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Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology

Riley and Colleagues Discuss the Link Between Organized Abandonment and Public Health

CSDE Trainee Taylor Riley (Epidemiology) released research with co-authors in Social Science & Medicine, titled “Organized abandonment under racial capitalism: Measuring accountable actors of structural racism for public health research and action“. Understanding the shifting nature of structural racism historically and across institutions is vital for effective action towards racial health equity. While public health research on structural racism is rapidly increasing, most studies are missing the interdependence of policies and institutional practices over time that shape power imbalances and lead to entrenched health inequities. Here, authors discuss Ruth Wilson Gilmore’s concept of organized abandonment — the intentional disinvestment in communities which, in turn, creates opportunities for extraction, revenue generation, and carceral enforcement to fill the cracks of a compromised social infrastructure — to encourage action-oriented public health research that is grounded in history and an understanding of racial capitalism. They present a case example using publicly-available data on redlining, gentrification and policing in Seattle, Washington. 

CSDE Computational Demography Working Group (CDWG) Hosts Elizabeth Pelletier on the Effects of WA’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Policy on Maternal Employment (2/21/24)

On February 7th from 3-4pm, Elizabeth Pelletier, PhD candidate at the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, and CSDE T32 fellow, will present at the CDWG on Feb. 21st from 3:00-4:00pm. CDWG Will be Hybrid in Winter Quarter 2024. Attend in-person in Raitt 223 (The Demography Lab) or on Zoom (register here). Pelletier will present research, titled “The Effects of Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Policy on Maternal Employment”. Read more in the full story!

Abstract: Parents often experience unstable employment and volatile earnings around the time a child is born. Consequently, household income frequently falls at precisely the time families need increased resources to support a new child’s needs. Paid leave has emerged as a potentially promising way to smooth employment disruptions, support caregiving, and reduce inequalities by allowing more parents to afford time off. This paper studies the use and effects of a new Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) policy in Washington state among a key population of interest: mothers of newborns. I describe use of the policy in its first few years, examining what share of eligible mothers claimed PFML and how these take-up rates varied across demographic and employment characteristics and over time as the policy rolled out. Next, I use a regression discontinuity design to estimate the causal effect of PFML on mothers’ employment trajectories, leveraging the policy’s discontinuous eligibility cutoff to compare outcomes among mothers whose work histories place them right above and below the cutoff. I estimate the effects of PFML on employment status, earnings and hours levels and volatility, and employer continuity among mothers around a birth.

 

 

Chan quoted in Politico on China’s Internal Passport System

As many in this region celebrate the Lunar New Year of the Dragon, CSDE Affiliate Kam Wing Chan (Geography) was quoted in an annual review piece titled “Enter the Dragon” in Politico. In the section, “China’s internal Passport System Won’t Die”, China watcher Phelim Kine drew extensively on Chan’s research on the hukou system and his recent perspectives on China’s latest reforms to the system. Read more in the full article on Politico.

New Study by Jones and Colleagues Examines Developmental Assets of Young Black Sexual Gender Minority Males in Preventing Suicidal Behaviors

CSDE Affiliate Kristian Jones (Social Work) recently released an article with co-authors in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, titled “Examining developmental assets of young Black sexual gender minority males in preventing suicidal behaviors“. Black gay and bisexual male adolescents and young adults (BGBMA/YA) are at higher risk for suicidal outcomes given their minoritized and stigmatized identities at the intersection of race and sexual orientation. This study explores key developmental assets, including family support and family communication, and their role in preventing depression symptoms and suicidal outcomes among BGBMA/YA.