Interstate variation in welfare benefits and the migration of the poor: Substantive concerns and symbolic responses

Nearly all states are thinking about reforming their welfare systems, and several states--particularly those that offer high welfare benefits--are taking action. A major concern is that poor people are moving to high- benefit states in order to receive the benefits offered by those states. It is unclear, however, if this "welfare migration" is extensive enough to break the budgets of high-benefit states. Nevertheless, legislators in those states are seeking to stop it, usually through two-tier benefit schedules whereby new arrivals to a state are temporarily paid the welfare benefits they would have received had they remained in their original state. The authors discuss the extent to which two-tier benefit schedules represent substantive reform or symbolic action. In their estimation, current strategies for welfare reform fail to address the causes of poverty and welfare dependency and may only intensify the antagonism many Americans feel toward the poor.

The formation number of vortex rings formed in uniform background co-flow

The formation of vortex rings generated by an impulsively started jet in the presence of uniform background co-flow is studied experimentally to extend previous results. A piston–cylinder mechanism is used to generate the vortex rings and the co-flow is supplied through a transparent shroud surrounding the cylinder. Digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) is used to measure the development of the ring vorticity and its eventual pinch off from the generating jet for ratios of the co-flow to jet velocity ($R_{v})$ in the range 0 – 0.85. The formation time scale for the ring to obtain maximal circulation and pinch off from the generating jet, called the formation number ($F$), is determined as a function of $R_{v}$ using DPIV measurements of circulation and a generalized definition of dimensionless discharge time or ‘formation time’. Both simultaneous initiation and delayed initiation of co-flow are considered. In all cases, a sharp drop in $F$ (taking place over a range of 0.1 in $R_{v}$) is centred around a critical velocity ratio ($R_{crit}$). As the initiation of co-flow was delayed, the magnitude of the drop in $F$ and the value of $R_{crit}$ decreased. A kinematic model based on the relative velocities of the forming ring and jet shear layer is formulated and correctly predicts vortex ring pinch off for $R_{v} \,{>}\, R_{crit}$. The results of the model indicate the reduction in $F$ at large $R_{v}$ is directly related to the increased convective velocity provided to the ring by the co-flow

Vortex ring pinchoff in the presence of simultaneously initiated uniform background co-flow

Vortex rings were formed with a piston-cylinder mechanism in the presence of uniform background co-flow supplied through a shroud surrounding the cylinder. The jet and co-flow were started simultaneously. Ratios of the co-flow to jet velocity (Rv) in the range 0–1 were considered. The formation number (F) as a function of Rv was determined using the procedure of Gharib et al. [J. Fluid Mech. 360, 121 (1998)] and a generalized definition of formation time. The results show a sharp decrease in F as Rv increases from 0.5–0.75, suggesting possible performance limitations for pulsed-jet propulsion

Alternative Measures of Offshorability: A Survey Approach

This paper reports on a pilot study of the use of conventional household survey methods to measure something unconventional: what we call offshorability, defined as the ability to perform one’s work duties (for the same employer and customers) from abroad. Notice that offshorability is a characteristic of a person’s job, not of the person himself. We see this research as important for two main reasons. First, one of us has argued previously that offshoring is potentially a very important labor market phenomenon in the United States and elsewhere, perhaps eventually amounting to a third Industrial Revolution. In the first Industrial Revolution, the share of the U.S. workforce engaged in agriculture declined by over 80 percentage points. In the second Industrial Revolution, which is still in progress, the share of American workers employed in manufacturing has declined by almost 25 percentage points so far, with most of the migration going to the service sector. The estimates presented here, like those of Blinder (2009b), suggest that the share of U.S. workers performing what Blinder (2006) called impersonal service jobs (defined precisely below) might shrink significantly while the share performing personal service jobs rises. Second, while readers must judge for themselves, we deem the pilot study to have been successful by several criteria that we will explain later. So we hope our survey methods will be replicated, improved upon, and eventually incorporated into some regular government survey, such as the Current Population Survey (CPS). Doing so would enable the U.S. government to track this important phenomenon over time.offshore, labor migration, employment trends

Variations of total ozone in the north polar region as seen by TOMS

Data from the TOMS instrument has been used to follow the course of development of the Antarctic ozone springtime minimum since 1979. Addressed is the question of possible north polar region changes which might be deduced from the nine years of TOMS measurements of total ozone. Total ozone is a much more variable quantity in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere. This makes the search for trends more difficult and the interpretation of results more uncertain. The 9-yr time series of TOMS data at high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere is examined. Because the TOMS measurements have drifted by 3 to 4 percent with respect to closely collocated Dobson measurements, it was chosen in this study to adopt the Dobson normalization and adjust the TOMS measurements accordingly. The difference between the last two years (1986 and 1987) of the TOMS record, and the first two years of the record (1979 and 1980) are shown. The difference in percent is given as a function of latitude and time of year. The Antarctic springtime decrease is clearly seen as well as a smaller change which extends to about 50 degrees south latitude at all seasons. Changes in the Northern Hemisphere are less dramatic and are concentrated near the polar night where solar zenith angles are very large. These data are now being examined in more detail and updated results will be presented at the Workshop

What Does the Public Know about Economic Policy, and How Does It Know It?

Public opinion influences politicians, and therefore influences public policy decisions. What are the roles of self-interest, knowledge, and ideology in public opinion formation? And how do people learn about economic issues? Using a new, specially-designed survey, we find that most respondents express a strong desire to be well informed on economic policy issues, and that television is their dominant source of information. On a variety of major policy issues (e.g., taxes, social security, health insurance), ideology is the most important determinant of public opinion, while measures of self-interest are the least important. Knowledge about the economy ranks somewhere in between.

What Does the Public Know about Economic Policy, and How Does It Know It?

A long tradition in economic theory models economic policy decisions as solutions to optimization problems solved by rational and well-informed agents: A single policymaker minimizes a loss function subject to some constraints. Another body of literature models policy decisions as if they were made by well-informed voters in elections of some sort.