An Analysis of Independent Power Projects in Africa: Understanding Development and Investment Outcomes

This study analyses the outcomes of African independent power projects (IPPs). Nearly 40 such projects have taken root to date, concentrated mainly in 8 countries. More balanced outcomes are perceived in North Africa than across sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), for reasons linked to more attractive investment environments, more robust policy frameworks, fewer planning mishaps, abundant low‐cost fuel and secure fuel contracts as well as credit enhancements such as sovereign guarantees. With few exceptions, these elements were absent in SSA, where the role of development finance institutions and the strategic management of projects seem more important.     

Wanted and Unwanted Fertility: Victoria 1971 to 1975

In both practical and subjective terms, birth control became more available in Victoria after 1971. During 1971 to 1975, this change seems to be more considerable than changes in social and economic factors affecting wanted births. Therefore it is hypothesized that, during this period, unwanted fertility declined more steeply than wanted fertility. Evidence of a growing use of more effective methods of birth control, and of the differential rates of change in various categories of births, appear to support this hypothesis. Births designated ‘unwanted’ declined more than those designated ‘wanted’, and within the ‘unwanted’ categories, declined most for those women who had best access to birth control.     

Changing conditions in the US labor market

In this paper, we assess the extent to which the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 affected US labor market conditions facing Mexican migrant workers. Using data gathered from migrants in ten Mexican communities, as well as out-migrants from those communities located in the USA, we examined whether and how IRCA affected US wages, hours worked, and the terms of employment. Estimated period effects did not indicate a clear break in most of these variables following IRCA's passage in 1986, except for hours worked and monthly income. Our analyses did reveal a fairly consistent pattern of deterioration in the labor market conditions facing undocumented migrants, however. Compared to illegal migrants working in the USA before IRCA, those migrating afterward worked fewer hours and were less likely to have taxes withheld from their pay. We also found evidence that undocumented migrants were pushed from the agrarian to the urban economy by the increase in labor supply occasioned by the SAW program.     

Stemming the tide? Assessing the deterrent effects of the immigration reform and control act

This study uses a new source of data to assess the degree to which the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) deterred undocumented migration from Mexico to the United States. Data were collected from migrants interviewed in seven Mexican communities during the winters of 1987 through 1989, as well as from out-migrants from those communities who subsequently located in the United States. We conduct time-series experiments that examine changes in migrants' behavior before and after passage of the IRCA in 1986. We estimate trends in the probability of taking a first illegal trip, the probability of repeat migration, the probability of apprehension by the Border Patrol, the probability of using a border smuggler, and the costs of illegal border crossing. In none of these analyses could we detect any evidence that IRCA has significantly deterred undocumented migration from Mexico.     

Variations in the gender composition of immigrant populations: how they matter

This paper estimates and interprets empirical shifts in the gender composition of immigrants to add to scholarship about the gendering of international migrations over time. We map shifts in gender ratios using micro-level data that permit us to create age-standardized estimates among adult foreign born stock living in the United States since 1850 and in 26 other nations worldwide since 1960. We examine regional and national variations in these shifts, and ask whether and how the gendered composition of foreigners from diverse origins in the United States – the nation that has received the largest populations of migrants for over a century – differs from other nations that receive large numbers of immigrants. We also examine recent variations in gender ratios among immigrants living in six regional destination countries. Results show substantial variation in the gender composition of foreign-born populations, and they offer a starting point for examining causes and consequences in future research.     

Latino Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health Behaviors and Outcomes: Research Informed Guidance for Agency-Based Practitioners

Latinos are the largest and fastest growing minority youth group in the United States. Currently, Latino adolescents experience higher rates of teen pregnancy compared to any other racial or ethnic group and have disproportionately high levels of sexually transmitted infections and HIV. Latino teens are also affected by a number of social problems such as school dropout, poverty, depression and limited access to healthcare, which contributes to disparities in reproductive health outcomes for this population. Relatively few intervention research studies and programs have been dedicated to reducing sexual risk among Latino youth, despite their particular vulnerabilities in experiencing negative reproductive health outcomes. We provide recommendations for identifying the unique reproductive health needs of Latino youth and specific applied strategies so that agency-based social workers and other providers can develop family-based interventions that improve adolescent Latino sexual and reproductive health.     

Health Care and Disability NGOs in Croatia: State Relations,Privatization, and Professionalism in an Emerging Field

Although nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in post-socialist countries have been under a microscope since their inception, their relations with the state are only beginning to come into focus and to be the subject of comparative and theoretical assessment. What these relationships mean to different stakeholders, whether they take trajectories similar to those in the West, and how they will be shaped by socialist legacies, are important questions to address before such relations are naturalized as “the way things are.” This paper examines NGO/state relations in the development of health care and disability services in Croatia, a nation newly admitted to membership in the European Union. The paper explores policy and institutional legacies, health care privatization, and relations with health professionals as forces affecting the financing, structure, and experience of relationships between NGOs and the post-socialist state.