ON COMPONENTS OF VARIANCE and MODELLING EXCEEDANCES OVER A THRESHOLD

Variance component estimates from a simple hierarchical model are used to model the distribution of large data values exceeding a threshold. The advantages of interrelating the components of variance and the exceedances are stressed. The theory is outlined and an analysis of some data on blood pressure is discussed.     

The Contractor in the House-Building Industry: Worker or Businessman?*

Sil'on tient compte de leur occupation et de leur position sociable, les entrepreneurs en construction not un statut qui les place entre les ouvriers et les hommes d'affaires. L'organisation de l'industrie du bâtiment est en grande partie responsable de cet état de choses. L'image que l'entrepreneur se crée de sa position constitue aussi un facteur important. Issus en général des classes laborieuses, les entrepreneurs ont tendance áévaluer leurs activités á partir de la perspective propre á l'ouvrier. Cest surtout dans la mesure où il réussit á se libérer de ce point de vue, qu'un entrepreneur réussira á s'accommoder des contingences du monde des affaires.     

Mincer's Overtaking Point and the Life Cycle Earnings Distribution

In 1958 Jacob Mincer pioneered an important approach to understand earnings distribution. In the years since Mincer's seminal work, he as well as his students and colleagues extended the original human capital model, reaching important conclusions about a whole array of observations pertaining to human well-being. This line of research explained why education enhances earnings; why earnings rise at a diminishing rate throughout one's life; why earnings growth is smaller for those anticipating intermittent labor force participation; why men earn more than women; why Whites earn more than Blacks; why occupational distributions differ by gender; why geographic and job mobility predominate among the young; why unemployment is lower among the skilled; and why numerous other labor market phenomena occur. This paper surveys the answers to these and other questions based on research emanating from Mincer's original discovery. In addition, this paper provides new empirical evidence regarding Mincer's concept of the overtaking age–a topic not currently well-explored in the literature. In this latter vein, the paper shows that Mincer's original finding of a U-shaped (log) variance of earnings over the life cycle is upheld in recent data, both for the United States as well as at least seven other countries.     

Methodological approaches to the analyses of elder abuse screening measures: Application of latent variable measurement modeling to the WC-RAPS

While several elder abuse screens exist, few measure risk and none target long-term support services. The aims were to examine the psychometric properties of the Weinberg Center Risk and Abuse Prevention Screen (WC-RAPS), comparing approaches to modeling self-reported risk and abuse in relation to reported Adult Protective Services contacts. Methods: The sample (n = 7,035), admissions to managed long-term care (79%) and short-term rehabilitation (20%), was primarily (66%) female, with mean age 77.6 (SD = 9.10); 7% each were African American and Latino and 12% Asian. Latent variable models were used to examine measurement properties of six indicators of abuse and five of risk. Results: Good model fit and stable subscale measurement models were observed across analyses. Reliability was >0.80 across methods, and concurrent criterion validity estimates were as expected. Conclusion: Evidence supported the reliability and concurrent criterion validity of the risk and abuse subscales in an ethnically diverse cohort.     

Couple Forgiveness and its Moderating Role in the Intergenerational Transmission of Veterans’ Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

This study examined the moderating effect couple forgiveness (as perceived by the wives/mothers) may have on the intergenerational transmission of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among families of combat veterans and former prisoners of war (ex‐POWs). The sample included 123 (79 ex‐POWs and 44 control combatants) Israeli father–mother–adult offspring triads. Self‐report measures were administered at 2008 to veterans, at 2010–2011 to wives, and at 2013–2014 to offspring. The findings indicated that ex‐POWs’ PTSS were positively related to their offspring's PTSS, while couple forgiveness buffered this effect, particularly, and detrimentally, when couple forgiveness was low. These findings imply that apprehending the quality of the forgiving atmosphere within the marital relationship may be important for understanding the apparatus of intergenerational transmissions of trauma.     

Occupational segregation and the gender wage gap

The role of occupational segregation in the determination of gender wage differentials is assessed. It is found (1) that occupational segregation plays less of a role in explaining wage differentials than do traditional human capital variables; (2) that earnings profiles generated with data that include a percent female (PF) measure of occupational segregation are not ideal for testing human capital predictions yet nonetheless yield parameters consistent with neoclassical theory; and (3) that lifetime work considerations, such as the degree of one's labor force intermittency, are important in determining both one's occupation and wage. The implications are that government antidiscrimination policies based on outcome measures are in general inefficient. Instead, the government should concentrate on creating incentives for women to participate in the labor market on an equal basis as males.     

Nonparametric methods in multivariate factorial designs for large number of factor levels

We propose different multivariate nonparametric tests for factorial designs and derive their asymptotic distribution for the situation where the number of replications is limited, whereas the number of treatments goes to infinity (large a, small n case). The tests are based on separate rankings for the different variables, and they are therefore invariant under separate monotone transformations of the individual variables.     

Differential components of urban in-and outmobility

This study tested three hypotheses concerning the differential association of social and economic factors with locational in- and outmobility. The results suggest that inmobility is predominantly affected by the economic milieu of towns, while outmobility is predominantly influenced by extant social conditions. A multivariate examination of locational outmobility identified high divorce rate, distance from a major city and large family size as significantly explaining 45.8% of the outmobility variance. Similar analysis of locational inmobility identified the unemployment rate and the ethnic composition as the variables signiciantly explaining 73.9% of the inmobility variance. The results, which were congruent to the first two hypotheses submitted, were discussed and interpreted. The hypothesis concerning the relationship between in- and outmobility was not confirmed. Within successful locations no significant, positive correlation between in- and outmobility rates was obtained, while among unsuccessful locations positive, significant correlations were obtained.     

Labor Economics Mincer-Style: A Personal Reflection

Between 1957 and 1974 Jacob Mincer pioneered important new approaches to labor economics. In the years since these seminal discoveries, he, as well as generations of his students and colleagues at Columbia University and elsewhere, adopted these innovations to reach important conclusions about human well-being. In 1967 I was lucky enough to arrive as a graduate student at Columbia University, just at the peak of this research revolution. In this paper, I detail some of my recollections concerning Jacob Mincer and the hospitable research atmosphere at Columbia University that sparked so much of this path-breaking research.