Today’s applied micro lunch seminar (which unfortunately I won’t be able to attend):

When: Tuesday, September 6th 1:10-2:00pm

Where: International Affairs Building, Room 1027

Speaker: Olga Gorbachev (Graduate Student)

Title: “Have Our Lives Become More Unstable? An Investigation of
Individual Volatility of Welfare in the U.S. over
1980-2000.”

Abstract:

Has the individual volatility of welfare changed and if so how? What
events led to these changes and what are the implications for public
policy? We examine the evolution of individual volatility of welfare
over 1980-2000 using data from two surveys: Panel Study of Income
Dynamics (PSID) and Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX). We find that
on average, micro level data follows macro trends. But, when
specific groups are considered, substantial differences are
observed. Older generations, those born between 1915 and 1944,
experienced increasing levels of volatility over 1980-2000 period,
and those born between 1960 and 1974, encountered decreasing
volatility, independent of their educational attainment. Those born
between 1945 and 1959 saw a decrease in volatility only if they had
some college education otherwise, they experienced an increased
volatility. We propose several reasons for the divergence of the
patterns and conclude by estimating social cost to the society and
to individual groups from changes in volatility measured over
1980-2000 period.