scholarly journals Impact of Oil Revenue Spending on Income Distribution: the Case of Azerbaijan

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 622-639
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Social Stratification ◽  
Middle Layer ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Sharp Decline ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Oil Revenue ◽  
Oil Revenues ◽  
The Impact

This paper examines the impact of the oil factor on income distribution in a resource-rich country, Azerbaijan. Since the early 2000s, the rapid increase in oil revenuesh as been used for the economic and social development in the country. The increased revenues from oil sales has led to a sharp increase in the share of the top 10% of the population in total income, the stabilization of the share of the lowest 10%, and a significant decline in the share of the middle layer. The widespread use of oil revenues has played a leading role in the formation of new structural features in social stratification. In addition to the sharp decline in extreme poverty in the country, the layer with a higher income has emerged. At the same time, increasing oil revenues has not given a strong impetus to the formation of a prosperous middle layer. This paper also demonstrates that the solution of the income inequality problem is related to improving the quality of institutions, enhancement strategies for the use of oil revenues in the short and long terms, as well as ensuring the consistent implementation of an active diversification policy.

Income Distribution and Social Change Revisited

1975 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. B. Atkinson
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Statistical Information ◽  
Capital Gains ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Measurement Of Inequality

ABSTRACTEleven years after the publication of Richard Titmuss's essay on Income Distribution and Social Change, the official statisticians are still drawing optimistic conclusions about the tendency of income inequality to decline in Britain. This article re-examines some of the critical questions raised by Titmuss concerning the accuracy and interpretation of the official statistics. It considers the definition of income, the implications of capital gains, fringe benefits and the benefits from owner-occupation, the role of life-cycle factors, and the measurement of inequality. It concludes with an assessment of the impact of Titmuss's study on the quality of statistical information and on attitudes and beliefs.

scholarly journals LA MEMORIA ESCRITA EN LOS HUESOS. DEL FUNUS A LA OSTEOBIOGRAFÍA DE VALENTIA

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Polo-Cerdá ◽  
Elisa García-Prósper
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Stratification ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Population Mobility ◽  
Funerary Practices ◽  
Subsistence Economy ◽  
Interdisciplinary Perspective ◽  
The Impact

Based on the archaeological and bioanthropological analysis of the Roman necropolis on Carrer Quart in Valencia (Spain), the city’s oldest known cemetery, dating from between the second century BC and third century AD, we examine various hitherto unknown issues from an interdisciplinary perspective. By means of isotopic archaeochemistry, various aspects, such as those concerning funerary practices, social stratification, palaeodemography, quality of life and the impact of disease, food, and subsistence economy, as well as population mobility, have contributed to enriching the landscape of the old town. Science and memory converge in Valentia through the culture and traditions documented in the funerary ritual (funus valentiae).

scholarly journals Towards Compilation of Balanced Protein Stability Datasets: Flattening the ΔΔG Curve through Systematic Under-sampling

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narod Kebabci ◽  
Ahmet Can Timucin ◽  
Emel Timucin
Keyword(s):  
Protein Stability ◽  
Binary Classification ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Error Analyses ◽  
Under Sampling ◽  
Neutral Mutations ◽  
The Impact

AbstractProtein stability datasets contain neutral mutations that are highly concentrated in a much narrower ΔΔG range than destabilizing and stabilizing mutations. Notwith-standing their high density, often studies analyzing stability datasets and/or predictors ignore the neutral mutations and use a binary classification scheme labeling only destabilizing and stabilizing mutations. Recognizing that highly concentrated neutral mutations would affect the quality of stability datasets, we have explored three protein stability datasets; S2648, PON-tstab and the symmetric Ssym that differ in size and quality. A characteristic leptokurtic shape in the ΔΔG distributions of all three datasets including the curated and symmetric ones were reported due to concentrated neutral mutations. To further investigate the impact of neutral mutations on ΔΔG predictions, we have comprehensively assessed the performance of eleven predictors on the PON-tstab dataset. Correlation and error analyses showed that all of the predictors performed the best on the neutral mutations while their performance became gradually worse as the ΔΔG of the mutations departed further from the neutral zone regardless of the direction, implying a bias towards dense mutations. To this end, after unraveling the role of concentrated neutral mutations in biases of stability datasets, we described a systematic under-sampling approach to balance the ΔΔG distributions. Before under-sampling, mutations were clustered based on their biochemical and/or structural features and then three mutations were systematically selected from every 2 kcal/mol of each cluster. Upon implementation of this approach by distinct clustering schemes, we generated five subsets varying in size and ΔΔG distributions. All subsets notably showed amelioration of not only the shape of ΔΔG distributions but also other pre-existing imbalances in the frequency distributions. We also reported differences in the performance of the predictors between the parent and under-sampled subsets due to the enrichment of previously under-represented mutations in the subsets. Altogether, this study not only elaborated the pivotal role of concentrated mutations in the dataset biases but also contemplated and realized a rational strategy to tackle this and other forms of biases. Under-sampling code is available on GitHub (https://github.com/narodkebabci/gRoR).

scholarly journals Design and development of the income measures in the European Social Surveys

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juergen Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik ◽  
Uwe Warner
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Reference Data ◽  
National Income ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Social Surveys ◽  
Household Members ◽  
The Impact

In social surveys "total net household income" is an indicator of the re-spondent's socio-economic status. It describes the economic situation of household members and their positions in an income distribution. It is used as an explanatory variable in mobility studies and as a social-demographic back-ground item in inequality research. This paper shows the impact of questionnaire design on measurements of "total net household income" in social surveys. In particular we illustrate how the measurement quality of the income variable depends on the data sources about the national income distributions used to design the answer categories offered to the respondent. Beginning with the fourth round of European Social Survey fielded in 2008 and the following years, the income categories for the question about the "total net household income" amount are built on national income distribution of households resident in the country under study. The response categories of the modified ESS questionnaires have been based on deciles of the actual household income distribution in the country in question. The central organizers of European Social Survey (ESS) instruct the national questionnaire designers to define the income brackets for the answer categories using the deciles of the most reliable national income data source. Analyzing the ESS data from 2008, 2010 and 2012, we found in some countries remarkable divergences from the expected 10% frequencies in each category. In this article we argue that the quality of this new income measure depends on the quality of the reference statistics from which the national household income ranges are derived. The quality of the responses to the survey question about the "total net household income", and finally the quality of the obtained survey measure, depends on the quality of the reference statistics from which the household income categories for the answers is derived. These reference data must cover all types of the household's income from all household members and optimally represent the national distribution of household income across the survey universe. That means first that all possible payments accruing to a household and all its members in a given country must be reported in references, and second that all households in the survey's universe must be represented in the statistics used to detect the answer categories. Then the income brackets for the response categories can be calculated using the 10% percentiles from the income distribution in the reference data. Relevance, accuracy, timeliness, comparability, coherence, accessibility and clarity are quality domains of official statistics used as reference data for the survey measurement. We conclude that the central coordinators of the ESS define and communicate minimum threshold values for quality domains of the reference data. The national coordinators should report deviations. This would give the users of ESS data an insight into the quality of the income measurement.

scholarly journals Transparency and Accountability in the Management of Oil Revenues in Ghana

2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ransford Edward Van Gyampo
Keyword(s):  
Oil Industry ◽  
State Agencies ◽  
Oil Revenue ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Petroleum Sector ◽  
Oil Revenues ◽  
Official Records ◽  
Made In ◽  
Transparency And Accountability

This paper undertakes a five-year review of the management of oil revenues in Ghana since the commencement of oil production in 2010. Using reports from the Petroleum Transparency and Accountability Index, official records from key state agencies, and interviews with core individuals within the petroleum sector, the paper assesses the quality of transparency and accountability in the management of Ghana's oil revenue. It argues that even though some progress has been made in the transparent and accountable use of oil revenues, more can be achieved if certain critical bills are passed and proactive interventions pursued without further delay on the part of government and policymakers within Ghana's petroleum sector. These would help prevent both potential social conflict that may result from a lack of information on how oil revenues are utilised and the corrupt use of oil funds by politicians and people in authority within the oil industry.

International examiners’ participation of the Viva: a ritual or an actual indicator of research quality?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Nir ◽  
Ronit Bogler
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
South American ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Little is known about the impact external Viva examiners coming from the international community of scholars have on the quality of PhD research. This study aims to argue that the encounter between local and international examiners (IEs) is subject to various complexities, raising doubts about whether IEs’ participation and approval of the Viva may indicate for the quality of PhD research, and, therefore, serve to promote a university’s prestige. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with IEs who served as examiners in six European countries, two African countries, two South American countries and one in the Commonwealth of Australia. Findings Findings show that structural features, cultural qualities and personal contacts restrict IEs’ ability to introduce significant changes in students’ research, turning the Viva into a ritual with confined academic significance. Originality/value The findings reveal that the Viva is mostly a ritual confined by structural and cultural barriers. While rituals are considered significant due to their consolidating and socializing functions, it appears that a Viva is mostly a ceremonial event that has little impact on the quality of PhD research or on shaping the research culture of the hosting universities according to international standards. Implications are further discussed.

scholarly journals The impact of oil revenues on wellbeing in Chad

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 591-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gadom Djal Gadom ◽  
Armand Mboutchouang Kountchou ◽  
Abdelkrim Araar
Keyword(s):  
Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Multiple Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Household Surveys ◽  
Oil Revenue ◽  
Redistribution Policy ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Government ◽  
Oil Revenues ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis paper uses two recent household surveys, together with data from the College for Control and Monitoring of Oil Revenues, to analyse the impact of oil revenues on wellbeing in Chad. Following a multiple-correspondence analysis to estimate a synthetic household-based multidimensional wellbeing (MDW) index, we used the difference-in-difference approach to assess the impact of oil revenues on average MDW at the department level. We found evidence that departments in Chad that received significant oil transfers have a higher MDW compared to those disadvantaged by the oil-revenue-redistribution policy. We conclude that, in order to promote economic inclusion, the government of Chad should better develop oil-revenue-redistribution policies according to local development needs and target the poorest departments.

scholarly journals Successful management of severe bronchial asthma: the right choice of biologic therapy in properly selected patients

2019 ◽  
pp. 22-28
Author(s):  
R. S. Fassakhov
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Monoclonal Antibodies ◽  
Severe Asthma ◽  
Bronchial Asthma ◽  
Interleukin 5 ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

Severe asthma along with the impact on the quality of life of those suffering from this disease leads to significant medical and social damage. Studies of the last decade indicate the leading role of eosinophilic inflammation of the bronchi as the basis of the pathogenesis of the T2 phenotype of bronchial asthma, which led to the development of targeted therapy. The most effective in this direction were preparations of humanized monoclonal antibodies directed against the main pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in respiratory tract inflammation in bronchial asthma, one of the most significant among which is interleukin 5. Refinement of the definition of severe asthma, selection of these patients among patients with difficult to treat bronchial asthma allows to clearly determine the contingent with a predicted positive effect these highly effective drugs precision therapy. On clinical examples, the difference between difficult to treat and severe bronchial asthma is discussed. The stages of clinical trials of the preparation of monoclonal antibodies against interleukin 5 Mepolizumab are analyzed in detail, the search for effective prognostic biological markers available in normal practice, allowing to select patients suitable for the treatment of patients with severe eosinophilic bronchial asthma. The effectiveness of the approach based on the allocation of two threshold values of the number of eosinophils in the peripheral blood is convincingly confirmed by the results indicating a significant reduction in the number of exacerbations, improved of lung function and an increase of the quality of life in patients, including with steroiddependent bronchial asthma, obtained not only in randomized clinical studies, but also in studies in real clinical practice.

Self-Compassion and Quality of Life in Adults Who Stutter

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 2097-2108
Author(s):  
Robyn L. Croft ◽  
Courtney T. Byrd
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
The Self ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Self Compassion ◽  
Adults Who Stutter ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify levels of self-compassion in adults who do and do not stutter and to determine whether self-compassion predicts the impact of stuttering on quality of life in adults who stutter. Method Participants included 140 adults who do and do not stutter matched for age and gender. All participants completed the Self-Compassion Scale. Adults who stutter also completed the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering. Data were analyzed for self-compassion differences between and within adults who do and do not stutter and to predict self-compassion on quality of life in adults who stutter. Results Adults who do and do not stutter exhibited no significant differences in total self-compassion, regardless of participant gender. A simple linear regression of the total self-compassion score and total Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering score showed a significant, negative linear relationship of self-compassion predicting the impact of stuttering on quality of life. Conclusions Data suggest that higher levels of self-kindness, mindfulness, and social connectedness (i.e., self-compassion) are related to reduced negative reactions to stuttering, an increased participation in daily communication situations, and an improved overall quality of life. Future research should replicate current findings and identify moderators of the self-compassion–quality of life relationship.

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