Family Inequality year-end review

It wasn't just another year.

More bad reporting on texting and driving, and new data

Even though the spike in traffic deaths is concerning, reporting should not be wrong.

Is the New York Times trapped in an economics echo chamber?

Ask a stupid question. When Justin Wolfers wrote about the dominance of economists in the pages of the New York Times, he concluded, “our popularity reflects the discerning tastes of our audience in the marketplace of ideas.” I discussed the evidence for that in this post, which focused on the particular organizational features of the NYT. At…

I overspoke myself on Twitter

Possibly not the only time. A blog called Random Critical Analysis (RCA) has posted, “On Philip Cohen’s knee-jerk response to Chetty’s “causal mobility” data and its association with single-motherhood.” I now must admit that I overspoke myself on Twitter. But I think the blog post I wrote holds up OK. I complained in the post that…

Conservatives don’t have happier marriages

They really don't. It's extreme liberals with the happiest marriages. (Which does not make their ideology superior.)

That thing about Republican marriages being happier (isn’t true)

See end for a revisions note. In a new blog post, Brad Wilcox and Nicholas Wolfinger ask, “are red or blue spouses happier?” Their answer — suspense — red. Using the 2010-2014 General Social Survey, they start with this descriptive figure: Then they do adjustments, and show how their statistical controls explain the “Republican advantage in…

Upshot sells Wilcox, but I’m not buying

If you know the race/ethnicity and education of a child's parents, further knowing the state they live in gives you virtually no better chance of predicting whether their parents are married.

Marriage promotion and the myth of teen pregnancy

Falling teen births are simply part of the historical trend on marriage: women's independence, educational investment, and delayed family formation.

Michigan Black college completion falters (with consequences)

It limits the perspectives presented, undermines progress toward racial-ethnic equality, and contributes to the inertia that stymies the potential of future leaders.

How to illustrate a .61 relationship with a .93 figure: Chetty and Wilcox edition

How Chetty et al. -- and Brad Wilcox -- illustrated a .61 relationship with a .93 figure.