Multiple event times in the presence of informative censoring: modeling and analysis by copulas

Motivated by a breast cancer research program, this paper is concerned with the joint survivor function of multiple event times when their observations are subject to informative censoring caused by a terminating event. We formulate the correlation of the multiple event times together with the time to the terminating event by an Archimedean copula to account for the informative censoring. Adapting the widely used two-stage procedure under a copula model, we propose an easy-to-implement pseudo-likelihood based procedure for estimating the model parameters. The approach yields a new estimator for the marginal distribution of a single event time with semicompeting-risks data. We conduct both asymptotics and simulation studies to examine the proposed approach in consistency, efficiency, and robustness. Data from the breast cancer program are employed to illustrate this research.

     

Re‐framing the Analysis: A 3‐dimensional Perspective of Prisoners’ Children's Well‐being

This article highlights three dimensions to understanding children's well‐being during and after parental imprisonment which have not been fully explored in current research. A consideration of ‘time’ reveals the importance of children's past experiences and their anticipated futures. A focus on ‘space’ highlights the impact of new or altered environmental dynamics. A study of ‘agency’ illuminates how children cope within structural, material and social confines which intensify vulnerability and dependency. This integrated perspective reveals important differences in individual children's experiences and commonalities in broader systemic and social constraints on prisoners’ children. The paper analyses data from a prospective longitudinal study of 35 prisoners’ children during and after their (step) father's imprisonment to illustrate the arguments.     

医疗需求与中国医疗费用增长——基于城乡老年医疗支出差异的视角

在人口老龄化和老年医疗支出城乡差异凸显的背景下,中国医疗费用增长部分源于合理的健康需求。利用中国营养与健康调查1991—2011年的八轮数据,构造出生组跟踪样本,分别考察城乡居民医疗支出的年龄效应,估算城乡老年医疗需求导致的费用上涨,可以发现:城市居民的人均医疗支出随年龄显著增加,但农村居民的人均医疗支出随年龄增长的趋势并不明显。而忽略出生组效应,会低估城乡老年医疗支出的差距。城乡老年医疗支出差距缩小,将导致医疗费用在2010—2030年年均实际增长约5.2%。在控制医疗总费用上涨的同时,医疗保险制度需根据老年医疗需求,调整医疗资源配置结构。     

Testing equality of two normal covariance matrices with monotone missing data

Abstract

The problem of testing equality of two multivariate normal covariance matrices is considered. Assuming that the incomplete data are of monotone pattern, a quantity similar to the Likelihood Ratio Test Statistic is proposed. A satisfactory approximation to the distribution of the quantity is derived. Hypothesis testing based on the approximate distribution is outlined. The merits of the test are investigated using Monte Carlo simulation. Monte Carlo studies indicate that the test is very satisfactory even for moderately small samples. The proposed methods are illustrated using an example.     

Partial Identification of Economic Mobility: With an Application to the United States

Abstract

The economic mobility of individuals and households is of fundamental interest. While many measures of economic mobility exist, reliance on transition matrices remains pervasive due to simplicity and ease of interpretation. However, estimation of transition matrices is complicated by the well-acknowledged problem of measurement error in self-reported and even administrative data. Existing methods of addressing measurement error are complex, rely on numerous strong assumptions, and often require data from more than two periods. In this article, we investigate what can be learned about economic mobility as measured via transition matrices while formally accounting for measurement error in a reasonably transparent manner. To do so, we develop a nonparametric partial identification approach to bound transition probabilities under various assumptions on the measurement error and mobility processes. This approach is applied to panel data from the United States to explore short-run mobility before and after the Great Recession.     

Sexual agreements and intimate-partner violence among male couples

Objectives: In the United States, HIV continues to disproportionately affect men who have sex with men. One promising area of research that may inform the development of behavioral interventions among male–male couples is within the realm of sexual agreements. Methods: The purpose of our analysis was to determine whether respondents who report having an open agreement or an agreement breakage also report a higher incidence of recent (within the previous 12 months) intimate-partner violence (IPV) compared to respondents who report having a monogamous agreement or no agreement breakage after controlling for demographic variables. Results: Results showed that men who have an open agreement are less likely to report recent physical IPV. Conclusions: The results highlight the need to develop dyadic behavior interventions that address sexual agreements and stress management.     

基于评价理论的APEC领导人宣言分析

2005年到2014年的APEC领导人宣言中的评价资源以借言为主，正面评价突出，其中鉴赏资源丰富，语势较强，立场分明。这些既体现出对话的和谐，又表明了领导人的决心和信心。2014年的领导人宣言的特点是亚太国家成果众多且认可度更高，特别鼓励区域内，以及政府与私营企业的战略性合作。     

A new generalized Weibull distribution in income economic inequality curves

Researchers have been developing various extensions and modified forms of the Weibull distribution to enhance its capability for modeling and fitting different data sets. In this note, we investigate the potential usefulness of the new modification to the standard Weibull distribution called odd Weibull distribution in income economic inequality studies. Some mathematical and statistical properties of this model are proposed. We obtain explicit expressions for the first incomplete moment, quantile function, Lorenz and Zenga curves and related inequality indices. In addition to the well-known stochastic order based on Lorenz curve, the stochastic order based on Zenga curve is considered. Since the new generalized Weibull distribution seems to be suitable to model wealth, financial, actuarial and especially income distributions, these findings are fundamental in the understanding of how parameter values are related to inequality. Also, the estimation of parameters by maximum likelihood and moment methods is discussed. Finally, this distribution has been fitted to United States and Austrian income data sets and has been found to fit remarkably well in compare with the other widely used income models.