scholarly journals Child wellbeing and income inequality in rich societies: ecological cross sectional study

BMJ ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 335 (7629) ◽  
pp. 1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate E Pickett ◽  
Richard G Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
District Of Columbia ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Child Wellbeing ◽  
Average Income ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Relative Poverty ◽  
Us States ◽  
The Us ◽  
Rich Countries

Objectives To examine associations between child wellbeing and material living standards (average income), the scale of differentiation in social status (income inequality), and social exclusion (children in relative poverty) in rich developed societies. Design Ecological, cross sectional studies. Setting Cross national comparisons of 23 rich countries; cross state comparisons within the United States. Population Children and young people. Main outcome measures The Unicef index of child wellbeing and its components for rich countries; eight comparable measures for the US states and District of Columbia (teenage births, juvenile homicides, infant mortality, low birth weight, educational performance, dropping out of high school, overweight, mental health problems). Results The overall index of child wellbeing was negatively correlated with income inequality ( r =−0.64, P=0.001) and percentage of children in relative poverty ( r =−0.67, P=0.001) but not with average income ( r =0.15, P=0.50). Many more indicators of child wellbeing were associated with income inequality or children in relative poverty, or both, than with average incomes. Among the US states and District of Columbia all indicators were significantly worse in more unequal states. Only teenage birth rates and the proportion of children dropping out of high school were lower in richer states. Conclusions Improvements in child wellbeing in rich societies may depend more on reductions in inequality than on further economic growth.

scholarly journals Comparing Dynamic Pies: A Strategy for Modeling Compositional Variables in Time and Space

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 523-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine S. Lipsmeyer ◽  
Andrew Q. Philips ◽  
Amanda Rutherford ◽  
Guy D. Whitten
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Spatial Relationships ◽  
Contextual Variables ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Us States ◽  
The Us ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
Over Time

Across a broad range of fields in political science, there are many theoretically interesting dependent variables that can be characterized as compositions. We build on recent work that has developed strategies for modeling variation in such variables over time by extending them to models of time series cross-sectional data. We discuss how researchers can incorporate the influence of contextual variables and spatial relationships into such models. To demonstrate the utility of our proposed strategies, we present a methodological illustration using an analysis of budgetary expenditures in the US states.

Ethnic Identity in American History and America’s Exceptional Religiosity: Theory and Some Evidence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mukesh Eswaran
Keyword(s):  
State Level ◽  
Religious Activities ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Immigrant Identity ◽  
Sense Of Security ◽  
The Us ◽  
History Of ◽  
Religion And Ethnicity ◽  
Rich Countries ◽  
Ethnic Fractionalisation

Why is religiosity in contemporary America exceptionally high relative to those in other rich countries? I develop a simple theory that hinges on the sense of security of immigrant-identity, which is informed by both religion and ethnicity. Commitments to religion and to ethnicity are complementary in the determination of identity, and immigrants consciously invest in the endogenous component of their sense of identity through the actions they choose (like socialising with an ethnic group or performing religious activities). I demonstrate that the level of religiosity increases with the extent of ethnic fractionalisation in the society. I offer some empirical evidence for the theory using contemporary cross-sectional data from the 50 states of the US. I test this theory against two alternative theories that have been offered to explain the high American religiosity. I find a robust positive and statistically significant correlation between religiosity and state-level ethnic fractionalisation. When tested with world data, the model is rejected — lending further support for the claim that America’s religiosity derives from its unique history of exceptionally high and ethnically diverse immigration.

Differences in Rent Growth by Income 1985-2019 and Implications for Real Income Inequality

FEDS Notes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (3012) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daryl Larsen ◽  
◽  
Raven Molloy ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Real Income ◽  
Average Income ◽  
Income Differentials ◽  
The Us

Large and growing income differentials in the US have generated a mounting interest in income inequality among economists. The average income in the highest quintile of households increased by about 70 percent in real terms from 1985 to 2019, whereas the average income of the lowest quintile only increased by 20 percent during this period (Semega et al. 2020).

Changes in the Level and Distribution of Income in Michigan, 1976–2013, with Comparisons to Other States

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-107
Author(s):  
CHARLES BALLARD ◽  
PAUL MENCHIK
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Household Income ◽  
High School Graduates ◽  
District Of Columbia ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Black Household ◽  
Transfer Payments ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
The Us ◽  
Distribution Of Income

ABSTRACT We study the changes in the distribution of household income in Michigan from 1976 to 2013, with comparisons to the other 49 states and the District of Columbia. In Michigan, the gap between the 90th and the 50th percentiles increased substantially, but the gap between the 50th and the 10th percentiles decreased slightly. Thus in Michigan (and in most other jurisdictions), the increases in overall inequality were dominated by changes in the upper half of the income distribution. If we include in-kind transfer payments in the income definition, our measures of income inequality are reduced, typically by from five to fifteen percent. The income of the median black household increased very slightly compared to median white household income, but the rate of increase was much less than that of the US as a whole. Panel regression analysis for the 50 states and DC indicates that an increase in high school graduates as a percent of the population is associated with a decrease in income inequality, while an increase in the percentage with education beyond a Bachelor's degree is associated with an increase in inequality. An increase in the unemployment rate tends to be associated with an increase in inequality. An increase in the percent of income from transfer payments tends to be associated with a reduction in income inequality, as does an increase in the percentage of the jurisdiction's economy in manufacturing.

Century-long Dynamics and Convergence of Income Inequality Among the US States

2021 ◽  
pp. 105526
Author(s):  
Vladimir Arčabić ◽  
Kyoung Tae Kim ◽  
Yu You ◽  
Junsoo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Us States ◽  
The Us

scholarly journals Social Ills in Rich Countries: New Evidence on Levels, Causes, and Mediators

2019 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Delhey ◽  
Leonie C. Steckermeier
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
Encompassing Test ◽  
Sectional Analysis ◽  
Rich Countries ◽  
New Evidence

AbstractThe income inequality hypothesis claims that in rich societies inequality causes a range of health and social problems (henceforth: social ills), e.g. because economic inequality induces feelings of status anxiety and corrodes social cohesion. This paper provides an encompassing test of the income inequality hypothesis by exploring levels and breeding conditions of social ills in 40 affluent countries worldwide, as well as pathways for a subsample of wealthy European countries. Our aggregate-level research is based on a revised and updated Index of Social Ills inspired by Wilkinson and Pickett’s book The Spirit Level, which we compile for both more countries (40) and more years (2000–2015) and combine with survey information about experienced quality-of-life as potential mediators. We get three major results: First, cross-sectionally income inequality is indeed strongly and consistently related to social ills, but so is economic prosperity. Second, while longitudinally changes in inequality do not result in changing levels of social ills, rising prosperity effectively reduces the amount of social ills, at least in Europe. Finally, whereas the cross-sectional analysis indicates that aspects of social cohesion most consistently mediate between economic conditions and social ills, the longitudinal mediation analyses could not ultimately clarify through which pathway rising prosperity reduces social ills. Overall we conclude that the income inequality hypothesis is, at best, too narrow to fully understand health and social problems in rich countries.

scholarly journals The National Capabilities for Animal Response in Emergencies (NCARE) Study: An Assessment of US States and Counties

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Victor Spain ◽  
R.C. Green ◽  
Lacie Davis ◽  
Gregory S. Miller ◽  
Susan Britt
Keyword(s):  
Random Sample ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Us States ◽  
Emergency Shelters ◽  
The Us ◽  
Response Team ◽  
Descriptive Survey ◽  
Region Ii

AbstractCommunities with well-developed animal response plans, along with trained and equipped animal response teams, are typically better able to protect resident livestock and companion animals during a disaster, with fewer animals lost, higher human evacuation compliance rates, and a greater percentage of pets staying with their families. The NCARE Study is a cross-sectional descriptive survey designed to assess, among US states and counties, the level of preparedness for managing animals in an emergency. Overall, 65% of participating states (31/48) reported having a State Animal Response Team (SART), while 48% (16/33) of counties with >1 million population (large counties) and 23% (131/565) of a random sample of counties with <1 million population (small counties) reported having a County Animal Response Team (CART). Only 50% of small counties reported having plans for collocated or cohabitational emergency shelters, compared to 73% of states and 80% of large counties. In stratified analyses, the proportion of counties with a CART ranged from 2% in FEMA Region X to 69% in Region II. Our results demonstrate that many regions of the US have taken some important initial steps towards establishing the capabilities necessary for managing animals in a disaster, while other regions have areas for improvement.

scholarly journals State Laws Governing Syringe Services Programs and Participant Syringe Possession, 2014-2019

2020 ◽  
Vol 135 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 128S-137S
Author(s):  
Marcelo H. Fernández-Viña ◽  
Nadya E. Prood ◽  
Adam Herpolsheimer ◽  
Joshua Waimberg ◽  
Scott Burris
Keyword(s):  
District Of Columbia ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Data Set ◽  
State Laws ◽  
Us States ◽  
Poor Access ◽  
New States ◽  
Legal Barriers ◽  
Related Harm

Objective Law is an important factor in the diffusion of syringe services programs (SSPs). This study measures the current status of, and 5-year change in, state laws governing SSP operations and possession of syringes by participants. Methods Legal researchers developed a cross-sectional data set measuring key features of state laws and regulations governing the possession and distribution of syringes across the 50 US states and the District of Columbia in effect on August 1, 2019. We compared these data with previously collected data on laws as of August 1, 2014. Results Thirty-nine states (including the District of Columbia) had laws in effect on August 1, 2019, that removed legal impediments to, explicitly authorized, and/or regulated SSPs. Thirty-three states had 1 or more laws consistent with legal possession of syringes by SSP participants under at least some circumstances. Changes from 2014 to 2019 included an increase of 14 states explicitly authorizing SSPs by law and an increase of 12 states with at least 1 provision reducing legal barriers to SSPs. Since 2014, the number of states explicitly authorizing SSPs nearly doubled, and the new states included many rural, southern, or midwestern states that had been identified as having poor access to SSPs, as well as states at high risk for HIV and hepatitis C virus outbreaks. Substantial legal barriers to SSP operation and participant syringe possession remained in >20% of US states. Conclusion Legal barriers to effective operation of SSPs have declined but continue to hinder the prevention and reduction of drug-related harm.

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