Some Comments on Latent Structure Analysis, Arising Out of a Paper by R.D. Gill

The model of latent structure analysis for k discrete-valued variates was explained and illustrated by R.D. G ill [5], Here the latent structure model is related to a condition for a covariance matrix, as in factor analysis theory, and a word of warning is given for the interpretation of a factor analysis from discrete valued variables.     

On the choice of support of Re-descendingψ-Functions in linear models with asymmetric error distributions

InM-estimation of the regression parameter vector in the linear model, we discuss the choice of the support of certain re-descendingψ-functions for both cases when the distribution of the i.i.d. errors is partially known and when it is completely functionally unknown. Research supported in part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

Distributional effects of imputed rents in five European countries

Most empirical distributional studies of well-being in developed countries rely on distributions of disposable income. From a theoretical point of view this practice is contentious since a household’s command over resources is determined not only by its spending power over commodities it can buy in the market but also on resources available to the household members through non-market mechanisms such as the in-kind provisions of the welfare state and the value of private non-cash incomes. In developed market economies the most important private non-cash income component is imputed rent from owner-occupied or subsidized accommodation. Employing a wider definition of imputed rent that also allows the analyst to capture income advantages among tenants living in rent-subsidized accommodations of various sorts (including rent-free or reduced-rent households), the present paper examines the differential effects of including imputed rents in the concept of resources in five European countries (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy and the UK). The results suggest that in almost all cases, the inclusion of imputed rents in the concept of resources leads to a decline in measured levels of inequality and poverty. The main beneficiaries are outright homeowners and households living in rent-free (or heavily subsidized) accommodation—most often older persons. The inclusion of imputed rents in the concept of resources does not lead to substantial changes in the ranking of the countries according to their level of inequality, despite widespread differences in the rates of home ownership and subsidization across the countries studied here.     

Estimation of the scale matrix of a multivariate t-model under entropy loss

This paper deals with the estimation of the scale matrix of a multivariatet-model with unknown location vector and scale matrix to improve upon the usual estimators based on the sample sum of product matrix. The well-known results of the estimation of the scale matrix of the multivariate normal model under the assumption of entropy loss function have been generalized to that of a multivariatet-model. The paper is based on the first author’s unpublished Ph.D. dissertation ‘Estimation of the Scale Matrix of a Multivariate T-model’, University of Western Ontario, Canada. Present address: School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.