Chapter 1 investigates how unemployed workers use marginal employment (geringfügige Beschäftigung), which represents a significant earnings exemption. Using Austrian administrative panel data from 2009 to 2019, I analyze how marginal employment affects unemployment duration, post-unemployment job stability, and income. Considering the timing of marginal employment entry, I introduce the last-resort hypothesis, suggesting that late entry into marginal employment results from unsuccessful job searches. Accounting for the possible impact of unemployment duration on the decision to enter marginal employment, I find that it extends unemployment by approximately 6-16 days but positively affects future job stability. Early entrants also experience an increase in income.
Chapter 2 examines the effect of public library outlet closures on library use and educational outcomes in nearby school districts. Local public institutions, such as public libraries, offer access to low-cost educational resources, potentially mitigating human capital investment disparities. However, from 2008 to 2019, 766 public library outlets closed across the U.S., reducing access to these critical resources. Using geolocated data and an event study approach, we find that library use declines by 31-41%, and reading and math scores decline by 0.013 and 0.026 standard deviations, respectively, in nonmetropolitan areas. However, high school graduation rates remain unaffected.
Chapter 3 explores the gendered impact of school closures on paid work hours during the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria. Using data from the Austrian Corona Panel Project (ACPP) covering generalized school closures from March 2020 to April 2021, the study examines adjustments in work hours by gender and parental status. The descriptive data show general reductions in work time, especially in the first months. From July 2020 onward, however, mothers reduced work hours more than fathers when schools were closed, and they increased time spent on childcare, while fathers reduced theirs. Using OLS and fixed effects models, the study confirms that mothers reduced their work hours during school closures more than any other group. In contrast, fathers reduced their work hours the least, even less than individuals without children. Finally, there is some evidence that school closures capture policy stringency in high-incidence phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.
