Welfare Reform and the Labor Market: Earnings Potential and Welfare Benefits in California, 1972–1994

Promotion of work is prominent in the rhetoric of current welfare reform efforts. The success of welfare-to-work policies is in part dependent on earnings available in employment. In this paper we use Current Population Survey data for the years 1972–1994 to develop measures of potential earnings from full-time work for low-skilled men and women in California and to compare the trend in earnings capacity for such people to welfare benefits. We find that while benefits have declined, earnings capacity has fallen faster, and the downward trend is particularly pronounced for men. Both the downward trends in benefits and potential earnings appear to have accelerated in recent years. State attempts to address the problem of low wages by expanding the opportunity for combining welfare with work may conflict with federal efforts to require that assistance be transitory.

Spousal Risk Preferences and Household Investment Decisions

Most adults are married, plan for retirement with their spouse, and pool assets to a significant degree. How then are each individual’s risk preferences combined in choosing the portfolio that represents for them the optimal tradeoff between risk and return? There are two pathways through which marriage could amplify the expression of individual risk preferences at the household level. First, if people choose spouses in part based on their appetite for risk, or another characteristic correlated with risk tolerance, then there could be polarization of household level risk preferences towards extremes. Second, spouses may strategically adjust their decisions to compensate for their spouse’s preferences. Is an only mildly risk averse person that is married to someone that is nearly risk neutral motivated to choose a very low risk low return asset allocation to compensate for their spouse’s risky behavior? In this paper we explore the influence of marriage on the expression of individual risk preferences by examining both sorting in the marriage market and strategic decision making. Using data from the Health and Retirement Survey we find a positive correlation between the risk preferences of spouses. We also develop a theoretical model that determines optimal investment allocations conditional on own and spousal risk tolerance. Optimal asset allocations from this model are compared to a naïve model that only includes own risk tolerance. In related research the explanatory power of the naïve and spousal models are evaluated for prediction ability based on actual asset allocation decisions for couples using the HRS data.Households, Risk, Investing, Consumer/Household Economics,

Unchartered Territory for the Bluegrass State : Lessons to be learned from over a Quarter-century of State Charter School Legislation

Charter school success or failure is not simply a matter of chance. Both the existence and aggregate quality of charter schools in a state depend on the provisions of state charter school laws. These laws address a wide range of issues and vary from state to state. But the experiences of states with significant charter sectors, as well as those with innovative charter policies, provide important lessons for the charter school movement as a whole

The Effect of Intragroup Communication on Preference Shifts in Groups

We use a laboratory gift-exchange game to examine decisions made by groups under three different procedures that dictate how group members interact and reach decisions in comparison to individuals acting alone. We find that group decisions do deviate from those of individuals, but the direction and magnitude of gift exchange depend critically on the procedure. This suggests that no general statements can be made concerning the propensity of groups to exhibit reciprocal or other-regarding behavior relative to individuals. The rules governing how group members can express their preferences and expectations to other group members are critical for determining group outcomes.group behavior, teams, decision making, social preferences

Vacuum Polarisation and the Black Hole Singularity

In order to investigate the effects of vacuum polarisation on mass inflation singularities, we study a simple toy model of a charged black hole with cross flowing radial null dust which is homogeneous in the black hole interior. In the region $r^2 \ll e^2$ we find an approximate analytic solution to the classical field equations. The renormalized stress-energy tensor is evaluated on this background and we find the vacuum polarisation backreaction corrections to the mass function $m(r)$. Asymptotic analysis of the semiclassical mass function shows that the mass inflation singularity is much stronger in the presence of vacuum polarisation than in the classical case.Comment: 12 pages, RevTe

Short- and intermediate-time behavior of the linear stress relaxation in semiflexible polymers

The linear viscoelasticity of semiflexible polymers is studied through Brownian Dynamics simulations covering a broad range of chain stiffness and time scales. Our results agree with existing theoretical predictions in the flexible and stiff limits; however, we find that over a wide intermediate-time window spanning several decades, the stress relaxation is described by a single power law t^(-alpha), with the exponent alpha apparently varying continuously from 1/2 for flexible chains, to 5/4 for stiff ones. Our study identifies the limits of validity of the t^(-3/4) power law at short times predicted by recent theories. An additional regime is identified, the "ultrastiff" chains, where this behavior disappears. In the absence of Brownian motion, the purely mechanical stress relaxation produces a t^(-3/4) power law for both short and intermediate times

A Spatial Analysis of Farm Payment Recipients Using the FSA 1614 Dataset

We report results from preliminary analysis of the recently constructed dataset from the Farm Service Agency, FSA 1614. FSA 1614 provides the location of the farm and the farm payment recipient for all Title I payments. This makes it possible to analyze the spatial dispersion between landowner and farm more precisely than previously possible. A discussion of what research questions could be informed through the use of this data is provided. We find that a significant percentage of payments are sent to individuals that are likely to be absentee landowners, although this value is much smaller when looking at the total value of payments. These national results are compared to four corn belt states.Agricultural Finance,