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In the last few decades, philanthropy in Israeli society has changed and along with the traditional charitable giving, a new kind of modern philanthropy has emerged. This empirical study aims to profile modern Israeli philanthropists, and to present the characteristics that are linked to donation amounts, donor generosity, and the link between donor characteristics and the likelihood to donate. The study results show differences in Israeli philanthropic behavior that are linked to a variety of economic and socio-demographic variables. First, everything else being equal, female-headed households tend to be more generous in terms of donation as a percent of income. However, male-headed households contribute higher amounts on average. Second, new immigrant philanthropists contribute significantly higher amounts than their Israel-born counterparts and long-time residents. With each additional year of residence in Israel, assimilating and integrating into its society, giving generosity decreases, converging to the level of Israel-born donors. Philanthropists originating from the United States and Western Europe contribute the highest amounts and are found to be the most generous donors compared to those originating from Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. The gap between these groups has widened considerably since 2000. Merging philanthropists’ data with the Central Bureau of Statistics Household Expenditure Survey, shows that philanthropist households differ from the general population in virtually every category examined. All of the results are statistically significant and robust to alternate specifications.

This PDF document was made available from http://taubcenter.org.il as a public service of the TAUB CENTER FOR SOCIAL POLICY STUDIES IN ISRAEL. 

This work looks at two highly influential trends in Israel’s current and future labor market. One has to do with changing occupational distribution; the other relates to changes in returns to education. The study finds that between 2013 and 2015 the number of work hours rose in those occupations at low risk of automation and computerization while the number of work hours in high risk occupations fell. This trend was especially prominent among women, and to a lesser extent among Arab Israelis and immigrants (versus the non-immigrant Jewish population). An examination of returns to education finds an increase in the contribution of one year of formal education to wages between 2003 and 2014. Here, too, there are differences between men and women and the different social sectors. Especially prominent is the relatively consistent rise in the returns to education among immigrant men, and the larger increase among women than among men. On the one hand, these developments reflect the Israeli labor market’s resilience and the opportunities available in it as the labor force adapts to an information and service economy. On the other hand, there are implications regarding wage distribution, among them the polarization in the labor market and rising wage inequality.

Behavioral reactions to terrorism may be displayed in different ways. While some individuals react by holding back on their financial and charitable activities following stressful events, others may express more generosity by increasing their giving due to solidarity and empathy with the victims, or out of heightened nationalism and patriotism. Using a longitudinal analysis of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict as a case study to uncover the relations between terrorism and philanthropic behavior, we find that terror attacks increase considerably the scope of giving by individuals and households. Our empirical approach relies on a unique panel dataset of 152,731 tax itemizer philanthropists and terrorism data from 1999 to 2011. The results are statistically significant and robust across a multitude of model specifications. Furthermore, we use an instrumental variable approach to identify a causal link and address potential endogeneity concerns. This study is, to the best of our knowledge, the first attempt to empirically identify and quantify the effect of sequential terror attacks on philanthropy over a relatively long period using detailed micro-level information.

Recent studies have identified correlational associations linking terrorism and females’ standing in the labor market.Theories have been proposed to explain these associations. Some concluded that women’s participation in the labor force could be the driver that moves terrorism; others proposed that terrorism motivates the deviations in the labor force. No study has adequately explored causality and the direction of this association. Using a panel data set of 165 countries and terrorism data from 1980 to 2007, we find that terrorist attacks decrease female labor force participation and increase the gender gap between male and female labor force participation. By exploiting variation across countries and time, we are able to identify and quantify these effects; we are also able to address endogeneity concerns by using two novel instrumental variable approaches.The results are statistically significant and robust across a multitude of model specifications.

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Many of Israel’s socioeconomic achievements have been dramatic. A young country that has absorbed massive influxes of immigrants and responded to constant security threats, Israel successfully developed a vibrant, open, and technologically advanced economy characterized by high rates of economic growth. However, Israel faces substantial economic and social challenges, some of which are well known to policymakers and have recently fueled a wide wave of social unrest. These challenges include differential ability within the population to participate in and benefit from the growth in the economy, rising costs of living, and questions on the part of the public about the government’s ability to address those challenges. Faced with major existential challenges throughout Israel’s history, the government has not routinely developed strategic responses to problems that demand longer-term, coordinated policy action. This research is an initial attempt in developing means by which Israel could enhance its capacity for applying strategic thinking to the development of government policy, particularly in the socioeconomic sphere.

This article examines whether house demolitions are an effective counterterrorism tactic against suicide terrorism. We link original longitudinal microlevel data on houses demolished by the Israeli Defense Forces with data on the universe of suicide attacks against Israeli targets. By exploiting spatial and time variation in house demolitions and suicide attacks during the second Palestinian uprising, we show that punitive house demolitions (those targeting Palestinian suicide terrorists and terror operatives) cause an immediate, significant decrease in the number of suicide attacks. In contrast, Palestinian fatalities do not have a consistent effect on suicide terror attacks, while curfews and precautionary house demolitions (demolitions justified by the location of the house but unrelated to the identity of the house’s owner) cause a significant increase in the number of suicide attacks. The results support the view that selective violence is an effective tool to combat terrorist groups and that indiscriminate violence backfires. 

Using a panel data set of 170 countries and terrorism data from 1970 to 2007, we find that terrorist attacks decrease fertility as measured by both total fertility rates and crude birth rates. Furthermore, by using a novel instrumental variable approach, we identify a causal link and address endogeneity concerns related to the possibility of stress, caused by rising birth rates or transitioning demographics, affecting terrorism. We find that on average, terrorist attacks decrease fertility, reducing both the expected number of children a woman has over her lifetime and the number of live births occurring during each year. The results are statistically significant and robust across a multitude of model specifications, varying measures of fertility, and differing measures of terrorism.

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Israel has changed dramatically since its founding, especially in the past two decades. There is a public interest in having the police provide a type and level of service that keeps pace with these changes. Despite relatively low crime rates, the public in Israel still perceives threats to personal security and expresses concern over quality of police service. This research developed, analyzed, and evaluated approaches to address issues of public perceptions and public trust in the police, benchmarking the police against other police organizations, performance measurement, as well as addressing deterrence and crime prevention concerns.

This article explores the differences between transnational and domestic terrorism, further differentiating by private versus government targets, to estimate the effect of exogenous catastrophic shocks on a country’s level of domestic and transnational terrorism. The empirical analysis uses detailed data on terrorism, natural disasters, and other relevant controls for 176 countries from 1970–2007 to illuminate several key disparities in a postdisaster target choice of terrorists. The results indicate that natural disasters incite both transnational and domestic terrorism; however, evidence is found for dissimilar motivations between the two. While both types of terrorism increase after disasters, transnational attacks against the government increase immediately following the disaster, suggesting an impetus to exploit weakened ‘‘hard’’ targets during the chaos. Conversely, domestic terrorism against the government takes longer to manifest, suggesting a period of time for which the public recovers and assesses the government’s response.

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Set out to develop ways to predict what determines the targets of suicide attacks, using Israel as a sample, we created a database that coded for sociocultural, political, economic, and demographic factors, then conducted both quantitative and qualitative analyses with an eye to determining what puts a given area at greater risk. The quantitative analysis established that these factors are related to the odds of attack within specific neighborhoods and that the relationships held even when controlling for geospatial factors, so they seem to confer risk for reasons beyond their association with geospatial features of neighborhoods. 

This article analyzes the link between economic conditions and the quality of suicide terrorism. While the existing empirical literature shows that poverty and economic conditions are not correlated with thequantityof terror, theory predicts that poverty and poor economic conditions may affect thequalityof terror. Poor economic conditions may lead more able and better-educated individuals to participate in terror attacks, allowing terror organizations to send better-qualified terrorists to more complex, higher-impact terror missions. Using the universe of Palestinian suicide terrorists who acted against Israeli targets in 2000–06, we provide evidence of the correlation between economic conditions, the characteristics of suicide terrorists, and the targets they attack. High levels of unemployment enable terror organizations to recruit better educated, more mature, and more experienced suicide terrorists, who in turn attack more important Israeli targets.

While the existing empirical literature shows that poverty and economic conditions are not correlated with the quantity of terror, theory predicts that poverty and poor economic conditions may affect the quality of terror. Poor economic conditions may lead more able individuals to participate in terror attacks, allowing terror organizations to send betterqualified terrorists to more complex, high-impact terror missions. Using data on Palestinian suicideterrorists, we provide evidence of the correlation between economic conditions, the characteristics of suicide terrorists, and the targets they attack.

A novel and important issue in contemporary security policy is the impact of natural disasters on terrorism. Natural disasters can strain a society and its government, creating vulnerabilities which terrorist groups might exploit. Using a structured methodology and detailed data on terrorism, disasters, and other relevant controls for 167 countries between 1970 and 2007, we find a strong positive impact of disaster-related deaths on subsequent terrorism incidence and fatalities. Furthermore, the effects differ by disaster type and GDP per capita. The results consistently are significant and robust across a multitude of disaster and terrorism measures for a diverse set of model specifications.

Background: Translating the extraordinary scientific and technological advances occurring in medical research laboratories into care for patients in communities throughout the country has been a major challenge. One contributing factor has been the relative absence of community practitioners from the US biomedical research enterprise. Identifying and addressing the barriers that prevent their participation in research should help bridge the gap between basic research and practice to improve quality of care for all Americans. Methods: We interviewed over 200 clinicians and other healthcare stakeholders from 2004 through 2005 to develop a conceptual framework and set of strategies for engaging a stable cadre of community clinicians in a clinical research program. Results: Lack of engagement of community practitioners, lack of necessary infrastructure, and the current misalignment of financial incentives and research participation emerged as the three primary barriers to community clinic

Background: New National Institutes of Health policies call for expansion of practice-based research to improve the clinical research enterprise and facilitate dissemination of evidence-based medicine. Objective: This paper describes organizational strategies that influence clinicians' decisions to participate in clinical research. Design: We reviewed the literature and interviewed over 200 clinicians and stakeholders. Results: The most common barriers to community clinician participation in clinical research relate to beliefs that clinical research is too burdensome and has little benefit for the participating clinician or patient. We identified a number of approaches healthcare organizations can use to encourage clinicians to participate in research, including an outreach campaign to promote the benefits of clinical research; selection of study topics of interest to clinicians; establishment and enforcement of a set of research principles valuing the clinician and patient; developme

Background: The National Institutes of Health has called for expansion of practice-based research to improve the clinical research enterprise. Methods: This paper presents a model for the reorganization of clinical research to foster long-term participation by community clinicians. Based on the literature and interviews with clinicians and other stakeholders, we posited a model, conducted further interviews to test the viability of the model, and further adapted it. Results: We propose a three-dimensional system of checks and balances to support community clinicians using research support organizations, community outreach, a web-based registry of clinicians and studies, web-based training services, quality audits, and a feedback mechanism for clinicians engaged in research. Conclusions: The proposed model is designed to offer a systemic mechanism to address current barriers that prevent clinicians from participation in research. Transparent mechanisms to guarantee the safety of patien

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One of the primary whole-of-government instruments for stability and reconstruction (S&R) operations is foreign assistance. However, social-science research reveals serious uncertainties and disagreements about the role and effectiveness of aid; it also raises what can be seen as recurring dilemmas, or at least tensions. This chapter attempts to synthesize the related literature and clarify selected issues, primarily for the purpose of informing government officials concerned with S&R.

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This monograph surveys and integrates scholarly social-science literature relating to stabilization and reconstruction (S&R). Its intent is to inform analysis and decisionmaking within the Department of Defense and other government agencies concerned with international interventions in the wake of conflict.