The nexus between income distribution,trade policy,and monopoly power: An assessment of the tin market

The article suggests a manner in which degrees of monopoly power can be introduced into a trade policy model of the computable general equilibrium type. The distributional effects of tariffs and subsidies are compared, first under competitive conditions and then under conditions of monopoly power.The tin market, for which Malaysia can be assumed to exert monopoly power, is used as an example to show the distributional consequences of applying a competitive model in cases where a model allowing for monopoly power would have been more appropriate. The existence of monopoly power is shown to have important distributional effects. Policy modelers, dealing with distributional issues, should therefore be careful about the assumptions made about market forms.     

Trust and health in Eastern Europe: Conceptions of a new society

Little attention has been paid to why trends and levels of mortality and morbidity differ in Eastern Europe and few studies have addressed people's own perceptions of their new political system – perceptions which per se may be important for social development. The aim of the present study was to analyse the extent to which trust and economic circumstances affect self‐rated health in Poland, Estonia and Russia and how much health differences between the countries can be explained by these factors. A better economy and higher trust were related to better individual health, while economic factors seemed most important for inter‐country differences. It is probable that both institutional factors and individual perceptions contribute to people's well‐being, but in terms of social policy, an improved welfare system may be the most effective way forward.     

Play and Imitation: Multimodal Interaction and Second-Language Development in Preschool

This article targets the multimodal character of children’s play and its potential for scaffolding second-language development. We follow children who are newcomers to a Swedish preschool and analyze their interactions. Play is, we argue, based on rules or tacit agreements between children, originating in the human capacity of imitation, and creates an opportunity to test out cultural patterns. Despite their limited language abilities, the children naturally engage in bodily play interactions where different objects are deployed. This can potentially underpin second-language development, not least when a child or teacher with better Swedish language proficiency participates.     

Forms of gambling,gambling involvement and problem gambling: evidence from a Swedish population survey

The purpose of this study was to explore the association between problem gambling (PG) and participation in different forms of gambling in order to elucidate relationships between PG, gambling involvement and gambling intensity. Using data from the first wave of the Swedish Longitudinal Gambling Study (Swelogs) (n = 4,991), the study tested four hypotheses, namely that (1) some forms of gambling are more closely associated with PG than other forms; (2) high gambling involvement is associated with PG; (3) gambling involvement is positively associated with the intensity of gambling; and (4) the relationship between gambling involvement and PG is influenced by the specific forms of gambling in which individuals participate. All four hypotheses were supported. More specifically, the study found that while many PGs regularly participate in multiple forms of gambling, half of PGs participate regularly in only one or two forms of gambling. The study concluded that some forms of gambling are more closely associated with problem gambling than other forms, and that gambling policy and regulation, as well as the development of responsible gambling initiatives, should focus on these forms.     

Bling bling taxation and the fiscal virtues of hip hop

The article extends Ng’s (Am Econ Rev 77(1):186–191, 1987) model of optimal taxation of diamond goods—goods that are valued solely for their costliness. We extend his findings by analyzing how other goods should be taxed in the presence of pure diamond goods; modified Ramsey rules are derived in a basic single-type model as well as in a two-type model with redistribution. One key finding, that may be surprising and rather provoking, is that close complements (hip hop music) to diamond goods (bling bling) should be heavily subsidized.     

The Good,the Bad and the Unhappy: The Cultural Meanings of Newspaper Reporting on Jackpot Winners

Accounts of jackpot winners and big gambling wins are common in Swedish newspapers. Analysis of over 2000 such newspaper articles reveals that their content is structured according to specific themes and cultural topics. Four such topics are identified: wealth as a test of morals and character, the social impact of wealth, the just and good world, and luck and the occult. Culturally structured narratives like these—which elaborate on mythological and moralistic schemes of good and evil, rewards and punishments, and which concern questions of human nature and social values—have a long history in folk tradition and in Christian moral teachings. Jackpot wins provide a discursive realm for moral and existential questions that, to some extent, fills a void left by the decline of traditional folklore and formal religion. Apparently, this discourse stimulates interest in games and constitutes one of the cultural roots of contemporary gambling.     

Matched survival data in a co-twin control design

When using the co-twin control design for analysis of event times, one needs a model to address the possible within-pair association. One such model is the shared frailty model in which the random frailty variable creates the desired within-pair association. Standard inference for this model requires independence between the random effect and the covariates. We study how violations of this assumption affect inference for the regression coefficients and conclude that substantial bias may occur. We propose an alternative way of making inference for the regression parameters by using a fixed-effects models for survival in matched pairs. Fitting this model to data generated from the frailty model provides consistent and asymptotically normal estimates of regression coefficients, no matter whether the independence assumption is met.     

Micro‐Level Determinants of Remittances from Recent Migrants to Canada

Despite considerable interest in remittances to developing countries, the limited availability of large sample data has constrained aspects of our understanding of remitter behaviour. This paper utilizes data from Statistics Canada’s Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC) to investigate how the demographic characteristics of recent immigrants influence their remittance levels shortly after their arrival in Canada. We identify several hypotheses and use a Tobit model to estimate the impact of individual characteristics on remittance choices. As expected, remittances rise with incomes, age and falls with the size of the migrating family, housing costs and education. We also estimate how remittances are affected by other characteristics, such as gender, marital status, religion, region of origin, region of settlement and attitudes towards home and host communities.