General Economics (econ.GN)

Abstract: Poland records one of the lowest gender wage gaps in Europe. At the same time, it is a socially conservative country where women's rights have been on the decline. We argue that, in the Polish context, the gender gap in income is a more appropriate measure of gendered labour market outcomes than the gap in the hourly wage. We analyse the gender gap in income in Poland in relation to the parenthood status, using the placebo event history method, adjusted to low resolution data, and the two waves of the Polish Generations and Gender Survey (2010, 2014). Contrary to similar studies conducted in Western Europe, our analysis uncovers a large degree of anticipatory behaviour in both women and men who expect to become parents. We show that mothers' income decreases by about 20% after birth, but converges to the income trajectory of non-mothers after 15 years. In contrast, the income of eventual fathers is higher than that of non-fathers both before and after birth, suggesting that the fatherhood child premium might be driven primarily by selection. We also demonstrate a permanent increase in hours worked for fathers, as opposed to non-fathers and a decrease in hours worked for mothers who converge to the trajectory of non-mothers after 15 years from the birth. Finally, we compare the gender gaps in income and wages of women and men in the sample with those of individuals in a counterfactual scenario where the entire population is childless. We find no statistically significant gender gaps in the counterfactual scenario, thereby concluding that the gender gaps in income and wages in Poland are driven by parenthood and most likely, by differences in labour market participation and hours worked.

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of the Anglophone Conflict in Cameroon on human capital accumulation. Using high-quality individual-level data on test scores and information on conflict-related violent events, a difference-in-differences design is employed to estimate the conflict's causal effects. The results show that an increase in violent events and conflict-related deaths causes a significant decline in test scores in reading and mathematics. The conflict also leads to higher rates of teacher absenteeism and reduced access to electricity in schools. These findings highlight the adverse consequences of conflict-related violence on human capital accumulation, particularly within the Anglophone subsystem. The study emphasizes the disproportionate burden faced by Anglophone pupils due to language-rooted tensions and segregated educational systems.