November 06, 2008
New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
The Effect of Prayer on God's Attitude Toward Mankind
(forthcoming in: Economic Inquiry)
James J. Heckman
Abstract; PDF
Quantile Treatment Effects in the Regression Discontinuity Design
Markus Frölich, Blaise Melly
Abstract; PDF
The Impact of Social Comparisons on Reciprocity
Simon Gächter, Daniele Nosenzo, Martin Sefton
Abstract; PDF
The Ambiguous Effect of Minimum Wages on Workers and Total Hours
Eric Strobl, Frank Walsh
Abstract; PDF
The Role of Childhood Health for the Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital: Evidence from Administrative Data
Martin Salm, Daniel Schunk
Abstract; PDF
Attitudes towards Immigrants, Other Integration Barriers, and Their Veracity
Amelie F. Constant, Martin Kahanec, Klaus F. Zimmermann
Abstract; PDF
The In-Hospital Mortality Rates of Slaves and Freemen: Evidence from Touro Infirmary, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1855–1860
(forthcoming in: Explorations in Economic History)
Jonathan B. Pritchett, Myeong-Su Yun
Abstract; PDF
Economic Growth and Subjective Well-Being: Reassessing the Easterlin Paradox
Betsey Stevenson, Justin Wolfers
Abstract; PDF
New Evidence on the Motherhood Wage Gap
Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes, Jean Kimmel
Abstract; PDF
School Nutrition Programs and the Incidence of Childhood Obesity
Daniel L. Millimet, Rusty Tchernis, Muna Husain
Abstract; PDF
Can We Test for Bias in Scientific Peer-Review?
Andrew J. Oswald
Abstract; PDF
Effects of Low-Skilled Immigration on U.S. Natives: Evidence from Hurricane Mitch
Adriana Kugler, Mutlu Yuksel
Abstract; PDF
Posted by ljridley at 09:31 AM | Comments (0)
May 13, 2008
The Price of Independence
The Price of Independence: The Economics of Early Adulthood, edited by Sheldon Danziger and Cecilia Elena Rouse
More and more young men and women today are taking longer and having more difficulty making a successful transition to adulthood. They are staying in school longer, having a harder time finding steady employment at jobs that provide health insurance, and are not marrying and having children until much later in life than their parents did. In The Price of Independence, a roster of distinguished experts diagnose the extent and causes of these trends.
Observers of social trends have speculated on the economic changes that may be delaying the transition to adulthood—from worsening job opportunities to mounting student debt and higher housing costs—but few have offered empirical evidence to back up their claims. The Price of Independence represents the first significant analysis of these economic explanations, charting the evolving life circumstances of 18-35 year olds over the last few decades. Lisa Bell, Gary Burtless, Janet Gornick, and Timothy M. Smeeding show that the earnings of young workers in the U.S. and a number of industrialized countries have declined relative to the cost of supporting a family, which may explain their protracted dependence. In addition, Henry Farber finds that job stability for young male workers has dropped over the last generation. But while economic factors have some influence on young people’s transitions to adulthood, The Price of Independence shows that changes in the economic climate can not account for the magnitude of the societal shift in the timing of independent living, marriage, and childbearing. Aaron Yelowitz debunks the myth that steep housing prices are forcing the young to live at home—housing costs actually fell between 1980 and 2000 once lower interest rates and tax subsidies are taken into account. And Ngina Chiteji reveals that average student loan debt is only $3,500 per household. The trend toward starting careers and families later appears to have more to do with changing social norms, as well as policies that have broadened access to higher education, than with changes in the economy.
For better or worse, the current generation is redefining the nature and boundaries of what it means to be a young adult. The Price of Independence documents just how dramatically the modern lifecycle has changed and offers evidence as an antidote to much of the conventional wisdom about these social changes.
This book is new in the PSC library and may be found on the PSC Authors display.
Posted by ljridley at 03:37 PM | Comments (0)
February 29, 2008
New Book Edited by Schoeni, House, Kaplan and Pollack
Making Americans Healthier: Social and Economic Policy As Health Policy, edited by Robert F. Schoeni, James S. House, George A. Kaplan, and Harold Pollack
The United States spends billions of dollars annually on social and economic policies aimed at improving the lives of its citizens, but the health consequences associated with these policies are rarely considered. In Making Americans Healthier, a group of multidisciplinary experts shows how social and economic policies seemingly unrelated to medical well-being have dramatic consequences for the health of the American people.
Most previous research concerning problems with health and healthcare in the United States has focused narrowly on issues of medical care and insurance coverage, but Making Americans Healthier demonstrates the important health consequences that policymakers overlook in traditional cost-benefit evaluations of social policy. The contributors examine six critical policy areas: civil rights, education, income support, employment, welfare, and neighborhood and housing. Among the important findings in this book, David Cutler and Adriana Lleras-Muney document the robust relationship between educational attainment and health, and estimate that the health benefits of education may exceed even the well-documented financial returns of education. Pamela Herd, James House, and Robert Schoeni discover notable health benefits associated with the Supplemental Security Income Program, which provides financial support for elderly and disabled Americans. George Kaplan, Nalini Ranjit, and Sarah Burgard document a large and unanticipated improvement in the health of African-American women following the enactment of civil rights legislation in the 1960s.
Making Americans Healthier presents ground-breaking evidence that the health impact of many social policies is substantial. The important findings in this book pave the way for promising new avenues for intervention and convincingly demonstrate that ultimately social and economic policy is health policy.
This book is new in the PSC library and may be found on the PSC Authors display.
Posted by ljridley at 04:13 PM | Comments (0)
February 28, 2008
Recent Journal Articles by Center Researchers
Title: Accumulating disadvantage over the life course - Evidence from a longitudinal study investigating the relationship between educational advantage in youth and health in middle age
Author Full Names: Walsemann, Katrina M.; Geronimus, Arline T.; Gee, Gilbert C.
Source: RESEARCH ON AGING, 30 (2): 169-199 MAR 2008
Title:Declines in late-life disability: The role of early- and mid-life factors
Vicki A. Freedman, Linda G. Martin, Robert F. Schoeni and Jennifer C. Cornman
Social Science & Medicine, 66(7):1588-1602
Title: The relationship between income and material hardship
Author(s): Sullivan JX, Turner L, Danziger S
Source: JOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT Volume: 27 Issue: 1 Pages: 63-81 Published: 2008
Title: Household and community income, economic shocks and risky sexual behavior of young adults: evidence from the Cape Area Panel Study 2002 and 2005
Author(s): Dinkelman, T; Lam, D; Leibbrandt, M
Source: AIDS Volume: 21 Pages: S49-S56 Published: 2007
Posted by yanfu at 02:46 PM | Comments (0)