The changing association between prenatal participation in WIC and birth outcomes in New York City.

We analyze the relationship between prenatal WIC participation and birth outcomes in New York City from 1988-2001. The analysis is unique for several reasons. First, we have over 800,000 births to women on Medicaid, the largest sample ever used to analyze prenatal participation in WIC. Second, we focus on measures of fetal growth distinct from preterm birth, since there is little clinical support for a link between nutritional supplementation and premature delivery. Third, we restrict the primary analysis to women on Medicaid who have no previous live births and who initiate prenatal care within the first four months of pregnancy. Our goal is to lessen heterogeneity between WIC and non-WIC participants by limiting the sample to highly motivated women who have no experience with WIC from a previous pregnancy. Fourth, we analyze a large sub-sample of twin deliveries. Multifetal pregnancies increase the risk of anemia and fetal growth retardation and thus may benefit more than singletons from nutritional supplementation. We find no relationship between prenatal WIC participation and measures of fetal growth among singletons. We find a modest pattern of association between WIC and fetal growth among U.S.-born Black twins. Our findings suggest that prenatal participation in WIC has had a minimal effect on adverse birth outcomes in New York City.     

Comparison of individual characteristics and death rates of disabled-worker beneficiaries entitled in 1972 and 1985.

The many changes to the Disability Insurance (DI) program that took place during the early 1980's suggest that there may be significant differences in the characteristics of newly awarded beneficiaries over time. This study compares two cohorts of newly entitled beneficiaries--one from 1972 and the other from 1985--in order to assess changes in individual characteristics and death rates between the pre-1980's and the late 1980's. The 1985 cohort had a greater percentage of beneficiaries with mental impairments and a lower percentage with diseases of the circulatory system. The 1985 cohort was also younger, more educated, had higher primary insurance amount levels, and had greater percentages of women and black beneficiaries. Although the death rates and survival curves for both cohorts were very similar, differences in the curves occurred for some covariate subgroups. When the populations were standardized, the estimated percentages of beneficiaries who survived 5 years after entitlement were 78 percent for the 1972 cohort and 77 percent for the 1985 cohort.     

Unwanted fertility in Mexico

Data from the 1987 National Health and Fertility Survey were used to explore trends and differentials in unwanted fertility in Mexico. Women were classified in three educational categories: illiterate or incomplete primary, complete primary or some secondary, and complete secondary or more. The four urbanization categories were: under 2500; 2500 to 19,999; 20,000 and more; and metropolitan areas. The place of primary socialization was the place of residence until age 12. Two categories of employment of household head were included, agricultural or nonagricultural. The categories for mother's employment considered employment until the union and employment between the time of union and the birth of the first child. The proportion of births that were unwanted was estimated by calculating the total fertility rate for the year before the survey and comparing it to desired family size. The "total desired family size" was 2.4 for the entire sample. In other words, nearly 37% of the total fertility rate was undesired. The greatest differentials in percentages of undesired fertility were found in educational categories. 40.7% of the total fertility rate in the least educated groups vs. 13.6% in the most educated groups was undesired. Differentials in the other categories ranged from 1.9 for a history of employment before the birth of the first child to 8.8 for agricultural or nonagricultural employment of the household head. When effects of education were controlled, the percentage of undesired fertility declined as educational level increased for all rural or urban residence categories, places of socialization, and employment groups except women who worked before the first child was born. Women with more education, urban residence, and with histories of employment had the lowest levels of undesired fertility.     

Workers' compensation: coverage, benefits, and costs, 1985

The 84.3 million workers protected by workers' compensation laws in 1985 represented 87 percent of all wage and salary workers in that year. Both the amount of benefits paid to workers and the cost of the program to employers rose substantially from 1984 to 1985. Benefit payments totaled $22.5 billion-14.1 percent higher than in 1984 and the largest annual increase since 1978-79. About two-thirds of the payments in 1985 were money payments ($15.1 billion) and the remainder ($7.4 billion) went for medical care for disabled workers. Private insurance companies made nearly three-fifths of these payments and State funds and self-insured employers each paid about one-fifth of the total benefit amount in 1985. For the first time since 1978, the annual growth in employer costs exceeded the growth in workers' benefits, resulting in a slight decrease in the loss ratio for 1984-85. Employer costs were up nearly 17 percent from the previous year, reaching an estimated $29.3 billion. Covered payrolls increased by 7 percent in that same period. Total benefit payments as a percent of payroll also increased noticeably in 1985.     

Recent trends in the Social Security Disability Insurance Program

Earlier analysis documented the rapid growth of the Disability Insurance (DI) program from 1966 to 1975; this article discusses trends since 1975. Over the decade of the 1970's, the population insured for disability increased by 34 percent, and women as a proportion of the insured population rose from 32.4 percent in 1970 to 39.1 percent in 1980, reflecting the increase in female labor-force participation. Of disabled workers receiving benefits, the proportion that were women rose from 28.4 percent in 1970 to 32.4 percent in 1979. Although inflation caused total benefit costs to rise over the entire period, the number of DI beneficiaries began to decline in 1978. Disabled-worker awards reached a peak in 1975 and fell subsequently so that the 1969 and 1981 figures are approximately equal. Relative to 1970, the fraction of awards going to women increased, the share for persons aged 50-54 rose, and the proportion received by those aged 60-64 declined. Decreased in total awards, and hence recipients, stemmed primarily from higher rates of denial at both the initial application and the reconsideration stages. Higher denials were countered by substantial rises in the number of hearings and reversals by administrative law judges (ALJ's). in 1980, only 65 percent of all awards came from initial applications, while over a fourth resulted from ALJ reversals. In future years, recent legislative changes may be expected to curtail program expansion further.     

Pension status of recently retired workers on their longest job: findings from the New Beneficiary Survey

Pension coverage among recently retired workers was greater in the early 1980's than it was a decade earlier. Workers whose longest job was with a private employer and women workers were among the groups that experienced the largest increases in coverage by a pension plan other than the social security program. Private pension plan coverage increased from 47 percent to 64 percent for men and from 21 percent to 39 percent for women. The key factors analyzed here include industry, occupation, length of employment, and earnings. Data from the New Beneficiary Survey reveal that a high proportion of covered workers received pension payments at retirement. Pension payments were received by 9 in 10 retirees covered by a government plan and by 3 in 4 retirees covered by a private industry plan on their longest job. In addition, lump-sum payments were received by 12 percent of the men and 21 percent of the women in private pension plans.     

Election promises and government performance in Greece: PASOK's fulfilment of its 1981 election pledges

Abstract. The 'mandate theory' of democracy rests on the idea that electors choose political parties on the basis of the alternative government programmes they offer during an election campaign. Thus, the question of whether or not programmes are fulfilled in government is central in assessing the effectiveness of democratic processes. In its election manifesto for the 1981 general election the then opposition socialist party, PASOK, proposed a radical reform of Greek society. The degree to which its proposals were actually implemented in its first period of office (1981–85) points up the constraints facing any reformist party trying to fulfil its promises. Following recently published research on pledge fulfilment in Britain and Canada, this study identifies the definite pledges made by PASOK in its 1981 electoral manifesto and checks how far they actually found their way into government outputs up to 1985.
The main findings are that PASOK clearly promised important reforms in 1981 and to a considerable extent implemented them.     

Cash benefits for short-term sickness, 1948-81

At least three-fifths of all workers are under some kind of formal plan offering income replacement during temporary periods of illness, even though there is no national sick-pay program. In 1981, income loss due to short-term non-work-related disabilities totaled +41.3 billion. Sick-pay benefits were +15.6 billion, representing 38 percent of the income that otherwise would have been lost. The replacement rate has been fairly stable since 1974, following earlier periods of uneven increases from the 17 percent recorded for 1948, the first year of this series. This article includes estimates for 1980 and 1981 and revisions for 1978 and 1979 of the income loss and benefits arising from short-term sickness. Also included are the losses and benefits for the first 6 months of long-term disability.     

The Impact of Prenatal Exposure to Power Plant Emissions on Birth Weight: Evidence from a Pennsylvania Power Plant Located Upwind of New Jersey

To examine the infant health impact of prenatal exposure to power plant emissions, we draw scientific evidence on the impacted region downwind of a large polluter, a coal‐fired power plant located on the border of two states and proven to be the sole contributor to the violation of air quality standards of the impacted region. Our results show that among all live singleton births that occurred during 1990 through 2006, those born to mothers living as far as 20 to 30 miles away downwind from the power plant (which is also an affluent region) during pregnancy are at greater risks of low birth weight (LBW) and very low birth weight (VLBW): the likelihoods of LBW and VLBW could increase approximately by 6.50 and 17.12 percent, respectively. In light of the continual efforts of The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in reducing cross‐state air pollution caused by transboundary power plant emissions, our study is aimed at broadening the scope of cross‐border pollution impact analysis by taking into account adverse infant health effects of upwind polluters, which can impose disproportionate burdens of health risks on downwind states due to air pollutants transported by wind.     

Resolution of Nonmarital Adolescent Pregnancy and the Transition to Adulthood: Educational Attainment and Financial Well-being

This paper compares educational and financial outcomes in early adulthood for four groups of men and women: those who never experienced a nonmarital adolescent pregnancy, those who ended a nonmarital adolescent pregnancy by abortion, those who married or cohabited and became parents in response to an adolescent pregnancy, and those who became parents but did not marry or cohabit following an adolescent pregnancy. The analyses are based on self-reports of 6,074 young men and women who were first surveyed as seventh grade students in Houston, Texas in 1971 and surveyed again between 1980 and 1988. Educational and financial outcomes in adulthood vary significantly depending on the occurrence of a nonmarital adolescent pregnancy, the resolution of nonmarital adolescent pregnancy, and the age at which adolescent pregnancy occurs. Results are discussed in relation to public policies encouraging family formation and educational support and occupational training for teen parents.     

How Women Become Political Actors: Female Candidates in Finnish Elections

Finnish women attained universal suffrage as the first in Europe, together with the majority of men, in 1906. Since 1906 the number of women in the national parliament has increased from about 10 percent to more than one-quarter. Earlier, women were more successful in the socialist parties, but nowadays this left-right difference has diminished. Women candidates obtain least votes in the rural parties and in the least developed areas where pressure toward uniformity is high. The earlier east-west difference has almost disappeared. Voting for female candidates is more common among women than among men. Education, employment, working in a white-collar job, high family income, and urban residence increase the probability among women to vote for a female candidate. Among men, those in the highest and lowest social status groups are more favourable towards women candidates than those in between. Middle class men seem to be most afraid of losing status if more women become political actors.     

Reported reasons retired workers left their last job: findings from the New Beneficiary Survey

About a third of all new retired-worker beneficiaries who had stopped work reported that the main reason they left their last job was a desire to retire. The existence of health problems was the next most frequently given reason, and it was reported by about a fourth of the group. These responses were made to questions in the 1982 New Beneficiary Survey, conducted by the Social Security Administration (SSA) in October-December 1982. Recently retired workers not only said they wished to retire, but more of them began receiving benefits at age 62 than at older ages; by age 65 most were beneficiaries. Forty-five percent of the men and almost 54 percent of the women had already left their last job at the time they received their first benefit. Married women in particular had not only stopped work but frequently had left their last job more than 3 years before they received their first benefit check.     

Pension coverage among private wage and salary workers: preliminary findings from the 1988 survey of employee benefits

Based on data for private wage and salary workers in May 1988, this article examined pension coverage under two types of employer-sponsored pension plans. Some of the factors associated with employer-financed pension coverage were also examined, and comparisons were made to findings on pension coverage of full-time workers in 1972, 1979, and 1983. "Covered" workers were defined as those actually participating in a pension plan. Among all private sector employees studied, 34 percent were covered by a "basic" pension plan (most of which, presumably, were defined benefit plans), and 14 percent were covered by a pretax retirement savings plan--a subtype of defined contribution plan. With 7 percent of the respondents covered by both types of plans, the total coverage rate under employer-sponsored plans was 41 percent. Twelve percent of the respondents reported that they had contributed to an IRA in 1987. The reported IRA usage was somewhat higher among those already covered by a pension plan than among noncovered workers. Six percent of the respondents were not covered by an employer-sponsored plan but were contributing to an IRA, yielding a total of 47 percent who were participating in either an employer-sponsored or an individual retirement plan. While it was assumed--as in previous studies--that all "basic" coverage was being funded by employers, only four-fifths of those in pretax retirement savings plans reported that employers were also contributing to these plans. The remainder of the analysis was restricted to coverage under employer-financed plans, and it was further restricted to full-time workers. A total of 46 percent of these workers were covered under employer-financed pension plans--33 percent covered only by a basic plan, 7 percent covered only by a pretax plan, and 6 percent dually covered. Among men, the coverage rate was 49 percent, compared with 43 percent among women. Several individual and job-related characteristics were found to be associated with employer-financed pension coverage among full-time employees. Coverage rates were quite low among workers under age 25, but were substantially higher among those aged 35-59. Pension coverage was also low among those with less than 5 years of employment on the job, but relatively high among those with 5 years or more of job tenure. Coverage rate differences by race were not substantial. Whites reported a coverage rate of 47 percent, compared with 42 percent among blacks and 45 percent among other races.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Retirement-age women and pensions: findings from the New Beneficiary Survey

This article examines the extent of employer-sponsored pension receipt and the amounts of pension benefits among a cohort of retirement-age women interviewed in the New Beneficiary Survey. These women reported relatively low levels of pension protection. Only 27 percent were receiving a pension in late 1982, either from their own employment or as survivors. This was one-half the rate of current pension receipt among a comparable cohort of men. An additional 17 percent of the women were expecting pensions of their own or had potential survivor protection through their husbands' pensions. Among those receiving a pension, women reported median monthly benefits of $250, compared with $460 among men. Pension benefits were a fairly important source of income for these women, particularly those who were unmarried. Almost one-half of the unmarried recipients depended on their pensions for one-third or more of their total incomes, and without their pension income 11 percent would have been below poverty income levels.     

Worth the Wait? The Effect of Early Term Birth on Maternal and Infant Health

Early term birth is defined as birth at 37 or 38 weeks gestation. While infants born early term are not considered premature, the medical literature suggests that they have an increased risk of serious adverse health outcomes compared to infants born at term (39 or 40 weeks). Despite these known harms, we document a rise in early term births in the United States from 1989 to the mid‐2000s, followed by a decline in recent years. We posit that the recent decline in early term births has been driven by changes in medical practice advocated by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, programs such as the March of Dimes’ “Worth the Wait” campaign, and by Medicaid policy. We first show that this pattern cannot be attributed to changes in the demographic composition of mothers, and provide some evidence that efforts to reduce early term elective deliveries (EEDs) through Medicaid policy were effective. We next exploit county‐level variation in the timing of these changes in medical practice to examine the effect of early term inductions (our proxy for EEDs) on infant and maternal health. We find that early term inductions lower birth weights and increase the risks of precipitous labor, birth injury, and required ventilation. Our results suggest that reductions in early term inductions can explain about one‐third of the overall increase in birth weights between 2010 and 2013 for births at 37 weeks gestation and above.     

The importance of children for the elderly and changes in reproductive behavior (a study of three rural communities in Mexico)

"This study analyzes the importance of children in the care of elderly populations in rural communities [in Mexico].... In particular, the perception of elders about the value of their children is analyzed, especially the role children play in their economic contribution to the household or their instrumental value to it at different stages of their lives.... With respect [to] the condition in which children support their parents in their old age the economic assistance given was studied too. Finally, the preference regarding family size of those 60 years or older [is] given, as well as the view points of women on the need to control fertility and reduce family size. Three different types of cost are studied: the economic cost of supporting and caring for children, the emotional cost of their upbringing and the health cost of multiple pregnancies and births." (SUMMARY IN ENG)     

A National Survey: Municipal Budget Directors View Budgetary Control

This article is based on a survey of budget directors' views concerning control. Responsible for control on a daily basis, the budget director knows its many components first hand. Budget directors in all municipalities with populations from 100,000 to 1,000,000 received a mail questionnaire in June 1981. Of the 158 directors surveyed, 127 or 80 percent responded. The discussion which follows is organized into the five key areas covered in the survey: functions of control, time commitment and degree of difficulty in performing the control function, relationship between control and other aspects of management, current control techniques, and recent developments affecting control.     

The Effects of Changes in Federal Aid on State and Local Government Spending

This study suggests federal grants-in-aid had an important influenceon state and local government spending during the 1960s andmost of the 1970s. This positive stimulation also seems to havecontinued during 1982–1985, despite the Reagan administration'sefforts to cut the level of federal aid to states and communities.The stimulative effect of federal aid, however, was showingsigns of diminishing after 1977 and was conspicuously absentfor the 1977–1981 and 1985–1988 periods.     

The rally 'round the flag effect in U.S. foreign policy crises, 1950–1985

We calculate the rally 'round the flag effect (Mueller, 1970, 1973) for all 41 U.S. foreign policy crises, 1950–1985, identified by the International Crisis Behavior Project (Wilkenfeld, Brecher, and Moser, 1988). The mean change in the president's approval rating is surprisingly small: 1.4 percent among all respondents. The greatest influences on the rallying effect of a crisis are whether or not the United States is involved in an ongoing war and, especially, theNew York Times's coverage of the president's major response to a crisis. When a major response is reported in the headlines, the rally is more than 8 percentage points greater,ceteris paribus, than when it is not reported on the front page. TheNew York Times's reporting is influenced by the nature of the president's response, the efforts of his administration to publicize his actions, the degree of Soviet involvement, the location of the crisis, and the willingness of opposition leaders to take a newsworthy position regarding the president's performance.