Self-employment and Civic Inclination

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 719-737
Author(s):  
F. Carson Mencken ◽  
Bethany Smith ◽  
Charles M. Tolbert
Keyword(s):  
Regression Models ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
The Self ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
County Level ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Building Community

We test whether the self-employed have higher levels of civic inclination (trust, political activism, community closeness, community participation) compared to workers from the private sector. We examine the civic inclinations of the self-employed with two national cross-sectional data sets. We use a variety of discrete and continuous regression models. We find that the self-employed have higher levels of political activism, feel closer to neighbors and family, and have greater odds of engaging to solve community problems. We fail to detect differences in donating money, attending community events, and closeness to friends. Previous research has concluded with county-level data that the self-employed are important actors in building community and creating social capital. Our results add to this literature by showing that the self-employed have higher levels of civic inclination with individual-level data. Implications for theory and research are discussed.

scholarly journals County-level recruitment in online samples: Applications to COVID-19 and beyond

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leib Litman ◽  
Robert Hartman ◽  
Shalom Noach Jaffe ◽  
Jonathan Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Infection Rate ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
The Self ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
County Level ◽  
Sampling Methodology ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Present Effort

Thousands of readily downloadable county-level data sets offer untapped potential for linking geo-social influences to individual-level human behavior. In this study we describe a methodology for county-level sampling of online participants, allowing us to link the self-reported behavior of N = 1084 online respondents to contemporaneous county-level data on COVID-19 infection rate density. Using this approach, we show that infection rate density predicts person-level self-reported face mask wearing beyond multiple other demographic and attitudinal covariates. Using the present effort as a demonstration project, we describe the underlying sampling methodology and discuss the wider range of potential applications.

Effectiveness of tax reform on entrepreneurship

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-111
Author(s):  
Chigozie Andy Ngwaba ◽  
SeyedSoroosh Azizi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Tax Reform ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Before And After

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of tax reform on entrepreneurship in South Africa using repeated cross-sectional data from the World Bank. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a difference-in-difference estimation technique as well as contrasting periods before and after the tax reform. This contrast is achieved by examining individuals in the formal and informal sector and measuring the effectiveness of the reform on self-employment. Findings The results indicate that the tax reform had a positive and significant effect on the probability of becoming self-employed in South Africa and is robust across different econometric specifications. Originality/value The authors use individual-level data to measure the effectiveness of a tax reform policy on entrepreneurship. Utilizing the South African post-Apartheid tax reform as a natural experiment allows the authors to identify the effects of taxes on the choice of becoming self-employed.

scholarly journals Examining the Effects of the Sacramento Dockless E-Bike Share on Bicycling and Driving

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 368
Author(s):  
Dillon T. Fitch ◽  
Hossain Mohiuddin ◽  
Susan L. Handy
Keyword(s):  
Travel Behavior ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Panel Survey ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Combine Data ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Bike Share

One way cities are looking to promote bicycling is by providing publicly or privately operated bike-share services, which enable individuals to rent bicycles for one-way trips. Although many studies have examined the use of bike-share services, little is known about how these services influence individual-level travel behavior more generally. In this study, we examine the behavior of users and non-users of a dockless, electric-assisted bike-share service in the Sacramento region of California. This service, operated by Jump until suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, was one of the largest of its kind in the U.S., and spanned three California cities: Sacramento, West Sacramento, and Davis. We combine data from a repeat cross-sectional before-and-after survey of residents and a longitudinal panel survey of bike-share users with the goal of examining how the service influenced individual-level bicycling and driving. Results from multilevel regression models suggest that the effect of bike-share on average bicycling and driving at the population level is likely small. However, our results indicate that people who have used-bike share are likely to have increased their bicycling because of bike-share.

scholarly journals Externalities of home-ownership on entrepreneurship: empirical evidence

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jani-Petri Laamanen
Keyword(s):  
Home Ownership ◽  
Rental Housing ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Paid Work ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Market Effects ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Rental Housing Market

PurposeThis study aims to examine the externalities from regional home-ownership to individual-level entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approachThe paper links individual-level data from the Finnish Income Distribution Statistics for years 1990-1992 to regional home-ownership proportions. Probit models of entrepreneurship with regional home-ownership and appropriate control variables as regressors are estimated. A rental housing market deregulation experiment which caused exogenous variation in regions’ home-ownership is exploited to identify the causal effects on entrepreneurship.FindingsResults show that higher home-ownership in a region leads to greater entrepreneurship. Further analyses together with the fact that homeownership tends to have detrimental labour market effects suggest that homeownership encourages entrepreneurship by leading to less paid work opportunities. These results are in line with those of earlier literature that self-employment and entrepreneurship, especially during bad economic times, are partly motivated by bad employment opportunities.Originality/valueThis study presents novel results on the externalities that home-ownership has on entrepreneurship. These externalities are shown to be important enough that they need to be considered when assessing the economic effects of various policies that affect the prevalence of owner-occupied housing. The instrumental variables’ estimates are the first causal estimates in the literature and the bias resulting from assuming exogeneity is shown to be nonnegligible.

scholarly journals A threat from within? Perceptions of immigration in an enlarging European Union

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Jeannet
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Level Data ◽  
European Immigration ◽  
East West

Scholars have taken a considerable interest in how global immigration to Europe generates public concern, but we still know little about the role that migration from within the European region has in fueling apprehensions. To better understand this, I examine how public attitudes towards immigration have responded to migration following the European Union’s most extensive enlargement along its eastern border in 2004. Using recent advances in multilevel modeling, this article analyzes the longitudinal, cross-sectional relationship between east–west internal European migration on public attitudes towards the economic and cultural aspects of immigration in Western Europe using individual-level data from the European Social Survey (2004–2014). The results demonstrate that growing populations of Central and Eastern European foreigners have contributed to Western Europeans’ perception of immigration as an economic threat, even when taking into account simultaneous immigration from outside Europe. Moreover, the relationship between east–west immigration and an individual’s perception of immigration as a threat is conditional upon their socio-economic status. These findings underscore how within-European immigration in Western Europe has become consequential to the public’s attitudes about immigration more generally.

Religious Environments and the Distribution of Anti-Poverty Nonprofit Organizations

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 156-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward C. Polson
Keyword(s):  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Spatial Regression ◽  
The United States ◽  
County Level ◽  
Geographic Concentration ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Spatial Regression Models ◽  
Previous Scholarship

Previous scholarship highlights the effect that religious environments have on community-level outcomes such as neighborhood stability, economic development, and crime. In the present study, I extend work on the contextual effects of religion by examining how the religious composition of U.S. counties is related to the distribution of anti-poverty nonprofit organizations. Anti-poverty nonprofits represent an important source of support for communities across the United States, and history suggests that religious people and groups have played a significant role in their development. Still, it is unclear whether some religious environments may be more nurturing of these organizations than others. Utilizing spatial regression models and county-level data, I seek to address this question. I find that the geographic concentration of some religious traditions is related to a more robust presence of anti-poverty nonprofit organizations than others.

scholarly journals Bikeshare Use in Urban Communities: Individual and Neighborhood Factors

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela R. Oates ◽  
Bryant W. Hamby ◽  
Sejong Bae ◽  
Maria C. Norena ◽  
H. Olivia Hart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Communities ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Effective Measure ◽  
Census Tracts ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Low Resource ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Sectional Analysis ◽  
Us Census

<p class="Pa7"><strong>Objective: </strong>Bicycling is an affordable way to increase access to employment, school­ing, and services and an effective measure against obesity. Bikeshare programs can make bicycling accessible to diverse popula­tions, but little evidence exists on their adoption in low-resource neighborhoods. Our study examined factors associated with bikeshare use in a metropolitan area in the southern United States.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Methods: </strong>We performed a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of a database of clients (N=815) who rented a bicycle from Zyp Bikeshare in Birmingham, Alabama be­tween October 2015 and November 2016. Individual-level variables included bike use frequency, average speed, total miles traveled, total minutes ridden, bike type (traditional vs electricity-assisted pedelec), membership type, sex, and age. Area-level data aggregated to Census tracts, proxies for neighborhoods, were obtained from the 2010 US Census after geocoding clients’ billing addresses. Using exploratory factor analysis, a neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage index (SDI) was constructed. Bikeshare station presence in a tract was included as a covariate. Multivariate linear regression models, adjusted for clustering on Census tracts, were estimated to determine predictors of bikeshare use.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Results: </strong>In a multivariate regression model of individual and neighborhood character­istics adjusted for clustering, each decile increase in the SDI was associated with a 9% increase in bikeshare use (P&lt;.001). Bikeshare use was also positively associated with speed (.1, P&lt;.001), total miles (.008, P&lt;.001), and pedelec use (1.02, P&lt;.01).</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Higher neighborhood socio­economic disadvantage is associated with higher bikeshare use. Bikeshare is a viable transportation option in low-resource neighborhoods and may be an effective tool to improve the connectivity, livability, and health of urban communities. <em></em></p><p class="Pa7"><em></em>Ethn Dis. 2017;27(Suppl 1):303-312; doi:10.18865/ed.27.S1.303.</p>

scholarly journals Comparisons of individual- and area-level socioeconomic status as proxies for individual-level measures: evidence from the Mortality Disparities in American Communities study

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Moss ◽  
Norman J. Johnson ◽  
Mandi Yu ◽  
Sean F. Altekruse ◽  
Kathleen A. Cronin
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Census Tract ◽  
Household Income ◽  
County Level ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Census Tract Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
The Us ◽  
Mortality Disparities ◽  
Household Incomes

Abstract Background Area-level measures are often used to approximate socioeconomic status (SES) when individual-level data are not available. However, no national studies have examined the validity of these measures in approximating individual-level SES. Methods Data came from ~ 3,471,000 participants in the Mortality Disparities in American Communities study, which links data from 2008 American Community Survey to National Death Index (through 2015). We calculated correlations, specificity, sensitivity, and odds ratios to summarize the concordance between individual-, census tract-, and county-level SES indicators (e.g., household income, college degree, unemployment). We estimated the association between each SES measure and mortality to illustrate the implications of misclassification for estimates of the SES-mortality association. Results Participants with high individual-level SES were more likely than other participants to live in high-SES areas. For example, individuals with high household incomes were more likely to live in census tracts (r = 0.232; odds ratio [OR] = 2.284) or counties (r = 0.157; OR = 1.325) whose median household income was above the US median. Across indicators, mortality was higher among low-SES groups (all p < .0001). Compared to county-level, census tract-level measures more closely approximated individual-level associations with mortality. Conclusions Moderate agreement emerged among binary indicators of SES across individual, census tract, and county levels, with increased precision for census tract compared to county measures when approximating individual-level values. When area level measures were used as proxies for individual SES, the SES-mortality associations were systematically underestimated. Studies using area-level SES proxies should use caution when selecting, analyzing, and interpreting associations with health outcomes.

Partisan Cues and Opinion Formation on Foreign Policy

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amnon Cavari ◽  
Guy Freedman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Policy Issue ◽  
The United States ◽  
Opinion Formation ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Foreign Policy Issue

How does the extension of party conflict to a foreign policy issue affect the ability of Americans to form an opinion about the issue? We test this using elite references and longitudinal public opinion data about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, a salient foreign policy issue in the United States that is increasingly characterized by partisan divisions. Our findings demonstrate that since the turn of the 21st century, the availability and clarity of party cues have increased, as well as the share of Americans who hold an opinion about the issue. Applying regression models to individual-level data, we reveal that the extension of party conflict to this issue has made it easier for more Americans to form an opinion.

scholarly journals Employment, Wages, and Voter Turnout

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 111-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerwin Kofi Charles ◽  
Melvin Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
County Level ◽  
Labor Market Conditions ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Us Congress ◽  
Level Data

Using county-level data across several decades, and various OLS and TSLS models, we find that higher local wages and employment lower turnout in elections for governor, senator, US Congress and state House of Representatives, but have no effect on presidential turnout. We also find that the share of people voting in one election but not in another on the same ballot increases as local labor market conditions improve. We argue that these results are most consistent with information-based models of voting, and use individual level panel data to show that increased employment lowers media usage and political knowledge. (JEL D72, D83, J22, J31, R23)

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