Population aging poses a new challenge to the fiscal sustainability of social security programs around the globe. As life expectancy increases, among other reasons, many governments in developed countries have begun to reform key features of their programs, such as increasing the eligibility age for access to social benefits. However, as in the case of South Africa, some opt to decrease the eligibility age for access to such pension benefits. The South African old age pension, which is one of the most expansive cash transfers in developing countries, puts a significant monthly cash transfer in the hands of its recipients. This cash transfer is conditioned on age and a means test that is very generous to most South Africans. In this paper, we seek to understand the impact of such an increase in non-labour income on the labour force participation of older men by exploiting a phased-in reduction in pension eligibility age. We estimate that, at the median predicted market wage, pension age-eligibility reduces the probability of labour force participation by approximately 9.85% points for single males and 15.45% points for married males. JEL Classification: O15, J14, J26
Several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya, have introduced free/subsidized secondary education. This paper examines the role of these free/subsidized education policies on teenage motherhood. To identify the causal effect, I exploit the timing of a national reform in Kenya that eliminated/subsidized secondary school fees using a difference-in-difference estimation design. Using the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), I estimate that the likelihood of teenage motherhood decreased by approximately 5 percentage points after the policy's implementation. This study reiterates that the teenage period is crucial in terms of developing human capital through formal schooling. In most developing countries, parents often determine and fund human capital, which makes household wealth/income a critical factor in human capital accumulation and its intergenerational process. I also highlight positive externalities from educational-centered policies, such as long-term economic growth, poverty reduction, and reduction of social welfare dependency.
This paper builds on the existing literature, to expand the stock of "chalk-and-talk" alternatives and reduce the cost of implementing such alternatives. Specifically, the paper proposes three lesson plans that are based on a series of Breaking Bad scenes identified in Duncan, Muchiri and Paraschiv (2020) and featured as part of the associated online companion, BreakingBadEcon. com. The lesson plans rely on the economic content within the scenes to introduce and emphasize a notable array of microeconomic concepts while also facilitating the assessment of concept comprehension and student learning.
This study investigates trends and prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) among out-of-wedlock adolescent mothers and their likelihood of being IPV victims later in a marriage. We address possible selection bias using a propensity score matching technique. The study uses the Kenyan DHS and finds that the prevalence of IPV (a composite measure of emotional, physical, and sexual violence) was 43%, but 28%, 12%, 34%, and 13% for emotional, severe physical, less-severe physical, and sexual IPV, respectively. Overall, out-of-wedlock adolescent mothers are associated with approximately 14% higher likelihood of IPV later in marriage than non-adolescent mothers. Policy and intervention plans for out-of-wedlock adolescent motherhood are clear strategies for abating IPV. This could be addressed by advocating for improved human capital among girls, laws to combat domestic violence and rape, and managing cultural practices like acceptance of “wife-beating.”
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