This paper studies the effect of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on saving behaviour. Two important characteristics of HIV result in opposing forces on savings: mortality increases, which reduces savings, and long-term illness risk increases, which enhances savings. We use a two period life-cycle model...

We investigate the determinants of the support for cannabis legalizationfinding a causal effect of personal experience with cannabis use. Current and past cannabis users are more in favor of legalization. We relate this to self-interest and inside information about potential dangers of cannabis...

Recent studies debate how the unobserved dependence between the monetary return to college education and selection into college can be characterized. This paper examines this question using British data. We develop a semiparametric local instrumental variables estimator for identified features...

Preferences and attitudes to illicit drug policy held by individuals are likely to be an important in uence in the development of illicit drug policy. Amongst the key factors impacting on an individuals preferences over substance use policy are their beliefs about the costs and benefits of drug...

This paper investigates labour supply of the wives of the heads of households in Mexico City, with a focus on the impact of family structure. A static neoclassical structural model is used. We assume that each woman chooses her labour supply and corresponding income so that her utility is...

Abstract: In the Netherlands cannabis use is quasi-legalized. Small quantities of cannabis can be bought in cannabis-shops. We investigate how the distance to the nearest cannabis- shop affects the age of onset of cannabis use. We use a Mixed Proportional Hazard rate framework to take account of...

Abstract: Many developed countries have recently experienced sharp increases in home birth rates. This paper investigates the impact of home births on the health of low-risk newborns using data from the Netherlands, the only developed country where home births are widespread. To account for...

Abstract: The effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on fertility in Africa remains ill understood. To align the contrasting findings of recent empirical research, we develop a portfolio model that captures the potential trade-off between "quantity" and "quality" of offspring. According to this...

There are many pathways explaining the relationship between socioeconomic status and health; one possibility is that some normally unobservable characteristic causes people to invest both in their financial well-being and their health. Here we consider the possibility that the decision making...

This paper models the effect of a HIV/AIDS epidemic on saving behavior and studies the welfare effects of testing for HIV. The model specifies a utility function that includes both regular consumption, and medical expenditures. Medical expenditures generate more utility if individuals are HIV...