Welfare Effects of Local versus Central Wage Bargaining

The paper analyses the welfare effects of union bargaining (de)centralization in a dual labour market with a unionized and a competitive sector. We show that social welfare depends on both the structure of the union's objective function and the elasticities of labour demand in both sectors. The welfare‐maximizing employment allocation can be obtained under a high degree of centralization if the union maximizes the total wage‐bill. Otherwise, if the union is rent maximizing, welfare is higher under local bargaining. However, in that case neither central nor local wage setting yields the social optimum.     

Some multiple comparison procedures for comparing treatments within several groups

Multiple comparison procedures are extended to designs consisting of several groups, where the treatment means are to be compared within each group. This may arise in two-factor experiments, with a significant interaction term, when one is interested in comparing the levels of one factor at each level of the other factor. A general approach is presented for deriving the distributions and calculating critical points, following three papers which dealt with two specific procedures. These points are used for constructing simultaneous confidence intervals over some restricted set of contrasts among treatment means in each of the groups. Tables of critical values are provided for two procedures and an application is demonstrated. Some extensions are presented for the case of possible different sets of contrasts and also for unequal variances in the various groups.     

How Has the Lower Boundary of Human Mortality Evolved,and Has It Already Stopped Decreasing?

In contrast to the upper boundary of mortality, the lower boundary has so far largely been neglected. Based on the three key features—location, sex-specific difference, and level—I analyze past and present trends in the lower boundary of human mortality. The analysis is based on cohort mortality data for 38 countries, covering all the cohorts born between 1900 and 1993. Minimum mortality is analyzed using observed as well as smoothed estimates. The results show that the ages at which minimum mortality is reached have shifted to lower ages. Although the differences have become almost negligible over time, males are showing higher levels of minimum mortality than females. The level of minimum mortality was halved more than five times over the analyzed time horizon. The results also suggest that even after more than 150 years of mortality improvements, minimum mortality has not yet reached a lowest limit and is likely to decrease further in the near future. Trends in the three key features also raise questions about the importance of evolutionary, social, and biological determinants for the recent and future development of minimum mortality.     

Demographic Consequences of Gender Discrimination in China: Simulation Analysis of Policy Options

The large number of missing females in China, a consequence of gender discrimination, is having and will continue to have a profound effect on the country’s population development. In this paper, we analyze the causes of this gender discrimination in terms of institutions, culture and, economy, and suggest public policies that might help eliminate gender discrimination. Using a population simulation model, we study the effect of public policies on the sex ratio at birth and excess female child mortality, and the effect of gender discrimination on China’s population development. We find that gender discrimination will decrease China’s population size, number of births, and working age population, accelerate population aging and exacerbate the male marriage squeeze. These results provide theoretical support for suggesting that the government enact and implement public policies aimed at eliminating gender discrimination.     

Der mediale Attraktivitätsbonus

The study analyses the coverage of six regional newspapers on 25 local candidates during the last six weeks of the 2005 German national election by using quantitative content analysis. In an earlier study the physical attractiveness of the 25 candidates has been examined. The study shows that newspapers covered physically attractive candidates much more often and much more positive than unattractive candidates. This held also true when other relevant candidate characteristics (party membership, role as incumbent or challenger etc.) are controlled. The results show that journalists are victims of the same attractiveness stereotypes as other people. But in the case of journalists there may occur more impotent consequences the amount and tone of media coverage on political candidates may affect the results of election campaigns. Causes and consequences of these findings are discussed.     

Lost jobs, broken marriages

This paper examines the impact of both husbands’ and wives’ job displacement on the risk that the marriage ends in divorce. Using Swedish-linked employee–employer data, all married couples in which one of the spouses lost his or her job because of an establishment closure in 1987 or 1988 and a comparison sample were identified. Over a 12-year period, the excess risk of divorce among couples’ in which the husband was displaced was 13% and statistically significant. The estimated impact of wives’ job displacements was of almost the same size, but not statistically significant.     

性别失衡背景下农民工心理失范的性别差异研究

本文从角色视角,利用调查数据,分析性别失衡背景下农民工心理失范的性别差异及其机制。研究发现,性别、婚姻状况和与“养家糊口”相关的社会角色及特征对农民工的心理失范具有显著影响,其中,男性的心理失范程度要比女性严重,婚姻状态对农民工的心理失范影响没有性别差异,与“养家糊口”相关的社会角色及特征对农民工心理失范的影响存在性别差异。研究进一步发展了暴露差异理论与脆弱性差异理论,认为社会角色与性别角色变迁的不一致导致了角色紧张的出现,从而导致心理失范及其影响因素的性别差异。     

Multistate models in health insurance

We illustrate how multistate Markov and semi-Markov models can be used for the actuarial modeling of health insurance policies, focusing on health insurances that are pursued on a similar technical basis to that of life insurance. In the first part, we give an overview of the basic modeling frameworks that are commonly used and explain the calculation of prospective reserves and net premiums. In the second part, we discuss the biometric insurance risk, focusing on the calculation of implicit safety margins. We present new results on implicit margins in the semi-Markov model and on biometric estimation risk in the Markov model, and we explain why there is a need for future research concerning the systematic biometric risk.     

Exploring the Role of Being Out on a Queer Person's Self-Compassion

Recent changes in societal attitudes toward lesbian, gay, and bisexual identities have resulted in more people openly identifying with sexual minority status. Due to research on the effects of denying one's sexual orientation and the negative effects of this, many have advocated for more openness in queer sexual orientation. Compassion means connecting to the suffering of others not by avoiding their pain but instead by identifying it so that the feeling of kindness may emerge. Self-compassion, therefore, involves being touched by and open to one's own suffering, not avoiding or disconnecting from it, generating the desire to alleviate one's suffering and to heal oneself with kindness. The purpose of the research is to understand the impact that being out has on a queer person's self-compassion. The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) is a 26-item, 5-point Likert measure, where a higher score equated to higher self-compassion and looked at how a person showed loving kindness to one's self through the six dimensions of self-compassion. The six dimensions of self-compassion are mindfulness, over-identification, self-kindness, self-judgment, common humanity, and isolation. Results showed that those who are totally out have a higher sense of self-compassion. Implications for practitioners working with the queer population are also discussed.