The transnational politics of the Tomato King: meaning and impact

Abstract In this article we deploy transnational ethnography to explore the transnational electoral politics by which Andrés Bermúdez, a successful tomato grower and labour contractor from Winters, California, who came to be called ‘the Tomato King’, was elected mayor of the municipality of Jerez in the Mexican state of Zacatecas. We seek to explain the meaning of his transnational electoral victory and its impact on the role of ‘the migrant’ as a new social actor in Mexican political development. We thus situate the Bermudista phenomenon in the context of the literature on migrant transnational politics. We hope to move the literature on migrant political transnationalism forward by advancing an agency‐oriented perspective that incorporates both the politics of representation of ‘el migrante’ in transnational electoral campaigns and the emerging dynamics of transnational coalition politics. Our approach underlines the need to carefully historicize the relationship between transnationalism and citizenship ‐ namely, to map the contingency and agency underlying the changing practices of states, migrants, and transnational institutional networks vis‐à‐vis questions of transnational citizenship. This is best done by paying close attention to the actual social and political practices whereby human agents pursue historically specific political projects that extend the practices of citizenship across borders.     

Maximum Likelihood Estimation in Gaussian Chain Graph Models under the Alternative Markov Property

Abstract.  The Andersson–Madigan–Perlman (AMP) Markov property is a recently proposed alternative Markov property (AMP) for chain graphs. In the case of continuous variables with a joint multivariate Gaussian distribution, it is the AMP rather than the earlier introduced Lauritzen–Wermuth–Frydenberg Markov property that is coherent with data-generation by natural block-recursive regressions. In this paper, we show that maximum likelihood estimates in Gaussian AMP chain graph models can be obtained by combining generalized least squares and iterative proportional fitting to an iterative algorithm. In an appendix, we give useful convergence results for iterative partial maximization algorithms that apply in particular to the described algorithm.     

On the Distance Between Cumulative Sum Diagram and Its Greatest Convex Minorant for Unequally Spaced Design Points

Abstract.  The supremum difference between the cumulative sum diagram, and its greatest convex minorant (GCM), in case of non-parametric isotonic regression is considered. When the regression function is strictly increasing, and the design points are unequally spaced, but approximate a positive density in even a slow rate ( n ^−1/3), then the difference is shown to shrink in a very rapid (close to n ^−2/3) rate. The result is analogous to the corresponding result in case of a monotone density estimation established by Kiefer and Wolfowitz, but uses entirely different representation. The limit distribution of the GCM as a process on the unit interval is obtained when the design variables are i.i.d. with a positive density. Finally, a pointwise asymptotic normality result is proved for the smooth monotone estimator, obtained by the convolution of a kernel with the classical monotone estimator.     

THE EFFICACY OF STATE MANDATED MINIMUM QUALITY CERTIFICATION: THE CASE OF USED VEHICLES

This paper investigates whether the quality certification required by certain state used vehicle disclosure laws has been effective. Metzger concluded from a theoretical investigation of non-market responses to the lemons problem, that such laws may or may not be effective. We have been unable to find evidence that the currently mandated disclosure requirements in Wisconsin (known defects provision) and Iowa (safety certification) are effective in increasing the number of good quality vehicles traded in those used markets. These disclosure requirements do not seem to decrease a prospective buyer's risk of purchasing a lemon.     

THE FINANCIAL AND TAX EFFECTS OF MONETARY POLICY ON INTEREST RATES

Standard analysis of monetary policy effects on interest rates in terms of liquidity, income, and expectations effects is incomplete. After a change in monetary policy, substitution among securities will increase as time elapses and so reduce or eliminate financial effects caused by short-run financial market segmentation. Also, the standard expectations effect omits the transfer of income tax liability on that part of the interest payment representing a return of real capital. So a 1 percentage point increase in the expected inflation rate should increase the nominal interest rate by 1/(1 —τ) percentage points, τ being the marginal tax rate.     

DOES SEX STILL MATTER? NEW EVIDENCE FROM THE 1980s

Recent analyses of gender based salary differentials among University faculty have focused on colleges and universities which are quite different from those used in earlier (pre-1975) studies. To facilitate comparisons with previous studies we examine gender earnings differentials during the 1983–84 academic year at Kent State University, a school similar to those studied in the pre-1975 period. Our results suggest that after controlling for differentials in productivity-related characteristics and market influences, there is little evidence of gender based salary discrimination at Kent State during 1983–84.     

OPTIMAL CALL SCHEDULING FOR A TELEPHONE SURVEY

Contacting a suitable respondent at home and securing the interviewis a significant component of the typical household telephonesurvey. An optimal calling schedule minimizes the number ofcallbacks required and thus conserves resources. This articlepresents an analysis of time-of-day and day-of-week effectson the probabilities of obtaining an answered outcome and aninterviewed outcome in a large national telephone survey ofadult males. The data presented indicate that, at least forthe survey population included in this study, the chances ofobtaining an answer and conducting an interview on the firstcall are much better on weekday evenings and on weekends thanthey are during weekday daytime hours. Moreover, there is someevidence to indicate that this finding also applies to secondcalls made to first-call no-answers, at least with regard tocontacting efforts. Time-of-day and/or day-of-week effects onfirst call outcomes appear to be generally consistent with respectto both contacting and interviewing, although Sunday has a decidedlyhigher interview response rate for answered calls than do theother calling periods analyzed.     

MAIL SURVEYS FOR ELECTION FORECASTING?: AN EVALUATION OF THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH POLL

Because of slow turnaround time and typically low response rates,mail surveys have generally been considered of little valuein election forecasting. However, statewide mail surveys conductedby the Columbus Dispatch newspaper since 1980 have made remarkablyaccurate forecasts of Ohio election outcomes. In comparisonto statewide surveys by two other organizations employing conventionaltelephone interview methods, the mail surveys were consistentlymore accurate and were generally less susceptible to sourcesof inaccuracy such as high rolloff and low publicity. The mailsurvey's advantage is attributable at least in part to largersample sizes, sampling and response procedures that yieldedmore representative samples of voters, lack of the need to allocateundecided respondents, and superior questionnaire design. Thesefindings suggest that mail surveys not only may be viable alternativesto telephone surveys but may actually be superior to them undersome conditions. Further-more, these results demonstrate thatsurveys with low response rates are not necessarily low in validity.