ANN ARBOR — In Donald Trump’s first three quarters as president the U.S. economy has averaged a solid 2.4 percent growth rate, still well short of the 4 percent he promised as a candidate and under the 3 percent his first federal budget proposal assumed. (more…)
Unmitigated climate change will make the United States poorer and more unequal, with the poorest third of U.S. counties projected to sustain economic damages costing as much as 20 percent of their income if warming proceeds unabated, according to a new study published in the journal Science. (more…)
In his new book, “Get a Job: Labor Markets, Economic Opportunity, and Crime,” University of Washington sociologist Robert Crutchfield takes on the popular notion that the unemployed are more likely to commit crimes. A former juvenile probation officer and parole agent, Crutchfield explains the nuanced links between work, unemployment and crime.
Q. You write that the stratification of labor contributes significantly to a person’s lifestyle and whether or not they commit crimes. Can you explain?
A. When someone has a low-end job (what some scholars refer to as secondary sector jobs), such jobs don’t pay well, and have few or no benefits and limited prospects for the future. Young adults in that situation may feel like they don’t have to conform to society’s expectations, and are at risk of getting involved in crime because they are likely to spend time with similar young men. People with good jobs, what some scholars call primary sector jobs, by contrast have something to lose if they do not constrain their own lifestyles. So they spend less time in situations where crime might occur. The stratification of labor that I write about is the structuring of the labor market into primary sector (good) jobs and secondary sector (bad) jobs. (more…)
World’s mangroves, salt marshes hold potential for reducing carbon emissions
Mangroves, the dense forests found along tropical and subtropical coastlines, have some specialized trees that can take in air through their roots at low tide and excrete salt right out of their leaves. The unusual ecosystems can also absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide, making them a natural solution for controlling greenhouse gases.
Disrupt them, however, and they’ll put that carbon right back into the atmosphere. (more…)
Good news for parents: Those piano lessons or random toy parts littering your floors may one day lead to the next scientific breakthrough.
That’s according to new Michigan State University research linking childhood participation in arts and crafts activities to patents generated and businesses launched as adults. (more…)
According to a new technical report, the effects of climate change will continue to threaten the health and vitality of U.S. coastal communities’ social, economic and natural systems.
The report, Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities: a technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment, authored by leading scientists and experts, emphasizes the need for increased coordination and planning to ensure U.S. coastal communities are resilient against the effects of climate change. (more…)
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The so-called “fiscal cliff” has already begun dampening the U.S. economy – even before it officially kicks in – and by year’s end will have cut 2012 GDP an estimated six-tenths of one percent, says a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland’s Interindustry Forecasting Project (Inforum).
The study, called Fiscal Shock: America’s Economic Crisis, is one of the first to look beyond the first year effects of the combined federal spending cuts and tax increases. It projects an escalating impact into 2014 and beyond, as “multiplier” effects of fiscal contraction kick in. (more…)
*UD Confucius Institute director answers questions about Chinese New Year*
The Year of the Dragon is now under way. What does this new year mean, and how do Chinese families typically celebrate it?
Jianguo Chen, associate professor of Chinese and director of the Confucius Institute at UD, shares his insights with UDaily. (more…)
