Income inequality, income, and internet searches for status goods : a cross-national study of the association between inequality and well-being

Is there a positive association between a nation’s income inequality and concerns with status competition within that nation? Here we use Google Correlate and Google Trends to examine frequency of internet search terms and find that people in countries in which income inequality is high search relatively more frequently for positional brand names such as Prada, Louis Vuitton, or Chanel. This tendency is stronger among well-developed countries. We find no evidence that income alone is associated with searches for positional goods. We also present evidence that the concern with positional goods does not reflect non-linear effects of income on consumer spending, either across nations or (extending previous findings that people who live in unequal US States search more for positional goods) within the USA. It is concluded that income inequality is associated with greater concerns with positional goods, and that this concern is reflected in internet searching behaviour

Hit where it hurts – Healthcare access and intimate partner violence

We exploit a change in the public healthcare entitlement of undocumented migrants in Spain to investigate the causal link between withdrawal of healthcare and changes in help-seeking behaviour of women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). We contribute to the new literature modelling domestic violence by taking a novel look at the role of human capital in decisions to seek help when in violent relationships. We use a difference-in-differences (DiD) methodology to compare the number of foreign applicants for protection orders before and after the reform using Spanish applicants as the counterfactual. The impact of the reform was immediate; foreign applicants decreased by 16% after the health policy reform was introduced and this drop amounts to 19% in areas with stronger enforcement of the reform. We perform several robustness checks including addressing potential bias from migration changes after the reform. Our findings are important for current policy discussions on granting/limiting access to public programs for the undocumented population. We provide evidence that restricted access to the healthcare system can have unintended negative consequences for the most vulnerable groups of the population with potentially important spill-over effects to the next generation

Mental illnesses in the Asian population

This thesis traces the history of mental health over various populations, with a strong emphasis in the Asian and Asian American communities. This thesis explores how mental health services have changed over time. In most countries, mental health awareness has been increasing, which has been making a positive impact on its health care system. It is interesting to study how the quantity and quality of health services have also increased. By looking at studies on the differences of cultural impact, taboo, and generational disparities, a greater understanding can be made on the health needs of the Asian population. This thesis finds that amidst generational differences, Asian Americans are still strongly influenced by their native culture. By educating and understanding the cultural differences between patients and practitioners, a more efficient model for mental health care services can be created

Exploring Bicycle and Public Transit Use by Low-Income Latino Immigrants: A Mixed-Methods Study in the San Francisco Bay Area

Latin American immigrants will continue to make up a large share of transit ridership, bicycling and walking in the United States for the foreseeable future, but there is relatively little research about them. This mixed-methods study compares the travel patterns of low-income immigrants living in the San Francisco Bay Area with that of other groups and investigates the barriers and constraints faced by low-income immigrants when taking transit and bicycling. Much of the previous work on immigrant travel has relied on national surveys and qualitative analysis, which underrepresent disadvantaged population groups and slower modes of travel, or are unable to speak to broader patterns in the population. We conducted interviews with 14 low-income immigrants and a paper-based intercept survey of 2,078 adults. Interviewees revealed five major barriers that made public transit use difficult for them, including safety, transit fare affordability, discrimination, system legibility, and reliability. Although crime was the most prominent issue in interviews, the survey results suggest transit cost is the most pressing concern for low-income immigrants. Low-income immigrants were less likely than those with higher-incomes to have access to a motor vehicle, and were less likely than higher-income immigrants or the U.S.-born of any income to have access to a bicycle or bus pass. Finally, although most barriers to public transit use were the same regardless of nativity or household income, low-income immigrants were much less willing to take public transit when they had the option to drive and less willing to bicycle for any purpose. The prevalence of concerns about transit affordability, crime, and reliability suggest transit agencies should consider income-based fare reductions, coordinated crime prevention with local law enforcement, and improved scheduling

Migration, Mobility and Human Rights at the Eastern Border of the European Union - Space of Freedom and Security

This edited collection of migration papers would like to emphasise the acute need for migration related study and research in Romania. At this time, migration and mobility are studied as minor subjects in Economics, Sociology, Political Sciences and European Studies only (mostly at post-graduate level). We consider that Romanian universities need more ‘migration studies’, while research should cover migration as a whole, migration and mobility being analysed from different points of view – social, economical, legal etc. Romania is part of the European Migration Space not only as a source of labourers for the European labour market, but also as source of quality research for the European scientific arena. Even a country located at the eastern border of the European Union, we consider Romania as part of the European area of freedom, security and justice, and therefore interested in solving correctly all challenges incurred by the complex phenomena of migration and workers’ mobility at the European level. The waves of illegal immigrants arriving continuously on the Spanish, Italian and Maltese shores, and the workers’ flows from the new Member States from Central and Eastern Europe following the 2004 accession, forced the EU officials and the whole Europe to open the debate on the economical and mostly social consequences of labour mobility. This study volume is our contribution to this important scientific debate. Starting with the spring of 2005, the Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence and the School of High Comparative European Studies (SISEC), both within the West University of Timisoara, have proposed a series of events in order to raise the awareness of the Romanian scientific environment on this very sensitive issues: migration and mobility in the widen European Space. An annual international event to celebrate 9 May - The Europe Day was already a tradition for SISEC (an academic formula launched back in 1995 in order to prepare national experts in European affairs, offering academic post-graduate degrees in High European Studies). With the financial support from the Jean Monnet Programme (DG Education and Culture, European Commission), a first migration panel was organised in the framework of the international colloquium ‘Romania and the European Union in 2007’ held in Timisoara between 6 and 7 of May 2005 (panel Migration, Asylum and Human Rights at the Eastern Border of the European Union). Having in mind the positive welcoming of the migration related subjects during the 2005 colloquium, a second event was organised on 5 May 2006 in the framework of the European Year of Workers’ Mobility: the international colloquium Migration and Mobility: Assets and Challenges for the Enlargement of the European Union. In the same period, the Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence, SISEC and The British Council in Bucharest have jointly edited two special issues of The Romanian Journal of European Studies, no.4/2005 and 5-6/2006, both dedicated to migration and mobility. Preliminary versions of many of the chapters of this volume were presented at the above mentioned international events. The papers were chosen according to their scientific quality, after an anonymously peer-review selection. The authors debate both theoretical issues and practical results of their research. They are renowned experts at international level, members of the academia, PhD students or experienced practitioners involved in the management of the migration flows at the governmental level. This volume was financed by the Jean Monnet Programme of the Directorate General Education and Culture, European Commission, throughout the Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence (C03/0110) within the West University of Timisoara, Romania, and is dedicated to the European Year of Workers’ Mobility 2006. Timisoara, December 200

Negotiating healthy trade in Australia: health impact assessment of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement

Drawing on leaked texts of potential provisions of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, this health impact assessment found the potential for negative impacts in the cost of medicines, tobacco control policies, alcohol control policies, and food labeling. Overview The Centre for Health Equity Training Research and Evaluation (CHETRE) has been working with a group of Australian academics and non-government organisations interested in the health of the Australian population to carry out a health impact assessment (HIA) on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) negotiations. In the absence of official publicly available drafts of the trade agreement, the health impact assessment drew on leaked texts of potential provisions and formulated policy scenarios based on high priority health policies that could be affected by the TPP. The HIA found the potential for negative impacts in each of the four areas under investigation: the cost of medicines; tobacco control policies; alcohol control policies; and food labeling. In each of these areas, the HIA report traces the relevant proposed provisions through to their likely effects on the policy scenarios onto the likely impact on the health of Australians, focusing particularly on vulnerable groups in the Australian community. The report makes a number of recommendations to DFAT regarding the TPP provisions and to the Australian Government regarding the TPP negotiating process

Risk Factors for Domestic Homicide: Immigrant & Canadian-born Populations

Domestic violence is a critical human rights issue that can escalate to cases of domestic homicide. Globally, approximately 30% of women in relationships have reported experiencing violence at the hands of an intimate partner. In Canada this pattern is echoed, as over 25% of police-reported violent offences were from victims of domestic abuse. Recent research has revealed that immigrant & refugee victims experience unique risk factors that may render them more vulnerable to this form of violence. Yet, despite this burgeoning research area, and Canada’s diverse population of 6 million immigrants, there is a dearth of research pertaining to domestic violence risk factors facing immigrant victims in a Canadian context. Indeed, the shifting sociodemographic profile of Canada\u27s population calls for culturally-informed risk assessment, risk management & safety planning tools to protect as many people as possible from domestic violence & homicide. Therefore, this study investigated factors that pertain to a victim’s vulnerability to violence across immigrant and Canadian-born populations. Although several factors, such as actual or pending separation, were shared across both demographics, other factors, such as social isolation, featured more prominently in cases of immigrant domestic homicide victims. By identifying these shared and unique characteristics, front line workers & policy makers will be informed of important trends that can influence the creation of research-based & culturally-relevant risk assessment, risk management and safety planning strategies

Factors Influencing Unmet Medical Need among U.S. Adults: Disparities in Access to Health Services

Inequities in access to health services has negative consequences on individual well-being, and imposes financial and emotional burden on patients, families, health care systems, and the public. Inequities engendered from differences in socioeconomic status, health insurance coverage, race, and other characteristics can engender disparities. This study aimed to identify the potential predictors of unmet medical need among the civilian noninstitutionalized U.S. adults. Inability to receive needed medical care or receiving medical care after a delay, due to the associated costs, constructed unmet medical need. This study used a four-year (2014-2017) National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data (sample size: 296,301 adults) and implemented a conceptual framework to study disparities in access to health services and estimate the relative importance of predisposing, enabling, and need factors as the predictors of unmet medical need. Findings from machine learning and logistics regression models highlight the importance of health insurance coverage as a key contributing factor of health disparities. About 60% of variation in unmet medical need was predictable, with over 90% accuracy, solely with health insurance coverage status. Self-rated health status, family structure, and family income to poverty ratio were other statistically significant predictors. Even after controlling for a wide variety of sociodemographic and health status variables such as age, gender, perceived health status, education, income, etc., health insurance remains significantly associated with unmet medical need (OR: 5.03 , 95%CI: 4.67-5.42). To ensure precise national estimates, proper survey data analysis methods were incorporated to account for the complex sampling method used by NHIS. Furthermore, the enabling factors (health insurance and income) exert much more weight on unmet medical need than predisposing factors and need factors. The findings raise the concerns about the existence and magnitude of disparities in health care access and provide a comprehensive framework to a target population for understanding the sources of health inequities with data-driven evidence. Results can be utilized to address potential areas for designing public policy and program interventions by identifying the relative vulnerability of different population groups for lacking access to affordable health services. Future studies using longitudinal panel data are necessary to establish a causal relationship between the predictors and unmet medical need

Perceived Health Issues: A perspective from East-African immigrants

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">This Study explores Somali and Ethiopian community leaders’ perceptions about health issues in their communities and the barriers to access and utilization of primary health care services.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Fourteen in-depth interviews were conducted with community leaders and thematic analysis was used to analyze interviews.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Participants identified chronic diseases, the unhealthy behaviors associated with them, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and mental health as major health issues. Infectious diseases were secondarily mentioned as important health concerns. Lack of insurance and limited understanding of the health system were viewed as barriers to utilizing health care services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other identified needs were: better education within immigrant communities about major health issues, enhanced cultural awareness of health care providers, improved health care access, and assistance with the acculturation process.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Recommendations to improve the communities’ health status included enhancing providers' cultural competence, educating immigrants about major health issues, and increasing mental health care access.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span