Peer Reviewed Publications by Benjamin Cerf
I present a model explaining recent findings that partnered gay men earn less than partnered stra... more I present a model explaining recent findings that partnered gay men earn less than partnered straight men while partnered lesbian women earn more than partnered straight women. In an environment with compensating differentials and a gender gap in potential income, an income effect leads partnered gay men to choose jobs with lower income and higher amenities than partnered straight men. The same mechanism generates similarly-reasoned predictions about income and amenities for women and single people. Canadian data on stressfulness of one's working environment support these predictions.
This study analyzes the relationship between inequality in land holdings and participation in com... more This study analyzes the relationship between inequality in land holdings and participation in community assemblies in Mexican villages. Our identification strategy is unique in that it exploits contemporaneously exogenous variation in inequality due to historic and legal restrictions on the subdivision and sale of parcels in the communities we study. The data show that at an aggregate level, villages with more inequality in land holdings have lower participation rates. Individuals with greater land holdings relative to other community members are more likely to participate. This relationship intensifies with increasing inequality. We also consider how participation influences the allocation of public funds. We find greater investment in public goods where inequality is lower and participation higher. Finally, we demonstrate that those who are less likely to attend meetings are also less likely to receive government subsidies and benefits.
Other Publications by Benjamin Cerf
Women are underrepresented in science and engineering, with the underrepresentation increasing in... more Women are underrepresented in science and engineering, with the underrepresentation increasing in career stage. We analyze gender differences at critical junctures in the STEM pathway--graduate training and the early career--using UMETRICS administrative data matched to the 2010 Census and W-2s. We find strong gender separation in teams, although the effects of this are ambiguous. While no clear disadvantages exist in training environments, women earn 10% less than men once we include a wide range of controls, most notably field of study. This gap disappears once we control for women's marital status and presence of children.
This paper examines sub-state spatial and temporal variation in survey misreporting about partici... more This paper examines sub-state spatial and temporal variation in survey misreporting about participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). I link several years of the American Community Survey to SNAP administrative records from New York (2008–2010) and Texas (2006– 2009) and calculate county false-negative (FN) rates for each year. I find that, within a given state and year, there is substantial heterogeneity in FN rates across counties. In addition, I find evidence that FN rates persist over time within counties. This persistence in FN rates is strongest among more populous counties, suggesting that when noise from sampling variation is not an issue, some counties have consistently high FN rates while others have consistently low FN rates. This finding is important for understanding how misreporting might bias estimates of sub-state SNAP participation rates, changes in those participation rates, and effects of program participation.
British Columbia's " open enrolment " policy provides a rare opportunity to examine whether incre... more British Columbia's " open enrolment " policy provides a rare opportunity to examine whether increased public school choice affects student achievement. Or does it concentrate minority students in enclave schools and promote cream-skimming? The findings are instructive for other provinces.
Working Papers by Benjamin Cerf
This study estimates the effect of fluctuations in local labor conditions on the likelihood that ... more This study estimates the effect of fluctuations in local labor conditions on the likelihood that existing participants are able to transition out of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Our primary data are SNAP administrative records from New York (2007–2012) linked to the 2010 Census at the person-level. We further augment these data by linking to industry-specific labor market indicators at the county-level. We find that local labor markets matter for the length of time individuals spend on SNAP, but there is substantial heterogeneity in estimated effects across local industries. While employment growth in industries with small shares of SNAP participants has no impact on SNAP exits, growth in local industries with high shares of SNAP participants, especially food service and retail, significantly in creases the likelihood that recipients exit the program. We also observe corresponding increases in entries when these industries experience localized contractions. Notably, estimated industry effects vary across race groups and parental status, with Black Alone non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and mothers benefiting the least from improvements in local labor market conditions. Our models include county fixed effects and time trends, and our results are identified by detrended within-county variation in local labor market conditions. We confirm that our results are not driven by endogenous inter-county mobility, New York City labor markets, or cohort composition effects associated with the Great Recession.
This paper utilizes changes to individuals’ first names and sex-coding in files from the Social S... more This paper utilizes changes to individuals’ first names and sex-coding in files from the Social Security Administration (SSA) to identify people likely to be transgender. I first document trends in these transgender-consistent changes and compare them to trends in other types of changes to personal information. I find that transgender-consistent changes are present as early as 1936 and have grown with non-transgender consistent changes. Of the likely transgender individuals alive during 2010, the majority change their names but not their sex-coding. Of those
who changed both their names and their sex-coding, most change both pieces of information concurrently, although over a quarter change their name first and their sex-coding 5-6 years later. Linking individuals to their 2010 Census responses shows my approach identifies more transgender members of racial and ethnic minority groups than other studies using, for example, anonymous online surveys. Finally, states with the highest proportion of likely transgender residents have state-wide laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity or
expression. States with the lowest proportion do not.
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Peer Reviewed Publications by Benjamin Cerf
Other Publications by Benjamin Cerf
Working Papers by Benjamin Cerf
who changed both their names and their sex-coding, most change both pieces of information concurrently, although over a quarter change their name first and their sex-coding 5-6 years later. Linking individuals to their 2010 Census responses shows my approach identifies more transgender members of racial and ethnic minority groups than other studies using, for example, anonymous online surveys. Finally, states with the highest proportion of likely transgender residents have state-wide laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity or
expression. States with the lowest proportion do not.
who changed both their names and their sex-coding, most change both pieces of information concurrently, although over a quarter change their name first and their sex-coding 5-6 years later. Linking individuals to their 2010 Census responses shows my approach identifies more transgender members of racial and ethnic minority groups than other studies using, for example, anonymous online surveys. Finally, states with the highest proportion of likely transgender residents have state-wide laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity or
expression. States with the lowest proportion do not.