We develop a panel data model explaining answers to subjective probabilities about binary events and estimate it using data from the Health and Retirement Study on six such probabilities. The model explicitly accounts for several forms of “reporting behavior”: rounding, focal point “50...

Locus of control, that is, people's perception of how much influence they have over their lives, is an important predictor for economic outcomes – earnings, health, and education, to name a few. This paper uses difference-in-differences analysis to investigate the importance of the...

Unemployment results in lower levels of cognitive skills and has long-term effects on health and economic well-being. In this paper, I show that unemployment also has negative effects on noncognitive skills, at least in the short term. Using a sample of Germans born between 1945 and 1995, I...

The noncognitive skill of conscientiousness has been linked to favorable labor market and health outcomes. But how is conscientiousness affected by events that happen in childhood? We investigate the effects of negative parental selection and economic and social upheaval on conscientiousness in...

Euler equation estimation of intertemporal consumption models requires many, often unverifiable assumptions. These include assumptions on expectations and preferences. We aim at reducing some of these requirements by using direct subjective information on respondents' preferences and...

SUMMARY We develop a panel data model explaining answers to subjective probabilities about binary events and estimate it using data from the Health and Retirement Study on six such probabilities. The model explicitly accounts for several forms of ‘reporting behavior’: rounding, focal point...

We study how severe acute health shocks affect the probability of not working in the U. S. versus in Denmark. The results not only provide insight into how relative disease risk affects labor force participation at older ages, but also into how different types of health care and health insurance...