Estimation in capture–recapture models when covariates are subject to measurement errors and missing data

For capture–recapture models when covariates are subject to measurement errors and missing data, a set of estimating equations is constructed to estimate population size and relevant parameters. These estimating equations can be solved by an algorithm similar to the EM algorithm. The proposed method is also applicable to the situation when covariates with no measurement errors have missing data. Simulation studies are used to assess the performance of the proposed estimator. The estimator is also applied to a capture–recapture experiment on the bird species Prinia flaviventris in Hong Kong. The Canadian Journal of Statistics 37: 645–658; 2009 © 2009 Statistical Society of Canada     

Breaking the taboo: a history of monetary financing in Canada, 1930–1975

Monetary financing – the funding of state expenditure via the creation of new money rather than through taxation or borrowing – has become a taboo policy instrument in advanced economies. It is generally associated with dangerously high inflation and/or war. Relatedly, a key institutional feature of modern independent central banks is that they are not obligated to support government expenditure via money creation. Since the financial crisis of 2007–2008, however, unorthodox monetary policies, in particular quantitative easing, coupled with stagnant growth and high levels of public and private debt have led to questions over the monetary financing taboo. Debates on the topic have so far been mainly theoretical with little attention to the social and political dynamics of historical instances of monetary financing. This paper analyses one of the most significant twentieth‐century cases: Canada from the period after the Great Depression up until the monetarist revolution of the 1970s. The period was a successful one for the Canadian economy, with high growth and employment and manageable inflation. It offers some interesting insights into the relationship between states and central banks and present‐day discussions around the governance of money creation.     

Psychological Distress,Couple Interactions,and Parenting: A Dyadic Analysis of African American Couples

Parental depression is a well‐established risk factor for couple conflict and ineffective or hostile parenting (M. C. Lovejoy, P. A. Graczyk, E. O'Hare, & G. Neuman, 2000; L. M. Papp, M. C. Goeke‐Morey, & E. M. Cummings, 2007). Although research suggests that caregiver depression may impact parenting indirectly via increased conflict between couples (e.g., R. D. Conger et al., 2002), few studies take into account the behaviors of both caregivers in exploring these relations. The goal of the current study is to employ an actor–partner mediator model to examine the complex relations among psychological distress, negative couple interactions, and parenting. Using a sample of 162 African American couples with children, we find evidence that the psychological distress of each caregiver has an effect on couple interactions for both men and women. The effects from each caregivers' distress to parenting are mainly indirect through the interactional behaviors of the mother toward the father, consistent with the father vulnerability hypothesis (e.g., E. M. Cummings, M. Goeke‐Morey, & J. Raymond, 2004).     

“They Make Me Not Wanna Have a Child”: Effects of Companion Animals on Fertility Intentions of the Childfree

This article argues that for some who are childfree, the increasing perception of the companion animal as a sentient being with agency provides a deep, meaningful relationship with the power to inform fertility intentions. Qualitative, in‐depth interviews with childfree companion animal owners reveal that this relationship serves to reinforce previous fertility choices such as delaying or completely opting out of childbirth, thus affecting present household structure. This is reflected in the active choice by some participants to have companion animals instead of human children, the presence of a cost‐benefit analysis concerning animal companions and human children, and narratives that express a desire to mother or nurture as fulfilled in the relationship with the companion animal. Implications of these findings for both demography and marriage and family research in the United States are discussed.     

PUBLIC SPENDING REALLOCATIONS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH ACROSS DIFFERENT INCOME LEVELS

This article examines the effects of public spending reallocations on economic growth. Assembling a disaggregated public spending dataset of 83 countries over the 1970–2011 period, we show that spending reallocations toward education, from health and social protection, have significant growth‐promoting effects across a wide range of countries' income levels. However, income heterogeneity matters, particularly when reallocations involve infrastructure spending. Specifically, a reallocation from this spending to education also promotes growth, albeit primarily when a country's income level is low. This occurs because the effects of infrastructure spending are particularly weak in low‐income countries, possibly due to the low quality of governance. (JEL O43, H50, O11)     

DOES TELEVISION ENTRY DECREASE THE NUMBER OF MOVIE THEATERS?

This paper empirically examines the impact of competition in the television (TV) industry on the number of movie theaters, their attendance, and their box office revenues. Studies of firm entry usually focus on the impact of regulation on economic outcomes within an industry, thereby neglecting its impact on neighboring industries. Using changes in regulation in the Spanish local TV station industry, we estimate the impact of TV entry on the movie theater industry between 1993 and 2005. Our findings show that local TV entry decreased the number of theaters and screens in a province, as well as movie attendance and box office revenues. (JEL L11, L43, L82)     

Contact between birth parents and children in kinship care in a sample from Spain

Within the context of kinship care, the main objectives of this work are to study the characteristics of contact between foster children and their birth parents, and their relationship with key variables of fostering, the children and their kinship caregivers. The sample included 189 children from Spain and their kinship families. A semi‐structured placement interview and two scales relating to the child–caregiver relationship and child's psychological adjustment were used with the kinship families. The results revealed a significant percentage of foster children who had no family contact. Various visit types, frequencies and durations were described. Kinship care with contact, compared with placements without contact, was frequently characterized by the absence of professional supervision, and an affectionate child–caregiver relationship; moreover, children with contact were perceived to have fewer serious behaviour and socio‐emotional problems and a greater probability of family reunification. The regression analysis showed that the main predictors for how caregivers assessed contact were the children's emotional reaction during visits and the quality of the relationship between the kinship families and the birth parents. These results suggest the need for further research about contact, which will certainly have a major impact on professional intervention with these families.     

Trajectory of problem behaviours of Korean adopted children: using piecewise hierarchical linear growth modelling

This study examined the trajectory of problem behaviours in domestically adopted children in South Korea as they aged. This study used the Panel Study on Korean Adopted Children's longitudinal, three‐wave data (2006, 2008 and 2010). Although data were collected at three time points, our data consisted of six time points, which covered the 5–10 years age range of the adopted children at the time of survey. One hundred sixty‐four children were included in the analysis, 75 of whom contributed to one time point, 74 to two time points and 15 to three time points. The trajectory of the problem behaviours of adopted children was examined using a piecewise hierarchical linear growth model. Because the initial exploration of the data suggested non‐linear changes in behaviour problems over time, we split the growth trajectory into two time periods: Time 1 (5–7 years) and Time 2 (7–10 years). A two‐rate model was used to estimate separate slopes for the two time periods. Results showed that the externalizing and internalizing problems of adopted children have different trajectories. Internalizing problems did not show significant changes after 5 years of age, while externalizing problems increased until 7 years of age and decreased significantly thereafter.     

A social welfare perspective of market‐oriented social enterprises

The article analyses market‐oriented social enterprises from a social welfare perspective, within the context of the innate conflict between business and welfare orientations. After defining the concept of market‐oriented social enterprises and presenting some successful examples on such entities that employ different marginalised populations, particularly people with disabilities, the article asks three interrelated questions: (i) What policy environment is needed to encourage the development of social enterprises? (ii) Given the innate tension between the social and economic objectives in social enterprises, what structural principles are needed to enable them to meet those dual objectives? Lastly, (iii) What intervention modalities are best suited to help individual participants in those frameworks? Answers to these questions are discussed within conceptual frameworks from the worlds of welfare and business that jointly provide a base for a social welfare rationale for market‐oriented social enterprises.