143 research outputs found
Decomposing the misery index: A dynamic approach
YesThe misery index (the unweighted sum of unemployment and inflation
rates) was probably the first attempt to develop a single statistic to measure the level
of a populationâs economic malaise. In this letter, we develop a dynamic approach to
decompose the misery index using two basic relations of modern macroeconomics:
the expectations-augmented Phillips curve and Okunâs law. Our reformulation of the
misery index is closer in spirit to Okunâs idea. However, we are able to offer an improved
version of the index, mainly based on output and unemployment. Specifically,
this new Okunâs index measures the level of economic discomfort as a function of
three key factors: (1) the misery index in the previous period; (2) the output gap in
growth rate terms; and (3) cyclical unemployment. This dynamic approach differs
substantially from the standard one utilised to develop the misery index, and allow
us to obtain an index with five main interesting features: (1) it focuses on output,
unemployment and inflation; (2) it considers only objective variables; (3) it allows
a distinction
between short-run and long-run phenomena; (4) it places more
importance
on output and unemployment rather than inflation; and (5) it weights
recessions
more than expansions
A simple framework for analysing the impact of economic growth on non-communicable diseases
YesNon-communicable diseases (NCDs) are currently the leading cause of
death worldwide. In this paper, we examine the channels through which economic
growth affects NCDsâ epidemiology. Following a production function approach, we
develop a basic technique to break up the impact of economic growth on NCDs into
three fundamental components: (1) a resource effect; (2) a behaviour effect; and (3)
a knowledge effect. We demonstrate that each of these effects can be measured as
the product of two elasticities, the output and income elasticity of the three leading
factors influencing the frequency of NCDs in any population: health care, healthrelated
behaviours and lifestyle, and medical knowledge
A Review of occupation-based social classifications for social survey research
This article is a review of issues associated with measuring occupations and using occupation-based socio-economic classifications in social science research. The review is orientated towards researchers who undertake secondary analysis of large-scale micro-level social science datasets. This article begins with an outline of how to handle raw occupational information. This is followed by an introduction to the two main approaches to measuring occupations and a third lesser known but intellectually innovative approach. The three approaches are social class schemes, social stratification scales and the microclass approach. International comparisons are briefly described and a discussion of intersectionality with other key variables such as age and gender is provided. We are careful to emphasise that this article does not advocate the uncritical adoption of any one particular occupation-based socio-economic measure over and above other alternatives. Rather, we are advocating that researchers should choose from the portfolio of existing socio-economic measures in an informed and empirically defensible way, and we strongly advocate undertaking sensitivity analyses. We conclude that researchers should always use existing socio-economic measures that have agreed on and well-documented standards. We strongly advise researchers not to develop their own measures without strong justification nor to use existing measures in an un-prescribed or ad hoc manner
Gender differences in the upward mobility of black managers: Double whammy or double advantage?
This study draws upon the theory and research on intraorganizational mobility to examine gender differences in the upward mobility of black managers. Results suggest that neither the âdouble whammyâ assumptions nor the âdouble advantageâ assumptions are accurate descriptions of the contemporary experience of black female managers in corporate America. Upward mobility rates were nearly identical for both gender groups. Other findings and the implications of the results for future research are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45590/1/11199_2004_Article_BF00289811.pd
Mérito, Reprodução Social e Estratificação Social: apontamentos e contribuiçÔes para os estudos organizacionais
What can health inequalities researchers learn from an intersectionality perspective?:Understanding social dynamics with an inter-categorical approach
The concept of intersectionality was developed by social scientists seeking to analyse the multiple interacting influences of social location, identity and historical oppression. Despite broad take-up elsewhere, its application in public health remains underdeveloped. We consider how health inequalities research in the United Kingdom has predominantly taken class and later socioeconomic position as its key axis in a manner that tends to overlook other crucial dimensions. We especially focus on international research on ethnicity, gender and caste to argue that an intersectional perspective is relevant for health inequalities research because it compels researchers to move beyond (but not ignore) class and socioeconomic position in analysing the structural determinants of health. Drawing on these theoretical developments, we argue for an inter-categorical conceptualisation of social location that recognises differentiation without reifying social groupings â thus encouraging researchers to focus on social dynamics rather than social categories, recognising that experiences of advantage and disadvantage reflect the exercise of power across social institutions. Such an understanding may help address the historic tendency of health inequalities research to privilege methodological issues and consider different axes of inequality in isolation from one another, encouraging researchers to move beyond micro-level behaviours to consider the structural drivers of inequalities
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