Housing demand reflects the household's simultaneous choice of neighborhood, whether to own or rent the dwelling, and the quantity of housing services demanded. Existing literature emphasizes the final two factors, but overlooks the choice of community. This paper develops an econometric model that incorporates all three components, and then estimates this model using a sample of Tampa, Florida households. Incorporating community choice increases the price elasticity of demand and reduces the differential between white and comparable nonwhite households. The results are robust to the inclusion of permanent income and taxes.

Housing demand reflects the household's simultaneous choice of neighborhood, whether to own or rent the dwelling, and the quantity of housing services demanded. Existing literature emphasizes the final two factors, but overlooks the choice of community. This paper develops an econometric model that incorporates all three components, and then estimates this model using a sample of Tampa, Florida households. Incorporating community choice increases the price elasticity of demand and reduces the differential between white and comparable nonwhite households. The results are robust to the inclusion of permanent income and taxes.

No abstract

We investigate the effect of universal health insurance on health outcome and the use of health services by exploiting a natural experiment that changes the insurance status of most Americans at age 65; that is, eligibility for the U.S. Medicare program. We compare inequalities in health and health care use just before and after the age of universal Medicare coverage (65) in the United States. We focus in this paper on the use of services related to breast cancer. We test whether Medicare improves the use of early detection services and ultimately stage of diagnosis of breast cancer particularly for groups shown to be more likely to be uninsured prior to age 65, such as black women or women with less than a high school education. Our results show that education differences in mammography and breast exam receipt and ultimately in stage of diagnosis of breast cancer lessen after the age of 65 for white women. We also find that turning 65 significantly increases the chance that a black woman, especially a less educated black woman, has had a mammogram. We do not find comparable evidence that stage of diagnosis is improved for black women after the age of 65.

This article evaluates whether expanding Medicare to cover those between ages 55 and 64 will improve the health status of these near-elderly individuals. We compare the experiences of near-elderly and elderly women with breast cancer and pay special attention to those demographic groups traditionally thought to be disadvantaged. Using unique individual-level data from the National Cancer Institute, we find that expanding Medicare does not improve the probability that a black woman will have her cancer diagnosed early. However, if she does happen to be diagnosed early, a discrete-time hazard model of survival finds that the price effects of insurance will improve her odds of survival. (JEL 113)