Pooled Cross-section Time-series Data Research Articles

No substitute for the real thing? Physical and digital cultural participation in Denmark during the COVID-19 pandemic

In this research note, we analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cultural participation. We use rich survey data from Denmark to construct pooled time-series cross-sectional data for each month of the years 2019–2021 and report three findings. First, participation in physical cultural activities (e.g. attending a concert or a museum) plummeted during two lockdowns and did not return to its pre-pandemic level by the end of 2021. Second, participation in digital activities (e.g. reading a digital book or following a museum on social media) did not change much during the pandemic. Overall, we find little evidence of substitution from physical to digital cultural participation during the COVID-19 lockdown in Denmark. Third, socioeconomic gradients in cultural participation decreased during the pandemic for physical cultural participation, but did not change for digital cultural participation. We end by discussing what we can learn from our results about how social disruptions affect patterns of cultural participation and inequality.

The role of labour unrest and skilled labour on outward foreign direct investment in Taiwan, Republic of China, ROC

AbstractThis paper builds an estimation model to test whether improved labour standards necessarily lead firms to send work offshore to countries with lower wages and fewer employment protections; or improved labour standards influence the labour market, where with time, firms attract more skilled workers, which help deter outward foreign direct investment (FDI). When more firms comply with improved labour standards, the industrial relations climate also improves as non-compliance usually causes labour unrest. Using a model built on pooled cross-sectional time-series data from 2008–17, we studied the role of changes in labour unrest and the percentage of skilled workers in the labour force in predicting outward FDI in Taiwan. Per our estimation model, we found the percentage of skilled workers steadily increased as Taiwan maintained improved labour standards. The increase in skilled workers also increased labour costs making it challenging for firms to stay onshore. However, skilled workers helped firms improve productivity, which justified increased labour costs. As a result, firms in Taiwan that complied with labour standards found it less challenging to pay higher wages and stayed onshore.

Impact of labour unrest and skilled workforce in host country on inflow of foreign direct investment – a case of Taiwan, ROC

PurposeIn this paper, the authors examined the changes in labour unrest and labour quality brought by high labour standards over a considerable period in Taiwan. Then, the authors studied the role of these changes in predicting the inflow of foreign direct investment (IFDI) in the country. To test the role, the authors measured the differences in effects of the two changes on wages, working hours and employment opportunities of skilled female and skilled male workers in FDI-intensive and non-intensive industries.Design/methodology/approachUsing a model built on pooled cross-sectional time-series data from 1999 to 2012, the authors measured the effect of changes in labour unrest and the presence of skilled workers on the net inflow of FDI. Using data from the Manpower Utilisation Survey (MUS), the authors applied differences–in–Differences-in--ddifferences- (DDD) and differences–in–Differences-in-ddifferences-in--differences- (DDDD) estimation methods to test the effect of changes in labour unrest and labour quality on three labour market outcomes, namely wages, working hours and job opportunities of skilled workforce.FindingsIncreasing labour unrest affected the employment opportunities of almost every unemployed person seeking skilled jobs in Taiwan. When the authors compared the adverse effect of high labour standards on employment opportunities and working hours, the authors found women looking for skilled jobs in foreign-owned firms to be the worst affected. Besides, foreign firms paid different wages to skilled educated men than what foreign firms' domestic counterparts paid to skilled educated men employed in Taiwanese firms.Practical implicationsAn in-depth analysis of changes in labour unrest and presence of skilled workers because of high labour standards and the extent to which such changes helped the nation to attract FDI should be useful to policymakers interested in understanding the impact of legislative measures and policy reforms on labour market outcomes across industry types, which matter to foreign investors. If changes in labour unrest and labour quality influenced the inflow of FDI more to firms in one set of industries than the others, the same should have a bearing on revamping of future enactment and enforcement in Taiwan.Originality/valueCurrent study findings would not only provide broad lessons to policymakers in Taiwan but findings of the authors' country case study should be able to guide growing economies that are equally careful whilst raising the labour standards as most fear that high labour standards can deter inflow of FDI because of increasing labour cost.

Economic Geography and Human Rights

This paper investigates the geo-political and international economic aspects of human rights performance using a pooled cross-section time-series data set. We start with simple descriptive accounts of the recent geographic history of human rights performance. We then test for basic economic effects of income and then apply tools from the spatial economics literature to examine the degree to which clusters of relative human rights performance exist. Using spatial weighting models we analyse the spatial impact of proximity and human rights performance of neghbours on overall levels of human rights performance. Unlike previous studies, our approach treats this spatial impact as partly endogenous: one country’s human rights performance may affect its neighbours through a variety of potential geographical spillover mechanisms. The spatial weighting models take into account size and distance of neighbours in order to compare each country’s human rights performance with what would be predicted by regression on a weighted average of its neighbours’ performance. The findings sugest that there are (a) geographical clusters of human rights performance and (b) size and proximity effects for human rights performance, both of which have significant implications for the promotion and protection of human rights.

Peer Effect on Corporate Social Responsibility

This study explores a firm's response to institutional pressure from industry peers on their Social community spending. Social community spending is symbolic of the fulfillment of a firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR). The authors hypothesize that mimetic isomorphism occurs among firms in an industry and organizational characteristics, i.e., business group affiliation, ownership status (state-owned versus private), and firm size strengthen or weaken the influence of industry peers. The authors test the propositions on a pooled time-series cross-sectional data of firms in India, with 3,307 observations from 2009-2017 using Generalized Least Squares (GLS) random-effects model. The findings suggest industry peers have a positive influence on a firm's SCS, and this effect is stronger for state-owned enterprises and large firms and weaker for a business group affiliated firms which further aggravates with group size. This article establishes the positive role of the industry association in driving its member firm's SCS and offers an understanding of the contingencies in the above relationship.

Globalization and women's HIV.

Women's HIV has been a significant issue for decades. While economic integration has increased, little research has investigated the effects of globalization on women's HIV rate. This study argues that trade and FDI have differently affected women's HIV: While larger volume of trade has had the effect of decreasing female labor participation, thus increasing women's HIV rate, greater FDI inflows have worked to increase female labor participation, thereby decreasing women's HIV rate according to pooled time-series cross-sectional data of 89 developing countries. These findings suggest that globalization has both negative and positive effects on women's economic status and their health and that more research should be conducted into how economic integration affects marginalized populations such as children or people with low incomes.

Socio-Economic Development, Economic Fluctuations, and Age-Specific Suicide: A Cross-National Test of the Durkheim, Henry and Short, and Ginsberg Theories

ABSTRACTThis study draws on the theories of Durkheim, Henry and Short, and Ginsberg to assess the impact of short-term and long-term socio-economic change on suicide rates of different categories of age and gender. We employ a pooled cross-sectional time-series data set comprised of 17 Western European nations covering a period of over 50 years (1956–2012). Results from fixed-effect variable-parameter time-series regression models reveal that indicators of socio-economic change yield the strongest impact on suicide rates among males, primarily of working age. Nevertheless, crucial differences emerge across the three alternative theoretical models, which we address. We conclude by highlighting the utility of these models for predicting suicide rates across different categories of age and gender.

The impact of accession to the European Union on suicide rates: A cross-national time-series analysis

Building upon prior research, this study examines the effects of European Union (EU) accession on suicide rates in the Eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 using pooled cross-sectional time-series data that cover approximately 20 years (1990–2011). Results from fixed-effects regression analyses indicate that EU entry has no effect on total suicide rates and suicide rates among males, but has a negative effect on female suicide rates in the fully specified models. In addition, we find that EU entry also has a negative effect on the ratio of suicide rates to an aggregated indicator of lethal violence (homicide rates + suicide rates, or the suicide–homicide ratio) for the total population and for the female population. Consistent with previous research, we find some significant negative effects on suicide rates for economic growth and life expectancy at birth, and a positive effect for females. When interpreted with reference to the ‘stream analogy’ for understanding the two major forms of lethal violence (suicide and homicide), our findings suggest that the impact of any increase in the ‘flow’ of lethal violence associated with EU entry is likely to be manifested in an ‘outward’ rather than ‘inward’ direction for the nations in the sample. Our analyses also reaffirm previous research documenting appreciable gender differences in lethal violence.

Relationship between Board Remuneration and Financial Performance in the Kenyan Financial Services Industry

Board remuneration has attracted considerable interest amongst financial analysts and scholars as it is seen to be a deterrent to financial scandals that have rocked corporates in the 21st Century. This study sought to determine the effect of board remuneration on financial performance, focussing on commercial banks, insurance companies and investment companies listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange from 2003 to 2013. Grounding the study on the agency theory, the study postulated that board remuneration will positively influence financial performance. Secondary data was obtained from audited financial statements for the 11 years ending 2013. Board remuneration was measured by director annual fees, while financial performance was measured using the proxies; return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), dividend yield (DY), and earnings per share (EPS). A linear regression model was used on pooled cross-sectional time-series data to draw the inferences of the study. The results disclose significant variations in the level of board remuneration across the companies and a significant relationship between board remuneration and DY, but not ROA, ROE, and EPS. When disaggregated to financial market segments, the results confirmed a statistically significant relationship between board remuneration and with dividend yield in the banking sector. The same was not reported for ROA, ROE, and EPS. In the insurance segment, there was a statistical significance between board remuneration and ROA only, while in the investment sector, there was no significant relationship between board remuneration and financial performance measures.

Who commits to the rule of law? Constrained government and foreign direct investment in postcommunist states

Research linking credible commitments to the rule of law in terms of property rights and contract enforcement is a hallmark of recent efforts to explain economic growth and development. However, many postcommunist states have had difficulty making such commitments and spurring growth. Many argue political polarization prevents states from reforming laws and protecting property rights in some countries whereas single-party governance renders state promises incredible in others. I analyze pooled cross-sectional time-series data for twenty-four postcommunist countries and provide evidence effective constraints among elected officials act as democratic commitment mechanisms rendering government policies credible.

Models for Pooled Time-Series Cross-Section Data

Several models are available for the analysis of pooled time-series cross-section (TSCS) data, defined as “repeated observations on fixed units” (Beck and Katz 1995). In this paper, we run the following models: (1) a completely pooled model, (2) fixed effects models, and (3) multi-level/hierarchical linear models. To illustrate these models, we use a Generalized Least Squares (GLS) estimator with cross-section weights and panel-corrected standard errors (with EViews 8) on the cross-national homicide trends data of forty countries from 1950 to 2005, which we source from published research (Messner et al. 2011). We describe and discuss the similarities and differences between the models, and what information each can contribute to help answer substantive research questions. We conclude with a discussion of how the models we present may help to mitigate validity threats inherent in pooled time-series cross-section data analysis.

Causes and Incentives for Terrorism in Pakistan

This study offers fresh empirical insights into the causes of terrorism in Pakistan. The authors present a novel strategy for hypothesis building in conflict studies, and explore the importance of the explanatory variables within the time frame of the analysis. The hypothesized relationships are tested using pooled cross-section time series data from five regions of Pakistan (the federally controlled area and four provinces from 1980 to 2010) using fixed effect negative binomial regression. The results indicate that public education expenditures, law & order expenditures, ethnic diversity, urban population, the presence of domestic military operations, and U.S. military aid to Pakistan all result in increased terrorist activity in Pakistan. This study recommends that ethnic diversity and multilingualism be respected in education in Pakistan, that the educational curriculum be cleansed of systemic incendiary language and bigotry, that law enforcement agencies be freed of political control, and that strategic partnership with the United States be reassessed considering the core long-term interests of Pakistan.

Korean Bilateral Official Development Assistance to Africa Under Korea's Initiative for Africa's Development

In the past several years, the Republic of Korea—a former least developed country (LDC) and aid recipient that became a donor—joined the “club of emerging donors” to Africa. In March 2006, President Roh Moohyun declared Korea's Initiative for Africa's Development. The initiative puts poverty reduction and socioeconomic development of African countries in the forefront. Using pooled cross-sectional time series data, in this study we examine the determinants of Korean bilateral official development assistance (ODA) to Africa for the period 1991–2011. The findings of the study suggest that the approach of Korean ODA does not differ significantly from that of many conventional donors whose ODA disbursement has had a dual purpose: to improve the welfare of developing countries and to serve self-interests.

Income Inequality and Democratization

Why are some countries democratic, and others not? What makes democratic political regimes rise? The main goal of this paper is to use game theoretical models and empirical findings to demonstrate the relationship between income inequality and democratization. This paper shows that a democratic transition becomes feasible when the inequality of conditions among individuals exists in the point that an authoritarian strategy to avoid redistribution under a democratic rule is not attractive to the wealthy any more. Also, this paper tests the hypotheses about the effects of income inequality on democratization with unbalanced pooled time-series cross-sectional data that cover 49 countries for 1970-2000. Empirical findings indicate that high levels of economic inequality are related to democratic governments more than authoritarian regimes.

Ethnic fractionalization, natural resources and armed conflict

Thus far, researchers working on ethnicity and resources as determinants of civil conflict have operated largely independently of each other. While there is plenty of evidence that natural resources may spur armed conflict, empirical evidence for the nexus between ethnic fractionalization and conflict remains inconclusive. Some authors conclude that ethnically fractionalized societies are actually spared from intrastate violence. Others find either a positive relationship or none at all between ethnic fragmentation and internal conflict. In this context, this paper serves two purposes: first, it shows that salience-based fractionalization indices are associated with a higher risk of ethnic conflict onset; second, it finds evidence that oil further increases the conflict potential within fractionalized countries. The combination of oil and a shared identity seems to help overcome the collective action problems associated with rebellion, by providing recruitment pools, strong motives and the necessary financial means for insurgency. Employing logit models for pooled time-series cross-sectional data, our quantitative analysis shows that various ethnic fractionalization indicators are robustly linked to a substantially increased risk of ethnic armed conflict onset in a subset of oil-abundant countries.

Trapping the tigers: Regulation of market entry and the rule of law in SE Asia

Recent research identifies high barriers to registering a business as critical impediments to economic development around the world. Similarly, the lack of credible commitment to the rule of law – especially in the areas of property rights and contract enforcement – is also connected to economic underdevelopment. Scholarship treats these factors as rival explanations for underdevelopment. However, I argue the rule of law is the causal mechanism through which barriers to entry in the marketplace influence economic outcomes. Specifically, I present evidence perceptions of the rule of law in Southeast Asia decline as the legal restrictions on registering a business increase because public officials use their gatekeeping positions to extract rents and raise the costs of formalizing private enterprises. High disincentives to register a business drive entrepreneurs underground, which in turn leaves them vulnerable to extortion or confiscation by public officials and undermines perceptions of the rule of law. I employ pooled cross-sectional time-series data for all countries in SE Asia between 1996 and 2010 to test my theoretical argument. I use Two-Stage Least Squares Instrumental Variables, Time Series, Cross-Sectional and OLS regression models to isolate causal mechanisms and causal directions among my variables. My analyses demonstrate the deleterious effect of legal barriers to entry on the rule of law and provides a new direction for scholarship on the topic.

Politics and Income Inequality: Does Politics Still Matter in New Democracies

Does politics still matter for reducing income inequality in new democracies? The standard explanation is that political institutions, in particular the left government and proportional representation, are negatively associated with income inequality among advanced industrial countries, but there have been so few studies attempting to explain the variation of distributional outcomes across new democracies. This article tests the hypotheses about the effects of political institutions on income inequality with unbalanced pooled time-series cross-sectional data that cover 26 fledgling democracies for 1975–2006. The evidence presented here suggests that, other things being equal, a parliamentary system and PR are substantially more likely to be associated with lower levels of income inequality, but a left government and more years of democracy do not appear to be related to lower income inequality.

Central banks’ priorities and the left/right partisanship of exchange rates

This study argues that when central banks subordinate all policy goals to achieving price stability greater central bank independence encourages left-wing governments to seek greater exchange rate stability. Such central bank policy priorities make the Left's preferred distributive policies more dependent on the effectiveness of fiscal policy, which under high capital mobility increases with exchange rate stability. In contrast, right-wing governments put greater emphasis on market adjustments and price stability. Hypotheses are tested by estimating the sensitivity of exchange rate variation to partisanship, central bank independence, and the salience of price stability, using a Prais–Winsten estimator and Instrumented Variables, run on pooled cross-section time-series data from 22 OECD countries during 1990–2004.

The Conditional Effects of Race and Politics on Social Control

Numerous studies of the determinants of formal social control of Blacks focus on racial threat arguments, which contain implicit or explicit political elements. Using insights from research on politics and social control more generally, this article argues that the relationship between variation in the racial composition of a city and social control of minorities will be conditional on characteristics of the local political system. Hypotheses are tested using pooled cross-sectional time-series data on 100 large U.S. cities in 1970, 1980, and 1990. Contrary to expectations, Black violent crime arrest rates are curvilinearly negatively associated with larger percentages of Black residents. As predicted, the relationship between the percentage of Black residents and Black violent crime arrest rates is conditional on city political system characteristics (elected mayors, district council elections, and partisan ballots), the race of the mayor, and the percentage of city council members who are Black.

The Effects of Cost Sharing on Access to Care among Childless Adults

To analyze the impact of public health insurance expansions and the use of enrollee cost sharing on insurance status and receipt of clinically indicated preventive screenings and physician services. This study uses Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data from 1997 to 2007. This study uses multivariate difference-in-difference logistic regression modeling of pooled cross-sectional time series data. The effect of the expansions on insurance status and access to care is identified by cross-state variation in program implementation, as well as cross-state and within-state variation in program eligibility criteria over time. Childless adult expansions, regardless of cost-sharing levels, reduced uninsurance rates and decreased the likelihood that childless adults needed to see a physician but did not because of cost. Expansions with traditional public insurance cost-sharing requirements increased the use of preventive screenings, while expansions with increased cost-sharing requirements did not. Cost-sharing requirements did not have an impact on the ability to see a physician when needed, but they played an important role in the utilization of preventive services. Expanding public health insurance to low-income, childless adults presents a promising policy opportunity, but there are trade-offs between the efficiencies obtained through increased cost sharing and the potential inefficiencies due to the lower use of preventive services.