Determinants of 1980 to 1990 Net Migration in Texas Counties: The Role of Sustenance Specialization and Dominance in International Ecosystems

Abstract Patterns of 1980–1990 migration differ markedly from those of the 1970s but they have received little conceptual or empirical analysis because of limited data and because their diversity has resisted theoretical generalization. An expanded human ecological perspective incorporating international dimensions is hypothesized to explain differentials in migration during the 1980s. Counties with key functions which operate in international ecosystems in which the United States is dominant are hypothesized to control more resources and to have the highest net inmigration. Hypotheses are tested using regression analyses of 1980–1990 net migration for Texas' 254 counties. The results generally confirm that key functional activities were related to migration but less so in nonmetropolitan areas. Implications for rural development and for further research are discussed.     

The Role of Financial Development and Economic Misery on Life Expectancy: Evidence from Post Financial Reforms in India

Several survey studies have found that internal migrants report lower levels of happiness than locals, even after accounting for socio-economic factors. Traditional global self-ratings reveal that the migrant–local happiness-gap is also present in the data we present. The reasons for the migrant–local happiness-gap are as yet unclear. This paper aims to open this ‘black box’ by exploring the role of daily activities among a population that has generally been overlooked despite their high migration frequency: young adults. An innovative smartphone application is used that combines two techniques for multiple moment assessment: the experience sampling method and the day reconstruction method. Based on the application data, we examine whether internal migrants spend their time differently than locals and in which situations they feel noticeably less happy than locals. The data reveal that internal migrants distribute less time to happiness-producing activities such as active leisure, social drinking/parties, and activities outside home/work/transit. Internal migrants feel less happy than locals when spending time with friends and while eating. Possible explanations focusing on the role of social capital are discussed. Further analyses reveal that daily life experiences greatly enhance the explanation of the migrant–local happiness-gap. This paper demonstrates the potential value of real-time data and phone applications in solving happiness puzzles.     

Relative performance of stein-rule and preliminary test estimators in linear models least squares theory

In the classical (univariare) linear model, bearing the plausibility of a subset of the regression parameters being close to a pivot, shrinkage least squares estimation of the complementary subset is considered. Based on the usual James-Stein rule, shrinkage least squares estimators are constructed, and under an asymptotic setup (allowing the shrinkage parameters to be 'close to ' the pivot), the relative performance of such estimators and the prcliminary test estimators is studied. In this context, the normality of the errors is also avoided under the same asymptotic setup. None of the shrinkage and preliminary test estimators may dominate the other (in the light of the asymptotic distributional risk criterion, as has been developed here), though each of them fares well relative to the classical least squeres estimator. The chice of the shrinkage factor is also examined properly.     

Locally most powerful tests for the two sample problem when the combined sample is type ii censored

We derive locally most powerful tests for the two sample problem when the combined sample is type II censored. Both middle-censored and doubly-censored cases are considered. These include, in particular, the left- and right-censored cases. The main contribution of this paper is to provide extensive small sample size tables of critical values for Wilcoxon. normal scores, Freund-Ansari-Bradley and Capon tests.     

Pitman-closeness of some preliminary test and shrinkage estimators

For the model X ～ N_p: (θ,I)preliminary test estimator (PTE), shrinkage and positive-rule versions of the MLE (X) of θare mutually compared in the light of the Pitman closeness measure. The usual dominance properties of these estimators pertaining to the conventional quadratic loss criterion are shown to remain intact in the current context too. In an asymptotic setup, the conclusions hold for a much wider class of estimators pertaining to general parametric and nonparametric models.     

Estimating the quantile function of a location-scale family of distributions based on few selected order statistics

Some general asymptotic methods of estimating the quantile function, Q(ξ), 0<ξ<1, of location-scale families of distributions based on a few selected order statistics are considered, with applications to some nonregular distributions. Specific results are discussed for the ABLUE of Q(ξ) for the location-scale exponential and double exponential distributions. As a further application of the exponential results, we discuss a nonlinear estimator of Q(ξ) for the scale-shape Pareto distribution.     

Knowledge, Attitude and Perceptions of University Students towards Educational Loans in Malaysia

National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan is the major source of financing tertiary education in Malaysia. Non-repayment of the loan among university students after they have graduated becomes a major problem to the government since the total amount of loan available to the students is depended on the loan repayment. This study sought to examine the students’ knowledge and attitude regarding the loan. Three aspects of focus are knowledge, attitude and perception of students towards the loan and the repayment of the loan. This study also analyzed the legal literacy of students towards the PTPTN agreement. A total of 1,500 students of University Putra of Malaysia participated in the study and data were collected using self-administered questionnaire. The findings revealed that students have good knowledge about PTPTN loan agreement but there were a significant proportion of students with negative attitudes towards the repayment of the loan. Majority of them perceived the loan as a burden to them and it limits many options of their life after graduation.     

Preliminary test estimation of the parameters of exponential and Pareto distributions for censored samples

This paper deals with the preliminary test estimation (PTE) of the parameters of the exponential and Pareto distributions in censored samples. The biases, risk functions, efficiency tables and the graphs for the relative efficiency for the proposed estimators for the parameters of the exponential and Pareto distributions are given. We find that the proposed estimators dominate the corresponding unrestricted (usual) estimators in the neighborhood of null hypothesis. The range of the parameters for which the proposed estimators dominate the corresponding usual estimators for different sample sizes and level of significance are given. The findings of the paper will be useful for the practitioners who are dealing with the censored samples in life testing experiments.     

Key Issues in Women’s Representation in Bureaucracy: Lessons from South Asia

This paper discusses the position of women in the civil services in South Asia (India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh). The majority of women are in lower level positions. It is rare to find women in higher and mid-level positions and in professional and administrative occupations. Despite constitutional guarantees and other governmental initiatives to remove gender discrimination from the civil services of these countries, women continue to fight against a variety of odds to attain career success. The objective of this paper is to make a comparative analysis of the factors accounting for the successful advancement of women in top positions in the civil services of these three countries, and to analyse factors that may impede women from making more progress. A cultural approach has been adopted in this study, emphasizing that the social contexts within which institutions operate shape the manner in which institutions behave and act. Based on extensive field work, the study maps female civil servants’ opinions on a number of factors that impede their career prospects in the civil service. In the conclusion, some policy recommendations are made as a way to address the issue.