Consumption inequality and partial insurance

This paper examines the transmission of income inequality into consumption inequality and in so doing investigates the degree of insurance to income shocks. Panel data on income from the PSID is combined with consumption data from repeated CEX cross-sections to identify the degree of insurance to permanent and transitory shocks. In the process we also present new evidence of the growth in the variance of permanent and transitory shocks in the US during the 1980s. We find some partial insurance of permanent income shocks with more insurance possibilities for the college educated and those nearing retirement. We find little evidence against full insurance for transitory income shocks except among low income households. Tax and welfare benefits are found to play an important role in insuring permanent shocks. Adding durable expenditures to the consumption measure suggests that durable replacement is an important insurance mechanism, especially for transitory income shocks

Consumption inequality and partial insurance

This paper uses panel data on household consumption and income to evaluate the degree of insurance to income shocks. Our aim is to describe the transmission of income inequality into consumption inequality by contrasting shifts in the cross-sectional distribution of income growth with shifts in the cross-sectional distribution of consumption growth. We combine panel data on income from the PSID with consumption data from repeated CEX cross-sections. The results point to some partial insurance but reject the complete market restrictions. We find a greater degree of insurance for transitory shocks and differences in the degree of insurance over time and across demographic groups. We also document the importance of durables and of taxes and transfers as a means of insurance

Imputing consumption in the PSID using food demand estimates from the CEX

In this paper we discuss an empirical strategy that allows researchers to impute consumptiondata from the CEX to the PSID. The strategy consists of inverting a demand for food equationestimated in the CEX. We discuss the conditions under which such procedure is successful inreplicating the trends of the first two moments of the consumption distribution. We argue thattwo factors appear to be empirically relevant: accounting for differences in the distribution offood expenditures in the two data sets, and accounting for the presence of measurement error inconsumption data in the CEX. In this paper we discuss an empirical strategy that allows researchers to impute consumptiondata from the CEX to the PSID. The strategy consists of inverting a demand for food equationestimated in the CEX. We discuss the conditions under which such procedure is successful inreplicating the trends of the first two moments of the consumption distribution. We argue thattwo factors appear to be empirically relevant: accounting for differences in the distribution offood expenditures in the two data sets, and accounting for the presence of measurement error inconsumption data in the CEX

Partial insurance, information,and consumption dynamics

This paper uses panel data on household consumption and income to evaluate the degree ofinsurance to income shocks. Our aim is to describe the transmission of income inequality intoconsumption inequality. Our framework nests the special cases of self-insurance and the completemarkets assumption. We assess the degree of insurance over and above self-insurance throughsavings by contrasting shifts in the cross-sectional distribution of income growth with shifts in thecross-sectional distribution of consumption growth, and analyzing the way these two measures ofhousehold welfare correlate over time. We combine panel data on income from the PSID withconsumption data from repeated CEX cross-sections in a structural way, i.e. using conventionaldemand analysis rather than reduced form imputation procedures. Our results point to some partialinsurance but reject the complete markets restriction. We find a greater degree of insurance fortransitory shocks and differences in the degree of insurance over time and across education. Wealso document the importance of durables and of taxes and transfers as a means of insurance. This paper uses panel data on household consumption and income to evaluate the degree ofinsurance to income shocks. Our aim is to describe the transmission of income inequality intoconsumption inequality. Our framework nests the special cases of self-insurance and the completemarkets assumption. We assess the degree of insurance over and above self-insurance throughsavings by contrasting shifts in the cross-sectional distribution of income growth with shifts in thecross-sectional distribution of consumption growth, and analyzing the way these two measures ofhousehold welfare correlate over time. We combine panel data on income from the PSID withconsumption data from repeated CEX cross-sections in a structural way, i.e. using conventionaldemand analysis rather than reduced form imputation procedures. Our results point to some partialinsurance but reject the complete markets restriction. We find a greater degree of insurance fortransitory shocks and differences in the degree of insurance over time and across education. Wealso document the importance of durables and of taxes and transfers as a means of insurance

Universal scaling relations in molecular superconductors

Scaling relations between the superconducting transition temperature $T_{\rm c}$, the superfluid stiffness $\rho_{\rm s}$ and the normal state conductivity $\sigma_0(T_{\rm c})$ are identified within the class of molecular superconductors. These new scaling properties hold as $T_{\rm c}$ varies over two orders of magnitude for materials with differing dimensionality and contrasting molecular structure, and are dramatically different from the equivalent scaling properties observed within the family of cuprate superconductors. These scaling relations place strong constraints on theories for molecular superconductivity.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Are we teaching our students what they need to know about ageing? Results from the National Survey of Undergraduate Teaching in Ageing and Geriatric Medicine

Introduction - Learning about ageing and the appropriate management of older patients is important for all doctors. This survey set out to evaluate what medical undergraduates in the UK are taught about ageing and geriatric medicine and how this teaching is delivered. Methods – An electronic questionnaire was developed and sent to the 28/31 UK medical schools which agreed to participate. Results – Full responses were received from 17 schools. 8/21 learning objectives were recorded as taught, and none were examined, across every school surveyed. Elder abuse and terminology and classification of health were taught in only 8/17 and 2/17 schools respectively. Pressure ulcers were taught about in 14/17 schools but taught formally in only 7 of these and examined in only 9. With regard to bio- and socio- gerontology, only 9/17 schools reported teaching in social ageing, 7/17 in cellular ageing and 9/17 in the physiology of ageing. Discussion – Even allowing for the suboptimal response rate, this study presents significant cause for concern with UK undergraduate education related to ageing. The failure to teach comprehensively on elder abuse and pressure sores, in particular, may be significantly to the detriment of older patients

A Nonparametric Revealed Preference Approach to Measuring the Value of Environmental Quality

We develop an approach to valuing non-market goods using nonparametric revealed preference analysis. We show how nonparametric methods can also be used to bound the welfare effects of changes in the provision of a non-market good. Our main context is one in which the non-market good affects the marginal utility of consuming a related market good. This can also be framed as a shift in the taste for, or quality of, the market good. A systematic approach for incorporating quality/taste variation into a revealed preference framework for heterogeneous consumers is developed. This enables the recovery of the minimal variation in quality required to rationalise observed choices of related market goods. The variation in quality appears as a adjustment to the price for related market goods which then allows a revealed preference approach to bounding compensation measures of welfare effects to be applied

On the evolutionary conservation of hydrogen bonds made by buried polar amino acids: the hidden joists, braces and trusses of protein architecture.

BACKGROUND: The hydrogen bond patterns between mainchain atoms in protein structures not only give rise to regular secondary structures but also satisfy mainchain hydrogen bond potential. However, not all mainchain atoms can be satisfied through hydrogen bond interactions that arise in regular secondary structures; in some locations sidechain-to-mainchain hydrogen bonds are required to provide polar group satisfaction. Buried polar residues that are hydrogen-bonded to mainchain amide atoms tend to be highly conserved within protein families, confirming that mainchain architecture is a critical restraint on the evolution of proteins. We have investigated the stabilizing roles of buried polar sidechains on the backbones of protein structures by performing an analysis of solvent inaccessible residues that are entirely conserved within protein families and superfamilies and hydrogen bonded to an equivalent mainchain atom in each family member. RESULTS: We show that polar and sometimes charged sidechains form hydrogen bonds to mainchain atoms in the cores of proteins in a manner that has been conserved in evolution. Although particular motifs have previously been identified where buried polar residues have conserved roles in stabilizing protein structure, for example in helix capping, we demonstrate that such interactions occur in a range of architectures and highlight those polar amino acid types that fulfil these roles. We show that these buried polar residues often span elements of secondary structure and provide stabilizing interactions of the overall protein architecture. CONCLUSIONS: Conservation of buried polar residues and the hydrogen-bond interactions that they form implies an important role for maintaining protein structure, contributing strong restraints on amino acid substitutions during divergent protein evolution. Our analysis sheds light on the important stabilizing roles of these residues in protein architecture and provides further insight into factors influencing the evolution of protein families and superfamilies.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are