Using rich administrative data from the Netherlands, we study the consequences of firm consolidation for workers. For workers at acquired firms, takeovers are associated with a 8.5% drop in employment at the consolidated firm and a 2.6% drop in total labor income. These effects are persistent...

It has been claimed that many workers in modern economies think that their job is socially useless, i.e. that it makes no or a negative contribution to society. However, the evidence so far is mainly anecdotal. We use a representative dataset comprising 100,000 workers from 47 countries at four...

Although four out of five manufacturing employees work in production occupations in most countries (as opposed to white collar occupations), there is little international evidence on how the transition to more capital intensive production methods has affected the demand for different groups of...

We analyze the determinants of female labor market participation for different age-groups in the European Union. We show that female participation is positively affected by tertiary education at any age. But upper secondary education increases participation only up to an age of 40 while after...

This paper examines the effect of differences in ability on the timing and number ofchildren. Higher skilled women have less disutility of labor and have relatively lessutility of raising children. Motherhood has a negative effect on the accumulation ofhuman capital by learning-by-doing and...

This paper studies the mechanisms and the extent to which parental wage risk passes through to children's skill development. Through a quantitative dynamic labor supply model in which two parents choose whether to work short or long hours or not work at all, time spent with children, and...

I study how retirement delays in one generation affect fertility in the subsequent generation. I use administrative Dutch data and exploit the 2006 Dutch pension reform. The reform induced individuals born from January 1, 1950 onward to delay retirement while exempting those born earlier. I find...

Recent policies aiming to prolong worklives have increased older males' labor supply. Yet, little is known about their intergenerational effects. Using unique Dutch administrative data covering three consecutive generations, this paper studies the impact of increased grandfathers' labor supply...

A large empirical literature in behavioral economics investigates heterogeneity across individuals and groups in preferences for competition. In this study, we provide a more detailed view on competitiveness by differentiating between four different motivations for entering competitions -...