November 17, 2009
World Bank public data now in google search
Google first began integrating data from sources like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Division in April of this year. Now it has added 17 World Development Indicators in Google search. To see the new data, try queries like [gdp of indonesia], [life expectancy brazil], [rwanda's population growth], [energy use of iceland], [co2 emissions of iceland] and [gdp growth rate argentina].
You can create interactive charts with link buttons to allow you embed the charts in your websites or blogs like the one below.
Posted by yanfu at 11:22 AM Categories: Data , New Resources
Postdoc positions at Princeton
Post Doctoral Research Associate
The Office of Population Research at Princeton University is seeking a postdoctoral researcher to work on a project that examines the biological pathways linking social and economic factors to health among older cohorts in Taiwan. The candidate should have strong methodological skills and experience in working with large survey data sets. Appointment is for one year, with possible renewal, to begin as early as July 2010. Ph.D. in related discipline required. To apply, link to http://jobs.princeton.edu to complete an application. Please include a cover letter, a curriculum vitae, samples of original work, and appropriate supporting material. Applications will be considered starting March 15, 2010. Screening of applicants will continue until position is filled. Princeton University is an equal opportunity employer and complies with applicable EEO and affirmative action regulations. For information about how to voluntarily self-identify, please link to http://www.princeton.edu/dof/ApplicantsInfo.htm
NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship
The Office of Population Research at Princeton University invites applications for an NIH postdoctoral fellowship. Candidates must have completed an MD or a PhD in demography, sociology, statistics, or other relevant field before appointment. Holders of NIH fellowships must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Appointment is for one year, with possibility of renewal, and a start date of September 2010. To apply, link to http://jobs.princeton.edu to complete an application. Please, include a cover letter, a curriculum vitae, 1-3 page projected research plan, writing samples, and appropriate supporting material. Screening of applicants will start on February 1, 2010 and continue until position is filled. Princeton University is an equal opportunity employer and complies with applicable EEO and affirmative action regulations. For information about how to voluntarily self-identify, please link to http://www.princeton.edu/dof/ApplicantsInfo.htm
Posted by yanfu at 10:57 AM Categories: Jobs and Internships
RAND Graduate Student Summer Associate Program
Applications for summer of 2010 are now being accepted.
RAND's Graduate Student Summer Associate Program introduces outstanding graduate students to RAND, an institution that conducts research on a wide range of national security problems and domestic and international social policy issues. Students receive a stipend and are given the opportunity to conduct research that can be completed during the three months they are at RAND.
Posted by yanfu at 10:19 AM Categories: Jobs and Internships
November 13, 2009
Special Issue on Data Sharing from Nature
"Research cannot flourish if data are not preserved and made accessible. All concerned must act accordingly.
More and more often these days, a research project's success is measured not just by the publications it produces, but also by the data it makes available to the wider community."
Nature 461, 145 (10 September 2009)
Posted by yanfu at 04:44 PM Categories: Data
Articles on Fertility from the Economist
The move to replacement-level fertility is one of the most dramatic social changes in history, according to an article in the Economist.
Falling fertility
"Today’s fall in fertility is both very large and very fast. Poor countries are racing through the same demographic transition as rich ones, starting at an earlier stage of development and moving more quickly."
Posted by yanfu at 04:21 PM Categories: Family, Fertility & Children
Women and health: today's evidence tomorrow's agenda
The WHO report provides the latest and most comprehensive evidence available to date on women's specific needs and health challenges over their entire life-course. The report includes the latest global and regional figures on the health and leading causes of death in women from birth, through childhood, adolescence and adulthood, to older age.
Posted by yanfu at 04:16 PM Categories: New Resources
November 05, 2009
New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
Are Lone Mothers Responsive to Policy Changes? Evidence from a Workfare Reform in a Generous Welfare State
Magne Mogstad, Chiara Pronzato
Abstract; PDF
Impact of Educational and Religious Homogamy on Marital Stability
Kornelius Kraft, Stefanie Neimann
Abstract; PDF
The Regulation of Migration in a Transition Economy: China’s Hukou System
Shuming Bao, Örn B. Bodvarsson, Jack W. Hou, Yaohui Zhao
Abstract; PDF
Family Networks and School Enrolment: Evidence from a Randomized Social Experiment
Manuela Angelucci, Giacomo De Giorgi, Marcos A. Rangel, Imran Rasul
Abstract; PDF
Extended Family Networks in Rural Mexico: A Descriptive Analysis
Manuela Angelucci, Giacomo De Giorgi, Marcos A. Rangel, Imran Rasul
Abstract; PDF
Now Daddy's Changing Diapers and Mommy's Making Her Career: Evaluating a Generous Parental Leave Regulation Using a Natural Experiment
Jochen Kluve, Marcus Tamm
Abstract; PDF
Can Child Care Policy Encourage Employment and Fertility? Evidence from a Structural Model
Peter Haan, Katharina Wrohlich
Abstract; PDF
Money for Nothing? Universal Child Care and Maternal Employment
Tarjei Havnes, Magne Mogstad
Abstract; PDF
Health and Income: A Robust Comparison of Canada and the US
Jean-Yves Duclos, Damien Échevin
Abstract; PDF
Policy Relevant Heterogeneity in the Value of Statistical Life: New Evidence from Panel Data Quantile Regressions
(forthcoming in: Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 2010)
Thomas J. Kniesner, W. Kip Viscusi, James P. Ziliak
Abstract; PDF
Posted by ljridley at 10:04 AM Categories: New Resources
November 04, 2009
School Enrollment in the United States: 2008
School Enrollment in the United States: 2008
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports
Could a recent trend toward two-year colleges be leading to an all-time high in enrollment? These tables examine a host of details about school enrollment for the population 3 years and older by social and economic characteristics, including age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, type of school, labor force status of mothers with school-age children, type of family, employment status of those enrolled in vocational courses, income levels, children of foreign-born and more.
Posted by ljridley at 11:52 AM Categories: Human Capital, Labor & Wealth
November 02, 2009
Center for Retirement Research 2010 Dissertation Fellowship Program
The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College announces the 2010 Dissertation Fellowship Program for research on retirement income and disability insurance issues. The program, funded by the U.S. Social Security Administration:
• Supports doctoral candidates writing dissertations on retirement income and disability insurance issues.
• Awards up to six fellowships of $28,000.
• Requires proposals be complete and submitted by January 29, 2010.
• Proposal guidelines can be found at the Dissertation Fellowship website.
For questions, please contact:
Marina Tsiknis
tsiknis@bc.edu
617-552-1092
Posted by ljridley at 11:35 AM Categories: Funding News
New Working Papers from the NBER
Testing the Correlated Random Coefficient Model
By James J. Heckman, Daniel A. Schmierer, Sergio S. Urzua
Abstract; PDF
Son Preference and the Persistence of Culture: Evidence from Asian Immigrants to Canada
By Douglas Almond, Lena Edlund, Kevin Milligan
Abstract; PDF
Spatial Mismatch, Immigrant Networks, and Hispanic Employment in the United States
By Judith K. Hellerstein, Melissa McInerney, David Neumark
Abstract; PDF
Posted by ljridley at 11:17 AM Categories: New Resources
October 29, 2009
The “Zeal of the Convert”: Is It the Real Deal?
The “Zeal of the Convert”: Is It the Real Deal?
By: Allison Pond and Greg Smith
Source: Pew Research Center
A common perception about individuals who switch religions is that they are very fervent about their new faith. A new analysis by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life provides quantitative support for this piece of conventional wisdom often referred to as the "zeal of the convert."
The analysis finds that people who have switched faiths (or joined a faith after being raised unaffiliated with a religion) are indeed slightly more religious than those who have remained in their childhood faith, as measured by the importance of religion in their lives, the frequency with which they attend religious services and other measures of religious commitment.
However, the analysis also finds that the differences in religious commitment between converts and nonconverts are generally very small and are more apparent among some religious groups than among others.
Posted by ljridley at 02:10 PM Categories: Ideational Factors
Empire State Exodus: The Mass Migration of New Yorkers to Other States
Empire State Exodus: The Mass Migration of New Yorkers to Other States
By: Wendell Cox and E.J. McMahon
Source: Empire Center for New York State Policy (Manhattan Institute)
From the Executive Summary:
The Empire State is being drained of an invaluable resource—people. From 2000 to 2008, in both absolute and relative terms, New York experienced the nation's largest loss of residents to other states—a net domestic migration outflow of over 1.5 million, or 8 percent of its population at the start of the decade.
Based on the latest data from the Census Bureau and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), this report examines how many New Yorkers have been leaving the state, where they have been going and how much income they have been taking with them. Focusing on the period since 2000, key findings include the following:
* The annual net loss of New Yorkers to other states has ranged from a high of nearly 250,000 people in 2005 to a low of 126,000 last year, when moves nationwide slowed down sharply along with the economy. California was the only other state to lose more than a million residents to out-migration during the 2000-2008 period.
* Most of the New York State out-migrants tracked by the IRS originated in the metropolitan New York City region. Migration rates are lower upstate, but the net population impact has been larger.
* Nearly 60 percent of the New York out-migrants moved to southern states—with Florida alone drawing nearly one-third of the total. Thirty percent moved to the neighboring states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
* Households moving out of New York State had average incomes 13 percent higher than those moving into New York during the most recent year for which such data are available. In 2006-07 alone, the migration flow out of New York drained $4.3 billion in taxpayer income from the state.
Posted by ljridley at 09:47 AM Categories: Population Dynamics - Urbanization, Migration
New Working Papers from the NBER
Effects of Urban Sprawl on Obesity
By Zhenxiang Zhao, Robert Kaestner
Abstract; PDF
Long Term Effects of Minimum Legal Drinking Age Laws on Adult Alcohol Use and Driving Fatalities
By Robert Kaestner, Benjamin Yarnoff
Abstract; PDF
The Changing Selectivity of American Colleges
By Caroline M. Hoxby
Abstract; PDF
Posted by ljridley at 09:42 AM Categories: New Resources
October 27, 2009
Improving Effectiveness and Outcomes for the Poor in Health, Nutrition and Population
Improving Effectiveness and Outcomes for the Poor in Health, Nutrition and Population
Source: World Bank
The World Bank Group’s support for health, nutrition, and population (HNP) has been sustained since 1997—totaling $17 billion in country-level support by the World Bank and $873 million in private health and pharmaceutical investments by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) through mid-2008. This report evaluates the efficacy of the Bank Group’s direct support for HNP to developing countries since 1997 and draws lessons to help improve the effectiveness of this support.
Click here to download Project Performance Assessment Reports for these countries
Posted by ljridley at 10:32 AM Categories: Health, Disability & Mortality
U.S. Food Stamp Enrollment Rises
U.S. Food Stamp Enrollment Rises
By: Nadwa Mossaad
Source: Population Reference Bureau
Timely economic data provide the means to assess the severity of the current economic hardship on the U.S. population. Official poverty estimates released on Sept. 10, 2009, by the U.S. Census Bureau show that in 2008, the poverty rate rose to 13.2 percent, and child poverty increased from 18 percent in 2007 to 19 percent, the highest level since 1997. Another measure of economic hardship, the monthly unemployment rate, rose to 9.7 percent in August 2009, a 26-year high.
Poverty and unemployment rates help to track the long-term economic health of families and individuals, but both are indirect measures of economic hardship. A more direct measure of family economic need is the number of individuals and families participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the federal Food Stamp Program. The amount of assistance depends on household size, income, and expenses. SNAP participation rates have increased dramatically in recent months and could increase even further as income levels drop and more families become eligible.
Posted by ljridley at 10:22 AM Categories: Human Capital, Labor & Wealth
Alternative Income and Poverty Estimates: 2008
Alternative Income and Poverty Estimates: 2008
Source: U.S. Census
Press Release:
The Census Bureau will release alternative income and poverty estimates covering calendar year 2008. The data were collected from the 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC). The first set of alternative measures include poverty estimates only and are based on recommendations from a 1995 National Academy of Sciences panel on measuring poverty. These estimates use a broadened definition of income and a set of poverty thresholds that are conceptually consistent with this income measure. The second set of alternative measures includes both income and poverty estimates and shows the impact of cash and noncash benefits and taxes on the distribution of income and prevalence of poverty. The poverty estimates in this series are based on the official poverty thresholds. Both of these alternative measures are similar to estimates released in January 2009 covering calendar year 2007 from the 2008 CPS ASEC.
Income; Poverty
A Congressional Research Service Report based on the poverty numbers may be found here (PDF).
Posted by ljridley at 09:57 AM Categories: Human Capital, Labor & Wealth
October 19, 2009
New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
Thieves, Thugs, and Neighborhood Poverty
David Bjerk
Abstract; PDF
Estimating the Impact of Immigration on Wages in Ireland
Alan Barrett, Adele Bergin, Elish Kelly
Abstract; PDF
HIV and Fertility in Africa: First Evidence from Population Based Surveys
Chinhui Juhn, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, Belgi Turan
Abstract; PDF
The Life Satisfaction Approach to Environmental Valuation
Bruno S. Frey, Simon Luechinger, Alois Stutzer
Abstract; PDF
The Gender Gap in Early Career in Mongolia
Francesco Pastore
Abstract; PDF
Health Investment over the Life-Cycle
Timothy Halliday, Hui He, Hao Zhang
Abstract; PDF
Is Posner Right? An Empirical Test of the Posner Argument for Transferring Health Spending from Old Women to Old Men
Christoph Wunder, Johannes Schwarze
Abstract; PDF
Posted by ljridley at 03:23 PM Categories: New Resources
Updated Demographic Profiles of U.S. Hispanics by Country of Origin
Source: Pew Hispanic Center
The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, today released five additional demographic profiles of Hispanic populations in the United States by country of origin: Guatemalan, Colombian, Honduran, Ecuadorian and Peruvian.These five follow the release earlier this year of demographic profiles for the five largest Hispanic populations: Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Salvadoran, and Dominican.1
More than six-in-ten Hispanics in the U.S. self-identify as being of Mexican origin. Nine of the other 10 largest Hispanic origin groups -- Puerto Rican, Cuban, Salvadoran, Dominican, Guatemalan, Colombian, Honduran, Ecuadorian and Peruvian -- account for about a third of the U.S. Hispanic population. There are differences across these 10 population groups in the share of each that is foreign born, citizen (by birth or naturalization), and proficient in English. They are also of varying age, tend to live in different areas within the U.S, and have varying levels of education, homeownership rates, and poverty rates.
These profiles of the 10 largest Hispanic populations in the U.S. describe the employment and income characteristics of each group. Characteristics of each group are also contrasted with the characteristics of all Hispanics and with the U.S. population overall. The profiles are based on the Center's tabulations of the Census Bureau's 2007 American Community Survey (ACS).
All 10 demographic profiles are available at the Pew Hispanic Center's website.
Posted by ljridley at 01:35 PM Categories: Population Dynamics - Urbanization, Migration
The States of Marriage and Divorce
The States of Marriage and Divorce
By: D’Vera Cohn
Source: Pew Research Center
In Arkansas and Oklahoma, men and women marry young -- half of first-time brides in these states were age 24 or younger on their wedding day. These states also have above-average shares of women who divorced in 2007-2008.
It's the opposite state of affairs in Massachusetts and New York. Their residents marry late -- half of ever-married New York men were older than age 30 when they first wed. These states also have below-average shares of men and women who divorced in 2007-2008.Full report Interactive Maps
Posted by ljridley at 01:29 PM Categories: Family, Fertility & Children
