Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe - Volume 18, issue 1

Authors: Oudhof, Ko

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The Human development report introduced the Gender-related development index (GDI) as a measure to assess gender inequality as an aspect of human development. In this paper the measurement quality of the GDI and its application to countries in the ECE-region is evaluated.

Keywords: measurement, indicator, development, gender, inequality

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-2001-18101

Citation: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 1-25, 2001

Authors: Keuzenkamp, Saskia

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The position of women in decision-making is an important target of Dutch Emancipation Policy. Until recently, however, there were hardly any data available on the representation of women in decision-making. Only the representation of women in politics and public administration has been monitored for some time. With the development of the Dutch Emancipation Monitor, this situation has improved. This article presents an overview of women's position in political and social decision-making in the Netherlands.

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-2001-18102

Citation: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 27-40, 2001

Authors: Kjeldstad, Randi | Kristiansen, Jan Erik

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This article discusses some of the problems and difficulties encountered during the process of developing a Norwegian regional gender equality index and presents some of the main results. Three types of variables are included in the index: Demographic variables, welfare- and economic activity variables, and so-called “administrative” variables. A correlation analysis reveals a wide range of interconnections between various local characteristics and gender equality. The regional map based on the index contains both expected and surprising results.

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-2001-18103

Citation: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 41-49, 2001

Authors: Hoffmann, Eivind | Greenwood, Adriana Mata

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: “Time” is often described as our most fundamental resource. We all have time to spend, and how we spend it will influence our wealth, welfare and happiness as well as that of persons close to us. How time is spent can be described by the types of activities carried out and by the length of time spent in them, as well as by the context in which they are done and their scheduling. Together “length” and “scheduling” represent the working time arrangements (WTAs) of a job, and a person's overall WTAs for a reference period is determined by the number …of jobs held during that period as well as the WTAs for each of them. The objective of this paper is to discuss some of the methodological issues involved in developing statistics on WTAs in light of the tools and experiences already available. The two dimensions of WTAs, i.e., the “length” and “scheduling” of working time, together with information on their fixed or variable nature, can be combined in different ways to derive a vast number of different WTAs, some of which are described in this article. The advantages and problems of the standard data collection instruments for two complementary approaches to measuring the incidence of different WTAs are discussed, and the conclusions of two ILO commissioned reviews of national experiences are presented. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-2001-18104

Citation: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 51-63, 2001

Authors: Ward, Michael

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Over at least the past 50 years, the inhabitants of every country have seen the value of their money depreciate. The purchasing power of a unit value of their national currencies has progressively declined, in some cases precipitously. In many cases the increases in prices had very little connection with conventional theoretical explanations of domestic imbalance between demand and supply. Global inflation has been a universal phenomenon and it has occurred for transnational, international and national reasons. Rising price levels are associated with economic progress but they are also the outcome of the interaction of other international institutional and financial …variables such as indebtedness and exchange rate volatility which contribute systemically to a core upward trend in inflation. The paper discusses some of the current factors that may lie at the root of a potential new bout of global inflation [or ‘stagflation’] and reviews the various methods that have been adopted by different organizations, including the Bretton Woods institutions, to approximate an international inflation measure. These indexes are seen to be deficient and incomplete in a number of respects and the paper concludes that a purchasing power parity method that uses international price weights throughout is the only satisfactory means to measure this as yet unidentified phenomenon. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-2001-18105

Citation: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 65-75, 2001

Authors: Heston, Alan | Summers, Robert | Aten, Bettina

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This paper examines alternative approaches to multilateral comparisons based on spatial chains. The ground covered includes a review of the consistency problem for countries with multiple-benchmarks and a discussion of what might give rise to it. While much of our recent work has been with respect to the Penn World Table (PWT), most of this paper will be concerned with benchmark comparisons. In particular we argue that serious consideration be given to spatial chaining as a method of multilateral comparison, but there still remain major problems to solve. The case we make is as much empirical as it is methodological. …Our application is to the 115 country 1996 reduced benchmark data. For this data set, we examine spatial linking based upon the spanning tree approach of Robert Hill, but using both price similarity as well as the Paasche-Laspeyres spread as criteria. We go on to describe how we might extend this benchmark over time and space along the lines of PWT. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-2001-18106

Citation: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 77-101, 2001

Authors: Mills, Melinda | Trovato, Frank

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Recently, the western world has witnessed among young cohorts a significant rise in both cohabitation and out of wedlock births as well as an increasingly complex relationship between marriage and childbirth. This study follows previous investigations conducted by Blossfeld and colleagues [1] on the experience of pregnancy within cohabiting unions and how it conditions the likelihood of transition to formal marriage with the same partners. A hazard model with time-varying covariates is specified explicitly as time-dependent, with entry into first marriage as the dependent process and first pregnancy/birth as the explaining process. Our conceptual framework relies on the rational actor …theory, which proposes that norm-guided and rational self-centred behaviour co-exist in the case when a pregnancy occurs in a consensual union and a decision is to be made by the couple with respect to marriage or non-marriage. Our test of this interrelated process is based on the experiences of Canada, Latvia, and the Netherlands. Findings suggest that the interdependencies of cohabitation, pregnancy, and marriage fit the model and are generally uniform processes across these societies. Slight country differences are attributed to attitudes and policies regarding cohabitation versus marriage and the acceptability of out of wedlock births. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-2001-18107

Citation: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 103-118, 2001

Authors: Karlsson, Jan

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The article presents calculations of price indices of industrial robots for the period 1990–2000. It reviews the characteristics for the pricing of industrial robots. Even when taking no consideration to the performance improvements of robots, which have occurred in the last decade, a very significant fall in prices is shown. By applying a combination of hedonic approaches and production-cost-mark-ups, a quality-adjusted price index is calculated, showing a fall in prices almost of the same magnitude as that for PC.

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-2001-18108

Citation: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 119-124, 2001