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We examine the impact of the Allowance for Newborn Children, a universal baby bonus offered by the Canadian province of Quebec, on birth order, sibship sex composition, income, and education. We find a large response for third- and higher-order births for which the bonus was more generous. Interestingly, though, we find stronger response if there were two previous sons or a previous son and daughter rather than two previous daughters. We also find, in addition to a transitory effect, a permanent effect, with the greatest increase in one daughter-two son families among three-child households. Moreover, we find a hump shape response by income group, with the greatest response from middle-income families. Also, women with at least some post-secondary education respond more to the policy than those with less. These findings suggest that properly structured pro-natal policies can successfully increase fertility among different segments of the population while simultaneously diminishing the effect of gender preferences and fertility disparity related to women's education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a benefit index based on collective agreements in each Canadian province to understand the effects employee contracts have on absenteeism of full-time nurses. In particular, I estimate the impact of this benefit index on the number of hours nurses take off in a reference week. Month and year dummy variables, as well as nurses' individual and work-related characteristics, are included in both ordinary least squares and two-part model regressions. My main finding implies full-time nurses in the most generous collective agreement show a nineteen percent increase in the number of hours taken off work in comparison to the least generous collective agreement. This study illustrates how the generosity of benefits in collective agreements varies the rate of absenteeism and highlights that employees and employers still have gains to be made from readjusting employee contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) mandated the reduction of power plant emissions in the eastern United States. Starting in March 2005, this policy greatly reduced exposure to a specific form of pollution—fine particulate matter—in neighboring downwind counties. Using data from the 1995 to 2013 waves of the U.S. Natality Detail Files, we investigate the impact of this reduced exposure on birth outcomes including premature birth, birth weight status and infant mortality. Our most consistent finding is that the CAIR reduced premature birth, particularly among women aged thirty-five and older, those who experienced clinically-designated "risky" pregnancies, and those who gave birth to female newborns. We also find a substantial reduction in infant mortality for newborns whose mothers experienced "risky" pregnancies. Taken together, our findings suggest that policy-induced reductions in exposure to fine particulate matter may lead to improved birth outcomes among those mothers and newborns most at risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]