Digital Commons Network^™

The First Primary: Why New Hampshire?, David W. Moore, Andrew Smith

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors David Moore and Andrew Smith describe the origin of the New Hampshire presidential primary and the Iowa presidential caucuses. The developments by which these two small states came to hold the first nominating contests every four years were accidental, generated by a variety of events not at all intended to educate future leaders and certainly not adopted with any expectation that these states would emerge with the enormous influence that comes with being first. But once Iowa and New Hampshire were first, and once they realized the extensive benefits the position brought to them, their leaders …

Polling And The New Hampshire Primary: What To Watch, And Watch Out For, Andrew Smith, David Moore

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors David Moore and Andrew Smith discuss caveats that should be considered when interpreting what the polls mean for the February 2020 New Hampshire primary.

First In The Nation: New Hampshire’S Changing Electorate In Changing Times, Kenneth M. Johnson, Dante Scala, Andrew Smith

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Kenneth Johnson, Dante Scala, and Andrew Smith discuss demographic forces that are reshaping the New Hampshire landscape. They report that more than 20 percent of potential voters in the 2020 New Hampshire primary were either not old enough to vote in 2016 or resided somewhere other than New Hampshire. New Hampshire has one of the most mobile populations in the nation. Only one-third of New Hampshire residents age 25 and older were born in the state. Democratic presidential primary turnout in New Hampshire may hit record highs in 2020. Republican turnout, in contrast, is likely to …

For One In Four Very Young, Low-Income Children, Parents Are Young Too, Jessica A. Carson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, author Jessica Carson maps the distribution of children living with young adult parents, describes their parents’ characteristics, and details ways to strengthen policy supports that can fortify their families’ ability to succeed. She reports that while fewer than 5 percent of children live with young adult parents (age 18–24), the share among children age 0–3 is 16 percent, and among low-income children that age, it is 25 percent. Low-income young adult parents have different characteristics than their older counterparts; for example, they are more often parenting their first child with no co-parent present, and they have higher …

New Hampshire Demographic Trends In An Era Of Economic Turbulence, Kenneth M. Johnson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, author Kenneth Johnson reports that New Hampshire gained 40,000 residents (a 3 percent increase) between 2010 and 2018, and the population reached 1,356,458 on July 1, 2018, according to the Census Bureau. Population gains in New Hampshire have diminished over time, though growth has recently picked up. Migration is the biggest driver of population change, and the pattern of demographic change is uneven across the state. New Hampshire’s population is aging and becoming more racially diverse, particularly among children. Johnson notes that, although New Hampshire is a relatively small player on the nation’s huge demographic stage, there …

Pirc News, Prevention Innovations Research Center

PIRC Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Government Spending Across The World: How The United States Compares, Michael P. Ettlinger, Jordan Hensley, Julia Vieira

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Michael Ettlinger, Jordan Hensley, and Julia Vieira analyze how much the governments of different countries spend, and on what, to illuminate the range of fiscal policy options available and provide a basis for determining which approaches work best. They report that the United States ranks twenty-fourth in government spending as a share of GDP out of twenty-nine countries for which recent comparable data are available. The key determinant of where countries rank in overall government spending is the amount spent on social protection. The United States ranks last in spending on social protection as a share …

Facial Recognition And Drivers’ Licenses: Should The Dmv Share Your Photo?, Daniel Bromberg, Étienne Charbonneau, Andrew Smith

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Daniel Bromberg, Étienne Charbonneau, and Andrew Smith present the findings of a 2017 Granite State Poll asking New Hampshire residents how they feel about the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) sharing their driver’s license photos with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). Currently 21 states, though not New Hampshire, share DMV data with the FBI in support of its effort to build a massive database of over 400 million photos to which it applies facial recognition technology. The authors report that about 70 percent of Granite Staters support the state DMV sharing photos with the FBI …

Child Poverty Declines Slightly In 2018 To 18 Percent, Jessica A. Carson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this data snapshot, author Jessica Carson reports that according to analyses of new American Community Survey data released today, nearly one-in-five American children were poor in 2018. While child poverty has finally returned to pre-recession rates, the 0.4 percentage point decline since 2017 continues the trend of incremental decreases in child poverty since the post-recession peak in 2012.

Tracking Change In The North Country: Paths To The Future Of Coös County, Eleanor M. Jaffee

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

From 2008 through 2018, the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation partnered with the Carsey School of Public Policy (formerly the Carsey Institute) at the University of New Hampshire for a research project titled Tracking Change in the North Country. In this brief, author Eleanor Jaffee summarizes several major products of this research partnership and considers how they may inform future directions for North Country policy and programming.

“My Advice…Is Get Out Of Town”: Economic Opportunities And Population Composition In Two Rural Counties, Marybeth Mattingly, Jessica Carson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Beth Mattingly and Jess Carson explore how rural residents’ efforts to make ends meet are shaped by the economic and population characteristics of their communities. The authors use qualitative data from interviews and focus groups with low-income residents and social service providers in two rural New England communities to understand strategies for making ends meet in rural places. Although one county draws wealthy retirees, and the other is remote and losing population, low-income workers in both communities struggle to make ends meet. The authors find that rural residents often work multiple formal or informal jobs, and …

Summer 2019 Pirc Newsletter, Prevention Innovations Research Center

PIRC Newsletter

No abstract provided.

When To Make The Sensory Social: Registering In Copresent Openings, Danielle M. Pillet-Shore

Communication

This article provides the first detailed empirical analysis of naturally-occurring videorecorded openings during which participants make the sensory social through the action of registering – calling joint attention to a selected, publicly perceivable referent so others shift their sensory attention to it. Examining sequence-initial actions that register referents for which a participant is regarded as responsible, this study elucidates a systematic preference organization which observably guides when and how people initiate registering sequences sensitive to both referent ownership and referent value. Analysis shows how choosing to register an owned referent puts involved participants’ face, affiliation, and social relationship on the …

Mapping The Food Landscape In New Hampshire, Jessica A. Carson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, Jess Carson explores the food landscape of New Hampshire, documenting where lower incomes and low population density might lead to food insecurity, and mapping the locations of various food sources. Much of the northern and western parts of the state have high proportions of low-income residents and low population density, compared with more southern parts of the state. In terms of food sources, retail locations roughly mirror the state’s population distribution, with many options throughout the southern tier of the state and concentration around the Interstate 93 corridor into Northern New Hampshire. While many food support sites, …

U.S. Fertility Rate Hits Record Low And Births Continue To Diminish, Kenneth M. Johnson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this data snapshot, Demographer Kenneth Johnson reports that National Center for Health Statistics data for 2018 show the lowest general fertility rate on record and just 3,788,000 births—the fewest in 32 years. This decline in births is entirely due to reduced fertility rates among women in their 20s and teenagers. The decrease has immediate implications for health care, schools, child-related businesses, and eventually for the labor force.

Northern New Hampshire Youth In A Changing Rural Economy: A Ten-Year Perspective, Eleanor M. Jaffee, Corinna Jenkins Tucker, Karen T. Van Gundy, Erin Hiley Sharp, Cesar Rebellon

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

The Coös Youth Study was a ten-year research project about growing up in a rural county undergoing transformative economic and demographic changes. The study addressed how these changes affected youths’ well-being as well as their plans to stay in the region, pursue opportunities elsewhere, permanently relocate, or return to their home communities with new skills and new ideas. In this report, the authors describe their findings and point to specific areas for action to support and retain North Country youth. The study was sponsored by the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation as one component …

Support For Paid Family And Medical Leave In New Hampshire, Kristin Smith

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this data snapshot, author Kristin Smith reports that 78 percent of New Hampshire residents stated support for a program that would provide a portion of wages to workers taking leave for personal or family medical reasons in October 2018. Women registered higher levels of support for paid family and medical leave insurance than men, and those with a liberal or moderate political ideology reported higher support than those with a conservative ideology. Levels of support did not vary significantly between regions in the state. Related to whether a program should require participation or be voluntary: more than two-thirds of …

The Motherhood Wage Penalty: High-Earning Women Are Doing Better Than Before, Rebecca Glauber

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this data snapshot, author Rebecca Glauber discusses her research on the motherhood wage penalty. In her study, she asked whether the motherhood wage penalty has declined over the past few decades. A decrease began in the 1990s but was most pronounced for high-earning women and smallest for lower-earning women. Median-earners fell somewhere in between. Today, high-earning women, or those who make close to $100,000 per year, no longer pay a motherhood penalty. But low earners, or those struggling on $15,000 per year, do.

Closing Racial-Ethnic Gaps In Poverty: How Government Programs Compare, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Jessica A. Carson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this data snapshot, authors Marybeth Mattingly and Jessica Carson explore the role of government programs in alleviating poverty for people with different racial-ethnic identities. Because poverty rates among non-Hispanic whites are significantly lower than among other groups, programs with disparate effects by race can either widen or decrease racial-ethnic gaps in the poverty rate. The authors find that SNAP and the EITC play particularly important roles for non-white populations; however, Social Security maintains low poverty rates among whites, and exacerbates the poverty gap between white and non-white populations. Policymakers who want to advance low income populations and promote racial-ethnic …

Migration Fuels A Second Year Of Higher Population Gain In New Hampshire, Kenneth M. Johnson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this data snapshot, author Kenneth Johnson reports that the population of New Hampshire grew by 6,700 between July of 2017 and July of 2018 to 1,356,000 according to new Census Bureau estimates. This gain coupled with a population increase of 7,400 last year added 14,100 residents to the state between 2016 and 2018. This gain is 50 percent greater than the increase between 2014 and 2016, though it remains modest compared to gains in the 1970s and 1980s. Migration accounted for nearly all of this growth.

Rural America Growing Again Due To Migration Gains, Kenneth M. Johnson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

For the first six years of this decade, rural America experienced overall population loss for the first time in history. New Census Bureau estimates suggest that last year overall growth accelerated in nonmetropolitan America where 46.1 million people reside.

The Poverty-Reducing Effect Of Five Key Government Programs In Rural And Urban America, Jessica Carson, Marybeth Mattingly

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Jessica Carson and Marybeth Mattingly explore the extent to which rural and urban residents access five social programs—Social Security, disability benefits, federal and state cash assistance, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—and the effect of these programs individually and collectively in bringing family incomes closer to the poverty threshold. They report that these programs combined keep 11.5 percent of rural and 7.6 percent of urban residents out of poverty. Social Security is especially important: without it, poverty would increase by 4.4 percentage points in urban places and by 7.6 percentage points …

Job Protection And Wage Replacement: Key Factors In Take Up Of Paid Family And Medical Leave Among Lower-Wage Workers, Kristin Smith

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, author Kristin Smith discusses two key factors—job protection and sufficient wage replacement—that influence take up of paid family and medical leave among lower-wage workers. She reports that lower-wage workers have substantially less access to employer-provided paid family and medical leave than higher-earning workers. More than nine in ten New Hampshire residents support guaranteed job protection for all workers taking paid family or medical leave. Eighty-eight percent of New Hampshire workers believe that a wage replacement rate of 60 percent or more for a worker taking leave is the right amount. She concludes that if state and federal …

Pirc Quarterly Newsletter, Spring 2019, Prevention Innovations Research Center

PIRC Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Potential Role For Cdfis In The Opportunity Zones Of The Investing In Opportunities Act (Iioa), Charles Tansey, Michael Swack

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

The Opportunity Zones legislation was designed to mobilize new levels of capital into low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities – areas that have historically been overlooked and underserved by mainstream capital markets. As longstanding financial partners to LMI communities, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), it would seem, are positioned to play a pivotal role in the Opportunity Zones ecosystem. Yet the legislation presents a challenge on that front. As the law dictates, the mechanism through which Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund investments must be made are equity instruments, while CDFIs tend to operate more on the lending side. For this reason, the …

Data Snapshot: Hispanic Population Of Child-Bearing Age Grows, But Births Diminish, Kenneth M. Johnson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

The U.S. population grew by just 0.62 percent last year, the smallest rate of increase in eighty years. Future growth now depends on minority population gains, because the white population is no longer growing. Hispanics are the largest minority group and now account for the majority of U.S. population gain.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum: Prospects For An Ethical Theory Of Accountability, Melvin Dubnick

Faculty Publications

This paper is intended to restate the case for the development of an "ethical theory of accountability" as an alternative to current theoretical frames being applied by students of accountable governance. I would emphasize the word "alternative" at this juncture, noting that an ethical theory should not be regarded as replacement for current models; rather it is offered as a reframing of accountability that can provide a significantly different perspective -- one rooted in (and built upon) ontologically distinct presuppositions about the nature of account-giving/receiving.

Central to the effort is establishing accountability as the capacity to engage in account-giving/receiving behavior …

Brief Mood Introspection Scale (Bmis): Technical And Scoring Manual (3rd Edition), John D. Mayer, Rachael Cavallaro

UNH Personality Lab

The BMIS scale is an open-source mood scale consisting of 16 mood-adjectives to which a person responds (e.g., Are you "happy"?). The scale can yield measures of overall pleasant-unpleasant mood, arousal-calm mood, and it also can be scored according to positive-tired and negative-calm mood.

Social Service Delivery In Two Rural Counties, Jessica Carson, Marybeth Mattingly

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Jessica Carson and Marybeth Mattingly use interview and focus group data to explore how the characteristics of two rural New England counties influence the types of services available to residents and the ways those services are delivered. They report that the challenges of funding and geographic distance, along with disparate needs among community members, shape the ways that rural social service providers support their clients. Community characteristics, like a place’s history, population composition, income inequality, and degree of remoteness, influence how efficiently social service agencies work. In the two counties discussed in this brief, federal, state, …

Rural Depopulation In A Rapidly Urbanizing America, Kenneth Johnson, Daniel Lichter

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Kenneth Johnson and Daniel Lichter examine demographic trends in rural America, a region often overlooked in a nation dominated by urban interests. They report that nearly 35 percent of rural counties are experiencing protracted and significant population loss. Depopulation is the result of chronic rural outmigration, mostly by young adults, which contributes to fewer births. As the sizeable older population that did not migrate ages in place, the mortality rate rises. Rural depopulation is not universal. Some rural areas have experienced significant population growth for decades. The authors’ study provides a demographic window to the future …