This paper focuses on fertility choices in Brazil, a country where soap operas (novelas) portray families that are much smaller than in reality, to study the effects of television on individual behavior. Using Census data for the period 1970-1991, the paper finds that women living in areas...

This paper studies the link between television and divorce in Brazil by exploiting variation in the timing of availability of the signal of Rede Globo - the network that had a virtual monopoly on telenovelas in the country - across municipal areas. Using three rounds of Census data (1970, 1980...

We investigate the historical origins of female genital cutting (FGC), a harmful practice widespread across Africa. We test the hypothesis - substantiated by historical sources - that FGC was connected to the Red Sea slave trade route, where women were sold as concubines in the Middle East and...

This paper presents new evidence for major world regions and for the most populous countries in each region on associations between the average ages of populations and three groups of economic outcomes: (1) macroeconomic aggregates (domestic saving as a share of GDP, GDP per capita, capital per...

This paper investigates the effects of short-run economic shocks on children`s progress through school in urban Brazil using a unique panel data set. The severe problem of grade repetition in Brazil contributes to overall low education levels. Of children ages 10-15 who are enrolled in school,...

There is a recent renewal of interest in the relation between shifts in age structures of populations and various economic outcomes. These shifts are triggered by changes in fertility and mortality that take place some years before becoming apparent in the standard age structure and that may...

This paper shows that the factors affecting labor supply have been key determinants of the changes in employment, unemployment, and income differentials in Latin America in the 1990s. The two main forces driving labor supply in the region have been demographics and education.

Raising labor productivity is recognized as a critical factor for increasing economic growth and reducing poverty levels in Latin America. Low levels of education continue to be singled out as the main obstacle to higher productivity in the region. We examine the scope for education to lift...

This paper analyzes the recent performance of Latin American labor markets. We find that unemployment rates are on the rise in most countries and sub-regions of Latin America. The rise in unemployment over the 1990s is not driven by a higher proportion of women, adults or urban workers in the...

Schooling is a major factor in economic development. There is extensive empirical literature on what determines schooling attainment. But most of this literature uses micro data to explore connections between schooling attainment and family background and experiences, local markets, local...