A tale of two cities: an experiment on inequality and preferences

Theory and Decision - The existence of a strong link between socio-economic background and individual preferences has been documented among both children and grown-ups. Here, we study whether such...     

Poverty and psychological distress in Latin America

The objective of this paper is three-fold: first, to study the psychological distress of the Latin American poor. Second, to study differences in psychological distress between the poor and the relatively wealthy in Latin America. Third, to study how economic growth impacts the psychological well-being of the poor.This paper uses micro-level information from the Gallup 2007 Survey for 16 Latin American countries to study psychological distress of the poor in Latin America; the survey is representative at the country level. The investigation works with approximately 12,500 observations. Psychological distress is measured on the basis of a set of questions regarding a person’s emotional situation the day before he/she answered the questionnaire.The investigation finds out that the poor show greater psychological distress than the wealthy and that the gap is statistically significant. However, it would be inappropriate to attempt predicting a person’s psychological well-being on the basis of his/her poverty condition alone, since many factors affect people’s psychological well-being. The paper also shows that rapid economic growth seems to be detrimental to the psychological well-being of the poor, and that the impact of economic growth on psychological well-being differs between the poor and the relatively wealthy.     

Conclusion: Recommendations for how practitioners, researchers, and policymakers can promote youth purpose

Initially drawing from, yet then expanding on the research discussed in this volume, this article discusses specific measures that practitioners, researchers, and policymakers can take to support purpose among youth. Strategies for educators include utilizing practical purpose teaching tools, such as purpose interviews, purpose-related discussions, whole classroom and school community games, and purpose survey methodologies. Research strategies include expanding the study of youth purpose to more diverse groups of young people, and developing more succinct tools to assess purpose in research. Finally, the article discusses policy measures to promote purpose, including modification of current academic testing practices, expanding the breadth of course and extracurricular experiences in schools to provide opportunities for purpose development, and integrating purpose promotion skill-building into existing teacher education programs.     

The role of exercise on the innate immunity of the elderly

The increased life span in human population has shown that some diseases, as infections, cancer and autoimmune phenomena, occur more frequently in the elderly than in the younger. We describe the ageing process involving the innate immune system and the improvement given by moderate physical activity. In addition, we discuss the altered neutrophil granulocytes function, the role of macrophages and natural killer cells, besides the influence of cytokines and secretory IgA. The acquired information help us to explain how these changes could favor the onset of diseases in the elderly and how they may boost their immune function.