Families with Hungry Children and the Transition from Preschool to Kindergarten

This paper exploits a source of variation in the eligibility for federal nutrition programs to identify the program effects on food insecurity. Children are eligible for the WIC program until the day before they turn 61 months old. The result is an age discontinuity in program participation at the 61-month cutoff. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth-cohort dataset, we find strong evidence of a sizeable increase in household food insecurity at the 61- month cutoff. Our findings are robust to different model specifications, datasets, and various bandwidth choices using various non-parametric estimations

Low Income Preschoolers\u27 Non-Parental Care Experiences and Household Food Insecurity

Rates of food insecurity in households with children have significantly increased over the past decade. The majority of children, including those at risk for food insecurity, participate in some form of non-parental child care during the preschool years. To evaluate the relationship between the two phenomenon, this study investigates the effects of child care arrangements on food insecurity in households with children. To address the selection bias problem that arises from the fact that enrollment in different types of child care is not a random process, this study uses propensity scores techniques. The authors compare outcomes across five child care arrangement patterns: no non-parental care (i.e., exclusive parent care), relative care, non-relative care, center care, and Head Start. Our results demonstrate that for low income preschoolers, compared to no non-parental care, attending a child care center reduces the probability of both food insecurity and very low food security, relative care reduces the probability of food insecurity, and non-relative care increases the probability of very low food security

The Child and Adult Care Food Program and Food Insecurity

High rates of food insecurity are a significant problem in the United States. It is currently estimated that more than 48.8 million people live in food insecure households, meaning that at some time during the previous year, they were unable to acquire or were uncertain of having enough food to meet basic needs due to inadequate household resources (Coleman-Jensen, Nord, Andrews, & Carlson, 2011). Rates of food insecurity are substantially higher among those in households with incomes below the poverty line (40.2%) and in households with children headed by a single woman (35.1%). Levels of food insecurity increased across U.S. households in 2008 as a result of the “Great Recession” rising from around 11 percent in the 2005-2006 time period to the measured high of approximately 14.5 in 2008, where it remains as of the 2010 estimate. From a developmental perspective, it is believed that food insecurity has cumulative effects at different stages of development beginning in the prenatal period (Bhattacharya & Currie, and Haider 2004; Cook & Frank, 2008; Duncan, Brooks-Gunn & Klebanov, 1994; Pollit, 1994; Morgane, Austin-LaFrance, Bronzino, et al., 1993; Scholl, Johnson, 2000). During infancy, hunger has negative effects during the period of neurodevelopment. Controlled experiments with animals suggest that hunger results in irreversible damage to brain development such as that associated with the insulation of neural fibers (Yaqub, 2002). The damage associated with a lack of nutritional intake accumulated during the first 2 years of life includes susceptibility to infections, slowed cognitive development and physical growth, susceptibility to chronic diseases, and a higher risk of delivering low-birth weight babies. Other non-health related problems include reduced school performance, increased school dropout and reduced productivity during adulthood (Hoddinott, Beherman, Maluccio, Flores & Martorell, 2008)

Achievement gap between indigenous and non-indigenous children in Peru an analysis of Young Lives Survey Data

En Perú, los niños indígenas obtienen puntajes más bajos en las pruebas académicas, en promedio, que los niños no indígenas. En este estudio, investigamos si la brecha de rendimiento en la prueba se encuentra a la edad de 5 años y si esta brecha aumenta a la edad de 8 años. Si bien la literatura se ha enfocado en los determinantes subyacentes de la familia y los niños de las brechas de rendimiento, usamos una extensión de la técnica Oaxaca-Blinder para incluir los efectos de clasificación de la comunidad y la heterogeneidad en los efectos de impacto de la comunidad. Utilizando la cohorte de 2001 de la encuesta longitudinal Young Lives para Perú, nuestros resultados muestran que a la edad de 5 años, los niños indígenas están muy por detrás de sus homólogos no indígenas en el vocabulario español (según lo medido por el PPVT), pero menos atrasado en matemáticas. Durante los primeros tres años de escuela, sin embargo, indígenas los niños pierden terreno sustancial en relación con los niños no indígenas, aumentando la brecha promedio a 0,49 desviaciones estándar (de la distribución de puntajes de las pruebas) en matemáticas y 0,66 en el vocabulario. Nuestros resultados sugieren no solo que la educación de los padres y la salud de un niño son determinantes importantes de la brecha de las matemáticas y el vocabulario, como se encontró anteriormente en la literatura; pero también que la brecha de vocabulario se debe en parte a los efectos de la comunidad. Las vías consideradas brindan información valiosa para los formuladores de políticas que están interesados ​​en desarrollar políticas para mejorar el aprendizaje de los estudiantes entre los grupos indígenas. Estas vías son importantes para la formación de capital humano y podrían tener un impacto a largo plazo en logro educativo y pobreza en el Perú

La dinámica de la inflación y el nivel de actividad económica en una economía abierta

In this paper we present a model similar to that of Aggregate Supply and Demand, for the study of the fluctuations of the two most important macroeconomic variables: inflation and the level of activity. In the first part we present the case of a closed economy, in which the basic equations will be introduced describing the market of goods, the monetary market, the curve of Phillips and the interaction mechanisms among them. The model will be presented under the assumption of adaptive expectations and rational expectations, and we will see the different trajectories in the dynamics toward the steady state when the monetary authority acts under the Rule of Taylor. In the second part we will develop the model for an open economy. The equation of parity of interest rates will be introduced, incorporating the real exchange rate as a determinant of the level of economic activity. The objective of this second part will be to show that the Rule of Taylor is an important monetary policy tool to stabilize the fluctuations of the level of economic activity in an open economy. We will carry out the analysis with adaptive expectations and under two scenarios: expansive devaluation and recessive devaluation.

Child Injuries and the Timing of SNAP Benefits Receipt

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is an important federal resource that provides nutritional assistance to low-income families. Timing of SNAP benefits can reduce childhood injuries

Low birthweight, preschool education, and school remediation

Abstract Studies have documented a strong relationship between low birth weight status and adverse child outcomes such as poor school performance and need for special education services. Following a cohort of over 1,300 low-income and predominately African American children in the Chicago Longitudinal Study we investigated whether birth weight and family socio-economic risk measured at the time of the child’s birth predicts placement into special education classes or grade retention in elementary school. Contrary to previous research, we found that low birth weight (< 5 ½ pounds) does not predict special education placement. Rather, these children (especially boys) were more likely to be retained in grade as an alternative approach to addressing poor school performance. Family socio-economic risk at birth was a significant predictor of the need for remedial services. We also assessed whether a high-quality preschool program offered at ages 3 and 4 can reduce the negative effects of low family SES and birth weight on the need for special education and grade retention. Preschool participation in the Child-Parent Centers was found to reduce the likelihood of school remediation. The effects of preschool were greater for children from families with higher levels of socio-economic disadvantage. The beneficial effects of preschool on special education placement were also larger for boys than girls

Actividad didáctica introductoria para el tema de correlación y regresión lineal

En el trabajo se describe una primera actividad didáctica de una secuencia de actividades didácticas para promover la compresión de los conceptos de regresión y correlación lineal en estudiantes del área de ciencias sociales de la Universidad de Sonora, se presentan además algunos de los elementos de justificación para realizar el diseño de dicha secuencia, las características generales de la propuesta y los elementos teóricos metodológicos para el diseño, dejando para otro artículo los resultados de la implementación de la propuesta, por cuestiones de espacio

Consistent SNAP Participation Increases Preventative Health Care Visits for Infants

Food insecurity in families with children has increased dramatically during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Not only is food insecurity a problem on its own, but it is linked to receiving less preventative medical care in the first year of life—including well-child visits and recommended vaccinations. This brief summarizes findings from research examining the connection between SNAP participation and preventative care in an infant’s first year of life in Missouri. Findings show that infants in households that receive unstable SNAP benefits have a lower likelihood of attending all their well-child visits and receiving routine immunizations. Policymakers should consider interventions to simplify the SNAP recertification process and increase the stability of SNAP participation to help mothers and their infants access preventative health care and immunizations