Using census and survey commuting statistics in local labour market analysis

This paper describes the context for an interest in travel-to-work patterns by those concerned with labour market analysis and local economic development. The scope, coverage and content of Census of Population and local survey data on travel-to-work patterns are reviewed, and their strengths and weaknesses compared. Examples of the types of information which can be extracted from various sources are used to illustrate similarities and variations in travel-to-work patterns by population subgroup, and analyses on travel-to-work times and the geographical extent of job search areas derived from local labour force surveys are presented.     

Sex ratios in South African census data, 1970-96

Attention has been drawn to the low sex ratios for those aged 20-34 in the 1996 census of South Africa. Concern has been expressed that these low sex ratios are implausible and differ from what was found in earlier censuses. Some have suspected that they are an indication of the poor quality of the 1996 census overall. In virtually every country in the world, implausibly low sex ratios are found in the younger working ages, because geographically mobile young men of those ages are undercounted relative to women of the same age. When sex ratios by age are calculated based on those people born in South Africa and for which, as much as possible, similar geographic regions are included, a pattern similar to that seen in 1996 is found in all censuses since 1970. Like all national census offices, South Africa needs to seek ways to reduce the undercount of mobile young adults, especially mobile young men.     

Nutrition and growth in Italy, 1861-1911: What macroeconomic data hide

We investigate how nutritional status responded to economic growth in Italy during 1861-1911. By combining household-level data on food consumption with population censuses, we estimate that the incidence of undernutrition decreased by at least 15% between 1881 and 1901. Income elasticity of calories in 1901 was in the range of 0.3-0.6, varying inversely with the level income. Overall, our findings do not support the pessimists’ view, ubiquitous in the Italian literature. On the contrary, the early phase of Italian industrialization was beneficial to the bulk of the population, and even more so for the poorest among the poor.     

Using census and survey data to measure undocumented immigration and emigration for the United States

The estimation of emigration and undocumented immigration rates for the United States is discussed. "A residual methodology compares census or survey data on the resident foreign-born population with an independently derived estimate of the legally resident foreign-born population. The difference is the estimated undocumented population which may be compared for alternative dates to derive measures of change. In 1988, this difference was 1.9 million, similar to the 1980 estimate of 2.1 million.... Measurement of emigration...has recently relied on resident reports of immediate relatives who have emigrated. Controlling for multiple reporting of the same emigrants, the direct estimate of the emigrant population from the United States is about 1.2 million. Allowing for undercoverage of the emigrant population due to nonresident relatives, there could be 2.0 million or more emigrants."     

Women's work and structural change: occupational structure in eighteenth‐century Spain

This article uses the declarations of householders in the Cadaster of Ensenada (1750–5) to calculate labour participation rates for women and men from 22 localities in inland Spain. The article establishes the actual levels of women's market activity, which are much higher than commonly assumed. This unique source also makes it possible to analyse the region's occupational structure. Due to the labour‐intensive character of manufacturing work, the abundant supply of cheap labour, the diffusion of cottage industries, and the demand for commodities from internal and colonial markets, a large portion of the region's population worked in manufactures in the eighteenth century. This finding challenges standard interpretations of the Spanish economy at this time as mostly agricultural, which rely on sources that exclude women workers. Most workers in the manufacturing sector were women, and their market activity was concentrated in textile manufacturing. Once women are included in the analyses, the industrial share of employment follows a U‐shaped trajectory from the eighteenth century to the twentieth century. The article concludes that the standard interpretation of structural change, based solely on empirical evidence for male workers, gives a misleading picture of when, where, why, and how structural change occurred.     

Trends,Countertrends, and Gaps in Women's Employment

The factors driving global integration, namely, trade expansion, technological change, and the internationalization of production have altered production patterns and changed the composition of output in both developed and developing countries. As global patterns and modes of production have changed there has been a general shift away from agriculture toward industry and services. Along with these output changes have come significant changes in regional and national employment. In developing and developed countries, these changes span divergent trends. On the one hand, there is the increased availability of more and better quality employment as workers shift out of agriculture and subsistence production and into waged employment in the expanding manufacturing and service sectors. On the other hand, there have been sectors where the trend has been away from formalization toward the informalization and semi-formalization of production activities and employment practices. Women have generally benefited from improvements in the world economy. This article demonstrates, however, that patterns of employment and income generation among women often diverge, however, from global trends in important ways that suggest that the forces shaping global integration effect women differently. The article frames a policy discussion that the International Center for Research on Women led to debate the implications of recent trends in women's employment in the developing and developed world. The six articles in this section represent this discussion. They span a range of empirical and theoretical inquiry, exploring global employment trends and highlighting changes in women's participation in formal and informal economic activities.     

Gold-Point Arbitrage and Uncovered Interest Arbitrage under the 1925-1931 Dollar-Sterling Gold Standard

Efficient gold-point arbitrage confines the exchange rate to the gold-point spread, but efficient uncovered interest arbitrage stabilizes the exchange rate even more, locating it within a narrower "speculation band." Under the 1925-1931 dollar-sterling gold standard, gold-point arbitrage was uniformly efficient, but uncovered interest arbitrage exhibited periodic episodes of apparent inefficiency, susceptible to various explanations. Gold-point arbitrage and uncovered interest arbitrage reinforce each other′s efficiency, thereby enhancing exchange-rate stability. In fact, the dollar-sterling exchange rate during the interwar gold standard was considerably more stable than that in the classical period.     

东江人与辛亥革命

在近代历史进程中,东江籍人士以炽热的爱国精神和革命行动为辛亥革命作出了有目共睹的贡献：他们加入革命组织,从事舆论宣传,募捐斗争经费,进行武装起义,参与武昌革命及东江光复,捍卫共和大业,凡此种种,均在历史上留下了光辉的一页,值得后人铭记。     

Informational efficiency in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, 1931–40

This article relies on a unique dataset of daily price indices for stocks and bonds to analyse the functioning of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in the period 1931–40. We find that this market deviated from weak‐form efficiency, in a context of cross‐market segmentation, short‐run spillovers, and turmoil surrounding major events. In this context, zaibatsu insiders were able to make abnormal returns via informed trading, while other uninformed investors could rely on technical rules to make abnormal profits. Such findings call for a micro‐level analysis of the interwar TSE corporate financing function.