Optimal population and policy implications

This dissertation explores issues of efficient and inefficient population in complete and incomplete market economies with altruistic parents who cares about the welfare of their children. Altruistic models with idiosyncratic risks are central to modern macroeconomics, particularly when studying issues of inequality and redistribution. But this framework seems to fall apart when serious consideration is given to fertility decisions as Barro and Becker (1989) because some of the most appealing conclusions obtained under the exogenous fertility assumption are seriously altered. For example, optimal fertility choice tends to eliminate intergenerational persistence of inequality. A main goal of this dissertation is to recover key features of demographic facts using micro-founded macroeconomic theory and quantitative approaches, and to derive normative analysis regarding efficiency of population, long run inequality, education, and demographic policies. The consensus of my research is that family decisions made by altruistic parents have substantial aggregate socioeconomic consequences in dynamic environments

Sex, Drug, and HIV/AIDS: The Drug Career of an Urban Chinese Woman

This case study is based on the life history of an urban Chinese woman, Lydia, who has become an AIDS patient through injecting heroin use. Adopting theories of drug career and biopolitics, this study depicts Lydia’s drug-centered life. From the perspective of a drug career, this article vividly illustrates her experience of drug initiation, escalation, maintenance, and finally achievement of abstinence. In addition, this study also shows how drug use has penetrated all dimensions of Lydia’s life including intimate relationships, financial arrangements, and compulsory drug treatment; in the end, contracting HIV was when she finally hit rock bottom and worked to get rid of her heroin dependence. From the perspective of biopolitics, this article focuses on the institutional and social structure transformation that is reflected by Lydia’s personal experience, especially the social service, treatment, and intervention programs provided for her during an era of increasingly growing drug use and HIV-infected population

Ethical Dilemma and Nihilism in Munro\u27s Passion

In their article Ethical Dilemma and Nihilism in Munro\u27s \u27Passion\u27 Xiying Liu and Hongbin Dai discuss ethical issues in Alice Munro\u27s short story Passion. When attempting to escape the shackles of multiple ethical identities, the short story\u27s protagonist Grace encounters dilemmas and in consequence makes wrong decisions with regard to the principle of ethics. The other protagonist of the story, Neil, commits suicide demonstrating that he breaks off all relationship with the world. Liu and Dai argue that Neil\u27s death deconstructs Grace\u27s ethical dilemmas and thus the narrative constructs a sense of nihilism. Liu and Dai posit that Munro\u27s short story reveals the humility, fragility, and complexity of human nature

Stochastic dominance and demographic policy evaluation: a critique

Stochastic dominance (SD) is commonly used to rank income distributions and assess social policies. The literature argues that SD is a robust criterion for policy evaluation because it requires minimal knowledge of the social welfare function. We argue that, on the contrary, SD is not a robust criterion. We do this by carefully introducing microfoundations into a model by Chu and Koo (1990) who use SD to provide support to family-planning programs aiming at reducing the fertility of the poor. We show that fertility restrictions are generally detrimental for both individual and social welfare in spite of the fact that SD holds. Our findings are an application of the Lucas’ Critique

Stochastic dominance and demographic policy evaluation: a critique

Stochastic dominance (SD) is commonly used to rank income distribution and assess social policies. The literature argues that SD is a robust criterion for policy evaluation because it requires minimal knowledge of the social welfare function. We argue that, on the contrary, SD is not a robust criterion. We do this by carefully introducing microfoundations into a model by Chu and Koo (1990) who use SD to provide support to family-planning programs aiming at reducing the fertility of the poor. We show that fertility restrictions are generally detrimental for both individual and social welfare in spite of the fact that SD holds. Our findings are an application of the Lucas\u27 Critique