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Source: Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies
Resulting in 6 citations.
| 1. |
Currie, Janet Stabile, Mark |
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Mental Health in Childhood and Human Capital Presented: Chicago, IL, The Harris School, The University of Chicago, Conference on Health and Attainment Over the Lifecourse: Reciprocal Influences from Before Birth to Old Age, May 16, 2008 Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Publisher: Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Attention/Attention Deficit; Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Canada, Canadian; Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY); Child Health; Children, Mental Health; Cross-national Analysis; Family Income; Head Start; Job Aspirations; Labor Market Outcomes; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Mothers, Education; Preschool Children; Rotter Scale (see Locus of Control); School Progress; Siblings; Sociability/Socialization/Social Interaction Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. Although mental disorders are common among children, we know little about their long term effects on child outcomes. This paper examines U.S. and Canadian children with symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), depression, conduct disorders, and other behavioral problems. Our work offers a number of innovations. First we use large nationally representative samples of children from both countries. Second, we focus on "screeners" that were administered to all children in our sample, rather than on diagnosed cases. Third, we address omitted variables bias by estimating sibling-fixed effects models. Fourth, we examine a range of outcomes. Fifth, we ask how the effects of mental health conditions are mediated by family income and maternal education. We find that mental health conditions, and especially ADHD, have large negative effects on future test scores and schooling attainment, regardless of family income and maternal education. |
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Bibliography Citation
Currie, Janet and Mark Stabile. "Mental Health in Childhood and Human Capital." Presented: Chicago, IL, The Harris School, The University of Chicago, Conference on Health and Attainment Over the Lifecourse: Reciprocal Influences from Before Birth to Old Age, May 16, 2008. |
| 2. |
Hill, Carolyn J. Michael, Robert T. |
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Measuring Poverty in the NLSY97 Working Paper Series No. 00.27, Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago, November 2000. Also: http://www.harrisschool.uchicago.edu/pdf/wp_00_27.pdf Cohort(s): NLSY97 Publisher: Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago Keyword(s): Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); Child Care; Economics, Demographic; Family Income; Family Size; Food Stamps (see Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Poverty; Program Participation/Evaluation Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. Using data from the NLSY97, we construct two measures of poverty using the official definition and The National Research Council (NRC) definition. We estimate the two poverty rates for 1996 for youths 12-16 as 17.9 (official) and 23.4 (NRC), and document the discrepancies between youths considered in poverty under the two measures. We also explore the influence of poverty on youths' outcomes using the official and NRC measures of poverty. The paper shows that the prevalence of poverty and its measured consequences are affected by the way we measure poverty. |
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Bibliography Citation
Hill, Carolyn J. and Robert T. Michael. "Measuring Poverty in the NLSY97." Working Paper Series No. 00.27, Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago, November 2000. |
| 3. |
Hotz, V. Joseph McElroy, Susan Williams Sanders, Seth G. |
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Costs and Consequences of Teenage Childbearing for Mothers and the Government Chicago Policy Review 1,1 (Fall 1996). Also: http://harrisschool.uchicago.edu/about/publications/working-papers/pdf/wp_95_1.pdf Cohort(s): NLSY79 Publisher: Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago Keyword(s): Adolescent Fertility; Fertility; Methods/Methodology; Welfare Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. Reduction of teenage pregnancy rates is believed to translate into smaller AFDC caseloads and lower costs. This is one rationale states have used to institute "family cap" laws that block additional aid for women who become pregnant while receiving public benefits. Though the federal welfare bill does not contain a family cap provision, it does contain incentives for states to reduce rates of illegitimacy. Research has not proven conclusively that reducing illegitimacy and teenage childbearing will reduce costs to the taxpayer. This article examines teenage mothers and finds no significant effect on their earnings over time. Extending this analysis to apply to the probability that these mothers would require public aid, the authors cast doubt on any substantial savings in social costs from decreases in rates of teenage childbearing. |
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Bibliography Citation
Hotz, V. Joseph, Susan Williams McElroy and Seth G. Sanders. "Costs and Consequences of Teenage Childbearing for Mothers and the Government." Chicago Policy Review 1,1 (Fall 1996).
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| 4. |
Jackson, Margot I. |
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Understanding Links Among Adolescent Health, Social Background and Education Presented: Chicago, IL, The Harris School, University of Chicago, Conference on Health and Attainment Over the Lifecourse: Reciprocal Influences from Before Birth to Old Age, May 16, 2008 Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79, NLSY97 Publisher: Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB); Child Health; Children, Illness; Children, Poverty; Educational Attainment; Family Resources; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Poverty; Pre/post Natal Health Care; Racial Differences; School Completion Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. This paper addresses a topic of growing interest to demographic researchers, who are re-recognizing the potentially significant contribution of children's health to broader population welfare, both within and across generations. Specifically, I examine the ways in which health and social background act together to create and maintain educational disparities in the early life course. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) 97 and the Children/Young Adults of the NLSY79, I address three questions. 1) Is there variation by social background in the link between health and education? 2) What are the social factors that mediate the connection between adolescent health and educational attainment? 3) Does health mediate persistent social and economic achievement gaps? The results suggest that there is a strong association between adolescent health and educational attainment, net of both observed confounders and unobserved, time-invariant characteristics within households. This relationship is explained by academic factors related to school attendance and performance, rather than by psychosocial factors related to educational expectations. The analyses also examine the ways in which health and social background work together to produce disparities in educational achievement and attainment. I find that the negative educational consequences of poor health are not limited to the most socially disadvantaged adolescents, but are instead strongest for non-Hispanic white adolescents. Finally, I find that adolescent health does not play a strong role in explaining achievement gaps by social background, although infant and maternal health offer slightly more purchase. |
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Bibliography Citation
Jackson, Margot I. "Understanding Links Among Adolescent Health, Social Background and Education." Presented: Chicago, IL, The Harris School, University of Chicago, Conference on Health and Attainment Over the Lifecourse: Reciprocal Influences from Before Birth to Old Age, May 16, 2008. |
| 5. |
Jung, Haeil |
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Essays on Incarceration and Labor Market Outcomes Ph.D. Dissertation, Harris School-Public Policy, The University of Chicago, 2009. Cohort(s): NLSY79 Publisher: Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago Keyword(s): Earnings; Economic Well-Being; Incarceration/Jail; Labor Force Participation; Labor Market Outcomes; Minorities, Youth; Wage Rates; Work Hours/Schedule Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. The male incarceration rate in the U.S. has increased by a factor of 4.5 between 1970 and 2000. This increase in incarceration has disproportionately focused on young minority men. Legitimate labor market participation is key to the economic well-being of young men in society. Thus, one of the most important questions raised by a sharp increase in incarceration is whether incarceration actually impairs young men's career and labor market prospects. The first essay in this dissertation examines how the length of incarceration in Illinois state prisons affects subsequent earnings and employment. After controlling for individual heterogeneity, I find that the length of incarceration is positively associated with earnings and employment even though these effects attenuate over time. The positive effects are stronger for individuals convicted of economically-motivated and less violent crimes such as property- and drug-related offenses than for those convicted of violent crimes such as person-related offenses. Also, the effect is stronger for men with self-reported drug addiction. In order to evaluate whether extensive exposure to rehabilitation and training programs can generate a positive effect of time served in prison, the second essay examines the effect of Illinois' Adult Transition Centers (ATC) on the earnings and employment of male ex-prisoners after they are released. The paper finds that the availability of ATC is associated with a higher employability of prisoners after release and that time in ATC is positively correlated with post-prison earnings through employment. These associations, however, attenuate over time. Also, the finding that men with more marketable skills successfully finish their terms in ATCs suggests that there is selection and sorting through the process of ATCs. The third essay tries to reconcile the conflicting evidence about the effect of incarceration on labor market outcomes in the literature. Using data from the 1979 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), I investigate the effect of incarceration on earnings, average weekly work hours, and hourly wage. Comparing ever-incarcerated men before and after incarceration, this paper finds that incarceration does not seem to hurt the marketable skills and employability of men. Post-incarceration earnings and average weekly work hours seem to reach pre-incarceration levels. Real hourly wages seem to increase after first incarceration. In addition, the marital status and family poverty rate before and after first incarceration indicate that the general well-being of men does not deteriorate after incarceration. Taken together, the essays suggest that incarceration does not harm the subsequent labor market outcomes of men. Especially, the length of incarceration is positively associated with earnings and employment even though these effects attenuate over time. It seems that rehabilitation and deterrence of incarceration are more effective for men convicted of property- or drug-related offenses and men with drug addiction. |
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Bibliography Citation
Jung, Haeil. Essays on Incarceration and Labor Market Outcomes. Ph.D. Dissertation, Harris School-Public Policy, The University of Chicago, 2009.. |
| 6. |
Michael, Robert T. |
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Children's Cognitive Skill Development in Britain and the United States Working Paper No. 01.19, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, The University of Chicago, 2001 Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79 Publisher: Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago Keyword(s): Britain, British; Cognitive Development; Cross-national Analysis; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Test Scores/Test theory/IRT; Verbal Memory (McCarthy Scale) Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. The paper compares the cognitive test scores of children in Great Britain and the United States in vocabulary, reading, mathematics and memory of words and numbers. Children age 5-9 in Britain systematically out-perform their U.S. counterparts on reading, mathematics tests, while children age 10-14 show far fewer differences. In many of the comparisons, there are no statistical differences in the distributions of test scores between the British and United States children. The explanation for the observed differences between the younger children in the two nations in reading and mathematics may be the earlier age of entry into formal schooling in Britain. The similarity of the observed skills of the older children in the two nations, given the differences in social and economic conditions experienced by those children, challenges the notion that these differences are critically important in the children's cognitive development. |
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Bibliography Citation
Michael, Robert T. "Children's Cognitive Skill Development in Britain and the United States." Working Paper No. 01.19, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, The University of Chicago, 2001. |