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The biomedical literature contains much speculation about possible genetic explanations for the large and persistent black-white disparities in hypertension, but profound social inequalities are also hypothesized to contribute to this outcome. Our goal is to evaluate whether socioeconomic status (SES) differences provide a plausible mechanism for associations between African ancestry and hypertension in a U.S. cohort of older non-Hispanic blacks. We included only non-Hispanic black participants (N = 998) from the Health and Retirement Study who provided genetic data. We estimated percent African ancestry based on 84,075 independent single nucleotide polymorphisms using ADMIXTURE V1.23, imposing K = 4 ancestral populations, and categorized into quartiles. Hypertension status was self-reported in the year 2000. We used linear probability models (adjusted for age, sex, and southern birth) to predict prevalent hypertension with African ancestry quartile, before and after accounting for a small set of SES measures. Respondents with the highest quartile of African ancestry had 8 percentage points' (RD = 0.081; 95% CI: -0.001, 0.164) higher prevalence of hypertension compared to the lowest quartile. Adjustment for childhood disadvantage, education, income, and wealth explained over one-third (RD = 0.050; 95% CI: -0.034, 0.135) of the disparity. Explanations for the residual disparity remain unspecified and may include other indicators of SES or diet, lifestyle, and psychosocial mechanisms.

This study examines the effect of gender on the choice of adjustable- versus fixed-rate mortgages among mortgage applicants in the United States. While adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) are initially cheaper, they expose the borrower to interest rate risk. Using linear probability models applied to US lender data for 2004–6, the study finds that the propensity to apply for an ARM among higher-income applicants is lower for women by 3.7–8.4 percentage points or 12–42 percent. Results are robust to the inclusion of education, financial knowledge, and economic determinants of mortgage choice. Results are consistent with past findings of women being more risk averse than men in financial behaviors. Findings of this US-based study are relevant for other countries, as ARMs of varying lengths are widely prevalent outside the US.

The study utilizes data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to test the extent to which retrospectively reported ADHD symptoms are associated with gambling behaviour in young adults. Results from linear probability and logistic regression models using data from 6145 survey respondents indicate that youths who reported symptoms consistent with Hyperactive-Impulsive type ADHD in childhood were significantly more likely than other youths to report clinical characteristics of disordered gambling, large past-year losses and/or multiple forms of gambling as young adults. The Combined type ADHD had no significant relationship to the gambling indicators, while the Inattentive type ADHD symptoms have a significant negative relationship to the gambling indicators. These findings provide preliminary support in a large, nationally representative sample for the relationship of ADHD and gambling and underscore the importance of addressing gambling-related issues in education, preventi...

This study examined the role of student attributes and activities (at the college undergraduate level) in shaping the student's attitudes toward economic regulation. By employing a linear probability model and information gathered from a student questionnaire, several factors were tested that convey many of the empirical ideas revealed previously by academic economists such as Stigler (1971) and Peltzman (1976). By relying on agent attributes such as those developed in the formative years of college, these models may provide the ability to predict future regulatory decisions or appointments to regulatory posts at organizations such as the EPA or the SEC.

One of the intended effects of the Ohio Divorce Reform Act of 1974 was to increase equity in divorce settlements. Equal division of the home between the spouses is one way of providing for equity in divorce settlements. Differences in factors affecting award of the home to the wife before and after the 1974 Act were examined using data collected from Ohio divorce records in 1973 and 1985. Weighted linear probability functions were estimated and the regression coefficients were judged by a Chow test to be stable in the two years. Hence, no evidence was found in this analysis that the Ohio Divorce Reform Act changed the probability of the wife’s receiving the home.