Papers by LaTasha Chaffin
Aligned or Misaligned? Similarities and Differences between African Americans' and Black Caribbeans' Opinions on Affirmative Action
INTRODUCTIONAffirmative action has been one of the most controversial issues in American politics... more INTRODUCTIONAffirmative action has been one of the most controversial issues in American politics since the 1960s. To many, it is controversial because it is a set of policies that target some groups to benefit but not others. Moreover, affirmative action policies take race into account when doling out benefits. Policies that involve tangible benefits such as jobs, admissions into institutions of higher education, scholarship dollars, business contracts, and many other benefits are likely to draw a lot of attention and be controversial. To be sure, affirmative action is not necessarily a single policy, rather it is an amalgam of policies that serve to ensure equal access to opportunities for a number of social groups who have been systemically denied equal access to opportunities in the past (Mangum, 2008).When affirmative action policies allow individuals to be afforded equal opportunity based on race, those policies become even more hotly contested. This is the case even though sc...
How do social security expenditures vary by state? The surprising impact of unemployment
Journal of Public Policy
We examine state-level variation in the flow of benefits under the largest Social Security progra... more We examine state-level variation in the flow of benefits under the largest Social Security programme – the Old-Age (OA) programme. OA pensions remain a robust and growing component of the American social safety net. Although OA pensions are entirely administered by the federal government, state-level demographic features can imply different aggregate levels of programme expenditures across states. We describe high levels of variation in the resources flowing into states from the OA programme and we find relationships between state features that might seem only remotely related to income support for the elderly: current unemployment rates, previous income levels, poverty rates and minority populations. We find a particularly strong link between current unemployment rates, OA coverage and OA average benefits. The number of recipients and the level of average OA payments increase when unemployment increases. This is a poorly understood but important feature of the OA programme.
Spna Review, 2005
Racial profiling was traditionally viewed as an issue that primarily affected African-Americans a... more Racial profiling was traditionally viewed as an issue that primarily affected African-Americans and Latino Americans. After September 11 th the issue of racial profiling has expanded to more directly affect Central and South Asian Americans, Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, members of other communities perceived to originate from the Middle East and immigrants and Americans of foreign descent. These communities are joining with African-American and Latino communities to support national racial profiling legislation on a broader level, not just in traffic stops, but in regulation of all interaction with law enforcement including at airports. The national racial profiling legislation debate presents three important research questions: (1)Is racial profiling by law enforcement a pervasive problem in the United States? (2) What legislation, if any, is required to combat against racial profiling? (3) How can anecdotal evidence of racial profiling be strengthened to provide statistical proof?
Furling the Flag: Explaining the 2015 Vote to Remove the Confederate Flag in South Carolina
Politics & Policy
Uploads
Papers by LaTasha Chaffin