Essays in the Economics of Aging

In this dissertation, I explore how economic decisions diverge for different age groups. Two essays address the location decisions of older households while the third examines why different age cohorts donate to charities. The first essay estimates how the age distribution of the population across cities will change as the number of older adults rises. I use a residential sorting model to estimate the location preference heterogeneity between younger and older households. I then simulate where the two household types will live in 2030. All MSAs end up with a higher proportion of older households in 2030, and only eight of 243 MSAs experience a decline in the number of older households. The results suggest that MSAs in upstate New York and on the west coast, particularly in California, will have the largest number of older households in 2030. Florida will remain a popular place for older households, but its relative importance may diminish in the future. The second essay explores whether the basic motivations for charitable giving differ by age cohort. Using the results from a randomized field experiment, I test whether benefits to self or benefits to others drives the charitable giving decision for each age cohort. I find limited heterogeneity for benefits to self. Individuals between the ages of 50 and 64 increase average donations more than any other age cohort in response to emphasizing warm glow, and this heterogeneity is exclusively driven by larger conditional gifts. The third essay is preliminary joint work with H. Spencer Banzhaf and Carlianne Patrick. We build a unique data set of local homestead exemptions, which vary by generosity and eligibility requirements, for tax jurisdictions in Georgia. Using school-district-level Census data since 1970 along with the history of such exemptions, we will explore the impact of these exemptions, particularly exemptions targeting older households, on the demographic makeup of each jurisdiction and consider the impact of these laws on the relative levels of housing capital consumed by older and younger households

Age-Based Property Tax Exemptions in Georgia

Many local jurisdictions offer property tax exemptions or similar concessions to older citizens, especially from the school portion of the tax bill. Such exemptions can be controversial. This report is a step toward informing (but surely not settling!) such debates in Georgia. First, we apprise readers of a new resource, the Georgia Property Tax Database, housed at Georgia State University’s Fiscal Research Center. Second, we describe the patterns of the data, documenting the kinds of jurisdictions offering age-targeted exemptions and the steady increase in their prevalence and coverage over time. Third, we show how these data can be used to estimate the fiscal impacts of such exemptions on local budgets using static scoring. Fourth, we show how the data can be used to estimate the effect of these exemptions on the migratory and location decisions of older households. Finally, we include an age-based homestead exemption estimate calculator in the appendix

Ongoing β-Cell Turnover in Adult Nonhuman Primates Is Not Adaptively Increased in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes

OBJECTIVE: \u3b2-Cell turnover and its potential to permit \u3b2-cell regeneration in adult primates are unknown. Our aims were 1) to measure \u3b2-cell turnover in adult nonhuman primates; 2) to establish the relative contribution of \u3b2-cell replication and formation of new \u3b2-cells from other precursors (defined thus as \u3b2-cell neogenesis); and 3) to establish whether there is an adaptive increase in \u3b2-cell formation (attempted regeneration) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in adult nonhuman primates. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Adult (aged 7 years) vervet monkeys were administered STZ (45-55 mg/kg, n = 7) or saline (n = 9). Pancreas was obtained from each animal twice, first by open surgical biopsy and then by euthanasia. \u3b2-Cell turnover was evaluated by applying a mathematic model to measured replication and apoptosis rates. RESULTS: \u3b2-Cell turnover is present in adult nonhuman primates (3.3 \ub1 0.9 mg/month), mostly (~80%) derived from \u3b2-cell neogenesis. \u3b2-Cell formation was minimal in STZ-induced diabetes. Despite marked hyperglycemia, \u3b2-cell apoptosis was not increased in monkeys administered STZ. CONCLUSIONS: There is ongoing \u3b2-cell turnover in adult nonhuman primates that cannot be accounted for by \u3b2-cell replication. There is no evidence of \u3b2-cell regeneration in monkeys administered STZ. Hyperglycemia does not induce \u3b2-cell apoptosis in nonhuman primates in vivo

Sociodemographic and medical risk factors associated with antepartum depression

Background: The increasing recognition of antenatal depression is an emerging area of concern in developing countres. We conducted a study to estimate the prevalence of antenatal mental distress and its relation with sociodemographic factors, obstetric factors, and physiological wellbeing in pregnant women attending public health facilities in Bengaluru, South India. Methods: Nested within a cohort study, we assessed the mental status in 823 pregnant women in two public referral hospitals. Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10 scale) was used to assess maternal depression. We collected information related to social-demographic characteristics and recent medical complaints. Descriptive statistics and odds ratios were calculated using SPSS version 20. Results: Results show that 8.7% of the women exhibited symptoms of antenatal depression. Sociodemographic characteristics, such as respondent occupation, husband education, husband’s occupation, total family income showed significance. First time pregnancy, anemia, and high blood pressure were also associated with mental distress. Conclusion: Our study has demonstrated feasibility of screening for mental health problems in public hospitals. Early detection of mental distress during pregnancy is crucial as it has a direct impact on the fetus. The public health facilities in low- and middle-income countries such as India should consider piloting and scaling up screening services for mental health conditions for pregnant women

\u27Why did they take him away?\u27 The theft of Neddy Larkin

Neddy Larkin, a Bundjalung man from New South Wales, Australia, was stolen from his grave and in 1891 sold to the Peabody Museum, Cambridge, MA. This paper uses the methodology and concepts outlined in Latour’s An Inquiry into Modes of Existence to chart Neddy Larkin’s transitions from kinsman to scientific data