Dani Sandler
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dismalscientist86.bsky.social
Dani Sandler
@dismalscientist86.bsky.social
5.8K followers 1.9K following 330 posts
Economist at the Census Bureau studying women's employment, post-prison outcomes, and low-income housing. Living in Davis, CA.
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dismalscientist86.bsky.social
Saturday morning nap #Caturday
Brown and grey cat flopped next to black cat on blue bed with black blanket
November 15, 2025 at 7:31 PM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
When you can't decide if you want to sit or stand #Caturday
November 2, 2025 at 1:27 AM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
The day before Halloween, Spirit will sell you anything that is not nailed down.
For Sale: End Cap SIGN that says "BLOOD" $2.99
October 31, 2025 at 3:59 AM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
These jeans are too comfy, you'll have to find another pair #caturday
Black cat snuggled into a pair of jeans on a bed
October 11, 2025 at 9:19 PM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
Rosie is doing her groundhog routine #Caturday
October 5, 2025 at 12:38 AM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
Seen at the local Spirit Halloween
Tariff Tunic Halloween costume
October 4, 2025 at 3:12 AM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
It's a good #Caturday when the sunshine hits the dresser drawer
Grey and white chat sitting in a white dresser drawer under a lofted bed
September 27, 2025 at 10:12 PM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
Sleepy #Caturday means I need to wait to wash the sheets
Two cats relaxed on an unmade bed
September 20, 2025 at 3:06 PM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
I wish everyone as relaxing a day as Rosie's is #Caturday
Grey cat sleeping on back on grey carpet and red tile floor
September 13, 2025 at 5:26 PM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
My family's weekly schedule ☠️
September 7, 2025 at 4:34 PM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
Goofy ball of fluff to lighten your feed
Grey cat lying on back with feet splayed
August 30, 2025 at 7:17 PM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
Mort and Rosie sharing the cat tree
Mort and Rosie sharing the cat tree
August 8, 2025 at 10:46 PM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
Garden tomatoes turned into salsa
July 19, 2025 at 9:51 PM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
You can tell that Davis, CA is a college town from its population pyramid. data.census.gov/vizwidget?g=...
Population Pyramid: Population by Age and Sex in Davis city, California which shows a large concentration of 20 to 24 year old residents.
July 3, 2025 at 7:05 PM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
This is who runs this account
June 18, 2025 at 11:54 PM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
We find that college students who have a eviction filed against them ("threatened with eviction") are less likely to earn a Bachelor's degree and have lower earnings. These effects are larger for college students who are parents.
Figure 2. Average marginal predictions for all outcomes based on parenting status and filing while enrolled.
June 12, 2025 at 6:17 PM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
I have a new Census working paper "Consequences of Eviction for Parenting and Non-parenting College Students" with Nick Graetz, Adam Chapnik, and Sonya Porter www.census.gov/library/work...
Amidst rising and increasingly unaffordable rents, 7.6 million people are threatened with eviction each year across the United States—and eviction rates are twice as high for renters with children. One important and neglected population who may experience unique levels of housing insecurity is college students, especially given that one in five college students are parents. In this study, we link 11.9 million student records to eviction filings from housing courts, demographic characteristics reported in decennial census and survey data, incomes reported on tax returns by students and their parents, and dates of birth and death from the Social Security Administration. Parenting students are more likely than non-parenting students to identify as female (62.81% vs. 55.94%) and Black (19.66% vs. 14.30%), be over 30 years old (42.73% vs. 20.25%), and have parents with lower household incomes ($100,000 vs. $140,000). Parenting students threatened with eviction (i.e., had an eviction filed against them) are much more likely than non-threatened parenting students to identify as female (81.18% vs. 62.81%) and Black (56.84% vs. 19.66%). In models adjusted for individual and institutional characteristics, we find that being threatened with an eviction was significantly associated with reduced likelihood of degree completion, reduced post-enrollment income, reduced likelihood of being married post-enrollment, and increased post-enrollment mortality. Among parenting students, 38.38% (95% confidence interval (CI): 32.50-44.26%) of non-threatened students completed a bachelor's degree compared to just 15.36% (CI: 11.61-19.11%) of students threatened with eviction. Our findings highlight the long-term economic and health impacts of housing insecurity during college, especially for parenting students. Housing stability for parenting students may have substantial multigenerational benefits for economic mobility and population health.
June 12, 2025 at 6:15 PM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
Fire on the tracks made my long day even longer
June 3, 2025 at 1:28 AM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
May 17, 2025 at 4:34 AM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
Drone show at my town celebration this evening
May 17, 2025 at 4:33 AM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
Rosie playing fetch
May 13, 2025 at 3:01 AM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
Using both methods, we find that higher childcare costs reduce labor force participation of mothers, and these effects are largest for low income mothers.
Table 5: Childcare Costs and Mothers’ Labor Force Participation - TWFE Estimates Table 6: Childcare Costs and Mothers’ Labor Force Participation by Income Group- TWFE Estimates Table 8: Childcare Costs and Mothers’ Labor Force Participation - IV Estimates Table 10: Per-Child Childcare Costs and Mothers’ Labor Force Participation by Income Group - IV Estimates
May 1, 2025 at 4:56 PM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
Figure 1 shows the variation we are using for our identification.

We use two estimation strategies: a Two-Way Fixed Effects estimate, using changes in costs over time, and an IV instrumenting for childcare costs with licensing requirements.
Figure 1: Spatial Distribution of Childcare Costs by Age. This figure shows the spatial distribution of the average annual, center-based childcare costs across US counties as a percentage of household median income in the county. Panel (a) illustrates costs for infants (children under age 2), panel (b) illustrates costs for toddlers (children between 2 and under 3 years old), and panel (c) illustrates cost for preschoolers (children between 3 and 5 years old). Data comes from the National Database of Childcare Prices (NDCP), 2008–2018.
May 1, 2025 at 4:50 PM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
New Census Working Paper: "The Impact of Childcare Costs on Mothers’ Labor Force Participation" by Valeska Araujo, Linden McBride (@lindenmcbride.bsky.social) and Danielle H. Sandler (!) www.census.gov/library/work...
The rising costs of childcare pose challenges for families, leading to difficult choices including those impacting mothers’ labor force participation. This paper investigates the relationship between childcare costs and maternal employment. Using data from the National Database of Childcare Prices, the American Community Survey, and the Longitudinal Employer Household Dynamics, we estimate the impact of childcare costs on mothers’ labor force participation through two empirical strategies. A fixed-effects approach controls for geographic and temporal heterogeneity in costs as well as mothers’ idiosyncratic preferences for work and childcare, while an instrumental variables approach addresses the endogeneity of mothers’ preferences for work and childcare by leveraging exogenous geographic and temporal variation in childcare licensing requirements. Our findings across both research designs indicate that higher childcare costs reduce labor force participation among mothers, with lower-income mothers exhibiting greater responsiveness to changes in childcare costs.
May 1, 2025 at 4:37 PM
dismalscientist86.bsky.social
Interesting email from my local bike shop.
In the interest of full transparency... ...we need to pass along some tough news from our suppliers: the blanket 10% import tariff implemented by the US government earlier in April has impacted the wholesale and retail price of some products, with more changes ahead. (Our email provider tagged this section as too long - "will trigger some spam filters" - so you'll have to click here for a more complete list!) Changes already implemented: Kryptonite Locks Continental Tires Changing May 1: Some Specialized Bikes (a small minority) Most Specialized Apparel, Gloves, Helmets, Shoes and Tires Roval Wheels Speedplay Pedals, Wahoo Trainers Changing June 1: Look Pedals & Cleats Changing June 15: Bell Helmets, Clothing & Shoes Giro Helmets, Clothing & Shoes Not Changing (that we know of, yet): Most Specialized Bicycles All Marin Bicycles Specialized City & Mountain Helmets (on Sale, up to 50% off!) Most other items in the store, as far as we know now So if you’re close to deciding on any of these items, especially those impacted May 1, hurry in (two days left - until 7pm Wednesday) to pay a lower price now!
April 29, 2025 at 2:24 PM