Inequality Comparisons in a Multi-Period Framework: The Role of Alternative Welfare Metrics

This paper considers the use of alternative welfare metrics in evaluations of income inequality in a multi-period context. Using Norwegian longitudinal income data, it is found, as in many studies, that inequality is lower when each individual’s annual average income is used as welfare metric, compared with the use of a single-period accounting framework. However, this result does not necessarily hold when aversion to income fluctuations is introduced. Furthermore, when actual incomes are replaced by expected incomes (conditional on an initial period),using a model of income dynamics, higher values of inequality over longer periods are typically found, although comparisons depend on inequality and variability aversion parameters. The results are strongly influenced by the observed high degree of systematic regression towards the (geometric) mean, combined with a large extent of individual unexpected effects.income mobility; welfare evaluations; relative mobility process

Controlling for fixed effects in studies of income underreporting

The expenditure method of Pissarides and Weber (1989) [Journal of Public Economics, 39 (1), 17- 32) shows how one backs out measure of income underreporting by the self-employed by using food consumption as trace of true income. In this paper we make a case for using panel data and fixed effects estimation in such analysis, instead of OLS estimation. The main argument is that fixed effects estimation addresses the problem of omitted variable bias in the identification. We demonstrate the use of panel data and fixed effects estimation by using large scale administrative register data on charitable donations, exploiting that the data can be turned into a panel dataset. The results suggest that the estimation technique matters – fixed effects estimates are smaller than OLS estimates

The distributional effects of tax-benefit policies : A reduced form approach with application to Finland

In this study we describe a procedure to account for behavioral effects in the evaluation of distributional effects of tax-benefit policy changes. Instead of applying a separate behavioral simulation module, we demonstrate how exogenously given behavioral estimates can be employed in the descriptions of distributional analysis. By employing elasticity estimates from relevant literature, behavioral effects on household incomes are assessed both on the intensive and the extensive margin. The method is demonstrated with the Finnish tax-benefit changes that came into force at the beginning of 2020

House price Keynesianism and the contradictions of the modern investor subject

This article conceptualises the marked downturn in UK house prices in the 2007-2009 period in relation to longer-term processes of national economic restructuring centred on a new model of homeownership. The structure of UK house prices has been impacted markedly by the Labour Government‟s efforts to ingrain a particular notion of financial literacy amid the move towards an increasingly asset-based system of welfare. New model welfare recipients and new model homeowners have thereby been co-constituted in a manner consistent with a new UK growth regime of „house price Keynesianism‟. However, the investor subjects who drive such growth are necessarily rendered uncertain as compared with the idealised image of Government policy because of their reliance on the credit-creating decisions of private financial institutions. The recent steep decline in UK house prices is explained here as an epiphenomenon of the disruptive effect on the idealised image caused by the dependence of investor subjects on pricing dynamics not of their making

Diagnostic criteria for cancer cachexia: Reduced food intake and inflammation predict weight loss and survival in an international, multi-cohort analysis

Abstract Background Cancer‐associated weight loss (WL) associates with increased mortality. International consensus suggests that WL is driven by a variable combination of reduced food intake and/or altered metabolism, the latter often represented by the inflammatory biomarker C‐reactive protein (CRP). We aggregated data from Canadian and European research studies to evaluate the associations of reduced food intake and CRP with cancer‐associated WL (primary endpoint) and overall survival (OS, secondary endpoint). Methods The data set included a total of 12,253 patients at risk for cancer‐associated WL. Patient‐reported WL history (% in 6 months) and food intake (normal, moderately, or severely reduced) were measured in all patients; CRP (mg/L) and OS were measured in N = 4960 and N = 9952 patients, respectively. All measures were from a baseline assessment. Clinical variables potentially associated with WL and overall survival (OS) including age, sex, cancer diagnosis, disease stage, and performance status were evaluated using multinomial logistic regression MLR and Cox proportional hazards models, respectively. Results Patients had a mean weight change of −7.3% (±7.1), which was categorized as: ±2.4% (stable weight; 30.4%), 2.5–5.9% (19.7%), 6.0–10.0% (23.2%), 11.0–14.9% (12.0%), ≥15.0% (14.6%). Normal food intake, moderately, and severely reduced food intake occurred in 37.9%, 42.8%, and 19.4%, respectively. In MLR, severe WL (≥15%) (vs. stable weight) was more likely (P  100 mg/L: OR 2.30 (95% CI 1.62–3.26)]. Diagnosis, stage, and performance status, but not age or sex, were significantly associated with WL. Median OS was 9.9 months (95% CI 9.5–10.3), with median follow‐up of 39.7 months (95% CI 38.8–40.6). Moderately and severely reduced food intake and CRP independently predicted OS (P < 0.0001). Conclusions Modelling WL as the dependent variable is an approach that can help to identify clinical features and biomarkers associated with WL. Here, we identify criterion values for food intake impairment and CRP that may improve the diagnosis and classification of cancer‐associated cachexia

Agreeing Language in Veterinary Endocrinology (ALIVE): Diabetes mellitus - a modified Delphi-method-based system to create consensus disease definitions

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