We extend the analysis of early-emerging gender differences in academic achievement to include both (objective) test scores and (subjective) teacher assessments. Using data from the 1998-99 ECLS-K cohort, we show that the grades awarded by teachers are not aligned with test scores, with the...

Several studies have established that under the most common form of pension coverage, benefits accrue disproportionately near the end of a worker's career. Such backloading establishes a penalty for early quitting but may also create an incentive for opportunistic firm behavior. Because benefits...

Using data from the 1998–99 ECLS-K cohort, we show that the grades awarded by teachers are not aligned with test scores. Girls in every racial category outperform boys on reading tests, while boys score at least as well on math and science tests as girls. However, boys in all racial categories...

There is a growing literature on the effects of abortion legalization on a range of fertility outcomes. The now-famous paper by Donohue and Levitt [2001. "The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime," 116 Quarterly Journal of Economics 379--420], linking abortion to the decline in crime in the...

Epidemiologists have suggested that racial disparities in sexually transmitted infections are due to more concurrency in Black sexual networks. We argue that a relative shortage of Black males, caused by higher Black incarceration, increases concurrency. We test this hypothesis using data from...