A number of recent papers have estimated ratios of the partition function $p(n-j)/p(n)$, which appears in many applications. Here, we prove an easy-to-use effective bound on these ratios. Using this, we then study second shifted difference of partitions, $f(j,n):= p(n) -2p(n-j) +p(n-2j)$, and give another easy-to-use estimate of $f(j,n)$. As applications of these, we prove a shifted convexity property of $p(n)$, as well as giving new estimates of the $k$-rank partition function $N_k(m,n)$ and non-$k$-ary partitions along with their differences.