11,129 research outputs found
Redefining the Economical Power of Nations
This paper is (over the formulas) self explaining . The measurement of economies no longer by GDP alone, but by an Index that includes other important factors as well, a So-cial factors relativized GDP. This index cuts out the part of the GDP that is long term fro-zen up by social transfers (using the highly aggregated GINI coefficient).
Social factors relativized GDP: GDP – GDP x GINI = K_Index
Written differently: (1 – GINI) x GDP = K_Index
Inflation indexed Version: (1 – GINI – Inflation) x GDP = K_Index_Infl.
Productivity Index: K_Index / Labor Force = K_PROD
Inflation indexed Productivity Index: K_Index_Infl. / Labor Force = K_PROD_Infl.
Debt-to-K_Index: National debt / K_Index = K_Debt
Debt-to-K_Index_Infl: National debt / K_Index_Infl. = K_Debt_Infl
Measuring the Quality of Life across Countries: A Sensitivity Analysis of Well-being Indices
quality of life, domains of quality of life, Borda rule, principal components analysis, well-being indices
Modelling rankings in R: the PlackettLuce package
This paper presents the R package PlackettLuce, which implements a
generalization of the Plackett-Luce model for rankings data. The generalization
accommodates both ties (of arbitrary order) and partial rankings (complete
rankings of subsets of items). By default, the implementation adds a set of
pseudo-comparisons with a hypothetical item, ensuring that the underlying
network of wins and losses between items is always strongly connected. In this
way, the worth of each item always has a finite maximum likelihood estimate,
with finite standard error. The use of pseudo-comparisons also has a
regularization effect, shrinking the estimated parameters towards equal item
worth. In addition to standard methods for model summary, PlackettLuce provides
a method to compute quasi standard errors for the item parameters. This
provides the basis for comparison intervals that do not change with the choice
of identifiability constraint placed on the item parameters. Finally, the
package provides a method for model-based partitioning using covariates whose
values vary between rankings, enabling the identification of subgroups of
judges or settings that have different item worths. The features of the package
are demonstrated through application to classic and novel data sets.Comment: In v2: review of software implementing alternative models to
Plackett-Luce; comparison of algorithms provided by the PlackettLuce package;
further examples of rankings where the underlying win-loss network is not
strongly connected. In addition, general editing to improve organisation and
clarity. In v3: corrected headings Table 4, minor edit
The structure of the Arts & Humanities Citation Index: A mapping on the basis of aggregated citations among 1,157 journals
Using the Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI) 2008, we apply mapping
techniques previously developed for mapping journal structures in the Science
and Social Science Citation Indices. Citation relations among the 110,718
records were aggregated at the level of 1,157 journals specific to the A&HCI,
and the journal structures are questioned on whether a cognitive structure can
be reconstructed and visualized. Both cosine-normalization (bottom up) and
factor analysis (top down) suggest a division into approximately twelve
subsets. The relations among these subsets are explored using various
visualization techniques. However, we were not able to retrieve this structure
using the ISI Subject Categories, including the 25 categories which are
specific to the A&HCI. We discuss options for validation such as against the
categories of the Humanities Indicators of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences, the panel structure of the European Reference Index for the
Humanities (ERIH), and compare our results with the curriculum organization of
the Humanities Section of the College of Letters and Sciences of UCLA as an
example of institutional organization
Vive la Différence? Structural Diversity as a Challenge for Metanormative Theories
Decision-making under normative uncertainty requires an agent to aggregate the assessments of options given by rival normative theories into a single assessment that tells her what to do in light of her uncertainty. But what if the assessments of rival theories differ not just in their content but in their structure -- e.g., some are merely ordinal while others are cardinal? This paper describes and evaluates three general approaches to this "problem of structural diversity": structural enrichment, structural depletion, and multi-stage aggregation. All three approaches have notable drawbacks, but I tentatively defend multi-stage aggregation as least bad of the three
Measuring Energy Poverty: Focusing on What Matters
The provision of modern energy services is recognised as a critical foundation for sustainable development, and is central to the everyday lives of people. Effective policies to dramatically expand modern energy access need to be grounded in a robust information-base. Metrics that can be used for comparative purposes and to track progress towards targets therefore represent an essential support tool. This paper reviews the relevant literature, and discusses the adequacy and applicability of existing instruments to measure energy poverty. Drawing on those insights, it proposes a new composite index to measure energy poverty. Both the associated methodology and initial results for several African countries are discussed. Whereas most existing indicators and composite indices focus on assessing the access to energy, or the degree of development related to energy, our new index – the Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index (MEPI) – focuses on the deprivation of access to modern energy services. It captures both the incidence and intensity of energy poverty, and provides a new tool to support policymaking.
Mashup indices of development
Countries are increasingly being ranked by some new"mashup index of development,"defined as a composite index for which existing theory and practice provides little or no guidance to its design. Thus the index has an unusually large number of moving parts, which the producer is essentially free to set. The parsimony of these indices is often appealing -- collapsing multiple dimensions into just one, yielding unambiguous country rankings, and possibly reducing concerns about measurement errors in the component series. But the meaning, interpretation and robustness of these indices are often unclear. If they are to be properly understood and used, more attention needs to be given to their conceptual foundations, the tradeoffs they embody, the contextual factors relevant to country performance, and the sensitivity of the implied rankings to changing the data and weights. In short, clearer warning signs are needed for users. But even then, nagging doubts remain about the value-added of mashup indices, and their policy relevance, relative to the"dashboard"alternative of monitoring the components separately. Future progress in devising useful new composite indices of development will require that theory catches up with measurement practice.Economic Theory&Research,Information Security&Privacy,Governance Indicators,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Debt Markets
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