Medical records are increasingly kept in electronic form. The existence of large medical data bases raises new questions about privacy and control over that information. When records exist in a form that they can easily be shared with others, there are legitimate fears about loss of privacy. The...

College-educated workers are twice as likely as high school graduates to make lasting long-distance moves, but little is known about the role of college itself in determining geographic mobility. Unobservable characteristics related to selection into college might also drive the relationship...

One of the most remarkable yet least remarked upon accomplishments in American public education in the twentieth century is the success of the school consolidation movement. Between 1930 and 1970, 9 out of every 10 school districts were eliminated through consolidation. Nearly two-thirds of...

One in five children under the age of six in the United States is a child of immigrant parents, making children of immigrants the fastest growing child population in the Unites States. Though 93 % of children of immigrants are US citizens, federal assistance programs meant to provide a safety...

This paper investigates the decision to have an abortion. It does so in a pregnancy-by-pregnancy context over the time interval from the mid-1950s through 1991. The analysis frames the choice as one made at the time the pregnancy is confirmed, and suggests that the decision is influenced by age,...

This paper compares three collective choice procedures for the provision of excludable public goods under incomplete information. One, serial cost sharing (SCS), is budget balanced, individually rational, anonymous, and strategy proof. The other two are "hybrid" procedures: voluntary cost...

There are vast differences in wealth holdings, even among households in similar age groups. In addition, a large percentage of U.S. households arrive close to retirement with little or no wealth. While many explanations can be found to rationalize these facts, approximately thirty percent of...

When the American public thinks about pollution problems, chances are it thinks of them in terms of broad encompassing issues like global warming, air pollution, acid rain, or deforestation - issues which impact people at a societal level. However, in the last decade, a grass roots movement...

Project STAR was a large-scale randomized trial of reduced class sizes in grades K-3. Because of the scope of the experiment, it has been used in many policy discussions. For example, the California state-wide Class Size Reduction was justified in part on the successes of Project STAR. Recent...

This paper examines a dynamic, Ricardian model of a small, open economy in which trade growth occurs endogenously as the trade capital stock rises. Trade capital grows as firms devote resources to investment in knowledge or relationships which reduces future trade costs. Because of diminishing...