Age at marriage and marital fertility

In recent years much criticism has been levelled against the use of gross and net reproduction rates as measures of replacement in any period of marked change. In this paper the author considers these criticisms and outlines a method which would yield more information on the problem of replacement and which would also eliminate the influence of varying ages at marriage on fertility when different groups or periods of time are compared. The use of this method is illustrated by an application to the fertility statistics of England and Wales and of different counties.     

Assessing the temporal stability of the population/environment relationship in comparative perspective: a cross-national panel study of carbon dioxide emissions, 1960–2005

This study examines the temporal stability of the population/environment relationship. We analyze panel data from 1960 to 2005 to determine whether the national-level association between population and carbon dioxide emissions has remained stable, declined, or intensified in recent decades. Results indicate that population size has a large and stable positive association with anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. The findings of temporal stability generally hold for both developed countries and less-developed countries. The authors conclude that population, in tandem with other social drivers, remains an important consideration for research that addresses the human dimensions of global environmental change.     

Schools,Neighborhoods and Selection: Outcomes Across Metropolitan Los Angeles

What is the relationship between school segregation and neighborhood segregation across school districts in Los Angeles County, and are school district outcomes on reading and mathematics scores related to levels of school segregation across these districts? We compute segregation scores using US tract level data for 2000 and use reading and mathematics scores from California State tests. Data from the Los Angeles family and neighborhood survey are used to track individual residential changes and differences in the associated Woodcock Johnson scores. We show that there is a close link between levels of school segregation and neighborhood segregation and that many suburban school districts are relatively integrated across both neighborhoods and schools. When we examine average school district outcomes on reading and mathematics scores we do not find any relationship with levels of segregation. At the same time there is clear evidence of spatial sorting with poorer and lower scoring children moving into school districts (or zones with poorer achieving schools). The multi-level models of segregation and achievement show that the variance in achievement levels across districts is significantly greater than across schools within districts.     

Learning-by-doing in an ambiguous environment

How well do revealed ambiguity preferences predict how people choose to seek new information about uncertain events? In an economics experiment, we apply a new instrument to measure ambiguity preferences, and in a later session observe to what extent the measure predicts the choice to receive costly information in a learning-by-doing game. Ambiguity averse subjects are more willing to pay to receive information, while risk averse subjects are not. Holding ambiguity preferences constant, risk averse subjects tend to perform worse than risk loving subjects. The returns to experimentation, especially for ambiguity averse subjects, suggest a not-well studied but important role that ambiguity preferences play in decision-making under uncertainty.     

The Interface Between Ethnic and Social System Attachment: The Differential Effects of Hierarchy-Enhancing and Hierarchy-Attenuating Environments

Social dominance theory distinguishes between hierarchy-enhancing environments, which promote inequality between groups (e.g., American society), and hierarchy-attenuating environments, which promote equality between groups (e.g., universities). Consistent with predictions derived from this distinction, a panel study that assessed attitudes prior to university exposure and after one year of university exposure yielded three findings: (1) exposure to the university decreased antiegalitarian attitudes; (2) at the end of their first year of college, European Americans exhibited greater national attachment than Asian Americans, Latinos, and African Americans, but members of all groups exhibited similar levels of university attachment; and (3) European Americans exhibited a more positive association between ethnic attachment and national attachment than members of the other three groups, but members of all groups exhibited similar relationships between ethnic attachment and university attachment.     

Management Policies to Improve the Effectiveness of Multi-Station Service Organizations*

A SLAM based simulation model of a multi-station, tandem queuing structure characteristic of a variety of service systems is employed to test various design options for the system. The model is based on an extensive study of the State of Florida driver licensing offices. The multiple objectives of low time in the system for customers and the efficient use of personnel resources are employed to measure the benefits of policy options. The use of simulation analysis permits the incorporation of complex system characteristics, therefore providing a realistic representation of the effects of possible management actions. Effective methods to control labor in such systems are suggested.