Formative Indicators and Effects of a Causal Model for Household Human Capital with Application

Dagum and Slottje (2000) estimated household human capital (HC) as a latent variable (LV) and proposed its monetary estimation by means of an actuarial approach. This paper introduces an improved method for the estimation of household HC as an LV by means of formative and reflective indicators in agreement with the accepted economic definition of HC. The monetary value of HC is used in a recursive causal model to obtain short- and long-term multipliers that measure the direct and total effects of the variables that determine household HC. The new method is applied to estimate US household HC for year 2004.     

Designed for Patience: The Significance of Internal Factors in the Ukrainian and Belarusian Transitions

This paper focuses on Belarus in order to find explanation as to why Alexander Lukashenko was able remain the authoritarian leader of Belarus, while in Ukraine the position of the political elite had proved less stable and collapsed in 2004. We seek to determine whether the internal factors (macroeconomic conditions, standard of living, the oppressive nature of the political system) play a significant role in the operation of the domino effect. This article emphasises the determining role of immanent internal factors, thus the political stability in Belarus can be explained by the role of the suppressing political regime, the hindrance of democratic rights and the relatively good living conditions that followed the transformational recession. Whilst in Ukraine, the markedly different circumstances brought forth the success of the Orange Revolution.      

Rethinking the nation and international relations: The space of nation states

Efforts to move sociology beyond the nation state and international relations theory have both been plagued by several limitations and dualisms. Recent research has begun to find ways beyond the problems by turning to Pierre Bourdieu's relational conception of social structure and practice. Yet one specific relational structure forming a key part of the puzzle has been neglected or merely implicitly assumed so far: the space of nation states. After clarifying the structural-constructivist nature of this concept, we aim to specify it by constructing an empirical model of the contemporary space of nation states using a specially compiled dataset and tools of geometric data analysis. The analysis reveals the distribution of powers on the world scene, and more specifically, the uneven possession of two varieties of “meta-capital” understood as capacities to regulate the value and exchangeability of certain capitals and to decree what even defines a legitimate “state”. We argue that the nation state, which is accurately understood as a contingent construct and well-founded fiction from a Bourdieusian viewpoint, should not be excluded when analyzing the expression and reproduction of contemporary global power relations.     

The quality of work and the European economic crisis – the theme and the time: an introduction

The theme of the quality of work and working life has gone through ups and downs, recurrent references, at times only opportunistic, in the sociological literature. Our intention here is certainly not to go once again over the stages, both theoretical and empirical, at the international level, but above all european and italian, of this process.     

Childhood Ethics: An ontological advancement for childhood studies

We describe an ontological approach to childhood studies that we refer to as Childhood Ethics. This involves an interdisciplinary hermeneutic orientation towards examining the morally meaningful dimensions of matters that affect young people. We draw on our empirical research with young people from 3- to 17-years old, examining their experiences in a diversity of contexts and geographical settings. Our investigations challenge dominant binary conceptions of young people along lines of decisional in/capacity and im/maturity. We argue for a view of children as active agents with meaningful relational engagements and participation interests and capacities and outline corresponding implications for research and practice.     

Intergenerational equity by educational attainments in France

Journal of Population Research - This article analyses the development of inequalities across the lifespan and generations in France using a pseudo-panel developed from successive waves of the...     

The differential impact of friendship on cooperative and competitive coordination

Theory and Decision - Friendship is commonly assumed to reduce strategic uncertainty and enhance tacit coordination. However, this assumption has never been tested across two opposite poles of...     

Assessing Parfit’s Repugnant Conclusion within a canonical endogenous growth set-up

Parfit’s Repugnant Conclusion stipulates that under total utilitarianism, it might be optimal to choose increasing population size while consumption per capita goes to zero. We evaluate this claim within a canonical AK model with endogenous population size and a reduced form relationship between demographic and economic growth. First we characterize the optimal solution paths for any capital dilution function. Second, we prove that while the Repugnant Conclusion can never occur for realistic values of intertemporal substitution in the traditional linear dilution model, it does occur when population growth is linked to economic growth via an inverted U-shaped relationship.