Immigrant Residential Segregation in U.S. Metropolitan Areas, 1990 to 2000
On Feb. 25, 2009, John Iceland, professor of sociology and demography at Pennsylvania State University, led a PRB Policy Seminar on racial and ethnic segregation in U.S. cities. According to Iceland, we are witnessing a pattern of "spatial assimilation" over time and across generations—a reduction in differences in the residential patterns across groups. He notes, however, that the extent and pace of spatial assimilation among immigrants is nevertheless affected by their race and ethnicity. His recent book,Where We Live Now: Immigration and Race in the United States, looks at the issue of residential segregation and examines trends among various groups using a variety of measures. (February 2009)

Effective Implementation of Proven Practices for Children in Real World Clinical, Educational, and Community Settings
Dr. Sharon Ramey, founding director (along with Dr. Craig Ramey) of the Georgetown University Center on Health and Education and the Susan H. Mayer Professor in Child and Family Studies, has studied early childhood development and how to implement scientific research in policy for over 35 years. On Feb. 11, she participated in PRB's Policy Seminar series to discuss how to take what is known to work for early childhood development and bring science to bear to design effective policy. According to Ramey, failures of programs for young children are not due to underfunding but to misplaced priorities. (February 2009)

Rising U.S. Teen Fertility
The United States has higher fertility rates among teenage girls compared with other developed countries of the world. Nonetheless, the fertility rate of girls ages 15 to 19 declined consecutively over the period from 1991 to 2005. However, the latest data for 2006 may show a reversal of this trend, with the fertility rate inching upward. This trend is of great concern because adolescent pregnancy has been associated with lower educational achievement, unemployment, poverty, repeated pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, infant mortality, and high risk pregnancy. (February 2009)

Tracking Fertility Rates in Low Fertility Countries
The extremely low fertility in most developed and many developing countries has many implications for the future age structure and labor force in these countries. Low birth-rate countries account for more than one-third of the world's population. PRB tracks fertility rates in low-birth rate countries in a unique table, which is frequently updated. View/download most recent table

Why Not Adjust the U.S. Census? A PRB Policy Seminar With Kenneth Wachter
The decennial U.S. Census results determine how many members each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives, whether the boundaries of congressional districts must be adjusted, and a state's or metro area's share of federal funds based on population size. The last three U.S. population censuses missed between 0.1 percent and 1.8 percent of the population. Why doesn't the U.S. Census Bureau adjust the census results for this undercount, although it has the means to do so? In a PRB Monthly Policy Seminar on Nov. 12, 2008, University of California-Berkeley professor Kenneth Wachter outlined the methods for estimating the undercount and the thorny issues surrounding the question of whether to adjust the census. (December 2008)

High Poverty Rates in 'Midsize' America
New data from the U.S. Census Bureau reveal high—and increasing—poverty rates in America's midsize counties, small towns, and rural areas. Poverty rates for children have increased since 1999, while most older Americans have stayed out of poverty, even in economically depressed areas. (December 2008)

U.S. Employment Instability on the Margins
The impact of the devastating financial crisis on the U.S. workforce is becoming clear. The number of employed Americans has declined by 1.2 million over the first 10 months of 2008, with half of the loss taking place since August. The result is that the October national unemployment rate of 6.5 percent represents the highest level of unemployment since March 1994. While the impact of the weakening economy is widespread, it disproportionately affects those on the margins of the labor force, such as persons of color, teenagers, and those with low levels of education. (December 2008)

2007 Occupational Profiles Reveal Wide Gender, Racial Gaps in Science and Engineering Employment
PRB has created a series of occupational profiles that highlight the uneven participation of women and minorities in the science and engineering labor force. The data, from the Census Bureau's 2007 American Community Survey (ACS), show variations in earnings, education, and the participation of minorities, women, and foreign-born workers in the high-tech economy. The ACS provides information about 47 separate science and engineering occupations, ranging from actuaries to urban planners. These occupational profiles are part of a series of PRB products about the science and engineering workforce in the United States, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. (December 2008)

College Enrollment Rate Increases, but Financial Challenges Bring Uncertainty
Higher education in the United States is increasingly out of reach for many young adults. From increasing tuition costs and debt to declining levels of student grants, young adults from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds face a combination of financial challenges to attending college. Given the severe economic downtown, leaner family finances and higher unemployment may further complicate the task of the Obama administration and organizations working to expand access to higher education for American youth. (November 2008)

Sex Ratio at Birth Deteriorating Among Asian Immigrants in the United States
A new study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports on a sex ratio that favors boys among U.S.-born children in Indian, Korean, and Chinese families. Using the 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses, the study found that the ratio of male to female births is much higher if the first child is a girl and even higher, by as much as 50 percent, if the first two children are girls. (November 2008)