Testing monotonic equilibrium residual entropy of N-State Random Evolution

In this study, we propose an information measure of uncertainty associated with the random equilibrium residual lifetime of a system driven by N-State Random Evolution. A U-statistic test driven by a moment inequality is proposed for testing the hypothesis that the uncertainty of equilibrium remaining life of a system remains unchanged (when system is in the steady state) against the alternative situation when system’s equilibrium residual life has increasing uncertainty over time (i.e., the life distribution has Increasing Equilibrium Residual Entropy property). Some numerical results such as tabulated critical values and empirical power of the proposed test statistic are presented as well.     

中国高等教育中的自主招生与人才选拔：来自北大、清华和人大的发现

本文通过对“首都大学生成长追踪调查”中三所精英大学（北京大学、清华大学和中国人民大学）具有代表性样本的数据分析,从教育公平和人才选拔效率两个角度检验了自主招生政策实施的效果。研究结果表明,从教育公平的方面来讲,获得自主招生破格录取的学生更有可能来自父母受过高等教育的家庭、城市家庭和好的重点高中。从人才选拔效率的角度来讲,获得自主招生破格录取学生的学业表现、社会活动能力、非认知能力、毕业后的计划和实际去向与统招学生却并无显著差别。本文的发现对于如何完善自主招生政策、促进教育公平、科学选拔和培养优秀人才等议题具有重要的政策启示意义。     

“农转非”、人力资本回报与收入不平等——基于分位数回归分解的方法

随着中国城镇化进程的推进,越来越多的农村户籍人口实现了身份转换,成为制度认可的新市民。本文利用中国综合社会调查（CGSS）数据发现,即使户口状况相同,"新市民"与"老市民"之间依然存在一定的收入差距。分位数回归及其分解的结果显示,"农转非"人群在劳动力市场上仍受到制度性或非制度性歧视,且歧视程度随着分位数的变化呈现倒U型趋势。同时,"农转非"人群内部也存在较大的差异,歧视降低了自致型"农转非"人群相较于城市原居民的禀赋优势,而外致型"农转非"人群则面临人力资本劣势与就业市场歧视的双重压力。     

The U.S. Economic Polity,Social Identity,and International Human Rights

In this essay, I provide some complementary perspectives on certain themes that emerge in Judith Blau's (2016) timely and insightful article, “Human Rights: What the United States Might Learn from the Rest of the World and, Yes, from American Sociology.” In response, I offer some very brief reflections structured through two prisms by which we might think further about the United States and human rights. These perspectives pick up on the core issue of Blau's article, the U.S. rejection of socioeconomic rights, and how this issue in turn relates first to the “social identity” of the United States as a whole, and second to the role of the political economy in states' recognition of human rights.     

Racial/Ethnic Patterns of Kindergarten School Enrollment in the United States

Enrollment into unequal schools at the start of formal education is an important mechanism for the reproduction of racial/ethnic educational inequalities. We examine whether there are racial/ethnic differences in school enrollment options at kindergarten, the start of schooling. We use nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study‐Birth Cohort (ECLS‐B) to model whether parents seek information about their child's school before enrolling, whether parents move to a location so that a child can attend a certain school, or whether parents enroll their child in a school other than the assigned public school. Results indicate that enrollment patterns differ greatly across race/ethnicity. Whereas Black families are the most likely to seek information on a school's performance, White families are the most likely to use the elite option of choosing their residential location to access a particular school. These differences persist when controlling for socioeconomic status and sociogeographic location. Kindergarten enrollment patterns preserve the advantages of White families, perpetuating racial/ethnic disparities through multiple institutions and contributing to intergenerational processes of social stratification. Research should continue to examine specific educational consequences of housing inequities and residential segregation.     

Stagnation only on the surface? The implications of skill and family responsibilities for the gender wage gap in Sweden, 1974–2010

The wage differential between women and men persists in advanced economies despite the inflow of women into qualified occupations in recent years. Using five waves of the Swedish Level‐of‐Living Survey (LNU), this paper explores the gender wage gap in Sweden during the 1974–2010 period overall and by skill level. The empirical analyses showed that the general gender wage gap has been nearly unchanged for the past 30 years. However, the gender difference in wage in less qualified occupations fell considerably, whereas the gender pay gap remained stable for men and women in qualified occupations. The larger significance of family responsibilities for wages in qualified occupations is one likely explanation for this result.     

Income inequality,poverty and crime across nations

We examine the relationship between income inequality, poverty, and different types of crime. Our results are consistent with recent research in showing that inequality is unrelated to homicide rates when poverty is controlled. In our multi‐level analyses of the International Crime Victimization Survey we find that inequality is unrelated to assault, robbery, burglary, and theft when poverty is controlled. We argue that there are also theoretical reasons to doubt that the level of income inequality of a country affects the likelihood of criminal behaviour.     

Repelling the “Rutter”: Social Differentiation Among Rural Teenagers

This paper examines low‐income white rural teenagers' management of race and class‐based inequality. It analyzes how these teenagers constructed boundaries to distinguish themselves from outsiders, but also to distinguish themselves from the local abject category of “rutter.” The findings reveal hidden interconnections between race and class in interactional practice, and highlight local processes of differentiation through which actors attempt to deflect stigma and attain credibility. The paper discusses how interactional mechanisms such as “internal othering” and “stigma‐theory” bolster race and class credibility, but reproduce inequality.     

Trust and Estate Planning: The Emergence of a Profession and Its Contribution to Socioeconomic Inequality1

This article offers a new perspective on the connection between socioeconomic inequality and occupations by examining the impact of trust and estate planners on global wealth stratification. While many studies treat the professions as mirrors of inequalities in their environments, this article looks at the ways professionals participate in the creation of stratification regimes. Trust and estate planners do this by sheltering their clients' assets from taxation, thereby preserving private wealth for future generations. Using tools such as trusts, offshore banks, and shell corporations, these professionals keep a significant portion of the world’s private wealth beyond the reach of the state. Trust and estate planning thus contributes to creating and maintaining socioeconomic inequality on a global scale. The significance of the profession has grown as wealth itself has become more fungible, spurring innovation in legal, organizational, and financial strategies, and thwarting a myriad of laws and policies designed to limit enduring inequality in modern, democratic societies.     

Apathy and Antipathy: Media Coverage of Restrictive Immigration Legislation and the Maintenance of Symbolic Boundaries

Although the government no longer explicitly establishes boundaries of whiteness, it continues to play a central role in shaping symbolic boundaries between immigrants and nonimmigrants through immigration lawmaking. However, the salience of these boundaries may depend on how the media disseminate them to the public. In this study, we investigate media framing of immigration lawmaking using an original data set of news coverage of six of the most widely recognized exclusionary immigration bills and laws at different levels of government. Two patterns emerged from an iterative frame analysis. First, in their coverage of frames critical of these bills and laws, outlets devoted more attention to the effects of exclusionary legislation for nonimmigrants. Second, in their coverage of frames supportive of the restrictive legislation, outlets provided more space to those who openly associated immigrants with criminality and terrorism. Regardless of outlets’ seemingly neutral stance toward restrictive legislation, their disparate coverage of exclusionary lawmaking demonstrates apathy and antipathy toward immigrants, which has repercussions for the maintenance of inequality.