Cary Lou for the Urban Institute: In 2015, 18.2 million children of immigrants lived in the U.S., representing one-quarter of the nation’s children. This group is responsible for all net growth in the under-18 population from 2006 to 2015, while the number of children of native-born parents declined slightly over the period.

Most children of immigrants are native-born U.S. citizens (88 percent as of 2015) and have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen (60 percent as of 2015).

Recent innovations in how we identify families suggest that past estimates of the number of children of immigrants were low because it can be difficult to accurately identify parent-child links, and we didn’t count children living in unconventional families. Even with recent updates to the available data and measures of family relationships, we still lack information that could make our estimates even more accurate.

In our national-level analysis, we identified approximately 300,000 additional children of immigrants spanning the years 2006 through 2015 because of recent changes in how parent-child relationships are identified in the University of Minnesota’s Integrated Public Use Microdata Series ...

Given that children of immigrants will be a significant portion of the next generation of American citizens and workers, we must capture more comprehensive and accurate data on this group with those of other disadvantaged and vulnerable people, including information that more directly captures their identities and relationships. These groups include people of color, young children, and LGBTQ people who have historically been undercounted or counted without capturing their full identity.

Proposed funding cuts to the Census Bureau’s budget are likely to affect the American Community Survey, decennial census, and other federal data collection efforts, threatening data quality and exacerbating undercounts. The numbers affect everything from political representation to resource allocation to making business investments to calculating poverty rates.

North Koreans working with anthrax

Stefan Shover for the Niskanen Center: United Press International recently reported that a defected North Korean soldier possesses antibodies that protect against anthrax bacteria.

Given that an anthrax infection boasts a 45 percent fatality rate even with aggressive antibiotic treatment, the discovery is a cause for concern for the U.S. military. It implies that anthrax could be used in a war with North Korea and underscores how U.S. troops are unprepared to face this weapon.

There are two potential reasons the North Korean soldier has anthrax antibodies. The first and less likely reason is that the young and “low ranking” soldier worked in the production of anthrax. However, given his reported age and rank, it is doubtful that he would be entrusted with anthrax production or handling. The cost of a novice mistake leading to a release of anthrax spores far outweighs the ease of relegating the task to an inexperienced soldier.

The second and far more likely reason a soldier has these antibodies is in preparation for a conflict in which anthrax might be used. Anthrax vaccinations are not standard for American troops, meaning that a North Korean anthrax attack on American troops would cause a serious medical emergency and ensuing retreat from the infected zone. North Korean troops, who are resistant to anthrax, could then take advantage of the vulnerability and advance with significantly less concern for infection, complicating mission success.

Ambulance sharing

Charles Hughes for E21: According to a new working paper by David J. G. Slusky of the University of Kansas and Leon S. Moskatel of Scripps Mercy Hospital, some people are foregoing ambulances and opting for ride-hailing services instead.

A person suffering from a heart attack could certainly require an ambulance complete with paramedics and their tools to give some medical care en route to the hospital. The minutes the ambulance could shave off transport times because it does not have to follow traditional traffic rules could prove important. But a recent Washington Post article cited one patient who was charged $3,660 for a four-mile ride in an ambulance.

While a traditional ambulance often makes sense, a person might need quick transportation to get medical attention in a range of less urgent situations. In some circumstances, these alternatives can offer a less expensive option and also allow the patients to choose their hospitals.

Previous research had found that some degree of unnecessary ambulance use in the past was due to a lack of feasible alternatives.

The authors analyze the effect of UberX entry into 766 cities throughout the country from UberX’s inception in 2013 through 2015. They find at least a 7 percent decrease in ambulance use rates following UberX’s introduction in a city.