Evidence of shifts in intra-household allocation under exogenous changes in family policy and administrative procedures: The case of school enrollment in Chile

Replaced with revised version of paper 07/31/09.Consumer/Household Economics, International Development, Public Economics,

Harnessing Administrative Records for Official Statistics on People and Households

The availability and excessiveness of alternative (non-survey) data sources, collected on a daily, hourly, and sometimes second-by-second basis, has challenged the federal statistical system to update existing protocol for developing official statistics. Federal statistical agencies collect data primarily through survey methodologies built on frames constructed from administrative records. They compute survey weights to adjust for non-response and unequal sampling probabilities, impute answers for nonresponse, and report official statistics via tabulations from these survey. The U.S. federal government has rigorously developed these methodologies since the advent of surveys -- an innovation produced by the urgent desire of Congress and the President to estimate annual unemployment rates of working age men during the Great Depression. In the 1930s, Twitter did not exist; high-scale computing facilities were not abundant let alone cheap, and the ease of the ether was just a storyline from the imagination of fiction writers. Today we do have the technology, and an abundance of data, record markers, and alternative sources, which, if curated and examined properly, can help enhance official statistics. Researchers at the Census Bureau have been experimenting with administrative records in an effort to understand how these alternative data sources can improve our understanding of official statistics. Innovative projects like these have advanced our knowledge of the limitations of survey data in estimating official statistics. This paper will discuss advances made in linking administrative records to survey data to-date and will summarize the research on the impact of administrative records on official statistics

Long-term Effects from Early Exposure to Research: Evidence from the NIH “Yellow Berets”

In the late 1960s, the federal government was looking for young, healthy men to enlist in the military to help ensure success in the Vietnam War. Not enough men were voluntarily choosing to enlist. In 1969, the federal government implemented a lottery draft. Recruiters traveled the U.S. encouraging enlistment and explaining the draft requirements. They made visits to medical schools explaining options to newly minted MDs. Those options included: (1) be drafted and (possibly) go to war or (2) enlist in the Public Health Service (PHS) using the skills learned in their medical profession in the U.S. The PHS included an option to travel to Bethesda, Maryland and enlist as a Training Associate (TA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to work in one of the scientific intramural labs on campus and receive training by some of the top medical research scientists in the nation. For this study, we searched the National Archives for the physical paper applications of those individuals who applied to the NIH Intramural Training Associates program before, during, and after the lottery draft. We digitalized their applications, combed public documents in search of up-to-date career information, and linked them to their publications and patents to-date. We created a rich linked dataset of administrative records from which we examine the impact of early career, high intensity research training on the probability of staying in research and the overall impact on advancing science. This paper describes our results evaluating the impact of this federal program

Advancing biomedical science through investments in elite training

How can governments invest in the public good of science in a way that accelerates advancement and encourages innovation at the frontier of science–all the while acknowledging that investing in science means investing in scientists? The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) program is a research-training program administered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that makes such investments. This study examines the impact of NRSA postdoctoral fellowships on subsequent career outcomes using NIH administrative records on applicants for the fellowship from 1996 to 2008. It finds that fellowships increased the probability of receiving subsequent research awards from 4.0 to 6.3 percentage points and of achieving a major independent research award from 2.6 to 4.6 percentage points. The findings demonstrate that federally funded fellowships promote the retention of scientists in the biomedical research workforce

Evidence of shifts in intra-household allocation under exogenous changes in family policy and administrative procedures: The case of school enrollment in Chile

In recent times, economists have argued the unitary model of household utility, which assumes households maximize a single utility function over one household budget constraint, does not accurately describe the economic behavior of households (Chiappori et al. 1993, Alderman et al. 1995, Rosenzweig & Stark 1997, Gray 1998). Some have found empirical evidence rejecting this model (Fortin & Lacroix 1997, Browing & Chiappori 1998, Rangel 2006). Instead, they argue, models should acknowledge the bargaining power of individuals to determine a household’s utility or preferences. This study examines the effects of exogenous changes in family policy and administrative processes on one household consumption variable, children’s education. Specifically, the legalization of divorce and family court wait times for divorce are analyzed. Using panel data and a difference-in-difference approach, I show that implementing pro-female divorce legislation shifts the bargaining power within married couple households, as does the speed with which family courts process divorce cases. Both pro-female divorce legislation and quick turn-around times for processing a divorce lead to an increase in school enrollment for children of married couples

Factors influencing length of stay in out-of-home placements: Are human services and corrections placements different?

This study analyzes the experiences of youth placed out-of-home for behavioral reasons by human services and juvenile corrections departments in a large Midwestern metropolitan county. The study goals are to determine whether youth placed by each department have similar characteristics and analyze the factors associated with length of stay in placement. Many local human services and corrections departments are attempting to coordinate their services in an effort to improve the outcomes for youth and their families. The study findings suggest that the youth placed by the two departments are similar in many ways, yet there are some important differences. Factors associated with length of stay differ between the two departments, suggesting that youth experiences differ once placed. Out-of-home placements of youth for behavioral reasons are costly, and policymakers continually question the effectiveness of placements in providing treatment to youth with behavioral problems. Our study identifies key factors associated with long placement stays for youth placed by both human services and corrections departments. By targeting intensive intervention and treatment towards these youth and their families, local governments may be able to reduce the length of stay in out-of-home placement and effectively address the youths' behavioral problems.Child welfare Out-of-home placements Length of stay Cox regression Administrative data

Falling out of Step: Diversity along the Pathway to a Career in Biomedical Research Falling Out of Step: Diversity Along the Biomedical Research Career Path Draft: Do Not Cite Without Permission 2

Abstract This study examines the career pathway of biomedical scientists along the educational pipeline from high school to advanced degree and on through to NIH-funded investigator. Using a relevant labor market perspective, we examine U.S. Census data to determine how transition points along this path vary by gender, race, and citizenship. Critical transition points are high school, associate, bachelor, and graduate degree completion, as well as the award of an NIH NIH's capacity to ensure that it remains a global leader in scientific discovery and innovation is dependent upon a nationally diverse scientific workforce. Within the framework of NIH's longstanding commitment to excellence and projected need for investigators in particular areas of research, attention must be given to the participation of trainees and grantees from underrepresented groups. Underrepresented groups include racial, or ethnic groups that are underrepresented in the biomedical sciences, individuals with disabilities, individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds that have inhibited their ability to pursue a research career, and women at senior career levels of academia. In this paper, we focus our efforts on understanding the composition of individuals throughout the educational pipeline up to becoming a biomedical researcher funded by the National Institutes of Health. In doing so, we adapt a representation ratio methodology used previously (Myers & Turner (2004); Myers & Husbands-Fealing (2012)). We highlight the importance of understanding representation ratios, not only by race, but by gender and citizenship as well. We paint a complex picture of outcomes for biomedical researchers dependent on multiple factors. We find evidence that representation ratios differ not only b

The Impact of Postdoctoral Fellowships on a Future Independent Career in Federally Funded Biomedical Research

The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) program is a major research training program administered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with funds appropriated each year by Congress. This study examines the impact of NRSA postdoctoral fellowships on subsequent research-related career outcomes using NIH administrative records on applicants who applied for a fellowship between 1996 and 2008. We find that postdoctoral fellowships increased the probability of receiving subsequent NIH research awards from 6.3 to 8.2 percentage points and of achieving an NIH-funded R01 award, an indication of an independent research career, from 4.6 to 6.1 percentage points. Our findings demonstrate that the NRSA postdoctoral fellowship awards have the potential to promote retention of scientists in NIH-funded research and in the biomedical workforce pipeline

B2: Measuring the Economy, Housing, and People

Moderator: Kitty Smith Evans Presenters: Marvin Ward Jr.: Our Economy is Evolving: Shouldn\u27t the Way We Measure It Evolve Too? Carla Medalia: Linking Survey and Administrative Data to Measure Income, Inequality, and Mobility John Haltiwanger: Minding Your Ps and Qs: Going from Micro to Macro in Measuring Prices and Quantities Misty L. Heggeness: Harnessing Administrative Records for Official Statistics on People and Households Laurie Goodman: Housing Affordability: Local and National Perspective