| dc.description.abstract | This dissertation examines three topics in the field of public and health economics using quasi-experimental methods. The first two topics focus on nonprofit institutions and charitable giving,
and the last one is about the economics of reproductive health care.
First, in the section entitled “Effects of the Minimum Wage on the Nonprofit Sector", we explore how government policies such as minimum wage affect the nonprofit sector. Given the differences between nonprofits and for-profit firms, it is important to investigate how nonprofits respond to labor cost changes. We use data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Internal Revenue Service linked to state minimum wages. We find a negative impact on employment, driven primarily by states with large statutory minimum wage increases.
In the section entitled “Charitable Giving Responses to Education Budgets", we study the extent to which government spending on education crowds out private contributions to education. We use data from DonorsChoose.org, an online crowdfunding platform extensively used by public school teachers, and account for endogeneity and economic conditions that affect both spending and donations. We find evidence for crowd-out of private giving, driven by the demand side of the charitable giving market.
In the last section, we examine the long-run effects of exposure to legal changes in access to
Reproductive Control Technology on women’s education and earnings. We use the Health and
Retirement Study data and leverage variation in exposure to legal changes in access across cohorts born in the same states during the 1960s and 1970s. Our estimates suggest increases in levels of education and increases in the probability of working in a Social Security (SS)-covered job in women’s 20s and 30s. | |
