Asymmetries in the opportunity structure. Intergenerational mobility trends in Europe

It remains unclear whether social mobility is increasing in the advanced nations. The answer may depend on mobility patterns within very recent birth cohorts. We use the inter-generational module in the 2005 EU-SILC which allows us to include more recent cohorts. Comparing across two Nordic and three Continental European countries, we estimate inter-generational mobility trends for sons both indirectly, via social origin effects on educational attainment, and directly in terms of adult income attainment. In line with other studies we find substantially more mobility in Scandinavia, but also that traditionally less mobile societies, like Spain, are moving towards greater equality. We focus particularly on non-linear relations. Most interestingly, we reveal evident asymmetries in the process of equalizing life chances, in Denmark. The disadvantages associated with low social class origins have largely disappeared, but the advantages related to privileged origins persist.     

A note on fourth moment-based direction dependence measures when regression errors are non normal

Measures of direction dependence enable researchers to determine the directionality of linear effects in bivariate data. Existing fourth moment-based approaches assume that regression errors are at least mesokurtic. Direction dependence measures based on the co-kurtosis of variables are proposed that relax this assumption. Simulations suggest that co-kurtosis-based measures perform equally well as existing kurtosis-based methods when distributional assumptions of the latter are fulfilled. However, kurtosis-based approaches are sensitive to platy- or leptokurtic errors, while co-kurtosis-based measures protect Type I error and power rates. Data requirements necessary for causal inference and recommendations for selecting proper direction dependence measures are discussed.     

Idempotent and multivariate copulas with fractal support

Using special iterated function systems (IFS) Fredricks et al. (2005) constructed two-dimensional copulas with fractal supports and showed that for every s∈(1,2)$s\in (\mathrm{1,2})$ there exists a copula A whose support has Hausdorff dimension s. In the current paper we present a stronger version and prove that the same result holds for the subclass of idempotent copulas. Additionally we show that every doubly stochastic idempotent matrix N (having neither minimum nor maximum rank) induces a family of idempotent copulas such that, firstly, the corresponding Markov kernels transform according to N   and, secondly, the set of Hausdorff dimensions of the supports of elements of the family covers (1,2). Furthermore we generalize the IFS approach to arbitrary dimensions d≥2$d\ge 2$ and show that for every s∈(1,d)$s\in (1,d)$ we can find a d-dimensional copula whose support has Hausdorff dimension s.     

Staffing-Related Deficiency Citations in Nursing Homes

There is evidence that staffing characteristics influence quality of care in nursing homes. Federal and state surveyors conduct inspections of homes to assess their compliance with regulatory standards, including requirements related to staffing. Deficiency citations are issued when these standards are not met. This article examines the relationship between operational, facility, and market characteristics and organizational performance measured as staffing-related deficiency citations. Online Survey Certification of Automated Records (OSCAR) data from 2000 through 2007 were used with multinomial logistic regression analyses to identify factors associated with deficiency citations for staffing. Chain members and facilities with poor quality of care were more likely to receive deficiency citations for staffing. Greater bed count and competition between nursing homes were associated with a decreased likelihood of deficiency citations for staffing. Staffing-related deficiencies within nursing homes vary according to various operational, facility, and market characteristics.     

Factors Associated with the Finnish Fertility Decline Since 1776

The analysis of annual age-specific fertility rates in Finland over more than 200 years reveals the existence of a significant early fertility decline at the end of the eighteenth century preceding the secular decline that started around 1910. A reconstruction of age-specific proportions married by a simulation model based on Coale's marriage model indicates that the mean age at marriage increased and the proportion ever-marrying decreased substantially during the period of the early fertility decline. A modification of the index of family limitation applied under certain assumptions to overall fertility rates also indicates that fertility was essentially natural until 1910. Cross-lagged correlation analysis shows that infant mortality does not influence subsequent fertility in the pre-modern period. Finally, a number of socio-economic indicators are related to fertility, and conclusions are drawn from the Finnish case about several hypotheses in the field of demographic transition.     

Real estate and real estate finance as a research field—an international overview

We present a citation-based analysis of the most important journals on real estate and real estate finance over a time period from 1986 to 2010. For each year, those three articles with the highest number of citations according to Google Scholar are identified. A thorough analysis of all 75 selected articles reveals that the focus of interest has been on (1)empirical research, (2) mainly using data ofresidential real estate, with (3) the primary objective of evaluating real estateinvestment until the midst 1990s. In order to derive reliable risk-return relations for real estate investment, (4) asset pricing as the main task of real estateappraisal is in the centre of attention, too. Appraisal issues have relatively gained importance for the last fifteen years in comparison to investment issues. Interdisciplinary aspects and sustainable issues are only very rarely integrated in appraisal methods, the focus is primarily on maximizing economic returns. Therefore, our citation analysis confirms that the Financial Management Approach of Dasso and Woodward (1980) is the predominant approach particularly in the United States. Our findings regarding our basic sample of articles are cross-checked by several robustness tests. For future research activities, it seems to be quite promising to focus on the one hand on interdisciplinary aspects and on the other hand to contribute to the theoretical foundation of real estate with the aim of developing a common body of knowledge.     

Applied social reporting: A social indicators system for West German Society

This paper presents a ‘system’, i.e. systematic compilation, of about 200 social indicators in 10 areas of life, for the Federal Republic of Germany, 1955–1975. The construction of this indicator system is explained and an abridged version is introduced that can be comprised into one master table. Next, an overall evaluation of welfare development in West Germany is given and four models for a time-sequence interpretation are discussed. Finally, the present effort is put in perspective, e.g. in regard of the OECD program and of recent quality-of-life survey research.     

Random Choice as Behavioral Optimization

We develop an extension of Luce's random choice model to study violations of the weak axiom of revealed preference. We introduce the notion of a stochastic preference and show that it implies the Luce model. Then, to address well‐known difficulties of the Luce model, we define the attribute rule and establish that the existence of a well‐defined stochastic preference over attributes characterizes it. We prove that the set of attribute rules and random utility maximizers are essentially the same. Finally, we show that both the Luce and attribute rules have a unique consistent extension to dynamic problems.     

The Dynamic Capability View in Strategic Management: A Bibliometric Review

The dynamic capability view (DCV) is one of the most vibrant approaches to strategic management. In this study, the extant literature published between 1994 and 2011 is analysed, using bibliometric methods in order to explore the scope of this approach and detect current research priorities. For this purpose, the method of bibliographic coupling is introduced in management research, which shifts the focus of analysis from past traditions to current trends. Several clusters of thematically related research are extracted from bibliographic networks, which represent interconnected yet distinct subfields of inquiry within the DCV. The core cluster of the current DCV, which visualizes this research field's nascent but fragile identity, focuses on learning and change capabilities and relates them to firm performance, thus merging aspects of organization theory and strategic management. In addition, several peripheral clusters of research are identified, which reflect a parallel process of differentiation in the overall field. Both trends, i.e. of integration and differentiation, attest to the emancipation of the DCV as a distinct approach to strategic management. However, the DCV still lacks consensual concepts that allow comparisons of empirical studies and advance the theoretical understanding of dynamic capabilities. In the light of the above, some implications of this analysis for further research are discussed.