Some remarks on measurement errors and the identification of panel data models*

We demonstrate that despite the common worry about the possible correlations between the unobserved individual effects and the explanatory variables in panel data models the likelihood approach can provide a unified framework towards the study of the identification of a panel data model subject to measurement errors. In fact, it can also serve as a basis for deriving efficient estimation methods.     

Some remarks on a social network approach to identifying key sectors

Ostensibly, certain adaptations of social network theory extend and improve the traditional key-sector approaches. Our analysis of the underlying algebraic properties shows that a social-network-based approach proposed by García Muñiz et al. [(2008) Key Sectors: A New Proposal from Network Theory. Regional Studies, 42, 1013–1030] does not relate final demand and output in ways comparable to key-sector measures that are based on the static Leontief input–output model. Using the most recent IO table for Poland we show that the modified approach can lead to spurious empirical results and, as a consequence, to false policy implications.     

Some remarks on stochastic dominance

The present work proposes a definition of dominance (dominance in the strict sense), which is weaker than first order stochastic dominance, stating precisely that the r.v.Y dominatesX (XY) if Pr(YX)=1.Such a dominance in the strict sense is then compared with first and second order stochastic dominance and with dominance between descisions of the same decision problem summarised in a table of results, arriving at certain general remarks about decision problems and the choice between r.v.'s. Indications are also given about how it is possible to obtain simple and useful bounds for Pr(YX).

---

Riassunto Nel presente lavoro si propone una definizione di dominanza (dominanza in senso stretto) più debole della dominanza stocastica del prim'ordine, precisamente dicendo che la v.a.Y dominaX (XY) se Pr(YX)=1.Si confronta poi tale dominanza in senso stretto con le dominanze stocastiche del primo e del secondo ordine e con la dominanza tra decisioni di uno stesso problema di decisione sintetizzato in una tabella dei risultati giungendo ad alcune precisazioni generali sui problemi di decisione e di scelta tra v.a. Si danno anche indicazioni su come sia possibile ottenere limitazioni per la Pr(YX).

     

Some remarks on business tendency surveys

Een onderzoek werd ingesteld naar de kwantitatieve betekenis van de uitkomstenvan de conjunctumtest. Resultaten, verkregen met behulp van de gebruikelijke methode van de conjunctuurtest, werden vergeleken met traditionele indices, in beide gevallen gebaseerd op het zelfde grondmateriaal, zodat storingen tengevolge van onvolkomenheden in berichtgeving en interpretatie a priori waren uitge-schakeld.
Het specifieke gebrek aan informatie, dat aan de begrippen "stijgen" en "dalen" inhaerent is, blijkt een aanwijsbare nadelige invloed te hebben op de kwaliteit van de regressie; men vindt coefficienten die in het algemeen tussen 0,8 en 0,9 liggen. In de praktijk zijn deze belangrijk lager. Indien men bovengenoemde onvolkomenheden in belangrijke mate zou kunnen opheffen, dan zouden de correlatiecoefficienten toch beneden dit niveau blijven. Van de omstandigheden zal dan afhangen of de relatie kwantitatief bruikbaar is.
Introductie van het percentage gelijkblijvers in de regressievergelijking bleek geen verbetering te geven. Tot op zekere hoogte kan met lineaire regressie op het saldo van de percentages „stijgers” en „dalers” warden volstaan; de regressie-coefficient houdt evenwel enig verband met het niveau van de te verklaren variabele.
Indien een seizoenpatroon aanwezig is, geeft dit correlatie-technisch aanleiding tot geflatteerde uitkomsten, zodat seizoencorrectie aanbeveling verdient.     

Combining work and informal care: the importance of caring organisations

Population ageing and rising costs of long‐term care mean that organisations will be confronted in the future with a growing number of employees who combine paid work with providing informal care to a relative or non‐kin. Combining work and informal care successfully partly depends on job and care‐related features, but more information is needed on the importance of organisational aspects in this regard. The impact of organisational support on work outcomes (work–care balance and perceived need for job adaptations) was studied among 1,991 employed informal caregivers in 50 different organisations. Multilevel logistic regression analyses revealed that a heavy care burden decreased the odds of combining work and care successfully. Caregivers who felt supported by colleagues and supervisors, and who worked in supportive organisations had higher odds of good work outcomes. The findings imply that organisations should be explicit about their concern for informal caregivers and be particularly aware of colleagues with heavy care responsibilities.     

浦东新区的极化开发与社会极化

极化开发往往能吸引大量资本、技术、劳动力等生产要素的集聚,从而形成这些生产要素的"辐合流场".但在极化开发背景下,也会产生社会极化现象,造成城市社会贫富阶层收入差异的拉大.作为中国强力开发的浦东新区,不仅出现了人口、人才和资本等生产要素的极化,而且也出现了城市不同阶层贫富收入拉大等社会极化问题.浦东新区社会极化主要是城市功能转变、生产要素集聚和经济全球化影响三个因素造成的.     

Some remarks on the construction of independent identically distributed random variables,Markov chains and martingales

In this note, we make some remarks on the construction of sequences of independent identically distributed random variables and of Markov chains concretely on a probability space (Ω,A,P). We also show that there are non non-trivial martingales of exponential type.     

Some remarks on the average sample number of sequential and non-sequential tests

Summary We prove some inequalities concerning the (mean) number of observations needed to attain a prescribed error sum and apply them to some examples.     

Perceived identifiability,shared responsibility and innovative work behavior*

Based on social loafing theory, we develop and test the relationships between employee perceived identifiability, shared responsibility and innovative work behavior in the team context. Additionally, we investigate the moderating effect of coworker trust on these relationships. In a study of pair data from 142 ward heads and nurses in Indonesian hospitals, we find that perceived identifiability is positively associated with innovative work behaviors while perceived shared responsibility is negatively associated with the innovative work behaviors of employees. Meanwhile, employee perceived coworker trust moderates the negative relationship between perceived shared responsibility and innovative work behaviors. We discuss details of the relationships among these variables, and offer suggestions and implications.     

Tax enforcement,technology, and the informal sector

Theoretical models of the informal sector mostly assume—or end up with—a positive correlation between a measure of taxes and the size of the informal sector. However, some recent empirical studies associate higher taxes with a smaller informal sector size. In this paper, we build a theoretical framework—an extension to a two-sector growth model—which allows us to unravel the negative correlation between informal sector size and taxes. We find that (a) a higher degree of tax enforcement, (b) a higher productivity of formal sector households, and (c) a lower physical capital depreciation rate make for a negative relation between these variables. Our results suggest that enforcement and technological factors are likely candidates to account for this relationship.     

浦东新区极化开发的负社会外部性研究

当前中国正处于工业化和城市化加速发展时期,城市规模和数量在不断增长,对于城市未来和城市居民福利的关注,已经使人们在最近几年对于城市问题引发了许多的关注.过去人们只关注于极化开发的经济功能,而忽视极化开发造成人口大量流入、快速城市化造成的城市社会结构和城市功能结构转变引发的负社会外部性问题.本文探索了极化开发造成负社会外部性的机理,并利用人口普查资料及其它社会经济统计资料,分析浦东新区极化开发的集聚效应和负社会外部性.当前浦东新区极化开发引发的负外部性问题如社会极化、社区重组、社会隔离、就业压力已经开始显现,并对浦东新区的社会稳定和可持续发展产生一定的影响.浦东新区极化开发产生的负社会外部性问题在中国其它许多大城市也开始凸显,因此,如何最大限度地减少极化开发的负社会外部性问题应引起重视.     

Crowdworkers,social affirmation and work identity: Rethinking dominant assumptions of crowdwork

Crowdwork is becoming increasingly popular as evidenced by its rapid growth. It is a new way of working that is conducted through global digital platforms where money is exchanged for services provided online. As it is digitally grounded, it has been assumed to be context-free, uniform and consisting of a simple exchange of tasks/labour from a global workforce for direct monetary pay. In this study, we examine these dominant, largely Western assumptions from crowdworkers' perspective and turn to a non-Western context to destabilise them. We adopt an inductive research approach using multiple sources of qualitative data including interviews, participant observations, documents review, observation of social media chat rooms and online forums. The study reveals that as they lack organisational, occupational and professional context and referent, crowdworkers rely on social affirmation in the construction of their work identity. They construct a work identity of who they are that cuts across the boundaries between themselves, the digital work they do and their social environment. This constructed work identity then frames how they do crowdwork and their relationships with digital platforms and employers. This study advances theories about crowdwork contesting the dominant assumptions and showing that it is not context free, neither it is a simple exchange of labour. Further, it shows that the construction of a crowdwork identity in context plays a significant role in shaping the way this digitally-grounded work is conducted and managed.     

Some further remarks on a superiority problem in misspecified restricted singular linear models

Razzaghi (1987) examined the difference of covariance matrices of competing estimators in misspecified restricted linear models. Further, Gross, Trenkler and Liski (1998) extended Razzaghi's result by asserting his sufficient condition for nonnegative definiteness of the covariance matrix difference to be also necessary. In this paper, when the covariance matrix of the disturbance vector is nonnegative definite, the necessary and sufficient conditions for nonnegative definiteness of the covariance matrix difference are derived. So above results are strengthened. Received: February 1999     

The long-term unemployed,informal economic activity and the ‘underclass’ in Belfast: rejecting or reinstating the work ethic

The notion of an ‘underclass’ existing outside the realm of mainstream society continues to hold sway among journalists and policy-makers. While there are many new contenders for inclusion among the underclass, one of the most enduring group of participants is the long-term unemployed. Work-shy individuals, seemingly content to live on welfare benefits, are regarded as placing themselves outside the boundaries of mainstream economic and social life and passing a host of negative characteristics on to their children. The possibility that some of this group might defraud the welfare benefit system through working while claiming benefits adds further weight to negative images about the characteristics of ‘underclass’ members. The aim of this paper is to challenge some of these common assumptions by examining the ways in which unemployed people in an economically depressed locality in West Belfast relied on informal economic activity to help meet their material needs. Such activity has implications for the underclass debate because, rather than demonstrating commitment to some alternative set of values, informal economic activity drew participants into the wider economy and demonstrated adherence to mainstream values. Moreover, often the debate on social security abuse focuses on the supply side of the issue and is remarkably silent about the demand side of the equation. ‘Doing-the-double’ (working while claiming benefits) was not simply an individual response to unemployment and inadequate welfare benefits but was linked to changes in the labour needs of employers in the wider economy.