The measurement of household welfare is one of the most compelling yet demanding areas in economics. To place the analysis of inequality and poverty within an economic framework where individuals are making decisions about current and lifetime incomes and expenditures is a difficult task, made all the more challenging by the complexity of the decision-making process in which households are involved and the variety of constraints they face. This 1994 book examines the conceptual and practical difficulties of making inferences from (...) observed behaviour. It addresses the problems of making comparisons across a range of very different households and discusses how data for such comparisons should be collected. The contributions, from experts from Europe, North America and Australia, have the unifying theme that there is a strong relationship between theoretical concepts from microeconomics and the appropriate use of micro data in evaluating household welfare. (shrink)

This book brings together recent work analysing the labour market behaviour of agents, particularly with regard to unemployment, job search, and labour supply. It considers the economic and demographic factors involved, and in particular the responsiveness of labour market behaviour to changes in these factors. There has been considerable recent progress in the design of appropriate econometric techniques and models with which to confront labour market theories with available data. The contributions to this volume represent important extensions or applications by (...) some of the foremost researchers in the field, provide tests of the available theories, and draw the consequent conclusions for policy. Subjects covered include unemployment, the duration of unemployment, the effects of insurance, benefits and taxation, youth unemployment, models of labour supply, and female participation. The contributors come from the USA, Canada, UK, France, Sweden, and Denmark. (shrink)

THE �COINCIDENCE� CONCEPT OF THE MIRACULOUS IS FRAUGHT WITH DIFFICULTIES THAT MAKE ANY COHERENT EMPLOYMENT OF IT IN A CHRISTIAN POLEMIC IMPOSSIBLE. TO BE A MIRACLE, AN EVENT MUST BE SEEN AS CAUSED BY GOD. IT IS ONLY BECAUSE MIRACLES DO NOT ADMIT OF EXPLANATION (EXCEPT THE DIVINE EXPLANATION) THAT THEIR DISTINCTIVENESS AS A SPECIAL CLASS OF EVENTS IS MAINTAINED. IF EVENTS ADMIT OF HISTORICAL OR NATURAL EXPLANATION, THEN IT IS ONLY THEIR WONDER OR EXCITEMENT-VALUE WHICH MAKES THEM DISTINCTIVE. THIS (...) IS TOO ARBITRARY A CRITERION FOR AN EVENT TO BE SUBSUMED UNDER THE CLASS �MIRACLE� AND IT SUFFERS INSUPERABLE DIFFICULTIES. (shrink)