bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Internal Relative Price Stationarity in Long‐Run Purchasing Power Parity
Authors: Boucher Breuer Janice , Flynn Lippert Alston
Published: March 2003

This study demonstrates that the joint relationship among domestic traded‐goods prices, dometic nontraded‐goods prices, foreign traded‐goods prices, and foreign nontraded‐goods prices is important to understanding rejections or confirmations of long‐run PPP. This joint relationship is defined as the “cross‐country internal relative price structure.” For nine of the ten pairs of countries studied, the cross‐country internal relative price structure is found to be stationary; thus, factors other than the influence of nontraded‐goods prices must be responsible for the rejections of long‐run PPP.
Foreign Debt and Economic Development
Authors: Christou Costas , Dellas Harris , Belessakos Elias
Published: March 2003

This paper characterizes the optimal path of foreign public debt that can support politically unanimous (Pareto welfare improving) economic growth under uncertainty. The feasibility of the plan depends on whether the maintenance of political consensus in the debtor country requires additional loans that are high relative to the country’s outstanding debt. If a program is feasible, then the creditors will have an incentive to preserve political support for the plan, in case of adverse developments, by offering debt relief. Unlike the certainty case, where only total debt matters, uncertainty makes also the timing of debt repayments critical for economic development.
Saving, Investment, and Capital Mobility in LDCs
Authors: Coakley Jerry , Hasan Farida , Smith Ron
Published: March 2003

The Coakley, Kulasi, and Smith current‐account solvency model (Economic Journal, 1996, pp. 620–7) is used to investigate saving and investment in LDCs. This model implies that saving and investment cointegrate with a unit coefficient irrespective of the degree of capital mobility. Panel and conventional unit‐root tests indicate that LDC current accounts are stationary. The Feldstein–Horioka cross‐section regression coefficient for LDCs is lower than the corresponding OECD coefficient, indicating different policy responses in these countries rather than higher capital mobility. Finally, adjustment toward solvency is slower in LDCs, reflecting their vulnerability to external shocks and the impact of financial repression.
Export Growth and Domestic Performance
Authors: Pereira Alfredo M. , Xu Zhenhui
Published: March 2003

A VAR approach is used to analyze the effects of export growth on the evolution of GDP, domestic employment, and investment in 39 economies. The results strongly support the export‐led growth hypothesis. Export growth affects GDP growth positively in 30 countries. In six countries, all of them inward‐looking, the effects are negative. For these countries, and for these countries alone, export growth has a negative effect on the evolution of both domestic employment and investment. This also suggests the importance of the indirect effects of exports on GDP growth.
Financial Liberalization, Property Rights, and Growth in an Overlapping‐Generations Model
Authors: Bellettini Giorgio , Ceroni Carlotta Berti
Published: March 2003

Using an endogenous growth model in which countries differ with respect to property rights protection, the paper analyzes the growth and welfare effects of removing capital controls, and studies the political support for a reform which improves the quality of property rights. When these are poorly protected, liberalization of capital movements may foster growth in the short run but eliminates it in the long run. The removal of capital controls may benefit agents at the time of liberalization, hurting future generations. Ceteris paribus, political support for a reform of property rights is stronger in the closed than in the open economy.
Trade Gains when the Opportunity to Trade Changes the State of Information
Authors: Kemp Murray C. , Shimomura Koji , Wan Henry Y.
Published: March 2003

J. S. Mill suggested that the destruction of old preferences and their replacement by new are among the greatest benefits imparted by free trade. However, Mill’s argument relied on a possibly controversial ethical judgment. The present note approaches the question posed by Mill with only the conventional Paretian ethical baggage, and shows that, if all agents are rational in a sense to be made clear and if the wellbeing of each agent is independent of irrelevant alternatives, then trade is potentially gainful.
Environmental Barriers to Trade: The Case of Endangered Sea Turtles
Authors: Chambers Paul E. , Kohn Robert E.
Published: March 2003

In April of 1998, the World Trade Organization pronounced the US Sea Turtle Conservation Act in violation of the GATT. This paper presents a stylized Heckscher–Ohlin–Samuelson model in which the fatal entrapment of sea turtles in nets of the shrimping industry is a negative externality that reduces global utility. Three trade equilibria are simulated: free trade, trade ban, and free trade with subsidization. With free trade, a transfer of abatement capital from the North to the South results in a Pareto improvement upon the trade ban. The simulations indicate that a cooperative outcome which obtains global efficiency may be feasible but is improbable.
Financial Development and Economic Growth: An Egg‐and‐Chicken Problem?
Authors: Shan Jordan Z. , Morris Alan G. , Sun Fiona
Published: March 2003

This study uses a Granger causality procedure to investigate the relationship between financial development and economic growth. The authors estimate a vector autoregression (VAR) model for nine OECD countries and China. They argue that a time‐series approach is superior to a cross‐sectional one and that the VAR framework avoids technical problems common in other time‐series models. Evidence is presented of bidirectional causality between financial development and growth in half of the countries and reverse causality in three others. There is little support for the hypothesis that finance “leads” growth, and caution must be exercised in making general conclusions about this relationship.
Misleading Inferences from Panel Unit‐Root Tests with an Illustration from Purchasing Power Parity
Authors: Breuer Janice Boucher , McNown Robert , Wallace Myles S.
Published: March 2003

Simulations demonstrate that when unit‐root behavior is rejected in a Levin and Lin panel test, it is incorrect to infer that all series are stationary. Recent tests proposed by Im, Pesaran and Shin, and by Sarno and Taylor, are also incapable of determining the mix of I(0) and I(1) series in a panel setting. This paper introduces a new unit‐root test that allows the researcher to discern which series are I(0) and which ones are I(1). The test has double to triple the power of single‐equation augmented Dickey–Fuller tests.
Excess Volatility of Exchange Rates with Unobservable Fundamentals
Authors: Bartolini Leonardo , Giorgianni Lorenzo
Published: March 2003

The authors present tests of excess volatility of exchange rates which impose minimal structure on the data and do not commit to a choice of exchange rate “fundamentals.” The method builds on existing volatility tests of asset prices, combining them with a procedure that extracts unobservable fundamentals from survey‐based exchange rate expectations. The method is applied to data for the three major exchange rates since 1984, and broad evidence is given of excess volatility with respect to the predictions of the canonical asset‐pricing model of the exchange rate with rational expectations.
Currency Areas and International Monetary Reform at the Dawn of a New Century
Authors: Mundell Robert Alexander
Published: March 2003

The Asian crisis and the creation of the euro have jump‐started once again discussion of exchange rate systems, currency areas, and international monetary reform. The role of power in the international monetary system is discussed and its relevance to analysis of the new euro area as an instigator of change in the power configuration of the system. The dollar, euro, and yen areas have achieved a high degree of price stability, but international efficiency is seriously undermined by exchange rate gyrations of these three currencies. The best path to international monetary reform leads through a new international currency called the INTOR based on a G‐3 monetary union platform possibly linked to gold.
High Interest Rates and Exchange Rate Stabilization in Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand: An Empirical Investigation of the Traditional and Revisionist Views
Authors: Dekle Robert , Hsiao Cheng , Wang Siyan
Published: March 2003

The paper seeks to determine whether high interest rates have had the effect of appreciating nominal exchange rates in three Asian countries. The authors use high‐frequency data for Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand during the recent crisis and its aftermath to examine the relationship between the increase in interest rates and the behavior of exchange rates. It is found that raising interest rates has had a small impact on nominal exchange rates during the crisis period.
Trade Reform Diagnostics with Many Households, Quotas, and Tariffs
Authors: Anderson James E.
Published: March 2003

Revenue‐neutral trade reform is desirable if revenues are made up from less costly distortions. With a particular computable general‐equilibrium model, reforms can be evaluated, but the robustness of conclusions is suspect; they depend on a particular specification and parameterization of the model economy. This paper provides a diagnostic toolkit which permits sensitivity analysis across model specifications and parameterizations, notably allowing for heterogeneous households. Novel elements include emphasis on the concept of compensated marginal cost of funds (MCF) necessary to sensitivity analysis, development of the MCF of quotas, and analysis of the relationship between aggregate MCF and social welfare.
Productivity Trends in Europe: Implications for Real Exchange Rates, Real Interest Rates, and Inflation
Authors: Canzoneri Matthew , Cumby Robert , Diba Behzad , Eudey Gwen
Published: March 2003

The paper examines a long–run (neoclassical) framework in which differences in productivity growth across sectors and countries lead to inflation differentials. In a currency union, these inflation differentials imply cross–country differentials in real interest rates. The authors estimate the likely size of these differentials for European Union countries, discuss the potential costs of persistent inflation differentials, and comment on the conflicts they may cause within Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The analytical framework is a variant of the Balassa–Samuelson “productivity hypotheisis,” which relates sectoral productivity trends to trends in the relative price of home goods.
Measuring the Width of National Borders
Authors: Helliwell John F.
Published: March 2003

The paper deals with three issues that are central to the combined use of intranational and international data to estimate the economic consequences of national borders. The first issue concerns the measurement of trading distances for transactions that take place within a country or region. The second issue relates to the use of coefficients from an estimated gravity relationship to express the border effect in terms of an equivalent distance. The author proposes a technique to avoid problems that have beset earlier attempts to do this. The third issue is the need to ensure that the border and distance effects are estimated independently.
Discriminating Among Alternative Theories of the Multinational Enterprise
Authors: Markusen James R. , Maskus Keith E.
Published: March 2003

Recent theoretical developments have incorporated endogenous multinational firms into the general–equilibrium model of trade. One simple taxonomy separates the theory into “vertical” models, in which firms geographically separate activities by stages of production, and “horizontal” models, in which multiplant firms duplicate roughly the same activities in many countries. The authors nest a horizontal and a vertical model within a hybrid (unrestricted) “knowledge–capital model” and estimate the specifications with data on US foreign direct investment activity. In the nested econometric tests, the data sample cannot distinguish statistically between the unrestricted model and the restricted horizontal model, indicating that the latter captures virtually all of the determinants of FDI. The tests overwhelmingly reject the vertical model.
The Economic Case for Monetary Union in the European Union
Authors: Buiter Willem H.
Published: March 2003

Differential requirements for seigniorage provide a weak case for retaining monetary independence. As regards adjustment to asymmetric shocks, nominal exchange rate flexibility is at best a limited blessing and at worst a limited curse. Absence of significant fiscal redistribution mechanisms among EU members is not an obstacle to monetary union. Neither is limited international labour mobility. Convergence of real economic performance is irrelevant for monetary union. A common currency is the logical implication of unrestricted capital mobility. The Maastricht criteria need not hinder monetary union provided the political will exists to adopt a flexible interpretation of the fiscal criteria.
Monetary and Fiscal Stabilization of Demand Shocks Within Europe
Authors: Allsopp Chris , Davies Gareth , McKibbin Warwick , Vines David
Published: March 2003

This paper examines alternative macroeconomic stabilization rules for demand shocks, for a single open economy, and for an integrated European region. These questions are tackled in two ways. First a very simple macroeconomic model is used to focus on intercountry interconnections. Then the effects of shocks are simulated using the McKibbin Sachs MSG2 global economic model. The theoretical model analyzes just how much larger the disturbances caused by asymmetric shocks might be in a European Monetary Union, as compared with outcomes under floating exchange rates, especially (1) if rigid central monitoring and discipline of the fiscal policy prevents the full operation of the inbuilt fiscal stabilizers within individual European countries, and (2) if European monetary policy does not concern itself with fully European objectives. Simulations with the MSG2 model bear out the significance of these risks. They show that a demand shock like GEMU can have strongly negative effects on output in other European countries if either interest rates are raised to counter the demand shock in the originating country, or if, for some reason, fiscal stabilization is not allowed to be as strong as the inbuilt fiscal stabilizers.
Regionalism and the Rest of the World: Theory and Estimates of the Effects of European Integration
Authors: Winters L.
Published: March 2003

There are no satisfactory ex post estimates of the effects of regional integration on excluded countries’ welfare. Using a formal decomposition of welfare, this paper discusses the factors that might affect these countries’ welfare and aspects of their measurement. It then surveys various ex ante estimates of the effects of European integration. These suggest that neighboring countries linked tightly to the European economy could lose significantly from the latter’s integration, but that for other countries the losses are likely to be very small.
Articulating a Mystical Theology
Authors: Sarot Marcel
Published: March 2003

Book reviewed in this article

Mark A. McIntosh Mystical Theology: The Integrity of Spirituality and Theology
To Buy or Not to Buy? Introducing Philosophy of Religion
Authors: Harrison Simon
Published: March 2003

Books reviewed in this article:

Beverley Clack and Brian R. Clack, The Philosophy of Religion: A Critical Introduction

Brian Davies OP (ed.), Philosophy of Religion: A Guide to the Subject
The Trinity: A New Wave?
Authors: Kilby Karen
Published: March 2003

Books reviewed in this article:

Bruce Marshall, Trinity and Truth

Boris Bobrinskoy, The Mystery of the Trinity: Trinitarian Experience and Vision in the Biblical and Patristic Tradition

David S. Cunningham, These Three are One: The Practice of Trinitarian Theology

Denis Edwards, The God of Evolution: A Trinitarian Theology
Whither ‘TRS’?
Authors: Stringer Martin D.
Published: March 2003

Books reviewed in this article:

Willi Braun and Russell T. McCutcheon (eds), Guide to the Study of Religion

J'annine Jobling and Ian Markham (eds),Theological Liberalism, Creative and Critical
The Impossible of Faith: Marxist and Post–Secular Interpretations of Belief and Religion
Authors: Nolan Steve
Published: March 2003

Books reviewed in this article:

Slavoj Žižek, On Belief

John D. Caputo, On Religion
Labor Market Institutions and the Second‐Best Tariff
Authors: Rama Martín
Published: March 2003

Labor market distortions provide a second‐best case for protection. However, the implications are less obvious when the product market is imperfectly competitive too, as suggested by several partial equilibrium studies. This paper adopts a general equilibrium approach, combining unionization in labor markets with monopolistic competition in product markets. Two labor market settings are considered: fully centralized wage bargaining (“Scandinavia”, for short) and negotiation at the firm level (“Latin America”). The competitive labor market case is used as a benchmark. It is shown that in Latin America the second‐best tariff is higher, and the welfare level lower, than in the benchmark case. Scandinavia reaches the first best under free trade.
Bequests, Credit Rationing and in situ Values in the Faustmann–Pressler–Ohlin Forestry Model
Authors: Tahvonen Olli
Published: March 2003

The problem of determining the optimal time to stop the “pure aging process” has a 150‐year history in forestry. The success of the rotation model lies in the fact that it is taken to be theoretically sound, empirically testable and has clear practical relevance. Nonetheless, empirical findings show that timber supply depends on variables missing from the original formulation. Previous research has addressed the problem by abandoning the pure aging description of forests. This study demonstrates that the optimal aging process becomes forest‐owner specific under imperfect land and capital markets and if the owner has in situ preferences.
The Transition to Market Economies in an Endogenous Growth Model with Altruistic Agents
Authors: Zhang Jie
Published: March 2003

This paper considers an endogenous transition from a self‐sufficient traditional economy to a market economy and its consequences on fertility and growth. The transition can occur if private intergenerational transfers are unable to secure old‐age consumption as adequately as savings on capital markets; otherwise individuals stay in the traditional economy unless the mass‐production technology in the market economy is sufficiently more advanced than individually accessible technologies. Markets emerge only if per capita output exceeds a certain level given a fixed cost of forming markets. The transition reduces fertility and promotes growth under plausible restrictions.

JEL Classification: E20; J13; O10
CES Production Functions and Economic Growth
Authors: Klump Rainer , Preissler Harald
Published: March 2003

We examine inconsistencies and controversies related to the use of CES production functions in growth models. First, we show that not all variants of CES functions commonly used are consistently specified. Second, using a simple growth model, we find that a higher elasticity of substitution leads to a higher steady state and makes the emergence of permanent growth more probable. It is also pointed out that the effect of a higher elasticity of substitution on the speed of convergence depends on the relative scarcity of the factors of production. Finally, we discuss possible explanations of variations in the elasticity of substitution.

JEL classification: O41; O11
Early Retirement and Economic Incentives
Authors: Hernoes Erik , Sollie Marte , Strøm Steinar
Published: March 2003

In Norway, early retirement programmes have gradually reduced the retirement age from 67 to 62 for a majority of the labour force. Based on micro data for 1990 and 1992, we estimate a competing‐risk model with three states: full retirement, partial retirement/part‐time work and full‐time work. We then use the estimated model in simulations to study how financial incentives can be strengthened to extend working life. Financial incentives, educational background and industry affiliation are found to influence retirement behaviour. For low and medium incomes, the tax system shifts the incentives heavily towards early retirement and, in particular, towards partial retirement combined with part‐time work.
A Positive Theory of Social Security
Authors: Tabellini Guido
Published: March 2003

In many countries, social security accounts for a large fraction of the government budget. Why is this so, given that at any point in time the number of recipients of social security benefits is smaller than the number of contributors? In the overlapping‐generations model studied in this paper, all individuals currently alive vote on social security in every period. In equilibrium, the size of social security is larger, the greater is the proportion of elderly people in the population, and the greater is the inequality of pre‐tax income within each generation. Both predictions of the theory are supported by the empirical evidence in cross‐country data.
Reputation and Reciprocity: Consequences for the Labour Relation
Authors: Gächter Simon , Falk Armin
Published: March 2003

Recent evidence highlights the importance of social norms in many economic relations. However, many of these relationships are long term and provide repeated game incentives for performance. We experimentally investigate interaction effects of reciprocity and repeated game incentives in two treatments (one‐shot and repeated) of a gift‐exchange game. In both treatments we observe reciprocity, which is strengthened in the repeated game. A detailed analysis shows that, in the repeated game, some subjects imitate reciprocity. Thus, reciprocity and repeated game incentives reinforce each other. Observed behaviour is robust against experience. We conclude that long‐term interaction is a “reciprocity‐compatible” contract enforcement device.

JEL classification: J30; C91
Financial Market Imperfections, Labour Market Imperfections and Business Cycles
Authors: Arnold Lutz G.
Published: March 2003

A Greenwald–Stiglitz (1993a) style rational expectations business cycle model is introduced in which uncorrelated productivity shocks or monetary shocks generate autocorrelated employment fluctuations due to financial constraints. The propagation mechanism is carefully modelled: because of capital market imperfections (only standard debt contracts are traded), firms' labour demand changes in response to changes in their balance‐sheet position; because of labour market imperfections (efficiency wages), employment and unemployment fluctuate in response to shifts in labour demand. The virtue of the model is its simplicity. Despite the fact that unemployment is endogenous, the dynamic behaviour of the model under rational expectations can be characterised analytically.

JEL classification: E32
Relative Prices in Monetary Union and Floating
Authors: Vartiainen Juhana
Published: March 2003

The setting is a small open economy with an open sector and a sheltered sector. If the unions that operate in each sector coordinate their wage claims within the sector, the choice of monetary regime—monetary union or floating with an inflation target—affects the relative prices of tradables and non–tradables as well as real wages and employment. EMU membership results in lower prices of tradable goods and lower relative wages in the open sector, while opposite results hold for sheltered sector prices and wages.

JEL classification: E5; E24; E42; J5; J31
Product Market Integration and Wages in Unionized Countries
Authors: Munch Jakob Roland , Skaksen Jan Rose
Published: March 2003

This paper addresses the effects of product market integration on wages. We develop a two–country general equilibrium model of international trade with imperfectly competitive product markets and unionized labor markets. Integration is modelled as either a fall in fixed or variable trade costs. A reduction in fixed trade costs leads to an unambiguous decrease in wages, whereas a reduction in variable trade costs has an ambiguous effect on wages.

JEL classification: F15; J5; L13
Effects of Fiscal Contractions: The Importance of Preceding Exchange Rate Movements
Authors: Hjelm Göran
Published: March 2003

We examine the importance of exchange rate and money supply movements for the macroeconomic outcome of fiscal contractions and find: (i) contractions associated with a favorable macroeconomic outcome have been preceded by significantly higher real depreciations as compared to contractions associated with a less favorable macroeconomic outcome and (ii) contractions preceded by real depreciations improve expectations about future income and generate higher private consumption growth. We discuss policy implications for countries both outside and inside the EMU.

JEL classification: E21; E63; H30
When Environmental Policy is Superfluous: Growth and Polluting Resources
Authors: Schou Poul
Published: March 2003

In a research–driven endogenous growth model, a non–renewable resource gives rise to pollution. Consumption may either grow or decline along the optimal balanced growth path, but the (flow) pollution level necessarily diminishes continuously. Any positive balanced growth path is sustainable. Utility may improve, even though consumption declines. Although positive growth is optimal, the market economy may nevertheless result in permanently declining consumption possibilities. At the same time, a growth–enhancing government policy may improve long–run environmental conditions. The pollution externality does not distort the decisions of the market economy, so that a specific environmental policy is superfluous.

JEL classification: O41; Q20; Q28; Q32
Unemployment and Migration: Does Moving Help?
Authors: Pekkala Sari , Tervo Hannu
Published: March 2003

The migration behaviour of the unemployed in Finland is analysed in terms of the causal effect of moving on individual employment status. In 1994, 17 percent of the labour force was unemployed and the unemployment rate exhibited a very slow decline in 1994–1996. Over half of those who were unemployed at the end of 1994 were still unemployed two years later. The propensity to find a job is somewhat greater among migrants. However, the positive effect of moving diminishes once other personal characteristics are accounted for. Moreover, when controlling for endogenous migrant selectivity, an insignificant or even negative effect on employment status emerges. This indicates that the relatively better “quality” of the migrants (e.g. age, education, human capital and unobserved ability), rather than the act of moving itself, causes an improvement in re–employability. Hence, migration alone may not be a very effective mechanism for alleviating individual unemployment.

JEL classification: J61; J64
On the Psychological Significance of the Euclidean Representation of Implicit Personality Theory
Authors: Hochwälder Jacek , Nystedt Lars
Published: March 2003

The overall purpose of the present study was to investigate the psychological significance of the Euclidean representation of implicit personality theory (IPT) by testing the predictive usefulness of this representation. Multidimensional scaling analyses of 18 subjects’ estimates of assumed trait co‐occurences (IPT) gave Euclidean trait‐distance matrices which were used to predict the subjects’ trait‐to‐trait inferences. The results showed that: (1) The Euclidean representations of subjects’ IPTs can be used to predict (p < 0.10) most subjects’ (14 of 18) trait‐to‐trait inferences; (2) The similarity between the Euclidean representation of subjects’ IPTs was positively correlated (rs = 0.43, p < 0.001) with the similarity between subjects’ trait‐to‐trait inferences. These results suggest that the Euclidean representation of IPT has some predictive value, and thus, may at least to some extent, be justified and considered as psychologically significant.
The CODE: A revised battery for coping and defense and its relations to subjective health
Authors: Eriksen Hege R. , Olff Miranda , Ursin Holger
Published: March 2003

A condensed test battery (the CODE) based on the Utrecht Coping List (UCL) and part of the Defense Mechanisms Inventory (DMI) has been developed to assess coping and defense in large population studies. It was tested for reliability and validity in students and back pain patients. Principal components factor analysis of the subscales of the UCL and DMI in the student sample revealed two coping clusters: “Instrumental mastery‐oriented coping” and “Emotion‐focused coping” and two defensive clusters: “Cognitive defense” and “Defensive hostility”. “Instrumental mastery‐oriented coping” was negatively related to subjective health complaints measured with Ursins Health Inventory (UHI). The back pain patients were clearly different from the students, using less coping and more defensive strategies. They had more subjective health complaints that showed negative correlations with “Instrumental mastery‐oriented coping”. The CODE is a comprehensive battery that may be valid for large population studies of psychological determinants of muscle pain and other subjective health problems.
Fear of snakes and facial reactions: A case of rapid emotional responding
Authors: Dimberg Ulf , Hansson G.Öran , Thunberg Monika
Published: March 2003

The aim of the present study was to explore how rapid emotional responses are manifested as facial electromyographic (EMG) reactions when people with explicit fear of snakes are exposed to their fear relevant stimuli. Fifty‐six subjects, high or low in fear of snakes, were exposed to pictures of snakes and flowers while facial EMG activity from the corrugator supercilii and the zygomatic major muscle regions was recorded. Measures of autonomic activity and ratings of the stimuli were also collected. Pictures of snakes evoked a rapid corrugator supercilii muscle reaction which was larger in the High fear group as early as 500ms after stimulus onset. The High fear group also rated snakes as more unpleasant and displayed larger skin conductance responses (SCRs) and increased heart rate (HR) when exposed to snakes. Pictures of flowers tended to evoke increased zygomatic major muscle activity which did not differ among the groups. The present results demonstrate that the facial EMG technique is sensitive enough to detect rapidly evoked negative emotional reactions. The results support the hypothesis that people high in fear of snakes are disposed to react very rapidly with a negative emotional response to their fear relevant stimuli.
Quality dimensions for school psychology services
Authors: Anthun Roald
Published: March 2003

Varying standards and quality among Norwegian school psychology services (SPS) have resulted in national SPS support and developmental programs. The present study aimed to reveal SPS quality dimensions to suggest a basis for development of service standards. Teachers (333) and administrators (136) responsible for corresponding cases referred to the SPS responded to a questionnaire including indeces of case service quality and collaboration between schools and SPS. The statistical analyses included factor analyses and a multiple regression analysis. The data and results from an earlier study of parents’ quality dimensions were included in an items analyses. The result suggests five central SPS quality dimensions: availability, participation, consideration, effectiveness and security. While effectiveness has the strongest effect on the evaluation of case service quality both for parents and school personnel, the dimensions have different significance for different consumer groups. Relations to general service quality dimensions and consequences of the findings are discussed.
Measuring adult attachment: A construct validation of two self–report instruments
Authors: Bäackström Martin , Holmes Bjarne M.
Published: March 2003

This study reports the Swedish construct validation of two translated attachment style scales. The factor structure of the attachment construct was investigated via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of attachment scores from 515 students of a Swedish university. Results supported the expected two–factor solution, but found a three–factor solution to be a viable alternative. In addition, the attachment scales were compared with the Big Five personality inventory (NEO–PI), using a sample of 87 Swedish students, and found to have expected correlation to this scale.
The retrosplenial contribution to human navigation: A review of lesion and neuroimaging findings
Authors: Maguire Eleanor
Published: March 2003

The clinical and neuroimaging literatures are surveyed in order to collate for the first time the available data on retrosplenial involvement in human navigation. Several notable features emerge from consideration of the case reports of relatively pure topographical disorientation in the presence of a retrosplenial lesion. The majority of cases follow damage to the right retrosplenial cortex, with Brodmann’s area 30 apparently compromised in most cases. All patients displayed impaired learning of new routes, and defective navigation in familiar environments complaining they could not use preserved landmark recognition to aid orientation. The deficit generally resolved within eight weeks of onset. The majority of functional neuroimaging studies involving navigation or orientation in large‐scale space also activate the retrosplenial cortex, usually bilaterally, with good concordance in the locations of the voxel of peak activation across studies, again with Brodmann’s area 30 featuring prominently. While there is strong evidence for right medial temporal lobe involvement in navigation, it now seems that the inputs the hippocampus and related structures receive from and convey to right retrosplenial cortex have a similar spatial preference, while the left medial temporal and left retrosplenial cortices seem primarily concerned with more general aspects of episodic memory.
The spatial integration of adolescent identity: Its relation to age, education, and subjective well–being
Authors: Van Hoof Anne , Raaijmakers Quinten A. W.
Published: March 2003

A sense of being the same person through time and social contexts is a central characteristic of identity formation. The spatial integration of identity was investigated in three groups of high school students differing in age and/or educational level. The 294 adolescents chose and ranked personally revealing identity contexts, described their general and context–specific identities, and indicated their subjective sense of well–being. With increasing age and educational level adolescents chose an increasing number of identity contexts. Context–specific identities were found on average to be closely interwoven. There was a positive linear relationship between spatial integration and subjective well–being. The conclusion is that age and education promote the extension of adolescents’ identity horizons, provided that their spatial integration is solid enough to absorb the downward effect of a new identity context. A comparison between spatial integration and two measures of exploration and commitment showed that spatial integration is a relatively powerful measure of adolescent identity.
Cognitive deficits in major depression
Authors: Ravnkilde Barbara , Videbech Poul , Clemmensen Karin , Egander Annette , Rasmussen Niels Anton , Rosenberg Raben
Published: March 2003

Major depression is a mood disorder that is often accompanied by the impairment of cognitive functions. Although suggestive, the large range of existing neuropsychological, neuropsychiatric, and, lately, neuroimaging investigations have not yet given a consistent picture of the psychological and biological disturbances involved in this psychiatric disorder. The present study of the cognitive functions in depression was part of an extensive investigation, including neuropsychological testing, psychiatric examination, and neuroimaging. A representative sample of 40 severely depressed hospitalized patients and a group of 49 closely matched control subjects were tested with an extensive neuropsychological test battery. Results, corrected for various confounding factors, confirmed the current notion that depressed patients suffer from wide–spread cognitive impairments. The group analysis did not allow any hypothesis on a possible pattern to the dysfunctions, but heterogeneity in the test performances calls for further analysis of the data in patient subgroups in relation to neuroimaging results.
Outcomes for children with lesbian or gay parents. A review of studies from 1978 to 2000
Authors: Anderssen Norman , Amlie Christine , Ytterøy Erling André
Published: March 2003

Twenty–three empirical studies published between 1978 and 2000 on nonclinical children raised by lesbian mothers or gay fathers were reviewed (one Belgian/Dutch, one Danish, three British, and 18 North American). Twenty reported on offspring of lesbian mothers, and three on offspring of gay fathers. The studies encompassed a total of 615 offspring (age range 1.5–44 years) of lesbian mothers or gay fathers and 387 controls, who were assessed by psychological tests, questionnaires or interviews. Seven types of outcomes were found to be typical: emotional functioning, sexual preference, stigmatization, gender role behavior, behavioral adjustment, gender identity, and cognitive functioning. Children raised by lesbian mothers or gay fathers did not systematically differ from other children on any of the outcomes. The studies indicate that children raised by lesbian women do not experience adverse outcomes compared with other children. The same holds for children raised by gay men, but more studies should be done.
Do dispositional attributions regarding peer endorsers influence product evaluations?
Authors: Sørum Kim André , Grape Kjetil Marius , Silvera David
Published: March 2003

The effect of a peer endorsement advertisement on research participants’ attitudes toward the advertised product was examined. An advertisement for a Seiko watch and a questionnaire were administered to participants. The degree of dispositional attributions regarding the endorser's motivation and participants’ subsequent attitudes associated with the Seiko watch were measured. In addition, other factors that might affect product evaluation were measured. Whether product evaluation could be accounted for by correspondence bias was investigated. The results showed that the degree of dispositional attributions correlated with product evaluations. There was no correspondence bias. Possible causes for the lack of correspondence bias are discussed and a model suggesting factors accounting for participants’ product evaluations is presented.
A Berry–Esséen Bound for M‐estimators
Authors: Bentkus V. , Bloznelis M. , Götze F.
Published: March 2003

We prove a Berry–Esséen bound for general M‐estimators under optimal regularity conditions on the score function and the underlying distribution. As an application we obtain Berry–Esséen bounds for the sample median, the Lp‐median, p > 1 and Huber's estimator of location
Generalized Leverage and its Applications
Authors: Wei Bo‐Cheng , Hu Yue‐Qing , Fung Wing‐Kam
Published: March 2003

The generalized leverage of an estimator is defined in regression models as a measure of the importance of individual observations. We derive a simple but powerful result, developing an explicit expression for leverage in a generalM‐estimation problem, of which the maximum likelihood problems are special cases. A variety of applications are considered, most notably to the exponential family non‐linear models. The relationship between leverage and local influence is also discussed. Numerical examples are given to illustrate our results
An Adaptive Efficient Test for Gumbel Domain of Attraction
Authors: Marohn Frank
Published: March 2003

We consider n independent observations, generated identically by some distribution function, which belongs to the domain of attraction of an extreme value distribution with unknown shape and scale parameter. We treat the scale parameter as a nuisance parameter and establish an adaptive efficient test sequence, which is based on the kn largest observations, for the Gumbel domain of attraction. Efficiency is achieved along certain contiguous extreme value alternatives within the concept of local asymptotic normality (LAN). Simulations exemplify the results
Curved Chaotic Map Time Series Models and Their Stochastic Reversals
Authors: Lawrance A. J. , Spencer N. M.
Published: March 2003

This paper considers two types of chaotic map time series models, including the well‐known tent, logistic and binary‐shift maps as special cases; these are called curved tent and curved binary families. Deterministic behaviour is investigated by invariant distributions, Lyapunov exponents, and by serial dependency. Stochastic time reversal of the families is shown to produce models which have a broader range of stochastic and chaotic properties than their deterministic counterparts. The marginal distributions may have concentrations and restricted supports and are shown to be a non‐standard class of invariant distribution. Dependenc y is generally weaker with the reversed stochastic models. The work gives a broad statistical account of deterministic and stochastically reversed map models, such as are emerging in random number generation, communica tion systems and cryptography
Markov Random Fields with Higher‐order Interactions
Authors: Tjelmeland Håkon , Besag Julian
Published: March 2003

Discrete‐state Markov random fields on regular arrays have played a significant role in spatial statistics and image analysis. For example, they are used to represent objects against background in computer vision and pixel‐based classification of a region into different crop types in remote sensing. Convenience has generally favoured formulations that involve only pairwise interactions. Such models are in themselves unrealistic and, although they often perform surprisingly well in tasks such as the restoration of degraded images, they are unsatisfactory for many other purposes. In this paper, we consider particular forms of Markov random fields that involve higher‐order interactions and therefore are better able to represent the large‐scale properties of typical spatial scenes. Interpretations of the parameters are given and realizations from a variety of models are produced via Markov chain Monte Carlo. Potential applications are illustrated in two examples. The first concerns Bayesian image analysis and confirms that pairwise‐interaction priors may perform very poorly for image functionals such as number of objects, even when restoration apparently works well. The second example describes a model for a geological dataset and obtains maximum‐likelihood parameter estimates using Markov chain Monte Carlo. Despite the complexity of the formulation, realizations of the estimated model suggest that the representation is quite realistic.
On Exact Simulation of Markov Random Fields Using Coupling from the Past
Authors: Haggstrom Olle , Nelander Karin
Published: March 2003

A general framework for exact simulation of Markov random fields using the Propp–Wilson coupling from the past approach is proposed. Our emphasis is on situations lacking the monotonicity properties that have been exploited in previous studies. A critical aspect is the convergence time of the algorithm; this we study both theoretically and experimentically. Our main theoretical result in this direction says, roughly, that if interactions are sufficiently weak, then the expected running time of a carefully designed implementation is O(N log N), where N is the number of interacting components of the system. Computer experiments are carried out for random q‐colourings and for the Widom–Rowlinson lattice gas model.
A Composite Likelihood Approach to Multivariate Survival Data
Authors: Parner E. T.
Published: March 2003

This paper is about the statistical analysis of multivariate survival data. We discuss the additive and multiplicative frailty models which have been the most popular models for multivariate survival data. As an alternative to the additive and multiplicative frailty models, we propose basing inference on a composite likelihood function that only requires modelling of the marginal distribution of pairs of failure times. Each marginal distribution of a pair of failure times is here assumed to follow a shared frailty model. The method is illustrated with a real‐life example.
Sampling Adjusted Analysis of Dynamic Additive Regression Models for Longitudinal Data
Authors: Martinussen Torben , Scheike Thomas H.
Published: March 2003

We consider a modelling approach to longitudinal data that aims at estimating flexible covariate effects in a model where the sampling probabilities are modelled explicitly. The joint modelling yields simple estimators that are easy to compute and analyse, even if the sampling of the longitudinal responses interacts with the response level. An incorrect model for the sampling probabilities results in biased estimates. Non‐representative sampling occurs, for example, if patients with an extreme development (based on extreme values of the response) are called in for additional examinations and measurements. We allow covariate effects to be time‐varying or time‐constant. Estimates of covariate effects are obtained by solving martingale equations locally for the cumulative regression functions. Using Aalen's additive model for the sampling probabilities, we obtain simple expressions for the estimators and their asymptotic variances. The asymptotic distributions for the estimators of the non‐parametric components as well as the parametric components of the model are derived drawing on general martingale results. Two applications are presented. We consider the growth of cystic fibrosis patients and the prothrombin index for liver cirrhosis patients. The conclusion about the growth of the cystic fibrosis patients is not altered when adjusting for a possible non‐representativeness in the sampling, whereas we reach substantively different conclusions about the treatment effect for the liver cirrhosis patients.
Likelihood Based Inference in Non‐linear Regression Models Using the p* and R* Approach
Authors: Tocquet A. S.
Published: March 2003

We develop second order asymptotic results for likelihood‐based inference in Gaussian non‐linear regression models. We provide an approximation to the conditional density of the maximum likelihood estimator given an approximate ancillary statistic (the affine ancillary). From this approximation, we derive a statistic to test an hypothesis on one component of the parameter. This test statistic is an adjustment of the signed log‐likelihood ratio statistic. The distributional approximations (for the maximum likelihood estimator and for the test statistic) are of second order in large deviation regions.