A home of her own: an analysis of asset ownership for non-married black and white women

Race and gender are strong predictors of asset ownership including home ownership, self-employment and interest, dividends and rental income. Yet, seldom have the two concepts been linked in the sociological literature on wealth and wealth inequality. Additionally, potentially important determinants such as business income have often times been excluded from the analyses despite findings suggesting that business income may be an important indicator for racial and minority groups who would otherwise be relegated to employment in low status jobs in the secondary labor market. Using data from the Census 2000 Supplementary Survey (C2SS), this study examines the following research questions: (1) Are their racial differences in the relative odds of home ownership for non-married black and white females? (2) What roles do business income and interest, dividends and rental income have on predicting the likelihood of home ownership for non-married black and white females? (3) Are the determinants of home ownership different for non-married black and white females? Significant racial differences in the likelihood of home ownership exists with regards to education and labor force participation, and business income and interest, dividends and rental income are significant indicators of home ownership for both non-married black and white females.     

Analysis of China＇s Unequal Income Distribution from the Perspective of Functional Income Distribution

中国收入分配的不平等在很大程度上表现为功能性收入分配的不平等，即随着经济的发展，工资性收入占国民收入的比例越来越小，而现阶段中国二元经济结构下的无限劳动力供给则是其主要原因。在一个具有凯恩斯主义特征的非均衡动态模型框架下，我们的分析表明，劳动力的无限供给，不仅使工资无法对劳动力市场的供求状况进行反应，而且使劳动生产率和物价变化对工资的影响也不敏感。这意味着，当存在着劳动生产率的提高或由经济增长所带动的物价上涨时，工资的提高不够显著，从而由经济增长或劳动生产率的提高所带来的利益大部分转化为利润而非工资。基于此，要彻底扭转中国收入分配恶化趋势，根本途径仍然是保持经济的高速增长，加快工业化和城市化进程，从而使农村剩余劳动力能够尽快被吸收。     

Measuring the economic impacts of recent oil price shocks on oil-dependent economy: evidence from Malaysia

This paper examines the economy-wide impacts of recent oil price shocks on the Malaysian economy. To achieve this objective, an integrated methodological framework that combines econometric and input–output models is utilized to assess the impacts of an oil price shock on tax revenues, employment, labor income and gross domestic product (GDP). Our results reveal that the recent oil price shocks significantly affects these macroeconomic variables. The decline in oil prices from 2015 to 2016 reduces tax revenues by 10.5%, lower GDP by 1.9% and increases the unemployment rate by 0.3%. As such, the sharp crunch in oil prices serves as a reminder to policymakers on the vulnerability inherent in overreliance on oil exports and the urgent need to diversify the economy.     

Reverse Mortgage as an Income Stabilizer for the Elderly in Korea

This paper examines the features of reverse mortgages in Korea, comparing beneficiary and non‐beneficiary groups in relation to income security for elderly homeowners without sufficient income. In addition, this study estimates how much poverty rates would decrease if all elderly single and couple households joined the program. A reverse mortgage was implemented in 2007 in Korea as a government guaranteed scheme for elderly homeowners. Notwithstanding the contribution of the reverse mortgage program, many elderly homeowners do not utilize the system as a useful means to earn additional income. Given the high elderly poverty rate and incomplete social safety net in Korea, the program should be extended to supplement the insufficient income of elderly “house‐rich but cash‐poor” households. The paper first reviews reverse mortgage policy details. We then investigate key characteristics of the beneficiaries and compare beneficiaries and non‐beneficiaries based on nationwide survey data. Finally, we estimate the potential income‐raising effects of the program and draw implications of the income security policy in Korea and reconfiguration of the welfare state in a broader context.     

劳动剩余条件下的供给不足与工资上涨——基于家庭分工的视角

基于贝克尔家庭经济学和时间配置理论可以证明,劳动剩余条件下的劳动供给并不是无限的。受制于家庭分工的约束,供给曲线呈特殊的阶梯形态：随劳动供给的增加,农业劳动力的保留工资不断提高,且幅度不断扩大。劳动供给对工资的反应是非连续的：只有当工资上升到新的保留工资水平时,劳动供给才会增加;否则,工资上涨并不能带来供给增长。与这种特殊的供给形态相对应,工资上涨的主要动力从农业收入转向工业劳动需求。内蒙、甘肃两省1,500个农户的调查数据证明了上述判断。当劳动需求扩张时,由于工资的微调不能带动供给的微调,劳动力市场将长期难以出清。这提醒我们,当前农民工工资上涨与用工短缺并存现象很可能源于劳动剩余条件下的供给不足,并不必然意味着剩余劳动力枯竭,不能作为刘易斯拐点到来的证据。     

A Family Affair: The Labor Market Experience of Immigrant Spouses

Objective . This research examines the role of the family in the immigrant settlement process by assessing the labor supply behavior of immigrant spouses. Methods . We make use of a unique data set—the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia (LSIA), which provides detailed demographic, human capital, and labor market information for both principal applicants and their spouses. Results . Family circumstances such as the presence of young children, partners' hours of work, and family income are important determinants of labor supply. Similarly, human capital, particularly English language ability, is closely related to hours worked, and there is some evidence that spouses' employment is related to the visa category of their partners. Conclusions . Since immigration is not a solitary undertaking, evaluations of immigration policy and the economic status of immigrants that ignore interactions between family members may be inaccurate in their representation of the financial health and economic contributions of immigrants.     

Effects of sharing the parental leave on pensioners’ poverty and gender inequality in old age: A simulation in IFSIM

Female old age poverty is affected by family policy reforms which are meant to promote gender equality when young. Using our in house agent based simulation model IFSIM we show that sharing equally the parental leave can increase or reduce poverty among elderly women depending on the macro and behavioural (i.e. labour supply) responses that the reform off-sets. In general, the reform can be good for highly educated women, who will have an incentive to work more full time thanks to their higher earnings, which can compensate any loss in household income due to the man's staying home. For lower educated however, work might not pay as much and a reduction in labour supply might actually ensue (e.g. to reduce childcare costs). This will reduce also their pension rights at retirement. Furthermore, keeping men at home might slow down economic growth, and consequently growth of income pension accounts will be lower. This effect, combined with lower pension contributions (due to reduced labour supply), might result in higher poverty rates for women with lower education, compared to a scenario where the woman takes the whole leave. Other policies, such as more subsidised child care, might be an alternative worth considering to reduce female poverty in old age more evenly across educational levels.     

The macroeconomic effects of basic income funded by a land-holding tax in Korea

We examine the macroeconomic effects of the introduction of a scheme to pay a basic income of approximately $900 per year to each citizen through a land-holding tax. Unlike other studies, we address the issue of whether a sharp increase in the land-holding tax rate intended to raise funds for a basic income scheme causes landowners to sell their land. We also use the relationship between holding assets and reservation wages to determine whether household members supply their labor in accordance with the payment of basic income. Our simulation results obtained using data for Korea show that the introduction of the basic income scheme decreases real gross domestic product, total labor demand, and social welfare by 1.3%, 0.3%, and 0.4%, respectively.     

Economics of Home Activities

This paper explores the contribution of unpaid home activities to the economic welfare of the family. It begins with a review of the conventional economic framework on how household decisions are made. It deals with the modifications which take into account unpaid work in the home. The concept of ‘imputed income’ from home activities (like housework and child care) is then introduced before several possible methods of measuring that income are assessed. The final section of the paper analyses some policy implications which follow from recognizing imputed income as part of family income.     

Racial Disparities in Access to Mortgage Credit: Does Governance Matter?*

Objectives. This article examines the effect of community organizing on the likelihood that minority borrowers pursue home mortgage credit from regulated lenders. Methods. Governance perspectives suggest that community organizations exert significant influence on policy outcomes. We use logistic regression with interaction terms to test the effect of community organizing on the lending outcomes of minority borrowers. We use a matched control sample of cities, drawing on 2004 loan data from two midwestern cities similar in racial and economic composition but with different histories of organizing around the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Results. We find differential effects based on an applicant's race or ethnicity. Overall, African‐American applicants are less likely to pursue mortgage credit for home ownership from regulated lenders than their white, non‐Hispanic counterparts. However, African Americans seeking mortgage credit in a city with a history of CRA organizing are more likely to apply to regulated lenders than their racial counterparts in a city without CRA organizing. However, while organizing reduces the disparities between white and African‐American applicants, a gap still remains. Conclusion. African‐American borrowers living in cities with a history of community organizing around CRA appear more likely to pursue mortgage credit from traditional, regulated lenders, suggesting that governance matters.     

Analysis of China's Unequal Income Distribution from the Perspective of Functional Income Distribution

中国收入分配的不平等在很大程度上表现为功能性收入分配的不平等,即随着经 济的发展,工资性收入占国民收入的比例越来越小,而现阶段中国二元经济结构下的 无限劳动力供给则是其主要原因。在一个具有凯恩斯主义特征的非均衡动态模型框架 下,我们的分析表明,劳动力的无限供给,不仅使工资无法对劳动力市场的供求状况 进行反应,而且使劳动生产率和物价变化对工资的影响也不敏感。这意味着,当存在 着劳动生产率的提高或由经济增长所带动的物价上涨时,工资的提高不够显著,从而 由经济增长或劳动生产率的提高所带来的利益大部分转化为利润而非工资。基于此, 要彻底扭转中国收入分配恶化趋势,根本途径仍然是保持经济的高速增长,加快工业 化和城市化进程,从而使农村剩余劳动力能够尽快被吸收。

关键词: 功能性收入?二元经济?劳动力供给

China's unequal income distribution is to a large extent expressed in unequal functional income distribution, that is, as China's economy develops, the share of wage income in national income falls. The unlimited supply of labor under China's current dual economic structure is the major reason for this. In a disequilibrium dynamic model framework with Keynesian features, empirical analysis shows that the unlimited supply of labor not only prevents wages from responding to supply and demand situation in the labor market, but also makes them insensitive to labor productivity and price changes. This suggests that when there is a rise in labor productivity or prices following economic growth, the rise in wages may not be sufficiently marked. The benefits derived from economic growth or labor productivity increases have been, to a very large extent, converted into profits and not wages. Therefore, if we are to reverse China's worsening income distribution, our fundamental path should remain the maintenance of high‐speed growth and the acceleration of urbanization and industrialization so that surplus rural labor can be absorbed as soon as possible.     

Home Ownership, Affordability, and Mothers' Changing Work and Family Roles

Objective . Elaborating on conventional explanations for rapid employment growth of married mothers of preschoolers, I propose that pursuit of home ownership contributed to this trend differently in different decades since 1950. Methods . Measuring husbands' income in terms of mortgage qualification and using logistic regression analysis of pooled Current Population Survey data to estimate trends standardized for compositional change, I compare hypothetical with observed trends since 1970. Results . Declining ability of husbands' income to qualify for mortgages and rising educational attainment of mothers explains the post-1970 accelerated employment growth for preschoolers' mothers. By the 1980s, other influences have greater relative effects on young mothers' employment. Conclusion . Home ownership contributed to slower growth in preschoolers' mothers' employment through the 1950s and 1960s, raising standard-of-living expectations. Declining affordability in the 1970s inspired even more rapid growth. Pursuit of prescribed standards of living has increasingly motivated families to embrace dual-earner work and family arrangements.     

我国推行住宅抵押贷款证券化问题分析

目前,在我国推行住宅抵押贷款证券化存在着抵押贷款规模过小、房地产开发融资渠道不宽、商业银行积极性不高、信用制度不健全、法律环境不完善等问题。我国还不具备大规模推广住宅抵押贷款证券化的条件。     

Commodity buffer stock redux: The role of International Cocoa Organization in prices and incomes

This paper utilizes linear demand and supply models, with additive independent shocks, to derive producer price and income variances of a typical commodity during and after a buffer stock control. It proceeds to use the models to evaluate International Cocoa Organization's (ICCO) Buffer Stock's decision to purchase excess stock from the market a floor price and re-sell it, in periods of low supply, at the ceiling price. The results show that cocoa producer prices and incomes were more stable during periods of ICCO buffer stock intervention than after the demise of the buffer stock. The results further indicate that stock-buying operations induced greater stability in producer incomes than buying stock-selling operations.     

Fiscal Policy and Urban and Rural Residents＇ Marginal Propensity to Consume

基于代表性家庭最优消费决策及其与财政政策的关系,估计中国财政政策对城乡居民边际消费倾向的影响,结果表明,自1998年至今,城乡居民边际消费倾向的下降幅度超过20％。城乡居民边际消费倾向下降,．除源于收入分配、经济发展程度、预期、消费结构等因素的影响外,与财政政策运用也有很大关系。其中,未预期到的财政政策冲击对居民边际消费倾向产生的综合效应显著为负。以未预期到的税收增加为融资工具的策略选择,大大抑制了结构调整的正面效应。因此,扩大居民消费,不仅要通过财政增收,提高居民消费能力,而且要通过调整财政收支策略,稳定居民消费预期,提升居民边际消费倾向。     

The impact of social heterogeneity and commodity price shocks on civil conflicts

Do exogenous economic shocks promote civil conflicts directly? Do they affect all the societies alike? The current approach presents a large sample panel data evidence not only on the effect of commodity export price shocks on conflict incidence, rather than onsets, but also on the joint impact of both ethnic and religious polarization and fractionalization on political instability. In this regard, we find out that in ethnically polarized societies, the commodity export price shocks increase violence. Nonetheless, in ethnically and religiously fractionalized societies (as well as religiously polarized), the effect of commodity export price shocks on civil conflicts depends on the type of income shocks and category of commodity. These findings contribute to the existing literature by illuminating the compound effect of both income shocks and social diversity on intrastate conflicts.     

Asymmetric price rigidity and the optimal interest rate defense of the exchange rate: Some evidence for the US

This paper analyses the optimal monetary policy under incomplete exchange rate pass-through and asymmetric price rigidity. In a general equilibrium sticky price model of an open economy we find that the optimal interest rate rule is to respond to all types of shocks in an economy: real exchange rate shocks, supply shocks and demand shocks. We concentrate our analysis on the interest rate defense of the currency. We claim that the extent of the optimal response of the interest rate to exchange rate shocks depends positively on the degree of pass-through and negatively on price rigidity. Therefore, in the presence of asymmetric price rigidity, the optimal monetary policy should be non-linear, and the interest rate should be adjusted more in case of depreciation of the domestic currency than in case of its appreciation by the same magnitude due to higher downward price rigidity and lower downward pass-through, which are observed empirically. We test this prediction for the US economy and find that the US monetary policy is asymmetric indeed with higher reaction of the interest rate to depreciations of US dollar than to appreciations of the same size.     

人口老龄化趋势下我国农村“空巢老人”养老困境及化解

随着现代化进程的推进,越来越多的农村青壮年进城务工,从而造成大量的"空巢"老人。农村"空巢老人"具有少子老龄化、身体多病且精神空虚化、收入水平低且劳动强度大等特点。与城市"空巢"老人相比,农村"空巢"老人面临着更为严峻的养老困境。为此,加强孝德文化教育,营造关爱"空巢"老人的良好氛围;扩大招商引资规模并加大农民自主创业的政策扶持力度,实现劳动力就地转移就业,为家庭养老创造人力条件;鼓励"空巢"老人将土地使用权返还村集体,由村集体对土地进行适度规模经营,将土地收益进行分红;建立健全农村社区养老新模式;加大社会养老机构建设力度等,是应对这一困境的主要策略。     

Income Security During Sickness Absence. What Do British Middle‐classes Do?

Income maintenance during sickness absence is an under‐researched field within social policy analysis, and yet it is conducive to exploring the interplay between statutory, corporate and private forms of income protection. Drawing on original qualitative interview data, the article shows that British middle‐class couples largely ignore or dismiss public provision, which is due to a relatively low level of sickness benefits, but also based on misconceptions about social rights and the role of employers as mandatory (and voluntary) sick pay providers. Despite a considerable degree of mistrust, mortgage‐related private sickness insurance mattered to some extent, although this does not necessarily reflect policyholders’ strategic choices vis à vis current household needs for income security. Other potential sources of income replacement, such as savings, are relied on much less. In general, the analysis shows a heavy middle‐class reliance on, and strong confidence in, employer‐based sickness pay. This finding may be contrasted with questions about the sustainability of voluntary corporate provision, as well as its capacity to provide income security for the workforce as a whole.     

人力资本、劳动力市场分割与收入分配

关于收入不平等的解释,学界有个人主义和结构主义两种理论取向。笔者整合两种理论解释,同时考虑人力资本和劳动力市场结构,以及两者之间的交互效应,提出一个影响收入分配的基本模型。用“中国综合社会调查”（CGSS2003）数据对这一模型的检验表明,人力资本是决定收入分配的主要因素,但市场部门对劳动力的分割所产生的影响也不可忽视;人力资本和市场部门之间存在交互作用,人力资本越多的劳动力越容易进入国有部门（垄断或非垄断）;同时,国有部门（垄断或非垄断）也能为内部劳动力提供更多提升人力资本的机会。