The Impacts of Health Shocks on Household Labor Supply and Domestic Production (with Giovanni Di Meo)

This paper investigates the impact of severe health shocks on labor supply decisions and domestic production within German households. We draw from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), focusing on individuals aged 25 to 55 at the time of their first observed health shock. After the health shock, we find that affected individuals suffer a persistent loss in annual gross labor income of around 4,000 Euros. This effect results mostly from adjustments at the extensive margin, with labor market participation declining by about 16%. We observe a reduction in full-time employment, but no significant effect on part-time employment. At the household level, a combination of public transfers and added worker effect effectively compensates for the income loss. Finally, individuals experiencing a health shock, in particular women, spend more time on domestic production.

Access on SSRN

The Impact of Climate Change on Risk Aversion and Mitigation Behavior: Evidence from Germany (with Alexandra Avdeenko)

This paper investigates whether the 2013 floods in Germany affected risk preferences and mitigation behavior, using a representative, longitudinal data set. Exploiting the circumstance that this weather phenomenon was unanticipated, we provide robust evidence that flood exposure had a depressing impact on individual willingness to take risks. The effect size corresponds to a 4.85 percent reduction from the pre-treatment mean, varies between men and women, and is detectable up to five years after the shock. We show that this change is mediated by changes in well-being. Moreover, we discuss whether these changes in risk aversion may eventually reduce the costly moral hazard problem in climate change mitigation policies. In particular, we document that selection on risk aversion leads to a higher uptake in life insurances in high-risk areas.

CEPR Discussion Paper No. 16266

• Summarized in VoxEU and the UNDRR’s (UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) PreventionWeb

A significantly revised version is available upon request.

Unpacking Retirement Choices in Switzerland: The Dual Effect of Marital Status and Voluntary Savings

In this study I am using data from one of the largest Swiss occupational pension providers to investigate the capital versus annuity choice Swiss retirees face at the end of their working lives. In particular, I consider how marital status and voluntary, tax-incentivized savings decisions across their working lives interact with this pivotal decision.

Spousal Death and Survivor's Financial Response (with Claudio Daminato and Irina Gemmo)

The death of a spouse is one of the most severe financial shocks that an individual can face during his or her life cycle. Understanding the degree of consumption smoothing against the financial risks associated with spousal death is a key issue in the design of old-age support policies. In this paper, we examine the impact of a spousal mortality shock on survivors' consumption in the U.S., combining data from the Health and Retirement Study with data from the Consumption and Activities Mail Survey and using an event-study design. We find evidence that survivors' consumption falls sharply following the spousal mortality shock, while consumption per adult equivalent increases on average. We show that an incomplete markets life-cycle model with two spouses and a stylized but careful representation of the US social security system can rationalize these findings. These results suggest that the death of a spouse is not a major cause of old-age poverty and provide support for the existing system of survivor benefits.