Diagnostics for glms with linear inequality parameter constraints

This paper proposes an iterative process, that can be implemented using GLIM, for fitting generalized linear models with linear inequality parameter constraints, when the maximum likelihood estimates exist and are unique. A one-step estimate is also introduced and some diagnostic measures are obtained. Finally an example is given for illustration.     

Cohpasisons of improved bonferroni and sidak/slepian bounds with applications to normal markov processes

The recent literature contains theorems improving on both the standard Bonferroni inequality (Hoover (1990)) and the Sidak/Slepian inequalities (Glaz and Johnson (1984)), The application of these improved theorems to upper bounds for non coverage of simultaneous confidence intervals on multivariate normal variables is explored. The improved Bonferroni upper bounds always hold, while improved Sidak/Slepian bounds only apply to special cases. It is shown that improved Sidak/Slepian bounds will always hold for Normal Markov Processes, a commonly occuring and easily identifiable class of multivariate normal variables. The improved Sidak/Slepian upper bound, if it applies, is proven to be superior to the computationally equivalent improved Bonferroni bound. This improvement, however, is not great when both methods are used to determine upper bounds for Type I error in the range of .01 to .10.     

Not all luck is created equal: Sources of income inequality and willingness to redistribute

Despite steadily rising inequality in the US over the last few decades, demand for increasing tax rates and redistribution has not increased. A growing literature argues that one reason for this is that people might perceive inequality to be fair. This literature has documented that Americans tend to perceive economic inequality stemming from merit as being fair and inequality stemming from luck as unfair. However, “lucky breaks” in the real world do not necessarily come from a lottery or random chance but from the actions of the government favoring a “lucky” few. People might be more willing to redistribute if it compensates those negatively affected by government action. Using an online experiment we show that luck stemming from the action of a government-like actor influences individuals’ desire to redistribute earnings making them more likely to favor redistribution than in instances where inequality is caused by merit or by random luck.     

Does globalization drive long-run inequality within OECD countries? A guide to policy making

We analyse around four decades of annual time-series data revisiting the long-run relationship between globalization and income inequality for 24 OECD member countries across different geographical regions, applying the Yamamoto-Kurozumi multivariate vector autoregression (VAR) framework. We observe that rapid globalization is not the key cause of rising long-run intra country inequality. This result is obtained by controlling for growth, terms of trade, minimum wage legislation, and unionization and found robust by further controlling education. Most of the countries in our study with a long-run relationship reveal the robust reverse causal impact of rising globalization on reducing inequality. Our impulse response breakdown across various sub-components of globalization suggests that economic globalization is not a primary contributor to long-run inequality for developed industrialized countries. Our framework guides future research to concentrate more on country-specific relationships, with policy guidance tailored for each country based on their level of economic development and institutional quality.     

Join to connect? Voluntary involvement,social capital,and socioeconomic inequalities

Access to social capital is stratified by socioeconomic status and has been cross-sectionally linked to involvement in voluntary organizations. Yet, we know little about the origin and interplay of these empirical regularities. Regression analyses on German panel data (SC6-NEPS) reveal that people rich in social capital join organizations more often (selection). Furthermore, joiners access more and higher-status social capital after joining (socializing opportunities). Low-status individuals disproportionally extend their reach towards higher positions through involvement but join less often. Compared to a counterfactual situation in which nobody joins, current involvement patterns marginally reduce some socioeconomic inequalities in access to social capital.     

Cognitive and non-cognitive traits and the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic inequality

This paper studies the roles of cognitive and non-cognitive characteristics in a standard Roemerian Inequality of Opportunity (IOP) model. Using Australian microdata, we model the effects of individuals’ backgrounds and their psychological traits on two adult income variables. We find that measurable psychological traits (intelligence, locus of control, big five personality traits) are slightly more important than background characteristics (such as race, gender, social class at birth) in explaining income disparities. However, the fraction of IOP confounded by psychological factors is small (11%–12%), which suggests that background inequalities do not meaningfully reflect differences in cognitive or non-cognitive ability.