Antipoverty Effects of Unemployment Insurance

[Excerpt] This report examines the antipoverty effects of unemployment insurance benefits over the past recession and through the beginning of the economic recovery. The analysis highlights the impact of the additional and expanded unemployment insurance (UI) benefits available to unemployed workers through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, RL. 111-5) and the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) program (Title IV of RL. 110-252). In 2009, approximately 62% of all unemployed individuals were receiving UI benefits and thus were directly impacted by legislative changes to the UI system

Poverty in Kagera, Tanzania: Characteristics, Causes and Constraints

This paper analyses the determinants of household welfare in the Northwest region of Tanzania using microlevel cross section data. Despite having gone through a series of structural adjustment programs in the late-1980s, Tanzania is still considered one of the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper argues that the determinants of household welfare are numerous and complex, ranging from individual and household to community and social characteristics, but that the relative importance of these factors varies across the welfare distribution. Using quantile regressions, we find that human, social and physical capital all play a significant role in improving households’ living standards, but that the relatively poor are harmed more by weather shocks because they face more constraints in diversifying out of agriculture. Our results also reveal subtle insights into the relationships between gender and poverty.Poverty, inequality, quantile regression, gender, rainfall, shocks, agriculture, vulnerability, Kagera, Tanzania.

Inventories and the business cycle: an equilibrium analysis of (S,s) policies

We develop an equilibrium business cycle model where producers of final goods pursue generalized (S,s) inventory policies with respect to intermediate goods due to nonconvex factor adjustment costs. When calibrated to reproduce the average inventory-to-sales ratio in postwar U.S. data, our model explains over half of the cyclical variability of inventory investment. Moreover, inventory accumulation is strongly procyclical, and production is more volatile than sales, as in the data. ; The comovement between inventory investment and final sales is often interpreted as evidence that inventories amplify aggregate fluctuations. In contrast, our model economy exhibits a business cycle similar to that of a comparable benchmark without inventories, though we do observe somewhat higher variability in employment, and lower variability in consumption and investment. Thus, our equilibrium analysis reveals that the presence of inventories does not substantially raise the cyclical variability of production, because it dampens movements in final sales.Business cycles - Econometric models ; Inventories ; Equilibrium (Economics)

Why Are There Revisions to the Jobs Numbers?

At the beginning of each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports the change in payroll employment for the previous month. This estimate of jobs gained or lost over the month is closely watched by policymakers and those who work in financial markets and the media. When the estimate is revised in subsequent months, however, data users sometimes perceive a very different picture of the job market than what was initially reported. Data users frequently ask why the number was revised. The short answer is, the revised estimate includes additional information that was not available at the time of the initial release— information that makes the revised estimate more accurate. This BEYOND THE NUMBERS article explains the data collection process that BLS conducts every month to produce the estimate of U.S. employment. The article also should help clarify why BLS releases revisions to the initial estimate so that users will understand the change, if any, in the data

Australian gambling research priorities: summary findings from consultations conducted by the Australian Gambling Research Centre

This paper on gambling research priorities is intended to assist researchers and policy makers to develop research focused on improving the short- and long-term health and wellbeing of Australians who gamble and who are affected by gambling. Overview The Australian Gambling Research Centre (AGRC) conducted consultations with individuals and groups in the gambling sector in 2013-14. The priority areas helped inform the development of the research directions for the AGRC as well as priorities for knowledge translation and exchange. They should also assist researchers and policy makers to develop research focused on improving the short- and long-term health and wellbeing of Australians who gamble and who are affected by gambling. The national research priorities are to: understand gambling harm more broadly; determine ways to reduce or minimise harm from gambling; understand the ways in which community and gambling environments influence gambling; explore how new and emerging technologies influence gambling; examine the short- and long-term effects of marketing strategies on gambling; determine effective means of support and recovery for those harmed by gambling; and improve gambling research design and methodology

Communication needs and the Australian gambling field

Effective frameworks for communication can bridge gaps between research, clinical practice, and policy. The gambling sector in Australia comprises a number of stakeholder groups with diverse interests, objectives, and professional skills and resources. The diversity of the sector can present challenges in developing communication strategies that are accessible, and adequately meet the needs of the audience. This report provides insight into ways in which these challenges may be addressed. In 2013-14 the Australian Gambling Research Centre (AGRC) interviewed and surveyed government officials, service providers, researchers, and community and industry representatives involved in the gambling sector to identify their principal information and resource needs. The findings informed the development of the AGRC\u27s research communication plan. The key findings are: professionals often find it difficult to access important resources; summaries and key messages of longer documents are valued for their time efficiency; simple, cost-effective electronic dissemination methods increase accessibility; and active exchange of resources and knowledge between professionals is valued. To maintain and improve the professionalism available across the field of gambling in Australia, organisations must ensure good accessibility to information and resources. Organisations may use the findings of this summary to inform practices around information and resource access, and communication practices that are suitable to their audiences

A History of Maintenance: Implementing MP2

This document was created to help maintenance departments in reducing downtime. The main focus of this manual is to teach maintenance personnel how to implement and use the CMMS program known as MP2. By using MP2, problem areas within a plant can be identified and tracked by electronically storing equipment information. This method will ultimately lead to less reactive maintenance and more preventive maintenance, which will therefore lessen downtime