"Within the Pale." British Intellectual Society and the Image of the Russian Jew, 1890–1907

Abstract  "Within the Pale": This paper examines British responses to the East European Jew in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Unlike other analyses, which have concentrated on the impact of Jewish immigration to the UK and the so-called aliens' debate, the author interprets the narrative constructed by British commentators who visited the Tsarist Empire (sometimes to specifically examine its "Jewish Question") and who spent long periods there (either as independent observers, or as newspaper/journal correspondents). It discusses how Russian attitudes, images and allusions about Jews were transmitted to British discourse and the extent to which Anglo-Russian boundaries of Judeophobia were intertwined. In its assessment it considers British perceptions of anti-Tsarist persecution, life in the Pale, the Jewish-peasant relationship and Anglo-Jewish responses.     

A Study of Blockwise Wavelet Estimates Via Lower Bounds for a Spike Function

Abstract.  A blockwise shrinkage is a popular adaptive procedure for non-parametric series estimates. It possesses an impressive range of asymptotic properties, and there is a vast pool of blocks and shrinkage procedures used. Traditionally these estimates are studied via upper bounds on their risks. This article suggests the study of these adaptive estimates via non-asymptotic lower bounds established for a spike underlying function that plays a pivotal role in the wavelet and minimax statistics. While upper-bound inequalities help the statistician to find sufficient conditions for a desirable estimation, the non-asymptotic lower bounds yield necessary conditions and shed a new light on the popular method of adaptation. The suggested method complements and knits together two traditional techniques used in the analysis of adaptive estimates: a numerical study and an asymptotic minimax inference.     

Optimal Sequential Design in a Controlled Non-parametric Regression

Abstract. In a non‐parametric regression, the heteroscedasticity (dependence of the variance of the regression error on the predictor) can be a serious complication in estimation or visualization of an underlying regression function. If a controlled sampling is permitted, then the statistician can choose the design of predictors which attenuates the effect of heteroscedasticity. It is proposed to use a design which minimizes the mean integrated squared error of the regression function estimation. Then the corresponding optimal design density is proportional to the standard deviation of the regression error (the so‐called scale function). Because in general the statistician does not know an underlying scale function, the natural question is as follows: is it possible to suggest a sequential design which performs as well as an oracle that knows the underlying scale function? The answer is ‘yes’, and a corresponding sequential procedure is developed. It is proved, for the first time in the literature, that a data‐driven sequential design, together with an adaptive regression estimator, can mimic the oracle and be sharp minimax. Further, it is shown that the suggested method is feasible for small samples.     

Effects of Question Order on Survey Responses

Two question orders were used in a Kentucky statewide randomsurvey. In nonoverlapping sections, four questions which askedthe respondents to express their general interests in politicsand religion and their general evaluations of the gravity ofthe economic and energy situations either preceded or followedseries of specific questions on the same issues. The respondentsexpressed significantly greater interest in politics and religionwhen these general questions followed the specific questions,but evaluations of the economic and energy crises were not significantlyaffected by question placement. Implications for the arrangementof questions within surveys are discussed.     

孤独的羚羊

我的一个开小公司的朋友笑对我讲,当老板的唯一好处就是有一张全公司最大的写字台,闻之让人心酸,世上有几个李泽楷?刚一出道就有权运作数以亿计的资金?大多数创业者东拼西凑几十万,但最初往往会遇到令人窒息的艰难期,连续几个月没     

KILLING THE GOOSE THAT LAYS THE GOLDEN EGG: INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN HONG KONG

This article examines how the rule of law and democratic accountability have affected Hong Kong's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate in the past 20 yr. We find that democratic accountability has deteriorated substantially since the changeover of sovereignty in 1997, while the rule of law has remained strong and stable. Empirical results from autoregressive distributed lag bounds tests show a positive long-run relationship between growth and democratic accountability, and Granger causality tests reveal that democratic accountability causes the growth rate of GDP in the short run. These conclusions are robust to control for the effects of investment and the Asian financial crisis in 1997. ( JEL O18, O49, P17)     

ECONOMICS COURSEWORK AND LONG‐TERM BEHAVIOR AND EXPERIENCES OF COLLEGE GRADUATES IN LABOR MARKETS AND PERSONAL FINANCE

Using survey data from over 2,000 students who attended one of four large public universities in 1976, 1986, or 1996, we investigate the relationship between taking more coursework in economics, or choosing economics as an undergraduate major, and a wide range of later decisions and outcomes in labor markets and personal finance, many of which have not been analyzed in earlier research. Generally, economics coursework and majoring in economics are significantly related to higher levels of earnings, home equity, and savings. They are also associated with working more hours and negatively related to completing graduate degrees (except the MBA). Among graduates with positive savings, those with more economics coursework invest more in individual stocks and money market accounts, and are more likely to have employer‐provided life insurance. They have fewer credit cards, which are more often paid in full each month. Most of these findings also hold for graduates who majored in business, but on average economics majors worked more hours and earned more than business majors, were more likely to have been self‐employed, and expected to retire at an older age. Business majors were more likely to have experienced a layoff, and were even less likely than economics majors to complete graduate degrees (except the MBA). Economics majors expected to save even more than business majors by retirement, and viewed short‐term and precautionary motives for saving as more important. Finally, our results suggest that exposure to economics through course‐taking is more important for later outcomes than actual performance in those courses. (JEL A22, J3, D12)