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Objective: The objectives of this study were to examine (1) the linkage from airports to regional talent distribution and (2) the effect of talent on regional economic development. Methods: Using the data collected in Wisconsin at the municipal level, a subcounty level, in a region of the North Central United States from 1970 to 2010 and the American Community Survey 2006–2010 five‐year estimates, and random effects models and structural equation models, we employ descriptive and inferential statistics to examine the linkage from airports to talent to regional economic development. Results: We find that the farther a location is away from the airport, the lower its talent share tends to be, while greater passenger flow at the nearest airport increases a location's talent share. Given the quantity of passenger flow, a longer distance from the airport also reduces a location's talent share. The results furthermore suggest that economic development is impacted positively by passenger flow and talent share and negatively by distance to an airport. Conclusion: Our results underscore the intermediate role of talent between airports and regional economic development; building the linkage from airports to talent within the context of regional economic development provides important insights for local policy making aimed at attracting talented migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Existing research on support for anti-poverty programs largely focuses on broad categories of welfare. In this article, we examine variations in support across different public assistance programs. Methods We use an experimental survey design to examine whether support for public assistance is dependent on the type of aid offered. Results We find that programs that offer benefits in-kind are more popular than cash transfers. Moreover, food stamps and child-care subsidies enjoy more support than housing assistance. Open-ended survey responses show that when evaluating anti-poverty programs, respondents adopt one of two perspectives: (1) cash assistance is problematic but other forms of assistance are acceptable or (2) any assistance is problematic. Conclusion By too narrowly focusing on welfare, social scientists run the risk of developing theories and explanations that may not apply to the much larger part of the safety net that is delivered in-kind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Work on economic news argues that U.S. coverage focuses primarily on changes rather than levels of future economic conditions; it also both affects and reflects public economic sentiment. Given that economic perceptions are related to policy preferences and government support, this is of consequence for politics. This article explores the generalizability of these findings. Methods Using nearly 100,000 stories over 30 years in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, we compare media tone, public opinion, and economic conditions. Result Analyses demonstrate that media tone and public opinion follow future economic change in all three countries. Media and opinion are also related, but the effect mostly runs from the public to the media, not the other way around. Conclusion These results confirm the generalizability of prior findings, and the importance of considering more than a simple unidirectional link between media coverage and public economic sentiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The literature typically undervalues the economy-wide importance of confidence, despite a renewed interest since the recent financial crisis in considering also psychological factors such as confidence. This study empirically assesses whether confidence matters for current real GDP growth in the euro area and the United States in addition to a widely applied and reliable predictor, the Purchasing Managers' Index. Methods We add confidence indicators to a regression of real GDP growth on the composite PMI output index and check for a different impact of confidence during recessions as opposed to expansions by applying smooth transition regressions. Results Confidence matters for economic growth, both in good and bad times. This result is robust across sample periods, models, and proxies for confidence. Conclusions Confidence is essential for assessing the current stage of the business cycle. Analysts should therefore closely monitor sentiment swings, whereas private and public decisionmakers can boost growth by improving confidence in the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Does increasing a political party's power lead to Leviathan state governments? The evidence is mixed. We use the Economic Freedom of North America ( EFNA) Index to measure governmental activity to study the impact of political parties on government outcomes. Methods We employ instrumental-variable, panel data methods to regress states' EFNA scores on median voter and differentiated-party variables. Results Party effects are negligible, but a simple median voter explanation emerges. Conclusion As political power is consolidated in either party, economic freedom increases. This is consistent with a model wherein the median voter has effective agency control with positive monitoring costs and prefers a particular level of so-called economic freedom. These results are inconsistent with Leviathan models of state legislatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. We investigate the neighborhood contexts in which low-income families negotiate welfare reform. Methods. Using data from the Three-City Study and U.S. Census, we follow 1,059 low-income women from 1999 to 2005 tracking their neighborhood quality, employment, and welfare use. We evaluate whether improvements in residential contexts facilitate transitions to economic self-sufficiency, but also test the reverse possibility. Results. Despite living in similar neighborhoods in 1999, women who left welfare experienced larger reductions in neighborhood disadvantage than women who remained on welfare. Likewise, women who left welfare with employment achieved larger increases in neighborhood quality than those who left welfare without work; the latter experiencing neighborhood change no different than those who stayed on welfare. Conclusions. Neighborhood conditions are, at minimum, associated with welfare outcomes. Findings suggest that neighborhood quality increases after women leave welfare, though we cannot reject the possibility that better neighborhoods lead to better welfare outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. After increasing sharply in the 1970s and 1980s, the number of high-poverty neighborhoods in the United States unexpectedly and dramatically declined in the 1990s. This article examines the roles that residential and income mobility played in this decline. Methods. Using geocoded data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, this study analyzes changes during the 1990s and early 2000s in: (1) patterns of residential mobility between high-poverty and lower-poverty neighborhoods; and (2) patterns of income mobility for residents who remained in high-poverty neighborhoods. Results. Both patterns of residential and income mobility changed in the 1990s and early 2000s. While patterns of residential migration to high-poverty neighborhoods were largely unchanged over this period, patterns of residential migration from high-poverty neighborhoods changed significantly, with poor individuals-especially poor blacks-becoming more likely to relocate from high-poverty to lower-poverty neighborhoods. Patterns of income mobility for residents who remained in high-poverty neighborhoods also changed significantly, with nonpoor residents becoming less likely to become poor and poor residents becoming more likely to exit poverty. Conclusion. Poverty rates in high-poverty neighborhoods fell primarily because of the net upward income mobility of residents who remained in these neighborhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. This response to Lenahan O'Connell's article “Exploring the Social Roots of Smart Growth Policy Adoption by Cities” examines whether the relationship between education and the adoption of smart growth programs in U.S. cities is reflective of the new political culture and rooted in postmaterial values or, perhaps, just reflective of a slightly different way of thinking about traditional economic development. Methods. Using data for 45 U.S. cities that have articulated broad policies to try to become more sustainable, this analysis includes a measure of the severity of air pollution as an indicator of the need for smart growth programs. Results. The measure of need is more strongly related to the pursuit of smart growth than is either education or income. Conclusions. Since the level of air pollution is frequently understood to make economic growth difficult or impossible, the results suggest that smart growth programs might be just as likely motivated by traditional economic development as by postmaterial values, and there is a need to develop a deeper understanding of the motivates for adopting such programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We analyze the levels of trust and social capital among an understudied group: migrant seasonal farmworkers (MSFW). MSFWs of today are likely to become the “Hispanics” of tomorrow, which means that understanding what affects the development of social capital of this group is critical to understanding how these individuals are incorporated—or not—into the U.S. polity. Methods: We utilize logistic regression analysis and ordered logit analysis to analyze a data set of 555 MSFWs and comments from four focus groups in Idaho. Results: We find that MSFWs have lower levels of generalized trust than do Hispanics nationally. We also find that MSFWs have low levels of trust toward whites and Mexican Americans. Conclusions: We argue that an ethnic community's subgroups must be incorporated into our analysis of social capital, especially when these individuals are likely to become U.S. permanent residents or citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]