Some Evidence on the Importance of Sticky Wages

Nominal wage stickiness is an important component of recent medium-scale structural macroeconomic models, but to date there has been little microeconomic evidence supporting the assumption of sluggish nominal wage adjustment. We present evidence on the frequency of nominal wage adjustment using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) for the period 1996-1999. The SIPP provides high-frequency information on wages, employment and demographic characteristics for a large and representative sample of the US population. The main results of the analysis are as follows. 1) After correcting for measurement error, wages appear to be very sticky. In the average quarter, the probability that an individual will experience a nominal wage change is between 5 and 18 percent, depending on the samples and assumptions used. 2) The frequency of wage adjustment does not display significant seasonal patterns. 3) There is little heterogeneity in the frequency of wage adjustment across industries and occupations 4) The hazard of a nominal wage change first increases and then decreases, with a peak at 12 months. 5) The probability of a wage change is positively correlated with the unemployment rate and with the consumer price inflation rate

Hispanic health in the USA: a scoping review of the literature

Hispanics are the largest minority group in the USA. They contribute to the economy, cultural diversity, and health of the nation. Assessing their health status and health needs is key to inform health policy formulation and program implementation. To this end, we conducted a scoping review of the literature and national statistics on Hispanic health in the USA using a modified social-ecological framework that includes social determinants of health, health disparities, risk factors, and health services, as they shape the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. These social, environmental, and biological forces have modified the epidemiologic profile of Hispanics in the USA, with cancer being the leading cause of mortality, followed by cardiovascular diseases and unintentional injuries. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act has resulted in improved access to health services for Hispanics, but challenges remain due to limited cultural sensitivity, health literacy, and a shortage of Hispanic health care providers. Acculturation barriers and underinsured or uninsured status remain as major obstacles to health care access. Advantageous health outcomes from the “Hispanic Mortality Paradox” and the “Latina Birth Outcomes Paradox” persist, but health gains may be offset in the future by increasing rates of obesity and diabetes. Recommendations focus on the adoption of the Health in All Policies framework, expanding access to health care, developing cultural sensitivity in the health care workforce, and generating and disseminating research findings on Hispanic health

Relationship between Strength Characteristics and Unweighted and Weighted Vertical Jump Height

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between maximum strength and differences in jump height during weighted and unweighted (body weight) static (SJ) and countermovement jumps (CMJ). Methods: Sixty-three collegiate athletes (mean ± SD; age= 19.9 ± 1.3 y; body mass = 72.9 ± 19.6 kg; height = 172.8 ± 7.7 cm) performed two trials of the SJ and CMJ with 0 kg and 20 kg on a force plate; and two trials of mid-thigh isometric clean pulls in a custom rack over a force plate (1000-Hz sampling). Jump height (JH) was calculated from fight time. Force-time curve analyses determined the following: isometric peak force (IPF), isometric force (IF) at 50, 90, and 250 ms, and isometric rates of force development (IRFD). Absolute and allometric scaled forces, [absolute force/(body mass0.67)], were used in correlations. Results: IPF, IRFD, F50a, F50, F90, and F250 showed moderate/strong correlations with SJ and CMJ height percent decrease from 0 to 20 kg. IPFa and F250a showed weak/moderate correlations with percent height decrease. Comparing strongest (n = 6) to weakest (n = 6): t tests revealed that stronger athletes (IPFa) performed superior to weaker athletes. Conclusion: Data indicate the ability to produce higher peak and instantaneous forces and IRFD is related to JH and to smaller differences between weighted and unweighted jump heights. Stronger athletes jump higher and show smaller decrements in JH with load. A weighted jump may be a practical method of assessing relative strength levels

Security needs and the performance of the defense industry. Working Paper 1/2001

for valuable comments and suggestions. Abstract Today, leading defense firms are concentrated into just two distinct blocs -those based in the US and those in Western Europe. All US defense firms and most European ones are private. Market structure may thus play an important role in determining procurement levels as well as defense policies in the US and Europe. This paper focuses on the interactions between defense needs and market structure. It presents a model in which two producer blocs (representing the US and Europe) produce an identical homogeneous defense good. The "rest of the world" purchases the defense good from the two producer countries. The security level of each of the two producing countries depends on its purchase of the defense good relative to the amount of defense good purchased by the rest of the world. Each country measures its security level against a target that it sets for itself. The main results of this paper are: (1) Generally, the total world quantity of the defense good is lower when the governments of the producers of the defense good pay the world price (rather than the marginal production cost plus a markup) to their defense industries