Child Health, Parental Well-Being, and the Social Safety Net / Achyuta Adhvaryu, N. Meltem Daysal, Snaebjorn Gunnsteinsson, Teresa Molina, Herdis Steingrimsdottir.

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Adhvaryu, Achyuta

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TextSeries: Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) ; no. w31277.Publication details: Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2023.Description: 1 online resource: illustrations (black and white)Subject(s):

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Abstract: How do parents contend with threats to the health and survival of their children? Can the social safety net mitigate negative economic effects through transfers to affected families? We study these questions by combining the universe of cancer diagnoses among Danish children with register data for affected and matched unaffected families. Parental income declines substantially for 3-4 years following a child's cancer diagnosis. Fathers' incomes recover fully, but mothers' incomes remain 3% lower 12 years after diagnosis. Using a policy reform that introduced variation in the generosity of targeted safety net transfers to affected families, we show that such transfers play a crucial role in smoothing income for these households and, importantly, do not generate work disincentive effects. The pattern of results is most consistent with the idea that parents' preferences to personally provide care for their children during the critical years following a severe health shock drive changes in labor supply and income. Mental health and fertility effects are also observed but are likely not mediators for impacts on economic outcomes.

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Item type	Home library	Collection	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Working Paper	Biblioteca Digital	Colección NBER	nber w31277 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Not For Loan

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Previous	nber w31274 The Impact of the Prehistoric Out of Africa Migration on Cultural Diversity /	nber w31275 When Do Cross-Sectional Asset Pricing Factors Span the Stochastic Discount Factor? /	nber w31276 Measurements, Determinants and Causes of Corruption: Lessons from China's Anti-Corruption Campaign /	nber w31277 Child Health, Parental Well-Being, and the Social Safety Net /	nber w31278 Who Gains from Corporate Tax Cuts? /	nber w31279 The Macroeconomic Consequences of Exchange Rate Depreciations /	nber w3128 Endogenous Election Timings and Political Business Cycles in Japan /	Next

May 2023.

How do parents contend with threats to the health and survival of their children? Can the social safety net mitigate negative economic effects through transfers to affected families? We study these questions by combining the universe of cancer diagnoses among Danish children with register data for affected and matched unaffected families. Parental income declines substantially for 3-4 years following a child's cancer diagnosis. Fathers' incomes recover fully, but mothers' incomes remain 3% lower 12 years after diagnosis. Using a policy reform that introduced variation in the generosity of targeted safety net transfers to affected families, we show that such transfers play a crucial role in smoothing income for these households and, importantly, do not generate work disincentive effects. The pattern of results is most consistent with the idea that parents' preferences to personally provide care for their children during the critical years following a severe health shock drive changes in labor supply and income. Mental health and fertility effects are also observed but are likely not mediators for impacts on economic outcomes.