THE TAXPAYER RELIEF ACT OF 1997 AND HOMEOWNERSHIP: IS SMALLER NOW BETTER?

Prior to the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (TRA97), the capital gain from the sale of a home was taxed differently for those over and under the age of 55. TRA97 eliminated this differential treatment. Using a difference‐in‐difference approach, we find that home sellers slightly under the age of 55 were 6.2% more likely to move for a less expensive house to maintain, 6.6% less likely to move for a larger place, and 5.2% more likely to reside in a condominium after TRA97's enactment, relative to those slightly over 55. (JEL H24, R21)     

Family Intervention and Health Care Costs for Kansas Medicaid Patients with Schizophrenia

Despite a number of studies investigating the effect of pharmacotherapy on treatment costs for schizophrenia patients, there has been little attention given to the effect of family intervention. In this study, data from the Kansas Medicaid system were used to analyze healthcare costs for 164 schizophrenia patients who had participated in family intervention. Structural equation modeling was used to test two competing views of the role of family intervention in treatment. The results showed that a model including direct and indirect effects of family intervention provided a better fit to the data. Family intervention had a significant indirect effect on general medical costs (through other psychological treatment) that showed a savings of $586 for each unit increase in the provision of these services. In addition, the total indirect effects for family intervention showed a $580 savings for general medical costs and $796 for hospitalization costs (for each unit increase).     

The Divide Between “Evidenced‐Based” Approaches and Practitioners of Traditional Theories of Family Therapy

Evidenced‐based approaches continue to grow in the field of family therapy. However, practicing family therapists do not always embrace these approaches. In this article, we explore factors contributing to practitioners' concerns with evidence‐based treatments and suggest a broader, more clinically palatable view of evidenced‐based treatment. We also suggest how family therapy researchers, practitioners, and educators might begin to close the researcher–clinician divide in the best interest of all concerned.     

Duration and Recurrence of Unemployment Benefits

Using administrative data for the period 2005–2010, we test for the existence of segmentation in the pool of the unemployed receiving benefits and investigate the factors associated with the duration and recurrence of the receipt of unemployment benefits in Spain. The results suggest the existence of (at least) three groups of individuals, each with different combinations of covered unemployment duration and recurrence. We also find that the impact of the employment crisis has been an increase in the average length of time spent receiving unemployment benefits and the recurrence. Our findings support the hypothesis that not only the heterogeneity but also the previous experience of receipt increase the expected duration of subsequent benefit periods.     

The Whitening Hypothesis Challenged: Biculturalism in Latino and Non‐Hispanic White Intermarriage

Assimilation theory holds that intermarriage between minorities and non‐Hispanic whites is a gauge of integration and assumes that minorities jettison their ethnic identification in favor of whiteness. Drawing on race relations theory to argue that intermarriage is potentially transformative for non‐Hispanic whites as well as Latinos, this article challenges assimilation theory's bias that minorities (should) undergo cultural change and that non‐Hispanic whites remain unmoved. This article uses in‐depth interviews with Latino and non‐Hispanic white married couples to assess the consequences of ethnic intermarriage from the perspectives of both partners. Interethnic partners engaged in four “ideal types” of biculturalism, running largely contrary to assimilation theory's social whitening hypothesis. Due to boundary blurring, exemplified by affiliative ethnic identity, non‐Hispanic whites can migrate into Latino culture.     

Legitimate Deficit: Competitive Bidding in a Residual and Semi-democratic Welfare Society

Competitive bidding for public subsidy allocation for welfare services has been widely applied in established welfare states since the 1980s. Studies conducted in these countries have inclined to understand competitive bidding as a financing initiative and use an array of “failure theories” to explain its challenges and failures. In contrast to these studies, the present study focuses on Hong Kong, a residual and semi-democratic welfare state, and investigates competitive bidding as a governmental policy instrument designed to increase the legitimacy of subsidy award decisions. Based on an analysis of submissions in a recent policy review and a review of existing policy documents, we suggest that the government may have increased its decision-making power over NGOs, resulting in little advancement, neither regarding welfare mix, nor concerning the legitimacy of resource allocation.