Evidence of the Effectiveness of Child Support and Visitation: Examining Food Insecurity among Children with Nonresident Fathers

Over six million children who reside with a single mother and have a father who lives elsewhere are food insecure. This study examines the effectiveness of two aspects of nonresident father involvement, in-person visitation and financial contributions, in reducing food acquisition problems using data from the National Survey of America’s Families. We find that frequent visits by nonresident fathers are related to a reduced likelihood that the resident mother’s household will experience indicators of food insecurity. The effects of child support receipt on reducing food acquisition problems, however, are less consistent. Our results support policies designed to recognize and encourage nonresidential parents to make both monetary and nonmonetary contributions to the lives of their children.

Patterns of Gaze Between Parents and Children in European American and Mexican American Families

Mutual gaze has been shown to be a valuable channel of nonverbal communication. To examine mutual gaze between parents and children, 43 European American (EA) and 57 Mexican American (MA) families were coded on the occurrence of talking and gaze during a brief discussion. MA families showed lower levels of father-to-child gaze, mother-to-son gaze, and child-to-father gaze than EA families. MA families also showed less father–child mutual gaze, as well as less mother–child gaze for sons than EA families. Child gaze aversion was more common in European American families. Levels of gaze, father–child mutual gaze, and child gaze aversion all were positively correlated with acculturation. The importance of research exploring possible differences in function and meaning of gaze across cultural groups is emphasized.

The Therapeutic Action of Play in the Psychodynamic Treatment of Children: A Critical Analysis

This paper critically appraises the therapeutic action of play in psychodynamic child therapy and identifies obstacles to utilizing play therapeutically with children. An examination of the functions of action and verbal means of communication as well as their roles in shaping therapeutic relationships in treating children is provided in light of recent theoretical advances. The significance of engaging children directly through play and for redressing the balance between action and verbalization in child therapy is discussed.

The quality–quantity trade-off in fertility across parent earnings levels: a test for credit market failure

The dominant economic theory of the family explains the negative correlation between family size and child achievement, a ‘quality–quantity trade-off’, through borrowing constraints and credit market failure. This paper presents a model in which the opportunity cost of time spent with children is increasing, thus creating a trade-off even in economies with perfect credit markets. While both produce a family size effect, temporal and financial constraints predict different patterns for the trade-off across levels of parent income. Using data from the National Child Development Study, the trade-off is found even among high-earning families who presumably do not face credit constraints. Moreover, the trade-off does not grow as parent earnings diminish. Both of these findings suggest that temporal and not financial constraints explain the quality–quantity trade-off.

Consumer Debt Repayment Behavior as a Precursor to Bankruptcy

The passage of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) of 2005 culminated years of debate over the escalating number of bankruptcy filings and whether or not consumers were abusing the bankruptcy system. Our study focuses on the extent to which households seek bankruptcy protection without first attempting to restructure their debt or experiencing indicators of financial distress. Through multivariate regression analyses of longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), we find a significant relationship between having prior financial problems and filing for bankruptcy. Our results also indicate that households that obtained consolidation loans were equally likely to file for bankruptcy as those that did not. We conclude that early interventions with financially distressed consumers may provide opportunities to reduce bankruptcy filings.

The quality of time spent with children in Australian households

Using data from the 1992 and 1997 Australian Time Use Surveys, we explore patterns in the quality of child care time spent by parents in Australia. Drawing on existing research, we construct and evaluate four alternative ways of defining child care quality. We estimate censored regression models of the time parents spend in high-quality child care, lower-quality child care, and market work according to these different definitions. We find that seemingly small changes in how the quality of time spent caring for children is conceptualized markedly affect the conclusions we draw about the associations of different household and personal characteristics with parents’ child care time.

The market for foster care: an empirical study of the impact of foster care subsidies

When parents are suspected of child abuse or neglect, their children may be placed with foster families. We estimate the relationship between the monthly subsidies paid to foster families and the quantity of foster care services provided. The empirical model uses variation in subsidies and foster care populations within 37 states and the years 1987–1995. One innovation in our approach is that we exploit the idea that states do not appear to set market clearing rates, as evidenced by a foster home shortage during this time period. In this case of excess demand, variation in the monthly subsidy traces out the supply curve. Our results show that states with high demand may be able to use economic incentives to recruit foster families.

The Impact of Personal Finance Education Delivered in High School and College Courses

This study investigates the impact of personal finance education delivered in high school and college. Outcomes of interest were investment knowledge and household savings rates measured years after the financial education was delivered. A web-based survey with questions about participation in financial education, financial experiences, income and inheritances, and demographic characteristics was administered to 1,039 alumni from a large midwestern university. Participation in a college level personal finance course was associated with higher levels of investment knowledge. Experience with financial instruments appeared to explain more of the variance in both investment knowledge and savings rates. No significant relationship between taking a high school course and investment knowledge was found. Financial experiences were found to be positively associated with savings rates.

The impact of biological preferences on parental investments in children and step-children

A remarriage typically involves significant changes in a family’s financial circumstance, and these changes, combined with the relative bargaining relationship between spouses, likely affect the well-being of the children who are part of the family. In this paper, I use the separate-spheres model, a theoretical model that explains the determinants of bargaining power in marriage, to analyze how a remarried couple’s bargaining relationship affects their child investment in stepfamilies. Based on this theoretical model, I build and estimate an empirical model that investigates the determinants of parental investment. As evidence of parental preference for biological children over stepchildren, I find that an increased wage rate of a biological mother significantly improves her child investment when her husband is a stepfather of the child, while there is no such effect for mothers living with the biological father of the child.

Predictors of Chapter 13 Completion Rates: The Role of Socioeconomic Variables and Consumer Debt Type

This study examined whether demographic or financial variables best predict completion of Chapter 13 bankruptcy plans. Multinomial logistic regression revealed that demographic variables were more important than financial variables in predicting completion. Completion of a Chapter 13 repayment plan was not associated with a debtor’s monthly income or expenses. Never married debtors, dependent children, a previous filing, and higher mortgage arrears increased the likelihood of dismissal. Longer job tenure and home ownership improved completion rates. Discharge was associated with higher unsecured debts. Results can help improve Chapter 13 completion rates. Debtors need guidance in setting up realistic repayment plans. Financial counselors could help ensure that repayment plans are feasible and to counsel debtors who miss a plan payment.

On the influence of extreme parties in electoral competition with policy-motivated candidates

We study and compare equilibrium platforms in models of unidimensional electoral competition with two and four policy motivated parties. We first analyze the plurality game, where the party getting the most votes is elected and implements its proposed platform. Restrictions on the set of credible announcements are needed to get existence of equilibria. Comparing equilibria with two and four parties, we obtain that moderate parties react to the introduction of extreme parties by proposing the same or more extreme equilibrium platforms. We then study the proportional system, where the policy implemented is a weighted sum of the proposals, with the voting shares as weights. Here, the existence of extreme parties leads moderate ones to choose more centrist platforms. We finally test the robustness of our results with respect to, first, the enlargement of the strategy space to entry decisions and, second, to asymmetric distributions of voters' blisspoints.

---

Looking Beyond Retirement: Patterns and Predictors of Formal End-of-Life Planning Among Retirement Age Individuals

This study uses the 2004 wave of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study to examine the patterns and predictors of formal End-of-Life (EOL) planning strategies among retirement age individuals and whether EOL health and financial planning are highly correlated planning behaviors. Using logistic regressions and multinomial logistic regressions, findings show that EOL health plans appear to be done in combination with financial plans. Females, higher educated persons, and those with higher net worth are more likely to have integrated EOL plans containing both EOL health and EOL financial plans. It is suggested that policy makers, health and financial professionals, and educators concerned about the consequences of the absence of EOL health plans should facilitate the joint planning with finances, especially among those at higher risk of not having such plans (e.g., males, less educated persons, and those who have little net worth).

Household Debt and Marital Instability: Evidence from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study

Korean society has recently experienced rapid increases in household debt and divorce rates. This study investigates whether household debt and debt ratios lower marital stability and increase the probability of divorce among Korean families. Six-year panels from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) household surveys were used for analysis. The effect of household debt upon the probability of divorce was estimated through pooled and population-averaged Logit models. The results suggest that household financial strain measured by the amount of household debt and the debt-to-income ratios does not significantly affect the probability of divorce. This finding contradicts the widespread notion that households’ excessive borrowing has been partially responsible for the recent increase in divorce rates in Korea.

The scoring rules in an endogenous election

Plurality rule is mostly criticized from being capable of choosing an alternative considered as worst by a strict majority. This paper considers elections in which the agenda consists of potential candidates strategically choosing whether or not to enter the election. In this context, we examine the ability of scoring rules to fulfil the Condorcet criterion. We show for the case of three potential candidates that Plurality rule is the only scoring rule that satisfies a version of the Condorcet criterion in two cases: 1) when preferences are single-peaked and, 2) when preferences are single-dipped.

---

What is child care? Lessons from time-use surveys of major English-speaking countries

This paper examines the definition and measurement of time devoted to child care in the diary-based surveys administered by the United States, Canada, Australia, and Great Britain. Detailed analysis of the relationship between measures of care activity and supervisory care in the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) illustrate the larger conceptual issues at stake.

Close to Home: A Simultaneous Equations Model of the Relationship Between Child Care Accessibility and Female Labor Force Participation

Rising rates of maternal employment among current and former welfare recipients have increased the use of non-parental child care. Little empirical work examines the relationship between women’s labor supply and the geographic supply of child care. We combine census data with child care provider information for the state of Maryland to explore the relationship between female labor supply and the geographic supply of child care. OLS and 3-SLS equations are estimated, and the findings are consistent across each estimator: Women’s labor supply is sensitive to the geographic supply of child care and vice versa. These results are important because states now spend significant money on quality improvement initiatives, many of which increase child care supply in low-income neighborhoods.

Financial Reciprocity and Elder Care: Interdependent Resource Transfers

A sample from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study was used to examine the influence of parent-to-child financial transfers and economic resources on child-to-parent financial transfers, caregiving, time-help, and coresidence as multiple, interdependent transfers from middle-aged adult children to their elderly parents. There were strong positive effects of prior parent-to-child financial transfers in the models of caregiving, time help, and coresidence but no effect on child-to-parent financial transfers. Coresidence, caregiving, and time-help are complements but there was no interdependence between child-to-parent financial transfers and caregiving or time-help. The effects of parents’ incomes and net worth are interpreted as evidence about motives for transfers to them.

The Financial Assimilation of an Immigrant Group: Evidence on the Use of Checking and Savings Accounts and Currency Exchanges

This article examines the determinants of financial market participation for a particular group of immigrants: Hmong refugees in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. Our findings indicate that controlling for income and education, Hmong immigrants are less likely to have savings accounts and credit cards and are more likely to use currency exchanges, compared to randomly selected non-Hmong households living in the same neighborhoods. However, these effects are mitigated by time spent in the US. Financial assimilation appears to take 15–20 years. These findings expand our understanding of immigrant assimilation and highlight some of the complexities associated with the process of assimilation.