Search Results

We test these propositions using data from the 2000 Census Longform and the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Geocode (which allows us to match sex ratios constructed from the Census data to NLSY states of residence). We exploit the fact that the overwhelming majority of sexual relationships occur between men and women of similar age, race and geographic location. We first estimate the effect of the sex ratio on the number of recent sex partners (our proxy for concurrency) using quantile regression, focusing the response in the right tail of the sex-partner distribution. Then, we examine the relationship between the sex ratio and condom use, using quantile regression to distinguish responses of individuals who rarely use condoms from those who typically do.

We find that the effect of moving from parity (100) to the average surplus of women (128) faced by 18-24 year-old black men adds .3 partners per year for average black male and 1-2 partners per year for black males in .90 percentile. We show that the same change in the sex ratio reduces condom-use rate for black men in .10 percentile by almost 14 points and increases the condom-use rate for median male by about 5 points.

These patterns indicate that if parental time inputs are important for child outcomes then the birth order differences will be larger in families in which the children are spaced further apart in age. If income at a point in time is important then the birth order gap will be offset in families that experience the largest rise in income. The longitudinal nature of the NSLY allows me to test for differences between siblings in various outcomes (both cognitive and behavioral) based on their birth order and spacing. As an extension, I also impute measures of parental time inputs from the American Time Use Survey onto the NSLY sample. Including both parental time inputs and family income in the same estimation allows me to calculate the rate of technical substitution between time and money in the production of child outcomes. This estimate will provide a benchmark by which to compare policies or practices that encourage parents to exchange their time for additional family income.

I find that receipt of special educational benefits increases the probability of choosing schooling by 8% and reenlisting by 6%. Soldiers that contribute to an education benefit program while enlisted are 6% more likely to attend college and 11% more likely to reenlist. Those residing in states with fewer two year colleges or those who have attended some college before enlisting are more likely to choose the college option. Average tuition in both their residing and neighboring states surprisingly do not affect this probability -- likely because educational benefits act as subsidies. College choice is more likely for young soldiers and less likely for those with less cognitive ability. I also find that the choice between schooling, work and reenlistment is made simultaneously, rather than sequentially. The results also provide some support for the increasing importance we observe of two year colleges in the educational mission of many states.