Using state-level data from 1980-2010 we examine whether economic freedom, as measured by the Economic Freedom of North America Index, has had any impact in increasing or decreasing the ratio of median income for black households to the median income of white households. To our knowledge, there has been no research on racial income disparities and the role that economic freedom might have in alleviating or exacerbating the problem. We find evidence that economic freedom is associated with an increase in the racial income gap.

Racial and ethnic diversity among health professionals helps improve healthcare access and better meet the health needs of an increasingly diverse population. While substantial resources have been dedicated to help diversify the health workforce, people of color remain under-represented in many health professions. This study aims to: (1) explore how the diversity of the health workforce has changed over the last decade and (2) explore the state of evidence on the effectiveness of pipeline programs that seek to promote racial and ethnic diversity in the health workforce. Using data from the American Community Survey (ACS), we examine changes in the racial and ethnic composition of the health workforce from 2005 to 2014 for a selected set of health occupations. We also reviewed five years (2010-2015) of literature on the effectiveness of pipeline programs aimed at recruiting and retaining people of color in health professions. We found that although the health workforce is becoming more diverse, most individuals from under-represented minority backgrounds remain in lower-skilled occupations. Regarding evidence supporting the effectiveness of educational efforts designed to facilitate racial and ethnic diversity within the health professions, promising practices were identified and most focused on increasing the interest, application, and enrollment of racial and ethnic minorities into health profession schools such as medicine or dentistry. However, there is still a missing link in the pipeline between entry, persistence, graduation, and pursuit of a healthcare career.

The Municipal Reform of 1991 in Puerto Rico began a process of decentralization necessary in a government characterized by centralism. The concepts of autonomy and delegation of powers of the Municipal Reform of 1991 are evaluated, and the effect of decentralization arising from the Act on the ability of local government revenues, the size of spending, debt and composition public employment, among others. The same conceptual framework used as the economic theory of fiscal federalism, taking into account the possible institutional problems and their application to the case of Puerto Rico. Reform created institutions to guide the process, he built a fairly complete legal and regulatory framework, taking into account important factors such as land use planning and promoting community participation. However, twenty years later, we can conclude that the results have been limited. One of the problems with its initial conception is that it emphasizes the delegation of powers to municipalities, but only aims to ensure that municipalities maintain their income levels, leading municipal borrowing. Given the bumps in the road, the idea of framing a decentralization process of regionalization as a new opportunity arises. However, fiscal, institutional and political constraints that must be considered if you want to achieve a successful process are discussed.

Mother fastens the buckles on Maggie’s little shoes, and some minutes later drives her to school. They walk through the gates and then down the corridor. While her mother looks for the classroom, Maggie admires the pretty pictures on the wall. At the classroom door, her mother says goodbye to her and tells her she will be back in a few hours. Maggie is a little scared, but she holds back her tears; she has been looking forward to this day. The teacher takes Maggie’s hand and walks her into the classroom. It is her first day of class. The day passed quickly . . .

Throughout the nineteenth century, Canada and the United States struggled to gain accurate demographic data on the First Nations and Métis communities they claimed to oversee. Enumerators grappled with linguistic and cultural differences, distrust, the ambiguity of racial categories, and the geographic mobility and isolation of many Native American communities. Understanding how, where, and why national census takers and Indian agents failed to overcome these challenges sheds light on the locality of federal power and the pathways through which Native Americans maintained their autonomy.

Knowledge of strong predictors of mortality and longevity is very important for actuarial science and practice. Earlier studies found that parental characteristics as well as early-life conditions and midlife environment play a significant role in survival to advanced ages. However, little is known about the simultaneous effects of these three factors on longevity. This ongoing study attempts to fill this gap by comparing centenarians born in the United States in 18901891 with peers born in the same years who died at age 65. The records for centenarians and controls were taken from computerized family histories, which were then linked to 1900 and 1930 U.S. censuses. As a result of this linkage procedure, 765 records of confirmed centenarians and 783 records of controls were obtained. Analysis with multivariate logistic regression found the existence of both general and gender-specific predictors of human longevity. General predictors common for men and women are paternal and maternal longevity. Gender-specific predictors of male longevity are occupation as a farmer at age 40, Northeastern region of birth in the United States, and birth in the second half of year. A gender-specific predictor of female longevity is the availability of radio in the household according to the 1930 U.S. census. Given the importance of familial longevity as an independent predictor of survival to advanced ages, we conducted a comparative study of biological and nonbiological relatives of centenarians using a larger sample of 1,945 validated U.S. centenarians born in 18801895. We found that male gender of centenarian has a significant positive effect on survival of adult male relatives (brothers and fathers) but not female blood relatives. Life span of centenarian siblings-in-law is lower compared to life span of centenarian siblings and does not depend on centenarian gender. Wives of male centenarians (who share lifestyle and living conditions) have a significantly better survival compared to wives of centenarians' brothers. This finding demonstrates an important role of shared familial environment and lifestyle in human longevity. The results of this study suggest that familial background, some early-life conditions and midlife characteristics play an important role in longevity.

BACKGROUND Previous research suggests individual-level socioeconomic circumstances and resources may be especially salient influences on mortality within the broader context of social, economic, and environmental factors affecting urban 19th century mortality. OBJECTIVE We sought to test individual-level socioeconomic effects on mortality from infectious and often epidemic diseases in the context of an emerging New England industrial mill town. METHOD We analyze mortality data from comprehensive death records and a sample of death records linked to census data, for an emergent industrial New England town, to analyze infectious mortality and model socioeconomic effects using Poisson rate regression. RESULTS Despite our expectations that individual resources might be especially salient in the harsh mortality setting of a crowded, rapidly growing, emergent, industrial mill town with high levels of impoverishment, infectious mortality was not significantly lowered by individual socio-economic status or resources.

The federally-funded Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) strives to improve the health of low-income families who are at nutritional risk by providing nutritious food, education on healthy eating, breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals to health care and other services. Pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children under age five who have a nutritional risk are eligible for WIC if they live in households with incomes at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), or if they receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (CalFresh), Medicaid (Medi-Cal) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). This report provides county and regional-level estimates of women, infants and children eligible for WIC services in California and the count and percent of WIC-eligibles that received benefits from the program in an average month during calendar year 2011. Estimates of WIC eligibility and program reach are provided for 34 counties and 6 regions (grouped counties) within California to identify underserved communities to target outreach efforts to those in greatest need for WIC services.

In 2010, 5.5 million US adults ages seventy and older received informal care, including 3.6 million with cognitive impairment or probable dementia. Adults with probable dementia received 171 hours of monthly informal care, versus 89 hours for cognitively impaired adults without dementia and 66 hours for cognitively normal adults.

Consistent with estimates of the marriage-to-divorce ratio for 2013, there were almost two marriages for every one divorce in the U.S. in 2014. Between 1970 and 2011, the marriage-to-divorce ratio has seen an overall decrease. However, since 2012, the overall trend is moving toward nearly two marriages per one divorce. Since 1970, 2011 had the lowest marriage to divorce ratio at 1.7 marriages for every one divorce.

Health and medical data are increasingly being generated, collected, and stored in electronic form in healthcare facilities and administrative agencies. Such data hold a wealth of information vital to effective health policy development and evaluation, as well as to enhanced clinical care through evidence‐based practice and safety and quality monitoring. These initiatives are aimed at improving individuals' health and well‐being. Nevertheless, analyses of health data archives must be conducted in such a way that individuals' privacy is not compromised. One important aspect of protecting individuals' privacy is protecting the confidentiality of their data. It is the purpose of this paper to provide a review of a number of approaches to reducing disclosure risk when making data available for research, and to present a taxonomy for such approaches. Some of these methods are widely used, whereas others are still in development. It is important to have a range of methods available because there is also a range of data‐use scenarios, and it is important to be able to choose between methods suited to differing scenarios. In practice, it is necessary to find a balance between allowing the use of health and medical data for research and protecting confidentiality. This balance is often presented as a trade‐off between disclosure risk and data utility, because methods that reduce disclosure risk, in general, also reduce data utility.

It is widely believed that promoting employment among low-income families and, in particular, among low-income mothers may be one of most important social policies we have to combat poverty. One such program that relieves child-care costs and may potentially influence maternal employment is the Head Start program. Despite the large scale of the program, little is known as to how the Head Start subsidy may affect low-income mothers’ labor supply. In this work, I investigate the effect of Head Start participation on mothers’ labor supply, schooling, income, and welfare participation. I employ both experimental and quasi-experimental research designs using two sources of data that span 30 years of Head Start. In the first part of my analyses, I exploit the randomized experiment from the Head Start Impact Study (2002-2008) to examine how the availability of Head Start affect child care choices, maternal labor supply, and maternal schooling in recent years. In the second part of my analyses, I use the non-public decennial censuses of 1970 to investigate the effect of the Head Start program in its early years. I exploit a discontinuity in the county-level Head Start funding beginning in the late 1960s to explore differences in county-level maternal employment and maternal schooling. Overall, the findings from both data sources suggest that the availability of Head Start did not increase labor market entry. However, the availability facilitated full- time employment and school enrollment for some mothers in recent periods (i.e., early 2000s).

In 2014, nearly 18 marriages per 1,000 ended in divorce. The divorce rate has dropped by almost a quarter in the past 35 years to the lowest it has been since 1970.

Linking the type and timing of hydrologic changes with patterns of urban growth is essential to identifying the underlying mechanisms that drive declines in urban aquatic ecosystems. In six urbanizing watersheds surrounding three U.S. cities (Baltimore, MD, Boston, MA, and Pittsburgh, PA), we reconstructed the history of development patterns since 1900 and assessed the magnitude and timing of stream flow changes during watershed development. Development reconstructions indicated that the majority of watershed development occurred during a period of peak population growth, typically between 1950 and 1970. Stream flow records indicated significant increases in annual frequency of high-flow events in all six watersheds and increases in annual runoff efficiency in five watersheds. Annual development intensity during the peak growth period had the strongest association with the magnitude of changes in high-flow frequency from the pre- to post-development periods. Results suggest the timing of the peak growth period is particularly important to understanding hydrologic changes, because it can set the type of stormwater infrastructure installed within a watershed. In three watersheds there was a rapid (~10-15 years) shift toward more frequent high-flow events, and in four watersheds there was a shift toward higher runoff efficiency. Breakpoint analyses indicated these shifts occurred between 1969 and 1976 for high-flow frequency and between 1962 and 1984 for runoff efficiency. Results indicated that the timing of high-flow changes were mainly driven by the development trajectory of each watershed, whereas the timing of runoff-efficiency changes were driven by a combination of development trajectories and extreme weather events. Our results underscore the need to refine the causes of urban stream degradation to incorporate the impact of gradual versus rapid urbanization on hydrologic changes and aquatic ecosystem function, as well as to recognize that the dominant drivers of hydrologic changes are heterogeneous among urban watersheds and vary over time.

The San Francisco Bay Area is hard to get ones head around and is frequently misunderstood. It is immense, decentered, sprawling, autotopic, multiracial, divided, and morea crucible of the modern suburban and exurban metropolis. It is distinctive in several regards, but illuminating of the dynamics behind metropolitan geography. Indeed, the Bay Area has been integral to the production of modern American suburbia and its urban system embodies many of the contradictions of the contemporary moment.

This paper focuses on the role of migration to the United States from a set of important European sending countries as a device for improving the human capital of the children and grandchildren of migrants as measured by their education. We derive a new and conceptually more appropriate measure of the generational gains in schooling attributable to migration by taking into account the correct counterfactual: the generational education gains that would have taken place if these migrants had remained in their sending countries. We find that the two European sending countries that gained the most in terms of their descendants’ human capital were Italy and Poland.

Social and spatial context are important determinants of morbidity and mortality. However, there is little clarity about the role of context for kidney disease specifically, particularly before the end stage. Meanwhile, research clarifying the clinical, cellular, molecular, and genetic causes of kidney disease is accelerating considerably. We postulate that without contextual information, even the most detailed biomedical information cannot fully capture the factors that ultimately drive the development and progression of kidney disease. The Nephrotic Syndrome Study Network is integrating detailed, state-of-the-art information on a social and spatial context to enable the exploration of the associations between the social environment and kidney disease. Here, we discuss the extant literature on social context and kidney disease, present information on sources of contextual information, and provide recommended further reading to facilitate future research on the contribution of the social context to kidney disease.

A sizable and growing portion of the workforce is engaged in nonstandard and often precarious employment, which includes work that is part time, temporary or “on call”; being an independent contractor or otherwise self-employed; and working for a contracting company instead of directly for an employer. Many workers in nonstandard arrangements face considerable insecurity because of lower wages, lack of job security, responsibility for work expenses, uncertain hours and unpredictable schedules. Nonstandard arrangements often lack other elements of security such as paid time off, health insurance and retirement benefits. The instability inherent in many nonstandard work arrangements, along with inflexible employer practices that fail to accommodate employee sickness or caregiving responsibilities, increase the likelihood of both intermittent spells of unemployment and underemployment. But our labor standards and . . .

The use of a multinomial logit model to analyze a hitherto unavailable dataset of 1,376 small-claims lawsuits in colonial Augusta County, Virginia, for information about debts, litigants, and procedures f inds no evidence of prejudice in the legal system. The magistrates’ consistently fair enforcement of legitimate contracts may have induced both plaintiffs and defendants to settle their disputes in court rather than in private. The evidence corroborates the view that by the mid-eighteenth century, Virginia’s frontier judicial system was sufficiently impartial to encourage creditors to draw up efficient contracts even for small debts.

A substantial number of American children reside in adoptive or step households. Empirical research has found strong correlations between family structure and child outcomes in modern data, showing that non-biological children have lower outcomes than biological children. Few studies have examined how non-biological children fared in historical times, however. In this study, I use the public use samples of federal census microdata in 1900-1930 and 2000 to compare educational status of adopted, step, and biological children in the United States. I find that, for whites and blacks, non-biological children experienced major disadvantages compared to biological children in 1900-1930 even after controlling for child and parental characteristics. by 2000, however, the educational disadvantages of white and black adopted children have been greatly reduced or even reversed in some measures. For stepchildren, educational disadvantages have persisted for both whites and blacks, but their extent was smaller than in 1900-1930. For Asian children, I find no significant difference in educational status among adopted, stop, and biological consistent with major transformations of adoption practices and stepfamily formation in the U.S. during the twentieth century that improved parental incentives and resources to invest in non-biological children.