This paper connects the licensing effect on female and minority representation to job characteristics using a state border discontinuity design in the US Census. I find that a state with higher licensing coverage has a higher female representation in error-intolerant or decision-intensive professions. The effect is more robust for white women and mainly comes from licenses with examinations, training, or continuous education. However, licensing results in a lower female representation in professions with longer work hours, irregular schedules, or competitive pressure. It also causes a lower black representation in professions with repeated tasks or higher degrees of automation. Occupational licensing helps disadvantaged workers only if the information about worker standards is costly to acquire.

The highest incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer are seen among minority women groups in the United States. Hispanic women have the highest rate of cervical cancer, contributing to the 2nd highest mortality rate of the disease. Researchers have examined the lower rates of cervical cancer screening among Hispanic women, as compared with other groups of U.S. women, but researchers have not examined cervical cancer screening practices, specifically for U.S. Dominican women. The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between compliance with cervical cancer screening and major influences including acculturation, socioeconomic status, immigration status, and usual source of care. The behavioral model for vulnerable populations was the framework used in this research. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to analyze data from the National Health Interview Survey for 2011-2015 focusing on U.S. Dominican women ages 21-65 years (N = 3,644). The results revealed that during certain years there was an association between geographic place of birth (p = .015), years in the United States (p = .015), and usual source for preventive care (p = .001), but no correlation was found for education level (p = .235), family income (p = .240), citizenship status (p = .400), language of the interview (p = .176), and source of care when sick during any of the years analyzed (p = .374). The findings could promote positive social change by informing cervical cancer screening interventions targeting U.S. Dominican women.

Background Full practice authority laws that permit nurse practitioners (NPs) to practice independently and prescribe medications may influence NPs’ workforce outcomes. Purpose To examine whether implementation of full practice authority laws affect NP self-employment, average earnings, and likelihood of residing in a primary care health professional shortage area (HPSA). Methods A nationally representative U.S. sample of 9,782 NPs employed in health care during 2010 to 2018 was drawn from the American Community Survey. Difference-in-differences regression was used to estimate covariate-adjusted mean differences in NPs’ workforce outcomes after full practice authority implementation. Findings Among full-time employed NPs, full practice authority was associated with an increased probability of residing in a HPSA (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]:2.34, 95%CI 1.14, 4.83) and with a higher mean probability of self-employment (aOR:4.97, 95%CI 1.00, 24.86). Discussion Full practice authority implementation improves access to primary care providers in health professional shortage areas and may increase practice ownership among NPs.

Background: Despite overall incidence reduction in colorectal cancer (CRC) the past 32 years, unexplained incidence and mortality rates have increased significantly in younger adults ages 20-49. To improve understanding of sex-specific differences among this population, we aimed to determine the variance in early-onset CRC (EOCRC) survival among US men diagnosed with CRC before age 50, while considering individual- and county-level CRC outcome determinants. Methods: Hotspots (i.e., counties with high EOCRC mortality rates) were derived from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from 1999-2017, and linked to SEER data for men aged 15-49 years with CRC. Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare CRC-specific survival probability and hazard in hotspots versus non-significant counties. A generalized R2 was used to estimate the total variance in EOCRC survival explained by clinicodemographic and county-level determinants. Results: We identified 232 hotspot counties for EOCRC-214 (92%) of which were in the South. In hotspots, 1,009 men were diagnosed with EOCRC and 31,438 in non-significant counties. After adjusting for age, race, tumor stage and grade, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and marital status, men residing in hotspot counties had higher hazard of CRC-specific death (HR 1.24, 95% CI, 1.12-1.36). Individual/county-level factors explained nearly 35% of the variation in survival, and adult smoking served as the strongest county-level determinant of EOCRC survival. Conclusion: Distinct geographic patterns of EOCRC were predominantly located in the southern US. Survival after EOCRC diagnosis was significantly worse among men residing in hotspot counties.

We present new findings about the relationship between marriage and socioeconomic background in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Imputing socioeconomic status of family of origin from first names, we document a socioeconomic gradient for women in the probability of marriage and the socioeconomic status of husbands. This socioeconomic gradient becomes steeper over time. We investigate the degree to which it can be explained by occupational income divergence across geographic regions. Regional divergence explains about one half of the socioeconomic divergence in the probability of marriage, and almost all of the increase in marital sorting. Differences in urbanization rates and the share of foreign-born across states drive most of these differences, while other factors (the scholarization rate, the sex ratio and the share in manufacturing) play a smaller role.

In this dissertation, I empirically analyze topics at the intersection of law and economics. In the first chapter, Michael Packard and I calculate the crime effects attributable to the Mariel Boatlift, the 1980 Cuban refugee crisis that increased Miami’s population by nearly 10%. Using synthetic control methods to match Miami with cities that exhibit similar pre-intervention crime patterns, we find evidence the phenomenon comparatively increased property crime and murder rates; we also document weaker but suggestive relative growth in violent crime. Compositional features of the newcomers seemingly drive our results; the disproportionately young, male Cubans’ characteristics highly correlate with illicit activity. Given the group’s unique composition and the absence of rigorous screening, our findings likely constitute the “upper bound” of migration caused crime. Research to date on asset forfeiture has found authorities collect revenue by circumventing civil liberties safeguards. This activity seems to target minorities in fiscally constrained communities. In the second chapter, I use new data on asset forfeiture to show the literature drew conclusions from variables subject to substantial missing records. Prior research relied on confiscated property values. The validity of this metric depends on the ability of police to accurately appraise items like cars and weapons. I provide evidence these estimates fail to include a nontrivial number of cases, and plausibly misrepresent police behavior. This finding calls into question related policy and scholarly work. To better frame research, I describe summary statistics and seizure patterns capturing the number of forfeiture cases from the new data. I also revisit parameter estimates from the literature. I find prior studies potentially overstated the degree to which law enforcement exploit loopholes in laws intended to protect property owners. Likewise, I do not observe evidence law enforcement disproportionately seize property in debt-ridden communities. In January 2015, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) temporarily suspended a federal asset forfeiture program that grants local law enforcement the ability to retain property confiscated from suspected criminals. This tool enables authorities to circumvent state level requirements to deposit forfeiture revenue into general funds. In the final chapter, I exploit the DOJ’s decision — in conjunction with state forfeiture laws — to measure the importance of federal financial incentives tied to property seizure via difference-in-differences. Contrary to implications from preexisting legal and empirical research, I find the loss of federal forfeiture revenue did not reduce confiscations or encourage other revenue generating activity.

Legislation and public policies in California incentivize housing development near high-quality transit nodes to meet climate change and affordability goals. In general, transit-oriented development (TOD) encourages transit ridership and active travel while reducing the number and distance of car trips. BART has been active in encouraging affordable TOD in the region; the agency adopted a TOD policy in 2016 that aims to build 20,000 housing units on land it owns, 35 percent of which must be affordable to low and very low income households. As of July 2019, 2,555 total housing units were in BART’s TOD portfolio, 29 percent . . .

This paper studies how access to financial services among a previously unbanked group affects human capital, labor market, and wealth outcomes. We use novel data from the Freedman's Savings Bank-created following the American Civil War to serve free Blacks-employing an instrumental variables strategy exploiting the staggered rollout of bank branches. Families with accounts are more likely to have children in school, be literate, work, and have higher occupational income, business ownership, and real estate wealth. Placebo effects are not present using planned but unbuilt branches, or for Whites, suggesting significant positive effects of financial inclusion.

Importance The association of state-level immigrant policies with uninsurance among Latino youths remains unknown. Objective To assess the association of state-level immigrant integration and criminalization policies with health insurance coverage among US-born Latino youths by maternal citizenship. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study analyzed secondary data from the American Community Survey, January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2018, for US-born Latino youths (age, ≤17 years) and their mothers (age, 18-64 years) as well as state-level indicators of immigrant integration and criminalization policies (in all 50 states and the District of Columbia). Exposures Immigrant integration and criminalization policies. Main Outcomes and Measures The main outcome was maternal reports of youth uninsurance status at the time of the American Community Survey interview. Variation in youth uninsurance by maternal citizenship, state immigrant integration policy context, and state immigrant criminalization policy context were examined. All analyses were conducted with weighted survey data. Results Of the 226 691 US-born Latino youths (115 431 [50.92%] male; mean [SD] age, 7.66 [4.92] years) included in the study, 36.64% (95% CI, 36.21%-36.92%) had noncitizen mothers. Overall, 7.09% (95% CI, 6.78%-7.41%) of noncitizen mothers reported that their youths were uninsured compared with 4.68% (95% CI, 4.49%-4.88%) of citizen mothers. Of uninsured youths who resided in states with a low level of immigrant integration policies, 9.10% (8.22%-10.06%) had noncitizen mothers and 4.75% (95% CI, 4.19%-5.37%) had citizen mothers; of uninsured youths who resided in states with high criminalization policies, 9.37% (95% CI, 8.90%-9.87%) had noncitizen mothers and 5.91% (95% CI, 5.64%-6.20%) had citizen mothers. In states with few immigrant integration policies, the probability of uninsurance among youths with noncitizen mothers was 3.3% (95% CI, 2.3%-4.4%) higher than that among youths with citizen mothers. Among youths with noncitizen mothers, the difference in the probability of uninsurance between those residing in states with a low level vs a high level of immigrant integration policies was 2.1% (95% CI, 0.6%-3.6%). Among youths residing in states with high levels of immigrant criminalization policies, those with noncitizen mothers had a 2.6% (95% CI, 1.9%-3.0%) higher probability of being uninsured compared with those whose mothers were citizens. Among youths with noncitizen mothers, the difference in the probability of uninsurance between those who resided in a state with a low level vs a state with a high level of immigrant criminalization policies was 1.7% (95% CI, 0.7%-2.7%). Conclusions and Relevance The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that among US-born Latino youths, disparities in uninsurance by maternal citizenship are associated with state-level immigrant integration and criminalization policies and that anti-immigrant policies may be associated with disparities in health care access for US-born Latino youths.

CalFresh and CalWORKs, two of California’s chief social safety net programs, provide food and cash assistance to low-income citizens and permanent residents. Together with refundable tax credits, they are the state’s largest poverty-mitigating programs for children. More recently, COVID-19 and the resulting economic downturn have turned a spotlight on the need for foundational safety net programs like CalFresh and CalWORKs to respond swiftly when a crisis disrupts family finances. In this report, we assess the role these programs play in children’s early lives, using administrative data that show how many children participate, how often, and for how long. Our intent is to better understand the stages in children’s early years when families may be likely to need support through CalFresh, CalWORKs, or both programs. We find: Nearly half of California children participate in CalFresh, CalWORKs, or both over their early years. This is double the share of children who participate in an average month: about 14 percent of children ages 0–5 access CalFresh only, and 9 percent participate in both CalFresh and CalWORKs. Latino and African American children have sharply higher levels of CalFresh participation over the course of their early years. For many children growing up in a recession, CalFresh and CalWORKs provide important short-term support for family resources. Even a deep recession and slow recovery during the Great Recession did not lead to more months participating. At the same time, more children combine assistance from CalFresh and CalWORKs during recessions, suggesting that children who need only a boost from CalFresh in good economic times require support from both programs in difficult economic times. Assistance tends to begin early in life among children who ever access CalFresh. Over half participate for the first time by age one. But among these participants, 40 percent of children join CalFresh after a delay of at least three months after birth. Delays are less common for children also in CalWORKs—signaling that the most impoverished families may access assistance relatively more rapidly than those in less poverty. Most young children who access CalFresh do so only once for about a year, but brief gaps in enrollment affect a third of young children. These interruptions occur more frequently for children who also access CalWORKs (42% higher) and for Latino children (20% higher). The fact that half of California’s children from birth through age five benefit from assistance through CalWORKs and/or CalFresh reflects the centrality of these programs in California’s social safety net. It also suggests that severe economic need is more common than statistics on point-in-time poverty or caseloads would lead us to conclude. Furthermore, children who might need only a boost from CalFresh in good economic times may require support from both programs during an economic crisis, when employment is scarce. Given the importance of adequate resources early in life, continuing policymaker efforts to address hurdles to participation can advance equitable access and may improve future outcomes for children.

This paper considers estimation and inference about tail features when the observations beyond some threshold are censored. We first show that ignoring such tail censoring could lead to substantial bias and size distortion, even if the censored probability is tiny. Second, we propose a new maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) based on the Pareto tail approximation and derive its asymptotic properties. Third, we provide a small sample modification to the MLE by resorting to Extreme Value theory. The MLE with this modification delivers excellent small sample performance, as shown by Monte Carlo simulations. We illustrate its empirical relevance by estimating (i) the tail index and the extreme quantiles of the US individual earnings with the Current Population Survey dataset and (ii) the tail index of the distribution of macroeconomic disasters and the coefficient of risk aversion using the dataset collected by Barro and Urs{\'u}a (2008). Our new empirical findings are substantially different from the existing literature.

The Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center (RADC) conducts 5 harmonized prospective clinical-pathologic cohort studies of aging – with 1 study, the Latino Core, focused exclusively on Latinxs, 2 studies consisting of mostly non-Latinx whites, and 2 studies of mostly non-Latinx blacks. This paper contextualizes the Latino Core within the other 4 harmonized RADC cohort studies. The overall aim of the paper is to provide information from the RADC, so that researchers can learn from our participants and procedures to better advance the science of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in Latinxs. We describe an annual clinical evaluation that assesses risk factors for Alzheimer’s dementia among older adults without known dementia at enrollment. As all RADC cohort studies offer brain donation as a part of research participation, we discuss our approach to brain donation and subsequent participant decision-making among older Latinxs. We also summarize baseline characteristics of older Latinxs across the 5 RADC cohort studies in relation to the baseline characteristics of non-Latinx blacks and non-Latinx whites. Finally, we outline challenges and considerations as well as potential next steps in cognitive aging research with older Latinxs.

When coronavirus began spreading in California, public health officials urged people who fell ill to isolate themselves in their homes for two weeks. But many California families simply can’t do that. Forced by the high cost of living, parents squeeze into rooms with their children, cousins sleep on couches, grandparents convert living rooms into bedrooms and farmworkers sleep in barracks-style bunk beds.

In September, employers added 661,000 jobs across the United States, a steep drop in pace from the 1.4 million jobs added in August and a considerable slowdown in the economic recovery experienced since the onset of the pandemic-induced recession in April. The modest recovery over the summer has been fueled by the adjustments that businesses made to cope with restrictions in indoor service, by providing retail and dining services outside. The arrival of cold winter weather has loomed over businesses across the U.S., creating significant concerns about the inability to continue current strategies that worked in warmer, summer months. As a result, there should be significant concern that winter will eliminate the ability to use outdoor spaces for physical distancing and result in a broader economic contraction, which could be made worse with a spike in COVID cases.

Objective We aim to identify contemporary noise exposures and hearing protection use among U.S. children in a large, population‐based study. Methods Cross‐sectional analysis of the 2014 National Health Interview Series was performed. Results from in‐person interviews of families with children under 18 years of age in all 50 states were queried. Potentially harmful exposures to loud sounds and patterns of hearing protection use in the last 12 months were analyzed after representative sample weights were applied. Results Among 73.4 million children, 18.4% (9.1 ± 0.4 million) (boys: 23.2%, girls: 13.5%; P < 0.001) were exposed to firearms noise, and 28.2% (20.7 ± 0.6 million) (boys: 30.5%, girls: 25.8%; P < 0.001) to firecrackers and other explosive sounds. Exposure to recreational “very‐loud” noise exposure was more common (7.9%; 5.8 ± 0.3 million), consisting of music players (46.5%), fireworks (44.8%), lawnmowers (42.6%), and firearms (32.5%). However, only 17.1% of boys and 15.6% of girls, totaling 16.4% of all children, always used hearing protection during noise exposures. Conclusion Children in the United States are commonly exposed to firearms and recreational loud noises. Hearing protection is infrequently used, and gender disparities in patterns of exposure and use of hearing protection are prevalent. Those children and families at risk should be identified via public health initiatives and appropriately counseled by healthcare providers. Level of Evidence NA INTRODUCTION Over the last two decades, there has been a substantial increase in the prevalence of hearing loss in the pediatric population worldwide, rising from 14.9% to 19.5%,1, 2 with up to 25% of children at risk of occupational damage.3 The mean age at the time of referral for pediatric noise‐induced hearing loss is 12.7 years; accordingly, a deficit in hearing may not be recognized until much later in childhood.4 This increased prevalence is generally attributed to the modern day environment, which is increasingly filled with amplified sounds from personal music players, sports venues, concerts, and musical instruments, among many other sources.5, 6 Authors of these studies indicate that most children and adolescents participate in at least one potentially high‐risk noise behavior just listed. Unfortunately, although the use of hearing protection devices in their studies varies, it has not generally been quantified. However, hearing protection devices would not be useful in the case of personal music (MP3) players, which are now used by more than 85% to 90% of school children and have been determined to be the most common source of high‐intensity noise in representative populations.7, 8 Loud sounds from personal music players can increase the risk of noise‐induced permanent threshold shifts.9 Whereas many personal music players may have an upper volume limit, these devices are nevertheless still capable of producing sounds up to 100 dBA and thus can generate acoustic trauma.5, 10, 11 Moreover, even short‐term exposures from other sources of noise popular among adolescents, such as music concerts and sporting events, may permanently impact hearing.12, 13 In addition to recreational noise, children may also be exposed to noise from firearms. It is estimated that nearly one‐third of the households in the United States possess a firearm,14 and it is likely that children in these households have been in the vicinity of the gunfire noise. Exposure to these acute bursts of intense sounds can cause noise‐induced temporary or permanent hearing loss.15-18 Unfortunately, early noise exposure accelerates the age‐related hearing loss process, and once noise‐induced hearing loss manifests, it worsens with continued exposure.19, 20 It is evident that the sources and hazards of loud noise exposure have been studied and evaluated in prior investigations. However, exposure patterns of high‐intensity noise among U.S. children have not been analyzed in a large population‐based study. Accordingly, this investigation was conducted to identify contemporary noise exposures and hearing protection use among U.S. children. The data were gathered by utilizing the National Health Interview Series (NHIS), which has collected information on a broad range of health topics through personal household interviews in the United States since the 1950s.21, 22 In particular, for the first time the 2014 NHIS contained a hearing‐specific survey module sponsored by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disease (National Institutes of Health), in which families with infants and children under 18 years of age were queried with an additional 49 questions. The particular data were analyzed here for exposure patterns, as well as use of hearing protection during common noisy environments.

This paper analyzes how the interaction of ethnicities and cultures impacts on productivity and employment on Greek local labor markets, within the 20‐year interval between 1991 and 2011. We compute two alternative proxies for cultural diversity, namely the fractionalization and the polarization index, using information on 118 countries of origin. We also account for the potential endogenous allocation of individuals across local labor markets by employing a “shift‐share” instrument, exploiting the fact that networks play an important role in the settlement patterns of recent migrants. Our identification strategy indicates that the contribution of diversity in terms of birthplace is positive, at least up to a certain point. This finding appears to be robust and not driven by the inclusion of further controls, outliers, spatial autocorrelation, and selection on unobservables. Interestingly, we find that ethnic heterogeneity helps employment and productivity by promoting sectoral diversity.

There is clear evidence that young children (between the ages of 0–4) were significantly undercounted in the 2010 U.S. Census (O’Hare 2014a, 2015). The Census Bureau’s analysis of the 2010 Census reported a net undercount rate of 4.6% for the population age 0–4, which amounts almost one million young children. This net undercount rate was more than twice as high as the next highest undercount rate of 2.2% for age group 5–9 (Hogan et al. 2013). Moreover, research shows that this undercount has increased dramatically since 1980 (O’Hare 2014b).

The coordination and integration of transportation and land use (also known as “smart growth”) has been a long-standing goal for planning and engineering professionals, but to this day remains an elusive concept to realize. As this approach is a widely recognized as key to achieving sustainable, livable, and equitable (SLE) outcomes for individuals and society, a key aim of this report is to instill the coordination of transportation and land use into practice by the collection of key actors and agents (MPOs, DOTs, and local land use authorities, etc.) through new measurement and policy guidance frameworks and tools. A fundamental assumption of this report is that frameworks are needed first to help guide the use of tools to measure and understand urban quality, and then inform policy decisions toward realizing SLE outcomes. Along these lines, this report provides a review of current literature and practice related to measuring and understanding the integration of transportation and land use through the lenses of sustainability, livability, and equity (SLE), specifically focusing on efforts to operationalize the Livability Principles of the 2009 HUD/DOT/EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities and Caltrans’ Smart Mobility Framework. Specifically, this report . . .

This dissertation adds to our understanding of large-scale issues in higher education. It contributes to existing literature by expanding our knowledge of how universities behave, and the consequences of these actions. It examines how universities respond to cuts to state funding, contributing to our knowledge of the scale and scope of tuition revenue recuperation. It also identifies nonresident crowd-out of resident students, increasing our understanding of how universities adjust their enrollment composition. Finally, it adds to our understanding of how academic interventions targeted at disadvantaged groups can improve their outcomes. In each case, it brings new econometric techniques and tools to answer questions with more certainty than did prior literature. Chapter 1 uses data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to examine how decreased state funding changes tuition and enrollment for resident and nonresident students. I estimate causal impacts by using a shift-share instrumental variables identification strategy. Results show that universities increase resident tuition by 2% and nonresident enrollment by 7% in response to a 10% decrease in state funding. Chapter 2 examines another trend in public higher education: nonresident crowd out of resident students. I create two separate instrumental variables from the IPEDS dataset: the out-of-state student IV creates exogenous cross-state aggregated student flows using past enrollment trends. The foreign IV aggregates foreign student stocks at the state-level before dividing them to schools based on their enrollment size. Results find that every two additional nonresident students crowd out one additional resident. Chapter 3, co-authored with Scott Carrell, quantifies the effectiveness of a preparatory school intervention for less-prepared students. We use United States Air Force Academy data, and instrument for selection into the prep school by leveraging variation in the competitiveness of Congressional Districts to predict likelihood of enrollment in the prep school. We find that the prep school intervention increases first-year grades by over 0.2 grade points, and that these gains persist to graduation.

This dissertation seeks to understand the role of public policies in shaping long-run neighborhood outcomes, with a specific focus on understanding the relationship between private markets, government, and race at key points in American history. In particular, this dissertation explores controversial government programs such as the federal urban renewal and slum clearance program established by the Housing Act of 1949 and the development of residential security maps (more commonly referred to as redlining maps) by the Home Owners Loan Corporation in the 1930s. In addition, this dissertation looks at modern-day disparities in debt collection judgments across white and black neighborhoods.