Block thresholding wavelet regression using SCAD penalty

This paper concerns wavelet regression using a block thresholding procedure. Block thresholding methods utilize neighboring wavelet coefficients information to increase estimation accuracy. We propose to construct a data-driven block thresholding procedure using the smoothly clipped absolute deviation (SCAD) penalty. A simulation study demonstrates competitive finite sample performance of the proposed estimator compared to existing methods. We also show that the proposed estimator achieves optimal convergence rates in Besov spaces.     

The interaction effects of scheduling control and work–life balance programs on job satisfaction and mental health

Jang SJ, Park R, Zippay A. The interaction effects of scheduling control and work–life balance programs on job satisfaction and mental health Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 135–143 © 2010 The Author(s), International Journal of Social Welfare © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. The demands of balancing employment and family responsibilities strain the health and welfare of many employees worldwide, and social welfare policy analysts are increasingly attending to the factors that can alleviate such stress. The present study examined associations between the availability of work–life balance programs, employees' authority to arrange their own work hours, job satisfaction, and mental health among 1,293 employees in 50 companies in South Korea. The study is unique in its use of multilevel analysis in examining individual‐ and company‐level variables. The results add to the evidence regarding the positive relationship between the availability of scheduling control and work–life balance policies on the one hand, and job satisfaction and mental wellbeing, on the other.     

DYNAMIC LOT SIZING FOR A SINGLE-FACILITY MULTIPRODUCT PROBLEM IN A ROLLING-HORIZON ENVIRONMENT

This paper considers a production planning model for a single-facility multiproduct problem where backlogging is not allowed. A planning-horizon theorem is derived. From that theorem, a forward algorithm for finding an optimal solution over a finite horizon and a procedure for selecting the first-period production in a rolling-horizon environment are developed. Computational results from a set of simulation experiments designed to investigate the cost effectiveness of the procedure demonstrate its effectiveness.     

Envy and Pride: How Economic Inequality Deepens Happiness Inequality in South Korea

This paper examines how economic inequality at the local level affects individuals’ subjective well-being (SWB) through social comparison in Seoul, South Korea. We implement a multi-level analysis combining asset inequality, calculated using the actual transaction prices of apartments, and public opinion surveys conducted by Seoul Metropolitan City between 2008 and 2016. Our analysis shows that inequality negatively affects SWB among respondents whose family income is lower than the median (the envy effect), but drives up SWB among the other half (the pride effect). Further analysis on the effect of inequality on subjective class awareness corroborates a social comparison mechanism: the haves embrace an upper-class awareness as local inequality increases, while the have-nots embrace a lower class awareness. These findings suggest that, despite concerns about economic inequality and its negative consequences, calling for policy reform to reduce inequality may be unpersuasive to the better off members of society, especially if doing so increases individual financial burdens.

     

Stratification and the formation of expectations in highly differentiated educational systems

Highly differentiated educational systems constitute a common organizational form of schooling in which youth are sorted into secondary schools that stress either vocational or academic training and between which movement is rare. With standardized data from five countries, we illuminate two important stratification processes in these systems: (1) social origins strongly influence students’ placement into different types of schools with high SES students most likely to attend academically oriented schools that provide a direct pathway to the university. (2) The types of schools students attend largely determine their educational and occupational expectations and impart a strong dose of realism in these expectations. Thus, the institutional arrangements of highly differentiated educational systems perpetuate socioeconomic inequalities quite early in the life course, well before students complete their education and enter the labor force.     

Referent Networks Predict Just Rewards

This study introduces the referent network, the set of relations defined by knowing others reward levels, and makes initial predictions about how the structure of that network shapes perceptions of income fairness. Previous research recognizes that justice assessments are driven by social comparisons; yet there is a paucity of research on how the structure of interpersonal contacts shapes justice assessments. Using a social networks perspective, the arguments here suggest that the referent network affects social comparisons, which in turn affect justice assessments of rewards. This reasoning is also integrated with the notion that people make both local and referential comparisons when determining their just rewards. An experiment evaluates these arguments. Results show support for the argument linking network structures to justice assessments and partial support for the extension to local and referential comparisons. Supplemental analyses show how reward levels qualify the arguments. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Understanding Public Sector Debt: Financial Vicious Circle under the Soft Budget Constraint

The article explains why debt of public sector organizations grows beyond the sustainable level by focusing on the principal-agent relationship under the soft budget constraint. Specifically, this article explores the extent to which factors affect the level of public sector debt in the context of quasi-autonomous non-governmental organizations (quangos) in Korea over the past two decades (1993–2012). The findings from the panel data analysis suggest that the level of public sector debt increases as an outcome of the financial vicious circle created by the soft budget constraint: a knock-on effect of the moral hazard of quangos as well as the opportunistic behavior of political principals. Public sector debt is positively associated with agency-specific factors as well as the factors related to the political incentives such as policy preferences and electoral considerations. However, macroeconomic factors made little difference to the general pattern of the evidence.