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Minority Turnout Determined the 2012 Election
Minority Turnout Determined the 2012 Election
Source: Brookings Institution
While it may seem like the 2012 presidential election has been analyzed to death, the recent release of the Census Bureau’s November election survey points out the key role that minority voter turnout, especially for blacks, played in determining the outcome.
Until now, most of what we knew came from the National Election Pool exit poll which elicited Election Day candidate preferences of voters. The new, larger survey from the Census Bureau permits an examination of the voting-eligible population and the extent to which they turned out to vote. These turnout rates tell us a lot more about the enthusiasm, or lack thereof, among different groups.
Already, the Census Bureau’s report trumpeted the historically noteworthy finding that black turnout rates in 2012 exceeded that of whites for the first time. This, in an election when white turnout declined significantly and Hispanic and Asian turnout inched down modestly from 2008.
The rising black turnout can be viewed, to some degree, as continued strong support for the first black president. The downturn of white turnout might be attributed, in part, to a lack of enthusiasm for either candidate or politics in general during a sluggish economy.
Blacks Voted at a Higher Rate than Whites in 2012 Election — A First, Census Bureau Reports
Blacks Voted at a Higher Rate than Whites in 2012 Election — A First, Census Bureau Reports
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
About two in three eligible blacks (66.2 percent) voted in the 2012 presidential election, higher than the 64.1 percent of non-Hispanic whites who did so, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released today. This marks the first time that blacks have voted at a higher rate than whites since the Census Bureau started publishing statistics on voting by the eligible citizen population in 1996.
These findings come from The Diversifying Electorate — Voting Rates by Race and Hispanic Origin in 2012 (and Other Recent Elections), which provides analysis of the likelihood of voting by demographic factors, such as race, Hispanic origin, sex, age and geography (specifically, census divisions). The report draws upon data from the November 2012 Current Population Survey Voting and Registration Supplement and looks at presidential elections back to 1996. Using the race definitions from 1968 and the total voting-age population, whites voted at higher rates than blacks in every presidential election between 1968, when the Census Bureau began publishing voting data by race, and 1992.
Blacks were the only race or ethnic group to show a significant increase between the 2008 and 2012 elections in the likelihood of voting (from 64.7 percent to 66.2 percent). The 2012 increase in voting among blacks continues what has been a long-term trend: since 1996, turnout rates have risen 13 percentage points to the highest levels of any recent presidential election. In contrast, after reaching a high in 2004, non-Hispanic white voting rates have dropped in two consecutive elections. Between 2008 and 2012, rates for non-Hispanic whites dropped from 66.1 percent to 64.1 percent. As recently as 1996, blacks had turnout rates 8 percentage points lower than non-Hispanic whites.
Overall, the percentage of eligible citizens who voted declined from 63.6 percent in 2008 to 61.8 percent in 2012.
Both blacks and non-Hispanic whites had voting rates higher than Hispanics and Asians in the 2012 election (about 48 percent each).
Estimating Racial Price Differentials in the Housing Market
Estimating Racial Price Differentials in the Housing Market (PDF)
Source: National Bureau of Economic Research
This paper uses unique panel data covering over two million repeat-sales housing transactions from four metropolitan areas to test for the presence of racial price differentials in the housing market. Drawing on the strengths of these data, our research design controls carefully for unobserved differences in the quality of neighborhoods and the homes purchased by buyers of each race. We find that black and Hispanic homebuyers pay premiums of about three percent on average across the four cities, differences that are not explained by variation in buyer income, wealth or access to credit. Further, the estimated premiums do not vary significantly with the racial composition of the neighborhood; nor, strikingly, do they vary with the race of the seller. This latter finding suggests that racial prejudice on the part of sellers is not the primary explanation for the robust premiums we uncover. The results have implications for the evolution of racial differences in wealth and home ownership and the persistence of residential segregation.
Exit Discrimination in the NFL: A Duration Analysis of Career Length
Exit Discrimination in the NFL: A Duration Analysis of Career Length
Source: Research Papers in Economics
Using a panel study of annual NFL data (2000–2008) we test for exit discrimination on career length in the NFL. We focus on six positional groups: defensive backs, defensive linemen, linebackers, running backs, tight ends and wide receivers. We test for exit discrimination using both parametric and semi-parametric hazard models. In our analysis, in addition to race, we include performance variables to determine their importance in determining career length. Our analysis posits the question: Do team owners in the pursuit of championships keep talented players regardless of their race?
Less Than Equal: Racial Disparities in Wealth Accumulation
Less Than Equal: Racial Disparities in Wealth Accumulation
Source: Urban Institute
Income inequality understates the size of the economic gap between whites and minorities in the United States. In 2010, whites on average had two times the income of blacks and Hispanics, but six times the wealth. Analyses of wealth accumulation over the life cycle show that the racial wealth gap grows sharply with age. Wealth isn’t just money in the bank, it’s insurance against tough times, tuition to get a better education and a better job, savings to retire on, and a springboard into the middle class.
Data Brief — Blacks in Unions 2012
Data Brief — Blacks in Unions 2012 (PDF)
Source: UC Berkeley Labor Center
From press release (PDF):
A new report released today by the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Labor Research and Education finds that Black union density — the proportion of Black workers that belong to unions — exceeds the non-Black union density. In 2012, 13.1% of Black workers were in unions; for non-Black workers, the figure was 11.0%.
Key findings in this brief include:
- A greater proportion of Black workers were union members compared to the proportion of non-Black workers who were union members. In 2012, 13.1% of all Black workers in the United States UNION DENSITY Proportion of Workforce in Unions All Men Women Black 13.1% 14.6% 11.9% Non-Black 11.0% 11.7% 10.3% Source: CPS BLACK SHARE Proportion of Union/Workforce that is Black All Men Women Union 13.3% 12.1% 14.8% Workforce 11.4% 10.0% 13.0% Source: CPSwere union members; 11.0% of non-Black workers in the United States were union members.
- Black workers were disproportionately in unions relative to their share in the overall workforce. In 2012, 13.3% of all union members in the United States were Black; Blacks comprised 11.4% of the overall workforce in the United States.
- These differences were magnified when limiting the analysis to the ten most populous metropolitan areas in the United States. Among U. S. workers, Blacks were 19% more likely to belong to unions than non-Blacks; however, among workers in the largest metropolitan areas, Blacks were 42% more likely to belong to unions compared to non-Blacks.
Motor Vehicle Traffic-Related Pedestrian Deaths — United States, 2001–2010
Motor Vehicle Traffic-Related Pedestrian Deaths — United States, 2001–2010
Source: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (CDC)
Motor vehicle traffic crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death in the United States, resulting in 33,687 deaths in 2010 (1). Pedestrian travel makes up 10.5% of all trips (i.e., any travel from one address to another) taken in the United States, and pedestrians represent 13% of all motor vehicle traffic-related deaths (1,2). To determine traffic-related pedestrian death rates by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, and urbanization level, CDC analyzed 2001–2010 data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS). The results of that analysis indicated that the overall, annualized, age-adjusted traffic-related pedestrian death rate was 1.58 deaths per 100,000 population. Persons aged ≥75 years and those categorized as American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) had the highest death rates, and age group differences varied by race/ethnicity. The results suggest that the overall pedestrian death rate could increase with the aging and growing racial/ethnic diversity of the U.S. population. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the number of persons aged ≥75 years will more than double, from approximately 18 million in 2011 (6% of the U.S. population) to 44 million in 2040 (12% of the population); minority racial/ethnic populations are projected to increase from 116 million in 2010 (37% of the population) to 186 million in 2040 (49% of the population).* Strategies to prevent pedestrian deaths should include consideration of the needs of older adults and cultural differences among racial/ethnic populations.
NWLC Analysis Shows Striking Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Gender Wage Gaps
NWLC Analysis Shows Striking Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Gender Wage Gaps
Source: National Women’s Law Center
The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) today released a comprehensive analysis of the gender wage gap, revealing especially striking racial and ethnic disparities. Women who work full time, year round are paid only 77 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts—a pay gap that translates to $11,084 in lost wages annually. In Wyoming—the state with the worst wage gap for women overall—this figure is a mere 67 cents. But the Center’s analysis shows that a wage gap of Wyoming’s magnitude, or worse, is the norm for women of color. In 34 states and Washington, D.C., African-American women working full time, year round are paid less than two-thirds of what their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts are paid. For Hispanic women, a similar disparity exists in all but four states.
How Pay Inequity Hurts Women of Color
How Pay Inequity Hurts Women of Color
Source: Center for American Progress
As a group, women of color earn less than their white female peers—a reality that means they need to work longer to earn the same pay as white women and then even longer to match the earnings of white men. The gender- and race-based wage gap affects families of color with long-term consequences that hinder wealth accumulation.
Women currently make up about half of all workers in the U.S. labor force and among mothers in the labor force the majority are either breadwinners or share that responsibility with a partner. In 2010, 13.1 percent of women in the workforce were black, 4.7 percent were Asian, and 12.8 percent were Latina. What’s more, these women of color are increasingly the breadwinners in their families—53.3 percent of black households and 40.1 percent of Latino households.
This issue brief will examine our nation’s gender-based wage gap and its racial overlay. It will look specifically at the long-term implications of the wage gap on communities of color and then suggest policy recommendations to narrow and eventually eliminate the wage gap to ensure equal work earns equal pay.
Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology: Special Issue on Violence against Individuals and Communities: Reflecting on the Trayvon Martin Case
Special Issue on Violence against Individuals and Communities: Reflecting on the Trayvon Martin Case
Source: Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology
In February 2012, Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African American teenager, was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Florida. The incident and subsequent police response, or lack thereof, resulted in debate, controver sy and outrage regarding the role that racial bias may have played in this incident. Although there were many individuals who mourned the death of Trayvon Martin, the perception of this as a racially based incident was clearly discrepant between white indi viduals and communities of color. In the midst of this mourning and debate, psychologists and counselors responded as community members, professionals and researchers. This special issue of the Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology was in tiated in March 2012, as a forum for counselors and psychologists to voice the impact of this and similar incidents as well as to propose social action that we can take as professionals to prevent and respond to hate related violence. This article provides a foundation and overview for the special issue.
New From the GAO
New GAO Reports
Source: Government Accountability Office
1. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Standards Needed to Improve Identification of Racial and Ethnic Overrepresentation in Special Education. GAO-13-137, February 27.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-137
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/652436.pdf
2. California High-Speed Passenger Rail: Project Estimates Could Be Improved to Better Inform Future Decisions. GAO-13-304, March 28.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-304
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/653402.pdf
3. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute: Review of the Audit of the Financial Statements for 2012 and 2011. GAO-13-390R, March 29.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-390R
Getting Closer at the Company Party: Integration Experiences, Racial Dissimilarity, and Workplace Relationships
Getting Closer at the Company Party: Integration Experiences, Racial Dissimilarity, and Workplace Relationships (PDF)
Source: Organization Science
Using survey data from two distinct samples, we found that reported integration behaviors (e.g., attending company parties, discussing nonwork matters with colleagues) were associated with closer relationships among coworkers but that this effect was qualified by an interaction effect. Racial dissimilarity moderated the relationship between integration and closeness such that integration was positively associated with relationship closeness for those who were demographically similar to their coworkers, but not for those who were demographically dissimilar from their coworkers. Additionally, this moderation effect was mediated by the extent to which respondents experienced comfort and enjoyment when integrating. These findings highlight the importance of creating the right kind of interactions for building closer relationships between employees, particularly relationships that span racial boundaries.
CRS — Membership of the113th Congress: A Profile
Membership of the 113th Congress: A Profile (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via U.S. State Department Foreign Policy Center)
This report presents a profile of the membership of the 113th Congress (2013-2014). Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age, occupation, education, length of congressional service, religious affiliation, gender, ethnicity, foreign births, and military service.
As of February 2013, in the House of Representatives, there are 232 Republicans, 206 Democrats (including 5 Delegates and the Resident Commissioner), and 3 vacant seats. The Senate has 45 Republicans, 53 Democrats, and 2 Independents, who caucus with the Democrats.
The average age of Members of the House at the beginning of the 113th Congress was 57.0 years; and of Senators, 62.0 years. The overwhelming majority of Members of Congress have a college education. The dominant professions of Members are public service/politics, business, and law. Most Members identify as Christians, and Protestants collectively constitute the majority religious affiliation. Roman Catholics account for the largest single religious denomination, and numerous other affiliations are represented.
The average length of service for Representatives at the beginning of the 113th Congress was 9.1 years (4.6 terms); for Senators, 10.2 years (1.7 terms).
One hundred women (a record number) serve in the 113th Congress: 80 in the House, including 3 Delegates, and 20 in the Senate. There are 43 African American Members of the House and 2 in the Senate. This House number includes 2 Delegates. There are 38 Hispanic or Latino Members (a record number) serving: 34 in the House, including 1 Delegate and the Resident Commissioner, and 4 in the Senate. Thirteen Members (10 Representatives, 2 Delegates, and 1 Senator) are Asian American or Pacific Islanders. Two American Indians (Native Americans) serve in the House.
The portions of this report covering political party affiliation, gender, ethnicity, and vacant seats will be updated as events warrant. The remainder of the report will not be updated.
Increasing Organizational Diversity in 21st-Century Policing: Lessons from the U.S. Military
Increasing Organizational Diversity in 21st-Century Policing: Lessons from the U.S. Military
Source: RAND Corporation
Both the military and police departments are concerned about recruiting and promoting a racially/ethnically diverse workforce. This paper discusses three broad lessons from the Military Leadership Diversity Commission (MLDC) that can be used to inform police department hiring and personnel management: qualified minority candidates are available, career paths impact diversity, and departments should leverage organizational commitment to diversity. Additionally, specific suggestions are given as to how law enforcement agencies can incorporate each of these lessons.
Progress in Increasing Breastfeeding and Reducing Racial/Ethnic Differences — United States, 2000–2008 Birth s
Source: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (CDC)
The American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes breastfeeding and human milk as the "normative standards for infant feeding." Given the documented health benefits, the Academy recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, followed by continued breastfeeding for at least 12 months as complementary foods are introduced (1). To better understand trends during 2000–2008 and differences in breastfeeding initiation and duration overall and among black, white, and Hispanic infants born in 2000 and 2008, CDC analyzed National Immunization Survey (NIS) data. Among infants born in 2000, 70.3% had ever breastfed (had breastfeeding initiated), 34.5% breastfed for 6 months, and 16.0% breastfed for 12 months. Among infants born in 2008, the comparable percentages had increased to 74.6%, 44.4%, and 23.4%, respectively. By race/ethnicity, prevalence of breastfeeding initiation in 2000 was 47.4% among blacks, 71.8% among whites, and 77.6% among Hispanics. By 2008, the percentage of infants who ever breastfed had increased among blacks to 58.9% and among whites to 75.2%; an 80.0% prevalence among Hispanics did not amount to a statistically significant increase. From 2000 to 2008, breastfeeding at 6 and 12 months increased significantly among all three racial/ethnic populations. Although the gap between black and white breastfeeding initiation narrowed, black infants still had the lowest prevalences of breastfeeding initiation and duration, highlighting the need for targeted interventions in this population to promote and support breastfeeding. Despite increases in the prevalence of breastfeeding, fewer than half of the infants in the survey were still breastfeeding at 6 months, indicating that women who choose to breastfeed their infants need support to continue breastfeeding.
The Changing Racial Dynamics of Women’s Incarceration
The Changing Racial Dynamics of Women’s Incarceration
Source: Sentencing Project
From 2000 to 2009 there was a dramatic shift in the racial composition of the women’s prison population. In 2000, African American women were incarcerated at 6 times the rate of white women. By 2009, that disparity had dropped by half, to less than three times the white rate.
The factors contributing to these changes include: sharply reduced incarceration of African American women for drug offenses in some states; declining rates of arrest of black women for violent, property, and drug offenses; and, cumulative social disadvantages that are increasingly affecting less educated white women.
Recommendations for addressing these issues include conducting state-based analyses of racial disparity, enacting proactive racial impact statement legislation, and engaging practitioners in projects to reduce disparities in local jurisdictions.
Poverty Rates for Selected Detailed Race and Hispanic Groups by State and Place: 2007–2011
Poverty Rates for Selected Detailed Race and Hispanic Groups by State and Place: 2007–2011 (PDF)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Poverty rates are important indicators of community well-being and are used by government agencies and organizations to allocate need-based resources. The American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year data allow for the analysis of poverty rates by race and Hispanic origin for many levels of geography.
In this report, poverty rates are summarized by race and Hispanic origin for the United States, each state, and the District of Columbia.
Poverty rates are also presented for selected detailed race and origin groups in the cities and towns with the largest populations of these groups. For the nation and selected places, poverty rates are summarized for detailed Asian groups with populations of 750,000 or more, detailed Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander groups with populations of 25,000 or more, and detailed Hispanic groups with populations of 1 million or more.
The Impact of Affirmative Action Bans in Graduate Fields of Study
The Impact of Affirmative Action Bans in Graduate Fields of Study
Source: American Education Research Journal
Important findings on the impact of banning affirmative action in higher education were just published in the American Educational Research Journal (AERJ) in Online First. Affirmative action in university admissions has long been a matter of public debate, and Fisher v. University of Texas, Austin has placed its use in admissions policy as an issue before the U.S. Supreme Court. AERJ is a top-ranked peer-reviewed journal of the American Educational Research Association.
The article, “Understanding the Impact of Affirmative Action Bans in Different Graduate Fields of Study,” presents the results of a study undertaken by Liliana M. Garces, George Washington University. Garces examines the effects of affirmative action bans on the enrollment of students of color across six fields of graduate study in four states—California, Florida, Texas, and Washington. The six fields of graduate study are the natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, business, education, and humanities.
Garces’ research shows that the impact of affirmative action bans was most pronounced in engineering, natural sciences, and social sciences, fields in which students of color already are underrepresented. She encourages educators to reconsider their admissions practices and consider the benefits of campus diversity for all students, benefits that include enhanced critical thinking skills, cultural awareness, civic engagement, and workforce competencies/leadership skills.
In light of national concerns over underrepresentation of students of color in the fields of science and engineering, Garces says that banning all affirmative action considerations in admissions in graduate fields of study has consequences. “As institutions struggle to increase the representation of students of color in graduate programs, particularly in STEM fields, the findings from this study suggest that bans on affirmative action are inhibiting these efforts. . . . Graduate education programs will need to rise to the challenge and adopt innovative outreach and recruitment practices and adopt admissions criteria to help reverse this trend.”
Discrimination in Online Ad Delivery
Discrimination in Online Ad Delivery
Source: Cornell University
A Google search for a person’s name, such as “Trevon Jones”, may yield a personalized ad for public records about Trevon that may be neutral, such as “Looking for Trevon Jones?”, or may be suggestive of an arrest record, such as “Trevon Jones, Arrested?”. This writing investigates the delivery of these kinds of ads by Google AdSense using a sample of racially associated names and finds statistically significant discrimination in ad delivery based on searches of 2184 racially associated personal names across two websites. First names, assigned at birth to more black or white babies, are found predictive of race (88% black, 96% white), and those assigned primarily to black babies, such as DeShawn, Darnell and Jermaine, generated ads suggestive of an arrest in 81 to 86 percent of name searches on one website and 92 to 95 percent on the other, while those assigned at birth primarily to whites, such as Geoffrey, Jill and Emma, generated more neutral copy: the word “arrest” appeared in 23 to 29 percent of name searches on one site and 0 to 60 percent on the other. On the more ad trafficked website, a black-identifying name was 25% more likely to get an ad suggestive of an arrest record. A few names did not follow these patterns. All ads return results for actual individuals and ads appear regardless of whether the name has an arrest record in the company’s database. The company maintains Google received the same ad text for groups of last names (not first names), raising questions as to whether Google’s technology exposes racial bias.
Hat tip: PW
CRS — Membership of the 112th Congress: A Profile
Membership of the 112th Congress: A Profile (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via U.S. State Department Foreign Press Center)
This report presents a profile of the membership of the 112th Congress (2011-2012). Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age, occupation, education, length of congressional service, religious affiliation, gender, ethnicity, foreign births, and military service.
Currently, in the House of Representatives there are 241 Republicans, 198 Democrats (including 5 Delegates and the Resident Commissioner), and 2 vacant seats. The Senate has 47 Republicans, 51 Democrats, and 2 Independents, who caucus with the Democrats.
The average age of Members of the House at the beginning of the 112 th Congress was 56.7 years; and of Senators, 62.2 years. The overwhelming majority of Members have a college education. The dominant professions of Members are public service/politics, business, and law. Protestants collectively constitute the majority religious affiliation of Members. Roman Catholics account for the largest single religious denomination, and numerous other affiliations are represented.
The average length of service for Representatives at the beginning of the 112 th Congress was 9.8 years (4.9 terms); for Senators, 11.4 years (1.9 terms).
Ninety-four women serve in the 112 th Congress: 77 in the House, including 3 Delegates, and 17 in the Senate. There are 43 African American Members of the House (a record number) and none in the Senate. This House number includes 2 Delegates. There are 31 Hispanic or Latino Members serving: 29 in the House, including 1 Delegate and the Resident Commissioner, and 2 in the Senate. Twelve Members (eight Representatives, two Delegates, and two Senators) are Asian or Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander. The only American Indian (Native American) serves in the House.
The portions of this report covering political party affiliation, gender, ethnicity, and vacant seats will be updated as events warrant. The remainder of the report will not be updated.
