National Bureau of Economic Research

An Economics Perspective on the Problems of Disadvantaged Youth

Jonathan Gruber, Organizer

April 13-14, 2007

Amelia Island Plantation

                                                                                Executive Conference Center

Amelia Island, Florida

Program

Friday, April 13

 8:00 am

Breakfast

 8:30 am

David Figlio, University of Florida and NBER

Jeffrey Roth, University of Florida

The Behavioral Consequences of Pre-Kindergarten Participation for Disadvantaged Youth

Discussant:  Elizabeth Cascio, Dartmouth College and NBER

 9:40 am

Melissa Kearney, Brookings Institution and NBER

Phillip Levine, Wellesley College and NBER

Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Early Childbearing

Discussant:  Sandra Black, UC, Los Angeles and NBER

10:50 am

Morning Break

11:00 am

Julie Berry Cullen, UC, San Diego and NBER

Brian Jacob, Harvard University and NBER

Is Gaining Access to Selective Elementary Schools Gaining Ground? Evidence from Randomized Lotteries

Discussant:  Jacob Vigdor, Duke University and NBER

12:10 pm

Lunch

 1:30 pm

Philip Oreopoulos, University of Toronto and NBER

Would More Compulsory Schooling Help Disadvantaged Youth? Evidence from Recent Changes to School-Leaving Laws

Discussant:  Susan Dynarski, Harvard University and NBER

 2:40 pm

Janet Currie, Columbia University and NBER

Mark Stabile, University of Toronto and NBER

Mental Health in Childhood and Human Capital

Discussant:  Jane Waldfogel, Columbia University

 3:50 pm

Break

 4:10 pm

Patricia Anderson, Dartmouth College and NBER

Kristin Butcher, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Diane Schanzenbach, University of Chicago

Childhood Disadvantage and Obesity: Is Nurture Trumping Nature?

Discussant:  John Cawley, Cornell University and NBER

 5:20 pm

Adjourn

 6:30 pm

Group Dinner: Patio 4 & 5

Saturday, April 14

 8:00 am

Breakfast

 8:30 am

Marianne Page, UC, Davis and NBER  

Ann Huff Stevens, UC, Davis and NBER

Jason Lindo, UC, Davis

Parental Income Shocks and Outcomes of Disadvantaged Youth in the United States

Discussant:  Bruce Meyer, University of Chicago and NBER

 9:40 am

Rajeev Dehejia, Tufts University and NBER

Thomas DeLeire, Michigan State University

Erzo Luttmer, Harvard University and NBER

Joshua Mitchell, Harvard University

The Role of Religious and Social Organizations in the Lives of Disadvantaged Youth

Discussant:  Daniel Hungerman, University of Notre Dame and NBER

10:50 am

Morning Break

11:00 am

Anna Aizer, Brown University and NBER 

Neighborhood Violence and Urban Youth

Discussant:  Jens Ludwig, Georgetown University and NBER

12:10 pm

Lunch and Adjourn