Non-Hierarchical Bivariate Decomposition of Theil Indexes

This paper develops a method to conduct non-hierarchical bivariate decomposition of Theil indexes. The method has the merits that, first, it treats all variates symmetrically and therefore facilitates the comparison of inequalities associated with different variates; and, second, it highlights the interaction between variates in the creation of inequality. The method is applied to measure gender and ethnic income inequality in Australia.

A Rethink on Measuring Health Inequalities Using the Gini Coefficient

Objective- We show that a standardized Gini coefficient that takes into account the feasible range of health inequality for a given health attribute is a better instrument than the normal Gini coefficient for quantifying inter-individual health inequality. Methods- The standardized Gini coefficient is equal to the normal Gini coefficient divided by the maximal attainable Gini coefficient, which is computed based on the maximal level of a health attribute an individual could achieve. Both the old and new coefficients are used to estimate the lifespan inequality of 185 countries for year 1990, 2000 and 2006, respectively. The results are then compared both across countries and over time. Findings- Firstly, the standardized Gini coefficient can still be related to the Lorenz curve. Secondly, changes in standardized Gini coefficients can be decomposed into respectively the change in the distribution of health outcomes and the change in the average health outcomes. Thirdly, the standardized Gini coefficient provides richer information and often gives different conclusions regarding health inequality in individual countries as well as country ranking, as compared to the normal Gini coefficient. Conclusion- Accounting for the maximal level of health attribute an individual could achieve is important when measuring health inequality. The proposed standardized Gini coefficient can provide more accurate information regarding the actual level of health inequality in a society than the normal Gini coefficient

Uniform fractional factorial designs

The minimum aberration criterion has been frequently used in the selection of fractional factorial designs with nominal factors. For designs with quantitative factors, however, level permutation of factors could alter their geometrical structures and statistical properties. In this paper uniformity is used to further distinguish fractional factorial designs, besides the minimum aberration criterion. We show that minimum aberration designs have low discrepancies on average. An efficient method for constructing uniform minimum aberration designs is proposed and optimal designs with 27 and 81 runs are obtained for practical use. These designs have good uniformity and are effective for studying quantitative factors.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/12-AOS987 the Annals of Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

A Value-Added Based Measure of Health System Output and Estimating the Efficiency of OECD Health Systems

Life expectancy at birth is the most commonly used measure for health system output. However, there are a number of reasons why it may be a poor proxy. First, life expectancy assumes a stationary population and thus does not take into account the current demographic structure of a country; and second, the output of a health system should be measured in terms of the value-added to the population’s health status rather than health status itself. The paper develops a new measure of health system output, the Incremental Life Years to address these problems. The new measure is applied to study health system output, efficiency and total factor productivity in OECD countries for the years 2000 and 2004. The new measure provides different results compared to those based on the traditional life expectancy measure, and the differences are further accentuated when changes in efficiency and productivity are estimated.

Measuring Avoidable Health Inequality with Realization of Conditional Potential Life Years (RCPLY)

In a series of papers (Tang, Chin and Rao, 2008; and Tang, Petrie and Rao 2006 & 2007), we have tried to improve on a mortality-based health status indicator, namely age-at-death (AAD), and its associated health inequality indicators that measure the distribution of AAD. The main contribution of these papers is to propose a frontier method to separate avoidable and unavoidable mortality risks. This has facilitated the development of a new indicator of health status, namely the Realization of Potential Life Years (RePLY). The RePLY measure is based on the concept of a “frontier country” that, by construction, has the lowest mortality risks for each age-sex group amongst all countries. The mortality rates of the frontier country are used as a proxy for the unavoidable mortality rates, and the residual between the observed mortality rates and the unavoidable mortality rates are considered as avoidable morality rates. In this approach, however, countries at different levels of development are benchmarked against the same frontier country without considering their heterogeneity. The main objective of the current paper is to control for national resources in estimating (conditional) unavoidable and avoidable mortality risks for individual countries. This allows us to construct a new indicator of health status – Realization of Conditional Potential Life Years (RCPLY). The paper presents empirical results from a dataset of life tables for 167 countries from the year 2000, compiled and updated by the World Health Organization. Measures of national average health status and health inequality based on RePLY and RCPLY are presented and compared.

The Environmental Laws and Policies of Taiwan: A Comparative Law Perspective

This Article discusses the development of environmental regulation and preservation in Taiwan in light of United States environmental law. The Article begins with a discussion of how few measures have been enacted to protect the Taiwanese environment. It then illuminates some of the problems with the Taiwanese environmental regulations that do exist. According to the author, some of these problems include: ambiguous and conflicting goals enunciated in the legislation; political pressures on the authorities influencing environmental policies; poor enforcement mechanisms; a legislative bias in favor of regulating new sources of pollution and against enforcing regulations in the case of old sources; and little or no litigation over environmental laws. The author next points out the weaknesses in Taiwan\u27s policy of selective enforcement and its ineffective use of economic instruments to control pollution. The author concludes this Article with some suggestions of how Taiwan could improve its environmental regulation efforts

Ethnicity, Gender, and the Education of Cambodian American Students in an Urban High School

This paper explores the role of gender and ethnicity in the education of Cambodian American high school students. Using a qualitative approach, we interviewed ninth-grade Cambodian American students (n=10), teachers (n=4), and administrators (n=2) from a California high school. The data revealed that Cambodian students are often mistaken for other Asian groups and due to stereotypes, expected to excel academically. Fearing that they would disappoint their teachers or be ridiculed by other students, students remain silent about their academic struggles. Culturally-based gender and familial expectations also play prominent roles for both Cambodian boys and girls and their academic progress

New Developments in Environmental Law and Policy in Taiwan

This article provides a critical review of the important developments of the environmental laws and policies of the Republic of China on Taiwan since 1993. The article also supplements the author\u27s 1990 and 1993 publications. Section II briefs the reader on background political and economic changes. Section III analyzes three new environmental statutes, including the Environmental Impact Assessment Act of 1994. Section IV investigates the problems encountered in some environmental initiatives, including the collection of air pollution control fees and the newly launched four-in-one recycling program. Section V summarizes important environmental decisions by the Administrative Court. Section VI suggests strategies for further progress, including changing the mode of legislation, making the administrative decision-making process accessible to the public, as well as reforming the judicial system