A model of public sector wage determination

The paper presents an empirical model of wage determination in the public sector that leads to the specification of a system of interrelated wage equations for municipal employees, which allows for occupational and geographic interdependence of wages. The model also considers the influence of public employee unions, municipal government form, and monopsony power of local governments on the wages of municipal employees. Several variants of the derived system of equations are estimated based upon 1967 cross-section data for 478 cities, and the policy implications of the results are discussed.     

The Risk Structure of Land Markets

Real property as an asset class represents over half of the wealth in the United States. Nevertheless, the structure of risk in real property markets is poorly understood. This paper develops a model of urban and agricultural land prices that integrates spatial and asset pricing theories and characterizes the spatial and temporal risk structure of the land market. Urban land is priced by a CAPM and agricultural land is priced by a real option to convert into urban land. We show that the price of land awaiting conversion increases with the growth rate of urban rents and unsystematic risk but decreases with risk aversion. However, it may be increasing or decreasing in systematic risk. The free boundary for exercise determines city size, which increases with the growth rate of urban rents but decreases with systematic and unsystematic risk.     

Air pollution-mortality models: A demonstration of the effects of random measurement error

Errors of measurement have long been recognized as a chronic problem in statistical analysis. Although there is a vast statistical literature of multiple regression models estimating the air pollution-mortality relationship, this problem has been largely ignored. It is well known that pollution measures contain error, but the consequences of this error for regression estimates is not known. We use Lave and Seskin's air pollution model to demonstrate the consequences of random measurement error. We assume a range of 0% to 50% of the variance of the pollution measures is due to error. We find large differences in the estimated effects on mortality of the pollution variables as well as the other explanatory variables once this measurement error is taken into account. These results cast doubt on the usual regression estimates of the mortality effects of air pollution. More generally our results demonstrate the consequences of random measurement error in the explanatory variable of a multiple regression analysis and the misleading conclusions that may result in policy research if this error is ignored.     

Relationship between generalizedh-Statistics and polykays

Summary In this paper, relationships between generalizedh-statistics which estimate powers and products of central moments unbiasedly and the polykays by using ordered partitions are established. A table expressing generalizedh-statistics of weight 12 in terms of polykays and vice versa is presented. Expressions of weight less than 12 are obtained from this table.

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Zusammenfassung In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird mittels geordneter Zerlegungen eine Beziehung zwischen verallgemeinerterh-Statistik, welche Potenzen und Produkte von zentralen Momenten erwartungstreu abschätzt, und polykays hergestellt. Eime Tabele mit verallgemeinerterh-Statistik vom Gewicht 12 in polykay-Termen, und umgekehrt, wird gegeben. Gewichtsausdrücke kleiner als 12 werden aus dieser Tabelle gewonnen.

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This research has been supported by a grant from FINEP/Ministério do Planejamento e Coordenacão Geral to the IMUFRJ.     

The generality/specificity issue in consumer innovativeness research

The purpose of the present study was to explore the role of personality in shaping consumer innovativeness by testing a model of the hierarchical relationships between a global (broad or abstract) personality trait, its domain-specific manifestation in a consumer context, and overt consumer behavior. A survey of 465 adult consumers measured global innovativeness, domain-specific innovativeness for two product categories (clothing and electronics) and self-reported purchase of new clothing and electronic items. Three hypotheses were tested. First, global innovativeness is more highly correlated with domain-specific innovativeness than it is with the purchase of new items. Second, domain-specific innovativeness is more highly correlated with the purchase of new items than is global innovativeness. Finally, the association between global innovativeness and new product purchase is mediated by domain-specific innovativeness. All three hypotheses were supported for both product categories.     

Labor force migration, non-labor force migration, and non-employment reasons for migration

This paper documents the extent and nature of non-employment factors in migration. The labor force status of over 18 million recent interstate migrants in the United States and stated reasons for moving reported in several surveys in the U.S. are examined. Labor force migrants are heterogeneous in terms of the relationships between acquisition of employment and the migration decision, and in terms of the influence of decision makers outside of the migrant household including firms and the government. Numerically important categories of migrants not traditionally captured in migration models exist, including the elderly, the military, and movers from abroad. Whereas non-employment reasons are secondary to employment reasons for a majority of labor force migrants, non-employment factors are singularly important or operate in combination with employment factors for the majority of all migrants. The heterogeneity of migrant types and migration reasons needs to be better captured in migration models.