Beauty-based Occupational Segregation in the Labor Market Evidence from Survey Data and Online Job Postings
[beauty premium: latest version]
Abstract
This paper explores the relationship between physical appearance and labor market outcomes. Using the survey data and online job posting data, I find that both genders sort across occupations based on physical appearance. More attractive workers are more likely to work in occupations that have higher demand for beauty. Moreover, I find that female workers earn higher beauty premium than male counterparts in terms of the hourly earning. Lastly, I discover that beauty wage premium can hardly be explained by within-occupation variances, for both genders.
Fertility and Labor Market Responses to Relaxed Childbirth Control in China: Evidence from the Two-Child Policy
[Two-Child-Policy: latest version]
Abstract
In early 2014, to alleviate the problem of the aging population, the Government of China introduced a relaxed version of family planning to encourage more children in each family. Using the data from the China Family Panel Studies conducted every two years from 2010 to 2017, I implement an instrumented difference in differences framework to explore the policy impact on maternal fertility behavior and labor market performance. This paper finds strong first-stage evidence of how the policy influences fertility rates. Besides, I discover an inflow of female workers into public sectors after they are exposed to this policy. Finally, the labor participation rate surprisingly increases after more kids are allowed, which encourages further discussions about household bargaining on home childcare and out-for-work between spouses.