Internal Migration, Living Close to Family, and Individual Labour Market Outcomes in Spain

Migration is often viewed as a way to enhance occupational careers. However, particularly in Mediterranean countries, labour market outcomes may also depend on local family resources. We investigate how men’s and women’s labour market outcomes differ between (1) those who migrated and those who did not; and (2) those who live close to family and those who live farther away. Our main contributions are the investigation of the association between migration and labour market outcomes in a different context than the more commonly studied Northern and Western European countries and the United States, and of the role of living close to family in labour market outcomes. We used a sample of labour market participants from the “Attitudes and Expectations About Mobility” survey, conducted in Spain in 2019. Our results show that the likelihood of being a professional is greater for women who migrated than for those who did not, and that the likelihood of being unemployed or in a temporary job is lower for women who live close to family than for those who do not, but neither association was found for men. The finding for living close to family is in line with the notion that nearby family may protect women in particular from precarious labour market positions. The finding for migration differs from previous findings for Northern and Western Europe and the United States, which indicate that migration is beneficial to men in particular. This difference might be specific to a low-migration context, but data limitations prevent firm conclusions.

Ranging Patterns and Site Fidelity of Snubfin Dolphins in Yawuru Nagulagun/Roebuck Bay, Western Australia

For long-lived species such as marine mammals, having sufficient data on ranging patterns and space use in a timescale suitable for population management and conservation can be difficult. Yawuru Nagulagun/Roebuck Bay in the northwest of Western Australia supports one of the largest known populations of Australian snubfin dolphins (Orcaella heinsohni)—a species with a limited distribution, vulnerable conservation status, and high cultural value. Understanding the species’ use of this area will inform management for the long-term conservation of this species. We combined 11 years of data collected from a variety of sources between 2007 and 2020 to assess the ranging patterns and site fidelity of this population. Ranging patterns were estimated using minimum convex polygons (MCPs) and fixed kernel densities (weighted to account for survey effort) to estimate core and representative areas of use for both the population and for individuals. We estimated the population to range over a small area within the bay (103.05 km2). The Mean individual representative area of use (95% Kernel density contour) was estimated as 39.88 km2 (± 32.65 SD) and the Mean individual core area of use (50% Kernel density contour) was estimated as 21.66 km2 (±18.85 SD) with the majority of sightings located in the northern part of the bay less than 10 km from the coastline. Most individuals (56%) showed moderate to high levels of site fidelity (i.e., part-time or long-term residency) when individual re-sight rates were classified using agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC). These results emphasize the importance of the area to this vulnerable species, particularly the area within the Port of Broome that has been identified within the population’s core range. The pressures associated with coastal development and exposure to vessel traffic, noise, and humans will need to be considered in ongoing management efforts. Analyzing datasets from multiple studies and across time could be beneficial for threatened species where little is known on their ranging patterns and site fidelity. Combined datasets can provide larger sample sizes over an extended period of time, fill knowledge gaps, highlight data limitations, and identify future research needs to be considered with dedicated studies.

Quality financial inclusion and its determinants in South Africa: evidence from survey data

PurposeThe study measured quality financial inclusion, a more comprehensive measure of financial inclusion, and examined its determinants at a consumer level in South Africa.Design/methodology/approachThis study leveraged on FinScope 2015 survey data to compute a quality financial inclusion index using polychoric principal component analysis. Subsequently, a heteroscedasticity consistent ordinary least squares regression model was employed to assess determinants of quality financial inclusion.FindingsThe empirical findings indicated that gender, education, financial literacy, income, location and geographical proximity determine quality financial inclusion. These findings could inform policymakers and financial services providers on how quality financial inclusion can be promoted through tailoring financial products for various socio-demographic groups.Research limitations/implicationsDue to data limitations, the study was confined to South Africa and did not capture digital financial inclusion. Hence, future studies could replicate the study in Sub-Saharan Africa's context and compute an index that captures digital financial inclusion.Practical implicationsThese findings could inform policymakers and financial services providers on how quality financial inclusion can be promoted through tailoring financial products for various socio-demographic groups.Originality/valueThis study proposed a more comprehensive measure of quality financial inclusion from a demand-side perspective by accounting for important dimensions that include diversity, affordability, appropriateness and flexibility of financial products and services.

Origins of Varying Understandings of Democracy

This chapter uses mixed-effect models to examine the origins of varying conceptions of democracy. Due to data limitations, we are only able to account for some key individual demographic, cognitive, and psychological features as we explore the impact of surrounding economic, political, and cultural contexts. Overall, our findings demonstrate the salience of surrounding economic, political, and cultural contexts in shaping popular conceptions of democracy. Short-term fluctuations (like economic growth vs. recession), mid-term changes (like democratic practices gauged by Freedom House ratings and economic development measured by per capita GDP), and long-term evolutions (like the history of personal dictatorships and Confucian political traditions) all play important roles in this regard.

Poverty in American Higher Education

A substantial share of college students experience housing insecurity and too many students leave higher education before earning a credential. Both of these experiences are more common among students from low-income families who often lack adequate resources. While prior conceptual and qualitative investigations suggest that housing insecurity is associated with poorer student outcomes, this relationship has not been tested due to quantitative data limitations. In this paper, I use data from a state-wide longitudinal study of students from low-income families to conduct the first empirical test of the relationship between housing insecurity early in college and later college achievement and attainment. Findings show that housing insecurity is a statistically significant predictor of academic success, net of background factors. Specifically, housing insecurity is associated with an 8 to 12 percentage-point reduction in the probability of later degree attainment or enrollment. In the short-term, housing insecurity is also associated with lower mean GPA, a lower probability of obtaining at least a 2.0 GPA, and a higher probability of enrolling part-time rather than full-time, indicating that housing insecurity affects students’ college academic experiences in multiple ways. Efforts to promote college attainment should be expanded to consider students’ housing security. There are likely several points in time and multiple ways that higher education institutions, nonprofit agencies, and policymakers can intervene to promote secure housing and college success.

Adrenal Insufficiency: Investigating Prevalence and Healthcare Utilization Using Administrative Data

Introduction Adrenal insufficiency (AI) is an uncommon, life-threatening disorder requiring lifelong treatment with steroid therapy and special attention to prevent adrenal crisis. Little is known about the prevalence of AI in Canada or healthcare utilization rates by these patients. Objective We aimed to assess the prevalence and healthcare burden of AI in Alberta, Canada. Methods This study used a population-based, retrospective administrative health data approach to identify patients with a diagnosis of AI over a 5-year period and evaluated emergency and outpatient healthcare utilization rates, steroid dispense records and visit reasons. Results The period prevalence of AI was 839 per million adults. Patients made an average of 2.3 and 17.8 visits per year in the emergency department and outpatient settings, respectively. This was 3-4 times as frequent as the average Albertan and only 5% were coded as visits for AI. The majority of patients were dispensed glucocorticoid medications only. Conclusion The prevalence of AI in Alberta is higher than published data in other locations. The frequency of visits suggests a significant healthcare burden and emphasizes the need for a strong understanding of this condition across all clinical settings. Our most concerning finding is that 94.3% of visits were not labelled with AI, even though many of the top presenting complaints were consistent with adrenal crisis. Several data limitations were discovered that suggest improvements in the standardization of data submission and coding can expand the yield of future studies using this method.

Economic Approach to Intergenerational Mobility

This chapter provides an analytical survey and synthesis of economic literature on intergenerational mobility in developing countries, with a focus on data and methodological challenges. Sample truncation from co-residency and measurement error cause substantial downward bias in intergenerational regression coefficient, whereas intergenerational correlation and intergenerational rank correlation are more robust to such data limitations. To understand heterogeneity, reliable estimates of both the intercept and the slope are necessary. The OLS estimate of the intercept is biased upward, but less so in the rank–rank regression. Sibling correlation is a broader measure of mobility, especially convenient with limited data. Estimating intergenerational causal effects is challenging as it requires long panel data. A promising alternative is to focus on the causal effects of policies on measurement of relative and absolute mobility, without disentangling the role of genetic inheritance.

A real-time spatiotemporal AI model analyzes skill in open surgical videos

Open procedures represent the dominant form of surgery worldwide. Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to optimize surgical practice and improve patient outcomes, but efforts have focused primarily on minimally invasive techniques. Our work overcomes existing data limitations for training AI models by curating, from YouTube, the largest dataset of open surgical videos to date: 1997 videos from 23 surgical procedures uploaded from 50 countries. Using this dataset, we developed a multi-task AI model capable of real-time understanding of surgical behaviors, hands, and tools—the building blocks of procedural flow and surgeon skill—across both space and time. We show that our model generalizes across diverse surgery types and environments. Illustrating this generalizability, we directly applied our YouTube-trained model to analyze open surgeries prospectively collected at an academic medical center and identified kinematic descriptors of surgical skill related to efficiency of hand motion. Our Annotated Videos of Open Surgery (AVOS) dataset and trained model will be made available for further development of surgical AI.

BANK CONCENTRATION AND BANKING STABILITY: EVIDENCE FROM EAGLE GROUP

The study was conducted to assess the impact of the banking sector's concentration on the banking system's stability in Emerging and growth-leading economies (EAGLEs). In addition, the study also analyzed the role of macroeconomic factors in bank stability. By applying Bayesian multivariate linear regression, the posterior probability results show that money supply growth and credit growth erode the soundness of the banking system. On the other hand, economic growth helps to improve banking stability, but this effect is not obvious; surprisingly, inflation also increases the banking stability of the Emerging and growth-leading economies. Finally, the study shows that the equity ratio to total assets has a reverse relationship with bank stability. Due to data limitations, this study has not yet examined the role of macroprudential policy instruments in maintaining banking stability. Hence, in future studies, besides the factors considered in this study, we should focus on analyzing the impact of macroprudential policy instruments on banking stability.

Return Migration as an Asset Maximization Strategy in Retirement

Mexican immigrants make up an increasing proportion of the US population 65 and older. Estimating outcomes for this population is complicated by return migration. Due to data limitations, theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence fail to provide clear indication of the economic selection mechanism of return migration, especially at older ages making it difficult to estimate economic determinants of return. Here two waves of data from the US based Health and Retirement Study and the Mexican Health and Aging Study are combined to create a novel dataset that enables a comparison of assets at older ages for those who stay in the US, those who return before age 50 and those who return at 50 and older. Unadjusted results show no difference in total net wealth at older ages between the three groups, with higher business assets among returnees and higher concentration of wealth in home equity among stayers. With evidence of higher inequality among stayers, lower median wealth in Mexico, and asset advantages operating through citizenship, older age return can be interpreted as a means to acquire a higher standard of living in retirement for non-citizen immigrants. Comparing assets between 2000 and 2012 reveal the vulnerability of stayers during the US housing crisis. These findings are novel because they point to return migration as a retirement strategy and expose a source of vulnerability among those Mexican immigrants who remain in the US into older ages.