Making college education more affordable is a central goal of the Obama Administration and has been a focus of Vice-President Biden's Taskforce on the Middle Class. To that end, the Task Force asked U.S. Treasury Department to prepare this report on how to make Section 529 college savings plans a more effective and reliable tool for families to…

Improving cognitive skills of young children has been suggested as a possible strategy for equalising opportunities across racial groups. Using data on four and five year olds in the Longitudinal Survey of Australian Children, we focus on two cognitive tests: the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and the "Who Am I?" test. We estimate the…

Using data from a random sample of 580 midwestern women, the authors explore the association between lifetime infertility and life satisfaction. Past research shows lower life satisfaction among those seeking help for infertility. The authors find no direct effects of lifetime infertility, regardless of perception of a problem, on life…

This article presents a demographic portrait of young Hispanic children compared to young non-Hispanic Whites. New results from Census 2000 describe family and economic circumstances of children aged 08, as well as pre-K/nursery school and kindergarten enrollment for the United States, and for the 9 states with the largest number of young Hispanic…

Although homework is assigned for a variety of academic and non-academic purposes, there is disagreement within the educational community about the value of homework and the amount of homework students should be assigned. This Literature Review summarizes the benefits and drawbacks of homework and examines how much time students should and…

Federal higher education policy has shifted over the past few decades from grants to loans as the primary means for providing access to postsecondary education for low- and moderate-income families. With this shift, policy makers have begun tracking student loan default rates as a key indicator of the efficacy of student loan programs. This effort…

Examines the effects of long-term unemployment on families, marital relationships, and children. Discusses impact of financial hardship, stress, and emotional upheaval as they affect family systems. Presents counseling interventions for addressing needs of children in these families. Includes 54 citations. (Author/CRR)

The rise of cohabitation and the growing share of births to cohabiting couples have led to speculation that the boundary between marriage and cohabitation is blurring. Examines this issue with an analysis of the financial arrangements of fathers of mainland Puerto Rican children. Reveals that married fathers are more likely than cohabiting fathers…

The purpose of this paper is to suggest an improved measure of financial poverty, based on household consumption and wealth as well as income. Data come from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Australia (HILDA) Survey, which appears to be the first national socio-economic panel survey to provide longitudinal data on all three measures of…

Focuses on Arab and Jewish immigration to the United States from Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. It explains how Jewish and Arab immigrants from these areas were identified and compares the socioeconomic characteristics of the two immigrant populations. (GLR)

Analyzes the defeat of the California child care tax credit bill and suggests avenues for parents, child care groups, and professionals to use in future advocation efforts. (BJD)

Income growth and stagnation is discussed, several trends in income inequality among American families are examined, and the notion of a vanishing middle class that may be losing the college cost race is addressed. (MSE)

To be economically secure, families need both income and assets. Regular income helps families pay for their daily living expenses. In contrast, families need assets to weather financial hardships and get ahead. Assets provide a safety net for coping with unanticipated expenses and emergencies that could otherwise cause significant financial…

A vast literature has examined the effects of marital disruption on child well-being, however medically attended childhood accidents/injuries have not been considered as an outcome. This article investigates this association as well as possible intervening pathways using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-linked mother-child file.…

Survey evidence from three Central European Countries (Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland) is analysed to identify the degree of non-agricultural farm diversification and the factors facilitating or impeding it in individual and corporate farms. The effect of diversification on rural job creation and household incomes is investigated. The results…