Beginning the in 1980s, US employers began drug testing employees and job applicants in large numbers. Today, 50% of employees in the US work for firms that conduct some form of drug testing, and 80% of these screen new hires. This paper investigates the labor market impacts of this large policy change. I incorporate drug testing into a standard Roy model of labor market sorting and derive a limited set of predictions concerning sorting across the testing and non-testing sectors. I then identify three key periods in the life of this policy: an early period in which testing was rare (the pre-period), a transition period, and the current high-testing period (the post-period). Using Current Population Survey microdata spanning 1980 to 1999, I test the models predictions empirically and extend the analysis to dimensions on which the model is silent. Consistent with the models predictions, I find that groups with high use rates are underrepresented in the testing sector prior to testing and that employment of non-users increased in the testing sector following the advent of drug testing. I also find that average log wages fell in the testing sector in the post-period and that they rose in the non-testing sector. Finally, I find a number of large and significant changes in relative labor market outcomes across demographic groups, particularly for youth, minorities, and less skilled workers.

Thinking about the family and the religions of the book brings to mind the stories of family trouble that fill the Bible. For example, Adam and Eve become homeless because they irritate the Landlord, and then one of their sons kills the other. Lot, in a drunken stupor, impregnates his daughters. Sarah is infertile into old age and in her jealousy gets Abraham to banish his concubine and his son to the desert. The twin sons of Isaac quarrel, and their mother connives with one to usurp the position of the other. And so on, from Genesis to King David and beyond. Families in trouble—indeed, dysfunctional families—are hardly new. Although in this chapter we do not deal with millennia, we do seek to put family troubles into a historical context. In the effort to answer the questions of why American households are changing and what difference it makes, we see our responsibility as addressing a prior and fundamental question: How are American forms and norms . . .

It is often asserted that a highly educated workforce is vital to improving the competitive position of American businesses, especially by boosting entrepreneurship. To examine this contention, we use population Census data and a rich, new, nationally representative panel of startup firms, to examine how the education and skill level of the local labor force are related to the creation and success of new businesses. We find that areas that possess more skilled labor also possess higher rates of self-employment and more skilled entrepreneurs. As in previous studies, we find that education of the business owner is strongly linked to improved business outcomes. Potentially consistent with the popular view, we also find that, conditional on owner's education, higher education levels in the local market are positively correlated with improved business outcomes.

U.S. Census data show that approximately 40 million Americans move each year,raising questions about the role of mobility in determining observed environmentalrisk exposure patterns. The literature in this area continues to be contested, and therelationship between household sorting and exposure is still not well understood. Weoffer a new assessment of this question with respect to the criteria air pollutants(focusing on ozone and particulate matter) using a unique data set that combinesinformation from repeat real estate transactions by the same San Francisco Bay areahomebuyers. Our hedonic results suggest a trade-off does exist between housingservices and pollution (i.e., households can get more housing services for the sameprice by moving to a neighborhood with more pollution). Our results showpoor/minority households are more likely to make this trade-off and that wealth takenfrom appreciating housing stocks increases their ability to avoid the conventionalsorting induced-exposure story.Keywords: Mobility, air pollution, household sorting, environmental justice

This paper investigates the occupational placement of immigrants in the US labor market using census data. We find striking differences among highly educated immigrants from different countries, even after we control for individuals' age, experience and level of education. With some exceptions, educated immigrants from Latin American and Eastern European countries are more likely to end up in unskilled jobs than immigrants from Asia and industrial countries. A large part of the variation can be explained by attributes of the country of origin that influence the quality of human capital, such as expenditure on tertiary education and the use of English as a medium of instruction. These findings suggest that “underplaced” migrants suffer primarily from low (or poorly transferable) skills rather than skill underutilization. The selection effects of US immigration policy also play an important role in explaining cross-country variation. The observed under-placement of educated migrants might be alleviated if home and host countries cooperate by sharing information on labor market conditions and work toward the recognition of qualifications.

The last place anyone would begin looking for the luckiest generation in U.S. history probably would be the depths of the Great Depression in the 1930s, but that is precisely where the Lucky Few first turn up. Low birth rates caused by hard times produced the first generation in the nation’s history with fewer people than the generation before them. In this chapter we concentrate on the Lucky Few when they were children, when home and family dominated their lives. We consider in particular the impact of economic depression and wartime on these childhoods, and then compare schooling for different generations.

Our societies are heterogeneous in many dimensions such as census, education, religion, ethnic and cultural composition. The links between individuals e.g. by friendship, marriage or collaboration are not evenly distributed, but rather tend to be concentrated within the same group. This phenomenon, called imbreeding homophily, has been related to either (social) preference for links with owntype individuals (choicebased homophily) or to the prevalence of individuals of her same type in the choice set of an individual (opportunitybased homophily). We propose an indicator to distinguish between these effects for minority groups. This is based on the observation that, in environmentswith unbiased opportunities, as the relative size of the minority gets small, individuals of the minority rarely meet and have the chance to establish links together. Therefore the effect of choicebased homophily gets weaker and weaker as the size of the minority shrinks. We test this idea across thedimensions of race and education on data on US marriages, and across race on friendships in US schools, and find that: for what concerns education i) opportunitybased homophily is much stronger than choicebased homophily and ii) they are both remarkably stationary in time; concerning raceiii) school friendships do not exhibit opportunity-based homophily, while marriages do, iv) choice-based homophily is much stronger for marriages than for friendships and v) these effects vary widely across race.

The use of height data to measure living standards is now a well-established method in the economic literature. While much is known about 19th century black legal and material conditions, less is known about how 19th century biological conditions were related to the physical environment and institutional change. Although modern blacks and whites reach similar terminal statures when brought to maturity under similar biological conditions, 19th century African-American statures in Southern states were consistently shorter than whites, indicating a uniquely 19th century phenomenon may have influenced black stature growth. It is geography and direct sunlight (insolation) that present a striking attribute of 19th century black and white statures, and greater insolation is documented here to be associated with taller black and white statures. JEL Code: J19.

This paper investigates the effects of intermarriage on the earnings of female immigrants in the United States. The main empirical question asked is whether immigrant females married to US-born spouses have higher earnings than those of immigrant females married to other immigrants. Using 1970 and 1870 samples of IPUMS data, I estimate an earnings equation through OLS. I also correct for the labor force selection bias using the Heckman procedure. I finally take into account the endogeneity of intermarriage and apply a twostage least squares (2SLS) estimation procedure. I find that there is a positive marriage premium among immigrant females in the United States but a negative intermarriage premium for exogamously married females compared to endogamously married females. My results show that the longer the immigrant stays in the host country, the higher her wages, which is evidence for the assimilation effect over time. I find some evidence for a negative labor force selection bias among immigrant females. In other words, higher human capital women may select themselves out of the labor force, while lower human capital women are working for wages. Among those who are in the labor force, however, married females earn more than singles. I also conclude that being an immigrant from an English-speaking country does not have any impact on wages. Both premiums become statistically insignificant in difference from zero when 2SLS is used as an estimation procedure.

Over the past 40 years the fraction of mixed race black-white births has increased nearly nine-fold. There is little empirical evidence on how these children fare relative to their singlerace counterparts. This paper describes basic facts about the plight of mixed race individuals during their adolescence and early adulthood. As one might expect, on a host of background and achievement characteristics, mixed race adolescents fall in between whites and blacks. When it comes to engaging in risky/anti-social adolescent behavior, however, mixed race adolescents are stark outliers compared to both blacks and whites. We argue that these behavioral patterns are most consistent with the “marginal man” hypothesis, which we formalize as a two-sector Roy model. Mixed race adolescents – not having a natural peer group – need to engage in more risky behaviors to be accepted. All other models we considered can explain neither why mixed race adolescents are outliers on risky behaviors nor why these behaviors are not strongly influenced by the racial composition at their school.

Childhood obesity is a cause of concern in the United States due to its consequences to children and long-term consequences when these children become adults. Readily identifiable causes include the consumption of high caloric foods, low intake of fiber, sedentariness, and lack of physical activity. Other issues might be involved, such as family structure, which is the main objective of this study. Data for this study are from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), 2008-2015. Study subjects were Latino children between the ages of 5-12 years, having BMI data, who lived in households with one of the following: married couples (nuclear), single mothers, unmarried couples, extended families, or blended couples (with step-parents). Our study showed that blended-households with step parents had children who were 2.6 times more likely of being obese compared to nuclear family households. Similarly, extended family households (where there was an extra adult other than the parents living in the household) had children who had 53% greater odds to be obese compared to nuclear households. College graduates had children with a 71% lower odds of being obese. Children whose parents spoke only Spanish had a 32% lower odds of being obese compared to parents who spoke only English. Girls had a 30% lower odd of being obese than boys and it is clear that family structure, particularly extended family and blended family households, had a large influence on childhood obesity in Latino children between 5-12 years old. Therefore, childhood obesity interventions should take into account their original culture keeping traditional behaviors that protect against childhood obesity, education of the parents and male gender.

Extant ethnographic studies suggest that the nuclear family has been the predominant living arrangement in Cambodia, and the countrys rapid socioeconomic transformation since the early 1990s may have accentuated that dominance. To examine these claims, we analyse here household structure in Cambodia between 1998 and 2006, based on data from the 1998 Census, two nationally-representative surveys (2000 and 2005), and a continuing demographic surveillance system (from 2000 on). Our analysis confirms the large prevalence of nuclear families, but not an unequivocal trend toward their increasing prevalence. First, nuclear families are less prevalent in urban than in rural areas, and nationwide, they appear to have receded slightly between 2000 and 2005. We find that increases in the prevalence of extended households correspond to periods of faster economic growth, and interpret these contrasted trends as signs of tensions during this transitional period in Cambodia. While the nuclear family may still be the cultural norm, a high degree of pragmatism is also evident in the acceptance of other living arrangements, albeit temporary, as required by economic opportunities and housing shortage in urban areas.

Students arrive in class on the first day of their introductory statistics course. After brief introductions, the instructor asks them to Meet and Greet each other. They are asked to stand up, to take a pad of paper with them, and to meet at least five other people by shaking hands and sharing five pieces of data about themselves.

An analysis of the theoretical and empirical connections between state funding for public higher education as a share of the total state general fund budget and various political attributes (e.g., interest groups, political ideology, voter turnout) of the U.S. states is presented in this article. Based upon data covering all 50 states over 24 years, most of the included political attributes are found to have significant, theoretically predictable effects on the share of state funding public higher education receives. The inclusion of politics in the explanatory model results in a more robust and pragmatically useful model than those that ignore the politics of the appropriations process.

Social learning is thought to be a key determinant of the demand for movies, the decisions about whether and when to watch a movie. Through social learning, potential movie-goers learn about the quality of a movie from people who have watched the movie. For example, critics, word-of-mouth referrals and the box office performance may offer potential movie consumers some exposure to the quality of a movie prior to making their choices. This can be a double-edged sword for motion picture distributors: when a movie is good, social learning can enhance the effectiveness of movie advertising, but when a movie is bad, it can mitigate the effectiveness. This paper develops an equilibrium model of consumers' movie-going choices and movie distributors' advertising decisions. I develop a structural model for studios' optimal advertising strategies, taking into account the expected social learning process, and a model for consumers' movie demand, given an initial indicator of movie quality (critic ratings) and an initial level of advertising. Consumers are assumed to have uncertainty about movie quality that is resolved over time through Bayesian updating. That process depends on the number of previous viewers and their ratings reported over the Internet. I estimate the model parameters using data pertaining to 236 movies that were shown in theaters nationwide in the U.S. between January 1, 2002 and December . . .

More than ever before, Californians recognize that preschool provides young children with a strong start in school and life. Research confirms that effective preschool not only prepares children for kindergarten, but benefits them in the long-term. Despite the benefits, only 48% of 3- and 4-year-old children attend preschool in California. While all families want to provide their children with the best early learning opportunities possible, there are a number of barriers that can make preschool impossible. To help more working families and ultimately increase the state's preschool attendance rates, more full-day, full-year options must be made available for the families that need such services. This policy brief provides recommendations for increasing full-day, full-year preschool opportunities by: (1) Increasing the daily Standard Reimbursement Rate (SRR) for all early care and education programs, part-day and full-day, with particular focus on raising the rate for full-day, full-year care; (2) Monitoring and supporting administrative and legislative efforts to consolidate and streamline existing California Department of Education (CDE) early care and education programs; (3) Increasing comprehensive training and technical assistance services for accounting and program staff in early care and education agencies; (4) Supporting efforts to create a more consistent approach to unrestricted and restricted third party funding; (5) Improving capacity of the Centralized Eligibility List (CEL) to support early care and education; and (6) Conducting a legislative interim hearing to identify regulatory and legislative barriers to funding and access to full-day, full-year opportunities. Specific actions and timeframe for each recommendation are included. (Contains 25 endnotes and 1 chart.)

I investigate the relationship between county population change and farm dependence in the Great Plains region during the twentieth century, using spatial data analysis techniques. This research is rooted in a long-standing sociological and demographic interest in population responses to economic transitions and informs the theoretical understanding of urbanization processes. Using census and environmental data, the analysis challenges earlier assertions of a simple transition in the relationship between farm dependence and population change that accompanied modern technological advancements, namely tractors (the mechanization thesis). Rather than observing the proposed positive-to-negative shift, study results show a negative association throughout the pre- and post-mechanization periods. Partial support is found if the thesis is revised to consider the relationship between population change and the change in farm dependence rather than the level of farm dependence. Findings show mixed support for an alternative argument that nonfarm industries moderate the influence of farm dependence (the industry complex thesis). In contrast to earlier applications of the thesis, industrial relations in the Great Plains context are characterized by specialization rather than cooperation.

Background: In Crossing the Quality Chasm, the Institute of Medicine recommended that patient-centered care should not waste patients' time and should recognize the involvement of family and friends. Studies have documented the time spent by physicians on outpatient visits, but not that spent by patients and their companions. The patient's perspective provides an important yet overlooked indicator of healthcare effectiveness.Objective: To document how much time American patients spend on outpatient visits, for what purposes (travel, waiting, receiving services), and the time required of family members and friends.Methods: We used data from the first 4 years (2003-6) of the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), conducted by the US Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which asks respondents about their activities over a 24-hour period. ATUS is a nationally representative population-based survey that samples days continuously throughout the year. In 2003-6, 60674 respondents aged 15 years were randomly selected from households that completed the Current Population Survey; 1621 reported seeking medical care for themselves on their survey day. We documented the percentage of the population that reported outpatient visits, the percentage who were accompanied to those visits and by whom, and the mean time spent by patients and their companions, by type of activity, and by age and sex.Results: After weighting the data to represent the US population, we found that 3.4% of people aged 15 years reported traveling, waiting, or receiving services in connection with an outpatient visit on their survey day. The mean time for those who reported the activity was 35 minutes for travel (95% CI 33, 37), 42 minutes of waiting (95% CI 37, 47), and 74 minutes receiving services (95% CI 70, 79). Overall, 39.5% were accompanied, usually by family members. Companions spent a mean of 124 minutes per encounter (95% CI 112, 135). Nearly half of those aged 65 years were accompanied, almost always by adults only, suggesting that they may have needed help with transportation, negotiating the healthcare system, or performing cognitive and emotional tasks involved in receiving care.Conclusion: Outpatient visits are time intensive for American patients and their families: the equivalent of 207 million 40-hour work-weeks each year. Patients and their families spend substantially more time on outpatient visits than the time with the physician reported by the annual National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Further research is needed on the components of outpatient visits that do not directly involve physicians. Efforts to improve care should address waiting times and recognize the involvement of family members. The ATUS could provide periodic benchmarks of patient time use as a supplement to other indicators of patient-centered care in the annual National Healthcare Quality Report.

2007 was a year of positive change in Center City. Even with the new Comcast Tower topping out at 975 feet, overall office occupancy still climbed to 89%, as the expansion of existing firms and several new arrivals downtown pushed Class A rents up 14%. For the first time in 15 years, Center City increased its share of regional space. Healthcare and educational institutions . . .