The authors present a non-altruistic model of demand for children, in the presence of uncertainty about children's survival. Children are seen as assets, as they provide help during old age. If certain conditions are met, both the financial market, and the family network are used to transfer...

This paper summarizes key aspects of family allowances programs across the world and presents information on their characteristics in a cross-country comparative context. Family allowances can be universal (paid to all resident families with a specified number of children) or employment-based...

This report examines the level and changes in female and male participation rates, employment segregation, and female wages relative to male wages across the world economy. It funds sufficient evidence to support the view that labor markets in developing countries are transformed relatively...

This report provides a description of the diversity of current policies towards the family across the European Union and an account of the current"state of the art"on the effects of these policies on demographic and labor market behavior. There is an implicit assumption that the tax and benefit...

The recent restructuring of Latin American economies has renewed interest in the effects of trade liberalization, on labor markets, and on the gender division of labor. The author does not attempt to establish casuality between economic reforms, and the types of jobs that men and women hold....

Most existing estimates of the macroeconomic costs of AIDS, as measured by the reduction in thegrowth rate of gross domestic product, are modest. For Africa-the continent where the epidemic has hit the hardest-they range between 0.3 and 1.5 percent annually. The reason is that these estimates...

Ilahi analyzes the determinants of intra-household time use in Peru in 1994 and 1997. She tests whether sickness, unemployment, the provision of water and energy services, and other factors affect the time use of men and women differently. The results show that women work up to a fifth more than...

The author uses the regional structure of the economy, proxied by the shares of services and industry in regional gross domestic product (GDP), as an indicator of the demand for educated workers. By examining whether the level of schooling as a function of shares of services and industry differs...

In a setting where husbands wield considerable coercive power, forms of marriage should adapt to protect the interests of women and their families. The authors study the pervasive marriage custom of watta satta in rural Pakistan, a bride exchange between families coupled with a mutual threat of...

This study explores the relationship between mandating a nondiscrimination clause in hiring practices along gender lines and the employment of women versus men in 58 developing countries. The study finds a strong positive relationship between a nondiscrimination in hiring clause and women's...