The Effect of Maternity Leave Expansions on Fertility Intentions: Evidence from Switzerland Abstract We study the effect of the expansion of the mandatory paid maternity leave, implemented in Switzerland in 2005, on individuals’ fertility intentions. Earlier literature found evidence of fertility increases induced by maternity leave expansions from other countries of a relatively large magnitude of 1 year. The expansion that we consider was smaller, from 8 unpaid weeks to 14 mandatory paid weeks, and thus its effect on fertility decisions is less evident ex ante. Nevertheless, we find that it positively impacts fertility planning even though, by construction, our model specification cannot capture its full effect. The strongest effects are elicited in the subsamples of men, individuals with two children, and individuals aged between 31 and 36. There are several channels through which the maternity leave expansion may affect individuals’ child planning, all indicative of a positive effect on the fertility rate.

Resource Well-Being among Family Child Care Business Owners Abstract Family child care, a paid child care service operated out of a care provider’s home, is a common child care choice for working parents. While studies show positive associations between providers’ income and care quality, little is known about their resource management and perceived resource well-being. Using surveys and interviews, this study explored the association between household income and overall perceived resource well-being among seven family child care providers in the Los Angeles, California area. The surveys offered providers’ demographic information and characteristics about their child care businesses. The analysis of the interview data identified four resource well-being themes regarding perceptions about: past and present economic situations, demands on time, contributions providers’ family members make to support the business functions, and quality and availability of community resources. The findings suggest household income predicts little about how providers perceive their overall resource well-being. Understanding income as only a part of resource management may better elucidate links between income and child care quality. Discussions include implications for financial counselors and planners.

The Impact of Child Care Subsidies on Mothers’ Education Outcomes Abstract The federal child care subsidy program reduces child care costs for eligible low-income families to facilitate parental employment and educational attainment. Using national data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), this study is the first to ask whether subsidies induce an increase in maternal education level over time, and if so, whether this increase is steeper for mothers who use subsidies to increase their education when their children are younger. After matching subsidy recipients with subsidy-eligible non-recipients on a range of background variables, we assess whether mothers increase their education levels in response to entry into the subsidy program at two different points in a child’s early years: first when children are 2 years old and then when children are in preschool. Results suggest that subsidy receipt promotes mothers’ educational attainment, with the largest impacts for mothers who receive subsidies when their children are younger (2 years old vs preschool-age) and for subgroups of mothers who have low baseline levels of education (high school or below) and who are not initially enrolled in school.

Peer Effects Among Teachers: A Study of Retirement Investments Abstract Using a unique matched-panel dataset that combines detailed demographic information from the Florida Department of Education’s annual survey of school districts with investment information from the Florida State Board of Administration for 2002–2009, this paper looks for the presence of peer effects among Florida Defined Contribution plan participants at the school level. Overall, the regression results suggest a small, but significant peer effect on asset allocations and activity level. A 1 standard deviation change in initial peer equity yielded a 0.04 standard deviation change in equity reallocation. This is in comparison to a 1 standard deviation change in the individual’s own initial equity allocation, which would yield a 0.16 standard deviation change in equity allocation. For activity level, a 5.2% change in peer activity level increased the likelihood of a participant being active by 1.8%. The findings are reinforced by similar analysis using false peer groups. These findings suggest the presence of a social multiplier for coworker investment decisions.

Using Household Budgetary Constraints to Explore Negative-interaction Behavior Among Homeowners in Coastal Southeast United States Abstract In this study, household “Negative Interaction” behaviors (counterproductive behavior between home occupants) were measured by examining “Household Budgetary Constraints” (a relative measure of the balance between income and expenses), via the discriminant analysis segmentation strategy: Decision-Ade. In the current methodological study, the Decision-Ade segmentation strategy is expanded from its origins in energy-efficiency research, to family and economic issues research, thereby expanding the scholarly and programmatic “toolkit” approaches used by researchers and stakeholders in this discipline. The sample consisted of 1943 homeowners in southeast coastal United Stated (US) who were part of a larger disaster-preparedness study related to energy efficiency and occupant relationships. Among the sample, 54% (n =1049) of respondents reported the presence of “negative interaction” behaviors in their home. They also displayed misperceptions regarding their “Communication Practices” and “Engagement Practices” (how home occupants communicate and interact with one another). Interestingly, 72% of these respondents (n =1399) reported earning between $25,000 and $100,000 in annual household income, with 39% (n =758) earning > $50,000. Although this could constitute a “living wage,” those studied in this research self-reported as having “Household Budgetary Constraints,” which indicates an imbalance between income and expenses. These same respondents also were highly likely to be associated with having “negative-interaction” behaviors occurring in their home, which is considered a major deterrent to stable, healthy households in family studies research.

Pathways from Financial Knowledge to Relationship Satisfaction: The Roles of Financial Behaviors, Perceived Shared Financial Values with the Romantic Partner, and Debt Abstract We examined how subjective and objective financial knowledge were associated with relationship satisfaction through pathways of finance-related rewards (positive financial behaviors, perceived shared financial values with the romantic partner, or lower debt) in a sample of cohabiting or married young adults (N = 162). We used Waves 2, 3, and 4 of the Arizona Pathways to Life Success for University Students (APLUS) study to conduct path analyses. No pathways were significant in longitudinal models. In the cross-sectional models (Wave 4), we found individuals’ own subjective (but not objective) financial knowledge was associated with relationship satisfaction. This association was indirect in the model with perceived shared financial values, demonstrating that shared financial values with the romantic partner may be a key mechanism linking financial knowledge to improved relationship quality.

Financial Literacy of High School Graduates: Long- and Short-Term Financial Behavior by Age Group Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between financial literacy and long- and short-term financial behaviors by age group for those without a college degree. Financial literacy was measured and discussed in the context of three components: objective financial knowledge, confidence in financial knowledge, and financial ability. Financial ability was significant in each age group and had the highest odds ratios of the three components of the financial literacy construct for the short-term index. Both confidence in financial knowledge and financial ability were significant in each age group for budgeting while objective financial knowledge was not. The results suggest that confidence in both knowledge and ability are important influences on positive financial behaviors for those without a college degree.

Are Asian Households in the U.S. More Likely than Other Households to Help Children with College Costs? Abstract We test whether Asian parents place more importance on helping their children with college costs than parents in other racial/ethnic groups. Some previous research has shown that Asian parents are more likely than comparable White parents to list saving for college as an important goal, but does that indicate that they place more importance on helping their children with college costs? Descriptive analyses of the 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances indicate that Asian parents are more likely than White parents to (1) expect to contribute to their children’s college costs and (2) list college as an important saving goal. Our logistic regression controlling for household characteristics shows that among households with at least one child age 13 to 17, Asian parents are not different from parents with other racial/ethnic identification in expecting to contribute to their children’s college costs. Controlling for household characteristics and expecting to contribute to their children’s college costs, White parents have less than half of the odds of listing college as an important saving goal as Asian parents. However, listing college as a saving goal may not be a good indicator of the importance placed by parents of college for their children, as there are other ways to help with college costs, including borrowing, contributing out of current income, and some parents may consider the goal as having been met by their own previous savings or the savings of relatives.

The Moderating Role of Depressive Symptoms Between Financial Assets and Bequests Expectation Abstract This study investigated the association between financial assets and bequests expectation, specifically whether having depression moderated the association. Our sample included 10,340 middle-aged and older Americans from the 2014 Health and Retirement Study. Results from ordinary least squares regression models showed a positive association between financial assets and bequests expectation, whereas a negative association between depression and bequests expectation. Furthermore, a moderating role of depression was revealed. Specifically, the relationship between financial assets and bequests expectation was stronger for individuals with depression than for individuals without depression. Future research and practice should incorporate perspectives of both financial assets and depressvie symptoms to more effectively help individuals and families deal their current financial situation as well as identify their estate planning needs. We also discuss public policy implications of the findings.

Relational and Sexual Costs of Materialism in Couple Relationships: An Actor–Partner Longitudinal Study Abstract This study examined the relational and sexual costs of materialism in couple relationships. Path analyses utilizing an actor–partner interdependence model (APIM) based on social comparison theory longitudinally predicted relationships across three waves of data over two years. Respondents included 338 couples (married and cohabiting) who participated in three waves of the (Day et al. 2016) Project. Women’s goods materialism at Time 2 was also directly related to their own (positively) and their partner’s (negatively) sexual satisfaction at Time 3. Men’s image materialism at Time 2 was directly and negatively related to their own commitment at Time 2 and their goods materialism at Time 2 was directly and negatively related to their own Time 2 relationship satisfaction. We also identified negative indirect associations between men’s T2 image and goods materialism and men’s and women’s T3 relationship satisfaction. This study provided evidence of the concurrent and longitudinal associations of materialism and relationship and sexual satisfaction using dyadic data. Implications for family life educators and therapists are explored.