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    <title>EconStor Community: University of Copenhagen</title>
    <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/81940</link>
    <description>University of Copenhagen</description>
    <pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 22:27:23 GMT</pubDate>
    <dc:date>2026-04-28T22:27:23Z</dc:date>
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      <title>Wage expectations and job search</title>
      <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/339321</link>
      <description>Title: Wage expectations and job search
Authors: Altmann, Steffen; Mahlstedt, Robert; Rattenborg, Malte Jacob; Sebald, Alexander; Settele, Sonja; Wohlfart, Johannes
Abstract: In a field experiment with 9,000 Danish job seekers, we study how unemployed workers' wage expectations affect job search and re-employment. In our survey, we generate exogenous variation in respondents' wage expectations by informing a random half of them about re-employment wages of comparable workers. The intervention increases job-finding as measured in administrative data for both initially optimistic and initially pessimistic respondents, but through different channels: initial optimists lower their reservation wages and intensify search, while pessimists raise reservation wages and redirect applications toward local vacancies. Consistent with spatial search frictions, narrowing the geographic scope accelerates job finding among pessimists.</description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <dc:date>2026-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date>
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      <title>Mental models of high school success</title>
      <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/339322</link>
      <description>Title: Mental models of high school success
Authors: Hübsch, Theresa; Mahlstedt, Robert; Pinger, Pia; Settele, Sonja; Willadsen, Helene
Abstract: Using surveys with Danish students transitioning to secondary education, we study mental models of how gender and parental education shape academic performance. Students hold heterogeneous beliefs about performance gaps by gender and parental background, which appear to be shaped by within-family transmission and broader social environments. Open-text responses reveal that respondents link strong performance by girls and less socioeconomically privileged students to effort, while attributing privileged students' success to external advantages. Mental models matter: beliefs about performance gaps predict enrollment in upper secondary education by gender and parental education and causally affect students' self-assessments, intended effort, and educational aspirations, as shown in an information experiment with girls. We highlight two mechanisms: updating about the returns to effort and about gender-specific effort costs in response to observed gender performance gaps. Our findings advance the understanding of education choices and shed light on the determinants and effects of mental models in a high-stakes setting.</description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <dc:date>2026-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date>
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      <title>Postpartum depression and the motherhood penalty</title>
      <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/339214</link>
      <description>Title: Postpartum depression and the motherhood penalty
Authors: Bhalotra, Sonia; Daysal, N. Meltem; Freget, Louis; Hirani, Jonas Cuzulan; Majumdar, Priyama; Trandafir, Mircea; Wüst, Miriam; Zohar, Tom
Abstract: Using Danish administrative data linked to two independent, validated postpartum depression screenings, we study how postpartum mental health shocks shape women's labor market trajectories. Event-study estimates show no pre-birth differences in trends between depressed and non-depressed mothers, but persistent employment gaps that widen immediately after birth. Health-care utilization patterns indicate that these differences reflect acute mental health shocks rather than pre-existing trends. The penalties are concentrated among less educated mothers and those in less family-friendly jobs. Our results highlight postpartum depression as a meaningful and unequal contributor to the motherhood penalty.</description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">https://hdl.handle.net/10419/339214</guid>
      <dc:date>2026-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date>
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      <title>Financial incentives, contraceptive use and abortion behavior</title>
      <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/311654</link>
      <description>Title: Financial incentives, contraceptive use and abortion behavior
Authors: Almlund, Mathilde; Ejrnæs, Mette; Jørgensen, Thomas H.
Abstract: We examine whether financial incentives affect fertility and family planning. We use a reform reducing child benefits paid to larger families together with Danish longitudinal register data on the universe of legal abortions and birth control pill purchases to address this question. We find that partnered women in low-income households reduced their fertility in response to the reform, partly by increasing the use of abortions. Younger women also increased the use of oral contraceptives. Responses are largest for younger and cohabiting women compared to their married counterparts. Our results show that family policies can affect family planning through financial incentives.</description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
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      <dc:date>2025-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date>
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