Economic status: a census analysis of thirty-year-old immigrant women in Canada

Dans cette note de recherche, nous utilisons les données du recensement de 1981 pour étudier la situation économique des femmes agées de trente ans au Canada. Nous comparons la population des femmes immigrantes (N= 37000) à celle des femmes nées au Canada (N= 160000), relativement à leurs niveaux éducationnel, occupationnel et financier. Les variables contrôlées individuellement par l‘étude sont: état civil, période d'immigration, origine ethnique, et dimension de la famille. Les résultats de notre recherche montrent que les femmes qui ont immigré alors qu'elles étaient enfant (dix ans ou moins) ont plus de chances que l'ensemble de connaître le succès socio-économique à l’âge adulte; par ailleurs, les femmes arrivées au Canada entre dix et vingt ans occupent le plus bas niveau de succès socio-économique. Il faut cependant noter plusieurs exceptions à ces conclusions générales. Une discussion des résultats dans le contexte de l'hypothèse de l“assimilation‘ indique que celle-ci n'est pas suffisante pour expliquer les différences de succès socio-économique au Canada des femmes nées à l’étranger: un cadre théorique plus large s'avére nécessaire. In this research note we use 1981 Census data to examine the economic position of women thirty years of age in Canada, comparing immigrants (N= 37 000) to the native born population (N= 160 000) with respect to educational, occupational, and income attainment. Variables controlled individually in the study are marital status, period of immigration, ethnic origin, and family size. The findings show that immigrant women who came to Canada as children (ten years old or under) are more likely to have an advantaged socioeconomic standing at age thirty while immigrant females who entered the country as adolescents (ten to twenty years of age) have the lowest levels of socioeconomic achievement. However, there are several exceptions to these overall findings. The results are discussed in the context of the ‘assimilation’ hypothesis, but it would seem that a more comprehensive theoretical framework is needed to explain differences in status attainment among foreign-born women in Canada.     

PRICING ANOMALIES IN THE MARKET FOR DIAMONDS: EVIDENCE OF CONFORMIST BEHAVIOR

Some goods are consumed not just for their intrinsic utility but also for the impression their consumption has on others. We analyze the market for such a commodity—diamonds. We collect data on price and other attributes from the inventories of three large online retailers of diamonds. We find that people are willing to pay premiums upward of 18% for a diamond that is one‐half carat rather than slightly less than a half carat and between 5% and 10% for a one‐carat rather than a slightly less than one‐carat stone. Since a major portion of larger gem‐quality diamonds are used for engagement rings, such an outcome is consistent with Bernheim's model of conformism, where individuals try to conform to a single standard of behavior that is often established at a focal point. In this case, prospective grooms signal their desirability as a mate by the size of the diamond engagement ring they give their fiancées. (JEL A1, D4)     

A review of hierarchical production planning and its applicability for modern manufacturing

The hierarchical production planning (HPP) paradigm has become an accepted planning and control strategy for many medium-to-large manufacturing situations. While the paradigm appears intuitively obvious and appropriate for many factories, there are a number of modern manufacturing situations where the application of the HPP approach may not be appropriate. By understanding the fundamental principles and concepts inherent in the HPP approach, it is possible to identify situations suitable for HPP with little or no adaptation, and situations where HPP must be extensively modified before use. A poor understanding of HPP     

Performance of Robust GCV and Modified GCV for Spline Smoothing

Abstract. While it is a popular selection criterion for spline smoothing, generalized cross‐validation (GCV) occasionally yields severely undersmoothed estimates. Two extensions of GCV called robust GCV (RGCV) and modified GCV have been proposed as more stable criteria. Each involves a parameter that must be chosen, but the only guidance has come from simulation results. We investigate the performance of the criteria analytically. In most studies, the mean square prediction error is the only loss function considered. Here, we use both the prediction error and a stronger Sobolev norm error, which provides a better measure of the quality of the estimate. A geometric approach is used to analyse the superior small‐sample stability of RGCV compared to GCV. In addition, by deriving the asymptotic inefficiency for both the prediction error and the Sobolev error, we find intervals for the parameters of RGCV and modified GCV for which the criteria have optimal performance.     

RISK, TRANSACTIONS CHARGES, AND THE MARKET FOR FOREIGN EXCHANGE SERVICES

This paper suggests that transactions charges in foreign exchange markets, rather than being solely brokerage fees, represent exchange rate uncertainty in periods of great fluctuations by including remuneration for the assumption of risk by foreign exchange dealers. Since most of the cost of exchange rate uncertainty may be largely endogenously included in the foreign exchange markets, attempts to examine the efficient market hypothesis in these markets should most appropriately include specific consideration of transactions costs. There appears to be empirical support for the premise that transactions charges are positively related to exchange rate risk, and, as well, inclusion of contemporaneous bid-ask spreads into the interest parity schedule leaves few unexplained profits from dollar-pound covered interest arbitrage during the 1970's and underscores the notion of classifying periods by degree of turbulence in analyzing covered interest arbitrage.     

Imagined communities in the global game: soccer and the development of Dutch national identity

Abstract Using the recent history of Dutch soccer as an illustrative case, this article supports a line of argument in globalization studies that generally focuses on the variable reverberations of globalization and more specifically suggests that globalization entails the embattled redefinition of national identities. I show how the involvement of the Dutch national team in global competition aided the construction of a myth of national football distinction and how media coverage and discourse turned this myth into a key element of a re imagined national community. The Dutch view of themselves as a unique soccer nation fits familiar global patterns, and a sociologically informed critique of their romantic soccer self‐image displays the myth as myth. At the same time, however, the critique is part of the discourse, which involves more than an a historical expressive myth erected as a defence against globalization. I argue that it is more complex, more reflexive and more fluid than some accounts of soccer nationalism would lead us to expect or than nostalgic neopatriots might prefer. The article thus also offers a critique of a standard critique of national sports image‐making, which fits with a promising thrust in soccer and globalization scholarship.     

Britain's Colonial Emergencies and the Invisible Nationalists

Abstract From the perspective of imperial propaganda Britain's colonial emergencies of the forties and fifties have straightforward, even self-evident explanations. In the case of Malaya the state of emergency declared in June 1948 was a response to an international communist plot designed to seize power. In Kenya, an underground conspiracy of tribal extremists necessitated the implementation of emergency powers in October 1952 and the intervention of the British military. In British Guiana, the October 1953 state of emergency was essential to prevent a communist-inspired reign of terror and sabotage.¹
More objective researchers and journalists have questioned the familiar justification for Britain's colonial emergencies.² However, controversy persists, not simply about the interpretation of these events but about the basic facts.³ This is not surprising, because a study of the available files in the Public Records Office shows that the relationship between the colonial emergencies and their purported causes is far from straightforward. While imperial propaganda projected a sense of single-minded clarity, behind the scenes the leading experts of the Colonial Office were uncertain and deeply disturbed by events that they did not entirely comprehend. Nevertheless, despite their lack of a clear understanding of the situation in the affected colonies, the Colonial administration fully supported a military response. Indeed a study of the emergencies in Malaya, Kenya and British Guiana reveals a common pattern in the response of the British government and helps to place each of these conflicts in a wider perspective.     

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS ECONOMICS: ON-LINE AND INTERACTIVE

Utilizing modern computer languages, economic researchers and students can obtain maximum flexibility, portability, intellectual satisfaction, and sound research techniques by employing the computer on-line and interactively without relying on canned programs like SPSS, TSP and other "black boxes". The author exploits this method in research as well as in classes from principles to econometrics.
The power of new languages is illustrated with APL for two economic applications: (1) construction of GNP indexes from price and quantity data, and (2) a multiple regression model. The latter, including coefficient estimates, predicted and actual dependent variables, individual errors, and the sum of squared residuals, takes one short line of code.