Monte carlo sampling approach to testing nonnested hypothesis: monte carlo results

Alternative ways of using Monte Carlo methods to implement a Cox-type test for separate families of hypotheses are considered. Monte Carlo experiments are designed to compare the finite sample performances of Pesaran and Pesaran's test, a RESET test, and two Monte Carlo hypothesis test procedures. One of the Monte Carlo tests is based on the distribution of the log-likelihood ratio and the other is based on an asymptotically pivotal statistic. The Monte Carlo results provide strong evidence that the size of the Pesaran and Pesaran test is generally incorrect, except for very large sample sizes. The RESET test has lower power than the other tests. The two Monte Carlo tests perform equally well for all sample sizes and are both clearly preferred to the Pesaran and Pesaran test, even in large samples. Since the Monte Carlo test based on the log-likelihood ratio is the simplest to calculate, we recommend using it.     

HYBRIDITY THEORY AND KINSHIP THINKING

A parallel is posited between the ways hybridity and kinship are thought about in Western contexts, challenging the idea that kinship and biology tend to lead to narrow, roots-oriented, essentialized definitions of identity. Rather than being the opposite of rhizomic, diasporic hybridity, kinship and biology partake of the tension between roots and routes that is characteristic of all hybridity. Anthropological evidence on the character of Western kinship thinking is examined to elucidate some features of its flexibility. Theories of hybridity are seen as being themselves a type of kinship thinking.     

The New Science of Sex Difference

While scientists across the academy have abandoned the nature/nurture dichotomy, evidence for the influences of society on our biology is greater than ever. This article reviews new developments in the biological sciences – in the sub‐fields of genetics, hormones, and neuroscience – with special attention to the implications for sociologists interested in gender. The article closes with an argument that embracing these developments has both theoretical and methodological promise and can enhance rather than harm research and activism regarding gender equality and other social hierarchies.     

The role of acculturative stress and cultural backgrounds in migrants with pathological gambling

The objective of the present study was to differentiate specific migration-related factors that can account for an increased vulnerability to pathological gambling (PG) among migrants in Germany. One hundred and six gamblers (61 migrants, 45 Germans) with varying degrees of gambling problems participated in the study. We analysed (1) differences between migrants and Germans regarding gambling patterns, severity of gambling problems, motivation and craving; influence of (2) acculturative stress; (3) acceptance and popularity of gambling in the culture of origin on gambling problems; (4) differences between migrants and Germans regarding family gambling and peer gambling; and (5) differences in religiosity and its influence on gambling problems. Results suggest no differences between migrants and Germans regarding gambling patterns and the severity of gambling problems. However, findings indicate that migrants have higher motivation and craving to gamble. Findings further suggest that acculturative stress is associated with more severe gambling problems. In contrast, acceptance and popularity of gambling in the country of origin was not a significant predictor of gambling problems. At the same time, family gambling and peer gambling was significantly more prevalent among migrants, constituting an additional risk factor in the present sample. On the other hand, migrants in the sample benefit more often from a protective influence of religiosity.     

After the Honeymoon: The Evolution of Problem Issues in Utah LDS Marriages

The main objective of this study was to extend previous research in the area of longitudinal marital satisfaction by examining how marital issues, including decision-making, activities, affection, conflict, financial matters, stability, and values, changed over the first 5 years of marriage for 242 Utah, Latter-Day-Saint individuals. In addition, this study examined whether change occurs differently for husbands versus wives and for at-risk individuals versus non-risk individuals. The results showed that four marital issues worsened over time (activities, affection, conflict, and stability). Two of the six subscales (activities and affection) were found to differ significantly by gender. In addition, four subscales were significantly different for at-risk couples when compared with non-risk couples (decision-making, activities, conflict, and stability). Limitations and recommendations are discussed.     

Racial/Ethnic and Nativity Patterns of U.S. Adolescent and Young Adult Smoking

We document racial/ethnic and nativity differences in U.S. smoking patterns among adolescents and young adults using the 2006 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (n = 44,202). Stratifying the sample by nativity status within five racial/ethnic groups (Asian American, Mexican–American, other Hispanic, non-Hispanic black, and non-Hispanic white), and further by sex and age, we compare self-reports of lifetime smoking across groups. U.S.-born non-Hispanic whites, particularly men, report smoking more than individuals in other racial/ethnic/nativity groups. Some groups of young women (e.g., foreign-born and U.S.-born Asian Americans, foreign-born and U.S.-born Mexican–Americans, and foreign-born blacks) report extremely low levels of smoking. Foreign-born females in all of the 25–34 year old racial/ethnic groups exhibit greater proportions of never smoking than their U.S.-born counterparts. Heavy/moderate and light/intermittent smoking is generally higher in the older age group among U.S.-born males and females, whereas smoking among the foreign-born of both sexes is low at younger ages and remains low at older ages. Taken together, these findings highlight the importance of considering both race/ethnicity and nativity in assessments of smoking patterns and in strategies to reduce overall U.S. smoking prevalence and smoking-attributable health disparities.     

Trends in public attitudes toward educational spending

During the 1970s, only about half of the adult American population wanted to allocate more money to education. But in the 1980s, almost two-thirds of those surveyed have wanted to spend more on education. Using the 1972–86 NORC General Social Surveys (of which there are a dozen replications — each with about 1500 respondents), this paper outlines the sources of this increase in support for educational spending. Over time, while education has been consistently given a higher priority by members of younger birth cohorts, and respondents educated beyond high school, racial differences have narrowed and regional differences have been reversed. In this decade, whites and non-Southerners are increasingly supportive of more spending on education than they were earlier. Finally, while rural/urban differences on education as a national spending priority have remained, this trend is less independent of larger social forces than the others. These results imply that to be most effective in producing increased allocations from public sources, educators and their political supporters should recognize those particular segments of the population who may be most responsive to calls for increased funding.     

Payday lenders and economically distressed communities: A spatial analysis of financial predation

The payday lending industry has grown considerably in recent years, reflecting both widespread economic insecurity and market neglect by the traditional banking sector. Outlets are now commonplace in many communities across America. Accused by many of predatory practices, payday lenders can be viewed as financial hazards in already economically distressed communities. Using a Geographic Information System (GIS) and associated statistical analyses, this paper examines the social ecology of payday lending along the Front Range communities of Colorado. Comparison of means and logistic regression results reveal how communities’ composition by class, occupation, race/ethnicity, nativity, age, and military affiliation affect their likelihood of hosting payday lending.     

Labor market contracting and wage dispersion

This paper uses a variety of data sources to document the effect of long-term contracts (LTCs) on wage dispersion. The paper first shows that LTCs are responsible for the decrease in wage dispersion observed as labor markets tighten; absent LTCs (as in most other advanced nations outside North America), this effect does not exist. The paper next examines the relationship between cost-of-living escalators (COLAs) and wage dispersion. COLAs are typically found only in those countries that rely on LTCs, although the incidence of COLAs in these nations is affected by inflation variability. Thus, in the United States, COLAs became much more prevalent in long-term contracts during the 1970s, which caused an increase in wage dispersion, particularly between the union and nonunion sectors. The paper concludes that, despite some suggestions that we ban LTCs and COLAs because of their perverse effects on wage dispersion and other economic outcomes, such a ban would be unwise in light of historically high levels of industrial strife in those nations that rely on these contractual devices.