Urban Institute

About: Urban Institute is a nonprofit organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Medicaid & Population. The organization has 927 authors who have published 2330 publications receiving 86426 citations.

Social security claiming: trends and business cycle effects

Abstract: This study examines Social Security claiming behavior, which has important implications for older Americans and for the system itself. Retirees may begin collecting benefits as early as age 62, but early claimants receive lower monthly benefits for the rest of their lives. Our data come from Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) files from 1984 to 2009 linked to administrative records on earnings and benefits. The sample is restricted to respondents with 40 quarters of covered employment who did not claim benefits before age 62. Results indicate that early claiming has declined over the past decade, after increasing over the previous 10 years. For men, the share claiming at age 62 fell from 55.3 percent in the 1930-34 birth cohort to 46.4 percent in the 1940-44 cohort. Over the same period, the share of women claiming at 62 fell from 59.3 to 49.0 percent. The recent trend toward delayed claiming is evident among all educational groups, not just college graduates. Hazard models show that high unemployment boosts Social Security claiming among men with limited education. A 1 percentage point increase in the state unemployment rate is associated with a 0.4 percentage point increase in the likelihood each month that men who never attended college will claim benefits, a relative increase of 6 percent. This estimate implies that the Great Recession increased claiming for men with limited education by about 40 percent. Claiming behavior among women and well-educated men is not significantly correlated with the state unemployment rate, however.

How marginal tax rates affect families at various levels of poverty

Abstract: High marginal tax rates can make moving above poverty very difficult for low-income families. These high tax rates result from increasing direct taxes (both state and federal) as well as decreasing...

Substitution Of SCHIP For Private Coverage: Results From A 2002 Evaluation In Ten States

Abstract: This paper examines the extent to which the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) might be substituting for private health insurance coverage at the time of enrollment. Among children who were newly enrolled in SCHIP in 2002 in ten states, about 14 percent had private coverage that they could have retained as an alternative to SCHIP. Of this 14 percent, about half of parents reported that the private coverage was unaffordable compared with SCHIP. This suggests that relatively few SCHIP enrollees could have retained private coverage and that even fewer had parents who felt that the option was affordable.

Public assistance receipt among immigrants and natives: how the unit of analysis affects research findings.

Abstract: Differences between immigrant and native households in rates of welfare receipt depend on nativity differences in individual-level rates of receipt, in household size, in mean number of recipients in receiving households, and in household nativity composition. We present algebraic derivations of these relationships and use data from the 1990 and 1991 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation to examine empirically the extent to which levels of welfare receipt for immigrants and natives are sensitive to the use of household-, family-, or individual-level units of analysis or presentation. The findings show that nativity differences are statistically significant only at the level of larger units. The results also indicate that if immigrants and natives had identical living arrangements, immigrants’ household-level receipt of Supplemental Security Income would significantly exceed natives’ receipt even more than it actually does, but the nativity difference in receipt of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) would reverse directions. Moreover, the level of AFDC receipt of immigrant households falls significantly below that of native households when native-born children living in households headed by immigrants are treated as if they were foreign born.

Assessing Youth Motivations for Joining a Peer Group as Risk Factors for Delinquent and Gang Behavior

Abstract: This article expands upon the limited literature on the relationship between youth motivations for joining a peer group and delinquent behavior. Using network survey data from 200 youth who self-identified as group members, we conducted factor analysis to develop measures of motivation to join a group, and then describe these motivations and the differences between delinquent and nondelinquent group members. Using negative binomial and binary logistic regression models, we examined the relationship between these motivations and delinquent behavior. The results indicated that youth who join a group for instrumental purposes exhibit more delinquent behavior than those who do not, while joining a group for reasons associated with filling a void and/or belonging has a weaker relationship to delinquency. The findings suggested that certain motivations for joining groups could serve as important risk factors that could be targeted by agencies and organizations seeking to prevent youth delinquent and gang behavior. Language: en