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Source: University of Texas at Austin
Resulting in 13 citations.
1. Benson, Rebecca Irene
Targeting Education to Reduce Obesity: At What Life Stages Are Interventions Effective?
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, 2015
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Texas at Austin
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Education; Educational Attainment; Life Course; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Obesity

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Obesity is a serious policy problem, contributing an estimated $113.9b to medical expenditures in the US. Like many health outcomes, obesity is not distributed at random in the population but is concentrated amongst the less educated. Given this, many have suggested that if more people were to become highly educated, the obesity epidemic might be curtailed. However, this assumes that the association between education and obesity is a causal one, which is not necessarily the case. Moreover, previous research in lifecourse epidemiology suggests that education may occur too late in the lifecourse to have any effect on health trajectory. I perform three empirical studies to examine whether there is a plausibly causal relationship between education and body weight, and examine whether there is a point at which it is too late to alter body weight trajectories using education. All three studies use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), a complex random sample of the US civilian population aged 14-22 in 1978 and followed for more than three decades. In the first study, a cross-sectional regression finds a relationship between education and BMI. I use fixed effects models with individual slopes to test whether gaining a qualification leads to a change in BMI while controlling for individual heterogeneity, and find there is no effect. In study two, I consider the effects of education completed "on-time" with education completed "late." Fixed effects models show that women who earn bachelor's degrees on time benefit from lower BMI, but there is no benefit for late degrees or other qualifications and men do not similarly benefit. The third study stratifies the analysis by early-life circumstances and finds that in a cross-sectional analysis at age 45 only the most advantaged strata benefited from having earned a bachelor's degree. In fixed effects models, gaining a degree did not lead to a change in BMI for any group. Collectively, these findings ca st doubt on education's viability as a policy tool to address obesity, and suggest that at some point in the lifecourse it is too late to alter BMI trajectories by improving socio-economic status.
Bibliography Citation
Benson, Rebecca Irene. Targeting Education to Reduce Obesity: At What Life Stages Are Interventions Effective? Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, 2015.
2. Grunden, Leslie N.
Household Income and Cumulative Property Crime from Early Adolescence into Young Adulthood
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, 2010.
Also: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/30992
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Texas at Austin
Keyword(s): Arrests; Crime; Household Income; Parent-Child Relationship/Closeness

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the association between gross household income during early adolescence and property crime from early adolescence into young adulthood. A truncated version of recent nationally representative sample--the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997-2006)--was married with a set of sociological and developmental theories to explore these processes. Results from Study I indicate that cumulative property crime did not significantly differ by income but did differ by race and gender; parent-adolescent relationship quality significantly differed by income; emotional problems significantly differed by gender; and criminal arrests significantly differed by income, gender, and race. In addition, baseline and change scores for all variables of interest shared substantial variation. Results from Study II indicate that controlling for gender, race, and household structure, gross household income during early adolescence had a significant positive association with cumulative property crime from early adolescence into young adulthood. Parent-adolescent relationship quality (but not emotional problems) helped to explain this association. In general, these mediated processes did not significantly differ by income, gender, or race. Results from Study III indicate that criminal arrests from early adolescence into young adulthood explained a substantial portion of the variance between income and cumulative property crime from early adolescence into young adulthood, and partially mediated the association between income and property crime. Criminal arrests during adolescence also explained a substantial portion of the variance between income and property crime during adulthood, and partially mediated the association between income and property crime during adulthood. For these processes, moderated mediation was occurring.
Bibliography Citation
Grunden, Leslie N. Household Income and Cumulative Property Crime from Early Adolescence into Young Adulthood. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, 2010..
3. Humphries, Melissa
Beyond Credential: Postsecondary Education and Health in Early Adulthood
Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Texas at Austin, 2015.
Also: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/31680
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Texas at Austin
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); College Characteristics; College Degree; Educational Attainment; Gender Differences; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In this dissertation, I focus more deeply on the postsecondary education process itself through examination of enrollment, attainment and type of institution attended and how these attributes relate to young adult self-rated health. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), I investigate how the postsecondary experience is associated with young adult health. The longitudinal nature of the data also allow for consideration of prior health, SES and educational factors which sharpens the analyses to better highlight the actual association between postsecondary schooling and early adult health. In the first analytic chapter, I find that when time enrolled and degree earned are modeled concurrently, degree attainment retains an independent effect on both self-rated health and work limitations. However, for respondents who enter postsecondary schooling, but do not earn a degree, time enrolled in four-year institutions, but not two-year institutions, is associated with a higher probability of reporting better self-rated health. The second analytic chapter shows that students who attend selective four-year schools have a health advantage to those who enroll in less selective schools. Interestingly, the better health of those in elite colleges is explained by their lower BMIs. The remaining chapter of my dissertation explores how the relationships between education and health differ across gender.
Bibliography Citation
Humphries, Melissa. Beyond Credential: Postsecondary Education and Health in Early Adulthood. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Texas at Austin, 2015..
4. Kuo, Janet Chen-Lan
Racial and Educational Disparities in Union Transitions of Cohabitors: The Importance of Long-term Economic Prospects
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, 2015.
Also: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/31679
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Texas at Austin
Keyword(s): Age at First Marriage; Cohabitation; Economic Well-Being; Educational Attainment; Marital History/Transitions; Racial Differences; Wealth

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The purpose of this dissertation is to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms that sustain the divergent patterns of union transition behavior among cohabitors of different socioeconomic backgrounds--broadly defined by race and education. First, it asks how racial and educational disparities in cohabitors' union transition behaviors have changed over time. Second, I explore how the first union formation processes based on a variety of indicators for young people's socioeconomic conditions vary between African Americans and non-Hispanic whites. Third, I investigate to what extent the educational disparities in the odds of transitioning to marriage could be attributed to differences in wealth as well as employment conditions among educational groups.
Bibliography Citation
Kuo, Janet Chen-Lan. Racial and Educational Disparities in Union Transitions of Cohabitors: The Importance of Long-term Economic Prospects. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, 2015..
5. Low, Justin
Longitudinal Effects of Working Memory on Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Problems
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 2010.
Also: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/ETD-UT-2010-08-1597
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: University of Texas at Austin
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Child Development; Memory for Digit Span (WISC) - also see Digit Span; Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT)

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of developmental trajectories of working memory on the developmental trajectories of behavior problems. Results suggested that developmental increases in working memory did not lead to developmental decreases in behavior problems. Results from this study suggested that internalizing and externalizing behavior problems increase over the course of childhood. Several variables did lead to developmental change in behavior problems in children. Children who had lower initial levels of working memory increased in internalizing behaviors less than children with higher initial working memory ability. Also, high socioeconomic status led to smaller increases in internalizing and externalizing behavior, high Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) scores led to larger increases in internalizing and externalizing behavior, and high PPVT scores led to larger decreases in inattentive and hyperactive behavior. Results are discussed in reference to current theories about working memory and behavior problems.
Bibliography Citation
Low, Justin. Longitudinal Effects of Working Memory on Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Problems. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 2010..
6. McNamee, Catherine
The Latino Remarriage Conundrum : Explaining the Divergence in Latino and White Marital Transitions in Remarriage
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, 2012.
Also: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/ETD-UT-2012-08-6009
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Texas at Austin
Keyword(s): Ethnic Differences; Family Influences; Hispanics; Marital History/Transitions; National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG); Racial Differences; Religion; Remarriage

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the Latino remarriage conundrum: Latinos have first marriage and divorce rates similar to whites but notably lower remarriage rates than whites. What explains this divergence in race, ethnicity and nativity (R-E-N) differences for remarriage? The question is particularly intriguing because the R-E-N patterns for first marriage and divorce are often explained as a consequence of Latinos having a cultural orientation that promotes pronuptial values. Despite having socioeconomic disadvantage compared to whites, this view suggests that Latinos marry and divorce at rates similar to whites because of their strong cultural attachment to marriage. The conundrum is how could pronuptial values fully account for Latino-white patterns in marriage and divorce but not for remarriage? To investigate the Latino remarriage conundrum, I utilized a mixed method approach using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979-2010 (NLSY79), the National Survey of Family Growth 2006-2010 (NSFG) surveys and 23 in-depth interviews with recently divorced white and Latina women. I examined a variety of economic, cultural, and social factors to explore why remarriage patterns differ from marriage and divorce among R-E-N groups. Findings suggest that religious affiliation, parental reactions to post-divorce dating, and socioeconomic preferences for remarriage influence white-Latino remarriage differences.
Bibliography Citation
McNamee, Catherine. The Latino Remarriage Conundrum : Explaining the Divergence in Latino and White Marital Transitions in Remarriage. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, 2012..
7. Moore, Chelsea Dyann
Socioeconomic Stratification in the STEM Pathway from College to the Labor Market
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, 2014.
Also: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/24776
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Texas at Austin
Keyword(s): College Graduates; College Major/Field of Study/Courses; Labor Market Outcomes; Socioeconomic Background; STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics)

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This study looks at how family socioeconomic background affects entry into STEM majors, persistence in STEM major, and early labor market outcomes among college graduates from STEM fields, and compares these patterns and processes to those in non-STEM fields. Results from this study show stronger SES differences in STEM fields than non-STEM fields at each point from college major choice to the labor market. Together, these results suggest that less socioeconomically advantaged students may be at a particular disadvantage in STEM fields.
Bibliography Citation
Moore, Chelsea Dyann. Socioeconomic Stratification in the STEM Pathway from College to the Labor Market. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, 2014..
8. Mulligan, Karen Michelle
Essays in Health Economics
Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Texas at Austin, May 2012
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Texas at Austin
Keyword(s): Abortion; Birth Rate; Contraception; Geocoded Data; Insurance, Health; Sexual Behavior; State-Level Data/Policy

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This dissertation consists of three chapters on health economics, two of which focus on contraception and the third on vaccination. Chapter one examines the impact of state-level contraception insurance coverage mandates on women's fertility outcomes. It utilizes variation in mandated insurance coverage for contraception across states and over time to determine the causal impact of insurance coverage of contraception on fertility outcomes, specifically abortion rates and birth rates. State level results indicate that a mandate decreases abortion rates by 6% in the year of introduction and decreases birth rates by 3% two years following introduction, with the magnitude of both effects remaining steady over the long run.

Chapter three utilizes variations in access to emergency contraception (EC) across states to determine the impact of over the counter access on abortion rates, birth rates, and risky sexual behavior. Using state-level data, a flexible time specification finds that giving individuals over the counter access to EC reduces births and increases risky behavior, which is captured by STD rates. These effects are larger for adults compared with teenagers, however, there are not significant differential effects by race. Finally, the effects are increasing over time following the legislation.

Bibliography Citation
Mulligan, Karen Michelle. Essays in Health Economics. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Texas at Austin, May 2012.
9. Prisinzano, Richard Paul
Employment Relationships over Time: Retention and Promotion
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Economics, University of Texas at Austin, 2004.
Also: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/3523
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Texas at Austin
Keyword(s): Gender Differences; Job Promotion; Job Tenure; Job Turnover

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In this dissertation, I examine how available information affects promotion and turnover decisions in internal labor markets. In the second essay, I use the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data to explore the factors that are important determinants of an individual's promotion. One issue that arises in estimating the probability of promotion from longitudinal work history data is that researchers only observe promotion for individuals who remain at a job between interviews. I improve upon earlier studies by using a bivariate probit analysis to correct the bias from partial observability and provide more informative estimates of the promotion process. These new estimates allow differences in promotion rates across demographic groups to be decomposed into differences in the probability of promotion conditional on staying and differences in the probability of staying. In the third essay, we explore the differential patterns of job attachment between men and women by examining how men and women respond to promotion expectations. Using the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we find that early in their career women with low promotion expectations are more likely to stay on a job than corresponding men. We also find that this difference diminishes with experience.
Bibliography Citation
Prisinzano, Richard Paul. Employment Relationships over Time: Retention and Promotion. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Economics, University of Texas at Austin, 2004..
10. Saunders, Randi
Early Life Parental Losses and the Timing of Family Formation Events in Young Adulthood
M.A. Thesis, University of Texas at Austin, 2019.
Also: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/117386
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Texas at Austin
Keyword(s): Age at First Marriage; Childhood Adversity/Trauma; Family Formation; Transition, Adulthood; Trauma/Death in family

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Demographic differences in patterns of family formation, including the timing of key family formation events such as union formation and the transition to parenthood, are well-documented. These differences reflect and contribute to cycles of inequality through their consequences for educational attainment, family stability, and labor force participation. An under-explored contributor to intergenerational transmission of inequality is differential exposure to early family losses across racial groups. Using data from a nationally representative longitudinal panel study, this paper examines how the loss of a parent prior to age 18 contributes to the timing of key family formation milestones during the transition to adulthood. Results indicate that early parental deaths are significantly associated with changes in the timing of first union formation and the transition to parenthood across racial groups, with maternal deaths strongly contributing to accelerated union formation, particularly among Black Americans.
Bibliography Citation
Saunders, Randi. Early Life Parental Losses and the Timing of Family Formation Events in Young Adulthood. M.A. Thesis, University of Texas at Austin, 2019..
11. Thomas, Megan Deepti Philomena
Three Essays on the Impact of Welfare Policies
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Economics, University of Texas at Austin, 2016.
Also: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/68370
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: University of Texas at Austin
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Child Development; Child Health; Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); Geocoded Data; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Insurance, Health; Medicaid/Medicare; State-Level Data/Policy; Welfare

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The third chapter studies the EITC in the United States, which is a tax credit scheme that supplements earned income and has increased employment particularly for single mothers with high school level of education or below. Using the differential increase in 1993 in the tax credit generosity across families with one child and families with two or more children, I find that the program increased child health insurance coverage, especially through private health insurance. The analyses of the three programs demonstrate that welfare policies can indirectly benefit children's development and have positive effects in the long run, which should be included in their evaluation.
Bibliography Citation
Thomas, Megan Deepti Philomena. Three Essays on the Impact of Welfare Policies. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Economics, University of Texas at Austin, 2016..
12. Velamuri, Malathi Rao
Health Insurance, Employment-sector Choices and Job Attachment Patterns of Men and Women
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Economics, University of Texas at Austin, 2004.
Also: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/1450
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Texas at Austin
Keyword(s): Expectations/Intentions; Job Promotion; Job Turnover; Work Attachment

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In the fourth chapter (joint with Richard Prisinzano), we examine differences in job turnover patterns between men and women. We expect to see job turnover when promotion opportunities on the job are low. Accordingly, we study the relationship between individuals' expectations of promotion on their jobs and their turnover behavior. We examine how this relationship varies between men and women and between more and less experienced workers. It is our hypothesis that early on in their careers, women who are strongly committed to a career are more likely to stay on in their jobs, regardless of promotion opportunities, in a bid to signal their commitment to the labor force. However, once women have acquired adequate labor market experience and their commitment to the labor force is no longer in question, we predict that their turnover behavior will be more responsive to career opportunities and will be similar to that of men. Using the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), we find that men and women differ in their response to promotion expectations. Specifically, we find that early in their career women with low promotion expectations are more likely to stay on a job than corresponding men. We also find that this difference diminishes with experience.
Bibliography Citation
Velamuri, Malathi Rao. Health Insurance, Employment-sector Choices and Job Attachment Patterns of Men and Women. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Economics, University of Texas at Austin, 2004..
13. Yang, Shenshen
Essays on Nonparametric and Semiparametric Identification and Estimation
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Economics, University of Texas at Austin, 2021
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Texas at Austin
Keyword(s): College Degree; Educational Returns; Modeling; Statistical Analysis

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This dissertation consists of three chapters in econometric theory, with a focus on identification and estimation of treatment effect in semi-parametric and nonparametric models, when there exists endogeneity problem. These methods are applied on policy and program evaluation in health and labor economics.

In the third chapter, I investigate the partial identification bound for treatment effect in a dynamic setting. First, I develop the sharp partial identification bounds of dynamic treatment effect on conditional transition probabilities when the treatment is randomly assigned. Then I relax the randomization assumption and gives partial identification bounds, under a conditional mean independence assumption. Using MTR and MTS assumptions, this bound is further tightened. These bounds are used on estimating labor market return of college degree in a long term, with data from NLSY79.

Bibliography Citation
Yang, Shenshen. Essays on Nonparametric and Semiparametric Identification and Estimation. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Economics, University of Texas at Austin, 2021.