Journal of Economic and Social Measurement - Volume 14, issue 3

Authors: Herbert, John H.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: It is shown in this paper that attention to data issues is able to shed additional light on a much studied market using data, which while not the best, is frequently the type of data available for study. The appropriate use of heating degree day data for such analysis is treated in detail. Regression diagnostics are used as tools for analysis. The examination of the interaction between data issues, the historical context of the data, …and residual analysis can result in new and informative ways of specifying a relationship. Results in this study and in a similar study are also compared. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1986-14301

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 165-174, 1986

Authors: Weicher, John C.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This paper attempts to identify empirically a measure of inadequate housing that might be included in the 1990 Census of Housing, to provide housing quality information for small areas and population groups. The analysis starts with the elaborate measures formulated …by HUD and CBO from the American Housing Survey, and develops much simpler criteria that correlate highly with these measures across Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas, but require only two or three additional questions in the 1990 Census. Some 30 altematives were constructed; many performed reasonably well, and a few extremely well. The worst criteria were those consisting only of attributes already contained in the Census of Housing, among them the factors used in the Community Development Block Grant fund allocation formulas. As a byproduct, the most commonly used measure of inadequacy turns out to overstate substantially the incidence of inadequacy nationally, because it mismeasures heating system problems in the South. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1986-14302

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 175-195, 1986

Authors: Berk, Marc L. | Horgan, Constance M. | Meyers, Samuel M.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Previous studies have found that self-respondents tend to report a greater number of health problems than do household proxies. It has not been clear, however, if such results indicate reporting bias or reflect underlying health differences in the self-respondent and …household proxy populations. Verification data from a survey of medical providers were examined in conjunction with the results of a national household survey. Our analysis indicates that the use of proxies does not increase misreporting. Overall reporting error between self-respondents and proxy-respondents is comparable on reports of mental illness. When physical stigmatizing conditions are examined, the use of proxies actually appears to be preferable to interviewing respondents directly. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1986-14303

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 197-205, 1986

Authors: Lichtenberg, Frank R.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Many important decisions about the allocation of research and development resources are made at the project level, but previous investigators have had very limited access to project-level research and development data. This paper contains analyses of the duration and intensity …of investment in individual projects reported in the Defense Department's “Independent Research and Development” Data Bank, which includes longitudinal data on thousands of projects conducted by contractors during (approximately) 1980–1985. These data enable us to achieve three objectives: (1) to determine the statistical properties (moments and quantiles) of the distributions of completed projects by two measures of duration (calendar years and man-years) and by a measure of intensity (employment of scientists and engineers); (2) to discriminate between alternative hypotheses concerning the nature of the “hazard function” of independent research and development investment; and (3) to determine the properties of project sponsors' estimates (forecasts) of the duration and intensity of investment. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1986-14304

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 207-218, 1986

Authors: Holloway, Thomas M.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Measuring the automatic responsiveness of the Federal budget to inflation is an important element of budget analysis and policy planning. This paper presents simple methods to estimate the automatic effects of inflation on Federal receipts and expenditures. The first section …reviews some of the ways the budget automatically responds to inflation and briefly describes a relatively large structural model designed to measure that responsiveness. The second section presents several stochastic equations that approximate the results from the structural model. The final section uses the results from the stochastic equations to produce two equations—one for receipts and one for expenditures—that can be used to estimate inflation-induced changes in the budget. A comparison of the results from the two equations with those from the structural model suggests that the two equations capture almost all of the variation in the estimates from the larger model. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1986-14305

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 219-231, 1986

Authors: Swartz, Katherine

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Four national surveys conducted between 1977 and 1980 seem to yield four different estimates of the number of people under 65 years old who lack health insurance. In this paper four explanations for the different estimates are assessed. The sample framework designs and methods for ex post weighting of the surveys' respondents are very similar. Nonresponses to the health insurance questions on the surveys were handled differently, and this remains a possible …explanation of some of the differences in the estimates. But the most likely explanation of the differences is the following. Three of the four surveys ask people about their health insurance at the time of the interview. The fourth, the Current Population Survey, asks people about their health insurance during the previous year. But the Current Population Survey estimate of the uninsured population is remarkably close to the point-in-time estimates from the other three surveys. The same holds true for the surveys' estimates of the Medicaid population and people covered by private health insurance. Hence, if we assume that the Current Population Survey respondents are answering the health insurance questions with respect to when they are interviewed, the four surveys' estimates of the uninsured population at a point in time are very similar. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1986-14306

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 233-242, 1986

Authors: Taube, Carl A. | Schlenger, William E. | Rupp, Agnes | Whitmore, Roy W.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Comparison with administrative records or “best estimate file” enables an evaluation of the accuracy of household reports of mental health use in the four-State Medicaid Household Survey conducted as part of the National Medical Care Utilization and Expenditure Survey. Underreporting of probability of ambulatory mental health use ranged from 14 to 24% compared to 5 to 7% for ambulatory health visits; household estimates of number of mental health visits seemed …to be more accurate than administrative records. Household reporting of provider type seemed to be very accurate for psychiatrist visits, but there seemed to be a tendency to report psychologist visits as psychiatrist visits. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1986-14307

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 243-256, 1986