ASSIMILATION IN THE RISK PREFERENCES OF SPOUSES

We use correlations in the risk preferences of spouses as a testbed of whether preferences are socially transmitted, rather than being innate as traditionally assumed in economics. We obtain rich measurements of the risk preferences of cohabiting spouses in the rural Ethiopian highlands. This allows us to use correlation coefficients at the level of the couple in regression analysis. We find a strong correlation between the strength of the correlation in risk preferences within a couple and how long a couple has been married. This provides direct evidence for assimilation in the risk preference of spouses, and thus for social transmission of preferences. Assortative mating appears to be less important. (JEL C93, D03, D80, O12)     

Results of Gottman Method Couples Therapy with Gay and Lesbian Couples

The results of an uncontrolled study of Gottman Method Couples Therapy in changing relationship satisfaction with 106 gay and lesbian couples is reported in this paper. Measurement of relationship satisfaction was conducted at five separate time points. The data show significant improvements in relationship satisfaction following eleven sessions of therapy for both gay male and lesbian couples. Effect sizes suggest that this therapy was highly effective, compared to the usual 0.5 standard deviation effect size in couples therapy. Initial co‐morbidities did not affect the size of the changes; in fact, some changes were significantly larger for three initial co‐morbidities.     

Multiple Criteria Hierarchy Process with ELECTRE and PROMETHEE

Robust Ordinal Regression (ROR) supports Multiple Criteria Decision Process by considering all sets of parameters of an assumed preference model, that are compatible with preference information elicited by a Decision Maker (DM). As a result of ROR, one gets necessary and possible preference relations in the set of alternatives, which hold for all compatible sets of parameters, or for at least one compatible set of parameters, respectively. In this paper, we propose an extension of ELECTRE and PROMETHEE methods to the case of the hierarchy of criteria, which was never considered before. Then, we adapt ROR to the hierarchical versions of ELECTRE and PROMETHEE methods.     

The new strategy for the concise presentation of sampling errors in the Italian Structural Business Statistics Survey

Reporting sampling errors of survey estimates is a problem that is commonly addressed when compiling a survey report. Because of the vast number of study variables or population characteristics and of interest domains in a survey, it is almost impossible to calculate and to publish the standard errors for each statistic. A way of overcoming such problem would be to estimate indirectly the sampling errors by using generalized variance functions, which define a statistical relationship between the sampling errors and the corresponding estimates. One of the problems with this approach is that the model specification has to be consistent with a roughly constant design effect. If the design effects vary greatly across estimates, as in the case of the Business Surveys, the prediction model is not correctly specified and the least-square estimation is biased. In this paper, we show an extension of the generalized variance functions, which address the above problems, which could be used in contexts similar to those encountered in Business Surveys. The proposed method has been applied to the Italian Structural Business Statistics Survey case.     

A likelihood-based constrained algorithm for multivariate normal mixture models

It is well known that the log-likelihood function for samples coming from normal mixture distributions may present spurious maxima and singularities. For this reason here we reformulate some Hathaways results and we propose two constrained estimation procedures for multivariate normal mixture modelling according to the likelihood approach. Their perfomances are illustrated on the grounds of some numerical simulations based on the EM algorithm. A comparison between multivariate normal mixtures and the hot-deck approach in missing data imputation is also considered.Salvatore Ingrassia: S. Ingrassia carried out the research as part of the project Metodi Statistici e Reti Neuronali per lAnalisi di Dati Complessi (PRIN 2000, resp. G. Lunetta).     

Entrepreneurial Orientation in low- and medium-tech industries: The need for Absorptive Capacity to increase performance

The implications of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) for firm performance in low- and medium-tech (LMT) industries are largely unexplored and seem to be limited. In this paper we seek to address this research gap studying how Absorptive Capacity can act as a key factor determining the effectiveness of EO in such a context. Specifically, we adopt the knowledge-based view of the firm and explore the moderating effects of Absorptive Capacity’s Potential and Realized dimensions on the EO–performance relationship in LMT industries. Our regression results based on a lagged dataset of 103 medium-sized firms based in Italy confirm our hypotheses that, in LMT industries, EO has a positive effect on firm performance when coupled with high levels of both Potential and Realized Absorptive Capacity.     

The effect of natural disasters on nuptiality: evidence from L’Aquila earthquake (Italy)

Population and Environment - Drawing on socio-psychology and economics literature contributions, this paper provides an original conceptual framework examining whether and how natural disasters...