scholarly journals Why Does COVID-19 Affect Some Cities More than Others?: Evidence from the First Year of the Pandemic in Brazil

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Chauvin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Year ◽  
Local Policy ◽  
Population Mobility ◽  
Death Rates ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Local Characteristics ◽  
Local Impact ◽  
Second Wave

This paper investigates what explains the variation in impacts of COVID-19 across Brazilian cities. I assemble data from over 2,500 cities on COVID-19 cases and deaths, population mobility, and local policy responses. I study how these outcomes correlate with pre-pandemic local characteristics, drawing comparisons with existing US estimates when possible. As in the United States, the connections between city characteristics and outcomes in Brazil can evolve over time, with some early correlations fading as the pandemic entered a second wave. Population density is associated with greater local impact of the disease in both countries. However, in contrast to the United States, the pandemic in Brazil took a greater toll in cities with higher income levels consistent with the fact that higher incomes correlate with greater mobility in Brazil. Socioeconomic vulnerabilities, such as the presence of slums and high residential crowding, correlate with higher death rates per capita. Cities with such vulnerabilities in Brazil suffered higher COVID-19 death rates despite their residents' greater propensity to stay home. Policy responses do not appear to drive these connections.

scholarly journals Firm Size and Employment during the Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312199260
Author(s):  
Ken-Hou Lin ◽  
Carolina Aragão ◽  
Guillermo Dominguez
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
Firm Size ◽  
The United States ◽  
Market Concentration ◽  
Job Security ◽  
Wage Premium ◽  
Small Enterprises ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Industrial Context

Previous studies have established that firm size is associated with a wage premium, but the wage premium has declined in recent decades. The authors examine the risk for unemployment by firm size during the initial outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 in the United States. Using both yearly and state-month variation, the authors find greater excess unemployment among workers in small enterprises than among those in larger firms. The gaps cannot be entirely attributed to the sorting of workers or to industrial context. The firm size advantage is most pronounced in sectors with high remotability but reverses in the sectors most affected by the pandemic. Overall, these findings suggest that firm size is linked to greater job security and that the pandemic may have accelerated prior trends regarding product and labor market concentration. They also point out that the initial policy responses did not provide sufficient protection for workers in small and medium-sized businesses.

scholarly journals Spatial Disparities of COVID-19 Cases and Fatalities in United States Counties

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (16) ◽  
pp. 8259
Author(s):  
Sarah L. Jackson ◽  
Sahar Derakhshan ◽  
Leah Blackwood ◽  
Logan Lee ◽  
Qian Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Year ◽  
Significant Case ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Trends ◽  
Mitigation Policies

This paper examines the spatial and temporal trends in county-level COVID-19 cases and fatalities in the United States during the first year of the pandemic (January 2020–January 2021). Statistical and geospatial analyses highlight greater impacts in the Great Plains, Southwestern and Southern regions based on cases and fatalities per 100,000 population. Significant case and fatality spatial clusters were most prevalent between November 2020 and January 2021. Distinct urban–rural differences in COVID-19 experiences uncovered higher rural cases and fatalities per 100,000 population and fewer government mitigation actions enacted in rural counties. High levels of social vulnerability and the absence of mitigation policies were significantly associated with higher fatalities, while existing community resilience had more influential spatial explanatory power. Using differences in percentage unemployment changes between 2019 and 2020 as a proxy for pre-emergent recovery revealed urban counties were hit harder in the early months of the pandemic, corresponding with imposed government mitigation policies. This longitudinal, place-based study confirms some early urban–rural patterns initially observed in the pandemic, as well as the disparate COVID-19 experiences among socially vulnerable populations. The results are critical in identifying geographic disparities in COVID-19 exposures and outcomes and providing the evidentiary basis for targeting pandemic recovery.

“Painful, yet Beautiful, Moments”: Pathways Through Infant Feeding and Dynamic Conceptions of Breastfeeding Success

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232110321
Author(s):  
Mackenzie D. M. Whipps ◽  
Hirokazu Yoshikawa ◽  
Jill R. Demirci ◽  
Jennifer Hill
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Infant Feeding ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Income ◽  
First Year ◽  
Cultural Narratives ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Written Narratives ◽  
Intensive Mothering ◽  
First Time

What is breastfeeding “success”? In this article, we challenge the traditional biomedical definition, instead centering visions of success described by breastfeeding mothers themselves. Using semi-structured interviews, quantitative surveys, and written narratives of 38 first-time mothers in the United States, we describe five common pathways through the first-year postpartum, a taxonomic distinction far more complex than a success–failure dichotomy: sustained breastfeeding, exclusive pumping, combination feeding, rapid weaning, and grinding back to exclusivity. We also explore the myriad ways in which mothers define and experience breastfeeding success, and in the process uncover the ways that cultural narratives—especially intensive mothering—color those experiences. Finally, we discuss how these experiences are shaped by infant feeding pathway. In doing so, we discover nuance that has gone unexplored in the breastfeeding literature. These findings have implications for supporting, promoting, and protecting breastfeeding in the United States and other high-income countries.

scholarly journals Supporting Chinese Undergraduate Students in Transition at U.S. Colleges and Universities

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 963-989
Author(s):  
Kerrie A. Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
International Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Year ◽  
Orientation Programs ◽  
Residential Life ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Students In Transition

The Chinese undergraduate student population currently represents 12.8% of all international students enrolled in the United States (Institute for International Education, 2015a).  In an effort to understand the experiences of this population in their first year of college in the United States, a phenomenological study was conducted using a conceptual framework comprising Schlossberg’s Transition Model (Schlossberg, Waters, & Goodman, 1995) and the Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) Model (Museus, 2014). Three transition types were identified – academic, social/personal, and linguistic – and participants’ preparation, sources of institutional support, and coping strategies for moving through these transitions were examined. Recommendations for practice include: multi-faceted, mandatory orientation programs; ongoing workshops and resources beyond orientation; and improvements to housing and residential life opportunities and experiences.

scholarly journals Emergency Management Missing from the Pandemic?

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 149-150
Author(s):  
Attila J. Hertelendy, PhD ◽  
William L. Waugh, Jr., PhD
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Medical Personnel ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Year ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Protective Measures ◽  
White House ◽  
Pandemic Response

The change in presidential administrations in the United States promises new approaches to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The first year of the pandemic response in the United States has been characterized by a lack of national leadership. Moreover, the message from the White House Coronavirus Task Force has been muddled at best. There have been great inconsistencies in how the States have chosen to address spreading infections and increased stress on individual Americans who are trying to protect themselves and their families. The same pattern can be found with the distribution of vaccines and management of vaccinations. Politics has often conflicted with public health concerns. The States have been left to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to medical personnel and first responders and to formulate their own guidance for protective measures.

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