The Impact of Social Expenditure on Attitudes Towards Immigration in Europe

There is a growing body of literature dealing with the causes behind anti-immigrant sentiment and xenophobia. Based on the literature on the fiscal burden model, this paper contends that the differences in attitudes toward immigration, between low and high statuses, can be explained by the size of the welfare state. We argue that the impact of socio-economic status on attitudes toward immigration is larger in countries where social expenditure is high. Since a potential increase in the number of welfare recipients due to new immigrants might lead to a reduction in per capita transfers, low-income individuals in these countries are expected to be more concerned about the effect of immigration on social benefits. Using multilevel models and data from the European Social Survey we have found that while the effect of socio-economic status on attitudes toward immigration is positive there is a great deal of variation between countries. The difference in attitudes between high and low socio-economic statuses increases as social expenditure increases. Moreover, increases of social expenditure in the short run increases anti-immigrant sentiment as it raises concerns about the impact of immigration on welfare services.     

Detecting serial dependencies with the reproducibility probability autodependogram

The autodependogram is a graphical device recently proposed in the literature to analyze autodependencies. This paper proposes a normalization of this diagram taking into consideration the concept of reproducibility probability (RP). The result is a novel tool, named RP-autodependogram, which permits to study the strength and the stability of the evidence about the presence of lag-dependence. A simulation study on well-established time-series models is carried out to investigate the behavior of the RP-autodependogram also in comparison with other diagrams studying autodependencies. An application to financial data is finally considered to appreciate its usefulness in the identification of parametric/nonparametric models.     

TRADE COSTS AND JOB FLOWS: EVIDENCE FROM ESTABLISHMENT‐LEVEL DATA

Changes in the costs of trading inputs or final goods affect establishment‐level job flows. Using a longitudinal database containing the universe of manufacturing establishments in California from 1992 to 2004, we find that a decline in input or final‐good trade costs is associated with job destruction in the least productive establishments, job creation in the most productive establishments, and an increase in the death likelihood of the least productive establishments. The evidence is consistent with predictions of models of trade with heterogeneous firms. Additionally, the evidence shows that the effects of input trade costs on establishment‐level job flows are larger than the effects of final‐good trade costs. (JEL F14, F16)     

Objective career success among paramedics: interaction effects of location and race

The purpose of the present study is to examine objective career success for paramedics. Specifically, it examined the effects of race (Minority versus White) and location of work (rural versus non-rural) on the objective career success of paramedics, as measured by salary. Multiple regression analyses were conducted on 10 years of data from nationally representative samples of paramedics. Results showed that the human capital variables of hours worked, experience, and education predicted objective career success. In addition, rural paramedics earned significantly less than do their counterparts in non-rural areas. Although far fewer in number than White paramedics, Minority paramedics appeared to earn more than White paramedics. The study concludes with suggestions for human resource development (HRD) practitioners and for further research.     

Family networks in Andalusia,Spain

Family networks are a key resource for care in Spain, but this does not mean that they are explained by tradition or ideology. In fact, they are playing an important role in family change towards the dual-earner model supporting the involvement of mothers in paid work. The article analyses the structure of individuals' family networks as circles of non-cohabitant relatives which are kept active by relations, expectations, and mutual services. The information is based on the Family Networks Survey of Andalusia done in 2005 in this Spanish region to a wide sample of 10,000 interviewees.     

Mental health and substance use disorders among foster youth transitioning to adulthood: Past research and future directions

At a time when there is increasing attention being given to systematically integrating the well-being of children with the goals of safety and permanence in child welfare, little is known about the psychosocial functioning of foster youth transitioning to adulthood from substitute care. This article systematically reviews 16 peer-reviewed articles and/or research reports to identify lifetime and past year prevalence rates of mental health disorders and service utilization. At ages 17 or 18, foster youth are 2 to 4 times more likely to suffer from lifetime and/or past year mental health disorders compared to transition aged youth in the general population. Findings show that mental health service use declines at ages when the prevalence rate of mental health disorders is peaking. The findings of this review suggest the need to focus future efforts in three main areas: 1) setting a common research agenda for the study of mental health and service use; 2) routine screening and empirically supported treatments; and 3) integration and planning between child and adult mental health service systems.     

The Role of Family Background in the Heterogeneity of Self-Employment in Some Transition Countries

Aim of this paper is to shed light on how some determinants, especially in the spheres of family background, differently affect the heterogeneous category of self-employment across four transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovak Republic), where more or less restrictive policies towards start-ups have been implemented during the pre-1989 years, different liberalization processes have gradually been carried out and distinct policy interventions to support self-employment have been adopted in the post-1989 period. At this end, three-stage structural multinomial logit models as discrete choice models are estimated on 2005 EU-SILC data, which also allows to account for generational changes over time. Country-specific profiles of self-employment are drawn and, even though the self-employment is often devised in a dualist perspective, which stresses its marginal nature as refuge from poverty rather than a way to accumulate capital, significant differentiations within the ranks of self-employed also exist.     

More on independent decisiveness and Arrow's theorem

Denicolò [2, Theorem 1] strengthens Arrow's [1, p. 97] theorem by replacing the independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA) condition by a strictly weaker one, relational independent decisiveness (RID). It is shown here that RID can be still substantially weakened. Yet, the new condition is equivalent to RID under the weak Pareto principle P and unrestricted domain U. In fact, any condition that can be put in place of IIA in Arrow's theorem must imply RID in the presence of P and U. Incidentally, it is argued that Denicolò's proof of his Theorem 1 contains an imprecision. Received: 7 March 2000/Accepted: 11 December 2000     

Abstention as an escape from Arrow's theorem

There are non-dictatorial social welfare functions satisfying the Pareto principle and Arrow's independence of irrelevant alternatives when voters can abstain. In particular, with just seven voters, the number of dictatorial social welfare functions satisfying Arrow's conditions could be deemed, relative to the total number of social welfare functions satisfying Arrow's conditions, negligible.