Origins and consequences of long ties in social networks

Social networks play a predominant role in determining how information spreads between individuals. Previous works suggest that long ties, which connect people who do not share any mutual contact, provide access to valuable information on economic opportunities. However, no population-scale study has determined how long ties relate to economic outcomes and how such ties are formed. Using a novel dataset from Facebook, we reconstruct the network of interactions between users and we uncover a strong relationship between the share of long ties and economic outcomes at the local level in the United States and in Mexico. Administrative units with a higher proportion of long ties have higher incomes, higher economic mobility, lower unemployment rates and higher wealth, even after adjusting for potential confounders of these outcomes. In contrast to the weak tie theory, we find that having stronger long ties is associated with better economic outcomes. Furthermore, we discover that users with a higher proportion of long ties are more likely to have migrated between US states, to have transferred to a different high school, and to have attended college outside of their home state. Taken together, these results suggest that long ties contribute to economic prosperity and highlight the role played by disruptive life events in the formation of these ties.

Association between child sexual abuse and mid-life employment earnings.

Importance: Individuals who have been sexually abused are at a greater risk for poor health, but associations with economic outcomes in mid-life have been overlooked. Objectives: We investigated associations between child sexual abuse (≤18 years) and economic outcomes at 33-37 years, while considering type of report (official/retrospective) and characteristics of abuse (type, severity, and chronicity). Design: This cohort study used data collected for the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Children. Setting: The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Children is a population-based sample. Participants: Participants were 3,020 boys and girls attending kindergarten in the Canadian Province of Quebec in 1986/88 and followed up until 2017. Main outcome/Measures: Child sexual abuse (0-18 years old) was assessed using both retrospective self-report questionnaires and objective reports (notification to Child Protection Services). Information on employment earnings was obtained from government tax return records. Tobit regressions were used to test associations of sexual abuse with earnings adjusting for sex and family socioeconomic background. Results: Of the 3,020 participants 1,320 [43.7%] self-reported no sexual abuse, 1,340 [44.3%] had no official report but were missing on the retrospective questionnaire, 340 [11.3%] reported retrospective sexual abuse, and 20 [0.7%] had official report. In the fully adjusted model, individuals who retrospectively reported being sexually abused earned US$4,031 (CI=-7,134 to -931) less per year at age 33-37 years, while those with official reports earned US$16,042 (CI=-27,465 to -4,618) less, compared to participants who were not abused. Among individuals with retrospectively reported abuse, those who experienced intra-familial abuse earned US$4,696 (CI=-9,316 to -75) less than individuals who experienced extra-familial abuse, while participants who experienced penetration earned US$6,188 (CI=-12,248 to -129) less than those who experienced non-contact abuse. Conclusion and Relevance: Child sexual abuse puts individuals at risk for lasting reductions in employment earnings in adulthood. Early identification and support for sexual abuse victims could help reduce the economic gap and improve long-term outcomes.

Economic Imperialism in Education Research: A Conceptual Review

In this review, we explore economic imperialism, a concept that captures the phenomenon of a single discipline’s power over so many facets of social life and policy—including education. Through a systematic search, we examine how economic imperialism has been conceptualized and applied across fields. We uncovered three key, interconnected elements of economic imperialism that hold relevance for education research. First, economics has colonized other disciplines, narrowing the lens through which policymakers have designed education reforms. Second, an overreliance on economic rationales for human behavior neglects other explanations. Third, a focus on economic outcomes of education has subjugated other important aims of education. We share implications for researchers to use economic theory in ways that are interdisciplinary but not imperialist.

Refugees without Assistance: English-Language Attainment and Economic Outcomes in the Early Twentieth Century

The United States has admitted more than 3 million refugees since 1980 through official refugee resettlement programs that provide temporary assistance. Scholars have highlighted the success of refugee groups to show the positive impact of governmental programs on assimilation and integration. In the past, however, refugees arrived without formal selection processes or federal support. We examine the integration of historical refugees using a large archive of recorded oral history interviews to understand linguistic attainment and economic outcomes of migrants who arrived before 1940. Using detailed measures of vocabulary, syntax and accented speech, we find that refugee migrants achieved higher levels of English proficiency than did economic migrants, a finding that holds even when comparing migrants from the same country of origin or religious group. This study improves on previous research of immigrant language acquisition, which typically rely on self-reported measures of fluency, and on studies of refugees, which typically assign refugee status based on country-of-birth alone. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that refugees, being unable to immediately return to their origin country, may have had greater incentive to learn or be exposed to English, which increased their linguistic attainment. Our results provide an optimistic historical precedent for the incorporation of refugees into American society.

Three essays on the adverse effects of weather extremes on local economic and health outcomes in Indonesia

<p>The weather-economy nexus has long had close attention from scholars and policy makers as weather hazards often have a significant impact on socioeconomic outcomes of populations around the world. A continuous understanding of this relationship is vital for societies to deal well with weather risk. This is particularly important in relation to climate change, which is likely to worsen the consequences of extreme weather as their frequencies and intensities increase. This thesis consists of three essays that demonstrate the adverse effects of extreme weather episodes on the local economy, using publicly available weather data and economic data sources. The essays use Indonesia setting as a case study, but the findings are likely to also be relevant for the situation in other developing countries located in the tropics that face similar socioeconomic challenges dealing with weather risk. The first essay, having identified the robust link between drought and variations of agricultural yield in the last decades, assesses the viability of weather-index insurance (WII) scheme against drought risk for rice farmers. The results suggest WII can play a cost-effective risk reduction role in drought sensitive regions, such as Sulawesi. The timing of drought as an exogenous shock to household economic outcomes is important as indicated in the results of the second essay. The estimated adverse effects to household monthly incomes and expenditures begin in the following year the drought occurs. Besides affecting economic outcomes, extreme weather also drives variations in health-related outcomes of adult individuals. This is empirically identified in the third essay that finds a robust connection between extreme rainfall and health outcomes. The results confirm earlier findings that people face higher probabilities of being affected by diseases during adverse events, especially during dry months. Estimations on coping mechanisms suggest heterogeneous effects with respect to, for example, the role of insurance. Lastly, the third essay finds that extreme weather episodes are negatively associated with non-quantifiable subjective well-being and life satisfaction.</p>

Three essays on the adverse effects of weather extremes on local economic and health outcomes in Indonesia

<p>The weather-economy nexus has long had close attention from scholars and policy makers as weather hazards often have a significant impact on socioeconomic outcomes of populations around the world. A continuous understanding of this relationship is vital for societies to deal well with weather risk. This is particularly important in relation to climate change, which is likely to worsen the consequences of extreme weather as their frequencies and intensities increase. This thesis consists of three essays that demonstrate the adverse effects of extreme weather episodes on the local economy, using publicly available weather data and economic data sources. The essays use Indonesia setting as a case study, but the findings are likely to also be relevant for the situation in other developing countries located in the tropics that face similar socioeconomic challenges dealing with weather risk. The first essay, having identified the robust link between drought and variations of agricultural yield in the last decades, assesses the viability of weather-index insurance (WII) scheme against drought risk for rice farmers. The results suggest WII can play a cost-effective risk reduction role in drought sensitive regions, such as Sulawesi. The timing of drought as an exogenous shock to household economic outcomes is important as indicated in the results of the second essay. The estimated adverse effects to household monthly incomes and expenditures begin in the following year the drought occurs. Besides affecting economic outcomes, extreme weather also drives variations in health-related outcomes of adult individuals. This is empirically identified in the third essay that finds a robust connection between extreme rainfall and health outcomes. The results confirm earlier findings that people face higher probabilities of being affected by diseases during adverse events, especially during dry months. Estimations on coping mechanisms suggest heterogeneous effects with respect to, for example, the role of insurance. Lastly, the third essay finds that extreme weather episodes are negatively associated with non-quantifiable subjective well-being and life satisfaction.</p>