Optimal designs for a mixed interference model

This paper generalizes Kunert and Martin’s (Ann Stat 28:1728–1742, 2000) method for finding optimal designs under a fixed interference model, to find optimal designs under a mixed interference model. The results are based on the properties of information matrices in fixed and mixed models given in Markiewicz (J Stat Plan Inference 59:127–137, 1997). The method is applied to find a design which is optimal for any given variances of random neighbor effects. Research partially supported by the KBN Grant Number 5 P03A 041 21.     

Financial literacy,information flows,and caste affiliation: Empirical evidence from India

This paper empirically investigates the relevance of social interaction and caste affiliation for individual awareness of financial instruments and investment behavior of households in India. The results of our empirical analysis, which is based on a large scale survey on saving patterns of Indians, suggest a positive relationship between financial literacy and social interaction. However, especially backward caste people living in regions with a large fraction of backward castes have a lower probability of being aware of various financial instruments. In contrast, we find only weak empirical evidence for a direct effect of caste affiliation and social interaction on investment behavior.     

Moving on from nascent entrepreneurship: measuring cross-national differences in the transition to new business ownership

Nascent entrepreneurship and new business ownership are subsequent stages in the entrepreneurial process. We illustrate how information from the largest internationally harmonized database on entrepreneurship, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor project, can be used to approximate the entrepreneurial process. We make a methodological contribution by computing the ratio of new business ownership to nascent entrepreneurship in a way that reflects the transition from nascent to new business ownership and provides cross-nationally comparable information on the efficiency of the entrepreneurial process for 48 countries. We report evidence for the validity of the transition ratio by benchmarking it against transition rates obtained from longitudinal studies and by correlating it with commonly used entrepreneurship indicators and macro-level economic indices. The transition ratio enables future cross-national research on the entrepreneurial process by providing a reliable and valid indicator for one key transition in this process.     

On MLEs in an extended multivariate linear growth curve model

In this paper the extended growth curve model is considered. The literature comprises two versions of the model. These models can be connected by one-to-one reparameterizations but since estimators are non-linear it is not obvious how to transmit properties of estimators from one model to another. Since it is only for one of the models where detailed knowledge concerning estimators is available (Kollo and von Rosen, Advanced multivariate statistics with matrices. Springer, Dordrecht, 2005) the object in this paper is therefore to present uniqueness properties and moment relations for the estimators of the second model. One aim of the paper is also to complete the results for the model presented in Kollo and von Rosen (Advanced multivariate statistics with matrices. Springer, Dordrecht, 2005). The presented proofs of uniqueness for linear combinations of estimators are valid for both models and are simplifications of proofs given in Kollo and von Rosen (Advanced multivariate statistics with matrices. Springer, Dordrecht, 2005).     

Using choice experiments to assess smallholder farmers' preferences for pig breeding traits in different production systems in North-West Vietnam

Livestock form key components of the livelihood strategies of many of the world's poorest people. However, despite the potential to alleviate poverty and improve food security through livestock development interventions, the lack of smallholders' participation in the planning and design of breeding programs has often been a major cause of the failure of such programs. Particularly in developing countries where livestock production is still mostly subsistence-oriented and livestock fulfil manifold functions a considerable number of livestock breeding programs have failed. The development of adequate tools to characterise these functions, bearing in mind that these are expressed only rarely in properly functioning markets, is therefore important.This paper seeks to advance the application of such methodologies to the smallholder pig sector in Vietnam. A choice experiment was applied across 140 households involved in pig breeding in order to assess farmers' preferences and the trade-offs for a list of adaptive and productive traits. These included growth, reproduction, disease resistance, feed requirements and appearance.The findings indicate that smallholders highly value both adaptive and performance traits, particularly in resource-driven (i.e. subsistence) production systems. Performance traits were more highly valued in the demand-driven (i.e. market-oriented) systems. These findings have implications for breeding program breed choice and breeding objectives.     

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Works council and training effects on satisfaction

This paper investigates the direct and indirect impact of works councils via further training on job satisfaction. Basic estimates on an individual level do not reveal clearly direct effects, but on an establishment level, the existence of a works council increases the average job satisfaction. We also find a positive, weakly significant effect on an individual level accompanied by training under instrumental variables estimation and if we control for personal characteristics.