This paper explores the links between school, family and areabackground influences during adolescence and later adult economicoutcomes. The empirical analysis is based on data covering the period1979 to 1996, drawn from the 1979 US National Longitudinal Survey ofYouth. For a sample of...

We provide a critique of the methods that have been used to derive measures ofincome risk and draw attention to the importance of demographic factors as asource of income risk. We also propose new measures of the contribution tototal income risk of demographic and labour market factors....

Truancy is often seen as irrational behaviour on the part of school ageyouth. This paper takes the opposite view and models truancy as thesolution to a time allocation problem in which youths derive currentreturns from activities that reduce time spent at school. The model isestimated using a US...

We examine whether unemployment early in an individual’scareer influences her later employment prospects. We use six yearsof the LFS to create pseudo-cohorts and exploit cross-cohortvariation in unemployment at school-leaving age to identify this.We find heterogeneous responses: for the...

The rise in inequality and poverty is one of the most important economicand social issues in recent times. But in contrast to the literature onindividual earnings inequality, there has been little work modelling (asopposed to documenting) household income dynamics. This is largelybecause of the...

This paper uses evidence from the US to examine the impact ofadolescent illegal consumption and violent behaviour on later lifechances. Specifically, we look at the effect of such behaviour by youngmen in late adolescence on productivity and household formation tenyears on. We find that alcohol...

We pursue an economic approach to analysing poverty. This requires a focus onthe variables that individuals can influence, such as forming or dissolving aunion or having children. We argue that this indirect approach to modellingpoverty is the right way to bring economic tools to bear on the...

There is emerging evidence to suggest that initial differentials between thehealth of poor and more affluent children in the UK do not widen over earlychildhood. One reason may be that through the universal public funded healthcare system all children have access to equally effective primary...

There is a growing literature that shows that higher family income is associatedwith better health for children. Wealthier parents may have more advantagedchildren because they have more income to buy health care or because parentalwealth is associated with beneficial behaviours or because...

The paper investigates the relationship between work and family life in Britain.Using appropriate statistical techniques we estimate a five-equation model,which includes birth events, union formation, union dissolution, employmentand non-employment events. The model allows for unobserved...