Policy analysis in a socioeconomic model of basic needs applied to four countries

This article summarizes the results of a socioeconomic model of basic needs that was applied to four countries—Brazil, Colombia, India, and Kenya. A modeling approach was thought necessary in order to make more precise the concept of basic needs. Although the work has not been entirely successful in doing that, from the policy experiment attempted, and given the limitations of the models used, we believe that an approach centered on the provision of basic needs will help the poorest satisfy their needs more quickly than is possible under alternative approaches.     

Correlates of violent and nonviolent victimization in a sample of public high school students

This study investigates the extent to which student reports of violent and nonviolent victimization in public high schools is associated the presence of hate-related words or symbols, the availability of hard and soft drugs, and the presence of gangs. Data from the 1999 School Crime Supplement of the National Crime Victimization Survey were used for this analysis. In the final multinomial logistic regression model, the presence of hate-related words, the availability of hard drugs, and a gang presence were significantly associated with reports of violent victimization. The availability of soft drugs was significantly associated with nonviolent victimization. Findings held across gender, race/ethnicity, and urbanicity of the school's location with younger students more likely to be both violently and nonviolently victimized than older students. Implications for primary and secondary interventions aimed at school climate and the reduction of correlates of victimization are discussed.     

The art and science of winning physician support for Six Sigma change

Active physician participation and acceptance of Six Sigma is critical to successful implementation. Take a look at strategies and techniques that can help secure physician support for Six Sigma.     

People for sale: the need for a multidisciplinary approach towards human trafficking

The article addresses the question of how to develop appropriate measures to tackle trafficking in women, based on the findings of a study of trafficking between the Philippines and Belgium. It argues that there is no easy or uni-dimensional solution to human trafficking, since it is influenced by a complex set of factors, often working in combination with one another. It concludes that control measures alone cannot stop the flow of trafficking in women and that a legal approach which relies solely on one type of legislation would be too narrow. An effective strategy must combine and balance punitive measures with protection of human rights, stricter border control and the removal of the root causes of irregular movements. Measures must be agreed and coordinated between origin, transit and receiving countries.     

Experiments with incentives in telephone surveys

In an effort to counter the problem of noncooperation, survey organizations are offering incentives to respondents with increasing frequency, some at the outset of the survey, as has traditionally been done in mail surveys, and some only after the person has refused, in an attempt to convert the refusal. This article reports on a series of experiments carried out over a period of about 2 years with a monthly telephone survey, the Survey of Consumer Attitudes, in an effort to increase response rates or reduce interviewer effort. We report on experiments with prepaid versus promised incentives; advance letters; and advance letters with prepaid incentives; and we also report on the effects of incentives on response quality, sample composition, response bias, interviewer and respondent expectations, and costs.     

Profit efficiency analysis under limited information with an application to German farm types

Lack of information about technology and prices often hampers the empirical assessment of the profit maximization hypothesis (viz. by measuring the degree of profit efficiency). The non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology can deal with such incomplete information. We exploit the implicit but largely neglected profit interpretation of the DEA model that builds on assumptions of monotone and convex production possibility sets. We show how its embedded assessment of necessary conditions for profit maximization can be strengthened given partial information in the form of monetary sub-cost/-revenue data (that are often easier obtained than the pure quantity data). Finally, we argue that a ‘mix’ efficiency analysis is naturally complementary to such a profit efficiency analysis. An application to German farm types complements our methodological discussion. By using non-parametric statistical tests, we further demonstrate the potential of the non-parametric approach in deriving strong and robust statistical evidence while imposing minimal structure on the setting under study. In particular, we look for significant efficiency variation over regions.     

A Bivariate Generalization of Gamma Distribution

In this article, a bivariate generalisation of the gamma distribution is proposed by using an unsymmetrical bivariate characteristic function; an extension to the non central case also receives attention. The probability density functions of the product and ratio of the correlated components of this distribution are also derived. The benefits of introducing this generalized bivariate gamma distribution and the distributions of the product and the ratio of its components will be demonstrated by graphical representations of their density functions. An example of this generalized bivariate gamma distribution to rainfall data for two specific districts in the North West province is also given to illustrate the greater versatility of the new distribution.     

Flexible SWAps for Strategic Policy‐making: Reflections on the Zambian Experience

This article offers an alternative view on the emergence of new forms of development co‐operation by analysing the emergence of SWAps in Zambia since the early 1990s. SWAps in Zambia emerged not as part of a grand design but in response to the changing environment in which aid agencies were operating. An examination of the relative success of the health and education SWAps and the spectacular failure of the agriculture SWAp suggests that a flexible approach is more effective than the imposition of a planning template. Furthermore, the failure of the agricultural SWAp has been followed by significant new forms of public/private partnership.     

Flexicurity in Belgium: A reform proposal based on economic principles

Belgium's systems of unemployment insurance and employment protection legislation were set up in the context of typically enduring and stable relationships between workers and firms. Economic globalization and rapid technological and organizational change, however, are now demanding more flexibility of both workers and firms. As a result, current labour market institutions are in urgent need of reform to reconcile such increased flexibility with adequate security for workers. Though the call for a “flexicurity” approach is not new, there is no single view of what institutional model the latter implies. This paper proposes a reform explicitly guided by economic principles.     

Non-parametric Estimation of the Residual Distribution

Consider a heteroscedastic regression model Y = m ( X ) +σ( X )ε, where the functions m and σ are "smooth", and ε is independent of X . An estimator of the distribution of ε based on non-parametric regression residuals is proposed and its weak convergence is obtained. Applications to prediction intervals and goodness-of-fit tests are discussed.