Work in Progress
Timing of School Entry and Personality Traits in Adulthood
with Kamila Cygan-Rehm and Andreas Leibing
Abstract: This paper investigates the long-run consequences of a later school start on personality traits. For identification, we exploit the statutory cutoff rules for school enrollment in Germany within a regression discontinuity design. The longitudinal nature of our personality data allows us to study the effects at different stages in adulthood. We find that a later school start persistently reduces the levels of neuroticism among women. The effects on other personality traits, if anything, are transitory and coincide with important life events. The findings potentially carry important implications for gender gaps in the labor market because women typically score significantly higher on neuroticism at all life stages, which puts them at a disadvantage.
The Untold Story of Internal Migration in Germany: Life-cycle Patterns, Developments, and the Role of Education
with Kamila Cygan-Rehm, Guido Heineck, and Sebastian Vogler
Abstract: This paper examines internal migration from a lifetime perspective using unique data on detailed residential biographies of individuals born in Germany between 1944 and 1986. We first describe life-cycle patterns of internal mobility and potential differences across space, time, and socio-demographic groups. We find substantial differences across the life course, with major location changes around important educational decisions and striking differences across groups, especially by educational attainment. We then investigate causality in the substantial education-mobility gradient. For identification, we exploit two policy-induced sources of variation, each shifting towards better education at a different margin of the ability distribution. Using a difference-in-differences and regression discontinuity design, we find no effect of these policies on internal mobility.
The Effects of Universal Screening for Gestational Diabetes on Maternal and Child Health
with Kamila Cygan-Rehm and Anica Kramer
Abstract: This paper estimates the effects of universal screening for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on maternal and infant health at birth. GDM is the leading cause of excessive fetal growth and can have adverse long-term consequences for both mother and child. We evaluate a policy that introduced a full reimbursement for an oral GDM test by the German Statutory Health Insurance in July 2013, which led to a sharp increase in screening rates among pregnant women by almost 25 percentage points. Applying a difference-in-discontinuities design to administrative data on all hospital births, we find no effects of universal GDM screening on neonatal health and maternal birth outcomes.