Unique History, Unique Opportunity: Evangelicalism in Austria since 1945

The article deals with the history of evangelicalism in Austria, a subject on which there is hardly any scholarly research. In focus is the development of the newly recognized baptist, charismatic, mainline evangelical, mennonite and pentecostal denominations since 1945. The role of immigration in the growth of evangelicalism is examined, especially during two periods: the decade after WWII (1945-55) as well as the massive immigration from Eastern Europe (particularly from Romania) after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. The article also presents examples of indigenous church movements among the Austrian people themselves, especially during the 1970\u27s and 1980\u27s. Although the story of its growth is remarkable, less than 0.3% of the population are members of evangelical churches. Conclusions are made as to how Austria\u27s evangelicals can learn from their past in order to more effectively shape their future

DO HOUSEHOLDS FULLY SHARE RISK? EVIDENCE FROM GHANA

Intrahousehold analyses provide new insights into how households make economic decisions. Much of the work in economics has traditionally treated the household as a single economic actor, but a number of studies are providing evidence that the dynamics among household members affect the outcomes of household economic decisions. This paper contributes to our understanding of such models by incorporating the variability of individual incomes into the analysis of intrahousehold resource allocations, using detailed household survey data from Ghana.Consumer/Household Economics, Risk and Uncertainty,

MODELS OF INTRAHOUSEHOLD RESOURCE ALLOCATION: ASSUMPTIONS AND EMPIRICAL TESTS

This paper reviews and analyzes a literature that examines the restrictiveness of focusing on households as single units of analysis. In particular, this literature asks: To what extent can we use the household as a unit of analysis, and when do we need to disaggregate the household and look at individual behavior within the household? In this paper, I examine the different models of intrahousehold resource allocation and the empirical work they have generated. Each of the models has a different set of assumptions about the four components of household decisions. The assumptions and predictions of each of the main models of intrahousehold resource allocation are presented; then I discuss the empirical work that tests the validity of the assumptions and discuss when the different models may be appropriate.Consumer/Household Economics,

WOMEN'S BARGAINING POWER IN HOUSEHOLD ECONOMIC DECISIONS: EVIDENCE FROM GHANA

In this paper, the percentage of assets held by women within the household is used as a measure of women's bargaining power. The assets used in this paper include land, savings, and business assets. Using detailed household survey data from Ghana, I demonstrate that the share of assets owned by women has a significant impact on household expenditure decisions. This provides additional support for the notion that women's bargaining power can be measured, at least in some dimensions, and that women's bargaining power is an important determinant of household economic decisions. It suggests that other measures of women's bargaining power may also be useful for understanding household decisions.Consumer/Household Economics,

UNDERSTANDING FARM-LEVEL TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION: LESSONS LEARNED FROM CIMMYT'S MICRO SURVEYS IN EASTERN AFRICA

Drawing on a series of technology adoption studies carried out by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in collaboration with national agricultural research systems in Eastern Africa during 1996-98, this paper suggests alternative approaches for designing technology adoption studies to obtain as much useful information as possible. It describes the Eastern African studies and summarizes specific lessons learned, asks what can be learned from farm-level studies in a few communities, explores generic limitations of micro studies and a range of problems and issues faced in carrying out such studies, addresses challenges that arise in trying to put together a set of compatible micro studies, and lists overall conclusions and specific recommendations.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF RESEARCH ON WOMEN FARMERS IN AFRICA: LESSONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS; WITH AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Based on an extensive review of the literature on women farmers in Africa, this paper explores the potential reasons why women farmers have not adopted improved maize technologies and discusses the implications for agricultural research. Women farmers are often constrained by their lack of access to labor, land, and inputs. In addition, women may prefer different outputs than men. Finally, the dynamics of household decision-making affects technology adoption; roles and responsibilities within the household are often renegotiated when new technologies are adopted, and women may be reluctant to provide labor if they do not receive some of the benefits. Each section of this paper includes a number of questions that may provide insights into the gender roles and dynamics in a particular community. Three general conclusions can be drawn from the available literature. First, there is enormous complexity and heterogeneity among African households. Second, there is no simple way to summarize gender roles within African households and communities. Third, gender roles and responsibilities are dynamic; in particular, they change with new economic circumstances. An extensive annotated bibliography on gender issues and the adoption of maize technologies in Africa follows the review of studies.Farm Management, Labor and Human Capital,

Dynamic Display of Changing Posterior in Bayesian Survival Analysis: The Software

We consider the problem of estimating an unknown distribution function in the presence of censoring under the conditions that a parametric model is believed to hold approximately. We use a Bayesian approach, in which the prior on is a mixture of Dirichlet distributions. A hyperparameter of the prior determines the extent to which this prior concentrates its mass around the parametric family. A Gibbs sampling algorithm to estimate the posterior distributions of the parameters of interest is reviewed. An importance sampling scheme enables us to use the output of the Gibbs sampler to very quickly recalculate the posterior when we change the hyperparameters of the prior. The calculations can be done sufficiently fast to enable the dynamic display of the changing posterior as the prior hyperparameters are varied. This paper provides a literate program completely documenting the code for performing the dynamic graphics.