Mark Evan Edwards

Education and Occupations: Reexamining the Conventional Wisdom About Later First Births Among American Mothers

Using biannual Current Population Survey data, this paper reexamines the question of how education and occupations led to the postponement of first births among American mothers in the 1970s through 1990s. Analytical methods in earlier investigations predispose researchers to favor an “investment” model of educations effects, but an alternative method used in this analysis suggests that college attainments major effect on age at first birth is primarily the result of years spent childless in college. Mothers-to-be in higher prestige occupations did delay motherhood longer than did those in other occupations. This study extends earlier research by examining whether or not conclusions drawn about all women (with and without children) apply to the majority of women—those who become mothers. The expansion of higher education, higher prestige occupations, and their impact on work and family decisions are discussed.

Do Attitudes and Personality Characteristics Affect Socioeconomic Outcomes? The Case of Welfare Use by Young Women

Objective. We estimate a model of social‐psychological determinants of entry into Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), the primary cash welfare program in the United States until 1996. Methods. Using information from the youngest cohorts of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we estimate logit models of the probability of ever participating in AFDC and hazard models of the timing until first use of AFDC. Results. We find strong associations between welfare use and several attitudes and personality characteristics, but with two exceptions, most of the associations are not robust to the inclusion of exogenous background characteristics. There is consistent, strong evidence that positive attitudes toward school lower the likelihood of using welfare and increase duration until first receipt. Family background and social environment characteristics show strong robust effects. Conclusions. Our results point to relatively weak evidence for the hypothesis that individual attitudes in adolescence have a significant impact on initial welfare receipt.

Determinants of initial entry onto welfare by young women

Using data from the youngest cohorts of women in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this study constructs Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) histories starting at age 15. Most young women go on AFDC for the first time between ages 18 and 25 and do so in the first few years after the birth of their first baby. These histories are used to estimate models of the determinants of initial use of AFDC. The models provide mixed evidence that the financial or other incentives of welfare policy affect the likelihood and timing of AFDC use. Benefit levels do not seem to affect participation, but the presence of a program for medically needy families who are not on welfare appears to decrease entrance to welfare for some groups. Parental poverty, family structure, academic achievement, attitudes toward school, and race are significantly related to the likelihood of participating in AFDC, and the rate of entry.

Demographic Determinants of Perceived Barriers to Community Involvement: Examining Rural/Urban Differences

Communities all rely to some degree on residents to serve in and lead the local organizations that make those communities vital. Recognizing barriers experienced by specific groups helps community leaders identify why various groups do not participate. Using data from the 2000 Social Capital Benchmark Survey, this analysis examines perceived barriers to community involvement among individuals in rural and urban areas. Findings are generally consistent with earlier research into volunteer behavior, but, among several unexpected findings, we note that parents and employed people are more likely to lack the information they think they need, and minority group members, net of other characteristics, feel unwelcomed and ineffective. Patterns sometimes differ for rural and urban places, particularly when comparing men and women. The results highlight barriers that community leaders can seek to reduce and suggest areas where further place-based research could be beneficial.

When safety culture backfires: Unintended consequences of half-shared governance in a high tech workplace

Abstract This paper applies concepts from the sociology and anthropology of organizations to understand limits to the implementation of a more effective safety culture in the workplace. It highlights unintended consequences of combining bureaucratic control and shared governance and identifies sources of inertia within already existing safety cultures. The data come from focus group interviews with workers in a research and development facility of a multinational corporation in the Western U.S. It is found that safety protocols, rules, and rhetoric, combined with efforts to give workers more responsibility for safety in the workplace, create tendencies toward worker alienation, shame with regard to injuries, complacency, and fear of bureaucratic processes. Therefore it appears that some efforts to create safety culture in the workplace may unintentionally undermine the goal of manufacturing safety.

The Great Recession and SNAP Caseloads: A Tale of Two States

ABSTRACT Using detailed administrative data for the 2003 to 2010 period, the authors contrast Florida’s and Oregon’s dramatically different participation dynamics, assessing the expansion and extension of benefits before, during, and after the Great Recession. State differences in how Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has been administered help explain differences in SNAP use. Although the recession led to increased need and SNAP participation in both states, state differences in prerecession program policies and efforts to enroll and retain eligible participants provide a plausible explanation for lower exit rates and longer spell durations in Oregon. Implications of these findings for low income households, policymakers and future research are discussed.

Household and economic factors associated with geographic and school mobility among low-income children

Child poverty has been shown to have lifelong consequences, and several policy interventions have sought to alleviate its effects. However, federal school policy insufficiently addresses ‘out of school’ factors, including high rates of residential and school mobility among poor students. The detrimental effects of school mobility on achievement and classroom behavior have been well documented, but the literature on the household dynamics associated with residential and school mobility among the poor is limited. This study uses detailed administrative data from Oregons Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to provide more information on residential and school mobility among low-income children of early elementary school age. Changes in household composition, income, employment, residential address, and school catchment were analyzed over several years to measure the relationship between mobility and household dynamics. We find that Oregon children from low-income families have high rates of residential and school mobility and that family dynamics rather than economic opportunity appear to increase the probability of moving. We offer several policy recommendations in light of the findings.

A Framework for the Evaluation and Redesign of Human Work Based on Societal Factors

A framework is presented that models the relationships among a company, its workforce, and society. This framework utilizes a set of work dimensions that link characteristics of work tasks to the well-being of workers. A methodology, Company-Society Compatibility, is derived from this framework comparing two cultures - that of the company and that of an indigenous society. The comparison is performed by characterizing the work offered by the company and work that is compatible with the society. This information would be useful to decision makers who have responsibility for designing, planning and managing work.