FLEXIBLE CONTRACTS AND SUBJECTIVE WELL‐BEING

Theory suggests that when workers choose between permanent and flexible contracts, their utility should tend to equalize across contract types. New estimates of job satisfaction show the critical role played by unmeasured worker heterogeneity. They reveal that flexible contracts are a strong negative determinant of satisfaction with job security but are often a positive determinant of other dimensions of job satisfaction. As a consequence, flexible contracts have either a weak negative influence or no influence on overall job satisfaction. Moreover, flexible contracts generally have no impact on overall life satisfaction of the employed. These results appear broadly consistent with the presence of equalizing differences. (JEL J28, J41)     

NEW MEASURES OF THE COSTS OF UNEMPLOYMENT: EVIDENCE FROM THE SUBJECTIVE WELL‐BEING OF 3.3 MILLION AMERICANS

Using two large U.S. surveys, we estimate the effects of unemployment on the subjective well‐being (SWB) of the unemployed and the rest of the population. For the unemployed, the nonpecuniary costs of unemployment are several times as large as those resulting from lower incomes, while the indirect effect at the population level is 15 times as large. For those who are still employed, a one percentage point increase in local unemployment has an impact on well‐being roughly equivalent to a 4% decline in household income. We also find evidence indicating that job security is an important channel for the indirect effects of unemployment. (JEL E24, H23, J64, J68)     

RETIREMENT,PERSONALITY, AND WELL‐BEING

This study investigates how two sources of individual heterogeneity—personality and gender—impact the well‐being effects of retirement. Using data on older men and women from the British Household Panel Survey and its continuation, Understanding Society, we estimate the causal effect of retirement on satisfaction with overall life and domains of life in the presence of personality characteristics. As retirement is often considered to be a choice and thus may be endogenous to individual‐level characteristics, we use the eligibility ages for basic state pension in the United Kingdom as instruments for retirement. We find that retirement increases leisure satisfaction of both males and females but not necessarily life satisfaction and income satisfaction. We further show that certain personality characteristics affect the well‐being of female retirees. For males, however, personality does not seem to matter in how they cope with retirement. (JEL I31, J26, A12, C23)     

THE IMPACT OF STOCK MARKET FLUCTUATIONS ON THE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL WELL‐BEING OF CHILDREN

The stock market crash of 2008 caused a severe impact to households. Earlier research has explored the impacts of a stock market crash on life well‐being, psychological stress, and adult health behaviors. We extend this literature by documenting impacts of stock market fluctuations on a range of child outcomes; including effects on both mental and physical health. We show a negative effect of a market crash on hospitalizations, child reported health status, sick days from school, and an aggregate health index measure. Both graphical and regression‐based analysis reveal that our results are not driven by a preexisting trend of declining child health before the market crash and extensive sensitivity analysis demonstrates that the results are robust to multiple empirical specifications. (JEL I15, E32, J13)     

CLOZENTROPY AS A MEASURE OF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION COMPREHENSION

An area of international communication research that has beenlargely overlooked is the extent to which a message originatingin one country is understood by receivers in another country.The study described in this article tested the construct validityof Darnell's clozentropy procedure as a measure of monolingualinternational communication comprehension. Results of the studystrongly support the procedure.     

DO NEWLY RETIRED WORKERS IN THE UNITED STATES HAVE SUFFICIENT RESOURCES TO MAINTAIN WELL‐BEING?

A current policy issue is the extent to which savings are sufficient to sustain economic well-being in retirement. We compare annuitized wealth at retirement to three preretirement consumption estimates. About one-half of new retirees have insufficient resources to enable the full maintenance of estimated preretirement consumption in retirement, and about 40% fail to meet the "0.7 of earnings" standard that is used in many studies. Using standards reflecting social (poverty) norms we find a less serious problem. About 5% (25%) of new retirees have insufficient resources to enable an above-poverty (near-poverty) level of living during retirement. (JEL J14, J26 )     

PARENTAL EARNINGS AND CHILDREN'S WELL‐BEING: AN ANALYSIS OF THE SURVEY OF INCOME AND PROGRAM PARTICIPATION MATCHED TO SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION EARNINGS DATA

We estimate the association between parental earnings and child well‐being using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation matched to Social Security Administration earnings records. We use very large samples on a wide variety of measures of child well‐being that are also linked to long histories of parent earnings from administrative records. Consistent with previous studies, we find that the use of longer time averages of parent earnings leads to substantially higher estimated associations compared to using only a single year of parent earnings. Using 7‐year time averages of parent earnings, we show, for example, that a doubling of parent earnings is associated with a reduced probability of a teenager reporting being in poor health by close to 50% and a decrease in the likelihood of a child repeating a grade by 39%. We also examine how the associations vary by the timing of when parental earnings are received during childhood. We find suggestive evidence that parental earnings received during the child's school‐going years (ages 6 to 17) are more strongly associated with college enrollment and children's future earnings as adults than parent earnings received earlier or later in the child's life. (JEL J13, I1, I2)     

WELL‐INFORMED INTERMEDIARIES IN STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION

A privately informed sender may influence the decision maker through an intermediary who is better informed than him. I assume that the objective sender and intermediary pass on their best information, while the biased ones prefer a particular action but also have reputational concerns. I show that the biased intermediary selectively incorporates the sender's information to push his agenda, and his truth‐telling incentives always decrease in those of the biased sender. Hence, measures making it more costly for the sender to lie worsen the biased intermediary's distortion, and may make the decision maker strictly worse off. (JEL C70, D82, M31)     

KILLING THE ANGEL IN A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN. BEING AS UNCONSCIOUS AS POSSIBLE WHEN WRITING UP QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

The author begins this paper by establishing a context of writing within a qualitative research framework. He goes on to identify blocks to writing in part one of the paper. In part two various strategies for negotiating these blocks are suggested and illustrated. Extracts of writings from George Orwell, Virginia Woolf, Dylan Thomas and Ted Hughes among others are used to show how these great writers have acknowledged and negotiated blocks in the production of their work. Links and connections with writing up qualitative research are made. The crucial and recurring theme of the paper is that the unconscious is to be trusted as an invaluable ally in accessing and producing writing of value. Thinking about writing, while necessary to some extent, should therefore be given second place to the primary importance of clearing a space within which the unconscious can be befriended and surprise us and thereby facilitate the writing process.     

SKILLED‐UNSKILLED WAGE INEQUALITY AND URBAN UNEMPLOYMENT

The impact of trade liberalization on the labor market in the North has drawn tremendous attention in the face of the growing skilled‐unskilled wage gap but in the South it has been somewhat neglected. One of the key structural differences between the North and the South is that the South experiences a pronounced rural‐urban migration in the presence of urban unemployment. We introduce this feature in the structure of a simple general equilibrium model to analyze the effects of trade liberalization and fragmentation on employment and the skilled‐unskilled wage differential in the South. In particular, we show that while fragmentation necessarily improves the unskilled wage and the skilled wage, more lucrative global opportunities for the skilled final product, in the absence of fragmentation, can reduce the rural wage and increase urban unemployment. The effect of fragmentation, ceteris paribus, on the skilled‐unskilled wage gap is sensitive to the degree of substitutability between land and unskilled labor. As such, fragmentation can magnify the increase in the skilled‐unskilled wage gap resulting from an improvement in the terms of trade. It is also shown that a technological progress in the intermediate goods sector increases the skilled‐unskilled wage gap and raises urban unemployment. (JEL F1, O1, F11, F12)     

VALIDATION OF A DIARY MEASURE OF CHILDREN'S PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

This study compares levels of physical activity of 9–14-year-old children from a self-reported time diary with those measured using an accelerometer. Children (N = 92) wore an accelerometer for one weekend day and completed a 24-hour time diary for that day. The time children spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity from time diaries was moderately highly correlated with the measured results. Self-reported and objective measures of intensity were correlated, but the correlation varied substantially by activity and characteristics of the family. This study provides empirical evidence to support the validity of time-diary estimates when accelerometer data are not available.     

INCOME INEQUALITY: THE CONSEQUENCES OF SKILL‐UPGRADING WHEN FIRMS HAVE HIERARCHICAL ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES

During the last three decades, most developed countries have experienced increasing income inequality. Using Danish register data from 1992 to 2007 for all private‐sector employees, we confirm that income inequality has increased in Denmark. We also observe an increase in the relative employment of highly educated individuals, as well as differential income growth rates across employee subgroups where, in particular, managers experienced significant real income progression. We use an equilibrium search framework with on‐the‐job search to study the interplay between skill‐upgrading, management compensation, and income inequality. In this model we can determine the management and education premia. We can also show that when our model is exposed to skill‐upgrading, it is capable of producing income dynamics similar to those observed in the Danish income distribution. (JEL J3, J6, M5)     

A MULTIDIMENSIONAL MEASURE OF RELIGIOUS INVOLVEMENT FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS

This article describes the confirmation and validation of a multidimensional measure of religious involvement using data from the National Survey of Black Americans (N = 2,107). This model was developed through a multistep strategy of confirmatory factor analysis and structural-equation modeling. First, a three-dimensional factor structure comprising organizational, nonorganizational, and subjective religiosity was confirmed for twelve religious indicators. This measurement model was found to exhibit excellent overall fit; it compared favorably to alternative models: and all hypothesized factor loadings were strong and statistically significant. Second, several constructs identified by prior research as correlates of religious involvement (gender, age, education, region, and urbanicity) were found to exhibit significant associations with one or more dimensions of the model. All analyses were conducted in LISREL 8.03, using maximum-likelihood estimation and a strategy of split-sample replication.     

REWARDS AND FRUSTRATIONS OF BEING A SOCIAL WORKER: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

This paper deals with aspects of actual professional experience of social workers, in order to grasp a framework for professional rewards and frustrations. A qualitative research tool was chosen, life histories, and ten social workers were interviewed. The subjects were women who graduated between the 1950s and the 1990s from schools of social work in Brazil, and whose practice, present or past, involves direct contact with clients. The reasons explaining satisfying professional situations are rooted in professional experiences which were translated into personal development, the establishment of personal ties and the acquisition of skills. Perceptions of having contributed towards solving a difficult situation and recognition from their clients were positively appraised. These are rewarding situations from which social workers derive the feeling of having created something which is positive for the clients and for themselves. Unpleasant situations were described as unfair situations experienced by clients, poor working conditions and difficulties concerning inter‐professional relationships. Inferences on the feminine role as influencing social workers' rewards and frustrations with the profession, as well as inferences on possible unconscious configurations underlying some of the data were drawn in the conclusions.     

A RETROSPECTIVE INVESTIGATION OF GENDER INEQUALITY AND FEMALE HOMICIDE VICTIMIZATION

ABSTRACT

For the period 1981 to 1993 women represented 21 to 26 percent of homicide victims in the United States annually (Smith and Kuchta 1993 Smith , M. Dwayne and Ellen S. Kuchta . 1993 . “Trends in Violent Crime Against Women, 1973–89.” Social Science Quarterly 74 : 28 – 45 . [CSA]  [Google Scholar]). During this same time period sex-specific homicide rates have been among the forms of disaggregation researchers have used to test the utility of traditional correlates of homicide in predicting rates across various population subgroups and units of analysis. Based upon earlier research of the effects of gender inequality upon rates of lethal violence against women, and by applying a feminist theoretical perspective, it is hypothesized that the effect of general social structural characteristics of cities upon women's risk of homicide is mediated by levels of gender inequality. Specifically, this study examines the effects of gender, socioeconomic, legislative, political and extra-legal inequality upon female homicide victimization among 217 U.S. central cities for the period of 1989–1991. Using structural equation modeling results indicate that, among traditional social structural factors, economic deprivation, population size, divorce rate, and the sex ratio all have significant, positive effects on female homicide rates. However, in subsequent models testing the mediating effects of measures of gender inequality on the association between social structural variables and female homicide rates the divorce rate is the only social structural factor that continues to have a significant, positive effect upon homicide rates. Among the four measures of gender inequality, and in support of an ameliorative feminist argument, socioeconomic inequality has a significant, positive influence on rates of female homicide victimizaton. There is also a significant, negative effect of gender legislative inequality upon these rates. That is, the more laws or acts favorable to women, the lower their rates of homicide victimization. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

INEQUALITY AND GROWTH IN THE UNITED STATES: EVIDENCE FROM A NEW STATE-LEVEL PANEL OF INCOME INEQUALITY MEASURES

This paper introduces a new comprehensive panel of annual state-level income inequality measures spanning the postwar period 1945–2004. For many states, the share of income held by the top decile experienced a prolonged period of stability after World War II, followed by a substantial increase in inequality during the 1980s and 1990s. This paper also presents an examination of the long-run relationship between income inequality and economic growth. Our findings indicate that the long-run relationship between inequality and growth is positive in nature and driven principally by the concentration of income in the upper end of the income distribution. ( JEL D31, O40)     

SKILL AS A DIMENSION OF OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION

L'habilité est présentée comme une dimension qui règle les catégories sommaires d'une classification socioéconomique des professions, qui a été développée pour l'Etude sur la Mobilité des Canadiens. Cette analyse repose sur les valeurs ged et svp qui reflètent, respectivement, les différents niveaux d'éducation générale et d'apprentissage professionnel spécial requis pour les professions qui constituent chacune des catégories de l'emc. La classification des catégories de l'emc est reliée largement aux classifications basées sur les valeurs moyennes ged et svp. L'analyse des variations dans les valeurs ged et svp, entre et parmi les catkgories de I'emc, rCvkle que la plupart des catCgories sont homogenes, en ce qui conceme I'habileté. L'homogénéite, cependant, varie positivement suivant le niveau d'habileté. Le chercheur qui se concentre sur l'habileté comme dimension saillante de la variabilité entre les professions trouvent utile la classification de l'emc.
Skill is shown to be a dimension which orders the broad categories of a socioeconomic classification of occupations developed for the Canadian Mobility Study. The analysis is based on ged and svp values which, respectively, reflect different levels of general education and special vocational training required of the component occupations of each cms category. The cms ordering of the categories is highly correlated with orders based on average ged and svp values. Analysis of variation in ged and svp values between and within cms categories reveals that most categories are homogeneous with respect to skill. Homogeneity, however, varies positively with skill level. Researchers who focus on skill as a salient dimension of variability among occupations will find the cms classification useful.     

ATTRIBUTION OF RESPONSIBILITY AS A MULTIDIMENSIONAL CONCEPT

Attributions of responsibility (AR) are of interest to sociologists and psychologists. However, the measurement of AR has been inconsistent both within and across the disciplines. The present study tests whether AR is a multidimensional or unidimensional concept. Data for study 1 were collected from 201 undergraduate students at a large, midwestern university. Results indicate that there are four factors associated with AR, supporting the contention that AR is a multidimensional concept. Study 2 replicated the findings of the first with a sample of 441 undergraduates. Results indicate that there are four factors that respondents consider when attributing responsibility for wrongdoing.