The evolution of secularization: cultural transmission, religion and fertility—theory, simulations and evidence

This study presents an evolutionary process of secularization assuming that cultural/social/religious norms (in particular the ‘religious taste for children’) are transmitted from one generation to the next via two venues: (i) direct socialization—across generations, by parents; and (ii) oblique socialization—within generations, by the cultural environment. The paper integrates a theoretical model, simulations and an empirical estimation, that lead to the following main findings: (i) direct religious socialization efforts of one generation have a negative effect on secularization within the next generation; (ii) oblique socialization by the community has a parabolic effect on secularization; and (iii) the two types of socialization are complementary in ‘producing’ religiosity in the next generation.     

Evaluation utilization research-Developing a theory and putting it to use

This article presents the findings of a two-stage study that had two key objectives: to develop a theory about evaluation utilization in an educational organization and to apply this theory to promote evaluation utilization within the organization. The first stage involved a theoretical conceptualization using a participatory method of concept mapping. This process identified the modes of evaluation utilization within the organization, produced a representation of the relationship between them and led to a theory. The second stage examined the practical implications of this conceptualization in terms of how different stakeholders in the organization perceive the actual and preferable state of evaluation utilization within the organization (i.e. to what extent is evaluation utilized and to what extent should it be utilized). The participatory process of the study promoted the evaluation utilization by involving stakeholders, thus giving them a sense of ownership and improving communication between the evaluation unit and the stakeholders. In addition, understanding the evaluation needs of the stakeholders in the organization helped generate relevant and realizable evaluation processes. On a practical level, the results are currently shaping the evaluation plan and the place of evaluations within the organization.     

The role of social support in the psychological well-being of African American girls who experience dating violence victimization

The goals of this study were to test the relationship between dating violence victimization (i.e., verbal, emotional, and physical abuse) and psychological well-being (i.e., depressive symptomatology, self-esteem, and body image) among 522 African American girls, and to determine whether social support acted as a buffer of negative effects (moderator) or as an intervening factor (mediator) in the relationship between dating violence victimization and psychological well-being. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that dating violence victimization was associated with negative psychological outcomes. Although social support did not moderate this relationship, it served as a mediator of the relationship between dating violence victimization and psychological well-being. Dating violence programs for African American girls should consider how to incorporate family, church, and other networks in the community to foster support, and allow adolescent girls to discuss their abusive experiences in a nonblaming environment. If programs are able to buoy girls who experience dating violence, then they may be able to ameliorate the associated negative psychological sequelae.     

Structure and bias in the network autocorrelation model

In a recent paper (Mizruchi and Neuman, 2008), we showed that estimates of ρ in the network autocorrelation model exhibited a systematic negative bias and that the magnitude of this bias increased monotonically with increases in network density. We showed that this bias held regardless of the size of the network, the number of exogenous variables in the model, and whether the matrix W was normalized or in raw form. The networks in our simulations were random, however, which raises the question of the extent to which the negative bias holds in various structured networks. In this paper, we reproduce the simulations from our earlier paper on a series of networks drawn to represent well-known structures, including star, caveman, and small-world structures. Results from these simulations indicate that the pattern of negative bias in ρ continues to hold in all of these structures and that the negative bias continues to increase at increasing levels of density. Interestingly, the negative bias in ρ is especially pronounced at extremely low-density levels in the star network. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings.     

Human capital and interethnic marriage decisions

Common explanations for the generally negative relationship between education and ethnic endogamy include (1) education makes immigrants and their children better able to adapt to native culture thereby eliminating the need for a same-ethnicity spouse and (2) education raises the likelihood of leaving ethnic enclaves, thereby decreasing the probability of meeting potential same-ethnicity spouses. This paper considers a third option, the role of assortative matching on education. If education distributions differ by ethnicity, then spouse-searchers may trade similarities in ethnicity for similarities in education when choosing spouses. U.S. Census data on second-generation immigrants provide strong support for the assortative matching mechanism.     

Equality and fertility in the kibbutz

The kibbutz' quest for equality makes a member's consumption independent of his contribution to production, and the kibbutz itself responsible for almost all childrearing expenses. This fundamental departure from the standard organization of economic life of course affects fertility. We find that a parent's predicted wage (as determined by the parent's individual characteristics) has a smaller positive effect on fertility in the city than in the kibbutz, and that a parent's education has a negative effect on fertility in the city and either a smaller negative effect or no effect in the kibbutz.Correspondence to Leif Danziger.We thank the referees and Alessandro Cigno for helpful comments. Leif Danziger acknowledges the financial support from the Faculty of Arts, York University.     

Intergenerational effects on fertility Theory and evidence from Israel

On the assumption that genetic inheritage and experience during adolescence influence the taste for children, the characteristics of a couple's parents may be used to improve on the explanation of fertility which can be obtained from variables that only refer to the couple itself. We find that in Israel fertility depends positively on the mother's siblings and negatively on the grandfathers' wage, but apparently does not depend on the father's siblings. Since fertility also depends positively on the mother's predicted wage, the number of children is positively related to improvements in the economic achievements from one generation to the next.We wish to thank the referees and the managing editor for helpful suggestions.     

Ethnic Segregation,Tipping Behavior,and Native Residential Mobility

We study tipping behavior in residential mobility of the native population in Sweden between 1990 and 2007. Using regression discontinuity methods, we find that the native population growth in a neighborhood discontinuously drops once the share of non‐European immigrants exceeds the identified tipping point. Native tipping behavior can be ascribed to both native flight and native avoidance. Natives with a high level of educational attainment and the highest labor earnings are more likely to move from neighborhoods that have tipped. We conclude that tipping behavior is likely to be associated with ethnic as well as to socio‐economic segregation in Sweden.     

Corporate Linkage and Control of the Corporate Economy: New Evidence and a Reinterpretation*

This paper begins with a brief critical review of the major perspectives in the debate concerning ownership and control of major corporations. After examination of a new source of data compiled by a Senate committee (pertaining especially to the expansion of stock control by institutional investors and, most importantly, by major commercial banks), we argue that none of these perspectives is strongly supported. In concluding we tentatively outline a perspective wliicli seems to provide a better “fit” to the data. We argue that the dominant force in the overall capitalist economy is now an “intercorporate complex” of major corporations, with banks in a central coordinating position (though short of “control”) and an inner group of the “corporate class” providing the human linkage. This form of control is what we call “intercorporate control,” based upon the impersonal interests of major, interrelated corporate bureaucracies.     

Quit Your Job and Get Healthier? The Effect of Retirement on Health

Although the health effect of retirement has important policy implications, few economists have researched the topic. This paper utilizes longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study and instruments retirement status using exogenous variation in public and private pensions. Subjective health change models indicate retirement preserves the health of both men and women, although insignificant results for objective health change models suggest the preservation may be more perceived than real. The same pattern of results is found using continuous measures of annual hours. At the very least, the results give strong evidence against the anecdotal idea that retirement harms health.