Biomedical subjects

C J Ruhm

Publications and source records attributed to C J Ruhm.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

Parental leave and child health.

This study investigates whether rights to parental leave improve pediatric health. Aggregate data are used for 16 European countries over the 1969 through 1994 period. More generous paid leave is found to reduce deaths of infants and young children. The magnitudes of the estimated effects are substantial, especially where a causal effect of leave is most plausible. In particular, there is a much stronger negative relationship between leave durations and post-neonatal or child fatalities than for perinatal mortality, neonatal deaths, or low birth weight. The evidence further suggests that parental leave may be a cost-effective method of bettering child health.

Child Welfare↗

PubMed1996

Alcohol policies and highway vehicle fatalities.

This study investigates the impact of beer taxes and a variety of alcohol-control policies on motor vehicle fatality rates. Special attention is paid to omitted variables biases resulting from failing to adequately control for grassroots efforts to reduce drunk driving, the enactment of other laws which simultaneously operate to reduce highway fatalities, and the economic conditions existing at the time the legislation is passed. In the preferred models, most of the regulations have little or no impact on traffic mortality. By contrast, higher beer taxes are associated with reductions in crash deaths and this result is relatively robust across specifications.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed1996

Gender differences in employment behavior during late middle age.

Gender differences in the employment rates of 55- to 59-year-olds are concentrated among married persons. Wives are much less likely than their husbands to hold jobs and, more often, to cite family motivations as their most important reason for not working. The employment disparity is partially the result of the coordinated retirement decisions (combined with men typically marrying younger women), and is probably reinforced by the heavier caregiving commitments of females. Several findings are consistent with traditional role relationships, which emphasize specialization in market employment by males and home activities among females; however, the data are less compatible with a simple pattern where husbands "lead" and wives "follow".

Cross-Sectional Studies↗

PubMed1995

Economic conditions and alcohol problems.

This study investigates the relationship between macroeconomic conditions and two alcohol-related outcomes--liquor consumption and highway vehicle fatalities. Fixed-effect models are estimated for the 48 contiguous states over the 1975-1988 time period. Alcohol consumption and traffic deaths vary procyclically, with a major portion of the effect of economic downturns attributed to reductions in incomes, rather than employment. The intake of hard liquor is the most sensitive to the state of the macroeconomy. There is no evidence, however, that fluctuations in economic conditions have a disproportionate impact on the drunk-driving of young adults.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed1994

Bridge employment and job stopping: evidence from the Harris/Commonwealth Fund Survey.

This article analyzes a 1989 Louis Harris and Associates survey designed to elicit information on the employment histories and job-stopping behavior of men and women who then were approaching or had recently reached retirement age. The results indicate that retirement often occurs gradually and includes a substantial period of "bridge employment." Most bridge jobholders work full-time, by choice, and report high levels of job enjoyment. Occupational mobility occurring late in life typically involves upward movement, although the pattern of change is quite different when it takes place outside, rather than within, the longest job. The principal concern identified in this article is the limited ability of some groups of workers (nonwhites, females, the less educated, and those in poorly compensated occupations) to either retain longest jobs or to obtain acceptable bridge employment. Health problems also frequently lead to early departures from the labor force.

Aged↗

PubMed1993

Workplace drug abuse policy.

An estimated 70 percent of illicit drug users are in the workforce. This paper studies workplace policies relating to drug abuse treatment and testing in a labor market with asymmetric information about worker proclivities to abuse drugs and to incur costs of workplace accidents. Drug abuse has a moral hazard component related to worker choice of treatment or other deterrent activities, and a selection component related to drug testing. We characterize the type and frequency of workers treated and tested in labor market equilibrium. Labor market incentives will generally lead to too little treatment and too much testing.

Data Collection↗

PubMed1989

Why older Americans stop working.

Recently economics researchers have suggested that most persons respond to economic incentives in choosing when to retire, although a small percentage exit the labor force because of deteriorating health. Although recent and proposed changes in the social security system are likely to have only small effects on retirement behavior, larger impacts could ensue from altering the incentives implicit in many private pension plans. Little is known about the transition process that follows the end of career jobs and precedes retirement: this represents an important area for future research.

Aged↗