October 29, 2009
The Los Angeles Times cited research by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at USC which stressed the importance of getting students out from under the designation of "English-language learner" before they enter high school, when the chances of dropping out increase. "The United States has never learned what is the best way to teach English to English learners," said SPPD Professor Harry Pachon, president of the institute. "That's really a shortcoming." The research was also featured by National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Daily News, and La Opinion.
October 3, 2009
The Pasadena Star-News quoted Professor Dowell Myers about new data suggesting that Asian Americans have been hit hard by the housing crisis. Asian homeownership dropped 1.24 percentage points to 59.4 percent last year, the largest fall in homeownership among the nation's ethnicities, the story reported. About one-third of the U.S. Asian population lives in California, which could explain the homeownership drop, Myers said. "Asians are newer into the housing market. They increased [in homeownership] more from 2000 to 2008 than most other groups," Myers said. As newer buyers, they would have been more impacted by the housing crisis than more established homeowners were, he explained.
September 25, 2009
A USC study has found a good reason to check the expiration date on market foods. Researchers, working with residents in lower-income areas of Los Angeles, counted at least one expired poultry, beef or dairy product in about a third of the store visits made over a one-year period. USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development professor LaVonna Lewis presented some of the project's data at the 2009 California REACH US Conference.
September 10, 2009
The Wall Street Journal featured research by SPPD Professor Dowell Myers. The study found that California's falling home prices have widened the generational wealth gap created by the state's Proposition 13, which limited property tax rates. According to the research, people who recently bought homes have suffered the greatest loss of housing value but are getting the least tax relief. The study concluded that if the price of California property stays depressed for a while, the most recent buyers will suffer the most.
August 24, 2009
The Santa Fe New Mexican quoted Professor Harry Pachon about a new report showing an increasing number of minority voters in the United States. The changing electorate reflects the current America, Pachon said. "These numbers show that the U.S. has become a multicultural nation," he added. "Before, minority issues were black and white. Now they're multi-ethnic." Pachon is president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, the story noted.
August 1, 2009
The San Francisco Chronicle quoted Professor Dowell Myers about demographic changes in California. No state has changed as much since the late 1970s as California has, Myers said. The state's electorate is becoming less and less representative of its diverse population, which isn't good for democracy, he added.
July 30, 2009
The Huffington Post quoted Professor Dowell Myers about demographic changes in the housing market. Myers has pointed to a huge sea change in the ratio of buyers and sellers that will put downward pressure on housing values over the next two decades, the story stated. "The baby boom generation has pushed up housing prices over the past three decades, as they steadily moved up the ladder and bought housing," he said. "So people think the last three decades are normal. But at some point boomers will start to cash out."
July 22, 2009
The Los Angeles Times quoted Professor Harry Pachon about the community support role of the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles. The consulate has long served as a bridge between the U.S. and Mexico, but has become increasingly active in recent years, Pachon said. "It reflects the recognition by Mexico that a significant portion of its people are living in the United States. This is one of a series of steps helping the Mexican consulate be a relevant factor in the community."
June 23, 2009
The Sacramento Bee featured a study on California demographics by SPPD's Population Dynamics Research Group. The researchers found declining in-migration, high birth rates and a strong inclination of those born in the state to remain here -- factors which mean that the state will have to look inward for workers rather than relying on immigrants from elsewhere. "California is undergoing profound change from a land of migrants to one with a much more settled population," the researchers reported. "A majority of young adults, and soon the middle-aged, are native Californians whose entire lives have been shaped in the state."
June 22, 2009
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzennegger appointed Professor Dowell Myers of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development to be part of a newly created census panel that will oversee the upcoming federal census in California.
May 23, 2009
The Cape Cod Times cited a report by Professor Dowell Myers regarding a potential labor shortage as the baby boom generation retires. Over the next 20 years, the number of retirees relative to the number of working-age Americans will increase by 67 percent, according to Myers.
May 16, 2009
The San Antonio Express-News cited Professor Dowell Myers about demographics and the future of Social Security. The ratio of retired persons to workers will "compound to a 67 percent growth over the 20-year period," Myers said. "The implications for mass retirements and the struggle for replacements in the work force are profound as well," Myers wrote in his book Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future.
May 16, 2009
The Los Angeles Times quoted Professor Dowell Myers about slowing immigration to outlying areas of Los Angeles. The change is a "temporary pause," and immigration will probably rise again as the economy recovers, Myers said. "Immigrants always respond to the economy," he explained. "The boom and bust cycle is totally normal."
May 14, 2009
The San Francisco Chronicle quoted Professor Dowell Myers about demographic changes afoot in California. "California is aging as the rest of the country is, but it's ahead of the curve in diversity and behind the curve in aging, and that's our big advantage," Myers said. "We have a more useful workforce, and we have more young people in school. That costs more money up front, but it will repay huge benefits in 10 years when the rest of the country has few young people."
May 12, 2009
The Los Angeles Times quoted Professor Harry Pachon about the hotly contested congressional election taking place in the San Gabriel Valley. The top candidates are a Latino man and an Asian woman, the story noted. "Ethnicity is a factor," Pachon said. "But it's not the only factor." Pachon is president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at USC, the story noted.
May 11, 2009
The Los Angeles Times quoted Professor Dowell Myers about the increase in California's naturalized Asian and Latino population. The surge in new citizens will accelerate by several years the California electorate's shift from majority-white to nonwhite, Myers said. Although that shift won't be completed until 2026, Latinos, Asians and African Americans are already joining with progressive whites to elect ethnically diverse candidates, he noted.
May 11, 2009
The Xinhua News Agency (China) cited Professor Dowell Myers about racial demographics and politics in California. The surge in naturalized citizens will accelerate by several years the California electorate's shift from majority white to nonwhite, Myer said. Although that shift won't be completed until 2026, Latinos, Asians and African Americans are already joining with progressive whites to elect ethnically diverse candidates, Myers and other analysts predict.
May 9, 2009
The Los Angeles Times quoted Professor Harry Pachon about the American dream among Latinos. "It's the dream of having a single-family house and a white picket fence and a dog," Pachon said. Pachon is president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at USC, the story noted.
May 6, 2009
The image of California as a land of migrants is being shattered by demographic data indicating the emergence of a newer generation of Californians that is homegrown and willing to stay in the state, according to a new study by USC researchers. The study found that today's teens and young adults will be the first generation in California history whose majority will be California-born when they assume positions of leadership in middle age.
May 5, 2009
Christian Science Monitor highlighted "The Geography of Buzz," a study by Assistant Professor Elizabeth Currid. Currid and a colleague at Columbia University tracked geo-coded photos from Getty Images to create heat maps charting the most socially active hubs in L.A. and New York. "A sense of place has always been fundamental to everything that happens in the world," Currid said. "And all this new technology only highlights that idea: geography is basic to the way we live."
April 28, 2009
The New York Times featured a new report by Professor Dowell Myers, called "The New Homegrown Majority in California." Myers and colleagues found that for the first time in California's modern history, a majority of young people in the state were born here, the story reported. More than 70 percent of 15-to-24-year-olds living here in 2007 were native born, while almost two-thirds of 45-to-54-year-olds were born elsewhere, as were about 61 percent of those aged 35 to 44 and some 54 percent of those aged 25 to 34. "It's a watershed moment," Myers said. "There has been so much focus on immigrants, on outsiders. Now we have all these insiders. These are people who carry the future, and they're mostly homegrown."
April 28, 2009
The New York Times featured a new report by Dowell Myers called "The New Homegrown Majority in California." Myers and colleagues found that for the first time in California's modern history, a majority of young people in the state were born here, the story reported. More than 70 percent of 15-to-24-year-olds living here in 2007 were native born, while almost two-thirds of 45-to-54-year-olds were born elsewhere, as were about 61 percent of those aged 35 to 44 and some 54 percent of those aged 25 to 34. "It's a watershed moment," Myers said. "There has been so much focus on immigrants, on outsiders. Now we have all these insiders. These are people who carry the future, and they're mostly homegrown."
April 24, 2009
The National Journal quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about Judy Chu's campaign to represent California's 32nd Congressional district. If Chu wins the election, local observers say she will be the first Asian American to represent the Southland in Congress. "It will be a breakthrough for Asians in a district in which they are true minority," Jeffe said.
April 23, 2009
The Stockton Record featured new research by Professor Dowell Myers finding that California's population will soon be mostly "homegrown" instead of coming from other states or countries. This large demographic shift indicates that more Californians are staying closer to home, that fewer workers from elsewhere will be available to fuel the economy, and that the state's institutions will be held more accountable, the story stated. The report is called "The New Homegrown Majority in California: Recognizing the New Reality of Growing Commitment to the Golden State."
April 21, 2009
The Los Angeles Times featured research by SPPD Professor Dowell Myers concluding that "homegrown" Californians will soon outnumber those who came from elsewhere. More than 70 percent of Californians aged 15 to 24 were born and raised in the state, while nearly two-thirds of state residents aged 45 to 54 were born out of state. "It's a sea change in demography but also in political perceptions," Myers said. "We've transformed from being a state of migrants to a settled state of native Californians. We're basically becoming more self-reliant on who we have here."
March 9, 2009
U.S. News & World Report featured a study by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at USC on Latino enrollment in public schools. Latino children now are in the majority or near majority in a number of large districts, the study found. In Chicago, 45.1 percent of first graders are Hispanic, compared with 41.1 percent of sixth graders and 35.2 percent of 12th graders. Latinos constitute 74.5 percent of first graders in Los Angeles, 63.1 percent in Houston, 68.6 percent in Dallas, and 53.6 percent in San Jose, Calif.
February 27, 2009
During a recent discussion held at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) shared personal lessons and political insights from her book, Dream in Color: How the Sanchez Sisters Are Making History in Congress (Grand Central Publishing, 2008).
February 20, 2009
The San Diego Union-Tribune quoted Dowell Myers about how shrinking family sizes in Mexico could decrease immigration into the United States. American authorities are building a 670-mile fence along the border to stop more from coming, but some say such a measure is overkill, the story stated. "It's like building a dike for a flood that might not be there," Myers said. This story was carried widely.
January 26, 2009
The USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development marked its 80th anniversary by hosting a special colloquium Jan. 16 at the Davidson Conference Center. During the conference, Dean Jack H. Knott noted that SPPD remains dedicated to advancing academic theory and making a vital impact in the world.
January 20, 2009
La Opinion quoted Professor Harry Pachon about the future of the Republican Party. The party will have to reach out to Latinos if it hopes to build its electoral base, Pachon said. There are two reasons for the high number of potential Latino voters: the naturalization of immigrants and a new generation of young Latinos who have reached voting age, he explained. Pachon is president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute.
December 9, 2008
USA Today quoted Professor Dowell Myers about the increase in the number of Hispanics fluent in English. Homeownership and naturalization are more important gauges of assimilation than English fluency, but language is the most visible, Myers said. "What affects people the most is the language around them," he explained. "It's the most symbolic ... a real flashpoint."
December 9, 2008
The Los Angeles Times quoted Professor Dowell Myers about census data showing growing diversity in Southern California's suburbs. The trend reflects a broad breakdown of past housing discrimination, Myers said. "Ethnic groups of all types are integrating into suburban neighborhoods. It's the new normal," he explained. "It's not about color and ethnicity in California anymore. It's about economic upward mobility."
December 8, 2008
The Los Angeles Times quoted Professor Dowell Myers about census methodology. The U.S. Census Bureau is offering data on a rolling basis in addition to the head count every 10 years. Some demographers are concerned that the rolling data could be misleading because it is averaged over time, the story reported. Averaging over time "only works if things aren't changing very much," Myers said. "When you have a steep trend, you want to know where things are changing now. You don't want to know where it was changing two years ago."
November 20, 2008
The impact of Hurricane Katrina continues to be felt in the New Orleans region and beyond as researchers and policymakers examine what went wrong and how to deal with the effects of a similar disaster in the future. The latest contribution comes from a team of professors at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, who edited and wrote chapters for Natural Disaster Analysis After Hurricane Katrina: Risk Assessment, Economic Impacts and Social Implications.
November 19, 2008
The San Antonio Express-News featured research by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at USC, Sallie Mae and Gallup Inc. on Hispanics and college education. The study, "How America Pays for College," revealed that Hispanics went to universities with cheaper tuition costs than institutions Anglos and blacks attended, paying an average of about $4,300 less per year. TRPI was also cited as a source for other statistics featured in the story.
October 1, 2008
Professor Harry Pachon was quoted in the Los Angeles Times about the new citizenship test being phased in by U.S. immigration authorities. Some fear that the new format, which emphasizes concepts rather than facts, could result in examiners denying citizenship based on whims or prejudices, the story stated. For that reason, the new test is a "step backward," Pachon said. "There's latitude in answering the questions and that's where the problem lies," he explained. "There's potential for abuse and not knowing what to prepare for." Pachon is president of the Tomas River Policy Institute.
September 23, 2008
SPPD Professor Dowell Myers was quoted in Forbes about immigrant settlement patterns within the United States. New immigrants try to find a large community of immigrants with similar backgrounds, the story stated. "When people move to a new place, they want to be around those that they know," Myers said.
August 27, 2008
Professor Dowell Myers was highlighted in a Los Angeles Times story about demographic changes in Southern California. "The population is getting older, and older people have higher incomes," Myers said. Also, immigration rates are continuing to decline, and it is the most recent newcomers who tend to have the highest poverty rates, he said. "We have an immigrant population that is settling in, and that is raising their incomes," Myers explained.
August 12, 2008
Professor Dowell Myers was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle about California's budget and the state's need to plan for a demographic shift. "The state is trapped in this short-term cycle," Myers said. "If we didn't have term limits maybe we could keep Schwarzenegger around for another four or eight years and we could straighten it out," Myers added. "But we're trapped in a deadly spiral of short-term disaster."
August 5, 2008
SPPD Professor Dowell Myers was quoted in a New York Times story about demographic changes that may favor Democrats. A younger, native-born Latino generation that has a tendency to support Democrats is coming of age, Myers said.
July 17, 2008
Harry Pachon was quoted in a San Diego Union-Tribune story about the Latino vote in the November presidential election. "I think there's no doubt that the Latino vote is going to go Democratic," Pachon said. "The real question is how Democratic," he added. "Obama cannot be satisfied with just getting a majority. He's got to get a big majority because the incremental vote for McCain could make a difference." Pachon is president of USC's Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, the story noted.
June 29, 2008
Dowell Myers was quoted the USA Today about baby boomers and Latino immigrants. For a nation bracing to support 79 million baby boomers in their old age, the growing and younger population of Latinos should be viewed as economic salvation, Myers said. "Children are always a fiscal burden, yet children are also the lifeblood of every community," he explained. "What's killing Japan and threatening the economic future of Europe is that they don't have enough kids, and that's what's depriving these rural areas in America," he added. Myers is the author of Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future of America, the story noted.
June 5, 2008
Harry Pachon was interviewed on "CNN Newsroom" about Robert F. Kennedy's legacy. "The national focus on the Hispanic community is something that was new," Pachon said. "He reached out and you felt that there was really a coalition that could be made of black, Latino and white working class of, you know, voters. We all have something in common. It was very powerful at that time." Pachon is president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at USC, the story noted.
May 15, 2008
Prof. Dowell Myers was quoted in U.S. News and World Report about variations among immigrant populations. "Asians show up with a lot more money, oftentimes," Myers said. "They have a higher education to begin with, and many of them are entrepreneurs." The Asian experience recalls a general rule of today's immigrants: The farther you have to migrate, the wealthier you probably were in your country of origin, the story stated. "Poor people can't afford a plane trip across the ocean, but poor people can walk across the border," Myers explained. "Poor Africans and poor Chinese can't do it."
May 15, 2008
Prof. Dowell Myers was quoted in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal about immigration policy. Public discourse on the subject can be colored by what Myers calls the "Peter Pan Fallacy," the story stated. "Many of us assume, unwittingly, that immigrants are like Peter Pan, forever frozen in their status as newcomers, never aging, never advancing economically, and never assimilating," Myers said. In this naive view, "the mounting numbers of foreign-born residents imply that our nation is becoming dominated by growing numbers of people who perpetually resemble newcomers," he said.
May 13, 2008
Prof. Dowell Myers was quoted in USA Today about an index aimed at measuring immigrant assimilation. An index is a futile effort, because different characteristics change at different rates, Myers said. Some changes happen in a few years, while others take a lifetime or even several generations, he said.
May 1, 2008
Professor Dowell Myers was cited in a Wall Street Journal story on Hispanic demographics in the United States. As Americans age and the baby boom generation retires, Latinos may help buttress the economy and the Social Security system, the article stated. The ratio of senior citizens to working-age people age 25 to 64 will grow to 411 seniors per 1,000 working-age people in 2030, from 250 per 1,000 in 2010, according to Myers.
April 21, 2008
Prof. Dowell Myers was quoted in a Los Angeles Times story about immigration policy. This week, a USC conference will bring together former federal housing secretary Henry Cisneros and other community leaders to explore ways to help immigrants better integrate into career-oriented jobs and civic life, the story reported. "It's in the self-interest of the older generation to have immigrants here," Myers said. "Even if you don't like it, you have to ask the question: Who's going to fill your jobs, buy your homes and pay the taxes for old-age support programs?" he asked. Myers is the author of the book Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future of America, the story noted.
March 9, 2008
A recent San Francisco Chronicle story featured research, led by Prof. Dowell Myers, regarding the potential impact of baby boomers on the housing market. Myers and USC doctoral student Sung Ryu co-authored a study warning of a "generational housing bubble" that could burst as baby boomers - who have held up housing prices since 1970 - begin to retire. "The Baby Boom generation was born over a period of 18 years, and once its sell-off commences, it could dominate the housing market for up to two decades," the researchers wrote.
February 24, 2009