Suchergebnisse

ABSTRACT
Across Michigan the share of births covered by Medicaid varies widely, from a low of 15% in Menominee County to a high of 71% in Roscommon County in 2009 (Michigan League for Public Policy n.d.). This paper uses data on women who delivered a live infant in Michigan between 2009 and 2011 from Michigan's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) matched to county level socioeconomic information to identify factors associated with the likelihood Medicaid is used to cover the medical costs of giving birth. The results suggest that strategies to reduce Medicaid births without reducing health care available to low-income women include stimulating economic growth and expanding access to family planning resources. This analysis does not find evidence that pro-marriage policies would reduce Medicaid births.

ABSTRACT
The share of births financed by Medicaid has been steadily rising in Michigan, contributing to growing program costs. This paper identifies policy approaches that could reduce Medicaid births and their associated costs without reducing healthcare access for low income women. Because there are insufficient data for a time series analysis, this paper uses county-level variation and regression analysis to identify significant correlates of Michigan Medicaid births in 2009. The results, which control for a host of demographic, social and economic variables, indicate that counties with fewer federally funded family planning clinics and in which a greater share of women lack health insurance tend to have higher rates of Medicaid births. The findings indicate that policies to expand access to health insurance and increase the number of family planning clinics could help curb the growth in Medicaid births by helping couples avoid unintended pregnancy.

Abstract  The Supreme Court has ruled that asking for money is a form of protected speech. However, it has also ruled that restrictions on the time, place, and manner of begging are constitutional. This paper examines 71 U.S. cities to determine what factors influence a city's propensity to enact anti‐begging regulations. The logistic regression results indicate that cities with higher welfare benefits are less likely to regulate begging. Cities with higher crime rates, higher proportions of disabled citizens, and higher proportions of college‐educated citizens, and cities that are more densely populated are more likely to regulate begging.While historians, ethnographers, and legal scholars have studied issues related to begging, economists generally have not. This paper uses the traditional economic model of rational choice to examine why some U.S. cities regulate begging and others do not.

Abstract. Absolute and relative downward income mobility during two periods of economic growth, 1976‐1978 and 1984‐1986, are examined using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Relative downward mobility occurred less frequently during the 1984‐1986 period, but absolute downward mobility occulted more frequently during this same period. The characteristics of the downwardly mobile do not dramatically differ between the two periods. The majority live with a nonelderly, married, working man. Of the thirty‐six demographic groups considered, women who separate or divorce face the highest risk of downward mobility. However, their risk declined from the late seventies to the mid‐eighties. Persons whose household head was a race other than Caucasian and African‐American experienced the greatest increase in risk.

ObjectiveWe investigate the association between adult asthma and wealth, testing whether the disease impairs wealth accumulation (social selection model) or if wealth protects against asthma (social causation model).MethodsWe use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (n = 7,644) and linear and logistic regressions to estimate the association between wealth and asthma. Changes in relative wealth following an asthma diagnosis and asthma status by increases in wealth through inheritance provide evidence on the causal direction.ResultsAsthma, particularly severe asthma, is associated with lower wealth. Wealth ranking does not change after a diagnosis of asthma, but inheriting a substantial sum is associated with a lower risk of severe asthma.ConclusionWealth appears to protect against severe asthma, supporting the social causation model of disease.

ObjectivesWe test whether the phrase "Freshman 15" accurately describes weight change among first‐year college students. We also analyze freshmen's weight change during and after college.MethodsThis is the first investigation of the "Freshman 15" to use a nationally representative random sample, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97). The data are analyzed using descriptive statistics, regression analysis, simulations, and longitudinal analysis.ResultsFreshmen gain between 2.5 to 3.5 pounds, on average, over the course of their first year of college. Compared to same‐age noncollege attendees, the typical freshman gains only an additional half‐pound. Instead of a spike in weight during the freshman year, college‐educated individuals exhibit moderate but steady weight gain during and after college.ConclusionAnti‐obesity efforts directed specifically at college freshmen will likely have little impact on obesity prevalence among young adults.

It is hypothesized that recent trends in US and worldwide obesity are, in part, related to an increase in the marginal rate of time preference, where time preference refers to the rate at which people are willing to trade current benefit for future benefit. The higher the rate of time preference, the larger is the factor by which individuals discount the future health risks associated with current consumption. Data from the United States, as well as international evidence, suggest that a relationship between these two variables is plausible. The authors encourage researchers to explore the possible link between obesity and time preference, as important insights are likely to result.