Flexible Forms (flexible + form)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Counts with an endogenous binary regressor: A series expansion approach

THE ECONOMETRICS JOURNAL, Issue 1 2005
Andrés Romeu
Summary, We propose an estimator for count data regression models where a binary regressor is endogenously determined. This estimator departs from previous approaches by using a flexible form for the conditional probability function of the counts. Using a Monte Carlo experiment we show that our estimator improves the fit and provides a more reliable estimate of the impact of regressors on the count when compared to alternatives which do restrict the mean to be linear-exponential. In an application to the number of trips by households in the United States, we find that the estimate of the treatment effect obtained is considerably different from the one obtained under a linear-exponential mean specification. [source]


Space varying coefficient models for small area data

ENVIRONMETRICS, Issue 5 2003
Renato M. Assunção
Abstract Many spatial regression problems using area data require more flexible forms than the usual linear predictor for modelling the dependence of responses on covariates. One direction for doing this is to allow the coefficients to vary as smooth functions of the area's geographical location. After presenting examples from the scientific literature where these spatially varying coefficients are justified, we briefly review some of the available alternatives for this kind of modelling. We concentrate on a Bayesian approach for generalized linear models proposed by the author which uses a Markov random field to model the coefficients' spatial dependency. We show that, for normally distributed data, Gibbs sampling can be used to sample from the posterior and we prove a result showing the equivalence between our model and other usual spatial regression models. We illustrate our approach with a number of rather complex applied problems, showing that the method is computationally feasible and provides useful insights in substantive problems. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The consequences of job insecurity for employees: The moderator role of job dependence

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR REVIEW, Issue 1 2010
Beatriz SORA
Abstract. With globalization and increased international competition have come more flexible forms of employment and increased job insecurity. The authors address the impact of perceived job insecurity on employees' work attitudes and intentions. After reviewing relevant research on stress theory and the relationship between job insecurity and its consequences, they test two hypotheses on 942 employees in Spain, namely: first, that job insecurity relates negatively to job satisfaction and organizational commitment and positively to intention to leave; and, second, that job insecurity, economic need and employability interact in the prediction of these outcomes. [source]


Language as a Tool for Interacting Minds

MIND & LANGUAGE, Issue 1 2010
KRISTIAN TYLÉN
What is the role of language in social interaction? What does language bring to social encounters? We argue that language can be conceived of as a tool for interacting minds, enabling especially effective and flexible forms of social coordination, perspective-taking and joint action. In a review of evidence from a broad range of disciplines, we pursue elaborations of the language-as-a-tool metaphor, exploring four ways in which language is employed in facilitation of social interaction. We argue that language dramatically extends the possibility-space for interaction, facilitates the profiling and navigation of joint attentional scenes, enables the sharing of situation models and action plans, and mediates the cultural shaping of interacting minds. [source]