Author Archive for ljridley

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Global Monitoring Report 2012: Food Prices, Nutrition, and the Millennium Development Goals

Published by ljridley on April 26, 2012 in Health, Disability & Mortality and Human Capital, Labor & Wealth.

Source: The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund

From Press Release:

The developing world’s progress is seriously lagging on global targets related to food and nutrition, with rates of child and maternal mortality still unacceptably high, says the Global Monitoring Report (GMR) 2012, released today by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Recent spikes in international food prices have stalled progress across several of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the report says.

GMR 2012: Food Prices, Nutrition and the Millennium Development Goals reports good progress across some MDGs, with targets related to reducing extreme poverty and providing access to safe drinking water already achieved, several years ahead of the 2015 deadline to achieve the MDGs. Also, targets on education and ratio of girls to boys in schools are within reach.

In contrast, the world is significantly off-track on the MDGs to reduce mortality rates of children under five and mothers. As a result, these goals will not be met in any developing region by 2015. Progress is slowest on maternal mortality, with only one-third of the targeted reduction achieved thus far. Progress on reducing infant and child mortality is similarly dismal, with only 50 per cent of the targeted decline achieved.

Full report (PDF)
Overview (PDF)
See publication website for related materials

World Development Indicators, 2012

Published by ljridley on April 26, 2012 in Data.

Source: The World Bank

From publication website:

World Development Indicators 2012 is a compilation of relevant, high-quality, and internationally comparable statistics about development and the quality of people’s lives. Organized around six themes—world view, people, the environment, the economy, states and markets, and global links—it aims to put data into the hands of policy makers, development specialists, students, and the public. We encourage and applaud the use of the data presented here to help reduce poverty and to solve the world’s most pressing development challenges. The full dataset used to produce World Development Indicators contains more than 1,000 indicators for 216 economies, with many time series extending back to 1960.

Full report (PDF)
Regional highlights (PDF)
The publication web page includes other publications, data and applications.

New Working Papers from the NBER

Published by ljridley on April 4, 2012 in Working Papers.

Posterior Predictive Analysis for Evaluating DSGE Models
by Jon Faust, Abhishek Gupta
Abstract; PDF

Housing Booms and City Centers
by Edward L. Glaeser, Joshua D. Gottlieb, Kristina Tobio
Abstract; PDF

Estimating the Relationship between Alcohol Policies and Criminal Violence and Victimization
by Sara Markowitz, Erik Nesson, Eileen Poe-Yamagata, Curtis Florence, Partha Deb, Tracy Andrews, Sarah Beth L. Barnett
Abstract; PDF

Do High-Cost Hospitals Deliver Better Care? Evidence from Ambulance Referral Patterns
by Joseph J. Doyle, Jr., John A. Graves, Jonathan Gruber, Samuel Kleiner
Abstract; PDF

Is There “Too Much” Inequality in Health Spending Across Income Groups?
by Laurence Ales, Roozbeh Hosseini, Larry E. Jones
Abstract; PDF

School Governance, Teacher Incentives, and Pupil-Teacher Ratios: Experimental Evidence from Kenyan Primary Schools
by Esther Duflo, Pascaline Dupas, Michael Kremer
Abstract; PDF

Price Subsidies, Diagnostic Tests, and Targeting of Malaria Treatment: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial
by Jessica Cohen, Pascaline Dupas, Simone G. Schaner
Abstract; PDF

Costly Labor Adjustment: Effects of China’s Employment Regulations
by Russell Cooper, Guan Gong, Ping Yan
Abstract; PDF

Education, Cognition, Health Knowledge, and Health Behavior
by Naci H. Mocan, Duha Tore Altindag
Abstract; PDF

Who Suffers During Recessions?
by Hilary W. Hoynes, Douglas L. Miller, Jessamyn Schaller
Abstract; PDF

On the Generalizability of Experimental Results in Economics
by Omar Al-Ubaydli, John A. List
Abstract; PDF

The Evolution of the Black-White Test Score Gap in Grades K-3: The Fragility of Results
by Timothy N. Bond, Kevin Lang
Abstract; PDF

Explaining Recent Trends in the U.S. Teen Birth Rate
by Melissa Schettini Kearney, Phillip B. Levine
Abstract; PDF

Why is the Teen Birth Rate in the United States so High and Why Does it Matter?
by Melissa Schettini Kearney, Phillip B. Levine
Abstract; PDF

New Working Papers from the NBER

Published by ljridley on April 3, 2012 in Working Papers.

Moral Hazard in Health Insurance: How Important Is Forward Looking Behavior?
by Aviva Aron-Dine, Liran Einav, Amy Finkelstein, Mark R. Cullen
Abstract; PDF

What Does Human Capital Do? A Review of Goldin and Katz’s The Race between Education and Technology
by Daron Acemoglu, David Autor
Abstract; PDF

Does Federal Student Aid Raise Tuition? New Evidence on For-Profit Colleges
by Stephanie Riegg Cellini, Claudia Goldin
Abstract; PDF

Student Aid Simplification: Looking Back and Looking Ahead
by Susan Dynarski, Mark Wiederspan
Abstract; PDF

Vote Trading With and Without Party Leaders
by Alessandra Casella, Thomas Palfrey, Sebastien Turban
Abstract; PDF

Challenges in Banking the Rural Poor: Evidence from Kenya’s Western Province
by Pascaline Dupas, Sarah Green, Anthony Keats, Jonathan Robinson
Abstract; PDF

Boundedly Rational Dynamic Programming: Some Preliminary Results
by Xavier Gabaix
Abstract; PDF

Toward an Understanding of Why People Discriminate: Evidence from a Series of Natural Field Experiments
by Uri Gneezy, John List, Michael K. Price
Abstract; PDF

Do College-Prep Programs Improve Long-Term Outcomes?
by C. Kirabo Jackson
Abstract; PDF

Stimulating Demand for AIDS Prevention: Lessons from the RESPECT Trial
by Damien de Walque, William H. Dow, Carol Medlin, Rose Nathan
Abstract; PDF

A Fair and Impartial Jury? The Role of Age in Jury Selection and Trial Outcomes
by Shamena Anwar, Patrick Bayer, Randi Hjalmarsson
Abstract; PDF

Approximating High-Dimensional Dynamic Models: Sieve Value Function Iteration
by Peter Arcidiacono, Patrick Bayer, Federico A. Bugni, Jonathan James
Abstract; PDF

Should Aid Reward Performance? Evidence from a Field Experiment on Health and Education in Indonesia
by Benjamin A. Olken, Junko Onishi, Susan Wong
Abstract; PDF

Does Universal Coverage Improve Health? The Massachusetts Experience
by Charles J. Courtemanche, Daniela Zapata
Abstract; PDF

The Asian Population: 2010

Published by ljridley on April 2, 2012 in Population Dynamics - Urbanization, Migration.

2010 Census Shows Asians are Fastest-Growing Race Group
By: Elizabeth M. Hoeffel, Sonya Rastogi, Myoung Ouk Kim, and Hasan Shahid
Source: United States Census Bureau

From press release:

The U.S. Census Bureau today released a 2010 Census brief, The Asian Population: 2010 [PDF], that shows the Asian population grew faster than any other race group over the last decade. The population that identified as Asian, either alone or in combination with one or more other races, grew by 45.6 percent from 2000 to 2010, while those who identified as Asian alone grew by 43.3 percent. Both populations grew at a faster rate than the total U.S. population, which increased by 9.7 percent from 2000 to 2010.

Out of the total U.S. population, 14.7 million people, or 4.8 percent, were Asian alone. In addition, 2.6 million people, or another 0.9 percent, reported Asian in combination with one or more other races. Together, these two groups totaled 17.3 million people. Thus, 5.6 percent of all people in the United States identified as Asian, either alone or in combination with one or more other races.

2010 Census Brief (PDF)

2005-2009 American Community Survey County-to-County Migration Files

Published by ljridley on April 2, 2012 in Data and Population Dynamics - Urbanization, Migration.

Source: United States Census Bureau

From press release:

The U.S. Census Bureau today released estimates from the American Community Survey showing how many people migrated from one specific county to another during the course of a year ─ the first such numbers published since these data were collected as part of the 2000 Census.

The American Community Survey compiles data over a five-year period and asks people where they lived one year prior to being surveyed. The first five-year estimates released covers the years from 2005 to 2009.

The 2005-2009 American Community Survey County-to-County Migration Files provide tables for each county in the nation, showing both “inflows” and “outflows.” Inflows are the number of people living in a given county who lived in another specific county one year earlier; outflows represent the number of people who lived in a particular county one year earlier who subsequently moved to another specific county.

Of the 48.1 million people who lived in a different residence in the United States one year earlier, 17.7 million lived in a different county.

Full report by Megan Benetsky and Kin Koerber (PDF)

County-to-County Migration Flow tables and data

Food Insufficiency and Income Volatility in U.S. Households

Published by ljridley on April 2, 2012 in Human Capital, Labor & Wealth.

The Effects of Imputed Earnings in the Survey of Income and Program Participation
By: Molly Dahl, Thomas DeLeire, and Shannon Mok
Source: Congressional Budget Office

Abstract:

This paper explores how the use of imputed earnings data to measure income in the Survey of Income and Program Participation affects the observed relationship between household income volatility and food insufficiency. The study finds that the inclusion of imputed earnings data when measuring income volatility substantially understates the association between large drops in household income and food insufficiency. After excluding observations with imputed earnings, large drops in income are associated with a 1.3 percentage point increase in the probability of food insufficiency, although the estimate is not statistically significant at conventional levels.

Full text (PDF)

Investing in America’s Health

Published by ljridley on April 2, 2012 in Health, Disability & Mortality.

A State-By-State Look At Public Health Funding And Key Health Facts
By: Jeffrey Levi, Laura M. Segal, Rebbeca St. Laurent, and Albert Lang
Source: Trust for America’s Health

From publication website:

Investing in disease prevention is the most effective, common-sense way to improve health. It can help spare millions of Americans from developing preventable illnesses, reduce health care costs, and improve the productivity of the American workforce so we can be competitive with the rest of the world.

Tens of millions of Americans are currently suffering from preventable diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. And, today’s children are in danger of becoming the first generation in American history to live shorter, less healthy lives than their parents.

For eight years, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has supported the Trust for America’s Health in releasing an annual Investing in America’s Health report to examine public health funding and key health facts in states around the country.

Where you live should not determine how healthy you are. But, we’ve found that disease rates vary dramatically from city to city and region to region – and funding for public health and disease prevention programs also vary dramatically from neighborhood to neighborhood, community to community, city to city and state to state.


Full report (PDF)
Individual community reports

The Retirement Prospects of Divorced Women

Published by ljridley on March 12, 2012 in Human Capital, Labor & Wealth.

By: Barbara Butrica & Karen E. Smith
Source: The Urban Institute

Abstract:

Older divorced women are more likely to be poor than other older women, and historical divorce and remarriage trends suggest that in the future a larger share of retired women will be divorced. This article uses the MINT model to project the retirement resources and well-being of divorced women. We find that Social Security benefits and retirement incomes are projected to increase for divorced women and that their poverty rates are projected to decline, due to women’s increasing lifetime earnings. However, not all divorced women will be equally well off; economic well-being in retirement varies by Social Security benefit type.

Full report (PDF)

Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General

Published by ljridley on March 12, 2012 in Health, Disability & Mortality.

Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General

From Executive Summary:

This Surgeon General’s report examines in detail the epidemiology, health effects, and causes of tobacco use among youth ages 12 through 17 and young adults ages 18 through 25. For the first time tobacco data on young adults as a discrete population has been explored. This is because nearly all tobacco use begins in youth and young adulthood, and because young adults are a prime target for tobacco advertising and marketing activities. This report also highlights the efficacy of strategies to prevent young people from using tobacco.

After years of steady decrease following the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of 1998, declines in youth tobacco use have slowed for cigarette smoking and stalled for use of smokeless tobacco. The latest research shows that concurrent use of multiple tobacco products is common among young people, and suggest that smokeless tobacco use is increasing among White males.

Publication webpage
Full report (PDF)