Publication Type: Poster
Abstract: Although the positive effects of maternal education on children’s health are often taken for granted, little is known about how these effects may differ by race and ethnicity. This paper uses data from all WIC visits in the state of Wisconsin for the years 1997-2001 to assess maternal education gradients for breastfeeding initiation and duration. Results show that more maternal education results in a greater incidence of breastfeeding for whites, but results are mixed for blacks and Hispanics. A variety of hypotheses for the different returns to education for breastfeeding are explored.

Publication Type: Poster
Abstract: This research examines response to neighborhood change in Price Hill and Westwood, two urban neighborhoods in Cincinnati. Both neighborhoods are predominately white and working-class and are often portrayed as receiving neighborhoods for an “overconcentration” of subsidized housing recipients after HOPE VI-funded housing project demolitions. Community organizations were active in both neighborhoods, each with stated goals to stabilize the neighborhoods.

Prior literature demonstrates that residents of neighborhoods experiencing perceived change often express concerns about neighborhood decline. A mixed methodological approach was used to examine the two neighborhood cases. Interviews were conducted with individuals from neighborhood organizations to determine if trends in the literature were present in these cases. Neighborhood level quantitative data were collected from a variety of sources spanning from 1994 to 2004 to test whether the perceptions about neighborhood decline were correct. Data sources include: census data, Part 1 crime data, and subsidized housing data. GIS mapping was utilized to visually depict demographic characteristics.

Census data show the neighborhoods did become increasingly diverse, with increases in African-Americans and decreases in non-Hispanic whites. As popularly perceived, the level of subsidized housing did increase, yet the most noticeable income changes were seen in modest increases in the level of middle-income residents. Crime levels rose, yet this increases pre-dated public housing teardowns, a correlation often asserted by interviewees. Census data indicate that property values and the amount of middle-income residents rose during the decade, suggesting that modest levels of gentrification, rather than deterioration, may be occurring in the neighborhoods.