Is Economic Policy Uncertainty Related to Suicide Rates? Evidence from the United States

The main objective of this paper was to see whether different countries around the world show differences in their sustainability levels as captured in the indicators from the Sustainable Society Index (SSI, Van de Kerk and Manuel in Ecol Econ 66:228–242, 2012) according to their level of income. To do so, the X-STATIS and CO-STATIS multivariate techniques were employed. With these methods, our sample of 151 countries and 21 indicators can be jointly represented along four time periods. The results obtained permit us to visualize that the groups of countries by income levels show differences in some of the variables from the SSI, because of the lack of proximities between those variables and the countries. Moreover, with the X-STATIS technique, the possible evolution of the countries or indicators over time can be represented, and with CO-STATIS, the relations between the social, economic and environmental aspects can be shown as well. From our results we were able to deduce that, on the one hand, social and economic indicators, such as Public Debt or Employment, are associated with countries having high and upper-middle incomes, for example, Chile, Israel, Malta, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Spain, Portugal, France, Poland and Czech Republic. On the other hand, countries with low and lower-middle incomes are more associated with environmental issues. Also, after finding that the differences between the countries by income levels are mainly caused by the economic indicators, we carried out two CO-STATIS analyses, one for social and economic variables, and the other for economic and environmental variables. These findings led us to deduce that, generally, the social and economic indicators are not related to each other, nor are the economic indicators related to the environmental ones. However, for some of the countries individually both relations may be possible.     

The asymptotic behaviour of the residual sum of squares in models with multiple break points

ABSTRACT

Models with multiple discrete breaks in parameters are usually estimated via least squares. This paper, first, derives the asymptotic expectation of the residual sum of squares and shows that the number of estimated break points and the number of regression parameters affect the expectation differently. Second, we propose a statistic for testing the joint hypothesis that the breaks occur at specified points in the sample. Our analytical results cover models estimated by the ordinary, nonlinear, and two-stage least squares. An application to U.S. monetary policy rejects the assumption that breaks are associated with changes in the chair of the Fed.     

Human Development Over Time: An Empirical Comparison of a Dynamic Index and the Standard HDI

Social Indicators Research - This research uses panel data to explore inferences about human development associated with two different formulations of the Human Development Index (HDI). The first...     

德尔菲神谕：模糊性、制度和多源流

“多源流理论”作为西方公共政策过程分析中广泛应用的工具，缺乏制度因素的考量已是不争的事实，因此，将制度因素融入多源流框架是十分有必要的。制度通过倡导价值等方式促进或限制决策，而模糊性引起制度理解上的多样化，模糊性程度和政策执行内容的双重作用又形塑政策变迁的方式。同时，政策企业家的行动策略对政策执行有重要影响，具体表现为：由于个人特质和操作技术方面存在差异，制度和行动者策略会影响到决策者的注意力、方案选择乃至政策产出。尽管制度变量没有改变多源流理论的内在逻辑，但是制度因素对多源流理论产生的影响是未来公共政策研究的一个方向。     

The real uncovered interest parity: The case of Canada and the USA

The aim of this paper is to re-assess the real uncovered interest parity (RUIP) in the light of including domestic demand shocks as possible determinants of the real exchange rate. We use annual data for two close trading partners, namely Canada and the USA. Using cointegration analysis we find evidence in favour of RUIP. In addition, empirical support is provided to show that discretionary fiscal policy actions have a spillover effect to the real exchange rate via real interest rates.     

The Role of Financial Institutions in the Corporate Governance of Listed Chinese Companies*

This paper explores the role of Chinese financial institutions in the corporate governance of listed companies through interviews with both senior managers of financial institutions and board directors of listed companies. Our results show that, while most securities companies are passive investors, a good proportion of the active mutual funds help their portfolio companies prepare financial forecasts, standardize their operations, raise external funds, strengthen their company image in the capital markets, and sometimes intervene in corporate issues. This limited role can be attributed to a number of factors specific to the Chinese context including highly concentrated state ownership, an immature regulatory environment, inadequate transparency and disclosure of financial information, and weak corporate governance within financial institutions themselves. It could also be affected by several other factors that are considered to cause institutional passivity in developed countries such as conflicts of interest, monitoring costs and lack of expertise.     

Macroeconomic and financing determinants of out of pocket payments in health care: Evidence from selected OECD countries

In this paper, we examine the impact of macroeconomic, as well public and private health insurance financing (PHI) factors on out of pocket (OOP) healthcare expenditures, by using fixed/random effects and dynamic panel data methodology to a dataset of 26 EU and OECD countries for a period lasting from 1995 to 2013. The existing empirical literature has focused on testing the hypothesis that several macroeconomic and health financing determinants have an effect on OOP healthcare expenditures. Nevertheless, the related articles have not well tested the hypothesis concerning the potential impact of PHI financing on OOP spending. We find that public and PHI financing have a significant countervailing effect on OOP spending. Moreover, we show that unemployment rate has a significant positive impact on OOP expenditures. Sensitivity tests with variation of specifications and samples show that our findings are robust. We argue that policy-makers should give serious consideration to PHI institution; our results indicate that there is an inverse effect on OOP spending. We suggest that our examined countries have to provide financial risk protection to their citizens against OOP payments, rather than only attending health budgetary retrenchments in order to adjust public finances.     

DOES DELEGATION INCREASE WORKER TRAINING?

We model a principal‐firm offering training to its agent‐worker under two alternative organizational structures: integration, where the principal retains authority to overrule the investment project recommended by the worker; and delegation, where the principal cannot overrule the worker's preferred investment project. We assume that training reduces the worker's effort cost of assembling information about alternative projects' payoffs and identify the conditions under which delegation increases the profit‐maximizing intensity of training. Empirical estimates from matched employer–employee data show that workplaces delegating authority do provide more worker training. This result persists in two cross sections, in panel fixed‐effect estimates and, critically, in an instrumental variable exercise that also controls for establishment fixed effects. (JEL D21, D22, D23, M53, M54)     

Variance estimation in the central limit theorem for Markov chains

This article concerns the variance estimation in the central limit theorem for finite recurrent Markov chains. The associated variance is calculated in terms of the transition matrix of the Markov chain. We prove the equivalence of different matrix forms representing this variance. The maximum likelihood estimator for this variance is constructed and it is proved that it is strongly consistent and asymptotically normal. The main part of our analysis consists in presenting closed matrix forms for this new variance. Additionally, we prove the asymptotic equivalence between the empirical and the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) for the stationary distribution.     

The view over one's shoulder: The causes and consequences of leader's envy of followers

We propose a social comparison-based framework in which leaders' meta-perceptions of power relative to their followers can be a source of envy, which can then lead to varied behaviors. We provide a model summarizing the main points of this framework, and develop propositions discussing how and when these effects operate. We start by discussing why perceived power differentials between leader and follower are expected to cause envy in the leader-follower relationship, and the contingencies that might affect such relationships. We then discuss how the aversive character of envy can provoke different types of action on the part of leaders aimed at reducing or eliminating this emotion. Furthermore, we propose different conditions that can increase the likelihood that the leader would choose one of these courses of action over another. Finally, we end with a discussion of the implications of leader-follower social comparisons and envy for research in the leadership field and for practice.