Life Course Perspective on Economic Shocks and Income Inequality Through Age-Period-Cohort Analysis: Evidence From Finland

Utilizing age-period-cohort analysis, this paper examines the development of income distribution across periodic economic fluctuations in relation to cohorts and age groups. The empirical analysis is based on the Finnish Income Distribution Statistics and Household Expenditure Surveys covering the period of 1966–2015. The findings suggest that the period and cohort effects can be identified as the main effects on relative income, while the age effects have no meaningful impact when the control variables are taken into account. This result reveals a connection between the effects of economic shocks and cohort placement on labor market entry. Additionally, absolute income analysis suggests that economic shocks create stagnation points in income development, which are especially detrimental to cohorts who are transitioning into labor markets. Additionally, middle-income attainment has not changed due to periodic shocks but rather is related to inter-cohort inequalities and relative income differences, where the baby boomer generation is a clear winner.     

World Futures Studies Federation in 1993-1997

This paper provides an overview of the WFSF during its ‘Finnish’ period of 1993-1997. During this time the WFSF organized and co-organized many conferences, symposiums, courses, summer schools, etc. In 1993, the XIII World Conference of WFSF was held in Turku, Finland; in 1995 the XIV World Conference was in Nairobi, Kenya; and in 1997, the XV World Conference was in Brisbane, Australia. These and many other events are outlined. Much is left unwritten, however, because there were and are many other activities inspired by the WFSF and its members. The information collected here is mainly derived from the WFSF Biannual Report 1995-1997, World Conference Selections and WFSF Newsletters and Bulletins.     

MC's for MCMC'ists

We develop a minimum amount of theory of Markov chains at as low a level of abstraction as possible in order to prove two fundamental probability laws for standard Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms:
1. The law of large numbers explains why the algorithm works: it states that the empirical means calculated from the samples converge towards their "true" expected values, viz. expectations with respect to the invariant distribution of the associated Markov chain (=the target distribution of the simulation).
2. The central limit theorem expresses the deviations of the empirical means from their expected values in terms of asymptotically normally distributed random variables. We also present a formula and an estimator for the associated variance.     

Incorporating Collateral Value Uncertainty in Loss Given Default Estimates and Loan-to-value Ratios

We present a model of risky debt in which collateral value is correlated with the possibility of default. The model is then used to study the expected loss given default, primarily as a function of collateral. The results obtained could prove useful for estimating losses given default in many popular models of credit risk which assume them constant. We also examine the problem of determining sufficient collateral to secure a loan to a desired extent. In addition to bank practitioners, regulators might find our analysis useful in reviewing banks’ lending standards relative to current collateral values. In particular, the current proposals for The New (Basel) Capital Accord involve options for the use of banks’ own loss given default estimates which might benefit from the analysis in this paper.     

Conversational use of genres in managerial meetings

This article addresses the question of how the concept of genre, defined as a linguistically realized activity type, can be applied to the study of organizational discourse. In particular, the authors show how and for what practical purposes managers invoke genres in meetings. The data of the study consist of video-recorded company-internal meetings and the methodology is based on ethnomethodological conversation analysis. In the empirical analysis the authors show how genres are used as resources for joint understanding and for conducting a particular conversational action in a meeting, namely proposing a solution to a problem. The study highlights the importance of genre knowledge in managerial meetings and the practical nature of this knowledge.     

Economic growth and religious production efficiency

Moral institutions, religions and ethics affect the economic development, as for example, trust and honesty are essential requirements for emerging economic activity. Religious production efficiency measure is constructed and used in economic growth regressions for 8 OECD countries. By using panel estimation methods and additionally time‐series estimations for each country, more information is gained concerning the country specific growth and religion characteristics. Empirical evidence from the panel data estimations seems to suggest that religious beliefs attain more relevance than religious attendance. Religious production efficiency, containing both belief and activity aspects, was not found statistically significant with panel data or with individiual 8 OECD countries growth model, except for Finland. Significant coefficient for Finland can be explained by referring to Finland's unique religious market properties, as the level of religious beliefs have historically been unusually high in Finland. On the other hand, attendance in religious activities has followed the typical Northern‐European decreasing trend. More exact understanding on the links between these concepts are essentially needed to better model the economic consequences of cultural, religious and moral variables.     

Intrapersonal Emotional Responses to the Inquiry and Advocacy Modes of Interaction: A Psychophysiological Study

In negotiations and group decision making we can use two characteristically different interaction modes: inquiry and advocacy. Inquiry refers to an interested and explorative interaction mode, and advocacy to an assertive and narrow mode. Although these modes have been studied in organizational behavior literature, the intrapersonal emotional responses to the inquiry and advocacy modes remain yet unexplored. We explored intrapersonal emotions by facial electromyography and skin conductance responses and by emotional empathy self-reports. The subjects were prompted to adopt the two modes in hypothetical encounters with another person. We found that Duchenne smiles were specific to the inquiry mode, that emotional arousal showed specificity to the expressions, and that emotional empathy predicts expressiveness in the inquiry treatment. We discuss the implications of these results to the use of the interaction modes and the related possibilities of influencing group interaction by influencing one’s own internal emotional state in group decisions.     

Predicting autonomous and controlled motivation to transfer training

In spite of a broad consensus on the importance of motivation for the transfer of learning from training to the job in work organizations, studies investigating motivation to transfer are limited. This study combines the self‐determination theory, the expectancy theory and the theory of planned behaviour to provide a theoretical framework for investigating attitudes towards training content, relatedness and instructional satisfaction as predictors of two dimensions of transfer motivation: autonomous motivation to transfer and controlled motivation to transfer. A total of 444 subjects, trained in 23 occupational health and safety training courses, completed multi‐item questionnaires immediately following training. Structural equation modelling procedures indicate that controlled motivation to transfer was affected by attitudes towards training content and that autonomous motivation to transfer was affected by attitudes, relatedness and instructional satisfaction. The results are discussed in terms of theoretical and practical implications for training effectiveness associated with the interplay of motivation and transfer in professional training.     

Over-Indebtedness in the Finnish Consumer Society

The incurring of debts continues to be a major problem in European economies despite the legislative and other preventive policies introduced over the past 10 years. This article discusses the problem of over-indebtedness in the Finnish consumer society. The article focuses on identifying the environmental and household factors promoting indebtedness and reviews the measurements of over-indebtedness. At the end of the article, a few policy instruments to tackle, or even prevent, over-indebtedness are provided. As debt problems are diverse and complex, the focus is to address the debt problem itself, identify its causes and search for tools for solving it. In addition, constructive talk about the indications of the problem and preventive mechanisms is also of essence.