Current and Projected Characteristics and Unique Health Care Needs of the Patient Population Served by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 addressed the need for access to timely, high-quality health care for veterans. Section 201 of the legislation called for an independent assessment of various aspects of veterans' health care. The RAND Corporation was tasked with an assessment of the current and projected demographics and health care needs of patients served by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The number of U.S. veterans will continue to decline over the next decade, and the demographic mix and geographic locations of these veterans will change. While the number of veterans using VA health care has increased over time, demand will level off in the coming years. Veterans have more favorable economic circumstances than non-veterans, but they are also older and more likely to be diagnosed with many health conditions. Not all veterans are eligible for or use VA health care. Whether and to what extent an eligible veteran uses VA health care depends on a number of factors, including access to other sources of health care. Veterans who rely on VA health care are older and less healthy than veterans who do not, and the prevalence of costly conditions in this population is projected to increase. Potential changes to VA policy and the context for VA health care, including effects of the Affordable Care Act, could affect demand. Analysis of a range of data sources provided insight into how the veteran population is likely to change in the next decade.

Caracterização dos níveis de fecundidade no Brasil, 1970–2010 / Characterization of fertility levels in Brazil, 1970–2010

Analisamos os Censos Demográficos do Brasil de 1970, 1980, 1991, 2000 e 2010, com o objetivo de investigar os fatores associados com a mulher ter tido filho nascido vivo no ano anterior ao censo. Estimamos modelos de regressão logística para mulheres entre 10 e 49 anos. Como variáveis independentes, selecionamos região de residência, localidade rural/urbana, presença de eletricidade, cor/raça, religião, estado conjugal, participação no mercado de trabalho, tempo de residência no município, informação se a mulher teve um filho nascido morto, idade, educação e parturição. Os resultados confirmam que a probabilidade da mulher ter tido filho no último ano é maior nas regiões Norte e Nordeste, assim como em domicílios sem eletricidade. Mulheres que tiveram maior chance de ter tido um filho são pretas/pardas, católicas, casadas, não participantes no mercado de trabalho, migrantes no curto prazo, tiveram filho nascido morto, estão entre 20 e 29 anos de idade, possuem baixa escolaridade e possuem mais filhos. Os padrões têm mudado ao longo do tempo, levantando importantes questões para análises futuras.

We analyze the 1970, 1980, 1991, 2000, and 2010 Brazilian Demographic Censuses, in order to investigate the associated factors with a woman having had a live birth during the year prior toeach census. We estimated logistic regression models for women aged 10–49 years. As independent variables, we selected region of residence, rural/urban location, presence of electricity, color/race, religion, marital status, labor market participation, time of residence in the municipality, information about whether they had a stillbirth, age, education, and parity. Our findings confirm that the probability a woman had a child is higher in the North and Northeast regions, as well as in households without electricity. Women that have a greater chance of having had a child are black/brown, Catholic, married, non-labor market participants, short-term migrants, experienced a stillbirth, between 20–29 years of age, have less education, and have higher parity. Patterns have been changing throughout time, thus posing questions for further analyses.

The Growth of Protestantism in Brazil and Its Impact on Male Earnings, 1970-2000.

Protestantism has expanded rapidly in Brazil in recent decades. The question we tackle in this paper is whether Protestantism has had a positive influence on male earnings in this setting, either through its influence on health and productivity, by way of social networks or employer favor and reduced discrimination, or through other mechanisms. We tackle the problem of the selectivity of religious conversion and affiliation using microdata from the Brazilian censuses of 1970, 1980, 1991, and 2000, and analyzing the association between Protestantism and earnings at the group rather than the individual level. Our results show a strong association between the proportion of Protestants in a region, and the earnings of men in one educational group: those with less than five years of education. Upon introducing race into our models, we found that the association between religion and the earnings of less educated men is concentrated in regions in which there is a substantial non-white population. The relationships we have uncovered contribute to the literature on racial inequality and discrimination in Brazil, which to date has given little space to the role of religion in moderating the pernicious effect of race on economic outcomes in Brazil. The substantial association we found between religion and earnings contrasts with much of the research that has been carried out on the influence of religion on earnings in the United States.