The decision of whether to rent or own a home should involve an evaluation of the relative risks and the relative costs of the two options. It is often assumed that renting is less risky than homeownership, but that is not always the case. Which option is riskier depends on the risk source and household characteristics.This article provides a framework for understanding the sources of risk for renters. It outlines the most important determinants of risk: volatility in the total cost of obtaining housing, changes in housing costs after a move, and the correlation of rents with incomes. The article characterizes the magnitudes of those risks and discusses how the effects of risk vary across renter types and U.S. metropolitan areas. In addition, the article shows that renters spend less of their cash flow on housing than do otherwise equivalent owners and, thus, are better able to absorb housing cost risk.Finally, potential policy approaches to rental housing that avoid increasing rent risk are discussed. A simple way to maintain renters capacity to absorb rent risk is to avoid subsidies that result in an incentive to consume a larger rental housing quantity. Targeting rental subsidies to more mobile households or those living in low-volatility cities, where renting is less risky, should be considered. Long-term leases would provide an intermediate position between renting annually and owning but are currently rare.

High-skilled emigration is an emotive issue that in popular discourse is often referred to as brain drain, conjuring images of extremely negative impacts on developing countries. Recent discussions of brain gain, diaspora effects, and other advantages of migration have beenused to argue against this, but much of the discussion has been absent of evidence. This paper builds upon a new wave of empirical research to answer eight key questions underlying much of the brain drain debate: 1) What is brain drain? 2) Why should economists care about it? 3) Is brain drain increasing? 4) Is there a positive relationship between skilled and unskilled migration? 5) What makes brain drain more likely? 6) Does brain gain exist? 7) Do high-skilled workers remit, invest, and share knowledge back home? and 8) What do we know about the fiscal and production externalities of brain drain?

The effects of immigration restrictions on the composition of immigrants has long been debated. Human capital accumulation models suggest that direct costs to immigration cause only individuals from the upper end of the quality distribution to immigrate. However, empirical analysis of changes in immigration restrictions on immigrant composition is limited. In this paper I exploit a relatively unknown policy change which provides a natural experiment to study the effect of decreasing immigration restrictions on the quality, as measured by education levels, of new immigrants. In 1986, the United States agreed to exempt citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands from meeting U.S. passport, visa, and labor certification requirements. The identification strategy relies on a difference-in-difference framework with two contrasting control groups. Results suggest that the policy substantially decreased the average education level of both male and female immigrants from the treated countries who immigrated after the policy change.

Background: Malignancies of the lymphoid cells, including non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs), Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and multiple myeloma (MM), occur at much lower rates in Asians than other racial/ethnic groups in the United States (US). It remains unclear whether these deficits are explained by genetic or environmental factors. To better understand environmental contributions, we examined incidence patterns of lymphoid malignancies among populations characterized by ethnicity, birthplace, and residential neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and ethnic enclave status. Methods: We obtained data regarding all Asian patients diagnosed with lymphoid malignancies between 1988 and 2004 from the California Cancer Registry and neighborhood characteristics from US Census data. Results: While incidence rates of most lymphoid malignancies were lower among Asian than white populations, only follicular lymphoma (FL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL), and nodular sclerosis (NS) HL rates were statistically significantly lower among foreign-born than US-born Asians, with incidence rate ratios ranging from 0.34 to 0.87. Rates of CLL/SLL and NS HL were also lower among Asian women living in ethnic enclaves or lower-SES neighborhoods than those living elsewhere. Conclusions: These observations support strong roles of environmental factors in the causation of FL, CLL/SLL, and NS HL. Impact: Studying specific lymphoid malignancies in US Asians may provide valuable insight towards understanding their environmental causes.

Data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) and a Belgian national survey using weekly diaries indicate that, when asked to estimate their number of work hours, employed respondents tend to overestimate their work hours by 5–10 percent in relation to the work hours they report in their time diaries; most of the overestimation is accounted for by respondents who estimate longer work hours

Cancer and return to work has been extensively studied in the Western context and yet it has not received much academic attention in Asia. This paper aims to review the current Singapore government rehabilitation initiatives in collaboration with the policy community, identify the socio-environmental barriers to implementing the existing programs for cancer survivors, highlights the demand-side of research development and illustrates the viewpoints of small and medium enterprise employers in Singapore from a recent study. Implications and future directions in developing evidence-based rehabilitation policies and initiatives for cancer survivors in Singapore and the Southeast Asian region are also discussed. Methods A review of occupational rehabilitation literature relevant to Singapore looking at legislation, policies, initiatives and services was performed. Current state-of-art research in occupational rehabilitation from an employer perspective was also synthesized. Results Challenges and barriers of adopting the current rehabilitation initiatives and programs for cancer survivors exist largely due to the lack of centralized effort, clear definitions and understanding between people with disabilities, chronic illness and cancer as well as an evidence-based policy community. In addition, too much emphasis on new hiring than retaining in current services and there are no specific guidelines to help employers deal with issues when retaining employees with health history, such as workplace accommodation, appraisal, discrimination and grievance handling. Conclusions Palpable blind spots in the current occupational rehabilitation system and policy were highlighted in this paper. Coupled with systemic improvements, continuous government resource support and developing an evidence-based policy community between the government, employers, healthcare professionals, industry and community partners and non-profit organizations, a positive change of the rehabilitation initiatives and services is promising.

Various deficit-reduction plans have proposed changing the way increases in the cost of living are calculated under federal law. Specifically, they would replace the currentConsumer Price Index (CPI) with a new chained CPI that would produce lower annual estimates of increases in the cost of living. Shifting to the chained CPI would reduce federal spending by reducing the annual Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) in various federal benefit programs, including Social Security. It also would increase revenues (although by a smaller amount than it would cut spending), by reducing the inflation adjustment in tax brackets and some other tax provisions.Policy makers engaged in deficit reduction talks are reportedly considering the proposal, which was recently endorsed in a Washington Post editorial that claimed,This Cut Wont Hurt. However, the facts show otherwise.

The popular debate around contemporary U.S. immigration tends to conjure images of men waiting on the side of the road for construction jobs, working in kitchens or delis, driving taxis, and sending money to their wives and families in their home countries, while women are often left out of these pictures. Immigration and Women is a national portrait of immigrant women who live in the United States today, featuring the voices of these women as they describe their contributions to work, culture, and activism.Through an examination of U.S. Census data and interviews with women across nationalities, we hear the poignant, humorous, hopeful, and defiant words of these women as they describe the often confusing terrain where they are starting new lives, creating architecture firms, building urban high-rises, caring for children, cleaning offices, producing creative works, and organizing for social change. Highlighting the gendered quality of the immigration process, "Immigration and Women" interrogates how human agency and societal structures interact within the intersecting social locations of gender and migration. The authors recommend changes for public policy to address the constraints these women face, insisting that new policy must be attentive to the diverse profile of today's immigrating woman: she is both potentially vulnerable to exploitative conditions and forging new avenues of societal leadership.

The subjective assessment of personal income, insofar as it reflects or sheds light upon the (potentially different) economic incentive structures facing workers of different demographic groups, has far-reaching implications for public policy and private decision-making alike. This paper explores the impact of personal income on financial satisfaction and on perceived income, focusing on demographic differences across the following groups: white males, black males, white females and black females. The results indicate that different race/gender pairs do respond to income differently. For both financial satisfaction and perceived relative income, white females, black females and black males all have lower returns to personal income than do white males. White males, in other words, appear to reap more bang for the buck in terms of both of the outcome variables, even after a host of control variables are introduced. The possibility that social comparison among (racial and gender) ingroups is driving the observed demographic differences is discussed.

Its no secret that problems usually associated with inner cities have made their way into suburbia. Poverty, unemployment, foreclosures, population losses, underfunded or failing schools, inadequate public servicestheyre facts of life for millions of people living in distressed, older suburbs across the United States.But what can be done about this? How can the federal government help?What works?This report focuses on predominantly minority suburbs of older, large industrial cities, communities that once were thriving but are now severely distressed and have limited capacities to respond to increasing needs.It supplements census information with a deeper understanding of the underlying forces shaping distressed, older suburbs. It also contributes to a growing body of literature on suburbia in general and on older, inner-ring suburbs in particular. While much has been written about the deleterious effects of living in concentrated poverty in central cities, very little research has examined the problem in distressed suburbs.The research behind this report consisted of a review of literature on the topic (appendix A), identification of the most-distressed suburbs in the United States (appendix B), and in-depth case studies, including site visits and interviews, and fiscal analyses of four most-distressed suburbs (appendices C and D).Our hope is that understanding what works and what does not work in the four case study cities will help inform the federal policy discussion about how best to position distressed suburbs for the future.

This article presents findings from a unique survey that assessed explanations for low black male employment by questioning participants in a low skill labor market. Black men identified barriers to hiring—including felony convictions, drug testing, low skill levels, and bias—as major reasons for their non‐employment. Employers believed black male applicants were less likely to have the desired interpersonal skills and work ethic, and that they were less likely to pass pre‐employment drug tests.

This paper analyses how individual characteristics vary with within-couple age differences. Earnings analysis of prime-aged married couples in the 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000 Decennial Censuses finds that male earnings are lower for men in differently-aged couples compared to similarly-aged couples while female earnings increase with within-couple age difference. These patterns are true both for marriages between older women and younger men and between older men and younger women. They are also robust across all four Census years.We offer an explanation for these earnings patterns that assumes that on average people prefer similarly aged spouses. Individuals who search and match outside similarly-aged partners therefore tend to be negatively selected. Women in differently-aged couples have higher earnings not because of positive selection, but because their effort increases in response to partnering with a lower earning man.We test this explanation using three measures: average earnings in occupation in the Census data, cognitive skills assessments from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort (NLSY79), and measures of physical appearance from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). None of the results provide any support of positive selection into differently-aged couples by either men or women, regardless of whether the older spouse is male or female. The point estimates overwhelmingly suggest negative selection on all of these characteristics, although statistical significance varies by outcome and sample.

In recent years, the U.S. government has proposed substantial investments in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors as well as in educational and workforce training programs. While policymakers are moving ahead with policies targeting green job creation, there is little consensus on how green jobs may be defined, whether and how they can be measured, and how to evaluate the effect of public spending intended to increase their numbers. This thesis begins with a review of the literature on green jobs as well as literature on occupational choice, which will serve as the theoretical framework for the empirical work. It will then analyze employment trends using a two-sector model to investigate whether the private sector anticipates increased demand for green jobs. Probit and linear probability models are developed to relate green job definitions to age and other factors. The data used are from the 2003 - 2010 Annual Social and Economic Supplements to the Current Population Survey as published by the University of Minnesota’s Minnesota Population Center. The results of the models suggest that younger workers are not moving into green jobs faster than older workers, which implies that private sector workers do not anticipate increasing demand for green jobs. The primary conclusion is that more research is needed to suitably define green jobs before they can be adequately measured to evaluate public policy programs. Recommendations are made including a multi-dimensional gradient index for greenness of jobs for use in conjunction with existing occupational and industry classification codes.

In 1940, when gender specialization was high, there was a negative relationship between education and marriage for women. College-educated women were least likely to be currently married and most likely to be never married. Declines in specialization were accompanied by a transition in this relationship. By 2000, when gender specialization was low, there was a positive relationship between education and marriage for women. College-educated women were most likely to be currently married, in part because they were more likely to stay married or remarry after divorce or widowhood. This transition occurred earlier and more completely for black women than for white women. These changes suggest that the relationship between education and marriage is shaped in part by the gender-role context.

The past decade has seen an explosion in the availability of spatial data, not only for researchers, but the public as well. As the quantity of data increases, the ability to effectively navigate and understand the data becomes more challenging. Here we detail a conceptual model for a spatially explicit database management system that addresses the issues raised with the growing data management problem. We demonstrate utility with a case study in disease ecology: to develop a multiscale predictive model of African trypanosomiasis in Kenya. International collaborations and varying technical expertise necessitate a modular open-source software solution. Finally, we address three recurring problems with data management: scalability, reliability, and security.

The spatial modeling of infectious disease distributions and dynamics is increasingly being undertaken for health services planning and disease control monitoring, implementation, and evaluation. Where risks are heterogeneous in space or dependent on person-to-person transmission, spatial data on human population distributions are required to estimate infectious disease risks, burdens, and dynamics. Several different modeled human population distribution datasets are available and widely used, but the disparities among them and the implications for enumerating disease burdens and populations at risk have not been considered systematically. Here, we quantify some of these effects using global estimates of populations at risk (PAR) of P. falciparum malaria as an example. Methods: The recent construction of a global map of P. falciparum malaria endemicity enabled the testing of different gridded population datasets for providing estimates of PAR by endemicity class. The estimated population numbers within each class were calculated for each country using four different global gridded human population datasets: GRUMP (~1 km spatial resolution), LandScan (~1 km), UNEP Global Population Databases (~5 km), and GPW3 (~5 km). More detailed assessments of PAR variation and accuracy were conducted for three African countries where census data were available at a higher administrative-unit level than used by any of the four gridded population datasets. Results: The estimates of PAR based on the datasets varied by more than 10 million people for some countries, even accounting for the fact that estimates of population totals made by different agencies are used to correct national totals in these datasets and can vary by more than 5% for many low-income countries. In many cases, these variations in PAR estimates comprised more than 10% of the total national population. The detailed country- level assessments suggested that none of the datasets was consistently more accurate than the others in estimating PAR. The sizes of such differences among modeled human populations were related to variations in the methods, input resolution, and date of the census data underlying each dataset. Data quality varied from country to country within the spatial population datasets. Conclusions: Detailed, highly spatially resolved human population data are an essential resource for planning health service delivery for disease control, for the spatial modeling of epidemics, and for decision-making processes related to public health. However, our results highlight that for the low-income regions of the world where disease burden is greatest, existing datasets display substantial variations in estimated population distributions, resulting in uncertainty in disease assessments that utilize them. Increased efforts are required to gather contemporary and spatially detailed demographic data to reduce this uncertainty, particularly in Africa, and to develop population distribution modeling methods that match the rigor, sophistication, and ability to handle uncertainty of contemporary disease mapping and spread modeling. In the meantime, studies that utilize a particular spatial population dataset need to acknowledge the uncertainties inherent within them and consider how the methods and data that comprise each will affect conclusions.