BLACK-WHITE WEALTH INEQUALITY: IS INHERITANCE THE REASON?

Racial differences in the receipt of financial inheritances he& to explain why the average difference in wealth between black and white households is larger than the average difference in income. Using data from a panel of prime-aged males and from a representative survey of the U.S. population, we document the greater likelihood of white households receiving an inheritance than black households. Controlling for other factors which contribute to racial differences in wealth, we estimate that financial inheritances may account for between 10% and 20% of the average difference in black-white household wealth.     

THE EFFECTS OF THE RACE OF THE INTERVIEWER ON RACE-RELATED ATTITUDES OF BLACK RESPONDENTS IN SRC/CPS NATIONAL ELECTION STUDIES

Previous research found substantial effects of the race of theinterviewer on measures of civic attitudes and electoral participationof blacks in NES surveys from 1964, 1976, 1978, 1980, and 1984.This study extends the previous analysis in two ways: it usesdata from two additional NES surveys, 1982 and 1986; and itfocuses on the effects of the race of the interviewer on race-relatedattitudes. Blacks interviewed by whites were much more likelyto express warmth and closeness toward whites than were blacksinterviewed by blacks. But whereas there is no race-of-interviewereffect on blacks' expressions of warmth toward blacks, thereis a clear race-of-interviewer effect on blacks' expressionsof closeness toward blacks. The pattern of responses to thecloseness items appears to result from the format of the question.The observed trend of decreasing expressed closeness of blackstoward blacks in NES surveys between 1976 and 1984 is an artifactof changes in the racial composition of the interviewer staff.     

MONEY, CREDIT, and WAGES IN HYPERINFLATION: POST-WORLD WAR I GERMANY

An important feature of the German hyperinflation is the way in which accelerating monetization of both government and private debt by the Reichsbank fueled the inflation process. The stimulus to private credit demand arising from more rapid adjustment of money wages over this period is often ignored, however. The present empirical results strongly support the importance of wage pressures in augmenting fiscal influences on nominal money growth during 1920–1923. Our findings also suggest that wage claims provided the main conduit through which higher inflationary expectations were accommodated by faster rates of monetary expansion.     

MEASURING CRACK COCAINE AND ITS IMPACT

Numerous social indicators turned negative for Blacks in the 1980s and rebounded a decade later. We explore whether crack cocaine explains these patterns. Absent a direct measure, we construct a crack prevalence index using multiple proxies. Our index reproduces spatial and temporal patterns described in ethnographic accounts of the crack epidemic. It explains much of the 1980s rise in Black youth homicide and more moderate increases in adverse birth outcomes. Although our index remains high through the 1990s, crack's deleterious social impact fades. Changes over time in behavior, crack markets, and the user population may have mitigated crack's damaging impacts. (JEL K42, J15, I30)     

Early School Leaving among Immigrants in Toronto Secondary Schools

Les données du Conseil scolaire du district de Toronto sont utilisées pour déterminer quelles sont les répercussions de vivre sous le seuil de faible revenu (SFR) sur le décrochage à l'école secondaire, en tenant compte du statut de la génération d'immigrants ainsi que d'une diversité de facteurs de risques (par exemple, le pays d'origine, l'âge à l'entrée de l'école secondaire, la réussite scolaire). Les résultats ont indiqué que la mesure SFR du voisinage constituait un prédicteur significatif du décrochage scolaire, indépendamment du statut d'immigrant. L'explication du taux de décrochage des immigrants à partir du facteur de la génération n'a obtenu que peu de soutien. La région d'origine s'est avérée un prédicteur marquant du décrochage où l'on constatait des différences entre les groupes d'immigrants et entre les étudiants immigrants et les étudiants originaires du pays. While education statistics confirm that there is little difference in the dropout rates of native‐born and immigrant youth, analyses of Toronto District School Board (TDSB) data have revealed significant variation in school persistence within immigrant groups. Among newcomer youth, the decision to leave school early has been reported to be strongly influenced by socioeconomic status as well as such factors as country of origin, age at arrival, generational status, family structure, and academic performance. While living in low‐income conditions is thought to place both foreign‐ and Canadian‐born youth at risk of poor school performance and early school withdrawal, their substantially higher incidence of poverty suggests that today's immigrant youth are likely to face greater obstacles to academic success that may in turn have detrimental, long‐term consequences. This paper uses TDSB data to investigate the extent to which living below the low‐income cutoff affects the likelihood of dropping out of secondary school, while taking into account generational status as well as a variety risk factors, noted above. Policy implications are discussed.     

The use of survey techniques in the review and evaluation of manufacturing projects

Leyland DAF arc commercial vehicle manufacturers based in Leyland, Lancashire. The commercial vehicle industry is characterized by a requirement for regular model changes to support both marketing and legislative developments. The industry is continually striving for improvements in the processes com rolling these changes. This paper explains how a project review procedure, utilizing surveying techniques, was established to evaluate the effectiveness of existing product introduction/modification procedures and hence highlight areas for improvement. The system is now in regular use on new vehicle projects of all types, including both the introduction of new models and product transfers between assembly plants. Potential areas for improvement, identified by surveys that have been completed to date, have been included as objectives for the next generation of new model introductions. These process improvement initiatives can now be investigated pro-actively and the potential risks removed before the errors recur.