In many recent U.S. Congress sessions, several state and local governments have attempted to legalize waste flow controls after their ordinances were overturned by Supreme Court. Using data on intercounty waste flows in California and a random utility model of haulers' decisions about where to deposit waste from each county, this paper studies the effects of not-in-my-backyard policies and fuel taxes on the spatial and demographic distribution of solid waste. I find that waste is currently more likely to be hauled to disposal facilities in communities with higher percentages of blacks and Hispanics, even after controlling for income, disposal fees, and transport distances. Counterfactual policy experiments show that policies that seek to limit waste flows would reduce intercounty waste transport. However, these policies tend to lead to substitution of waste away from facilities near white residents and toward facilities near Hispanic residents, potentially exacerbating distributional concerns.

Исследование посвящено первичным документам Первой всеобщей переписи населения, проведенной 28 января 1897 г. Рассматриваются особенности форм и экземпляров переписных листов, их различия в зависимости от регионов, перевод на языки народов Российской империи. Отдельное внимание уделяется специальным обследованиям, проводившимся в контексте организации и проведения переписи 1897 г.: пробная перепись, лингвистическое обследование, анкетирование лиц, достигших ста и более лет. Переписной материал считался очень плохо сохранившимся, а по некоторым данным — утраченным. Однако, как показало исследование, практически полностью были уничтожены первые экземпляры переписных листов, тогда как вторые и третьи экземпляры сохранились в некоторых российских и зарубежных архивах. В монографии впервые представлен наиболее полный обзор комплексов первичных материалов переписи 1897 г. Издание предназначено для широкого круга лиц.

What is the role of location in slum formation? We use a panel of residential trajectories experienced by slum residents and out-of-slum, subsidized housing dwellers in Santiago, Chile, to examine the characteristics of location choices made by these two groups over dierent periods of life that occurred between 1960-2008. We show that while slum and subsidized housing dwellers are born in municipalities with statistically comparable levels of poverty, economic activity and proximity to city center, slum dwellers end up living in inferior housing but within municipalities with lower poverty levels, higher economic activity and closer to the city center. Consequently, labor force participation among slum dwellers is signicantly higher. From a revealed preferences approach, this result suggests that slum dwellers are willing to sacrice housing quality for geographical access to better economic opportunities. As a validity test, we implement a trade-o experiment designed to elicit individuals' willingness to substitute housing quality for better location. We nd that, compared to subsidized housing residents, slum dwellers are signicantly more likely to prioritize location quality over housing quality, a result that is consistent with their revealed preferences of location.

Sexual minorities and immigrants face unique challenges to accessing health care in the United States. This study used data on nonelderly adults (n = 100,667) from the 2013–2016 National Health Interview Survey. Unadjusted prevalence estimates and multivariable logistic regression models (with and without interactions between immigration and sexual minority status) were used to compare health insurance coverage and access to care by immigration and sexual minority status. We did not find any differences in uninsurance, having a usual source of care, and a recent office visit by sexual orientation for US-born and foreign-born adults. However, compared to their heterosexual counterparts, US-born and foreign-born sexual minorities were more likely to have an emergency room visit in the prior year and report financial-related barriers to medical care, dental care, prescription medications, and mental health care. Foreign-born sexual minorities were more likely to have an emergency room visit and unmet mental health care needs due to cost compared to other subpopulations after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Broadening the knowledge and scope of research on sexual minority immigrants can inform targeted health policy approaches with the goal of achieving health equity for sexual minority immigrants.

In 1893, Frederick Jackson Turner proposed that America’s Western frontier was an economic ‘safety-valve’ – a place where settlers could migrate when conditions in eastern states and Europe crystallized against their upward economic mobility. However, recent studies suggest the Western frontier’s material conditions may not have been as advantageous as Jackson proposed because settlers lacked the knowledge and human capital to succeed on the Plains and Far Western frontier. Using stature, BMI and weight from five late 19th and early 20th century prisons, this study uses 61,276 observations for men between ages 15 and 79 to illustrate that current and cumulative net nutrition on the Great Plains did not deteriorate during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, indicating that recent challenges to the Turner Hypothesis are not well supported by net nutrition studies.

This paper explores the state of the skill premium between skilled and unskilled labor in light of new forms of automation entering the workforce from 2008-2017. I build off the work started by Goldin and Katz in their book, The Race Between Education and Technology, answering the question: is demand for skilled labor currently outpacing the supply of skilled labor due to new forms of automation? I start with a historical review of the race between demand and supply of skilled labor, along with a study of policy influences on skilled labor supply. I then examine the literature currently published on automation to see if recent trends show demand for skilled labor increasing or not. I use data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey to investigate whether current skill premiums have grown, diminished, or remained stagnant compared to the 2000 Census data where Goldin and Katz ended. The trends from this data is then forecasted out to 2020, 2025, 2030, and 2040 to see what current trends would augur for future skill premium levels. Trends points toward the skill premium for skilled labor increasing, contingent on the elasticity of substitution between skilled and unskilled labor. These findings would suggest that the American education system will need to explore supply side policies to keep skill premiums from sky-rocketing and income inequality in check.

Obesity is an epidemic affecting about 40% of the US adult population. Tracking with the obesity epidemic is an increase in the prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes. Both pre-diabetes and diabetes are often coexistent with obesity and contribute to an increased total and cardiovascular disease related morbidity and mortality. Lifestyle modification is usually the first step in management among individuals with obesity and/or pre-diabetes or diabetes, but remains an unfulfilled potential by healthcare providers to promote healthier lifestyles in obese patients. We aimed to describe the current patterns of lifestyle counseling (diet, physical activity, and weight loss) and their adherence by patients with obesity in the US using the National Health Interview Survey, 2016–2017. We analyzed these patterns among individuals with pre-diabetes and diabetes. We found that, regardless of pre-diabetes or diabetes status, almost 1 in 3 individuals with mild obesity (BMI ≥ 30 & < 35) and 1 in 4 with severe obesity (BMI ≥ 35) reported lack of lifestyle counseling from healthcare providers regarding diet or physical activity, and 2 in 3 individuals with any level of obesity reported lack of referral/counsel concerning weight loss programs. Lifestyle counseling and its compliance among obese adults from a contemporary dataset in the US is still suboptimal. This study highlights the gaps in the implementation of the AHA/ACC 2013 guidelines on management of obesity among adults particularly among those with metabolic disease, who would derive the greatest benefit.

Low-income households around the United States experience difficulties with food insecurity wherein they struggle to secure enough food for all of their household members. This issue becomes even more complex when considering the nutritional makeup of the food that they are able to secure. This issue is of importance to public policy, especially given rising rates of diet-related diseases among low-income individuals. This thesis explores public policy efforts aimed at improving the consumption of healthy and nutritious foods for low-income individuals. In this dissertation I first investigate the impact of increasing the payout of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payouts on low-income participants’ consumption of different food groups. Secondly, I compare the simulated impact on fruits and vegetables purchases of increasing the food budget of low-income households to providing them a discount on fruits and vegetables. Finally, I evaluate the preferences of food pantry clients towards healthy modifications to their food.

Disparities in preventive care by both ruralurban location and by race and ethnicity are welldocumented in the literature, as discussed below, but less is known about whether there are differences in health care use among rural residents by race and ethnicity. In this brief, we address that gap by examining differences in preventive care among rural residents by race and ethnicity

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive, debilitating respiratory condition and currently the third leading cause of death in the United States (1). Though over 11 million people have been diagnosed with COPD, many more have undiagnosed disease (1). This number is projected to increase further as America’s population ages. COPD is increasingly being recognized as a major health problem in America’s multicultural black population. Until recent studies such as COPDGene (Genetic Study of the Epidemiology of COPD) (2), which . . .

This paper examines how specific human capital affects labour turnover and real wage cyclicality in a frictional labour market. I develop an equilibrium search model with long-term contracts and imperfect monitoring of worker effort. Imperfect monitoring creates a moral hazard problem that requires firms to pay efficiency wages. The optimal contract implies that more specific capital reduces job separation, thereby alleviating the moral hazard and increasing wage stability over the business cycle. I apply this model to explain novel stylised facts about the cyclicality of the postgraduate-undergraduate wage premium. Postgraduate degree holders experience lower cyclical variation in real wages than those with undergraduate degrees. This effect is significant for workers with a long tenure, but not for new hires. Moreover, postgraduates have more specific human capital than undergraduates. Estimates reveal that specific capital can explain the educational gaps both in labour turnover and in real wage cyclicality.

This paper studies the effect of oil wealth on the provision of education in the early 20th century United States. Using information on the location and discovery of major oil fields, I find that oil wealth increased local revenue and education spending. However, population increased, and as consequence, schooling quality did not improve across the board. Nominal teacher wages increased, and oil-rich counties were more likely to participate in the Rosenwald school building program for blacks. However, neither student-teacher ratios nor school attendance rates improved in the wake of oil discoveries.

In the aggregate, labor migration (labor flows) and foreign direct investment (FDI) flows are found complementary in economic theory. However, recent empirical evidence finds that when migrants are disaggregated according to skill level, FDI flows substitute for unskilled labor flows but complement skilled labor flows. The purpose of this paper is to test whether disaggregating Mexican migrants by labor skill reflects complementarity between FDI and skilled migration and substitutability between FDI and unskilled migration. Results will suggest the utility of using either the Heckscher-Ohlin model or Specific Factors trade model in understanding international migration in terms of capital and labor flows. If unskilled labor flows and FDI flows are substitutable, then recent empirical evidence suggests unskilled Mexican labor immigration should lead to FDI outflows, decreased US productivity, and reduced economic growth. This project will use regression analysis on migrants' labor skill, labor flows, and FDI flows between Mexico and the US using secondary data sources to determine whether unskilled Mexican migrants lead to FDI outflows.

Whether it’s digging out of their alleys after a big snowstorm or marching in the streets to win an eight-hour work day, Chicagoans have a rich tradition of coming together to take care of their communities. But when mayors like Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel have talked about turning Chicago into a “world-class city”, this has typically meant passing neoliberal policies to attract wealthy, white professionals, and big, multinational corporations to the city, while ignoring the needs of the people who call Chicago home, especially the city’s communities of color. But a city that is truly world-class is one that takes care of its residents. Chicagoans should not have to worry who will take care of their kids when they go to work or how to pay for pre-K to set up their kids for success. In a world-class city, every child under the age of fve should have access to free early childhood education. Students should not have to work two or three jobs to put themselves through college. A world-class education is one in which every high school graduate can attend college for free. Chicagoans should not have to worry how they will get to work, whether they have a ride to the doctor’s ofce, or who will pick up their kids from school. Chicagoans deserve a world-class public transit system in which everyone can ride the city’s trains and buses for free, and those trains and buses go to all parts of the city and get there on time. No Chicagoan should have to wonder where they will rest their head at night. A world-class city ensures every resident has a home. As the Daley-Emanuel era in Chicago politics comes to a close, Chicagoans need to come together and demand that the city’s new elected leaders make the city truly world-class by implementing policies that will improve the . . .

Over the past decade, housing costs in the U.S. have risen faster than average incomes. While housing affordability has long been a problem for low-income families, middle-income families are increasingly facing affordability challenges, especially in urban areas with strong labor markets. When housing costs rise, households can respond by adjusting their consumption; for instance, living in smaller spaces or moving farther from city centers. In this paper, I examine middle-class housing stress along four dimensions: affordability, inadequate space, commute times, and homeownership. Using household-level data from the Census Bureau’s Individual Public Use Microdata Sample (IPUMS), I explore how housing stresses vary by income, household type, race, and geography. Results show that, on average, middle-income families are doing well on all four dimensions. However, distinct population groups show stress on several metrics, including affordability, crowding, long commute times, and . . .

This paper finds that machine learning can overcome the life-cycle bias in the process of estimating permanent income, where the permanent income is defined as at least 5-years’ average income between 30 and 40. In order to measure the impacts of external shocks, the Bush Tax cuts and economic recession, on intergenerational mobility, dividend income is chosen as identification strategy. This quasi-experiment shows that economic recession brought about a heterogeneous decrease in mobility by 35.7%, and the Bush Tax Cut at 2003 brought about a heterogeneous decrease in mobility by 16.9%. Though the effect of the tax cut is not significant, it might be caused by an inaccurate estimated error in the regression. In addition, this paper finds that any instrumental variables used in the estimation are not supposed to be used in the second stage regression.

It has long been documented that married individuals have better health outcomes than unmarried individuals. However, this marital advantage paradigm has been developed primarily based on heterosexual populations. No studies to date have examined the health effects of marriage among bisexuals, one of the most disadvantaged but understudied sexual minority groups, although a few have shown mixed results for gays and lesbians. Similarly, no research has examined how the gender composition of a couple may shape bisexuals’ health outcomes above and beyond the effects of sexual orientation. We analyzed pooled data from the 2013–2017 National Health Interview Survey (n = 154,485) and found that the health advantage of marriage applied only to heterosexuals and, to a lesser extent, gays and lesbians. Married bisexuals, however, exhibited poorer health than unmarried bisexuals when socioeconomic status and health behaviors were adjusted for. Moreover, bisexuals in same-gender unions were healthier than bisexuals in different-gender unions primarily because of their socioeconomic advantages and healthier behaviors. Together, our findings suggest that bisexuals, particularly those in different-gender unions, face unique challenges in their relationships that may reduce the health advantage associated with marriage.

This paper exploits large changes in the H-1B visa program and examines the effect of changes in H-1B admission levels on the likelihood that US natives major in STEM fields. Compare to impact on labor market outcomes, the possible impact of H-1B visa reforms on natives’ college major choices indicate effect over longer horizons. I find some evidence that H-1B population adversely affect natives’ choices in STEM fields when they enter the college and graduate from it. Both male and White subgroups have been negatively affected, and the native Asian subgroup suffer from the most dramatic crowding-out effect. Since foreign born Asian account for a large proportion of H-1B visa holders, there might be an interesting “Asian crowd out Asian” story.

Consumption externalities have a non-linear association with fertility rates according to an empirical analysis of US micro-level data and panel data estimations for developed economies. In light of this evidence, we incorporate consumption externalities into the fertility-choice model and provide an analytical explanation for the patterns observed in the evolution of fertility. Speciically, accounting for consumption externalities helps explain the steep decline in fertility rates during the demographic transition and the recent stabilisation and reversal of the decline in fertility. Simulations based on the calibrated model closely replicate the observed crosscountry fertility patterns for developed economies. The endings connrm that consumption externalities are an important factor driving the evolution of fertility.

Method-related concerns represent an important cause of contraceptive non-use and discontinuation. User preferences must be incorporated into the design of new contraceptive technologies to ensure product success and improve family planning outcomes. We assessed preferences among potential users in Burkina Faso and Uganda for six contraceptive methods currently under development or ready for introduction: a new copper intra-uterine device (IUD), a levonorgestrel intra-uterine system, a new single-rod implant, a biodegradable implant, a longer-acting injectable, and a method of non-surgical permanent contraception. Questions were added to nationally-representative PMA2020 household surveys that asked 2,743 and 2,403 women in Burkina Faso and Uganda, respectively, their interest in using each new method. We assessed factors associated with interest through multivariable logistic regression models. We conducted qualitative interviews and focus groups with 398 women, 78 men, and 52 family planning providers and key informants to explore perceived advantages and disadvantages of the methods. Respondents expressed interest in using all new methods, with greatest interest in the longer-acting injectable (77% in Burkina Faso, 61% in Uganda), followed by a new single-rod implant. Least interest was expressed in a new copper IUD (26% Burkina Faso, 15% in Uganda). In both countries, women with less education had higher odds of interest in a longer-acting injectable. Interest in most new methods was associated with desiring a method lasting longer than one year and acceptance of lack of menstrual bleeding as a contraceptive side effect. Perceived advantages and disadvantages were similar between countries, including concerns about menstrual side effects and fear of the biodegradable nature of the biodegradable implant. Potential users, their partners, and providers are interested in new longer-acting methods, however, familiar forms including the injectable and implant may be the most immediately acceptable. A biodegradable implant will require clear counseling messages to allay potential fears.