Nonparametric change point estimation for survival distributions with a partially constant hazard rate

Lifetime Data Analysis - We present a new method for estimating a change point in the hazard function of a survival distribution assuming a constant hazard rate after the change point and a...     

Are energy-intensive life-images fading? The cultural meaning of the automobile in transition

The paper focuses on the symbolic significance of energy consuming technology. It analyzes the case of the automobile and demonstrates that it cannot be considered just a technical device for transporting people but that it is also a cultural symbol infused with desires, meanings and life-images. The origins, the content and the dynamics of the meaning of the automobile are explored in order to identify the cultural transformations that are implied in a transition to a low-energy society and, possibly, to a low-speed society.The first section of the paper sets out the patterns of life-conceptions centered around the automobile and the second section examines actual counterforces that undermine this car-oriented life-style and which lead to a disenchantment with the automobile. It is concluded that the images of a desirable society are less and less associated with cars, but that the car, however, appears to be an inevitable necessity.     

Government/third-sector relationship in a comparative perspective: the cases of France and West Germany

Both the private for-profit and the non-profit (or third) sectors provide what economists call public goods. The division of labour between these sectors, however, differs substantially across countries in terms of both qualitative and quantitative dimensions. Such cross-national differences are illustrated in the present paper with respect to France and West Germany. The autonomy of the state, the nature of the dominant actors and their style of interaction are identified as crucial variables shaping the linkage patterns of government/third-sector relationship. The cross-national comparison allows for the hypothesis that different patterns of government/third-sector linkages also shape different degrees of institutional adaptiveness in a changing political and economic environment.     

The Contribution of Assisted Reproduction to Completed Fertility: An Analysis of Danish Data

Assisted reproduction has a minor but increasing influence on childbearing trends in advanced societies. In Denmark, the use of assisted reproduction technology (ART) has become particularly widespread. At the same time, Danish women born in the late 1950s and the 1960s experienced stabilization or even a slight increase in their mean number of children. Broad availability and widespread use of assisted reproduction may become important factors contributing to maintaining relatively high completed fertility among the younger cohorts of Danish women. To explore this idea, we analyze and project cohort trends in fertility rates among native Danish women born in 1960‐78 and examine the likely contribution of assisted reproduction to these trends. The projected proportion of children born after ART treatment shows a substantial increase from 2.1 percent among women born in 1965 to 4‐5 percent among women born in 1978, with an estimated net impact of ART (as compared with the hypothetical situation where no ART treatment was available) on the order of 3‐4 percent. When intrauterine inseminations are included, this implies that up to 7 percent of children of those native Danish women born in 1975 and later will likely be conceived by infertility treatment.     

Can Pro-Marriage Policies Work? An Analysis of Marginal Marriages

Policies to promote marriage are controversial, and it is unclear whether they are successful. To analyze such policies, one must distinguish between a marriage that is created by a marriage-promoting policy (marginal marriage) and a marriage that would have been formed even in the absence of a state intervention (average marriage). We exploit the suspension of a cash-on-hand marriage subsidy in Austria to examine the differential behavior of marginal and average marriages. The announcement of an impending suspension of this subsidy led to an enormous marriage boom among eligible couples that allows us to locate marginal marriages. Applying a difference-in-differences approach, we show that marginal marriages are surprisingly as stable as average marriages but produce fewer children, children later in marriage, and children who are less healthy at birth.