Elasticity function of a discrete random variable and its properties

Elasticity (or elasticity function) is a new concept that allows us to characterize the probability distribution of any random variable in the same way as characteristic functions and hazard and reverse hazard functions do. Initially defined for continuous variables, it was necessary to extend the definition of elasticity and study its properties in the case of discrete variables. A first attempt to define discrete elasticity is seen in Veres-Ferrer and Pavía (2014a). This paper develops this definition and makes a comparative study of its properties, relating them to the properties shown by discrete hazard and reverse hazard, as both defined in Chechile (2011). Similar to continuous elasticity, one of the most interesting properties of discrete elasticity focuses on the rate of change that this undergoes throughout its support. This paper centers on the study of the rate of change and develops a set of properties that allows us to carry out a detailed analysis. Finally, it addresses the calculation of the elasticity for the resulting variable obtained from discretizing a continuous random variable, distinguishing whether its domain is in real positives or negatives.     

The Decomposition of Economic Outcomes as a Result of Changes in Brazil’s Male Age–Education Structure

In Brazil, the age and education compositions of the male labor force is changing with great regional variation. Based on Demographic Census microdata, results indicate that cohort size has a negative impact on earnings, but this effect is decreasing over time. In this study we consider the impact on earnings by age and education, as well as estimated income inequality reduction and racial differentials. Fertility decline and improve regarding educational attainment had a significant influence on the decline of income inequality in the country. Moreover, the non-white population has been experiencing less success in relation to educational achievement, compared to the white population.     

Exposure to Traffic and Risk of Hospitalization Due to Injuries

Research on the risk of motor vehicle injuries and their relationship with the amount of travel has been only partially analyzed. The few individual exposure assessments are related to very specific subsets of the driving and traveling populations. This study analyzes the relationship between kilometers traveled and hospitalization due to motor vehicle injuries. Twelve thousand three hundred and sixty nine Spanish university graduates from the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra multipurpose cohort study were evaluated. They had not been hospitalized due to motor vehicle injuries at baseline and were followed up to eight years. Biannual questionnaires allowed for self‐reporting of kilometers traveled in motor vehicles, together with incidence of hospitalization. Covariates in the Cox regression models included age and gender and baseline use of safety belt while driving, driving a vehicle with driver‐side airbag, driving a motorcycle, and drinking and driving. There were 49,766 participant‐years with an average yearly travel of 7,828 km per person‐year. Thirty‐six subjects reported a first hospitalization event during this time. The adjusted hazard ratio per additional kilometer traveled was 1.00005 (95% confidence interval 1.000013 to 1.000086). Even the smallest of reductions in the amount of kilometers traveled (from an average of 3,250 km per year to 1,000) has a statistically significant protective effect on the likelihood of sustaining hospitalization due to motor vehicle injury (aHR 0.9, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.98). In light of current policies aimed to reduce motorized traffic due to environmental concerns, it may be appropriate to consider the additional health benefit related to reductions in injuries.     

Regulation issues in the Italian local transport system: aligning transactions and governance structures

This paper refers to the concept of public governance in the light of Transaction Cost Economics (TCE). While TCE is well developed and widely applied in the private sector, only a few studies have adopted such framework to investigate the provision of public services. We aim at pointing out the coherence between peculiar typologies of transactions and a given set of governance structures, within Local Public Transport systems. The core of the analysis is the alignment between characteristics of transactions and governance structures. The empirical section addresses these issues referring to three case studies, pointing out an articulated organizational configuration in terms of actors involved and governance structures adopted. The analysis shows an alignment between the choices underlying the design of the local transport system and the outcomes expected in terms of TCE.     

Ranking opportunity sets in the space of functionings

We develop a ranking of compact, convex and comprehensive opportunity sets defined in the evaluative space of individual functionings. We suppose the existence of a target, that is a multi-dimensional bliss point in terms of functionings. This leads us to define concepts such as essentiality and freedomin a novel way. As a main result, we give an axiomatic characterization of the ranking obtained by minimizing the Euclidean distance between each opportunity set and the target.     

Measuring and Analysing Community Action for Health: An Indicator-Based Typology and Its Application to the Case of Barcelona

Social welfare systems face major challenges, particularly in a context of social transformation, austerity and growing inequalities. This process is highly visible in the health sector. In this context, many voices ask for public sector reforms and community action for health as a relevant practice. However, analyses and evaluations of this kind of practices are still limited, particularly beyond the cases of single community health actions or interventions. We still need to identify key indicators for measuring and characterising what community action for health consists of, as well as to what degree this kind of intervention has been developed across a city. Based on a research about 49 neighborhoods in Barcelona, this paper creates an index to measure and characterize community action for health, using different indicators: citizen engagement programs in community health, organizational transformation of the health and social protection systems, stable participatory structures with specific teams, and urban health policies. We apply the index to the case of Barcelona and build a map of community action for health in the city using 4 categories: strong community health development (one neighbourhood), middle (9 neighborhoods), emergent (25 neighborhoods) and without specific community health promotion (14 neighbourhoods). We find that community action for health is extensive within the city of Barcelona, have great potential as a response to the need for change in the relationship between the public (health) sector and the citizenry, but is still implemented unequally across the urban territory in terms of types and methods.     

The effects of the interactive use of management control systems on process and organizational innovation

This study examines how the interactive use of management control systems (iMCS) affects process and organizational innovation. Firstly, it is postulated that iMCS directly influences the development of process and organizational innovations. Secondly, we argue in favor of a moderating role of iMCS in the relationship between innovation and financial performance. Most studies of MCS and innovation have focused on new product development. However, process and organizational innovations follow innovation patterns that clearly differ from product innovation. The research model is empirically examined using data collected from a survey of 230 firms. Results from a structural model tested applying Partial Least Squares regression, controlling for size, family ownership, R&D, and product innovation, reveal that iMCS fosters process and organizational innovation. Results also suggest that iMCS could play a moderator role in the relationship between process innovation and financial performance. These findings highlight the role of iMCS in process and organizational innovation, expanding previous literature on Simons’ Levers of Control and innovation. The results are also discussed with regard to their managerial implications.     

DOES HIGH COST OF MORTGAGE DEBT EXPLAIN WHY YOUNG ADULTS LIVE WITH THEIR PARENTS?

Young adults leave their parents' homes at a higher rate in Northern Europe or in the United States than in Southern Europe, with broad implications on labor market mobility and on fertility. We assess if differences in household formation are associated to differences in access to credit by estimating the impact of the cost of a mortgage on the probability that a young adult leaves his or her parents' home. Exogenous changes in the cost of credit are identified using the reform in 1998 and the cancellation in 2002 of Crédito Bonificado, a Portuguese program that provided four different reductions of the interest rate of mortgages signed by low‐ and medium‐income youth. Using a unique data set that links administrative records of debt with the 1998–2004 waves of the Employment Survey, we document three findings. First, borrowing among young adults fell when borrowing costs increased. Second, the elasticity of new household formation with respect to net interest rates lies between −0.8 and −3.3. Third, young adults responded to the increase in mortgage costs by delaying home purchases or by reducing the quality of housing services purchased, but there was only a modest increase of the probability of renting a new accommodation. (JEL: D91, H24, J13)     

(Un)available upon request: field experiment on researchers' willingness to share supplementary materials

This article reports results of a field experiment in which two hundred e-mails were sent to authors of recent articles in economics that had promised to send the interested reader supplementary material, such as alternative econometric specifications, "upon request." The e-mails were sent either by a researcher affiliated at Columbia University, New York or the University of Warsaw, Poland; furthermore, the authors' position (assistant professor) was specified in half the e-mails only. Overall, 64% of the approached authors responded to our message, of which two thirds (44% of the entire sample) delivered the requested materials. The frequency and speed of responding and delivering were very weakly affected by the position and affiliation of the sender. Gender or affiliation of the author, number of citations or journal impact factor or the type of object in question seemed to make no difference. However, authors of published articles were much more likely to share than authors of working papers.     

Incidence, Depth and Severity of Children in Poverty

Recently, the first ever estimate of the number of children living poverty in developing countries was undertaken. The incidence of child poverty was estimated by establishing how many children suffer severe deprivation in at least one out of seven indicators which are internationally recognized as their rights as well as constitutive of poverty. This is a major step forward in the analysis of poverty. In this paper, we generalize these findings on the incidence of children living in poverty by exploring how to estimate the depth and severity of child poverty. Two countries can have the same proportion of children living in poverty, however, the actual plight of children could be very different depending on how many deprivations, on average, children suffer. In addition, even if they suffer from the same average number of deprivations, these deprivation could be the same for all children or be very unevenly distributed. We show how these considerations can be used to estimate the depth and severity of poverty. We use regional data to provide applied examples of this methodology. The method proposed in this paper is similar to the one used to estimate the incidence, depth and severity of income poverty. The paper also offers some possible generalizations and ways forward for future research.