Olugbenga Ajilore

Ethnic fragmentation and police spending

Using a Two-Stage Least Squares procedure, we estimate the relationship between ethnic fragmentation and police spending using a cross-section of United States counties. Our results show that, when controlling for community characteristics and accounting for simultaneity bias, ethnic fragmentation is positively related to police spending. Our paper contributes to the understanding of the stylized fact that public spending on police increased over a period in which the incidence of crime decreased.

Uncovering peer effects mechanisms with weight outcomes using spatial econometrics

Abstract Research about how peers influence weight outcomes among adolescents has yielded mixed findings. This paper seeks to not only estimate these peer effects, but also to distinguish between two mechanisms: social multiplier effects and social norm effects. After estimating an augmented spatial autoregressive model using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health Survey, this study finds significant peer interactions in body mass index, which can be explained by both mechanisms of peer influence; the social norm effect is much larger than the social multiplier effect. The estimated peer effects for overweight and obesity statuses suggest that peer effects are important for overweight status but not for obesity status, and peer influence for overweight status appears to operate solely through social multiplier effect. These findings provide important information for the design of obesity-prevention interventions in schools.

Elderly Ethnic Fragmentation and Support for Local Public Education

This article considers the relationship between ethnicity within the elderly population and education spending. Extensive literature analyzes the relationship between demographics and education spending. This article contributes to this literature by examining the dynamics between the elderly population and ethnicity and its impact on education finance. Using a national panel public school district data set, it is found that increased ethnic fragmentation within the elderly population is negatively related to per-pupil spending and to per-pupil local revenues, but this effect depends on whether the state has a court-ordered reform.

The Impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit on Poverty: Analyzing the Dimensions by Race and Immigration

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) on poverty transitions, with an emphasis on native-born African–Americans and immigration. A probit model is estimated using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which evaluates the impact of EITC participation and immigration on transitions out of poverty. The EITC is found to be a useful tool in combating poverty and is effective for African–Americans, though only for women. More importantly, the results show that the implementation of state-level EITCs can mitigate the adverse effects of immigration for native-born African–Americans.

The militarization of local law enforcement: is race a factor?

Recent events have placed a spotlight on the increasing militarization of local law enforcement. While ample anecdotal evidence suggests a link between race and the militarization of police, empirical analysis has yet to be performed. In this study, I find that, conditional on crime rate, the presence of a large African-American population is negatively correlated to police acquisition of mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles. Conversely, greater residential segregation is positively correlated to MRAP procurement. This result highlights the problem with growing segregation, in suburbs as well as urban centres, in the United States.

The Spillover Effect of Race on Police Expenditures: An Alternative Test of the Minority Threat Hypothesis

This paper implements a novel application of spatial econometrics to test the minority threat hypothesis by estimating the relationship and potential spillovers between race and police expenditures. This paper uses a strategic interaction framework to describe the mechanism that may drive expenditure spillovers as well as demographic spillovers. Estimating a Spatial Durbin Model (SDM), the findings of this study show counties with more residential segregation and are more conservative exhibit positive spillovers on neighboring county police expenditures. This paper makes a contribution by showing the effects of greater minority threat is not limited within geographic boundaries.

Ethnic Differences in the Influence of Peers on Weight-Related Behavior:

There is no doubt that peers have an influence on individual weight gain. This article seeks to find if the influence of peers is consistent across ethnic groups or whether certain groups are influenced more by their peers than other groups. Studies in the peer effects literature primarily focus on identifying the direct impact of peers on individual behavior. The difficulty in isolating the direct behavioral effect of peers on individual’s behavior is that there are several mechanisms driving the correlation between individual’s outcomes and peer group outcomes. We model peer effects using an identification strategy that exploits network structure and incorporates group-specific fixed effects to control for confounding effects. Using data taken from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), we find that peer effects exist across all genders and ethnic groups, but it is more prevalent for Hispanic youth with respect to sedentary activities. The findings also show that having male peers is associated with lower exercise for both young males and young females. The implications of this study are that reducing obesity through encouraging healthy behaviors should not only focus on individual factors but also on the role of peers as well as gender and ethnic differences in the design of such programs.

Did the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Cause Subsidized Worker Substitution

This article questions whether the implementation of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) created an incentive for employers to substitute subsidized workers for incumbent workers. To see if this substitution occurs, the author uses a differences-in-differences methodology to test whether the implementation of the WOTC caused both an increase in employment from a representative target group and a decrease in employment of a group that is a close substitute for members of the target group. The author finds no evidence that subsidized worker substitution occurred in the period after the WOTC was implemented. There is evidence that the WOTC is effective in increasing the employment rates of long-term welfare recipients.