This paper leverages the 2005 reform of retirement rules in Finland to analyze its impact on both employment and health outcomes. The reform introduced stricter criteria for early retirement while enhancing flexibility in old-age pension options. Examining cohort variations across the reform period allows us to pinpoint its causal impacts. Regarding labor market participation outcomes, we study the reform's influence on individuals close to the earlier retirement age of 65 years. We find that individuals around this age were less likely to be retired and more likely to be employed due to the reform. Regarding health outcomes, we focus on three outcomes, which may respond to changes in labor market status: antidepressant purchases and hospitalization because of cardiovascular, or musculoskeletal conditions. We observe that health effects remain relatively small and rare, yet the reform may have slightly increased the probability of cardiovascular diseases after retirement.

Sin taxes are increasingly being used to discourage the consumption of goods perceived to harm individuals and society. This paper examines the impact of South Africa's Health Promotion Levy (HPL)—the first sugar tax implemented in Africa-on the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in the country. Using comprehensive data from excise returns submitted by manufacturers and importers of SSBs, we find that the HPL was extremely effective in reducing the consumption of sugar through these beverages. Within two years of its introduction, the levy caused a substantial 33 percent reduction in the consumption of sugar through taxable beverages. We also find that the consumption partially shifted to non-taxable beverages, resulting in an increase of 15 percent in the consumption of non-taxable SSBs. These findings suggest that while the HPL is effective in reducing SSBs consumption, policy adjustments, including broader product coverage and targeted use of tax revenues, could enhance its impact.

Previous work using mostly self-reports shows large, positive effects of early-life exposure to Food Stamps on self-sufficiency, health, and well-being-lasting well into adulthood. We combine this same adoption timing with administrative data on earnings, employment, and use of disability benefits. Women born in counties with Food Stamps available in early life had 3 percent higher earnings at age 32. Effects were larger in counties with another in-kind food program in place before Food Stamps. Food Stamps relied on the other program's preexisting administrative eligibility determination. Our results establish links between pre-existing administrative infrastructure and the later-life impacts of Food Stamps.

We investigate one of the most distressing experiences a child can face: the terminal illness and death of a sibling. Despite siblings being the ultimate peers in childhood, sibling illness and death spillovers remain largely unexplored as it is notoriously difficult to capture causal effects due to endogenous factors. To circumvent endogeneity issues, we leverage exogenous variation in childhood cancer incidence and death across families in Sweden to estimate causal effects. We estimate the impact of the shock on the educational performance, health outcomes and early labor market succes of the remaining children.Using parental fertility, marital stability, and labour-market outcomes as potential mediators, we aim to improve the understanding of the estimated effects of sibling spillovers.Sibling spillovers are important in understanding the total effects of childhood policies on children within families. Our findings will speak to the efficacy of these human capital interventions.