Food Deserts and the Causes of Nutritional Inequality*

2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (4) ◽  
pp. 1793-1844 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hunt Allcott ◽  
Rebecca Diamond ◽  
Jean-Pierre Dubé ◽  
Jessie Handbury ◽  
Ilya Rahkovsky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Food Deserts ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Income ◽  
The Poor ◽  
New Instrument ◽  
Comparative Advantages ◽  
Retail Chains

Abstract We study the causes of “nutritional inequality”: why the wealthy eat more healthfully than the poor in the United States. Exploiting supermarket entry and household moves to healthier neighborhoods, we reject that neighborhood environments contribute meaningfully to nutritional inequality. We then estimate a structural model of grocery demand, using a new instrument exploiting the combination of grocery retail chains’ differing presence across geographic markets with their differing comparative advantages across product groups. Counterfactual simulations show that exposing low-income households to the same products and prices available to high-income households reduces nutritional inequality by only about 10%, while the remaining 90% is driven by differences in demand. These findings counter the argument that policies to increase the supply of healthy groceries could play an important role in reducing nutritional inequality.

scholarly journals The Price of Poverty: Policy Implications of the Unequal Effects of Monetary Sanctions on the Poor

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-65
Author(s):  
Ilya Slavinski ◽  
Kimberly Spencer-Suarez
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
Low Income ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Federal State ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Time Requirements ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Set Up

Over the last several decades, with the rise of mass incarceration in the United States and its steep costs, governments at the federal, state, and local levels have dramatically ramped up monetary punishment. Monetary sanctions are now the most common type of criminal penalty in the United States. The growth of fines, fees, and other legal financial obligations (LFOs), and the ensuing legal debt, reflect a shifting of the system’s costs onto its primarily low-income and indigent subjects. This study provides an exploration of previously underexamined ways in which monetary sanctions impose distinct burdens on the poor. Interviews with 121 defendants in Texas and New York, along with courtroom observations, demonstrate that criminal legal debt is particularly challenging for people with low incomes in three meaningful ways. First, systems set up to handle indigency claims do not adequately address the needs or complex individual circumstances of those who simply do not have the ability to pay. Oftentimes, alternatives are unavailable or statutorily prohibited. Second, the lack of alternatives to payment lead to compromising situations, which then compel indigent defendants to make difficult choices about how to allocate scant resources. Finally, being encumbered with fines and fees and participating in alternatives like community service comes with taxing time requirements that can prove uniquely challenging for those who are poor. These three findings lead us to propose a series of policy recommendations revolving around three key themes: (a) enhancement of indigency procedures, (b) equity in monetary sanctions, and (c) alleviating burdens by improving accessibility.

scholarly journals Trends in Cancer Diseases Prevalence by Different Socioeconomic Strata in the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingsi Wang ◽  
Yi Ma ◽  
Liangru Zhou ◽  
Yi Cheng ◽  
Yue Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Income ◽  
Poverty Level ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Socioeconomic Strata ◽  
Cancer Diseases

Abstract Background Income disparity among different socioeconomic strata in the United States has widened sharply in recent decades. Take into account the well-established link between income and health, this widening income gap may provide insight into the dynamics of the cancer disease burden in American adults. Assess the temporal trends of the 20-year predicted absolute cancer risk in American adults at different socioeconomic classes. Methods The cross-sectional analyses were carried out using data from adults aged 20 to 85 years between the 1999 and 2018 NHANES. Socioeconomic status was divided into three groups based on the family income to poverty ratio (PIR): high income (PIR ≥ 4), middle income (> 1 and <4), or at or below the federal poverty level (≤ 1). Results The analysis included 49 720 participants. The prevalence of lung cancer was lower in high-income participants than in middle-income participants (0.15% [n= 19] vs 0.35% [n= 92], p <0.001). For the low-income stratum, the prevalence of breast cancer was 1.12% [n = 117], but the number of adults in the middle (1.48% [n = 391], p = 0.009) and high-income levels (1.71% [n = 219], p <0.001) has increased. Conclusions The study found that the prevalence of cancer diseases was increasingly different among participants of different socioeconomic classes of NHANES from 1999 to 2018. Further research is required on the dynamics and health impact of income inequality, as well as public health policies and efforts to reduce these inequalities.

Poverty and Protectionism

1988 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 25-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Y. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Trade Deficit ◽  
The United States ◽  
Consistent Pattern ◽  
Trade Imbalance ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Major Consideration ◽  
The U.S

The United States had a trade deficit of $170 billion in 1987 and, even though the value of the dollar has been declining, the deficit has shown no consistent pattern of improvement. The magnitude and persistence of the trade imbalance has led to a great deal of discussion of its impact on the U.S. economy and of policies that might be used to correct the imbalance. One major consideration that is often overlooked is the distributional and equity effect of the trade situation on the poor. While some advocates embrace protectionist policies as a means of “saving” jobs for low-income Americans, others argue that these measures raise the cost of goods used by the poor with no guarantee that jobs are actually saved. The following article reviews the available evidence on the position of low-income Americans under a policy of protectionism.

scholarly journals Migration of International Medical Graduates: Implications for the Brain-Drain

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
O.C. Nwagwu Emeka
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Intellectual Capital ◽  
Brain Drain ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Income ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
The Brain

Studies indicate that about 23 percent to 28 percent of the physicians working and residing in the United States, Canada, Australia, the UK and New Zealand were born and trained in the low-income countries, areas suffering from critical shortages of physicians and other health workers. In the US alone, the preponderance of the foreign physicians hails from South Africa, Philippines, India, Pakistan, and Nigeria. From Africa alone where the burden of disease, poverty, deprivation and death are greatest, around 23,000 qualified physicians emigrate annually. From the perspectives of the low-income countries, significant amounts of resources are, by necessity, committed into turning their nationals into vital intellectual capital for their own desperately needed health needs and crumbling healthcare systems. Thus, the migration of these physicians to other nations to help strengthen their already stable health care systems is not only ethically deplorable but poses moral hazards for both the physicians and the high-income countries. That is, high-income countries such as the United States, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand are draining the scarce recourses of the low-income countries through the loss of intellectual capital, a phenomenon that socio-economic and developmental experts have dubbed “the brain drain”.

scholarly journals Using Mobile Banking Services to Improve Financial Access for the Poor: Lessons from Kenya, the Philippines, the United States, Haiti, and India

2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanika Metre
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Business Models ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mobile Banking ◽  
Banking Services ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Poor

As the number of mobile phone subscriptions has rapidly expanded in developing countries, so too has the use of mobile phones to facilitate small-scale financial transactions around the world. Microfinance experts have recognized these mobile banking services as a means for expanding access to financial services among poor and low-income populations. Innovations over the past few years have proven that mobile network operators and banks can cooperate to create successful business models for mobile banking services. Recognizing this success, this paper further explores the ways in which private sector, public sector, and non-profit sector actors can and should collaborate to meet the financial service needs of the poor through innovations in mobile banking. Case studies from Kenya, the Philippines, the United States, Haiti, and India provide relevant lessons on how these collaborations have succeeded or failed in the past.

Assisted Housing and Income Segregation among Neighborhoods in U.S. Metropolitan Areas

2015 ◽  
Vol 660 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Owens
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Integration ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Income ◽  
Housing Policies ◽  
Income Segregation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Low Income Families

Over the past 40 years, assisted housing in the United States has undergone a dramatic geographic deconcentration, with at least one unit of assisted housing now located in most metropolitan neighborhoods. The location of assisted housing shapes where low-income assisted renters live, and it may also affect the residential choices of nonassisted residents. This article examines whether the deconcentration of assisted housing has reduced the segregation of families by income among neighborhoods in metropolitan areas from 1980 to 2005–9. I find that the deconcentration of assisted housing resulted in modest economic residential integration for very low-income families. However, high-income families became even more segregated, as assisted housing was deconcentrated, potentially offsetting the economic integration gains and ensuring that very low-income families are living in neighborhoods with only slightly higher-income neighbors. I conclude by discussing features of housing policies that might promote greater income integration among neighborhoods.

scholarly journals Income Segregation and Intergenerational Mobility Across Colleges in the United States*

2020 ◽  
Vol 135 (3) ◽  
pp. 1567-1633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raj Chetty ◽  
John N Friedman ◽  
Emmanuel Saez ◽  
Nicholas Turner ◽  
Danny Yagan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Private Colleges ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Intergenerational Mobility ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Income ◽  
Act Scores ◽  
Parental Income ◽  
Income Segregation

Abstract We construct publicly available statistics on parents’ incomes and students’ earnings outcomes for each college in the United States using deidentified data from tax records. These statistics reveal that the degree of parental income segregation across colleges is very high, similar to that across neighborhoods. Differences in postcollege earnings between children from low- and high-income families are much smaller among students who attend the same college than across colleges. Colleges with the best earnings outcomes predominantly enroll students from high-income families, although a few mid-tier public colleges have both low parent income levels and high student earnings. Linking these income data to SAT and ACT scores, we simulate how changes in the allocation of students to colleges affect segregation and intergenerational mobility. Equalizing application, admission, and matriculation rates across parental income groups conditional on test scores would reduce segregation substantially, primarily by increasing the representation of middle-class students at more selective colleges. However, it would have little effect on the fraction of low-income students at elite private colleges because there are relatively few students from low-income families with sufficiently high SAT/ACT scores. Differences in parental income distributions across colleges could be eliminated by giving low- and middle-income students a sliding-scale preference in the application and admissions process similar to that implicitly given to legacy students at elite private colleges. Assuming that 80% of observational differences in students’ earnings conditional on test scores, race, and parental income are due to colleges’ causal effects—a strong assumption, but one consistent with prior work—such changes could reduce intergenerational income persistence among college students by about 25%. We conclude that changing how students are allocated to colleges could substantially reduce segregation and increase intergenerational mobility, even without changing colleges’ educational programs.

The characteristics of blood donors in the United States

2018 ◽  
pp. 72-98
Author(s):  
Richard M. Titmuss
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Blood Donors ◽  
The United States ◽  
New Class ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Gift ◽  
Low Income Groups ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Unemployed

This chapter focuses on the characteristics of blood donors in the United States. Despite all the statistical inadequacies in the data presented, the trend appears to be markedly in the direction of the increasing commercialisation of blood and donor relationships. Concomitantly, proportionately more blood is being supplied by the poor, the unskilled, the unemployed, Negroes, and other low-income groups, and — with the rise of plasmapheresis — a new class is emerging of an exploited human population of high blood yielders. Redistribution in terms of ‘the gift of blood and blood products’ from the poor to the rich appears to be one of the dominant effects of the American blood-banking systems.

Status of the Prevention of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms in International Settings: A Survey of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America Research Network

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasia Safdar ◽  
Sharmila Sengupta ◽  
Jackson S. Musuuza ◽  
Manisha Juthani-Mehta ◽  
Marci Drees ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Low Income ◽  
The United States ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
High Income ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Stewardship Program ◽  
Multidrug Resistant Organisms ◽  
Healthcare Epidemiology

OBJECTIVETo examine self-reported practices and policies to reduce infection and transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) in healthcare settings outside the United States.DESIGNCross-sectional survey.PARTICIPANTSInternational members of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) Research Network.METHODSElectronic survey of infection control and prevention practices, capabilities, and barriers outside the United States and Canada. Participants were stratified according to their country’s economic development status as defined by the World Bank as low-income, lower-middle-income, upper-middle-income, and high-income.RESULTSA total of 76 respondents (33%) of 229 SHEA members outside the United States and Canada completed the survey questionnaire, representing 30 countries. Forty (53%) were high-, 33 (43%) were middle-, and 1 (1%) was a low-income country. Country data were missing for 2 respondents (3%). Of the 76 respondents, 64 (84%) reported having a formal or informal antibiotic stewardship program at their institution. High-income countries were more likely than middle-income countries to have existing MDRO policies (39/64 [61%] vs 25/64 [39%],P=.003) and to place patients with MDRO in contact precautions (40/72 [56%] vs 31/72 [44%],P=.05). Major barriers to preventing MDRO transmission included constrained resources (infrastructure, supplies, and trained staff) and challenges in changing provider behavior.CONCLUSIONSIn this survey, a substantial proportion of institutions reported encountering barriers to implementing key MDRO prevention strategies. Interventions to address capacity building internationally are urgently needed. Data on the infection prevention practices of low income countries are needed.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol.2016:1–8

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