ARE “RISKY ASSETS” SUBSTITUTES FOR “MONETARY ASSETS”?

The paper uses an asymptotically ideal model to estimate substitution elasticities between financial assets held by the U.K. personal sector. An important innovation is to extend the range of assets to include "risky" assets as well as capital certain "monetary" assets. The most significant result is the evidence of substitution between "risky" assets and "cash" assets. Also, as risk aversion increases substitution between "risky" assets and "cash" assets generally falls. ( JEL E41)     

“What Colour Is Your English?”*

This paper raises questions about ways in which the “imagined community” is discursively patrolled through accents. Drawing on preliminary research with African immigrant women, we argue that “Canadian English” constitutes a border allowing only partial and provisional crossing for those with an “African English” accent. The accent border is material and figurative, affecting access to material benefits such as jobs or housing, as well as shaping perceptions of who belongs in Canada. Thus, accents form a site through which racialized power relations are negotiated and “Others” are reproduced materially and figuratively in Canada.

Citing Literature

Volume 40 , Issue 5 December 2003

Pages 565-573     

Trends in Latin American Skilled Migration: “Brain Drain” or “Brain Exchange”?

During the last half of the twentieth century the Latin American sub‐continent, historically a region of immigration, became one of emigration characterized by intra‐regional movements and movements towards the developed world, particularly the US. The emigration of highly skilled resources was a new phenomenon in the 1960s and debate on “brain drain” took a significant place in academia and in international organizations. In recent years, within the context of intensification of the globalization process and by virtue of the drive for technological development and the subsequent demand for specialization, the issue has returned to both the arena of political debate and to the academic world. This article presents an analysis of trends in Latin American migration in the context of the new situation. It discusses whether there is a continuation of the “brain drain” phenomenon or the emergence of a trend towards “brain exchange” or “brain circulation”, as appears to be occurring in other parts of the world.     

The “New” World of Prosumption: Evolution, “Return of the Same,” or Revolution?

While strong arguments can be made that prosumption today can be seen as a primal phenomenon and an evolutionary process, the strongest argument is that it involves a revolutionary set of developments producing a dramatically new world of prosumption. While those developments can be seen in both the material and digital worlds (although they augment one another), they are clearest in the digital world, especially the Internet. Among the forces that are creating this new world of consumption are new means of prosumption (e.g., IKEA, massive online open courses, automated teller machines) which are made possible by a variety of new technologies (the computer, the Internet). However, overarching these and other changes is the emergence of a new form of capitalism, “prosumer capitalism.” In addition to exploiting often low‐paid commodified workers, prosumer capitalism increasingly prioritizes the exploitation of largely uncommodified prosumers who are generally unpaid. Prosumers offer the capitalist many other advantages (e.g., no long‐term obligations such as high‐cost benefit programs). There are few, if any, obligations to prosumers with the result that they fit well with today's reigning neoliberal philosophy. The new world of prosumption could have been a more positive development had it not been usurped by capitalist interests.     

“What's the Matter With Kansas?” A Sociological Answer

Thomas Frank's book poses a question: Why do working people in Kansas vote for Republican candidates when supporting them is antithetical to their economic interests? This article analyzes the statistical evidence for such alleged deviant voting and finds support for his thesis that the working class does vote Republican. Also supported is his principal causal suggestion for this hypothesized “backlash,” the decline in average county population. But both variables lack a supporting theory. A “structural ecological” explanation for both facts is introduced that claims that the fear that whites experience as the white population shrinks causes the backlash reaction and the Republican vote that Frank describes. Statistical tests support the alternative explanation and illustrate the difference between Frank's ethnography‐based arguments and the approach that most sociologists use.     

A New Era in Australian Multiculturalism? From Working‐Class “Ethnics” To a “Multicultural Middle‐Class”

This article analyses the changing socio‐economic profile of the “multicultural” section of the Australian population, in the past officially referred to as people of “non‐English‐speaking background” (NESB). After importing low‐skilled NESB labor to service the manufacturing boom of the post‐war decades, at the end of the 1970s, following economic restructuring, the Australian immigration program was refocused on skilled intake which resulted in immigrants increasingly becoming a middle‐class demographic. Over the past three decades, a “multicultural middle class” (MMC) has been created from two sources: the intake of highly skilled NESB immigrants and upwardly mobile second and third migrant generations. The article documents this demographic change using census and immigration data, and discusses what it may mean for the future of Australian multiculturalism, which, according to many analysts, is in crisis and requires re‐articulation.     

IS THERE A “DOUBLE BONUS” FROM REDUCING INEQUALITY?

We study the effect of inequality on growth in an overlapping generations (OLG) model where inequality affects growth through accumulation of human capital and endogenous fertility. In contrast to much of the existing literature, we argue that the effect of inequality on growth might be non‐monotonic. Our model suggests that the effect depends on the demographic stage of development: inequality impedes growth in low‐fertility (high human capital) economies, but enhances growth in high‐fertility (low human capital) economies. Our finding casts doubt on a “double bonus” from reducing inequality in developing countries which are typically characterized by high fertility. (JEL O40, J13, O15)     

Early Modern Antwerp: The First “World City”?

It is problematic to think of globalization as a new phenomenon and to believe that the phenomenon of a world city, embedded in the global division of labor, is a 20^th century novelty. World city literature in sociology often emphasizes, if not assumes, the relatively recent emergence of world cities in the “new” international division of labor. Sixteenth century Antwerp, however, was the first world city of an expanding capitalist world economy. Understanding this phenomenon and its decline can raise important questions about the modus operandi of subsequent world cities.     

Does Circular Migration Lead to “Guest Worker” Outcomes?

At first at the level of the European Commission, and increasingly also in the European Union’s member states, it is being recognized that past labour migration management tools have more or less serious drawbacks in that they produce undesired outcomes and do not sufficiently attain the objectives for which they were designed. The welfare states of north‐western Europe are discovering that their desire of the past three decades to restrict labour immigration as much as possible is no longer “in sync” with changing labour market demands, which are growing both for the highly skilled and the unskilled. In order to satisfy the demand for unskilled labour, schemes are being proposed that would allow for circular migration. The European Commission is a forceful promoter of these schemes. Member states such as the Netherlands, which we take as a case in point, are also considering modes by which to allow temporary unskilled labour migration, but seem intent on employing regulatory tools that are not very different from those used in the “guest worker” era, which brought about large‐scale settlement. Up to the present time, the resulting ethnic minority groups are the subject of large integration efforts on the part of the receiving states. This begs the question of the extent to which “circular migration” would be different from “guest worker” schemes, in its management and its outcomes.     

Creating “Community”? Preparing for Bushfire in Rural Victoria

The term “community” has a long and contested lineage in social analysis and debate. This lineage, however, is not generally recognized in policy and public debates on community and bushfire in Australia. “Community” is thought to be central to bushfire preparedness in Australia, especially in rural areas, but what “community” actually means in this context is vague at best. There is an ever‐present tension between the use of “community” as a reference to locality, a “sense of community” as experienced by residents, and the use of “community” as a rhetorical tool by governments and state agencies. We argue that a rigorous analysis of the concept of “community” is critical to an understanding of the processes involved in preparing for the challenges associated with disaster, in this case bushfires. These broader issues are supported by research (a series of surveys, interviews, and focus groups) carried out with residents living in (predominantly rural) bushfire‐prone areas in the state of Victoria, Australia. Ultimately, we assert that social participation and social networks are likely to be the crucial aspects of community that play a central role in effective bushfire preparedness.     

Are “Equals” Happier Than “Less Equals”? A Couple Analysis of Similarity and Well‐being

Using Netherlands Kinship Panel Study dyadic couple data (n = 3,117), the authors investigated associations between partner dissimilarity in the socioeconomic and companionate domains and couples' well‐being. They distinguished between 2 well‐being indicators—life satisfaction and relationship satisfaction—assuming both indicators to be differentially related to the 2 life domains. They investigated whether Becker's (1973) hypothesis of the “efficiency” gains of household specialization has a sociological pendant in a link between specialization and well‐being gains and found that greater socioeconomic dissimilarity was associated with lower life satisfaction for both partners. Although the authors expected dissimilarity in the companionate domain to be associated with lower relationship satisfaction, such an association was found only for family traditionalism: Partners less similar in this respect were less satisfied with their relationship. As assumed, life satisfaction was more strongly associated with dissimilarity in the socioeconomic domain, whereas relationship satisfaction was most affected by the companionate domain.     

TO “VAPE” OR SMOKE? EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE ON ADULT SMOKERS

A growing share of the U.S. population uses e‐cigarettes but the optimal regulation of these controversial products remains an open question. We conduct a discrete choice experiment to investigate how adult tobacco cigarette smokers' demand for e‐cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes varies by four attributes: (1) whether e‐cigarettes are considered healthier than tobacco cigarettes, (2) the effectiveness of e‐cigarettes as a cessation device, (3) bans on use in public places, and (4) price. We find that adult smokers' demand for e‐cigarettes is motivated more by health concerns than by the desire to avoid smoking bans or higher prices. (JEL C35, I12, I18)     

“Whom should We Help First?” Transnational Helping Practices in Ecuadorian Migration

Collective remittances, in the framework of migrant transnationalism, have been recently dealt with in some empirical research, especially on the Mexican‐US migration system. Far less studied is their significance in different migration flows, including their real contribution – as desirable as this may be – to local development. The article is concerned with a bottom up analysis of a migration flow where collective remittances – as the only way for emigrants to keep helping their local communities, well beyond their own families – are still in their infancy. It explores, through a translocal ethnography of Ecuadorian migration to Italy, the underlying attitudes, personal meanings and expectations – as well as the structural opportunities and constraints – accounting for helping practices at a distance. Charitable transfers to communities of origin are reconstructed as to their motivations, their main aims and beneficiaries, their embeddedness in mutual networks among immigrant co‐nationals. How is it that some of them decide to help “people in need” in their own communities overseas, or in their home towns, or in both? Is this an expression of communal belonging, or a matter of social status maintenance, or something else? Further reflections on the dilemmas inherent in transnational helping practices are then developed. Concluding remarks emphasize the relatively poor scope for such initiatives, in a recent and first‐generation flow over a long distance. While co‐ethnic solidarity overseas is a precondition for transnational helping practices, the latter are also affected by the developments of public policies in the countries of origin and of destination. Overall, an effective integration overseas is necessary for collective remittances to have some currency and impact.