors":"Jonathan Farrar, L. Thorne","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1980704","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1980704","url":null,"abstract":"The existing tax fairness literature suggests that there are four dimensions of tax fairness: horizontal equity, vertical equity, exchange equity, and procedural fairness. Although research suggests that compliance usually increases with tax fairness, little is known about the individual impact of each dimension on compliance. Accordingly, we develop measures of each dimension, and conduct a survey using Canadian taxpayers. Using a structural equation model analysis, we find that only horizontal equity is significantly and positively associated with compliance in the Canadian context. We also develop reliable measures of tax fairness dimensions, each with a Cronbach alpha in excess of 0.8.","PeriodicalId":130325,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Household (Topic)","volume":"221 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124380888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Implications of Some Deficit Reduction Proposals for Retirement Savings","authors":"G. Pang, M. Warshawsky","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1881134","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1881134","url":null,"abstract":"We assess the implications for workers' retirement planning of the provisions on Social Security, Medicare and 401(k) plans from deficit reduction proposals that were put forward by national commissions in 2010. The evaluation uses an updated version of our retirement savings model, which is a rational forward-looking framework that aims to guide a household toward maintaining a roughly constant standard of living before and after retirement. The results show that most of the proposed reforms would lead to higher retirement savings for the household situations illustrated. By contrast, the increase in the Social Security taxable wage maximum would lead to a decrease in retirement savings. Taking all the proposals together, saving rates would be increased by 1-2.3 percentage points, and target retirement replacement rates would increase or decrease depending on household situations.","PeriodicalId":130325,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Household (Topic)","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130349728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Responsible Homeowner Reward: An Incentive-Based Solution to Strategic Mortgage Default","authors":"Alex Edmans","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1631928","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1631928","url":null,"abstract":"Approximately 30% of housing defaults are strategic: the homeowner is able to make the payments but rationally chooses not to do so due to negative equity. This document describes the Responsible Homeowner Reward (“RH Reward”), an incentive plan to deter strategic defaults by increasing the household’s equity. RH Reward is a contingent cash reward, paid to the homeowner only once the loan is repaid. By effectively reducing the LTV of the mortgage, it increases the homeowner’s incentives to retain ownership of the property. Compared to income-based solutions (e.g. payment reductions), RH Reward tackles the homeowner’s balance sheet. In addition, it is an incentive plan that rewards only homeowners who end up repaying the loan. Compared to other balance sheet-based solutions (e.g. principal reductions), RH Reward does not require modification of the existing loan. This allows to be applied to securitized as well as whole loans, and to be implemented rapidly and at large scale without relying on existing servicing resources. In addition, while a principal reduction is a one-time event, RH Reward is a contingent incentive about which the homeowner is constantly reminded; this greater salience likely increases its behavioral impact. RH Reward bears similarities to the idea of compensating CEOs with “inside debt” to deter bondholder expropriation, as documented by recent studies.","PeriodicalId":130325,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Household (Topic)","volume":"37 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115526493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does Reducing College Costs Improve Educational Outcomes for Undocumented Immigrants? Evidence from State Laws Permitting Undocumented Immigrants to Pay In-State Tuition at State Colleges and Universities","authors":"A. Chin, Chinhui Juhn","doi":"10.1007/978-1-4419-6682-7_4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6682-7_4","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":130325,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Household (Topic)","volume":"69 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128405066","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Intended and Unintended Effects of Youth Bicycle Helmet Laws","authors":"Christopher S. Carpenter, Mark Stehr","doi":"10.3386/W15658","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3386/W15658","url":null,"abstract":"Over 20 states have adopted laws requiring youths to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle. We confirm previous research indicating that these laws reduced fatalities and increased helmet use, but we also show that the laws significantly reduced youth bicycling. We find this result in standard two-way fixed effects models of parental reports of youth bicycling, as well as in triple difference models of self-reported bicycling among high school youths that explicitly account for bicycling by youths just above the helmet law age threshold. Our results highlight important intended and unintended consequences of a well-intentioned public policy.","PeriodicalId":130325,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Household (Topic)","volume":"314 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123228072","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Earnings, Education and Training in China: The Migrant Worker Experience","authors":"G. Messinis","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1487984","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1487984","url":null,"abstract":"We utilise a new household survey to examine the impact of education and job training on labour income for migrant workers in China. Quantile regression is employed to account for selection bias. The evidence has as follows: (a) the returns to education and work experience are considerable but non-linear; (b) job training is valuable; (c) the Hukou system of residence is a severe constraint on gains to work experience; and (d) women earn more than men due to endowment effects. This evidence calls for new policy initiatives in China to raise the skills of migrant workers and abolish discriminatory policies.","PeriodicalId":130325,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Household (Topic)","volume":"245 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121162883","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mohamed A. Ayadi, AbdelRahmen El Lahga, N. Chtioui
{"title":"Poverty in Tunisia: A Non-Monetary Approach","authors":"Mohamed A. Ayadi, AbdelRahmen El Lahga, N. Chtioui","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3173172","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3173172","url":null,"abstract":"In this study we construct a welfare composite index (WCI) from a set of non- monetary household living conditions indicators in order to analyze the evolution of poverty in Tunisia between 1988 and 2001 from a multidimensional perspective. We show that poverty significantly decreased during the period, although regional and rural/urban disparities remained unchanged. Poverty is essentially a rural phenomenon. The Northwest (NW) and Central West (CW) remained the poorest regions of the country. Improvement in housing conditions and in access to communication tools may be important in the effort to fight poverty.","PeriodicalId":130325,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Household (Topic)","volume":"25 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116884709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Welfare and Poverty Impacts of Tariff Reforms in Bangladesh: A General Equilibrium Approach","authors":"H. K. Bazlul, M. Mujeri, Selim Raihan","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3173237","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3173237","url":null,"abstract":"Our study assesses the impacts of different policy reforms, such as domestic trade liberalisation, implementation of WTO agreements in the textile sector and WTO negotiations on the movement of natural persons, and examines their welfare and poverty implications at the household level in the economy of Bangladesh. We use a comparative static computable general equilibrium (CGE) model based on the 1995-96 Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) of the Bangladesh economy. This study carries out three simulations. The first simulation entails full liberalisation of tariffs and the resultant reduction in government revenues are mobilised by enhancing the existing production taxes and imposing new taxes on construction sector; in the second simulation, export of ready-made garments (RMG) are reduced by 25 percent; and in the third simulation the remittances are increased by 50 percent. Equivalent variations (EVs) and Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) measures are applied to estimate welfare and poverty changes respectively. The prime observation is that rural poverty, as measured by the head count ratio, is observed to increase under all three simulations. The gap and severity of the rural poor have also worsened in all three simulations indicating worse poverty profiles for the rural poor compared to the base-run scenario. Urban head count poverty has also deteriorated in the first and second simulations, while has improved only in the third simulation. The gap and severity of poverty for the urban population have, however, deteriorated in all three simulations.","PeriodicalId":130325,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Household (Topic)","volume":"232 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131994980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Determinants of Monetary Poverty Among Female-Headed Households in Benin","authors":"M. Attanasso","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3173241","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3173241","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates the impact of the gender of the household head on the determinants of monetary poverty in the Republic of Benin using data collected during the 1999 living standards measurement survey in the country's rural and urban areas. The results show that there has not been any feminization of poverty since 1995. In 1999, the incidence of poverty among female household heads was lower than that of their male-headed counterparts, but in some cities the poverty gap was higher. Based on these results, some suggestions are made in order to reduce the incidence of poverty in Benin.","PeriodicalId":130325,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Household (Topic)","volume":"73 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2005-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117067663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}