Assessing legal change: Recidivism and administrative per se laws

Tougher sanctions for drunk driving have often been advocated as a means to reduce this problematic behavior. In a test of administrative per se laws as a specific deterrent, the impact of introducing such laws is evaluated by examining reconviction rates of offenders before and after implementation of the Jaw in three states (North Dakota, Louisiana, and Mississippi), with comparisons made to a fourth state during the same time period that did not implement an administrative per se law (California). Recidivism is analyzed using survival models. The results indicate that administrative per se laws reduce rates of reconviction in some situations but not in others. In particular, if implementation of the law is accompanied by changes in overall rates of license actions, the specific deterrent effects of the law may be outweighed by the increased efficiencies of this judicial process.     

Traumatic Events and Maternal Education as Predictors of Verbal Ability for Preschool Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

Despite research on the effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) on children, little is known about its impact on cognitive development. In this study, 87 preschool-aged children and their mothers exposed to IPV within the last two years participated in interviews to ascertain verbal ability, history of violence, and exposure to trauma. When compared to a national sample of 1,700 same-age children not evaluated for exposure to traumatic events, children exposed to IPV scored significantly lower on verbal ability, as assessed with standardized measures. In order to understand variation in verbal ability, multiple regression models were tested. Both prior exposure to traumatic events and the level of mother’s education were significant predictors of verbal ability. However, level of education mediated the relationship between traumatic events and the child’s verbal ability.     

Whose shortage of affordable housing?

Abstract

Shortfalls of low‐rent units are repeatedly cited as the rationale for programs to expand the supply of affordable housing. But the poverty‐level rents studied fall well below those of major supply programs. To reassess whether HOME and the low‐income housing tax credit (LIHTC) address actual shortfalls, this article compares numbers of units with renters by measuring both affordability and incomes with the median‐income‐based metric used for all federal rental programs.

During the 1980s, there were growing surpluses of units affordable to renters with incomes between 50 and 80 percent of their area's median income, a “low‐income” range that includes most HOME and LIHTC rents. By contrast, shortages were severe and growing only at rents affordable to households with incomes below 30 percent of area median. Examination of these shortfalls and the problems they create implies that programs to expand supply are not widely needed.