A defense of an entropy based index of multigroup segregation

This paper defends the use of the entropy based Mutual Information index of multigroup segregation for the following five reasons. (1) It satisfies 14 basic axioms discussed in the literature when segregation takes place along a single dimension. (2) It is additively decomposable into between- and within-group terms for any partition of the set of occupations (or schools) and the set of demographic groups in the multigroup case. (3) The underlying segregation ordering has been recently characterized in terms of 8 properties. (4) It is a monotonic transformation of log-likelihood tests for the existence of segregation in a general model. (5) It can be decomposed so that a term independent of changes in either of the two marginal distributions can be isolated in pair wise segregation comparisons. Other existing measures of segregation have not been characterized, fail to satisfy one or more of the basic axioms, do not admit a between- within-group decomposition, have not been motivated from a statistical approach, or are based on more restricted econometric models

The axiomatic properties of an entropy based index of segregation

This paper reviews the properties suggested in the methodological literature on the measurement of occupational gender segregation. It is found that an index of (relative) segregation based on the entropy concept, IE, satisfies thirteen basic axioms previously proposed in the single-dimensional case, and can be expressed as the sum of a between-group and a within-group term both for any partition of the set of occupations and in the two-dimensional case

Understanding preference formation in a matching market

We analyze the role of formal and informal information gathering in students' preference formation. We analyzed this role in the college admission process using Spanish individual data. We introduce students' risk aversion and information costs on the standard college admission problem. Then, we model the students' list formation as a two-stage procedure. In first stage, students must decide whether they gather information or not about a college. In the second stage, they give their preferred list to the matching office. The observed changes in preferences suggest that information gathering is important in the last two months of the process and that students with less ex-ante information are more affected by these changes

Additively decomposable segregation indexes. The case of gender segregation by occupations and human capital levels in Spain

Building upon the ideas first exposed by Theil and Finizza (1971) and Fuchs (1975), this paper presents an additively decomposable segregation index based on the entropy concept used in information theory. For any pair of classification variables in a given year, the index is decomposed into a between-group and a within-group term. To analyze intertemporal changes in gender segregation for a given partition, the index is decomposed into two terms that capture, respectively, gender composition effects, and changes in the groups' demographic importance. These decompositions are illustrated with Spanish data on occupations and human capital levels for 1977 and 1992. It is found that, in both years, the higher the educational level, the smaller is gender segregation for all age groups. Moreover, gender segregation decreases with age in all educational categories. However, most gender segregation takes place within, rather than between, age/education categories. Lastly, changes in gender composition across occupations, nearly offset by occupational mix changes, account for a decline of 2% in total gender segregation over this period

Regional and farm specialisation in Spanish agriculture before and after integration in the European Union

In this paper, we study the evolution of agricultural product specialisation at farm and county level from 1979 to 1997 in Spain, thus covering all the stages of the gradual implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy. We use a multiproduct version of Theil and Finizza's index of segregation that allows us to decompose farm product specialisation into county specialisation with respect to the national level, i.e., the usual measure of regional specialisation, and farm specialisation within counties. Our results confirm the importance of increasing regional specialisation but also highlight that trends of farm specialisation within counties have varied across large agricultural areas. In particular, regions more specialised in export-oriented products seem to have speeded regional specialisation

External factors in emerging market recoveries: an empirical investigation.

We estimate conditional duration models to analyse recovery processes in emerging market economies. Our reduced fonn specification is parsimonious, as we focus on the effect of growth in the US, EU, and Japan on the prospects for recovery in emerging market economies experiencing recessions. In order to assess the robustness and forecasting capability of our results, we perfonned out-of-sample predictions using recently available data pertaining to the economies hit by the Asis crisis. The model successfully predicts the bouncing back of most emerging market economies hit by the Asian crisis, and confinns the importance of external factor in recovery processes.Emerging markets; Recessions; Duration; IS-LM;

External Factors in Emerging Market Recoveries: An Empirical Investigation

We estimate conditional duration models to analyse recovery processes in emerging market economies. Our reduced form specification is parsimonious, as we focus on the effect of growth in the US, EU, and Japan on the prospects for economic recovery in emerging markets experiencing recessions. In order to assess the robustness and forecasting capability of our results, we performed out-of-sample predictions using recently available data pertaining to the economies hit by the Asian crisis. The results of this exercise show that external factors beyond the control of the authorities can sucessfully explain the bouncing back of most emerging markets economies hit by the Asian crisis.

ADDITIVELY DECOMPOSABLE SEGREGATION INDEXES. THE CASE OF GENDER SEGREGATION BY OCCUPATIONS AND HUMAN CAPITAL LEVELS IN SPAIN

Building upon the ideas first exposed by Theil and Finizza (1971) and Fuchs (1975), this paper presents an additively decomposable segregation index based on the entropy concept used in information theory. For any pair of classification variables in a given year, the index is decomposed into a between-group and a withingroup term. To analyze intertemporal changes in gender segregation for a given partition, the index is decomposed into two terms that capture, respectively, gender composition effects, and changes in the groups’ demographic importance. These decompositions are illustrated with Spanish data on occupations and human capital levels for 1977 and 1992. It is found that, in both years, the higher the educational level, the smaller is gender segregation for all age groups. Moreover, gender segregation decreases with age in all educational categories. However, most gender segregation takes place within, rather than between, age/education categories. Lastly, changes in gender composition across occupations, nearly offset by occupational mix changes, account for a decline of 2% in total gender segregation over this period.