The Impact of Disability Benefits on Labor Supply: Evidence from the VA's Disability Compensation Program

Combining administrative data from the US Army, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Social Security Administration, we analyze the effect of the VA's Disability Compensation (DC) program on veterans' labor force participation and earnings. We study the 2001 Agent Orange decision, a unique policy change that expanded DC eligibility for Vietnam veterans who served in theater but did not expand eligibility to other veterans of this era, to assess the causal effects of DC enrollment. We estimate that benefits receipt reduced veterans' labor force participation by 18 percentage points, though measured income net of transfer income rose on average.United States. Social Security Administration (grant #10-P-98363-1-05 to the National Bureau of Economic Research as part of the SSA Retirement Research Consortium

Essays using military-induced variation to study social interactions, human capital development, and labor markets

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics, 2003.Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-178).This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.This dissertation consists of four empirical studies, each using military-induced variation to examine various aspects of human capital production and the U.S. labor market. The first two chapters study the effects of social interactions on human capital development at the United States Military Academy where social groups are randomly assigned. Chapter 1 highlights the empirical difficulties associated with identifying social effects and contains evidence suggesting that occurrences common to a social group may account for a large part of social group correlations found in many studies. While models that address these identification concerns provide little evidence of social effects in academic performance, there is evidence that both peers and role models influence other dimensions of human capital that have important labor market consequences. Chapter 2 builds on the previous chapter by investigating whether peers are complements or substitutes in the production of human capital at West Point. Heterogeneity in peer group composition can provide evidence for the degree of substitutability between peers. Estimates reveal that more heterogeneous peer groups have positive effects on individual grades. This suggests that peers serve as substitutes, and therefore, mixing cadets by ability is optimal for the efficient production of education at West Point. Chapter 3 evaluates the impact of military-induced parental absences and household relocations on children's educational attainment. Estimates indicate that parental absences adversely affect children's test scores by a tenth of a standard deviation and frequent household relocations also have modest negative effects of similar magnitude. Chapter 4 investigates the effects of female labor supply on the U.S. wage structure at mid-century.(cont.) As men mobilized for war in the 1940s, women were drawn into the workforce. In states with greater mobilization rates, women worked more after the War and in 1950, although not in 1940. Estimates indicate that increases in female labor supply lower female and male wages, and generally increase the college premium and male wage inequality. Finally, at mid-century, women were closer substitutes to high school graduate and relatively low-skill males, but not to those with the lowest skills.by David S. Lyle.Ph.D

Managing the environmental impact of research

The environmental impact of research increasingly needs to be taken into account in design and execution. This makes good financial sense. However, it is especially in the research world as one of the key reasons for doing health research is to improve our knowledge to improve health. Specifically, doing research in a more sustainable way allows us to generate more knowledge with the same resource. Research not only needs to be done increasingly sustainably, but the content of the research needs to direct how we promote health and deliver healthcare in more sustainable ways

A Framework for Restructuring the Military Retirement System

View the Executive SummaryThe current military retirement system has been integral to sustaining the All Volunteer Force (AVF). Mounting federal budget challenges, however, have raised concern that the program may become fiscally unsustainable. While several restructuring proposals have emerged, none have considered the implications of these changes to the broader issue of manning an AVF. Changes to the existing system could create military personnel shortfalls, adversely affect servicemember and retiree well-being, and reduce public confidence in the Armed Forces. With the right analytical framework in place, however, a more holistic system restructuring is possible, one that avoids these negative effects while significantly reducing costs. A comprehensive framework is provided, as well as a proposal that stands to benefit both servicemembers in terms of value and the military in terms of overall cost savings.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1521/thumbnail.jp

Creating an Effective Regional Alignment Strategy for the U.S. Army

View the Executive SummaryAs the war in Afghanistan draws to a close, the Army increasingly is focused upon “regionally aligning” its forces. To do so effectively, however, it must undertake several initiatives. First, the Army must acknowledge and liberate the unique productive capabilities (talents) of each individual. Second, it must shift from process-oriented, industrial age personnel management to productivity-focused, information age talent management. Third, the Army must foster enduring human relationships between its organizations and the governments, militaries, and populations to which they are regionally aligned. Hand in hand with this, it must redesign its Force Generation Model to create regional expertise at both individual and organizational levels. Finally, the Army must ensure that regional alignment does not degrade the worldwide “flex” capabilities of its forces.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1474/thumbnail.jp

A Comprehensive Search for Low-Energy Lines in BATSE GRBs

A computer-based technique has been developed to search bright BATSE gamma-ray bursts for spectral lines in a comprehensive manner. The first results of the search are discussed and an example line candidate shown.Comment: 5 pages, LaTex using Revtex macro aipbook.sty and psfig. To appear in the Proceedings of the 3rd Huntsville Symposium on Gamma-Ray Bursts, AIP, eds. C. Kouveliotou, M. S. Briggs, G. J. Fishma

Starting Strong: Talent-Based Branching of Newly Commissioned U.S. Army Officers

Because the U.S. military\u27s long-held advantage in physical capital and equipment is waning, cutting-edge human capital management is more critical than ever before. The authors of Starting Strong argue that by gathering detailed information on the unique talents possessed by each newly commissioned Army officer, as well as on the unique talent demands of each Army basic branch, the Army can create a talent market that identifies and liberates the strengths of every officer, aligning each with the career field where they are most likely to be engaged, productive, and satisfied leaders. Strong evidence demonstrates that this talent-based approach better aligns officer talent with occupational requirements while simultaneously increasing individual branch satisfaction.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1423/thumbnail.jp

Access & equity in the provision of primary health care services in rural and remote Australia

APHCRI Conversations was a regular program of presentations held at the Department of Health to facilitate exchange between APHCRI Network researchers and Department policymakers. Topics are developed jointly with the Department of Health and involve a range of speakers from APHCRI, including CRE invited experts, CRE Chief Investigators and stream project Chief Investigator

Retinoic acid-independent expression of Meis2 during autopod patterning in the developing bat and mouse limb

BackgroundThe bat has strikingly divergent forelimbs (long digits supporting wing membranes) and hindlimbs (short, typically free digits) due to the distinct requirements of both aerial and terrestrial locomotion. During embryonic development, the morphology of the bat forelimb deviates dramatically from the mouse and chick, offering an alternative paradigm for identifying genes that play an important role in limb patterning.ResultsUsing transcriptome analysis of developing Natal long-fingered bat (Miniopterus natalensis) fore- and hindlimbs, we demonstrate that the transcription factor Meis2 has a significantly higher expression in bat forelimb autopods compared to hindlimbs. Validation by reverse transcriptase and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and whole mount in situ hybridisation shows that Meis2, conventionally known as a marker of the early proximal limb bud, is upregulated in the bat forelimb autopod from CS16. Meis2 expression is localised to the expanding interdigital webbing and the membranes linking the wing to the hindlimb and tail. In mice, Meis2 is also expressed in the interdigital region prior to tissue regression. This interdigital Meis2 expression is not activated by retinoic acid (RA) signalling as it is present in the retained interdigital tissue of Rdh10trex/trex mice, which lack RA. Additionally, genes encoding RA-synthesising enzymes, Rdh10 and Aldh1a2, and the RA nuclear receptor Rarβ are robustly expressed in bat fore- and hindlimb interdigital tissues indicating that the mechanism that retains interdigital tissue in bats also occurs independently of RA signalling.ConclusionsMammalian interdigital Meis2 expression, and upregulation in the interdigital webbing of bat wings, suggests an important role for Meis2 in autopod development. Interdigital Meis2 expression is RA-independent, and retention of interdigital webbing in bat wings is not due to the suppression of RA-induced cell death. Rather, RA signalling may play a role in the thinning (rather than complete loss) of the interdigital tissue in the bat forelimb, while Meis2 may interact with other factors during both bat and mouse autopod development to maintain a pool of interdigital cells that contribute to digit patterning and growth.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13227-015-0001-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Ohio Economic Insects and Related Anthropods

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