Cluster-Robust Bootstrap Inference in Quantile Regression Models

In this paper I develop a wild bootstrap procedure for cluster-robust inference in linear quantile regression models. I show that the bootstrap leads to asymptotically valid inference on the entire quantile regression process in a setting with a large number of small, heterogeneous clusters and provides consistent estimates of the asymptotic covariance function of that process. The proposed bootstrap procedure is easy to implement and performs well even when the number of clusters is much smaller than the sample size. An application to Project STAR data is provided.Comment: 46 pages, 4 figure

Leader election: A Markov chain approach

A well-studied randomized election algorithm proceeds as follows: In each round the remaining candidates each toss a coin and leave the competition if they obtain heads. Of interest is the number of rounds required and the number of winners, both related to maxima of geometric random samples, as well as the number of remaining participants as a function of the number of rounds. We introduce two related Markov chains and use ideas and methods from discrete potential theory to analyse the respective asymptotic behaviour as the initial number of participants grows. One of the tools used is the approach via the R\'enyi-Sukhatme representation of exponential order statistics, which was first used in the leader election context by Bruss and Gr\"ubel in \cite{BrGr03}

Application of a grid-scale lateral discharge model in the BALTEX region

In this study, a hydrological discharge model is presented which may be applied as a tool to validate the simulation of the hydrologic cycle of atmospheric models that are used in climate change studies. It can also be applied in studies of global climate change to investigate how changes in climate may affect the discharge of large rivers. The model was developed for the application with the climate models used at the Max-Planck- Institute for Meteorology. It describes the translation and retention of the lateral waterflows on the global scale as a function of the spatially distributed land surface characteristics which are globally available. Here, global scale refers to the resolution of 0.5° and lower, corresponding to a typical average gridbox area of about 2500 km2. The hydrological discharge model separates between the flow processes of overland flow, baseflow and overflow. The model parameters are mainly functions of the gridbox characteristics of topography and gridbox length. The hydrological discharge model is applied to the BALTEX (Baltic Sea Experiment) region using input from an atmospheric general circulation model (ECHAM4) as well as from a regional climate model (REMO). The simulated inflows into the Baltic Sea and its sub- catchments are compared to observed and naturalized discharges. The results of this comparison are discussed and the simulated values of precipitation, surface air temperature and accumulated snowpack are compared to both observed data and surrogate data

Child labour and education: Evidence from SIMPOC surveys

This document is part of a digital collection provided by the Martin P. Catherwood Library, ILR School, Cornell University, pertaining to the effects of globalization on the workplace worldwide. Special emphasis is placed on labor rights, working conditions, labor market changes, and union organizing.ILO_ChildLabourandEducation_SIMPOCSurveys.pdf: 617 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Economic growth in the post-socialist Russian Federation after 1991: The role of Institutions

The paper emphasizes the transition in Russia and the role institutions played before and during the process. In Russia, a big bang approach was applied. That is to say, transition was conducted all of a sudden, omitting important underlying reforms. This practice should function as a shock therapy. Hence, the approach should leave no other chance than an abrupt adaption to the new free-market rules. These rules would then lead to fast economic growth and development, as they did in other places. However, since Russian GDP per capita and thereby living standards deteriorated dramatically in the years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the plan did not work. At any rate, since then Russian economic indicators recovered and partly achieved their pre-1991 levels at the end of the last decade. The paper depicts Russia's reform efforts and the subsequent developments. The close ties among the political elite, the banking sector and the old nomenklatura are demonstrated. The patrimonial system that persisted for centuries is still observable at the state level. At any rate, Russia can neither evade its historical and institutional development path nor its societal structures that are based on networks and nepotism. Russia's systemic lack of the rule of law and therewith of secure property, the character of the Russian political system with the patriarch as the head of state and the resulting necessity of corruption and bribes inhibit the realization of its full growth potential. --country studies,economic systems,formerly centrally planned economies,growth,institutions,transition economies

Perspectives of Workers with Low Qualifications in Germany under the Pressures of Globalization and Technical Progress

This paper gives a detailed analysis of the perspectives of workers with low qualifications in Germany under the twofold pressures of globalization and technological change. First, alter-native explanations for the skill-bias in the development of labour demand are discussed, with particular emphasis on the “trade versus technology” debate. The consequences of the demand shift away from low-skilled labour in Germany are examined in a detailed empirical analysis of the development of (un)employment problems differentiated for qualification groups. Compared to other advanced economies, Germany shows a higher unemployment rate among less-qualified workers which is generally associated with a lack of flexibility in the German wage structure. However, an analysis of German, U.S. and British wage data based on the Cross National Equivalent File (CNEF) does not confirm the assumption of a simple mono-causal relationship between wage disparity and the intensity of group-specific unemployment. Finally, some political approaches for an improvement of the job prospects of less-qualified persons in Germany are outlined briefly and evaluated against the background of the empiri-cal results.low-skilled labour, unemployment, wage inequality, globalization, skill-biased technological change, CNEF