PARC Pilot Grants Awarded

Year 15 |14 | 13 |12 |11 |10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1

Year 15 (7/1/08 to 6/30/09)

Personal Attributes and the Financial Well-Being of Older Adults: The Effects of Control Beliefs Principal Investigator: Cnaan, Ram and Marcus, Steven Aims: To determine whether or to what extent control beliefs differ by personal attributes; to determine whether or to what extent financial well-being differs by personal attributes; and to determine whether or to what extent control beliefs mediate the relationship between personal attributes and financial well-being.

Early life conditions and familial correlations in cause-specific mortality Principal Investigator: Elo, Irma Aims: To investigate the effects of early life socioeconomic status, place of birth, and household structure on cause-specific mortality and familial clustering of cause-specific mortality in Finland during the latter half of the Twentieth Century.

Development of Methods for Applying Demographic Synthesis to Large Genome Scans Principal Investigator: Ewbank, Douglas Aims: To develop computer programs to put Framingham Study data into a format that can be read into the demographic programs; to revise the analysis programs to increase the speed with which they process the data; and to develop a mechanized approach to scanning the results and identifying SNPs that appear to be associated with longevity.

Biomarkers in Malawi: Inflammation and CRP Principal Investigator: Kohler, Hans-Peter and Soldo, Beth Aims: To test the hypothesis that HIV-negative individuals living in a community of high HIV-AIDS prevalence have a greater risk of contracting the disease if their high-sensitivty C-Reactive Protein is elevated > 3.0mg/L; and to evaluate the overall health of some 1000 persons living in Balaka region in Northern Malawi.

New Evidence on Annuity Choices in Chile: A Dynamic Programming Approach Principal Investigator: Mitchell, Olivia Aims: To analyze the empirical determinants of Chilean workers’ decision to annuitize at retirement or not.

Aging in a Time of AIDS: The impact of the epidemic on elderly in rural Malawi Principal Investigator: Watkins, Susanl Aims: To enhance the scientific value of the forthcoming 5th round of the Malawi Diffusion and Ideational Change Project (MDICP) by collecting data on the non-resident parents of respondents in the MDICP.

 

Year 14 (7/1/07 to 6/30/08)

An Empirical Study on Behavioral Responses to AIDS Principal Investigator: DePaula, Aureo Aims: To examine how people's perceptions about local rates of infection, about their own or their spouse's HIV status, and their perceived risk of infection affects their behavior with regard to decisions to get tested for HIV, to engage in extramarital affairs, and to use barrier methods of contraception.

Is Physical Activity a Viable Intervention to Lower the Risk of Dementia Principal Investigator: Jedrziewski, Kathryn Aims: To examine the relationship between physical activity and risk of Alzheimer's and other dementias, between physical activity and change in cognitive function from baseline to follow up, between dose of physical activity and risk of dementia as well as change in cognitive function; and to explore the effecitvebness of various types of physical activity on cognitive health

A population-based study of the transmission and diversification of HIV-1 using molecular genetic and complete sexual network data Principal Investigator: Kohler, Hans-Peter and Helleringer, Stephane Aims: The specific aims of this project include: Create the first large-scale complete-sexual-network study with detailed phylogenetic data in sub-Saharan Africa; Use the molecular-genotype data to establish chains of HIV infection; and investigate the impact of sexua network structures on the rate at which recombinant forms of the virus, dual infections as well as superinfections, emerge within a population.

Age Variation in the Relationship between Health Literacy and Self-Rated Health Principal Investigator: Park, Hyunjoon Aims: To test two hypotheses using data from a nationally representative sample of 18,102 American adults (NAAL): 1) health literacy is positively associated with self-rated health for both men and women, net of various covariates; 2) the effect of health literacy on self-rated health increases by age for both men and women.

The Effects of Nutrition and Disease on Child Growth and Adult Health Principal Investigator: Preston, Samuel and Margolis, Rachel Aims: To investigate the extent to which the impact of childhood disease and nutrition on adult outcomes can be captured by the more commonly-available data on height and lower leg length.

 

Year 13 (7/1/06 - 6/30/07)

Impact of Prescription Copayments on Antidepressant Use and Adherence in Dual Eligibles: Implications for Medicare Part D Principal Investigator: Doshi, Jalpa Aims: To determine whether dual eligibles in states with higher copayments will have lower antidepressant use and adherence than those in states with lower or no copayments.

The Efficiency and Characteristics of Investment Choices Offered by 401(k) Pension Plans Principal Investigator: Mitchell, Olivia Aims: To measure the efficiency shortfall patterns in pension plan menu offerings and to characterize these patterns according to employee and plan characteristics.

The Literacy Gap between Those with High Levels and Low Levels of Educational Attainment among Older Adults: A Comparative Study of 20 Countries Principal Investigator: Park, Hyunjoon Aims: To assess the variation in literacy skills among older adults, particular the literacy gap between those with high levels of formal educational attainment and those with low levels of educational attainment.

Understanding Barriers to Hypertension Control in the Elderly Principal Investigator: Turner, Barbara Aims: To evaluate the effect of attitudinal, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control/structural factors on achieving sustained blood pressure (BP) control in hypertensive elderly patients aged >70 and to examine the impact of functional status/comorbidities as barriers to control.

Financial Incentives for Weight Loss Principal Investigator: Volpp, Kevin Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of financial incentives in promoting weight loss among obese individuals and to use the difference in weight loss measured at 16 weeks to project the long-term cost-effectiveness if weight loss is sustained.

Building and Maintaining Bibliographic Database for AIDS Research in Malawi Principal Investigator: Watkins, Susan Aims: To create the Malawi AIDS Research Database (MARD) to be housed at the College of Medicine (COM) at the University of Malawi, which will include (1) unpublished articles and reports that constitute the bulk of research on AIDS in Malawi; (2) links to published articles that are available without subscription on the Web; and (3) published articles accessible through the PSC Demography library.

Does Poor Health Induce Myopia? An Investigation of Mortality, Morbidity, Aging, and Time Preference Principal Investigator(s): Chao, Li-wei Aims: To collect measures of health and time preference among a new sample of adults and elderly in peri-urban Durban, South Africa, with each age-stratum further divided into those who are healthy versus those who are not; to collect longitudinal measures of health and time preference among micro- and small-enterprise owners around Durban (also previously collected 2004); and to analyze relationships between health and the ‘individual discount rate’ and between changes in health and changes in the ‘individual discount rate.’

What Can We Learn from the 2000 Census of Population? Principal Investigator(s): Elo, Irma Aims: To advance our understanding of variations in health status among native-born and foreign-born Hispanics, NH-Whites, African-origin populations, and Asian Americans, including sub-populations within these broad race/ethnic groups.

The Muslim Mortality Puzzle in Bulgaria Principal Investigator(s): Kohler, Iliana and Preston, Samuel Aims: To document mortality patterns in Bulgaria during 1992-98, providing the first reliable life tables and other mortality measures according to religion and ethnic group; and to analyze mortality differentials between Muslims and non-Muslims, focusing on the principal factors expected to account for lower Muslim mortality.

Contribution Patterns under the Chilean Retirement Survey Principal Investigator: Mitchell, Olivia Aims: To evaluate the effect of Chile’s pension system rules and regulations on individuals’ contribution patterns.

Year 12 (7/1/05 - 6/30/06)

Resource Flows Among Three Generations in Guatemala: Supplementary Analysis and Data Collection Principal Investigator(s): Behrman, Jere Aims: To examine interactions among three generations in Guatemala using unusually rich longitudinal data over 35 years that will increase the research productivity of an existing project through added data collection that is not already funded by the existing project

Body Capital and Socioeconomic Mobility Principal Investigator(s): Chang, Virginia Aims: To determine the cross-sectional relationships between weight status and SES/class and conduct cross-cohort comparisons to evaluate secular shifts in the relationship over time

HIV/AIDS and Complete Sexual and Social Networks in Rural Malawi Principal Investigator(s): Kohler, Hans-Peter Aims: To examine empirically the population-level structure of sexual networks and explore the role they may play in fostering the spread of HIV as well as in explaining the discrepancies observed between indicators of sexual behavior and epidemic outcomes

HIV/AIDS and Intergenerational Transfers in Malawi Principal Investigator(s): Kohler, Hans-Peter Aims: To apply existing and develop new models of intergenerational and inter vivos transfers to explain motivations for such transfers in a high HIV prevalance county and to investigate whether transfers differ by households that are and are not affected by AIDS

Trust and Transfers in South Africa: Linking Survey with Experimental Data Principal Investigator(s): Kohler, Hans-Peter Aims: Tto uncover the motivations underlying transfers by examining transfers patterns derived from experimental economics games combined with data derived from survey and qualitative interviews

Understanding Pension Literacy Principal Investigator(s): Mitchell, Olivia Aims: To evaluate what Chileans do and do not know about their retirement system after two decades of the new program, and, to the extent that current participants and potential participants prove under- or mis-informed, to learn what aspects of the plan seem particularly difficult to fathom and what might be done to correct the lack of information and/or misinformation

Anticipated Regret and the Disposition Effect Principal Investigator(s): Muermann, Alexander Aims: To examine the dynamic effects of price fluctuations on trading behavior when investors are averse toward anticipated regret

Factors Responsible for the Changing Sex Differentials in Mortality at Older Ages in the United States Principal Investigator(s): Preston, Samuel Aims: To seek explanations of the recent poor performance of mortality among older women in the United States, relative both to older men and to women in previous eras

The Causal Impact of Education on Income Volatility Principal Investigator(s): Shore, Stephen Aims: To exploit the panel feature of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) to estimate income volatility directly for many individuals

Effects of School Vouchers on Education and Earning Principal Investigator(s): Todd, Petra Aims: To develop a behavioral model of decisions about schooling and work, prepare datasets, and do some preliminary data analysis

Public Dissemination of Primary Qualitative Data from The Social Network and HIV study in Malawi Principal Investigator(s): Watkins, Susan Aims: To further the public dissemination of primary qualitative data to other researchers by using the Malawi project data to set a standard and by collaboration with ICPSR to promote the development of new software and/or technology to facilitate the process of anonymizing qualitative data

The Impact of the Medicare Prescription Drug Bill Principal Investigator(s): Wolpin, Kenneth Aims: To fill a gap by quantifying the effects of the policy change on the general health status, life expectancy, and medical care consumption of Medicare beneficiaries

Year 11 (7/1/04-6/30/05

Analysis of the Linearity of Trends in the Dementia Severity Rating Scale Principal Investigator(s): Ewbank, Douglas Aims: To demonstrate the pattern of change in the DSRS and the variation in progression rates among cases

Self-medication and Health Insurance Coverage in Mexico Principal Investigator(s): Pagán, José Aims: To analyze the factors associated with the use of self-medication in Mexico using survey data on adults aged 50 and older from the Mexican Health and Aging Study

Human Capital Risk and Family Co-Insurance Principal Investigator(s): Shore, Stephen Aims: To understand the impact of intra-household co-insurance consumption commitments and precautionary saving

Grandparents and the Survival of their Grandchildren in the Gambia Principal Investigator(s): van de Walle, Etienne Aims: To understand the relationship between both (a) the survival and (b) the co-residency of grandparents and their grandchildren’s mortality, based on the 1993 Gambia census.

Year 10 (7/1/03-6/30/04)

Socioeconomic Differentials in Mortality in Finland and the US: The Role of income and education Principal Investigator(s): Elo, Irma Aims: Educational and income inequality in all cause and cause-specific mortality by age and sex in Finland and the US.

Savings and Health Behavior over the Lifecycle and across Generations Principal Investigator(s): Knowles, John Aims: Household decisions regarding savings, consumption, employment and health behavior over the life-cycle.

Selection Processes and Health/Mortality Outcomes in the US and Mexico Principal Investigator(s): Kohler, Iliana Aims: Health disparities among the elderly and old population by socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity in the US and Mexico.

Understanding International Best Practice in Pension Regulation and Supervision Principal Investigator(s): Boruch, Robert Aims: Pension regulatory and supervisory structure.

Health Insurance, Health, and Labor Force Participation Among Elderly Mexicans Principal Investigator(s): Polsky, Daniel Aims: Causal links between health insurance, health, and labor force behavior using MHAS.

The Living Arrangements of the Elderly Widows Principal Investigator(s): Rios-Rull, Jose-Victor Aims: Determinants of the living arrangements by constructing and estimating models where mothers and children make choices that bear in whether they live together or separate.

Aging of Local Populations: A Preliminary Investigation Principal Investigator(s): Smith, Herbert Aims: Variations in rates of aging and in age distributions across local areas.

Year 9 (7/1/02-6/30/03)

Trends in Socioeconomic Differentials in Mortality Principal Investigator(s): Elo, Irma Aims: Socioeconomic inequality in all cause and cause-specific mortality by age and sex in the US by investigating whether these trends have been similar among whites and African Americans and by relating these findings to trends in the distribution of risk factors, such as obesity and smoking.

Health Status, Measurement and Intergenerational Caregiving Principal Investigator(s): Jacobs, Jerry Aims: The effect of health status on the inter-generational patterns of caregiving, with special attention to issues of measurement and to the experiences of minorities. Outcomes: Planning RO1 Jacobs, Jerry A. and Kathleen Gerson: The Time Divide: Work Family and Gender Inequality

An Explanatory Analysis of Household Composition and Intergenerational Exchange in Asian American Households Principal Investigator(s): Kao, Grace Aims: Household size and composition among households with older Asian Americans.

Selection Processes and Ethnic/Socioeconomic Differences in Mortality and Morbidity Principal Investigator(s): Kohler, Iliana Aims: Health disparities in the older population by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic groups in the United States, and to consider alternative explanations for the differential increase in the mortality and morbidity trajectories observed among various sub-groups within the population. Outcomes: NIA grant with Soldo (P.I.) "A Comparative Approach to the SES Gradient: Aging and Selction"

The Social Environment and Diabetes Control: A Case-Control Study Principal Investigator(s): Long, Judith Aims: Innovative clinical population-based study to determine the effects of social environmental factors on diabetes control. Outcomes: Work continues in current year

Exploring Methods to Incorporate Public-Use Data in Aging Research Studies Principal Investigator(s): Sochalski, Julie Aims: The role of race and other subject characteristics in the outcomes of patients enrolled in CARE when compared to matched control groups drawn from the 1994 National Long Term Care Survey. Outcomes: RO1 resubmission RO3-NR008888 submitted Manuscript is being submitted to the Journal of the American Geriatric Society Submission of abstract to the Gerontological Society of America Manuscript being submitted to The Gerontologist Manuscript under preparation on a critical review of the literature on end-of-life care and minorities A grant application has been submitted to the Frank Morgan Jones Fund

Year 8 (7/1/01-6/30/02)

The Persistence of Health Problems in the Elderly Principal Investigator(s): Polsky, Daniel Aims: Persistence of the health problems over time among the aged population, applying time series econometric techniques to the recent HRS, a longitudinal survey of the elderly with four waves.

Age and the Shifting Signification of Health Principal Investigator(s): Schnittker, Jason Aims: Measures of depression and cognitive abilities.

Population Aging in Africa in the Era of HIV/AIDS: Evidence from Census Data Principal Investigator(s): Zuberi, Tukufu Aims: Population aging in Africa in the era of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Year 7 (7/1/00-6/30/01)

The Impact of Local Crime on the Labor Supply of Older Americans Principal Investigator(s): Mitchell, Olivia and Silverman, Daniel Aims: Impact of local crime rates on older Americans' labor supply.

AIDS, Social Institutions, and Old Age Support: Application to the Luo in Western Kenya Principal Investigator(s): Munshi, Kaivan and Luke, Nancy

Life Cycle Gender Specialization and Sex Differences in Income Among Elders Principal Investigator(s): England, Paula Aims: The importance of gender-differentiated life cycle patterns.

Year 6 (7/1/99-6/30/00)

Marital Instability and the Economic Status of the Elderly: Implications for Macroeconomics Principal Investigator(s): Knowles, John Aims: Projected distributions of income and wealth among the elderly if the new patterns of marital behavior and female labor-force participation were to continue, and the effectiveness of alternative social policies, primarily income redistribution and divorce laws, in reducing the rate of poverty among elderly households.

Inter-Generational Resource Flows in a Poor Sub-Saharan Population Principal Investigator(s):Watkins, Behrman Aims: Important aspects of the health environment on inter-generational flows of resources in sub-Saharan with a high incidence of AIDS.

Year 5 (9/1/98-8/31/99)

 

Exploratory Work into the Creation of Subfiles of the African Census Analysis Project Principal Investigator(s): Zuberi, Tukufu

Physicians in Aging and Aging Physicians Principal Investigator(s): Jacobs, Jerry A. & Boulis, Ann K.

Social Security Reform with an Aging Population Principal Investigator(s): Smetters, Kent

Government Reimbursement of Medicare HMOs Principal Investigator(s): Nicholson, Sean P.

Wealth and Health: The Impact of Changing Assets on the Health of Disadvantaged Urban Blacks in Mid-life Principal Investigator(s): Furstenberg, Frank F.

Improving the Data Base for Studying Health, Aging and Development in Low-Income Countries Principal Investigator(s): Rosenzweig, Mark R.

Year 4 (9/1/97-8/31/98)

Effect of Social Security Privatization on Savings in Chile Principal Investigator(s): Mitchell, Olivia S. & Franken

Intra-Familial Transfers and Health Status in Malawi Principal Investigator(s): Behrman, Jere R., Cliggett, Lisa & Weinreb, Alex A.

Fertility Transition and the Status of the Elderly in South Africa Principal Investigator(s): Watkins, Susan C. & Madhavan, Sangeetha

Year 3 (9/1/96-8/31/97)

 

Data Preparation and First Analysis of the Matlab Health and Socioeconomic Survey Principal Investigator(s): Foster & Menken, Jane A.

A Cross-cultural Study of Aging in Africa Principal Investigator(s): Menken, Jane A., Clark, Weinreb, Alex A. & Madhavan, Sangeetha

Decumulating Retirement Wealth Principal Investigator(s): Mitchell, Olivia S.

Effects of Early Life Conditions on Adult Health Principal Investigator(s): Elo, Irma T.

Year 2 (9/1/95-8/31/96)

Reduced Work Time among Older Workers and Workers with Elderly Dependents Principal Investigator(s): Jacobs, Jerry A.

Public Use Data on Old Age Mortality in Developed Countries Principal Investigator(s): Condran, Gretchen & Himes, Christine L.

The Impact of Social and Economic Status on Health Changes Principal Investigator(s): Glicksman, Allen

Methods for Collecting Data on Medical Insurance Coverage among Elderly Patients Principal Investigator(s): Ewbank, Douglas C. & Goldberg-Glen, Robin

 

Year 1 (9/1/94-8/31/95)

Micro Aspects of Intergenerational Relations Associated with Aging Principal Investigator(s): Behrman, Jere R. & Rosenzweig, Mark R.

Alzheimer's Disease and Residence in Nursing Homes Principal Investigator(s): Ewbank, Douglas C.

Socioeconomic Differentials in Mortality Principal Investigator(s): Elo, Irma T. & Preston, Samuel H.