It has long been posited by scientists that we need to have a better understanding in the role that larger contextual factors -- like neighborhood quality and the built environment -- may have on the nation's obesity crisis. This paper explores whether maternal perceptions of neighborhood...

"It has long been posited by scientists that we need to have a better understanding in the role that larger contextual factors -- like neighborhood quality and the built environment -- may have on the nation's obesity crisis. This paper explores whether maternal perceptions of neighborhood...

Prenatal exposure to smoking and alcohol-use is found to be correlated with various adverse consequences for children, including behavior problems. However, it is not clear whether this relationship is an artifact of underlying confounding factors that impact both the mother’s decision to...

Objective: To examine the association between frequency of family dinners (FFD) and selected problem behaviors for adolescents after adjusting for family connectedness, parental awareness, other family activities, and other potentially confounding factors. Methods: Data are drawn from the...

Obesity is epidemic in the U.S, and there is an imperative need to identify policy tools that may help fight this epidemic. A recent paper in the economics literature finds an inverse relationship between gasoline prices and obesity-risk --- suggesting that increased gasoline prices via higher...

There is evidence in the economic literature that restrictions on Medicaid funding for abortion reduces the demand for abortion. The unresolved question is whether such restrictions also increase safe sex (that is, pregnancy avoidance) behavior among women. This study explores that issue using...

While considerable research exists on whether abortion restrictions affect adolescents’ demand for abortions, less work has been done about whether such restrictions deter pregnancy-risk behavior among adolescents. This paper uses data from the first round of the NLSY97 to investigate the...

We examine the possible existence of a 'gateway' effect between the consumption of three different substances--cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana--among adolescents. A gateway effect exists when consumption of one substance increases the likelihood of subsequent initiation of consumption of...

In this research, we seek to advance the understanding of heterogeneity in entrant survival rates. We suggest that the innovative environment at the time of entry can explain the variation in likelihood of survival for entrants. We conceptualize innovative environment in terms of two dimensions:...

There is evidence in the economic literature that restrictions on Medicaid funding for abortion reduces the demand for abortion. The unresolved question is whether such restrictions also increase safe sex (that is, pregnancy avoidance) behavior among women. This study explores that issue using...