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Nonprofit organizations are important actors in local communities, providing services to vulnerable populations and acting as stewards for charitable contributions from other members of the population. An important question is whether nonprofits spend or receive additional revenues in response to changes in the populations they serve. Because immigrant populations both receive and contribute to nonprofit resources, changes in immigrant numbers should be reflected in changing financial behavior of local nonprofits. Using data from the National Center for Charitable Statistics and the American Community Survey, we study whether nonprofit financial transactions change in response to changes in the local immigration population, the nature of the change, and the degree to which these changes vary by nonprofit type. Findings suggest that nonprofit financial behavior changes with growth and decline in immigrant populations underscoring the importance of nonprofits as service providers and contribute to an understanding of how organizations respond to external forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large body of research links wealth and health, but most previous work focuses on net worth. However, the assets and debts that comprise wealth likely relate to health in different and meaningful ways. Furthermore, racial differences in wealth portfolios may contribute to racial health gaps. Using longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and mixed effects growth curve models, we examined the associations between various wealth components and multiple health outcomes. We also investigated whether black-white differences in wealth portfolios contributed to racial health inequality. We found that savings, stock ownership, and homeownership consistently improve health, but debt is associated with worse health, even after adjusting for total net worth. We found little evidence that home equity is associated with health. Findings also revealed differential health returns to assets by race. These findings provide new insights into the complex relationship among race, wealth, and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of research documents the importance of studying households in the top one percent of U.S. income distribution because they control enormous resources. However, little is known about whose income—men's or women's—is primarily responsible for pushing households into the one percent and whether women have individual pathways to earning one percent status based on their income. Using the 1995 to 2016 Surveys of Consumer Finances, we analyze gender income patterns in the one percent. Results show that women's income is sufficient for one percent status in only 1 in 20 of all elite households. Although self-employment and higher education increase the likelihood that women will personally earn sufficient income for one percent status, marrying a man with good income prospects is a woman's main route to the one percent. In contrast, men's one percent status is most closely associated with their own characteristics (self-employment and higher education). Importantly, the gender gap in personally earning one percent income has not narrowed since the mid- to late-1990s, indicating another area in which gender progress has stalled. This research suggests that men retain most of the primary breadwinning positions in top income households and that a financial glass ceiling remains firmly intact at the one percent level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research reveals mixed results regarding the relationship between gender and charitable giving. We show gender plays a significant role in giving but only when considered alongside marital status and religion. Using the 2006 Portraits of American Life Study, we model a household’s propensity to give and the amount given. We extend past research by disaggregating unmarried households to look at divorced, widowed, and never-married households, and by including multiple religion measures. Results indicate households headed by never-married females have lower giving levels compared with those headed by divorced and widowed women. In households headed by single males, these differences are largely absent. Religious attendance has a stronger association with giving in male-headed households. The respondent’s gender is also related to the amount married households report giving to charity. Future research on giving should consider both gender and marital status to more fully capture increasing diversity in American families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides a review and evaluation of sociological research that explores the two aspects of transition from socialism to some form of market system, the nature of the transition process and the consequences of transition for stratification and mobility. The authors look into the two theoretical approaches, institutional and corporatist, that have been the focus of debate regarding transition and evaluate the empirical evidence for each. They also argue that empirical evidence provides support for elements of each but that detailed scope conditions and more nuanced arguments are critical.

The networks of interfirm relations that developed in business groups during China's economic transition have been an important part of the country's economic transition. This article examines the process by which interfirm lending and trade ties emerged and evolved in the business groups in the early stages of reform. It studies the effect of business group structure on firm financial performance in the early stages of reform (1988-1990) and later in development (1994-1999). Initially, firms resorted to external resources (e.g., prior connections) to develop alliances. With time, they began to draw on internal resources (e.g., experience) to identify partners. Some business group structures improve member firm performance early in reform, but group membership reduces performance as markets stabilize. The findings underscore the changing significance of interfirm alliances at various stages of economic development. The findings are relevant for both developing countries and countries that developed in previous eras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporary employment in the United States has increased considerably in recent decades, but the financial well-being of temporary employees is not well understood. This article examines the effect of both recent and past temporary employment on asset accumulation and portfolio behavior. The authors find that temporary work reduces workers' assets and that this negative effect remains even after a worker has left the temporary position. The authors also show that suppressed or delayed homeownership substantially contributes to the reduction of assets among temporary workers. These results provide insight into the role that work status plays in creating and maintaining wealth inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Racial differences in wealth ownership are among the most extreme and persistent forms of stratification in the United States, but the factors that contribute to this inequality are unclear. One potentially important contributing factor is family background. it is a critical determinant of attainment, and both childhood family resources and family structure vary racially. This article reports that family size during childhood contributes significantly to racial differences in adult wealth. I find that siblings strain material and nonmaterial resources during childhood and decrease adult home ownership, stock ownership, and total assets. Having extended family in the home also decreases wealth for those from intact families, but an extended family minimizes the negative effect of divorce and separation and increases wealth in disrupted families. I also find that childhood family size and family structure are related to racial differences in adult wealth accumulation trajectories, allowing whites to begin accumulating high-yield assets earlier in life. The results provide insight into the role of family background in creating and maintaining inequality, particularly racial stratification in wealth ownership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The networks of interfirm relations that developed in business groups during economic transition are central to China's reform and are becoming an important part of the country's emergent economic structure. Using a recent and original data set that includes direct observations of economic choices made by firms, the process by which these interfirm lending and trade ties emerged and evolved in the early stages of reform is explored. Initially, information from sources external to the network dominated the formation and direction of exchange relations. Firms turned to their prior connections, took advantage of market position, and drew on bureaucratic power to develop alliances. Over time, internal influences gained importance, and managers increasingly drew on internal nontrade relations and other indicators inside the business group to identify lending and trade partners. The results demonstrate the central but changing role that social relations and environmental cues played in the creation of economic structure during China's transition. This study also contributes to an understanding of the processes of organizational adaptation to a major economic transition and interfirm alliance formation more generally. The findings reveal that firms select exchange partners of known reputation and solicit relations that reduce uncertainty, even when there is a cost involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]