Applicability of a Neuroprobabilistic Integral Risk Index for the Environmental Management of Polluted Areas: A Case Study

Recently, we developed a GIS-Integrated Integral Risk Index (IRI) to assess human health risks in areas with presence of environmental pollutants. Contaminants were previously ranked by applying a self-organizing map (SOM) to their characteristics of persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity in order to obtain the Hazard Index (HI). In the present study, the original IRI was substantially improved by allowing the entrance of probabilistic data. A neuroprobabilistic HI was developed by combining SOM and Monte Carlo analysis. In general terms, the deterministic and probabilistic HIs followed a similar pattern: polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and light polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were the pollutants showing the highest and lowest values of HI, respectively. However, the bioaccumulation value of heavy metals notably increased after considering a probability density function to explain the bioaccumulation factor. To check its applicability, a case study was investigated. The probabilistic integral risk was calculated in the chemical/petrochemical industrial area of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain), where an environmental program has been carried out since 2002. The risk change between 2002 and 2005 was evaluated on the basis of probabilistic data of the levels of various pollutants in soils. The results indicated that the risk of the chemicals under study did not follow a homogeneous tendency. However, the current levels of pollution do not mean a relevant source of health risks for the local population. Moreover, the neuroprobabilistic HI seems to be an adequate tool to be taken into account in risk assessment processes.     

中国省际人口流动与人力资本流动差异性分析

人力资本流动与人口流动相关却不相同,本文采用2010-2016年全国流动人口动态监测数据,从流动方向和流动强度两方面对我国省际人口流动引致的人力资本流动现象加以研究。结果表明从流动方向分析,各省人口净流动方向基本呈现时间一致性并且流入流出区域具有稳定性。在调查期间人口净流出省份为16个,人口净流入省份为15个,没有明显变化。人力资本净流向与人口净流向完全一致,但省际人口净流向与高级人力资本净流向并不完全一致,山西、广西、重庆等省市的高级人力资本净流向始终与总人力资本净流向相反。本文采用流出流入比率和迁移选择中心两种指标测算人力资本流动强度,结果基本一致。人力资本流动中心与人口流动中心分布均较为固定。2010年人力资本流动强度最大的省份在2016年的流动强度也更强,流动强度在省际呈现惯性和马太效应。人力资本流入最强地区包括北京、天津、上海三个直辖市,人力资本流出最强省份始终包括安徽、四川、河南等省份。以人力资本流出弹性衡量人力资本流出强度与人口流出强度的相对强弱,东部地区、东北地区省份人力资本的流出强度始终大于人口流出强度,西部地区省份差异较大。考虑各省近五年经济增长状况,人口流动或者人...     

Bootstrapping Malmquist Indices for Danish Seiners in the North Sea and Skagerrak

In connection with assessing how an ongoing development in fisheries management may change fishing activity, evaluation of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) change over a period, including efficiency, scale and technology changes, is an important tool. The Malmquist index, based on distance functions evaluated with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), is often employed to estimate TFP changes. DEA is generally gaining attention for evaluating efficiency and capacity in fisheries. One main criticism of DEA is that it does not have any statistical foundation, i.e. that it is not possible to make inference about DEA scores or related parameters. The bootstrap method for estimating confidence intervals of deterministic parameters can however be applied to estimate confidence intervals for DEA scores. This method is applied in the present paper for assessing TFP changes between 1987 and 1999 for the fleet of Danish seiners operating in the North Sea and the Skagerrak.     

中国各地区市场化进程区位分布的空间效应研究

 本文从空间分析的角度研究各地区市场化进程的空间效应及其对区域经济增长绩效的影响,空间计量经济分析的结果表明市场化进程的空间分布在整个样本区间与GDP、资本和劳动一样呈现出集聚的趋势,区域差异显著,各地区的市场化进程在地理空间上存在显著的自相关关系,证实了各地区市场化进程存在制度溢出效应。因此,在研究各地区市场化进程与经济增长关系时必须考虑其空间效应的影响,基于此结论本文运用空间计量模型测算了各地区市场化进程对经济增长的贡献。结果证实,考虑了空间效应后,市场化进程在1998～2001年阶段对经济增长的贡献约为6.2％,在2002～2005年阶段约为10.8％,这表明了市场化对中国的经济增长起到了重要的作用,而且近年来的贡献愈加显著。     

城镇劳动力市场城乡分割的程度与特征 ——基于浙江数据的经验研究

 劳动力市场的城乡分割意味着经济效率的损失,一直来备受关注。本文构建了一个劳动力市场城乡分割指数,基于中国城镇住户调查浙江省的数据,测量了城镇劳动力市场城乡分割的程度。结果显示：在工资回报层面,相对高端领域的分割程度弱于相对低端领域,但在就业机会层面,相对高端领域的分割程度强于相对低端领域。为此我们建议：劳动力市场管理上重点关注低端劳动力市场中城乡劳动者的同工同酬问题,公共政策设计上重点关注高端劳动力市场中城乡劳动力的平等就业机会问题。     

Order statistics from trivariate normal and -distributions in terms of generalized skew-normal and skew- distributions

We consider here a generalization of the skew-normal distribution, GSN(λ₁,λ₂,ρ), defined through a standard bivariate normal distribution with correlation ρ, which is a special case of the unified multivariate skew-normal distribution studied recently by Arellano-Valle and Azzalini [2006. On the unification of families of skew-normal distributions. Scand. J. Statist. 33, 561–574]. We then present some simple and useful properties of this distribution and also derive its moment generating function in an explicit form. Next, we show that distributions of order statistics from the trivariate normal distribution are mixtures of these generalized skew-normal distributions; thence, using the established properties of the generalized skew-normal distribution, we derive the moment generating functions of order statistics, and also present expressions for means and variances of these order statistics.Next, we introduce a generalized skew-t_ν distribution, which is a special case of the unified multivariate skew-elliptical distribution presented by Arellano-Valle and Azzalini [2006. On the unification of families of skew-normal distributions. Scand. J. Statist. 33, 561–574] and is in fact a three-parameter generalization of Azzalini and Capitanio's [2003. Distributions generated by perturbation of symmetry with emphasis on a multivariate skew t distribution. J. Roy. Statist. Soc. Ser. B 65, 367–389] univariate skew-t_ν form. We then use the relationship between the generalized skew-normal and skew-t_ν distributions to discuss some properties of generalized skew-t_ν as well as distributions of order statistics from bivariate and trivariate t_ν distributions. We show that these distributions of order statistics are indeed mixtures of generalized skew-t_ν distributions, and then use this property to derive explicit expressions for means and variances of these order statistics.     

各省区季度GDP数据质量评估

  国内外学者对我国GDP数据质量的质疑重点已从年度数据转到季度数据,从全国数据转向地方数据。本文通过设计一套较为系统且可操作性强的季度GDP评估指标体系,运用空间面板数据模型对各省区的季度GDP数据质量进行了实证检验。结果表明,整体来看,中国各省区季度GDP同各经济指标的匹配性较好,数据质量较高,并不存在明显的失真现象;从时间上来看,每年一、二季度的GDP存在一定程度的高估,而每年三、四季度的GDP则存在一定程度的低估,但是这种偏差在统计上不显著;分地区来看,尽管一半省区的季度GDP存在一定程度的高估,另一半省区存在一定程度的低估,但大部分省区高估或低估的程度在统计上不显著。文章进一步分析了其中的原因。     

基尼系数的区间估计及其应用

 本文给出了收入为离散分布的三种计算基尼系数的新方法。利用收入份额法导出了基尼系数协方差算法的离散形式,并因此产生了计算基尼系数的回归系数法。文章重点讨论了基尼系数进行区间估计的两种方法,这些方法也适用于集中度指数,因而它们在测度社会经济领域的不平等中具有着十分广泛的用途。实际应用表明,新算法有效地简化了对基尼系数区间估计的标准差估算。     

Estimation of Laspeyres Price Indexes Using the Prediction Approach for Finite Population Sampling

Estimators of chain and fixed-base Laspeyres price indexes are studied using the prediction approach to finite population sampling. The estimators include some that are based on those used in several U.S. government index programs and others derived from prediction models. Biases and variances of the estimators are studied for a case in which the reference period index weights are unknown for nonsample items. Under a model for a one-period price change in which items have common within-stratum means, unbiased estimators can be constructed, but under a more general regression model, special sample balance conditions are needed for unbiasedness of those estimators. The theory for the estimators of fixed-base indexes is illustrated in an empirical study using a population of items priced for the U.S. Consumer Price Index.     

The True Cost-of-Living Index With Changing Preferences

This article investigates the theoretical and empirical properties of a true cost-of-living index under conditions of changing preferences. A family of true indexes is defined based on the notion of the current utility function. A particular index, based on the previous period's utility level, is then defined. Given this definition, a true cost-of-living index is computed based on a quadratic expenditure system estimated with quarterly data from 1960–1981. For empirical purposes, changes in preferences are represented by the linear habit formation hypothesis. This index is then compared with Paasche and Laspeyres indexes. The true cost-of-living index grows somewhat faster than either the Paasche or Laspeyres index. It also displays considerably more variability.