Journal of Economic and Social Measurement - Volume 23, issue 3

Authors: Sharma, Subhash C. | He, Yijian

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: It is the flow of capital services, instead of the capital stock, along with the flows of other inputs, which is related to the flows of outputs in economic theory of cost and production. In applied research, quite often to capture the …dynamic phenomena which occur within a year, there is a need to use quarterly data which may not be captured by annual data. However, quarterly data on capital input and the cost of capital are not readily available. Thus, in this paper the quarterly real and nominal aggregate net capital stock, flow of capital services (capital input), and the user cost of capital are constructed from 1948: I to 1993: IV. In the aggregation of net capital stock, we have combined four categories, i.e., nonresidential structures, nonresidential producers' durable equipment, residential structures and equipment, and business inventories. Following Jorgenson et al. [12], we then constructed aggregate capital input by using the Tornqvist aggregation index over these four categories. Finally, the composite cost of capital is obtained by dividing the revenue of capital by the aggregate capital input. Show more

Keywords: Quarterly aggregate capital stock, quarterly aggregate capital input, quarterly cost of capital

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1997-23301

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 163-195, 1997

Authors: Walters, William H. | Wilder, Esther I.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: We estimate the real and relative income of American Jewish households using data from the National Jewish Population Surveys of 1970–1971 and 1990. While the median real income of American Jewish households did not change significantly from 1969 to 1989, …lower-income Jewish households (those with no workers and those with predominantly older persons) experienced dramatic real income growth. At the same time, the average Jewish income advantage declined due to the rising incomes of other urban, non-Hispanic white households. Show more

Keywords: Economic status, ethnicity, religion

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1997-23302

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 197-212, 1997

Authors: Ogwang, Tomson

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The present paper addresses the issue of choice of principal variables for computing the Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI). To this end, the variable selection strategy considered by Jolliffe, which utilizes the principal components approach, is applied to the …data for 150 countries reported by Morris. To test the robustness of our results the methodology is also applied to four different subsamples of the 150 countries (low income, lower middle income, upper middle income and high income). All the results indicate the need to retain only one of the three components of the PQLI, namely the literacy index. Thus, a simpler PQLI series based solely on the literacy index would be cheaper to compute without loss of too much information. Show more

Keywords: Physical Quality of Life Index, principal components analysis, principal variables

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1997-23303

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 213-221, 1997

Authors: Jackson, Steven R. | Shriver, Keith A. | Wheeler, Stephen W.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Recent studies by researchers, users, preparers, and regulators indicate a renewed interest in the financial reporting of changing prices. The purpose of this paper is to extend prior research in this area and to examine the relative reliability of various …changing prices income data. An econometric index of measurement error is utilized to compare the relative reliability of historical cost nominal dollar, historical cost constant dollar, and current cost nominal dollar incomes from continuing operations during the 1979–1983 time period. The results indicate that the current cost nominal dollar income measure was more reliable than the historical cost nominal dollar income measure for several years. These results are consistent with the variety of present proposals to enhance the financial reporting of changing prices in the USA. Show more

Keywords: Financial reporting of changing prices, measurement error, reliability, economic value

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1997-23304

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 223-238, 1997