Wage discrimination and partial compliance with the minimum wage law

This paper presents a simple model to characterize the discriminatory behavior of a non-complying firm in a minimum-wage economy. In the analysis, the violating firm pays one “favored†group of workers the statutory minimum and the other “non-favored†group of workers a sub-minimum. We find conditions under which law enforcement is ineffective in improving the between-group wage differentials. We show that an increase in the minimum wage raises the sub-minimum wage and employment of workers in the non-favored group, but reduces the employment of workers in the favored group. The effect of the minimum wage increase on total employment is unambiguously negative, however.

Do more online instructional ratings lead to better prediction of instructor quality?

Online instructional ratings are taken by many with a grain of salt. This study analyzes the ability of said ratings to estimate the official (university-administered) instructional ratings of the same respective university instructors. Given self-selection among raters, we further test whether more online ratings of instructors lead to better prediction of official ratings in terms of both R-squared value and root mean squared error. We lastly test and correct for heteroskedastic error terms in the regression analysis to allow for the first robust estimations on the topic. Despite having a starkly different distribution of values, online ratings explain much of the variation in official ratings. This conclusion strengthens, and root mean squared error typically falls, as one considers regression subsets over which instructors have a larger number of online ratings. Though (public) online ratings do not mimic the results of (semi-private) official ratings, they provide a reliable source of information for predicting official ratings. There is strong evidence that this reliability increases in online rating usage. Accessed 6,372 times on https://pareonline.net from February 22, 2011 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

Refugee Gardening: An Opportunity to Improve Economic Conditions, Food Security, and Mental Health

Every year, thousands of refugees enter the United States. Conditions prior to resettlement, such as exposure to conflict, persecution, and loss, as well as conditions after resettlement, such as isolation and adjustment to a new culture, impact refugee mental health, economic security, and food security. Refugee access to land and resources for gardening has been shown to have quality of life benefits, including enhanced food security and mental health outcomes. This research brief summarizes the results of a recent study that examined how community gardening may reduce food insecurity and adverse mental health among refugees living in Central New York. Findings demonstrate that refugee gardening positively impacts mental health, food security, and feelings of connection with refugee communities

Age at League Entry and Early All-Cause Mortality among National Football League Players

Background: A growing body of research suggests that American football players are exposed to higher cumulative head impact risk as competition level rises. Related literature finds that head impacts absorbed by youth, adolescent, and emerging adult players are associated with elevated risk of long-term health problems (e.g., neurodegenerative disease onset). Most National Football League (NFL) players enter the League as emerging adults (18–24 years old), a period of continued cognitive and overall physical development. However, no prior research has studied the effect of age-at-entry on long-term NFL player health. Hypothesis/Purpose: This study assesses whether early NFL player age-at-entry is associated with increased risk of early all-cause mortality, controlling for player position, BMI, year-of-entry, birth year, and NFL Draft round (expected ability upon League entry). Study Design: This retrospective cohort study included 9049 players who entered the NFL from 1970–2017 and subsequently played at least one game. The variables whether deceased, age-at-death, age-at-entry, and controls were collected from Pro Football Reference website, a leading data site for American football that has been used extensively in the literature. Data collection began on 13 July 2017, and follow-up ended on 1 July 2018. Statistical analysis was performed from 10 March 2020 to 3 August 2020. Data was validated by checking a large sub-sample of data points against alternative sources such as NFL.com and NFLsavant.com. Methods: Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to examine variation in death hazard by NFL player age-at-entry, conditional upon a full set of controls. Results: Conditional on controls, Cox regression results indicate that a one-year increase in age-at-entry was significantly associated with a 14% decreased hazard-of-death (H.R., 0.86; 95% CI, 0.74–0.98). Among relatively young entering players, the increased hazard appears to be concentrated in the first quartile of players by age at League entry (20.2 to 22.3 years). Players not in this quartile exhibited a decreased hazard-of-death (H.R., 0.74; 95% CI, 0.57–0.97) compared with players who entered at a relatively young (first quartile) age. Conclusion: An earlier age-at-entry is associated with an increased hazard-of-death among NFL players. Currently, the NFL regulates age-at-entry only indirectly by requiring players to be 3 years removed from high school before becoming NFL Draft-eligible. Implementing a minimum age at entry for NFL players of 22 years and 4 months at beginning of season is expected to result in reduced mortality. What is known about this subject? There are no prior studies on the effects of NFL player age-at-entry on early mortality risk. What this study adds to existing knowledge: This study determines whether entering the NFL at an age of physical and physiological development is related to early mortality risk

Three essays in health and labor economics

Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of EconomicsDong LiThe dissertation examines empirical issues related to health and labor economics. It has long been debated whether breastfeeding leads to a higher intelligence quotient (IQ) and greater scholastic achievement. The first study empirically examines the issue. Many past studies fail to take into account the possible endogeneity of the breastfeeding decision and thus falsely identify the correlation between breastfeeding and IQ as a causal relationship. We attempt to distinguish the causation and correlation between the two variables. Our results show that, after controlling for possible endogeneity, breastfeeding has no significant impact on IQ or scholastic achievement. The second essay examines the link between breastfeeding and childhood obesity. Heath economics researchers view breastfeeding as a determining factor as to whether a child becomes obese. There are many theories, involving both biological and psychological factors, as to why breastfeeding is negatively linked to childhood obesity. This essay argues that the breastfeeding decision is not an exogenous one, so estimation technique such as ordinary least squares is not the correct way to estimate the relationship between breastfeeding and childhood obesity. Instruments are used to generate exogenous variations in the breastfeeding variable. After correcting for any estimation bias due to the breastfeeding variable being endogenous, this study documents the benefits of breastfeeding. The third essay analyzes 19 semesters of student evaluations at Kansas State University. Faculty fixed effects are sizable and indicate that, as assessed by students, the best principles teachers also tend to be the best non-principles teachers. OLS estimates are biased because principles teachers are drawn from the top of the distribution and because unmeasured faculty characteristics are correlated with such variables as the response rate and student effort. Student ratings are lowest for new faculty but stabilize quickly. Expected GPA of the class is not an important determinant of student ratings, but equitable grading is; and the rewards for equitable grading appear larger for principles classes. The lower ratings in principles classes are fully accounted for by greater class size

Continuation of Teletherapy After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Survey Study of Licensed Mental Health Professionals

BackgroundThe use of teletherapy has exponentially increased in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Studies on teletherapy documented substantial benefits of accessibility and convenience even before the start of the pandemic. Although recent studies show that this modality of therapy delivery is here to stay, few have studied who will most benefit from this trend. ObjectiveIn this paper, we report predictors of continued teletherapy usage in a sample of licensed mental health professionals in the United States during a time period when pandemic-related restrictions began diminishing. As such, it is one of the first studies to examine factors related to continued benefits of teletherapy postpandemic. MethodsParticipation from licensed mental health professionals was sought on listservs of national organizations of multiple mental health organizations. Data were collected via an anonymous link to a survey on Qualtrics between January 2021 and April 2021. Participants responded to questions on therapist demographics, practice setting, experiences of shifting to teletherapy, perspectives on continued use of teletherapy, and their client characteristics. Findings related to client characteristics that predicted continued teletherapy usage are presented here. ResultsA total of 186 individuals consented to participate in the survey, with a final sample of 114 with complete data. A majority of participants identified as female (92/114, 80.7%), White (94/114, 82.5%), and having a master's degree (75/114, 65.5%) from a nationally accredited program (106/114, 93%). Data were analyzed using heteroskedastic regression modeling with client-related factors as predictors. Two models were run with and without distance travelled by clients as a control variable. Model estimates from both models showed that continued use of teletherapy postpandemic was predicted by the following factors: higher percentage of clients from rural areas, younger and older adult clients, clients with Medicare, and clients with marginalized gender and religious/spiritual identities. Significantly, having a higher percentage of clients from lower socioeconomic status, a higher percentage of those with Medicaid coverage, and a higher percentage of couples and families as clients predicted decreased use of teletherapy postpandemic. ConclusionsFindings from the study suggest that while some groups of clients are more likely to continue to receive benefits of teletherapy, vulnerable groups such as those in lower socioeconomic conditions, Medicaid beneficiaries, and those who seek couple and family therapy may be less likely to be served by it. These differences point to a need to address factors driving telehealth care disparities such as access to technology, housing, and childcare issues, as well as the need for continued training for licensed professionals

Conflict persistence and the role of third-party interventions

This article discusses the contributions and limitations of the contest approach to theoretical conflict research. Specific topics of discussion include the persistence of war and the motivation and effect of third-party intervention in altering the outcome and persistence of conflict. The persistence of intrastate conflict and the political economy of third-party interventions are central issues in international politics. Conflict persists when neither party to the fighting is sufficiently differentiated to “borrow upon” future ruling rents and optimally deter its opponent. Third-party intervention aimed at breaking a persistent conflict should focus upon creating cross-party differences in factors such as the value of political dominance, effectiveness of military arms, and cost of military arming. The article also discusses the effect of outside intervention upon conflict persistence and outcome. Of particular interest is work that not only identifies a peaceful equilibrium but discusses the degree to which a particular peaceful equilibrium is valued. Considering the value of a peaceful equilibrium may be a first step toward understanding the stability of peace.Civil conflict, persistence, third-party intervention

Video Game Addictive Symptom Level, Use Intensity, and Hedonic Experience: Cross-sectional Questionnaire Study

BackgroundThe effects of behavioral addiction to video games has received increasing attention in the literature, given increased use intensity among subgroups of video game players. ObjectiveThis study seeks to empirically determine the relationship between intensity of video gaming and hedonic experience of the player. MethodsWe conducted a survey of 835 individuals who regularly play video games to determine the relationship between intensity of use and hedonic experience. We divided the sample into quartiles by self-reported video game addictive symptom level (from the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale) and conducted polynomial regressions separately for each quartile. ResultsWe found that the higher video game addictive symptom level groups experienced a U-shaped (curvilinear) relationship between hedonic experience and intensity of play, whereas groups with lower video game addictive symptom levels exhibited no such relationship. The coefficients for the highest addictive symptom level group (quartile 4) for marginal effects for hours played per week and hours played per week squared were significantly negative (P=.005) and significantly positive (P=.004), respectively. ConclusionsOur results are consistent with sensitization and tolerance theories, which suggest that high-symptom groups experience frustration and disappointment until they achieve excessive dopamine release, at which point their hedonic experience is expected to improve with additional play. Conversely, low-symptom groups experience no such fall-and-rise pattern. This result is consistent with the outcome that members of the latter group play the game for the direct experience, such that their hedonic experience is more directly related to events occurring in the game than to the increasingly elusive pursuit of excessive dopamine release. We also find that high-symptom groups spend substantially more time and money to support video game use and are much more likely to engage in video game use at the expense of other important activities, such as working, sleeping, and eating