Asymmetric Forecast Densities for U.S. Macroeconomic Variables from a Gaussian Copula Model of Cross-Sectional and Serial Dependence

Most existing reduced-form macroeconomic multivariate time series models employ elliptical disturbances, so that the forecast densities produced are symmetric. In this article, we use a copula model with asymmetric margins to produce forecast densities with the scope for severe departures from symmetry. Empirical and skew t distributions are employed for the margins, and a high-dimensional Gaussian copula is used to jointly capture cross-sectional and (multivariate) serial dependence. The copula parameter matrix is given by the correlation matrix of a latent stationary and Markov vector autoregression (VAR). We show that the likelihood can be evaluated efficiently using the unique partial correlations, and estimate the copula using Bayesian methods. We examine the forecasting performance of the model for four U.S. macroeconomic variables between 1975:Q1 and 2011:Q2 using quarterly real-time data. We find that the point and density forecasts from the copula model are competitive with those from a Bayesian VAR. During the recent recession the forecast densities exhibit substantial asymmetry, avoiding some of the pitfalls of the symmetric forecast densities from the Bayesian VAR. We show that the asymmetries in the predictive distributions of GDP growth and inflation are similar to those found in the probabilistic forecasts from the Survey of Professional Forecasters. Last, we find that unlike the linear VAR model, our fitted Gaussian copula models exhibit nonlinear dependencies between some macroeconomic variables. This article has online supplementary material.     

Connecting the gendered door: women, violence and doorwork

This paper explores the emerging role of women who work as 'bouncers', or doorstaff, in the night-time economy and examines how the cultural capital of the female bouncer is connected to the methods utilized to control licensed premises. It is drawn from a study that combined ethnographic observations and interviews in five major UK cities which explored a diverse range of issues such as gendered bodies, femininities and violence; the changing needs of the night-time economy in the UK and the experiences of women engaged in 'non-traditional' occupations. In this paper, we draw on interview data with one particular category of female door staff; women who share similar histories of exposure to violence and violent cultures, and we examine how their experiential knowledge of violence equips them with the resources to 'work the doors'. Our attention focuses on this group of women, who we refer to as 'The Connected', and examine how they are 'doing gender' when they negotiate violence 'on the door'     

The changing practice of eating: evidence from UK time diaries, 1975 and 2000

This paper examines some central themes about change in consumption behaviour through an empirical investigation of the practice of eating. It analyses patterns of food consumption in the UK using time diary data from 1975 and 2000. The practice of eating is decomposed into four component activities which are used to explore systematically the inter-relationships between social processes - such as commodification and temporal fragmentation - and ways of providing and consuming food. It charts the expansion of eating out, the degree to which it substitutes for other eating activities, and the implications of its development for social relations and the temporal organization of daily life. Analysis reveals that food consumption continues to be differentiated along established lines of social division, although the content of those divisions has changed and varies across components of the practice. Increasing commodification of the food chain is documented, but without appearing to have a corrosive impact on household organization or social relationships. While tendencies indicative of temporal fragmentation are revealed, counter-tendencies exist which suggest that the practice of eating is resilient to many forms of external pressure. Finally, the application of a practice-based analytical approach permits critical evaluation of theories of social transformation.     

How Satisfied are Spouses with their Leisure Time? Evidence from Europe

This paper first identifies the determinants of spouses’ satisfaction levels within the household with respect to their leisure time and, secondly, characterizes whether their preferences have some degree of altruistic or egoistic character in regard to this particular satisfaction. To that end, it formulates a theoretical framework from the collective family model whose stochastic formulations are estimated for 14 EU countries. The general empirical results first reveal that the presence of children has a significantly negative impact on the leisure satisfaction of both spouses. Then, increases in individual incomes lead to lower own leisure satisfaction levels. Both husbands and wives show egoistic behavior with respect to the labor and non-labor incomes (wage rate) of their respective spouses’ satisfaction levels.

数字经济对地区经济增长差距的影响效应分析

文章基于中国30个省(自治区、直辖市)2013—2020年的面板数据,运用固定效应模型、中介效应模型和空间杜宾模型等方法,实证检验了数字经济发展对地区经济的影响及其传导机制。研究发现,数字经济发展显著缩小地区之间的经济差距,运用工具变量估计、替换被解释变量、剔除异常值等方法进行稳健性检验后,该结论依然成立。中介效应分析表明,地区创新能力是数字经济缩小地区间经济差距的重要机制。空间溢出效应分析表明,数字经济发展对地区间经济增长差距的缩小具有负向的溢出效应。空间异质性分析表明,东部地区数字经济发展对地区经济增长差距的缩小效应相比中部、西部地区更显著;南、北方的异质性分析表明,北方地区数字经济发展对地区经济增长差距的缩小的积极作用比南方更显著。最后,为我国发展数字经济、充分发挥数字经济对缩小地区经济差距,实现地区间协调发展提出政策建议。     

数字经济条件下电商平台责任认定难题和治理出路

在我国大力发展数字经济的时代背景下,电商平台具有独特的法律地位,在为平台内经营者与消费者之间搭建交易平台时,其凭借与二者间形成的平台服务关系,间接地对交易关系发挥着实质影响,成为隔离买卖双方的信息要素持有者。在消费者权益保护方面,我国立法虽然严格地规定了电商平台的过错责任和连带责任,但在因平台消费引发的民事案件中,极少出现判令由平台向消费者担责的判例。细究判理,虽然立法上有较为全面的责任设计,但与个案层面人民法院需要遵循的追责逻辑并不契合,立法规定的电商平台责任面临着严重的实施困境。从实践情况看,困境集中表现为:在认定平台存在主观明知时缺乏裁判标准,在确认违法经营行为出现后电商平台所采取的措施是否具有必要性时缺乏明确的程度衡量规范,导致消费者因举证不力而败诉。根本上讲,原因在于相关立法仍秉承电商平台是交易辅助人的传统思维。这与其在数字经济凭借技术优势对买卖双方享有的强势地位并不相符,故而应当基于数字经济区别于传统经济的特征,构建涉电商平台纠纷的数字经济责任模式;在价值理念上纠正商品服务关系中认定电商平台的误区,回到平台与用户的数字信息服务关系上,明确其应当负有的法律责任,促进平台与政府、用户、社会主体共同打造数字经济秩序的治理合作关系。     

试论数字色彩应用

介绍色彩数字编程和色彩数字设计方法。将数字的可变性应用到色彩编程和色彩设计之中,以期对艺术设计中手工颜料调配、提高色彩的准确度及色彩的复制与研究提供参考。     

通货膨胀目标制--一个可能的最优货币政策操作规则

相机抉择的货币政策由于时间非一致性而具有通货膨胀倾向,经济学者为解决时间非一致性问题设计了各种方案,通货膨胀目标制就是其中之一。其优越性主要有:1.有效降低通货膨胀倾向;2.能兼顾灵活性和可信度;3.具有可操作性,一些西方国家已经采用该制度并且效果不错。实践证明,通货膨胀目标制可能是未来的最优货币操作规则。