Off-farm Income and Risky Investments: What Happens to Farm and Nonfarm Assets?

Off-farm work improves and reduces the riskiness of household income. Theoretical analyses reveal that the level and riskiness of off-farm income affect demand for farm/nonfarm investments. A two-limit Tobit model is estimated using ARMS data for 1996-2003. The impact on investment behaviour is evaluated.Farm Management,

The Living Wage in Iowa: the Effects on Families and Businesses

37 pagesThis paper explores the cost of living in Iowa. The paper looks at nine communities throughout Iowa, both urban and rural, in calculating the cost of living in Iowa. This calculation is then used to determine what an average Iowan would need to be paid per hour to make a “living wage.” The paper then explores the effect of raising wages on businesses through looking at companies that currently pay minimum wage, companies that pay more than minimum wage but instead pay a “living wage”, and through a survey of the attitudes of small businesses in the nine Iowa communities.Allen Zagoren, Associate Professor of Practice, Public Administratio

Opinions and Perceptions of Residents in New York City Public Housing: More Findings from Household Surveys in MAP Communities and Non-MAP Communities. MAP Evaluation Update number 6.

This is the sixth of six updates presenting interim findings from the evaluation of the NYC Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP). Researchers conducted surveys of residents in housing developments operated by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), half involved in MAP and half not involved. The survey measured opinions and perceptions about public safety and resident well-being. Surveys were conducted well after the 2014 launch of MAP, but the data allowed the study to examine differences between MAP and non-MAP communities

Teaching Math with Confidence-Recommendations for Improving Numeracy from the Lens of Confidence Building

Despite the vast amount of literature surrounding the topic of financial literacy and related problems, there is still no universally accepted solution to this issue because the main factors causing financial literacy problems are still not fully understood both by researchers and current policy-makers. A possible new approach was discovered by Skagerlund et al. (2018), as their research suggested that financial literacy is driven by numeracy (the ability to process and perform basic numerical concepts and calculations) rather than direct knowledge about financial concepts. Given that numeracy is an effort based task, this policy brief provides a list of recommendations for developing numeracy from the standpoint of motivating effort to practice and improve the numeracy and mathematical skills of people for them to have the tools necessary to become financially literate, which may be more effective than creating a dedicated course on the topic of financial literacy. The results of the study confirmed that effort is indeed motivated by higher levels of confidence. Furthermore, information, particularly feedback regarding performance, plays a crucial role in shaping future confidence and, by extension, future levels of motivation and effort. Guided by these findings, this brief proposes the following policy recommendations

Testing the Relationship Between Confidence and Effort: A Behavioral Finance Perspective on the Problem of Financial Literacy

This experimental study tested the relationship between confidence and effort with the ultimate objective of discovering how these factors may influence financial literacy. This was done through a modified version of a slider test and ball allocation task. The population consisted of 85 random participants who were primarily approached through social media. A simple OLS regression, along with robustness checks, namely the Tobit model and instrumental variable (IV) regression model using Tobit estimators, were utilized to confirm the causal relationship between confidence and effort

Training of Instrumentalists and Development of New Technologies on SOFIA

This white paper is submitted to the Astronomy and Astrophysics 2010 Decadal Survey (Astro2010)1 Committee on the State of the Profession to emphasize the potential of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) to contribute to the training of instrumentalists and observers, and to related technology developments. This potential goes beyond the primary mission of SOFIA, which is to carry out unique, high priority astronomical research. SOFIA is a Boeing 747SP aircraft with a 2.5 meter telescope. It will enable astronomical observations anywhere, any time, and at most wavelengths between 0.3 microns and 1.6 mm not accessible from ground-based observatories. These attributes, accruing from the mobility and flight altitude of SOFIA, guarantee a wealth of scientific return. Its instrument teams (nine in the first generation) and guest investigators will do suborbital astronomy in a shirt-sleeve environment. The project will invest $10M per year in science instrument development over a lifetime of 20 years. This, frequent flight opportunities, and operation that enables rapid changes of science instruments and hands-on in-flight access to the instruments, assure a unique and extensive potential - both for training young instrumentalists and for encouraging and deploying nascent technologies. Novel instruments covering optical, infrared, and submillimeter bands can be developed for and tested on SOFIA by their developers (including apprentices) for their own observations and for those of guest observers, to validate technologies and maximize observational effectiveness.Comment: 10 pages, no figures, White Paper for Astro 2010 Survey Committee on State of the Professio