Properties of Equivalence Scales in Different Countries

Recent studies in industrialized countries have shown that equivalence scales are income-dependent. We investigate whether this dependence also holds in poorer, services oriented countries, by considering the case of Cyprus. We also examine whether household economies of scale and relative children costs differ from those found for industrialized countries.     

Can PIGLOG preferences identify equivalence scales?

This paper clarifies the conditions under which PIGLOG and extended PIGLOG preferences can identify household equivalence scales. The results are of interest to practitioners who have to elect preferences suitable for welfare analysis. It also shows that independent of the base utility equivalence scales are the same whether the budget shares of the demand systems are linear or quadratic in log income. (JEL: D11, D13) The author is grateful to an anonymous referee for several helpful suggestions.     

Does the CPI Mirror the Cost of Living? Engel's Law Suggests Not in Norway

There is considerable interest in identifying the magnitude of the difference between increases in the CPI and the cost of living. In this paper, the technique proposed by Hamilton (2001) to measure this discrepancy is used and extended for Norway in the 1990s. While Hamilton finds that the CPI in the United States overstates the cost of living for the period 1974–1991, application of his technique to Norwegian data for 1990–1999 indicates that the CPI understates the cost of living. The Norwegian CPI rose by 22 percent, but a typical household behaved as if the cost of living had increased by 35 percent. For some household types, the increase was substantially larger.     

Estimation of Equivalence Scales Under Convertible Rationing

This paper provides estimates of equivalence scales based on three Quadratic Almost Ideal type models of the food share with coupon resale, and on their extended versions. A chief feature of the models is the method of dealing with infrequency of zero expenditure on coupon goods through imputation. The models are applied to an Iranian wartime budget survey. The results indicate little scope for measurement error. However, they also reveal a strong cross‐section price effect, which proves robust to a variety of checks. The effect of price heterogeneity proves critical in identification of the scale estimates, providing relatively rare empirical evidence consistent with the Base Independence (BI) hypothesis. The BI food share estimates of cost of children have plausible values.     

The value of state education to consumers in the UK

This paper considers the value of state schooling, as perceived by consumers, taking into account that many households supplement the minimum education provided free of charge with out-of-pocket payments through acquiring accommodation in the catchment area of a high-quality state school. It suggests ways to circumvent difficulties in modelling household behaviour arising from joint housing-education consumption in the context of a two-stage demand system, where the proposed money metric of state schooling can be estimated from data readily available in household expenditure surveys. The empirical analysis, based on UK data, estimates this money metric as the amount households with school-age children would be willing to accept in order to opt out of the state education system. The efficiency and distributional implications of the empirical findings are discussed.     

农户生计资产量化分析方法的应用与验证——基于福建省农村最低生活保障目标家庭瞄准效率的调研数据

农村最低生活保障制度是以贫困农户作为瞄准单位,其运行成功与否取决于制度实施中目标家庭瞄准的准确性。本文从农户生计资产的视角,通过构建农户生计资产指标体系,对低收入农户生计资产进行量化分析,试图达到对农村最低生活保障制度目标家庭准确瞄准的目的。实证结果表明,农户生计资产量化分析可以直观地显示农户生计资产的组合及其配置状况,可用来判断农户整体生活状况,并可对低收入农户进行准确排序。农户生计资产量化分析方法不失为提高制度瞄准效率的一种有益尝试。     

The Effects of New Goods and Substitution on the Korean CPI as a Measure of Cost of Living

This paper estimates upper-level substitution and new-goods bias in the Korean Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the early 1990s to the mid 2000s. It has been estimated that the upper-level substitution bias in the CPI alone increased the inflation rate by 0.51 percentage points per year over the 13-year period between 1990 and 2002. The new-goods bias further increased the inflation rate by 0.17 and 0.13 percentage points per year between 1990-1995 and 1995-2000 respectively. The Chained Laspeyres index series that is based on annually-updated weights has been found to correct less than half of the upper-level substitution bias.     

货币供给的制度内生与需求内生实证研究

文章分别从基础货币投放的被动性、金融机构的"有价证券与外汇"资产渠道以及利率渠道对我国货币供给的内生性进行了实证研究。研究表明:我国货币供给具有较强的内生性,主要表现为基础货币供给的制度内生和信贷供给的需求内生。为提高当前紧缩性货币政策的有效性,货币当局必须稳定人民币汇率升值预期,提高法定存款准备金率、提高贷款利率尤其中长期贷款利率水平,以此削弱货币供给的制度内生和需求内生。     

Households technology adoption and use patterns: the case of digital terrestrial television in six Italian regions

The paper explores the technology adoption and use patterns of households. Many theories are focusing on the adoption; however, some studies show that the adoption mechanisms in households are still unknown. Before any sound theoretical proposals could be made, additional exploratory studies in this field are necessary to discover the relations between use behaviour and adoption determinants. To demonstrate this, our exploratory study uses the case of digital terrestrial television (DTT) introduction in Italy. The study incorporates exploratory factor analysis to identify dimensions of DTT adoption and use. These dimensions were further investigated through their relations with demographic variables of primary decision-makers in households. We found that DTT adoption and use relate to household characteristics in a relatively complex way, but clear systematic use patterns are evident. These patterns can serve as an empirical evidence to further develop theories in this field.     

海产品贸易的环境成本内部化

在国际市场上,低价出售的农产品常常被发达国家以生态倾销的名义征收反倾销税,理由是这类产品对环境所造成的破坏和影响没有计算到产品的成本中。或者说,这类产品的低价位不是技术进步的结果,而是通过牺牲环境为代价换来的。如何将产品的外部成本内化为产品的成本呢?本文以海产品为例提出一些核算方法,即排污权转让法、环境要素差距分析法以及综合分析法。     

企业知识管理水平的相对测度整合模型

针对层次分析法(AHP)的不足,结合相对测度的思想,提出了企业知识管理水平的相对测度模型,并给出了分析实例,以为测度企业知识管理水平提供科学的依据。     

新疆普通高校大学生就业的市场需求结构分析

以市场需求结构为切入点,运用职位匹配理论及相关数据对新疆普通高校大学生的就业问题进行分析。随着新疆经济发展与产业结构调整,劳动力市场需求与大学生就业之间产生了结构性错位,从而使新疆高校大学生的就业效率降低。因此,社会、高校、毕业生本人都有必要采取措施以增加就业。     

北京城市老人异地养老意愿的实证分析

"异地养老"作为一种新型养老方式,虽然在国外比较多,但是,北京市的"异地养老"市场并没有完全成熟,这里既有政策等社会因素的影响,也有老年人个体、家庭等因素的影响。进一步挖掘城市"异地养老"市场,既需要大力宣传,逐步改变老年人的养老观念,也需要各地加强特色服务建设,并不断完善政策。