We focus on New Zealand's clean slate legislation to analyze whether automatic concealment of criminal records improves ex-offenders' labor market outcomes. Based on the legislation's eligibility requirements, we utilize detailed court charges information to identify comparable groups of...

We focus on New Zealand's clean slate legislation to analyze whether automatic concealment of criminal records improves ex-offenders' labor market outcomes. Based on the legislation's eligibility requirements, we utilize detailed court charges information to identify comparable groups of...

Do higher skills help mitigate the negative impact of economic crises? We study the effect of two major economic setbacks-the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2007-09 and the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020-on wage progression for New Zealanders with different skill levels. For our analysis, we link...

Does having a child immunised at the prior schedule genuinely impact the likelihood of vaccinating the child at the following schedule? Using longitudinal data from Growing Up in New Zealand study, we apply a random-effects probit model that also controls for the initial immunisation status. We...

This paper documents behavioral differences in parental criminality between majority and minority ethnic groups after child birth. The particular effect we exploit is that of the gender of the first-born child on fathers' convictions rates. Based on detailed judicial and demographic data from...

The minimum alcohol purchasing age in New Zealand was lowered from 20 to 18 in December 1999. Focusing on two distinct legislative regimes, we utilize a national-level census of criminal convictions to examine the impact of unrestricted alcohol purchasing rights on alcohol-related crime. Our...

This study aims at understanding how persistence in low pay changes over time. In particular, we extend the existing literature on human capital formation by documenting heterogeneity in low pay persistence by age and human capital level. We utilise population-wide tax ecords to track monthly...

We provide the first evidence on sexual orientation and earnings in New Zealand (NZ), one of the most inclusive countries for LGBTQ+ people in the world. We use confidential linked census-tax data to compare outcomes for individuals in same-sex couples versus different-sex couples. We find...