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- Bask, Miia, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Cumulative (Dis)Advantage and the Matthew Effect in Life-Course Analysis
- 2015
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library Of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 10:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- To foster a deeper understanding of the mechanisms behind inequality in society, it is crucial to work with well-defined concepts associated with such mechanisms. The aim of this paper is to define cumulative (dis) advantage and the Matthew effect. We argue that cumulative (dis) advantage is an intra-individual micro-level phenomenon, that the Matthew effect is an inter-individual macro-level phenomenon and that an appropriate measure of the Matthew effect focuses on the mechanism or dynamic process that generates inequality. The Matthew mechanism is, therefore, a better name for the phenomenon, where we provide a novel measure of the mechanism, including a proof-of-principle analysis using disposable personal income data. Finally, because socio-economic theory should be able to explain cumulative (dis) advantage and the Matthew mechanism when they are detected in data, we discuss the types of models that may explain the phenomena. We argue that interactions-based models in the literature traditions of analytical sociology and statistical mechanics serve this purpose.
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- Bask, Miia, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Inequality Generating Processes and Measurement of the Matthew Effect
- 2011
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The paper's first aim is to clarify the differences and relationships between cumulative advantage/disadvantage and the Matthew effect. Its second aim, which is its main contribution, is not only to present a new measure of the Matthew effect, but also to show how to estimate this effect from data and how to make statistical inference. We argue that one should utilize the positivity of the natural logarithm of the largest generalized eigenvalue for a non-linear dynamic process as evidence when claiming that the Matthew effect is present in the dynamic process that generates individuals' socio-economic life-courses. Thus, our measure of the Matthew effect focuses on the dynamic process that generates socio-economic inequality and not on the outcome of this process.
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5. |
- Bask, Miia, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Inequality Generating Processes and Measurement of the Matthew Effect
- 2010
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The first aim of this paper is to clarify the differences and relationships between cumulative advantage/disadvantage and the Matthew effect. Its second aim, which is also its main contribution, is not only to present a new measure of the Matthew effect, but also to show how to estimate this effect from data and how to make statistical inference. We argue that one should utilize the positivity of the natural logarithm of the largest generalized eigenvalue for a non-linear dynamic process as evidence when claiming that the Matthew effect is present in the dynamic process that generates individuals’ socio-economic life-courses. Thus, our measure of the Matthew effect focuses on the dynamic process that generates socio-economic inequality and not on the outcome of this process.
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- Bask, Miia, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Social influence and the Matthew mechanism : The case of an artificial cultural market
- 2014
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In: Physica A. - : Elsevier. - 0378-4371 .- 1873-2119. ; 412, s. 113-119
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We show that the Matthew effect, or Matthew mechanism, was present in the artificial cultural market Music Lab in one-fourth of the "worlds" when social influence between individuals was allowed, whereas this effect was not present in the "world" that disallowed social influence between individuals. We also sketch on a class of social network models, derived from social influence theory, that may generate the Matthew effect. Thus, we propose a theoretical framework that may explain why the most popular songs could be much more popular, and the least popular songs could be much less popular, than when disallowing social influence between individuals.
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- Bask, Miia, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Social Influence and the Matthew Mechanism : The Case of an Artificial Cultural Market
- 2013
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- We show that the Matthew effect, or Matthew mechanism, was present in the artificial cultural market Music Lab when social influence between individuals was allowed, whereas this was not the case when social influence was not allowed. We also sketch on a class of social network models, derived from social influence theory, that may gener-ate the Matthew effect. Thus, we propose a theoretical framework that may explain why the most popular songs were much more popular, and the least popular songs were much less popular, than when disallowing social influence between individuals.
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- Andersson, Linda, 1969-, et al.
(author)
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Economic man and the consumption of addictive goods : the case of two goods
- 2006
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In: Substance Use & Misuse. - New York : Dekker. - 1082-6084 .- 1532-2491. ; 41, s. 453-466
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- It is well known that cigarette smoking and the use of other addictive goods is harmful to health. Still, some people smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol in their daily lives. The consumption of addictive goods seems, therefore, to be the antithesis of rational behavior. In this article, however, it is demonstrated that a rational individual, in the sense that he or she maximizes his or her well-being while anticipating the future consequences of his or her choices, may in fact choose to consume addictive goods. Specifically, the two-good extension of the rational addiction model is demonstrated and related to relevant policy questions. For instance, should one encourage the use of smokeless tobacco in smoking cessation programs? According to the empirical results, the answer is no. Further, should one discourage smoking by increasing the tax on cigarettes? Again, the answer is no.
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- Andone, Irina, 1985-
(author)
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Exchange Rates, Exports, Inflation, and International Monetary Cooperation
- 2018
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis consists of three self-contained essays. Essay I: Exchange rate movements often cause anxiety among policy-makers, given the strong link between currency movements and export competitiveness, which may, in turn, affect economic growth. In this paper, I examine the strength of the effect of exchange rate movements on exports combining firm-level export data with an industry-level competitiveness index. The data span a broad sample of countries, comprising 21 advanced and 21 emerging market economies over the period 1989-2013. My findings suggest an economically and statistically significant negative effect of real appreciation on real exports. The effect is significantly larger for emerging markets as compared to advanced economies. Additionally, the results suggest that larger firms are particularly affected by exchange rate movements.Essay II: Simulations of a small open economy model à la Gali and Monacelli (2005) suggest that inflation should display similar levels, but higher volatility and higher persistence under a fixed exchange rate regime compared to a regime with a flexible exchange rate and some form of inflation targeting. I test these predictions using data for two clearly defined exchange rate regimes. One regime is the membership in the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which implies an irrevocably fixed exchange rate. The other is a flexible exchange rate with inflation targeting. The empirical analysis confirms the theoretical implications of the model in terms of persistence: inflation displays a higher degree of persistence in countries with a fixed exchange rate regime.Essay III (with Beatrice Scheubel): While the consequences and effectiveness of IMF conditionality have long constituted the focus of research, the possible negative impact of IMF conditionality on countries' willingness to start an IMF program has mainly focused on a country's own past experience. However, the recent policy debate has highlighted the existence of regional effects, unrelated to a country's own experience. In this paper, we investigate how past experience with IMF conditionality – own and peers' – affects countries' likelihood of signing an IMF arrangement again. Our results indicate strong learning from own experience, but hardly any learning from peers, except for members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). We conjecture that a negative effect associated with IMF conditionality may exist for individual country cases or specific regions, but that a more general effect cannot be related to observing how the IMF treats peers.
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