[…] range between these values. We document substantial heterogeneity in the degree of imprecision across respondents, which remains largely unexplained by standard demographic characteristics. To assess the behavioral impact of imprecise beliefs, we ask beliefs about future outcomes under hypothetical scenarios that feature different levels of protective behaviors. We find that individuals who expect protective […]

[…] often done, it is only possible to distinguish between a selection effect (unions attract like-minded individuals) and a molding effect (the experience of membership has a transformational impact on the individual). Exploiting the longitudinal structure of the data reveals that union membership is best characterized not as a switch, but as a dynamic process […]

Relying on panel data for Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the paper examines the impact of union membership on partisan preferences. By leveraging panel data to control for time-invariant selection effects, we show that unions exert a small consistent left‑wing influence on the average wage earner who becomes affiliated, but […]

[…] fixed effects and unspecified nonlinear confounding. Our simulation study assesses the performance of these procedures using different machine learning algorithms. We use our procedures to re-estimate the impact of minimum wage on voting behaviour in the UK. From our results, we recommend the use of first-differencing because it imposes the fewest constraints on the […]

[…] accounting for the potential influence of unobserved individual time-constant and time-varying heterogeneity by using random trend models (fixed effects with individual slopes (FEIS)). Thirdly, we inspect the impact of feedback by applying first-difference (FD) models. The results of FE, FEIS, and FD models show that the number of friends has a small positive effect […]

Adolescents spend more time on social media than ever, making it necessary to understand the impact of social media use on their well-being. A largely unexplored, but potentially important, risk factor which may moderate effects of social media on well-being is material deprivation. Using 10-wave longitudinal data from 23,155 adolescents collected between 2009 and […]

[…] reform on the mental health of benefit claimants. In both cases and in a simulation study, the interactions approach produces more specific, precise and interpretable estimates of intervention effects. We suggest that researchers evaluating population health interventions that are expected to impact on some populations more than others should consider using a dose-exposure interaction design.

[…] frequent use of sleep medication, sleep disturbance, daytime dysfunction, and longer sleep latency—were also associated with poorer mental health. Importantly, these sleep problems not only mediated the impact of financial strain on mental health but also exacerbated its negative effects. Limitations: The study could not eliminate the possibility of reverse causality, where deteriorating mental […]

[…] shift toward more traditional gender-role views among wives. This change is particularly pronounced if their husbands possess more traditional ideologies and earn more than the wives. The impact of parenthood on the husband’s gender ideology is more varied. Husbands tend to adopt more traditional ideologies when their wives hold more traditional views and when […]