scholarly journals Happiness and the Persistence of Income Shocks

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 160-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Bayer ◽  
Falko Juessen
Keyword(s):  
Incomplete Markets ◽  
Instrumental Variable ◽  
Estimation Procedure ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Income Shocks ◽  
Transitory Shocks ◽  
Transitory Income ◽  
Observable Data ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Two Step Estimation

We reassess the empirical effects of income and employment on self-reported well-being. Our analysis makes use of a two-step estimation procedure that allows us to apply instrumental variable regressions with ordinal observable data. As suggested by the theory of incomplete markets, we differentiate between the effects of persistent and transitory income shocks. In line with this theory, we find that persistent shocks have a significant impact on happiness while transitory shocks do not. This also has consequences for inference about the happiness effect of employment. We find that employment per se is associated with a nonsignificant decline in happiness. (JEL D12, D52, I31, J22)

scholarly journals The Distribution of Wealth and the MPC: Implications of New European Data

2014 ◽  
Vol 104 (5) ◽  
pp. 107-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher D. Carroll ◽  
Jiri Slacalek ◽  
Kiichi Tokuoka
Keyword(s):  
Wealth Distribution ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Income Shocks ◽  
Income Dynamics ◽  
Aggregate Consumption ◽  
Distribution Of Wealth ◽  
Marginal Propensity To Consume ◽  
Transitory Shocks ◽  
Transitory Income ◽  
Marginal Propensity

Using a standard, realistically calibrated model of buffer-stock saving with transitory and permanent income shocks, we study how cross-country differences in the wealth distribution and household income dynamics affect the marginal propensity to consume out of transitory shocks (MPC). Across the 15 countries in our sample, we find that the aggregate consumption response ranges between 0.1 and 0.4 and is stronger (i) in economies with large wealth inequality, where a larger proportion of households has little wealth, (ii) under larger transitory income shocks, and (iii) when we consider households only use liquid assets (rather than net wealth) to smooth consumption.

M&A deal initiation: the case of the unwelcome suitor

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick Davis ◽  
Thomas Walker ◽  
Linyi Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Instrumental Variable ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Multivariate Analyses ◽  
Estimation Procedure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Variable Approach ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Two Step Estimation ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Instrumental Variable Approach

Purpose Within the context of mergers and acquisitions, the purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between the deal initiator and various outcomes of the deal, particularly in consideration of the cash position of the acquiring firm. Design/methodology/approach Using hand-collected deal initiation data from various filings on the Securities Exchange Commission EDGAR online database, this paper performs a series of event study analyses, multivariate analyses, a Heckman two-step estimation procedure, and an instrumental variable approach to examine merger outcomes. Findings This paper finds that many merger and acquisition (M&A) outcomes (target and acquirer announcement returns, acquirer long-run returns, premiums, and the method of payment) are significantly related to deal initiation, particularly in consideration of the cash position of the acquiring firm. Overall, evidence is seen as consistent with the theory that “lemons” selectively approach cash-rich acquirers, often to the acquirers’ detriment. Originality/value This paper finds that target-initiated deals are not necessarily associated with poorer transaction outcomes for targets as contemporaneous studies suggest, and presents the first empirical evidence of M&A outcomes related to the deal initiator which are dependent on the cash position of the acquiring firm.

scholarly journals Sex with robots: A not-so-niche market for disabled and older persons

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 228-232
Author(s):  
Adamantios Koumpis ◽  
Thomas Gees
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Older People ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Deep Roots ◽  
Value System ◽  
Sex Robots ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Sex Toys

AbstractIn this article, we present our experiences from research into the healthy ageing and well-being of older people and we report on our personal opinions of robots that may help the elderly to have sex and to cope with isolation and loneliness. However, and while there is a growing industry for sex robots and other sex toys and gadgets, there is also a growing concern about the ethics of such an industry. As is the case with pornography, the concept of sex robots may be criticized, yet it has deep roots in human civilization, with erotic depictions that date back to the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Ages. So the need for an artefact that would offer sexually relevant functionality is not new at all. But what might be new and worrying is the potential for using artificial intelligence in sex robots in ways that might cause a repositioning of our entire value system. Such a threat is not related to the proliferation of sex robots per se but to the use of robots in general and in a variety of other fields of application.

Bounding Treatment Effects with Contaminated and Censored Data: Assessing the Impact of Early Childbearing on Children

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles H Mullin
Keyword(s):  
Censored Data ◽  
Treatment Effect ◽  
Instrumental Variable ◽  
Treatment Effects ◽  
Child Outcomes ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Teenage Mothers ◽  
Age At First Birth ◽  
First Birth ◽  
The Impact

AbstractEmpirical researchers commonly invoke instrumental variable (IV) assumptions to identify treatment effects. This paper considers what can be learned under two specific violations of those assumptions: contaminated and corrupted data. Either of these violations prevents point identification, but sharp bounds of the treatment effect remain feasible. In an applied example, random miscarriages are an IV for women’s age at first birth. However, the inability to separate random miscarriages from behaviorally induced miscarriages (those caused by smoking and drinking) results in a contaminated sample. Furthermore, censored child outcomes produce a corrupted sample. Despite these limitations, the bounds demonstrate that delaying the age at first birth for the current population of non-black teenage mothers reduces their first-born child’s well-being.

Remittances and subjective well-being: A static versus dynamic panel approach to happiness

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mduduzi Biyase ◽  
Bianca Fisher ◽  
Marinda Pretorius
Keyword(s):  
Instrumental Variable ◽  
National Income ◽  
Probit Model ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Income Dynamics ◽  
Dynamic Panel ◽  
The Past ◽  
Static Versus Dynamic ◽  
Dynamic Panel Models

Using all five waves of the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) panel dataset, we examine the effect of domestic remittances on the static and dynamic subjective well-being (SWB) of recipient individuals in South Africa, by using a random effects ordered probit model that accounts for individual heterogeneity. Moreover, we check the robustness of our static model results by making use of an instrumental variable for migrants’ remittances. Two major empirical findings emerge from this paper: firstly, domestic remittances are consistently found to have a positive and statistically significant impact on the happiness of recipient individuals. Moreover, this finding persists in both the static and dynamic panel models. Secondly, the coefficient on lagged SWB (derived from the dynamic model) is found to be positive and statistically significant, confirming that SWB today is significantly influenced by SWB in the past.

Plan Choice and Changes in Access to Care over Time for SSI-Eligible Children with Disabilities

2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela N. Roberto ◽  
Jean M. Mitchell ◽  
Darrell J. Gaskin
Keyword(s):  
Managed Care ◽  
Access To Care ◽  
Estimation Procedure ◽  
Care Plan ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Fee For Service ◽  
Special Needs Children ◽  
Plan Choice ◽  
Two Step Estimation ◽  
Over Time

This paper analyzes how voluntary enrollment in the fee-for-service (FFS) system versus a partially capitated managed care plan affects changes in access to care over time for special needs children who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) due to a disability. Four indicators of access are evaluated, including specialty care, hospital care, emergency care, and access to a regular doctor. We employ the Heckman two-step estimation procedure to correct for the potential nonrandom selection bias linked to plan choice. The findings show that relative to their counterparts in the partially capitated managed care plan, SSI children enrolled in the FFS plan are significantly more likely to encounter an access problem during either of the time periods studied. Similarly, FFS enrollees are significantly more likely than partially capitated managed care participants to experience persistent access problems across three of the four dimensions of care. Possible explanations for the deterioration in access associated with FFS include the lack of case management services, lower reimbursement relative to the partially capitated managed care plan, and provider availability.

Tourism in European cities

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luigino Baldassin ◽  
Massimo Gallo ◽  
Elena Mattevi
Keyword(s):  
Estimation Procedure ◽  
Price Effect ◽  
City Center ◽  
European Cities ◽  
New Information ◽  
Single Room ◽  
Price Determinants ◽  
Two Step Estimation ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The City

The article provides new information on hotel prices and services in 26 European cities and investigates hotel price determinants. In a two-step estimation procedure, the authors first quantify the price effect of single room and hotel services and then examine the relationship between accommodation prices and city characteristics. They find that hotel services differ significantly from city to city and that room characteristics such as size, breakfast, air conditioning, and free-cancellation options are services for which customers are willing to pay a significant markup. Moreover, the service content of accommodation is negatively correlated with the value of the city center where the hotel is located: increasing competition on the European market seems to be producing partial price convergence via adjustment of service and quality content, so that cities with higher factor costs tend to cut service quality while “cheaper” towns improve it.

Theistic humanism and a critique of Wiredu's notion of supernaturalism

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-84
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Ifeanyi Ani
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Secular Humanism ◽  
Per Se ◽  
General Ontology ◽  
Being Religious ◽  
Supreme Being

In decrying the evils of supernaturalism, African philosopher Kwasi Wiredu (1931–) proposes humanism, by making concern for human well-being the basis for morality. However, the presentation of humanism as a simple replacement of supernaturalism is objectionable. Wiredu’s notion of supernaturalism is too narrow, since it is only a variant of supernaturalism. His reference to humanism is too broad, since humanism is an umbrella of very conflicting worldviews, such as that between secular and theistic humanism. Although Wiredu does not specify which variant of humanism he means, and although he acknowledges that the Akan (the author’s tribe in West Africa) believe in a Supreme Being, his general ontology shows that he is closer to the secular than the theistic variant. This article explores the ideological extensions of the two and argues that theistic humanism provides the compatibility needed for being religious and at the same time basing morality on humanistic/naturalistic concerns. In doing so, it distinguishes supernaturalism per se from its ethical and cosmological variants. As a corrective to Wiredu, this article blames these two variants of supernaturalism, rather than supernaturalism per se, for the evils that Wiredu adduces. The conclusion is that in theistic humanism, humanism escapes the dangers of ethical and cosmological supernaturalism without necessarily adopting the antisupernaturalist connotations currently popular with modern secular humanism.

Individualism/Collectivism and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: An Integrative Framework

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (10) ◽  
pp. 1633-1643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcia A. Finkelstein
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Citizenship ◽  
Organizational Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Role Identity ◽  
Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Integrative Framework ◽  
Individualism And Collectivism ◽  
Per Se ◽  
First Time

In this study individualism and collectivism are, for the first time, incorporated into a conceptual model of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). I asked whether individualism and collectivism show systematic differences in their relationships with OCB, its motives, and the development of a citizen role identity. Collectivism most strongly correlated with OCB motivated by concern for coworkers. A concept of self as one who helps others at work was also associated with collectivism. Individualism was associated more with a commitment to the well-being of the institution per se rather than to its employees. Individualism and collectivism were related positively, suggesting that these seemingly opposing attributes are complementary; which of these traits predominates may depend on which citizenship behavior is needed at a given time. Overall, the findings suggest that it is not in amount of citizenship that individualists and collectivists differ, but in why they serve and how they perceive the experience.

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