Presenter #1: Isabel O'Malley (PhD student, School of Public Policy, UMD)
Title: Unionization and Subjective Wellbeing in the US, 2022-2023
Abstract:
Primary research question. Are union members more satisfied with their jobs and lives than their non-union counterparts?
Aims. First. To test whether unionized workers differ from non-unionized workers on three measures of subjective wellbeing: 1) job satisfaction, 2) life satisfaction, and 3) future life satisfaction. Second. Test if the relationships between union membership and subjective wellbeing are stronger in industries with greater union density (e.g., government and education). Third. Test whether the relationship between union membership and life satisfaction is mediated by job satisfaction.
Methods. Data come from Gallup’s US Workforce Standards Survey, a nationally representative probability-based survey administered quarterly. This sample is a pooled cross-section of 25,814 workers: 3,059 in a union and 19,675 not in a union, who responded in June 2022 or May 2023. I estimate a series of wellbeing equations using probit-adapted Ordinary Least Squares (POLS) that include union status as a dummy variable.
Presenter #2: Bryce Slinger (PhD student, School of Public Policy, UMD)
Title: Balancing Direct and Private Sector Care in the Military Health System
Abstract:
The U.S Military Health System faces strong economic headwinds. Over stretched and under-resourced, the Department of Defense needed to decide on the best strategy to rebuild medical capabilities in the wake of major structural transformation; implementation of a new electronic health record; and the COVID-19 pandemic. A new analytic approach to modeling costs and constraints in the Defense Health Program through Fiscal Year 2029 provides more nuanced insight into the Department's decision-space, ultimately yielding a more accurate, realistic strategy for the Military Health System.