A Computational Bayesian Method for Generalized Semiparametric Regression Models

To better understand the power shift and the U.S. role compared to China and others regional actors, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the East Asia Institute (EAI) surveyed people in six countries - China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesian, and the United States - in the first half of 2008 about regional security and economic integration in Asia and about how these nations perceive each other (Bouton et al., 2010 Bouton, M., Steven, K., Benjamin, P., and Gregory, H. (2010). Soft power in Asia survey, 2008. ICPSR25342-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2010-04-05. doi:10.3886/ICPSR25342.v1[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). There exists latent variance that cannot be adequately explained by parametric models. This is, in large part, due to the hidden structures and latent stories that from in unexpected ways. Therefore, a new Gibbs sampler is developed here in order to reveal preciously unseen structures and latent variances found in the survey dataset of Bouton et al. This new sampler is based upon the semiparametric regression, a well-known tool frequently utilized in order to capture the functional dependence between variables with fixed effect parametric and nonlinear regression. This is then extended to a generalized semiparametric regression for binary responses with logit and probit link function. The new sampler is then developed for the generalized linear mixed model with a nonparametric random effect. It is expressed as nonparametric regression with the multinomial-Dirichlet distribution for the number and positions of knots.     

The education of the American political elite: 1949–2001

The two primary objectives of the paper are to develop a more complete and precise profile of the educational experiences of national political leaders and to use that profile to illuminate several significant aspects of the American educational system and process. The universe of the study consists of 578 presidents, vice-presidents, cabinet members, Supreme Court Justices, and congressional leaders in office from the beginning of the first full Truman administration in early 1949 through the end of the second Clinton administration in early 2001. Among the principal conclusions are that a graduate or professional degree is a prerequisite for attaining high-public office and that political elites are more extensively, but less exclusively, educated than top leaders of other sectors of American society. Twelve American universities, and one foreign institution, have had a consistently disproportionate impact on elite education for a long period of time. Having a law school significantly enhances an institution's contribution to elite education. The training of the American political elite is characterized by both institutional pluralism and homogeneity.     

The Effect of Adult Children’s Working Hours on Visits to Elderly Parents: A Natural Experiment in Korea

Population Research and Policy Review - Despite its significant policy implications, little is known about the impact working hours have on how often workers visit their elderly parents. Evidence...     

AN EVALUATION OF ORDER PICKING POLICIES FOR MAIL ORDER COMPANIES

This paper is concerned with the problem of order picking in mail order companies. Order picking is the retrieval of items from their warehouse storage locations to satisfy customer orders. Five order picking policies, strict order, batch, sequential zone, batch zone, and wave, are evaluated using labor requirements, processing time, and customer service as performance measures. A simulation model was developed to investigate these picking policies in a mail order environment. Prior research has focused on the study of individual picking policies. This study extends the prior research by evaluating multiple picking policies under varying operating conditions. The results of the study seem to indicate that (1) wave picking and batch picking perform well across the range of operating conditions considered in this study, and (2) sequential zone and batch zone picking do not perform well, especially as the order volume increases. However, the benefits and drawbacks to each picking policy must be taken into account. The key to effective implementation of an order picking system is to match the firm's business strategy, capabilities, technology, and space requirements with an order picking policy that maximizes the benefits of order picking to the firm and its customers.     

The accomplishments of disabled women’s advocacy organizations and their future in Korea

Since the late 1990s disabled women’s advocacy organizations have fought against oppression and have made great strides in Korea. This paper aims to describe the accomplishments, challenges and future directions of disabled women’s advocacy organizations in Korea. A qualitative design was employed to explore disabled women’s perspectives. Participants were leaders in disabled women’s advocacy organizations and were recruited from each of the organizations existing in Korea in 2007. Among seven potential participants, five were interviewed. Accomplishments to date include significant gains in the recognition and visibility of disabled women, advances in the use of gender‐sensitive approaches to the development of disability policies and the growth of networks among disabled women’s organizations. Disabled women’s advocacy will continue to become stronger in the future through increased organizational membership, the development of a distinct organizational identity, the articulation of more focused policy concerns and continued network development.     

Efficient semiparametric estimation in generalized partially linear additive models

In this paper we study semiparametric generalized additive models in which some part of the additive function is linear. We study the semiparametric efficiency under this regression model for the exponential family. We also present an asymptotically efficient estimation procedure based on the generalized profile likelihood approach.     

A comparison of two randomized response survey methods with consideration for the level of respondent protection

In recent years randomized response methods have been introduced in an attempt to improve the accuracy and honesty in personalized response surveys of very sensitive questions. Two randomized response methods are compared, taking into account the protection afforded the respondent. In addition, we point out that the estimators, which previous authors have claimed to be the maximum likelihood estimators of the population proportion with the sensitive characteristic, are in fact not the maximum likelihood estimators.     

THE BEHAVIOR OF REGULATORY ACTIVITY OVER THE BUSINESS CYCLE: AN EMPIRICAL TEST

This paper tests a prediction of the interest-group theory of regulation which suggests that regulators generally will not force any one group to bear the full adjustment costs associated with variations in the business cycle. That is, the interest-group model predicts that regulatory agencies will redistribute cyclical gains and losses by supplying more "producer protection" regulation during contractions and more "consumer protection" regulation during expansions; i.e., regulatory activity which reduces consumer welfare will tend to be countercyclical, intensifying when aggregate demand falls and abating as demand increases.
The empirical results show a countercyclical and statistically significant ceteris paribus relationship between Federal Trade Commission enforcement efforts under the Robinson-Patman Act and several alternative measures of general business conditions. Since the Robinson-Patman Act is viewed widely as anti-consumer, the findings suggest that in cyclical downturns the Commission moves to protect producers against losses by bringing more cases which limit the tendency for prices to fall. This result may be rationalized under the view that during recessions, the Federal Trade Commission is in the business of transferring wealth from consumers either to protect small business or to bolster cartels. On the other hand, during business expansions the Commission reduces its Robinson-Patman case load, and such a change in enforcement may serve to mitigate producer gains, transferring wealth to consumers at the margin. In any case the paper offers empirical support for the interest-group model by providing evidence that the business cycle plays an important part in explaining the level and pattern of regulatory activity.