Nonparametric regression for functional data: Automatic smoothing parameter selection

We study regression estimation when the explanatory variable is functional. Nonparametric estimates of the regression operator have been recently introduced. They depend on a smoothing factor which controls its behavior, and the aim of our work is to construct some data-driven criterion for choosing this smoothing parameter. The criterion can be formulated in terms of a functional version of cross-validation ideas. Under mild assumptions on the unknown regression operator, it is seen that this rule is asymptotically optimal. As by-products of this result, we state some asymptotic equivalences for several measures of accuracy for nonparametric estimate of the regression operator. We also present general inequalities for bounding moments of random sums involving functional variables. Finally, a short simulation study is carried out to illustrate the behavior of our method for finite samples.     

Party to inequality: Right party power and income inequality in affluent Western democracies

Much social science suggests that income inequality is a product of economic and demographic factors and recent work highlights the influence of Leftist politics in affluent Western democracies. But, prior research has neglected rightist politics. We examine the impact of cumulative right party power on three measures of income inequality in an unbalanced panel of 16 affluent Western democracies from 1969 to 2000. We find that cumulative right party power significantly increases inequality with effects comparable to other established causes. Left party power has less influence than the right on the Gini coefficient and the 90/50 ratio but a larger influence on the 90/10 ratio. Union density is insignificant after controlling for right party power. Right party power partly channels through and partly combines with government expenditures to affect inequality. Temporal interactions show that right parties became more influential after 1989 while left parties became less effective. Supplementary analyses suggest that a component of right party power's effects occurs through labor market inequality prior to taxes and transfers. Sensitivity analyses reveal that the results are robust to a wide variety of alternative specifications and operationalizations and do not depend on the inclusion of the U.S. in the sample. Our results inform debates about the sources of inequality and related sociological theories regarding class, politics, the state and the economy.     

关于正定自共轭矩阵的Kronecker乘积与Hadamard乘积的行列式的界限研究

本文给出了正定自共轭矩阵的Ｋｒｏｎｅｃｋｅｒ乘积与Ｈａｄａｍａｒｄ乘积的行列式的界限的不等式,推广改进了相关文献结论．     

Inequality of opportunity in the United Kingdom, 1991–2008

We investigate the extent to which the tax-and-transfer system of the United Kingdom equalizes opportunities for income attainment among citizens. Within the framework of Roemer’s theory of Equality of Opportunity, and using individual data from the British Household Panel Survey from 1991 to 2008, we calculate the tax rates necessary to equalize opportunities for different circumstances. We provide a ranking of these circumstances by the degree to which they influence income attainment. Although pre-fisc equality of opportunity increases over time, the tax rate necessary to equalize opportunities remains higher than the observed tax rate. Only under a relatively high labour supply elasticity the observed UK tax rate fares well in equalizing opportunities for income attainment.     

Wealth in Couples: Introduction to the Special Issue

The assumption that economic resources are equally shared within households has been found to be untenable for income but is still often upheld for wealth. In this introduction to the special issue “Wealth in Couples”, we argue that within-household inequality in wealth is a pertinent and under-researched area that is ripe for development. To this end, we outline the relevance of wealth for demographic research, making the distinction between individual and household wealth. Drawing on a life-course perspective, we discuss individual wealth accumulation within couples and its links to family-demographic processes, the institutional context, and norms on pooling and sharing. We conclude with a brief summary of the main findings from the special issue and highlight implications for demographic research and for future research in this field.     

Knowledge and beliefs about national development and developmental hierarchies: The viewpoints of ordinary people in thirteen countries

Scholars and policy makers have for centuries constructed and used developmental hierarchies to characterize different countries. The hypotheses motivating this paper are that such social constructions have been circulated internationally, are constructed similarly in various countries, and follow the social constructions of elite international organizations, such as the United Nations. This paper uses data from 15 surveys in 13 diverse countries to study how developmental hierarchies are understood in everyday life. Our research shows that most people have constructions of developmental hierarchies that are similar across countries and are similar to the developmental hierarchies constructed by the United Nations. These findings suggest that developmental hierarchies are widely understood around the world and are widely available to ordinary people as they make decisions about many aspects of life.     

Is immigrant neighborhood inequality less pronounced in suburban areas?

We investigate suburbanization and neighborhood inequality among 14 immigrant groups using census tract data from the 2008–2012 American Community Survey. Immigrant neighborhood inequality is defined here as the degree to which immigrants reside in neighborhoods that are poorer than the neighborhoods in which native whites reside. Using city and suburb Gini coefficients which reflect the distributions of groups across neighborhoods with varying poverty rates, we find that the immigrant-white gap is attenuated in the suburbs. This finding applies to most of the nativity groups and remains after accounting for metropolitan context, the segregation of poverty, and group-specific segregation levels, poverty rates, and acculturation characteristics. Despite reduced neighborhood inequality in the suburbs, large group differences persist. A few immigrant groups achieve residential parity or better vis-à-vis suburban whites while others experience high levels of neighborhood inequality and receive marginal residential returns on suburban location.     

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.     

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.     

The impact of trade liberalisation on poverty and inequality: Evidence from CGE models

In this paper we carry out a systematic review of the evidence from CGE models regarding the effect of trade liberalisation on income inequality and poverty in developing countries. The evidence suggests quite strongly that trade liberalisation tends to reduce poverty, but is more likely to increase inequality than reduce it; however, the predicted effects are relatively small. Variation in the size and direction of effects can be explained by the choice of outcome measure, the fiscal response to liberalisation, the type of CGE model, and certain country characteristics – but not the method used to link the CGE model to the distribution of income.