Steven J. Haider

What are We Weighting for

When estimating population descriptive statistics, weighting is called for if needed to make the analysis sample representative of the target population. With regard to research directed instead at estimating causal effects, we discuss three distinct weighting motives: (1) to achieve precise estimates by correcting for heteroskedasticity; (2) to achieve consistent estimates by correcting for endogenous sampling; and (3) to identify average partial effects in the presence of unmodeled heterogeneity of effects. In each case, we find that the motive sometimes does not apply in situations where practitioners often assume it does.

Earnings Instability and Earnings Inequality of Males in the United States: 1967–1991

Although much research has focused on recent increases in annual earnings inequality in the United States, the increases could have come from either of two sources: the distribution of lifetime earnings could have become more unequal or the receipt of lifetime earnings could have become more unstable. Based on an analysis of the 1968–92 Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we find that lifetime earnings inequality increased during the early 1980s and that earnings instability increased during the 1970s. We also examine how these trends are related to changes in the distribution of wages and hours and the returns to education.

Breakfast of champions? The School Breakfast Program and the nutrition of children and families

We examine the effect of the School Breakfast Program (SBP) availability with the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey III. Our work builds on previous research by developing a transparent difference-in-differences strategy to account for unobserved differences between students with access to SBP and those without, using serum measures in addition to intake measures to assess the potential program effects, and examining program effects on other household members. Our results suggest that the SBP program improves the nutritional outcomes of the direct recipient across a wide array of different measures. Our results indicate fewer positive effects for other household members.

Elderly Labor Supply: Work or Play?

Approximately 15 percent of individuals over the age of 65 are employed. Due to the apparent reversal in the trend toward early retirement and the aging of the U.S. population, these individuals are becoming an increasingly important part of the labor force. However, very little research has examined labor market behavior in this population. In this paper, the authors examine a series of questions in an attempt to better understand why the elderly continue to work. The results indicate that labor supply is concentrated among the most educated, wealthiest, and healthiest elderly. Despite this, the authors find that the wages of the elderly are low both relative to younger populations and relative to the wages they earned when they themselves were young. Among individuals over the age of 70, the authors find that changes in health status dominate labor market transitions. Overall, the findings suggest that non-pecuniary considerations play an important role in determining elderly labor supply decisions.

A Stock-Flow Analysis of the Welfare Caseload

This paper reconsiders the methods used in previous studies to assess the welfare caseload movements during the 1990s. We develop a model in which the welfare caseload is the net outcome of past flows onto and off of the caseload and show that such a stock-flow model can explain some of the anomalous findings in previous studies. We then estimate the stock-flow model using California administrative data. We find that approximately 50 percent of the caseload decline in California can be attributed to the declining unemployment rate. These estimates are more robust and larger than those obtained when applying more typical methods to the same California data.

Food Stamps and the Elderly: Why Is Participation so Low?

Estimates imply that only one-third of elderly persons who are eligible for food stamps actually participate in the program, which is half the rate that exists among younger people. This study investigates potential reasons for the relatively low take-up rate among the elderly. Analyzing new data, we conclude that the low take-up rate is not explained by measurement error and little is explained by various behavioral factors. Despite this much lower take-up rate, elderly who are eligible for assistance but not enrolled in the program do not appear to be especially needy.

Welfare work requirements and child well-being: Evidence from the effects on breast-feeding

A central theme of welfare reform is that recipients are required to engage in work activities. In many states, these work requirements apply to mothers whose children are a few months old, which may increase the costs and decrease the prevalence of breast-feeding. Given the substantial benefits of breast-feeding, any reduction represents an important negative consequence of these requirements. Our results suggest that in the absence of welfare reform, the national breast-feeding rate six months after birth would have been 5.5% higher in 2000. Such negative consequences of these policies must be weighed against potential benefits as states refine their welfare programs.

The effect of the social security earnings test on male labor supply: New evidence from survey and administrative data

Despite numerous empirical studies, there is surprisingly little agreement about whether the Social Security earnings test affects male labor supply. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the labor supply effects of the earnings test using longitudinal administrative earnings data and more commonly used survey data. We find that the response to the earnings test in survey data is obfuscated by measurement error and labor market rigidities. Accounting for these factors, our results suggest a consistent and substantial response to the earnings test, especially for younger men.

Increases in Wealth Among the Elderly in the Early 1990s: How Much is Due to Survey Design?

The Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) study shows a large increase in reported total wealth between 1993 and 1995. Such an increase is not found in other U.S. household surveys around that period. This paper examines one source of this difference. We find that in AHEAD 1993 ownership rates of stocks, CDs, bonds, and checking and saving accounts were under-reported, resulting in under-measurement of wealth in 1993 and a substantial increase in wealth from 1993 to 1995. The explanation for the under-reporting is a combination of question sequence and wording in the AHEAD survey instrument.

Do the Elderly Respond to Taxes on Earnings? Evidence from the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test

The effective tax on earnings embodied in the Social Security retirement earnings test has been as high as 50 percent. Despite numerous empirical studies, there is surprisingly little agreement about whether the earnings test affects male labor supply. In this paper, the authors provide a comprehensive analysis of the earnings test for men using longitudinal administrative earnings data and more commonly used survey data. They find that much of the response in survey data is obfuscated by measurement error and labor market rigidities. Their results suggest a consistent and substantial response to the earnings test, especially for younger men.