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.

How Much Does the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Reduce Food Insecurity

Abstract: Nearly 15% of all U.S. households and 40% of near-poor households were food insecure in 2009. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the cornerstone of federal food assistance programs and serves as the first line of defense against food-related hardship. This paper measures the effectiveness of SNAP in reducing food insecurity using an instrumental variables approach to control for selection. Our results suggest that receipt of SNAP benefits reduces the likelihood of being food insecure by roughly 30% and reduces the likelihood of being very food insecure by 20%.

Geographic Variation in Expenditures for Physicians' Services in the United States

Abstract: Background The national volume-performance standard recently implemented by Medicare does not account for geographic variation in expenditures for physicians' services. To study this variation, we examined expenditures for physicians' services in all metropolitan areas in the United States. Methods We used Medicare claims data for 1989 to measure rates of service use for beneficiaries living in the 317 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). The variables investigated were rates of admission to the hospital, payments to physicians for inpatient care per admission and per beneficiary, payments to physicians for outpatient care per beneficiary, and overall payments to physicians per beneficiary. Expenditures were measured in terms of allowed charges as adjusted to reflect prevailing charges in each MSA. Rates of use were adjusted for age and sex, with the exception of the variable for payments to physicians for inpatient care per admission, which was adjusted for case mix. Results Expenditures for the d...

The protective effect of marriage for survival: a review and update.

Abstract: The theory that marriage has protective effects for survival has itself lived for more than 100 years since Durkheim’s groundbreaking study of suicide (Durkheim 1951 [1897]). Investigations of differences in this protective effect by gender, by age, and in contrast to different unmarried statuses, however, have yielded inconsistent conclusions. These investigations typically either use data in which marital status and other covariates are observed in cross-sectional surveys up to 10 years before mortality exposure, or use data from panel surveys with much smaller sample sizes. Their conclusions are usually not based on formal statistical tests of contrasts between men and women or between never-married, divorced/separated, and widowed statuses. Using large-scale pooled panel survey data linked to death registrations and earnings histories for U.S. men and women aged 25 and older, and with appropriate contrast tests, we find a consistent survival advantage for married over unmarried men and women, and an additional survival “premium” for married men. We find little evidence of mortality differences between never-married, divorced/separated, and widowed statuses.

Sexual Harassment at Work: Three Explanatory Models

Abstract: This article explores three models of sexual harassment derived from previous research, court cases and legal defenses: the Natural/Biological Model, the Organizational Model, and the Sociocultural Model. Data from a large (N=20, 083) stratified random sample of the federal workforce are analyzed in relation to these models. No clear-cut support for any one model emerges, and the picture of sexual harassment painted by these data appears to be more complex and varied than earlier, self-selected samples initially suggested. The results are discussed in light of the difficulties of using large-scale survey techniques to investigate complex cultural phenomena, and suggestions are made for future research approaches that could complement survey techniques.

Equal Resources, Equal Outcomes? The Distribution of School Resources and Student Achievement in California

Abstract: This report focuses on three crucial questions about resources in California's K-12 schools. The first is how resources vary among schools, measured in terms of class size, curriculum, and teachers' education. Second, do schools serving disadvantaged populations receive fewer resources? And lastly, do existing inequalities in school resources contribute to unequal student outcomes? The report presents detailed measures of resources at the school and classroom levels and relates them to student achievement as captured in the first statewide administration of the Stanford 9 achievement test in 1998. The study does find differences in curriculum and in the supply of highly qualified teachers based on geography and SES. Low SES schools are also likely to have the lowest test scores. (Public Policy Institute of California Monograph, February 2000.)