2006 - 2007 Western Poverty & Policy Small Grants

"Out of Place: The Geography of the Safety Net in the West", Scott W. Allard, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, Brown University Taubman Center for Public Policy

For poor populations living in the sprawling urban and rural communities of the west coast, lack of access to transportation can leave low-income households isolated from obtaining social services. Drawing upon unique survey data and in-depth interviews with program managers of social service agencies, this project will examine the delivery and financing of social services in Los Angeles, Southeastern New Mexico, and the border counties of Southern Oregon and Northern California. Professor Allard’s project will cast insight into location decisions of providers, mismatches between services and areas in need, challenges of funding services, and salient barriers to service receipt.

"State Agency and NGO Impacts on Well Being of Vulnerable Populations in West Coast States: The Case of Food Insecurity and Hunger", Mark Edwards, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Oregon State University

Focusing on hunger and food insecurity in Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, and Alaska in the early 2000s, this study will explore how coordinated efforts by agencies and NGOs, differing economic conditions, and state population and geographic characteristics, influenced measured rates of hunger and food insecurity. Using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, the study will help resolve a specific question about whether program efforts or other factors impacted the food security situation of state  populations, and will inform debate about whether program  implementation can really improve well-being for vulnerable populations.

"Poverty, Legal Status, and Pay Basis in U.S. Agriculture", Anita Alves Pena], Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Colorado State University

In the United States farmworkers are paid on either a per-piece or hourly basis. This project will study the relationship between wage contract structures, the legal status of the workers, and how the received earnings of agricultural workers compare to the minimum wage in the nonagricultural sector nationally and in the local labor markets of the western United States. The project will consider how minimum wages can be used to decrease income variance among piece rate workers and minimize poverty among farmworkers without adversely affecting agricultural employment levels or food prices. Thus, this study will contribute to the understanding of the informal relationship between the minimum wage system in the United States, illegal and legal immigration, and the wage structures of the working poor in the agricultural sector.

"State-Level Variation in Material Hardship Among Households with Children", Colleen Heflin, Assistant Professor Truman School of Public Affairs, University of Missouri-Columbia

Material harship (as evidenced by such indicators as food insufficiency, housing upkeep problems, difficulty paying bills, and unmet medical needs) has been of increasing interest when examining questions of poverty in the United States, however previous studies have only focused on factors at an individual level and not in a larger societal context. This study will look at important contextual characteristics such as economic conditions, economic policy, climate, and social policy environment to determine to what extent individual differences in material hardship can be explained by demographic characteristics and by contextual differences.