Emotional and psychological consequences of sexual harassment: a descriptive study.

The emotional and psychological consequences of sexual harassment were investigated. On the basis of previous empirical evidence concerning the correlates of sexual harassment, the role of the working relationship between harasser and target, type of harassment, gender composition of the work group, duration of the harassment, and gender were examined in relation to two psychological states: feelings about work and emotional/physical condition.

Effects of price and availability on abortion demand.

PIP: This study explained the variation in US state abortion demand due to the price of services, the net of insurance cost of birth services, the ability to pay, contraceptive use, individual attitudes regarding abortion, and government policy affecting cost of benefits of terminating an unintended pregnancy or of carrying to birth. The empirical model uses pooled data from 48 states for 1982, 1984, 1985, and 1987. Prices are deflated to 1977 dollars. Another two-staged least squares model is based on cross-sectional state level data for 1985. The dependent variable is the log of abortion per 1000 pregnancies. Other variables pertain to income, education, labor force, family planning, tax, aid to families with dependent children, religion, and abortion-related measures. The results of the cross-sectional analysis are consistent with Medoff's and Garbacz's findings. The estimated coefficient of per capita income is positive with a point elasticity ranging from 0.62 to 1.0. The model with the most complete specifications has an abortion price elasticity range from -0.75 to -1.3 and is statistically significant when religion measures are excluded. The Hausman test shows the pro-choice variable significantly correlated with the error term. The net price of birth services is not statistically significant. Catholic religion and no religion are only significant when the abortion provider variable is excluded. The suggestion is that the effect of Catholicism is ambiguous. In the pooled analysis, the fixed effects model is used to control for abortion attitudes and other unobserved factors. Abortion demand includes abortion per 1000 pregnancies, the ratio of abortions to pregnancies, and the logarithm of abortions per 1000 pregnancies. Higher income is associated with a higher abortion rate and elasticities of 0.76 and 0.35 and is associated with a higher pregnancy rate. The abortion ratio is found to be elastic with respect to price, and price elasticities are sensitive to choice of state abortion attitude measures. The availability of family planning services reduces the rate of pregnancy as well as the abortion rate and ratio.^ieng

Medicaid payment rates for nursing homes, 1979-86.

The issue of the cost containment effects of payment systems on per diem payments by Medicaid to nursing homes is addressed. Estimates of real payment rates as a function of broadly defined payment system classifications and economic and demographic variables using State-level data are presented. Little support for the notion that prospective payment systems substantially restrain payment rates for intermediate care facilities is found, but some model specifications indicate possible cost savings associated with prospective payment systems for skilled nursing facilities. Significant methodological concerns that need to be addressed in future research on the cost containment effects of payment systems are also discussed.

Retirement differences among the respondents to the retirement history survey.

Recent studies have simulated the effect of changes in the Social Security system on the retirement age of married White men. The retirement decision for single people, Blacks, and women, however, may differ from those of married White men. This study used data for respondents to the Retirement History Survey and found that estimated retirement equations for married Black men and single White women are significantly different from the retirement equation estimated for married White men. Blacks and single White women have substantially lower retirement wealth than married White men, and their Social Security wealth makes up a larger portion of their total wealth. As a consequence, their retirement responses to the changes in the Social Security system are also likely to differ from those of married White men. We found that, relative to married White men, the wealth and substitution responses to the increase in the normal retirement age for Social Security benefit acceptance are larger for single White men, single Black men, and single White women. The results suggest that estimates of the retirement responses of married men to changes in Social Security or pensions are not necessarily representative of the retirement responses of the population as a whole.

Retirement responses to social security changes.

Workers often retire at an age later than the age at which they accept Social Security benefits. This study employed a life-cycle model of individual utility to examine the effects of Social Security provisions on the timing of benefit acceptance and retirement. The behavioral responses of older workers are estimated with a two-equation logit model using data from the Retirement History Study. The results indicate that the legislated increase in the age of eligibility for full Social Security benefits beginning in the 21st century will have relatively small effects on the ages of retirement and benefit acceptance. The mandated decrease in the earnings test tax also is predicted to have only a small effect on the behavior of older persons.