PSC Information

A Mathematical Primer for Social Statistics
By: John Fox

A Mathematical Primer for Social Statistics: Beyond the introductory level, learning and effectively using statistical methods in the social sciences requires some knowledge of mathematics. It is, however, surprising how far one can go with a relatively modest mathematical background. The proposed monograph aims to provide that background, introducing the areas of mathematics that are most centrally important to applied social statistics: matrices, linear algebra, and vector geometry; basic differential and integral calculus, including multivariable and matrix calculus, and the application of calculus to optimization problems; and probability and estimation, including the basics of probability theory, discrete and continuous random variables, commonly encountered statistical distributions, principles of estimation, the method of maximum likelihood and the basics of Bayesian inference.

Event History Analysis with Stata
By: Hans-Peter Blossfeld, Gtz Rohwer, and Katrin Golsch

Event History Analysis With Stata provides an introduction to event history modeling techniques using Stata (version 9), a widely used statistical program that provides tools for data analysis. The book emphasizes the usefulness of event history models for causal analysis in the social sciences and the application of continuous-time models.

The authors illustrate the entire research path required in the application of event-history analysis, from the initial problems of recording event-oriented data, to data organization, to applications using the software, to the interpretation of results. The book also demonstrates, through example, how to implement hypotheses tests and how to choose the right model. The strengths and limitations of various techniques are emphasized in each example, along with an introduction to the model, details on how to input data, and the related Stata commands. Each application is accompanied by a brief explanation of the underlying statistical concept.

Readers are offered the unique opportunity to easily run and modify all of the book’s application examples on a computer, by visiting the author’s Web site at http://www.uni-bamberg.de/sowi/soziologie-i/eha/. Examples include survival rates of patients in medical studies; unemployment periods in economic studies; and the time it takes a criminal to break the law after his release in a criminological study.

Posted by ljridley at 04:56 PM | Comments (0)

New Book Acquisitions

Intergenerational Caregiving
Edited by: Alan Booth, Ann C. Crouter, Suzanne M. Bianchi, and Judith A. Seltzer

Dramatic changes in the American family have transformed the way we care for its oldest and youngest members. Nuclear families have become smaller as childbearing has declined, but extended families have become larger as life expectancy grows. Divorce, extramarital childbearing, cohabitation, and remarriage, have increased our number of kin but often complicate relationships and diffuse responsibility for care. Further, women s increasing participation in the workforce has meant that previous generations must reevaluate their assumptions about caregivers. In Intergenerational Caregiving, an interdisciplinary group of scholars considers our changing family relationships and their effect on social policies. Caregiving and its effects on families relationships and resources are examined from economic, sociological, anthropological and psychological perspectives, and chapters on both elders and children with disabilities are included.

Family in the Middle East: Ideational change in Egypt, Iran, and Tunisia
By: Kathryn M. Yount and Hoda Rashad

Examines, in comparative perspective, the different ideals about family and society and how they have impacted on real family life across a number of countries in the Middle East.

Worlds in Motion: Understanding International Migration at the End of the Millennium
By: Douglas S. Massey, Joaquin Arango, Graeme Hugo, and Ali Kouaouci

The twentieth century has seen immense worldwide shifts in population. Whether it is Europe to North America, the Carribean to the United Kingdom, or East Asia to Australia, migration is one of the major factors that influences the global political and economic situation. By applying systematic theoretical frameworks to detailed empirical data, Worlds in Motion provides a unique overview of not only where migration occurs, and how it works, but crucially details the major factors that influence international population movement.

Coverage Measurement in the 2010 Census
By: Robert M. Bell, Michael L. Cohen and National Research Council Committee on National Statistics

The census coverage measurement programs have historically addressed three primary objectives: to inform users about the quality of the census counts; to help identify sources of error to improve census taking, and to provide alternative counts based on information from the coverage measurement program. In planning the 1990 and 2000 censuses, the main objective was to produce alternative counts based on the measurement of net coverage error. For the 2010 census coverage measurement program, the Census Bureau will deemphasize that goal, and is instead planning to focus on the second goal of improving census processes. This book, which details the findings of the National Research Council's Panel on Coverage Evaluation and Correlation Bias, strongly supports the Census Bureau's change in goal. However, the panel finds that the current plans for data collection, data analysis, and data products are still too oriented towards measurement of net coverage error to fully exploit this new focus. Although the Census Bureau has taken several important steps to revise data collection and analysis procedures and data products, this book recommends further steps to enhance the value of coverage measurement for the improvement of future census processes.

Working After Welfare: How Women Balance Jobs and Family in the Wake of Welfare Reform
By: Kristin Seefeldt

How to balance work and family issues has become a major issue for women across the country in all income classes, but especially so for single mothers who were formerly on welfare. This book, tapping into the quantitative and qualitative evidence gathered in the Women’s Employment Study (WES), offers insights into the lives of women in an urban Michigan county who left welfare for work and the role their family decisions play in their labor market decisions.

Intraindividual Processes (Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology)
Edited by: Abraham Tesser and Norbert Schwarz

This state of the art overview of intraindividual processes covers social cognition, attitudes, and social motivation. It will be useful for students with some knowledge of social psychology who want an overview and for researchers as an authoritative definition of the field that also indicates likely future trends.

The handbook includes contributions by academics and researchers from around the world to ensure a truly international perspective. After outlining a set of integrative perspectives: evolutionary and cultural, developmental, and methodological, it goes on to provide an in-depth treatment of current research on social cognition and social motivation. The handbook concludes with chapters devoted to research on applying cognitive and motivational principles. Fully referenced chapters and bibliographies allow easy access to further study.

Posted by ljridley at 04:50 PM | Comments (0)

New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Testing the Inverseness of Fertility and Labor Supply: The Case of Ethiopia
Blen Solomon, Jean Kimmel
Abstract; PDF

Ethnicity and the Immigration of Highly Skilled Workers to the United States
(forthcoming in: International Journal of Manpower)
Guillermina Jasso
Abstract; PDF

I'll Marry You If You Get Me a Job: Marital Assimilation and Immigrant Employment Rates
Delia Furtado, Nikolaos Theodoropoulos
Abstract; PDF

Non-Cash Benefits and the Distribution of Economic Welfare
Tim Callan, Claire Keane
Abstract; PDF

Unemployment, Market Work and Household Production
Michael C. Burda, Daniel S. Hamermesh
Abstract; PDF

American Education in the Age of Mass Migrations 1870-1930
Fabrice Murtin, Martina Viarengo
Abstract; PDF

Non-Parametric Inference for the Effect of a Treatment on Survival Times with Application in the Health and Social Sciences
Xavier de Luna, Per Johansson
Abstract; PDF

Does Increasing Parents' Schooling Raise the Schooling of the Next Generation? Evidence Based on Conditional Second Moments
Lídia Farré, Roger Klein, Francis Vella
Abstract; PDF

Multivariate Decomposition for Hazard Rate Models
Daniel A. Powers, Myeong-Su Yun
Abstract; PDF

Marriage and Other Risky Assets: A Portfolio Approach
Graziella Bertocchi, Marianna Brunetti, Costanza Torricelli
Abstract; PDF

Age at School Entry and Intergenerational Educational Mobility
Philipp C. Bauer, Regina T. Riphahn
Abstract; PDF

Comparing IV with Structural Models: What Simple IV Can and Cannot Identify
James J. Heckman, Sergio Urzua
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)

February 03, 2009

New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Regional Measures of Human Capital in the European Union
Christian Dreger, Georg Erber, Daniela Glocker
Abstract; PDF

How Much Does Immigration Boost Innovation?
Jennifer Hunt, Marjolaine Gauthier-Loiselle
Abstract; PDF

The Microeconomic Determinants of Emigration and Return Migration of the Best and Brightest: Evidence from the Pacific
John Gibson, David McKenzie
Abstract; PDF

Child Welfare and Old-Age Security in Female Headed Households in Tanzania
Holger Seebens
Abstract; PDF

Undocumented Worker Employment and Firm Survival
J. David Brown, Julie L. Hotchkiss, Myriam Quispe-Agnoli
Abstract; PDF

Public Policies and Women's Employment after Childbearing
Wen-Jui Han, Christopher J. Ruhm, Jane Waldfogel, Elizabeth Washbrook
Abstract; PDF

Work, Jobs and Well-Being across the Millennium
Andrew E. Clark
Abstract; PDF

Cheaper Child Care, More Children
Eva Mörk, Anna Sjögren, Helena Svaleryd
Abstract; PDF

Low-Skilled Immigration and the Expansion of Private Schools
Davide Dottori, I-Ling Shen
Abstract; PDF

On Mandatory Activation of Welfare Recipients
Matz Dahlberg, Kajsa Johansson, Eva Mörk
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)

January 30, 2009

Tech Deck in the Undergraduate Library

Are you working on a project that requires you or your class group to create

•a video production
•a poster
•a web site
•a PowerPoint presentation
or other media-rich content?

Do you or your study group need access to, and help in using

•color scanners
•large scale poster printing
•media conversion station, including VCR/DVD and digital tape deck
•high end graphics software
•online research and presentation tools such as RefWorks, CTools, Flickr, and mBlog and other media and knowledge production resources?

Then the new Tech Deck on the first floor of the Undergraduate Library should be your next stop!

Posted by yanfu at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)

December 04, 2008

New Database: Global Health

The UM Health Sciences Libraries have licensed access to the database Global Health on the EBSCO platform for the UM Ann Arbor campus. Access is available at: http://searchtools.lib.umich.edu/V?func=native-link&resource=UMI03641

Global Health is a public health database that provides information on international health, biomedical life sciences, non-communicable diseases, public health nutrition, food safety and hygiene, and much more. The database provides a global perspective with coverage of publications from over 158 countries in 50 languages. Global Health contains more than 1.2 million records dating back to 1973, with coverage of more than 5,000 serials, books, book chapters, reports, conference proceedings, discussion papers, newsletters, patents, theses, and electronic publications. This resource complements the international health-related literature indexed within Medline and Embase with 60% of the indexed journals unique to the Global Health database. Also included is the Global Health Archive, consisting of 800,000 records from 1910-1973.

Posted by yanfu at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)

November 21, 2008

New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

The Effect of Community-Level Socio-Economic Conditions on Threatening Racial Encounters
Heather Antecol, Deborah Cobb-Clark
Abstract; PDF

Parental Marital Disruption, Family Type, and Transfers to Disabled Elderly Parents
(forthcoming in: Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences)
Liliana E. Pezzin, Robert Pollak, Barbara Steinberg Schone
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 09:20 AM | Comments (0)

November 19, 2008

State of the World Population 2008

State of the World Population 2008: Reaching common ground: culture, gender and human rights
Source: United Nations Population Fund

Development strategies that are sensitive to cultural values can reduce harmful practices against women and promote human rights, including gender equality and women’s empowerment, affirms The State of World Population 2008 report from UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

Reaching Common Ground: Culture, Gender and Human Rights, launched 12 November 2008, reports that culture is a central component of successful development of poor countries, and must be integrated into development policy and programming.

The report, which coincides with this year’s 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is based on the concept that the international human rights framework has universal validity. Human rights express values common to all cultures and protect groups as well as individuals. The report endorses culturally sensitive approaches to development and to the promotion of human rights, in general, and women’s rights, in particular.

Full report (PDF)

Posted by ljridley at 11:15 AM | Comments (0)

November 13, 2008

New Working Papers from the NBER

Effects of Welfare Reform on Educational Acquisition of Young Adult Women
Dhaval M. Dave, Nancy E. Reichman, Hope Corman
Abstract; PDF

Identification and Estimation of 'Irregular' Correlated Random Coefficient Models
Bryan S. Graham, James Powell
Abstract; PDF

Are Mixed Neighborhoods Always Unstable? Two-Sided and One-Sided Tipping
David Card, Alexandre Mas, Jesse Rothstein
Abstract; PDF

Are Big Cities Really Bad Places to Live? Improving Quality-of-Life Estimates across Cities
David Albouy
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 12:02 PM | Comments (0)

November 11, 2008

New Working Papers from the NBER

Identification with Imperfect Instruments
Aviv Nevo, Adam M. Rosen
Abstract; PDF

Work Expectations, Realizations, and Depression in Older Workers
Tracy A. Falba, William T. Gallo, Jody L. Sindelar
Abstract; PDF

Teacher Quality in Educational Production: Tracking, Decay, and Student Achievement
Jesse Rothstein
Abstract; PDF

When Does Improving Health Raise GDP?
Quamrul H. Ashraf, Ashley Lester, David N. Weil
Abstract; PDF

Measuring Labor Earnings Inequality using Public-Use March Current Population Survey Data: The Value of Including Variances and Cell Means When Imputing Topcoded Values
Richard V. Burkhauser, Shuaizhang Feng, Jeff Larrimore
Abstract; PDF

Estimating Welfare in Insurance Markets Using Variation in Prices
Liran Einav, Amy Finkelstein, Mark R. Cullen
Abstract; PDF

Urban Inequality
Edward L. Glaeser, Matthew G. Resseger, Kristina Tobio
Abstract; PDF

Time Spent in Home Production in the 20th Century: New Estimates from Old Data
Valerie A. Ramey
Abstract; PDF

Psychiatric Disorders and Employment: New Evidence from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES)
Pinka Chatterji, Margarita Alegria, David Takeuchi
Abstract; PDF

Sufficient Statistics for Welfare Analysis: A Bridge Between Structural and Reduced-Form Methods
Raj Chetty
Abstract; PDF

The Effect of Gun Shows on Gun-Related Deaths: Evidence from California and Texas
Mark Duggan, Randi Hjalmarsson, Brian A. Jacob
Abstract; PDF

When The Saints Come Marching In: Effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Student Evacuees
Bruce Sacerdote
Abstract; PDF

The Transmission of Women's Fertility, Human Capital and Work Orientation Across Immigrant Generations
Francine D. Blau, Lawrence M. Kahn, Albert Yung-Hsu Liu, Kerry L. Papps
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 09:55 AM | Comments (0)

November 06, 2008

World of Work Report 2008

Global income inequality gap is vast and growing
Source: International Labour Organization

Despite strong economic growth that produced millions of new jobs since the early 1990s, income inequality grew dramatically in most regions of the world and is expected to increase due to the current global financial crisis, according to a new study published today by the research arm of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The new report, entitled World of Work Report 2008: Income inequalities in the age of financial globalization, produced by the ILO’s International Institute for Labour Studies also notes that a major share of the cost of the financial and economic crisis will be borne by hundreds of millions of people who haven’t shared in the benefits of recent growth.

Executive Summary; Full Report (PDF's)

Posted by ljridley at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)

September 11, 2008

Library and Technology Workshops

Upcoming Library/Technology Workshops at the University Library

A list of workshops to enhance you research and technology skills on campus. Classes include Endnote, Photoshop, Powerpoint and more.

Posted by yanfu at 04:51 PM | Comments (0)

August 07, 2008

New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Weight Gain in Adolescents and Their Peers
Timothy Halliday, Sally Kwak
Abstract; PDF

Does the Color of the Collar Matter? Firm Specific Human Capital and Post-Displacement Outcomes
Guido Schwerdt, Andrea Ichino, Oliver Ruf, Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, Josef Zweimüller
Abstract; PDF

The Economic Growth Impact of Hurricanes: Evidence from US Coastal Counties
Eric Strobl
Abstract; PDF

Regional Price Differences in Urban China 1986-2001: Estimation and Implication
Cathy Honge Gong, Xin Meng
Abstract; PDF

Preparing for Policy Changes: Social Security Expectations and Pension Scheme Participation
Karen M. van der Wiel
Abstract; PDF

Happiness Inequality in the United States
Betsey Stevenson, Justin Wolfers
Abstract; PDF

Information and Beliefs in a Repeated Normal-Form Game
Dietmar Fehr, Dorothea Kübler, David N. Danz
Abstract; PDF

Long-Term Economic Consequences of Vietnam-Era Conscription: Schooling, Experience and Earnings
Joshua Angrist, Stacey Chen..
Abstract; PDF

The Causal Effect of Parent’s Schooling on Children’s Schooling: A Comparison of Estimation Methods
Helena Holmlund, Mikael Lindahl, Erik Plug
Abstract; PDF

Living’ Wage, Class Conflict and Ethnic Strife
Indraneel Dasgupta
Abstract; PDF

Minimizing Bias in Selection on Observables Estimators When Unconfoundness Fails
Daniel L. Millimet, Rusty Tchernis
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 09:53 AM | Comments (0)

July 31, 2008

New Working Papers from the NBER

The Plight of Mixed Race Adolescents
Roland G. Fryer, Jr, Lisa Kahn, Steven D. Levitt, Jörg L. Spenkuch
Abstract; PDF

The Impact of Postsecondary Remediation Using a Regression Discontinuity Approach: Addressing Endogenous Sorting and Noncompliance
Juan Carlos Calcagno, Bridget Terry Long
Abstract; PDF

Air Pollution and Infant Health: Lessons from New Jersey
Janet Currie, Matthew J. Neidell, Johannes Schmieder
Abstract; PDF

Measuring the Importance of Labor Market Networks
Judith K. Hellerstein, Melissa McInerney, David Neumark
Abstract; PDF

Labor Supply: Are the Income and Substitution Effects Both Large or Both Small?
Miles S. Kimball, Matthew D. Shapiro
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)

July 29, 2008

New Working Papers from the NBER

The Lengthening of Childhood
David Deming, Susan Dynarski
Abstract; PDF

Family Leave after Childbirth and the Health of New Mothers
Pinka Chatterji, Sara Markowitz
Abstract; PDF

Estimating Derivatives in Nonseparable Models with Limited Dependent Variables
Joseph G. Altonji, Hidehiko Ichimura, Taisuke Otsu
Abstract; PDF

Has Public Health Insurance for Older Children Reduced Disparities in Access to Care and Health Outcomes?
Janet Currie, Sandra Decker, Wanchuan Lin
Abstract; PDF

The Evolutionary Theory of Time Preferences and Intergenerational Transfers
C.Y. Cyrus Chu, Hung-Ken Chien, Ronald D. Lee
Abstract; PDF

The Consequences of High School Exit Examinations for Struggling Low-Income Urban Students: Evidence from Massachusetts
John P. Papay, Richard J. Murnane, John B. Willett
Abstract; PDF

Immigration and National Wages: Clarifying the Theory and the Empirics
Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano, Giovanni Peri
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 09:56 AM | Comments (0)

July 28, 2008

2008 Statistics on Child Welfare

2008 State Fact Sheets from the Child Welfare League of America

The State Fact Sheets provide descriptive information on the condition of vulnerable children in all fifty states and the District of Columbia, using indicators of child protection, health, child care, education, and income support.

Each State is available in PDF or HTML.

Posted by ljridley at 11:16 AM | Comments (0)

July 25, 2008

The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics

The trial subscription to The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics is effective till Aug 23.

http://searchtools.lib.umich.edu/V?func=native-link&resource=UMI05097

If you would like to see the University Library subscribe to this work on a permanent basis, send comments to sseteam@ctools.umich.

Posted by yanfu at 02:32 PM | Comments (0)

New Working Papers from the NBER

Wages, Unemployment and Inequality with Heterogeneous Firms and Workers
Elhanan Helpman, Oleg Itskhoki, Stephen Redding
Abstract; PDF

State and Federal Approaches to Health Reform: What Works for the Working Poor?
Ellen Meara, Meredith Rosenthal, Anna Sinaiko, Katherine Baicker
Abstract; PDF

The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Investigation of the Settler Mortality Data
David Y. Albouy
Abstract; PDF

Exclusionary Policies in Urban Development, How under-servicing of migrant households affects the growth and composition of Brazilian cities
Leo Feler, J. Vernon Henderson
Abstract; PDF

The Knowledge Trap: Human Capital and Development Reconsidered
Benjamin F. Jones
Abstract; PDF

From the New Wave to the New Hollywood: The Life Cycles of Important Movie Directors from Godard and Truffaut to Spielberg and Eastwood
David Galenson, Joshua Kotin
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 11:18 AM | Comments (0)

July 22, 2008

New Working Papers from the NBER

Education and the Age Profile of Literacy into Adulthood
Elizabeth Cascio, Damon Clark, Nora Gordon
Abstract; PDF

Welfare Payments and Crime
C. Fritz Foley
Abstract; PDF

Trends in Men's Earnings Volatility: What Does the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Show?
Donggyun Shin, Gary Solon
Abstract; PDF

How Social Processes Distort Measurement: The Impact of Survey Nonresponse on Estimates of Volunteer Work
Katharine G. Abraham, Sara E. Helms, Stanley Presser
Abstract; PDF

Minimum Drinking Age Laws and Infant Health Outcomes
Tara Watson, Angela Fertig
Abstract; PDF

Will the Stork Return to Europe and Japan? Understanding Fertility Within Developed Nations
Bruce Sacerdote, James Feyrer
Abstract; PDF

The Impact of Income on the Weight of Elderly Americans
John Cawley, John R. Moran, Kosali I. Simon
Abstract; PDF

Protecting Minorities in Binary Elections: A Test of Storable Votes Using Field Data
Alessandra Casella, Shuky Ehrenberg, Andrew Gelman, Jie Shen
Abstract; PDF

Marijuana Use and High School Dropout: The Influence of Unobservables
Daniel F. McCaffrey, Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, Bing Han, Phyllis Ellickson
Abstract; PDF

Nature or Nurture? Learning and the Geography of Female Labor Force Participation
Alessandra Fogli, Laura Veldkamp
Abstract; PDF

The Cost of Uncertain Life Span
Ryan D. Edwards
Abstract; PDF

What Good Is Wealth Without Health? The Effect of Health on the Marginal Utility of Consumption
Amy Finkelstein, Erzo F.P. Luttmer, Matthew J. Notowidigdo
Abstract; PDF

Use of Propensity Scores in Non-Linear Response Models: The Case for Health Care Expenditures
Anirban Basu, Daniel Polsky, Willard G. Manning
Abstract; PDF

Estimation of Random Coefficient Demand Models: Challenges, Difficulties and Warnings
Christopher R. Knittel, Konstantinos Metaxoglou
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 10:58 AM | Comments (0)

New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Estimating the Causal Effect of Gun Prevalence on Homicide Rates: A Local Average Treatment Effect Approach
Tomislav Kovandzic, Mark Schaffer, Gary Kleck
Abstract; PDF

Social Protection and Migration in China: What Can Protect Migrants from Economic Uncertainty?
Lina Song, Simon Appleton
Abstract; PDF

Citizenship in the United States: The Roles of Immigrant Characteristics and Country of Origin
Barry R. Chiswick, Paul W. Miller
Abstract; PDF

New Estimates of the Effects of Minimum Wages in the U.S. Retail Trade Sector
John T. Addison, McKinley L. Blackburn, Chad D. Cotti
Abstract; PDF

The Impact of Social Capital on Crime: Evidence from the Netherlands
I. Semih Akçomak, Bas ter Weel
Abstract; PDF

Happiness Dynamics with Quarterly Life Event Data
Paul Frijters, David W. Johnston, Michael A. Shields
Abstract; PDF

The Effect of Expansions in Maternity Leave Coverage on Children’s Long-Term Outcomes
Christian Dustmann, Uta Schönberg
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 09:53 AM | Comments (0)

July 10, 2008

New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Lessons from the Ottoman Harem (On Ethnicity, Religion and War)
Murat Iyigun
Abstract; PDF

Allocation of Labour in Urban West Africa: Implication for Development Policies
Ralitza Dimova, Christophe Jalil Nordman, François Roubaud
Abstract; PDF

Migration, the Quality of the Labour Force and Economic Inequality
Martin Kahanec, Klaus F. Zimmermann
Abstract; PDF

Occupational Segregation and the Gender Wage Gap in Private- and Public-Sector Employment: A Distributional Analysis
Juan Baron, Deborah Cobb-Clark
Abstract; PDF

The "Negative" Assimilation of Immigrants: A Special Case
Barry R. Chiswick, Paul W. Miller
Abstract; PDF

Instrumental Variables in Models with Multiple Outcomes: The General Unordered Case
James J. Heckman, Sergio Urzua, Edward Vytlacil
Abstract; PDF

Family Migration: A Vehicle of Child Morbidity in the Informal Settlements of Nairobi City, Kenya?
Adama Konseiga
Abstract; PDF

The Economics of Language: An Introduction and Overview
Barry R. Chiswick
Abstract; PDF

Do Unemployment Benefits Increase Unemployment? New Evidence on an Old Question
Peter Fredriksson, Martin Söderström
Abstract; PDF

Examining the Gender Wealth Gap in Germany
Eva Sierminska, Joachim R. Frick, Markus M. Grabka
Abstract; PDF

Does Fertility Respond to Financial Incentives?
Guy Laroque, Bernard Salanié
Abstract; PDF

Human Capital, Economic Growth, and Regional Inequality in China
Belton M. Fleisher, Haizheng Li, Min Qiang Zhao
Abstract; PDF

The Impact of Relative Cohort Size on U.S. Fertility, 1913-2001
Yongil Jeon, Michael P. Shields
Abstract; PDF

Estimating the Causal Effect of Gun Prevalence on Homicide Rates: A Local Average Treatment Effect Approach
Tomislav Kovandzic, Mark Schaffer, Gary Kleck
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 10:22 AM | Comments (0)

July 03, 2008

New Working Papers from the NBER

The Macroeconomic Implications of Rising Wage Inequality in the United States
Jonathan Heathcote, Kjetil Storesletten, Giovanni L. Violante
Abstract; PDF

Schools, Skills, and Synapses
James J. Heckman
Abstract; PDF

Education and the Age Profile of Literacy into Adulthood
Elizabeth Cascio, Damon Clark, Nora Gordon
Abstract; PDF

Welfare Payments and Crime
C. Fritz Foley
Abstract; PDF

Trends in Men's Earnings Volatility: What Does the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Show?
Donggyun Shin, Gary Solon
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)

July 01, 2008

New Working Papers from the NBER

Obesity and Developmental Functioning Among Children Aged 2-4 Years
John Cawley, C. Katharina Spiess
Abstract; PDF

Is the Obesity Epidemic a Public Health Problem? A Decade of Research on the Economics of Obesity
Tomas Philipson, Richard Posner
Abstract; PDF

Searching for Optimal Inequality/Incentives
Anders Björklund, Richard Freeman
Abstract; PDF

The Narrowing Gap in New York City Teacher Qualifications and its Implications for Student Achievement in High-Poverty Schools
Donald Boyd, Hamilton Lankford, Susanna Loeb, Jonah Rockoff, James Wyckoff
Abstract; PDF

Who Leaves? Teacher Attrition and Student Achievement
Donald Boyd, Pam Grossman, Hamilton Lankford, Susanna Loeb, James Wyckoff
Abstract; PDF

Under the Weather: Health, Schooling, and Economic Consequences of Early-Life Rainfall
Sharon L. Maccini, Dean Yang
Abstract; PDF

Who Gentrifies Low-Income Neighborhoods?
Terra McKinnish, Randall Walsh, Kirk White
Abstract; PDF

Health, Human Capital, and African American Migration Before 1910
Trevon D. Logan
Abstract; PDF

The Impact of Earnings Disregards on the Behavior of Low Income Families
Jordan D. Matsudaira, Rebecca M. Blank
Abstract; PDF

Bayesian Learning in Social Networks
Daron Acemoglu, Munther A. Dahleh, Ilan Lobel, Asuman Ozdaglar
Abstract; PDF

Cigarette Taxes and the Transition from Youth to Adult Smoking: Smoking Initiation, Cessation, and Participation
Philip DeCicca, Donald S. Kenkel, Alan D. Mathios
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 12:05 PM | Comments (0)

The Condition of Education

The Condition of Education

This website is an integrated collection of the indicators and analyses published in The Condition of Education 2000–2008. Some indicators may have been updated since they appeared in print.

Includes indicator list, user's guide, highlights from 2008, and special analyses list.

From the National Center for Education Statistics

Posted by ljridley at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)

June 23, 2008

Family Economic Security Profiles

From the National Center for Children in Poverty

NCCP’s Family Economic Security Profiles provide state-specific data on low-income children and families and highlight state policy choices to promote work attachment and advancement, income adequacy, and asset development.

Download all 50 states, or individual states (PDFs).

Posted by ljridley at 01:33 PM | Comments (0)

New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Gender Differences and the Timing of First Marriages
Javier Díaz-Giménez, Eugenio P. Giolito
Abstract; PDF

The Role of Religion in Economic and Demographic Behavior in the United States: A Review of the Recent Literature
Evelyn L. Lehrer
Abstract; PDF

Crime and Partnerships
Michael Svarer
Abstract; PDF

The Re-Building Effect of Hurricanes: Evidence from Employment in the US Construction Industry
Eric Strobl, Frank Walsh
Abstract; PDF

Education, Information, and Improved Health: Evidence from Breast Cancer Screening
Keith Chen, Fabian Lange
Abstract; PDF

Formality, Informality, and Social Welfare
John Bennett
Abstract; PDF

Ancestry versus Ethnicity: The Complexity and Selectivity of Mexican Identification in the United States
Brian Duncan, Stephen Trejo
Abstract; PDF

On Gender Gaps and Self-fulfilling Expectations: Theory, Policies and Some Empirical Evidence
Sara de la Rica, Juan José Dolado, Cecilia García-Peñalosa
Abstract; PDF

Social Interactions and the Salience of Social Identity
Kendra N. McLeish, Robert J. Oxoby
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 11:01 AM | Comments (0)

June 18, 2008

The World Bank's Africa Region HIV-AIDS Action Agenda

Our Commitment: The World Bank’s Africa Region HIV/AIDS Agenda for Action 2007-2011

“Our Commitment: World Bank’s Africa Region HIV/AIDS Agenda for Action 2007-2011,�? is the result of extensive consultation with over 30 African partner countries and institutions, as well as donors, UN agencies, non-governmental organizationsand others seeking to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. It builds on what has been learned in the emergency response to HIV/AIDS and reaffirms the World Bank’s commitment to combatting HIV/AIDS in Africa.

The Agenda for Action will contribute substantially to the long-term, sustainable response required to overcome this enormous development challenge facing sub-Saharan Africa."

PDF

Posted by ljridley at 02:33 PM | Comments (0)

Sexual & Reproductive Health in the Middle East & North Africa

Sexual & Reproductive Health in the Middle East and North Africa: A Guide for Reporters
Farzaneh Roudi-Fahimi and Lori Ashford
Source: Population Reference Bureau

(May 2008) Sexual and reproductive health is a broad concept encompassing health and well-being in matters related to sexual relations, pregnancies, and births. It deals with the most intimate and private aspects of people's lives, which can be difficult to write about or discuss publicly, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Published by the Population Reference Bureau, Sexual & Reproductive Health in the Middle East and North Africa: A Guide for Reporters aims to bring together the latest available data on sexual and reproductive health for countries in the MENA region. It was written for journalists, to help them educate the public and make the case for policymakers that poor sexual and reproductive health contributes to social inequalities and hinders social and economic development.

"This is the first time that material on sexual and reproductive health has been put together in one, easy-to-read resource for the Middle East and North Africa," noted Farzaneh Roudi-Fahimi, a co-author of the guide. "We hope that reporters, educators, and others will refer to it in their work and use it to expand the dialogue on these extremely important development topics."

Cultural sensitivities and taboos surrounding sexuality are particularly pronounced in the MENA region, and make the role of the media vital in providing objective information about sexual and reproductive health matters. The media has the power to break the culture of silence that surrounds sexual and reproductive health, a silence that all too often prevents people from seeking information and care and prevents governments from putting the issues on their development agendas. Journalists can report responsibly and objectively on these issues to break taboos, educate the public, and bring the issues to policymakers' attention.

The guide covers these topics: marriage, childbearing, family planning, maternal health, abortion, sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS, adolescents and young adults, female genital cutting, and cervical cancer. There is also a chapter on health and development goals, as well as three appendices on population and reproductive health indicators by country, a glossary, and sources of information.

This guide was funded by the Ford Foundation office in Cairo.

PDF

Posted by ljridley at 09:36 AM | Comments (0)

New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Immigrants and Welfare Programmes: Exploring the Interactions between Immigrant Characteristics, Immigrant Welfare Dependence and Welfare Policy
Alan Barrett, Yvonne McCarthy
Abstract; PDF

Taking the Easy Way Out: How the GED Testing Program Induces Students to Drop Out
James J. Heckman, Paul A. LaFontaine, Pedro L. Rodríguez
Abstract; PDF

The Effects of Health and Health Shocks on Hours Worked
Lixin Cai, Kostas G. Mavromaras, Umut Oguzoglu
Abstract; PDF

Immigrant Labor, Child-Care Services, and the Work-Fertility Trade-Off in the United States
Delia Furtado, Heinrich Hock
Abstract; PDF

Marriage, Partnership and Sexual Orientation: A Study of British University Academics and Administrators
Alison L. Booth, Jeff Frank
Abstract; PDF

Schools, Skills, and Synapses
James J. Heckman
Abstract; PDF

Armed Conflict and Schooling: Evidence from the 1994 Rwandan Genocide
Richard Akresh, Damien de Walque
Abstract; PDF

Informality and Macroeconomic Fluctuations
Norbert M. Fiess, Marco Fugazza, William F. Maloney
Abstract; PDF

Fertility in Sub-Saharan African Countries with Consideration to Health and Poverty
Yongil Jeon, Sang-Young Rhyu, Michael P. Shields
Abstract; PDF

The Rise in Obesity across the Atlantic: An Economic Perspective
Giorgio Brunello, Pierre-Carl Michaud, Anna Sanz-de-Galdeano
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 08:54 AM | Comments (0)

May 28, 2008

New Book Acquisitions

Ageing in Southeast and East Asia: Family, Social Protection and Policy Challenges
Edited by Lee Hock Guan

Southeast and East Asian countries are undergoing varying stages of population ageing. The social, economic and political implications of population ageing will be enormous, and because of the fast speed of ageing in the region, the countries cannot afford the luxury of time for the gradual evolution of social and structural support systems and networks for the older population. The papers in this volume are selected from those presented at a 2004 workshop on Ageing and the Status of the Older Population in Southeast Asia. They critically examine national ageing policies and programmes, the sustainability of existing pension systems, housing and living arrangements, inter-generational transfer, and aspects of quality of life of the elderly population in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Korea and Japan. While the findings show that most Southeast Asian countries have started to formulate and implement national ageing policies, they also indicate that the existing policies are by and large inadequate and underdeveloped in serving the needs of the older population and indeed much more must be done to prepare for the future.

Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal Inference
By: William R. Shadish, Thomas D. Cook, and Donald T. Campbell

This long awaited successor of the original Cook/Campbell Quasi-Experimentation: Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings represents updates in the field over the last two decades. The book covers four major topics in field experimentation:

* Theoretical matters: Experimentation, causation, and validity
* Quasi-experimental design: Regression discontinuity designs, interrupted time series designs, quasi-experimental designs that use both pretests and control groups, and other designs
* Randomized experiments: Logic and design issues, and practical problems involving ethics, recruitment, assignment, treatment implementation, and attrition
* Generalized causal inference: A grounded theory of generalized causal inference, along with methods for implementing that theory in single and multiple studies.

Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis: Modeling Change and Event Occurrence
By: Judith D. Singer, and John B. Willett

Change is constant in everyday life. Infants crawl and then walk, children learn to read and write, teenagers mature in myriad ways, the elderly become frail and forgetful. Beyond these natural processes and events, external forces and interventions instigate and disrupt change: test scores
may rise after a coaching course, drug abusers may remain abstinent after residential treatment. By charting changes over time and investigating whether and when events occur, researchers reveal the temporal rhythms of our lives. Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis is a much-needed professional book
for empirical researchers and graduate students in the behavioral, social, and biomedical sciences. It offers the first accessible in-depth presentation of two of today's most popular statistical methods: multilevel models for individual change and hazard/survival models for event occurrence (in
both discrete- and continuous-time). Using clear, concise prose and real data sets from published studies, the authors take you step by step through complete analyses, from simple exploratory displays that reveal underlying patterns through sophisticated specifications of complex statistical models.

Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis offers readers a private consultation session with internationally recognized experts and represents a unique contribution to the literature on quantitative empirical methods.

Visit http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/examples/alda.htm for:
* Downloadable data sets
* Library of computer programs in SAS, SPSS, Stata, HLM, MLwiN, and more
* Additional material for data analysis

The Biology of Human Longevity: Inflammation, Nutrition, and Aging in the Evolution of Lifespans
By: Caleb E. Finch

Written by Caleb Finch, one of the leading scientists of our time, The Biology of Human Longevity - Inflammation, Nutrition, and Aging in the Evolution of Lifespans synthesizes several decades of top research on the topic of human aging and longevity particularly on the recent theories of inflammation and its effects on human health. The book expands a number of existing major theories, including the Barker theory of fetal origins of adult disease to consider the role of inflammation and Harmon's free radical theory of aging to include inflammatory damage. Future increases in lifespan are challenged by the obesity epidemic and spreading global infections which may reverse the gains made in lowering inflammatory exposure. This timely and topical book will be of interest to anyone studying aging from any scientific angle.

These books may be found on the New Acquisitions display.

Posted by ljridley at 09:34 AM | Comments (0)

May 27, 2008

New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Employment Effects of Welfare Reforms: Evidence from a Dynamic Structural Life-Cycle Model
Peter Haan, Victoria L. Prowse, Arne Uhlendorff
Abstract; PDF

Cognitive Abilities and Behavioral Biases
Jörg Oechssler, Andreas Roider, Patrick W. Schmitz
Abstract; PDF

Efficiency and Effectiveness of Social Spending
Peter Herrmann, Arno Tausch, Almas Heshmati, Chemen S. J. Bajalan
Abstract; PDF

Social Change
Jeremy Greenwood, Nezih Guner
Abstract; PDF

Fixed Effects Bias in Panel Data Estimators
Hielke Buddelmeyer, Paul H. Jensen, Umut Oguzoglu, Elizabeth Webster
Abstract; PDF

The Lot of the Unemployed: A Time Use Perspective
Alan B. Krueger, Andreas Mueller
Abstract; PDF

Would a Legal Minimum Wage Reduce Poverty? A Microsimulation Study for Germany
Kai-Uwe Müller, Viktor Steiner
Abstract; PDF

The Impact of Household Capital Income on Income Inequality: A Factor Decomposition Analysis for Great Britain, Germany and the USA
Anna Fräßdorf, Markus M. Grabka, Johannes Schwarze
Abstract; PDF

Human Capital Externalities and the Urban Wage Premium: Two Literatures and their Interrelations
Benedikt Halfdanarson, Daniel F. Heuermann, Jens Suedekum
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 02:22 PM | Comments (0)

May 19, 2008

New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

In Search of Gender Bias in Household Resource Allocation in Rural China
Lina Song
Abstract; PDF

Selective Migration and Health
Timothy Halliday, Michael C. Kimmitt
Abstract; PDF

The Impact of Population Aging on the Labor Market: The Case of Sri Lanka
Milan Vodopivec, Nisha Arunatilake
Abstract; PDF

Heterogeneity, State Dependence and Health
Timothy Halliday
Abstract; PDF

Civil Wars beyond their Borders: The Human Capital and Health Consequences of Hosting Refugees
Javier E. Baez
Abstract; PDF

Between Meritocracy and Ethnic Discrimination: The Gender Difference
Mahmood Arai, Moa Bursell, Lena Nekby
Abstract; PDF

Does the Effect of Incentive Payments on Survey Response Rates Differ by Income Support History?
Juan Baron, Robert Breunig, Deborah Cobb-Clark, Tue Gorgens, Anastasia Sartbayeva
Abstract; PDF

Hyperbolic Discounting and the Phillips Curve
Liam Graham, Dennis J. Snower
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 03:32 PM | Comments (0)

New Working Papers from the NBER

Bribery or Just Desserts? Evidence on the Influence of Congressional Voting Patterns on PAC Contributions from Exogenous Variation in the Sex Mix of Legislator Offspring
Dalton Conley and Brian J. McCabe
Abstract; PDF

Life Expectancy and Human Capital Investments: Evidence From Maternal Mortality Declines
Seema Jayachandran and Adriana Lleras-Muney
Abstract; PDF

Beyond Signaling and Human Capital: Education and the Revelation of Ability
Peter Arcidiacono, Patrick Bayer, and Aurel Hizmo
Abstract; PDF

Conflict and Deterrence under Strategic Risk
Sylvain Chassang and Gerard Padro i Miquel
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 02:20 PM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2008

New Poverty, Gender, and Youth Working Paper from the Population Council

Terms of marriage and time-use patterns of young wives: Evidence from rural Bangladesh
Sajeda Amin and Luciana Suran
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 03:41 PM | Comments (0)

May 13, 2008

Poverty, Gender, and Youth Working Papers from the Population Council

Has the HIV epidemic peaked?
John Bongaarts, Thomas Buettner, Gerhard Heilig, and François Pelletier
Abstract; PDF

Sexual behavior and STI/HIV status among adolescents in rural Malawi: An evaluation of the effect of interview mode on reporting
Barbara S. Mensch, Paul C. Hewett, Richard Gregory, and Stephane Helleringer
Abstract; PDF

Fertility transitions in developing countries: Progress or stagnation?
John Bongaarts
Abstract; PDF

The role of schools in promoting sexual and reproductive health among adolescents in developing countries
Cynthia B. Lloyd
Abstract; PDF

Premarital sex and schooling transitions in four sub-Saharan African countries
Ann Biddlecom, Richard Gregory, Cynthia B. Lloyd, and Barbara S. Mensch
Abstract; PDF

Poverty and fertility: Evidence and agenda
Sajeda Amin, John B. Casterline, and Laura Spess
Abstract; PDF

Ethnic differentials in parental health seeking for childhood illness in Vietnam
Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan and James F. Phillips
Abstract; PDF
Subsequently published: Social Science and Medicine 66(5): 1118–1130

Support by migrants to their elderly parents in rural Cambodia and Thailand: A comparative study
Zachary Zimmer, Kim Korinek, John Knodel, and Napaporn Chayovan
Abstract; PDF

Teacher absence as a factor in gender inequalities in access to primary schooling in rural Pakistan
Sharon Ghuman and Cynthia B. Lloyd
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)

New Working Papers from the NBER

Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education for School Dropouts?
John H. Tyler and Magnus Lofstrom
Abstract; PDF

Income Maximization and the Selection and Sorting of International Migrants
Jeffrey Grogger and Gordon H. Hanson
Abstract; PDF

The Higher Educational Transformation of China and Its Global Implications
Yao Li, John Whalley, Shunming Zhang, and Xiliang Zhao
Abstract; PDF

Changes in the Characteristics of American Youth: Implications for Adult Outcomes
Joseph G. Altonji, Prashant Bharadwaj, and Fabian Lange
Abstract; PDF

Do Markets Respond to Quality Information? The Case of Fertility Clinics
M. Kate Bundorf, Natalie Chun, Gopi Shah Goda, and Daniel P. Kessler
Abstract; PDF

How Costly is Diversity? Affirmative Action in Light of Gender Differences in Competitiveness
Muriel Niederle, Carmit Segal, and Lise Vesterlund
Abstract; PDF

Is Marriage Always Good for Children? Evidence from Families Affected by Incarceration
Keith Finlay and David Neumark
Abstract; PDF

Econometric Causality
James J. Heckman
Abstract; PDF

Effect of Employer Access to Criminal History Data on the Labor Market Outcomes of Ex-Offenders and Non-Offenders
Keith Finlay
Abstract; PDF

Too Young to Leave the Nest: The Effects of School Starting Age
Sandra E. Black, Paul J. Devereux, and Kjell G. Salvanes
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 10:10 AM | Comments (0)

New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor

The Effect of Intragroup Communication on Preference Shifts in Groups
Michael P. Brady, Steven Y. Wu
Abstract; PDF

The Impact of College Graduation on Geographic Mobility: Identifying Education Using Multiple Components of Vietnam Draft Risk
Ofer Malamud, Abigail Wozniak
Abstract; PDF

Minimum Wages and Welfare in a Hotelling Duopsony
Leo Kaas, Paul Madden
Abstract; PDF

From Illegal to Legal: Estimating Previous Illegal Experience among New Legal Immigrants to the United States
(forthcoming in: International Migration Review
Guillermina Jasso, Douglas S. Massey, Mark R. Rosenzweig, James P. Smith
Abstract; PDF

Life Satisfaction in Urban China: Components and Determinants
Lina Song, Simon Appleton
Abstract; PDF

Interethnic Marriage: A Choice between Ethnic and Educational Similarities
Delia Furtado, Nikolaos Theodoropoulos
Abstract; PDF

International Migration, Ethnicity and Economic Inequality
(substantially revised version forthcoming in: Oxford Handbook on Economic Inequality, 2009)
Martin Kahanec, Klaus F. Zimmermann
Abstract; PDF

Too Young to Leave the Nest? The Effects of School Starting Age
Sandra E. Black, Paul Devereux, Kjell G. Salvanes
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 09:32 AM | Comments (0)

April 24, 2008

Recent World Bank Policy Research Working Papers

Determinants of remittances : recent evidence using data on internal migrants in Vietnam

Health reform, population policy and child nutritional status in China

Migrant labor markets and the welfare of rural households in the developing world : evidence from China

More

Posted by yanfu at 02:42 PM | Comments (0)

April 23, 2008

World Development Indicators, 2008

The 2008 WDI includes more than 800 indicators in over 80 tables organized in 6 sections: World View, People, Environment, Economy, States and Markets, and Global Links.

UM access to WDI Online, 1960-

Posted by yanfu at 01:42 PM | Comments (0)

April 10, 2008

Latin America and the Caribbean statistical yearbook 2007

From the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

From press release:

A leading reference source for social, economic and environmental information on the region, the Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2007, produced by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), is now available on ECLAC’s webpage. … The Yearbook is divided into four chapters:

* Chapter one covers demographic and social areas, with special attention to gender;
* Chapter two presents basic economic information, including production, prices, international trade, balance of payments and national accounts;
* Chapter three provides information on natural resources and the environment, in response to increasing regional and international interest in sustainable development; and
* Chapter four provides readers with methodological and other data on sources, definitions and coverage of the statistics cited.

Spanish; English

Posted by ljridley at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)

New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor

How Hurricanes Affect Employment and Wages in Local Labor Markets
(forthcoming in: American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, May 2008)
Ariel R. Belasen and Solomon Polachek
Abstract; PDF

Qualifying Religion: The Role of Plural Identities for Educational Production
Timo Boppart, Josef Falkinger, Volker Grossmann, Ulrich Woitek, and Gabriela Wüthrich
Abstract; PDF

Tobacco and Alcohol: Complements or Substitutes? A Structural Model Approach
Harald Tauchmann, Silja Göhlmann, Till Requate, and Christoph M. Schmidt
Abstract; PDF

Meta-Analysis of Empirical Evidence on the Labour Market Impacts of Immigration
Simonetta Longhi, Peter Nijkamp, and Jacques Poot
Abstract; PDF

Migration and the Wage Curve: A Structural Approach to Measure the Wage and Employment Effects of Migration
Herbert Brücker and Elke J. Jahn
Abstract; PDF

Econometric Causality
(forthcoming in: International Statistical Review)
James J. Heckman
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 10:41 AM | Comments (0)

April 02, 2008

New Working Papers from the NBER

Imperfect Substitution between Immigrants and Natives: A Reappraisal
George J. Borjas, Jeffrey Grogger, Gordon H. Hanson
Abstract; PDF

The Life Cycle of Scholars and Papers in Economics -- the "Citation Death Tax"
Joshua Aizenman, Kenneth Kletzer
Abstract; PDF

The Transition to Post-industrial BMI Values Among US Children
John Komlos, Ariane Breitfelder, Marco Sunder
Abstract; PDF

Is There Dowry Inflation in South Asia?
Raj Arunachalam, Trevon Logan
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 02:32 PM | Comments (0)

April 01, 2008

New release of USA Counties

USA Counties now has downloadable data files to accompany the web-based version of USA counties:

Web-based version
http://censtats.census.gov/usa/usa.shtml

Excel download version
http://www.census.gov/support/USACdata.html

Posted by lisan at 08:43 AM | Comments (0)

March 25, 2008

CMS releases data on Medicare enrollment

National Trends 1966-2007
Medicare State Enrollment 2004-2006 (PDF files)

Posted by nebarr at 09:15 AM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2008

Population Estimates released

New estimates from the Census Bureau are available. They show that the New Orleans area is growing; previous hot spots like Florida, Arizona, and Nevada are slowing.

http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/011635.html

Posted by lisan at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)

Measuring Innovation

Read the report from the Measuring Innovation in the 21st Century Advisory Committee.

http://www.innovationmetrics.gov/

Posted by lisan at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)

March 20, 2008

2007 Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) has issued the Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific 2007.

Posted by yanfu at 03:28 PM | Comments (0)

March 19, 2008

New Series from the National Center for Health Statistics

NCHS Data Briefs

Data briefs are statistical publications that provide information about current public health topics in a straightforward format. Each report takes a complex data subject and summarizes it into text and graphics that provide readers with easily comprehensible information in a compact publication.

The titles so far include:

HIV Infection in the United States Household Population Aged 18-49 Years: Results from 1999-2006. PDF

Hypertension Awareness, Treatment, and Control-Continued Disparities in Adults: United States, 2005-2006. PDF

High Serum Total Cholesterol-An Indicator for Monitoring Cholesterol Lowering Efforts: U.S. Adults, 2005-2006. PDF

Obesity Among Adults in the United States-No Statistically Significant Change Since 2003-2004. PDF

Posted by ljridley at 02:46 PM | Comments (0)

New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor

Minimum Wages in Kenya
Mabel Andalon and Carmen Pagés
Abstract; PDF

Measuring Skilled Emigration Rates: The Case of Small States
Frédéric Docquier and Maurice Schiff
Abstract; PDF

Geography vs. Institutions at the Village Level
Michael Grimm and Stephan Klasen
Abstract; PDF

Remittances and the Brain Drain: Skilled Migrants Do Remit Less
Yoko Niimi, Caglar Ozden and Maurice Schiff
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)

Helpful resources regarding the new NIH Public Access Policy

About the Public Access Policy
• Public Access Information http://publicaccess.nih.gov/
• Detailed, very helpful FAQ http://publicaccess.nih.gov/FAQ.htm
• Guide notice http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-08-033.html

The NIH Manuscript Submission System
• NIHMS http://www.nihms.nih.gov/
• Tutorials http://www.nihms.nih.gov/web-help/

PubMed Central
• PubMed Central http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/
• PMC Demo http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Education/pmc/

Posted by yanfu at 08:33 AM | Comments (0)

Copyright: Retain key rights as authors

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) have released a new, short video clip to help researchers start thinking about securing their rights as authors. The two-minute video presentation, explains in simple, graphic terms the potential for wider exposure of scholarly articles when authors retain key rights. Inspired by the SPARC Author Rights initiative, the presentation offers three steps to effective rights management.

University of Michigan Author Addendum is available at UM copyright website.

Posted by yanfu at 08:21 AM | Comments (0)

March 14, 2008

New Discussion Papers from the Institute for the Study of Labor

The Health Returns to Education: What Can We Learn from Twins?
Petter Lundborg
Abstract; PDF

Brain Drain and its Determinants: A Major Issue for Small States
Michel Beine, Frédéric Docquier, Maurice Schiff
Abstract; PDF

Prison Conditions and Recidivism
Francesco Drago, Roberto Galbiati, Pietro Vertova
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)

Do you use Google Scholar off campus?

Google Scholar with UM access off-campus. After you authenticate with the link below, you will get the same access to articles as you are on campus.

Google Scholar (with U-M Ann Arbor MGet It Links)
The Google Scholar search engine that searches for scholarly documents on the World Wide Web, with the added feature of MGet IT (formerly SFX) links from University of Michigan at Ann Arbor that connect you to the online and print versions held by the University Library.

Posted by yanfu at 02:44 PM | Comments (0)

March 13, 2008

American Election Returns, 1787-1825

A New Nation Votes provides data from America’s earliest elections. It includes more than presidential election returns. Data run from governor races to the county coroner. The geographic coverage extends to the 25 states that existed during this time frame. The site is still in progress, but already includes 15,000 elections. This is about one-quarter of the eventual total. The website is based on the research of Philip Lampi.

http://elections.lib.tufts.edu/aas_portal/index.xq

Posted by lisan at 08:30 PM | Comments (0)

March 12, 2008

Recent NBER Working Papers

Identity, Parochial Institutions, and Occupational Choice: Linking the Past to the Present in the American Midwest
Kaivan Munshi and Nicholas Wilson
Abstract; PDF

Does Movie Violence Increase Violent Crime?
Gordon Dahl and Stefano DellaVigna
Abstract; PDF

Complementarity and the Measurement of Individual Risk Tradeoffs: Accounting for Quantity and Quality of Life Effects
Mary F. Evans and V. Kerry Smith
Abstract; PDF

Educating Urban Children
Richard J. Murnane
Abstract; PDF

Acting White or Acting Black: Mixed-Race Adolescents' Identity and Behavior
Christopher Ruebeck, Susan Averett, and Howard Bodenhorn
Abstract; PDF

The Economics and Psychology of Personality Traits
Lex Borghans, Angela Lee Duckworth, James J. Heckman, Bas ter Weel
Abstract; PDF

Competition in the Promised Land: Black Migration and Racial Wage Convergence in the North, 1940-1970
Leah Platt Boustan
Abstract; PDF

Evidence From Maternity Leave Expansions of the Impact of Maternal Care on Early Child Development
Michael Baker, Kevin Milligan
Abstract; PDF

Posted by ljridley at 08:41 AM | Comments (0)

March 07, 2008

Latest from UN Population and Vital Statistics Report: Series A

The Population and Vital Statistics Report: Series A presents most recent data on population size (total, male and female) from the latest available census of the population, national official population estimates and the number and rate (births, deaths and infant deaths) for the latest available year within the past 15 years. It also presents United Nations estimates of the mid-year population of the world, with its various areas and regions.

Posted by yanfu at 03:40 PM | Comments (0)

Congressional Hearing on the Web

The University Library recently purchased access to the full text of Congressional committee hearings in pdf format, 1965-2003, with 1824-1964 available by December 2008.

You can access the hearings on or off campus through LEXIS Congressional.

Posted by yanfu at 02:34 PM | Comments (0)

March 05, 2008

UN Data Launched

UN data was launched in February 2008. It will replace the UN Commons database, which will be discontinued as of July 31, 2008.

http://data.un.org

UNdata is the United Nations Data Access System which gives access to current, relevant and reliable statistics for free. The service is provided by the United Nations to users of data around the world. It offers easy access to data compiled and produced by United Nations agencies as well as other organizations.

UNdata's main features are:
- accessing different data sources through one interface,
- searching data with keywords and browsing databases,
- refining search results by filtering, and
- customizing tables with features such as sorting, column
selection and pivoting.

UNdata and the UN Common Database (UNCDB) UNdata is replacing the UNCDB. The new system goes beyond the concept of the UNCDB, starting from the way the data is stored and searched to the data presentation. Furthermore, the UNCDB only includes a small selection of UNSD's extensive data collection, whereas UNdata will have broader data coverage from various international and national sources.

The UNCDB series are currently available through UNdata under the new name "Key indicators". Please note that the Key indicator's scope has already been reduced, as some of the series have been included from the original data provider.

The UNCDB will be discontinued this summer after the academic year finished in most schools around the globe.

Posted by lisan at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)

February 29, 2008

New Book Acquisitions

Biosocial Surveys, Maxine Weinstein, James W. Vaupel, and Kenneth W. Wachter. Published by the National Academies Press, 2007.

Biosocial Surveys analyzes the latest research on the increasing number of multipurpose household surveys that collect biological data along with the more familiar interviewer respondent information. This book serves as a follow-up to the 2003 volume, Cells and Surveys: Should Biological Measures Be Included in Social Science Research? and asks these questions: What have the social sciences, especially demography, learned from those efforts and the greater interdisciplinary communication that has resulted from them? Which biological or genetic information has proven most useful to researchers? How can better models be developed to help integrate biological and social science information in ways that can broaden scientific understanding? This volume contains a collection of 17 papers by distinguished experts in demography, biology, economics, epidemiology, and survey methodology. It is an invaluable sourcebook for social and behavioral science researchers who are working with biosocial data.

Redefining Retirement: How Will Boomers Fare? Edited by Brigitte Madrian, Olivia S. Mitchell, and Beth J. Soldo. Published by Oxford University Press, 2007.

As the leading edge of the 'Baby Boom' generation attains age 60, members of this unusually large cohort born 1946-66 are poised to redefine retirement - just as they have restructured educational, housing, and labor markets in prior days. Looking ahead, their numbers and energy are sure to have a major impact on national pensions, healthcare, and social safety nets. Contributors to this volume note that 'Boomers' will be better off than their predecessors in many ways, having benefited from the long run-up in housing prices, dramatic improvements in healthcare, and the expanding economy. On the other hand, the generation's sheer size will surely squeeze resources and require new approaches to retirement risk management. This volume paints a complex and fascinating picture as Boomers move into retirement. On average they are in better financial and physical health than prior cohorts, and they can be anticipated to fare better than current retirees in absolute terms. Yet the distribution of retiree income and wealth will be less equal than in earlier years, and in relative terms, many Boomers will be less well off than their forebears. Contributors to the volume use many invaluable models and datasets, including the incomparable Health and Retirement Study (HRS) which affords unique insights into the status of mature adults surveyed at the same age and hence same point in their life cycles, but at three different time periods. Analysts offer new evidence about prospects for health and income during retirement, as well as pensions and housing equity, health, portfolio allocation, and financial literacy. This book offers readers an invaluable and first book-length study of Boomers as they march into retirement. As such, it represents an invaluable addition to the Pension Research Council/Oxford University Press series. It will be especially useful for scholars and policymakers seeking to understand retirement preparedness, to actuaries and tax specialists concerned with retirement system regulation, and to plan sponsors interested in the determinants of work and retirement at older ages.

Promises I Can Keep: Why Poor Women Put Motherhood Before Marriage, by Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas. Published by University of California Press, 2005

Millie Acevedo bore her first child before the age of 16 and dropped out of high school to care for her newborn. Now 27, she is the unmarried mother of three and is raising her kids in one of Philadelphia's poorest neighborhoods. Would she and her children be better off if she had waited to have them and had married their father first? Why do so many poor American youth like Millie continue to have children before they can afford to take care of them?
Over a span of five years, sociologists Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas talked in-depth with 162 low-income single moms like Millie to learn how they think about marriage and family. Promises I Can Keep offers an intimate look at what marriage and motherhood mean to these women and provides the most extensive on-the-ground study to date of why they put children before marriage despite the daunting challenges they know lie ahead.

Measurement Errors in Surveys, Paul P. Biemer, Robert M. Groves, Lars E. Lyberg, Nancy A. Mathiowetz, and Seymour Sudman. Published by Wiley-Interscience, 2004.

Measurement Errors in Surveys documents the current state of the field, reports new research findings, and promotes interdisciplinary exchanges in modeling, assessing, and reducing measurement errors in surveys. Providing a fundamental approach to measurement errors, the book features sections on the questionnaire, respondents and responses, interviewers and other means of data collection, the respondent-interviewer relationship, and the effects of measurement errors on estimation and data analysis.

These books may be found on the New Acquisitions display.

Posted by ljridley at 04:16 PM | Comments (0)

County and City Data Book: 2007

Just Released: County and City Data Book: 2007, February 29, 2008

Compiled since the 1940s, the County and City Data Book incorporates demographic and economic information about the United States from Census Bureau surveys, as well as information from other government and private organizations. The data cover topics such as population, housing, vital statistics, health care, social programs, education, labor force, wholesale and retail trade, and weather.

Online

Posted by yanfu at 03:15 PM | Comments (0)

February 28, 2008

Web of Knowledge New Interface

ISI has unveiled a new search interface for the ISI Web of Knowledge databases. To access individual databases like Web of Science or Current Contents, click on the "select databases" tab. Email psc-library if you have questions regarding searching or setting up alerts.

Posted by yanfu at 03:11 PM | Comments (0)