FROM DISCRETE TO CONTINUOUS‐TIME TRANSITION MATRICES IN INTRA‐DISTRIBUTION DYNAMICS ANALYSIS: AN APPLICATION TO PER CAPITA WEALTH IN EUROPE

Previous studies focusing on the intra‐distribution dynamics analysis have usually computed, in a Markov chain framework, discrete‐time transition matrices. Such an approach, however, can involve some limitations, especially when using stock variables. In order to illustrate the importance of the time‐scale issue when estimating transition matrices, this paper applies both discrete and continuous‐time approaches to a set of cross‐national European data on per capita wealth for the period 2000–10. The results reveal, on the one hand, that the continuous‐time estimation provides a most accurate estimation of transition probabilities and, on the other, that the differences between both approaches are especially remarkable in the long‐term equilibrium distribution.     

Gender Patterns and Value of Unpaid Care Work: Findings From China's First Large‐Scale Time Use Survey

Using data from the 2008 China Time Use Survey, this paper examines the gender patterns of time allocation over paid work, unpaid care work, and non‐work activity and estimates the monetary value of unpaid care work. A seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) technique is applied to explore the tradeoff between the three types of activity. The estimates show that, holding constant individual characteristics and regional effects, the total work time of women is higher than that of men by 7 hours per week in the rural sector and by 10.5 hours per week in the urban sector. The monetary value of unpaid care work is estimated by five methods. Depending on the method used, the value assigned to unpaid care work varies from 25 to 32 percent of China's GDP, from 52 to 66 percent of final consumption, and from 63 to 80 percent of the gross products of tertiary industry.