Journal of Economic and Social Measurement - Volume 14, issue 4
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ISSN 0747-9662 (P)
ISSN 1875-8932 (E)
The Journal of Economic and Social Measurement (JESM) is a quarterly journal that is concerned with the investigation of all aspects of production, distribution and use of economic and other societal statistical data, and with the use of computers in that context. JESM publishes articles that consider the statistical methodology of economic and social science measurements. It is concerned with the methods and problems of data distribution, including the design and implementation of data base systems and, more generally, computer software and hardware for distributing and accessing statistical data files. Its focus on computer software also includes the valuation of algorithms and their implementation, assessing the degree to which particular algorithms may yield more or less accurate computed results. It addresses the technical and even legal problems of the collection and use of data, legislation and administrative actions affecting government produced or distributed data files, and similar topics.
The journal serves as a forum for the exchange of information and views between data producers and users. In addition, it considers the various uses to which statistical data may be put, particularly to the degree that these uses illustrate or affect the properties of the data. The data considered in JESM are usually economic or social, as mentioned, but this is not a requirement; the editorial policies of JESM do not place a priori restrictions upon the data that might be considered within individual articles. Furthermore, there are no limitations concerning the source of the data.
Abstract: In this paper I take as a starting point the view that nationally available statistical series in the United Kingdom provide an inadequate basis for urban planning and research. The purpose of this paper is to describe a suite of integrated information systems that has been developed to support both an annual policy planning process and research into urban adjustment processes and structures. The paper comprises four main sections. In the first section, some…design criteria for urban and regional information systems are set out. In the second section, recent urban change in Telford, a new town in the West Midlands Region of the United Kingdom, is discussed in order to describe the operational context in which the local information systems have been developed and used. In the third section, each information system is described: the framework in which the information systems have been arranged in order to support policy planning and research into urban processes and structures is then described. The purpose of the fourth section is to present the results of a research project into labor market adjustment by exploring the relationship between sectoral industrial structure and sectoral unemployment rates, durations, and flows.
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Abstract: Reviews of U.K. Statistical Sources is a series of volumes, sponsored jointly by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Royal Statistical Society, which aim to provide an authoritative guide to sources of both official and unofficial data and a critical appraisal of their nature and limitations. This paper has been written to mark the completion of the first 20 volumes covering 36 review topics. It describes the scope and nature of the series and the…subjects covered.
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Abstract: This paper presents some new evidence in the statistical debate surrounding the Prebisch-Singer hypothesis of a declining long-run trend in the net barter terms of trade between primary products and manufactures. The paper analyses data from a variety of sources covering the period up to and including the early 1980s and finds evidence of a structural instability in the underlying growth path. Once appropriate action is taken to allow for this instability, some strong empirical…support for the declining trend hypothesis emerges.
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Abstract: The purpose of this study is to construct a valuation model for used capital assets during time periods exhibiting alternative degrees of demand for industrial machinery and equipment. A data base containing approximately 45,000 new, used, and salvage price data was analyzed for the three diverse demand years of 1973, 1976, and 1980. The data base encompassed most of the standard specifications of industrial machinery and equipment utilized by business…enterprises in various industries. The results indicate that the relationships among new current value, used current value, and salvage value are relatively constant over the diverse demand years. In addition, the results demonstrate that machine tools appear to retain the highest relative used value in the industrial machinery and equipment field; whereas medical and laboratory testing equipment possess a minimal used value due to the extreme technological changes in that field.
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Abstract: This paper presents estimates of the income of undocumented aliens working in the continental United States in 1980. It reviews existing studies of the number of undocumented aliens in the United States, their occupational status, earnings, and tax compliance levels. Estimates of total undocumented alien income, total unreported income, incomes not subject to filing requirements, and the tax consequences resulting from undocumented alien incomes are provided. It is estimated the…undocumented aliens earned $9.5 billion in 1980. Of this, $.9 billion was earned by agricultural workers who are presumed to be below the filing threshold; $2.6 billion was earned by nonfilers who do not have income withheld; and $2.9 billion was earned by undocumented aliens who had income tax withheld but who did not file returns. Although the unreported income of undocumented aliens was significant, $5.3 billion, it does not appear to have resulted in a significant tax loss due to the low tax liability of undocumented aliens and the contributions of nominal nonfilers. The tax loss is estimated to be $121 million in 1980.
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Abstract: In this paper, we construct and compare various service price indexes of capital input, inventories, and financial working capital, using complete sets of variants of the Jorgensonian user cost formula. We demonstrate that variations in the construction of the series yield substantially different results. We also find that proper measures of service prices should incorporate a complete set of variables suggested by economic theory. In addition, Divisia indexes of financial…working capital and its service price are superior to the direct aggregates.
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Abstract: This paper reports on an examination of the relationship between increases in health care costs in 23 Standard Metropolitan Statistical areas and various other changes in these communities over the period 1969–1977. The other changes examined consisted of 145 variables divided into 7 categories. The categories were termed demographic, economic, community illness, prices of other goods and services, hospital, physician, and technology factors. The results show that there was little…relationship between rates of medical and hospital inflation and the examined variables. Total hospital costs could be related to several of the factors, the most important of which were demographic, economic, and hospital factors.
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Abstract: In forecasting the supply and demand of highly trained human resources at the national level, it must be recognized that people flow through a network that starts at kindergarten and ends in higher education. The upper reaches of this pipeline exhibit many branches and even some feedback loops. Network models used in such forecasting require people flow data, in addition to many socioeconomic and political considerations. This paper, using a systems approach, points out…the voids in the U.S. national education statistics.
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