scholarly journals Compulsory Voting Can Increase Political Inequality: Evidence from Brazil

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Cepaluni ◽  
F. Daniel Hidalgo
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Upper Class ◽  
Political Inequality ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Compulsory Voting ◽  
Heterogeneous Effects ◽  
Level Data

One of the most robust findings on political institutions is that compulsory voting (CV) reduces the participation gap between poorer and wealthier voters. We present evidence that in Brazil, the largest country to use such a rule, CVincreasesinequality in turnout. We use individual-level data on 140 million Brazilian citizens and two age-based discontinuities to estimate the heterogeneous effects of CV by educational achievement, a strong proxy for socioeconomic status. Evidence from both thresholds shows that the causal effect of CV on turnout among the more educated is at least twice the size of the effect among those with less education. To explain this result, which is the opposite of what is predicted by the existing literature, we argue that nonmonetary penalties for abstention primarily affect middle- and upper-class voters and thus increase their turnout disproportionately. Survey evidence from a national sample provides evidence for the mechanism. Our results show that studies of CV should consider nonmonetary sanctions, as their effects can reverse standard predictions.

scholarly journals An efficient and robust approach to Mendelian randomization with measured pleiotropic effects in a high-dimensional setting

Biostatistics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J Grant ◽  
Stephen Burgess
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Mendelian Randomization ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Robust Estimator ◽  
Simulation Studies ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Randomization Analysis

Summary Valid estimation of a causal effect using instrumental variables requires that all of the instruments are independent of the outcome conditional on the risk factor of interest and any confounders. In Mendelian randomization studies with large numbers of genetic variants used as instruments, it is unlikely that this condition will be met. Any given genetic variant could be associated with a large number of traits, all of which represent potential pathways to the outcome which bypass the risk factor of interest. Such pleiotropy can be accounted for using standard multivariable Mendelian randomization with all possible pleiotropic traits included as covariates. However, the estimator obtained in this way will be inefficient if some of the covariates do not truly sit on pleiotropic pathways to the outcome. We present a method that uses regularization to identify which out of a set of potential covariates need to be accounted for in a Mendelian randomization analysis in order to produce an efficient and robust estimator of a causal effect. The method can be used in the case where individual-level data are not available and the analysis must rely on summary-level data only. It can be used where there are any number of potential pleiotropic covariates up to the number of genetic variants less one. We show the results of simulation studies that demonstrate the performance of the proposed regularization method in realistic settings. We also illustrate the method in an applied example which looks at the causal effect of urate plasma concentration on coronary heart disease.

The effect of the National Birth Defects Intervention Project on the prevention of congenital disabilities among children in China: a natural experiment

2020 ◽  
Vol 124 (7) ◽  
pp. 709-714
Author(s):  
Chao Guo ◽  
Xiaoying Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Birth Defects ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Nutrition Intervention ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
Birth Cohorts ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Congenital Disability

AbstractMost childhood disabilities are caused by congenital factors such as birth defects. The present study aims to evaluate the effect of periconceptional nutrition intervention on the prevention of congenital disability among Chinese children using the National Birth Defects Intervention Project as a natural experiment. We obtained individual-level data from the Second National Sample Survey on Disability, a nationally representative survey, and 110 365 children born between September 1999 and August 2003 were included for analysis. Difference-in-differences estimates of the project effects on congenital disability were captured by exploiting temporal variation in the timing of project exposure across four birth cohorts along with geographical variation in project category at the province level. The findings contribute to an emerging body of evidence showing that prenatal micronutrient intervention before and during early pregnancy could substantially reduce the risk of congenital disability in childhood (OR 0·73; 95 % CI 0·57, 0·94). The National Birth Defects Intervention Project improved the awareness of reproductive health and disability prevention in the population. It highlights the need for a potential policy change focusing on early-life health investment in China.

Starting School at Four: The Effect of Universal Pre-Kindergarten on Children's Academic Achievement

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria D Fitzpatrick
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Disadvantaged Children ◽  
Mathematics Test ◽  
Level Data ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Intent To Treat

Abstract Universal Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) programs differ from widely known and extensively evaluated programs like Head Start and Perry Preschool because access is open to all children of the appropriate age. To estimate the intent-to-treat effects of these programs on the long term educational achievement of children, I use a differences-in-differences framework and individual-level data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. For disadvantaged children residing in small towns and rural areas, Universal Pre-K availability increases both reading and mathematics test scores at fourth grade as well as the probability of students being on-grade for their age. Increases in some measures of achievement also were seen among other groups, though the patterns were less uniform across outcome measures. The results correspond with other work showing children living in less densely populated areas are those most likely to enroll in preschool because of the program's availability.

Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Perceptions of Self-Efficacy

2000 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason D. Boardman ◽  
Stephanie A. Robert
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Level Data

Following Bandura's (1982) social-cognitive theory of self-efficacy, Wilson (1996) hypothesizes a relationship between neighborhood-level socioeconomic status and individual-level perceptions of efficacy. This article evaluates this hypothesis and pursues the following research questions: (1) Are the socioeconomic characteristics of individual's neighborhoods related to their level of self-efficacy? and (2) if so, is this relationship simply due to lower individual-level socioeconomic status (SES), or is neighborhood SES associated with self-efficacy over and above individual-level SES? This project links individual-level data from a national sample of adults in the United States (Americans Changing Lives Survey [1986]) with contextual information from the 1980 census on the poverty and unemployment characteristics of respondents' neighborhoods. Results indicate that high proportions of neighborhood unemployment and public assistance are associated with low levels of self-efficacy above and beyond individual-level SES.

HETEROGENEOUS EFFECTS OF CREDIT ACCESS ON FORMAL AND INFORMAL FIRM GROWTH: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM VIETNAM

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (05) ◽  
pp. 1185-1211 ◽  
Author(s):  
TRINH QUANG LONG ◽  
PETER JOHN MORGAN ◽  
MINH BINH TRAN
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Firm Growth ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
High Growth ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Credit Access ◽  
Access To Credit ◽  
Heterogeneous Effects ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Growth Firms

This paper examines the causal effect of credit access on firm growth (measured by employment growth), using a unique micro-, small-, and medium-sized firm-level data collected every two years in Vietnam from 2005 to 2013. The results obtained from fixed-effects (FE) and FE with instrumental variable estimators show that firms with credit access experience a higher growth than firms without credit access. We also find that access to credit is positively associated with both formal and informal firm growth, but the results for formal firms seem to be driven by some high growth firms (and rapidly shrinking firms). The effect of credit access on firm growth is also heterogeneous by firm size and firm age in both types of firms.

What Affects Invalid Voting? A Review and Meta-Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 745-775 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karel Kouba ◽  
Jakub Lysek
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Aggregate Level ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Compulsory Voting ◽  
Level Data ◽  
First Time

Research on invalid voting has expanded rapidly over the past few years. This review article for the first time examines its principal findings and provides a new theoretical perspective on the origins of invalid votes based on a two-dimensional framework. The main results of 54 studies using both individual-level and aggregate-level data as well as the results of experimental and qualitative studies are analysed. The meta-analysis of all existing aggregate-level studies finds that compulsory voting, quality of democracy, fragmentation and closeness of the electoral race play important roles in explaining invalid voting. On the other hand, the research is accompanied by many theoretical and empirical contradictions that hamper the accumulation of knowledge in this field. We therefore conclude by suggesting the challenges for future research.

scholarly journals The Causal Effect of Maternal Education on Child Mortality: Evidence From a Quasi-Experiment in Malawi and Uganda

Demography ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 1765-1790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liliana Andriano ◽  
Christiaan W. S. Monden
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Education ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Lower Probability ◽  
Demographic And Health Surveys ◽  
Financial Barriers ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Maternal Schooling ◽  
Level Data

Abstract Since the 1980s, the demographic literature has suggested that maternal schooling plays a key role in determining children’s chances of survival in low- and middle-income countries; however, few studies have successfully identified a causal relationship between maternal education and under-5 mortality. To identify such a causal effect, we exploited exogenous variation in maternal education induced by schooling reforms introducing universal primary education in the second half of the 1990s in Malawi and Uganda. Using a two-stage residual inclusion approach and combining individual-level data from Demographic and Health Surveys with district-level data on the intensity of the reform, we tested whether increased maternal schooling reduced children’s probability of dying before age 5. In Malawi, for each additional year of maternal education, children have a 10 % lower probability of dying; in Uganda, the odds of dying for children of women with one additional year of education are 16.6 % lower. We also explored which pathways might explain this effect of maternal education. The estimates suggest that financial barriers to medical care, attitudes toward modern health services, and rejection of domestic violence may play a role. Moreover, being more educated seems to confer enhanced proximity to a health facility and knowledge about the transmission of AIDS in Malawi, and wealth and improved personal illness control in Uganda.

scholarly journals Families in Comparison: An individual-level comparison of life course and family reconstructions between population and vital event registers

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels van den Berg ◽  
ingrid van Dijk ◽  
Rick J Mourits ◽  
Angelique Janssens ◽  
P. Eline Slagboom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Occupational Status ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Birth Certificates ◽  
Vital Event ◽  
Demographic Research ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Registration Data ◽  
Level Data

In demographic research large-scale individual-level data have become increasingly available. At the same time, it remains unknown how varying sources affect the reconstruction of individual life courses and families in databases. In this paper, we conduct individual-level comparisons of family and life course reconstructions of 495 individuals simultaneously present in two well-known Dutch datasets: LINKS-Zeeland and the HSN. The first dataset is based on a province’s full population vital event registration data; the other is based on a national sample of birth certificates, after which individuals were followed in population registers. We compare indicators of fertility, marriage, mortality, and measurements of occupational status of individuals found in both databases and conclude that reconstructions in both the HSN and LINKS reflect each other well. LINKS provides more complete family information on siblings and parents, whereas the HSN provides more complete life course information, especially for individuals who migrate out of Zeeland.

scholarly journals Social security and retirement timing: evidence from a national sample of teachers

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (04) ◽  
pp. 549-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda Sandler Morrill ◽  
John Westall
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Social Security ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Public School Teachers ◽  
Full Inclusion ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Retirement Timing ◽  
Causal Impact ◽  
Public Sector Workers

AbstractThis study documents an important role for Social Security income in workers’ retirement timing. About 40% of public school teachers are not covered by Social Security. This provides an opportunity to analyze the causal impact of Social Security on retirement timing by comparing covered and non-covered teachers. Using individual-level data from the American Community Survey, we find robust evidence of higher rates of retirement among covered teachers at Social Security eligibility ages. This pattern is confirmed using an alternative regression model of participation in the teacher labor force. These estimates suggest that, should the federal government mandate full inclusion in Social Security for all public sector workers, the retirement timing patterns of newly covered teachers and other public sector workers would likely change.

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